by Jessica Cage
The door to the home opened, and the moment they stepped across the threshold, they felt it—panic. Praia’s emotions radiated from her, filling the home with an alarming sensation.
“Whoa, what the hell is that?” Mike asked, grabbing his chest.
“It’s Praia, she is an empath, and very advanced. She is upset.” Jinn moved farther into his home. “Praia?” Jinn called out. Scanning the entrance and the living room just off the foyer, he looked for her, but didn’t find her lounging in her usual spot on the oversized sofa.
“Jinn? Help!” her voice called from the kitchen. The three ran to her to find her standing over Sybella, who was slumped over the table. “Help! I don’t know what happened. She was fine, and then—”
“Sybella?” Briar pushed past Jinn and Mike to get to the table. Gently, she lifted the seer’s head from the table. Blood leaked from her eyes “What the hell happened?” Bria turned and yelled at Praia. “You were supposed to be watching her!”
“I was. I …” Praia shook. “She was fine!”
“Praia, calm down. Tell us what happened,” Jinn coaxed the fae with a tranquil tone. If she got any more worked up, her emotions would start to overwhelm them all, and that wasn’t going to be good for any of them.
“She asked for tea, and I was making it. She said she needed to check in on Alesea, the queen. She said she felt something wasn’t right. She couldn’t tell, but she could sense some type of panic. Next thing I know, she fell forward on the table, and blood was coming from her eyes. I tried to help, but nothing worked.”
“She tried to see Alesea, and this happened?” Mike frowned. “That can’t be good, right? Has anything like this ever happened before?”
“No, it hasn’t,” Briar answered his question, still examining the seer, before turning to Praia. “Did anything else happen? Anything at all, focus!”
“Yes, um, she mumbled something.” Praia shook her head, trying to calm down before responding. She knew as well as Jinn just how dangerous it could be if she didn’t get a handle on her emotions.
“What? What did she say?”
“I don’t know. It was a name, I think.” Praia took a deep breath, refusing to let Briar’s anxieties rub off on her. “It was difficult to understand.”
“What name?” Jinn questioned again with a soothing tone.
“Um, shit … It sounded like Diego, or Digger, or something.”
“Daegal,” Jinn spoke the name.
“He’s here?” Mike stepped to the Jinn who held his fists tight at his sides. “Is that possible?”
“Apparently.” The djinn looked at Mike.
“Wait, she was trying to peek in on the queen, right? Not us?” Mike was the one to question the fae girl this time. “Are you sure?”
“She said Alesea specifically.”
“Shit, that means …” Mike trailed off as the pieces connected.
“We need to get to Vilar.” Briar turned to Mike and Jinn who wore mirroring looks of shock. “Now!”
The blue smoke settled on the city of Vilar which was in a state of panic; there wasn’t time for a subtler arrival. Besides, not one person who passed them gave a damn about the misfit gang in the streets. When the smoke cleared, they saw that what they feared was true. Vilar was under attack. The tower that stood at the center was under full lock down. Praia joined them this time, after Briar placed a protection spell around the seer only another fairy would be able to cross it. She would send help for the woman who, though she was still unconscious, was stable and had stopped bleeding.
“How are we going to get in?” Mike stared up at the building that was usually transparent with its large glass windows, but was now sealed in metal shutters that slid down from the top, locking everything out.
“They will let me inside, I’m the second.” Briar ran forward, and as she did, without so much as a word from her, the doors opened. They allowed only her and those she approved to enter the fortress before the building was sealed shut yet again. “Update,” Briar barked at the small girl who opened the door.
“The queen is trapped inside the chamber.” Her voice trembled with the weight of her fear and sorrow. She, like so many others, had already accepted the worst. “We cannot get the doors open. Mysti says she can feel another within.”
“Why haven’t we gone in?” Briar asked, confused by their lack of action. She forged ahead with the small girl shuffling along beside her, and Jinn, Praia, and Mike following close behind. “There are other ways inside that room!”
