The fight started just as all of Syney's fights did. Fern was holding back as she gave a few punches, and then Syney let her have it. She started with a few hand punches: upper cut, low punch, heel hit. Fern blocked them all smoothly. It wasn't until Syney gave another uppercut and went straight into a round kick that the fight got interesting. Fern easily blocked the punch but wasn't ready for the kick, and Syney got her right in the gut. Fern shot backwards but caught herself before she lost her balance completely. Fern looked over at Syney, who gave her a smile, her hands and feet still at first position. Noelle wasn't sure what would happen next, but what did surprised her. Royal Guards were trained to fight in combat and kill with their bare hands if necessary. But their number-one rule was to protect Magic Users at all costs. Even if they weren't chosen as Protectors, they still had that one directive. After Syney landed the kick, Fern no longer held back. She was going way too fast; there was no way Syney could block any of it. Everyone standing with Noelle seemed to be transfixed on the scene; none of them moved a muscle. It was Hunter who finally ran over and pulled Fern back. Syney was on the ground, blood on her face, a nasty purple bruise already forming on her cheek.
"What are you doing?" Hunter spat at Fern, pushing her away from everyone.
Noelle didn't hear her answer. She ran over and knelt next to Syney.
Syney laughed and spat out some blood from her mouth. "You'd think I stole her boyfriend," she said with a laugh.
"That's...this isn't funny. You're hurt," Noelle said. She motioned for Reed to bring over a towel. She held it to Syney's nose, but Syney grabbed it from her.
"I'm fine." She stood up, limping slightly.
"I'll take you to the infirmary," Noelle said. It wasn't really an offer; it was more of an order, but she couldn't give Syney an order.
"I said I'm fine!" Syney yelled and limped toward the door.
Noelle watched her go, not knowing what to do. She started to follow her, but Gabe blocked her path.
"I got it," he said smoothly.
Noelle glared at him. "You seem to get a lot lately with her."
"She's a friend in need."
"And you have what she needs, right?" Noelle got within inches of him. "She's in pain and needs help—mental and physical help. Whatever you're doing obviously isn't working!"
He stared at her for a moment. "I've got this." He turned and headed out of the room.
Noelle didn't like what was going on. But she wasn't sure there was anything she could do about it. She looked at Hunter, who was still talking firmly to Fern. He was probably the only person who could get through to Syney, but Noelle didn't think that was going to happen. She sighed and headed off to her room. All of the rooms for the handmaidens and valets were a few floors below the royals' rooms but above the Guards' rooms. There were several handmaidens in a big group talking in the hall. Noelle smiled at them and greeted them all with a hello. She didn't regret spending so much time with Syney, but she did miss all of them.
They talked about what had been going on in the palace since the attack. Everyone was on edge, but things were getting back to normal as time passed. Lori, Princess Glea's handmaiden, told her about a trip out to the Great Lake the next day. A handful of royals were making the trip for lunch. Noelle didn't know if that was the best thing to do, but it would help with the morale of the Village. She wondered whether it would help with Syney's mood as well. She was always complaining about wanting to leave the palace. Maybe this was something that might make her happy.
She mentioned it to Hunter at dinner, since Syney didn't come down. He looked skeptical but agreed that it might help Syney's growing sourness. They both presented the idea to Syney, who shrugged and gave an "I don't care." Noelle sighed. At least it hadn't been a "no."
Mellisandrianna
"And why exactly was she in the Lycin gym?" the queen asked, her eyes narrowed at the wolf in front of her.
Leaf didn't stare her down, but he didn't wiggle under her gaze either. "About a month ago, she asked for some self-defense lessons. After what happened I thought it would be a good thing."
"I guess thinking isn't your strong suit," Grass snickered from the queen's side.
Leaf shot him a look. Mellisandrianna had made it clear to the commander that although Grass fell under his supervision, he was her Protector and fell under her rule only.
"And it was Fern who inflicted the injury?" the queen asked.
