Lies of the Haven: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Adventure (Faerie Warriors Book 1)

by J. A. Curtis

  I HUDDLED BEHIND A scarred tree and tried to calm my breathing. The large pine had been the only thing between me and my rampaging faerie guardian moments earlier. The griffin now lay back on my arm, unthreatening. Six times, I had tried to gain control. Six times, I had failed. The griffin’s flat, two-dimensional image mocked me, proving I was a faerie but not one who could master any part of what it meant to be faeriekind. I gritted my teeth. This had to be possible.

  Arius stood, his face grim, and released his faerie guardian. “Perhaps another day, m’lady.”

  “I’m not going back,” I said. That look came across Arius’s face, the one that said he was preparing to argue with me. “Look, I can’t shoot, I suck at fighting, my ability is—who knows what it is—I know nothing about the faeries, and no one listens to me. I can’t go back, not yet. I need this.”

  He watched me with those dark eyes, then climbed down off the golem, dropping onto the ground. He walked back over to his tree root and sat down. I’m not sure I liked how easy it was to convince him how much I sucked at, well, everything. He didn’t pull his golem back onto his arm but left him large and looming over the tiny clearing.

  I needed to dig deep. Yes, I did have challenges, but I wasn’t hopeless. I had faced Thaya, and I had jumped off a cliff to save Dramian from falling. I wasn’t the same Mina who had found herself at the Haven over a week ago.

  My heart beat in my ears. This would be the last time. Either I would gain control, or the faerie guardian would take me out. Already, fear trickled down my spine, but I left my sword at my waist.

  I released the griffin. It stood facing me. My mouth went dry, and the griffin flapped its wings and bucked, charging forward. I shut my eyes, ready to feel those sharp talons tearing into my flesh.

  I waited, eyes screwed shut.

  And waited.

  I peeked through one eye before allowing the other to open. A large, hard, orange beak was the first thing I saw. Then the massive head turned, revealing its feathered head and the unblinking eye. We stared at each other, neither willing to make the first move. My hand twitched. I could survive if the griffin took off my hand, right? Seemed like a good first step. As if reading my mind, the griffin lowered its head. My hand pressed into the soft down feathers.

  Trust. The answer had been so simple.

  “The day wanes. We should head back.” Arius stood behind me, expressionless. A little praise wouldn’t have hurt him.

  While riding back on Arius’s golem, two young girls came running to meet us. One had dark skin with a small faerie guardian on her arm. Her pigtails swung as she ran. The other girl’s light hair blew free behind her, tangling in the breeze. They both skidded to a stop when they reached Arius’s golem. The golem also stood still to keep from crushing them.

  “Sir,” the girl with pigtails said, “today is Relinquishment.”

  Surprise crossed Arius’s face. “What is today’s date?”

  “It is the eighth sun past the sun’s zenith,” the girl answered.

  “I forgot,” Arius muttered to himself. He looked recriminatory.

  “Nuada is waiting for you,” the girl added.

  “What’s going on?” I asked. The arm of the golem raised, and I gasped as rough stone closed around my body.

  “Take care of Mina,” Arius said as the golem picked me off its shoulder and settled me on the ground. The golem and Arius then pounded away double-time. What was that all about?

  I turned to the girls. “Remind me of your names.”

  The girl with pigtails bowed. “I am Luchta of the Noble Ones, daughter of the Enlightened, Cultural Envoy and soldier to her Majesty the Queen.”

  The other girl bowed and said in a soft voice, “Earlana of Shalaisa, daughter of the Enlightened, Cultural Envoy and soldier to her Majesty the Queen.”

  “We are here to guide you through Relinquishment,” Luchta said.

  “Yeah, uh, what is that?” I asked.

  The two girls exchanged a secret smile.

  “Come with us,” Luchta said.

  I followed the girls through the trees, headed back toward the manor. Arius could have taken us with him on his giant golem—not like we would have slowed him down. I regarded the girls as we walked. Luchta was the more outspoken one. Earlana’s voice was so soft she appeared hesitant to speak at all. But that wasn’t what bothered me about these two.

