I peered down at the street and the Porsche, now parked on Savage Gardens. The doors opened, and four fae stepped out. I recognized Morcant—the fae with cat-like eyes—and Odette, the willowy rebel banshee. Both of these lethal fae had helped us attack Siofra’s mansion. The shape made of darkness I recognized as Drustan. The fourth one, with his chin-length hair, looked familiar as well, but I had trouble placing him. He wore a silver boar pin on a green robe.
Elrine let out a long, shaky breath. “King Ebor.”
“Oh, right,” I muttered. King Ebor and I probably weren’t on the best of terms. Last time we had met, I had stabbed him with a knife.
The four generals crossed beyond the mansion’s glamoured façade, and I heard the door shut behind them. I could almost feel the tingling sense of raw power exuding from below.
“What do you think they’re talking about?” I asked.
Elrine glared at me. “You’re the one who’s supposed to have a soul-bond with Roan. Why don’t you tell me?”
“I know you’re upset about that. I don’t really understand why.”
“You don’t understand a lot of things. But know this—I’ve known Roan since we were children. I was there for him when he got out of prison. He was broken, and I helped to put him back together. I was there for him in the Hawkwood Forest when no one else was. If you break him again, Cassandra, I will end you.”
Okay, then.
An oppressive silence fell over us, and I resumed staring at the mirrors.
The war council went on for hours as night settled around us, and I wasn’t sure which was icier—the cold of the roof’s tiles, or Elrine’s attitude. I used my coffee thermos to warm my frozen hands, occasionally sipping from it to wake myself. It was after two when the mansion’s door opened, and the four fae generals slipped out, beyond the glamour again. They all looked at Drustan, and for a moment I heard the faint and unsettling flutter of wings. Then, the world darkened, swallowing the street below us in a cloudy void.
The darkness crept away until it disappeared from sight. Only then did I sever the connection to the eight mirrors. I loosed a relieved breath, suddenly drained from the effort of maintaining this vigil. It was the second night that I’d summoned the reflections for hours on end, and my body was starting to hunger for power. If this went on any longer, I’d have to seek out some terrified humans to feed from.
Without speaking, we packed up the mirrors, crawling back over the tiled rooftop to the window we’d snuck out from.
Exhausted, I stumbled through the hall, Elrine close behind me. We found Roan sitting alone at the round table, lantern light dancing over his skin. He sat with his arms folded, staring at the table.
I pulled out a chair and sat, relieved to be in from the chilly night. Elrine sat across from Roan, glaring at him. As we waited, Abellio crossed into the room, then Nerius, pale and wincing as he walked.
When everyone had taken a seat, Roan raised his gaze. “We attack tomorrow.”
My stomach clenched.
“Our spies report that only one of the legions have been sent to the borders,” He continued. “So the king still has one legion, as well as the keep’s usual guards, and the king’s own elite guardsmen.”
“How many do we have?” Nerius asked.
“Not enough for a frontal attack,” Roan said. “But there’s another way.”
“Ulthor’s pass?” Abellio whispered.
Roan nodded, then glanced at me. “During the last rebellion five centuries ago, my father and his forces created an underground tunnel. They used it to breach the fortress.”
“But the moat has been flooded and destroyed,” Nerius said.
“The king has used a dam to flood it, yes. But for the past several weeks, we’ve had a group of selkies working their way through the underground river, shifting rubble to clear the tunnel of debris. They’ve managed to reach the bowels of the keep. Only one or two blockades remain. We paid a hefty price for that passage. Seven of them died during their work, of sudden avalanches and mud slides. I plan to ensure their deaths have meaning.”
Abellio twirled his silver ring around his finger. “From what I understand, it’s always been a narrow tunnel. If the king’s forces hear us approaching, they could trap us inside and slaughter us.”
I leaned back in my chair. “I’m having a hard time picturing this. Is there a map or anything?”
