Enchanted Revenge

by Theresa M. Jones

  He nodded, the shock stripped from his face as he understood my initial question. “Fae are not immortal. We have talked about this before. We live much longer than humans, and age much slower, but we can be killed.” I nodded. “Magic can kill a Fae, as can a wound through the heart with any Fae Blade. And then beheading.” As he said that last word, his voice grew quiet, as if he thought I would break down again if he said it any louder.

  But I wouldn’t. I was done crying. I would fix this.

  “What is a Fae Blade?” It sounded familiar, like I had heard him say it once before.

  “A Fae Blade is a piece of steel infused with magic. Each Fae has a unique magic. Pixie blades are some of the most dangerous, and are infused with fire. They can even cause a fire to manifest when used. The most dangerous of Fae Blades are when all four Fae infuse it with magic.”

  He stood and withdrew a sword from his side. It was the same sword he had taken out back at my house, when he had vowed to help me. He lay it across his lap, the pointed side away from me. The hilt was so close it almost touched my knee.

  “The person who uses a Fae Blade can wield the most magic from it if he owns the same magic.” As he said it, he caressed the sword, as if it was more to him than just a common weapon. “A Sylph blade is stronger when used by a Sylph, just as a Pixie blade is best used by a Pixie.”

  When he looked up at me, finally tearing his eyes from his own blade, I nodded at him. “When a blade is willingly passed down through generations, it gets stronger, gaining strength from each Fae who used it.” Then he looked back down at his sword. It was so beautiful. The hilt looked like pure gold, and had a series of symbols engraved into it. The blade shimmered in the firelight, and flashed the etchings on it clearly. I had no idea what they meant, but they were stunning to look at.

  “This sword was my father’s, his father’s before him, and his father’s before him. I believe I’m the seventh generation Sylph to wield it.” He was murmuring, almost as if he had forgotten I was there. He grew quiet for a minute, as if he was remembering something from his past. “This blade was first created for a Royal Guard sworn to protect the King and Queen. It is more than 8000 years old. I am honored to wield it.”

  His voice was reverent and full of conviction. I could only imagine what kind of shoes he was expected to fill, how much pressure he must have had put on himself to live up to using a sword of that importance.

  “The sword you carry within the abscondita is a very powerful Fae Blade. Probably more than 20,000 years old, infused with all four magics, and has the most intricate magic etched into it that I have ever seen in a blade. When you turn seventeen and can wield it, it will prove a very effective weapon for you. It was your father’s, and thus now has some of his magic within it.” I couldn’t even lift my father’s sword off the floor, but if it had some of him in it, I was glad to have it.

  “Thank you for bringing it,” I told him. I hadn’t really appreciated it before, not like I did now.

  “You’re welcome.”

  I took a deep breath, drawing up the plans in my head as I stared back into the fire. We would leave here in the morning and set out for, who knows where. Wherever those murderers went. I had exactly five weeks until my birthday. In reality I hoped we would find them before then, but if it took that long, at least I would be able to do something once we found them.

  “You need to teach me how to use a sword.”

  Chapter Nine

  Ruptin: An edible, yellow flower, similar in looks to a Daffodil. It is very nutritious and delicious. Both the flavor and consistency resemble that of a cherry from the Mortal Realm.

  “You’re laughing at me,” I accused as I pulled away from him, scooting to the furthest part of the couch. My feet still hurt too badly for me to get up from the couch, so scooting away and glaring would have to work.

  He shook his head and tried to stop himself from laughing, but only managed to change the laugh into a snort that sounded ridiculous. His head went from leaning all the way back to down in his hands. I rolled my eyes, because it so wasn’t funny.

  “Listen, Lily, I’m not laughing at you. It was just funny the way you said it. You were so serious, like we could just stand up and you would instantly learn how to wield a blade. It’s not that easy. Fae train for decades to wield a blade. If your magic is as strong as I believe it will be, based on your parents, it will come easier for you than for others, but it’s never easy.”

  I started to reply to his idiocy, but he stopped me. “I will help you; just know that it won’t be easy and fast.”

  I sighed and nodded. “I know. I just…I need to learn.”

  “I know. And I will help you. You are in good shape. I mean, we walked for over fifty miles today with, what…three stops? You didn’t complain and continued on, despite being without magic. But I think before we start training with a blade, we should learn some basic defensive moves.”

  I didn’t argue that I needed more than basic moves. I didn’t ask about what I would do if we found them tomorrow. I didn’t voice any of my insecurities or misgivings and just held it in because I needed this. Even if it made me even a little more capable, it would be worth it.

  Still, I couldn’t help myself from looking down and shaking my head at how little I could do. How weak I really was.

  “Tomorrow we travel to the Central Village; I believe that is the way they went. And if they passed through it, we will find someone who saw them. I feel confident we will find something on them. But, as I said before, there are not only good Fae in The Empyrean. We have bad people just like you do in your Mortal Realm.”

  “I get it, there are criminals everywhere.”

  “Yes. Criminals. But not only criminals are bad. Things are very tough in The Empyrean right now. Incomes are lower, jobs are scarce, and taxes are higher. Here we don’t only pay taxes in money, but also essentials and magic.”

