“He’s with him still? How did you discover this?”
“I had known of Artemis killing the prince. Little that happens to light Faery is unknown to the dark. I once lived in that part of the world. I left when Artemis became too insistent that I join him. I discovered the details about the servant when he caught me coming off the ship.”
Flynn’s eyes widened. “You mean the servant was Balthazar?”
“It was. And now he is no more.”
“Then why did he help try to capture us?”
“He had no choice. The other was sent to see to it that he did his job. Balthazar had no reason to think all dark Faeries weren’t the same. Simon is a good master.”
“I’m not your master, but the leader of the coven,” Simon replied. “Any of you is free to go at any time.”
“Sadly, yes,” Kele said.
“Sadly? I thought you’d be glad,” Simon replied.
“Glad of what?” Flynn asked.
“Fiona wishes to go,” Simon replied.
“Fiona? Why?” Flynn asked.
“She has her reasons,” Kele said.
“Then Simon will look for another to cross over.”
“She may yet change her mind,” Simon answered. “And if not, Kele deserves the chance to create a new dark Faery.”
Flynn didn’t ask why. He knew Arwen had created Ethan, a Vampyre who had gone mad. Simon had destroyed Ethan for the good of the coven and the light Faeries alike. Flynn was allowed to cross over because of the opening Ethan’s demise had created. If Fiona left, another such could join.
He knew Fiona and Kele had been together a number of years. According to the oath the Vampyres had taken when they joined the coven, only Simon could create new Vampyres unless he said otherwise. Flynn wondered if perhaps the new Vampyre would be compensation. He gave voice to none of his musings, and tried to shield his thoughts from Simon. By the look on Simon’s face – part amusement and part warning – Flynn thought perhaps he hasn’t hidden his thoughts as well as he’d hoped.
“So, even as a light Faery Artemis was evil?” Flynn asked, returning to the previous conversation.
“Becoming a dark Faery doesn’t change your basic personality. It would have been better for the world – for dark Faery as well as light – if he had never been brought over. There is little we can do,” Simon answered.
“Why doesn’t someone kill him?” Flynn asked.
“Do you kill so easily, Flynn?” Simon asked.
“I couldn’t –”
“Not many of us could do so without cause,” Kele replied.
“He’s given cause. I’m simply not strong enough,” Flynn said.
“The fact that we know he’s evil isn’t cause. He must break the rules,” Simon replied. “Come, it’s late.”
They left their tree and flew back to the cave.
III
Tomas Cloud was a dreamer. His father despaired of him ever learning a Celestial craft because his imagination soared to other places. Yes, he understood weather patterns and had some grounding in the planets, but the day to day work was beyond him. Still he provided Hugh with the basic information he needed to demonstrate to Gareth that he wasn’t a complete dunce.
They became fast friends, even though Tomas was much younger. Kevin, the older Cloud son, spent his time dallying with the girls of the village, which Hugh was forbidden to do. Kevin was determined to surpass Hugh’s reputation.
Hugh was too busy with his apprenticeship to worry about his reputation, and still stinging from his mother’s reprimand. He needed his free time to study and learn whatever Tomas could teach him of the skies. He couldn’t believe the boy had no interest in the stars.
“When you’re surrounded by it, it doesn’t excite. I want to apprentice in music.”
A sudden fear crept along Hugh’s spine. The dark ones were musicians. He hadn’t heard them, but legend in the family was that Uncle Teilo had worked for them. Hugh had once asked, but his uncle had replied only that it was long ago, and he didn’t remember much about them.
Hugh knew the secret of the dark ones. He’d had a dalliance with a novice from the House of the Priestesses – which later nearly caused her to be dismissed and had gained him one of the last of his grandmother’s reprimands. But the novice had confided to him that the dark Faeries were, in fact, Vampyres. When he’d asked his uncle about working for them, he’d asked if they were Vampyres. Teilo had laughed uncomfortably and said people say many things about those they fear. His Aunt Jessica had no hesitation about letting him know the truth, although she made sure they were out of Teilo’s hearing. Then she’d told him that their leader, Simon Mallow, had once saved her life. She didn’t elaborate.
