Accession

by Terah Edun

  The ride over was silent. Their arrival was anything but.

  They piled out of the car into an empty field and the officers along for the ride piled out of the cars like a S.W.A.T. team. Moving with a precision that she didn’t know they were capable of they swept the field as a unit.

  Katherine asked, “Are they all caring detectors?”

  “The human officers are,” said the fire marshal beside her while his eyes swept over the field for any sign of disturbance, his binoculars at the ready in his hands.

  “And the warlock officers will use their senses,” said Katherine softly as she paced away from the cars, opening her own magic to the auras in the field.

  She heard the fire marshal quickly protest, “You should stay here.”

  But Cecily hushed him. “You wanted her here to stop the rising. Well, she’s here. Let her work.”

  Then Katherine stopped paying attention to the humans and witches in the area and focused on the power that flowed through the grove. The reason Queen Margaret had chosen this grove to have the annual barbeque and picnic was simple. She was smart. There were certain points in the world where it was easy to cross over from the human realm to the other realm. All witches were taught to look for those points. They could be sources of great power and great evil. To counteract the bad juju that a source portal attracted, you needed good vibes. There were various ways to attraction the goodness of the world. The white witches, a sectarian group of coven society that most witches referred to as ‘power vegans’ behind their backs, believed in cultivating a sense of harmony with nature and their fellow beings. That worked...as long as the dark witches weren’t down the street sacrificing goats and calling up demons.

  Queen Margaret had decided to take a little bit of examples from the white witches and a little from the dark witches in an ingenious move that made Katherine crack a smile to this day. She held a barbeque for the whole town with free food, free drinks, and entertainment for even the grumpiest of residents. Everyone gathered on the same spot by the queen’s command. Light and dark. Fae, witch, and human. And they all enjoyed the festivities. That much goodwill in one spot was enough to imbue the entire grove with good karma for the year. And it was renewed year after year. Everyone knew why the queen held the town barbeque the second time around. But no one complained. Free food and free beer turned even the angry centaurs to the queen’s side. If there was one thing all the residents of Sandersville agreed upon, it was that the queens of Sandersville knew how to throw a party.

  Now Katherine used that goodwill for her own purposes. Muttering a quick prayer to Hecate, the mother of witches, she opened her powers to the divide between the realms around her.

  Like a curtain being drawn aside the door was revealed. It glowed in streaks of gold as she walked forward purposely to the outlined veil. She noticed the warlocks around her stop and stare, but they didn’t interfere. They knew better than to cast their own spells when a witch was at work. The divide wasn’t a two-way street. It went to different dimensions and different worlds, realms just for the fae and realms just for the gods. She hadn’t been across to either. Her mother wouldn’t let her. But she could peek inside once, just to be sure the faerie hadn’t decided to hide on the other side until their search party left.

  Katherine didn’t think they would be. It wasn’t King Ceidian’s style to hide out in plain sight. But then again he seemed to get crazier by the day. She had a sneaking suspicion that he was imbibing some of the moon nectar he sold. Which wouldn’t be good for either side—witch or fae. But it wouldn’t kill them. The humans, on the other hand, would be up the creek without a paddle if the faerie king were a drug dealer hooked on his own product.

  Pushing aside the golden veil between the realms felt like touching a gossamer curtain. Light and airy, with a spark of magic that tingled along her fingertips. She was careful not to step between the realms, though. It was enough to look on the other side and see what was there. She knew from her lessons that the faerie couldn’t move very far from their jump point from one realm to the other. If they did they might end up jumping into Brazil instead of North America.

  To her disappointment, the fields on the other side were an empty mirror image of where she now stood. Dropping the veil, she stepped back and turn around. “There’s nothing here,” she shouted to the fire marshal.

  He shouted to his officers, “Pack up, men, we’ve got two hours of sunlight left.”

  Katherine cursed as she hurtled to the trucks with the officers around her flat-out running to either side.

