by Lily Silver
They may be family, but they had come from very different worlds. She couldn’t understand his reasoning, any more than he could understand what she just said about modern teens in the twenty-first century.
“I fly,” Mick retorted with a slight snicker to his deep, mellifluous voice. “I’ve grown my wings, which is more than I can say for you, young Starling Fey. You’ve yet to grow a pair.”
She turned from the window to look at the men at the table. Mick was smiling at her, his sparkling sapphire eyes brimmed with superiority. So, he did get her meaning, after all.
“Does this mean I will grow a pair?” She nearly choked on the last words, grateful Dan wasn’t present for this conversation as she could just imagine what smart ass remark would emerge from his lips.
“Yes.” Mick came to stand beside her at the window. He was tall, and his crossed arms were muscular beneath his shirt, betraying masculine strength beyond the magnetic beauty of his face. Mick leaned low to whisper, “Mine appeared when I was seven hundred, but that is considered early. Most wings emerge at the tenth century mark, when a Fey reaches a full millennia in age.”
Tara gasped aloud. According to Mick, she was nine hundred years old—and Adrian was thirty-two. The idea of living centuries without Adrian scalded her heart. “What of our marriage?”
Mick’s hand circled her shoulder in a light touch of comfort. “He will age as humans do. You will age as our kind does.” His lips pinched into a tight line.
As Tara gazed up at him, Mick’s vibrant aura dimmed. He appeared grieved by his words, as he had been a companion to her husband since his birth, serving as a playmate and a guardian to Adrian. “There is rumored to be an ancient magic potion that bestows eternal life upon humans. At least, what would seem to them to be eternity due to their finite existence,” Mick whispered. “I know little of these things, only of the rumors, dear one. Another time, perhaps, we can delve into that mystery.”
It was so much to take in, too much for one morning. According to her brothers, not only were her chances of having a child with Adrian slim, but she was also suddenly faced with the bleak reality of his mortality. She would lose him to the ravages of time.
And yet, those concerns faded in contrast to the danger looming over the human race. The dark fey wanted to harm mankind. They were poisoning people. But for what purpose?
Chapter Twenty-One
At Mick’s insistence, Adrian and Tara followed the brothers across the hall.
The pale man sleeping on the bed did not stir at their entry. Riley bent over his patient, and frowned as he assessed his condition. “His pulse is strong, but his aura is weak. I may need to give him some fey blood after all.”
Adrian stepped close to peer at the poor fellow. He was breathing steadily, and yet, the pallor of his skin did not bode well for a sure recovery. “What does this man’s presence in our lodgings have to do with the evil you speak of, the plot of the dark ones to harm mankind?”
“This man is Dan’s boon companion,” Mick explained from across the room. “Riley’s gifts of seeing have shown him Mr. Bellows is destined for greatness. Early in the next century, he will help influence the minds of one nation while paving the way to freedom for another. His influence in parliament in the English House of Lords will prove essential to the nation of Ireland in gaining her freedom from British rule. Arthur Bellows will become a gifted statesmen and an advocate for human rights, both male and female rights. But, he’s just been deliberately poisoned, you see.”
“Deliberately?” Tara gasped. “I thought he just had a random case of food poisoning. Was it delivered in food or in drink? Do you know what form of poison it is?”
“It is a fey concoction,” Riley answered. “The poison is not known to humans.”
Adrian still didn’t grasp the significance of Mr. Bellows being a target. “So, Bellows has enemies, everyone does. You saved his life so he should go on to fulfill his destiny.”
Mick shook his head. He went to the table and lifted the bottle sitting upon it and held it up to the light coming in from their window. He agitated the bottle slightly, disturbing the remaining vibrant green liquid at the bottom. The movement made the fluid shimmer slightly, as if shaking it revealed the magic ingredient. “The poison is dispensed in a popular drink, and humans, once they taste this drink, will do anything to keep ingesting it. They become addicted to the elixir, and their minds slowly become enslaved.”
