Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  “Another stone gift? I’ll be dragging from all the extra weight,” I joked. She rolled her eyes at me and snatched my wrist, forcing the marble into my palm, no matter how I tried to avoid her reach, teasing her with some smooth dodges.

  “You’re still a dork, you know that? It’s the summoning stone I told you about. You’ll need it to summon Camulus. When you do, rub it in your hands and hold it to your lips when you call him. He’ll come and snatch you out of any mess you’re in.”

  I folded my fingers over its smooth surface, unable to hide my reluctance at possibly having a traitor as my savior.

  “Hey, I’m not always in a mess.” She gave me a knowing look. “Okay, so sometimes I can use a get out of jail card. So … what if he doesn’t get us out of our bind, then what?”

  Shade’s eyes didn’t harden this time. Instead she just shook her head, her eyes twinkling with jest. “Don’t start. He will. If he doesn’t, he’ll have way bigger problems with me than facing a self-proclaimed Unseelie king.”

  Well, that settled it.

  She winked and pulled me in for a tight hug. She sort of reminded me of Mom with her concern, and the thought made my chest seize. I hated leaving so soon after I had arrived. Leaving my family was always hard and never got easier. I hugged her back.

  “Hey, take care of Anna and James for me.” I looked away, not liking to say goodbye. I sucked at it.

  “You know I will.” She let me go and turned toward Nautilus, joining him in another embrace. I narrowed my eyes, again wondering what was going on between the two of them. Maybe I was just being delusional, but I really had to wonder when the guy was definitely into my sister more than he should be.

  Nautilus didn’t look like he wanted to let her go. He was definitely still crushing on her hard. I laughed a little inside, shaking my head at how pathetic he was because Shade still had no clue about his feelings. Too bad. He was going to get his heart smashed into smithereens around my sisters. Even Anna wasn’t going to give into him easily, that was for certain.

  “You all ready? Don’t want to get there when I’m ninety,” I hollered and started for the main exit. I could hear scrambling behind me, but I paid no attention to the warriors hurrying to join me as I donned my sunglasses and headed out into the open air, right where I belonged. It would help if I kept my eyes opened. I was so absorbed in my thoughts, I slammed right into Dylan.

  “Whoa, there!” The Teleen warrior was walking in as I was leaving and caught me as I went tumbling back. The guy must’ve been working out because I bounced right off him like he was a steel wall.

  “Crap! Sorry, man.” I caught my balance, and we gave each other a firm hug, the kind brothers would give. “Where you been?” I was glad to see the guy, even though at one point, I hadn’t liked him with any cell in my body. Now, after all we’d been through, he was the closest to a big brother I’d ever have.

  The wide grin on his mouth made his whole face light up. “Hey, Benton. Great to see you, too. On another errand to the Teleen Kingdom, as usual. Queen Gretel is a great ally to the South, but quite a demanding one.”

  I nodded, knowing he was still bound to serve the Teleen Kingdom where he’d grown up. “They replace Nautilus as captain yet?” I shifted on my feet. They were still aching from the prior day’s journey to the Scren. Now I had more travelling to do. No rest for the weary.

  “Yeah, actually that’s why I was summoned. She wanted my opinion on another successor.”

  “Nautilus wasn’t included?”

  Dylan’s blue-grey eyes glimmered in the bright sunlight, filled with a dark apprehension. “Nautilus was relieved of his duty.”

  “What? How come?”

  “He requested to leave the post voluntarily so he could remain at the Scren Palace.” He sighed, looking somewhat disturbed.

  “Um, okay. Does that bother you?”

  He rubbed his eyes and wiped the sweat forming on his brow. The morning sun was already beating down on us, and it wasn’t even noon yet.

  “It does. Frankly, having him here while I’m gone isn’t ideal. I don’t know what he’s up to. I trust Shade, but I don’t trust him.”

  I nodded, giving him a small chuckle. “I hear ya. No worries, man, I got the merman joining me on this journey to see what the Unseelie are doing near our home in the outskirts of Portland.”

