The Castle of Spirit and Sorrow

by Steffanie Holmes

  Two months ago, I’d never heard of witchcraft outside Harry Potter films and my parents’ Sunday sermons. I thought my future was lined up in a neat row of boxes I could tick off. I’d never traveled outside my country, never set foot inside a real castle, I never even had a real boyfriend. Now I was the head of the most powerful coven in the world, I was rebuilding a medieval castle, and I counted five remarkable men as my lovers and my partners in life.

  (Rowan would call us all soulmates, but… I was still me. No soulmate talk around the scientist, thanks.)

  And tonight… I would mark my first public action as High Priestess of the Briarwood Coven, and it would change the future of what it meant to be a witch, and a fae.

  I raised my arms and addressed the equal numbers of witches and fae who made up the circle. Behind them, more ranks of bystanders – fae legions, and witches from our allied covens – came together to witness this historical event. “Liah, step forward.”

  The queen of the fae glided out of the circle and faced me across the sidhe entrance. The fae had bedecked her in their finery – a gown of green silk spun with shimmering veins, garlands of flowers in all the colors of the rainbow cascading from her neck and waist, and her white hair piled on top of her head and woven around her dramatic crown of vines.

  “Today, Liah and I make a pact. Witches and fae are no longer enemies. We now share this world. The fae will reclaim their roles as guardians of the wild places, and we witches make it our responsibility to protect them. In return, the fae will revoke their right to lie. They are now bidden to tell the truth in all dealings with humans, witches, demons, or their own kin.”

  A gasp rocked the crowd of fae and witches. I grinned, pleased with the contract Liah and I had reached. I hoped this provision would prevent another Daigh from rising again.

  Liah raised her hand to mine, to show she agreed. “We agree to this provision. In turn, the witches will not raise their hands to use their powers or ours against us. We fae will mete out justice to our own kind. We are not to be interfered with.”

  “We agree.” Liah and I shook hands. Together we faced the entrance to the sidhe and raised our clasped hands. Magic poured into me from my magisters and the other witches present, zipping along my skin and pooling in my hand. I drew it in, focusing on the invisible gateway that existed over the sidhe, the gateway that led to the prison that had kept the fae for centuries.

  Corbin stepped forward and directed his palm toward the entrance of the sidhe. His voice rang loud and clear across the meadow. “With air, I break this prison.”

  The sidhe rumbled, and a clot of dirt fell from the roof and burst on the stairs.

  A rush of heat burned past my face. “With fire, I break this prison,” Arthur said.

  The air misted with droplets as Flynn said, “With water, I break this prison.”

  My ankles rolled as the earth rocked again. Rowan blinked. “With earth, I break this prison.”

  “With spirit, I break this prison,” Blake said, his eyes warm as they fixed on Liah.

  Together, Liah and I pushed.

  Magic streamed through my fingers, mingling with Liah’s power and becoming an unstoppable ball of opposing forces. As that power crashed into the entrance to the wormhole, it fractured something beyond the earth.

  Smoke appeared at the edges of the sidhe entrance. A wave of energy flared out, shoving against my body. I pressed against it, but something told me to let it come. I relaxed my body and a great shockwave sailed up the steps, swiping my feet out from beneath me. I fell hard on my back, my breath knocked out of me. The energy flowed over my head, out of the circle. Trees fluttered as it soared into the wood and disappeared.

  Beside me, Liah clambered to her feet and crawled forward. She thrust her hand through the entrance of the sidhe. I expected to see her hand disappear into darkness, but instead she waggled it around, a grin spreading across her stony features. “The gateway has been destroyed,” she declared, offering me her good hand. I took it and allowed her to help me up.

  “Welcome back to the earth,” I said. “I hope with your help, we’ll take better care of it.”

  Cheers rose up from the ranks of the fae and witches. Sprites darted through the air, chittering and flicking their wings together like a hundred tiny Blood Lust drummers. Far Darrig’s clattered their bone blades together in a jangle of cacophonous delight. The court fae loosed fire-tipped arrows into the sky. The arrows burst into colorful fireworks that rained over us, speckling our flesh with crystalline light.

