Here There be Dragons (Book 4 in the Twilight Court Series)

by Amy Sumida

  “He'll help us?” I was skeptical until it uncoiled and swam through the gate ahead of us.

  We followed the tip of its spear- I mean tail, through the darkness and emerged in the depths of the Básmhor Sea. The massive snake cleared a path for us as we sped through the water. Anything that dared come too close to our little group was torn a new one, and I mean that quite literally. The fairy snake was efficient.

  It didn't take long before we came to a towering rock formation. The tizheruk curled around the base of the stone and settled in to wait while we swam up the craggy surface and into a cave. Inside, at the very back of the cave, there was a small tunnel. The grindylows carried us right into the slick passage and we went whizzing down and along curved tubes polished to a glassy smoothness. It reminded me of lava tubes I'd seen in Hawaii and I wondered if the grindylows were adept at fire magic. Perhaps the tubes weren't polished to a glassy surface but were in fact, glass. Sand melted into the shape of tubes.

  However the grindylows had built their tunnels, the slick surfaces were efficient for swimming. In mere minutes we came to a stop and one of them pushed open a little door set within the glass. He peered around the door and then looked back at us and shook his head.

  “Not here,” he said to the other grindylows and they picked us up once more.

  We went zipping along again and made two more stops before we found Uisdean's Guards. Boy were they shocked when I popped out of the secret hole in their wall and tumbled into their air bubble. I was tempted to yell; Surprise! But I don't think they would have appreciated the joke.

  “Princess Seren?” One of the guards came forward and gaped at me. “We were told you're dead, killed by dragon assassins.”

  “Yeah, not so much,” I huffed.

  “Gentlemen,” Chad said crisply. “The life of your king and your very own are in danger. You must come with us with all haste.”

  “We know, Your Majesty,” the knight bowed. “We've been locked in here for twenty minutes or so, separated from King Uisdean by force,” he waved to the injuries several of the guards sported.

  “Then let's go,” I waved to the hole and that was all they needed. They jumped into the disc of water, one by one. “Does anyone know where Uisdean's room is?” I asked them once we were safely back inside the tunnel. “I'm assuming they're keeping him there for now.”

  “It's right beside ours,” one of the men said and pointed down the tunnel, “that direction.”

  “Good, good,” the grindylows chirped and pointed to another little hatch.

  One of them opened it for me and I swam up and then climbed out into another air-filled but much grander room. I looked around at the enamel and gold furnishings and found my uncle pacing the slatted wood floor. His face was a mix of anxiety and anger while his fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly.

  “Hey there, Evil Uncle. How ya doin'?” I smirked and he jerked around to face me.

  “Seren?” He gaped at me.

  It was the first time I'd seen my uncle so utterly shocked and I admit that I enjoyed it thoroughly.

  “The rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated,” I beamed at him.

  “How?”

  “Raza.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yes.”

  “Indeed.”

  “Yes, indeed. You coming?” I waved to the hole in the wall and he headed straight for it. “Well damn,” I laughed. “I thought you'd need a little more convincing than that.”

  “Either I follow you or suffer an unimaginably horrible death at the hands of dragons,” he grimaced. “It's not much of a choice.”

  “Right. After you then,” I waved towards the hole and he crawled in.

  Just as the hatch was shutting behind me, the door to the room started rolling open.

  “Go, go, go,” I hissed as I cast my magic out behind me.

  A wall of thorns grew before the door and began to burn. Shouts from surprised and alarmed fairies carried over to me but I was too busy shutting the secret passage and hurrying everyone down the tunnel, to check if they'd seen us.

  Unfortunately, we weren't quite as fast exiting the coral court as we had been entering it. The grindylows couldn't carry all of the King's Guard, Uisdean, Chad, and myself, so we had to swim at a normal, excruciatingly slow pace.

  The water fey must not have spotted the secret passage though, because we made it out to the cave unmolested. Then the monstrous snake came in handy for more than just clearing our path. It allowed us to hold onto its many horns and catch a ride back to the rath.