“They believe themselves enlightened by its use,” Riley added. “It does produce a mild euphoria, but in truth, the poison added to the elixir by the Darkling Fey causes mental degeneration at a rapid pace, with only a few doses.”
“How does Artemisia figure into this?” Tara came to stand beside Mick and gazed at the emerald liquid he held up to the sunlight. “You never did answer my question about her, or why she keeps coming to me in dreams, asking me to help her. She seems concerned about the dark ones. Perhaps she’s calling out to me for help because you two are ignoring her.”
“I’m not ignoring her,” Riley said, a little too defensively. “I’ve spent hours in her secret garden.”
Adrian smiled, realizing by the man’s tone and his wretched expression that he was besotted with this Green Lady, whereas Mick seemed to hold the woman in contempt.
Mick set the bottle on the table. He turned around to face them as he spoke. “Artemisia is also of the Starling Clans. Her family lived in the Alps region. She came here with her mortal lover, a Frenchman, at the turn of the century. She gave him the recipe to a potion she created from the herb she is named for.”
“Artemisia Absinthium,” Riley interjected. “Commonly known as wormwood.”
“Wormwood is nothing new,” Adrian informed them. He knew of it because of his grandmother’s old herbal books. “It is listed in Nicholas Culpepper’s Complete Herbal.”
“Yes,” Tara agreed with him. “It’s use dates back to the ancient Greeks.”
“But this particular drink,” Mick picked up the bottle again at its base and waved the nozzle at them, “Absinthe, is a special elixir created by Artemisia. There is more to it than simply wormwood steeped in alcohol. It is a complex formula, a tonic for melancholy intended only for fey use. Artemisia betrayed her race by giving this potent tonic to humans. Her lover distilled the drink and opened a factory, making it widely available for human use for the first time. He died several decades ago. Yet, she is still here, trapped in her fairy garden on his estate, unable to leave his home though he is long dead. Those who imbibe in her drink are transported to her fey court on the estate, at least in their minds if they enter a trance state, and that is when they are said to be possessed by her. She is known in these parts as the La Fee Verte or the Green Fairy. Her elixir was relatively harmless to man, if used with moderation.”
“That is the difficulty.” Riley countered, his finger raised in warning. “There are so many brands now it is nearly impossible to know which ones have been tainted by the Darkling Fey. Artemisia’s potion, if used in small amounts can enhance human creativity. The recipe emerging from the dark ones does just the opposite. As you pointed out, Bellows may go on to fulfill his destiny in the affairs of men, but there are too many others who will not survive, my lord. Brilliant men of this time who have fallen into madness, violence, and self-destruction.”
“Are you saying that your enemies, the Dark Ones, are seeking to alter human history?” Adrian was flabbergasted. He didn’t think the Fey cared much one way or another over the progress of humans. Sure, there were Fey like Mick, who for the cause of friendship with a mortal might help in human endeavors, but that was different. Adrian always believed the Sidhe Race cared little about human history.
“Yes, it would seem so.” Mick’s face was grave. It was so unlike the man to appear downcast. “And to answer your mind’s question, we do care about humanity. We of the Bright Starling Clans wish for you to prosper, as our two species have had a long history of mingling as allies and friend
s.”
“Why would your enemies wish to interfere in our history and harm us?”
“The Darkling Fey despise mankind. They see you as inferior. Primitive monkeys who have taken over the earth and believe they own it and ravage her resources. The dark ones love power. They yearn to be worshipped as they were in ancient times, to be feared and revered as gods once more. To accomplish that end, they must crush mankind’s rapid technological advancement. They must destroy this new steel Tower of Babel that has once more brought man together to celebrate the dawning of a new age of enlightenment.”
“You’re saying that ugly red tower rising to the sky,” Adrian swept his hand toward the hall, where through his apartment window the monstrosity was visible. “That is their target?”
