They moved quietly through the pass and stowed their gear once they were sure they were out of sight of the watchers, taking only what was necessary with them. Spreading out and moving quickly through the forest, they would take the battle to Cillian’s camp, using the trees for cover.
Laoch and Tristan insisted that Eoin, Micael and Tiger flank him, and the others keep to the rear, which of course offended TJ, but Laoch wanted any immediate aggression to be met first by the Fae on his team. Hopefully, his challenge to Cillian would be accepted quickly thereby avoiding any bloodshed between the others. TJ and Remi reluctantly agreed, knowing that they had backup coming from Tristan’s men. Even with the challenge, they were all aware that Cillian’s men were not necessarily honorable enough to stay out of it.
Normally, even the lowest of the low among Fae would observe the rules of challenge. These men were rebels not common criminals, so Laoch had hopes that they were not all irredeemable. They would soon find out.
No matter how quiet they tried to be, the enemy heard them coming. “Hold!” someone shouted before they reached the campsite. “Come forward Laoch! The rest of you stay where you are unless you want him to die now! Cillian wants to meet with you, humanist!”
Laoch moved closer but stopped short of the Fae confronting him. “How is it that I am cast as an outsider, when you are part of the rebel forces? Do you hold no fealty to the queen? What lies has Cillian fed you to engender such faith in a monster?”
Before the man could respond, a portal shimmered into being behind the man and Cillian stepped through, flanked on either side by four more Fae. “Laoch, we meet again. I see you brought friends but they cannot protect you. Just more fodder for the forest.” He raised his hand as if to order his men to attack but Laoch cast down his glove shouting “Challenge! I challenge you to a duel to bring this madness to an end! No one else need die today if you have the courage to fight me man to man! Unless you’re afraid of me and have no honor!?”
Cillian looked astonished. Never had he expected Laoch to issue a challenge in his weakened state. Laoch may have recovered somewhat from his wound, but he knew that Laoch’s deterioration from the broken bond would most certainly be worse. There was no way Laoch could defeat him in a challenge. Even now he stood slightly hunched over, favoring his left arm and trembling. This was probably just his way to try to go out with some dignity. He always was an arrogant aristocrat! Still… there was always the chance that he might get in a lucky blow.
“I refuse! Take them all,” he shouted. Most of his men stood frozen, unprepared for his refusal. Wasn’t the challenge what he had wanted? Two tried to draw their swords but were struck down by daggers thrown by Tiger and Wolf. “I said take them!” His men looked uncertain, hands on their weapons. Tristan’s men chose that moment to step out of the forest. They had taken the opportunity to move in closer while Laoch and Cillian were arguing. Forty Fae warriors surrounded the camp and Laoch’s group.
Cillian tried to cast a portal but nothing happened. “Portals!” he shouted to his men. Some of them tried to cast their own portals but still nothing happened. “What is this?! How… “ Cillian sputtered. Tristan spoke up.. He gestured towards a Fae who stepped up from behind TJ’s men. He wore a cloak with a hood, his face hidden from view.
“This is Dorian. He’s a rare Fae and he has only one ability. He’s a null. He can cancel out the abilities of everyone within his range. You and your men cannot use your abilities, even the inherent ones like casting portals.”
Cillian sneered. “So, that means none of you can either.”
“True, but we can still use our swords. If you think you and your men can take on forty Fae guardsmen and win, not to mention these men you’re threatening, by all means try.”
Cillian looked around, realizing he was outnumbered. “If I accept the challenge and win?”
Laoch spoke up. “If you win, you and your men walk away, but these men will unharmed and free to go. If you lose, your men will give up their arms and depart unharmed, as long as they don’t try to fight. If they do, they will not leave here alive.”
“Fine, I accept and agree to all terms.” Cillian smirked and tossed his cloak aside. He removed his scabbard and drew his sword, tossing the scabbard onto his cloak.
Laoch and his group backed off and he stripped off his cloak and waistcoat, handing them to Tae. Removing his scabbard, he drew his sword and handed that to Tae as well.
