by Amy Sumida
“He just needs some time to cool down,” I told her.
She whined.
“He'll be fine,” I reassured us both. “He'll be back, you'll see.”
Though I wasn't sure he would. It was the first time I wasn't absolutely certain in Tiernan and our love. And it scared the hell out of me.
Chapter Eight
“Where's Tiernan?” was the first thing my father asked after he entered my bedroom.
“I don't know,” I gave him a face which clearly expressed my desire to not talk about it.
Bless his heart, Keir left it alone.
“Alright,” Keir frowned. “I've just had some distressing news. Seren,” he led me over to the loveseat Tiernan had previously occupied, “ you need to sit down.”
“Dad,” I remained standing, “nothing good ever follows those words. Just tell me.”
“Seren, please,” he sat and indicated the seat beside him with a weary pat of his hand, “just sit.”
I suddenly noticed the strain around his eyes. The tension in his shoulders. His hair was mussed! This was bad. I sat down, staring at him in concern.
“Dad?” I took his hand. “Are you alright?”
“I'm fine,” he assured me. “It's your Uncle Uisdean.”
“Is he dead?” Was that a hopeful note to my voice? Surely not.
“No,” Keir's jaw hardened. “The Councils and the Coven sent their teams out to apprehend Uisdean and Rue. Just as you reported they would.”
“And?”
“And they found them,” Keir looked away.
“Dad, what happened?”
“We don't know,” he shook his head. “They had a radio connection with the teams. The Extinguishers even had cameras on their helmets.”
“Right,” I felt a chill start to slide up my arms, “that's pretty standard.”
“From what was seen on their footage,” Keir shook his head like he couldn't understand it, “it appears that Uisdean and Rue were being defended by the dead.”
“Excuse me?” I lifted my brows. “Did you just say Uisdean has a zombie army? Isn't that a witch thing? The Beckoning do that, remember?”
“Yes it is, but the coven elders said this was definitely not Beckoning witchcraft, and the dead who were defending...” Keir took a deep breath and tried again. “Before the camera feeding went black-”
“Feed,” I corrected him distractedly.
“Yes, right,” he cleared his throat. “Before the camera feed went dark, they saw Rue freeze some of the fairy hunters.”
“She froze them?” I blinked.
“That was her mór magic,” Keir reminded me. “Her name, 'Reòthadh' means: the act of freezing. But Seren,” he shook his head again. “She did much more than freeze them. Their skin turned black in blotches, the ice melted away, and their bodies appeared diseased. Their minds were definitely not their own. They turned on the rest of their team.”
“Wait... she turned fairies into zombies?!”
“Something like that,” he scowled. “We're not entirely sure what she did.”
“The black skin...” I scowled with him. “Like necrosis. Something that happens with frostbite. Severe frostbite. Rue kills them and then brings them back to fight for her. At least Beckoning witches can't do that to fairies.”
“Beckoning witches can't do that at all,” Keir corrected me. “They explained it to the Councils. In order for a Beckoner to raise the dead, the body must have been buried for at least a week. Decomposition must set in before they can reanimate it. They believe it has something to do with the soul. All traces must be gone before their magic can claim the body.”
“But Rue rushes through the process,” I whispered. “She rots them through necrosis, and then raises them immediately. She's found a loophole. That's horrifying.”
“The true horror is that Rue never had this ability,” Keir went on. “Her rebirth seems to have twisted her in more ways than the obvious.”
“It's twisted her soul, Dad,” I shrugged. “I'm not at all surprised that it's altered her magic too. Aren't our magics connected to our souls?”
“I'm not sure how our magic is bonded to us,” he mused. “But I see your point.”
“So what happened to the teams?” I asked, when it became apparent that he was reluctant to go on.
“We have no idea,” Keir's eyes set on mine in a decidedly worrisome manner. “They haven't returned. The high council members and the coven elders are convening even as we speak, to try and determine what should be done next.”
“So they could all be dead,” I said hollowly. All those soldiers, dead because of Uisdean. Wesley and his men, gone. It was such a waste.
