The Faerie Plague (Dark World: The Faerie Games Book 5)

by Michelle Madow

  The last thing we could afford to lose was time.

  Once we were standing outside of the kingdom’s boundary dome, I checked my watch.

  8:23 PM, New Zealand Time.

  4:23 AM, Eastern Standard Time.

  A bit more than three hours to go.

  Anxiety fluttered like butterflies inside my chest.

  We can do this, I reminded myself, just as six witches appeared on the other side of the dome. One step at a time.

  Alice and Harper, the witches who’d helped us last time we were in Utopia, stepped forward.

  “Welcome back,” Harper—the more talkative of the two—said to me. Then she looked to Selena and bowed her head slightly. “You must be the Earth Angel’s daughter.”

  “I am.” Selena reached into the ether and pulled out the Holy Wand. “I’m also the Queen of Wands.”

  Harper’s eyes widened, and two of the other witches stepped back. Alice was as calm as ever.

  “Your Highness,” she said swiftly. “How can we assist you?”

  Annoyance flared within me, but I took a long, deep breath and put a cap on it. “It’s actually me you’ll be assisting,” I said. “I’m on a time sensitive mission, and we need an audience with Queen Elizabeth immediately.”

  Harper glanced warily at the guys, and then refocused on me. “Alice and I can take you and the Queen of Wands,” she said. “Your male companions will wait here, outside of the dome.”

  “Understood,” Julian said, since I’d already warned him of the high chance that he and Reed wouldn’t be allowed inside Mount Starlight.

  “Great,” Harper said, and then she and Alice flashed out of the dome. Alice stood next to me, Harper next to Selena, and they both held out their hands. “Let’s go.”

  We teleported to just outside the crater’s rim, and Harper led us onto the elevator-pulley contraption that would bring us down the volcano and into the hollow magma chamber that housed the kingdom of Utopia.

  Before we got on, Selena stored the Holy Wand back in the ether.

  “Impressive.” Harper smiled. “I need to learn how to use that spell.”

  “It’s fae magic,” Selena said simply, not bothering to go into detail about how it was also magic specific to the chosen champions of Mars.

  “Oh.” Harper frowned, but then her hand went to the handle of a sword on her weapons belt, and she brightened. “No matter. We have no reasons to hide our weapons in Utopia.”

  Alice walked over to the elevator’s lever and pulled at it. The platform jerked forward, and Selena and I reached for the railing to brace ourselves. I looked down, and my chest tightened at the sight of the hole that seemed to go down forever.

  It’ll be fine, I told myself, and luckily, the elevator didn’t jerk again as it moved down. Small spaces can’t hurt you. It’s just in your mind. And it gets bigger at the bottom.

  Just like before, beautiful speckles of light dangling from the inside walls distracted me from my aversion toward small spaces. Selena stared wide-eyed at them, too.

  “They’re glowworms,” I told her what I’d learned the first time I’d come here. “They’re bioluminescent. Natural creatures from Earth that glow.”

  “I know what bioluminescent means,” she said quickly, her eyes still glued on the worms.

  I bristled at her tone. I knew Selena had been obsessed with learning everything she could about Earth, but that didn’t mean she had to be a snippety know-it-all about it.

  Finally, the tube opened up, and the elevator lowered into the magma chamber.

  The vertical city of earthy, stone buildings connected by layers of rope bridges was just as impressive as it had been the first time I’d seen it. Warm, orange orbs of magic that glowed like miniature suns lit up the ceiling, mimicking the timing of the real sun. Except unlike the real sun, the light from the orbs didn’t harm vampires.

  “How do you have fae light?” Selena asked Harper.

  “That’s not fae light,” Harper said. “One of our oldest ancestors cast her Final Spell here, to give us a home inside Mount Starlight. These orbs were the result of the spell.”

  “Hm.” Selena didn’t look convinced. “Interesting.”

