Knowledge Protects

by D. S. Williams

  “What we can tell you,” Epi added, “is that your assistance is paramount to success. You could make a real difference to whether this war ends quickly, or drags on for many months to come.” His beady-eyed gaze swept over the assembled group. We had perhaps two hundred shapeshifters attending the meeting, not a large percentage of our population, but these were the shapeshifters deemed non-threatening. Jerome and his wife; Katie's former nanny, Cecilia Field, and Randy, along with his pack of bloodhounds, were among them.

  Keenan stepped forward, the hilt of his sword gripped in his huge fists, its tip resting on the ground. “Charlotte believes she can keep me corporeal while we spread word of Aethelwine's duplicity. With the addition of Fae magic in Charlotte's body, she has reached new levels of capability, previously unseen in Nememiah's Children. I have no doubt she can do what she suggests. While some of you will come with me to the Fae cities, many of you will be charged with travelling to the small towns and settlements of the Realm, passing on information via the leaflets we have prepared. Charlotte is correct in saying you will face untold danger. Not only will the Fae quite possibly kill you on sight, but if they are loyal to Aethelwine, they will kill you anyway, once they've read the message.”

  “I'd like you to think carefully on what we've said,” I concluded, looking out over the sea of faces. To one side, Randy and his father stood together, listening carefully. While Randy's dad was listening cautiously, a combination of enthusiasm and excitement shone in Randy's eyes, and I could only imagine what was running through his mind. We'd had no chance to talk since my return, but I'd seen him around camp a few times. He always offered a friendly wave and a bright smile, before his cheeks filled with color, making me suspect he still harbored a crush. I shook the thought from my mind and continued. “We can't give you a lot of time. Once you've talked it over, we'd appreciate your response by seven tonight. We're time poor and need to force the Fae army into a coup as swiftly as possible. If you agree to do this, the mission will begin at six am tomorrow morning.”

  Epi dismissed them, and people started making their way back to camp from the clearing. Epi had suggested that these shifters – the weaker of the races who'd joined us, should be given the respect of hearing our proposal without being placed under pressure by the other groups. I'd agreed, wanting them to make up their own minds. The prospect was worrying, these were the weakest and least intimidating of all our people. The thought of sending them into the Realm was troubling, the possibility of dozens of them being killed by the Fae a genuine fear. But it was the only way we'd discovered to spread the word quickly among the Fae, and Epi insisted it was the best idea we would come up with.

  Despite Epi's insistence that this was our best possible option, I wouldn't be surprised if nobody agreed to go.

  Chapter 37: Solutions

  I got proven wrong, when every single group agreed to take part in the mission.

  The following morning, as dawn broke over the horizon and the first weak sunlight colored the surrounding mountains, Keenan ventured into the Realm with an initial team of shifters. A wide range of non-threatening creatures – ducks, geese, otters, dogs, cats and meerkat among them – waited silently in a huddled mass, while the Fae opened rifts to send them into the Realm. Each little animal wore a specially-created jacket, sewn laboriously by hand to carry the pamphlets Epi and Keenan produced. The message was simple – a short letter, written by Keenan, carrying his crest, and notated by Arasinya – advising whoever read them, in various Fae languages, that Aethelwine was not their rightful Queen and would soon be deposed. It petitioned anyone who believed in the truth of the message to join forces with our group.

  I stood with Epi, Conal and Ben, watching our people disappear through the rifts and entering the Realm. My heart was in my throat, an uncomfortable lump I swallowed against when I considered how many of these people might not return. This plan went against my better judgement, and it would be perilous. Epi had already warned us we were likely to lose people every time they travelled and watching Cecilia, Randy and the others step through the rifts was awful.