“We don't believe so,” he whispered.
“Why not?”
“The camera feed was lost, but they were still catching bits of audio for awhile,” Keir's hand reached out and took mine. “They heard shouting which faded, as if people were being dragged away. Not killed, but taken.”
“You think Uisdean and Rue took prisoners? Why? Leverage perhaps?”
“Perhaps,” he nodded, then took my hand more firmly. “Seren, Ewan Sloane was on the Extinguisher team.”
“What?” I felt my jaw go slack and my stomach drop.
“He requested to be included,” Keir went on, “and the Council decided to allow it.”
“Ewan...” I swallowed hard and then a tremor started to spread over my body. Light at first, and then strong enough to clatter my teeth.
Ewan Sloane was the man who raised me. I had believed he was my father until very recently. When Ewan discovered my mother's infidelity, and my true parentage, he had cut me out of his life. My mother's death had nearly destroyed him, but her betrayal sent him over the edge. The last time we'd spoke, Ewan had been civil but firm: he wanted nothing to do with me. But I still loved him. Dearly.
“I'm so sorry, Seren,” Keir's hand went to my shoulder and he began to pull me into his chest.
“I have to find him,” I pulled away. “I need to be on the next team that goes in.”
Keir's face went white.
“No,” he whispered. “We have no idea how to battle Rue. And Uisdean still has Dagda's club. He can kill nine men with one blow from that-”
“I know precisely what that club can do, Dad,” I cut him off, and the silver star spokes over his amethyst irises, flared. “Which makes me a valuable team member. They need me. I'm going.”
I stood up. The tremors had started to fade as soon as I had decided on a course of action. Without direction, a plan to follow, I'd fall apart. And Ewan needed me to hold it together. So I would focus on what had to be done, and I would save him. End of discussion.
Keir stood as well, and grabbed my arm, “No, you're not! I forbid it.”
“You what?”
“I am your father and your king,” Keir growled. “I forbid you from going, Seren. You will allow the Councils and the Coven to handle this. Their combined might will conquer Uisdean and Rue, no matter what the two of them do.”
“Dad,” I shook my head. “I have to go, you must see that.”
“I'm sorry,” his expression was unyielding. “You're not to leave this kingdom, Seren. Stay out of it,” Keir strode from the room and closed the door with a determined and ominous click.
“And he thinks he knows me,” I grimaced at Cat.
She whined.
“No, you can't come.”
She whined again.
“I know I'm sounding like my father right now, but I can't take you with me, Cat,” I sighed and went over to hug her. “You'll only distract me. I'm not ready to pit you against Uisdean again. You need to stay here, where I know you'll be safe,” I took a deep breath as I realized I couldn't go to the Councils for help, not with my father forbidding my involvement. “I need to do this alone,” I said with resolve. “And that's okay. Ewan taught me how to work alone. He prepared me for this.”
Cat huffed into my neck.
“I know. The
y're all going to be pissed. My dad, Tiernan, my Guard. Everyone.”
Chapter Nine
It was difficult to imprison a fairy. Even more so when that fairy was of the twilight variety. We twilight fey had more than magic on our side, we had the In-Between. Twilight ruled all things between; the time between day and night, the wet strip between land and sea, the space between land and sky, the pause between heartbeats, any between place you could think of. Including, and especially, the In-Between. That darkness which lies off the path of a rath.
When a twilight fairy walks through a fairy mound, we don't fear that looming darkness. Because we know that if we were to fall into the In-Between, it would bend to our will. It would take us anywhere we wished to go. We simply had to convey our desire in a clear and strong manner. A mental image helped a lot. So it could be difficult to get the In-Between to take you somewhere you've never been before. Though sometimes, if you had a specific title for the place, it could be done.
But I digress.
Even without a rath, a twilight fairy could access the In-Between at twilight: dusk or dawn. Then, all we had to do, was get ourselves to a between place. One of those spots I mentioned earlier. The easiest way to reach one was to simply hover off the ground. That put me between earth and sky. From there, all I had to do was hitch a ride.
