by M. C. Cairns
"Thank you, Agnes." Mab dismissed the talkative faerie and walked around to the other side of the desk. She opened a drawer and pulled out a small silver key. "Mack and I thought using the tunnels to reach the outlands would be the safest way to travel. However, this new information leads me to believe we do not have the luxury of time. Desperate times often require a desperate change of plans." Walking over to the bookshelf on the far wall, she slid the glass door to the side and removed a book without a jacket from the shelf. She inserted the key into the lock hidden there and opened the bookcase to reveal a spiral staircase leading up higher than the ceiling. She stepped onto the bottom step and looked back at them. "Follow me."
They climbed the stairs to a balcony overlooking the south gardens. Mab walked over to the waist-high wall and looked down at the tiny faeries below. Brianne and Mack followed her, but Alayna stayed in the middle of the platform.
"I think I like the view better from back here," she said.
Mab walked back to her. "You may want to get used to the view from above, my dear." She placed both her hands on Alayna's back and murmured something. The muscles in her back trembled and suddenly a pair of silver wings were attached to Alayna's back at the shoulder blades.
"What the..." Brianne gasped and reached out to touch one wing. "Wow."
Alayna jerked her head back and forth looking at one wing and then the other. "I have wings? How? What did you do?"
Mack pointed his finger at Alayna but gawked at Mab. "Faeries don't have wings. I mean, I do, when I'm a bird or a dragon, but for everyone else, that's one of those things humans made up. Isn't it?"
"Not entirely, Mackinley. We do not have physical wings all the time. However, each of us is born with a set of wings as part of our being. They almost always remain dormant throughout a faerie's lifetime, but in extreme cases, they can be called forth."
"So, I have wings now? Like, that's a thing? They're permanent? How am I supposed to explain to my human friends why I have big silver bat wings sprouting from my back?" Alayna was on the verge of hysterics and nearly fell over twice trying to get a better look at her new additions.
"They are permanent in the sense that you can choose to use them whenever you would like now, but they will only be a physical part of you when you want them to be." Mab caught her arm and steadied her. "Now you, Brianne."
Brianne turned her back to Mab and within seconds, a set of golden wings materialized on her back. She reached back and ran her fingers along the edge of one. "How are we supposed to learn how to fly in time to beat the dark faeries to the meadow?"
"You already know how. Like I said, you were born with wings, and you were born with the natural ability to fly." Mab led her away from the wall and to the center of the balcony. "Simply think what you want to do. If you want to go up, think about being up there. Pretty soon you won't have to think about it, you will automatically go where you need to."
Brianne looked at her skeptically, then closed her eyes. Almost immediately, her wings spread and began to flap gently, lifting her off the ground. She opened her eyes and looked down at the others. "I'm doing it! I'm flying!"
Alayna's face contorted and she stared at Brianne. "Up. Up," she whispered and her wings began to spread. She lifted about six inches off the ground before losing her balance and crashing down again. She huffed before trying again. “Up. Come on, up.” She rose up in the air next to Brianne. "I think I’ve got it now. Wow! Okay, this is kinda cool."
"Do I have a set of wings?" Mack asked Mab.
She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Your wings are part of your transformation, Mackinley. Your dragon wings are much more useful than faerie wings would ever be." She walked a few steps away and turned to them all. "Now, you must go quickly. Flying will get you there faster, but we don’t know how much time you have. Work together, watch each other's backs, and get the cauldron out of there as soon as you can. Also, try to fly low to stay hidden from view."
All three of them nodded solemnly as they listened to Mab. She looked out over the gardens before speaking again, quieter this time. "Please be careful. I can't afford to lose you."
Brianne and Alayna dropped to the ground and hugged their grandmother.
"We will," Alayna promised her.
"I'll try," Brianne agreed.
"Okay. Go." Mab walked back to the door that led to the staircase. She turned back and watched the two winged faeries and the dragon fly away into the distance.