  To take my mind off it, I knuckled under with training. With a turning point in the war swiftly approaching, and worried about the way I'd frozen up when I saw Archangelo, I threw myself into a day of exercise. Zaen was ready, only a few small details remained to be completed and others could handle those. With the first of our people in the Realm, I joined Conal, Nick and Arasinya on the training field, desperately trying to recoup some fighting capability. The months in the Realm had left me unprepared, muscle tone wasting away and with a lack of exercise, getting back into the swing of things was difficult. Added to that, recreating the smooth autonomy Nick, Conal and I had fought with in the past was challenging. With Arasinya in the mix, it was worse. She and I had only worked together for a matter of days before I'd been taken from Zaen, and now, we were frantically playing catch up. In my absence, Arasinya had teamed with Nick and Conal, and now I was the odd one out, a new member trying to integrate into an established team. As the day wore on, more than once I was reduced to tears, wondering if we could ever regain what we'd lost.

  “It will come, in time,” Arasinya reassured when we took a short break to gulp down some fluids. Covered in sweat, muscles aching, I didn't like to point out that we'd all but run out of time.

  We worked through the afternoon until the sun receded behind the mountains and dusk fell over the camp. I wanted nothing more than to shower, eat something, and collapse into bed.

  Approaching the showers, Lucas spoke up. “They are returning Charlotte.” There was sorrow in his tone, a note of underlying gravity which confirmed what I'd already expected. The first group were returning from the Realm, but we'd suffered casualties.

  We hurried to the clearing where the Fae had created the rifts, observing anxiously as the shifters returned. Several people stood in a circle around the rifts, weapons at the ready, on standby for any danger.

  The number of fatalities was shocking. Out of an initial team of fifty sent into the Realm, we'd lost ten, killed by the Fae when they approached. Despite this, the returning group were upbeat and convinced what they were doing was valuable.

  Their confidence seemed reasonable because along with the forty shapeshifters, more than a hundred curious, cautious Fae refugees had returned with them – people who hated Aethelwine's rule and wanted to join us. They included a small group of goblins, the first most of our people had ever seen, and a handful of Demi-Fey who fluttered through the rift, tiny wings flapping at a rapid pace before they settled in a group on the ground and curiously surveyed their new home. I wondered how we could possibly mark their shoulders with the wing, but we were going to have to figure it out. They'd come to our side – we had to determine a way to protect them. Looking at the diminutive, almost translucent creatures, I wondered how they could possibly help in the fight to come.

  Keenan was the last to step through the rift, and he greeted me with a heavy hand on my shoulder which almost drove me into the ground. “I have spent the day investigating Pelathrad, and I believe we've located a weakness in their outer guard. Tomorrow, we will enter the city, make our way to the Pelathrad Barracks and incite the warriors into switching sides.”

  “You think they'll agree?” I questioned.

  “There is much dissent,” Keenan agreed. “More than I had expected, which is advantageous.” He frowned, his jaw clenching tightly before he spoke again. “Aethelwine has treated the Realm in a disgraceful manner. She will be disavowed, once she has been overthrown.” Keenan glanced across at Arasinya, who was talking to the group of gnomes, her face animated as she explained something to them in their own language. “You are right to support Arasinya, Charlotte. She will be a more gracious, gentle and compassionate Queen to the Realm.”

  I yawned heavily. “I hope it goes as well as you hope tomorrow.”

  The Fae warriors, if Keenan successfully brought them to our side, wouldn't be joining us – they wo
uld remain in position, and hopefully, bring about change from within the Realm on receiving word the coup was to commence. Keenan squeezed my shoulder, a painful reminder of the aches I'd suffered since training. “Rest, Nememiah's Child, and sleep well knowing that I am confident of success.”

  Although the losses were tragic, it was sorrow tempered by relief over the progress made. Even so, I wondered if the shapeshifters could keep up this punishing schedule and for how long.

  It was something I asked Conal, when we finally retreated to his tent.

