On the other side, everything was greener. Maybe that's where the saying 'the grass is always greener' really comes from. It was perpetual early summer in their realm. The grass was always green and the flowers were always in bloom. A very different kind of bloom blossomed by the path on our entry, and Rose reached out to it.
"No!" Shaylee said. "That is Dragonsfire. Its thorns are filled with deadly poison."
Rose pulled her hand back and put it in her pocket. "New rule," she said. "We follow Shaylee and only touch what she touches."
Jed had worked his magic as we crossed the gate. I took an exploratory sniff of each of us. Nothing. Okay, if my super sniffer couldn't smell us from only a foot away, no way the Erlking could follow our scent from either realm.
Following Shaylee and MacDougal, we made our way back and forth on a multitude of pathways. Map or no map, I'd be lost without a guide. Time and space are totally different there than home. Jed must have felt the same because he reached out for my hand. I noticed that Rose had hold of Lily's hand too. At least if we got separated from the group, we'd still be in twos. Better odds that way.
Altogether too soon, I saw the roaring form of the battling Neptune rise up out of the water before us. We had debated on asking Titania for sanctuary, but none of us—including Shaylee—trusted her all that much. With my wager, she would be more likely to trade me for Shaylee's safety. With his pride at stake, he just might take her up on it. Especially as I'm sure she'd throw in the rest of my pack as a bonus.
So we were going to the dragon's lair itself. The king's castle in the Unseelie Court.
We kept to the shadows, but there was no one about to see us anyway. The Erlking must have recruited every available faerie for his hunt. If they did find us, we'd be so outnumbered it would be laughable. To him, anyway.
I led them to the window that I had jumped through only hours earlier. At that time, I'd been the only prisoner, and I figured they would have let the last guard out by now. MacDougal looked through it and declared the coast clear. Made sense that they wouldn't have guards on duty for an empty dungeon.
Shaylee kept watch as MacDougal opened the window and went first, to check out the back corners of the room we couldn't see from outside. Finally, his little head showed back up in the window.
"Nary a soul here but me own," he said. "I checked the hall and none there either. There's a door at the end of the hallway leading outside. I'll unlock it and let ye in that way. Twill be easier for the Rabbit...I mean twill be easier for Rose."
Rose sniffed but didn't say a word.
We made our way around and entered the dungeons. We left the door slightly cracked and the window open so that we had two avenues of escape should we need them. I was praying that we wouldn't.
Not wanting to risk a light on the off chance some stray Fae would see it, we sat in the dark. It was unnerving, to say the least. The plan was to hide out here until just before daybreak, then make our way back to a gate. According to MacDougal, it was possible to open a new gate if one had the time to do the rituals, which we didn't.
As it was, there were several gates close to the Unseelie Court to choose from. It would be rather like playing roulette, trying to guess which gate the Hunt would be returning by. Because when the sun rose, we wanted to be on the mortal side of the gate. Providing of course, that our sneaky little plan worked and we survived the night.
MacDougal tried to keep us entertained with stories of past pranks he had pulled. His favorite tale was of the time a mortal had caught him and made him give the location of his pot of gold. The leprechaun had taken him to a field filled with identical wildflowers and pointed out the flower his gold lay beneath. The man had tied a red ribbon to the flower and made MacDougal give his oath not to remove the ribbon.
"Twas not a hard oath to give, mind ye," MacDougal said. "For when the man returned with his shovel, he found acres upon acres of wildflowers and all were sporting a bright red ribbon!"
He got laughter, but it was half-hearted. Not that the stories weren't funny. They were. Especially since the victims weren't us. But it’s just too hard to relax and have a good laugh when your ears are perked for the sound of hunting horns. Shaylee had told of hearing them once. She said they had figured prominently in her nightmares after that. An unholy sound, she'd said.
We made it past midnight, then past one. It was going on two when I had a horrid thought. I'd been going by my watch.