25
The Meadow
“N
othing looks the same from up here." Brianne swooped down to fly above the treetops. "Hopefully Mack knows where he's going because I can't tell one set of trees from another."
Alayna dropped down beside Brianne. "He can get us anywhere. And he’s definitely going the right direction. That forest below us is The Flickering Forest. We’re almost to the meadow."
Mack made a hard right in front of them and dipped into the tree line. He looked back at them and snorted.
"I think he wants us to follow him," Brianne said. She and Alayna dove down and followed him through the trees to a small opening. As he landed he transformed back to faerie form and waited for them to land.
"Why are we stopping?" Alayna hit the ground first, a little faster than she should have and short of where she was aiming.
"Did you guys not see them? The warriors?" Mack pointed in the direction they were supposed to be heading.
"You saw the warriors?" Brianne overshot the landing and landed behind Mack.
"Yeah. Not the ones with your mom, but the twenty or so heading to Maiden's Mist. We can't afford to run into them right now, so we better make the rest of the trip on foot." Mack looked up at the sky. "We should still have enough time to get there and find the cauldron before nightfall."
Brianne and Alayna's wings folded in and disappeared as they followed Mack into the woods. Even in the daytime hours, the colorful lights emanating from the trees twinkled and danced from limb to limb. They hurried through the trees, leaving the path and heading straight for the meadow. The stream from Alayna's dream cut into The Flickering Forest and the trio traveled along its banks, alternating between running, hopping from rock to rock, and wading through the ankle-deep water. When they reached the edge of Mayrianne's Meadow, Mack signaled for them to get down.
"What are you doing?" Brianne inched toward him in a crouching position.
"I heard something." Mack looked over his shoulder. "We aren't alone. Go hide in that brush over there while I figure out who is following us." He didn't give them time to argue before he shifted to his bird form and flew back the way they came.
The girls stayed low to the ground and made their way to the brush. Brianne searched the woods with her eyes, turning in every direction, trying to detect anything out of place. Alayna closed her eyes and reached out with her mind, hoping to sense anything nearby. They stayed silent, alert, until a screech tore through the trees.
Brianne jumped out of the brush and ran toward the sound, her hands ablaze. "That's Mack!"
Alayna didn't move from her spot. Suddenly her eyes flew open and she snapped her body toward Brianne. Bree! Stop! It’s a trap! Alayna instinctively spoke to her in thought.
Brianne slowed but kept moving toward the sound. I can’t leave him, even if it is a trap. I have to try to help him. He would never leave us.
It’s not him. Alayna left the brush and ran toward Brianne. It’s not him, Bree. They have a transformation faerie who turned into the same kind of bird so they could draw us out.
How do you know? Brianne stopped moving but continued to search the woods in front of her. Alayna spooked her when she ran up behind her and Brianne almost unleashed a fireball at her.
"Hey! It's me." Alayna motioned for Brianne to put the fire away. "I could sense whoever was screaming. They’re undeniably filled with dark magic. I haven't been able to locate Mack yet, but that sound is not coming from him"
As soon as Alayna stopped whi
spering, a coindra like the one Brianne held her first time in the Seam hopped over to them. Brianne stooped down to pet it, but Alayna stopped her. "Now I see why I couldn't locate you," she said to the coindra. "I was searching for the wrong species."
Brianne looked back and forth between them. "That's Mack?" she asked, pointing at him.
Mack changed back into a faerie. "They saw me shift into a bird, so I had to pick something else to get away."
"Who are they?" Brianne looked back over her shoulder in the direction of the screeching.
"From what I could gather, they are working for Carman. She is still trying to get to you two and kill one of you." Mack motioned for them to follow him and headed back toward the stream. He stopped when they reached the water's edge. "We need to keep going as fast as possible. I heard them talking, and they know the cauldron is somewhere in the meadow. We have to find it and get it out of there before they get to it."
