Reign of the Stone Queen

by Jayne Faith

  Jasper’s lips parted, and he gazed at the dagger in awe as he brought it up to eye level. Tilting it back and forth, he watched light dance across the metal.

  “I’m honored to carry this weapon,” Jasper said. “I shall wield it in the name of the future peace of Faerie.”

  Oberon held out the sheath, which he’d removed from his belt, and Jasper carefully slid the knife into it before attaching the leather strap to his own belt.

  “Now, I will leave you to organize yourselves, as I have other business to attend to,” Oberon said. “Melusine knows the location of the doorway you’ll use to leave the Summerlands. Please take care, all of you.”

  The High King left us.

  Melusine let out a little titter once Oberon was gone. “Look at this, the two lovers off on another mission together. Only this time, you’ve got a third wheel.” She said it in a sing-song voice of a mocking child. I wasn’t really sure how to respond.

  She looked oddly pleased with herself, and then I remembered how she’d said my and Jasper’s destinies would be intertwined, and that it was important they were for reasons she claimed she didn’t understand at the time.

  “I must admit I don’t know much about the powers you possess, only that you are extremely strong in magic,” I said. “When Periclase’s forces stormed the fortress, Eldon used his gloaming magic to obscure us and make it difficult for the New Gar—ah, Carraig Sidhe—to fight back. Do you happen to have any magic that might similarly mask our entry?”

  Melusine scowled and muttered something about silly shadow tricks and optical illusions. I waited, hoping she wasn’t going to spiral off into one of her moods.

  “I have counterpart magic to the gloaming, if that’s what you’re asking,” she said, her orange eyes slanting off to the side as she seemed to become absorbed in her own thoughts for a moment. Then she spoke softly. “It’s painfully bright and beautiful. Strong enough to burn away the gloaming as the sun chases away shadows and dispels fog.”

  Jasper and I exchanged a glance.

  “Okay, that sounds interesting,” I said carefully. “I’m not sure that will help us sneak into the Duergar palace, though.”

  Melusine’s attention snapped to me. “Of course not, don’t be stupid,” she said shortly. “What we’ll need is manifestation transformative magic.”

  She said it as if it were obvious, but I wasn’t certain what she was referring to.

  “I believe you call it glamour?” she said, her eyes wide with exasperation.

  “Glamour doesn’t work on Fae,” I said.

  I’d used glamour in the Earthly realm, back when I was working as a mercenary. I could change my appearance, even my clothing, and the instant disguises came in very handy. But glamour only fooled humans. Fae could see right through it.

  Melusine glared at me, and then her face dissolved into a blur, along with the rest of her, as if I were looking at her through frosted glass. Her features sharpened, and I gasped and drew back a step.

  She looked exactly like me.

  All I could do was blink and stare for a long moment.

  “Can you disguise me and Jasper, as well?” I asked.

  She blurred again and then snapped back to her own features. “Obviously.”

  It was anything but obvious, but I wasn’t about to correct her or try to argue. Again, I thought of the shield she’d erected around the Summerlands Castle. She’d said it wouldn’t be a problem to keep it in place while she accompanied us to the Duergar palace, but it was difficult to imagine the level of magic needed to do that and perform extremely complex glamour magic on the three of us. I couldn’t help wondering if Melusine had gone into hiding partly because her power was so enormous. As with great wealth or fame, it was probably difficult to know who wanted to use her for her abilities and who was truly a friend.

  Jasper had remained quiet through the demonstration. When we’d visited Melusine at her cottage in the woods, he’d been reluctant to engage her in conversation, and that unease seemed to have resurfaced.

  “We are indeed lucky to have you, Melusine,” I said. Despite her cranky demeanor, I was determined to treat her with respect and sincere appreciation.

  She gave a little shrug and a demure smile.

  “I’m was thinking we could go into the palace through a doorway located in a supply storage wing,” I said to Jasper. “It’s inside a warehouse, tucked among some shelving units, so if there are guards posted there we should be able to overwhelm them before they can signal to others. Do you know the one I mean?”

