Legend 4 - Free Falling

by Claudy Conn

  “Fire and brimstone!” I cursed. I was already too late—my enfant had already shifted off using the skill of concealing her scent as I had so wisely taught her. I wanted to punch myself.

  Ete saved the moment for me by saying quietly, “I am certain Z has gone to Tir and the queen.” She smiled and touched my arm. “She would have taken the Hallow directly to the queen.”

  We shifted but were denied access to the queen’s chamber. Aaibhe had left instructions for the three of us to await her in the lower chamber. We knew she was annoyed with us. She always allowed us entre to her private quarters …

  I called Aaibhe on the channel we shared in our minds, but she did not respond. Breslyn and Ete tried much the same, but she still did not respond. I tried leaving her a message, informing her that we were concerned for her own safety and would charge her quarters just to make certain no one held her against her will. We knew otherwise, but I thought that would get her.

  She replied to this in curt terms. “I am well and quite busy with my Daoine princess. You deserve, Danté, severe punishment both for breaking my direct orders and lifting my spell. Very naughty of you—but if you wish to make amends, take this to Nuad. He has been missing this since Gais abducted Ete and we lost him at Killarney.”

  The Wiele appeared in my hands, and Ete gasped as she reached to touch it. She said, “Gais must have stolen this when we weren’t looking … but how did he get it to the warlock, and why would he?”

  “I don’t know, and at the moment I don’t give a rat’s—”

  Breslyn raised his brow at me, and I curbed my language. “I want to go in and see my enfant now.”

  “Calm yourself, Danté,” Breslyn said, and his silver eyes were alive with amusement at my state of frenzy. “She is safe with our queen.” He slapped me on the back and added, “Come on … let’s go to Nuad. He is in Ireland, planting a trap. He could use this.”

  “You take it to him. I am not budging an inch.”

  “Our queen directed you join us in this delivery. If you wish to get back into her good graces, and I believe you must, come on, Danté—it is good to be on a mission together. Queen Aaibhe will not admit you until she is done doing whatever it is she is doing, and your … enfant … is quite safe with our queen.”

  “You do not know Z … she is never safe,” I grumbled, but I actually did believe she would be safe with the queen. More fool I.

  * * *

  I knew the moment Danté was outside the queen’s private chambers! It was as though my body came alive and my mind whispered his name. I started towards him, but the queen gently laid a hand on my arm, shook her head, and softly said, “I have sent them off on a mission. I need you to focus, Radzia. You can’t go about swinging your sword around haphazardly. You need to have a plan. You need to be controlled and take control. Gaiscioch is no one to trifle with, and now I believe he is determined to capture you and use you. You are Daoine, and your magic is far greater than his, as he is not even Tuatha Dé royalty, but still, he has acquired a great deal of black magic and will use it.”

  “Can black magic win over white magic?”

  “Never … but it can trick one into believing that it can, Radzia.” The queen touched my face, and I felt a warm glow envelop me as she spoke. “Now … practice what you have learned, my Princess, and do not think about Danté—at least not for now. I have given them a mission of no consequence to keep him busy until he recoups his full power.”

  “Ah …” I smiled at her and stopped for a moment. “Have you heard anything about my mom?”

  She smiled and lowered her hand to take mine. “She is being cared for … and I believe she woke from her illusion yesterday and asked for you, but before anyone could get control of her and break her away, she went back in.”

  I hung my head. What was I going to do? Somehow when this was all over, I had to get through to my mom. She would wither into madness if allowed to continue in her ‘dreamland’.

  As though reading my thoughts the queen said softly, “She is a strong woman, and her love for you is enormous. Her memory of you … here, not in her dream with your father, must get through to her eventually.” She gave me a moment and then said, “Now … practice … focus. So much depends on this, Princess Radzia.”

  I knew she was invoking my name to remind me of who I was and what I owed the Fae. I took in air and let it out slowly before I answered, “I know … the prophecy.”