  “I don't know, Charlotte. That's a question none of us can answer,” Conal announced, slipping off his jeans and climbing into one of the sleeping bags. “We can only take each day as it comes.” He watched me, his eyes hooded with longing as I slipped off my own pants and crawled across to join him. Since the fiasco over the Tremaine pack challenge, Conal and I hadn't made love, taking time instead to adjust back into our relationship. Conal hadn't pressured me, and frankly, most of the time I was too exhausted to think about it. But the look in his eyes was a heady reminder of how much he loved me, and I experienced a tingle low in my belly, something which had been missing since the challenge. Climbing into the sleeping bag beside Conal, I rolled onto my side, rubbing a couple of fingers down from his cheek, over his neck and onto his chest, toying with his nipples, and then leaning over to press a long kiss to his lips.

  When I pulled away, Conal watched me for a minute, brushing his fingers through my hair. “Are we okay?” he asked softly. It was the same question he'd asked days ago, and I knew he was still treading on eggshells, trying to get a handle on my mood.

  I nodded, leaning down to kiss him again. “We're okay.”

  He rubbed his fingers against his temples, inhaling deeply, and the muscle in his stomach enticed me to trace over the lines and ridges, following up my fingers touch with my tongue.

  “You're exhausted, Charlotte. And I could see how sore you were after training,” Conal protested. “We don't have to do this…”

  I got up onto my knees, lifting one leg to slip over Conal's torso, and leaned back on my heels so I could watch him. I didn't miss the sharp intake of breath, the dilation of his pupils as my groin settled over his, the heat of his body sending tingles of anticipation dancing up my spine. “Yeah, we do. Because I love you, and I need you.”

  Conal grinned, his lips curving into a wolfish smile. “In that case…”

  And with a supernatural burst of speed and flexibility, he flipped me over onto my back, reversing our positions before he caught up my wrists in one large hand and held them over my head.

  I giggled, probably the first time I'd laughed in days, and when Conal slammed his mouth down onto mine in a toe-curling kiss, I could imagine my heart and soul coming together again, healed by Conal's touch. We would be okay.

  ≈†◊◊†◊◊†◊◊†≈

  It was pitch black outside when I woke, and I lay for a few seconds in the muted lamplight, trying to figure out what had interrupted my sleep. Conal lay beneath me, my cheek resting against his chest, his arm wrapped around my back. Patrick continued to sleep soundly, his little snorts and a snuffle the only noise.

  Mom's voice, when it came, startled me. “You're needed at the mess, Charlotte.”

  I jumped, disturbing Conal who woke immediately, on alert and surveying the tent for danger. “What's up?” he demanded.

  “What's up?” I repeated the same question with Mom. Conal waited beside me, one eyebrow lifted in curiosity.

  “The Cal-Tech people have finished decoding the words.”

  My heartbeat accelerated, and a swell of excitement stirred in my chest. I passed the news on to Conal and we dressed and hurried towards the mess, eager to discover what the words meant.

  Grant was more disheveled than when I'd last seen him, if that was possible. I stifled a smile when he raked his fingers through his wild brown hair, dislodging the pencil, which dropped to the floor of the tent. “I have news,” he announced, bending over to pick up the pencil and scratching at his head with it distractedly. His eyes were red rimmed from lack of sleep, but they bubbled with excitement. “We've got it figured out.”

  Epi appeared seconds later, and with him, Ripley, and Ben. “What is it?” Epi demanded.

  There was an air of excitement emanating from the members of Grant's team and Ben glanced down at me with an encouraging smile when Grant hurried towards the chalkboard containing the thirteen words and their related sigils. “This is what we've come up with.” He started to write English translations besides each of the words and I watched, fascinated, as he revealed their meanings.

  Fairies – Fairies

  Gnomes – Gnomes

  Dwarves – Dwarves

  Dragons – Dragons

  Giants – Giants

  Centaurs – Centaurs

  Unicorns – Unicorns

  Redcaps – Red Caps

  Elves – Elves

  Brownies – Brownies

  Trolls – Trolls

  Demi-Fey – Demi-Fey

  Pixies – Pixies

  Epi practically vibrated with excitement, his glasses slipping down his nose when he danced around on the spot. “Yes, yes, yes!” He turned to Conal and me, grinning like a loon and pointing to the words. “We can carve these sigils onto the wall beside Zaen's gates – don't you see? These are the sigils which will keep the Fae out of the city! It all makes sense now!”