"Yes. Both Hunter and I have reprimanded her. It won't happen again."
She nodded. "Then it is taken care of. I suggest you tell the princess's Protectors to keep a closer eye on her. These are troubling times."
"On it, Your Majesty. By the way, I heard several royals were planning on taking a trip to the Great Lake. I suggest this not happen. It isn't safe," Leaf said.
Mellisandrianna sat back in her chair and let out a breath. She had heard the same thing. At first she immediately had agreed with Leaf. Outside of the Village walls was a dangerous place at the moment. She had felt it the second the Daemons had awoken. The spell that cast them away had been linked to her line. She should have sounded the master alarm. She should have called an emergency council meeting to plan their next move against their greatest enemy. But she didn't. Instead she kept her mouth shut and made her own plan in her head. Her plan for Syney wasn't coming along as quickly as she would have liked. A new thought came to her. Maybe this trip was a new way of getting what she needed.
"Is Princess Syney planning on attending?"
"Hunter mentioned something about it, but I told him it was a bad idea."
Mellisandrianna smiled. "It's a wonderful idea. Morale is down. This will be a good thing for the people."
Leaf's lips evened out into a straight line. She could tell he disagreed and wanted to speak his mind. The fact that he didn't made Mellisandrianna very happy. "Yes, Your Majesty. Might I suggest adding several Guards to the party?"
"Yes, yes. Is there anything else?"
He shook his head.
She dismissed him with a wave of her hand.
Leaf gave her a bow before heading out of the throne room.
"He's becoming more bothersome every day," Mellisandrianna said.
Grass stepped forward. "I can take care of him for you."
"Hmm, no. It would never work. But it is appealing," she said, giving him a smile. "Is there anything else for today?"
Grass leaned toward her and whispered, "I have a surprise for you."
Mellisandrianna's eyes widened. "Oh, do you?"
He nodded and headed to the door. He came back a moment later with a young girl, no older than thirteen. She was nervous; it was written all over her face.
"Hello, darling," the queen said, her normally icy voice dripping with sweetness.
The girl smiled and attempted a curtsy. "Your Majesty."
The queen smiled even brighter and looked at Grass. He did know her so well. And this was exactly what she needed to make herself feel better.
Syney
The ride out to the Great Lake took a little less than an hour on horseback. Syney hadn't been on a horse since she was little, but it came back to her the second she sat down on it. There were a handful of royals, but the Guards outnumbered them three to one. All three of Syney's Protectors came, as well as Noelle and Gabe. The moment they got outside of the Village walls, Syney felt better. It didn't last long, though. The pain in her side started to throb again, and the sun began to give her a headache. She debated asking someone to take her home so she could go back to sleep, but Noelle had seemed almost desperate for Syney to go on this trip. Everything had been so dark lately in Syney's life that she couldn't think straight half the time. Unfortunately she was afraid that it had put a strain on her relationship with Noelle—in fact her relationship with just about everyone, except Gabe, that is. He was the only one she could talk to. And he was never fake or overly concerned about her. He even pushed her to explore some of her powers. When she told him what Cas
s had said about the magic lessons, he volunteered himself to help her. So far they hadn't accomplished much. She couldn't get the lightning to come back, and she couldn't even do the simple spells they taught to the little kids in the Village. It was as if everything she had inside her that was magical had found a metaphorical sand hill to bury its head in. It was frustrating and didn't help her depression. And it was a depression. She wasn't sure why, but everything just sucked and that was it. Even good things like kicking Fern's ass a little—before Fern went all Rambo on her, that is—didn't help.
When they got to the lake, Syney walked over to the edge and looked across. It was amazingly beautiful. The lakebed was made of dark gray stones but led up into perfectly green grass. The water wasn't like the lake water back in the Human Realm. It was blue, but with little white and pink lights that seemed to dance over it and through it, as if it were alive. She crouched down and looked deeper into the water and realized the lights were alive. At first she thought they were little bugs, but then she made out arms and even little faces.