"Okay. Let's go then." Brianne walked through the water and out of the forest into the meadow. She motioned for them to hurry.
They searched the meadow for the cauldron. Mack walked along the edge of the woods, looking to see if it was camouflaged out of sight. Brianne checked every hiding spot she could remember her sisters using from the hollowed-out tree up on the hill, to the thick ivy and flowers that ran on the far side of the stream. She even used her wings to fly up into the trees they climbed and disguised themselves in during their games.
Alayna stood motionless in the middle of the meadow, her eyes closed, and her hands raised out to the side, palms up. Suddenly, she gasped and looked around for her sister. "Brianne! Come here."
"What's up?" Brianne descended from the limbs of the oak tree behind Alayna.
"Do you remember when Leila used that glamour spell that mom taught her?" Alayna asked.
Brianne laughed. "Yeah. I was looking everywhere for her and she was following me around the whole time, but I couldn't see her because of the spell. I was so mad at her and we outlawed glamour spells for hide-and-seek from then on."
"Exactly. None of us could see her and she was right there." Alayna turned in a slow circle with her arms spread wide. "What if the cauldron is right under our noses and we just can't see it?"
Brianne's eyes widened. "Of course! That's why she would hide it here. We are the only ones who know about that spell. If she did use it, where do you think she hid it?"
"I've been trying to figure that part out, but other than walking around waving our arms back and forth, I can't think of anywhere..." Alayna stopped and stared at Mack, walking toward them under the oak tree. Her hands flew to her head. "Of course! She showed me where it was!"
"She did?" Brianne turned and looked where Alayna was staring.
"Do you remember my painting?" Alayna waited for Brianne to nod, and Mack to get close enough to hear. "I painted that from a dream I had. The dream mom sent to me."
Mack cocked his head to the side. "Catch me up. What does this dream, and the painting, have to do with the cauldron?"
"In my dream, there was an emerald and sapphire bird sitting on the bough of that tree." Alayna pointed to the tree Mack passed under. "That had to be you, Mack. And Brianne was sitting under the tree. I think she used Bree to show me where she hid the treasure."
"Maybe," Brianne agreed. "It's worth a shot. Come on."
They ran toward the tree and before reaching the spot where Brianne had been in the painting, Mack collided with an invisible force almost as tall as he was. He grunted and rubbed his shoulder. "I think I found it. But how are we supposed to move it if it's invisible?"
Alayna started to answer but froze when voices drifted from the woods on the other side of the meadow. Mack instantly transformed into the emerald bird and flew up into the tree above the cauldron. Brianne and Alayna's wings appeared and they followed him, flying higher than he did and hiding among the dark green leaves. They each held their breath as they watched Mayrianne, Doyle, Dugal, and another faerie walk toward them from the woods.
"All right. Where is it?" Doyle pushed Mayrianne from behind. "You said it was under this tree. I don't see nothin'."
Mayrianne regained her balance and shot him a steely look. "That's because you're an imbecile."
"What'd you call me?" He drew his hand back to backhand her.
"Nothing you would understand." She rolled her eyes. "I have told you three times already. It is under a spell. It is invisible. You have to remove my bindings if you want me to remove the spell."
A skinny faerie with a large hook-shaped nose stepped in front of her. "And we have told you that we are not dumb enough to take off those bindings." He looked over his shoulder at Doyle and Dugal. "Well, some of us aren't."
"Then you will have to find a way to reveal it yourselves. I'll wait right here until you come to your senses." Mayrianne sat down under the tree and leaned against the trunk. She looked around at the stream, the woods, everywhere except where the cauldron was. Then she looked up and locked eyes with Brianne. Her eyes widened and she stifled a gasp before jumping back to her feet. "Actually, there may be a way for us to reveal it without my magic. There is a spot in the woods where the stream pools and creates a magical mud that can reveal anything under a glamour spell." She began to lead them toward the woods.