  “Luchta, Earlana how old are you?” I asked.

  “Earlana is nine and I am ten,” Luchta said. She was thin, with a small face and intelligent eyes. How did these girls fit into Nuada’s story? If everyone fell during the last battle, there shouldn’t be nine and ten-year-olds.

  “And what’s a cultural envoy?” I asked.

  Again, the girls exchanged a glance. “When we originally came over from the Otherworld, we served as the cultural liaison for the other faeries,” Luchta said, “We helped them survive in this world.”

  “Luchta built the manor,” Earlana said in a mouse-like voice.

  “Wow,” I said.

  Luchta shrugged. “That was before I fell. I was doing my duty.”

  “Well, I’m glad you two came to get me and not Thaya.” I said.

  Again, a look. “Thaya has been mad since you came. I’m pretty sure she hates you,” Luchta said.

  Thanks for the obvious, Luchta.

  “Who was Tily?” I asked.

  “Not who was Tily, who is Tily,” Luchta corrected, “Tily only fell, remember? She is still alive. And Tily is Thaya’s mom.”

  Thaya’s what?

  “How’s that possible?”

  “Well,” Luchta said speaking slowly now, “when you and your mom fall at the same time, or if your mom falls before you—” Luchta shrugged.

  Thaya’s mom. No wonder she hated me. And I had caused her downfall. It wasn’t my fault—I hadn’t known what was going on at the time. Still, guilt lapped at my insides.

  Luchta stopped walking. “Here we are.”

  I assumed she must’ve been talking about arriving at the manor, but instead of the usual open grassy field, I saw a deep, old tangle of trees in a dense forest with tree roots tangling up and down in impossible configurations. Twisted vines hung from huge branches. Since when did this forest have vines? A green leafy canopy let in light only through small cracks in the overly large leaves that spread out like hands grasping for each other.

  “Where’s the manor?” I asked.

  Luchta said, “This is Relinquishment. It is sacred, so you’re not allowed to talk. Questions must wait until the end. Once you step in, Earlana will guide you.”

  That made little sense. “How can she guide me if she can’t speak?”

  I will speak to your mind.

  I backed up, nearly falling over a tree root. Both girls giggled at my reaction.

  I put words in your head. But don’t think back. I can project but not hear.

  I didn’t know if I liked her putting anything in my head without my permission.

  It’s like a conversation, only one-sided. I sensed her silent giggle. Nuada thought this would be best since you have never experienced Relinquishment before. Are you ready?

  How could I be ready when I didn’t know what was coming? But I nodded. Earlana then nodded to Luchta.

  “Remember, once you step through, no talking,” Luchta said one more time. Then she stepped forward, toward the old gnarled forest.

  And transformed.

  Beautiful, multicolored gossamer wings sprouted from her back. Her pigtails exchanged for gentle wavy curls around her face. Even her clothes changed: a hand-embroidered blouse and a flowing skirt that extended farther in the back. She rose up on her wings and turned back toward us, then winked and motioned for us to follow before she flittered off through the trees.

  I stood there, mouth agape. “What—what just happened?”

  I will explain the best I can on the way. We must get going.

  Earlana took a step into the impossible forest.

>   And immediately, she rose on golden wings of light, her complexion radiant, her hair falling behind her in gentle brown tresses. Her clothes and her sword vanished in exchange for a simple flowing gown that came down to her ankles. She turned toward me, her feet not touching the ground, her eyes large and innocent.

  You must step in to begin the ceremony.

  I hesitated. Yes, Earlana was beautiful, but did I want such an extreme change happening to me? I looked down at the faerie guardian on my arm. Trust. I took a deep breath and stepped forward.

  I tumbled forward into a blanket of night. Had I pulled the sky down on me? The sky retreated as I stood, but a weight tugged on my back. My wings.

  My clothes had also changed. Leather straps crisscrossed up my calves to my knees. I wore a soft, white, cottony blouse with a dark leather corset covering most of my torso. A black skirt covered my thighs.

