"Dian made a deal with you."
"That's what we do, boy. We're a people of promise dealers."
Tam licked his lips. "So you were going to use my Clurichaun to control me."
"No, to prod you to find your shillelagh. Seems I'm too late. But no matter, it's just one more piece of wood to add to my garden." She moved away and tucked her wings against her back. "Now you can be a good little Leprechaun and behave. Give me your shiny toy, and I'll let you save the life of your Clurichaun. Or," she paused and faced him. "I can take you now and let your little witch die. Either way, you become mine and your shillelagh is added to my collection."
Collection?
Morrigan held up her hand and a torque appeared. This one was different than the one Magnus had. This was more elaborate Thicker. The skin around his neck prickled at the memory of the iron's burn. He kept his eyes locked on her, unwilling to let her get behind him. He wasn't going to let her do what Magnus did.
His mind continued to race ahead. Tam was told how the Morrigan stole all the shillelaghs in Faery and put torques on their owners. If so, and if his uncle didn't have a shillelagh, then had he worn a torque as well? Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Bogs's neck, and before recently, he hadn't seen Bogs in nearly a decade.
"This is where you put the shillelaghs. You bring them here and put them in the water and they become part of their original trees. Why?"
Morrigan laughed. "A shillelagh is not only the will of a Leprechaun, but a part of their soul. It also has the power of prophecy for their owners. Combined, I can see the futures for all the people of my kingdom when I surrender myself to the water."
"That's how you knew about me."
"Of course. And that's how I know you will submit to me, just like all the other good little Unseelie have. I am the Mother."
And then she was gone. No lift of a wing, not even a stirring in the air. Holding out the shillelagh, he spun around looking for her. She laughed behind him.
Too late.
His muscles locked again and he found himself staring at the three trees, unable to speak or to will his shillelagh away.
"Pretty," Morrigan said as she brushed her talons along his cheek. "So very handsome. It's amazing how the world paints your kind as tiny little bearded creatures. When in truth, you have always been the most pleasing to the eye." She pressed her hands down on his shoulders. "You will be mine now, Tam Lin. My aid. My right hand as I search the world for more Unseelie and bring them under my wings."
He scoured everything he'd learned in the past week, everything Bogs, Dian and even Áine had said. Bogs's words, though they might be said under the guise of Morrigan, felt the most true. When he talked about his shillelagh, he spoke with emotion, revelation and honest envy. He missed his power.
He missed his tie to the Earth.
The shillelagh was a Leprechaun's will. If this is my will, then I will myself a way to break her gaze.
Think…the way Áine had done it was to distract Magnus. But Tam had no one here to distract Morrigan. He'd told no one he was going. So if he had to have a distraction, he'd have to make it himself. And if so…could he? Was it possible?
The gaze might trap his body, but it didn't trap his mind. He stared straight ahead and thought of Áine. Her body, her shape, her hair, but he thought of her dancing. Step dancing in a line of people, arms at her sides. He heard the music, the beat of the bodhrán. He focused everything on that image, and then projected it into the trees.
To his surprise, a grayish image of Áine appeared, dancing, and on the breeze he heard the beat of a drum as it struck an old familiar rhythm.
"Who's there!" Morrigan said.
Her gaze broke. Tam could move.
He flipped the shillelagh around, turned with a yell, and shoved the small end into Morrigan's belly. "I have a will of my own and my path is not yours to control!" He continued shoving until he skewered her, mirroring what Magnus had done to Áine.
Morrigan screamed and the place where he pierced her lit up like a roman candle. She exploded in a flurry of crows that flew at him, scratched at his face, and then disappeared into the trees.
Tam went down on his knees, his face stinging and his arms and shoulders burning. His shillelagh was covered in some kind of black ocher. With a smile and a numbing feeling in his gut, he dipped it into the well. The water glowed blue and as he pulled it out, it was pristine again. It looked like it had a few more carvings on it.
When he cradled it to him, he felt it vibrate and thought he heard a laugh. "Just a few more things to fix," he smiled. "And then we both can rest."
Eight
Getting back to Áine was easier the second time. Getting her untangled from the wires and tubes—that was a whole different matter. He knew if he unhooked the heart monitor, the nurses would be in the room and all over him. So he decided to wing it with his hand on her arm and traveled back to the well.
He felt lucky that just Áine came with him and not the entire hospital apparatus. But the moment she wasn't on life support, she gasped for air. Tam dismissed the shillelagh as he lifted her in his arms and then slipped himself holding her into the well.
The water bubbled, and felt a lot like a mineral spring he'd once visited. He held Áine close to him and smiled as he felt her body shift and change against him, until finally her eyes opened wide as she gasped one last time for air and then she moved on her own. In fact, she scrambled away from him and fought to climb out of the well.