“Any time anyone gets close, they die.” The girl stumbled along. “We’ve tried every entrance. No one has gotten through alive.”
“What?” Briar paused momentarily, giving the girl a chance to explain. “We’ve lost people?”
“Yes, there is a perimeter set up. It looks like anything within ten feet of the door. At least that is as close as anyone has managed to get.” She paused, throwing a glance at Mike and scrunching her nose. “Why is he here?”
“Does that seem like an appropriate question to ask me right now?” Briar snapped with an authority that caused the girl to frown and drop her head with an apology. “Any plans to getting around this perimeter?” She continued marching forward to the queen’s chamber, and the four of them followed suit.
“No. Unfortunately, nothing we have tried has worked,” she repeated herself. “Mysti is heading up the team working to find a way inside.”
“Shit. Okay, we’re going up. Mike, stay down here please, just in case we need more muscle power.” She turned to the small girl again. “Get one of the healers to Sybella, now. She is hurt at Jinn’s home.” The girl nodded and ran off. “Jinn, Praia, come with me.”
“Are you sure you want me down here? Doesn’t feel at all welcoming,” Mike asked before he was left alone. Just a few feet away were a group of fairy guards, all of whom looked at the man like he was enemy number one.
Bria responded in a tone that resonated throughout the large space, echoing back to them, “You are here to help us, you arrived by my side. No one here will question that, or else they would be questioning my judgement.” She laid eyes on the fairies who watched them. They all nodded, a show of respect. They may not like Mike, but they would do him no harm.
“Okay, well, thanks.” Mike was in definite awe of the power Briar possessed, it was no wonder she was second in command.
The group left Mike by himself, uncomfortably positioned with the fairies. The elevator shot to the top of the crown where Mysti, a fairy with an air affinity, stood at the head of a group of guards—with a frantic, yet strategic focus, as they tried to find a way into the queen’s chamber.
“Mysti,” Briar addressed the head fairy as she stepped from the elevator, “report.”
“Briar, thank the heavens you are back!” Mysti quickly moved away from the others to Briar’s side. “We can’t get in. I’ve even tried to use the air to force my way inside, but as soon as it hits that boundary, it goes no farther.” Mysti was dressed the same as the others—black head to toe—but her hair hung around her face in blue waves. Their leader’s style had become popular for combat. Outside of the job, she dressed as elaborately as all the other fairies. She glanced briefly at Briar’s companions but knew better than to question their attendance.
“And what of the others, same result?” Briar continued, making note of who was in the room. There were two of the front line that were missing.
“Yes, unfortunately.”Mysti shook her head.
“Shit, have we tried entering from the back passage?” There was a secret passage that lead to the chambers. Not many knew about it, but all of the top level guards were well aware. It was to be used in cases of emergency, such as the one they were in.
“Yes, same scenario. We even tried coming from above. We lost Fia and Rig.” Mysti confirmed Briar’s suspicion with the names of the two who weren’t in line.
“Damn it!” Briar looked at the team. Panic was beginning to consume them, she had to
keep them all levelheaded. Her mind raced, trying to find a way to penetrate the field that held their queen hostage.
“This can’t be right,” Praia stated in a low tone, having been drawn to the perimeter of the magical field. “How?”
“What is it?” Jinn left Briar who was deep in thought and calculating her next move.
“This magic, it’s fae,” Praia whispered, not wanting to alarm anyone. If they thought the magic was fae, they might assume her people were taking a move against them. That wasn’t the case, she knew it, but they wouldn’t.
“What?” he whispered back, she was keeping her claim hushed, and Jinn quickly caught on as to why.
“It's moon energy.” She stepped forward, holding her hand out, and coming dangerously close to the boundary marked on the floor.
“Praia, stop!” Jinn called out, his fear that she was wrong crippled his ability to stop her.
