Fae Queen

by Jen Pretty

  “We go up that mountain, but we take that witch alive. Do not kill her.” I turned and glared at all the warriors around me. They all bowed their heads and then one by one dropped to a knee. Only Roman stood before me now; the rest faded into the background as our eyes locked.

  He saved my life so many times and I would find a way around this. I would protect him, and we would live happily ever after, damn it.

  Slowly the army rose and started quickly packing their things. We weren’t taking our gear up the mountain, but we would pack it up so we could make a hasty departure if we needed to.

  Once everything was tucked away in a neat pile, we gathered and started walking towards the mountain. Everyone was silent, but my mind wouldn’t shut up. I was having trouble putting one foot in front of the other without a solid plan in place to save Roman. There had to be a way. I had a shit ton of magic, why couldn’t I do this one thing?

  Roman squeezed my hand, pulling me back from my thoughts and I realized I was crying again. I wiped my face on my sleeve and took a deep breath. I could do this. We would keep the witch alive and make her fix what she did. We would save Aldridge and save the world. Bam.

  I took several quick breaths to get my adrenaline pumping; this was just like when Armond and I would go blasting into Vampire houses before the vampires and Fae formed a new alliance after the death of Joshua.

  I looked over at Armond and he must have been thinking the same thing because he winked at me. The hunters were all looking livelier than they had this whole journey. They lived for this.

  At the base of the mountain, we found the trail that led up to the cave. It was the same path Roman had taken to spy on the witch before she caught him in her web.

  This time, nothing stopped us, but they had to know we were coming. We weren’t exactly stealthy out in the open.

  “Do you think they are still here?” I whispered to Armond who had stepped up beside me.

  “They’re here,” Roman replied instead. His hearing was far superior, and for all I knew, he could have some weird connection to the witch. I wasn’t about to ask. I didn’t want to know.

  The hike up the mountain to the cave took more than an hour. It was rocky and steep, but we travelled as quickly as we could.

  “I think it would be best if we take them out the old-fashioned way, Lex. Just stop them and let the hunters kill the trolls and save your power for the witch,” Armond said.

  “Alright, but if the witch brings them back to life, I’m going to use my magic. I won’t leave people behind.”

  He just nodded, and we continued to climb the scrubby mountainside.

  Just as we neared the mouth of the cave, trolls started flooding onto the side of the mountain. Their greasy, dreadlocked hair and large frames blocked the view of the cave entrance. I pushed my magic out and stopped them all. Our army began the task of picking them off. They were fodder -- wasting our time so the witch could escape. The trolls needed to be taken care of before we moved into the caves. I wouldn’t let this be a repeat of the last run battle with her when we lost the king’s guard in a senseless battle. My army wasn’t fodder.

  Roman and I helped clear the way, but the hunters were the professionals here. They trained daily and swinging a sword was as easy as breathing for them. When my arms got tired, I sheathed my sword and watched until the last troll fell. Releasing my magic, I waited to see if they would rise. When they didn’t, some torches were handed out and lit before we entered the cave.

  The feeling of déjà vu was intense. The cave was exactly like the one I had found her in last time, but this time, the paths were much more complex. We hit several dead ends and had to turn back before we finally followed a tunnel that led upwards and found what we had come to see.

  Aldridge was hanging by his wrists against a wall, still alive, but he looked like shit. His clothes were dirty and torn and his slim frame was now concave. It was obvious that he hadn’t really received any care while in the clutches of the witch, but he would make it.

  “Someone get him down,” I said as I grabbed a torch and walked towards the far side of the room. There was a hidden crevice in the wall that opened to another tunnel. I squished through, Daisy, Puck and Roman behind me, but the hunters were too large to fit between the rocks.

  “Lex, wait. We can find another way around,” Armond called.

  I looked at him for a moment, then walked back through and wrapped my arms around his waist.

  “I’ve got to do this,” I said into his chest. “This is why I came here.”