Hugh wondered why his own mother had never told him. She was a priestess. If Aunt Jessica knew, there couldn’t be an injunction against telling ordinary folk.
He thought about his grandmother. She’d always been kind to him, even indulgent. That was why her reprimand of him had been such a shock. He thought in her eyes he could do no wrong. It had pulled him up short to hear her shout. Shortly thereafter, a suitable apprenticeship was found for him, and he was given the injunction to leave the Celestial girls alone.
He’d dallied too long after his formal studies were completed, and he was an apprentice at a time when others his age were already journeymen. His grandmother had indulged him, believing he would calm down and become a druid. He hoped her disappointment in that hadn’t killed her. She was young in Faery years to die. But his mother had assured him his grandmother had nothing but pride in him.
He had vowed at her funeral to be worthy of that pride. It was difficult given the beauty of the Celestial girls, but he knew he’d be sent from his apprenticeship if he put any Celestial girl’s reputation in question.
Tomas dashed into the house one day trembling with excitement. Hugh looked up from a page of numbers he was struggling to make sense of.
“Hugh, you’ll never guess!”
“What?” Hugh asked, turning his head without lifting it from his hand.
“Shauna Faun is coming to do a concert!”
Hugh started. The Dark Ones. They called themselves Shauna Faun. Hugh wondered that no one knew they were Vampyres.
“What of it?”
“I’m going. Will you go with me?”
“Tomas, I don’t think –”
“Please? You said you liked music. You’ll never hear the like of this.”
He wondered if they mesmerized people and drank their blood, leaving them with a feeling that they’d heard the most wonderful music. No, there were large crowds. Still –
“Please, Hugh?”
He felt a bit of protectiveness toward Tomas. And the boy had taught him so much without ever asking for anything in return.
“I suppose I should see whether or not this band is as good as you say they are.”
IV
The day Fiona left the coven there was great sadness. She had been kind to all of her cohorts, and even the break with Kele had been amicable. Although Vampyres didn’t usually cry, Caeli and Zoe had bloody streaks down their faces at they said goodbye.
“Is there nothing that would induce you to stay?” Simon asked.
She shook her head. “Thank you for your kindness.”
“You can come back any time. If ever you have need of us, we’ll be here for you,” Simon promised.
He hugged her, and then each in turn did the same. In a moment, she was gone.
The rest of the night was somber. There was little talk between pairs who hunted together. Kele was wracked with guilt. He expressed it as he and Simon hunted together.
“Should I have gone, Simon?” he asked.
“She wouldn’t have stayed. I don’t want to lose two of my friends.”
Kele bowed his head slightly.
“It was time. She needed to move on. We’ll all miss her.”
“Will you add to the coven?” Kele asked.
�
�I don’t know. Perhaps. But not just now. There’s always the chance that once she’s settled elsewhere, she’ll wish to play with the band from time to time.”
“Or perhaps she won’t settle and will choose to come back,” Kele muttered.
Simon knew Kele longed for Fiona’s companionship even though she needed new horizons. Fiona had known Kele’s feelings as well, which was why she needed to move on. Simon didn’t expect her to rejoin the band – at least not for 20 or 30 years, if then. He kept his own counsel. Kele would come to these conclusions himself, eventually. No point in adding to his pain by saying it.
The coven was slightly somber for a few days. They couldn’t stay that way, and gradually things returned to normal.
They practiced for a concert. Kele had chosen not to participate despite Simon’s insistence that the music would help him heal. Simon had given his input. If Kele chose to ignore it, he would let him. For now.
The excitement over Shauna Faun never waned. Although the Cantares had many musical groups, they didn’t compare to the other-earthly sound of Shauna Faun.