  You can try flying, my lady.

  Flying. Just how did that work? Earlana hovered nearby as if it were no effort at all.

  Fly, I thought. My feet remained planted on the ground. Thinking about flying didn’t make one fly.

  It can be hard at first, Earlana projected. Your body is not used to pinpointing the muscles needed to fly.

  The muscles to fly weren’t in my wings, they were in my back. Muscles I hadn’t even thought of as important before now. Something simple—open and close. I focused on the muscles. My wings drifted apart and together. Earlana clapped her hands to show her enthusiasm.

  Now work them faster.

  So I did. Open and shut, faster and faster, till my wings caught the air, and they lifted me off of my feet. I hovered there, my feet inches from the ground.

  Vines and roots tangled beneath our feet, obscuring any footpath. A dark pond sparkled with a few rays of sunshine that broke through the canopy. I couldn’t help myself. I fluttered over and out, above the water.

  My hair was pulled back and braided, circling my head like a crown. I touched my lips, which were a deeper red than usual, half expecting my hand to come away red with lipstick. But no. The tips of my ears curved into gentle points. And my wings—great full wings of a dark purple that faded to black, like the last light of evening was being swallowed into night. I shook my head.

  Earlana alighted onto a root nearby and also gazed down into the pond.

  This is what we might have looked like long ago, before the creation of the Otherworld.

  The wonder on my face turned to bafflement. Before the Otherworld? I opened my mouth, but Earlana pressed a finger to her lips. She looked so much like a miniature angel, I didn’t dare defy her.

  Before the Otherworld was created, we lived here in this realm among the humans. All magical creatures lived here once.

  She motioned for me to follow her, and I reluctantly left my reflection and followed her deeper into the forest.

  The humans grew wary of magic. They turned on all things magical. They wanted to destroy us.

  We came around a bend. A large edifice loomed over us. It grew up from the forest floor—huge branches twisted together to form tall spires and white marble stone molded with wood, as if it had all just grown up together. Vines covered in petite white and golden flowers lined the oaken doors.

  A trench of water circled nature’s castle, and a flowered drawbridge allowed visitors to cross.

  I must have forgotten to work my new wings, because I was no longer flying. Earlana landed beside me. Her feet touched down so lightly, she could have been a feather.

  Let’s go.

  We crossed the drawbridge over the sparkling water beneath to the wooden doors that stood ajar. We entered and made our way through a large spacious front hall. Light poured in from the vine and flower framed windows. Huge, intricately carved doors rose almost to the ceiling. Earlana pushed through the doors, and we came into a large room filled with other winged faeries. I saw Luchta among them, her beautiful curled tresses facing us as she focused her attention toward the front of the room.

  At the front stood Arius. His wings were different—more like a bird. They spread out from him, the feathers all jet-black except for a line of feathers at the bottom of his wingspan that were such a deep brown they almost appeared red. He wore all black. A blood red sash cut across his chest, and a white gold crown sat atop his head. If Earlana appeared as an angel of light, Arius was some regal angel of death.

  Nuada stood next to him. Her wings, also like a bird, were a mixture of soft golden brown and pure white. She wore a long gown and a lovely crystal tiara on her head. The other faeries in the room stood at attention, young and old, as if waiting for someone. For us. As soon as Earlana and I entered, Arius picked up a golden rod, twisted and elegant, with a shining blue gem attached at the tip.

  He stepped up to the first faerie with wings of sunlight yellow framed by a soft brown, the rod laying horizontal across his hands. The faerie who stood in front of him sank to one knee, then reached out, placing her hands on the rod. The moment she touched it, she changed. Wings vanished and armor came back, with a faerie guardian on her arm depicting a warrior woman with a bow. Thaya. She appeared so much less.

  Arius moved to the next faerie and the next. Each one, glorious to behold, would fall to their knees and touch the rod and change back to what they were before. I looked to Earlana, questions on my tongue about to burst forth, rules or no.

  She must have read my panic because her words filled my mind.