  “Lex, are you sure this is the best plan? We can help.”

  I smiled sadly at him. This was going to be a battle of magic. The hunters were excellent fighters, but they would just be sitting ducks when the magic started flying.

  “I need your hunters to take care of Aldridge,” I said.

  Armond took a deep breath and pointed his finger at me. “You better come home.”

  “I will,” I promised. He looked past my shoulder at Roman for a moment. Something silent passed between them before he turned and led his hunters back out of the cave. A couple of the large men wrapped Aldridge’s thin arms around their shoulders and they moved to follow Armond. The agony on Aldridge’s face and his slow stiff movements made my rage rise.

  The elves and unicorns who fit through the gap flowed in behind us, but our army was down to a few dozen now. Daisy waddled along behind me and our solemn procession crept towards the top of the mountain.

  There were no forks in this cave. It was nearly straight and inclined towards the top of the mountain. The walls were smooth and the ceiling high, like it had been carved unnaturally. The soft flicker of the torches drew shadows on the ceiling giving me the feeling of being watched. Finally, we saw a stream of daylight ahead.

  The cave narrowed so we could only walk single file through the opening.

  As I emerged behind Puck, the view was breathtaking. The murky clouds spread out below us like a puffy blanket and we had finally found the sun. It was as bright as mid-day earth on the top of this mountain and lush greenery covered the ground. Birds twittered about in willowy brambles. An oasis in this dead world.

  I followed a small gravel trail through an orchard of apples, lemons and orange trees. The trail was lined with flowers of every colour and size, some listing towards me menacingly and others with jagged leaves that looked like serrated blades.

  “You can’t stop me,” said the witch as I finally caught sight of her. Her ebony hair floated in the still air. Her magic hung like a haze around her, making her look ethereal and unearthly. She had caused so much destruction and death, and for what?

  “If I go down, so does your bloodsucking lover!” she screamed as she lashed out with her magic, forcing everyone back. It burned like the intense heat from a fire, but she had nowhere to go. I pushed back with my magic and felt her trying to open a portal. It was coalescing before my eyes.

  I slammed all my magic out to stop time. Everyone froze this time, even Roman. The thought crossed my mind that he could no longer move when I stopped time because he was already dead, but I forced all thought out of my mind. Opening to my new magic, the one that had let me build a portal back on earth, I willed her portal out of existence just in time, and the witch screamed again.

  “You don’t get to run away this time!” I yelled back. It was just us now. I couldn’t risk anyone else getting in the line of fire.

  I ran at her and tried to will her to the ground with my new magic, but she just launched more heat back at me until I had to stop. The heat was so intense, it felt like I was already on fire, but my magic pushed forward, shielding me from the worst of it. She raised her arm and the sky behind us went black as something poured out of the small crack in the mountain that led to the caves. As the blackness approached, I realized it was thousands of bats. They began to shoot towards my army and dove at them, slicing and biting at the skin and hide of the men and woman who had come to protect me. I released my ma
gic and the army began to fight off the flying rats. The elves swinging their swords in the air and the unicorns rearing to smash the bats beneath their hooves but more kept coming in a never-ending river of black.

  I needed more magic. If I could stop the witch from using her magic for a minute and give myself time to think, maybe I could figure out how to trap her. I started pulling magic from the ground and kept pulling as the grass and trees withered. The flowers turned to dust as I drew in more and more. The clouds below us rose up till they gathered at my feet. I felt the darkness pushing to get in. It was flowing along with the ground magic that was usually right at my fingertips. This time though, it was all wrong. It was thick and sluggish like tar.

  The witch began to laugh. “You aren’t so clean now, are you?” she mocked as I choked on the blackness that filled my lungs.

  I tried to push the magic back out, but it was stuck to me. There was no time to worry about that, though.

  The Unicorns and elves who had come with me were finally making a dent in the bats, but many had injuries.