"How do we know what time it is back home? What if dawn comes and we don't know it? Time is different here." I was getting panicky, and the look on Rose's face wasn't helping.
MacDougal pulled out a gold pocket watch on a fob attached to his belt. "Tis keeping track of mortal time I am. I shan't let that atrocity happen to ye all."
"What time is it?" Jed asked.
"We've a good 'nuther hour to the sunrise. About thirty minutes till we make our way to the gate of our choice. I'm voting for one far away from here."
Shaylee nodded, taking a fingernail from her mouth. She'd started biting them again like she had when she was younger. Well, when I was younger anyway. "He'll be in a fair rage, he will, not finding us in the mortal realm. It'll be home and destruction he'll be craving. So he should use the nearest gate." She shivered. "One far away sounds good to me too."
We all agreed and sat some more. Even MacDougal had run out of stories.
Then I noticed something was different. It took me a couple of minutes to put my finger on it. When I did, my heart stopped for an instant in sheer terror. I could smell grass, peppermint, and bacon. Jed. And vanilla and sugar. Rose. As I was opening my mouth to alert them, Jed's face went white. He knew.
"The Luparii just accepted my resignation," he said.
A bone-chilling horn sounded in the distance.
And it was getting closer.
Chapter 24
THE AIR SHIMMERED AROUND us before we had all even stood to start running, and Titania appeared in the dungeon. Steele was at her side along with a half dozen humans. All dressed in what I assumed was Royal Guard attire.
"Follow me," Titania said.
We all had our doubts, but at this point, we didn't have much choice. There was no way we'd make it to a Faerie gate and home before the Hunt was upon us. They flew. We didn't.
I'd expected her to take us through whatever portal she had come by, but instead, she led us out into the hall and up the steps. The Erlking's throne room was directly above where we'd all been sitting. Wouldn't he be especially pleased to find us all here waiting for him?
Titania took Shaylee's hand in hers. "You can end this here and now, child. Put an end to the king's reign of terror and save your sister and her pack at the same time."
"How?" Shaylee's voice quivered.
"By taking the seat you were born to, Princess. The dragon throne of the Unseelie Court."
So that was the queen's plan. Yes, Shaylee was heir to both thrones, but if she was ruling the Unseelie court, what need would she have of another throne? Titania's reign would be safe. And she could use her influence over Shaylee to technically reign the Unseelie court as well.
"No." MacDougal stepped up.
The queen glared at him. MacDougal blanched but continued.
"One who sits upon the dragon becomes one with the dragon. When they rise again, they are no longer the same." He turned to Shaylee. "Titania was as you once. Before the white dragon claimed her."
I swallowed. My sister could become another Titania?
Fire blazed in Titania's eyes. "Traitor!" She motioned to Steele. "Kill the traitor here and now."
The sound of a sword pulling from its sheath was unmistakable. Shaylee tried to get between MacDougal and the blade, but the queen tightened her grip, trying to literally pull Shaylee to the throne.
Steele stepped up to MacDougal and raised her blade, then turned to level it at the queen.
"By my blade, this Fae shall not be harmed for warning the Princess of the danger the dragon thro
ne holds. You have ruled me long enough."
Shaylee broke free of Titania's grasp and ran to me.
The queen hissed at Steele. "Have you forgotten the tithe, you ungrateful wench? The devil will give twice credit for a one such as you."
"And how much credit would Faerie get for one such as yourself, Queen?" Steele asked, drawing a second sword.
Titania gasped and surged forward. Steele crossed the steel blades before her and the queen sheared off at the last minute. "Seize her," she screamed at the other guards. Royalty or no, iron and steel still worked.
The other guards all drew their blades as well. Steele smiled, her eyes never wavering from the queen’s. All blades pointed at Titania.
"You are all Hell bait," the queen screamed.
The hunting horn echoed in the hallway outside the throne room. Oh goody, the Erlking was joining the party.
