by Kimbra Swain
Centering myself on the stage, I muttered, “Be the Queen.”
“Silence,” I said in a normal tone of voice. The room became deathly quiet, except for a chuckle from the direction of the gypsies. “This evening, Levi completed the circle of protection around the town.” Before I even finished, Diego started to speak. He hadn’t so much as uttered a syllable when I turned on him. “You may speak when I allow you to speak. Are we clear?”
“Yes, my Queen,” he replied.
“As I was saying, unfortunately, the protection is only in place as long as Nestor and I hold hands at the completion point. We will need to discover what kind of anchor is needed to tie the spell in place. If anyone has any insight on that matter, they may speak to me privately after this meeting. In the meantime, the new Shady Grove Police Department will handle patrolling the checkpoints. Those of you with magical inclinations will be drafted to create cantrip spells along the borders in the woods to alert us to anything that might be passing the safe zone. If you would like to volunteer to do that, please see Mable Sims. She will coordinate the placement and timing of those cantrips. Finally, I am sending my brother, Finley, along with Levi to Rhiannon’s realm to retrieve the songbook. I take full responsibility for allowing it to leave our possession. I trusted my longtime friend, Jeremiah Freyman, and he has betrayed me. He will be dealt with accordingly. Finley and Levi will retrieve the book and return it to my possession. Just to add, because I know nothing is a secret in this town, Stephanie Davis has returned to town. The council will meet after this to decide her fate. I did not kill her immediately for which I’m grateful to Levi for stopping me. I have no desire to take a mother from a child especially in front of his face. If any of you have questions, tough. I’m not dealing with it tonight. Go to your homes. Be with your families. You are safe. We will start the cantrip process tomorrow. This meeting is adjourned.”
I saw angry faces flaring across the room, but I had to defuse the situation. The last thing I needed was them to feed off each other's anger. Perhaps by dismissing them, they would go home and let it go. I supposed it could backfire to the point where they all got angrier after letting it simmer, but I knew I could deal with it better in smaller groups. Otherwise, I would have to unleash Levi on all of them which in hindsight might have been interesting.
“If anyone makes a move this way, I’m stopping them,” Levi said. I saw him drawing power to himself. A large amount of it. Dylan felt it, looking back and forth between us.
“It’s okay,” I assured Dylan.
The crowd dispersed quickly, and no one made a move toward the stage. I was thankful until I saw the looks on the council’s faces.
“You may speak,” I said.
Diego rushed toward me, but Dylan was between us in an instant. His fist flamed as Diego’s claws shot out of his paws. I didn’t stop it. Diego fought me every chance he got, and frankly, I was tired of it. Diego stopped in his tracks half-shifted. His long arms were hairy with enormous paws, but they were attached to a human torso.
“Stand down, Diego,” Dylan warned him. Finley approached him from the other side of the stage. His royal armor had appeared, and he stood with his sword in hand. It glowed with chilly blue light.
Levi approached slowly, but I held my hand out to him urging him to hold his magic. “Levi, take Winnie to Mable,” I said. He scooped her up, rushing her to the door.
“All of you protect her. She isn’t fit to lead us,” he growled shaking his paw at me. His voice rumbled in the room.
“We will talk about this, but not with fists and claws,” Dylan said.
“You are all fools. The true queen has returned. We should follow her instead,” Diego said showing his true colors.
Laughter overtook me. I couldn’t help myself. All this time, Diego Santiago was a Stephanie supporter. I should have known. “Do all the shifters agree with you? Or is this your personal opinion?” I asked from behind Dylan.
“He doesn’t speak for all of us,” Amanda said from the doorway who stood there with Levi. “I had a feeling he would show himself tonight. Troy said I should be here just in case.”
“Oh, really. Are you planning a coup, Mr. Santiago?” I asked.
He looked at all of us, knowing he’d shown his hand. He was a traitor.
“Dylan,” I said softly. He stepped away from me allowing me to look Diego in the eye. “Mr. Santiago, you have committed treason against the kingdom of the Exiles. Do you have anything to say in your defense?” I asked.
“I helped her get back in town. I wanted her here to show you how a real queen should be,” he said.
“In accordance to his admission of guilt, I have the power to remove him from the council. Are there any objections?” I asked looking at the other council members. They shook their heads. “Very well. Diego Santiago, you are removed from your council seat. I propose Amanda Capps take his place out of sheer convenience. Council, please vote.”
“Yes,” Tabitha said.
“Yes,” Nestor said.
“Shame on you, Diego. Yes,” Betty said. I had to laugh. She loved to get her word in.
“Miss Capps, would you care to join us?” I asked.
“I would love to,” she replied, stepping up on the stage. She sat down in Diego’s seat.
“On your knees, Mr. Santiago,” I said.
“No,” he protested.
“I said, on your knees!” I forced my will out through my voice. The stage shook when the large man’s knees hit the wooden planks.
I walked toward the kneeling man. “Levi, go outside and see if anyone is left in the parking lot. I’d like a few witnesses.”
