The Seelie Queen appeared next to the Oracle and congratulated the young warrior. She asked Ghost if the team could meet at her Court in the morning as they had some final business to discuss. Ghost agreed, and the rest of the Seelie Court joined in the celebration.
It was over an hour later before Knightmare could slip free from the trial grounds. On their way back to the airport, Ghost called Gretchen to fill her in, and to have her set up a conference call with Agent Smith. The team knew this debriefing would last most of the evening.
THE CLOCK SHOWED 12:32pm when Boomer pulled the Wunder Buggy into the driveway of the Seelie Court the following day. The guard at the gate waved the truck through without stopping them, and, as they pulled into the parking area, the minotaur head of the Court's external security team was waiting for them. Ghost recognized a couple of the expensive cars in the lot as belonging to members of the Seanachaidh. He realized that this meeting would be much more than a mere debriefing with the fae.
The minotaur greeted the DHS team leader as he climbed down out of the truck, "Well met, Special Agent Jonas Vanhof. Welcome to the Court of Light."
"Well met, Tar Katel. Will we all be attending the Queen today?"
The big minotaur nodded. "All of your team is welcome in the Court today. There is also a ceremony planned. All are welcome to attend as you wish. You are considered Allies of the Court of Light, and you are invited without condition."
Ghost's eyes widened in surprise. "Thank you for your honor and hospitality. We shall maintain your trust."
Behind him, Heavy leaned over to Spooky and said, "What do you think that means?"
The former NSA analyst was already sending a quick message to Gretchen for clarification. He let out a low whistle when he received the answer. "Gretchen says it means we can wear weapons in the Queen's presence, at her Court. She also said don't abuse the privilege. Section Twenty-Eight has never had that status before."
Heavy grunted in acknowledgement. The big federal agent had not planned on bringing his shotgun to the party, but he had not wished to disarm totally. Now he didn't have to leave his toys behind. He left his khukuris in place across his back, and to leave his sidearm attached to his belt.
Around him, several of his teammates stopped removing pistol holsters or knives, and left the weapons in place. Only Dancer still removed her pistol. She left fion-fhuil in its scabbard underneath her leather jacket, but she felt better removing the pistol. Boomer carried no weapons with her as she had more faith in her growing vampiric abilities than any blade.
One-by-one, the team exited the truck, with Boomer locking the doors and chirping the horn with the remote fob. They followed Tar Katel to the main doors of the house which were drawn wide open in greeting.
Standing just inside the main doors, Tó Coferal greeted them all warmly, making it a point to bow. The elf welcomed them into the house and led them back to the formal throne room. Ahead of them, the elves standing guard threw open the double doors. The Queen's Knight stepped to the threshold of the doorway and announced, "Section Twenty-Eight, Signatory to the Accords and Allies of the Court of Light." The elf stepped aside and a smattering of polite applause echoed through the chamber as the team stepped forward into the Court.
The team members were all greeted warmly by those in attendance. As protocol required, Ghost led the team before the Queen first, and they all bowed and greeted the elven monarch. The Queen asked Ghost to remain as she dismissed the others, and the team leader lingered while the others went to mingle.
"Agent Vanhof, I want to extend my sincerest condolences on the loss of your team members. They were brave men, who died with honor fighting evil. Please convey my condolences and my well wishes to Agent Smith as well. I do wish he could have been here. We have worked together to maintain peace for a long time now."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. May I ask a question?" Ghost looked earnestly at the Queen. When she nodded, he continued, making his question as innocent as possible, "How long have you known my boss?"
The Queen gave a light laugh, "Let us just say that it has been a long time. I believe I met your boss when my husband unleashed the Black Death on Europe. But that is a tale for him to tell."
Ghost stammered, "Uh. Thank you, Your Majesty. I will have to ask him for that tale."
The Queen softly laughed in amusement at the DHS leader's confusion. "Oh dear. I do hope I have not given away too many of your boss' secrets. But that is not what I wanted to talk to you about."
Ghost brought his attention back to the Queen of the Seelie Court. He filed away the questions for his boss in his mind for a later date. "Yes, Your Majesty. How may I serve you?"