My father knew this, but he, as most kings, was arrogant enough to believe in the absoluteness of his authority. Like I said, Keir didn't know me as well as he thought. When someone I loved was in danger, no one's authority would stop me from doing everything I could to save them. Not even my father's. Not even Danu's.
All I had to do was wait for twilight, and then I could pop over to Alaska in mere moments. I already knew where to look for Uisdean. I'd been in the meeting in which the coven elders had given us his location. But I couldn't go straight there because I didn't know exactly what the place looked like. I couldn't visualize it and it didn't have a proper name. So I'd have to go into Juneau first. Which was fine. I needed to rent a vehicle anyway. Something rugged. And I had my daddy's black American Express card to help me with that. Keir would be unknowingly aiding me in my rebellion.
Insert maniacal chuckle here.
I couldn't tell Tiernan or any of my Star's Guard either. They'd no doubt rat me out to my father. But I didn't want everyone worried about me, thinking I was abducted or something. So I wrote a note to ease their minds. It was succinct: Went to save Ewan. I figured that said it all. Though I was really tempted to write “neener, neener, neener” or “you can take my life but you can never take my freedom” or something equally immature, in response to my father's mistaken opinion that he could control me. I was just so damn angry. And scared. I was terrified for Ewan. Damn it all, why did he have to go on that mission? Ewan was supposed to be watching over Hawaii.
I changed into human clothes. Warm human clothes; jeans, a T-shirt, a flannel shirt, and a long, fur-lined coat. I put on my fighting boots, strapped on my iron sword, and tucked my iron dagger into the side of a boot, beneath the hem of my jeans. In my coat pocket, I stuffed my human wallet with my driver's license, a little American money, and Dad's credit card. I also slipped in a mini set of binoculars and my cell phone. The coat was long enough to hide the sword, so I should be fine walking through the streets of Juneau. But I was getting fairly good at glamouring now, and I was confident that I could make it invisible if I needed to.
“Alright, Cat,” I bent and gave her another hug. “Wish me luck.”
Her puka eyes looked worried.
“I'll be alright,” I promised her. “I'm going to scout the place first. I'll be extremely careful. If I can, I'll rescue Ewan and the others without fighting Uisdean or Rue. I'll just sneak them out, like I did with the fairy prisoners in Seelie and Unseelie. But if that's impossible, I'll call the Councils and have them send me reinforcements. I promise. I won't do anything stupid. Too much is at stake.”
She huffed.
“I'll be back before you know it,” I looked towards the window, sensing the coming dusk. “Okay, I gotta go.”
I stood away from her and used my levitation magic to lift myself just a couple of inches of the ground. If Tiernan had been there, he would have chided me on my choice. He insisted that I practice my fairy magic every chance I got, and he would have wanted me to draw on the element of Air to hover myself. But Tiernan wasn't there, and he could kiss the human half of my hovering ass.
As the twilight magic rushed over me, I felt the power of the In-Between tickle my skin, like the rush of cold air into a warm room when someone opens a window. I reached for it, magically embracing that cool breeze, and asked it to take me to Juneau. The spot I envisioned was the meadow in front of the Alaskan rath. Only because I knew it would be secluded, and I didn't want to pop out in front of witnesses.
I hadn't counted on there being a new Lord of the Rath in residence.
“Hey!” a guy in a puffy coat and a pair of Uggs came tromping down the front steps of Chad's old house as I headed towards the road. “Stop there! Who are you? Declare yourself or I will defend the rath!”
Chad had been the last Lord of the Rath. He was also a King of the Court of the Nine Sons, and now he was an adviser to Raza in the Unseelie Court. It was weird to see someone else living in Chad's house, but I suppose Raza had to have someone guarding the rath.
“I didn't use the rath,” I declared as the guy caught up with me. “I came through the In-Between. Technically, I just used your yard. Sorry, I thought it would be empty. I didn't know Chad had been replaced already.”
“Twilight, eh?” he was an unseelie sidhe, but he looked human. Medium brown hair and eyes, an average build and height, and a medium sort of tan. The man wall all medium. It was obviously a glamour. “And you know Chad?”