  My coven cheered also. Corbin thrust his fist in the air. Arthur spun his sword around in one hand, a broad smile breaking his stern features. Rowan’s grin lit up the evening. Flynn grabbed Blake and forced him to dance an Irish jig.

  “We call upon the earth and the stars as our witness,” I said, to complete the ritual. “This barrier is broken. The fae are welcome back into the wild places of the earth. No witch or human or other magical creature will stand against them. Both sides will abide by the accord set forth on this day.”

  Liah held out the papers we’d drawn up, detailing the treaty between fae and humans. I was quite proud of it. Corbin helped a lot, putting his quick mind to use thinking of new scenarios and clauses that would protect both sides long into the future.

  Arthur waved his hand, and the treaty burst into flames. I tossed it onto the steps, and a new cheer rose up as the flames devoured our careful words, binding us with air and fire. Liah and I had copies, of course. But by burning the papers, we gave the words back to the earth. The trees would see the accord was kept.

  The Avebury coven had insisted we celebrate the union in true Druidic form – with a feast. Liah had shown Rowan how to bake honey cakes and other traditional fae fare. Now they were no longer banished, both fae and humans could break bread together. Arthur rolled out two barrels of his best mead, and across the meadow we toasted our new alliance.

  Flynn spread out a picnic blanket under a tree, and the six of us crowded together, passing around plates and drinks. Obelix waddled between us, picking scraps of chicken off our plates. “What now, Princess?” Blake asked, biting into one of Rowan’s meat pies.

  I glanced over to Corbin, and he nodded. “I guess now is as good a time as any to talk about it. Corbin and I would like to do something that impacts the future of the coven. We think it’s going to be a good thing, but only if you guys agree. We’d like to apply to study at Oxford.”

  Rowan’s eyes lit up. He pounced on us, knocking us back with the force of his embrace. “That’s amazing,” he breathed. “You have to do it.”

  “I knew you two brainiacs wouldn’t be able to rest on your arses like the rest of us,” Flynn grinned as he stroked Obelix’s fur.

  “So this is it, then.” Blake’s eyes blazed. “You guys leave Briarwood, and then what? We all go our separate ways?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” I jabbed him in the arm. “We’re not breaking up the team. Oxford is only an hour away on the train. We’ll come home for weekends and holidays, and you guys can come visit during the semester. It’ll be hard, but we did just defeat an army of resurrected shades and brokered peace with the fae, so I think we can handle a long distance relationship for a few years. Plus, I imagine you’ll find something here to occupy you.”

  Blake’s eyes widened. “You want… you want me to stay at Briarwood?”

  “Of course. I mean, if that’s what you want to do—oof!”

  This time it was Blake bowling me over, his lips finding mine, locking me in a deep, sensual kiss. Behind us, Arthur whistled. Obelix let out a satisfied “meow!”

  When we came up for air, Flynn punched Blake in the arm. “You didn’t think you’d escape us that easily, did you? I need all hands on deck for rebuilding my workshop. I’m going to need the space to produce enough work to keep the gallery full.”

  “Gallery?”

  “Yeah.” Flynn's ears flared red. “I’ve been thinking about using the old servant’s qu
arters to open a gallery shop for the tourists. They’ll be able to buy my paintings and sculptures and maybe some of Rowan’s preserve. That is, if it’s okay with you, Maeve? It is your castle, after all.”

  “Briarwood is not my castle. It’s ours. I want everyone to do something that lifts them up, that makes them happy.” I pulled out a pamphlet from my bag and handed it to Blake. “Speaking of which, I thought you might like to have a look at this.”

  Blake held up the glossy booklet. “Police Academy?”

  I nodded. “Since you read all those Sherlock Holmes stories, I thought maybe you’d like to be a real detective. I bet if you spoke to DS Judge, she’d give you a recommendation, along with some training tips.”

  Blake tucked the pamphlet into the pocket of his coat. “I’ll give it some thought,” he said mysteriously. His smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. He loved the idea.

  Someone slid down beside me. Kelly held up a glass of mead and I toasted her. “This stuff is delicious,” she beamed at Arthur as she drained her glass. “You should go into business.”

  “Thanks,” Arthur beamed, lifting his goblet to her. “There’s plenty more if you want it.”

