Legend 4 - Free Falling

by Claudy Conn

  * * *

  I called to Danté in my head, but I knew that two things would keep him from hearing me. One, he was under the queen’s sleeping spell. And, two, I was caught within the gold Wiele, the netting of the Trackers, which would keep me from getting through to him. The Wiele was like a soundproof prison; while it didn’t actually touch me as a normal net would, it created a prison wall all around me!

  I was in a temporary jam. Yup … had to think. Where was the creep taking me? Who was the creep? And why did his scent seem so familiar?

  He had stuffed me into the back of his dark van, and I was sure I had never seen this particular van around town. Who could it belong to?

  I had two aces in my pocket, well, not quite in my pocket, but in my hands. I had both my sword and the Seelie Hallow. He couldn’t get at either without lifting the netting prison that held me.

  Ha! Okay, work on that one, I told myself. Hmmm. First, send the sword where he couldn’t have at it and surprise him later with it. Would my sword be able to get through the netting? I silently sent it off, and, yes, oh yes, it got through, whispering my name to me softly as it left.

  Okay, one plan executed. Now, the other. I ran my hand over the Seelie Hallow, and damn if it didn’t throb to my touch as though it were alive. Could it communicate? My mother had said that some Seelie artifacts had the ability to communicate with us.

  “Okay, disc … can you tell me what you do?”

  “Many things, Daoine Princess.”

  “Wow—how did you know I was a princess?”

  “Does it matter?”

  I thought about it, and although it did matter to me, other things mattered more. “Right, okay …” I continued to whisper.

  “The human cannot hear us … you are within the shield of Nuad … and I can only be heard by a Seelie Fae.”

  “Right, so does that mean he can’t use you either?”

  “No—very few can actually use me, and then only if I allow.”

  “What about me? Is there something you can do to get me out of this gold netting? Can you help me shift out of the Wiele?”

  “Not precisely, but I can help you.”

  “What does that mean? Not precisely?”

  “I can shift you with the Wiele still intact.”

  “Okay—that’ll work. Shift me to the queen.”

  “Would that I could, Daoine Princess. I can only shift you short distances while you are in the Wiele.”

  “Fine, disc … would you honor me and shift me out of this van?” My mom had always taught me to be polite to our Seelie Hallows.

  “Ah, a true princess—as you wish.”

  No sooner had the Hallow agreed to shift me than we had done just that. I landed with a thud and a bump and a big “Ouch!”

  I looked around. We were in the middle of a field. “Where are we, Hallow?”

  “I don’t know,” it answered in that sweet voice.

  “Hmm … okay, I can’t just keep calling you Hallow. Do you have a name?”

  “The Dark King called me Rolo.”

  “The Dark King … the Dark King? I don’t understand how that could be! You don’t seem evil … are you evil?”

  “No, I don’t think so. Why would you think that, Princess?”

  “Well … isn’t the Dark King evil, and didn’t he make a lot of evil things?”

  “No, he is not evil, but, yes, many evil things were created in error … his many errors in the early days of his self-confinement, but I am not one of those things. I was his when we lived in Danu.”

  “What did he use you for?”

  “He did not quite use me—we were friends, and I awarded him … things.”

  “What kind of things?”

  “Most importantly, I awarded him a glimpse into another universe … a universe that Fae may not shift into, but one in which I can send whomever I please. Would you like to go there when we are out of this situation?”

  “No. Is the Dark King there now?”

  “Yes.”

  “Does he need you to get back?”

  “No … he is beyond that now. He has evolved … he has absorbed. He is the mightiest of all Seelie Hallows.”

  “What are you saying? The Dark King has become a Hallow?”

  “In a manner of speaking … he has absorbed …”

  Okay, this was getting me nowhere fast, and I was stuck here in the middle of a field where no one I needed would find me. Chances were, I thought ruefully, if I couldn’t get a message out to Danté, they wouldn’t be able to track me either.

  “Rolo, can you help me?”