  If the situation hadn't been so dire, I'd have found it humorous. A bunch of fairies holding the horns of a sea snake for dear life, like bull riders at a rodeo. I wished I had an underwater camera with me. The sight of Uisdean clinging to a tizheruk was one I wanted to remember.

  There were a few tense moments when the tizheruk had to lay the smack down on some overconfident monster but on the whole, it was an uneventful escape. The snake took us through the gate and stopped, which we all took to mean that the ride was over. Then we swam up to the surface on our own.

  We hadn't even bothered with the boat this time, it would have taken too long to sail it over to Auke Bay from Harris Harbor. It had been much faster to drive to Auke Bay and then swim out to the rath. Especially with the grindylows helping us. But now we had to swim back in without help from the grindylows while trying to avoid the attention of fishing boats and whale watchers. It was a long swim too and I was starting to tire.

  Right as I was considering dropping into a dead man's float for a bit of a rest, a grindylow surged up from beneath me and started to help me. I smiled in relief and was about to thank the sweet grindylow, when Chad came up beside us.

  “Why aren't you using your water beag, Princess?” Chad asked as he floated lazily towards shore on his back.

  “I'm not very good at it,” I made a face at the grindylow and she (he?) giggled.

  “This is a good time to give it another try,” one of Uisdean's guards offered me his hand. “Allow me to assist.”

  “But,” I clung to the grindylow desperately.

  “Princess Seren,” Chad chided. “What would your father say?”

  “Oh, that was a low blow,” I grumbled to Chad as I released the grindylow. It gave me a quick, encouraging peck on the cheek and then dove into the water, heading back to its friends.

  I took the guard's hand and felt the tingle of magic along his skin.

  “Feel how it flows off me, propelling me forward?” He asked.

  I concentrated on his energy field and I did feel it, “Yes.”

  “Now try to mimic that,” he said simply. “Imagine the water pushing back away from you.”

  And damn if that didn't work.

  “I guess I needed a better teacher,” I laughed, finally able to keep my face out of the water. “Thank you,” I released his hand.

  “My pleasure, Your Highness,” he smiled at me. “Thank you for saving us.”

  “You're welcome... I'm sorry, I forgot your name.”

  “It's Brett, Your Highness.”

  “You're welcome, Brett.”

  “Let me know if you need more lessons,” he winked a turquoise eye at me.

  “Um,” I floundered and had a near miss with a piece of driftwood. “I think I got it now.”

  “Leave her alone, Brett,” one of the other unseelie knights called. “You're scaring our savior.”

  “She's not our savior,” Uisdean growled and everyone went quiet.

  We headed for a deserted stretch of shore. Well, mostly deserted. Tiernan was waiting for us on the rocky coast.

  The grindylows tumbled out of the ocean on a frothy wave, tangling in seaweed and looking like a bunch of flotsam. They bounced up in a giggling mass and bounded over the rocks. It seemed as if they were incapable of sobriety and I kind of envied them that. Perhaps that's why Danu spoke to them; they were listening wholeheartedly. No doubts, no reservations, they just wanted to hear
their goddess.

  “Never again,” Tiernan swore as he enveloped me in a hug, getting himself soaked in the process. “The Goddess herself told me to watch over you,” he pulled back to look into my eyes. “You don't get to head into danger without me like this.”

  “Yes, sir,” I saluted him. “Now, let's get everyone off this beach before the dragons come for us.”

  “Let them try,” Uisdean growled as he glared at the water. “This is my kingdom and I doubt they'd be quite so successful here.”

  “Technically, this is the Human Realm and I'm in charge here. So you're coming with us,” I watched as Uisdean's eyes went round. “We need to have a talk, Uncle.”

  “Of course,” Uisdean nodded graciously.

  We all hiked up to the harbor, where the cars were parked. Tiernan, Uisdean, his Guard, and I headed towards the van Tiernan had drove down, while Chad took the grindylows with him in the car we'd drove earlier.

