“You didn’t hesitate. I wasn’t sure if you would be able to keep your cool, but it’s good to know you followed through. Your life is shrouded in too much danger right now to hold back.”
Had I not known Lochlan, I wouldn’t have seen his words for the shining compliment they were. But after months of training with him, I was familiar with his understated praise and my heart swelled with pride that he recognized my accomplishments.
He lifted his long body out of the chair and closed the distance between us. Placing a towel next to the tub, he leaned down and gently kissed my forehead, his lips lingering just briefly. Without a word he exited to his room, allowing me the privacy to finish bathing.
The queen had implied the Shadow Lands were treacherous, but I hadn’t even made it past the palace and I’d already had an attempt on my life. I knew the queen wasn’t my biggest fan but she had enough respect for Merlin that I doubted she would risk angering him by attempting to kill me. That left Morgan as the most likely culprit.
She had been unsettlingly quiet for the last number of months, and I wondered why the attack now. Had she hoped to catch me off guard? Had she known I would be at the palace? However it had come about, it had almost worked. I would forever be grateful to Cyrene for her vigilant eye and her warning. Yet another lesson learned—never be caught off guard. I was going to end up a cynical, paranoid old woman by the time this was over.
14
Early the next morning Lochlan and I strapped on our backpacks and walked in companionable silence to the stables. He had an additional bag with him that he had not brought from Earth, but I didn’t pry about its contents. I was content to enjoy the peacefulness of dawn as one of the Faery suns peaked over the horizon, making the dew-covered landscape glisten.
My designated horse was a reasonably sized golden beauty named Penway. Despite living in Texas throughout my childhood, I was not familiar with horses so Lochlan groomed and tacked her up. His mount was another enormous black beast like the horse we rode in on from the palace gates. When both horses were ready for our journey, Lochlan led them outside and handed me Penway’s reins. The moment I neared her the horse reared up, front legs dancing with agitation.
"Shhhh, it’s okay girl," I cooed at the horse, trying to imitate what Lochlan had done to calm the horse from the day before. He had easily mounted his steed, but this mare wanted nothing to do with me. Her anxiety was palpable as I slowly inched forward, hands out placatingly, wanting to mount her but also inexplicably drawn to her tumultuous emotions.
When I was able to get close enough to touch her, I placed my hand on her neck soothingly and realized that her fear had an almost tangible feel. I took a slow mental pull on her stress and fear, similar to how I manipulated smoke, and the response was instantaneous. Her bunched muscles relaxed and she stopped her strutting hooves, instead settling to an easy stance.
I, on the other hand, now had energy coursing through my veins from the thrill of the exchange. With a full grin on my face, I lifted myself into the saddle and gave a pat to my new friend.
“What just happened there?” Lochlan asked, his brows pinched.
“I don’t know, I just calmed her down,” I offered simply and gave a gentle tap of my heels to start Penway in an easy cantor.
Lochlan caught up and we rode for some time before he broke the silence. “I take it you’re feeling better after last night?”
“Mostly. Seeing Cyrene on the mend this morning helped, but I spoke with Guin last night after dinner and I’m still worried about that—she’s not going to let me stay on Earth when this is done. She was pretty adamant that there are no exceptions to Fae living in Faery, aside from the Hunt.”
“It’s been the law for many centuries now, I doubt she’ll deviate for you. As for the Hunt, there have never been women allowed in the Hunt, not that I could tell you why, it’s just always been that way. Women run the Court and men run the Hunt,” Lochlan explained.
“I have other more pressing concerns right now, so until she forces the issue, I’m just going to let that sleeping dog lie.”
For miles we rode at an easy pace, not wanting to push the horses too hard. The lush scenery was almost too perfect to be real—vines crawling over bushes, thick trees waving in a gentle breeze and the occasional pixie flying by. Several hours in we neared a crystal-clear stream where Lochlan dismounted and I followed suit.
“We can stop here to eat and let the horses rest,” he said as he removed some of our food from the saddle bags.
