The house was still and silent, and Bella wondered what time it was. Time Underhill was not linear. She had never seen the moon, here, and although a sun rose and set, the night skies were milky, with a pearly opalescence. No stars, which she missed. She wondered what season it was back at her cabin, and had anyone remembered to clean out the refrigerator?
Ellie put her head in the door and looked at Bella. Bella nodded silently and came out into the hall, relieved at the interruption, as she wasn’t focusing well on her studies.
“How is he?” Ellie asked.
“He seems to be dreaming. He’s...” Bella looked for the right words to describe how she felt. “He’s there, again.”
Ellie nodded, smiling. “There will be breakfast and coffee shortly, then. But this came, and I thought you needed to see it right away.”
She handed over a small, stiff envelope sealed with red wax. Bella was reminded again just how archaic some customs in this place were. She’d seen the seal before, on notes that came requesting a status update every few days. This missive from the king, she was sure, was not another of those.
She opened it slowly, apprehensive. This whole business of having a king still rubbed her wrong, and he hadn’t been the most rational person in their dealings.
Consort-Elect Belladonna,
We summon thee to an audience with the King and Council on this day. An escort to Court will be provided.
The signature was scrawled so she couldn’t read it. Short, to the point, and left her feeling like she hadn’t a clue. Bella handed the note to Ellie.
“What does it mean?”
Ellie’s face betrayed her surprise at being shown the royal summons. She was Lom’s most trusted retainer, Bella knew, and Bella also knew she was intelligent and had a mind of her own, she wasn’t simply a servant.
“I don’t know enough about Underhill to not put my foot in my mouth,” Bella explained, “I am going to need help if I’m going to protect his good name.”
“I don’t know what it is about. Lucia may, she has been at court recently.”
Which was also Ellie’s delicate way of referring to Lucia’s ability to keep her ear to the ground when it came to Court gossip. Bella had no doubt that between Margot and Lucia, the King had an efficient internal intelligence operation, had he the sense to use it. Which, now that Bella thought about it, was a brilliant idea.
Bella looked toward Lom’s room. They had all been rotating through sitting with him, never leaving him alone. Ellie shooed her down the hall. “I’ll stay, you get breakfast. Lucia is in the great room.”
Bella nodded her thanks and went. Coffee was sounding better and better, as she had a feeling speeding up her mental processes would be necessary about now. Note in hand, she collected a mug of coffee from the kitchen before finding Lucia seated at a desk under one of the tall, mullioned windows. Lom had indulged himself with this place, Bella thought again.
“Lucia?”
The older pixie looked up sharply, her crisply arranged white hair framing her pale face perfectly. Bella had never seen her anything other than immaculately made up, which kept her from looking washed out. Lucia was the epitome of old-fashioned grand-dame.
“Good morning, Bella. Is he...?”
One thing about her future mother-in-law, she truly did love her son. “He’s sleeping, and dreaming. I wanted to ask your advice.”
Bella handed the older woman her note. Lucia pulled a set of half-moon framed glasses out of somewhere and slipped them on before reading.
“Ah, I wondered how long he would wait,” she commented after a quick perusal.
“Do you know what this is about?”
“You are to be his consort, and there are many things you do not know yet.”
Bella felt a wave of frustration pass over her, but she tried not to show it. “I’m well aware that I am ignorant, and frankly, I don’t want to be his consort.”
That, and it just felt wrong to be called a consort. She knew it was supposed to be a strictly political position, but she was a one-man woman. Bella glanced upward, wishing he were awake. His cool, calm insight was what she needed.
“My dear,” Lucia held out her hands. Bella allowed her to take one of hers into her grasp. “I know this must be terribly confusing, as you were not brought up here. But you must understand this position is both a deep compliment to you, and the only way you can have the freedom to return home even if only for visits.”
“What?” That rocked Bella back strongly. Not being able to leave Underhill?