“Okay,” he said with wide eyes. He knew what I intended to do. For a moment, my resolve wavered, but I had told myself I needed to be the queen. That included executions.
Levi hurried outside, returning with a few people from town including a couple of the gypsies. I looked into the pale green eyes of Fordele as he and his wife, Wendy, entered the back of the auditorium.
“Thank you all for joining us. Mr. Santiago has admitted to treason. I wanted there to be witnesses to the actions taken by the council and myself just in case there were any questions when word traveled tomorrow around town. Now, Mr. Santiago, did you help Stephanie Davis return to Shady Grove despite our banishment?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied defiantly.
“You did this knowing that the punishment for treason is death, correct?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied.
My eyes met Dylan’s for a moment. I wanted to know what he thought of me. With a look, I knew that he supported me completely. A rush of confidence flowed over me as I turned to the council.
“As always, we vote,” I said to the council. “Vote your conscious. If you want him to live, then he will be imprisoned for life. If you want him to suffer the consequences of his actions, then he will die.”
“Death,” Amanda said without hesitation.
“Death,” Betty echoed.
Nestor rubbed his hand through his hair. I wouldn’t be angry with him if he voted for him to live. Nestor was kinder than I would ever be. “He must die,” Nestor said to my surprise.
“I agree,” Tabitha finished.
Before anything else was said, I pulled power from my tattoo and snapped my fingers. Diego Santiago burst into a fine dust of ice and snow which melted before it even hit the floor. I’d seen my father do it numerous times. I didn’t think. I just pulled on his wealth of knowledge and power to force myself to do it. I gasped after a moment, and Dylan looked alarmed.
“Shit,” I muttered. I felt his servitude disconnect from me. 1,036 fairies in Shady Grove. I turned to the spectators in the auditorium. “I’m sorry you had to see that, but he compromised what we are building here. We cannot have infiltrators. I don’t care if you disagree with me. That’s fine. You come talk to me about it or the council, but do not go behind my back. There will be consequences.”
The faces of the
twenty or so who had gathered varied from fear to appreciation. When my eyes met Fordele’s again, he nodded in agreement. It surprised me, but I remembered what his wife said about them looking for a safe place. Shady Grove was safer without traitors. They filed out of the room, leaving me once again with the council minus one bear, plus one wolf who had earned my trust over the past few months. I owed it to her at this point. Hopefully, this would cement our future relationship.
“Are you okay, Grace?” Nestor asked.
“No, but it had to be done. I needed to know I could do it if necessary,” I mumbled. Dylan looked like he wanted to take me home away from all of this, but he didn’t move from his spot standing beside me. “We have to decide on what happens to Stephanie Davis. She was banished. She used a member of this council to regain entry into the town, but she also has a child. Diego’s wife and children…” My voice cracked. Dylan didn’t hold back any longer. He put his arms around me. I didn’t cry, but it took me a moment to compose myself.
“Grace, the shifters have all decided to pack. No matter what the species. Diego had long opposed that decision. I think that pushed him to help Stephanie return to town. Troy and I tried to assure him that it was the best for everyone, but even his wife was concerned about his attitude toward all of it. She told me that he’d grown angry and violent since the election. She wouldn’t allow us to arrest him, but we should have told you instead of keeping it within the pack. I apologize for that, but it’s done. It won’t happen again. Don’t worry about his wife and children. They are safer now that he is gone. The pack will take care of our own,” Amanda said.
“Still, he was a father,” I said.
“And Stephanie is a mother,” Betty said. “Do we let her off because the child is Dylan’s?”
“We don’t know that the child is Dylan’s,” Nestor said.
“Dylan’s or not, the point is she broke the rules. We need to vote,” I sighed.
“Death,” Amanda said. She was quick to that before, even quicker this time.
“No,” Betty said.
“Death,” Tabitha said.
Nestor looked at Tabitha in disbelief. He thought she would vote no. He buried his face in his hand and muttered, “No.”
He knew his vote would force me to make the decision. It was in my hands now. The woman who potentially ruined my dreams. The woman who brought my uncle into this town to kill me resulting in my father’s death. The woman I hated more than anyone on the face of this earth or below it. But she was also the woman who was the mother of a child that might belong to the man I loved more than life itself. I looked into his eyes, but I knew he wouldn’t speak to influence my decision. He would support me either way.
“Grace, you can’t let her slip through the cracks again,” Amanda said.
“She’s right. She could do more harm than good. We can raise that boy in this town without her. It would be better for him,” Tabitha added.
“Grace, you vote for what you know is right,” Nestor said.
“Stop. All of you,” I said quietly. “I have enough voices in my head without all of you.”
With that, the only clear voice in my head spoke, “No. You will regret it,” Levi said.
“Will I? I hate her. You said she was manipulating all of us,” I said.
“No, I said Dylan was manipulating you, but I was wrong. I was jealous, and I admit to being an immature idiot from time to time. You can’t kill her. At least not until we know the truth about the boy. We might need her to find his real father. We might need her for other reasons as well. She might know things about Brock. About the Otherworld. Information to help us win the fight. Say no, Grace,” he said.
