No Such Luck

by Weist, Jaclyn

  “Who’s going to teach me? Last I saw Louie, he was unconscious.” I let Jared guide me toward the throne room.

  “I found a couple of guys. Come on.” He put his arm around me as we entered the room and moved toward the throne.

  Puck slouched in the throne, holding a scepter. “Ah, I see the traitors have awakened.”

  “The only traitor I see here is you.” I took a step forward, but Jared held me back. “Let me go. I want to—”

  “Megan. Stop.” Jared’s voice was gentle, but enough to stop me in my tracks. He was right. And I was blowing holes in the floor with every step I took.

  Puck laughed and stood. “The lady has a temper. I love it. Maybe I will take you as my queen.”

  “Never, you—”

  Jared clapped his hand over my mouth. “She means that you had better leave this palace, or you will be tried for treason.”

  “Oh, that’s clever. You sure you want this guy, Megan? He seems … weak. I could probably break him in about two seconds.”

  His smirk made my blood boil. I would have yanked myself away from Jared, but he pushed me away instead and stalked forward with his sword pointed directly at Puck’s chest. “Out. Now. You are no longer welcome.”

  “Oh, come on. Surely you don’t mean that. After all, I have valuable information for you. If you kick me out, you won’t know what O’Malley really wants.” He pushed Jared’s sword away. “And we wouldn’t want him to get what he wants, now would we?”

  Jared paused, then took a step closer. “I’ll let you stay. But you will respect that I am king and Megan is queen. Do you understand me?”

  Puck snorted. “Yeah, because that’s how you’re going to get the information from me.”

  My temper flared, and a fireball formed in my hand. “I think you’d better listen.”

  His eyes widened before he smirked again. “Fair enough. Being king was stifling anyway. I’d rather be out there fighting than sitting here on a cushy chair doing nothing.”

  I had to hold Jared back as Puck flew up in the air and did a few backflips before landing near the door.

  “I’ll be in the map room in an hour. See you there, beautiful.” He winked and left the palace, pulling off the guards’ hats and throwing them up in the air.

  “That went well,” Louie said from behind us.

  “You’re awake. How are you feeling?” I asked, still shaking from the encounter with Puck. He was infuriating.

  Louie rubbed the back of his head and winced. “It takes more than a knock on the head to take me down. I believe you have a training to get to if you’re to be done in time to meet with Puck. Jared, you should probably go with her. I’m going to check with Ethan to see what Adam and Beth have found.”

  “Oh, right. Let’s go, Jared.” I stopped and turned to a guard. “I need my old clothes back. Or at least some pants. And now. I don’t want to fight in a dress.”

  The guard bowed and hurried off down the hallway. Other guards moved to stand around us as we walked toward the training grounds.

  “Shoot. I forgot my sword.”

  “It’s right here, Your Majesty.” A guard handed it to me. “Your maid brought it to me when she heard you’d be training.”

  “Thank you.” I took it from him and inspected it. There were small imperfections on the blade that hadn’t been there before. “Hold on. What happened to my sword?”

  The guard looked down instead of meeting my eye. “I don’t know, Your Majesty. It was like that when we took it from you. If I may say so, it looks better than when we first saw it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It was blackened. We had it polished, but those scratches were too deep.”

  “Thank you.” It looked like I’d have to be more careful using the magic when I held my sword. I walked into the arena and stopped. It looked just like the one I’d trained in a year before. Standing in the center was my trainer. I could have hugged him.

  “Welcome, Your Majesty. You’ve come a long way since I last saw you.” He bowed.

  “You have no idea.” I laughed. “So, how does this work? You taught me to use my luck, but do you know how to train with magic?”

  “Of course. I train all the elf warriors. Now, stand here in the center. Jared, you are welcome to stay. We will work with you once she has it down.”

  Jared sat up in the bleachers to the side of the arena. “I’ll hang out here.”