“Laoch,” Tiger called out as Laoch strode toward Cillian. “Eidan to Enya no tame ni.” ‘For Aidan and Enya.’ Laoch paused but didn’t turn around. Giving a slight nod, he moved forward.
Laoch and Cillian faced off and saluted, then Laoch straightened his stance and swept his sword down in a flourish and back up as they broke into fighting positions. They attacked lightly and retreated, testing the waters, looking for weaknesses. Circling, they finally got down to business, attacking with heavier blows, trying to wear each other down. Five minutes grew to ten minutes, then fifteen minutes.
Neither man had drawn blood yet. Cillian frowned. Not only had the easy kill he’d expected not yet happened, he could feel strength behind Laoch’s blows, and he didn’t look like he was tiring at all. After several more attempts to get past Laoch’s guard, he tried to use brute strength against him, pressing in against him as their sword hilts butted together and they strained to overpower one another. He felt Laoch gaining the advantage and clutched his shirt as Laoch pressed forward. Suddenly, Laoch shoved Cillian back and the silk tore away from his chest, revealing the glittering double-phoenix’s. Cillian was so stunned he dropped his guard and Laoch drove his sword through his body. Cillian clung to him, looking into fierce violet and silver eyes, the question never making it past his lips as he slid to the ground, dead at last.
There were a few gasps from some of the Fae on both sides of the encounter when they caught sight of the tattoo. Most Fae knew the story of Laoch’s broken bond. Their pity and whispered gossip had driven him away from the queen’s court. No one spoke for several minutes, then the soldier who served as Cillian’s right hand stepped forward.
“Are we done here?” he asked. Laoch nodded, keeping his sword ready. The soldier gave Laoch a Fae salute, fist over his heart and bowed slightly. He unclipped his scabbard and dropped in on the ground near Cillian’s body and stepped back, waiting till the others did the same one by one. When all were disarmed, Laoch spoke.
“Dorian, drop your shield please.” Dorian nodded and the soldier cast a portal leading his men through quickly before it snapped closed. No one looked back or bothered to retrieve Cillian’s body. Laoch leaned down and wiped the blood off his sword on Cillian’s shirt.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and started moving again, speaking quietly. Tae came forward and handed Laoch his scabbard, which he reattached to his belt, sheathing his sword, then he slipped on his waistcoat and cloak. “Thank you, my friend.” Laoch patted him on the shoulder and Tae smiled sadly at him. Tiger approached, silently hugging his cousin as they shared a moment to themselves.
When he and Tiger broke apart, TJ and Noah strolled up and TJ looked Laoch over. He arched a brow taking in the tattoo, then turned to Noah, poking him in the chest. “You got some ‘splaining to do mister.” He dragged Noah away as Tristan bowed to Laoch.
He pointed at the body of Cillian, his distaste evident. “What would you like us to do with that, Master Laoch?”
“Have the men gather firewood and burn it. He doesn’t deserve to be buried. After that please thank them for their assistance and have them take those weapons with them when they return home. Dorian… no one else knows about him? Word will get out now.”
Tristan smiled enigmatically. “There are a few like him. We keep them well hidden. No one saw his face. For their safety and everyone else’s we take those in who are considered aberrations and give them safe harbor. Your father has ordered it so for years.”
“Ah…. my father still keeps his secrets, even from me.
”
They stood for a while, watching as the men gathered wood for a pyre and cast Cillian’s body upon it with no funeral rites, for he was not and had not been for some time, worthy of respect or mourning. Laoch felt empty. Revenge would not bring Aidan or Enya back, but he no longer had to fear losing any more friends or family to the monster that was once called Cillian.
Tristan’s men would remain for a bit in case any of Cillian’s men returned and to be sure the fire didn’t spread to the forest. Before they left, the area would be cleaned up, leaving no trace that anyone had ever been there.
TJ called out, “Shake a leg people. Let’s go home.” Tristan, Eoin and Micael cast portals for Aurora and they all stepped through.
