Twilight Siege: A Dark Fantasy Novel (The Fae Games Book 2)

by Jill Ramsower

  Come Monday morning I was wishing I had another day to recover from my weekend. Despite being tired, the morning passed relatively quickly and at lunch Cat found me eating a sandwich in the employee lounge.

  “Dear Lord, I’m knackered.” Cat set her sack lunch on the table and sank into the chair next to mine.

  “You’re telling me. It’s amazing how exhausting two days on the road can be—we didn’t even do that much but I can barely keep my eyes open.”

  “Well, I do have a bit of good news that should help—the elders want to meet with you.”

  I sat up taller in my chair and immediately felt more awake. “That is good news, I think. Do you have any idea what they want to talk to me about?”

  “No, they don’t tell me anything.”

  “I suppose there’s only one way to find out—when and where do they want to meet?”

  “Tonight, seven o’clock at the Central Library. On the ground floor there’s a study room right off the main reading area.”

  “Will you be there?”

  “No, not that I didn’t plead my case, but my mum said the elders wouldn’t allow it.”

  My spark of excitement fizzled but I nodded my understanding. “I would have loved to have seen a friendly face, but I’m a big girl, I can go on my own. Thank you, Cat. I really appreciate all your help.”

  “No, thank you. You’re the most exciting thing to come to town in my lifetime.” She ended with a teasing smile and I couldn’t help but laugh. Unlike her, I could have used a little less excitement in my life.

  “I don’t think it had anything to do with me, per se. The issues with the Fae would have happened regardless, but I’m glad to help bring some pizzazz to these dreary Belfast skies.”

  “You’re not entirely correct. If it hadn’t been for you working here at the museum, I never would have been privy to any of it.”

  “Just so long as you don’t go getting more involved than you’re supposed to—I have enough to worry about, I don’t need to add you to my list.”

  She held her right hand across her heart. “Don’t you worry, I’m entirely too scared of my mum to do anything stupid. I’d never hear the end of it.” She scarfed her lunch as we discussed more mundane work-related topics before she wished me luck and headed back to her desk, her red curls bouncing as she left the room.

  A short time later, I sat at my desk and daydreamed about what I would learn at the meeting and hoped I might gather more information about the sword to help us locate it. As if the meeting wouldn’t be nerve wracking enough, that night was also my first training session with Lochlan. I was anxious about that for half a dozen reasons and with both events looming over me, I found myself chewing away at my fingernails while my leg bounced restlessly under my desk.

  Recognizing my need to expel some nervous energy, I left my desk and began to walk the halls of the museum. Losing myself in the artwork was just the distraction I needed. No matter how many times I had seen the same pieces, I could still appreciate new aspects and see new elements from different perspectives. The break was cathartic for me and as my thoughts settled and I began to lose myself in the exhibits, I found myself standing before The Quarrel of Titania and Oberon paining.

  I hadn’t visited the painting since Fergus, my flamboyant Scottish boss, first told me about its background. Titania, stood with a child hiding behind her while arguing with Oberon. He looked nothing like the Fae man who had been its muse and Titania looked nothing like the Fae queen I had met. The piece depicted a scene from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in which the two argue over who would keep a young boy who had been orphaned. According to Shakespeare, Oberon had won the argument and raised the boy as one of his knights.

  Oberon taking on the upbringing of a boy, making him into one of his knights, sounded strikingly similar to how Lochlan had been raised by Alberich. The imagery may have been all wrong, but could this painting be related to how Lochlan ended up with Alberich? I would have to ask him when the time was appropriate, and who knew when that would be. We always ignited a passion in each other, sometimes that passion was of a carnal nature, other times it was more murderous.

  A small part of me wished our relationship could be as simple as it had been in my dream—no posturing, no distrust, no pretense—just the two of us together without the burdens and complications of life. It was simple and beautiful and totally unobtainable. A relationship couldn’t exist in a vacuum, and our world was filled with danger and deceit. Overcoming those circumstances would be an insurmountable feat.

  I chose not to analyze why that thought had weighed on my heart, and instead started back to the office.

  I drove to the library dressed in active wear for my training session with Lochlan—full length leggings and a mint workout top with a large cutout in the back to reveal my strappy grey sports bra. The wardrobe choice had been entirely practical as I didn’t want to get too hot, or at least that was what I told myself. I certainly wasn’t going to admit that it had anything to do with who I would be seeing. Nope. Not one bit.

  The library and the museum were both stately buildings and while they were similar in style, the library was constructed in red brick instead of the museum’s white stone. The library was also much smaller without the modern extension on the back like the museum.

  I walked into the dated building and found the stairwell down to the ground floor, or what I would have called the basement back home. The reading room was spacious and accommodated several long wood tables, each outfitted with reading lamps. Two patrons occupied the space that was otherwise empty, and I scanned the area for where I might find the study room that Cat had mentioned. I spotted a door off to my right and as I approached my nerves evaporated and instead my brows narrowed in profound confusion.

  There were two men and three women sitting around a table talking, among them were Fergus, Detective Maura O’Brien from the PSNI, and a woman that looked like an older carbon copy of Cat.

