by Vanessa Skye
I crawl away, struggling to contain not only my sobs but also nausea threatening to overwhelm me, until I can stand and stagger far enough down the tunnel that their smug, vile voices are nothing more than an acidic memory.
I collapse on the floor of a pitch-black passageway and retch on the cold stone until I have nothing left.
After wiping my mouth with a shaking hand, I allow the tears to fall unchecked. It’s all a lie—my life, having a family, making a difference to the Talentless. None of it is true. How could Aiden do this to me? He never loved me at all. I wrack my brain. Surely, there is something I can do to stop the slaughter.
Follow the magic, my daughter.
I jump and search the blackness surrounding me. Follow the magic. Concentrating, I lower the protective orb just enough to create a fireball suitable for illuminating the darkness without announcing my presence. Quickly reforming my shield, I stand and wait.
At first, the fireball merely hovers as if uncertain of its path. Then, it starts to move.
I follow it as it gains speed and heads down a gently sloping passage.
As it twists and turns, I break into a jog to keep up. Another sharp left, and I’m standing in front of a crack in the natural stone formation—the largest in any subterranean world I have seen so far. Several men could walk shoulder to shoulder in the space and, judging by the clear boot prints, many of them have done so recently.
I scan the area as I scurry after my fire, which is moving so quickly I have no real opportunity to worry if any of owners of the footprints are still here.
My head feels overly crowded with anxious thoughts as I follow the flame. I realize I once again don’t belong anywhere—not Earth or Tír na nÓg, with Aiden or with Nuadha. I have no place. I brush the tears aside and draw my sword as I run. Am I among enemies or allies? If Aiden finds me, would he embrace me or kill me? What would my father do? I slow as the fireball disappears into what looks like a large cavern.
Multiple colors bounce off the sandstone ahead, and I creep forward slowly with my sword handy, unsure what I will find.
“Come, daughter.”
The voice of the woman I’ve only heard in my head until now carries down the path toward me.
“We are alone, for now. I would see your beautiful face.”
She sounds wispy, ethereal, and the love in her voice instantly brings tears to my eyes.
My sword falls from my numb grasp with a clang.
A massive tear towering two stories high and as wide as a movie screen has been hacked into the veil. Shards of light and bolts of electricity flow in and out of the tear, swirling above my head in a magnificent, yet terrifying, display.
I watch a torrent of magic flow into the void like smoke through an open window, unstoppable. Well, no question where Tír na nÓg’s magic is disappearing to now. I also have my answer for how the humans came to be. Scores of humans, as well as several vehicles, could easily enter and exit the tear. If it’s been open for more than a few weeks, there could be thousands of them teeming this world like cockroaches by this point. The fae don’t stand a chance. Even without the modern weapons, sheer numbers alone will overwhelm them.
The blinding spectacle captivates me so thoroughly that I almost miss the woman suspended in the center of the void, her arms and legs stretched as if frozen in the middle of a star jump. Her slack face is shriveled and wrinkled, and her ragged white hair surrounds her like a giant living halo held in place with static electricity. She is beyond old—ancient would be a more apt description—with her once-white robes now gray, bloody rags, shredded and unraveling over wasted, bony limbs covered with skin so thin it looks brittle. Even old and weathered, her face is still beautiful with high cheekbones and full lips.
I step forward, confused, and then stifle a yelp as her piercing blue eyes snap open.
“You are more beautiful than I ever imagined, Alys,” she whispers.
I shore up my shield as magic flies past me toward the epic culvert of sucking nothingness. “Who are you?”
“I am Danu. I am your mother,” she replies.
“My mother?” I shake my head. “But…you’re dead.” There is no way she’s my mother. Being my grandmother would even be a stretch.
She smiles weakly. “A convenient lie told by those who wished to prevent you from ever finding me…” She sighs, the sound both accepting and angry. “Although, Alys, it is an apt description, for I am as close to death as one can be and still live.” An expression of searing pain crosses her face once more, and her body strains in its odd position.
