by Lil Hamilton
“This puzzles me, what you say, like this reality is fluid and the will of the fae make it what they want.”
“That’s right, you got it right there. What is confusing is traveling through it. Dangerous as well. This little patch is secure. It is small and the only marker leads into the mortal realm. There are no markers leading out. So the only way in, must be the long way, through whatever links there are to reach here.”
“So easy for her, hard for anyone else. As isolated as possible from other fae.”
“Exactly.”
“A lover perhaps?”
“Maybe. After all she did say she needed to prepare to leave to the Hells. Maybe she planned on ditching her paramour.” More like a protector though, from what it seemed, although the two were not mutually exclusive.
“Let’s take a look in that cottage. See if she has been here recently, if indeed she even stays here, and is not a circle leading to someone she knows. Besides what better place it hide if she were under attack and couldn’t win free?”
“Either way it can tell us more about our mark,” I agreed. But I didn’t like it at all. There was no reason for her to have a patch of Faerie, or that someone else would hold it for her. Again I cursed my cousin. I would leave this all be as it was. I didn’t care who was protecting the girl or why, only that if the Queen found her, she would be dead. We approached the cottage slowly and when we were close enough I felt a presence within.
‘What is it?’ Lan whispered into my mind.
I glared at him, but replied in a similar fashion. ‘There is someone home. From the pull of energy, it is the one who owns the plot. It could be dangerous. I will have troubles fighting someone in their own plot.’
Lan knelt down and placed his hand on the ground. I felt a slight ripple through my aura, like feathers on the skin, as his demon essence spread through the earth. His abilities would be literally repressed by the environment, but not so much that he could not get information.
‘You’re right. This landscape is oddly unified. Also I cannot sense anything but this small area. There is one fae presence within the cottage.’
Lan stood up and we looked at each other.
‘The maker of the plot,’ I said. ‘He’ll know we’re here. He would have felt us right away. Maybe he’s not going to be aggressive.’
Lan shrugged, but pulled his sword out. With Lan taking a protective stance behind me, I knocked on the door.
It swung open immediately and then the man who answered stared at me while I stared back in disbelief. He was classic Seelie fae, from his tipped ears to his arrogant features and long ivory hair. I suspect mutual disbelief, since his eyes widened ever so slightly and his lips thinned. He was the eldest son of the Queen and no friend of mine. My aura expanded the same time as his and instantly our minds clashed to assert authority over the reality. There was a crackle of energy as our outer auras overlapped.
I immediately used a doubt spell, hoping he would not be able to act as swiftly. As soon as I spun it out at him I began to speak the trigger words, “Timetus.” A mild assault, but sometimes slipped through the cracks of those overconfident in their brute strength. It was prime defence on my part when being attacked by those stronger. Try to weaken their confidence and slow their reflexes, simply to try and establish an even playing field.
“Dubito,” I added into the weave. “Incertus, cedo, cedo.”
He immediately assaulted me with memories to distract me. He tried to swarm me with them so that I would believe they were happening and be consumed by the illusion. I stood still and stiff as those memories assaulted me with painful force, but I resisted his push to make me believe. Let them flow into my mind, spiral down and be absorbed into my lower consciousness. That attack was so very uninspired and predictable. Did he think I was a child as to let him trap me in a mere memory?
We mentally tried to subvert the other and his mental push was stronger than mine, but tentative. He didn’t even release all his outer shields, which with his bloodline, would hit me hard. This was a fight I could not win. The best I could hope for was to break free and run for it.
He tipped the balance with a more aggressive move. “Dolor did servio,” he said causing an arching migraine to rip through my skull. The body being an easier mark than the mind, especially in a landscape he controlled. Pain was a powerful distraction and I felt my focus slip. It didn’t matter that I knew it was not real pain. It still felt damn real, which essentially made it real since I had no control over the fae patch.
It ended abruptly when Lan held the point of his sword to the man’s chest. Rather stunned out of the moment he looked at it and then at Lan. “There is no need to invite a demon, Raylien. That is not playing fair.” His tone was slightly amused.
