by Amy Sumida
Conri swallowed hard, rapidly blinking back the sudden shine over those burning eyes, and nodded.
“Go home to Fairy and wait with my Guard at the fairy mound,” I reached down and took his hand with a firm grip so I could help him up. “When I return, you can lay your sword before me and we'll see if Danu will bless it.”
“And if she does?” Conri whispered.
“Then I will accept your offer,” I grinned.
“Thank you, Your Highness,” Conri bowed, gave me a brilliant smile, and then turned to bound off down the sidewalk.
“Well done,” Tiernan nodded. “If Danu accepts him, none can gainsay his addition to the Guard. If she does not, he can't hold it against you.”
“Yep,” Abby nodded, “this is going into my blog.”
“I... I don't...” Torquil stared off at Conri's withdrawing figure and then looked back at me in dismay. Finally, he set his eyes on Abby. “What is a blog?”
Chapter Thirty-Five
The next morning, I went downstairs and was told that my dad had left during the night. He'd gone back to Hawaii without me.
At first, I was upset that Tiernan's outing had taken me away from the Council House right when I needed to be there but then I realized that my father must have been waiting for an opportunity to leave without having to see me. Which meant that he would have stayed out of sight until I left, so I guess it was best that he left when he did and I didn't have to stick around for weeks while he avoided me.
We had decided not to mention Brendan's little ambush to the Council. I didn't want to strain this new relationship I had with Councilman Murdock nor did I want mini Murdock causing any trouble for Abby. I was going back to Fairy but Abby had to work in the same city as Brendan. Besides, I didn't think he'd try anything after his horrendous failure.
There was no reason to remain in HR(the Human Realm) after my father's cowardly escape. Abby was the only one who still treated me normally. Everyone else was either too respectful, too suspicious, or in the case of Brendan and his friends; downright hostile. I had already met with the highest ranking council members and all of them had agreed to my continued employment as an Extinguisher but none of them really knew what that would entail yet.
In the end, Torquil enchanted a crystal ball for them, so they could contact me in the Fairy Realm when they did have a job for me. Crystal balls were used like telephones by the fey. Well, more than telephones I guess since you could see the person you were contacting. More like Skype. Using a crystal ball to make “a call” was called scrying and you could scry for anyone who also possessed an enchanted ball. You just needed to know their name. You could even leave messages in the crystal you contacted, a sort of hovering image which would remain until the other person cleared it away.
Out of all the Human Councils, only the High Council in Ireland had an enchanted crystal ball which was used to contact the fey kingdoms only in the case of an emergency. That the San Francisco Council now had one all of their own, which they could use to contact me whenever they wished, was enough of a prize to leave all of the council members beaming delightedly. They even gathered to wish us farewell.
It was on the way back to Gentry Technologies that the unseelie attacked.
We were taken by surprise, our limo run off the road and into an alley so slim, we couldn't open the doors. Claws tore through the roof and the metal was peeled back like the lid on an anchovy tin. A very ugly woman peered through the jagged opening. Her face was pitted and deeply wrinkled, her cheeks hanging in long flaps around her chin, and her nose seemed to drip like melted wax over her mottled lips. She was skeleton skinny, her tattered clothes hanging limply on her, and her stringy hair was full of dirt, broken twigs, and gore. She laughed as a massive hand reached past her and grabbed me around the waist.
Tiernan and Torquil were already slicing at the leathery hand to no avail, when I pulled my tiny iron dagger out of my boot and stabbed it between two bulbous and hairy knuckles. I'd left my iron sword back in Fairy because I didn't want to disturb the fey by wearing it but I'd hid the dagger in my boot and now I was glad I had. A horrible shout shook the limo as the hand jerked out of the roof, leaking green fluid. The hag above me cackled like it was all a magnificent joke and then jumped into the car with us.
