With a frown, Demi asked, “For what?” She began rocking Jago again.
“They know we’re here. They’ll open the portal again.” If they can, Huck thought.
Chapter 23
Without waiting for Konstanze or the other queens, Munro stepped into the blue haze of the portal to the Halls of Mist. She clearly believed the shift in the portal marked compliance with her demands. Fortunately, he hadn’t said anything the others could interpret as a promise or admission.
The first face Munro saw was Keeper Oszlár’s. The ancient faerie was flanked by druids. They all stood strangely still. Aaron exhaled with relief when he caught sight of Munro, who was immediately followed by Tràth. Douglas clapped Rory on the back. The new arrivals strode directly to the other druids. Keeping his voice low, Munro hurried to explain. “Konstanze has threatened to kill Demi and Jago the moment she gets back to Ashkyne unless we abandon the Halls of Mist. Tell me you have a plan. She’s right behind us.”
The druids all stared at the portal, waiting. Interestingly, no one materialised immediately. Either something had delayed them, Munro thought, or Konstanze was taking the opportunity to proclaim victory before passing through.
“What’s happened? Why did the portal go down?” Munro asked.
“The whole thing was a battle, but if we’re right, we convinced the Stone to temporarily cut Ashkyne off from the Source.”
Munro blinked and looked to Oszlár. “What does that mean?”
The elder keeper appeared as serious and stoic as ever. “In truth, I don’t know. Your brothers and sister have awoken an aspect of the Stone we haven’t encountered before. In my thirteen hundred years of service to the Stone, I have never witnessed the artefact responding like this. We keepers are both astonished by what you have accomplished…and afraid.”
The concern in his voice alarmed Munro. Aaron quickly sketched out their encounter with the Stone and its response.
Munro started to ask the keeper whether the discovery was a good thing. Before he could speak, the wedding guests emerged through the portal in small clusters.
None would meet his eyes. As he feared, Konstanze must have announced that the druids were a bunch of frauds parading as draoidh and had convinced them to admit their deception. Konstanze arrived last.
“Are you sure her kingdom is cut off?” he asked the other druids quietly.
Aaron nodded. “None of us could reach Ashkyne when we tried, not even Oszlár.”
“Can you restore the connection?” Munro asked.
The other druids exchanged glances. Douglas said, “I think so.”
“Jesus,” Munro muttered. He didn’t know what would happen to a kingdom cut off from the Source Stone. It might be simply like shutting a door. On the other hand, Oszlár had always spoken about the Stone as a more than an artefact, but almost like an anchor. In truth, Ashkyne might have been dying.
Konstanze stood in front of the portal, other queens and dignitaries fanning out from her on either side. “I believe you have an announcement?” She smiled maliciously.
“Yes,” Munro said. “We do.” He nodded, taking the measure of the other queens. Some wore expressions of curiosity, while others appeared disdainful or even disappointed. After a long moment, he regarded Konstanze. “We Druid Lords believe it is, for the present time, acceptable for you to retain your throne. Our decision comes despite your disrespect to us, to the Keepers of the Stone, and your threats against one of our Hall.”
Konstanze barked an involuntary laugh, but stopped abruptly when she caught the expressions on all the druids’ faces. The other queens glanced at one another in astonished puzzlement.
“Return the Druid Lady Demi Hartmann to us now, along with her son, the leth-draoidh child Jago. Do this, and we will restore your kingdom to you.”
“Restore…” Her eyes flashed with anger. “Neither you nor the keepers have the right to deny any queen passage to her kingdom, nor even suggest taking her throne. The precepts of the Halls of Mist are inviolable. You have no authority.”
“And the will of the Source Stone?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She gestured to the portal behind her. “I see no indication any gates are shifting. And why would they? I am one of the most powerful queens in the Otherworld. My position is secure.” She sneered. “Unlike yours.”
“We are draoidh,” Munro said.
She threw back her head and laughed. “You are not even shadows of the great fae sorcerers of old.” She glanced at the other queens. “I must take my leave. I have an execution to witness.”