  And I did, because Ete had told me briefly that I was the key in the prophecy. Oh, not by name, but by description. A human Daoine princess will face Gaiscioch in the final days, and all will be forever changed. She will have the might of the Hallow, the sword, and her will, and all will be met. Sacrifice—as she will have the power of love and will fight to the death …

  Didn’t sound that great to me, and the other version was worse: A human Daoine princess will rush at Gaiscioch to save all, but how can she win against so many? She will have might, the Hallow, and the sword, and her bravery will out, but she will be lost in darkness, and still she will fight to the death …

  Then Ete had said there was a third prophecy, but she wasn’t sure what that was. Oh great, just great, I had told her.

  I thought about it and decided I didn’t believe in prophecy. I didn’t believe in predestined outcomes. I believed we made our own. There is no accounting for the power of the individual. Each of us thinks apart from one another. We come to different conclusions, and they can be varied and many, and so can the results. Destiny … predestined … nah … that theory just didn’t take into account what each of us might do in any given situation!

  At any rate, I knew one thing for certain: I was going to face Gaiscioch, and with everything I knew, with everything I was, I was going to take him down, and if I had to die doing it, so be it.

  * * *

  Breslyn, Ete, and I arrived in Killarney to find the violet-eyed Shee Willow and her Druid husband Shayne Bantry engaged in a tight battle with a horde of creatures near the shores of the Middle Lake.

  Needless to say, weapons swinging, we dove in. There were at least fifty Dark Fae of various castes, but none of them had any death weapons. I had to wonder what Gais was doing—sending them to sure death. Was he sending them through just to test the new portal he had opened at the bottom of the lake? Did he not realize that we had team members situated strategically to defeat them?

  It wasn’t a large portal—certainly not large enough to allow an army through its dark mouth, and Breslyn and I would be able to close it easily without calling on the queen.

  This was not like Gaiscioch, who was methodical. I had to worry about what his motive was. Was he testing us? Was he trying to divide us? What?

  Shee Willow and Shayne Bantry shifted to stand with us, and we fought the ugly beasts as a team. As a warrior, I must admit it was shameful—it was a slaughter. Their feeble weapons meant nothing against us. Gais was regularly sending these Unseelies to their death, but none of them knew. None of them lived to ‘talk’ so to speak, and they had no way to get back into the Dark Realm even if they’d wanted to do so.

  A great many of them used their claws, which excreted a foul-smelling poison, but that poison was useless against Seelie Fae. They really never stood a chance against us. It was not the way I cared to do battle.

  I did, however, find that the fighting left me breathless, so I supposed (as the queen warned) I did in fact still have an hour or so before I was fully recovered.

  I watched Shee Willow as she brushed white gold hair away from her face and stabbed a charging leather-skinned, two-headed beast to death. She never hesitated but dove right at him.

  Shayne had been standing with his back to hers, doing much the same. They were in sync, and they fought like demons possessed—never pausing to take a breath. I watched them, and I had to admit they made quite a pair … this Druid priest and his wee bride.

  My mind as it always did shifted to thoughts of my Z, and I realized that I wanted
my own wee love near me and safe and sound … in my arms, out of harm’s way … By Danu, I was turning into what human males would call a sap.

  Nuad appeared and shook off some of the remains of the feeble brains of one of his Unseelie victims. His white hair hung about his shoulders, but I could see a streak of green blood etched into his silky locks, and his face was drawn in grim lines.

  “Nuad … when did the portal open?”

  “Only moments before you arrived. Some of the Dark ones shifted to the village to feed on the residents there. We chased and made short work of them.”

  For a few moments more it was chaos as the Dark Fae became desperate to return to the portal that Breslyn was in the midst of closing. The creatures knew they stood no chance against us and were trying to make it back to their world …

  We didn’t allow them their escape … we couldn’t.

  When we looked around at the dead bodies, we felt it—all of us felt it, an ounce of pity for these grotesque beings who’d never stood a chance, all their pitiful, useless lives …

  Gais had unleashed these creatures, devils that they were, out into the human realm, and he had to know he was sending them to sure death. They were unarmed, and although killing them was necessary, it did not feel right to me—to any of us.