As I watch, her flesh is slowly sucked away. Given her appearance, this has been happening for years. “Oh my g—you are between two worlds,” I say. “How are you still alive? Let me help you!” I take a step forward, reaching for her. “Your shei—”
“Stop!” The cry is barely more than her whispered voice, but the pain it brings her is obvious.
I freeze.
“Do not get too close, my child, lest you are drawn into the void as well.” Strands of her snarled white hair swirl around her face with a flowing current of electricity.
“Wait…Danu?” I mutter. “The goddess?”
The exhausted sadness of her sigh brings tears to my eyes again.
“I was once a goddess, true. But it was a long time ago, Alys, before Bres stole what once was mine.”
“I lead Tír na nÓg to its destruction,” I mumble. Nuadha was right. The prophecy is about me—the daughter of both god and demon, because if there were ever a word to describe Bres, demon would be it. “I should have stayed in Chicago.”
“No, my precious one. The love you feel will lead you to victory. Bres did not anticipate that!”
“Why are you here? Why are you in the tear?”
“I was betrayed—my power stolen and my body used without my consent to bear powerful children—then trapped here by your father since your birth, unsure whether you lived or died. I see Estrild was successful carrying out one last faithful service to me and hiding you from your father and brother.”
I nod. “I have been on Earth.”
She manages a small smile. “A wise course of action.”
“How? How did this happen? You are a goddess, and Bres was stripped of his magic before being banished.”
“The Chalice of Bailitheoir.”
I recall the conversation with Nuadha all those months ago about the chalice harnessing the power of the gods. “But…but…Nuadha rid this world of it.”
“He hid it on Earth. Bres found it, called me to him, and—” She jerks and a look of pain crosses her face.
“Mother.” I choke on a sob and reach for her. “I don’t know what to do! Aiden and our father…they betrayed me! They have manufactured a war to take Tír na nÓg from Nuadha. They tricked me into helping them, and I don’t know how to stop them. Thousands will be killed and Tír na nÓg destroyed for human greed…” My voice cracks, and I sink to the floor and weep. “I have no one, nothing, and no way to stop them.”
“Not true, my beautiful daughter.”
“We’ll close the tear!” I stand and look for anything useful. “If it’s closed, they can’t bring in any more humans…”
“Hush, Alys. There will come a time for you to close the tear but now is not that time. I am bound to its life force, and it to mine. To destroy it, you must destroy me.”
“But-but you’re a goddess! Surely your power is so strong you ca—”
“I cannot, child. Like Tír na nÓg, my magic is being leeched away by the rift and stolen by Bres. For nearly a millennium, my magic has been bled—siphoned like an unrelenting tide and transforming me from goddess to nothing more than a power source. Only you can succeed where I have failed.”
“Then it will never be closed,” I say, shaking my head. “I will not kill yo—”
“When the time is right, you must. You were born to do this.”
My eyes widen and my jaw drops. “Born to kill my own mother? Are
you freaking kidding me? No! I—”
“Alys, hush. My death is nothing more than a tiny piece in saving Tír na nÓg. You must stop this war. If Nuadha marches against Bres, he will fall, and this world will fall with him. You are a descendant of gods, Alys. Can you not sacrifice one to save millions? Is there not beauty worth saving in this world?”
“But…I just found you,” I whisper. “I have no one else. I need you! There must be another way.”
“If you cannot close the void, humans will overwhelm Tír na nÓg and the fae who call it home. As the magic of this world slowly drains into nothingness, so does any chance of our people defending themselves. The fae you have come to know will cease to exist, leaving only the most evil among us.”
“I am just one person!” I shake my head adamantly, tears streaming down my face and neck. “I don’t have the power to stop anything. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I allied with the wrong side, and now it’s t-too l-late!”
