Fire and Fantasy: a Limited Edition Collection of Epic and Urban Fantasy

by CK Dawn

  Fabian nodded. “I understand it’s difficult for you to be out there on your own doing all this. But without the key, we can’t rebuild our reign.”

  “I understand, Father. And I’m sorry about Mother. I’m too late for her.”

  Fabian wiped away a tear on Faye’s face. “Your mother’s death wasn’t your fault. I am proud of you, my daughter. Now, all we have to do is to find the key, and our years of suffering will end.”

  Lorcan cleared his throat. “I’ve got to go now. Good luck with everything.”

  He turned, but Kai stepped forward, blocking his way.

  “Unfortunately, I can’t let you go back to the human’s world,” Fabian said, “before we have all the information about the key.”

  “I told you, I don’t know.” Lorcan pushed Kai, and Kai swung his arm at him. Lorcan blocked, and Kai stomped a kick to his abdomen, hurling him into the far wall.

  An white ivory object dropped from Lorcan’s pocket to the ground.

  Fabian stared at it. He knew he was not mistaken. On the ground was the white piece from the three-colored Key of Pisces.

  “You said you didn’t know anything about the Key of Pisces,” Fabian said.

  “I don’t. That’s just merchandise for a client.”

  “But you have only one piece. Where are the other two?”

  “I already told you I don’t know anything.” Lorcan couldn’t back away any further as he was up against a wall. He looked toward the cave entrance and saw that Kai stood there, blocking it.

  “I’m sure you’re a good human. I can tell. The key means a lot to us. There are millions of citizens and families who are depending on our return for survival.”

  “If I knew anything about the key, I’d tell you. But unfortunately, I don’t.”

  “Faye, does he have the information in his mind?”

  Faye shook her head. Fabian frowned. He tilted her chin up. He didn’t have his daughter’s talent, but he knew how she thought and when she lied to him. He glanced back at Lorcan, who had quickly figured the situation he was in could prove troublesome for him.

  “You’ve got the whole key,” he said to Lorcan.

  Lorcan darted at the entrance, but after a few rounds exchanging punches and kicks with Kai, he was thrown inside once again.

  “Beating him up or even killing him won’t bring us anything positive, Father. Let me work this out,” Faye said to Fabian, inching her way inside the cave to stand in front of Lorcan.

  “You have a gentle soul, Faye. But any war must have sacrifice,” Fabian said.

  “But this isn’t my war!” Lorcan exclaimed.

  “Call it collateral damage. And you are the casualty, human.” Fabian smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  Eighteen

  “Love!” The Keymaster looked at the toddler angel, who was sitting on a bench in a humble stone house, playing with her toys. She smiled at him, and said, “Love.”

  He rolled his eyes and crouched. “Seriously? It’s been a year since you made me carve the Key of Pisces out of three stones. I have used all my resources and the knowledge of hundreds of years making keys, and I couldn’t make them snap into one piece. And now you’re telling me it’s love that glues them together?”

  The toddler giggled and raised her hands.

  “No, no. No clapping inside the house, please. Remember what happened last time when you clapped? I’m too busy to build one house after another just because you have a compulsive clapping disorder!”

  She smiled at him and twirled her finger in a lock of his hair. “Love,” she said again.

  “All right, let’s say I’m not offended at all because I’ve taken care of you for a year, and the first word you’ve ever spoken to me regarding the glue for this crazy key is love. How the hell am I going to use love to make them snap together?”

  The dim light in the room made Lorcan’s hair look even darker. Faye couldn’t take her eyes off his face. He looked peaceful when he was asleep, but when he woke, she knew a storm would be heading her way. She didn’t know how to handle this. It was rare for her to be in a situation where every decision she made tended to go wrong.

  She tugged at the ropes tying his hands and feet to the four posters of the bed, ensuring they didn’t cut into his skin. It pained her to do so, but she would rather he live imprisoned than be free and dead.