  Breslyn and I looked at one another, and we both silently vowed to find Gais and run him through.

  “Death, even a torturous death, will not be enough,” I said, thinking of what I planned to do to Gais.

  Breslyn smirked and offered on a dangerous note, “You will have to stand in line, Danté, for I have first dibs—you must not forget that he had abducted Ete and harmed her not so very long ago.”

  “Ah, but Breslyn, my friend, you must remember how many thousands of years I have on you. I don’t get into line for fledglings.” I know I looked grim as I spoke. It was how I felt; I wasn’t joking. The words conveyed exactly what they meant.

  Breslyn threw back his head and roared at this. I didn’t see anything funny about it; besides I wasn’t really in the mood for any fun. I wanted my enfant, and I wanted her on the spot safely in my arms.

  The battle with these particular Dark Fae was over. The portal was closed, and enough of our team was now in Killarney to tend to the matter of ‘cleanup’.

  All at once another portal began to belch open in the depths of the dark waters of the lake. It was small and oddly hazy, and for one moment we were all taken aback when we watched Gaiscioch step through …

  Breslyn had the net in his hands and, without a word, sent it through air and space, but Gaiscioch had seen it and knew what he was about to do. He shifted, but both Breslyn and I shifted as well, anticipating his direction accurately.

  I was astounded at his audacity … but even more so, I was confounded by what his reasoning could be for showing himself when he was so outnumbered. He couldn’t hope to win against Breslyn and myself, and we had Ete at our back—not to mention the Druid priest and Shee Willow!

  Breslyn retrieved the gold netting before Gaiscioch could shift again. I shifted and was face to face with him before I realized … he wasn’t really there. He was but an illusion. He wasn’t there in the flesh. I stood back, and the three-dimensional image laughed and then laughed once more before it spoke. “You are bound to lose … tell your queen she and Tir will be mine … soon, very soon …”

  And then Gaiscioch’s lifelike image was gone, and the portal closed. I turned to Breslyn and held his shoulder. “I am for the queen … and my enfant.”

  “We will make certain no other portals remain.” Bres answered me on a hard note, and as I nodded, I was already so out of there! I had to get to my Z, because something told me she was already headed for trouble.

  I shifted first to the queen’s chambers and found it empty. No queen … no enfant. Damnation! Bloody hell!

  I scanned the royal palace for signs of them and found my queen busy with her Council members. I was a senior member of the Council but had no interest in their mundane matters. However, I shifted there and boldly interrupted Aaibhe’s conversation with a junior member to ask perhaps a bit harshly of my queen, “Where is she?”

  She gave me a cold look but relented and said, “Where would she be but in my chambers where I left her?”

  “She is not—and that is what I have been telling you. She is not like any other. She doesn’t obey for the sake of honor … she does what she thinks important … and she never stays where she is told to stay.”

  “Apparently not,” said the queen with a touch of irritation.

  “Gaiscioch has a new trick,” I told her with a shake of my head. “He can project his very believable image from what appeared to be a portal to the Dark Realm.”

  “A parlor trick … and of no consequence. You were merely startled by it, which is what he wished to accomplish for no other reason than to amuse himself.”

  “He had a message …”

  “What message?”

  I repeated Gaiscioch’s message to her, and her brilliant eyes darkened for the fraction of a moment before she said, “Thank you, my Prince. Now I think you must go and find our wayward princess.”

  Right … I thought, find her—easier said than done, but damn it all to perdition, that was precisely what I was going to do, as quickly as I could! By Danu, who knew what got into her busy brain and where it had taken her …

  * * *

  “Z …” I told myself, “You have been strictly instructed by your queen to wait for her here in her chambers.” Hmmm—yes, so I had, but after a few moments had gone by, and I had nothing to do but twirl my hair, it seemed silly. There were things that had to be wrapped up—like, let us not forget, the warlock.