"It is about your youngest agent, Special Agent Sedano. I have a request from the Seanachaidh for her. The Oracle would like to test her if at all possible. He believes she may have certain latent powers, or maybe an unknown heritage."
The monster hunter looked at the Queen for a moment. "Will this examination take a long time? Does it have any chance of hurting her?"
"It will only take a few minutes, and I would willingly personally guarantee her safety."
Ghost shrugged, "If she wants to do it, I'm ok with it. But it is her choice."
The Queen nodded, "Thank you. After the testing, we have a ceremony planned for your team, and a special honor planned for Agent Sedano."
Ghost smiled and got Dancer's attention. He waved the young agent over, and the Queen asked her about the test. She looked at Ghost, and he explained that it was her choice, but that the Queen was personally guaranteeing her safety. There was no greater guarantee for a member of the fae and a Signatory of the E'Tuatha Accords.
The young agent agreed, and the Queen led them both over to the Oracle who was standing by the Praetorian. The latter had her arm in a sling, and was visibly limping, but otherwise seemed ok.
The Oracle's eyes lit up and his loud, braying laughter filled the room. "Come, Agent Sedano. Let us retire to another, less crowded room. Agent Vanhof, you are welcome to join us, if you are concerned."
Ghost looked at his youngest agent, and the fifteen-year-old's eyes were asking him to stand by her. "I believe that will be a good idea. Lead the way."
The group left together, seeking a suitable room at the other end of the house. In the throne room, Heavy and Spooky were sampling the exotic foods spread across multiple tables around the room. They were comparing notes about the tastes and guessing the origin of each morsel. Doc was deep in a conversation with Tó Coferal about the fae religious beliefs, especially when it came to their gods and goddesses. Little G and Boomer were talking with a late-arriving Tar Katel about the various makes and models of firearms available to the minotaur. The sniper and the demolitions expert accepted an invitation to tour the armory and maybe even test some of the more exotic weapons.
Ten minutes later, Ghost, Dancer, and the rest of the small group re-entered the room. Ghost and Dancer were lost in conversation and barely noticed anyone as they stood, talking. Boomer noticed the deep conversation, the worried look on Dancer's face, and the unsettled look on her leader's face, and wandered over to her protégé.
The conversation finished before she could hear anything with her vampire sense of hearing. She walked up to the two agents and asked, "Hannah? Jonas? What's wrong?"
Hannah turned to her mentor and wiped a tear from her eye. "I just found out some weird news about my heritage." She hugged Boomer, wrapping her arms tightly. "I don't know how Agent Smith will react. Jonas thinks it'll be okay, but I think Agent Smith is gonna lock me in a lab somewhere."
"What? What do you mean heritage?"
Ghost spoke up, "The Oracle and the Queen worked some magic. There was a remark made after the combat last night, and they wanted to follow up. Their suspicions were confirmed."
"Dammit, Jonas. What's going on? Is Hannah part fae, or something?" Boomer was getting concerned.
Ghost shook his head, "Nope. It's actually worse. They believe she has the blo
od of the Erinyes in her. She is part Fury—Greek goddess of vengeance."
Boomer shrugged. After getting scratched and becoming a day-walking vampire, nothing really shocked her any more. The explosives expert patted the young agent on the back and whispered, "No wonder you kicked that fae's ass. Goddess power rocks." Boomer reached up and stroked her hair. "Although apparently it comes with a new hairdo."
Boomer felt her young friend begin to laugh through her fears. "This doesn't mean that I'm praying to you or anything. You're just partially a goddess. I can still kick your butt if you deserve it."
The giggles were contagious, and soon all three were laughing, with an occasional snort from Boomer. This, of course, reignited the peals of laughter. It only died to minor chuckles when a tone sounded and the Queen sat upon her throne. The room gradually fell silent, waiting for the Seelie Court monarch to speak.
"Honored guests, we are here to celebrate the Victory last night of Special Agent Sedano, and honor the work that the team from our friends at Section Twenty-Eight has performed. Special Agent Jonas Vanhof, will you step forward to represent your team?"