We were so dead. I squeezed my mate's hand. At least our last few minutes on earth were bound to be exciting ones. But I still wished with all my heart that my pack, mate included, were safely back at home. Perhaps it would have been best if Steele had never gotten me out of that box of charged glass after all.
Titania lifted her head triumphantly as she turned to Shaylee. "The only way to save yourself and your new friends is to sit the dragon, child."
Shaylee glanced towards the dragon and stepped up the first stair.
"No, Shaylee," I said, tears in my eyes. She really did love me, that stupid faerie. If ever I’d doubted, I didn’t anymore. "Faeries live forever—or most do. That's too long to be a warped queen bent on mayhem and hatred."
She was wavering between the second and third step when the king and his hunt entered the room. The only good thing I could find in the situation was that they had been unable to bring their mounts with them. They were on foot. As we were still outnumbered twenty to one, I didn't think that counted for all that much.
Then Steele and her guards stepped forward, and the odds changed. Still about ten to one, but better.
We all drew our steel and iron, but it was a given that we'd lose the fight. None of us were trained for this. Well, except for Steele and her guards. I had no doubt they could handle themselves well. But the Erlking had prepared well for this hunt.
At least half of the hunters were mortal and showed no fear of the metals we held. Worse still, according to the legends, the Erlking could capture innocent humans he caught while on the Hunt and force their will to join him. They would be free in the morning, should they live through it, but they would always remember.
I couldn't kill an innocent human, and I was betting the Erlking knew this. Then I saw him. In the second line of hunters, stood a wild-eyed Dunwood, still in his Sheriff’s uniform. I tried not to stare at him. It wouldn't do to let the king know just how well he had chosen. For his part, I could tell that Dunwood was fighting the king's control with every fiber of his being. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.
The king smiled and stepped forward. "How nice of you to visit my home on the night of the Hunt," he said. "I don't know how you managed to remain hidden for so much of the night, but that's a matter of no consequence now." His eyes left mine for a second and he froze, not moving.
A part of me was afraid to take my eyes off him. Anything that could scare the Erlking just couldn't be good for humans either. Then I remembered Shaylee—and the dragon.
When I turned, she was standing straddled over the dragon. She hadn't sat yet. I risked a glance at the queen. Her evil smile was the twin of the king’s, not that he wore it now. They were so right for each other. Heaven help the world if they ever reconciled.
"Hello, Father," Shaylee said. She looked over to MacDougal who held up one open hand palm out toward her. I didn't understand the gesture, but it looked as though Shaylee did. She nodded and gave a small evil smile of her own. For the first time, I truly saw her for what she was. A faerie through and through.
The Erlking hesitated then answered her with a nod. "Daughter."
"I was hoping we could come to an agreement, the two of us," she said.
He glanced at me and my pack, now surrounded by the Seelie royal guard. "I take it this has to do with the Benandanti?" he asked, his eyebrow raised.
"Indeed," she answered. Shaylee looked down at the saddle seat beneath her. "The dragon calls to me, Father. Did he call to you all those centuries ago?"
The king's face tightened. No hint of a smile now. "What do you want?" he growled.
She shrugged. "All I've ever wanted actually. To live my life in peace." Her head tilted. "I would rather spend it in the mortal realm actually. I have friends there."
A glance to Titania showed she was distinctly unhappy with this new development. Which could only mean that Shaylee must be doing the right thing.
Another quick glance to MacDougal, who held up three fingers this time. I'm slow sometimes, but I finally got it. He was doing a sunrise countdown. All I had to do was live another three minutes and the mortal world would be safe from the king and his court. He was still going to kill me, but at least my death would have served a purpose. I just wished with all my heart that I wasn't taking the entire pack with me.
The Erlking was struggling. I could tell he wanted to tear me limb from limb. But he knew if he took a step towards me, all Shaylee had to do was sit and his life as king would be over. Of course, Shaylee's life as Shaylee would be over too. But I'm guessing all those centuries of being one with the dragon would have helped him to forget that.