"They're called Good Folk."
Syney looked over at Noelle, who had joined her. "Are they people?"
"No, not really. They're alive, but they don't communicate the way we do. They also can cause a lot of trouble if they find themselves away from water. They need the water to survive, but some are curious about other people, so they follow them. When they want to go back, they can become a nuisance."
"They're pretty."
"They are. Do you want something to eat? I set up a picnic, and if we're lucky, Gabe hasn't eaten it all already." Noelle laughed at her own joke.
Syney looked at her for a moment. It was a funny joke, but she couldn't bring herself to laugh. She stood up and gave another look at the Great Lake. It was huge. The water seemed to stretch on forever. "How far does it go?" she asked, once Noelle finally had coaxed her over to the purple blanket that Gabe was already lounging on.
"For miles," Noelle said, biting into some fruit.
"All the way into Daemon territory. Touches a bit of Shifter at the end of its run as well," Gabe said, leaning back onto Syney's lap.
She absentmindedly stroked his hair. "Are we close to our borders?"
"Um, yeah. The neutral territory is just over those mountains," Noelle said.
Syney looked over at her. She seemed to have withdrawn a little. Syney frowned. Now one of her only friends was pulling away. She looked back out at the lake. Soon she would be alone. The pain in her side started to pound harder, so she reached over and pulled out a small container the doctors had given her. They said that because they didn't know how exactly she had healed they weren't sure how long the pain would last. They had given her some pills they thought would help with the pain, and although they dulled it a little, it never fully stopped. It also didn't help that she couldn't take more than four a day. She swallowed the pill and chased it with some water. Some of the water dribbled out of her mouth, thanks to her slightly swollen lip. She glanced over at Fern, who stood at attention a few feet away. Fern really packed a punch; Syney's face was proof of that.
Syney looked back at the lake and found herself getting lost in the rhythm of the water and the Good Folk. She hadn't realized it was getting darker until Reed put his hand on her shoulder and told her it was time to go. She nodded then gently nudged Gabe off her lap. When she stood up, a wave of panic hit her. Her heartbeat picked up, and her breath quickened. It was happening again. She looked around and caught sight of Hunter a few feet away. She took off toward him and grabbed his arm.
He looked down at her. "What is it?" he asked, concern filling his voice.
"Something... I don't know. But I get these feelings. Something bad is about to happen," she said, tears filling her eyes.
Hunter looked around and waved to get Leaf's attention just as they attacked.
Syney wasn't sure exactly what they were. They looked like humans, or maybe Magic Users, but their faces were filled with anger. Their eyes were dark—black even—and their teeth and nails were the sharpest things Syney ever had seen. She was about to scream when Hunter pulled her behind a set of ten-foot-tall stones. He shoved her to the ground and looked around the stones.
"Stay down," he whispered.
Screams and ripping noises came from the other side of the stones. Syney threw her hands over her ears so she wouldn't hear them, but they were just too loud. She nearly screamed when Fern and Reed jumped in front of her. They both surveyed her before looking at Hunter.
"They're getting massacred," Fern said in her even tone.
Hunter swore under his breath. "OK. Fern, stay here and watch Syney. Reed, you're with me. Try not to change if you can. They can read your mind when you're a wolf."
Reed nodded.
Hunter looked over at Syney. "Just stay down. Fern is going to watch you."
She nodded, not really agreeing with his choice to leave, but not seeing this as an opportunity to argue. "Make sure...Noelle..."
He nodded. "Just stay here." And then he and Reed were gone.
Syney looked up at Fern, who was staying low to the ground but still at complete attention. "What are they?" Syney whispered.
Fern glanced at her for a moment. "Daemons."
"But they're supposed to be asleep."
"I guess they're not." She looked around the rocks, her fingers curling into fists. Finally she looked at Syney. "Stay down and don't move."
"I am."
Fern nodded. "I'll be back."