  The elevator reached the bottom of the shaft, and the witches led us down a series of stairs and rope bridges. Vampires and witches wearing animal skins—all of them women—watched us out of the corners of their eyes. But they made room for us to pass and said nothing.

  We followed the witches down to the lowest point of the vertical city, and then through a tunnel that brought us to the deepest part of the chamber.

  Queen Elizabeth sat on a throne inside the open-jawed skull of a dragon.

  “My Queen.” Alice looked at Elizabeth straight on. “I present the Queen of Wands, the chosen champion of Jupiter, and the daughter of the Earth Angel of Avalon, Selena Pearce. And Torrence Devereux, of the Devereux witch circle.”

  I was an afterthought that followed Selena and all her new fancy titles.

  I curled my fists as dark magic swirled inside of me. But I took a deep breath to control it, and kept my gaze focused on the queen. Just like before, she wore layered animal hides, shrunken heads that hung from a leather belt, and a crown of bones.

  I’d warned Selena about the shrunken heads ahead of time.

  “Come forth,” the queen commanded, and Selena and I crossed the bridge to stand in front of her.

  Harper and Alice handed each of us a bite-sized piece of multigrain bread. The bread was fresh and warm, and we popped the pieces into our mouths and quickly swallowed them down.

  “Congratulations on successfully bringing the Queen of Wands back home,” the queen said to me. “Now, what brings you here from Avalon?”

  “I actually haven’t been to Avalon yet,” I said, and confusion passed over her face.

  “Why not?”

  As quickly as possible, I summarized the story of the predicament I’d gotten into with Circe.

  “King Devin said he’ll trade the staff, but only for the heart of a dragon,” I finished. “At first, I thought he was crazy. Because dragons don’t exist. But then I remembered the dragon skull that you’re sitting inside of right now.”

  “And you thought I might be able to lead you to where dragon shifters live today.”

  Shifters.

  Interesting.

  “Can you?” I studied the massive skull surrounding her. The dragon’s head must have been three or four times the size of me, and its teeth were long and sharp.

  Monstrous teeth designed to kill.

  “If dragons are still alive, I know nothing about them,” she said, and I deflated, all of the air sucked from my lungs at once. “But all is not lost.” I perked up, and she continued, “The bones that make up this dragon skull were gifted to me by the ancestors of a present-day witch circle.”

  “What circle?” I asked. My family knew all the big ones.

  “The Gemini Circle.”

  “Hm.” I frowned. “I’ve never heard of them.”

  “You wouldn’t have,” she said. “The Gemini Circle has lost a lot of their magic from generation to generation. There aren’t many of them left, and they stopped communicating with me ages ago. But I still know where they live.”

  “And where’s that?”

  “Close by, in Australia, south of Melbourne. They own a beachfront café on John Astor Road and live in the space above it. I’ll write down the address. I can also dig out a map for you. Once you get there, ask to speak with the leader of their circle. A witch named Rachael Brown.”

  “Rachael will know where the dragons are?” I asked.

  “She might.” She shrugged. “Or she might not. The only way to know is to go there and find out for yourself.”

  38

  TORRENCE

  SELENA USED her glamour to make it look like we were wearing modern clothes, so we wouldn’t make a spectacle of ourselves in our breeches, dresses, and cloaks. Then Alice and Harper brought us back up th
e elevator, dropped us off with the guys, and blinked out. The four witches who’d been standing guard blinked out, too.

  “Well?” Reed asked. “Do they know where to find the dragons?”

  “Not exactly,” I said, and I summarized everything Elizabeth had told us. “Teleporting with such little information isn’t easy, but given how powerful we all are, we should be able to get decently close.”

  We took a few seconds to study the map. John Astor Road was a long road that wound around Australia’s southern coastline. The café—Twin Pines—was at the start of it.

  “Everyone good?” Julian asked.

  “Yep,” I said, and Selena and Reed said the same.

  We stood in a circle, held hands, and blinked out to what would hopefully be the parking lot of Twin Pines Café.

  We landed on sand.

