by Logan Jacobs
I’d heard everything I needed to hear. Zolderon wasn’t in the nether realm, he was going after the Seelie King.
I realized as I stomped back up the tunnel with the team in tow that he had planned this for a long time. That’s why all of those higher-up Seelie had been taken. He had probably tried to possess each one of them, but now he finally decided to just go for the gold and take over the king’s body.
“HC, stop!” Ariette whispered as soon as we were out of earshot of the Phobos army. “Where are you going?”
“I have to get to the capital, Ariette!” I all but yelled as I spun around to face her.
Shock covered the elf’s features, and she stepped back quickly.
“Milton, would you relax for a second?” Maaren demanded as she stepped up next to Ariette. “We’ve got half an army in that room, and they don’t even know we’re here.”
“What? Are you suggesting we take them out ourselves?” I asked, calmer now but still hesitant.
“Actually,” Edora said thoughtfully, “that’s not such a bad idea.”
“You look like you’ve got a plan brewing in there,” Maaren said curiously as she watched the other Unseelie intensely.
“I was thinking …” the Unseelie started, but then she paused and looked around with sad and nostalgic eyes. “I don’t know if I can, though.”
Edora bit her plump bottom lip and rubbed a tired hand over her face as she struggled with whatever nostalgic thoughts had popped into her brain.
“Edora,” I said softly and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Whatever you’re thinking, we have to give it a shot. We can’t just let half of their army get away.”
“This entire building is heated with a gas furnace in the basement,” Edora answered finally. “If we let out the gas and get far enough away from the place, we can use our magic to detonate the whole place like a giant bomb.”
“And take out the army in one fell swoop,” I finished for the Unseelie. “We have the element of surprise, since they think we’re dead. That’s the perfect plan.”
“And what happens if they end that meeting and leave before we get the chance to light the place up?” Maaren asked hurriedly.
“We better not give them that chance,” I replied with a nod before I turned back to Edora. “Lead the way.”
The fire on her fingertips let out a few, bright orange sparks as Edora excitedly turned back down the dark tunnel and led us into a different direction. We began to descend into the belly of the city hall building, down toward the furnace room. We walked through the dark tunnels, bathed in our own orange glow, until the Unseelie stopped and turned toward the wall.
“This is it,” she said as she stared at a large square door cut into the side wall of the tunnel.
A huge brass ring was attached to the center, and the Unseelie lifted up a careful hand to give the ring a firm tug. The door swung open toward us, and we passed through the hole in the wall and into the furnace room.
It was a strangely small room, with plain white walls and a cobblestone floor that matched the streets outside. A huge, black furnace sat in the center of the room, with aluminum tubes that stretched out from it and ran into the ceiling to help heat the entire building.
“So does anyone know how to make this thing leak gas?” Ariette asked as she stared up at the bulky furnace.
“Ah, finally something from my human days that can help,” I teased as I sauntered up to the furnace. “I actually had a job installing heating and cooling units for a while.”
I wandered around the object until I found the thin pipe that fed the gas into the furnace when it was on. Next to it was the little green knob that turned on the gas itself. I took a deep breath as I reached out for it, and then screwed it all the way forward until a light hiss emanated from the gray pipe to my left.
“We’re going to need to make a quick exit,” I said to the team, and they nodded in confirmation.
I wrapped my fist around the gas pipe and yanked as hard as I could. The metal creaked and protested before it finally gave way and snapped apart, and the hiss grew louder as the putrid smell of gas assaulted our noses.
“Let’s go,” Ariette ordered, and we all dashed back through the door and into the tunnels as the gas smell grew stronger.
Edora and Ariette didn’t dare bring up their lights this time, so we had to try and navigate the tunnels completely sightless. Edora knew where we needed to go, thankfully, and we followed the dark outline of her figure as she led us back through the twists and turns of the underground maze. Finally we came to the end of the tunnels, where a crack of daylight illuminated the edges of the bookcase. Edora shoved it forward with a grunt, and we stepped back into the brightness of day, in the abandoned house.
“We’re going to need to get farther away than this,” Ariette pointed out as we caught our breath for a brief moment.
I walked over to the door and cautiously listened to see if the army had left the city hall and crawled back out into the abandoned streets. There was no sound. Everything was still dead silent.
“Back up the slope,” I ordered breathlessly.
We quickly followed the path we’d taken earlier and eventually made it back to the beginning of town. The wind whistled through my hair, eerily loud in the silence of the town, but I kept my ears peeled for any sign that the army was headed out.
When we reached the edge of the town, we all quickly paused as we looked at the jagged slope of the rocky red mountain in front of us. I hadn’t thought about how difficult the journey had been for the centaurs.
“Here, take my hand,” Maaren said to Edora as she held out her dark blue arm.
“What? I--” Edora started, but Maaren interrupted the Unseelie.
“Just do it, I won’t bite,” the hunter insisted.
Edora grabbed ahold of her hand hesitantly.
“Make a chain guys. I can’t fly us all separately,” Maaren said as she looked at Ariette and me.
I quickly laced my fingers into Ariette’s warm hand, and she herself grabbed Edora’s.