  I glanced up at Conal and he shrugged, his approach cautious. “It seems feasible,” he agreed, studying the board. “We'll have to test it, but it could be a reasonable assumption.”

  “Of course it's reasonable!” Epi retorted. “It is the only answer – a way to keep the Fae out of the city, and keep our people safe inside the walls.” The little wizard studied the board for a moment before he spoke again. “We should place the sigils on the wall beside the gate immediately – except for the unicorns, of course – they're the Fae equivalent of Switzerland, and will no doubt remain impartial.”

  “You're forgetting one thing,” Ben pointed out, shoving his hands deep in his pockets. “The Fae are only one facet of the problem – even if we keep them out, we have to stop Bran breaking the walls down with his magic.”

  I rocked Patrick back and forth, flicking my gaze over the list time and again. Numerous thoughts crossed my mind, including nonsensical ones regarding some of these creatures. Giants? Dragons? Could they possibly be real?

  Lucas snorted a laugh. “Really? After everything you've seen and experienced, my love, you're still doubtful? Surely, you've come to terms with the fact that there is a whole world out there, hidden from human view? No matter that it has remained concealed – the truth remains the same. These are creatures of the Realm, they are real, and placing those sigils on Zaen's wall will keep them from entering.”

  My lips curved upwards in a faint smile. “This would be much easier if you just told me in the first place.”

  “Ah, love, if only I could. But I'm more use to you if I'm not banished by Nememiah.”

  I gave my attention to those standing around me – Epi, still bouncing from one foot to the other, clearly convinced we were on the right track; Ben and Ripley, who were watching me cautiously for a reaction; Grant and his group of Brainiac's, and Conal – my beloved Conal, who would follow me anywhere I asked him to go. “Epi's right. Let's go home to Zaen. We'll figure out what to do about Bran once we get there.”

  ≈†◊◊†◊◊†◊◊†≈

  Two days later, everyone was safely inside Zaen's immense walls, but we only had a matter of days to figure out our next move. The Fae were due for a guard change the following Wednesday – leaving us out of time.

  We still had the conundrum of the Red Cap message, which remained unsolved because I'd freed the only person who could translate it. Goren and Arasinya had considered a second foray into the Red Caps territory, but I'd shut them down. The Red Caps would be wary of another attempt to catch one of their kind and in
all honesty, I couldn't see what help it would be, even if we did manage the feat. Having experienced the angry little form of Dwarblrl'g Whetstone, I doubted we'd find a way to coerce the Red Caps into helping us.

  I was sitting with Conal and Epi in Matt and Misaki's cottage, discussing the continued forays into the Realm. Our numbers had swelled with more Fae joining us, but the costs mounted with each new mission behind enemy lines. On a bright note, Randy had survived his first, and second trip. I knew I shouldn't play favorites, but I'd be distraught if the teenager died. Keenan was making inroads with the Fae battalions, with two of the cities prepared to join our side the moment they received word. Dissent and open rebellion were spreading throughout the Realm, and that knowledge was enough to have me agreeing to the mission continuing, even though the death toll was catastrophically high.

  Matt sipped his now-cold coffee, grimaced and put the cup back on the coffee table. “I know it's tough, baby, but we're making huge progress.”

  “And with each passing day, our situation improves,” Epi agreed. “We have growing numbers of Fae joining us, willing to take the mark and fight on our side. And last evening, we were joined by some trolls, a species well versed in hand-to-hand combat. Of course, they do have a rather unattractive smell about them, but I'm sure we can live with that.” I noticed that he didn't sip his own cold coffee after he noticed Matt's scowl, instead waving a hand over his cup so the liquid magically began to steam again.

  “None of this is going to matter, when the Drâghici start pounding the walls with Bran's magical assistance,” I argued. I suspected something was still missing from the equation, but no matter how much I begged the spirits, they remained stubbornly silent.