The Tainted Web (The Godhunter, Book 7)

by Sumida, Amy

  The surface of the sea was calm and smooth but it was broken in the center by protrusions. I frowned at them and at the total lack of land in all that water. The only land to be found was what we stood on and the ring of cliffs which seemed to hold back the sea.

  “What are those things out there,” I pointed at the protrusions.

  “Air shafts,” the High King looked out at them grimly.

  “Could some fey fly in through the shafts?” I looked back at him.

  “They're too small,” he shook his head, “only a flying pixie would fit and frankly, the small ones are useless without us.”

  “Oh, right,” I frowned, looking once more across the ocean. There was water as far as I could see but in the distance straight ahead of us, I could barely make out a bit of smoke. “Is that smoke on the horizon?”

  “From the volcano,” King Cian nodded.

  “Oh, right,” I remembered something Arach had told me. “Each kingdom ends in its elemental opposite, the element that doesn't border it.”

  “Yes,” the High King smiled, “it's a way of completing the circle of magic. The volcano actually flows beneath the Forgetful Forest and back to the Kingdom of Fire, just as a river of water flows underground from the Tine that borders Fire, and returns to the Kingdom of Water. With the Earth housing them and the Air above, everything meets at the heart of Faerie, through the Castle of Eight, and is joined by Spirit.”

  “Wow,” I thought about the waves of energy I could usually feel in Faerie. It was because of the brilliant use of the elements.

  “King Fionn,” The High King called, “King Cahal, please take your groups across the bridge and down through the left tunnel. We will meet up at the outpost and go forward together from there.”

  The Kings nodded and led their groups across the bridge that crossed the river.

  “We'll go through this one,” King Cian said to the remaining groups. “After the outpost, the way condenses to only one slightly larger tunnel and then the Under city will be next.”

  My heart started beating rapidly. Was I really going to go down there, a pane of faerie glass the only thing separating me from all that dark water? Oh hell, I guess I was. I walked forward grimly, morbidly fascinated with the smooth transition the tunnels made from land to water. The edge of the tubes followed the line of the water's surface, cut so that it looked as if the water was held back by the will of the air. In no more than five minutes, we were completely enclosed in deep water, sunlight only a fond memory as it tried to penetrate the weight of the ocean.

  Thankfully the tunnel came equipped with floating faerie lights, glass orbs that hovered around the ceiling like mini blimps, or we'd have been stumbling around underwater in the dark. Gasp. My heart raced just to think about it, even though I knew my lion eyes probably wouldn't fair so badly.

  “Is this a special kind of glass?” I trailed a finger along the cold wall of the tube.

  “It was made with the help of Fire,” Arach grimaced.

  “Each of the kingdoms helped make the others,” King Cian said a little reproachfully. “Faerie exists partly due to the harmony of the elements. It's why the kingdoms are placed as they are. Air receives its hot and cold currents by the melding of Fire on the right and Water on the left. Fire is fanned by Air and fed by Earth on its right. Earth is renewed by Fire and nourished by Water on the right. Water is restrained by Earth and circulated by Air to its right, and in the center of it all, Spirit holds them together.”

  “That's kind of beautiful,” I said quietly. So there was even more to the magic, Faerie was full of layers it seemed.

  “Yes, it is,” the High King smiled. “It's also why we must take action fast against Queen Dubheasa. We can't allow her to throw off the harmony of Faerie. There has always been fighting between the Houses but never has an attempt been made against a ruler. That is unacceptable and threatens the stability of the realm. Queen Dubheasa will have to be replaced.”

  “Who decides on her replacement?” I wondered aloud.

  “Her people, of course,” King Cian smiled. “Who better to decide on a leader for them?”

  “How surprisingly diplomatic,” I murmured.

  About half a mile in, we came to the outpost. It was some kind of military checkpoint and they were prepared for us. Even prepared though, they didn't stand a chance against the combined forces of the Houses of Spirit, Fire, Air, Earth, and the gods. The fight was over in moments but this time there were no survivors to restrain.

