Instrument of Chaos

by Rebecca Hall

  “You don’t talk in your sleep,” Amelie replied, ripping away his blankets.

  How would you know? Mitch thought but even half asleep he had enough self-preservation instincts not to say it aloud.

  “It’s still night time.”

  “The sun’s rising,” Amelie said. The curtains flew open and if he’d been a cliché vampire he would have burst into flame. As it was he felt a little like melting. It might have been winter at home but it was always summer at the Seelie Court. “Now get up, you won’t get another chance to see this.”

  “See what?” Mitch asked, reluctantly sitting up. “The sunrise? That happens every day and I don’t think the world’s ending tomorrow.”

  Amelie threw a t-shirt at him followed by a pair of shorts and he hurried into the bathroom to change before she could do it for him.

  “Didn’t you drag me out of bed enough when we were at Cadrona?” Mitch asked. Amelie had wanted to make the most out of their ski trip, he’d tried to argue that he did too but they clearly had very different ideas about what that entailed and she was much better at skiing than he was. He should have just come straight to the Seelie Court with Nikola. He had Morrigan and Gawain to look after him here and Mitch would have been free to sleep in as late as he wanted and wake up to fresh pancakes.

  “You’d already be wide awake for Nikola,” Amelie said, crossing her arms.

  “I’m up aren’t I? Now what is it that you want me to see?”

  “Come on.” Half running she led him through the courtyards and open halls of the Seelie Court. Mitch soon lost track of where they were but it couldn’t be much further, the Seelie Court wasn’t that big.

  “If you wanted me to see how unfit I am you succeeded,” he gasped. Amelie laughed and started up a flight of stairs.

  “Do we have to?” Mitch asked. Even at the best of times he wasn’t a fan of heights and the best of times was not at the Seelie Court with the sun rising in his eyes. The Fae appeared to believe in banisters about as much as they believed in external walls and if falling off didn’t knock him out it would certainly wake him up.

  “We’re not going that high. Come on.”

  “I’m coming,” Mitch said, all but gluing himself to the internal wall and fixing his gaze on the stair in front of him.

  “I thought you said we weren’t going very high,” Mitch said, two flights of stairs later.

  “Just one more flight,” Amelie said, reaching back to take his hand lest he took flight in the opposite direction. “We’ll have a better view from up there.”

  “Guess now I know why you didn’t wake me with pancakes,” Mitch said.

  “You would have complained that they weren’t as good as Nikola’s,” Amelie replied, yanking on his arm. “Honestly Mitch, you’re a vampire, a fall from this height won’t kill you and Gawain can heal any broken bones.”

  “It’s called an irrational fear,” he said as Amelie dragged him away from the stairs and to the tower’s edge. Mitch tried not to look down.

  “Look,” Amelie said, pointing to something that he’d have to raise his head to see.

  “At what?” Mitch asked, “the sun.”

  “Down there.”

  Mitch followed her finger and gulped when he saw how high up they were, shuffling back a step and focusing on keeping the world from spinning around him. At least vampires didn’t have a gag reflex.

  “Couldn’t we have looked at this from the ground?” he asked.

  “Too far,” Amelie said. “Now come on, I’ll catch you if the floor suddenly vanishes alright.”

  Once again Mitch wished that it had been Nikola who woke him but he took a tentative step forward and looked where Amelie was pointing, his grip on her hand tightening with every second though all that would really accomplish was taking her with him when he fell.

  A vast flowered meadow stretched out before them, a lake off to the left and forest marking its edge in every other direction. Amelie was pointing about halfway across it.

  “Is that a unicorn?” Mitch asked. Its white coat shone in the sun and its horn looked painfully sharp. Mitch once again wondered who would be stupid enough to try to steal a mouthful of cursed blood from a creature with a giant stake on its head. It wasn’t alone. Two people stood with it. One was unmistakably Nikola, even from this distance Mitch was certain of that, while the other was a Fae woman that he didn’t know who stood with one arm around Nikola’s shoulder. Probably another of his cousins.