“That's right... to both your questions,” I held out my hand. It wasn't like I was hiding my identity, everyone back home would know where I was heading shortly. “I'm Seren.”
“Davy,” he extended his hand automatically. “Nice to meet- hold on! You're that Twilight Princess.”
“Please don't call me 'Twilight Princess',” I sighed.
“What? Why not?”
“Seren is fine,” I ignored the question. Depending on how long he'd been stationed in Alaska, he probably wouldn't be familiar with all the pop culture yet. “Or Princess Seren, if you must.”
“Alright, Princess,” Davy frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“I'm going after the missing teams,” I watched his reaction to see if he knew what I was talking about. He did.
“The ones pursuing King... er... Lord Uisdean?”
“Yeah, the man who raised me, basically my first father, was with the Extinguisher unit,” I explained. “I need to get up there. I have to try and save him.”
Davy frowned and considered my problem.
“Hold on,” Davy started back for the house. “I'll get you the keys to my Land Rover.”
“No, it's fine,” I called after him, then changed my mind and amended my statement. “I just need a ride into town and then I can rent a car.”
“Princess,” Davy stopped and looked back over his shoulder. “I have two vehicles here. Just borrow the Land Rover. I can even give you a map of where they went.”
“You can?” I brightened. “That's a lot better than the coordinates I have. But what if I need to abandon the vehicle?”
“Then I'll know where to look for it, won't I?” he winked and then disappeared into the house.
Davy emerged quite a few minutes later. I was beginning to get worried about his absence, when he came out with his arms full. He hurried down the stairs and handed me a thermos.
“Hot coffee,” he said. “You'll need it. And here are the keys,” Davy beeped the alarm off and drew my attention to the black Land Rover parked to the side of the cement turn about. “Here's the map, and this is a bit of food just in case you get hungry. It's a long drive.”
I gaped at the bounty h
e'd offered so freely. “Thank you, Davy,” I leaned over and kissed his cheek since my arms were full.
Davy blushed and cleared his throat, “My pleasure, Princess. Here,” he went to the car and opened the passenger door for me. “Why don't you put all that down. The Land Rover has a GPS, but it won't be able to direct you to those coordinates. The roads you need to travel aren't in the system. The best you can do is put in the last address, this one here,” he pointed to a spot on the map. “I've penciled it in for you. Beyond that, you'll have to consult the paper map.”
“Again, thank you,” I said as he shut the door. “You've been a huge help. I'll leave the keys under the driver's side, wheel rim.”
“Sounds good, and I'm happy to be of service, Princess Seren.”
“Oh, one more thing,” I said as I got into the driver's seat.
“What's that?”
“Good job, Davy,” I grinned. “You were right up on me as soon as I arrived, and I didn't even come through the rath.”
Davy blushed again. He was a blusher, that one.
Chapter Ten
Davy had been right, it was a long trek to the spot Uisdean and Rue had decided to hole up. The last bit of it had been off-roading, but there was a muddy path which cut through the woods, so I was pretty sure I wouldn't get lost. It was mid-July, so the weather wasn't all that bad, and I ended up removing my coat halfway through the drive. There wasn't even snow yet. It was abundantly verdant, even up in the mountains.
I did drink all the coffee though. Which meant I was appreciating that beautiful greenery from up close, much sooner than expected. I had to pull over twice. And I was thanking Davy even more for his foresight of including a few napkins in with my snacks. No one ever mentions all the potty stops during dangerous rescue missions. Or how awkward and uncomfortable it is for us women to squat and pee while trying to avoid hitting our jeans.
Still, I was thankful for both the coffee and the food because it took me hours to get up into the mountains. Even with Alaska's delayed dusk (the sun didn't set till after 11 in July) it was still deep dark by the time I reached the coordinates. I spotted something through the trees (thank the Goddess for fairy eyesight), some sort of massive building, so I pulled over and parked yet again. I pulled my coat back on before I got out. Night had brought a sharper chill with it.