  “We can't just kill all the water sidhe for following orders, can we?” I asked the High King.

  “We will try not to,” his face was set in serious lines. “I admit, it brings me no pleasure to lift sword against my fellow fey but they know they commit treason when they lift theirs against me. We will do as we must but do not worry, there are plenty of non-confrontational water fey. We will not kill the element.”

  The tunnels had connected to an oval dome for the outpost, which housed only barracks and supply buildings. There were also strange tubes coming in from above and descending at several points. I stared at them, trying to ignore the large shapes moving languidly behind the glass.

  “Those are doorways,” Arach came up beside me. “The water can be let in after a fey enters the tube, and then they can swim out.”

  “So Dubheasa could have escaped into the sea already.”

  “Yes, it's possible,” he frowned.

  “But not likely,” the High King added. “Unless it was to get more quickly to the central city. She may have an advantage in the water but only as far as hiding goes. Combat underwater is difficult equally for all, and she can only hide from us for so long.”

  “Even when she has a whole sea to hide in?” I asked skeptically.

  “Her fey can locate her with a type of underwater telepathy,” King Cian explained. “They sing and it travels through the water, covering great distances very quickly, until it finds whomever they're after. They can give us an exact location in moments.”

  “Hmm, kind of like sonar, but will they help us?” I still wasn't sure. Her people had seemed more than willing to die for her so far.

  “Like I said before, they're not all soldiers, Queen Vervain,” King Cian smiled gently. “There will be many who will surrender and obey the wishes of their High King. Of that, I have no doubt. We fey can be very practical.”

  “Yes, that I remember,” I grimaced.

  Chapter Eight

  “What in all of creation is that?” I pointed at the thing sliding along the side of the tunnel like a cat rubbing fondly against its human.

  It had an eel-like body, the width of which was greater than my height, split at one end into several heads. Each head looked in a different direction, undulating through the currents. It was a dark indeterminable color, even with the lights hovering close to it inside the tunnel, maybe deep green or gray. The faces were humanoid, with wide mouths displaying rows of needle-like teeth and round unblinking eyes, but only a flat expanse where noses should have been.

  The lack of a nasal ridge didn't hinder the horror of their almost-humanity though. You could see the wrongness of the creature clearly. It had a face for land, brachycephalic instead of sleek and pointed for water travel. It just plain didn't make sense but then Faerie didn't need to make sense.

  “It's just a water creature, pay it no mind,” Arach waved his hand as if he could erase it.

  “Pay it no mind?” I stared at it and it seemed to stop and stare back at me. “Nope, I don't think it needs any more minds, looks like it's got several already.”

  Then its tail whipped, all of its heads coming together to form a point, and it propelled itself speedily away. So I guess it did make sense. After its sighting though, I was beginning to loose my senses. We kept spotting more and more underwater creatures that belonged in a horror flick instead of my life. Yet even that wouldn't have been so bad, if I didn't have the added worry of possibly going out into that water and getting snuggly w
ith them.

  Then I saw the gate. It was a massive arch of shining green stone, carved with images of strange sea creatures. A heavy gate of black metal was lowered but through it, I could see a glowing city. The buildings were made of the same stone as the gate but the roofs and walls were mottled with some kind of moss, or probably algae, that glowed bright blue. There were also floating faerie lights scattered around but really, they were unnecessary, the glow of the moss was enough to light all of Under.

  Water fey were walking about, going about their daily business, but when they spotted us, they all ran for their homes. Mothers scooped up children, men lowered panels over windows, and the sound of wooden bars sliding into place rang out in rapid staccato.

  “We're here,” the High King made some hand motions and the gate lifted. Our huge group split into four. Three of them headed out, marching down an angled seashell-lined path into the Under city. Thankfully, our group waited to survey their progress before embarking ourselves. I needed the time to gawk.