“No.” Riley moved away from his scientific experiment cluttered on the table and stalked over to his patient on the bed. He touched the sleeping man’s neck with light fingers, and then straightened again to face Adrian. “The tower is merely a monument erected by mortals, a rallying point. The dark ones fear if they do not stop humanity’s great progress now, they will never be able to reclaim their hold on your race and bring a return to the dark times when they were worshipped as gods. They prefer to keep you enslaved by fear, the playthings of their dark and violent appetites. They would bring back such abhorrent traditions as human sacrifice, a practice that mankind, for the most part, have left behind as they progressed intellectually.”
Adrian needed to sit down. He glanced about the room, from one Fey brother to the other, and then at his lovely wife. He took the chair at the table. Leaning forward, he held his brow in his hands, and then brushed his palms over his head. “How does killing one man, or driving him insane, stop another from merely taking his place in the world, another man with similar aims?”
“It isn’t about one man’s destiny,” Mick replied. “‘Tis about human potential, for good and for evil. This explosion of knowledge brings enlightened thought and reason. The opposite of reason is madness. The opposite of enlightenment is fear. They prefer that your race live in ignorance and fear of them, so that they can glory in their power and rule over you once more. If they were successful, your kind would be enslaved by their darkness.”
Riley came to stand beside him and lifted the bottle of spirits from the table. He handed it to Adrian. “This is the medium in which they have chosen to hide their poison.”
Adrian uncorked the bottle and sniffed the mixture. It smelled of anise, lemon, and other substances he couldn’t place. He replaced the cork and set it aside. “I have seen signs advertising this drink everywhere, on every corner tavern.”
“It has become more popular than wine in recent years,” Riley replied. “I’ve learned there was a blight in the grape vineyards recently, making wine more expensive. This, in turn, has become cheaper. The original recipe is not deadly if used within reason. But humans have fallen under the sway of this gift of the Fey. Some drink it like water, and knowing this, the Dark Fey have tainted it so that those who seek enlightenment from it are instead poisoned and driven mad. Once the great minds of the age are destroyed, it would take little effort for them to enslave the uneducated and superstitious populations, “
“So, there is more than one brand. And you are saying not all brands of Absinthe are dangerous,” Adrian clarified. “Only the brand, or brands, that has this harmful ingredient will bring the madness to those who drink it?”
“That is correct,” Riley said. “Absinthe is now the celebrated drink of the times, the drink of poets, writers, artists and intellectuals. Artemisia claims the dark ones have stolen her recipe, corrupted it, and are deliberately poisoning the great minds of this age.”
“We need to find them and stop them,” Mick added. “Or like the Tower of Babel, the Great World Exposition and the Eiffel Tower will merely be a faded old legend.”
Adrian sat for a time, considering all that had been revealed to him. He saw the concern in Mick’s eyes, and the worry in Riley’s countenance. The bottle sat on the table, a long, slender column rising above the clutter, like the tower rising above the city.
The bottle had to come from some place. And so did the substance within it. “We need to find the factory where they are distilling this. Like any liquor, each brand has a point of origin. If we can locate their base of operations, we can find a way to shut it down.”
“Thinking like a militia leader again, are you now?” Mick grinned. “‘Tis a rare pleasure to have you ready to stand with us, Captain Midnight.”
Tara picked up the bottle and studied the label instead of the contents. The insignia was a swirl of black and gold, a sigil similar to the one Mick used to protect their lodgings against the Darkling Fey. This symbol had the same crescent moon, but it was filled in with black and outlined in gold. There was no line through the moon an no stars clustered about it. The word Absinthe was scrolled in old Gothic Black Forest lettering, along with the name of the brand, Lune Nuit, or Black Moon. “I’ve seen that symbol somewhere before.”
“Where?” Mick asked.
“At the exposition. There’s a booth giving away free samples of a new brand of Absinthe, a new recipe, the sign claimed. Gisele took me there when we were waiting for you and Dan to return from the Galerie of Machines.”
Adrian stood again. He looked so pale, and wouldn’t anyone if told another race of beings wanted to conquer them and turn them into slaves? “I remember you were badly frightened by something, you came rushing from that place as if the devil were on your heels.”