Maaren took in a sharp inhale as she looked at the red slope, summoned her Hand, and then sprung into the air. Right when she reached the high point of her jump, the Fae created a pocket of air directly beneath her body that helped her rise up into the sky. The momentum was strong enough to pull Edora into the air, who in turn took Ariette, who then took me with her.
I dangled from Ariette’s hand as I watched the buildings of the town grow smaller. Even though we were flying via the Hand of Air, Maaren’s spell was only directed on herself, and the rest of us simply dangled helplessly behind her.
And then, just as quickly as we had started, my feet touched down on the soft red earth at the top of the slope, completely unharmed. I turned to look out over the city below us, relieved to see there were no signs of any Phobos members on the streets.
“Where should I aim?” Ariette asked Edora as she stepped up next to me. “I want to be the one to light these bastards up.” Her blue eyes were laser focused on the city hall building, and she twisted her hand around like she was an athlete doing pregame warmups.
“First floor, bottom left window,” Edora said as she pointed to the spot she’d described.
Just then, the huge door to the city hall flew open, and ogres, goblins, and other Phobos members started to make their way out of the building.
“Not so fast,” Ariette muttered.
Her ocean blue eyes were hard and narrowed, angry in a way I had never seen them before. We all fell into a tense silence as Ariette took in a deep breath, and sparks danced from her fingertips. Finally, Ariette thrust her Hand forward with a loud cry of effort, and there was a thunderous crash as a gigantic bolt of electricity sprung out of her hand. It lit up the already bright day in a strange shade of bluish white as it zig zagged down to the grimy brown window Edora had pointed out.
The lightning struck the window, and the entire building exploded like a giant bomb, complete with
the loudest boom I’d ever heard. Brick, wood, glass, and fire sprayed across the entire town as we all stepped back in amazement, safely out of harm’s way. It was like a grotesquely beautiful fireworks display. A heat wave rolled over us, and the raging fire crackled and burned as it swallowed up the entire city block closest to the city hall.
More importantly, it killed every single Phobos within the vicinity.
“Holy shit, that worked better than I thought,” Edora breathed. The smell of the explosion finally rolled over us, and she wrinkled her blue nose as she took in the scent of gas mixed with charred flesh and burnt wood.
“Yes!” Ariette screamed out and turned to me excitedly for a double high five.
“Take that, Zolderon!” I laughed out loud. “I hope you like half-off sales!”
The clatter of horse’s hooves sounded out of the jungle behind us, and Kitar emerged from its depths. The centaur looked slightly frantic until he saw us standing there, watching the city hall burn proudly.
“What was that?” the centaur demanded, his brow furrowed with worry as he stepped up to the edge.
“We just took care of that little monster army problem,” I replied, purposefully nonchalant as Kanen emerged behind him.
“Kofa has reported your friends are here,” the second centaur rumbled, “but I guess you won’t be needing them anymore.”
“Oh no, we need them,” Maaren sighed. “The Phobos have gone to the Seelie capital. This war isn’t over yet, only the first battle.”
“Which we won, I’d like to point out,” Ariette said proudly.
“Can you guys take us back to the Dracun Mountains, where Kofa dropped off Kalista and Danira?” I asked Kitar.
“Of course, Racmoth,” Kitar replied graciously as he knelt.
Kanen followed suit, and the four of us climbed onto the backs of the centaurs as the crackle of the burning town echoed behind us. Edora looked back at it, her expression tight and drawn as the fire from the explosion started to overtake the entire town.
“I’m sorry about this,” I said quietly to the Unseelie.
“It’s fine.” She shook her head. “It wasn’t mine anymore, anyways.”
“Let’s get back to Hasen and get those troops to the capital,” Ariette called out from Kanen’s back. “We’re going to need them.”
Chapter Seventeen
Kitar started off at a quick canter before he shifted into super speed, and the jungle blurred into a rush of vibrant colors.
Edora fell back into my chest for a quick moment as the g-forces overtook her, but she quickly hauled herself forward again.
I watched a deep purple blush creep up the back of her neck.
“Sorry,” she muttered quietly.
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “You can push your body up against mine any day.”
We traveled for nearly an hour, and then we finally pulled to an abrupt stop at the front of the jungle, right where the tunnel we’d originally planned to use, the one through the Dracun Mountains, came out. The harpies had all been inside of the powderkeg of a building. With those flying beasts all destroyed, I realized it would probably be easier to just go over the mountains, instead of trying to navigate the mountainous passages.
Kofa was waiting near the tunnel entrance, and he pranced up to us when he saw us arrive.
“Your friends are on the other side of the mountains,” he informed us. “Your leader brought quite a lot of troops to aid you.”
“Can you guys take us over the mountain range?” I asked the centaurs.
They balked and looked at each other worriedly for a moment.
“The treaty,” Kitar finally said hesitantly.
“Screw the damn treaty,” Ariette grunted as she patted Kanen’s soft fur. “The Seelie could use all the help we can get.”
The centaurs shared a silent conversation as they looked at each other for a brief moment. Finally, Kitar nodded his agreement.
“Great,” I said hurriedly as the horse below me stepped nervously around on the red dirt and kicked up little clouds. “Let’s go.”