“No need to attack me,” I said. Like a thrust from a sword would stop him long.
“We mutually attacked.”
“I believe that is customary when you despise someone. Besides I expect to be attacked by you. It is only common sense to respond quickly based on this expectation.”
“Tell me where my blood relation is and I will not drive you into your worst nightmare and make you stay there.”
Unfortunately, he could do that. The threat may have been as calmly flung out as any fae did, but he could back it. Not just because he more skilled and had more power, but because he had the home advantage of controlling reality within the patch. I had never stolen or overwritten someone’s claim to a realm or patch. I simply didn’t have that much influence over Faerie, even if my enemy was of equal skill and power. It gave me a distinct disadvantage, unless we were both on foreign ground or someone was attacking my patch.
“And I’ll cut your heart out,” Lan said, with a growl of threat, but dead calm in those obsidian eyes. “I wonder how long it would take for you to grow that back?” Seeing his aggression in my defence was very attractive, in a primal sort of way. I’d cheer him on if he chose to bash it out with the prince. What endless amusement that would provide.
“Will you?” the prince asked, raising one delicate eyebrow.
Lan hesitated, the sword dipping. Then sprung it up to his neck. “Don’t play such games with me, or I’ll do it now, even if Raylien objects.”
The moment we stepped onto the patch, Lan’s abilities were severely diminished, yet I seemed to provide a buffer against fae influence if he was in my shield. It may shield him from mental influence but it wouldn’t protect him if the prince used magic. He wouldn’t be able to defend himself with his elemental nature, since Faerie wasn’t composed of the same substance of the earthly realm and Hells. If I’d known I was going to stumble into a Prince of the Realm I would have done a lot of preparation, but at least Lan added some physical back-up if things went south. Two against one should count for something.
“I don’t really object, but I’ll say we have no idea where your daughter is, and in fact, I came through here to see why she would have an open circle.” I looked around and then back at him. “Found out.”
“Pull back your aura and I will pull back mine. Get your demon off me. And come in so we can discuss this in a civilized fashion.”
I bowed slightly, he was a prince of the court, even if I despised everything he was. I let my aura retreat around just me and Lan. Prince Gilliad did the same. He took a step back and gestured us in. The cottage had two bedrooms and looked like it had been decorated by Lily. The books she had all over the place were fae books. In other words, it looked like a simple mortal getaway rather than any structure Seelie fae would tolerate.
We sat down at the dinner table while Prince Gilliad poured tea. I took a sip of the pink coloured tea and smiled slightly. It reminded me of my mother, as it was her favourite brew, which made me wonder if Gilliad made me taste the tea as being familiar. We silently looked each other over, on my part shifting through my perceptions deciding which were real and which were manufactured by the landscape. The relaxing sense of peacefulness, of safety, was obvious emb
edded in the landscape. I had to accept that most landscapes would affect me in some way and had long since refined the ability to find which sensations, emotions and responses were fabricated. That is why I kept my emotions behind one shield within my mind so I could confirm what was mine and what was suggested. Just because I knew they were didn’t mean I was always capable of ignoring them. Some things the mind was not wired to ignore and training it to go against nature didn’t always work.
“So Prince Gilliad, I’m so surprised at you. I believe the Queen would be very upset you have spawned a daughter. What do you call it, futtering humans?”
He glared at me and flicked a hand dismissively. “It happens. My mother would kill her. I had no choice but to hide her and she cannot survive here. So she lived with a mortal for a mother and when that mortal passed she remained there. I created this place for her. Her little piece of Faerie. To be close to her, to see her and to teach her. She is my blood, Raylien. Mine and I will not have her killed for it.”