Three blades swung at her but although she appeared old, she was very nimble and dodged them all. As she seemed to dance and spin around our weapons, a bunch of bogles poured in through the roof. The little wicked goblins climbed over Torquil and Tiernan like a wave of foul smelling, bubbly skinned, chubby limbed munchkins, shrieking and stabbing with their little obsidian daggers.
I started stabbing into the mass of them and they squealed, edging back enough for Torquil and Tiernan to pull their steel daggers. The interior, although spacious for a limo, was just too small for swordplay. Before I could land another blow, I was grabbed from behind and I looked over to see that yet another hideous woman had climbed into the limo with us. I cut at her arms and backed away when her skin sizzled and she screamed, foaming green at the mouth.
The huge hand reached inside again and grabbed me once more. I stabbed it but as I did, one of the hags snatched the dagger away from me. She yelped and dropped the iron immediately but she'd given her compatriot enough time to yank me from the vehicle. I shouted and apportated the weapon. It flew up towards me but I was jerked out of its path and it clattered down the crevice between the car and the alley wall.
The hand squeezed tighter and I twisted around to face its owner. Then I froze. It was a redcap, a giant goblin basically, with long hair; as greasy and black as crude oil. His eyes were flaming furnaces and his jaundiced skin was thicker than an elephant's hide. He was wearing homespun pants in rancid green, a pus-yellow tunic, and something which resembled a Greek fisherman's cap, stuck low on his head. This cap, which they reportedly soaked in the blood of their victims, was dark brownish red, crusty at the edges, and smelled of death.
I flailed, casting a hand towards him and setting his clothes on fire. The scent of burning decay hit me and he roared but his grip didn't slacken. Instead, he fell back, knocking metal dumpsters aside as he rolled in the muck. I found myself tossed along with him until the flames went out. The damn redcap knew about stop, drop, and roll.
I reached for the fairy magic inside me, desperate enough to try anything. A twinkling shiver crept through me but before I could do anything with it, the redcap knocked me on the head with his other fist and the world went black.
Chapter Thirty-Six
I woke up in a dark room, lying on a soft bed. I blinked and tried to rub the sleep from my eyes but a heavy weight pulled my wrists back. The clink of chains alerted me to the fact that I was bound to the bedposts, my arms stretched out to either side of me. My heart sped up as I tried to peer through the darkness. The slim wick of a candle caught fire and my gaze swung towards it. A beeswax taper set into a simple silver holder was held by an elegant but masculine hand. The small circle of light revealed very little of the man beyond the hand, only a bit of arm and chest.
The flame flickered as the candle was brought forward and placed on the bedside table. Then, with a wave of the elegant hand, the whole room was illuminated. It seemed as if hundreds of candles had been lit but there was still only the one placed beside me. I blinked against the glare until I was able to focus. King Uisdean stood beside the bed, smiling softly.
“Greetings, Daughter of my Brother,” he purred.
“Greetings, Crazy Motherfucker,” I snarled back.
“I have never had relations with my mother,” he mused. “Though I may be convinced to sample another relative,” his face lowered to mine and I tried to headbutt him. He pulled back with a low laugh and his long fingers closed around my throat. “You are definitely of my blood, more so than your mewling father. It's a shame you're tainted with humanity.”
“And it's a shame you're a perverted sociopath,” I choked out. His fingers tightened and I gasped for air.
“You must learn to respect your superiors,” he lowered his face and pressed his cheek to mine, breathing in deeply. “I can smell Catriona in you.” He pulled back and looked down the length of me. “I can see her in you. If not for that, I might find you attractive enough to fuck.” His fingers loosened and he stood. “Oh well, we will find other ways for you to entertain me.”
His pin-straight obsidian hair was tied back with a thick band of silver and he was dressed in a black velvet tunic with black leather pants. The onyx of his eyes matched his dark ensemble but his skin made it all seem so startling. He was as pale in real life as he was in my dream and all that black made him look like a ghost.