Munro bowed to her. “As you wish. Go. If you can.”
Without even a trace of doubt on her face, she, her mate, and the others of her entourage turned back to the portal. Konstanze led them towards the shining globe of blue light and stepped inside. They remained on the platform, bathed in azure light. They looked at one another, confused. The other queens who watched murmured in shock.
Konstanze spun around, fury contorting her features. “What have you done?” she demanded.
“The Stone bends to the will of the draoidh,” Aaron said calmly.
The enraged queen stared at him in disbelief. “This is some kind of deception,” she said. “You discovered a trick to block the portal so none can pass through.”
Douglas chuckled. “Oh, anyone else can leave, Your Majesty,” he said. “Just not you, you great cow.”
Munro shot him a pointed glance, and the youngest druid shrugged but seemed abashed. Turning back to Konstanze, Munro said, “Feel free to try. The other queens are at liberty to travel to their kingdoms as always. But, until you order the release of the druid and her child, Ashkyne is cut off from the Halls of Mist…and the power of the Stone.”
“Release the human who murdered my brother?” she spat.
“We both know she didn’t kill him,” Munro said quietly.
She strode forward, away from the portal’s glow. “Someone must be held accountable.”
Munro tilted his head. “Ulrich was the architect of his own demise. We can either lay out his iniquities for all to judge, or you can let his memory rest with dignity. Why not allow your people to maintain whatever esteem they still hold for him…and your family.”
One of the other queens stepped closer. “My lord druid,” she said to Munro. “We have your leave to depart for our kingdoms?” She bowed to him, keeping her gaze low.
“Of course,” he said. “We have no wish to interfere with the kingdoms. We only seek to protect one of our own, wrongly accused, and the child Konstanze promised me she would kill alongside our sister druid.”
Gasps and chatter rippled through the crowd of onlookers.
“Thank you, my lord druid,” the queen said. She signalled to those near her. With some hesitation, they turned to the portal. With an intake of breath, she approached it. In mere seconds, she and her party vanished.
For the first time, Konstanze seemed concerned. She glared at Munro, then towards the other queens. “We must stand together,” she said. “We cannot allow these humans to dictate to us, to murder our families.”
Zdanye, Queen of Tvorskane, shook her head. “Now is the time for truth. Prince Ulrich was a vile faerie, Queen Konstanze. All who knew him have little trouble conceiving of that reality. If no evidence exists that this woman did wrong to him, and if she is a druid under the protection of their Hall, you have no claim.” With a bow to Munro, she said, “My lord druid, I take my leave. I wish blessings to you and your mate.”
Munro tilted his head, acknowledging her respect. “Thank you, Queen Zdanye.”
After the Tvorskane contingent departed, no others left the Halls of Mist. The queens and their contingents moved decidedly away from Konstanze, taking up positions on the opposite side of the courtyard.
Konstanze simmered. “I do not believe you,” she said. “You have merely performed a trick, like the illusions of an astral fae.”
Munro nodded, “It could be true, I suppose
,” he said. “But tell me this. What if we speak the truth? How long do you think your people can survive, cut off from the Source of all magic? Days? Hours?” He paused. “Would you rather see your people die than bend, when you know you are in the wrong?”
She glowered at him. “I see nothing to indicate my people are in any jeopardy. All you have done is strand me and my royal party against our will, in direct violation of every precept of the Halls of Mist.”
Aaron spoke up. “We have done nothing but commune with the Stone. The Stone chooses according to the good of the fae. Is your response to abandon your people when they are isolated from the Source?”
Konstanze hesitated, turning her attention to the portal. “You claim you can bend the Stone?”
“Why do you dismiss the evidence of your own eyes?” Munro asked.
“If this is true, then allow us to pass. How can we even consider your claims with no proof what you say is true?” Her eyes gleamed with anger.
Aaron whispered to Munro. “I don’t trust her. If we let her pass, Demi’s as good as dead.”