“I would hold you in my arms, my beloved child, just one more time, if I could.” Danu smiles, also with tears in her eyes. “Nothing happens by chance, Alys. You are exactly where you are meant to be. You are following your path, and it is never too late. This is but a game. One of many in your future.”
I shake my head and sob into my hands.
“Trust your heart. You followed the magic to find me. Now, follow your love to stop a war.”
“My love?”
She flicks her gaze toward the tunnel behind me. “They come. You must go!”
“Bu—”
“Flee. Now, Alys! Love will triumph. There is no limit to what it can achieve. Use it to save your people, and when the time is right, use it to summon me to you, and save yourself, too.” Her eyes close, and her face goes still. It’s as though it was never animated at all.
The voices of several men drift down the tunnel, and I searching for a dark corner to hide.
There are none.
I form a fireball without thinking but watch in dismay rolls into the tear almost immediately.
The sounds of boots clunking and excited male banter fill my ears, but I don’t recognize the voices, so I assume it’s the mercenaries.
Without magic at my disposal, I aim for the next best thing—the element of surprise. I throw myself at the three men as soon as they turn the corner, knocking one out cold with the blunt hilt of my sword and lashing out with a roundhouse kick to the jaw of another.
Both go down, leaving me with one, mouth agape, staring as if he can’t quite believe a leather-bound, dreadlocked woman just took out two highly trained humans in a matter of seconds. I use his temporary confusion to throw a punch, which he deftly blocks before crouching into a practiced fighter’s stance.
He tries out a few experimental jabs and kicks of his own, which I easily block with protected shins and forearms.
Spying the two-way radio clipped to his collar, I know I need to take him out before he calls for backup. Who knows how many humans roam these caves and tunnels? Without magic, there are only so many I can tackle at once.
I throw a wild punch, stepping in his reach, and let him land a blow of his own. It smarts, and I go to one knee as if struggling to keep conscious.
I hear him chuckle as he closes in and winds up for the knockout blow.
I turn my tear-stained face to his. “You wouldn’t hit a girl, would you?”
It clearly throws him, and the slight hesitation is all I need.
I thrust upward, using all the leverage of my position, to send a driving kick through his neck with my leather-clad foot.
Several bones crack and break, and he crumples without a sound.
A slow clap sounds from the mouth of the cave, and I whirl around, sword at the ready.
“Well done.” Aiden pushes off the rock wall and smirks. “But then, you always were at one with war. The best student I ever had, actually.”
Stepping closer, I point the tip of my sword like an accusing arrow, but my hand is shaking so badly that the action looks more comical than threatening. “I know everything, you asshole! I trusted yo—” My voice breaks, and I can’t hold the tears back any longer. “I was s-s-so happy t-to h-have a f-family.”
He holds up his hands, showing he’s unarmed, but keeps his shield is firmly in place in the face of the epic tear in the veil. “Put down the sword, Alys. Nothing has to change. I don’t know what it is you think you know, but the plan is the same, liberate the Talentless from Nuadha, a—”
“Liberate?” I scream. “Don’t you mean sacrifice?”
“It’s for the greater good, Alys. Once Nuadha is dead—”
“You think you can rape Tír na nÓg like our father did our mother and sell its resources to the highest bidder? After slaughtering all the fae that defy you, of course.” The words taste as bitter as they sound leaving my mouth. “This has nothing to do with the greater good and everything to do with greed!”
“Tsk-tsk.” He sighs. “Your lack of foresight is disappointing, sister.”
“This tear is draining magic from Tír na nÓg. Every ounce of it. Do you realize that? It is why more Talentless fae are being born. Not to mention, you are killing your own mother!”
“This plan has been thousands of years in the making, and no one—“ Aiden flicks a glance toward a motionless Danu, “especially not my father’s whore—is going to stop it!” He practically snarls when he speaks. “You will fall into line, sister. He commands it.”
“You’re insane! I won’t follow him…ever.”