  As they got back into the truck, she said, “Stupid winter. Why is it already closing in on dusk at three o’clock in the afternoon? Ridiculous!”

  “Can’t do nothing about that,” said the fire marshal, taking out the road map and crossing out where they now stood. “Where to next?”

  “We have two hours?” said Katherine.

  “Less,” said Cecily. “We need to get there and convince Ceidian before his power is at its peak with the end of dusk. We can’t afford to cross him without your mother on our side, on his turf, and at night.”

  Katherine groaned. “Where’s Mother when we need her?”

  “I spoke with her guardians,” said the fire marshal. “Because of the horrific death of Rose, she needs to be consecrated in the ground immediately. The queen is on her way to the burial grounds to start the ritual now.”

  Katherine’s stomach dipped at the mention of Rose’s name.

  “Immediately?” she said, horrified. “But I’m not there.”

  Cecily gripped her hand hard. “If she doesn’t do it now, Rose’s gifts won’t pass to you, and any witch within ten miles might take on that power. Your mother knows that. You know that. And the town can’t risk a takeover by a power-hungry witch.”

  Katherine grimaced. She knew it was true. The Thompson line protected their subjects. But there were witches out there who made a hobby of gobbling up towns and counties in power-grabs, all in order to challenge the high queen for supremacy. It happened every century.

  “We’re not going to let Sandersville be a prize in some trumped up witche’s bid for power,” Katherine said firmly. “Let’s go take care of Ceidian. Mother will take care of Rose.”

  Cecily nodded, pride at her cousin’s strength written on her face.

  Katherine looked at the map and hoped her luck would last.

  “The waterfall’s on the county line. We’ll go there next,” she said.

  The fire marshal radioed his men. “Head for the waterfalls. Marks—you and your team split from us a half-mile out from the falls. Go up the back roads and make sure there isn’t something nasty waiting for us. The queen’s heir, the demon hunter’s daughter, and I will go up the front with Officer Matthews and his partner.”

  The men radioed their agreements.

  The fire marshal whistled and put the truck into gear. “Let’s hope this is the one, ladies.”

  Katherine pursed her mouth and said nothing. The nervous butterflies in the pit of her stomach were doing all the talking now.

  Forty minutes of dusty roads, hairpin turns, and one mowed-down rabbit later, they had made it across town, through the tunnels, and out to the base of the mountain path that led to the town’s claim to fame: the Sandersville waterfalls. A picturesque scene of iridescent rocks, purple waterfalls, and hundreds of dark faerie met her gaze. They were waiting for her.

  She got out of the car slowly. As her booted foot hit the dirt beneath the truck tires, she almost flinched and dove back into the car. The earth was vibrating with the power of the dark faerie. Shuddering, she put her foot back on the truck ledge and looked over at Cecily. “Stay in the car.”

  Her cousin was already scooting from the middle seat to come out behind her.

  “No,” protested Cecily.

  “Listen to me,” urged Katherine. “Something’s not right. You said it yourself—you’re next in line. If something happened to you and me, there’s no way Moth
er could raise a proper heir to take over in time. You need to stay in the car.”

  Cecily didn’t pout. Just barely. But her mouth descended into a dark frown. But then she looked out over the dark faerie gathered in a half-circle just a few feet out of the range of the truck’s headlights. Not that the distance mattered. They were all glowing like fireflies at night.

  Cecily swallowed deeply. “All right.”

  “Here,” said the fire marshal from the other side of the truck.

  Cecily turned around in the seat and Katherine saw him give her the keys.

  “If things go hairy, hit reverse and push that pedal,” said the fire marshal. “Get out of here as fast as you can.”

  “If things get hairy, I doubt it’ll matter how fast I can drive,” said Cecily. But she palmed the jangle of keys anyway.

  Looking back over at Katherine, she said, “I’m going to study the auras from here. See if I can help. Keep an eye on your texts, will you?”

  Katherine nodded.

  As she prepared to close the door on her side, Cecily said from behind her, “And Katherine?”