“Agreed,” Munro replied quietly. He glanced at Oszlár, then back to Konstanze. “Then we are at an impasse,” he said. “You do not trust our word, but how could we ask the Stone to restore the portal without first receiving your guarantee of Demi and Jago’s release?”
Surprisingly, her smile returned. “This proves you false,” she said.
“In what way?” Munro asked.
“You claim my people are in immediate danger, severed from the Source. This cannot be the will of the Stone. The keepers have always maintained that the Stone acts for the good of the fae. Tell me, Keeper Oszlár, how would the death and suffering of hundreds of thousands of faeries benefit our race?” She looked at the other queens, then back to Munro. “Will you really condemn an entire nation to die? Do you wonder that a queen would defy you, when you hold an entire nation hostage if we do not meet your outrageous demands?”
“You cannot have it both ways, Konstanze. First you challenge us as toothless pretenders, but now you claim we are powerful tyrants. All we ask is your unbreaking guarantee of the lives of Demi Hartmann and the leth-draoidh child Jago.”
“And all I ask is that first you show evidence that you are not performing your usual parlour tricks. Until I see proof, I have no reason to believe my people are in danger. If I’m right and this is some harmless deceit, then all my capitulation would do would perpetuate your dangerous mythology and elevate your false claims even further.”
Munro and Queen Konstanze stared at each other intently. Munro had no desire to see her people suffer, and he was shocked she would let it go that far. What could he do to prove to her the Stone had severed her people from the Source?
The blue glow of the portal darkened, and crackling energy shimmered along its surface.
Munro turned to Oszlár. “How long can Ashkyne survive disconnected from the Source Stone?” he asked.
Oszlár shook his head. “Not long, my lord druid. I’ve seen many fae severed. It is a maddening state.”
Munro ran his hand through his hair and paused a long time, lost in thought. He couldn’t let all those people die. Finally he said, “Douglas, ask the Stone to open the portal to Ashkyne and restore her people to the Source.”
“If you do that,” Aaron said, “she’ll kill Demi and Jago as soon as she arrives safely in her own kingdom.”
“I know.” Munro looked at the other queens and their worried faces. “But I can’t let hundreds of thousands of faeries die to save two druids.”
“If Demi doesn’t return,” Aaron said, “then we’ll just cut off her kingdom again, this time with her trapped inside, and we won’t let go.”
“No,” Munro said with a sigh in his voice. “Doing so might break the Stone. As she rightly said, the Stone protects her race. Besides, we have no desire to become oppressors. If Demi and Jago die at her hands, we will seek justice, but not vengeance. We must save Ashkyne, even if its queen will not.”
The portal darkened further, and once more electric bolts shot out all around it. Everyone in the courtyard scurried away from it. A loud crack sounded and an arm of lightning whipped through the blue light. Several figures emerged, bathed in a blazing coil of light.
The burning glow faded, revealing Huck supporting a sickly faerie, and a frightened Demi clutching her child to her chest. The portal calmed, and a hush fell over the courtyard.
“What is this?” Konstanze demanded.
“Your proof, Your Majesty” Keeper Oszlár said.
Demi looked around wildly, until finally her gaze settled on Munro. He beckoned her towards him. “It’s okay,” he said. “You’re safe here.” With a glance at Huck, she hurried over to Munro, clearly wanting to get as far away from the portal as possible.
“She is my prisoner!” Konstanze shouted.
“Not anymore, she isn’t. You wanted proof your people are in danger? There it is.” He gestured to Huck and the faerie with him.
“It’s true, Your Majesty,” the blue-skinned faerie said, gulping in the magical air of the Halls of Mist like a drowning man. “In our journey from the cells, through the castle, and to the portal dais, all faeries I have seen are weak and possibly dying.”
“You were the agent of their escape?” she said. “One of my own Watchers betrayed Ashkyne?”
He breathed deeply and stood a little straighter. “You betrayed Ashkyne when you defied the draoidh, Your Majesty. This woman is innocent of murder. Of that I have little doubt. She killed Ulrich in self-defence, and you ordered her execution out of a reckless desire for political gain. Even now, our people are dying because of you.” He tilted his head. “I have pledged my life to Lady Druid Demi Hartmann and the Druid Hall. I will not serve Ashkyne, even in its death throes, with a traitorous queen as its head."
