The Dagda's Cauldron (The Faeling Sisters Book 1)

by M. C. Cairns

  Alayna reached up and grabbed Brianne's hand. The strain of pulling her up caused Brianne to yelp and grab her arm.

  "What was that? What's wrong?" Alayna didn't let go of Brianne's hand, instead, she turned her to the side and saw her wounds for the first time. She gasped and cringed. "Why didn't you tell me you were hurt? I can't believe I didn't notice that before."

  Brianne let out her held breath. "That's because I made sure you weren't able to see it. What good would it have done? There's nothing we can do about it and you would have still looked at me like you are right now."

  "How am I looking at you?"

  "Like you feel sorry for me. The same way you looked at me when we talked about my missing memories and magic." Brianne tried to pull away, but it hurt too much to put up much of a fight.

  Alayna held Brianne’s wrist firmly. "Well, if you would have told me before, you could have avoided a lot of pain. Maybe you will remember that next time you try to be big and tough." Placing her free hand on the tree, she closed her eyes and concentrated, and within seconds she had another handful of water. She reached out to Brianne and placed the water over her wounds like a watery band-aid. It felt cool and eased the throbbing pain around the edges of each gash.

  Brianne's eyes widened as she watched the wounds gradually get smaller until all that was left were three jagged scars. She gingerly ran her fingers over the scars. "You can heal people?" She was still staring at her arm and rubbing where the gashes used to be.

  Alayna let go of Brianne’s arm and slid off the tree. "I can't heal everyone. Just us. And only physical wounds that aren't life threatening."

  Brianne pulled her shirt over her shoulder and looked at Alayna with a touch of respect in her eyes. She followed her sister to the ground. "Do I have any special talents like that?"

  Alayna winced. "You have a considerably less soothing approach to healing wounds, but yes you could have healed those cuts yourself."

  "What do you mean a less soothing approach?” Brianne’s eyes lit up. “Oh! You mean using fire to...Oh, yeah, I'd definitely prefer you do it." She instinctively rubbed her arm again.

  "Actually, for you, it doesn't hurt. Fire is a part of who you are, and when you remember how to connect with that magic you will be better off. It will definitely help you breathe better. Your panic attacks and breathing problems are most likely caused by your inability to use your magic. Like fire, you need more oxygen than most people to be at full strength. Without that connection to your magic, you aren't able to get enough. Have you ever been burned?"

  Brianne scrunched her nose. "I guess not. I had never really thought about that, but I can't remember ever getting burned."

  "That's because your body adjusts to the amount of heat you are exposed to. You could stand in the middle of a fire and would never feel the heat of the flames. You are literally hot stuff." Alayna touched Brianne's arm and made sizzling sounds with her teeth.

  Brianne laughed, "Well, I guess that explains how I didn't get burned at the concert."

  Alayna looked back at her and furrowed her brow. Brianne told her about the stage catching on fire, and her friends' theories, while they made their way along the rock wall.

  This time, Alayna laughed, "I would stick to that story. It's easier to explain being saved by a celebrity than it is to explain that you are a faerie with fire-based magic, who is essential to saving the world."

  "True. Although we are only trying to save the faerie world," Brianne corrected her. "And I still haven't decided if I want to help or not."

  Alayna stopped walking and stared at Brianne. "You're kidding, right?"

  Brianne stopped a split second before she smacked into her sister. "What do you mean?"

  "Mack and Ian didn't tell you. I cannot believe they would leave that part out! How could they let you believe you actually have a choice?" Alayna walked in circles, her voice growing louder with each word.

  "Whoa! Slow down. What do you mean I don't have a choice? Of course I do. The prophecy says, 'They may choose to turn away from the war among the fae.' What did Mack and Ian not tell me?" Brianne crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her hip to the side.

  Alayna sighed. "That 'choice' they are giving you is fight and possibly save the world, or sit back and watch the entire world end. All of it. Including the human realm."

