by Amy Sumida
“And bring my boyfriend's ex-wife with you?” I lifted a brow.
“Lady Cliona wanted to visit her father,” Iseabal said innocently.
“Of course she did and I'm sure she had no idea that her gorgeous, valiant ex-husband whom she foolishly abandoned would be here as well,” I huffed. “I don't have time for this.” I turned and started walking away again.
“Mother?” I heard Keir's voice and froze... again.
“Ah, my son,” Iseabal purred as I turned on my heel and lunged for Keir.
Iseabal pulled back in shock as I pushed my father away from her.
“Dad, remember what we talked about?” I gave him a harsh look. “Do you have your amulets?”
“No,” he whispered in horror and I knew then that she had already begun to influence him.
My evil, psychotic grandmother had been enchanting my father for years, making him complacent to her wicked ways. But whatever juju she did, it didn't work on me and I had seen the obvious changes in Keir. We'd finally decided that he needed to wear anti-fey charms if he was ever around his mother again.
“Here,” I pulled a John the Conqueror root out of my pocket and slid it into the pouch at his waist. I'd started carrying it just in case of a situation like this and I was suddenly glad that I tended toward paranoia. Instantly, Keir looked calmer and saner.
“Thank you,” he sighed and then turned his angry eyes on his mother. “Did you really think that I'd never figure it out?”
“What?” Iseabal looked completely innocent but then she'd had centuries to practice her acting skills.
“The enchantment, Mother,” Keir growled. “Seren discovered it; how peculiar I act around you. How long have you been using magic to make me indifferent to your insanity?”
“I am not insane,” she ground out.
“If you're not insane,” Keir lowered his voice, “then you're evil and I want nothing to do with you.”
He turned and started to walk into the castle. Tiernan, Cat, and I followed after him. I was hoping to make it further than a few feet this time.
“Keir,” Iseabal called consolingly. “Sweetheart. Keir!”
“You were the one who told me to send Catriona and Seren back to the Human Realm,” Keir stopped and turned to face his mother again. “I wanted them with me. I thought I could protect them but you convinced me that I couldn't. Was that enchantment too? Did you force me to send my family away?”
I gaped at him, my throat closing in denial, and then looked towards my grandmother in stark accusation.
“It was for the best,” Iseabal whispered.
“Sweet Danu, you did,” Keir breathed in horror. “You killed Catriona.”
“Hardly,” she huffed. “We all know that was your brother's doing.”
“Goddess, what a family I have,” I muttered.
“You killed her!” Keir shouted as he bared his teeth at his mother.
“Keir,” she paled.
“Maybe it was not your words that directed the pukas but you are responsible,” Keir lifted his face to the sky and released a shriek of pure agony. “All of this time and I have blamed myself! I have lied awake in bed going over and over it in my head. What if I had just kept her with me? Why didn't I? Why did I send her away? When all along, it was you who sent her away. You made me betray the only woman I have ever loved!”
“You love me,” Iseabal glared at Keir. “I'm your mother. You must love me first and foremost.”
“You're dead to me,” he said, suddenly very calm, and the whole courtyard went silent in shock. “Let all here witness the death of my mother!” He shouted. “You are a phantom to me. I shall not hear your voice.”
“Keir, no!” Iseabal screeched and threw herself at him.
“I shall not see your face,” he shoved her away from him and the Queen of Seelie fell to the ground in a froth of frosty silk. “I shall know you nevermore!”
Keir flung a hand towards her as if to strike her down, and an acidic amethyst shimmer fluttered through the air. It fell over Iseabal like misty rain and she screamed as if it had burned her. Hands over her face, she crumpled in upon herself and wept.
“Come, Daughter,” Keir turned to me soberly. “We are needed elsewhere.”
I took his arm and we walked into the castle, no one daring to stop us this time. His whole body was trembling but I helped steady him and I don't think anyone was able to see how deeply affected the King of Twilight had been by his mother's death.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“Why do I feel like that was more of a battle than the one we just experienced with the witches?” I sighed as we walked into the council chambers.