  Chad set out first and we followed in the van. Uisdean's Guard was seated around him, sending wary looks back and forth between their king and me. I sat in the front with Tiernan but I could still feel their stares. It was a tense trip to Chad's house and I almost wished I'd gone with Chad and the grindylows, who would no doubt be having the time of their lives.

  Sure enough, just as the thought occurred to me, I saw one of the grindylows hang his head out the window and catch the wind with his open mouth. His jowls wobbled wetly, spraying our windshield with spit, and a gleeful grindylow cheering trickled back to us.

  Tiernan turned on the wipers with a sigh.

  When we finally pulled into Chad's driveway, I jumped out and slid open the back door. It wasn't like Uisdean was going to bolt but I wasn't going to relax until we got him inside. It appeared that Chad felt the same way. He watched Uisdean carefully, with an angry expression which grew angrier with each passing moment. Now that we were all free of the underwater court and Uisdean's life wasn't in danger, we could afford to give into our outrage.

  “Go ahead, Princess,” Chad waved me towards the house. “I got this.”

  I gave him a tense nod and headed up the stairs with Tiernan. I opened the front door but stopped short in the doorway to gawk at the amount of fairies stuffed into Chad's living room. The grindylows squealed in delight and pushed past me, rushing up to greet the new mermaids, adlets, and a group of bald men whose genus I couldn't place. They looked vicious though, and were scanning the crowd like they weren't sure if they wanted to join the herd or start picking off the weak.

  “Those are the keeluts,” Tiernan whispered to me as he eased us to the side and started to shuck off his boots.

  “Really?” I looked them over. “Okay, yeah that makes sense.”

  Keeluts were a type of dog shifter. It seemed like Alaska attracted canine fairies. In dog form, the keeluts were hairless except for little tufts of fur around their ankles. The lack of hair must have influenced their human forms. These guys had eyebrows and lashes but, from what I could see, everywhere else was completely bald. I checked out their ankles but I didn't see any fur peeping out of their socks. Thank Danu for that.

  Uisdean walked in with his Guard and an aggressive muttering began.

  “Alright, let's all please calm down,” Chad closed the door behind them. “I will handle this, I promise you.”

  He turned and motioned Uisdean further into the room.

  “This has the feel of lynch mob,” Uisdean noted as he stepped forward.

  “Seen a lot of those, have you?” I noted dryly.

  “What exactly is so important to all of you that you'd be willing to risk the Sluagh for it?” Uisdean shrewdly questioned.

  The muttering faded.

  “I don't fear the Sluagh, King Uisdean,” Chad noted and vicious smiles replaced the thwarted looks on several fairy faces. “And I'm also a king, so you will answer to me for your crime.”

  “My what?” Uisdean scoffed as his Guard closed in around him. “Stand down,” he waved them back. “Explain yourself, water dragon,” Uisdean pointed imperiously to Chad.

  “Don't go that route,” I warned Uisdean. “We know, okay? Just admit to it and it will go much better for you.”

  “Admit to what?” Uisdean lifted a brow and smirked at me. He was so confident that we'd be unable to offer proof against him.

  “That you've been stealing from the Earth!” Raza roared as he stepped into the room from the hallway. “Did you really think you could keep it from your entire court? From me?”

  Uisdean's moonlight skin turned the color of curdled milk.

  “Why?” Chad shook his head at Uisdean. “Why would you do such a horrible thing?”

  “The humans do it all the time,” Uisdean scoffed. “If they don't care about their own planet, why should we?”

  “Because we are the Fey!” Raza strode forward till he stood directly in front of Uisdean. “Because we feel the rape of the world as if it were our very mother being violated. Because every strike of a spade against her is like a spike in our own hearts. Because...” Raza's face was twisting, elongating; a warning sign that he was close to losing his control and shifting.

  “Because you should know better,” I took Raza's hand faced my uncle with him. “Because it's wrong. Despicable.”

  Raza took a shaky breath and nodded his thanks to me.

  “Who are you to tell me what's wrong or right?” Uisdean sneered at me. “You barely know the truth from lie. You thought I was the one behind the failing breath spells but I wasn't, was I? Yet you stand here and tell me I should know better? You, who are only half a fairy?”

