by Norah Black
“We need to get a message into the Realm. We must let our comrades know where to find us. Start at the meadow and see if any have come through yet.”
“What should I tell them?”
“Tell them to get as many as they can. We will all meet in the meadow at Noon. Do your best, Lance.”
*****
Kheelan demanded that everyone try to get some food in them and rest. Nadia only wanted rest. Aurilla was the hit of the party so to speak. Everyone, except the Nephilim, wanted to see her. She finally yawned and shooed everyone away before flying into the rafters.
“Will she sleep up there?”
“Probably. Come on, Nadia, we need to try and rest.” Foster took her by the hand and led her out of the barn. She noticed how tired he looked but didn’t say anything. They were all tired.
“Where will I sleep?”
“In my room.” He said it so matter of fact, that she wasn’t sure how to react.
“Is that wise?”
Foster stopped and pulled her towards his body. “No, not wise, but I can be a gentleman, if you can be a lady.” He said with an amused smile. He breathed in near her face and could smell her skin. Every person has a special smell, and hers was like rose and sandalwood. It was absolutely intoxicating for him.
“Get a room!” Stefan bellowed from the darkness of the porch. All they could see of him was the tip of his lit cigarette.
“We plan to, Uncle.”
All they heard was a grunt and his footsteps walking down the porch.
Everyone was taking to their beds and the house was almost completely silent as Nadia and Foster walked quietly up the stairs. His room was not the expected mess of someone his age. The large window on the far wall gave the room an eerie glow as the moonlight drifted in. She noticed his walls were covered with various pictures. Some looked like photographs pulled from magazines, while others were actual paintings. Foster turned on a desk lamp and Nadia walked to several paintings of watercolors. They were the scenery of the Realm.
“Who did these?”
“My mother.” Foster said with a hint of sadness in his voice. “She really does love living here, but she never quite got over having to leave the Realm for good. Every time she took us in to visit, she would paint one when she came home.”
“Do you paint?”
“Nah, not very well. I draw a little. Remember my thing is words.” He said and indicated his desk with an outstretched arm. It was the only messy spot in the room. The desk was cluttered with notebooks, random pieces of paper, and books lined the back of the desk and a shelf above it. She wandered over and picked up a piece of paper from the top.
Black hair and bright eyes; a hidden beauty waits to be born. Will she see herself through the mirror of my eyes? Or will she wander lost in the safety of a dead world?
There were rough sketches just below the words. One was of a dark haired girl bent over a book with a frown puckering her mouth. Nadia looked at him. You wrote that about me?
He nodded and took the paper from her, laying it back on the desk. “I wasn’t sure if you would accept what I am. To mortals our world is for fairy tales only; not a safe place to roam in. That’s why we have to stay hidden. Mortals often destroy what they don’t understand.”
Nadia slid onto his bed and leaned against the wall. She gave him a playful smile. “But I’m not fully human.”
“No,” he said and joined her on the bed, “however you are beautiful and don’t acknowledge it.”
Nadia rolled her eyes. “What exactly are we talking about here?”
Foster leaned towards her and ran his hand through her hair to the back of her neck. “Hmmm, let’s talk about nothing.” His mouth found hers easily and he let the kiss be sweet and gentle. He burned for her through every pore of his body, but he couldn’t and wouldn’t expose it on that particular evening.
Nadia leaned back and licked her lower lip. “It will never get old.”
“It better not.” He said and slid from the bed to cut off the light.
Nadia blinked several times until her eyes readjusted. She could see his silhouette in front of the window as he stood and looked down at her. “I can sleep on the floor.” His voice was husky and barely a whisper.
She knew it was daring temptation, but she didn’t care. The slight smell of sulpher, that she was getting used to, wafted towards her as if a breeze carried it. She could almost see Foster’s green eyes glow brighter. Perhaps she actually had. “No, I want you to lie beside me.”