Nerius snatched the bottle of nectar from the table. “It’s quite simple.” Slowly, he dripped the viscous liquid onto the table, forming a round shape that gleamed in the candlelight. “Here is the lake of Lir. The Acciona River flows from the fortress, into the lake.” He poured out the nectar in a long line from the circular lake. It looked… inappropriate.
“You’re drawing a cock and balls,” I pointed out.
He arched an eyebrow at me. “You have a very dirty mind, pixie.” At the end of the penis—the river, rather—he used the nectar to draw a large blob. “The river flows under the fortress, but outside the fortress walls, it flows aboveground toward the lake. Ulthor’s Passage is an underground tunnel below the fortress, that’s been flooded with river water for centuries.” He pointed further back on the shaft. “The dam is here.”
I nodded. “Near the ball—the lake. Got it.”
Roan folded his hands. “And that’s where we need to attack. Here’s the plan. I will lead a large frontal attack on the keep. The majority of the rebel forces will be with me and Elrine, as well as Drustan and Odette. It will be a formidable battle, but one the king is likely to win, and it’s not our real attack. While the king’s forces are distracted by us, King Ebor will lead a small group of Elder Fae to destroy the dam. It’s usually well-guarded, but we believe most of the guards were sent to fight the Seelie. Then, Abellio will join Morcant and a small group of rebels. With the underground tunnel clear of water, they will cross into the fortress.” He set his eyes at me. “This whole attack falls apart if one guard manages to escape from Ebor’s attack, or if for some reason the tunnel can’t be breached. You keep eyes on all of us. You have to let us know if anything goes wrong. We’ll have people with mirrors everywhere.”
Elrine straightened. “Seems a lot of effort to breach the fortress when Cassandra could just break in with her reflection power. Isn’t that what she does?”
Roan stared at her. “We’re not sending her in on her own. Her pixie emotions would draw every guard in the fortress. She’d be dead within moments.”
Elrine shrugged as if this didn’t seem like a major concern.
“And the blockades that remain in the tunnel?” I asked.
“Morcant will be leading a small force into the underground passage,” Roan added. “He’ll destroy them using his fire power.”
At Siofra’s house, I’d seen what the cat-eyed fae could do with his explosive powers, and had little doubt in his ability.
Roan focused his gaze on Abellio. “Once you’re inside, we’ll need you to open the front gates to let us in. We will be waiting for that moment, but the longer you take, the higher the casualties.” He turned to me. “Cassandra, this is going to be a war zone, and fae battle is something you’re not prepared for. As soon as the dam is breached, I need you to leap out of Trinovantum. Wait for us here.”
I bristled. “What? I’m not leaving you all in the middle of battle.”
His eyes flashed with gold. “In order to fight among the fae, you need to unveil. As fae, when we unveil, we become faster, stronger, more powerful. Without that ability, you’re vulnerable. You’d be like a mouse among the wolves, and your safety would distract me until I’d no longer be able to function the way I need to. Until you can unveil, you’ll never be safe among the fae.”
Elrine decided to rub salt into the wound. “Truer words were never spoken. You don’t belong here.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Roan’s voice was ice cold.
Irritations simmered, and I leaned over the table, meeting his gaze. “What if Abellio an
d Morcant encounter some unforeseen problem inside the tunnel? Or if you need them to change course? No cellular towers in Trinovantum. You’ll need me as a go-between.”
Nerius frowned. “The pixie has a point.”
Roan gritted his teeth, his expression hardening.
“I won’t flee as soon as things get dicey, Roan. Not when I’m needed. Ogmios killed Gabriel, and I intend to make him pay.”
Roan stared at me for a long time, the wheels turning in his mind. Could he feel my resolve through our bond? He could obviously see the benefit of what I suggested, even if he was reluctant to bring me into battle.
I touched his arm. “Roan. I need to do this. I need this.”
He nodded. “Fine. And after this battle, you need to return back to your own world. Agreed?”
His words cut me to the core, but I nodded mutely.
Elrine met Roan’s gaze. “And what about your power, Roan? What if we need it?”
He shook his head. “No, Elrine. We won’t need it. You know why.”