  “What do you mean?” I had been slowly angling myself closer to him, but now I was back in my original location, right next to him.

  “I mean, we have currency.” He pulled a tiny leather bag that had been strapped to his belt and poured a few coins into his hand to show me. “But we also trade magic and essentials. An essential can be anything essential to life. Food, clothing, blades, anything. We trade a lot. Like those cups we used earlier, they are very rare here.”

  “Why? What makes them so rare?”

  “They are created in Lemuria, which is a city beneath Muircadia where the Sprites live. It takes many years for one to be formed, as they are formed from the waters above the city, and then must be crystallized with magic. They are not as rare in Muircadia, but here in Ardennes they are. Someone could trade a cup like that for a very hefty price.”

  “Wow. There’s so much about this place I don’t know.” It was strange to think that there was a city underneath water, but hey, here anything is possible.

  “Taxes have continued to increase, due to the battles. See, there are some that are very loyal to our king and queen, and some who are absolutely not loyal. The rebels blame King Mastikh for the disappearance of the previous king and queen and the troubles that followed their disappearance, and so they cause riots and are continuously fighting to dethrone him.

  “The real problem is that the fighting is only causing more trouble. All citizens are required to give magic to the throne once a month to help strengthen the Royal Guard, which may not seem like a lot to you, but it used to be once a year. It is exhausting and makes the Fae weaker for a short time. Eventually, you end up magicless, which is the worst thing that could ever happen to a Fae.”

  “And everyone is okay with this?” I asked, appalled that the king and queen could willingly strip their subjects of their magic.

  “No, obviously everyone is not okay with it, which is why the rebellion continues to grow.”

  “How long does it take for a Fae to lose his magic?” I asked.

  “If you don’t do it often, your magic wil
l rebuild. But doing it so often makes it difficult for the magic to restore. Fae are not living as long as we once did. If your magic is strong and pure, you could give some magic once a month for a few decades before you begin to notice a difference. But with the general population it’s taking only a few years before they begin to seriously weaken.”

  “That’s horrible.”

  He shrugged his shoulders before murmuring, “Yeah. It really is.”

  I leaned back against the couch, my shoulders sagged and my head began to drop. My legs ached and my feet hurt even worse than my legs. As we talked, my eyelids began to droop, creeping closer and closer down.

  In all honesty, it sucked that The Empyrean was having so much trouble, but I just didn’t care that much. This wasn’t my home. This wasn’t a place I really cared about. My being here was only a means to an end. A vengeful end.

  “There’s a bed in the back. If you want to use it I can show you where it is.”

  I only shook my head, not even having the energy to talk anymore. All the talk about the lack of magic and weakening fairies made me feel even weaker than I already did. Or maybe it was the bazillion miles we hiked today. And we had a gazillion more to walk tomorrow.

  He stood up, and moments later came back with a thick blanket. He draped it over me as I scooted further down on the couch, where I was almost in a laying position. I pulled the blanket up under my chin, wincing at the sting in my hand from where the glass tore my skin at home. It was still red and bruised due to how deep it had gone in. Now that it was fully scabbed over, I could make out a shape. It was almost a perfect water drop, like a tear. The only inaccuracy was the slightly jagged tip. A broken tear. How fitting…

  In that moment, I welcomed sleep. I needed it.

  I didn’t dream. Thank God.

  I woke to a light shining in my eyes. At first I thought I was walking through a porta again, coming to the end of my journey and seeing the bright white light at the end of the triangle, multi-colored tunnel. But it was just the sun blinding me through another strange window.

  I saw Alec walking around in the kitchen and remembered why I was there. I threw my legs over the edge of the couch and tried to stand, but as they groaned in protest I immediately remembered the crazy long walk yesterday. I tried but failed to withhold the moan from escaping my lips.

  Alec walked in and nodded at me.

  “Breakfast is ready.” He walked back into the kitchen apparently not noticing my painful situation. I willed my legs to cooperate and tried to stand again. My feet shouted at me in anguish and my legs twitched with an ache I had never felt before. And yet, I knew it would only get worse. If only I had been in track back home or something, maybe then I would have been better prepared for this. But really, how could anyone ever prepare for a situation like this?

  Alec was sitting at the table when I walked into the kitchen. I sat on the chair, and finally regained control of my mouth, forbidding the moan of pleasure to escape. How ridiculous that it could feel so good to sit, after I had just been lying down for hours.

  At the table, the blue liquid filled the glass I had used the day before, and beside the glass was a large leaf with flowers. The flowers were unfamiliar to me but I wasn’t a botanist or anything. They were yellow, with a brown center, and the pedals were so large and thick the flowers almost looked fake, like plastic decorations.

  I sat and watched as Alec ate one after another while reading a book. The flowers weren’t really that big, but I probably couldn’t fit the whole thing in my mouth at once. That didn’t stop Alec though, he stuck the entire thing in his mouth, chewed and swallowed, before grabbing another. Between my leaf and his was a bowl that looked very regular and was filled with many more of the flowers.

  “Flowers?”