  “It would please me to do so, Princess.”

  “Can you shift me to my home?”

  “It is too far. I can shift you away from here, and I think I had better.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the warlock is headed this way across the open pasture in his driving machine, and he has seen us.”

  “Go! Go now!” I shouted.

  * * *

  Pounding my head with my fist didn’t help, and then I looked up to see Ete appear, with Breslyn standing protectively at her side a few feet from the billiard table. They looked around at the floor strewn with the bodies of Dark Fae, and Breslyn grimaced and consigned their bodies elsewhere.

  “Where is she?” Ete asked on a hushed note. “She didn’t follow me to the queen …” She turned to Breslyn and dove into his arms, her voice breaking as she moaned, “I failed them, Breslyn … I failed both my queen and Radzia!”

  I know I was frowning as I watched them. Words at this point wouldn’t do any good. She needed a moment to assimilate that what had happened was unforeseeable and not her fault. I reached out and touched her back.

  She turned from Bres and dove into my chest. “Who took her, Danté … one of the Unseelie?”

  “No. It was the warlock.”

  “We will find her, Danté, make no mistake, and then we will take turns running the blackguard through … long after he is dead and past regretting putting his hands on your Daoine,” Breslyn growled.

  How did he know? I hadn’t told him yet about my enfant and me …

  It didn’t matter. Breslyn and I had no secrets between us. All that mattered was that we find her and soon. “I can’t get a bead on her, Bres … she is out of range somehow or unconscious.”

  “It is my fault … I knew that it was a tricky maneuver … I should not have shifted without her!” Ete was now near to sobbing.

  Breslyn hugged her to him and made some strange cooing noises I found extremely annoying. I had never in all his ten thousand adult years, ever seen him behave like that, and then I thought of Z and knew it was in me to do the same. I watched as Breslyn took her chin and said, “You were under attack, Ete. You did what you had to do.” He stroked her face. “You brought the Hallow safely to our queen.”

  “Enough!” I shouted irritably. “Ete, you did absolutely nothing wrong. This was not your fault. This is all Gais’s doing. You and Z are warriors. You cannot be everywhere, every moment, and Z … she has a knack of finding trouble.”

  I shook my head. “At any rate, I believe she, even more than the Hallow, was the target. This warlock is brazen—because I think he works directly with Gais. For whatever reason, Gaiscioch has chosen this warlock as his trusted human. He would not have otherwise dared to touch my woman … and he will pay.”

  “Where to first?” Ete asked timidly.

  “To his home.” I had to stop myself from snapping.

  “Ah, then you know who this warlock is?” Breslyn asked interestedly.

  “That I do, Bres … that I do.”

  “Then what are we waiting for?” Breslyn was grinning wickedly, and the death threat was evident on my friend’s face. We were of a mind as we shifted and stepped out of the atmosphere in front of Aaron Dunbar’s home!

  * * *

  Rolo jump shifted us, but this time we were in the middle of the road and he quickly jump shifted us once more. I looked a
round as I tried to get my bearings, and Rolo said in that soft, musical voice, “I am sorry, Princess, but we will have to do this one more time—we are still in the same field and the warlock approaches quickly.”

  We jump shifted and landed with a thump that hurt my butt in the woods adjacent to the field. I could see the van touring in a hobbling manner over the uneven terrain of the field and wondered what the warlock was thinking. What did he know about me? Did he know I could only shift short distances while in my golden prison? He must suspect that. What did he know about Gais? Was he working directly with Gais or through the Dark Fae, and how had he been recruited?

  And then Rolo interrupted my thoughts and said, “Princess, you must do something quickly with one of your many powers.”

  “Can I break the netting? Is there a spell to do that?”

  “Oh yes, but you would need another Royal to do that in unison with you. The queen alone, of course, could break it …”

  “Okay—then what do you think I should do?”

  “Don’t you know? I just don’t understand why you don’t know.”

  “What don’t you understand?”

  “It must be the human in you … but, Princess, I sense that there is so very little human left. You need to be who you are—a Daoine princess.”