“Family can wound you far deeper than any arrow,” Tiernan said grimly.
“Well, my mother can wound me no longer,” Keir said somberly.
“I'm so sorry, Dad,” I stopped and hugged him.
“She betrayed me,” he whispered. “In so many ways. But forcing me to send you and your mother away was more than I could forgive.”
“What did you do to her?” I dropped my voice so the high council members at the other end of the room wouldn't hear.
“I'll go inform them of the witches' request,” Tiernan said politely and walked away to give us some privacy.
“I killed her,” he sighed. “At least to me.”
“I don't understand.”
“It's a sort of psychic death,” he explained. “It severs all ties between two people. On my side, I won't be able to see her, even should she stand directly before me. I won't be able to hear her either, even should she scream in my face.”
“That can be bad,” I started to get worried. “You wouldn't even see her coming. She could enchant you at any time.”
“Yes, it puts me at a bit of a disadvantage,” he nodded. “But only should she try to physically attack me. As far as magic is concerned, she will not be able to cast any upon me. She does not exist for me, so my essence will not acknowledge any spell she tries to inflict upon me.”
“So she's invisible to you in all ways,” I mused. “She can see you but can't reach you.”
“If she were to grab me, I'd feel her touch,” he shrugged. “But I have my King's Guard to keep her away.”
“I can't imagine what this feels like for you,” I swallowed hard.
“No, your mother was wonderful,” he looked melancholy for a moment. “I had thought mine was too. Instead, I find that she's more monster than mother.”
“Well, you slayed that dragon,” I squeezed his hand.
“This one, however, still lives,” Raza said as he came through the door.
“Lord Raza,” Keir nodded.
“King Keir,” Raza nodded back.
“That was quite a display you put on in the courtyard,” Keir noted.
“I just heard that you were rather entrancing yourself,” Raza shot back.
“No,” I held my hand up to Raza. “Please don't. Joking about your nudity is not the same as joking about what happened with Queen Iseabal.”
“Of course it isn't,” Raza inclined his head. “My apologies, King Keir.”
“It's forgotten,” Keir waved it away. “I suppose I started it. But then again, I did just witness you waving your member in my daughter's face. That required a comment from me at the very least.”
I didn't think it was possible but Raza blushed.
“That was not how I meant...” Raza cleared his throat. “I should not have... it was entirely inappropriate when viewed in such a manner.”
“It's alright,” Keir laughed and laid a hand on Raza's shoulder. “But please keep that unusual appendage hidden when you're in public. It will haunt me.”
I clasped a hand to my mouth to keep from bursting into shocked laughter as my father walked past me. I glanced pointedly at Raza's crotch before I followed after my father. It took a few moments before Raza recovered enough to follow us down the hall and I enjoyed every second of his discomfort. We were already seated by t
he time he joined us.
“Lord Raza,” Councilman Greer greeted him and I realized that Lorcan must still be with his daughter. “Thank you for joining us. On behalf of the Fairy Council, I'd like to offer my sincerest apologies concerning your son. We will do everything we can to find him and bring him home safely.”
“Yes, I've had assurances from your ambassador already,” Raza shot me a look that I couldn't interpret.
“We are just waiting... ah, here he is,” Greer waved towards the door and we all turned to see the Chief Councilman Lorcan come walking in. “Councilman Lorcan, I was just offering our apologies to Lord Raza.”
“Yes, well, I think we've all behaved badly today,” Lorcan took his seat and gave Raza a measuring look.
I chuckled and slid a smirk in Raza's direction. I knew the look on Lorcan's face. It was the expression of a father facing off with an unsuitable suitor for his daughter. Raza was the bad boy in leather and Lorcan was the redneck daddy with a shotgun. Raza gave me an annoyed grimace.