“You are enormously powerful in magic. The likes of which has not been seen in many generations. Do you think the King would allow that kind of risk to be untrained in the world above? Only by accepting the consortship could you be trusted.”
“Oh.” Bella hadn’t thought about this. That was Lom’s job, to bring magically dangerous beings Underhill, to... what? She didn’t know. Prison?
“What happens... is there a jail, or?” she groped for the concepts behind what she was thinking.
Lucia looked surprised. “I thought you knew.”
Bella shook her head, feeling Lucia’s fingers tighten on her own. “They are sent to the Wild Hunt, to be bound to the Huntsman. If they try to escape, they are hunted.”
“That’s what the Huntsman wanted of Lom.”
Lucia nodded. Bella went on, feeling numb. “They would have sent me to the Hunt? And Lom...”
“Would never have allowed that to happen.”
“I realise that. I didn’t understand...” She pulled free of Lucia’s hands and sat heavily in the nearest chair.
“When the Hunt came for him, Alger almost let them have him. I didn’t understand - I still don’t, and I wasn’t about to let them anywhere near Lom in that condition. But what has he done, to be turned over to them?”
“I don’t know. As a young man, I...” Lucia looked away, and Bella understood this to be hiding some great emotion. “I sent him away. To Alger, to be trained, but really he could have stayed at home. I don’t know what happened, but the next time I saw him he was very ill,” she imitated Bella’s gesture and looked upward, “dying, really, and I made the second fatal mistake. He never trusted me again. It’s been years, and his chosen profession has not made him friends, Underhill, despite it being for their own good.”
“I think I understand. Cops, up in my world, aren’t always liked, either.”
“He’s not...” Lucia fluttered a little, something Bella had never seen her do. “He’s a bounty hunter, not respectable. It would be better...”
Bella interrupted her. “I know he hunts the monsters. I wanted to help him.”
Lucia looked shocked, her smooth mask crumbling for an instant. “You are... you can’t...”
“Why not?” Bella put her chin up a little. “Someone has to help him, and right now,” they both looked up, “he’s helpless.” She finished softly. “So, tell me what I ought to wear to this audience, and I will go do what I must. I also want to tap into your knowledge of the court. With that, I have a chance.”
It was some time later that Bella stood in the entry hall. Dressed simply, but formally, she waited for her escort. Going to court under guard, especially knowing what her fate would be if she disobeyed the King’s orders, was not helping her keep her calm. But for Lom’s sake, she must be compliant to her new role. At least she had been granted a reprieve while Lom was on the borders of death.
She didn’t know either of the men who came for her, fairies in the familiar green and gold dress uniform of the court. They did not speak, and neither did she, simply stepping into the transport spell and whisking off to the Kings antechamber. Bella contemplated the inside of the spell, trying not to look at the men who were too much like guards escorting a prisoner, instead focussing on the iridescent soap-bubble walls of the spell that bore them however many miles in mere moments. It didn’t take long, but today, it felt like forever.
Bella felt very alone. She was used t
o being alone, out in the wilderness, no people for miles. That felt safe, comfortable - that was home. Here, she was on edge, unsure of what was wanted from her, and with people who relied on her to get it right.
One of those people, the majordomo who was Lom’s friend and supporter at Court, now hers as well, was standing stiffly by the doors and announcing her formally. He softened his normally stony expression as she passed, and Bella hid her smile. Joe’s wink, almost imperceptible, helped enormously as the double doors swung open, and she marched through with her head held high and an exterior calm. Even here, she was not alone. And with Lucia’s coaching, she had an idea of what to expect. Hostility, at least concealed.
The men and women of the council were seated around the vast rectangle of tables, the center of it left open for the speaker of the moment to pace and be able to be heard easily. The king slouched in his big chair on the dais, Bella didn’t think the leather cushions and simple wood frame qualified it as a throne, but it suited him. She liked King Trytion despite herself. He was an even-handed ruler, from what she had seen. There was an empty chair, and she went to it without pausing to ask directions. They had all been there a while, she could tell, from the cups and small plates in varying disarray on the table, and papers simply everywhere.