  He looked up at me, taking his eyes from the book he read, and smiled. It was the first time he had smiled since just after we arrived. For someone who loved this place so much, he didn’t really appear happy most of the time.

  “The ruptin flower is very good for you, and tastes pretty great too. We’re lucky I found some behind the house. They’re not nearly as plentiful as the cheslins, and they don’t last long at all after being picked. We will take the cheslins with us for our trip, but even though they taste so good, they can get boring after a while. Believe me.”

  So I just went with it. I picked up the flower closest to me on my leaf-plate, and stuck it in my mouth. Just as I had thought, I couldn’t stick the whole thing in my mouth, so I bit it straight down the center. It wasn’t crazy juicy like the cheslins the night before. But it was still sweet. In fact, it tasted just like a cherry, the same consistency and everything, just a different color and shape.

  As we ate, I asked, “So, are you all vegetarians or something?”

  His eyebrows twitched just a little, before he smiled at me again. “For the most part. The animals have their place in this land, just as we do. We are all connected, as I explained back in the Mortal Realm. We do not harm them if we don’t have to. And most of us don’t eat them. The vegetation is enough for us…Well, it always had been anyway. It’s not as plentiful as before, since so many of the Fae are losing their magic.

  “The only exception is really the Pixies. They eat just as much meat as most mortals do.”

  “Hmmm…so the plants and stuff are connected to your magic too?”

  “Yes. We are all connected. The animals, the sky, the water, the land, the plants, the fae, and the fire. All of it is connected. All of us.” He emphasized the ‘us’, I guess wanting to remind me that I was Fae too. Whatever. I didn’t feel Fae. I was just me. An orphan. Homeless.

  “So, I was wondering why we don’t use the tripudio?” I said, deciding to change the subject. It was something I had thought about when my legs were screaming at me earlier on the couch.

  “We could. It would save time, but could cost us infinitely more. If we pass them, how would we know? We could lose their trail easily, and then where would we be?”

  “Dang,” I said, only because he was right and it sucked. “Okay, so what now?”

  “The trip to the Central Village is at least two weeks, so we will take some provisions from here. Mostly the nectar and cheslins. They will sustain us.” Two weeks? Shoot. Me. Now.

  “Nectar?” He pointed to my glass, indicating that the blue stuff in the pretty glass was nectar. “What is it?”

  “It’s juice from the trees. It’s equivalent to the water from the Mortal Realm. The water here is different, and only a Sprite can drink it. All other Fae drink some derivative from their province. We are Sylph, but we can drink the nectar of the Nymph. Just as they can drink our serum from Kamalani. And both Nymph and Sylph can drink the wine from Vesuvius of the Pixies. The only ones that are different are the Sprites. They can only be sustained on water, and none of the rest of us can drink their water.”

  “I feel like I should be taking notes,” I chuckled. “Yellow flowers, good. Water, bad. Fae blade, strong. Tripudio, can save time but lose the trail. Anything I’m missing?” Though I was being sarcastic, I felt the smile pulling at my lips.

  “Don’t tell anyone your real name. That’s an important one,” he said.

  “But I thought you said it wasn’t…”

  “It’s not dangerous or anything. It’s custom. But it’s important. You only say your real name to the one you love and pledge your life to.”

  “Oh.” Weird.

  He cleared his throat and shifted in his chair, then suddenly found his book very interesting once again. I could have been polite, I could have let him read and not question his abrupt change in mood, but I didn’t.

  “Have you ever told someone your real name?” He took a deep breath before closing his eyes for a good three seconds. Then he looked up at me and nodded.

  “Once, but I will not talk about it.”

  “How old are you?” He already knew I was young. Basically a child.

  “I am in between.”

&nb
sp; “Ugh. What does that even mean? Why do you always talk so weird?”

  He shook his head. “Come with me, we have a long journey, and you appear to be finished eating.” Obviously, since the flowers were gone. Duh.

  Fairy boys were even worse than mortal boys. And I didn’t even understand mortal boys.

  I was so screwed.

  Chapter Ten

  Abada: A creature similar to a horse, but with two horns. One at the top of its head and another, smaller horn on its nose. Abadas are very picky creatures, and rarely interact with another species. They have magical properties and are very powerful animals.

  When we left the tree house, it felt surreal; it was the first place I slept in this strange land, the first place I cried for my parents here, the first place Alec and I connected on a level of friendship. But I tried not to dwell on it too much. I walked behind him as we left that little, lonely village of empty tree houses.

  After walking for a few hours, we stopped at a little clearing where we could sit off the trail and eat. We ate some cheslins and drank the nectar, and my legs and feet loved me so much for the rest I could almost hear them blowing me kisses.

  We hadn’t talked much since we left. I had tried to start a conversation when we first started walking, but Alec quickly shut me down. I didn’t know if it was because of where we had stayed, and whatever loss he had felt, or if it was because of something else.

  But I was tired of being quiet.

  “What did you mean when you said you were ‘in between’?” He looked over at me, actually looking at me for the first time since we left the village. His green eyes sparkled in the sunlight that snuck its way between the branches above us casting luminescent rays here and there, and his yellow hair was again creating an artificial crown around his head.