He didn’t speak. She felt the weight of his body as he joined her on the bed, and he gently turned her so she was lying on her side facing the wall. His long arms snaked around her and pulled her tightly in to himself. His skin felt heated, as she traced a line down one arm with her finger.
“Tomorrow, with or without enough support, we will enter the Realm, and usurp the throne.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t want you to go.”
Nadia tried to turn and look at him but he pulled her hips in closer. “Why not? I can help!”
“No, Nadia, you’re not trained for this. The thing with the Prince was luck.”
“It was rage at seeing what I thought was your dead body flung at the Queen’s feet!” Nadia could feel the heat of anger rushing up her neck and face. Foster sensed it and kissed her several times on her neck.
“I don’t intend to have my body flung anywhere again, so there wouldn’t be a catalyst for your rage.”
“So, what am I supposed to do?”
“Stay here with Diana and Drake.”
Nadia let out an exasperated sigh and tried to pull out of his embrace. “It’s not right, Foster! I should be able to go!” He was too strong for her, and all she could do was twist around so she was facing him. “I...want...to ...go... with...you!”
Foster found her mouth and poured all of his pent up passion into a long fiery kiss. She stopped struggling, allowing herself to drown in his offering. Tears fell down her cheeks as they parted for air, and Foster rubbed them away with his cheeks and thumbs.
“Don’t cry, Nadia, please don’t cry.” Foster whispered. He could feel her body convulse and shudder as she fought the onslaught of sobs.
“It’s all been like a bad dream, and...and now you are going back in there to fight!”
“It must be done, Nadia. Lily will never stop hunting for us, and now we have a chance to take my grandfather’s throne back.”
“I know it must be done,” she cried into his chest, “but it still scares me!”
Foster held her tightly and counted each breath she took until her body relaxed and she drifted into sleep. He knew he would only have a few hours to rest, but his mind raced forward, and sleep didn’t come until the silver light turned into rose, with the rising of the sun.
*****
When he stepped onto the front steps several hours later, there were at least ten new people standing in the front yard, and he saw horses near the barn. The new arrivals were all Sidhe. Their willowy stature and pale skin were a dead giveaway. He noticed they wore the old fashioned leather of warriors. An older model Cadillac came tearing up the driveway and came to a screeching halt within three feet of a Sidhe. Three Nephilim got out of the vehicle and surveyed their surroundings with the air of gangbangers. Foster was sure he had never seen the three before, and was about to get his father, when Darren walked out of the barn. He walked directly up to them and shook their hands. He said a few low words to them, and they nodded before walking to the barn. Darren turned to the house and Foster stopped him at the top of the steps.
“Where are they from?”
“The Bronx. I called them last night.”
“Are they powerful?”
“You have no idea.” Darren said with a sly grin.
“Hey, have you seen Nadia?”
“She’s in the back area helping your mother.”
Foster stepped lightly down the steps and rounded the corner of the house just in t
ime to run face first into Darren.
“Good morning, brother.”
Foster glared at him for a moment and tried to walk past him. Darren grabbed him by the arm and stopped him. “You can’t even say good morning?”
“Can you say good morning to your son?”
Darren gave him a smug smile. “That’s all taken care of, or didn’t you hear?”
“You know I heard. Tell me, brother; when we enter the Realm what side do you intend to fight for?”
Darren glared at him and spit on the ground near Foster’s feet. “What kind of question is that?”
“A legitimate one.” Foster said, and jerked his arm free. He had only walked a couple of steps away when Darren’s sarcastic voice found his ears.
“Maybe you will have a similar problem soon too, since you bedded her last night.”
Foster turned around slowly. He kept his head lowered and his eyes were shadowed as he looked at Darren. “Not all of us are as undisciplined as you are.”
Darren barked a laugh. “Live life, Foster, it feels so much better.”
“You treat all of this like a joke!” Foster said and snapped his head upwards. “Because of your greed and recklessness, we are all in danger!”