“If we could get to the business at hand?” Tiernan asked and several council members muttered in agreement.
“Of course,” Lorcan sighed. “Princess Seren, what did the witches have to say?”
“They agree that there must be a third party at work and would like to conduct separate investigations to discover the truth,” I began. “They would also like to offer us an exchange of people, some witches for some hunters. So that the investigation cannot be compromised.”
“I think we should call the Human High Council and alert them to the situation,” Lorcan mused. “I believe they'll want to be included as well.”
“I'm sure the Coven would be fine with that,” I agreed.
“Good,” Lorcan looked down the table and the other council members nodded. “I shall contact the Human High Council immediately. Please wait here for my return,” he stood up and turned to exit the room through a small door to the left.
While we waited, refreshments were brought in and I downed two glasses before I even realized that I was drinking wine. I was so exhausted, my hands were starting to shake. I just wanted to get this settled and then sleep for two days straight. But I knew that wasn't going to happen.
“They're sending a team of extinguishers over now,” Lorcan said as he walked back in. “Princess Seren, please notify the Coven that we'll have ten people to exchange with them.”
“Yes, Councilman,” I stood up.
“And, Princess,” Lorcan added. “Please don't kick my daughter's ass all over the courtyard.”
“No, Chief Councilman, I won't,” I agreed but then muttered beneath my breath, “As long as she doesn't piss me off again.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The exchange went smoothly. I personally delivered our ten people; five hunters and five extinguishers, into the Coven's keeping. Lord Eadan Gale was among the hunters and Extinguisher Kate Teagan had flown in to be one of the extinguishers. Her father and the Kavanaugh twins had come with her but they would be assisting us on our end.
It wasn't like I had to deliver them far, the Coven had set up camp right outside the castle walls. So I basically walked them outside and then walked the ten chosen witches back in with me. Among the witches was Alpha Aidan and Prime Elder Jennifer Wasutke. Ms. Wasutke evidently felt the need to keep a close eye on us but Aidan just wanted to add to my already monumental male drama.
Other than the two I already knew, there were representatives from each of the remaining clans and an extra one from Flight and Beckoning. All I could think was; great, two necromancers running loose in a fairy castle, that's not asking for trouble at all.
As soon as I had everyone settled into their quarters, I set up a meeting for all of us within one of the libraries (fairies liked their books and there were three libraries in the High Council Castle). The High Councils were leaving the grunt work to my team, which included my Star's Guard, Raza, Councilman Teagan, the telepath twins, a few extinguishers, a handful of hunters, and the ten witches. It was a pretty big team but this was a weighty matter and even though the Councils were giving us free rein, they'd be expecting frequent reports.
The Coven was already packing up and heading to the airport, to follow whatever leads they could find. We would have to find our own angle. You may think I'd leap right into something magical to help us or even try some psychic means but sometimes the best investigative work is done through the simplest ways. Or maybe I just couldn't think of any helpful magic at the moment.
“Councilman Teagan,” I said after we'd all settled at one of the study tables in the library. “Did you or any of your group happen to bring a laptop with you?”
“Of course,” Teagan pulled a little laptop out of his briefcase and placed it on the table. “What do you need to look up?”
“Do we have access to the US Air Traffic Control's record of the flight of our missing plane?” I asked.
“I can get access,” Teagan nodded and started tapping away at the keys. After a few minutes he declared, “I have it,” and spun the laptop to face me. “As you can see, the plane made it all the way to New Mexico before it simply disappeared.”
“New Mexico,” I mused. “Can you get an exact location?”
“Ummm,” he turned the laptop back around and frowned at the screen.”
“Sir?” One of the extinguishers leaned in and tapped a few things. “There you go.”
“Thank you,” Teagan smiled at the man and then looked up at me. “It was... um,” he cleared his throat.
“What?” I frowned and everyone else went still, focused on the fumbling councilman.