Tomas was thrilled to be able to see them in concert. He spoke of little else for a while. Gareth proposed giving Hugh the evening off to see the band since he’d usually done well in his studies.
“What do you know of this band?” Hugh asked.
“Only that they seem timeless. I remember seeing them in my youth. I like their music,” Gareth said. “Of course, it can’t be the same band as it was when I was a lad.”
Reluctantly, Hugh agreed to go although he knew they were Vampyres. He expected to like nothing about them. He was surprised that he enjoyed the music. He watched the band to see what they were doing that others might miss. Simon, the tall one, looked like the leader. He looked like he sang to a specific person now and then. When he wasn’t singing, he saw Hugh and stared as if he’d seen a ghost. Hugh wondered why. He didn’t think Simon knew his mother, and people said he looked much like her.
He had his answer a few moments later. A member of the band with light hair fluttered down from the trees to pick up an instrument. He was startled to notice that she looked very like his mother. Could he be related to one of the Vampyres? He knew his Uncle Teilo had worked for them once long ago, but no one had ever mentioned a family member having joined them. How could anyone of his family do that? Why? And why had no one ever told him?
He tried to fathom who she was. His mother, as far as he knew, had only one sister, Jessica. Could she have had another sister? She looked so much younger than his mother. But she would: she was a Vampyre. He hoped Tomas wouldn’t notice.
Once again he caught Simon observing him. Simon must have seen the shock on his face. The Vampyre smiled, satisfaction surrounding him like a robe. It unnerved Hugh that Simon could know something about him or his family that he was unaware of.
When the concert ended Hugh wanted to leave right away. Tomas wanted to see the band. He knew there were rounders, people who collected fans and led them to the house of the band. He wanted to follow them.
“I don’t think your father would like that,” Hugh said, unwilling to admit his fear of going to a Vampyre lair.
“He said he went when he was young.” Hugh was stunned by that. “Come on, Hugh. It’ll be fun. We won’t stay long.”
He did appeal to Hugh’s sense of fun. The apprentice wasn’t usually the one to turn down a challenge. And he did want to find out the mystery of the Vampyre girl.
“All right.” He owed Tomas for all of his help.
They followed the thrall back to the cave where the Vampyres waited as usual. Simon stood back, watching the fans. A few folk chatted with Zoe.
When Hugh and Tomas arrived, they looked around. This didn’t look like what Hugh imagined a Vampyre lair would look like – although he couldn’t have said what, precisely, he expected. Tomas looked around, trying to memorize the room.
“You’re new here, aren’t you?” Simon asked, appearing out of nowhere, and unnerving Hugh.
“Yes. Weren’t you just over there?” Hugh asked, pointing to the wall Simon had been leaning against.
“Before I came over here, yes. You were distracted looking around. But you didn’t answer my question.”
“Yes, I am,” Hugh said, recovering himself, without for a moment believing the distraction theory. “My friend, Tomas, convinced me to come with him.”
“So, you’re his protector,” Simon commented, a note of amusement in his voice. “And unless I’m very much mistaken, a relative of Moira Holly’s.”
Hugh started. “You knew Moira?”
“Yes. We have met a few times.”
“She was my grandmother.”
“Was? Has Moira died, then? I am sorry to hear it.”
“Are you?”
“Yes, I am sad when good people die. She was young.”
“Yes. A freak ailment. She died before medicines were able to help.”
Simon nodded.
“You have none of Teilo Feather’s look, so I’d say you belong to her other daughter.”
“Aoife is my mother, yes. She is now the High Priestess of all.”
“Is she? And you? What is your name?”
“Hugh.”
“Hugh. Good to meet you. I’m Simon. Give your mother my regards when next you see her – although I daresay she would not welcome them.”
“She would not.”
“So, Hugh, what is it you do? Not a musician? A tooth Faery, like your uncle?”
“No. I am apprenticed to the Celestials.”