We took off like a shot as the centaurs dashed over to the purple mountains and climbed the rock as quickly and carefully as they could. As we mounted the top of the tallest peak, there was a shift in the air that marked the split between our realm and the nether realm. It was like I could suddenly breathe easier, like the air itself was lighter and more fitting for my human lungs. The only drawback was that the colors were duller. The sky once again held thin grey clouds against the pale blue, and the sun wasn’t so warm against my skin. Even the purple of the mountain below us seemed to dull and become less vibrant as we descended.
Far below us, at the base of the mountain, we could see Hasen, Danira, and Kal, and nearly a hundred of the Jefferson Guild’s finest soldiers. The three of them were huddled together, and the soldiers all stood at attention, ready for their orders.
When we got closer, I saw they all wore dark gray t-shirts and tight leather pants. Some had swords, some had axes, some had crossbows, but they all shared a look of fierce determination spread across their faces. There were elves, dwarves, nymphs, and even a fairy or two.
Behind them, a fleet of vans and cars sat in the sand silently, ready for a quick getaway if needed. Every single one of them flew the flag of the Jefferson Guild, and its light green fabric flapped in the breeze proudly.
“Kal!” I cupped my hands around my mouth and hollered as loudly as I could. “Danira!”
All at once, everyone looked up at me, and I could just barely see the shock and surprise register on their faces before the centaurs picked up their pace once more and closed the final gap between my friends and I. Once we hit the red sand of the desert, the four of us hopped off the centaurs’ backs and dashed toward Hasen frantically.
“They’re headed to the capital,” I said, short of breath as the panic actually set in for the first time. “We need to move quickly. The Phobos have a head start on us.”
“What?” Hasen cried out, and panic laced his voice.
“We took out half the army,” Ariette explained in a rush, “but they already figured us out before we got there. Half of their troops went to the capital, along with Zolderon. He wants to possess the king.”
“Danira and Kalista caught me up,” Hasen responded as he steadied his voice.
I don’t know if he even realized he used their first names, instead of his usual formal addresses.
“He could be in anyone,” Maaren pointed out. “We think that’s what the kidnappings were about. So that he’d be able to plant his spirit in some high-ranking officer.”
“This is bad,” Hasen said obviously as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll send word to the capital to detain any of those Fae who have returned until we can be sure none of them are possessed. You’re positive the army is gone?”
“Blown to smithereens,” Edora said proudly as she spoke to the guild master for the first time. “Your elf here was the one to deliver the killing blow.”
Hasen was silent for a brief moment as his piercing eyes looked Edora up and down. The red head stood proudly under his gaze with her posture perfectly straight and an eyebrow raised, like she dared him to question her.
But he didn’t. Instead, the guild master sighed and held out his hand.
“Thank you for helping us,” he said firmly. Edora didn’t let the surprise of his gesture win out for long, as she shook his hand with a slow nod.
“Let’s get out of here, then,” she announced as she eyed the display of cars behind the army. “Alright troops, let’s rally!”
The Unseelie shot me a wink, back to her usual sarcastic self now, and surveyed the cars.
“Which one do we get?” I asked Kal as Hasen strode over to the hundred or so soldiers and announced the new plan. There was a slight commotion as they all went through the same panic my team and I had overcome moments ago, but then they scrambled toward the fleet of cars.
“Well,” Ka
lista sighed, “since those flying assholes destroyed my damn van with their ugly ass claws, we get this old clunker for now.”
The dwarf pointed toward the edge of the cars, where a shiny, new van was parked. It was a sleek black with tinted, but clear, windows, and huge, heavy tires.
“No more painted windows!” Maaren exclaimed loudly. “Hallelujah!”
Kal shot the hunter vicious glare, and Maaren quickly quieted herself.
“I mean, gosh, Kal, I’m sorry about your van,” she corrected herself. “I know how much you loved that thing.”
“It’s fine,” the dwarf sighed dramatically as she strode toward the newer van. “I’ll get over it. Someday. Very, very far in the future.”
She pulled out a key from her pocket, and the headlights blinked yellow as she unlocked the vehicle and climbed up in the driver’s seat.
“It is so not fine,” Ariette whispered as we all stepped toward the van. “Kal loved her van like it was a pet.”
I slid open the side door to find a very neat, yet boring, layout. The new van just had six seats spread out in the back, with plain gray seat belts that hung down from the ceiling.
“This is nice,” Maaren said cheerily as we all chose our spots.
Kalista twisted the key, and the engine sputtered to life. The fleet of cars in front of us sped onto the road one by one in a flurry of sand clouds and a chorus of screeching tires.
“Yeah, very nice,” the dwarf agreed, unconvincingly. “The speedometer doesn’t even go past two hundred.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Edora asked curiously as Kalista slammed the gas, and the van lurched forward.
We came a little too close to one of the vehicles in front of us, and I started to wonder if the black windows in the Van of Death were really to blame for Kal’s crazy driving.
“Not according to Kal,” Ariette chuckled as she snapped her seatbelt in place and grabbed ahold of the dark gray safety bar over her head. “She always feels the need for speed.”