  Once through the gate, I was able to see the length and breadth of the city. It was massive, its perimeter set by a solid wall of green stone and its ceiling supported by several pillars of the same stuff, obviously the foundation of Water city. It was no wonder why King Cian wanted us to spread out, we'd never make it through it all in one day if we didn't.

  The glowing city spread out with no seeming logic to it, just buildings built willy-nilly, like a giant child had strewn his toys about. Among them were stunning white fountains and pools, hemmed in by strange rubbery plants. Then in the center of it all was a brilliant white castle, its walls disappearing right into the domed green ceiling that was also spotted with the glowing algae.

  A central path led up to the castle in a winding manner, ending in the main gate, which was open to allow for the line of troops that was making its way steadily toward us. The High King didn't seem concerned at all that an aquatic army was heading our way after we'd just sent three quarters of our own to search the city for Dubheasa.

  He just led us boldly down the path to meet them and when we got within twenty feet, he stopped, crossed his arms over his chest, and waited for them to come to him. It was a bit intimidating, and the officers at the head of Dubheasa's army weren't immune to it. They approached warily, glancing at each other before closing the distance.

  A water sidhe with pale green hair and dark blue skin broke the silence but he spoke in the fey language until King Cian stopped him and bade him speak in English for our benefit.

  “I am Guirmean,” he continued in English, “leader of Queen Dubheasa's troops and this is Luag, second in charge.”

  A kelpie, I'll never forget that seaweed hair, bowed to King Cian. He wasn't smiling as Kael had been, I wasn't even sure if he could smile, his face was so serious, but then who could blame him? We were there to kill his Queen after all.

  “Do you dare stand against your High King?” King Cian got right to it.

  “No, King Cian,” Guirmean swallowed hard. Poor guy, what a position to be put in. “My Queen bade me attack you to buy her time to get away but we both know her capture is inevitable and I refuse to sacrifice my men for a woman who cares more for power than her people. Dubheasa be cursed,” gasps from the fey of our party but oddly enough, no outrage was heard from his army. “I will not protect her.”

  “I pardon you for going against your Queen,” King Cian said gravely. “It's a hard thing to deny your leader for the path you know to be right. I commend you for your honor and I will not expect you to aid us, as long as you do not hinder us in our pursuit.”

  “High King,” Luag the kelpie sighed before continuing. “We've already decided to help you locate her. There's no sense in allowing you a lengthy search when we could help make it quick and less painful for all of those involved. We will take you to her but we'll also accept your offer to refrain from the fight, if there be one. No one here wants to raise hand against their Queen.”

  “Understood,” King Cian nodded. “I'm greatly relieved that needless bloodshed has been avoided. I thank you all for remembering your true loyalty, to the House of Spirit and Faerie above all.”

  “Yes, High King,” Guirmean nodded, “we are saddened by our Queen's betrayal and hope that our actions will show that the entire House of Water is not corrupt.”

  “It has indeed,” the High King said gravely. “Be at ease that none of the House of Water shall be held responsible for the actions of Dubheasa and Kael. I'll send word to the other parties that our search is over,” the King turned and gestured to some fey who nodded and ran off in different directions. “Now, where is the traitor?”

  Chapter Nine

  Dubheasa was in deep water.

  Unfortunately for me, that statement was quite literal. She'd gone out into open sea and was taking cover in a coral reef about four hundred yards from the layered cities of Under and Water. It had been suggested that I remain behind but the hell with that. She'd tried to kill me and had stolen my jewelry. I'm not even sure what pissed me off more but the bitch was going down and I was going to have a hand in it.