She leaned forward, reaching farther until her fingers touch the boundary, but she was unharmed. From the tips of her finger, streams of cream-colored light shot out in all directions, as the magic of the moon recognized its child.
“How is this possible? How is he using fae magic?” She turned to Jinn with a worried gaze.
“I don’t know, but right now you’re our only hope of getting in there and stopping whatever the hell he is about to do.” Briar appeared by the djinn’s side, hope flushing over her for the first time since she’d come home.
Praia nodded, understanding what Briar wanted, and without question moved toward the door. The shield opened just enough for her singular form to pass through. Carefully she moved forward, not wanting to alert whoever was inside to her presence. As her hand touched the large gold knob, a gut-curdling scream rang out. Praia looked back to the group of fairies, all with horrified expressions. The scream was from Alesea—their queen was hurt. She turned the knob, but paused again when she noticed, beneath the view of her hand, crimson flowing from under the door. “Oh, no,” she whispered, but before she could enter the room to confirm her fears, Briar doubled over with sobs.
“She’s dead!” she cried out.
Jinn rushed forward, past Praia. The magic barrier had dropped, giving him access to the space and further confirming what they all knew to be true. He pushed the door open. In the dark of the room he smelled her first, the sweet scent of fairy blood, the quick release of the magic of the queen as it escaped her lifeless form and flowed like a river, tried and true, to the next in line to take the throne. He conjured light, setting flame to the sconces lining the walls of the room. In the blue light of his magic, he laid eyes upon the crumpled body of Alesea. Her hands were covered in the blood that leaked from the opening on her torso. Her eyes were wide and blank with death as the color faded from her skin, leaving her once honey tone in the deathly shade of grey.
He exited the room, looking around the hall at the late queen’s constituents. “She is gone.” Cries rang out as the fairies mourned their queen. Throughout the city of Vilar, the anguish was heard. People stopped in the streets, exited their home, all to stare at the sky and sob. Jinn focused on Briar who sat on her knees, silent. He took two steps toward her but stopped. The light of the queen, the magic that seeped from Alesea, traveled in a visible string of golden energy, from within the chamber, past the fae who still stood by the entrance, and to Briar. She opened her arms, baring her chest to the force, and accepted her rightful place as their new queen.
“You’re the queen now?” Mike stood in the now empty hall with the others. The room had been cleared, the former queen’s body taken so that it may be prepared for her return to the sun.
“It would seem.” Briar nodded, her face still damp from the tears she shed. This was not something she wanted; Alesea was a good queen to their people. “Well before my time.”
“Shit.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
Briar nodded again, this time with a small smile before her face turned hard again, burying her emotions. “There is a problem.”
“What is it?” Praia asked. She was having a hard time being in Vilar with all the fairies’ emotions. She tried her best to drown out the feelings, but every single soul in the city was mourning, and it stretched out farther as the news traveled to other locations.
“The Solaris stone, it's gone.” She kept her voice low; only a select few knew of it’s absence, and to alert any others would cause a panic that would wreak havoc upon the city.
“What stone?” Mike asked and looked to the others who seemed more informed, but not entirely.
“Come with me.” Briar led them back to the chamber, pausing just before stepping inside, the scent of blood, though cleaned from the surface of the floor, still lingered beneath the smell of cleaning solutions. She walked over to the throne, where she and every queen before her was meant to sit. Just above the headrest, was an opening. “Right here,” she pointed to the space which upon closer look had been damaged, “this is where it's meant to be, the Solaris stone. It is meant to harness the power of the sun. It concentrates it, allowing us to remain connected to its power even when it’s not above. It is also how we all stay connected, as one. Without it, our people are vulnerable. In time, the connection will begin to fade.” She looked to the three who had become her friends, her partners—she needed their help. “We must find it, before its too late.”
“Guys …” Praia stumbled back, holding her chest. Her eyes fell on Jinn, pain filled the wide orbs just as it painted her voice. “I need to call home.”