“Alright,” I cleared my throat. “At least it's not to be rape. So what then? You can't kill me now that I've been crowned.”
“Yes, yes,” he waved his hand airily. “You're protected by the throne but other undesirable heirs have been handled in the past and so shall you. First though, royalty must be shown hospitality,” he waved a hand and the manacles fell away from my wrists. “Attempt any violence and I shall have you whipped in front of the entire court. Do you understand?”
I gave him a curt nod.
“Good,” he smiled sweetly and held out his arm to me. “You're surrounded by unseelie fey and would never make it out of my castle anyway. It would be best not to upset me.”
I slid off the bed and stared at his arm a second before I took it. Simply touching him made my skin crawl but what choice did I have? He escorted me to a door to the right of the bed and pushed it open before waving me through.
“There's a change of clothes and a bath waiting,” he said. “Make use of both and then I will send some guards to escort you to dinner.”
“Great,” I gave a fake, bright smile. “Thanks so much, Uncle Uisdean. What a wonderful host you are.”
He chuckled low and stroked a hand over my hair. “You have your father's eyes... almost. Just as you almost had his throne.” He turned and left through a door opposite the bed. I slammed the bathroom door closed and then began to search for an exit or a weapon.
After ten minutes, I'd searched the entire black marble room and come up with nothing. There were no windows or openings bigger than the toilet and there was nothing even resembling a weapon. I guess I could use the bottles of liquid soap as missiles but that would just be stupid. I could do more damage with my psychic gifts.
I gave up at last and bathed in the onyx tub. I swear, all that black was a bit of an overkill. I get it, you're dark fey but would it kill you to have a little color in your castle? Damn fairies and their themes.
After the bath, I put on the black dress(big surprise, more black) that I found folded neatly on the countertop and then some soft soled, matching slippers. A full-length mirror in a silver frame was propped against the far wall like an afterthought and I went to look over my funereal ensemble.
My reflection was paler than normal. Surrounded by all that darkness, my Irish skin looked almost as white as my Uncle's. The dress belled out around me, sleeves and skirt full, almost to the point of roundness. The waist nipped in, embroidered with silver thread, and the neckline was low, showing off cleavage which was a little too generous for the dress. I frowned. Did I really want to display these assets tonight? Nope but I didn't have anything to cover them up with either.
I grimaced and walked out into the bedroom to search once more for a weapon. The unknown glow was gone, leaving only the single candle to dispel the dark, so I took it with me around the chilly room as I searched every nook and cranny for something sharp enough to poke my Uncle's eye out. I don't care how much magic you have, a stab in the eye will stop you at least momentarily.
No luck. I sighed as a knock echoed through the chamber and then the door opened to reveal a fairy man. He strode in and waved his hand, bringing the light back, even brighter than before. I blew out the candle, put it down, and looked him over.
He was dressed in cerulean silk. I was both shocked and a little relieved to see the vivid color. The man was as tall as Uisdean, which meant he was taller than Keir and Tiernan both(pretty damn tall), and had bluish-gray hair, like the sky before a storm. His eyes were stormy too, with swirls of gray over the deep blue of his irises. His brows were sooty slashes over those turbulent eyes and his mouth mimicked the slash with a cruel line below the long slope of his nose. His skin was pale but not moonlight white.
“Hello, Cousin,” he grinned wickedly. He sounded a lot like Uisdean, that same sort of sinister nonchalance.
“And you are?” I fisted my hands and prepared for whatever he might do.
“Bress Thorn, Marquis of the Unseelie, son of your Aunt,” he bowed gallantly. “And your soon to be husband.”
“Excuse me?” My hands fell lankly to my sides. That was not at all what I'd been expecting.
“I should have been Uncle Keir's heir but since you beat me to it,” he leaned against the door frame and looked me up and down, his gaze lingering in places with a very disturbing malice. “I shall have to gain the throne in another fashion.”
