I glanced back at my boat, just a dark shape now. They’re not missing a trick. They want me to think about what happened to Doug in my nightmare. That realization made me angry and I felt my courage returning. Doug is not here, and I am not frozen. I smiled
I dropped my shield for a moment. “Chalen, I’m here,” I called out.
“This way, Maebown.” He laughed at me from the dark path that wound through the island’s interior.
The path disappeared into the ink black of the trees and I couldn’t see where to walk—I needed a torch. Scanning the ground at the woodline, I found a tree limb the size of a baseball bat and concentrated on the end of it. It burst into flames and lit up the area around me. It only made the shadows lurking at the edge of the light that much darker. I pushed it out in front of me and to the side, trying to find the optimal position to hold it. Then, against Billy’s orders, I started walking.
I’d always heard people say that the first step was the hardest. That wasn’t true—it was an ugly lie, in fact. The first step was hard, but each one after that was more difficult and more terrifying than the last—each step led me further into the darkness.
Clouds hid the moon, making the pitch darkness even more oppressive—all designed to terrify me. It worked. Chalen counted on my desire for self-preservation, and he would use that to force me into saying I would leave. I dropped my barrier for just a second and reached out with my mind. I was forty steps inside the island—I’d been counting each one, calculating just how long it would take to sprint back to shore. Too late, though, I felt them all around me.
As I had assumed, there were Fae, six of them, between me and the boat. I threw my barrier back up, but left my mind lingering out past it. I hoped they didn’t notice.
Without Billy there, I began to weigh my options. I could always lie to Chalen. I took a couple more steps. My mind liked that option. I could lie, convincingly, and get off the island unharmed. Then, at midnight, I could give the Council my real answer. That would be too easy, wouldn’t it? Chalen had a plan of some kind in place for that. He was a step ahead, and for all I knew, he could have been planning this moment for a lot longer than the time since the Water trial.
That possibility lingered in my head for too long. Of course he had. It made sense. He had wanted to talk to me the entire time I’d been here—he knew this day would come. My resolve faltered momentarily and a chill ran down my spine. I lowered my shield and allowed my emotions to seep out. I heard laughter all around me. My anger returned, forcing me forward.
There were no leaves on the trees, and the branches overhead looked like wooden claws. My torch lighted the ground beneath me and just part of the path ahead. Light reflected back off the tree trunks and underbrush. As I moved forward, shadows flickered and moved in the opposite direction. It gave me the uncomfortable sensation of moving faster than I was. The Unseelie were keeping a distance, all of them except the one who stood in front of me and slightly to the right.
The thump-thump, thump-thump droning in my ears accelerated despite my best efforts to calm down. It continued to quicken as I went further. I knew the Unseelie walked through the woods on purpose, probably crunching leaves and branches to heighten my fear, but happily my barrier prevented the sound from reaching me. All I could hear was my heart beating, my rapid breath, and the noise of my own steps as I moved. So unsettling.
Chalen stood in the clearing, and had taken his younger, more viscious form. He smiled at me and, for a moment, I thought I saw fangs. I ignored them, and looked him squarely in the eyes. He said something and laughed. I didn’t hear it, but I didn’t need to, because I could imagine his vitriol well enough.
Stepping into the clearing, I stopped twenty feet from him, but I kept my barrier up, making it stronger. I saw his lips move again but I still couldn’t hear, so I dropped my shield. I felt the wind blow across my face and it sent a shiver though my body. One of them darted in closer.
“...been waiting for...” was all I heard him say.
When the other Fae got too close, I blocked it by throwing my barier back into place. Chalen realized I couldn’t hear him, and stopped talking. He looked behind me and shook his head before he raised his marble-white fingers and motioned for me to lower it again. I did, but I stayed ready to throw it back up in an instant.
I’m sure the intrusion was merely a test. They wanted to know how quickly I could defend myself. I heard them now, moving through the forest, getting closer. What I hadn’t counted on were the growls. Unable to stop shivering, I turned my fear into anger. I was much stronger than I had been six months ago when they attacked Gavin on the hill. This time, I thought, deep in my mind where I knew they couldn’t peer, it would be more difficult to throw me around like a rag doll.