  "What? No! This is a fight between the faeries. The humans have nothing to do with it, so why is their realm in danger?"

  "When you cross through a portal you can see how closely connected the two realms are, right?” Alayna laced her fingers together and showed Brianne. Then she ripped on hand out of the other one and waved the hand that was left. “It is impossible for one realm to survive if the other is destroyed. And even if the war does not physically destroy this realm, the dark faeries will abuse any power they have. They will cross into the human world and wreak havoc at every turn. The humans will never be able to fight them."

  Brianne shook her balled up hands at the sky. "Are you kidding me? Why do they even call it a choice?"

  "Because most faeries wouldn't care. They would sit back and watch it burn before they stepped in to help either side."

  "The more I learn about this species, our species, the more I hate them. Even the light faeries, who are supposed to be good, manipulate things to go their way. Is there such a thing as an honest faerie? Are we honest faeries?" Brianne let he knees give out and dropped to the ground, rested her head on her knees, and clasped her hands over the back of her head.

  "We are good. We’re not perfect, but that’s why we work together. The key to remaining good and doing what is best for everyone is balance. And you and I balance each other. You are more likely to charge in, hands blazing, ready to take on whatever they throw at you, and I’d rather avoid confrontation. The compromise between those two extremes is usually the right answer. Without you, I can't do this. I am not strong enough alone, and I don't have your fighting spirit." Alayna sat down next to her and quietly added, "I need you, Bree."

  Brianne looked up at her, tears in her eyes, "How am I supposed to help if I can't remember how to be that person?"

  "It will come to you. You have to try to focus on that part of your mind. I can help you remember if you will let me," Alayna offered quietly.

  "Fine. You can teach me how to find my magic," she agreed, jumping to her feet. "But first, we have to get to Mack before he thinks we skipped out on him."

  14

  The Firebug

  T

  HEY HUGGED THE ROCK WALL all the way to the opening of the cave. It was only a couple inches taller than they were, and only wide enough for one person to enter at a time. From the outside, it looked more like a tunnel than a cave. They looked at each other nervously. Brianne entered first, with Alayna close behind. They made it about five feet into the cave before Brianne stopped cold, causing Alayna to run into her.

  "I can't see a thing in here, can you?" Brianne asked, her voice wavering.

  Alayna reached her hand out in the direction of Brianne's voice. "I can't even see you."

  "Okay.” Brianne nudged her back toward the light. “Back out, back out. We have to find some sort of light."

  Standing once again in the light, they both searched for an answer. "Do you have a flashlight in your backpack? Or maybe some matches?" Alayna suggested.

  "Oh yeah. When I was packing it, I thought, 'Oh, wait! I will need a flashlight for the dark and scary caves I plan to go in.'" She rolled her eyes, but the hurt look on Alayna's face changed her tone. "No. I didn't even think about a flashlight. Or matches." She tossed her bag to the base of a tree.

  “Maybe there is a way around. Or over.” Alayna shielded her eyes from the light and looked up to the top of the rock wall. It was only about thirty feet to the top, but the surface was so smooth there was no way to climb up.

  Brianne strained to see where the rock ended. “There are too many trees to see the end of the wall and it’s too risky to take a chance w
alking down that way. Mack was very clear that we needed to go through the cave.”

  "Then we only have one option," Alayna said.

  Brianne turned and looked at her. "We still have one? Because I can't come up with anything other than walking blindly through a cave that could have just about any kind of creature known to man or faerie in it."

  "Ok, we have two options. That,” Alayna pointed at the cave, “or you could use your magic. Those fiery hands put off enough light to be able to see at least four feet in front of you." She pointed to Brianne's hands.

  "Yeah, that's not an option, remember? I don't know how." Brianne wiggled her hands in front of her face.

  Alayna clapped her hands around Brianne’s and looked her straight in the eye. Brianne tried to take her hands back, but Alayna kept a firm grip on them. Her voice was calm and almost a chant. "Concentrate. Relax. Breathe. Think about your magic. If you can't do that, think about the times when your magic came to you, remember what your hands felt like. Try to remember what you were thinking. Concentrate."