  I slapped him across the face.

  “That's for making my humanity into an insult,” I said calmly.

  The room went silent and I was treated to my second viewing of Uisdean's astounded expression. His Guard didn't know what to do, they stood with their hands hovering over their sword hilts, staring at something behind me. A glance over my shoulder proved my theory; my own Guard was at the ready, willing to fight it out because I had to go and bitch slap my evil uncle.

  “How dare-”

  I slapped him again and every fairy in the room gasped.

  “And that's for dragging me into your mess,” I growled into his face. “You took me down there knowing full well how volatile that situation was and how the dragons would react to news of Danu speaking to me. You deliberately placed me in danger and then, after Raza saved my life, I came back for you and saved yours. Your very ungrateful, offensive life.”

  No one even breathed as Uisdean's hand, which had been filling with dark light, slowly lowered.

  “You're right,” he whispered. “I put you in harm's way and you still returned to help me. I would not have done the same for you. I cannot afford to be so altruistic and neither should you, Seren. Mark my words well; it will hurt you in the end, this penchant you have for kindness,” he sneered and then sighed. “But I could at least be appreciative of the fact that you're so naive, and that it has resulted in my continued existence. I apologize for my rudeness and offer you my deepest gratitude for your intervention.”

  “Apology accepted, despite the fact that it wasn't delivered as much of one,” I said crisply. “Now, we all know you've done a horrible thing but that's kind of your SOP, so instead of squabbling over exactly how evil you are, let's just get to the part where you make it up to us by fixing it.”

  “Fixing it?” Uisdean lifted a brow.

  “I agree,” Chad nodded. “But I need to do one more thing before we get to that.”

  He punched Uisdean in the nose.

  “Aw damn,” I whispered as Raza started to chuckle over the scraping of swords coming free of their sheaths. “I should have punched him. That looked like way more fun.”

  “You deserved that at the very least,” Chad chided Uisdean as he helped him to his feet. “And I believe you owe me your gratitude as well. I did help you escape death at the hands of my own court.”

  Uisdean's nose bled crimson
down his chin but he made no move to wipe it away. Instead, he stared intensely at Chad while his Guard stood waiting behind him with drawn swords. My Guard drew their weapons too and the rest of the fey took it as a sign to settle into battle stances. Even the little grindylows were suddenly growling with claw-tipped hands spread menacingly before them. Their growls were interspersed with giggles but that only seemed to add to their fear factor.

  My hands fisted subconsciously and that was when I realized I was still holding Raza's hand.

  “So be it,” Uisdean wiped his blood away with the edge of his hand and then casually cleaned it off on his tunic. “You have your one strike. I hope you've enjoyed it, King Chiwen, because it's the last time you attack me without reparation.”

  “Understood,” Chad nodded. “Now, tell me all about your business with the Court of the Nine Sons.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Fairy functioned on a type of barter system, there was no currency to hoard. No banks, no coins, no paper money. Fairies generally gathered what they needed themselves and traded for what they couldn't find or make. Of course items such as jewels, metals, and even wood were harder to come by since the fey only used what they could gently harvest. That made these things more valuable. So the resources Uisdean had been stealing would have made his kingdom the wealthiest on the planet... at least on land. If Uisdean hadn't screwed up so royally. Pun intended.

  Uisdean was very forthcoming now that he realized his little enterprise was finished. Without the dragons, he had no way to import the resources his men mined and he wasn't about to let the Court of the Nine Sons take over exclusively. So he spilled his kingly guts.

  We learned all about the mining he'd been orchestrating and which resources he'd been taking. Uisdean told us how his fairies would go in at night and lay a sphere of silence over the site so they could work unimpeded till dawn. Then they'd transport their haul to the shoreline in vans. There, the water fey would take possession and carry the resources through the undersea rath to Fairy. Upon the shores of the Básmhor Sea, the same unseelie miners would meet back up the water fey and take their half of the goods to Unseelie Castle.