“So nice of you to keep your promise. I didn’t think you would,” Chalen said. He had a pleasant expression on his face that seemed completely out of place.
“Of course I’m here. I gave you my word.”
“Well, and here you are.” He paused briefly to let his cruel smile work on me. “I take it you have an answer for me? And I hope you are prepared to make another promise. This one will require collateral, I’m afraid—your family’s lives should you break it.”
I never used much foul language, but I thought some awful things at that moment.
“I have an answer and I will swear that it is honest. That will have to be enough.”
“It may not be,” he said. The tone of his voice was gentle, like the voice you use to scold a small child. I really hated the patronizing voice—I would prefer screaming and threatening.
“I know. If I give you the answer you don’t want to hear, you won’t let me leave the island.”
He smiled, looking more sinister.
“No, we will not.”
I shuddered involuntarily—it brought a new round of laughter and snarls. When I looked to my side, I went cold. The enormous wolf-bear beasts from my nightmares were at the edge of the clearing. There were three of them to my right and three on the left, their predatory eyes glowing in the torchlight. The rest of the Unseelie were in human form, all in shimmering silver robes—some were scarred like Chalen, but the others were beautiful. Especially one of them. It was in the form of a tall, striking woman, with pure white skin, long black hair and deep brown eyes. She appeared both exquisite and sad at the same time, but beautiful … until she smiled. Her smile made her look cruel.
I focused on Chalen.
“I need a promise from all of you, first.” I said calmly.
That caught all of them off guard, except Chalen. The beautiful woman looked at me with contempt, and glanced back to Chalen. Chalen smiled and nodded his head. He knew what promise I would ask for, but I said it aloud anyway.
“If I leave the Weald, and give up my place as Steward, I need a promise that you’ll bring no harm, ever, to me, anyone in my family, or any of my friends.”
“We will not bargain with a Mayfly,” the beautiful woman jeered.
I turned to her, glaring. She met my glare, and smiled. If any of them were the Aetherfae, it was her.
Chalen grew impatient. “Maggie, Steward, we will permit the infestation of your wretched family to leave this place. We will give you ... a month. We have no interest in your friends. I will make no guarantees, though—I do not speak for all Unseelie. But I will promise you one thing: make the wrong decision, and your family and friends will suffer for your mistake. Thank you for having them so close tonight.”
There were no sneers, no bursts of laughter. All of them stared at me with stone-cold, emotionless faces—it was worse. I wasn’t afraid for myself, I was afraid for my family, and that fueled my anger and my confidence. I counted them again, forty-nine. Had I overcounted earlier?
“One month, no harm to my family?”
“Yes.”
“And promises from all of those here?”
“They have agreed.”
“You said you don’t speak for a
ll Unseelie. Are there others who may not agree?”
“No! Enough with the incessant questions! The other Unseelie couldn’t give a damn about you.”
“Wow,” I said, feigning shock.
His anger faded, but he looked completely annoyed.
“Wow, what?”
“I thought there would be more of you, that’s all.”
He considered what I said for a moment and then I felt him compelling me. It was painful, powerful, and I saw her. Aunt May lying in her bed. Oh my god, it’s the night she was murdered. I didn’t want to watch, and I could have thrown up my barrier easily enough, but I recognized that I was witnessing the scene from the perspective of someone in the room. My god, I was seeing it from the killer’s eyes.
Aunt May lay frozen in place—only her eyes moving. I forced back the vomit surging in the back of my throat. She was petrified—I could see the fear in her face, and I wanted to help her. I wanted to reach into this memory and stop the attack, but that wasn’t possible. I saw a rope of water enter her nose and mouth, and I heard her gagging. I blocked the sound out and just paid attention to her eyes.