“Roswell,” Teagan cleared his throat again. “It disappeared right over Roswell, New Mexico.”
“Shut up,” I gave a disbelieving chuckle and reached for the laptop. He pushed it over to me and I stared at the screen in disbelief. “Well, I'll be damned. It looks like aliens stole our plane.”
“Aliens?” Raza frowned at me.
“Roswell is home to the site of a famous UFO crash and has been the location of numerous UFO sightings over the years,” I explained. “It's like a Mecca for alien enthusiasts.”
“What is an alien enthusiast?” Raza asked like he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.
“Someone who not only believes in the existence of extra-terrestrials but who is obsessed by them,” I shrugged.
“Do you believe in extra-terrestrials?” Raza lifted a brow at me.
“Well yeah, obviously,” I huffed and he gaped at me. I lifted an eyebrow and smiled wide. “I'm looking at one.”
“Extra-terrestrial... something from another land,” he nodded. “Yes, I guess that's what we are.”
“But UFO sightings are not fey,” Teagan protested. “We're speaking of other entities entirely.”
“And do you think there are other entities?” I asked him. “I mean, what do you think of UFOs?”
“Honestly,” he shrugged. “I'm not sure. As you said yourself, fairies are aliens so how could they be the only ones?”
“I don't think it's a question of whether we're the only ones or not,” Tiernan mused. “More of a question of why these other aliens would travel so far to come to Earth and how would they accomplish this feat? We have raths to make travel easy for us. Our planets have been connected from the beginning but other aliens would have to travel through galaxies to reach Earth.”
“That's why they need spaceships, duh,” I grinned at him and laughed when he rolled his eyes.
“Perhaps a little less levity when we're trying to find my son, Princess Seren?” Raza set a stoic stare on me.
“I'm sorry,” I sobered. “You're right. So lets get back to the fact that the plane went missing right over this area where UFOs have been seen frequently.”
“Back to the aliens?” Aidan asked with a lifted brow.
“I'm not saying aliens are involved,” I shook my head. “But I think the location and what it's known for could be relevant.”
“I a
gree,” Teagan nodded.
“Perhaps,” Elder Wasutke muttered. “Or perhaps it's just a way of leading us off course. Or of telling us, in a round about manner, who they are... aliens from Fairy.”
I shot her a glance, wondering if she intended on making the investigation difficult for us, but she didn't say any more. She just sat and watched me with her beady black eyes. Okay, maybe that was a little unfair. Her eyes were creepy, not beady.
“Do any of you know of a witch who could make an entire plane invisible?” I asked the witches.
“You aren't supposed to be investigating witches,” Wasutke pointed at me accusingly. “So never mind what we can or cannot do.”
“I understand but we're collaborating because we're not sure who is behind this,” I said reasonably. “If we can rule out that a witch could do something like this, then I can move on.”
“The Coven will rule it out,” she crossed her arms.
“No witch that I know of can do such a thing,” one of the Beckoning witches stated.
Her name was Sarah Jacobson and she was a tiny thing; very pretty, catching the eye of several of my Guard already. Though once they found out what she could do and whom her ancestors most likely were, she became less attractive to them. Still, she had a calm and intelligent face, with sober sepia eyes and round cheeks like pearly peaches. She was quiet until she had something important to say and she listened to everything people around her said. I liked her immediately.
Wasutke shot Sarah an annoyed glance but didn't say anything. In fact, when Sarah stared back, Wasutke lowered her gaze. That widened my eyes. So a common member of Beckoning was more powerful than a Prime Elder of Flight? Interesting.
“Thank you, Sarah,” I smiled at her. “Now, a question for all the fey in the room; could a fairy do it?”
“It's a type of glamour,” Conri shrugged. “I would imagine that it's possible but you'd have to be very powerful and I'm not sure it would erase the plane from the sight of human machines.”
“Hmmm, good point,” Tiernan nodded. “Glamour magic tricks the eye but not radar and such.”