"A deal then," he spat. "Your life to be spared so long as you reside in the mortal world." He lifted a finger and pointed at me. "She, however, is not part of the deal. She is mine."
Before Shaylee could respond, I spoke. "And the rest of my pack?"
He smiled slowly. "I have naught against them. My wager was with you only."
"Take the deal, Shaylee, if he will guarantee their safety and yours to the gate and beyond," I said.
Jed stepped forward just as MacDougal raised a fist into the air, and Shaylee's laughter echoed from the black stone walls.
"The sun has risen in the mortal realm, Father," she said through her laughter. "You have lost, well and true."
The Erlking stood silent. I would like to think that it was because I had won our bet, but I was betting it was really because Dunwood, newly released from the king's power, had a .45 caliber pistol pressed to his head. I was guessing that a bullet has enough iron or steel in it to make a pretty nasty mess of even a faerie skull. Not to mention brain.
"It's been one hell of an experience," Dunwood said, his voice rough. "But we are going home now." He glanced at me. "All of us." He turned the muzzle of the gun slightly, reminding the king of its presence. "Any objections, Your Highness?"
"Now, now," said Shaylee. "I believe my deal was first, sir. So Father, to be formal: I Shaylee, Princess and heir to both the thrones of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, do hereby renounce my claim present and future to the Unseelie court throne."
A quick glance to Titania showed that the queen was very unhappy with her phrasing.
"In exchange, you, the present king of the Unseelie court do hereby grant the safety of myself, Tazlyn's pack—minus Taz—, and the seven Royal Seelie guards who stand before me until we cross the gate to the mortal realm. After which you will honor your wager with Tazlyn and agree to never follow while Benandanti walk the earth."
She looked at her mother. "I have finally chosen my personal guard, Mother, as is my birthright. Normally the number is an even dozen, but I will make do with these seven." Titania wasn’t happy, but as she didn’t say anything, I figured Shaylee had her on a point of faerie law or something.
"Do we have a deal, Erlking?" Shaylee asked.
Looking at me, the king managed a small smile. Not an easy feat as the gun was still in contact with his head. "We do, Daughter."
Jed started to step forward, but I held him back with a whispered, "Wait for it." I knew my sister. He didn’t.
"Now Daughter, if you would be so kind as to instruct the man to remove the gun?"
Shaylee took her time unstraddling the dragon, careful to not make actual contact with it. Then she stalked down the steps, smiling beatifically at Dunwood.
"Oh, I don't know him, I'm afraid," she said. "But if I heard right, I believe his deal was for them all to return home safely in exchange for your life. I do believe that deal included Tazlyn, did it not sir?"
"Yes. Every single one of us." Dunwood's voice was hard as steel. He was on the edge and very close to going over it.
My eyes were locked on the Erlking. I'd never known faeries could get so red. It must be because they are so pale normally.
Chapter 25
SHAYLEE TOOK US TO the closest gate back to our realm and by the most direct route possible. It was probably only a mile or so. It felt like a hundred.
The entire Unseelie court lined the path we walked, never leaving an empty space to either side. After glimpsing a few creatures that would haunt my dreams for the rest of my life, I kept my eyes forward and just kept walking.
Having my hand in Jed's helped. We were traveling in twos, shoulder to shoulder. A quick glance told me that Dunwood had drawn Steele as an aisle mate. Somehow that made me feel better too.
When the gate shimmered before us, it was all I could do to not make a break for it. Shows you just how much I trusted the Erlking's word. Shaylee, who had been leading the way in whispered consultation with a very unhappy Queen Titania, paused to give her mother a brief hug before standing to one side and motioning the rest of us through the portal. Jed and I were about middle of the pack, so we stood to the other side of the gate on the mortal side and watched the rest come through.
Finally, only Shaylee remained in Faerie. She smiled back at the Erlking.
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