“Very good,” he said, sounding impressed. “So tell me, Hugh, son of the High Priestess, what induced you to visit our humble abode?”
He looked at Simon quickly to see if he were having fun at Hugh’s expense. Simon looked serious and interested.
“I saw one of your singers, and she – she looked very like my aunt.”
“You must mean Zoe.” He nodded toward her.
“Yes, that’s the one.”
Tomas wandered toward Harry, who was talking animatedly to a group of others.
Zoe looked up and Simon gave her the slightest nod. She excused herself from her fans and approached Hugh and Simon.
“Zoe, this is Hugh, Aoife’s son.”
She smiled. “Hello, Hugh. I never thought to meet you.”
“Do you know my mother?”
“I am her aunt, although she and I have never met.”
“Her aunt?”
“Yes. Moira and I were sisters.”
“Then why did I never know of you?”
“I doubt your mother would rush to tell you of a relative who is – as we are.”
“I know about your kind.”
“I’m sure. And coming here wasn’t your idea.”
“No. My friend, Tomas wanted to come.”
“Since you did come, it wasn’t a wasted trip; you’ve met a relative you never knew,” Simon said. “Have we met your expectations?”
“I had none,” Hugh said as Zoe returned to her fans.
“Didn’t expect to be mesmerized? You haven’t looked directly at any of us.”
“I don’t want to be tricked into becoming one of you.”
“We don’t trick anyone into becoming one of us,” Simon replied. “You must hold yourself in high esteem to think we’d want you.”
Hugh blushed and looked at the floor. “I know my Uncle Teilo was a thrall.”
“I no longer call him. And it was done of his own free will.”
“Then why does he remember none of it?”
“I only took away from him our secrets.”
“And what of Zoe? One of my family would never –”
“Hugh, I suggest you ask your Aunt Jessica. I doubt you’d wish to be in Zoe’s presence long enough to hear her side of it. Zoe wouldn’t lie, though. Your Aunt Jessica doesn’t like us, but I believe she’d be fair.”
Simon looked around and then left Hugh’s side before he could respond.
Hugh sought out Tomas.
“What do you think?” Hugh asked him.
“I like them. I think we should go, though.” Hugh nodded and they left.
As he drifted off to sleep that night, he saw Zoe in his mind, and wondered what had caused one of his family to become one of the dark Faeries. He could certainly understand everyone being too ashamed to speak of it, but he had never expected to find one of his own as a Vampyre.
V
Hugh had little time to think about Vampyres. Gareth kept him busy learning to use the telescope and map his findings. When he did see Tomas, he was too tired for chatter.
Tomas, for his part, told his friends that he had met the members of Shauna Faun. They looked at him in awe.
“Did you really meet Shauna Faun?” Tomas’s brother asked Hugh one night.
“We did,” Hugh replied with a shrug.
“What are they like?”
“Not what I expected. They’re nice folk, and not as mysterious as folk think.”
On his free day Hugh decided to visit his Aunt Jessica and Uncle Teilo. They were as pleased as surprised by his visit.
“Splendid of you to come, Hugh, splendid!” Teilo said. “How is your apprenticeship progressing?”
It’s harder than I thought, but I like it.”
“What brings you here?” Jessica asked.
“One of the boys in the home I live in is enamored of Shauna Faun. He talked me into going with him to a concert.”
“Does he know what they are?” Jessica asked.
“No. But I do, of course. After the concert he wanted to go back to their lair and meet them. Uncle Teilo, I knew you’d worked there, so I decided if I were cautious I would be safe, but I didn’t like being there.”
“The band is very kind,” Teilo said. “They would never hurt fans.”
“Hugh isn’t a fan,” Jessica pointed out.
“I must give them their due: their music is good,” Hugh said. “But what I need to know is about something I was told while I was there. There was a Vampyre who looks much like you, Aunt Jessica. Simon told me she is a relative of ours.”
Dark Faery III: The Celestials Page 2