  Her father had knocked him out using his energy suction. That meant when he woke, he would be very weak and certainly not in a good mood.

  Lorcan’s eyelids fluttered and gradually opened. His magnificent blue eyes were now looking at her, demanding answers.

  She braced herself against the wall. “Before you accuse me of anything, remember I saved your life, Lorcan.”

  “I’m not sure about that. You hired Pexami to capture me and destroy the boat, did you not?”

  “I paid Pexami to obtain the key, and you got tangled up in the ordeal. I didn’t have any plans to capture you.”

  “Then why am I here? Why am I tied up? Why did your father think I was holding the whole key?”

  “He was suspicious because you had the white piece with you.” She pulled out the piece of the key and placed it on the bed next to Lorcan.

  “That was only because a stupid shark chased me into that stupid cave. I know nothing about the key’s whereabouts. Why did you suggest to your father that I had that information?”

  “It was in your subconscious mind.”

  “So you’re saying that in only two days, you know my mind intimately enough to know what’s in it? Not only that, you’re suggesting that when I wake, I conveniently forget that I know?”

  “I suggested nothing like that to my father. I’m trying to figure out a way to tell you what’s going on without killing you.”

  “I’m a big boy. I can handle the truth, especially what you can accumulate in a couple of days.”

  “For pity’s sake, I’m a mind reader, and for two years, we were intimate in your subconscious mind. You told me everything about your life, Lorcan.”

  “Two years?” he exclaimed.

  She walked to one side of the room then whirled around and paced in the other direction. “Yes, you were in a coma for two years.” She returned to the bed. “Look, you need to calm down, Lorcan. I need to explain to you how I think your mind works before we can proceed—”

  “It’s been two years since the incident? What about Orla? She must think I’m dead. She can’t think I’m dead. I can’t just vanish from her life for two years without a trace!” He pulled hard at the ropes tying him to the bed. “Let me go!”

  Faye walked back and forth again, raking her hands through her hair.

  The door slid open, and Kai walked in with a tray and a glass of water. He glanced at Lorcan. “He’s awake. You can rest now, Faye. You’ve been up all night.”

  He gave her the water.

  “Since when do you do Millie’s job?”

  “Millie is back and is waiting for you in her quarters. She said she has what you asked her to get.”

  Kai’s eyes darkened when he looked at her face. Faye wiped away a tear that had rolled down her face.

  Kai pointed his chin at Lorcan. “He won’t give you the information?”

  Lorcan tugged at the ropes again. “If I know, I don’t remember. Let her pry the info out of me. She’s a mind reader, isn’t she?”

  Kai jumped right onto the bed and grabbed Lorcan by the neck. “You prick, if you don’t fucking give the information, I’ll break your neck with one hand. I don’t have the patience she has. And more importantly, I don’t have the feelings she has for you.”

  “Don’t do that, Kai.” She grabbed Kai’s shoulders but couldn’t move him an inch away from Lorcan.

  “Then break my neck, asshole. When you’re gone from the lives of everyone you care about for two years, you’re better off being dead.”

  “You think I won’t kill you?” Kai squeezed harder on Lorcan’s neck. “I don’t beli
eve you want to die.”

  “Please don’t do that, Kai! Please stop!” Faye cried.

  “Try me!” Lorcan shouted at Kai.

  “We still need the info, and dead men don’t talk. But I’ll see how well you handle pain.” He grabbed Lorcan’s head at the temples and pressed.

  Lorcan yanked at the rope, his eyes rolling back with the pain.

  “Kai! Please stop, Kai!” Faye cried. She untied Lorcan’s hands and could see he wasn’t struggling at the ropes. He was convulsive. She saw blood soaking his shirt on his side.

  She threw herself to the floor. “Kai, please stop! You’re killing him. And by doing that, you’re killing me, too. Kai, I love him. I love him with all my heart. Please don’t kill him.”

  Kai stopped and backed away.

  The blood at Lorcan’s side continued to pool, and he continued to convulse. She flipped his shirt up and could see a piece of jade had broken his skin and was sticking out. The white piece of the key on the bed vibrated.