“You’ve only ever heard one side of the story. Bres is the rightful ruler of Tír na nÓg! Nuadha should never have used the forbidden magic to restore his arm and reclaim control.” His anger is replaced with a sly smirk. “And you will obey him if you want to save your people.”
“Save my people? You mean the people you plan to send to slaughter? Don’t worry, I intend to save every last one of them.” My arm grows tired, but I know Aiden will use any opportunity to gain an advantage over me.
“Rejoin our side, and I will keep your precious Talentless out of it,” Aiden says.
I lower my sword, just a fraction. “Why should I believe you?”
“You have no other choice, do you? Nuadha will kill you on sight. In fact, I hear he has been combing every inch of Tír na nÓg for just that purpose. So, join us in a war against a fae who detests you, and I will keep the Talentless out of it. You have my word.”
“Your word is worth squat! This war isn’t even real. You’re using humans to kill fae and blaming Talentless fae just to create and exploit a division that never existed. No wonder there were never any bodies left behind!”
“Grow up, Alys.” Aiden spits and sneers. “Nuadha barely needed encouragement to persecute the Talentless, and you know it! This war is happening because Nuadha wants it. It could have been avoided many times, but he chose not to listen to reason.”
Think, Alys, think! There must be a way. “I rejoin you, and you keep Talentless fae out of it?”
Aiden’s triumphant smile makes me want to puke as his piercing green gaze bores into mine.
“You have my word.”
I feel a strange tug at the back of my mind. Everything goes hazy.
“That’s right, Alys,” he whispers, stepping closer. “All is not lost. You can save your people. In fact, the more you think about it, the more you know I am right. Nuadha and his fae must be destroyed.”
It sounds perfectly reasonable…yes, yes, it does…then, my mother’s voice fills a small spot of my consciousness Aiden has not yet invaded.
It is mind control, daughter.
My shield does not protect me against Aiden’s mind control. I blink and gag when a strong smell of pine invades my nostrils. It also reminds me of something. The bully. The human bully. What was his name again?
…Matt.
I hold onto the image of Matt’s sneering face like a lifeline and throw off Aiden’s attempted control while being careful to keep my
gaze vacant and my face slack. I lower my sword. “What do I have to do?”
Aiden grins. “Go back to your people. Wait for our next move. Your magic is powerful, and we will need it. Be ready to fight, Alys.”
With my eyes downcast, I whisper, “What is our next move?”
“Nuadha has taken the bait, and once he rallies his remaining scant forces, he will soon march from Chathair Mhór to meet us. He thinks he will be engaging an army of ill-trained, mostly unarmed Talentless that will amount to nothing more than a quickly quashed skirmish. Little does he know,” Aiden says with a smile. “It will be over quickly. You needn’t worry. And then you can enjoy your position as princess of Tír na nÓg as well as a member of the wealthiest human family on Earth!”
“And our mother?” I mumble.
“She cannot be separated from the tear now without losing her life. We need her magic to keep it open so humans might travel back and forth between worlds and pay us handsomely for the privilege.” Aiden shakes his head. “Do not mourn a mother you never knew. Instead, look forward to meeting the father you have.”
His green gaze pierces my mind once more, but I am ready for it. “Can I meet my father now?” I ask in a soft monotone.
Aiden beams. “Of course!”
He steps close to give me a warm hug and I go lax in his embrace, knowing it will be the last time I will feel the strong arms of my brother around me.
“Aiden?”
He pulls back, the happiness on his face almost blinding. “Yes, my sister?”
“You’re an idiot if you think I would ever trust your word!” I bring the hilt of my sword down, but he is too fast and evades the full force of the blow as the metal glances off his skull and leaving a deep cut instead of knocking him out.
He shoves me away and draws his sword, snarling as he advances. “I should have killed you on Earth when I had the chance.”
“You are a forest fae. Another secret you kept from me.”
“We had to be sure you were the right fae, and then ensure your return to Tír na nÓg. Father predicted if I applied the right pressure, you would be forced to use your magic to defend yourself and the human Gallagher.”