  I activated my hale stone with a light exhale, along with everyone else who couldn't breathe underwater, as I waited for my turn at the transport tubes in the center of the Under city palace. We were in the main room, where you'd normally expect a grand staircase to be but there were a collection of glass tubes hanging down from the ceiling instead. The large space was otherwise empty of furniture, though the walls boasted intricate tapestries and portraits of fey in gold frames. One wall had a large framed mirror, replicating the image of our motley army filling the room and ascending up the tubes. It brought home to me the magnitude of what we were there to do and I frowned at my own reflection.

  We were going to kill a Faerie Queen.

  I'd killed gods, powerful beings who'd been alive centuries and sometimes even, millennia, but this felt different to me. Something in my bones, or maybe in my magic, was telling me that this was momentous, an act unheard of although very necessary. I was suddenly uneasy, not because of the prospect of killing a Queen, but because I had the strangest feeling that I was being maneuvered, used as a tool to rid Faerie of a bad monarch.

  I shook off the feeling and stepped directly under one of the tubes, as I'd seen the sidhe in front of me do. It slid down around me, all the way to the floor where it formed a seal, and started filling with water. I panicked a little at first but soon it became evident that there was a thin layer of air surrounding my body like a second skin, which allowed me to breathe easily. I let out the breath I was holding and floated up the shaft more confidently.

  Once at the top, I swam out into a large room. The walls were the same white as the lower castle, adorned with mounted weapons and paintings sealed in glass cases. The only furniture were woven hammocks hanging from the ceiling. They moved eerily in the currents, their thick green fibers expanding and contracting like they were breathing. Fey lights floated around the algae-encrusted ceiling, illuminating the empty room.

  I waited for my men to come up the tubes and then we swam out of the palace, passing numerous rooms, all brightly lit with the combination of glowing algae and fey lights, and adorned with woven furniture that were attached to either floor, ceiling, or walls to keep them from drifting away. Fish darted through them, some curious enough to approach us but most just peered warily from nooks and crannies. The floor was covered with pristine sand, alive with scurrying crustaceans and crawling sea creatures. Fronds and chunks of coral made bright patches of color along the edges of the walls, some pieces even trailing out into the path, but I guess it didn't really matter, the floor in those halls was probably rarely used.

  Outside the palace, our troops were assembling, a little overkill for pursuing two fey but at this point, no one wanted to be left behind. I turned around and got my first view of the underwater palace. It was as lovely as the Queen herself, the very same color as her skin, a soft of shining mother-of-pearl. It looked delicate,
too fragile to be able to stand above water, with thin spires that twisted up towards the surface and swayed gracefully in the currents, like a dancing mermaid. The only stationary part of the castle was its main body but even that seemed alive in the water, dancing in the light of numerous faerie lights and surrounded by schools of brightly colored fish which swam in and out of open windows like children playing peek-a-boo.

  I gaped at the alien beauty of the palace, knowing it would haunt me for years, a spot of brightness in the terrifying underwater landscape. My artist's eye couldn't get enough of the elegant structure, how it spiraled and curved its way through the water, how it was completely devoid of unnecessary stairs to mar its perfect sheen, or the way it was adorned by massive pearls set into the silky walls in dizzying patterns. But I wasn't there for sightseeing, so I turned away and headed over to the front of the army with the other royalty.

  When everyone had made it up into Water city, we headed out, Guirmean and Luag leading us confidently, their strong movements propelling them through the water so quickly that the High King had to call them back and ask them to proceed at a more sedate pace. We followed them over the city of Water, and for a moment I felt like I was flying, looking down at a village of humans, as my ancestors had once done in dragon form. I blinked and the sensation passed, allowing me to take note of the city we were swimming over.

  Paths were unnecessary in Water, so the city was even more random than the one below it. There was space between houses but that was it, they were just kind of scattered about, stretching out into the dark sea, like a broken necklace. Just as below, the houses were made of green stone and were covered in patches of the glowing algae. They were also full of water fey who had fled at the sight of us, locking themselves in their homes like those in Under. I was glad for it. The less innocents out in the open, the better. Just in case Dubheasa had an ace up her sleeve.