Ghost stepped forward, bowing before the Queen. "It was our honor to serve, Your Majesty."
"Special Agent Jonas Vanhof, please take my warmest greetings and congratulations back to Agent Smith. The Light Court and the Seanachaidh consider your team, and your organization as Allies and Friends. Thank you."
Ghost bowed again and walked back to stand with the rest of his team.
The Queen of the Seelie looked at Dancer, "Special Agent Hannah Sedano, will you step forward?"
The young agent nervously stepped forward. She bowed before the Queen. Taking her cue from her boss, she spoke up, "It was my pleasure to serve as Second to Praetorian Urteghat Dhorjachen."
"Special Agent Hannah Sedano, it was your Victory at the Gliaireacht yesterday that ended a dark reign of terror. As you have discovered, you are a descendant of the Erinyes, and were able to unlock your potential yesterday. It is with great pride and honor that I bestow on you the title of Claíomh an Sí, or Faeblade in the fae courts in this realm, as well as the courts in Álfheimer, the home of the Tuatha Dé Dannan. You truly are a Faeblade, and thus are welcomed as an Ally of this Court, and of the Seanachaidh. As Faeblade, you are granted this sash to distinguish your title in Court. Wear it with pride."
Applause broke out across the throne room, and Dancer tilted forward so the Queen could slip the sash over her head and neck. The sash was stunning. A deep blue satin background was offset by the silver and gold embroidered sword. The pommel of the hilt was a golden starburst pattern placed right at her collarbone. The rapier-like blade ended at her waist in a very fine point.
The young agent was fighting tears, overflowing with joy at the honor she was just bestowed. She almost missed the words as the Queen continued.
"Special Agent Jonas Vanhof, would you step forward again?" Ghost complied quickly. "As Signatory of the E'Tuatha Accords, bear witness that Special Agent Hannah Sedano is hereby given status as Cainteoir. She is now a Speaker to the Court of Light, and a recognized Emissary to the fae courts. Please convey to Agent Smith that Special Agent Sedano is a new Emissary to our court."
Ghost was shocked. The seventeen year old agent was, by the Queen's selection, the official Emissary to the Seelie courts. Smith was going to be apoplectic. "I will certainly convey that message, Your Majesty."
The Queen nodded. "Thank you Agent Vanhof. And thank you Cainteoir Sedano." The elven monarch looked over the rest of the crowd, "With that, I conclude the official duties of this conclave." A smile lit her face as if the weight of ruling was suddenly lighter. "Now is the time for celebration. Eat, drink, and be merry, for the day is young."
EPILOGUE
It was 3:05pm, and Agent Frederick Tremblay was once again working the duty desk in the operations center. He sat down seven minutes ago, relieving the first shift alarm monitor two minutes early. Since his first alarm a week ago, it had been relatively quiet. Two minor zombie attacks and a UFO sighting had all been handled on his watch. He felt like he was finally getting used to this gig.
The rookie agent raised his coffee cup to his lips and was about to take a drink when the alarms in front of him started alerting. He reached over and silenced the audible indicator and read the screen. The technician set his mug down, not realizing that it was only partly on the desk surface. As the mug full of coffee shattered on the floor, Tremblay was already pulling the reference binder out to read the code reference.
Looking at the code, he swallowed. He waved to get his supervisor's attention, panic edging into his consciousness. He highlighted the code for his supervisor and then began the process of tracing the location. When his supervisor reached his desk, Tremblay pointed at the reference code. His supervisor paled and pulled out his phone. He called the number at the top of contact list. It was answered on the first ring. The supervisor began talking.
"Yes, sir, Donaldson here. We've got a code Zulu-X-ray. Yes, sir. Zulu-X-ray. Tracking it now." The supervisor looked to see his technician go pale. Donaldson's eyes followed Tremblay's shaking finger, and it was the supervisor's turn to blanch.
"Uh, sir. The Zulu-X-ray is here, sir. Yessir. Within three hundred yards. Yessir, I'm activating the alarm right now."