  “That’s actually not a bad idea, Arnold,” Flynn said, his eyes dancing as he considered the possibilities. “We could sell your mead in our shop – for the real castle experience. I could draw you a fancy label. It’ll be complicated applying for the license, but I reckon—”

  Arthur shook his head. “I don’t think people will really want to buy my mead.”

  “I agree. It’s totally disgusting.” Kelly grabbed his full goblet from his hands and handed him hers, which was now empty.

  “Sure they will,” Flynn put in. “We could have a whole range of flavors. Maybe some cider in the summer. Oh, and I bet we could even buy a still and do some honey whiskey.”

  I snorted. “With you around, whiskey would never make it to the shop!”

  “What shop?” Kelly asked.

  “We were just talking about the future of Briarwood. Flynn’s going to open a gallery shop for his artwork, and Rowan’s going to sell some of his preserves and other things.”

  “Let me guess, you’re going to brainiac space school back in America?” Kelly said, her words slurring a little as she sipped her mead.

  “Actually, I thought I’d apply somewhere closer to home.” Kelly’s face lit up as I told her about Corbin and I studying at Oxford, and the others staying on at Briarwood to manage the place. “You’re welcome to stay here, too – you and Jane and Connor. There’s room for everyone.”

  “Thanks for the offer, Einstein, but I’ve decided to go traveling.”

  “You have?” I tried to keep the incredulity out of my voice.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” Kelly exclaimed as she took my full goblet of mead from my hand and exchanged it with Arthur’s goblet, which was also now empty. “I came over to England to be a backpacker, and I did buy that new backpack, so I should get some proper use out of it. Jane has some money saved up, and she’s always wanted to see Europe, so we’re going to do it. We’re leaving for Paris next month.”

  “What about Connor?” Surely, Kelly hadn’t forgotten Jane’s adorable young son.

  “He’s coming with us, of course,” Kelly grinned. “It’s going to be a bit ridiculous backpacking with such a tiny baby, but Jane’s read some websites and she reckons we can do it. She’s already found us an old postal van, and we were gonna ask Flynn to help us fit a mattress and some shelves and a fridge into the back.”

  “Happy to help,” Flynn beamed. “I’ll even make Connor the cutest wee foldaway crib.”

  “That sounds awesome,” Arthur grinned.

  “It does, doesn’t it?” Kelly beamed. She grabbed Arthur’s arm. “Hey, Aragorn, do you fancy escorting two awesome ladies and a cute wee baby around Europe? We could do with a handsome pack mule.”

  “Fuck no,” Arthur touched the bottom of his spine. “I’m going to be seeing a chiropractor for months after humping your backpack around London.”

  Kelly laughed, a sound I’d heard too little of ever since she’d arrived in London. I wrapped my arms around her. “I’m going to miss you.”

  “Me too, but we’ve only a short train ride or flight away, and we can talk on the phone all the time. I’ll come visit you in Oxford once Jane gets sick of me.”

  Jane waved at Kelly from across the field. She was sitting with Liah and a bunch of her court fae. I smiled and waved back. I could see Jane and Liah getting along. They both had that no-nonsense nature about them. Kelly’s going to drive her up a wall, but she’ll never get sick of her.

  Kelly left me and ran over to join them. I watched her bend down to kiss Jane on the cheek and scoop Connor up into her arms. Kelly had a girlfriend and a little boy she was crazy about. A month ago, I never would have imagined the scene. Now, it felt like the most natural thing.

  So much can change when you least expect it. I leaned against Arthur’s shoulder, letting his bulk reassure me. My hand traced the length of his cut. We still had a lot of healing to do. But we could do it together, as a family.

  MAEVE

  Three months later

  “Just a minute!” I yelled. A heavy fist pounded on my door. I shoved my physics textbook under the pillow of my bed and grabbed a trashy science fiction novel by some new writer called S C Green. I fluffed my hair and threw open the door.

  Corbin stood on the landing, wearing his leather jacket and dark jeans and a smile a mile wide.

  “You were studying, weren’t you?” he teased.

  “Who, me?” I raised an innocent eyebrow as I held up the novel. “No, no. I was just so immersed in this steampunk book I didn’t hear you knocking—”

  Corbin pushed past me and made for my bed. He slid his hand under the pillow and pulled out my textbook, which he waved in my face. “Maeve Moore, you promised me. No studying today. We’re officially on holiday.”