He was right. If my reasons for keeping her alive were simply because she was a mother, then it would be wrong, because I just took a father away from his children. No matter how bad he was, he was still their father. Stephanie knew things. With the right kind of persuasion, we could find out what we needed to know about the Otherworld.
“I vote no,” I said. Dylan relaxed next to me.
“Grace, please, think about this,” Amanda pleaded.
“Let her explain,” Nestor said. “Why did you decide to keep her alive?”
“Claim it as your idea. You need to look strong now. Use it. I don’t mind,” Levi said.
“Feels cheap,” I said.
“You are a trailer park queen,” he said.
“I am going to jerk a knot in your tail,” I said.
“Please,” he replied. I shot him a look across the room. He laughed. The council looked confused. As did Dylan.
“Ignore Levi. I voted against killing her because I see the perfect opportunity to question her about the dealings of my Uncle in the Otherworld. We could force her to tell us the truth so that we can prepare for an attack on us here or even an attack on Summer. Amanda knows this, but the rest of you might not know. Lysander was building an army of the worst of us. We know now that army is indebted to Brock for services rendered here in the real world. They will follow his orders, and from what Remington gathered back when all of this started, there are a lot of them. Fairies that got out of prison sentences thanks to Lysander, and I’m sure there were more with Krykos and his partner. Stephanie might be the key to unraveling all of this. Until the time that we decide that she is not worth the information, she lives. However, she is remanded to the motel room that she is in. If the child leaves, it needs to be with Dylan or Troy. Do you all agree?” I asked. It was already decided, but I wanted them to see my point. Levi’s point. Whomever’s point it was.
“I understand, but the moment she steps out, do we have permission to dispatch her?” Amanda asked.
“You will call me, and I will do it. She is my responsibility,” I said.
The long day started to weigh on me, and I teetered again. “Grace,” Levi called out to me across the room. I turned to face Dylan whose arms enveloped me before my knees gave out.
“Something is wrong,” he said.
Tabitha hovered over me. “She looks exhausted,” she said. “Take her home. I’ll come by and check her.”
“Levi, get over here,” Dylan demanded.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered. Dylan handed me to Levi who without instruction blinked us back to the trailer. He quickly took me to the bedroom, laying me on the bed. “Winnie.”
“Dylan is still there. He will get her,” Levi said, lightly touching my face. “Is it your father’s power? Are you fighting it again?”
“No. I didn’t think I was. It’s just been a long day. Standing out there with Nestor. I guess I’m out of shape,” I said.
“Grace, you are perfect,” he said. With just a small hint of power, he added, “Rest.”
My eyes fluttered with the command, then I was asleep.
A heated debate raged as I slowly became aware of my surroundings.
“She said it wasn’t her father’s power,” Levi protested.
“Perhaps Stephanie put a curse on her. It wouldn’t be hard for her. Kind of like the witches,” Nestor said.
“No. It’s something else, but we need to keep her safe,” Dylan replied.
“I’m fine,” I said.
The three men in my life turned to face me. I realized then that there was one other person in the room. My doctor and friend, Tabitha Mistborne. Beside me, a crystal glowed with purple power. Dylan walked to my bedside, sitting down next to me.
“Be honest. Are you okay?” he asked.
“I feel fine. Maybe just the stress of the last couple of days or something, but I feel normal,” I said. “What do you think, Tab?”
“Do want me to talk about your health in front of all of them?” she asked.
“In this one case, I don’t mind. Otherwise, Dylan is the only one that speaks for me,” I said.
“Something is draining your power. We need to find the source. It will be hard to track, but a spell or hex could definitely do it,” she said.
“Maybe I should speak to m
y father about it,” I said.
“Is he even there with you carrying around the power now?” Levi asked.
“He is,” I said. “We don’t know why he’s still tethered to this world and my stone circle.”
“What did Jenny want to talk to you about a couple of days ago?” Levi asked.
“Crap. I forgot about that,” I said, bolting up out of the bed. I looked down to make sure I was still clothed, and thankfully they had left my jeans and shirt on from the previous day. I slid shoes on my feet, as I made my way to the front door.
“Where are you going?” Dylan asked.
“Hey, Momma!” Winnie said as I got to the front door.
“Hey, baby! Give me some hugs,” I said as I bent down to her level. “Oh, I missed you.”
“I missed you too. Are you sick again?” she asked.
“No, I’m fine. Just a bad night,” I said.
“The bear man was mean. His little boy, Carlos, goes to school with me. He said his daddy was angry all the time,” she said.
“Well, he’s gone away for a long time now. Carlos is safe,” I said.
“That’s good. I will tell Mark. Mark wanted to go wolf and kill him,” she said.
“Dylan!” I said.
“I heard her. Let me call Troy,” he said, dialing on his cell.
“Do that and follow me,” I instructed.
They all followed me down the hill to Jenny’s trailer, except Nestor who stayed behind with Winnie. As we walked down the gravel road, the stench of rot got stronger.
“What the hell is that smell?” Levi asked.