  “This isn’t just a theory now. We need to wake him, Kai.”

  Kai untied Lorcan’s feet.

  Faye held him in her arms to calm him down. “Lorcan, when you love someone more than your life, it puts the key pieces together. But you won’t die because of this. You’re not going to die. I will take you back to the time you come from. You will not lose Orla. Do you hear me?”

  Lorcan didn’t appear to hear anything. The jade piece had come completely out of him and dropped to the bed.

  “He’s not in control of this. The red piece is in his heart. If it comes out, he’ll die. We need to snap him out of this. Please do something, Kai.”

  Kai grabbed Lorcan from Faye’s arms, threw him on the bed, and punched him in the face. The convulsions stopped. Soon after, Lorcan let out a moan and opened his eyes. He sat up, wincing with the pain.

  Then he looked at Faye’s face.

  She scrambled off the bed and wiped the tears from her face.

  Lorcan looked at the piece of jade and the blood on his shirt. “I heard part of your conversation,” he said.

  “Which…which part?” Faye asked.

  “The red piece is in my heart, and you were trying to stop it from coming out. Thank you.”

  Faye exhaled her relief. “You’re welcome. I have a plan to get it out, but before I tell you, I need to clear something up first.”

  Lorcan sat, leaning against the wall. “Please…entice me.”

  “Kai, if he moves wrong, could you please punch him?”

  Kai cracked his knuckles. “With pleasure,” he said.

  Lorcan rolled his eyes.

  “The three pieces snap into one complete piece only when someone loves someone else more than his or her own life. Even if we extracted the pieces from your body, if you die, we still can’t put it together.”

  “So the key is broken, and someone with great love can put it together. Sounds mythical, but I get it,” Lorcan said.

  “This is the hard part. Judging by the way your mind works, I believe you’re not one hundred percent human.”

  “My mother would be offended to hear that. But please continue.”

  “Not only that, it seems to me if the right piece of information is triggered, something in your mind just switches on and takes control. To what extent, I don’t know. But so far, I gather that one of the triggers is anything that has to do with your relationship with Orla. And when your mind is taken over, it rejects life.” She stared into his eyes.

  “Don’t worry. I’m still here. If you’re right, I think the process only kicks in when I’m in helpless situations. When I believe I can’t get out of a situation, all the life and death thought processes kick in. But now, I’m fine, and if you touch me again, Kai, I’ll kick your ass.”

  Kai smiled. “All right, so now that that is out of the way, what’s your solution to get the key, Faye?”

  “I asked Millie to borrow her father’s pass to the gateways. He used to be one of the gatekeepers. When you sank down to Nepolymbus, you went through several dimensions of time and space, not just water. If we travel back up and choose the right gate, we can get back to the time before the explosion.”

  Lorcan smiled. “Perfect plan. That way I can avoid the involuntary implantation of foreign objects into my body, and you can get the key in entirety. But will I remember anything when I travel back?”

  “This isn’t standard time traveling. So in theory, yes, you will remember. Just like us.”

  “Great, so let’s do it,” Kai said.

  Lorcan stood and said to Kai, “I don’t really like not being in control of my own body. So if you ever knock me out again, make sure you kill me, because I’ll kick your warrior ass when I get back.”

  The door slid open, and Fabian stepped in. His purple eyes sparked when he saw Lorcan. “Going somewhere?” he asked.

  Nineteen

  Fabian crawled on the muddy road, soaking wet with the storm water. He hated himself for surfacing and walking on human land against the advice of his council. He clutched the toddler Faye in his arms, covering her with his cloak as much as he could to keep her out of the cold. She looked at him with her big striking blue eyes. Most toddlers would cry in the same situation. She didn’t.

  Exhausted, he sat leaning against a rock, the rain splashing on his face. The water was too far away. He was sure he would never make it back home. In Nepolymbus, traveling through the water was like eating and breathing. But here, the rain water only accelerated his pain and made the wound on his side bleed more.