The Fae who did this moved closer. It hovered just over her face. Her eyes were wet, and I felt like screaming. But then I noticed something—a mistake. I saw Chalen’s face reflected in her eyes. It was you after all. I threw my barrier back up and the invasion ended.
I dropped it again after he stopped trying to compel me. “You murdered her, Chalen, I saw your reflection in her eyes!”
He leered at me. “That does not matter now. She is dust, washed away, gone forever.”
“You lied to the Council.”
“Who cares! Give me your answer, NOW!”
He trembled with anger, but I ignored his demand. Tears filled my eyes, and I fought to put the images of Aunt May’s death out of my mind. They were debilitating. I finally found something else to focus on—Chalen. He had murdered her. My loathing for him grew beyond any measure I thought possible. I allowed myself to sob, and quickly tried to come up with a plan.
“Answer me, or I’ll tear it out of you!” He walked closer to me. “I want to hear the words.”
My plan was simple: I had to get off the island. I knew it probably wouldn’t work, especially if one of them was an Aetherfae, but I wasn’t going to die without a fight. I steadied my breath as he drew close, and I allowed my torch to settle down to just a slight glow. The light from it reduced to a flicker—I wanted their physical eyes accustomed to the dark. The timing has to be perfect. Sell it, Maggie, sell it.
For their benefit, I cried out. “Stop … please…” I cowered down, hiding my face in my coat. I felt him against my barrier. I made it surge against him twice, then let it fail briefly. Some of the others moved in closer. I looked up, letting fear dominate my face. I could see them, barely, staring at me as I waved my torch again and briefly let it flicker before going out. They watched my every move.
I heard Chalen step in front of me, and felt his hand brush my hair. I yanked my head away and buried my face again, closing my eyes—tightly. In the front of my mind, I pictured my torch lighting again, and hoped they were all trained on it. With all of my might, and well hidden from their peering invasion, I pictured the flash on Dad’s camera going off from the burnt end of the torch. I focused on it bursting as bright as possible, as bright as the surface of the sun. Oh please, let this work...
I drew energy from the ground, and I set it loose on them. Even with my eyes covered, I knew it was incredibly bright. I glanced up as soon as it had gone out. They were all stunned. I grabbed Chalen with my mind, as he clutched his eyes.
“Here’s my answer!” I screamed.
I slung him as hard as I could, and felt his backbone snap against an Oak not far from me. I had already begun sprinting before he hit the tree, and I blew the disoriented Fae that blocked my path into the forest. I heard them crashing into the underbrush and cursing.
My heart crashed against my chest. I did it—bought myself a second or two—but I knew they would be on me in an instant. I wished more than ever that I’d learned how to fly. Instead I ran, feeling the ground in front of me with my mind. I was halfway to the shoreline when I felt them close in. Six of them—the beasts—had regained their vision faster than the rest. They were impossibly fast. I blocked their advance momentarily with my barrier, but it was clear that I wouldn’t make it to the boat.
A rush of panic hit me when I felt another one streaking at me from the lake. “Oh Crap!” I screamed. I knew I counted fifty. It blazed up the path toward me on a collision course. I readied myself to push it away, but from behind I felt the first attack—something hurled toward my head. I threw up my barrier and blocked it easily. Lightning cracked overhead, and I watched in horror as the Fae in front of me transformed into a huge black leopard the size of a bull. It looked like Vada. I dove into the mossy path the instant before I thought we would collide. From the ground I threw my barrier up, but it bounded over me.
I heard Billy’s voice, mixed with a snarl, “No, Maggie, run!”
I watched him land, and instantly several bolts of lightning arced to the closing Fae. Four of them switched to their natural form and back again after the bolts struck harmlessly. The other two simply met the bolts with their own—they collided and sizzled in balls of energy before disappearing. Those two are Fire aligned.
I got to my feet and ran. More bolts converged on Billy, and he did the same thing—met them with his own and cancelled them out. I was at full speed again, and the earth shook under me just as the rain began falling in torrents. The ice cold rain mixed with the enormous hail stones bounced off my barrier harmlessly, as did the ferocious gust of wind that whooshed over me, knocking branches out of the tops of trees. I stumbled for just a moment and regained my balance. I ran at a dead sprint.