  The detective sat at the head of the table, and when I stepped into view, she rose with a knowing grin. “Thank you for joining us, Rebecca. Why don’t you come in so we can shut the door and have some privacy while we talk.”

  I nodded numbly and did as she suggested, too dumbfounded to argue. Fergus knew about the Fae, and so had the detective who interviewed me after being attacked outside of the Huntsman. A nasty Shadow Fae called a Draug had cornered us and attempted to steal my necklace. Before Lochlan intervened, the creature had broken Ashley’s arm and we had to go to the hospital. While we were there the police had been alerted to the situation and I was called in to give a statement. The detective had sounded suspicious during our exchange, but I never dreamed it was because she knew the Fae were real.

  I sat at the table opposite her and looked around at the other faces. Fergus wore a wry grin but the features of the other man sitting next to him were considerably more stern. Recognition tugged at my mind but I couldn’t place where I might have seen him. The Cat look-a-like had a single brow arched and the other woman, who was unfamiliar to me, offered a small smile.

  Clearing my throat, I addressed the group. “Thank you for meeting with me.”

  “You know Fergus, and myself, this is Cat’s mother, Colleen. You may recognize Niall Burke, he’s one of the anchors on the local news, and this is Deirdre Collins, she’s a doctor at the local hospital.” I met eyes with each as we were introduced. “I know you’ve been asking how we can see the Fae, and we’ve decided to offer you some information, but know that we expect some information in return.” She looked at me expectantly.

  “Yes, I’m more than happy to tell you what I know. There’s a lot going on and I think we all need allies.”

  “You are not wrong. Our group consists of many individuals who are the modern-day descendants of the druids.”

  I had suspected as much. It wasn’t like there were a ton of secret magic-using groups in the history of Ireland. What confused me was why if legends of them we
re so prevalent, did they feel the need to stay hidden? I had an array of questions, but I kept them to myself for the moment and let her continue.

  “Many centuries ago, our ancestors were taken to Faery to serve as the queen’s handmaids because she didn’t trust the Fae in her court. Human women posed little risk as they didn’t stand to prosper from her death, and over time, a close relationship developed between her and the women. Over the many years they were together she taught them the use of magic through runes and spells and the group became like family.

  “However, when humans grew more advanced and began to conquer vast areas, warring with one another over land and titles, the queen made the decision to withdraw the Fae from Earth and return to Faery. She sent her handmaids back to Earth, and not long after, they were sought out and slaughtered like animals by the Wild Hunt.” She paused, her expression fierce.

  These people may not have known their ancestors personally, but it was clear that the stories and lessons had lived on in a way that was real to them. “Of the small group of women, very few survived. Those who did taught their children what they had learned, and each generation after continued to pass on the knowledge of the Fae and their magic.”

  “Why were the queen’s handmaidens killed? If she wanted them killed why not just kill them in Faery?” I asked in confusion.

  “We only know what we were taught, that the queen wanted no knowledge of the Fae to exist on Earth. She ordered the Hunt to kill us, and that is why to this day our secrecy is our number one priority.”

  I rubbed my arms to ease the prickle of goose bumps from her chilling tone. I wanted to assure them that Lochlan and the others were not a threat to them, but I had no grounds for such an assertion. The Hunt had not threatened me, but that very well could have been because I was no longer fully human. I was a loophole in the queen’s mandate that no humans know about the Fae. Would Cat and the others be in danger if the Hunt found out about their knowledge? When I met the queen, she didn’t act bothered by the existence of rumors of their past. However, that was incongruous with what the detective was telling me, but it wasn’t the time to argue with them.

  “I promise you that I’ll keep your secret and that I won’t endanger you.” I looked at each of their grave expressions with conviction.

  “Rebecca, Maura has told you about our background, but now we need to know how you can see the Fae.” Cat’s mom spoke up, a hint of pleading in her tone.

  I nodded and my hand involuntarily came up to touch my necklace for reassurance. “When I was a child, my parents brought me to Ireland on a vacation. I was given this necklace while we were there and it gives me the power to see the Fae. I didn’t know that it had that ability until I came here because there aren’t Fae where I’m from in the States.”

  Their obvious fear of the Fae meant even if I had wanted to, I wasn’t going to share that I was becoming Fae. I didn’t know these people enough to trust that they wouldn’t kill me for their own protection.

  The stern-looking TV anchorman, Niall, spoke up. “How do you know the necklace is what gives you that ability?”

  “It’s kind of a long story, but essentially the necklace is spelled to keep me from wanting to take it off. The thought of removing it has always been almost physically painful, which I realize now was abnormal. The next big clue was a Shadow Draug trying to steal the necklace from me. That helped confirm that there was more to the necklace than being a simple piece of jewelry.”

  The anchorman continued what felt more like an interrogation than a discussion when he was in charge. “Who gave you the necklace and why?”