Darren took a step closer and pointed his finger at Foster’s chest. “No, you just had to attend school! You just had to meet her! Without your meddling, Lily would have already drained her, and I would already be in her bed!”
“You or Garth?”
Darren rushed at Foster oblivious to the shouts from those who saw the fight start. Nadia dropped the saddle bags she was helping Julia inventory, and rushed towards the grappling men. Dust was thrown into the air as they hit the ground, and began rolling on top of one another trying to land blows. Nadia was screaming for them to stop and reached them as Foster fought his way back onto his feet. Darren grabbed a board from the siding of the house and ripped it loose, turning as he did to hit Foster with it. Nadia pushed Foster as the board blew air into her face right before it struck her in the temple.
“NOOO!” Foster screamed, as her body crumpled and fell at an odd angle. He pulled her towards him and cradled her bleeding head on his lap. “Nadia? Nadia, talk to me!” Foster smeared blood across her face as he tried to wake her.
“Oh no!” Julia breathed, falling to the ground beside him. “What have you done?” she said looking up at Darren.
Darren’s expression was stunned and he stood breathing heavily with sweat dripping into his eyes. Darren bounded around the corner and shoved Darren into the hands of two of the Nephilim. He kept walking and tuned to point his finger, “Put him in the house, and don’t let him out!” He knelt beside Foster and felt for a pulse in Nadia’s neck.
“It’s weak.” He said looking at Julia.
“I know. We have to get her inside. Please ask Zuzana and Diana to come.”
Darren nodded and tried to pull the unconscious girl out of Foster’s arms. He gripped her tighter and tried to shield her from his father. “No! I’m supposed to care for her! I promised her father!” Foster’s words were tumbling out between sobs.
Darren tried to pull her free again. “Son, you have to let them help her. You can’t help her right now.”
Foster looked into his father’s eyes and then his mother’s. “Please.”
Julia nodded and spoke softly to him in an old elfish language that he hadn’t heard her use since he was a child. It sounded like a prayer. Darren lifted Nadia’s body as gently as he could, and rushed her into the house.
They cleared the dining room table and laid her on it. Zuzana was already boiling water on the stove, and Darren ran from the house to try and find Diana. It only took him a minute to find her with Warren, and she took off at a sprint towards the house.
Foster stood in the open archway of the dining room and watched in silence as his mother and grandmother cleaned the wound on Nadia’s head and applied some kind of antiseptic. He only winced once when they had to stitch it. He kept reminding himself that she was unconscious and couldn’t feel it. Diana was rummaging through his mother’s dried herbs and muttering to herself about a healing recipe. When it was all over, they covered her with a fleece blanket and placed a pillow beneath her head.
“How long?” Foster asked.
“It’s hard to say.” Zuzana replied. “It was a terrible blow.”
Foster nodded and turned his tear stained face away. He looked in the living room and saw Darren seated on the floor with the two Nephilim standing on either side of him. Darren was leaning against the hearth, and watched Foster with guarded eyes.
Darren raised his head and gave Foster a vacant look. “I didn’t know she was there.”
Foster shoved his hands in his pockets and gazed evenly at his brother. He felt nothing for him. “Understand something, Darren.” He said in a level voice. “If she dies, I will spill every drop of your blood myself.”
No one said a word as Foster walked from the house into the sunlight.
*****
Kheelan shook his head slowly as he watched Foster. He yanked the bottom strap of the saddle too hard and the horse he was saddling threw its head back and danced sideways. Foster ran a hand through his hair and placed his hands on his hip.
“He will be distracted.”
Darren nodded and crossed his arms. “He needs to focus the anger. It will be fuel for the battlefield.”
“Yes, it will make him a tough opponent, or it will get him killed.”
Darren gave his father in law a sidelong glance. “You would have him stay here like a woman?”
“No, Darren,” he said slowly, “I’m simply saying his distraction may not work the way you hope it will.”