  The air smelled like salt, and waves crashed ahead of me. I opened my eyes, and sure enough, we were standing in the middle of a beach. The beach was nestled in a cove of tall cliffs. Narrow wooden stairs along the side of the cliff wound up to the top. It was empty, and judging from the branches, rocks, and leaves flung out on the sand, it was normally that way.

  The sun hung low in the sky, and it was that perfect temperature where you couldn’t feel the weather. I glanced at my watch, where the two clocks ticked next to each other. 7:33 PM, Sydney Time, and 5:33 AM, Eastern Time.

  Two hours to go.

  “Let’s teleport up to the top of those steps and try to get an idea about where we are.” I blinked out and landed at the top of the steps less than a second later.

  The others appeared next to me.

  Trees lined the opposite side of the winding, two-lane road ahead. A car zoomed by, but other than that, it was empty.

  I held my watch up near my mouth. “Hey, Siri,” I said. “Take us to Twin Pines Café.”

  She replied that we were half a mile away. Not bad for going in basically blind.

  “This way.” I faced east, and ran.

  The others followed behind in a straight line, and we all stayed to the side of the road. We probably looked like a high school cross-country team during practice, except that thanks to our supernatural strength, we ran way faster than any human could possibly dream of.

  Not many cars drove by. Each time they did, we slowed down to normal human speed. Then, once they were out of sight, we picked up the pace again.

  A few minutes later, my watch told me to turn right onto a small side street.

  I did, and there it was, looking out toward the ocean. Twin Pines Café. A cute, two-story freestanding house with worn gray siding and a light teal roof. Flowers surrounded the entrance, a sign with the café’s name hung above the door, and a chalkboard displayed the daily specials.

  Dragon fruit tea was right at the bottom.

  It has to be a sign.

  We walked to the door, I pulled it open, and the warm smell of coffee flooded my senses.

  Shelves of books lined every empty wall space possible. All the comfy sofas and armchairs were full, and people sat at pretty much every table, happily chatting away.

  After so much time in the Otherworld, it was strange to be somewhere so normal.

  A girl around my age with blonde, highlighted hair worked at the register. She was tan, and she wore light blue jean shorts and a white crop top. Her wrists were stacked with shell bracelets, and she gave off the vibe that she’d rather be at the beach than cooped up inside working.

  As I approached her, I caught a floral scent buried beneath the overpowering smell of coffee.

  Witch.

  The smell was so slight that it could have easily been mistaken for perfume.

  “Hi,” she said in an Australian accent, and smiled brightly. “What can I get for you?”

  “I’m actually looking for someone,” I said. “Rachael Brown.”

  The girl glanced over my pendulum necklace and gemstone rings, and her ocean blue eyes filled with suspicion. “She didn’t say she was expecting anyone,” she said slowly.

  “She’s not expecting us. But we need to see her.” I scanned the area, even though I had no idea what Rachael looked like. “Is she here?”

  “Why?”

  Selena leaned against the counter, held up her hand, and created a violet fae orb in her palm. “Witch business,” she said, and then she closed her hand into a fist, and the orb disappeared.

  Since Elizabeth had told us that the Gemini Circle had basically no magic left in their bloodline, hopefully the girl wouldn’t realize that was fae magic and not witch magic.

  The girl’s eyes widened, and she looked to her right, where another girl was finishing up making a cup of coffee. The other girl smelled slightly of witch, too. “Gemma,” she said, and the girl looked at her over her shoulder. She had long brown hair, green eyes, and wasn’t as tan, but other than that, the girls were identical.

  Twins.

  “Yeah?” Gemma asked.

  “Take these four up to see Mom. Now.”

  Gemma placed the cup of coffee down on the counter for a customer to pick up, and then walked over to stand next to her sister. “What’s going on?”

  “They asked to see mom, and they said they’re…” The blonde twin surveyed the room to make sure no one was listening, then turned back at her sister and lowered her voice. “Witches.”