She nodded to the King before sitting, and he nodded back. The rest of the Council had fallen silent, and Bella could feel her palms start to sweat. She folded her hands in front of her. Showing fear would be like baiting a grizzly bear for a hug.
“M’Lady Bella, Consort-elect, how is Duke Mulvaney?” The King spoke to her without much preamble, as she was learning was his way. This was not a flowery man, but very formal.
“My King, I believe he has finally begun to recover.”
He smiled slightly, almost hidden beneath his beard and mustache. “This assures us that our decision to call you was correct.”
Bella took a deep breath. She still didn’t know enough protocol to know what she was about to mess up. “And, my lord, what did you call on me about?”
He sat up straighter and leaned forward. Across the table from her someone coughed, a man from the deep sound, but she refused to look away from the King, who was also ignoring the person trying to get his attention.
“A situation has arisen, one that we are accustomed to calling on Duke Mulvaney’s services for. Unfortunately, as he is indisposed, we were hoping that you would be able to step into his role.”
Bella tried not to let her jaw drop open. She had been prepared to meet requests to take up her role, and begin planning for the coronation. She had not been expecting this. “You want... me? To go after a monster?”
“It was made clear to us that he considers you a partner. As such, and without other alternatives...” So that was what they had all been discussing so fervently before her arrival. Looking for someone, something else, to rid them of this problem. She lifted her chin a little.
“I am willing.” Her voice rang out, far clearer and firmer than she thought possible. “What is it, that makes you willing to risk losing me?”
He nodded slightly. “That is a grave risk. Yet this is also a grave danger to Our Kingdom, and you would be a rare Queen-consort with your power. We cannot wrap you up in wool and keep you hidden in Court. Nor would we send you out on a suicide mission, nor alone.”
His eyes softened a little. She knew he would like to say more, but not in a room full of hostile ears. “There is a briefing packet for you, but in short, the nest of ogres you encountered once before has, due to the irritation of that fight, perhaps, become a visible nuisance.”
“Ah.” Bella leaned back in her chair and remembered that particular fight. Lom seemed to think the only one of them killed was the one she had blown apart with an incendiary rocket blast to the chest. Messy, scary, and they had been working as a team. Lom had gone bowling for ogres with a logging truck, for goodness sakes, and now she was supposed to take on a whole nest by herself?
“And I may put together a team?” She asked quietly, still not looking at anyone but him. This time, the man across the table did speak up. She could see on the faces of those surrounding him that they were in agreement, but he was their appointed spokesman.
“Consort-elect...”
Bella interrupted him, knowing she was being terribly rude, and not caring. She had a fairly good idea of his identity, but it irked her that she was being undermined, “and you are?”
He ignored her and went on, “One of the great benefits of Lom was that he always worked alone. So there was less... disturbance, above.”
Bella filled in mentally, ‘and so if he died, there would be fewer witnesses.’
He rumbled on, lacing his hands together in front of him on the table and looking down his nose at her. “He fit in above, at least somewhat, which few of our people have the training to do. You, for obvious reasons, will do so as well. We are unwilling to risk further exposure in this matter, bad enough already as it is.”
She blinked at him. So, not a suicide mission, eh? Something came to her mind, and she looked back at the king, who had gone all stone-faced again. “My cousin, Mark, who remained Underhill, could assist me.”
The king shook his head, “Alger and Mark were dispatched to an incident Underhill about six hours ago. Discretion is of the highest importance, and they cannot be recalled.”
Bella took a deep breath. “Then, by your leave, I would take the packet and go to gather tools for my assignment.” She swiveled her head back and glared at the old fairy who had been her opposition. “I do not know your name, sir, but I trust that I am able to arm myself?”
He smiled, showing teeth, and it was not a nice look. “I have no further objections, Consort-elect. And my name is Buckingham.”