  Jasper nodded. “I do. Sounds like a wise choice.”

  “Shall we go?” I asked Melusine.

  She took the lead, walking swiftly out into the corridor. Like Oberon and Titania, the Fae witch was close to seven feet tall. I had to trot to keep up with her long strides.

  The servants roaming the halls startled when they caught sight of her, some of them gasping when they peered into her strange orange eyes. I caught up to walk along beside her and saw her shoot glares here and there. Otherwise, she kept her chin level and her eyes straight ahead. I still wasn’t sure if her hostility was part of her true nature, or if it was an artifact of the substantial emotional walls she seemed to have built around her.

  She led us to a quiet area of the castle that was detached from the main structure, and when we passed a few dark-robed Druid monks, I guessed we were near a monastery. It was rare to see Druids in Faerie because druidic magic was weak here. It drew its power from the Earthly natural elements.

  Melusine ducked into a low alcove that led into a room that was open to the sky. It was actually less a room and more a miniature enclosed arboretum. Two huge, twisted columns of wood rose from the dirt floor. They were so massive at first my brain didn’t even register they were living trees. Each one was over thirty feet in diameter, and their lower branches had twined together overhead to form a natural arch between them.

  “The Arch of the Summer Queen,” Jasper breathed.

  We were looking at a doorway of legend. Oberon had planted the two trees when he’d began his rule in the Summerlands. He’d named it in Titania’s honor. Golden light filtered down from above, and birds darted here and there, chirping merrily, oblivious to the battle raging just outside the shield that protected the castle. It was so serene I wished I could have lingered there a while.

  Melusine didn’t appear impressed, as she went up to the doorway and then looked back at us. “Well?”

  Jasper stepped ahead of us, and Melusine and I each placed a hand on his shoulder. He began tracing sigils in the air and whispered the words that would take us through the netherwhere to the doorway in the Duergar palace’s warehouse. Just before he finished, I drew Aurora.

  Together, we stepped into the space under the arch.

  Chapter 3

  IN THE BRIEF moment when I floated in the void of the netherwhere, it occurred to me that I was about to enter a place where there was likely a bounty on my head. Perhaps it wasn’t the wisest move to return to the Duergar realm, but it was the necessary one. I deeply wished I could make rescuing Nicole part of the mission, but I couldn’t let thoughts of my twin—or the thin hope that Oliver might still be alive somewhere in the palace—distract me from my mission. If we could take out Finvarra before he invoked the Stone of Fal, that would be worth almost any price.

  We stepped out from the void and onto the concrete floor of the warehouse. I crouched and pivoted, grasping Aurora in both hands and taking a defensive stance, my eyes searching wildly in the darkness for Duergar guards.

  A small light sprang to life and then another four next to them. Melusine held up her hand, which looked like a candelabra, each finger ending in a flame.

  “We’re alone,” she said. She shooed irritably with her candle-hand at Aurora and shot a glare at Jasper’s drawn short sword. “Put those things away before you slice off someone’s limb.”

  “I’d prefer to keep my weapon drawn,” I said, peering through th
e shelving units.

  Melusine was moving the fingers of her other hand in motions that reminded me a bit of Eldon. Magic shivered through the air.

  “Well, that’s going to look suspicious when other people see you,” the Fae witch said.

  “What do you mean?” Jasper asked.

  “Look at yourselves,” she said.

  Satisfied that no one was going to jump out of the shadows at us, I turned to him and gasped. He looked like a Duergar soldier. Well, technically he already was a Duergar soldier and had been for years, but Melusine had completely changed all of his features and clothes. Before me stood a man with light brown skin and close-cropped brown hair who stood about four inches taller than Jasper’s height. He was dressed in the standard Duergar light armor. All I could do was blink at him.

  When I realized he was staring open-mouthed at me, I glanced down to find I appeared to be wearing the same soldier uniform.