Chapter 22
TJ helped Noah with the medals on his dress blues. “Here, let me. It’s always hard to remember the proper order and get these things lined up properly.” He glanced at the clock. “We still have about half an hour.” He stepped back and inspected everything. “Perfect. All that’s left is gloves, cover and sword.” He grinned. “Nervous? You should see your other half. He’s wearing a path in the carpet next door. I thought Fae were unflappable.”
“There’s never been a human wedding here and he’s nervous because his father and mother are both attending. I think he’s afraid of what they might do or say if someone objects to our presence, but most of the humans attending are Rangers and I told him we’re not that easily offended.”
“Even though we’re already bonded, I insisted on making it legal in the human courts. After all, we’re going to be dealing with two separate societies now. The Fae are a lot more flexible about these things than humans.”
TJ nodded. “I suppose you’re right. Even though humans now know about the existence of the Fae, it doesn’t mean they know much about their ways, they keep so much under wraps, and you two decided to keep the bonding and… stuff a secret. Tigger and Remi haven’t seen a need to get hitched, but Tigger was raised as a human. I do know that Remi put a lot of legal shit in place in case anything happens to either one of them.”
“I just want to get on with this so I can get out of this monkey suit. These things aren’t designed for comfort!” Noah tugged at his collar.
“Just be glad you’re rarely forced to wear it. I have to climb into mine at least once a month. Officer’s dinners and all that bullshit. You know… you didn’t need to go the formal wedding route just to get married. You could have just made an appointment at the city judge’s office or had the regional commander marry you. Hell, Max could have married you in Remi’s back yard.”
“Yeah… I’m sure that would’ve been well received,” Noah said sarcastically.
Tiger popped his head in to make sure Noah was dressed. TJ pointed a finger and laughed at him and he growled, ducking back and closing the door. They heard an exasperated “asshole” through the door as he headed down the hallway to check on the honor guard. As the best man on Laoch’s side he’d wanted to wear Fae garb, but TJ insisted that he wear his dress uniform as part of the team. He wasn’t about to cut his hair, so he had it braided and tucked up into his cover. He wasn’t required to have his cover on indoors, but he couldn’t have his hair hanging down over his collar while in his uniform.
“Thanks for standing up as my best man Cap. It means a lot to me.”
“Thanks for asking me, Noah. It’s my honor, although working with Tae has been a challenge. I’m never going to let him plan a wedding again. The next couple to get married will be strongly encouraged to elope. Have you decided what name you’re putting on the marriage license?”
“Well, since the wedding is to satisfy the human side of the equation, we’re going to use Wylde. So my name won’t change, and the Fae don’t care about last names. They’re not going to recognize a human wedding anyway. They only care about the mating bond.”
“Oh, please, please, please… let me call him Laoch Wylde! Just once! Pretty please?”
“Have you ever heard the saying “don’t piss off the guy with the dragon sword”? Noah patted his pockets. “The ring! Where’s the ring!?”
“I’ve got the ring. Calm down, see?” TJ pulled Laoch’s ring out of his glove and held it up. Since silver was a metal highly favored by the Fae and actually quite rare on Corvan, meaning it was quite valuable there, Noah and Laoch had purchased matching rings on Old Earth that had their double-phoenix mark engraved in the middle with a flame pattern around the rest of the band. TJ tucked the ring back in the palm of his glove.
The door opened briefly. “Five minutes people,” Tiger called out, then moved on. “Well, guess that’s our cue.” TJ buckled Noah’s sword in place and handed him his gloves and cover. Donning both, Noah took a deep breath and let it out, as TJ held the door open.
The wedding was being hosted by Laoch’s father in one of his many flower gardens. Tristan and his men had transported TJ’s team and guests to Old Earth. Being an orphan, Noah had no family or friends other than the Rangers. Laoch, on the other hand, had many friends and family, so it only made sense to hold the wedding on Liam’s estate.
Max had officiated at Tae’s wedding, so he agreed to marry Laoch and Noah. They were walking a thin line on the legalities of holding a Corvan wedding on Old Earth, but they had the legal paperwork and Max was authorized to do a Corvan wedding, so who would know if the actual location was clear on the other of the galaxy. No one there was going to spill the beans.