  The new queen bee of Sandersville turned a head to her younger cousin as she waited patiently for her to speak.

  Finally Cecily swallowed and said, “Be careful, will you? I really don’t want to be heir to the throne. I have enough problems of my own.”

  Katherine cracked a grin at what she thought was a joke, but deep inside something felt wrong about the last statement. She couldn’t put her finger on it, though, and she didn’t have time to question Cecily right now anyway. She stepped out of the truck and closed the door behind her.

  She and the fire marshal walked around the truck. Side-by-side they walked up the incline in order to talk the insane king of the dark faerie out of starting a war he couldn’t possibly win...and deposing her mother while he was at it.

  Chapter 12

  As they walked forward, the silent dark faerie mass parted like the red sea upon their approach and Katherine looked around. She saw massive faerie eyes with the telltale second ring of power surrounding each iris. They looked a lot like those mutant dolls with the sparkly irises filled with a wide spectrum of colors. Except for the fact that these faerie were anything but doll-like.

  They stood at least six feet tall with human-like appearances. But all of them were frighteningly skinny. Katherine frowned. ‘Skinny’ wasn’t really the right word for it.

  More like desiccated husks, she thought to herself.

  She had never seen the faerie as they were now. Their flesh was barely raised from their bones. No hint of hair emerged from their heads. Their eyes, almost too big for their pale forms, were huge, and their wings were desiccated like dried husks on their shoulders.

  Katherine felt a sadness like she had never known rock through her.

  “How could this be?” she whispered to the fire marshal beside her.

  He looked around with his mouth pursed in distaste and his baton at the ready. “It’s gotten worse.”

  “Worse? This is more than worse,” hissed Katherine. “Look at them! They’re all hooked on moon nectar. They’re pale shadows of their former selves.”

  The fire marshal was silent and then he carefully chose his words. “It’s the monarch’s prerogative to lead his or her people in the ways they see fit.”

  “Yeah, well, maybe this monarch isn’t fit to lead his people,” Katherine whispered as they continued their march forward, surrounded on all sides by vacant and bleary eyes.

  “And yet they stand as they do now. With no protest,” the fire marshal said.

  “What are you saying?” Katherine asked. “That my mother allowed this when she should have intervened?”

  “No, I’m saying that there is no one who could intervene in this situation. A king’s kingdom is own.”

  “Well, he’s in my mother’s queendom, and we don’t play games like that here,” Katherine said with steel in her voice.

  The fire marshal’s eyes flickered over to her face, but he said not a word further until they were moments before the ledge on which the faerie king perched.

  Then he spoke with a caution. “Be careful of your words here, Katherine Thompson. Your mother has no jurisdiction over how the King of the Dark Faerie leads his people. She may set the rules between interactions of the fae, witches, and humans, but make no mistake, Ceidian rules his domain.”

  And then there was no more time for chatter. Katherine looked away from the fire marshal to see the dark faerie king lounging on a giant boulder of volcanic rock. Unlike his people surrounding them, he was not wasted by the effects of moon nectar. No, his skin glowed like alabaster while his long, dark hair fell to his knees. His purple orbs, encased with a ring of blue, shone with eager attention, and his body was clearly in its prime with sleek muscles and iridescent wings that reminded Katherine of a mix between a butterfly’s width and a dragonfly’s texture.

  Then he spoke. His voice was gravelly by nature and it was like listening to rolling thunder on a moonlight night.

  “Ah, so the queen’s spawn has come?” said the reclining king.

  Katherine’s back went up as she snapped, “Queen’s spawn? Who do you think you are?”

  Turning to the fire marshal, she said in disbelief, “Who does he think he is?”

  “Easy, Katherine,” urged the fire marshal while putting a cautious hand on her shoulder.

  Turning to the dark faerie king, the fire marshal said, “I’d treat the queen’s heir with a little more respect.”

  The faerie lounging around their king hissed at the fire marshal.

  “She deserves no respect. A weak daughter for a weak queen,” Ceidian responded.