The faerie with the big nose stopped and stared at her for a second. "You must truly think I'm as dumb as those two. You're trying to distract us. What are we close to?" He started waving his arms around, feeling the empty air around him. He glanced at the other two faeries and ordered, "Don't just stand there! Help me! It has to be here somewhere."
They inched closer to where the cauldron was sitting. Mayrianne tried to deter them. "Of course I don't think you are dumb. You are the only one smart enough to know not to take off these ropes. I mean, you are the magical counsel to Queen Mora, you must have lots of knowledge about these things." She lowered her eyes and her voice. "Intelligence can be so attractive."
The skinny faerie stopped with his arms outstretched and gaped at her before he started laughing. "Now I know we are close. That's the only reason you would suddenly switch from obvious disdain to this, this, fake attempt at flirting. I may not be the most romantically experienced faerie in the realm, but I can tell when I'm being played."
He walked away from her and straight toward the cauldron. He waved his arms again, and before she could stop him, he stepped directly into the area where the cauldron was hidden, and straight through to the other side.
26
The Reunion
M
AYRIANNE GLANCED UP AT BRIANNE, whose gaping mouth and big eyes said she had no idea what happened to the cauldron. Before looking away, she caught a glimpse of Alayna behind Brianne with her eyes closed and one arm stretched out, the palm of her hand facing upward. Mayrianne tore her eyes away from her daughters and focused on the faeries under the tree. "You do realize that I said it was hidden under 'A' tree, not necessarily 'this' tree, right?" She wandered toward a weeping willow on the edge of the far woods.
Dugal, Doyle, and the big-nosed faerie watched her walking away then looked at each other. The big-nosed faerie pointed at her and barked, "Well, don't just stand there and stare! Let's go!" Before they could take two steps, there was a loud clang and all three faeries crumpled to the ground.
Mayrianne raced back to the tree and stared at her captors. Kneeling beside one of the guards, she reached forward with her bound hands and checked for a pulse. "I think you might have knocked them out. You'll need to get out of here before they wake up."
Brianne and Alayna floated down to their mother. The three of them stood in silence for a long minute before the girls took turns hugging their mother.
She touched their wings and looked at them with surprise on her face. “Your wings? Your grandmother is pulling out all the stops."
"Really? That's what you choose to focus on? Our wings? How about why you sent us away?" Alayna wiped her eyes and hugged her mother again.
"I was trying to protect you. That stupid prophecy had everyone so worked up and I didn't want my babies going to war. Your grandmother agreed that maybe we could change your fates if you never knew about this place to begin with." She stepped back and huffed out a breath. "Obviously she didn’t follow through with her end of the bargain if you are here and know who I am."
Brianne raised her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side. "Don't get mad at her, mom. She was trying to protect the entire kingdom."
"Of course I'm mad at her. We agreed to find another way and she went behind my back and changed the plan." Mayrianne scowled, then her features softened. "But I’m so happy to see you both. I’ve missed you and your sisters so much!"
Brianne pointed at her mother. “You know you kind of did the same thing by going behind her back and hiding the cauldron, right?”
Alayna smacked Brianne’s arm then turned her attention back to her mother. "And we are happy to see you, too, Mom. We have so much to catch up on, but we have to get the cauldron back to the Maiden's Mist first. How do we get these off your wrists?" She pulled on the bindings and turned her mother's hands, looking for a way to untie them.
"You don't." Mayrianne wrapped Alayna's hands in hers and brought them to her lips. "I can't go with you. It would make it much more dangerous for you."
"What? You have to go with us. You can't go back to Mora and the Unseelie Court. They’ll blame you for all of this." Brianne paced in front of them.
Mayrianne smiled. "They already do. But, for some reason, Mora will not allow them to kill me. I can take the torture if I know you’re safe. And I know that you and mother will find another way to get me home."
Alayna's eyes filled with tears again. "No. I’ve felt the pain they put you through. I can't leave you here knowing what they’ll do to you."