  Dylan lifted an eyebrow, looking pleasantly surprised. “Really? How’d you pull that off? He never leaves the Scren.”

  “He volunteered, if you can believe that. I think he wants to prove himself or something. To either Shade or Anna.”

  “Anna?” Dylan retreated into his thoughts, looking mystified. There was more going on at the palace than I could ever really catch up on in just one day. I hoped I’d get to return soon. There just never seemed to be enough time.

  “Listen, I hope you get some rest, okay? We’re heading off now. Great to see you again.”

  Dylan nodded, still looking pensive. He shook my hand and waved us goodbye as we turned and headed out the front gates of the Scren Palace.

  Sometimes, I didn’t really want to know what was going on with the women in my family. It gave my head a slow, dull ache to think of the problems they could get into without me around. Faery women were prized in this culture, especially hybrids who had more power than anyone else. Still, Anna wasn’t from faery lineage, but from the effects the land had already had on her, she’d be as immortal as one and could probably be the perfect prospect for some of the faery males hanging around, especially since her affinity to fire would allow her to be paired off with a fire-attuned faery like Nautilus.

  The thought made me sick, and I glared at the merman as we headed out, crossing into the dry desert surrounding the lush island of the Scren. I’d keep an eye on him. One misstep and he could kiss goodbye the chance of ever getting close to my sisters again.

  Past the strip of dead land was a scrawny forest dotted with pitiful, withered-looking trees. I remembered fighting the Unseelie army there after Shade had acquired the Scren from its previous ruler. It was also the site of our mother’s, Jade’s, death. The memory resurfaced with a painful stab in the gut. I sucked in a breath as the memory flashed before my eyes, the moment I’d come upon Shade, screaming and hysterical, with Mom’s dead body in her arms. It blurred into the depressive scene of her funeral after the battle. I doubted the ache would ever go away. Losing her had shaken all of us up.

  I gulped down the pain and reached into my pack for a bottle of water. I sipped on the cool fluid to wash away the thrum of my memories and the headache they always left me with. I hated feeling this way. Hated losing the ones I loved. Losing my father had hit me hard several years ago. But losing my mother? That almost shattered me. It was one reason I never stayed too long at our house near Portland or at the Scren. Memories were terrible and constant reminders of the things we’ve loved and lost.

  In the meantime, I wanted to forget. If it meant being alone with strangers, so be it. I had bigger concerns than my own emotions. One of them was this notorious Oran and his tribe of banished Unseelie. Something told me he wasn’t going to be an easy person to negotiate with. No matter what, the dread forming in my stomach made me wonder if the decision to find him was going to be the right one or just another knot of regret in the tangled bunch I already possessed. My track record so far pointed to the latter.

  Chapter Seventeen Home

  Home

  November 22nd, 1702

  The Pyren is almost complete, hidden beneath our home. I have started the transfer of the mass of trunks filled with scrolls and magical objects I hid in the barn until the Pyren was completed. The move should be completed before the snow becomes too harsh and it becomes impossible to leave the house.

  I hope to continue to add to the collection for future generations of our family. The winter will be long this year, so I will have plenty of time to catch up on writing spells in a grimoire which have worked well for me, old and new. My wife has al
so started her own grimoire while instructing the children to keep one for themselves. I even coerced my father to begin one, to fill it with all the knowledge of his days.

  ~Brendan

  The house appeared past the thicket of evergreens and lush pines of the forest surrounding our home. I wasn’t prepared for the amount of exhilaration I’d feel seeing it come into my line of vision. I’d missed it. How could I have stayed away so long? So far, there was no sign of Oran’s tribe, which made me suspect they were staying away from the wards placed around my family’s house.

  Relieved to discover the house and the Pyren safe and intact, I wanted to holler out with joy. Running the last few dusty concrete steps up the creaky porch, I slipped my key into the slot, twisting it as fast as possible before yanking open the door. It was dark, cool and somewhat musty inside. I flipped the lights on and frowned at the astounding layer of dust all over the place. Mom probably hadn’t taken the time to place an enchantment to keep it off everything, but that was of little to no consequence. I already knew the spell from reading her grimoire. Funny how she had a whole chapter of housekeeping spells but rarely used them. Her writing had been humorous, and I was surprised to find I loved to read about her life before her memory had been altered. It’d been easy to absorb her nifty spells.