  “No way.” Gemma’s eyes lit up, and she smiled at us with sudden interest.

  “Way,” her sister said, and she looked at Selena. “Show her.”

  Selena held out her hand and created a fae light again. She only held it for a second—just long enough for Gemma to see—and then snuffed it out again.

  Gemma scooted around the counter so she was standing next to us. The floral scent was stronger now.

  Was Elizabeth sure they didn’t have much magic left?

  “This way,” Gemma said, and she walked to a door that led to the back, and we hurried behind her.

  39

  TORRENCE

  REALIZING we hadn’t told Gemma our names, we introduced ourselves as she led the way up the stairs.

  “Mom hates being interrupted while she’s doing bookkeeping,” she said when we reached the top. “But I think this’ll be an exception.”

  “I’d think so,” I agreed.

  She walked us down a narrow hall and stopped at the door at the end. “Wait here,” she said, and then she let herself into the room and closed the door behind her.

  I glanced at the others, but stayed quiet. They didn’t say anything, either. It was like if we spoke a word, we risked Rachael turning us away.

  Finally, the door creaked open, and a woman who looked like an older version of Gemma faced us. The biggest difference between her and her daughter was that her eyes were brown instead of green, and they had slight wrinkles around them.

  She sized us up, conveying absolutely no emotion. “Come in,” she said, and she opened the door wider, revealing what looked to be a master bedroom. “I’m afraid I don’t normally have visitors, so you’ll either have to stand or sit on the floor.”

  “No worries.” I strolled inside, the others right behind me. “Thanks for seeing us.”

  The hardwood floors were covered with a worn blue Turkish rug, the furniture had a shabby chic beach cottage feel, and a large window looked out to the ocean. One side of the room had a bed and dresser, and the other had a desk and bookshelves. The shelves held items I knew well—candles, crystals, and jars of flowers and herbs.

  It was like a mini-apothecary.

  “Gemma,” Rachael said once we were all standing inside. “Go downstairs and get back to work.”

  Gemma gave her mom a longing look—she clearly wanted to stay. But Rachael stood firm, as strict as ever, and Gemma sighed in defeat. “Bye,” she said to us. “I hope you get whatever you’re looking for.”

  “Thanks,” I said, and then Gemma left the room—but not without a final longing glance over her shoulder.

  Once the door was clo
sed again, Rachael sat down in her office chair and swiveled around to face us. “So,” she said. “Who are you, and why are you here?”

  I shuffled awkwardly as we launched into introductions, unsure whether to sit or stand. But the others remained standing, so I did, too.

  We told her we were all witches, since we didn’t have time to explain about fae and mages. Plus, Rachael’s floral witch scent was nearly undetectable. She likely didn’t have supernatural senses, so she wouldn’t be able to smell the differences between the four of us.

  “We’re not here to hurt you,” I finished. “We’re here because we need your help.”

  “Gemma said that you conjured up some sort of magical ball of light,” she said, and I nodded. “Show me.”

  Selena created another fae orb, and Rachael’s eyes widened.

  “Incredible,” she said in a daze. “My daughters and I are witches ourselves. But magic like that…” She paused and stared up at Selena like Selena was a goddess. “I didn’t realize it was possible.” She faced her palm to the ceiling and stared at it, like she was trying to create an orb of her own. She was, of course, unsuccessful. So she closed her fist and dropped it to her side. “How did you do it?”

  “You don’t have nearly as much magic as we do,” I said simply, and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Not enough to do anything like that.”

  “So why do you need my help?”

  “We’re looking for something, and a very powerful supernatural told us you might know where it is.”

  No need to tell her that the “powerful supernatural” was an immortal vampire queen. Judging by her shock at seeing visible magic, that would involve an explanation we didn’t have time to give.

  She tilted her head and looked over each of us. “What sort of ‘something’ are you looking for?” she asked.

  This is it.

  I took a deep breath, and said, “We’re looking for a dragon.”

  She flinched slightly, and her expression hardened.

  She knows something.