  “Aren’t you glad that I dragged you out of bed?” Amelie asked. “They don’t often come this close to Court but they like Aunt Titania and Nikola.”

  “Titania,” Mitch squeaked. He’d spoken to her once before but that had been via magic mirror. He’d never thought that he’d be spying on the Seelie Queen from halfway up a tower.

  “She’s here for Nikola,” Amelie said. “She can help him deal with the impressions. Nikola gets to be himself again.”

  Mitch smiled and took a step back. He’d seen the unicorn, there was no need to risk falling off the edge of the tower now.

  Amelie laughed, “We can go get those pancakes now,” she said, turning away from the unicorn though she still stood right by the edge of the tower. Mitch gulped. “Come on Mitch, you know I can fly. Alright, alright,” she sighed, “I suppose I can take the stairs.”

  #

  Despite his best intentions the holidays were almost over before Mitch got to spend any time with Nikola. Nikola spent his days shut away with Gawain and Titania as the former rewired his brain and the latter helped him suppress the impressions.

  Mitch spent his time with Amelie who had planned a never-ending list of activities for them. He never quite managed to complain, she’d picked things that they’d both enjoy and he knew that he hadn’t spent much time with her throughout the semester, but he missed hanging out with Nikola. The occasional shared meal wasn’t the same, not when spending his days immersed in magic left Nikola exhausted.

  It didn’t look like he’d get to spend much time with Nikola tonight either. Nikola was settled on a couch talking to an unfamiliar Fae who held his hand and toyed with his curls. Mitch looked away hastily, telling himself that it was rude to stare. It was still a few days before the holidays ended, he’d just have to escape whatever Amelie had planned tomorrow and hang out with Nikola even if that just meant watching while Gawain remapped his brain.

  “Taliesin,” Amelie muttered, squeezing Mitch’s hand almost painfully tight.

  “Wha…” He followed Amelie’s gaze back to where Nikola was kissing the other man.

  “I guess they’re not all family then,” Mitch said, indicating the other people filling the room and spilling out into the gardens. Amelie had said that it was a family gathering but it was a lot bigger than he’d expected.

  “More or less,” Amelie replied. “Though there are a few hangers on as well.” She shot another glare at Taliesin and Nikola but they were too busy with each other to notice.

  “Give it up Amelie,” another woman said, stepping between them and the couple on the couch. Mitch mentally filed her under sibling. Her features were a little sharper than Amelie and Morrigan’s and her figure a little fuller but she had the same grey eyes and blonde hair. “Even I never managed to seduce him.”

  “No one asked you Guin,” Amelie snapped, her grip on Mitch’s hand tightening.

  “Amelie,” Mitch said.

  “This must be your vampire then, little sister.”

  Mitch winced and only partially because Amelie had now cut off all circulation in his fingers.

  “His name is Mitchell.”

  “Mitchell?”

  “Bartholomew Mitchell,” Amelie answered for him.

  “Nice to meet you,” Mitch said, fruitlessly trying to free his hand and giving up when he saw Guin’s delighted smile.

  “You wouldn’t happen to be one of those Mitchell’s would you?” Guin asked, staring at him intently.

  “Uh… probably,” Mitch s
aid. The Teratos seemed to know a lot more about the family curse than he did and he couldn’t think on any other famous Mitchell’s off the top of his head.

  “Go away Guinevere,” Amelie said. “We were about to go dance.”

  “You can dance later,” Guinevere replied. “Would you really deny me the chance to check on my handiwork little sister?”

  “Yes,” Amelie said, trying to pull him away.

  “Your handiwork?” Mitch asked, stubbornly staying where he was and ignoring Amelie’s pointed glare. It was her pointed heels that worried him but he didn’t think that she’d deliberately impale his foot in front of witnesses.

  “I owed Gerald FitzGerald a favour so I cursed one of his enemies for him. Most ungrateful he was too, though I hardly see how it’s my fault if Barty did everything in his power to halt the curse.”

  Mitch could only gape at her. She was responsible for the curse that had plagued his family for generations?

  Guinevere’s smile widened, “You’re taking it better than the last Mitchell I met, the monster tried to kill me.”