  Katherine jerked her shoulder from the fire marshal’s grip and strode forward. “My mother isn’t weak. And from the look of the faerie surrounding me, you are the one who deserves no respect. Look what you have done to your people.”

  The dark faerie king sat up abruptly. “What I have done? My people suffer because of your mother.”

  “Come again?” said Katherine.

  He narrowed his glowing eyes in anger as a tic appeared at the corner of his mouth. “Do not jest with me. I do not find it amusing, on this night or any other.”

  Katherine crossed her arms and stared at him. He was serious. “All right, lay it straight down then.”

  For a moment the angry monarch tapped his fingers subtlety on the rocky throne. Then he did as she asked: he laid it out. “The moon nectar my subjects have ingested? It is not our brew.”

  Katherine stared at him. “What in the devil’s name are you talking about?”

  That was impossible. The drug was harvested by faerie laborers and banned countrywide from production by anyone else. Not that no one else could do it, but that no one else was willing to try.

  The dark faerie king stood up and snapped his fingers. A faerie with red rings around her purple eyes stumbled forward out of the masses. Katherine watched her. She looked weaker than most. Her arms were like twigs and her ribs showed clearly below the simple breast band she wore.

  She stumbled to her king and fell to her knees.

  With an angry jerk of his arm, the dark faerie king turned her head to Katherine’s eyes.

  “Look, look at her!” he demanded.

  Unease rolled through Katherine, but she didn’t look away.

  “What am I looking for?” she said unsteadily.

  “The luster of her skin is gone, the strength that runs through her veins has run dry. She is a pale imitation of what she once was,” said Ceidian softly. “This. This is the work of spiked moon nectar. Vile stuff that kills instead of satiates the hunger of my people.”

  Katherine looked from the shell of a female faerie back up to the vibrant queen. Quietly she said, “One could say just as easily that one week of constant drug use could be the cause.”

  She didn’t have direct experience, but she wasn’t a fool, either. She knew the risks. Everyone did.

>   “And one could just as easily say one taste does not make an individual an addict,” the king said while his hand tightened imperceptibly on his subject’s chin. “I’ve known Madeleine my entire life, rocked her babes to sleep, and helped her settle into a new life—she is no constant user. Once was enough to make her into this shell of a person. Once was enough to drain her dry.”

  Katherine watched the claws of his sharpened nails pierce the skin of the woman’s chin every so slightly. Blood began to seep out around the corners of each point. Ceidian didn’t seem to notice. Neither did the woman. Both were in another world. Ceidian, one crafted of misery and regret. Madeleine, one of opiates and unearthly desires.

  Katherine rocked back on her heels as she absorbed that information. She was careful to keep her questions moderate, but she couldn’t keep the shock from her voice. “How is this true? How do you know?”

  The dark faerie king stared at her disdainfully. “Because she is not the only one affected. This tainted concoction is driving my people to death.”

  “I understand your concern here, but it’s your fault. Your people are hooked on moon nectar because of you.” That wasn’t very charitable, but then again she wasn’t feeling very nice at the moment. The sun was sinking ever lower and this discussion was spiraling into a debate with no end. She felt for Ceidian, she did. But she needed a resolution now, before night took its hold. Not at dawn when he finally agreed that his people’s addiction to moon nectar was no fault of any other species or person but himself.

  “I provided them with a taste. A small bite. Nothing more,” he cried. “But this is an intoxication that they cannot break. It blinds them with need and drives for more. They will die if they continue like this.”

  “Then stop them,” Katherine urged.

  “I’ve tried,” said Ceidian darkly. “But I cannot stop the influx of these tainted goods. My people need a taste of the moon nectar to survive on these lands. But the moon nectar of old has gone. It replaced by something I do not know. Nor do I know not where they originated from, but I know they have desecrated my people and their bond with the land. Which is why I’ve called for your mother’s abdication. She allows this filth into her territory. Allowed my people to be fooled by tainted goods. Now she must pay the price. A queen who does not protect her territory shall not rule.”