I felt it happen, but couldn’t miss it—a mound of soil or rock popped up in front of me and I tripped. Beyond the obstacle, a large black void opened in the ground. I knew I would fall inside, but as I flew forward, out of balance, I felt my mind catch my body, like it had done with the deer, and I soared over the pit. In the air, I searched the ground for a solid surface beyond the opening. I found one, and set myself down on it, still running as fast as I could.
Billy caught up with me. I glanced over and saw his gray eyes set into the beautiful cat face. He bellowed a thunderous snarl and turned. As lightning flashed again, I looked back to see several projectiles strike his side before bouncing off without causing harm. I blew them back at the six pursuing beasts and the same thing happened. At that moment I remembered the Fae could shield themselves from projectiles they saw coming. I threw my shield up in front of them again. Only one failed to stop in time, smashing face-first and bouncing back, snarling in protest.
When I got to the shore, I reached for the boat with my mind. I felt the hull in my invisible grip and pulled, imagining it speeding toward the shore. It lurched forward as though it were under full power.
Sensing something streaking through the air toward me, I spun just in time to block a tree trunk. You’re not getting me with Air. Before it hit the ground, I flung it back at one of the running beasts. It morphed into it’s natural form until the trunk passed, and snarled as it phased back into the menacing creature. Billy turned back, still in leopard form, and blocked fire and lightning aimed at us. I realized why he took that form when his head twisted to the side. He could see better with cat eyes at night. I gawked around blindly until lightning lit up the island again.
Several bolts, more than I could count, converged on us. Billy met most of them with his own, but not all. I felt the remaining three—I could sense them. When they got close enough I tried to redirect them. I got one. The Fae channeling it screamed at me as the blue streak bent and scorched the promontory above us. Billy morphed into Naeshura just as the remaining two struck the ground where he had stood an instant before. Just as the Unseelie had done, when the danger passed he immediately shifted b
ack into the giant leopard.
A part of my mind unconsciously scanned the island as I concentrated on pulling the boat close—I felt all of them converging on us so quickly it made me dizzy. No sign of the Aetherfae—that’s why I’m still alive. I scrambled into the rocking boat and pushed it around and away from the shore so quickly I heard the hull creak under the pressure. With so much going on, I could not focus long enough to start the engine. Billy stood his ground, apparently unwilling to get in the water. I moved away as if the boat were under full throttle—forty feet, fifty feet, sixty feet.
A few more unseelie joined the fray. Billy blocked more lightning. Then he favored his left side, twisting his body to protect it. Something long and narrow pierced him—one of the Air Fae had waited until Billy was either too busy to notice or to do anything about it—and lodged deep in his flank, just below his left shoulder. Billy pulled it free with his teeth and I heard him snarl and scream. Oh my god, he’s vulnerable! Heal Billy, please heal!. My panic grew stronger when the remaining Unseelie reach the shore—all forty-nine were there. Chalen had healed.
Three of the beasts lunged at Billy as he crouched, ready to fight. I caught two of them with my mind and blocked their attack. One came to an abrupt stop—the second I drove hard into the rocks. The third arched through the air, closing on Billy, jaws open, claws extended. At the initial brush of contact, the giant Leopard rolled onto its back in a flash, claws slashing, teeth snapping. In mere seconds, Billy sank his dagger-length fangs through its neck, and sank his curled knife-like claws deep into its flesh above its ribs. With unimaginable power, he flung the wounded wolf-bear thing into the rocks thirty feet away. Finally healed, Billy changed into his natural form and moved close to the boat, just above the water. He was safe for now, but he was also less powerful. That left me feeling exposed again.
I concentrated on the ignition and heard the engine sputter to life. Then, above the engine, I heard Chalen’s cackling laugh. He stood on the bluff, shaking his head.
The Steward Page 40