Donaldson reached over and flipped a plastic cover up and out of the way. It covered a large red button surrounded by yellow and black stripes and had the words, "GENERAL ALARM" above the button, on the desk. He mashed the button down with his thumb. Suddenly, yellow emergency lights began flashing, and a loud wailing siren sounded three long blasts. Ten seconds later, the siren sounded again. Everyone in the operations room scrambled to their feet and ran for the door.
OUTSIDE THE MAIN BUILDING, the security guards in the guard shack watched a roiling mass of blackness form into a large circle about fifty feet above the ground, and about a couple hundred yards away from the building. The guard who was just coming on duty reached into the shack and unlocked the rifle cabinet. He quickly pulled out one of the assault rifles in the cabinet, slammed a magazine into the well, and pulled the charging handle.
The guard handed the now loaded rifle to the other guard, who was supposed to be leaving, and reached for the second one in the cabinet. He quickly made it ready, then grabbed several extra magazines, handing half to the other guard. He leaned back in to shack and raised his hand over the general attack alarm button. He hesitated momentarily and was surprised when the alarm sounded without him hitting the button.
Realizing it had been triggered from the control room, he stepped out of the shack and stood ready, loosely cradling the rifle. He heard the rocket launchers on the roof uncover and swivel into position. He next heard the metal exterior door slam open and the sounds of boots running on the pavement.
The S.W.A.T. Captain halted next to the guards. "What's happening Mike? Where's the threat..." The captain trailed off as he saw the fifty-foot diameter circle of blackness. All the men at the gate raised their rifles as a creature poked its massive head out of the inky black. Bill heard the rocket launchers whine as they tracked the incursion, ready to engage the creature.
GHOST WAS deep in a conversation with the Oracle. They talked about the history of the Accords, and the DHS leader recounted some of his personal history as well. The Oracle had just made a connection between the man in front of him, and the storied lineage of his family, when Ghost's SSP rang. Before the Oracle could say anything, about his family, Ghost looked at the phone, and saw it was Gretchen's number. Reluctantly, he answered it.
"Hi, Gretchen. I don't know when we'll be back to the MMC. The Queen is throwing a serious party." He was cut off by her words abruptly.
"Yes. I understand. We'll be there in ten minutes. Prep the jet for takeoff."
Ghost turned to the Oracle and said, "I apologize. We have to leave now. We've been recalled for an emergency."
The Oracle nodded his understanding even as the monster hun
ter turned and began grabbing his team. He found everyone throughout the room, and politely, but firmly, interrupted every conversation they were having. Most of them did not want to leave, and at the first sign of resistance, he told them that they had a new Priority Black mission.
In two minutes, they were all gathered at the van, and Ghost said an abbreviated farewell to the fae around the truck. Boomer fired up the engine and eased the Wunder Buggy down the driveway. She spoke up even as Ghost turned to address the team. "So boss, what's the big deal? Have aliens landed on the White House lawn?"
The laughter died when the team saw the face of their leader. He said, "I don't have much information, only what Gretchen told me."
He was interrupted by Spooky, who was banging away at his keyboard. "Uh, boss? You maybe want to see this? It says there's been a massive terror attack at a business park in Langley. And I'll be damned if it doesn't look like our building."
Ghost looked at the monitor, then back at his team. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. Section Twenty-Eight is under attack. Most of the security forces are dead, and the HRT got wiped out when they responded. Worst of all, the Director's dead and a lot of agents are missing, including Agent Smith."
Grand Rapids, Michigan, Saturday, 9/3/2016
Thank you so much for reading INCURSION: Faeblade, the second book in the Knight's Bane Trilogy. I appreciate your time, and I hope you enjoyed the story.
This book is the second in a trilogy chronicling the adventures of Team Knightmare as they fight monsters and try to protect the world. The trilogy is part of the larger series exploring the Hidden Worlds, called Incursion Legends. More information about the Incursion Legends series and the Hidden Worlds can be found online and on Facebook.
INCURSION: Faeblade (Knight's Bane Trilogy Book 2) Page 26