  “Father, you’re hurt. I’ll go and seek help.”

  He smiled weakly at his daughter. She had spoken even before she’d eaten, walked, and swam. Her first word had been father, and her second word was fight when she demanded he take her to where he trained the Nepolymbus soldiers.

  One day he would make her queen of Nepolymbus. But he didn’t want her to devote her whole life to the reign. He wanted to bring out the human side of her, the warm-hearted qualities from her human mother, so he had taken her to land to be blessed by his human white witch mentor.

  All he had found was her ruined cottage and lots of blood. Then he’d been attacked by unknown creatures. He wouldn’t regret dying here, but it pained him to think about what would happen to Faye if he died on human land.

  From the the midst of the storm, someone walked toward him from the bush. A large cloak to keep the rain off covered most of the person’s body, but he could tell by the posture that it was a woman. She approached and crouched at eye level with Faye. The light was just enough for him to see her piercing green eyes, eyes that didn’t belong to an ordinary human.

  “I am a shaman,” she said to Faye.

  “Then please heal my father.”

  “Come here, Faye,” he called, reaching out for her, but she stood still in the rain, eyeing the woman.

  “I can see you are a strong child. I can see no weakness in you. And I can see your future of being a great leader of a place far, far away.”

  “Come back here, Faye.” Fabian had figured out he’d been immobilized. The last thing he did was shout, “Don’t listen to her, Faye!” and then even his ability to speak vanished.

  “Don’t worry, Father. I won’t let her harm you or myself.”

  The woman chuckled. “Oh, look at what have we here, both a mind reader and a leader at this age. Fascinating.”

  “Please heal my father. He’s injured. He needs to take me home.”

  “What will you give me for healing your father?”

  “What would you like?”

  The shaman laughed. “What a little negotiator you are. Your father will die here if I don’t heal him. So for me to save his life, what you give must be quite significant.”

  “I’m only a child. I don’t have any money. But I can vow a debt to you if money is what you want.”

  The shaman laughed harder, opening her mouth wide and almost choking on the falling rain. “You have made my day, child. I lik
e you so much I’ll do this for free.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I have no intention of harming either you or your father. But I do have a prophecy for you. You will grow up to be the queen of a faraway place. You will be a strong and judicious queen and have no weakness except one. You will fall in love with a Silver Blood soldier. And that will be your fatal weakness.”

  “I shall remember that. Will you heal my father now?”

  “Not so fast, child. You’re smart, but you don’t know the power of this prophecy. Here is what I want to heal your father. When your weakness becomes the truth, and you are at a loss, you must come to me for help before it kills you. This is not a debt. It’s more like a favor. As I said, I like you. Do I have your word?”

  “Yes, I promise. I might be very young now, but I know how to keep my promises.”

  The shaman nodded. “All right then. I am the shaman of the Black Mountain, in the Middle Land. I hope to see you again one day.”

  Twenty

  Faye exited the hallway and headed toward the door. Kai walked by her side, with Lorcan dangling over his shoulder. Her father had put Lorcan out, again, for this trip. It was the most convenient way to handle the situation. Faye glanced back at the Great Hall and saw her father standing still, his hands in his pockets. He nodded at her with blessing and encouragement, as he always did.

  She promised him she would come back as soon as she had obtained the key. She promised him she was well aware of the prophecy and wouldn’t let it get to her. She didn’t know what Lorcan was exactly, but she knew he wasn’t a Silver Blood soldier. Silver Blood was mere rumor, anyway, and so were the soldiers who were supposed to carry that powerful property of the multiverse.

  Millie scurried along, trying to match Kai’s very long strides.

  “Can you please pretend that Lorcan has some weight to him. Isn’t he like six foot five?” Millie said, running and out of breath from having to keep up with Kai.

  “He’s six-eleven.”

  “You measured him?”

  “No, I’m a fighter. I’m quite accurate when gauging my opponent’s size and weight.”