But I didn’t know the story, of course. A heavy silence fell over the room.
At last, Abellio let out a long breath, pushing away from the table. “We should rest now. Tonight, we sleep. Tomorrow, we face our deaths.”
His words sent an icy shiver of dread snaking up my spine.
Chapter 26
In the depths of one of Trinovantum’s forests, a swallow chirped above my head, oblivious to the pervasive undercurrent of tension that wound around the small rebel group. The scent of fear tinged the air, and my heart beat hard in my chest like a war drum. Slowly, ruddy rays of sunlight began piercing the iron-gray clouds, gilding the horizon as the sun set.
Seventeen of us hid in the grove, a few hundred yards from the keep. Morcant stood to my left, Abellio to my right, but I didn’t recognize anyone else. Several looked feline, their features similar to Morcant’s, even if they weren’t quite as big. Three had bull horns, and one wore only a loincloth over his silvery skin. Our guide was a willowy selkie—a tall man with shimmering sea-green skin and half-lidded eyes. Apart from Morcant, all the fae were armed, including me.
In my belt, I’d tucked my two stilettos and my gun. A pair of binoculars hung from my neck, and mirrors adorned my wrists, both of them flickering.
On my right wrist, I glimpsed Roan standing before a large force of fae. I didn’t have the whole perspective, but I thought there might be a hundred armed rebel soldiers. Roan faced the horde, standing on a tree stump. He waved his sword in the air, speaking animatedly.
In the crowd, I spotted Elrine’s cherry-red hair, and I caught a glimpse of the crossbow over her back. From one corner of the horde, darkness roiled, staining the air. I couldn’t find Odette, the rebel banshee in the group. Maybe she was the one holding the mirror.
On my left wrist, I had a view of Ebor’s group, nearly covered by foliage in another oak grove. They hid not far from the Lake of Lir, ready to attack the dam.
I raised my eyes to the fortress, the stone now stained violet and coral in the dying sunlight. It was an immense structure, the walls towering hundreds of feet over the rocky earth, the turrets and battlements lined with archers.
Peering through my binoculars, I watched the forces on the battlements thicken, and soldiers rolled smoking cauldrons to the edges of the wall.
My stomach lurched. Boiling tar and oil probably filled those cauldrons, ready to burn the skin from our bodies. I tried not to think about it too hard.
Although the king had noticed the attack forces outside the fortress, it seemed he wasn’t worried about an extended siege. One of his cohorts was only a day’s march away. If the rebels surrounded the fortress, he could easily call his cohort back. That left us with two options—either attack, or slink off home.
Something glinted in my right mirror, and I peered down at Roan raising his sword. The rebel horde before him raised their weapons, waving them in the air, the mouths wide in furious battle cries. It’s time.
My pulse began to race, and a primal battle cry pierced my own mind, my body singing with a mixture of excitement and fear. To my horror, my legs began to shake, and I could only hope that no one else would notice. I tightened my fingers into fists, trying to calm my own nerves.
The horde began to move, some of them dragging battle rams. Drustan’s darkness curled into the air, and I caught a few glimpses of winged fae flying within the swirls of darkness, bows in their hands. They would keep the archers busy, allowing the battering rams to move closer to the gate. Others carried ladders, to scale the walls.
All for show, of course. The real attack force was us, even if my body was now shaking so hard it could have made the earth tremble.
The sound of blaring horns rumbled through my bones, and the ancient cry of war shook. It’s time.
On my left wrist, movement flickered. Hearing the battle horns, King Ebor motioned his men forward, his sword in the air.
“Ebor is moving,” I said quietly, working to keep my voice steady.
Morcant nodded, his cat-eyes gleaming in the rosy light. “Drustan’s cloud of darkness is about to unleash hell on the fortress.”
The darkness spread across the sky in smoky whorls, already enveloping the battlements. Some covered their eyes, or curled in fright. Other blindly nocked arrows and shot them into the air, unable to see their targets. Deadly missiles were raining from within the darkness—our own winged archers. Already, a few guards on the battlements were falling, arrows protruding from their bodies.