  I had my little gold link belt around my jean-clad hips, and Rolo, who was about six inches in diameter, hanging from it. Rolo had woven an invisible spell around himself that would prevent humans from detecting its presence. A Fae—Dark or Light—would still recognize its presence.

  I shifted back to the open grassy field where I had last seen the warlock’s dark van and was surprised to find the van totally abandoned.

  I had thought to track the blasted thing back to its owner’s dirty little den. Well, that plan had just gone kablooy. So many plans do, you know. I was eating my bottom lip as I tried to figure out what next I could do.

  I shifted to town …

  Why? I don’t know why … it was as though something called me there. I stood on the quiet avenue and looked across the street at the bank idly wondering what the bank employees thought of Jaffrey’s disappearance, because they must already know he was gone … and I knew this because the garda’s white vehicle was parked outside.

  And then I remembered time on Tir was way different than our time, and I suddenly realized an entire day had passed while I had been there learning how to shape shift.

  “Some strange goings-on,” said a familiar voice at my back.

  I spun around and relaxed to smile at Aaron Dunbar. “Hi, Aaron … apparently so—though I can’t imagine what it could be.” I planted an innocent look on my face and added, “I was just going to go in … but I think I’ll put the bank off for another day.”

  “Aye … with all that I have seen on the way over here, I am beginning to wonder just what kind of a little village I’m living in.”

  I frowned over this. What did he mean? What had he seen? So, I asked (because I was nothing if not direct), “What do you mean?”

  “As I passed the MacClennys’ bed-and-breakfast establishment … I thought, no, I know, I saw lights—strange lights flashing inside the MacClennys’ utility shed.”

  I stiffened and said cautiously, “I thought they were away from home.”

  “Are they? Didn’t know—then who can it be that is inside their shed?”

  “Well …” I realized I didn’t have a car. I couldn’t very well shift off in front of him. I had to get away, but just how had become momentarily problematic.

  And then he said, �
��Want to drive over there and cover my back with your cell phone, and I’ll have a look?”

  Not a bad idea, I thought. “Sure.”

  He led me to his black Porsche, and I raised a brow. “It looks all buff and purty …”

  He grinned. “Yes, I think so.”

  It didn’t take long for us to get to the MacClennys’ place, and Aaron kept up a brew of idle chatter. He was quite charming, but the entire time I felt uneasy. Something was off, my senses were screaming, but it wasn’t until we arrived at the MacClennys’ that I realized it was my sense of smell kicking in and trying to tell me something …

  However, it was Rolo who finally made me understand. “Him … warlock … him … couldn’t get a reading at first, but know now … him!” Rolo said into my head.

  I looked at Aaron and tried to hide what I was thinking, but I suppose something must have displayed itself on my face because his eyes narrowed and he sneered, “Ah … figured it out, have you?”

  So saying he actually grabbed my arm and growled low and threateningly, “Shift out, little Fae Princess, and your very annoyingly rude Sally is dead.”

  “Sally?” I know I shrieked. I wouldn’t be able to bear it if Sally were drawn into this and hurt in any manner. “What do you mean Sally … are you saying that you have Sally? If you are, you will regret it. If you have hurt her, I will kill you … because I am half human and don’t have to adhere to the Treaty!”

  “That’s convenient.” He pulled a face at me and commanded harshly, “Get inside. I believe you already know your way around.”

  “Sally wouldn’t have gone anywhere with you! She would have put up a ruckus to bring in the town around your head …”

  “It was easily done. All I had to tell her was that we had been visiting friends and that you fainted—and had called for her. She couldn’t go with me fast enough.”

  “Terrible, awful pig,” I spat at him. I had to stay calm. I had to find a way through this. I had to find Sally and free her. He had a gun pointed at me. That wouldn’t kill me … it would slow me as my immortal body healed itself, but it wouldn’t seriously hurt me, but the damn bastard had my Sally—could point the gun at her …