  I reached into my pack and pulled out a small pack of herbal mix, crumbled into chunky powder. I’d only need a pinch to make the spell ignite. Whispering into my hands, I rubbed the tiny dried leaves into dust with my fingers, feeling the magic amplifying as my magic bonded the spell to the herbs. Magic was a natural thing, tied to the environment, whether by air, earth, water or fire. This was a simple spell meant to keep a place tidy enough to live in without much effort.

  I held the dust of herbs out in the palm of my hand and blew it into the room, letting it dissipate before I lit it on fire with a puff of breath from my mouth. It ignited like a flash bomb, and a moment later, the place was immaculate, the way it’d been when Mom was still there. That thought brought water to my eyes, and I wiped it stealthily away before I headed over to plop onto the couch.

  The others, Nautilus, Nyol and Paki, entered after observing me performing the spell. They’d waited quietly behind me and had let me do my thing without interruption. That made them pretty cool in my book. The solemn expressions on their faces never exposed what they really felt while in working mode. That was fine with me, but it made me feel like I was surrounded by robots.

  I missed Sary and Braelynn with an unanticipated vengeance. They provided much needed animation to the people around them, like adding color to a grey world, painting it with every hue of the rainbow. Now I knew what drew everyone to them so much. That’s what they were, vibrancy in a dark, dismal world. These guys looked like grey, rusty automatons in comparison. What do men do without women? It amused me to think that we ever survived without them.

  Zena flew back into my thoughts, bringing a smile to my lips. I wanted to see her again, but it’d have to wait. I pulled off my boots and stretched my sore toes, grimacing from the pain. I’d have to soak them with some magical herbs to heal the blisters forming. That and fix my shoes; the soles were getting far too thin.

  “My men will make camp outside within the dome,” Nyol stated. “I’ll send out scouts to find the location of Oran’s camp. Anything changes, let me know.” He turned to leave, with Paki right at his heels. The ex-queen’s son was young but a loyal second lieutenant to Shade. It’d been strange to find he’d been so willing to serve Shade after she had his mother’s memory wiped. The former queen had opposed giving the crown back to my sister, the rightful heir. If it irked him in any way to serve under my sister’s rule, he didn’t show it. Maybe he was just grateful she’d spared his mother’s life.

  I leaned back against the squishy cushions of the couch. Nothing felt better than to be home. We’d lived there my entire life, and though at one point it had felt confining, now I couldn’t think of a better place to be. Shade would probably never return; her home was the Scren Palace. Anna would probably remain at her side until she married. What of my younger brother James? I didn’t know about him. He might join me once he was old enough to train harder. I wouldn’t entrust anyone else to train him besides my sisters or myself. In the meantime, he’d stay safe within the Scren walls. It was far too dangerous to return home without protection.

  So there I was, by myself in my childhood home. I guess it was mine in a way. I sighed and stood up, walking over to the hall where the door to the basement stood. It looked like any old door, and even the basement would pass the scrutiny of an intruder. Only a magically inclined person would feel the wards around the hidden door in the basement. Only one who was meant to know it was there would be able to open it.

  As I headed down the steps and through the basement to the bare wall against the west side of the room, I gave it a good examination, pressing my magic into it. Eventually, it morphed under my stare, slowly melting away its glamour to reveal the ancient wooden door beneath, the barrier to my family’s Pyren.

  I touched the knob, and the magic fused with mine, welcoming me and humming happily to finally see someone from my bloodline returned. Did the magic get lonely? I couldn’t be sure, but it was very much alive, and I wouldn’t doubt it. Pushing the ancient door and entering, it was almost overwhelming to stand within the Pyren. It filled me up, like I’d been drained and hollowed out without realizing how amazing it could feel filling my reservoir right back up.

  I exhaled, letting the power buzz through my veins, relishing it. I’d have to make sure James and Anna returned every now and then for the same fill up. It was too good to miss out on.