It was true. She experienced outright panic. The kind of terror that has no reasoning, just blank, all consuming fear, and it emerged when she looked into the eyes of that sinister barkeep. Was he a Darkling? “Yes, it felt like I’d just looked the devil in the eyes.” She turned to Mick, and moved to his side, seeking reassurance because he was her older brother. “He was one of them, wasn’t he?”
“Possibly.” Mick’s tone was cautious. “What happened? Did he recognize you?”
“I think so.” Tara’s heart sank at the realization. Yes, she had stumbled into the lair of the dark ones, and at the time, had no idea of her mistake. She’d been confused and terrified. “When our eyes met, it was as if he almost wanted to hiss at me. It was creepy. He left the counter and went to the back of the room to converse with another man. Both of them watched me move to the table and sit down. When I looked back again, I saw the two of them watching me, and I just knew instinctively I had to get out of there. I ran.”
“And this,” Riley took the bottle from her, “this is the label you saw there?”
She rolled her lips, uncertain. “I believe so. I’m not positive. But if they’re still there handing out samples, then we can just go back, can’t we?”
Mick shook his head. “You felt uncomfortable in their lair. You must have crossed a boundary, like the ones we set up to keep them from our lodgings. The dark spell would evoke panic in a young, unsuspecting fey.”
At Mick’s words about the sigils he had drawn about the building, Tara glanced at Adrian. He remained solemn, thoughtful. He was listening, and taking it in.
“We can’t go in there. They will recognize us as they did you,” Riley explained.
“I could,” Adrian said boldly. “And so could Dan. We could go and investigate the booth, get a sample and bring it back to you.”
It made sense. Tara looked at Mick, as all eyes waited for his approval of the plan.
Mick didn’t comment. “We must be cautious. We need to find out how many there are here in Paris. If they discover our whereabouts, they may try to launch an attack. We are but three of the Fey race.”
“There must be others here,” Tara suggested. “Couldn’t we call upon them for aid?”
Mick sighed deeply. His arms were crossed akimbo over his chest. He had the stern look of a military commander now. He raised a finger to his lips, as if that helped his thinking process. “No, I don’t believe there are others like us in
Paris. If there were, why would Artemisia keep calling out to us for aid? She’s trapped, locked in the estate garden by some kind of potent magic, likely dark magic. And if other fey were here then there would be no need for her to seek us out in our dreams for aid. She would have had others come to her assistance.”
“What should we do? Should we try to free her?” Riley asked. “I can find out why she is bound to the estate, if that would help.”
“Sure now,” Mick grinned. “Off with you, go visit herself, the Green Lady, but mind me, tarry not long. You’ve a patient who needs your tender care. And mind you don’t tell her what we are about. Play it dumb, brother, until we know what direction of the wind is filling her sails.”
Adrian had risen from his seat. His face was grave with concern. He glanced at Tara, and her heart grew tight with pain. She went to his side instinctively. His arms wrapped about her, he pulled her to him with desperation.
She wrapped an arm about him and walked him toward the door. Once there, she opened it and led him across the hall to their apartment. He needed a moment to adjust, and so did she.
It was the end of the world. The world they both knew.
“Tara …” His voice was tight, as if it were a struggle to speak, to form words. “I want you to know … regardless of what comes, regardless of what happens to either of us in this horrible mess, I love you. I will always love you.”
“Even if I can’t give you a child?”
It was an irreverent question, a trivial question given the news that mankind was being threatened by a dark force. But it was one she needed an answer to. “Even if it is to be only you and I for the rest of our days together?”
He looked at her carefully, a little shocked by her inquiry. His eyes moved about the room, and then he paused at the table where their dishes from breakfast remained clustered about. “It seems ages ago when we were told this disheartening news.” He studied her face. He was silent for a moment and then his eyes seemed to flood with pain. “As long as I have you … as long as we are together, I will be content. I love you. Always and forever.”