  “Give me that.” I grabbed for the book, but Corbin held it out my window, waving it over the courtyard below. “I can’t help it that astrophysics is so interesting.”

  “That novel is about dinosaurs and steam-powered robots duking it out in 19th century London. It’s way more interesting than astrophysics.”

  “Says the guy who spent our Friday night date reciting Farsi declensions under his breath. What are you doing here, anyway? We said we were meeting outside the Ashmolean—”

  “Hey, could you two lovebirds give it a rest? Some of us are weary after climbing your stupid university's seven million stairs.”

  “Omigod, Flynn!” My Irish artist stood in the door of my room, wearing his signature wicked grin and a long green trench coat splattered with paint. I flung my arms around him and he spun me in a wild circle. My leg flew out and knocked over my chair. Oxford college lodgings for undergraduates were little more than closets.

  They also didn’t have elevators inside the medieval college buildings, so anyone who wanted to reach my room had to climb an uneven wooden spiral staircase. I’d already lost three pounds just lugging my books home at the end of the day.

  “Hey, I climbed the sodding stairs, too. Why does he get the first hug?” Arthur grumbled from behind him. I let go of Flynn and allowed Arthur to crush me in an enormous bear hug. I peered behind him at Rowan and Blake, both wrapped up warm in their winter clothes. Rowan’s smile was radiant and Blake’s wicked smirk made heat pool between my legs.

  Flynn flopped down on my bed, peering at the NASA photographs and tutorial schedules above my desk. “Love the decor, Einstein. What happened to that painting I did for you? Do they have a rule at this posh university that you’re only allowed to put brainiac stuff on the walls?”

  I pointed up to the ceiling, where Flynn’s painting hung from a low beam, along with a collage of photographs from Briarwood Castle I’d stuck up there. “I like that you guys are the last thing I see before I go to sleep. Speaking of seeing you, what are you all doing here?
Corbin and I were going to meet you later. We had it all planned out, because—”

  “Because you were going shopping for pre-Christmas gifts for all of us to say you’re sorry you’ve been gone for so long?” Flynn lifted an eyebrow. “We know. Corbin let it slip. We thought we should come and remind you that our High Priestess is the only gift we need.”

  “We couldn’t wait to see you,” Rowan explained. He stepped across the threshold of the room. I noticed that his lips didn’t move in his silent incantation. He’d been seeing a cognitive behavioral specialist about his OCD and anxiety for the last two months, and it had already done wonders for him. “We wanted to help you start your Christmas holidays right.”

  “I’m glad you’re here. Maeve needs to learn a lesson about how to relax.” Corbin tossed my book to Flynn. “I caught her reading this.”

  “Tut tut, Princess,” Blake grinned, wrapping his arms around me and breathing his words against my ear. “You promised our friend Corbin here, no studying. Do we get to claim a reward on his behalf?”

  My boys. I’d missed them so much. We normally went home to see them every week, but as our first semester exams loomed, Corbin and I needed every spare minute to study. It had been five weeks since we’d last touched or spoken in person, and even our phone calls had been cut off quickly by my need to study. No wonder they couldn’t wait half a day to see us.

  Blake scraped his teeth along my ear. Flynn bolted off the bed and claimed my mouth, his tongue entwining with mine. Heat surged through me as they sandwiched me between them, their hands roaming over my body, lighting up desires I’d been suppressing for five long weeks.

  “You’ve forgotten all about physics now, haven’t you, Einstein?” Flynn murmured against my lips as his fingers scraped over my nipples, which stood erect through the fabric of my merino sweater.

  I ground my ass against Blake’s hips in response, moaning as his hardness dug into my thigh.

  “Looks like she missed us.” My heart skipped as Blake’s hand slid under my shirt. He flicked open my bra with one hand, and rolled my hard nipple around in his fingers. Flynn moved to nibble my earlobe, while Arthur – never one to fuss about – claimed my lips with his. Beside us, Corbin and Rowan locked lips. Corbin got me all the time, so he didn’t mind playing with Rowan while the others had their fill.