I was more than pleased to have such a dangerous secret over him. I needed all the fae allies I could get, and a Prince of the Realm was a good one. Although, I had many reasons to hate him. He was pure blooded fae and so in Faerie he was a great deal more powerful than I had. The fact he was playing nice actually put me a bit on edge. Maybe Lan added that necessary intimidation factor I entirely lacked. Or the prince wanted something from me. Of course, he could just be mildly curious and when satisfied would turn on us. I couldn’t spin enough spells to protect myself from what he could throw at me, but perhaps I could defend long enough for Lan to chop his head off. Cause that would slow him down.
“Yeah, your mother is quite the purist. In her court any mixing of bloodlines diminishes her favour. They end up scorned by the pure blooded Seelie, if such a thing even exists. Half-breed humans are considered nothing. Less than fae. Expendable little pawns.”
“As you well know.”
“I know it, you bastard,” I snarled and Lan gave me a look of surprise. Yeah, I flipped from laughter and calm to rage at the flip of a hat. It was that naughty demon blood in me. What I had to control, absolutely had to, was letting that demon side out.
Gilliad had raped me when I was sixteen, on behalf of the Queen, but he had made rape pleasurable. As in I was so wrapped up in spells I thought I was madly in love with him. The Queen’s lesson had been she owned my body and my mind. I was almost inclined to say it was not rape because such forced seductions were so common in the fae courts, for those of us in the impure bloodlines or for those getting forced into a lasting union. Just because it was common place did not make it anything other than rape. Ironically, that was a belief I had picked up living with humans. Being able to warp reality, and me, into making me see him differently was a great deal more frightening than physical violence. It was just one example of many that gave me issues when it came to relationships.
Even now I sensed him trying to sooth my emotions and enhance his appeal in my eyes, but that was such a mild influence he likely was not even aware of it. It didn’t work so well with Lan wrapped within my aura, as though his presence was resisting the prince’s influence. A mutual benefit it seemed. Interesting to know.
“I hear your mother is going mad and losing control over Faerie,” I said to piss him off. “I heard not only does the Living Throne have no flowers but that an aged Seelie fae was killed when someone beheaded her in her own plot. One of the pure born courtiers no less. That means our strength in Faerie is diminishing as she loses ground.”
“You heard that?” Gilliad said. “It is treason to say such things.”
He did not deny or confirm it. Not that I expected him to. There was a price to pay for outright lies among my people, so they tended to be vague at best. I rather liked to flaunt my ability to freely lie. He would not openly lie because the wild magic might take his words as truth, might make them truth, and might punish him for untruth. And whether the Queen was losing her grip or not it was a fact the wild magic was flaring up here and in the earthly realm. The rumours were creating a great deal of unrest amongst the Seelie because if she lost it then someone of her line would have to take the reins of power, lest the realm fall apart at the seams. People were picking sides. I was sure the prince was collecting supporters himself, quietly of course.
“It is and it is because she knows it’s true. And you are the heir. Or do you fear Faerie would reject you as well? Maybe the bloodline doesn’t flow so pure in you?”
He smiled. “Hardly. The Queen’s mental health is not your concern.”
I shrugged. “Whatever, man. I don‘t care if she loses it. I‘m new fae and a half-born to boot. Iron does not sting me like it does you, babe. If this place falls apart I can bide in the mortal realm without fading.”
“What do I need to do to ensure your silence?” Gilliad asked.
I frowned slightly. There were more than a few ways for him to ensure my silence that I could not stop even with Lan looking all threatening like. I fully expected to be walking out of here forgetting I came in. Obviously Gilliad had an interest in his daughter’s welfare and I was familiar with the mortal realm. He wanted me to do something for him of my own accord. Outstanding! That sort of dimmed the primal fear I had of such an aged power.
“Gilliad, I’m loyal to the crown and thus to a Prince of the Realm. I’ll tell no one of this patch. A prince is welcome to his privacy. If and only if, you are my ally at the Seelie Courts when I ask for it.”
“As always, so blunt and to the point. You just finished a time in the Chambers last you were here. What did you do to earn such a punishment this time?”
My smile slid away. “I did nothing. My mother did something. Besides I am growing to like it in there. I’m told it‘s like dreaming if dreaming was always night terrors.”