Huck still stood beside the faerie. He looked like hell. “Munro,” he said. “If there’s anything you can do, you have to help them. It’s bad in there.”
Munro nodded. “To the library,” he said. “We must open the portal to Ashkyne and save whomever we can.”
He, Douglas, and Aaron started to leave, but they paused with a start when the portal grew suddenly even darker. The light disappeared completely, and the dark rune-covered disk appeared, the same disk they’d seen the day Eilidh took control of Queen Vinye’s kingdom. The queens in the crowded courtyard murmured loudly.
“The gates are shifting,” Oszlár said. “Keepers, we must go below.”
“No!” Konstanze shouted. She glanced around quickly. “No,” she repeated, more calmly. She approached Munro, then looked down, her lips pressed together so hard they whitened. With a bitter sigh, she knelt in front of him. After a long silence, she said, “I pledge loyalty to the Druid Hall, and beg forgiveness for my trespasses. As long as I am queen of Ashkyne, the crown will remain loyal to the draoidh. This I swear on my bloodline.”
Munro watched the glowing disk. It didn’t waver. He knew she was only doing this to preserve her crown, but she was swearing an oath he actually believed she would be forced to keep. This was more than he’d dared hope for. He met the eyes of each of the other druids before he answered. One by one, the men each gave a nod. “Demi?” Munro asked. “You are one of us now. You have a voice in this.”
“Do you believe her?” she asked, holding her son and staring at the kneeling queen.
“I do,” he replied. “She will be bound to her vow by the magic of the Source stone. If she breaks it, her bloodline will lose the Ashkyne crown forever.”
Finally, Demi nodded. “If it saves all those people’s lives, do it.”
Munro turned back to Konstanze. “We of the Druid Hall accept your oath, Queen Konstanze.”
She extended her hand beside her and one of her attendants helped the queen to rise. As she did, the disk vanished with a loud groan, and once again, a shimmering blue light replaced it. “Is the path to Ashkyne restored, my lord druid?” she asked.
&
nbsp; Huck spoke up. “I’ll test it.” He stepped into the light and disappeared. Within seconds, he came back into view. “It’s safe,” he said. “The connection is restored, and it seems the Watchers around the portal are beginning to rouse.”
Konstanze bowed her head once more. “With your permission, my lord druid, I wish to return to Ashkyne and see to my people.”
“Of course,” Munro replied. “If the Druid Hall can offer assistance, please send word.” He looked around the courtyard. “I’m sure any queen would also offer the same.”
“Thank you,” she said, a trace of bitterness in her tone. With a gesture to her entourage, Konstanze led them through the blue portal, and one by one, they transported away.
Munro turned to the faerie who’d arrived with Huck and Demi. “And you, Watcher? I’m sure it’s safe for you to return to Ashkyne. Konstanze would not dare punish you for aiding one of our hall.”
“My name is Leocort, my lord druid,” the faerie said with a respectful bow. “No longer a Watcher. If the Lady Druid will allow me, I will hold to my pledge and serve her at your Hall.”
“Of course,” Demi said with a smile. “You will always have a place with us, if you want it.”
Munro nodded. “Huck, can you show them around and get them settled, then?”
“Sure, boss,” he said with a grin. “You look like you’re wanting to take off.”
Munro chuckled. “If nobody else needs me today, I think I’ll go visit my wife. Let her know everything is all right.”
“Sorry we missed the wedding,” Aaron said, and the others were quick to agree.
“Not as sorry as you’ll be when Eilidh gets hold of you,” Munro said with a small laugh. “Demi, welcome to the Halls of Mist. I’m glad you’re safe and well.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“Thank you,” Jago echoed in a small voice.
Munro tousled the boy’s hair. Then waved to the other druids and gave a polite nod to the queens and keepers. “I’ll be back soon.”
Caledonia Fae 04- Druid Lords Page 25