And yet, it wasn’t enough. The darkness only covered a small segment of the wall, and as the rebel horde moved closer, the rest of the king’s archers rained arrows onto the forces below. Roan’s soldiers held shields above their heads as they charged forward.
In the reflection on my other wrist, Ebor’s forces were reaching the dam, still shrouded by the forest’s foliage. Whoever held the mirror moved it around so I could get a good look at everything. Eight guards stood before a small wooden dam, only six feet high. The guards’ bodies looked tense, but from where they stood, they wouldn’t be able to see the Elder Fae moving through the forest.
Just at the edge of the treeline, the Elder Fae unslung their bows, loosing a volley of arrows into the air.
Four guards fell instantly, arrows in their hearts. Three took cover, and a golden-skinned fae raised his hand. From his palm, a wave of fire rushed at the Elder Fae, foliage bursting into flame around them. When I raised my gaze from my position, I locked my gaze on the plume of black smoke curling from the woods.
“They’ll be fine.” A hint of worry tinged Morcant’s voice as he watched the smoke.
In the reflection, Ebor charged from the forest—in his boar form. I tilted the mirror so Morcant could watch, too, silently cursing myself for failing to bring a larger one. A wave of flame hit the boar, but the beast didn’t even slow down, crashing straight into the fiery fae, goring him. Ebor dragged his opponent down to the earth. The rest of the oncoming Elder Fae hammered the remaining two guards with arrows. Two guards… someone was missing.
I frowned, scanning the scene. “There was one more. A little one with blue skin.”
“Another guard?” Morcant asked.
“There were eight guards. I see seven dead. Where is the eighth?”
“Damn it,” Morcant muttered. “If that one manages to get away…”
He didn’t finish, but the consequence was obvious. He could alert the king that the dam was under attack, which would immediately betray our plan.
“Can you find him?” Morcant asked.
I quested for the other reflections in the vicinity, leaping blindly from one to another, panic rising. “No, there’s nothing… hang on!”
From the surface of a small pool, I had a sudden view of the blue-skinned fae. He crept along beside the river, trailing blood from an arrow lodged in his arm. “There!” I said.
“Tell Ebor!” barked Morcant.
“No time,” I said. I pulled ou
t a pocket mirror. Taking a deep breath, I merged with the river’s reflection, and plunged in.
My torso submerged on the water’s surface, the freezing water knocking the breath out of me. With the shock of the icy water, my body froze, and I struggled to kick my legs, reaching for the gun in my belt. My heart slammed against my ribs.
The wounded fae whirled around at the sound of the rippling water, his eyes widening. Kicking to keep myself afloat, I aimed the gun at him, firing four times. My hands were shaking uncontrollably from the cold, but one shot hit him in his belly. That was all I needed. He crumpled to the ground just as I sank back under the icy surface. I kicked hard, emerging into the air again, and managed to bond with the broken reflection in the water for long enough to jump back through the mirror on Morcant’s belt. I tumbled to the ground at his feet, dirt clinging to my icy body. I coughed and spluttered, teeth chattering.
“What happened?” Morcant asked.
“He’s dead.” I coughed.
“And the dam?”
Shivering, I stood, raising my bracelet. Ebor’s men assaulted the little wooden dam with their enormous axes. In my other reflection, Roan held a shield above Elrine’s head as she nocked an arrow. In the background, boiling tar poured onto one of the rebels, and he burst into flame. My stomach flipped at the carnage.
The Elder Fae weren’t moving fast enough for me, and I gritted my teeth as they swung their axes into the wood. “Come on.”
Just then, the dam broke. The flood of water took one of the Elder Fae by surprise, and he was carried with the current. The rest managed to rush to the rocky banks.
“Look,” Morcant pointed.
The tunnel’s water level had already begun dropping, clearing the way through Ulthor’s Passage.
Agent of Darkness (Dark Fae FBI Book 3) Page 20