  I raised one of my arms and flexed it. A man’s thick, hairy forearm moved, and the round bicep bunched just below the sleeve. My eyes whipped to Melusine. “How in the name of Oberon—”

  She preened a little, stroking her long black hair with the hand that didn’t have flames coming from it. “Terribly impressive, isn’t it?”

  I pressed a palm to my lower abdomen, suddenly wondering just to what extent she’d transformed me. “Wait, you didn’t . . .?”

  She rolled her orange eyes. “Don’t be stupid. You’re still a woman. It’s an illusion.”

  I brushed my hands over my arms and then touched the chest plate of my armor. It all felt completely real. What she’d done was far more than simple glamour. It was an actual manifestation of the garb and physical changes.

  “Think of it as wearing a costume, just one that’s made of magic,” she said. “But it’s still your body and clothing underneath.”

  That actually helped quite a lot. I looked up and staggered back a little. In the seconds I’d been distracted by my own transformation, she’d changed herself into a stocky Duergar soldier with a blond crewcut, heavy brow, and beefy fists.

  “Ready?” she asked crisply.

  I almost nodded but then held up a hand. “Wait, I still sound like me. You sound like you, too.”

  “We’ll have to let Jasper do the talking, obviously,” she said.

  Okay, then. The fancy Fae witch glamour didn’t extend to disguising our voices.

  I turned to Jasper. “I guess you’ll have to get someone to tell us where Finvarra is.”

  “Probably better, anyway,” he said. “I know the men and women in the Duergar military, and I know how to speak to them. I can help us blend in.”

  Our disguises were convincing. We had someone who could navigate any run-ins with Periclase’s people. I suddenly felt a hell of a lot more confident about our chances of negotiating the fortress without giving ourselves away.

  We just had to hope Finvarra was on site and we could get to him and allow Jasper the opportunity to use Gae Buide, the dagger of fatal wounds that Oberon had loaned him. And quickly. I desperately needed to get back to my own people and kingdom. If not for Oberon’s order that I go on this mission, I’d already be back in the fortress trying to reclaim it.

  I blew out a breath, steeling my nerves, and turned to go as Jasper began to lead us out of the bowels of the palace.

  He took us toward the big swinging double doors that spilled into a service hallway. It was empty, giving us a moment to collect ourselves. I let Jasper go ahead a bit, as he was the one who knew the layout of the place best.

  “No, walk three abreast,” Jasper whispered to us. “Low-level soldiers such as us move about as equals.”

  We arranged ourselves as he directed and made a couple of turns through the corridors before we ran into anyone. My pulse kicked up a notch as a pair of Duergar soldiers came into view. For a moment, I panicked, thinking the soldiers would know we were strangers—fakes.

  But Jasper spoke up. “Ho, men,” he called to them. “Any news?”

  The soldiers stopped in front of us and seemed to relax after quick scans of the patches on our armor indicated we were all the same rank.

  “Mostly quiet,” one of them said, showing a gap in his top teeth.

  “Ah, come on,” Jasper said. “You must have something of interest to share to entertain some fresh recruits such as us. What of the son of the dead New Garg matriarch? He giving our comrades any trouble at the stone fortress?”

  The other soldier, a beefy-armed, stocky fellow with dark brown skin shook his head. “Nah, he’s been locked up since our victory.”

  Jasper and the two men made low, guttural growling cheers of conquest. I put on a grin, hoping it wasn’t strange that I remained silent.

  “Our King?” Jasper pressed. “I suppose His Majesty is reveling in triumph?”

  Gap Tooth shrugged a shoulder. “Haven’t seen him of late. He and the General left the King’s brother to command us.” His top lip lifted briefly in a slight sneer, an indication of what he thought about Periclase’s brother, Darion.

  “And what of our Exalted One?” Jasper asked.

  I nearly cut him a quick glance. Exalted One?

  The two men looked at each other and let out lascivious chuckles. “Word is, the Unseelie High King is here in the luxury military guest quarters, and he’s been entertaining. Three whores at once, we heard.”

  Beef Arms held out his hands and made thrusting motions with his hips.