  I had to find a way to stop her. I glanced over my shoulder at Roman. My distraction gave her enough time to turn and blast one of the unicorns with fire. He screamed and crumpled to the ground. Before I could react, she killed another unicorn and an elf. I couldn’t let her keep killing everyone, this had to end. Now.

  I took one last look at Roman.

  “Daisy, take her out.”

  There was no time to say goodbye. Daisy’s feathers gave way to scales which rippled and twisted into place as he grew and stretched into his full form. It was only a split second before he was as big as a house and spewing fire. The flames shot across the mountain-top in a stream bent on destruction. The witch was burning, just as I had seen in my vision and my heart dropped just as I had felt in my premonition.

  I watched helplessly as Romans face went slack and his knees gave out. He crumpled to the ground in a heap. It was too late, but I ran and slid down to the ground where he lay.

  Rolling him onto his back, I put my hands on his chest. It didn’t rise to meet my fingers and his face was lax, ruby eyes hanging open.

  If the witch could keep him alive, I could too. Blocking out the sight of him, I took a deep breath and centered myself. I had unending power somewhere inside me and I wanted this more than anything in the world. Focusing on just one thought, I willed him to live again.

  I started coughing and chocking on black slime and a pain began at the back of my skull and radiated around to my forehead.

  Panic forced me back to what I knew, and I began pulling all the dirty ground magic into me. I knew and trusted ground magic and, even if it felt wrong, it was my only hope. I pulled until the slime coated my lungs then kept pulling as the brown fog moved in like waves on the ocean. It crashed over me, and when it crested again, I pushed all that magic at Roman. I forced it into his body, and he jolted with the burst of it, but he didn’t stir.

  “NO!” I yelled. “Get up!”

  “Lex,” Puck said softly over my shoulder.

  I looked back at him and, through the fog, I witnessed the witch burning like a Christmas tree on New Year’s. My prophecy had come to life.

  I looked back at Roman. This was the price I had to pay.

  “I can do it, Puck. I just need more magic." I started coughing again but drew in more magic from the ground; the fog was consuming us now. Lost in a brown-grey world with Roman. The rest of the army of elves and unicorns were out of sight.

  “Lex, you have to stop,” I heard Puck say, but nothing mattered anymore. Tears ran freely down my face landing on Roman’s shirt and soaking his still form. I pulled magic from everywhere. From the earth, from myself, and from the dead witch. I kept pulling until I couldn’t breathe, and a tidal wave of magic flooded towards us to fill the void I created. It was precariously close to crushing us all until I pushed all that magic into Roman.

  Thunder crashed in the sky and lightning lit up the world for a brief second. I looked up and caught a glimpse of someone standing on the peak of the mountain. I knew who it was. I had seen this too.

  “Helena why are you here?” I yelled over the crashing thunder. She moved towards me in stop-motion as the lightning lit her up and then darkness consumed her again.

  “I’ve come to help you, Queen.”

  A desperate sob wracked my body.

  “Please, can you save him?”

  When the next lightning flashed, she stood over me. Her hair was pulling towards the sky with static. The ends were snapping and flashing like live wires.

  “It was always in the plan for you to be the queen of us all. I was holding the magic for you, waiting, but you must leave here, Lex. You can’t stay in this world. Leave and close the portal. I will clean up the mess left behind.”

  I felt nauseated, spun away from Roman’s lifeless form and vomited black soot on the dead ground.

  “You must not try to use the magic here, Lex. Take your love and go.”

  “This is where you die?” I asked her as I wiped my face on my shirt.

  The next flash of lightning displayed her saddened face and slumped shoulders.

  “This is where I am reborn. Please take care of Marick,” she said softly before another burst of thunder shattered my eardrums. Everyone on the mountain cried out, and the next flash of lightning showed the elves and unicorns huddled near the dead black ground.