  “Okay, explain.”

  “You can go into your mind and shift below the surface to escape the Wiele …”

  “What?”

  “It isn’t spelled to hold you to the earth. Neither the Dark Fae nor a warlock can spell our Hallows. Only a Seelie Fae can do that. What holds you only holds you above …”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “What is kidding?”

  “Never mind … let me understand this, Rolo—I can shift into the ground?”

  “Surely.”

  “Then what—won’t I suffocate?”

  “You are immortal, but I daresay you won’t like it.”

  “No kidding.”

  “Again with this word I don’t understand.”

  “Rolo, then what?”

  “You shift out. You don’t want to stay in the earth—you would find it most uncomfortable. So would I. I like being above ground. In fact, I rather like being with you, my Daoine Princess.”

  Hmm, Rolo liked me—it felt oddly nice. “How will I breathe … think … underground?”

  “Your human is afraid. Your Fae understands. Allow your Fae full rein.”

  “And you and the Wiele?”

  “Keep me close … Do what you will with the Wiele, but if you seek advice, I would say bring it to the queen. It belongs to the Trackers … and one must wonder how it got into the hands of a warlock.”

  “Gais must have given it to him … because no one could ever make me believe Nuad is a traitor.”

  “Nuad—a familiar name, but, Daoine Princess, you must hurry … He has seen us.”

  “Into the ground—you’re sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay—here goes.”

  “You have an odd way of speaking. I like it. I think I will remain in your safekeeping and attach myself to you.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “There is no time—you must shift below now!”

  So I envisioned the earth beneath me, and whop, I was surrounded by it. Breathe, breathe … move … out … I had to get out …

  And I was. We came out in the same spot, but I was no longer in the Wiele. Instead, the gold netting was dangling from my hand. I could see the van coming at us, and I shifted out and home, specifically to my bedroom!

  A moment later I had both the Hallow (with a towel over it as it seemed like its voice was male) and the gold Wiele at my feet and in the shower with me. Nothing was getting near these two artifacts while I was alive.

  It took just a few minutes before I was done with my shower, threw on a black T, jeans, and sneakers, and with my black hair still dripping wet, shifted off to Tir and Queen Aaibhe’s chambers!

  ~ Seventeen ~

  BRESLYN SHIFTED UPSTAIRS and shifted back to shake his head at me.

  Looking around Dunbar’s house made me hiss. “Damnation, Bres, where the hell is he?” However, it suddenly occurred to me, and I offered them, “I have an idea—he might be at the MacClennys’, in their utility building.”

  Enough said; a quick glance passed between Breslyn, Ete, and myself before we shifted and came out inside the MacClenny outbuilding, only to find it dark and quiet. No sign of Aaron Dunbar.

  We stared at each other, and Ete asked softly, “If he has Radzia, he would have to take her where none would find her.”

  “Yes, of course … but damn it … where?” I heard my own harsh voice and immediately apologized. “Sorry, Ete … I didn’t mean to snap at you, but …”

  “I understand, Danté, and there is no need to apologize.” She turned to Breslyn and touched his hand as she said quietly, “Allow me a moment of quiet and I will try …”

  I watched as she closed her eyes and knew she was using her power of ‘sight’. All female Fae were capable of some ‘sight’; some of our females were better at it than others, but Ete was usually superb at the art.

  “The warlock … I found the warlock …” Her bright eyes were full with excitement. “He is in a van, and her scent—Radzia’s scent is there with him, but … she is not …”

  “She is not—what the Danu does that mean?” I was snapping again.

  “It means just that, Danté. She is no longer with him, but she is trapped—trapped in something … I sense a gold wall all around her.” Ete gasped. “It is the Wiele—one of Nuad’s … he is holding her somewhere trapped in the Wiele.”

  “Then we’ll just have to go and ask him where that might be!” I felt my teeth grit with my words. We shifted to Aaron Dunbar’s van, which was in the middle of a field … but, once again, he was nowhere to be found!