  “Very well.” The trainer turned back to me. “All right. You know how to use your luck and how to manipulate it, so we don’t have to go over that. So now we have to work with your new powers.”

  “Great. The first thing I want to figure out is how to stop shooting electricity every time I get angry.” I held up my hands. “I’ve already messed up the floor in the palace.”

  He chuckled. “That’s the fun side effect. I’ve seen it a few times. It’s all about control. Right now, your emotions are raw and you’re showing them externally. This is the main weakness that affects most fairy queens. Some embrace it, and some learn to conceal it.”

  “So … you want me to learn to conceal it then, right?”

  “Yes. By doing that, you’ll control the magic instead of allowing it to control you.”

  I nodded. “Okay, so what do I do first?”

  He smirked. “Control your temper. No matter what is thrown at you. Use your luck to help push it down into something you can use. Now, concentrate.”

  “All right.” I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, then opened them.

  Adam stood there in front of me, sneering. “You think you’re so tough? I can’t believe they made you queen.”

  “What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be finding out who’s coming.” I rubbed my forehead, trying to think clearly.

  “I don’t need you telling me what to do. It’s your fault we’re in this mess. Now it’s my job to get us out.”

  This wasn’t making me angry. This was hitting right where it hurt the most. “Look, I’m sorry. I tried to stop the queen—”

  He moved closer until our noses were almost touching. “Whatever. You wanted to stay here with your precious Jared. You don’t think about anyone but yourself.”

  “That’s not fair, and you know it.” A flare of anger rose, but I pushed it down. “Where’s Beth? She should have been with you.”

  He laughed. “Who cares? She doesn’t mean anything to me anyway. I left so I wouldn’t have to be with her.”

  I growled and lunged for Adam only to see him disappear. “What just happened?”

  “You let your anger get the best of you again.” The trainer shook his head. “You need to focus. Take a break, and we can try again.” He turned and picked up a cup from a table that had been set up at some point.

  “I don’t need time. Let’s keep going.” Knowing that Adam wasn’t really there didn’t help much. I could feel the anger burning inside. I took deep breaths to calm down. I opened my eyes. “Okay. I’m ready.”

  There was no response. The trainer stood to the side of the arena, and nothing stood in front of me. But then I heard giggles that grated on my nerves. I knew those giggles. Where was she? I whipped around to find Amber’s arms wrapped around Jared’s neck as she whispered in his ear.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” I stormed over to the bleachers. At that point, I didn’t care that I had electricity flowing from my hands.

  Jared jumped up and tried to push Amber away. “It’s not what it looks like. Megan, you need to control that.”

  “You mean like you’re controlling yourself?” In the back of my mind, I knew that wasn’t fair. That it was all Amber, but still. Seeing him with her … it was worse than betrayal.

  Amber stood and looped her arm through Jared’s. “Why would Jared ever want a freak when he could have me?”

  “You’re going to think ‘freak.’” I formed a ball of fire in my hands and cocked my arm back to throw it before I saw the shock on Jar
ed’s face. I stopped and stared at the ball before squeezing it into nothing. No. Amber wasn’t worth it. I’d stopped her from pestering me before. I could do it again. I took another deep breath and shook my hands to relax them, and the electricity finally calmed down. We were in a different world, so she couldn’t possibly be here.

  A sudden jab to my ribs made me stop and look behind me. A small leprechaun had a stick in his hands just a few feet away. He poked me again, so I backed up.

  “Hey, knock it off.” I pulled on my luck to calm me, and the energy from it helped keep me grounded even while he was constantly poking me in the ribs and back. As suddenly as it had come, the poking was gone.

  The air was still, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so I figured there was a lull in the training. It was a good thing because I was starving. A table of food sat near the trainer, so I walked over and grabbed some chicken and some fruit. I shoveled it in my mouth, trying to satisfy the hunger.

  “What do you think you’re doing there, dearie? That’s my food.” The voice sent chills through me. It could only be one person. Or in this case, leprechaun. I whipped around to find O’Malley standing in the center of the ring.