  “Can you blame him?” Amelie glared at her sister, “you cursed his family.”

  Guinevere rolled her eyes. “I cursed one of them, if they hadn’t involved the Fallen it would all be over with by now. And I really don’t see why you’re so upset. As long as you don’t marry him you can have as many children as you want.”

  “That’s enough Guin,” Gawain said. “You too Amelie.” Mitch practically wilted in relief. “He’s going to need that hand later you know.”

  Amelie released his hand and Mitch flexed it gratefully, wincing as feeling returned to his fingers.

  “Must you be so straitlaced, Gawain?” Guinevere sighed.

  “One of us needs to be the grownup around here or there’ll be nothing left of the court by dawn,” Gawain replied. He stood between Amelie and Guinevere, clearly prepared to separate them further if he had to. Mitch was preparing to run in the opposite direction if he had to.

  “True,” Guinevere agreed, “daddy does get rather irate when we reduce the whole thing to matchsticks.”

  Mitch wasn’t sure if she was joking or not but he was completely sure that he didn’t want to find out. Particularly not from such a close distance.

  “Maybe we should go check out the buffet,” he said, carefully keeping possession of his hand. He’d just finished working the feeling back into his fingers, he wasn’t about to let Amelie crush it again.

  “It’s over there,” Gawain pointed in the opposite direction to Nikola and Taliesin. “And do try not to start anything with the rest of our siblings, Amelie.”

  “She started it,” Amelie retorted but she couldn’t meet his eyes.

  Guinevere shook her head. “Daddy might indulge you now but you won’t be his favourite forever you know, Amelie.” She held up her hands and vanished into the crowd before Gawain could say anything.

  “Bitch.”

  “I said enough, Amelie,” Gawain said sharply. “I won’t always be around to play peacekeeper for you.”

  “No, you’ll be too busy fawning over Nikola as he jams his tongue down your ex’s throat.” She grabbed Mitch’s arm and towed him away.

  “Amelie,” Mitch yelped, trying to pull himself free. “What the hell?”

  “What?” Amelie snapped.

  “Is it always like this?” Are you always like this?

  “Pretty much,” she replied, relaxing slightly now that they were no longer talking to her siblings though they did seem to be surrounded by them. “Sorry,” she let go of his arm. “Guin always gets under my skin.”

  “It’s fine.” He was hardly one to talk about strained family relations. “Let’s check out the buffet.” Maybe then he wouldn’t feel quite so awkward about not knowing what to say.

  “No.”

  “Why–” he followed her gaze to the buffet. “You don’t want to talk to Morrigan now? Or is there someone else you’re trying to avoid?”

  “Let’s just dance,” she said, grabbing his arm and yanking him in the opposite direction.

  “So who can we talk to?” Mitch asked. Amelie’s family was easy to identify at least, even if he didn’t know their names.

  “Am I not good enough for you now?” Amelie asked, her heeled shoe coming down with an audible click right next to his foot.

  “That– forget it,” Mitch let her go and stalked off the dance floor, doing his best not to disrupt anyone else. He saw Oberon and Titania dancing together, polite smiles on their faces, Gawain and Guinevere were both dancing with men he didn’t know, Isane was thankfully nowhere in sight and Morrigan was still helping herself to the buffet.

  “Well you look uncomfortable,” she said, handing him a silver plate. “I hope it’s not because of the tailors.”

  “No,” Mitch said, taking the plate. “Though thinking about how they got my measurements is a little uncomfortable.” He’d arrived at the Seelie Court to find an entire wardrobe full of clothes ready for him.

  “Trade secret,” Morrigan replied. “I assume the problem is Amelie then.” Mitch opened his mouth to protest but she waved him off and after eyeing the food floating midair before her he decided not to push it.

  “Don’t worry, she’ll sulk for a while and then she’ll come to her senses and act like a grown-up for the rest of the evening.”

  “If you say so,” Mitch sighed and helped himself to the cheese platter. “I was hoping to spend some time with Nikola but…”

  “He’s with Tal again,” she sighed. “I’m sure you could pry him away if you wanted to.”