I hefted myself off the horse and after a few hours riding my crotch was already sore and I groaned as my legs hit the ground. “How much longer is the ride?”
“We won’t reach the edge of the Seelie lands until almost dark.”
Months of agonizing training to mold my body into a fighting machine and it was going to be a horse that did me in. Several more hours on Penway’s back and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to sit for a week. I tried not to waddle as I walked over to the edge of the creek to admire the clear water tumbling between smooth river rocks.
“This would be a great time for you to tell me who it is we’re going to see.”
He raised a brow at me as he strolled to where I sat and lowered himself to the ground next to me. “I suppose an explanation is in order. Many centuries ago a Fae man named Fenodree lived on Earth and fell in love with a human woman. It hadn’t been long after Guin had taken the throne and she exercised her power firmly to ensure the people would know she was not to be crossed. There was a strict mandate in place while Fae roamed Earth freely that Fae could not have relationships with humans. Sex had to be permitted for feeding purposes, but Guin didn’t want the cultures entangled in any way. Somehow word got back to Guin that Fenodree had fallen in love and had taken a human wife. The queen had his wife killed and banished Fenodree to the Shadow Lands to make an example of him.”
“That’s awful.” I gasped at the atrocity Guin had committed.
Lochlan gave a solemn nod. “It took time for Michael to track him down and I’m not certain Fenodree will help, but as far as I know, he’s our only hope. He’s spent centuries with the Shadow Fae and will know their powers better than anyone.”
“But you don’t even know if he’ll help us? Did Michael not talk to Fenodree when he tracked him down?” I asked, astonished. Our finite number of days were quickly slipping away, we didn’t have time to waste gallivanting across Faery just to be turned away.
Lochlan cast a glare my way. “He asked, but Fenodree wasn’t exactly receptive. If you have another suggestion, I’m all ears.”
I pursed my lips but didn’t reply. We were both feeling the pressure of our situation and arguing wouldn’t help so instead I changed the subject as I began to eat my lunch. “Tell me about how you ended up with Alberich.”
Gathering his thoughts, he finished peeling an orange before he spoke. “My mother had been one of Guin’s few Fae female companions. She lived with Guin in the palace while I lived with my grandmother at her cottage inside the city. On one of my mother’s visits she and my grandmother had ventured outside the city walls to gather a berry they needed for dying fabric. They never came home that night, and I was only five so I had no idea what to do. The next day Guin showed up at the house asking why my mother had not arrived back at the palace for their evening meal. I was a sniveling little thing, crying and scared, she had her guard search for my mother and grandmother. Their bodies were found by a creek, thought to have been killed by a phooka—a nasty unseelie that had snuck onto Seelie lands. Guin brought me back to the palace and had decided to claim me as her own since my family had all been killed and she had been very close to my mother. Alberich happened to be at the palace and demanded I be turned over to him. The two fought unlike they ever had before—no one wanted a repeat of the war between Guin and Odin so the conflict garnered a lot of attention.”
“I take it Alberich won the fight?”
“Yes. He’s never discussed with me why
they fought over me or how the conflict was resolved, but the next morning he strapped me to his horse and we set off for his hunting lodge.”
“Are you aware that your story was memorialized by the famous human playwright William Shakespeare?” I asked with a smirk.
His eyes cut over to me, humor clearly written on his face. “A donkey’s head? The son of an Indian chief? I’d say he took substantial artistic liberty with the tale.”
I laughed at his response. “Are you saying A Midsummer Night’s Dream was rubbish?”
“I’m just saying it was creative—I wouldn’t know how to turn a man’s head into a donkey head if my life depended on it. Magic is much more elemental, more about manipulating energy than transforming objects.”
I was quiet for a moment, thinking about energy and recharging Fae magic. “Before we left for Faery, Ash and I had a fight. When you explained last night about how you recharge your magic, it made me realize that it may be part of why Ashley is struggling. I didn’t even think about her having to feed her magic and I said some things that were hurtful.”