  “This isn’t your food. It was brought here by my guards.” Or at least, I thought so. I hadn’t actually seen them bring anything. Had I just eaten fairy food?

  O’Malley cackled. “You’re so weak. This is what they have for their queen? Oh, dear. The fairy world has truly lost its touch.”

  I glared at him. “It’s not like I asked for this. Oona was threatening my world, and I had to stop her. Kind of like someone else I know.”

  “You and your noble desires. Don’t you realize that you could have whatever you want in the human world, if you would just take it? You wasted your time fighting us instead of learning from us.” O’Malley circled me, his face in a hard scowl.

  “Oh, brother. Greed isn’t exactly the way to go. I have a family who loves me, and that’s worth more than your stupid gold or power. I have a boyfriend who has gone to the ends of the earth to save me. What do you have? Nothing.” I rubbed my forehead, trying to stop the headache. I was worn out from the training, so I knew I needed to get some sleep. I turned to find my trainer but he was … frozen. I whipped around to find Jared frozen as well. I looked over at O’Malley. “Wait—this is really you?”

  “Clever, isn’t it? I was simply going to take the kingdom out from under you by force, but this is much more fun. This way, you have no idea when I’ll pop up next.” His eyes had a madness to them that I hadn’t seen before.

  “So what you’re really doing is just copying Louie. Clever.” I had to get out of here. With time frozen, no one could help me. It was ironic that guards followed me everywhere, but when I was actually in trouble, they were frozen. I pulled out my sword and stalked toward him.

  O’Malley laughed again and snapped his fingers. He disappeared and popped back in several feet away. “Now, now. It would be no fun to have to beat you right now. I have to make you suffer a little. Maybe I’ll go pester Adam and Beth. After all, their precious queen isn’t anywhere near to help save them.”

  “Don’t you dare!” I swung my sword at him and electricity shot out, singeing everything in the area.

  His smug look stopped me. “Looks like you aren’t so in control, are you? Ah, well. I guess I’ll just have to come back later.”

  I screamed in anger as I lunged for him, but he disappeared too soon. I picked myself up and dusted off my gown.

  “Whoa.” Jared stood up from the bleachers. “What just happened?”

  “O’Malley happened.” I took deep breaths to calm down. This anger thing was getting annoying. I’d ruined my gown and most of the training area. And it was all because of one leprechaun.

  There was movement to my right, and I turned to find the trainer cleaning up the mess I’d made. He shook his head as he picked up a shield that been slightly melted.

  “Let me do that. I made the mess.” I hurried over to pick up a sword.

  “No, you go inside. If that leprechaun could get here and freeze time, we can’t have you outside. We’ll figure out how to continue your training later.” He wouldn’t meet my eyes. The same trainer who had once sworn that he would stand with me.

  I sighed. “Fine. I’m sorry. I’ll practice the whole temper thing.”

  He nodded and turned to lift a dummy in the corner. Jared took my hand and pulled me toward the palace.

  “So, what did O’Malley say that ticked you off so much?” Jared asked as he reached the doors.

  “He told me he was going to find Beth and Adam. If he does . . .” I didn’t continue the sentence. What could I do, really? I was a walking time bomb and as of a few minutes ago, I was supposed to stay inside the palace. Although, really, was that the best place for me? What if I destroyed it?

  Jared pulled me toward the map room. “We’ll get him. I promise. And don’t underestimate your brother or Beth. They’re tough.”

  I sighed. “I know. But I also know that O’Malley plays dirty.”

  “We just have to play dirtier.” Jared gestured for me to enter the room before closing the door behind us.

  Puck hadn’t shown up yet, which was strange. I figured he’d be waiting for us. Jared walked up behind me and put his arms around me as I studied the large map in front of us. There was movement from what we’d seen earlier, and a few more areas had been destroyed.