“Yes, okay.” Jinn conjured a portal, his version of a cellular phone. It allowed the user to peek in on anyone, anywhere. Because the portal was meant for her, Praia was the only one who could see the other side.
Praia peered through, her eyes frantically scanning a scene of chaos. She clutched her chest and shook her head. Tears, from her own sorrow, poured freely from reddened eyes. “This can’t be.”
“What's wrong?” Mike spoke softly to her. Jinn taught him quickly how to deal with her. He needed to remember that she was an empath and do nothing to further upset her.
“My home, it was attacked as well. The Lunaire stone, it works the same as the Solaris, it was stolen.”
“This cannot be good. Both stones taken on the same night.” Mike turned to Jinn. “Briar was right. She said we would know when he started in on his plan. This makes a huge statement. He attacked two of the most powerful houses.”
“Is your king okay?” Jinn, more concerned with Praia, put his arm around her.
Praiar nodded, her head low. “He is badly injured, but alive. His son was trapped with him. The prince has been lost.”
“Shit,” Mike muttered. “I’m so sorry, Praia.” Before he could stop himself, he pulled the girl away from Jinn and into his arms, and she sobbed.
“Why would he take them both? We have to figure out what his end game is. Where is this leading?” Briar directed her comment to Jinn. She felt just as much as the others, but as the new queen, she didn’t have the time or space for mourning—that would come later, after she had solved their problems.
“He has essentially crippled two of the most powerful forces that exist today.” The djinn paced the floor. “It seems like a plot for something more. With the fae and the fairies down, who else is there to stop him?”
“He also still has a collection of djinns to make his every wish come true,” Mike reminded them. He hadn’t brought up Nitara specifically, but it made no difference. Jinn’s jaw tightened even further.
“Something tells me we’re going to need a lot more help.” Mike, the only one not suffering from immediate heartache, helped Praia to a nearby seat. She was hurting more than the others knew and he had a very good idea of why. That would have to wait for a later conversation.
“Praia, can you get your people word about what's happening here? Recruit whatever help you can. Mike—” Briar turned to him, but was cut off by the slither who shook his head.
“Sorry.” Mike held up his h
ands, stopping Briar from continuing. “I hate to break it to you, but my people aren’t going to be jumping up to volunteer for this gig.”
“What?” The new queen lifted her chin just slightly, taking offense to his statement.
“I can speak for most in saying, as far as they are concerned, the empire can fall.” Mike was blunt in his response. His people wouldn’t care about what was going on in Vilar and she needed to know the complete truth.
“How can you say that?”
“Come on, you've seen with your own eyes what my people live like, what they are subjected to day in and day out. Living in dark tunnels, running from monsters who want them as a meal. Your people insured that we have to live that way, and hell, I've seen worse. Now you want them to jump up and help you protect all of this?” He laughed because as ridiculous as it sounded, he actually had to spell it out for her. “Then what happens? Do they get to go crawl back into their tunnels while you and your people resume the life of peaceful luxury? Sorry, but you’re going to have to come with something way better than a few pleases and thank yous.”
“What do you want?” Briar lowered her guard, thinking about what Mike said. He was right—those families, those children, lived in the worst possible conditions. Who was she to ask that they defend that way of life? They had nothing worth fighting for.
“We want better living, a place to call our own that isn’t the slums of the earth, the scorched lands where no one else desires to live.” He paused, knowing that the topic often got him riled up. This wasn’t the time for letting his emotions get the best of him. “Every other species, including the trolls, as horrible as they are, have their place. They have a sanctuary where they know they are safe, they can live their lives without worry of being hunted or murdered. Their children are safe and in healthy homes. This is what we want, it is what we have always wanted.”
“And if I can make that happen?” She stepped forward. She wanted to help, from the moment she saw the child in the tunnel, she wanted to free her of that world.