  “Merlin gave me the necklace, but I don’t know exactly why. I know that there’s a rumor that war is coming. That there have been portals opened to let Unseelie and Shadow Fae onto Earth and the Hunt has been attempting to figure out who’s behind it. I also know that I’m supposed to play some role in stopping the war.” My eyes landed on Fergus as I thought about how my choices had been taken from me, and my stomach started to churn. “Why I was chosen is a question I’ve asked myself every day since arriving in Belfast. Each day I find more ways that my life has been mapped out for me or toyed with in some way. Now that I sit here with you all, I find it interesting that I happened to end up working for a druid. I couldn’t believe my luck when you gave me this job, but now I have to wonder, was there any luck involved?”

  He gave me a tight smile and his eyes were apologetic. “Rebecca, I would have wanted you working for the museum regardless of how we crossed paths. However—”

  “Fergus.” Niall chided and everyone tensed. “She doesn’t need to know. She’s friends with them and anything she hears could go straight to the Fae.”

  “I told you, I won’t tell them anything about you.” I attempted to calm his fears but I could tell a lifetime of wariness would not be assuaged by a few words from me.

  Fergus turned to Niall, sitting at his full height and said sternly, “She already knows we exist, I think the train has left the station on that one. If she’s supposed to play a part in preventing the war, I would think we would want to do what we could to help her.” He held eyes for a prolonged moment, the air in the room thick with tension, until he turned back to me and continued. “What I started to say is that one of our numbers is an oracle of sorts. She told us that a foreigner was coming and that we should keep her close. Her predictions are not always clear and it was hard to know if keeping her close meant the individual was problematic and we needed to watch them or if it meant they were going to help us. When I happened to answer your call about the job, I made an educated guess that you were the one she had told us about and that we needed you here.”

  I hadn’t been hired on merit, which was no secret, but somehow thinking I had lucked into the job stung less than knowing that I was brought in because of an oracle and little else. I dropped my eyes to stare at my hands fiddling with a string on my sleeve as I processed this new information.

  “Rebecca, you’ve been a great asset to the museum. Regardless of how you got here, you’ve done a fine job and you deserve the position.”

  I met his eyes and gave him a small smile. His words made me feel a bit better but I tried to remind myself that my pride was irrelevant. There was so much more at stake and I couldn’t let trivial matters distract me from what was important.

  “I appreciate that, but we have bigger issues than my ego. You don’t seem all that surprised that I said a war was brewing.”

  “Aye, that was the other part of the prophesy made by the oracle. She referenced the possibility of the world as we knew it ending, taken together with the recent increase of Fae activity, we knew something bad was coming. Do you know who is behind it or what they are planning?”

  “Ronan, who was a member of the Hunt, is part of the uprising but we don’t know who he was working with or what they hope to achieve. Regardless, I’m going to do my best to try to stop them, and our first goal is to locate the Sword of Light. Is there any information you can give me that would help me locate it?”

  Like guilty children being interrogated by a parent, they looked to one another for direction before the detective spoke up. “That sword cannot end up in the hands of the Fae. For our own protection, there is no information we can give you.” As she finished, her chin lifted in defiance.

  I held in a frustrated growl and tried to school my features. “I’m not sure I understand, but I respect your choice. On the topic of your protection, you should know that Ronan is out there somewhere. The Hunt is doing its best to locate him but until then, he’s dangerous and unpredictable, please stay away from him. If you should happen to see him, call me and I can get word to the Hunt.” Even without going into details, talking about the incident with Ronan left a bitter taste in my mouth.

  “We appreciate the warning,” offered the detective graciously. “I know it took courage to meet with us and I hope you can understand why our secrecy is so vital. We’ll help you where we can, but not at the
risk of being discovered.”

  “Thank you. Just out of curiosity, I know it probably doesn’t matter, but did Cat know about the prophesy and that I was involved with the Fae? The night we saw the Leannan sidhe, she was surprised that I could see the Fae—was that a testament to her acting skills or did she truly not know about me?”

  Fergus leaned forward in his chair as he addressed my question. “Cat is young and to protect ourselves, no one but the elected elders are privy to important information. She wasn’t told anything about you outside of what any other museum employee was told.”

  I tipped my head in acknowledgement and then let them know that I appreciated their honesty. After establishing that there was nothing further to discuss, we said our goodbyes and I left the library to head to the club.

  I had texted Lochlan to let him know I was on my way, so when I arrived he was waiting in the lobby. He wore sneakers, black track pants and a grey t-shirt already marked with splotches of sweat. Seeing him in workout gear confirmed my suspicions that it didn’t matter what the man wore, he always looked edible.

  “You get started without me?”

  “Went for a run,” was all he said as he led us to the elevator and pressed the button for the basement before placing his hand on a plate to scan his fingerprints.

  “What, no retina scanner?”

  He slid his eyes over to me good naturedly. “The fingerprint scanner is not the only security measures we have in place.”

  His comment jogged my memory back to a time I had broken into the building and found him in the basement interrogating a Fae man. When I had walked through the alley doorway into the building a shock of pain had nearly crippled me. “You use wards? Is that part of your security?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, they aren’t terribly effective.”

  “They are for just about anyone but you. I don’t suppose you care to tell me how you managed to walk through them.”