  Brianne took a deep breath and thought back to the first attack by the fialp. "Is anything happening?"

  "No. Try to remember with all of your senses. What did you smell? What did you see? How did you feel?" Alayna kept her voice calm and continued to look into Brianne's eyes. Suddenly her body stiffened. "I can feel you in my mind. Try to stay calm. Don’t fight the connection. That's better. I can almost see where you are. It’s dark, cold. Oh, I can see the fialp now. You were in one of the darker areas of the Seam. Okay, focus on your feelings. Good. There. The fear is what made your instincts kick in. Stay calm. Try to see past the fear and tap into your magic."

  Brianne's hands started to ignite, one finger at a time. Alayna pulled away and watched the fire spread across Brianne's hands. It began to engulf her arms and all at once her entire body was covered with flames. Standing in the small clearing with her hands in the air, she looked like a burning effigy.

  "Okay, okay, try to tone it down before you set the forest on fire." Alayna placed her hand on a nearby tree and tapped into the water energy, rolling a ball of it in her hand.

  Brianne looked down at her body and patted it frantically, trying to put out the flames. She turned in circles and patted her legs, then her stomach, her back, and her arms. Finally, she gave up and dropped to the ground, rolling back and forth until the fire was gone. Alayna laughed out loud as she helped her to her feet. "Why are you laughing?" Brianne demanded.

  Alayna tried to stop as she answered, "Because you looked terrified! Tell me, did you even know the fire was there before you saw it? Did it hurt?"

  "No, but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't have. I was on fire! That's not something to laugh at!" She snatched her bag and started to walk away.

  "Wait! Don't you see? You found your magic. You were able to produce it without being in danger. Now, you need to be able to do it faster and learn to control it." Alayna was smiling from ear to ear, but Brianne still looked angry. "Try again."

  Brianne sighed and rolled her eyes, but she dropped her bag and reached out for Alayna's hands.

  "No. You have to do it yourself this time. Use the trees for fuel so you don't use all of your reserves." Alayna backed away from her.

  Brianne shot Alayna a dirty look, "I thought I was supposed to try not to set the forest on fire."

  "You won't. You are tapping into the energy of the tree to create fire within you, not actually setting anything on fire. As long as you concentrate on controlling it, you should be fine. And if it starts to look like you can’t I’ll be here to help."

  Brianne placed a hand on the closest tree and closed her eyes. Her face contorted in concentration and, after a minute or so, her body stiffened. Once again, her fingers began to ignite one by one. She opened her eyes and held her hands up for Alayna to see. "I did it! I mean, it's still weird, but I can feel the connection you were talking about."

  "Nice! It may take a while for you to feel natural doing it, but the more you access your magic, the more in touch with it you will be. For now, though, let's just take what we can get and get through that cave."

  15

  The Riddle

  A

  LAYNA AND BRIANNE WALKED INTO the clearing on the other side of the rock wall. Brianne let the fire in her hands die and rubbed her eyes. Even though the sun was setting, the light was blinding compared to the soft glow they had used to navigate the cave. She grabbed her water bottle from her bag and took a big gulp, caught her breath, then finished the rest. Alayna took the bottle and refilled it with fresh water.

  "I'm sure I will get used to that eventually," Brianne said, taking the bottle back. "Why am I so thirsty all of the sudden?"

  "You fueled your magic for almost half an hour. Even though it was a small amount, your body isn't conditioned for that anymore, so you are going to be dehydrated, physically tired, and may even have trouble thinking straight," Alayna explained.

  "Oh, is that all? Cool. And here I thought finding my magic was supposed to help me. Silly me." Brianne placed her hand on her chest and fluttered her eyelids at Alayna. Kicking at the ground, she continued, "It is so not fair that I can't just have my magic like you. I don't even want to be a part of all of this, but I am having to work harder to figure everything out."