Darren didn’t respond and looked across the backyard and turned to look into the front. There were at least a hundred bodies milling around. It was an odd mix of Fae, Sidh, and Nephilim. He had not seen such camaraderie between those races for a long time. As if reading his mind, Kheelan spoke.
“I always wanted the races to get along. Not just because my son in law is Nephilim, rather because it is the right way to be. Lily perverted what I was trying to do.”
Darren nodded and gently squeezed his shoulder. “We need to get ready, it’s eleven.”
Darren shouted into the front and back yards for everyone to mount up that were riding horses, and those on foot to be ready as well.
Foster walked silently through the yard and walked into the house. Everyone he passed moved out of his way and said nothing. No one truly knew what to say.
The house felt too warm and he realized his mother had lit a fire. Darren was still seated in the living room; looking gloomier than ever. Foster was glad. He hoped his face stayed that way, even if Nadia recovered. He turned into the dining area and stared at Nadia’s still form on the table. Her face was ashen. Foster took one of her hands in his as he sat down. He traced a line with his lips along her knuckles. Her face was swollen and already badly bruised. He felt movement near him and looked up to see his mother standing at her head. She laid a slender hand on Nadia’s forehead and bent to kiss her. Foster noticed she was wearing leathers. She was going to fight.
“Zuzana and Diana will stay with her, Foster.”
He gazed at her with bleary eyes and nodded. “What of Darren?”
“He will not go into battle. We aren’t sure where his loyalties lie.” Her voice took on a hard edge. Foster realized this must be hard for her. Darren was her eldest child after all. He nodded and bent towards Nadia’s face. Her breathing seemed nonexistent. He kissed her gently on the mouth and whispered, ‘I love you’, before standing tall and turning away. He would fight for his family’s sake, he would fight for morals, but he would kill for Nadia. He would kill the Queen.
*****
It was just past 11:30 when they reached the meadow, and there were already fifty or more warriors there. Foster noticed that a few wore the uniforms of the Queen’s guards, but they had ripped the sleeves off and had p
ainted the falcon and oak leaf crest, from the time of Kheelan’s reign, roughly on their helmets. Foster assessed the situation and saw several more horses, many with bows and arrows, and all had swords. Kheelan rode into the center of the meadow and everyone he passed bowed low to him.
“My comrades!” he shouted. “We have a common cause today! Today we face an evil opponent...”
Foster sighed and let his mind wander. He knew this was an important speech, and it was his grandfather, but the man was still a stranger. He just wanted to fight, not talk. He wanted to feel the tip of his blade rip into the flesh of everyone that stood between him and the Queen. His father had taught them how to fight from an early age. He was proficient with bow and arrow, crossbow, knives, swords, and all sorts of guns. He knew to show no mercy. Finally, the day to use his teaching was here.
A Sidhe stepped before Kheelan and bowed. He quietly spoke something to him, and Kheelan nodded. “The Queen and her considerably smaller army are already on the move.” There was a small titter of nervous laughter at the remark about the smaller army. “We will gladly meet her.”
It took another twenty minutes to organize the troops in such a way that pleased Kheelan. Foster could see he was a born leader. Three scouts clad in a type of camouflage were sent ahead into the Realm to determine where exactly the Queen’s army was. It was assumed they would enter the meadow eventually, since blood had been called for Nadia and the entire Anak family, but Kheelan wanted the advantage of the trees and undergrowth of the Realm for his battle. He also didn’t want any chance of a human witnessing what was about to happen.
They crossed the brook in rows of people ten wide. The ones on foot went first, and Kheelan sent several archers a short distance ahead. They moved as silently as possible through the forest, meandering through the trees cautiously. If Kheelan had scouts, it was guaranteed the Queen did too.
The forest was unearthly quiet. It seemed even the animals knew that trouble was happening. Fear spun a web in the air and tried to trap them all. The Nephilim seemed slightly more nervous than the others, but it was understandable. Most of them had never been allowed to set foot in the Realm. Foster was grateful for their presence. There was nothing quite like a Nephilim in full rage.