  I closed the door behind me. I hadn’t thought much about what the others were doing upstairs. I was pretty sure they were setting up dinner in my mother’s kitchen. I was famished but could wait for a few more minutes. I was anxious to do some reading. If Braelynn’s spell worked, I’d be done with every grimoire in the room within a day and would be able to retain all the spells. It was time to get started.

  ***

  January 10th, 1703

  There is no way of telling who is in charge now that our leader, my father Bartholomew, has died. The sickness took him quickly, and my fears of it having come from enchantment poisoning become more real each day. My mother is devastated. She refuses to eat or sleep. As luck would have it, my sister Sarah is taking care of her but fears she’ll soon follow in my father’s steps.

  How do I avenge them when I do not know who has done this to us? My hatred grows daily. This tragedy must be stopped. The creature in the woods is responsible. I know it. If only I could find a way to stop her, make her pay and finally avenge my family. If it is the last thing we do, we will discover the origins of this dark magic and turn it back to its source before it is too late for us all.

  ~Brendan

  ***

  I closed the ancient pages of the grimoire. It was the most intriguing of them all. Even when I had finished the rest of them, it was this one which beckoned me the most. I found Brendan’s account so much more interesting, and it dwelled in my mind long after I’d read through the other grimoires. All that was left for me to read were the scrolls, but I was skeptical of my newfound ability to read them. I should have asked Braelynn more about the ancient language, but she’s faery, and my ancestors were elemental witches, so I doubted she would know much more than I did. I was sure the language was not shared with other magics, so my hope of finding someone else to truly understand how to use the lost language was close to hopeless.

  Still, as I peered at the pile, they called to me as if urging me to unroll them and learn their secrets. If I wasn’t so tired out and worn out, I would’ve. Instead, I decided to call it a night.

  I went up the steps, and the darkness outside told me it was late. I would have come up earlier for dinner, but I’d been engrossed in reading. Still, I wasn’t left disappointed because I found a grand feast still going on in my absence. It was late
evening, so dinner wasn’t quite over yet. Nyol had produced meat, fruit, rolls and a variety of other foods. I was impressed. It was no small feat keeping it all fresh and shrunken into a pack. Braelynn most certainly had something to do with that, and it made me overwhelmingly grateful she had helped us out.

  “Everything good?” Nautilus waved me over, and I grabbed a pear from a wavering tower of fruit and bit down into it before heading over. I made a bitter face as the juice ran over my lips and down my chin. Faeries loved their fruit so sweet. I felt a cavity blooming from it.

  “Yeah. All’s well here. Did you find Oran’s camp yet?”

  The merman Teleen faery pressed his lips together, looking disappointed. “No. We’ve searched a half mile perimeter without any luck. It must be farther out.”

  I nodded. “I wonder where the heck it is if it’s not within a stone’s throw from this house? What if Lorell lied to us?”

  Nautilus chewed thoughtfully on some dried jerky. Apparently, the Teleen enjoyed a more varied diet than Sary’s and Braelynn’s people did. His face was calm, as if nothing but an atomic explosion could upset him. I hardly knew the guy, but I wished he wasn’t a prospect for my sister Anna. Still, as long as I didn’t have to watch him follow her or Shade around like a lost puppy, he seemed like an all right kind of guy.

  “I suspect it’s nearby but well camouflaged. No doubt Oran felt the magic from your home and didn’t want to fool with it. A most wise decision. Faeries avoid the elementals like the plague.”

  I lifted an eyebrow, intrigued.

  “Really? I didn’t know that.” Thinking over what he’d said, it seemed reasonable. “I guess the wards are stronger than I thought. We were amateurs when Shade and I helped my mother lay down the barrier. Even then,” I scratched my head and finished my pear, tossing the core in the trash, “Corb was able to get through it. What keeps Oran out?”

  “Corb is an Ancient. He didn’t get through it, he made Shade come through by telekinetically freezing your family unless she gave herself up. Oran isn’t that powerful. Not much bothers the Ancients.”