  “Come on,” I yelled before the next thunder rumbled, shaking the mountain precariously. “Follow me.”

  Puck scooped up Roman’s body and trailed me back to the crevice that led into the caves. It was too dark to run, but every time the lightning flashed we moved along faster for a moment before slowing to a safer speed. At the end of the path, past all the dead trees and plants that had thrived here before I used up the very last of the magic trying to save Roman, I glanced back and witnessed my final vision come to life.

  Helena stood on the highest peak. Her crimson hair now a wild tumult wrapping around her like seaweed. She raised her arms and I felt her pull the darkness. The same dark magic I had tried to use was now racing towards her like wild horses. The thunder was hooves on the packed ground, a constant and escalating beat that warned of things to come -- of perilous things that, once started, would not stop.

  I couldn’t leave until I had seen this vision through. I didn’t have to wait long because, at the last moment when it felt like the world would implode and kill us all, the lightning flashed one last time, forking through the sky and touching down, completely disintegrating Helena. She became a fine white mist that blew through the brown fog, scattering it and burning it off with its light.

  The world came back into view. The clouds cleared and the sun came through. I could see the full extent of what I had done to the only place that had still been alive in this world. It was a harsh lesson and a stark reminder that my power required discipline. Taking too much was what killed two worlds and destroyed people.

  “Goodbye, Helena,” I whispered, and the wind pressed against my face and down my throat, but it couldn’t reach the rotting magic I had consumed.

  I followed the last of the elves through the crack in the rock and down the narrow tunnel back to the cavern we had found Aldridge in.

  Sitting there, alone, was Armond. As soon as my eyes laid upon him, a sob wracked my body and I collapsed to my knees.

  Armond lifted me from the ground and cradled me in his arms. He didn’t speak; he just let me cry on his chest as he followed our somber procession through the dark tunnels and out into the sunlight that waited at the bottom.

  All the brown smog had been burned away by Helena’s light, but the land was still a barren, desolate place. The Hunters hadn’t gone very far, choosing to camp in the same place we had the previous night –on the other side of the plain near the rock cliffs.

  We crossed the terrain at a steady pace. Armond’s long legs carried me away from the disaster at the top of the mountain. We had lost two unico
rns, an elf, plus Helena and Roman.

  What had Helena said? She didn’t say I couldn’t bring him back or that my magic wouldn’t do it. She said not to use the magic here and to take my love and go.

  I rubbed my face on Armond’s chest.

  “Let me down,” I said in a weak, scratchy voice. He set my feet on the ground and steadied me till I pushed away from him and strode to catch up to Puck who was still carrying Romans lifeless body. Romans arm had slipped off his chest and hung in the air, bobbing slightly with every step Puck took.

  I reached over and took Romans limp fingers, holding them in my shaking hand. This wasn’t how we ended. We were going to watch old movies and laugh on the couch.

  My breath hitched, but I pushed my tears back.

  This couldn't be the end.

  CHAPTER TEN

  At the campsite, Puck laid Roman down in my tent.

  “What are you doing? We have to go. Helena said I can’t stay here.”

  “Yeah, but we have a lot of wounded and you can barely walk,” he replied.

  “I can walk!” I shouted, but Puck just raised his hands and backed away as Armond moved in and wrapped me in his arms.

  “We can wait a little while, Lex,” Armond whispered. “Have a rest and then we will go.” He prodded me towards the tent. I was exhausted. I felt weighed down by the magic that clung to me like heavy tar.

  I pushed out of Armond’s arms and crawled in beside Roman. His body was cold, but I curled up under the blanket next to him and Daisy who was already sleeping on his chest. Puck stayed at the door, protecting me like always.

  The warriors and hunters were sullen and quiet. Hushed whispers were the loudest sounds apart from the sobs wrenched out of me despite my determination that Roman would come back. I just had to get the hell out of this dead world and then I could save him and we would live happily ever after. Damn it. I deserved that much.