TJ and Noah waited inside the large gates of Liam’s estate. Once through the gate, the property immediately beyond spread out to a clearing surrounded by flowering trees and plants, a riot of color and fragrances. It was a large area with a large crowd. A sea of people and every species of Fae imaginable.
Centaurs kept to the outer fringes. There seemed to be an order to their gathering, larger beings to the outside graduating down to the pixies on the interior. There was a lake nearby and some of the mer-folk had gathered at the bank to watch, the area kept clear to accommodate their view. The fairies hovered or sat in the trees, lighting up the clearing like tiny twinkle lights.
A gazebo sat at the far end. It was a bit of a walk and Noah was glad he had TJ at his side to keep him from tripping and making a fool of himself. Guitar music began to play and that was their cue to exit. The gates swung open and a flush of adrenaline washed through Noah. He looked ahead and saw Max, Laoch and Tiger waiting on the steps of the gazebo.
Max wore a dark blue tux, being a civilian. Tiger wore the dress blues that all the assembled Rangers wore. Laoch was stunning in a Fae waistcoat and trousers of dark blue that matched the color of the Rangers’ uniforms, a ruffled white silk shirt beneath and shiny black boots peeked out from beneath his trousers. The waistcoat glittered from the many tiny precious gems sewn all over it. His hair hung long and loose, held back at the side by diamond clips.
His feet frozen in place, Noah looked down the line of Rangers stationed on either side of the aisle all the way from the gates to the gazebo. TJ had a very large team when they were all gathered together, which was rare. They’d all volunteered to attend as his color guard and it was an impressive sight. TJ wrapped his arm around Noah’s elbow and tugged him forward. Now he understood why grooms needed best men.
Heath sat at the front on a high stool, playing Pachelbel’s Canon in D. It had come to light that he played guitar and several other instruments, so Tae had begged him to play for the wedding. Heath hadn’t stood a chance against those puppy dog eyes that Tae wielded like a weapon. It wasn’t his usual type of music, but he’d practiced for the wedding and it was beautiful. He could probably perform professionally if he wanted to. There was undoubtedly a story there, but no one questioned why he was serving as a Ranger. They all had their little secrets.
Noah kept his eyes on Laoch as they drew near the Gazebo. He looked every inch the royal that he was, and his smile was radiant. Never had Noah seen a more beautiful man. How different he looked from the man he knew before they’d bonded when he
smiled. The love he shared with Noah through their bond took his breath away. They reached the gazebo at last and TJ handed Noah off to Laoch.
The ceremony was relatively short as Noah and Laoch had opted for the standard vows. Liam stood with Laoch to give him away and TJ took the place of Noah’s father since he didn’t even know who his father was or if he was still alive. Everyone panicked a little when Tiger thought he’d lost Noah’s ring, but he’d simply forgotten which glove it was in. Every wedding needed a little comic relief, but Laoch was not amused.
Once their vows were completed and Max declared them husbands, they placed their palms over each other’s mate-marks, vowing their love for eternity through their bond for that was the Fae way. They gave each other chaste kisses on the cheek afterwards. It would be undignified for Fae royals to do anything more in front of others.
As they turned and joined hands, Tiger and TJ positioned themselves at the end of the lines of Rangers. TJ called out, “Honor Guard! Draw swords! Present arms!” All the Rangers drew their swords and crossed them over the aisle forming an archway. Laoch and Noah passed hand-in-hand through the arch at a dignified pace while the guests applauded, and the fairies took to the air sprinkling glitter over the newlyweds from above.
Once the pair made it through the gates, TJ shouted again, “Rangers! Parade rest!” They all shifted into a relaxed stance with their swords pulled into their shoulders and pointing up. The guests drifted over to another area of the garden where tables and seating were arranged with food and drink. In order to accommodate the huge number of guests, including the ones who could not be indoors, such as the centaurs and unicorns, the reception had been set up outside and a dance floor had been laid out with lighting and a DJ.
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