Bella stood, nodding her head at the king far too quickly to be proper, she was sure, and retreated. If she had stayed in the room any longer she would have lost her temper, and that would not have been a good thing at all. She was going to surprise them all, survive, and come back to wipe the floor with them as Consort. This was a house that needed cleaning.
She didn’t even stop to talk to Joe, just popped a transport bubble around her and went home. By the time she got there she had an idea of what she was going to do. The king had said not alone. Buckingham had said no team. Lucia, Margot, Devon... they were all useless in this situation. The Library was full of lore on Ogres, and she was reviewing it when her bubble popped in the entryway of the house.
Femme Fatale
Lucia took one look at the thick leather folder Bella had almost forgotten she was holding and paled, proving that some of her color was her own. Bella noted that the rouge looked ghastly when the rest of the face was drained of color. “You know what this is, then?”
“You are being asked to do Lom’s job?”
“Yes. I don’t think there was much asking to it, either. I need Ellie, is she in the kitchen?”
Bella swept past the stunned Lucia, noting absently that the rustling material of her dress made excellent punctuation to her mood. She needed to get out of it and into jeans as soon as possible. And going above meant she could buy more jeans. Her mind was still going a mile a minute with plans and lists when she realized Ellie would be upstairs if they were down to her and Lucia in the house to watch Lom. And why had Mark left without a goodbye?
Bella was not going to have this conversation in Lom’s room. She paused at the foot of the stairs, looking up. Lucia caught up to her.
“Bella...” She laid her hand on the younger woman’s hand where she was clutching the finial. “I’ll send her down and sit with him. And I will send for Margot and Devon to help care for him.”
This was a relief. Bella let Lucia go past her up the stairs, and turned back to the kitchen door, looking at the armory. Not yet, talk to Ellie first. And before that... Lom kept a desk in the kitchen. When Ellie came down the stairs Bella was sitting at the kitchen table writing. One letter, all ready, sat at her elbow, while the other
was just begun. Bella looked up.
“How is he?”
“He has awakened and is asking for you.” Ellie looked concerned, unusual on her craggy face. “I told him you were delayed...”
Bella rubbed her face. “I can’t tell him what’s happening, but I don’t know how to avoid it, either. And he will know as soon as he looks at me.”
“What has happened?” Ellie asked, starting to reach out, and then stopping.
Bella realized the other had been about to touch her, thought it improper, and stopped herself. She reached out both her arms, and hugged the little elf, realizing that she had never done this before. Ellie patted her back. Bella felt a prickle of tears but would not allow them to fall.
“I am sent out to hunt Ogres in Lom’s place.”
Ellie sat down abruptly, her mouth open. “You can’t tell Lom.”
“I can’t lie to him.” Bella insisted. “And Ellie, I’m going to need help, and I don’t know how to get it.”
“You aren’t taking a team?”
Bella shook her head. “Someone named Buckingham - I really must start learning who everyone on the Council is, I saw no friendly faces today, and I didn’t know they were my enemies...” she trailed off and took a deep breath. “He stated that I would not be allowed to put together a team, as that would be disruptive above.”
“So you will call on your family?”
Bella nodded. “I can’t think how else to deal with it. Right now I’m trying to figure out how much magic I can use up there... I don’t even have a car!”
Ellie nodded. “You needed training, and he’s in no condition. But you must tell him. Bella...” she stumbled over the name, not used to speaking so familiarly. “He’s dying.”
“What?” Bella straightened with alarm.
“Shh... “ Ellie put her hand out and Bella placed hers into them. The wood elf’s hands were out of size to the rest of her, calloused from kitchen duty, but warm. “You know that he has struggled with the elfshot for many years.”
Bella nodded.
“He swore that if he ever came to a place where he was unable to care for himself any longer, he would die. I have done what I could...” Ellie shrugged, “But I know his pride. Without magic, he will give up.”
Trickster Noir (Pixie for Hire Book 2) Page 2