  “It’s fine,” Mitch said. “Someone should enjoy themselves tonight.” And it plainly wasn’t going to be him, though the bits of food he managed to nibble while he wasn’t talking were helping.

  “Everyone should enjoy themselves tonight,” Morrigan said, whisking his plate away. “Dance with me, I think I still remember how to follow.”

  “And you thought you’d start by dragging me out there?”

  “Something like that,” she smiled at him. “Don’t you want to dance with a pretty girl?” She batted her eyes at him and twirled around, her emerald skirt flaring.

  “Just don’t step on me,” Mitch said, taking her hand.

  “I’m not that bad at following.”

  She didn’t step on him once as they danced and despite his earlier reservations Mitch was enjoying himself. After hundreds of years of practice she was more than good enough to make up for his short-comings and her smile was infectious. For two dances he didn’t have to worry about anything other than the pretty girl on his arm and then Gawain and Titania cut-in, Gawain spinning his sister away.

  Mitch gulped and desperately tried not to step on Titania’s feet though his legs suddenly felt as if they were made of lead.

  “Relax,” she said. “I stopped biting a long time ago.”

  “Right,” Mitch replied, not reassured in the least.

  “Thank you.”

  Mitch blinked at her.

  “For Nikola, I’m glad that he has a friend like you.”

  “I’m glad that I have a friend like him too,” Mitch said.

  “He’d do anything for you,” Titania said. Mitch gulped, recognising the subtle warning. Gawain had been much more blunt about what would happen if he ever tried to take advantage of Nikola.

  “I know,” Mitch said, his voice as wooden as his dancing. After what felt like an age the dance ended and Nikola himself appeared before him.

  “You lead,” Nikola said, taking his hands. “I just know you’ll step on me otherwise.”

  “Anyone would think that I was a terrible dancer,” Mitch said, grinning as sheepishly as a vampire could. Amelie had insisted that he leave his ring behind and his fangs were on full display. No one had commented on them, yet.

  “I’ve had worse partners,” Nikola replied, silver-pupilled eyes shining.

  “You’re not wearing your contact lenses,” Mitch said, “Amelie is.”
>
  “Amelie wants to be different,” Nikola said. “Looking human is a way of setting herself apart.”

  “And what about you?”

  “I’m happy just the way I am.”

  “You’re good at this,” Mitch said. Nikola hadn’t stepped on his foot once.

  “Of course,” Nikola grinned, “Morrigan taught me.”

  “Your date isn’t going to want to claim you again any time soon is he?”

  “You mean Taliesin? He can wait.”

  “Was he… er…”

  “The guy that Amelie liked and I lost my virginity to? Yes.” He sighed, “That was five years ago, I’m sorry that’s what ruined your night.”

  “It didn’t, well not on its own anyway. Besides, my night’s getting better.”

  The music changed, becoming slower.

  “Want to go find your girlfriend?” Nikola asked as the distance between the couples on the dance floor closed.

  “Not really,” Mitch said, stepping a little closer.

  “Good,” Nikola rested his head on Mitch’s shoulder and they swayed in time to the music.

  “Did you find a new home for Fluffball?”

  “That’s not her name,” Nikola grumbled. “And yes, it was the first thing I did when Morrigan brought us here.” He laughed. “I’m glad it was Morrigan, Gawain would have insisted on poking at my brain first. She’s with a new pack now, they’ll keep her safe.”

  “We’ll have to get you a real puppy,” Mitch said, hearing a melancholy note creep into his voice.

  “It is my birthday later this month,” Nikola said.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” Mitch said.

  “How are you?” Nikola asked, “You looked upset earlier.”

  “I’m fine,” Mitch replied reflexively.

  Nikola raised his head and studied him for a second before leading the way out to the courtyard. The music was still crystal clear but the low lighting of inside had been replaced by the moon and stars and there was only the occasional couple rather than a press of people.

  “Would you like to try that again?” Nikola asked, clambering onto the fountain that dominated the courtyard, fairy lights shining through the water, and walking around it.