  * * *

  “Radzia—you have done well,” Aaibhe said softly as she touched my wet hair. All at once it was no longer dripping. In fact, a quick glance in the mirrored wall showed me that it looked as though it had been brushed into thick, black silk. Nice … why hadn’t I thought of doing that?

  “May I see the Seelie Hallow you retrieved?”

  “Of course.” I realized that Rolo had created a belt around my waist of thin gold, and he (I was now sure Rolo was a he) had attached himself to it. He reposed quietly at my back. Rolo hadn’t spoken after we arrived in the queen’s private chambers, and I wondered at it; however, as I undid the clasp of my belt I heard him clear his voice and say roundly, “My Queen … a boon if you will?”

  “Yes, Hallow?”

  I was amazed that she took his ability to speak for granted, but I kept silent and listened to their exchange.

  “My name … is Rolo,” he said proudly.

  Aaibhe smiled sweetly. “Yes, Rolo, what boon?”

  “I must remain with Radzia MacDaun, Daoine Princess. We were meant to be together … it is part of the prophecy.”

  “So I have read. I know the prophecy but also know it has three possible outcomes, and you are not mentioned in all.”

  “So it does, but it only tells you that one outcome will be devastating to all, while the others might be what you need. I believe Radzia will stand a better chance of eliciting the right outcome if she has me with her. We have bonded. Together our magic is, I think, preferable than our magic apart.”

  I said nothing during this. What I was thinking was—how could a gal go wrong with a death weapon that told her where to land the blow and a Seelie Hallow full of unknown magic he was willing to throw my way? Ha! But Danté would say, If it could go wrong, enfant, you could make it so!

  “My Queen …” I interrupted her thoughts. “Ete … she will be worried about me.” I wasn’t thinking of Danté asleep in his castle.

  “Yes, and we have another problem. Danté worked off the sleep spell and has already discovered that you were captured by the warlock. The three of th
em, Ete, Breslyn, and Danté are running about helter-skelter.”

  “I have to go to him … immediately!”

  “No. He needs another few hours to regain his full strength. As of now, the warlock has used the urn to hide himself in his abode. They will search about for a bit before they realize you are here … learning a new skill, and one that you will need to defeat Gaiscioch.”

  “Skill … what skill is that, my Queen?”

  “Don’t you know what is in your power to achieve as a Royal Fae?”

  “Okay—I’ll bite, what are we talking about?”

  “Shape shifting.”

  I frowned. I still wasn’t comfortable with letting Danté and poor Ete think I was in trouble somewhere. “Okay, great … I’ll learn whatever you want me to learn, but Danté, Ete, and Breslyn have to know I am okay.”

  “Not yet—I do not like being disobeyed. They need a lesson.”

  “A lesson in what?”

  “In control. They must not allow their emotions to hinder their Fae abilities. They could have found you quite easily had they not been so very desperate to do so. They must learn. This will teach them a valuable lesson.” She paused and then added, “And, yes, Rolo … if you have bonded with Radzia MacDaun, then it was meant to be. Destiny has spoken.”

  * * *

  “Wait, Breslyn!”

  “What, Danté?” Breslyn frowned at me.

  Ete put a hand to her head and sighed. “Danté, you made me nearly jump out of my skin.”

  I put up my hand. “Something has changed. I feel it … but … I am not certain just what it is. I need the two of you to stop your forever babbling at each other so I can think.”

  Breslyn shot me a threatening glance, and in spite of my bad humor, I smiled at him, whereupon he took my shoulder and shook it. “We will find her … and—”

  “Like I said … wait,” I repeated and was astonished that they actually did shut up and give me some space. I felt it … knew it … and breathed out loud, “My enfant is free of whatever was holding her … she is free!”

  I didn’t wait for their reaction as I shifted to her bedroom; however, they were right behind me—literally, and they almost collided with me, which under ordinary circumstances would have been cause for laughter, but I was in no mood.