"Hey, relax," Tam said as he put his hand on hers. "I'm not trying anything. I promise. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't drown."
"You…you can't drown in a healing well," she muttered as she continued to climb out. "And…I'm barely dressed."
That much was true. The thin hospital gown with no back did nothing to cover her body, and Tam had to admit it was a nice body. He turned away and waited until she was out before he climbed free and offered her his soaked jacket.
They sat to the side of the well for a few minutes, enjoying the warm breeze and the sound of birds. Tam listened to the whispers of the shillelaghs. "They're here, you know."
"Yeah…I got that from you. So, how do you get them out? The shillelaghs?"
"I don't know. And even if I could, where would they go? Their owners are still under Morrigan's control."
"She isn't dead?"
Tam shook his head. He was pretty certain a simple stab to the gut for someone like her wasn't fatal. He was pretty sure he'd wounded her, though. "She'll be back. Freeing the shillelaghs has to come after we free the Unseelie. What good would it do to release their wills when they were being controlled by iron?"
"We?"
"Or me. This isn't your fight."
"It's not yours either. You have a chance to lead a normal life."
Tam frowned at her. "Seriously? Áine, I have pointed ears, I can summon a magic stick, and I have a legendary monster after me. Where in there is normal?"
She smiled at him and shrugged. "Conceded. So…what about this place? You want to take it from her?"
"There's no need. I proved to her that the prophecies of the shillelaghs are just shadows of the future. We can change that future if we will it. That's what she stole." He leaned his head to the right and smacked his left ear as he tried to dislodge water out of his right. "Keeping the shillelaghs alive like this does give hope for the future. The trees know this. That's why they grow here. And no matter how many baths that bitch takes in this water? She'll never be able to bend the future to make it hers."
"So…we just leave it? Under her control?"
Tam stood and offered her his hand. "That's the secret, Áine. It's never been under her control. That's a lie, and one she chooses to believe. Let her continue to believe it." Once Áine was on her feet, he summoned his shillelagh. Looking at it, he thought, I'm getting pretty good at this. "There is one shillelagh I can sense, louder than the rest."
Áine's lips pulled into a thin line. "Your uncle's?"<
br />
"Yeah. The Morrigan admitted she struck a deal with Dian. There's something about Dian, something Bogs has on him. I agree with her that we're a race of promise dealers. My uncle in particular. I think he's got something up his sleeve with Dian, otherwise why make himself a player in whatever game Dian's got going? I just can't make sense of the idea that he wants to destroy this well." Tam narrowed his eyes at her. "That was you I heard, right? Before? In the library?"
"I didn't know you were in a library. I was in a dark place, but now and then I could see and hear you. I think it has something to do with my duty to you and your family."
"About that…who sent you to protect me?"
She smiled. "Your mother."
Tam took several steps toward her. "You…you know my mother? She's alive? Where is she? Why did she leave? Does she know my dad died of a broken heart"
Áine's strength returned as she summoned a knife and held it out between them. "Stop right here, Prince. I can't answer those questions. I shouldn't have told you as much as I have. But…I thought you should at least know that if your uncle is dirty and Dian's the ass we suspect he is, you do have someone on your side."
On my side. Tam was pretty sure he wasn't going get any more out of herat least not right then. But if he played his cards right, he might be able to wear her down over time. He smiled to himself as he waved at her knife. "Put that away. I'd never attack you."
"Not now. But who knows what the future brings." The knife disappeared. "The Morrigan's not going to stop coming after you. She's probably more pissed than ever."
"Yeah. I figured."
"Your house has been cleaned and Dian set up new wards. I'd like to take those down and set up some of my own."
"Sure, sure." Tam looked around at the woods as a breeze moved the hair over his forehead. "I don't know whether to confront Bogs and Dian now, or just wait. I'm sure Dian's going to be pissed as well, seeing as how I did this without letting him destroy it."
"And I don't think he can get here without you." Áine took a step forward. "We carry on as usual?"
"For now. So it's been a week?"
"Yes."
"And I'm currently listed as a missing person?"
"Yes."
"I think I should start by assuring everyone I'm not missing. Then I have to resort some priorities."
Áine shifted into her horse form. A beautiful red mare. Yes. And I'll be watching you like a hawk in step dancing. Might even make you my partner.
Tam laughed as he jumped up on her back and held on to her mane. "Go right ahead, if you want some broken toes."
I might. You ready to head home?
"No. Wanna go for a run?"
I thought you'd never ask.