  “What am I supposed to do with this, Jared?” I leaned back, enjoying his closeness. We hadn’t been able to spend nearly enough time together since we’d been thrown into this mess.

  “Considering that neither of us has ever been trained in war, I’m not sure.” He kissed the top of my head. “We just need to figure out a way to stop O’Malley. I think everyone else will fall in behind you after that.”

  I turned and wrapped my arms around his waist. “That’s great, but I don’t want to lead them. I want someone who’s perfect for this position to just fall out of the sky and take it over for me. I want to go home.”

  Jared leaned down and kissed me, helping me forget everything for just a moment. I could pretend we were back in my house, and at any moment, Maddie and William would come busting through the door.

  “You know, I thought kissing the guy of your dreams would make you happy. Why are you crying?” Puck asked right next to us.

  I jumped away from Jared and wiped the tears that ran down my face. “When did you get here?”

  “A couple of minutes ago.” He smirked and looked down at the map, his hands clasped behind his back.

  “Okay, so you said you know what O’Malley wants. What is it?” Jared asked.

  Puck studied the map without answering. He leaned forward and muttered something.

  “What was that?” I asked.

  He looked up at me, seeming almost surprised that I was standing there. “I know what he wants, but I don’t know where it is. I’ve been trying to find it since I overheard him talking to his minions.” He paused. “He doesn’t like you much.”

  I snorted. “That’s not exactly big news. What’s the item?”

  “It’s some artifact of Merlin’s. It was brought here because there was too much power inside it to keep it on earth. That’s what he wants. It’s the only way he can become king of the fairies.”

  Jared shook his head. “So, now you’re telling us Merlin is real?”

  Puck looked at him strangely. “Of course he is. He was the only human who could use magic. Well, except the Atlantians. And Megan here. The Atlantians are gods. I’m still trying to figure Megan out. She shouldn’t have anything flowing through her.”

  “Hello? I’m right here. Stop talking about me like I’m not. And it’s not magic. Well, it wasn’t. Now I have magic mixed with the luck I had before, and I have to admit, I’m not loving it.” Great—I’d just spilled a lot more to Puck than I’d wanted.

  “Huh. Interesting. Maybe you can use your luck to figure out where, and w
hat, the object is. Some say it’s his staff, while others say it’s as small as a ring. What I wouldn’t do to get my hands on it.”

  It was a good thing Puck was looking away when he mentioned the ring, because I’m pretty sure he would have caught the shock on my face and on Jared’s. The ring. It was hidden in a cave, and except for the Chimera, it had no guard around it. I needed to talk to Louie to see if there was a way we could block the entrance. I didn’t want anyone to get ahold of it.

  “So until we find that artifact, do you think you could keep an eye on the army? O’Malley showed up at my training, and he said he’s going after Beth and Adam.”

  Puck whipped around, his eyes wide. “He came here?”

  “Yeah. He was here just long enough to taunt me, and then he took off.” I grimaced as I thought of the singed field.

  “But that’s impossible. I was watching him myself.” He swore and flew toward the door. “If it really was him, we have no way to follow him. He was very clearly on the other side of the fairy world just before I came here.”

  I cringed when he slammed the door behind him. “So, you think . . .?”

  “Yes. And we can’t let anyone know it’s there.” Jared looked down at me. “Including Louie.”

  “But he already knows.”

  Jared clenched his jaw. “He knows about the ring, but he doesn’t know what it is. We need to make sure he doesn’t find out.”

  “I know why you feel that way, but how are we going to keep him from figuring it out? And how do we keep O’Malley from knowing?”

  Jared turned to the map and studied it. “What if O’Malley destroyed all these places so he’d know where he searched?”

  “Or that’s how he searched. That makes complete sense. So, what if we went back and got the ring and took it back to one of those places where he’s already been?”

  There was a rustle behind us, and Louie stood there, wringing his hands. “That won’t work. You can’t take that ring out of that cave or every leprechaun, imp and power-hungry creature will be at your doorstep.”