He straightened and then sauntered over to me, his wavy hair swishing behind him like an angry cloud. I stood my ground despite the instinct that was telling me to run, run, run! He lifted a hand to my cheek and I snatched it, twisted it, and used it to push him away from me. He stumbled, caught himself, and then stared back at me with wide, delighted eyes.
“Uncle Uisdean said you had spirit,” he came forward again, completely unperturbed. “Thank the Goddess for that. I hate simpering women.”
“Doesn't everyone?” I lifted a brow and he let out a surprised bark of laughter.
“You are wonderful,” he vowed low and breathy, then held an arm out to me. I took it as he continued, “I will relish every pain-filled moan I draw from you.”
“Right back atcha, Cuz,” I smiled viciously at him.
“Tomorrow, we'll be married but I won't be waiting until then to claim my marital rights,” he slid a nasty look my way as he led me out the door and down a shadowy stone passage.
The stone lining the hallway was smooth but only in the way that very old stone is smooth. Time and the constant slide of things against it had weathered it down so that there were no rough edges but it was still pitted in the way polished stone was not. There were things growing out of those divots and the crevices between the stones; moss, glowing lichen, and little pasty mushrooms which were probably poisonous. The place felt more like a cave than a castle.
“Yeah, that's what you think,” I huffed and slid Bress a menacing look. “My teeth may not be as sharp as some but I've got a strong jaw. I'll bite it off before I let it inside me.”
“It will go so much better for you if you don't fight me,” he paused to grin at me, “too much.”
“Um hmm,” I rolled my eyes but paused when I saw the way the ceiling seemed to move.
I peered closer and shapes distinguished themselves from the shadows, eyes shining and teeth clicking. I had no idea what they were, some sort of fairy bat perhaps, but I decided I didn't want to know. I transferred my gaze behind me, where two goblins, one with mottled greenish-gray skin and one with slick blue skin, trailed us like prison guards. They smiled at me, showing off sharp teeth with the remnants of their last meal caught within them. I smiled gaily back at them, wondering if the fey knew about dental floss, and then focused my gaze forward. So far we'd taken a left and two rights. I filed that information away, as we took one more left and entered a large room.
Here at least, there was architecture better suited to a castle. The walls were polished onyx, glassy enough to cast reflections and they soared up to a vaulted ceiling crisscrossed with dark wooden beams. The ground was slabs of malachite and the same green stone soared seamlessly up from the floor to form a line of flame-topped columns running down the longest sides of the room. At the far end, was a dais holding the high table and set before it were two lines of dining tables, one to either side of the room, placed parallel
to the lines of columns. The tables were set end to end, forming two long, continuous pieces. A very similar set up to that of the twilight castle but yet vastly different.
The sound hit me first. Screeches, growls, roars, and chitters. Then waves of foul scent washed over me as we passed goblins, bogles, hags, and slimy kelpies who had changed from their normal waterhorse form into something that vaguely resembled human. They had thick, seaweed-green hair which dripped all over their dark clothes, and strong teeth that looked better suited to their horse form. They moved like beasts too, heads swinging low to get a better look at me while other members of the court pushed past them.
Kelpies weren't that bad really. The most they were known to do was give a human a good dunking if you were foolish enough to climb on its backs when it was in its horse form. The Each-Uisge, which was another type of waterhorse, was far worse. If you had the misfortune of climbing on his back, you'd be fine as long as you stayed inland. Take the fairy anywhere near water though and it would run straight for it, where it would drown you and then tear you apart, eating everything but your liver, which it would leave behind. I guess the Each-Uisge didn't like paté.
I didn't see any Each-Uisges though. I did see some beautiful bean sidhes who stared balefully at me with large, soulful eyes. Thankfully, they kept silent. Their cries foretold doom and I was in dire enough straits without them adding to it. There were red caps, who hung back near the walls, out of the way of the smaller fey, and spriggans who could be small or very large depending on their mood. At the moment, most of them had chosen small.