Lochlan was quiet while I gathered my thoughts.
“I wish she had just come out and talked to me about it, I can only assume learning to feed her magic was a big part of why she’d been so distant. Is one of the guys…helping her with that?” I glanced over at him as I toyed with my shirt sleeves.
“Michael is teaching her. The change to being Fae is a lot for her to grasp all at once, I’m sure she’ll adjust with time,” he offered plainly without judgment. “I think it’s time we get back on our way.” He stretched out his long body as he stood and my mouth went dry.
The many years spent on Earth had enabled the men of the Hunt to assimilate to human culture. They talked like an ordinary Irishman would, used technology with ease, and seemed to prefer human clothing—despite his countrymen wearing an entirely different style, he hadn’t changed to Faery attire. He sported dark wash jeans over his motorcycle boots and a long sleeve cotton shirt. His body would have been drool-worthy regardless of his clothing choice, but I was particularly partial to his current look and had to force my eyes back to Penway.
Not until nearly dusk did we reach the edge of the Seelie Kingdom. The border was a visible barrier where everything beyond it blurred, as if we were inside an enormous opaque bubble.
“We’ll camp here for the night. On the other side of the wall are the Wilds and I have no desire to sleep there unguarded.” He dismounted in a single graceful movement and I followed suit, although notably less gracefully.
He untied the cinched bag he had brought from the palace and set it on the ground before reaching both arms inside far deeper than the bag should have allowed. I watched in awe as he extracted blankets and what appeared to be a folded-up tent.
“Dear God, can you imagine what human women would carry around if they had access to one of those?”
He chuckled as he began to set up camp, which consisted of a single pup tent, and started a fire before sitting down to eat. He explained how the bag contained a portal where things could be stored in a sort of in-between to be pulled out when needed. Over dinner we talked about magic and the Fae people who lived outside of Avalon. The Seelie lands were generally protected from intruders but there were instances when something nasty made its way across the border. There were those that chose to live a more rural life outside of the cities at the risk of less protection from the occasional Unseelie. The conversation was enlightening and I thoroughly enjoyed Lochlan’s company as we sat by our small campfire.
The day had been exhausting and as the night air grew chilly we retreated to the tent, which was definitely not intended for two people. I hesitated once I was inside, but Lochlan took hold of my waist and pulled me gently to my side, settling my back to his chest.
“Don’t overthink it, Bec, just rest.” His gravelly voice near my ear created a full-body shiver, which I hoped he would assume was a result of the cold. I wasn’t sure he had ever used that nickname for me and for better or worse, it made my heart flutter.
Despite the hard ground and cool temperatures, I slept better than I had in weeks.
15
In a manner similar to how he opened the portal to Faery, Lochlan traced a rune symbol on the barrier the next morning. Instead of the air blurring where the passage appeared, the already opaque wall became clear in a space just large enough for us to squeeze through.
The Wilds resembled where we had been but was not as lush and didn’t seem to thrive as thoroughly as the vegetation on the Seelie lands. The most noticeable difference was the quiet—the ambient noise in the Seelie kingdom had been unremarkable until we had taken several steps onto Unseelie lands and the absence of sound was glaringly obvious. The rustle of trees, the scurrying of small animals and flapping of birds—none of those normal forest sounds were present. The stillness that grips the wilderness when a predator is on the prowl seemed to encase the Wilds in a permanent standoff.
The change was unsettling and had all my senses on guard. I wished we had been able to take our horses with us but Lochlan had explained that it was too dangerous for them. The Wilds, though not nearly as vast as the Seelie lands, were inhabited by violent Unseelie who would tear apart anything they thought weaker than themselves. Our best bet to make it through the Wilds without conflict was to avoid detection, and that would be immensely easier without the heavy hoofbeats of the horses. We released Penway and the stallion before leaving the Seelie lands and Lochlan assured me that they would find their way home safely.