  Nuada is Queen Morrigan—I mean—for the ceremony only. She cast me a worried glance, like she was afraid she had thought something offensive. Arius represents King Dagda. They are the great king and queen of the Tuatha De Dannan-uh-us, the faeries. They decided the best way to protect all magical races was to create the Otherworld, a realm separate from this world where all magical beings could exist, apart from humans. We were the only race with enough power to create such a world. The king and queen called their people together, and each one gave up their powers so that the Otherworld could come into being. A place free from the fear and anger of the humans, and where the great magic races might exist in peace.

  This was a magical ceremony to commemorate the sacrifice of the faeries and the creation of the Otherworld. Arius was now at Earlana. She dropped to one knee and grabbed the rod. The beautiful, glowing, angelic girl with lush hair and golden wings again became a plain, shy girl with tangled hair and bare arms. She didn’t rise as Arius moved to me last. None of the faeries had risen.

  I hadn’t known there was a way to improve on Arius’s looks, but apparently there was. He was a flipping avenging angel. His dark eyes locked onto mine, and I saw the expectation. Kneel and give up your powers. Become ordinary like the rest of them. Like a human.

  I stared down at the rod. This wasn’t fair. I had a moment’s wild fantasy of taking flight, leaving the castle, taking to the sky, and being free. Find out what my powers meant. The others had already given enough.

  Every faerie must give up their powers, my lady.

  But this was only a reenactment. I didn’t have my powers. It was an illusion, and if I refused, I would only ruin the ceremony. I forced my wooden legs to bend, and I raised my leaden hands up to grasp the rod. Hands reached inside me, deep inside, so far it hurt. Then the hands retracted, pulling back, taking me with it, leaving me with nothing except an emptiness so hollow it ached. I collapsed to my hands and knees, a single sob escaped, echoing off the walls of the royal hall.

  I heard Arius move away. My eyes shut tight. I didn’t want to open them. I didn’t want to see what I had become. But the rod had my powers. I had to know what happened next.

  My eyes opened. Arius stood back at the head of the room next to Nuada. He handed her the rod and then too dropped to one knee. He touched the rod. In an instant, his dark angel wings disappeared. The crown no longer sat on his head and he wore his normal faerie armor.

  Nuada held the rod high above her head, wings spread. The blue stone glowed so bright I worried it might explode.


  “Relinquish,” Nuada said.

  In a flash, the rod disappeared, and everything changed. The large ornate hall melted into the calm wooden tones of the manor cafeteria. Faeries rose to their feet.

  “It’s over,” Earlana said in her quiet voice.

  11

  Small Wins

  “Playing games are a great way to get to know people.”

  THE BUMPS IN THE UNPAVED path forced the trucks to drive slow. The electric lantern hanging from the ceiling of the truck bed swung back and forth, both driving the darkness away and casting strange shadows over each of us. We sat in awkward silence. Nothing like having your potential queen tag along to kill the conversation.

  “So how does this supply run work?” I asked Arius who sat beside me.

  “The drivers show up, drop off the supplies and leave. Two hours later, we come in and pick up the supplies and return to the Haven.”

  Luchta had rigged the inside of the door to the bed of the truck with a latch so that it could open from inside so passengers wouldn’t be trapped.

  I looked down at the sweatshirt and jeans that were several sizes too large. I had asked to come last minute and so got the leftovers. But the day was cool, the sky above overcast, so the heavier clothes didn’t bother me. Everyone else also wore street clothes. Arius wore a black Skrillex shirt, dark grey jeans, and a pair of worn sneakers. It felt weird, seeing him dressed in something besides faerie armor. There were six of us crammed in the back of the supply truck as it rocked its way down the mountain, following the two trucks ahead of us.

  My knee jackknifed up and down. “What if we play a game?”

  Arius shook his head. “Games are for children.”

  I sighed. “Must you suck all the fun out of life?”

  “Soldiers don’t have time for fun.”

  I doubted that. I had seen their fun room back at the manor. “See, that’s what I’m talking about. What are you doing right now that prevents you from having a little fun? Is sitting there being all brooding that important to you?”