  I perked up, ignoring the crude noises of the soldiers. Finvarra was here. And if he was, uh, occupied, we might be able to catch him off guard.

  We were saved from further inane conversation when someone else rounded the corner into our hallway.

  “You two! Back to your posts,” barked a lone Duergar officer. “You’re not supposed to be here. You’re in deep shit.”

  Beef Arms and Gap Tooth whirled and scuttled away.

  The officer stalked toward us. “And you three, what are you—”

  Swirls of magic streamed through the air toward him, surrounding his head. He froze mid-sentence, and then his eyes rolled back and he collapsed onto the tiles.

  I turned to look questioningly at Melusine.

  “We don’t have time for him,” she said crisply. “He’ll wake up eventually with a bad headache.”

  I gave her a quick nod, wheeled around, and followed Jasper to the nearest staircase with the Fae witch on my heels.

  “The luxury military quarters are on the third floor, almost directly above us,” Jasper whispered as we took the stairs two at a time.

  At the top of the third flight, Jasper stopped and allowed me and Melusine to catch up.

  “Straight ahead a hundred yards, and then right,” he said, and took off.

  When we made the turn, the activity picked up considerably. Foot soldiers like us were streaming in and out of some of the doorways farther down bearing food and drink, most likely serving some of the higher-ranking officers.

  “Not sure how we’re going to get in,” Jasper muttered.

  “Periclase will get us in,” Melusine mumbled without really moving her lips.

  I looked at her, confused, and she tipped her head, indicating I should look the other way.

  When I saw the Duergar King Periclase marching next to me, I stumbled and nearly fell flat on my face.

  “It’s me,” Periclase whispered in Jasper’s voice. He was looking down at himself, obviously trying to orient to his new appearance.

  I swallowed hard and nodded. If we pulled this off, it was going to be a fricking miracle.

  Jasper, in the Periclase glamour, walked up to the guards posted. They wore Duergar armor.

  One of them, a black-haired guy with impossibly wide shoulders, blinked. “Ah, we were given strict orders not to disturb him, Your Majesty. He has a . . . guest.”

  “I don’t care,” Jasper snarled. “Open this door now, or I’ll do it myself and make sure you never work in Faerie again.”

  He
was laying it on a little thick, but we needed to work fast.

  Jasper leaned into the man. “I am your King, and you occupy this post at my command. I now command you to stand aside.” He said it rapidly, but with a deadly calm.

  A sworn subject could not deny a direct order from his or her ruler.

  Looking decidedly conflicted, the guard reached for the door, opened it, and hastily went in first. “Your Majesty, let me at least inform His Highness that—”

  Jasper elbowed past him, and I hurried along behind. A woman’s high-pitched sounds of lusty excitement were coming from a short hallway to our left.

  The guards followed us inside and pushed ahead. He stood in front of the bedroom door and pushed his palm out at us.

  “Your Majesty, I must insist that you wait,” he said. Red splotches flushed his cheeks. “Give the Exalted One a few moments to collect himself.”

  “Oh, for the love of Maeve,” Melusine muttered behind me.

  Magic punched through the air like a sonic wave. Green and red strands of it zipped past me and around the black-haired guard like lightning bolts. It slammed into the door, which disintegrated with a deafening crack of wood blasting into a hundred pieces. I drew magic to form stone armor, squeezed my eyelids closed, and threw up my hands to protect my eyes and face from the debris. When I raised my eyelids, I found the hallway filled with thick white smoke.

  Jasper sprinted past me, Gae Buide in his hand. I ran through the doorway after him, nearly reaching for Aurora. I made a fist instead, not wanting to blow my cover quite yet. Melusine’s glamour couldn’t disguise my sword, and if anyone saw it, they’d know immediately who I really was.

  The smoke was beginning to clear. Shrill screams cut through the air, coming from a woman pressed to the wall with a sheet partially covering her nude body.

  “Shush!” I hissed at her. Her eyes popped wide, and she stopped shrieking.