We spoke only when necessary and when we did, we kept to a whisper. While I had no idea how Lochlan knew where he was going, he walked with purpose directing us around a hillside or through a grove of trees. We stepped carefully through grasses to limit our noise, keeping out of clearings to minimize our visibility. Our lunch was consumed on the move, stopping only for restroom breaks, which were hella awkward the entire journey—both because of the company but also because no one had mentioned packing toilet paper. It would be just my luck to pick a poisonous leaf for my personal use and end up with a rash on my ass.
As we ventured farther from the Seelie Kingdom we had hardly seen a single creature despite claims that the lands were heavily inhabited. By mid-afternoon, fatigue and our uninterrupted progress had lulled me into a false sense of security. We neared a large lake and kept to the tree line, not daring to step too close to the water’s edge. As it turned out, our distance had still not been sufficient to keep us undetected.
Lochlan became alert to the danger first and instantly rooted himself to the ground. My eyes scanned the area on the lookout for whatever had alarmed him and I almost missed the gentle ripples rolling on the surface of the water. Something was gliding just under the surface, moving faster than any normal water snake but equally as graceful. Whatever creature lurked beneath the surface moved parallel along the shore, precisely where we had walked. I had been unsettled by watching it move so swiftly through the glassy lake, and when it suddenly dove down and disappeared, my heart started to race in terror.
“Run,” Lochlan ordered, but just as we picked up our feet to try to flee, the creature burst from the water and shot into the air. It arched with a fountain of water to where we stood on the shore and landed on all fours with a thud twenty feet in front of us. The beast shook off the excess water and growled in our direction, his red and brown scaled armor shimmering with water droplets and muscles coiled at the ready.
It had a large dragon-like head and wings similar to a dragon but much smaller than a typical land dragon would possess, although it didn’t seem to have trouble flying despite its smaller wings. It stood around six feet tall on four legs and had an enormously long body, including a barbed tail that whipped around in sync as it moved its head side to side. The creature resembled a giant lizard-dragon—not exactly a snake nor was it a traditional dragon.
Still unsure how to use my magic, I tucked myself behind Lochlan. I hated acting like a
coward but getting myself killed before I even made it to the Shadow Lands wouldn’t help anyone.
“It’s a Lambton Worm—a kind of Unseelie water dragon—I shouldn’t have a problem with it but stay behind me.” Lochlan said softly to me where I cowered behind him before he called out to the dragon. "I’m Lochlan of the Wild Hunt and we seek passage through the Wilds. Let us pass." His rumbling voice was commanding and would have made any normal creature cower, but the Lambton Worm threw its head back and roared so loudly I reflexively covered my ears.
Lochlan sent a warning blast of energy its direction but it had little effect as the energy reverberated off its scales. In response, the Lambton Worm shot blue flames from its mouth and Lochlan thrust up an energy shield to protect us from the fire. Even from behind the magical shield I could feel the searing heat of the dragon’s flames. Crippling panic surged within me.
The instant the flames retreated the creature swept its long tail toward us and managed to catch Lochlan’s ankle, sending him flying ruthlessly into a nearby tree. In the seconds it took Lochlan to recover, the dragon surged forward to where I stood exposed. The beast pulled up short and cocked its head, almost curiously. Lochlan started to step toward me but had to stop when the beast growled in his direction.
I lifted my hand just slightly toward Lochlan to keep him from coming any closer. He could trace to me, but I got the feeling that the movement would enrage the beast, and at the moment it was more intrigued than anything.
The dragon sniffed heavily through its large nostrils and then a terrifying rattling sound emanated from its chest. Instinctually, I knew that the sound was a threat and the warning triggered my magic to surge to the surface, stirring the air around us. The beast’s gaze met my black eyes and sniffed at the air carrying leaves and debris in a swirling storm. Just as I thought it had decided I looked like lunch, the dragon lowered its large head in a sort of bow and then leapt with astonishing grace back into the sky, diving beneath the dark waters.
Twilight Siege: A Dark Fantasy Novel (The Fae Games Book 2) Page 16