—————
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~FAERY TALES CONTENTS~
THE SWAY
HOW TO BABYSIT A CHANGELING
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ARRANGED
WITHOUT ARMOR
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FAERY WORLDS
FAERY REALMS
THE SWAY
A Hidden Trilogy Novella
Copyright © 2015 by Amy Patrick
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Chapter One
Partners
Sometimes the more a person talks, the less you want to listen. Even when he speaks without making a sound.
“This legislation will lead to more jobs for the middle class—this country needs to move forward, not backward.” Pappa’s voice drones on and on, flowing from the surround sound system in our living room like the underground river in Altum. Slow. Deep. Never-ending.
I reach over and click the remote, and the image of his unnaturally young, unusually handsome face disappears from the big screen, the manufactured smile and slick speech replaced by soothing blackness and quiet.
“Why’d you do that?” Carter whips his head around to face me across the low table where we’re working together, surrounded by piles of books and trays of snacks prepared for us by Edda, my family’s chef.
I shrug, not taking my eyes from my laptop, continuing to peck away at the art history senior paper Carter should be working on as well. Instead, his eyes have been glued to the TV for the past ten minutes.
“It’s distracting,” I say. “And boring.”
“It’s not boring. It’s awesome your dad’s on TV all the time.”
Finally I look up. “It was awesome when I was thirteen. Now—it’s boring.”
Carter throws his hands up in an exaggerated pose of surrender. “Well excuse me for being impressed, Miss I-Have-Mansions-In-Two-States-And-Had-Dinner-At-The-White-House. Some of us country bumpkins could listen to him talk all day.”
I gesture toward the row of floor-to-ceiling windows that look out from the living room over our manicured suburban neighborhood. “Atlanta is hardly the country. And you’re not a bumpkin. And you wouldn’t be saying that if you actually lived with him in those two houses and had to listen to him talking all day.”
Carter shakes his head, the light blue of his eyes matching the color of his frayed button down. “No. He’s not like other dads.” Rolling his pen between his fingertips, he looks up at the soaring cathedral ceiling, obviously searching for words to explain the unexplainable. “Your dad’s so… so…”
I know it’s the glamour at work, and like all the other humans in our sphere, Carter can’t help himself, but still, his reaction to Pappa’s televised interview is bugging me. It makes me feel sorry for my new friend. It makes me feel guilty.
I lighten my tone a few degrees, adding a note of humor. “You’re kind of creeping me out here with the hero worship.”
Now his gaze comes back to me along with a sheepish grin. “Sorry. Not being weird. You know I want to go into politics, so to me, he is kind of a rock star. I guess to you he’s just ‘Dad.’”
“Exactly.”
Only he isn’t.
Pappa adopted me five years ago after my parents were killed in a small plane crash. He doesn’t feel quite like a father—I remember what a real father feels like—but I’m lucky to have him as a guardian. There aren’t many people (especially among our people) who’d take in a stray teen girl and raise her as their own.
“Anyway, you’re not getting any work done with the TV on. And we’ve only got a few days left to finish this. So get on it.” I lift my hand and flip it, making a cracking noise with my mouth to approximate a whip.
Carter flinches and laughs, places both palms on the table between us, and drops his face to his knuck
les in a reverent bow. “Yes, master.”
I laugh along, but only weakly, as a sick twinge hits my stomach. I don’t like the sight of him bowing to me. It’s too close to what Pappa actually believes all the humans should be doing.
Of course, Carter has no way of knowing about that, and he can never know. I’m not even supposed to have friendships with humans, much less confide in them.
Pappa would probably flip if he knew Carter was even in our house right now. But he insists on my going to school with them—public school of course—man of the people and all that politician garbage—so he’ll just have to put up with it when I have a partner on a project. The school library where Carter and I have been working together closes at three-thirty, and I have no doubt Pappa would like me going over to a human boy’s house even less.
“They’re only interested in one thing, Vancia,” he’s constantly warned me. “And that’s the one thing you absolutely must not give them. You know the consequences.”
Oh, I know. Believe me, I know. How could I not, when it’s been preached to me so often? Our kind have one partner for life. Separation from that partner results in the mark—and a solitary life for eternity.
Though eighteen is the age of bonding for us, we all get The Talk in early childhood because even before our eighteenth birthdays, if we choose to bond ourselves with someone, that’s it. No take-backs. No oopses.
I glance up to check that he’s working and can’t help but smile at Carter’s concentration face as he scribbles in his notebook. The tip of his tongue is in the corner of his mouth, and his light brown hair is flopped to one side, revealing cute little frown lines across his tanned forehead.
A sweet warmth spreads through my chest, and I pull my gaze away, forcing it back to the screen in front of me where it belongs. No point in looking. A human—like Carter for instance, with his short human lifespan—would be a tragically bad oops.
Faery Tales: Six Novellas of Magic and Adventure (Faery Worlds Book 3) Page 6