He flicked a glance at Lan and then raised a brow at me. “Your mother doesn’t need to do anything, half-breed. She is mated to the Demon Lord and thus, to the everlasting annoyance of the Queen, somewhat immune to influence.”
“Oh, yeah. The audacity of it all. And she is not pleased that I am ‘impure’. She is obsessed with pure Seelie fae. It’s absurd, it creates bias and frankly you look far back enough in a Seelie you will find a nymph or two. It’s just the way we roll. Your mother changed the entire court to suit her obsession. We are all Aos si but she stated only the elf born breeds who created Faerie were Seelie and pure and the wild born were lesser.”
The fact my mother gained some immunity through the bonding explained why the Queen took her frustration out on me and also why my father was so intent on seeing me mated. It actually made the mate bonding almost sound appealing, if it only did not include the mate and the bond part. “I tire of her petty games and painful punishments. I only come to report and then I get forced to play for her amusement and if I refuse in the Chambers I go. Last time it was two weeks, next time it could be longer. I tire of it, Gilliad. So I keep this secret and when you can you protect me from your mother’s sadistic games.”
“Then we are in agreement,” he said reaching his hand out to make it a binding one. I shook his hand and my power flared to accommodate the oath enforcement. It sucked that I was giving up the ability to use this information in the future, but a deal that protected me was a deal I could live with.
“Your daughter is missing. Last she was seen she had troubles with vamps. It could be she is vamp bait. It could be someone knows she is a Seelie half-breed.”
“It is not my mother. She would have used it against me already. She does not know. She cannot know.”
I shrugged. With the prince concealing his daughter’s existence it was not surprising I had not sensed Lily in Haven and it was possible the Queen had not as well. For one thing, neither of us had been looking.
“Then we will check out the vamp angle first, trace her tracks at the least.”
“And why is that?”
“She is in my city for one,” I said, wondering if I should lie ab
out the rest.
“She has mated with a demon,” Lan said bluntly and I inwardly winced. There was no point in bothering asking about his spontaneous honesty. I could feel the way the landscape was wrapping him up in a blanket of security and good will. I wasn’t about to inform Lan of the influence. Demons abhorred fae mind games.
“She has?” Gilliad asked. “I would have thought I raised her better than that.” He seemed amused by the idea. I hated that I could not tell if he was faking amusement and plotting the demise of his daughter’s lover or was actually amused. Even if the idea did entertain him it was likely not for a reason that would benefit Lily any.
“It’s totally a good thing,” I said. “She’ll need the protection if she is discovered by the Queen and the demon will be sufficient to keep her safe. To the Hells if need be.” I wasn’t certain how the half-breed would respond to the environment. Surely a mating between a demon and another race would only occur if their nature was somewhat compatible. Or it would be another case and point for the Persephone myth. But then maybe the witch would prefer a six month vacation from the Hells.
Gilliad sighed. “It is good, Raylien. It does not displease me. You have no worries about me defending her from such a bond or stealing her away. She is very vulnerable in the mortal realm, but it is the only safe place for her. I worry all the time over her and that is why I made a safe place for her to flee to. If she is claimed by demons, marked as such, then I know she will be safe.”
I leaned back and tried to hide my surprise. I thought he would be outraged. The sort of cold, disdainful and controlled outrage of the fae race, but still, outrage. I saw his point, as his offspring was half-human and could never make a claim in Faerie. Perhaps he did love her as a father should, but it was more likely she was a mistake he chose not to correct. A possession which was of no use to him and would be more than pleased to have that person taken to the Hells. If he did have any strong family ties to his half breed daughter I would be astonished, since fae saw family as objects to be used to the best political advantage. It was frankly astonishing he had enough sentiment to not have killed the girl at birth. One lucky girl or one clever mother. At least he did not think she was contaminated by her bloodline and be more disgusted about further diluting it with a demon mating. Obviously he didn’t take after his mother in that fashion.