"Wait. What? You can't leave me."
"They need more fighters. Just stay down and be quiet," she said, as she took off into the fight.
Syney sobbed quietly and leaned back onto the stones. The screams grew louder. She heard wolves fighting, people fighting. She closed her eyes and tried to picture the cool blue water again. It had been beautiful. She needed it to be beautiful again. When she felt the fingers run down her cheek, she wasn't sure what she should do. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself looking straight into the solid blackness of a Daemon's eyes. She whined a little and debated screaming, but she didn't think her one scream would make a difference with all of the others. He put a finger to his lips and motioned for her to be quiet. It was a man—that much she could tell. He was dressed all in black, but she could make out traces of blood on the material and on his nails. For a second Syney thought he wasn't going to do anything to her, since he just stared at her, as if studying her. Then his large hand weaved its way around her neck and squeezed. Syney felt her breath catch as he crushed her windpipe. He pulled her to her feet then slightly above as she gagged, trying to breathe. Suddenly he put her back onto her feet and let go. Syney raised her hands, desperate for any power she might have in her to be released. She even felt it too. There was a buildup of something inside her, and her hands started to tingle just as the Daemon curled his hand into a fist and thrust it into Syney's chest. She wasn't sure exactly how he had done it, considering he hadn't ripped her clothes or even her skin, but somehow his entire hand was inside her chest. Her self-defense training kicked in at that point, and she tried to kick him or knee him or even head-butt him, but nothing actually moved when she told it to. Suddenly she felt her heart go on fire. He was squeezing her heart, just as he had done with her throat. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think. She looked up into his black eyes and saw her own face reflected in them. That's when she realized he was smiling, all of his small razor-sharp teeth showing. He was smiling as he killed her. She felt Hunter before she saw him. He slammed his whole body into the Daemon, who must not have been expecting a Lycin attack, although Hunter wasn't in wolf form. The Daemon fell to the ground underneath Hunter; unfortunately Syney was pretty sure he had taken something from inside her with him, because the second he wasn't inside her, she fell to the ground, and the world went completely black.
Gabe
"Are they gone?"
Gabe looked at Noelle. He could see the fear on her face as well as smell it. Her heart w
as beating fast, adrenalin pouring through her veins. "I can still smell them," he said. He looked around the fallen tree they were hiding behind.
When the Daemons had attacked, Gabe instinctively had grabbed Noelle and pulled her to a safer spot. He easily had found Syney through Hunter's thoughts and concentrated on keeping Noelle out of harm's way. There was only one Daemon who dared come near them, and Gabe had pulled off his head the second he had come within a few feet. He wasn't sure what was going on right now, but there wasn't any time to think, just act.
He saw a few dead Daemons, but no more actually moving, which was good. The bad part was the number of Magic Users and Lycins he saw spread out along the grass. This had been a massacre, the worst he had seen in a long time. He looked back at Noelle. "I think it's over. But stay here while I get Syney and the others."
"You are not leaving me here!" she yelped, her eyes getting wide.
"You really don't want to see what's behind this tree," he said, putting his hands on either side of her face. "I don't want you to see it."
She started to cry. He gave her credit for lasting so long and not letting the tears flow.
"Gabe!"
He looked up at the sound of his name, but it had come from his head. He was suddenly accosted with images of Syney lying on the ground, not moving. He swore under his breath and looked around. He saw Hunter, not far away, fighting one last Daemon. He grabbed Noelle's hand. "Come on. Syney needs me." He pulled her to her feet and ran to a series of large gray stones. He gave a glance to Hunter and saw Reed run up and land a blow to the Daemon's head. That part was handled.
"Oh, god!" Noelle yelled and rushed over to Syney.
Gabe stopped a few inches from her. He couldn't hear her heartbeat. He dropped to his knees and placed a hand on her bruised neck. No pulse, nothing.
"Help her!" Noelle yelled.
"She's dead," Gabe whispered.
Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy Page 27