  Alayna pointed at her. "Maybe that’s part of the problem. Maybe you have to accept who you are and what you’re meant to do before you can be truly open to your magic."

  "Yeah, well, that's not going to happen, so I will just have to find another way." Brianne grabbed her backpack and headed down a narrow path in the direction of the portal.

  "Why not?" Alayna followed her. "What is so wrong with who we are?"

  "Honestly, I don't have a problem with us being faeries. That part I accept. Same thing with having magic. No problem. But being the only hope for an entire race? Especially one I don't even know? Not to mention the billions of humans who are unknowingly at risk. Why does it come down to us? Why can't the rest of the light faerie kingdom get up off their butts and do something too?” Brianne held up a low hanging limb until Alayna was on the other side.

  Alayna stepped over a fallen limb and waited for Brianne to take the lead again. "If that's how you feel, why are you here?"

  Brianne was quiet for a long time before answering her. "Because of you. And our sisters. You guys are my family and even though I don't know anything about any of you, I want to protect you. My human sister, Olivia, had to fight her enemy alone. It wasn't fair and I’d have given anything to have the power to protect her. I can do something this time."

  Alayna reached forward and hugged Brianne from behind. Brianne took hold of her hands and pulled her down to the ground, and silently shushed her. She pointed in front of them. Alayna stretched her neck to see over the vegetation and saw why Brianne stopped. Mack was up ahead, but he wasn't alone. The trolls they left him with were standing on either side of him. Brianne gestured for Alayna to turn around. They made their way back to the cave opening.

  "This can't be good. Mack would never bring the trolls here unless he had absolutely no choice," Alayna whispered. They were probably far enough away for the trolls not to hear them but she wasn’t taking any chances.

  Brianne stomped into the clearing and turned on Alayna, poking her shoulder. "I thought you said he would get away. That he could just transform his way out of it. Now, if we don't show up then he is going to be in more danger, but if we do, they are going to deliver us to the dark faeries. Could this day get any worse?" Brianne grabbed a loose rock from the wall and threw it into the darkening woods. There was a thunk, followed by an "Ow."

  "What was that?" Alayna gasped and pulled Brianne into the cave with her. "Did you hear that?"

  "Yeah. That's what I get for asking if things could get worse." Brianne was straining to see if she could spot who or what she hit when she caught sight of the creepiest pair of eyes she had ever seen emerging from the woods. Where they should have bee
n white, they were a fiery golden color, and the irises were red, almost glowing. The animal the eyes belonged to was just as frightening, yet mesmerizing. The glimmering jet black horse stood about nine feet tall from head to hoof and its flank was wrapped in heavy chains. It stopped in the clearing, sniffing the air as its wraithlike mane flowing in the breeze. "What. Is. That?"

  Before Alayna could answer, the beast spoke in a gravelly voice, "I mean you no harm. Show yourself, faerie."

  Brianne squeezed Alayna's hand. "How does it know I am a faerie?" she whispered so quietly that Alayna almost didn't hear her. She leaned closer to Alayna and asked, "You heard it talk too, right?"

  "Yes, I heard it, too. It’s always unnerving to hear a puca talk for the first time, but it’s more unnerving to continue to talk with them for very long. They’re well known for their riddles and nasty pranks. Be careful what you say to it." Alayna led Brianne out of the cave but stopped about six feet short of the puca.

  "Two faeries. How very lucky." The puca started toward them.

  "Stop!" Alayna put her hand up and continued, "I have knowledge of your kind. I know that the burden you wear across your flank also serves as a weapon. Do not come any closer with your chains of iron."

  "Ah, an intelligent faerie. This should be fun." He laughed and it sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard.

  Brianne covered her ears and cringed. "Are you sure his laugh is not his weapon? Wow." She kept her hands on her ears until it was quiet again. "How does he use the chains? I’m guessing it’s magic since he doesn't have any hands?"