by Jen Pretty
"Alright, fine," Puck said before sitting down on the chair at the table far enough away but close enough to keep an eye on the fox.
"I have never been completely stopped before," Roman said. "That's a little scary. I could have been killed"
"Well the timekeeper said I should have the same power, so you better be nice to me," I said with a wink.
Roman smiled back at me and then walked over and took my hand. "Always," he said then kissed the knuckles of my bent hand carefully avoiding the blade I still held.
That settled, I tucked my knife away and went about fixing myself some coffee. I really needed a bath after sparring with Roman, so I wandered off to the bathroom with my coffee. The Elders house seemed to have an endless supply of hot water, and I couldn't get enough of it. If I had to go back to the land of no hot water, I was going to use up as much of this good water as possible.
After my bath, I came back out to find Daisy and the fox curled around each other on the bed. They were so cute I could hardly stand it. The fox peeked one eye open and then hopped up and stretched like a cat. Making an unusual yip sound.
"So, you have some vast knowledge of how to make me more powerful?" I asked as I sat down beside the fluffy critter.
The fox sat beside me then transformed into a child of about 12 years old. The small girl was petit even for a 12-year-old. Her arms were thin and frail, and her face was beautiful, her features delicate.
"Whoa," I said as Daisy got up and curled up in the girl's lap, promptly going back to sleep.
"Hello," I stuttered.
Puck and Roman crashed through the door and stopped dead at the sight of the small girl holding Daisy.
"That was some crazy weird magic," Puck exclaimed. He was really hung up on her magic. I had no idea what it felt like to him, but apparently, it was strange.
"Where did she come from?" Roman asked, staring at the quiet girl.
"She is the fox," I said smiling at her.
Puck snorted, "There is no way. That magic was powerful. A young girl can't have that kind of magic."
"I don't know what to tell you. There was a fox, and now here she is," I said indicating the young girl who just sat and continued her silence.
"What's your name?" I asked turning back to her.
She tipped her head and looked at me, her eyes shining a soft green. "Marick," she said, and she began to pet daisy. Her face gave away how much she also enjoyed his soft feathers.
"Tell me how you are going to help Lex," Puck demanded from the doorway. I scowled at him. I had already felt protective of Marick before I knew she was a young girl, but now I wanted to protect her from the whole world.
"I can help her see what she will become. Once she knows what is possible, she won't have to struggle to find new power. She will know she can do it," she said absentmindedly while gazing adoringly at Daisy. She hadn't even looked up at Puck. It was like she was already protected from the harshness of the world. Like she lived in peacefulness that I had never known.
"Where did you come from?" I asked her. She couldn't be Fae. She was unlike any I had ever met.
"I'm from the same place you will have to go if you hope to save the Kings son. He is lost in that world, but you are part of that world. You can go there; you will go there."
Her soft melodic voice soothed the fact that I was going to the crazy land with the crazy witch. Coming from her, I wasn't worried about going. I felt a peace wash over me when she spoke those words. As if I believed that since she had said it, it must be true.
"How will you show me? And what do you mean I am part of that world?” I asked her softly, matching her softness. I had never been so sure of the pureness of another person.
This time she didn't use words, but she reached out and put her finger to my temple. Immediately, I found myself watching as I waved my hand at a wall of the cave we had found Armond in, and then Puck, Roman, Daisy and I walked through a portal in the wall as if it were a door the new world was harsh and bright. Our boots crunched across the dead crisp ground. Time lapsed, and suddenly we were more haggard looking but walking towards a tall building with spires and archways of golden stone.
The witch was there, and I blasted her with my magic, freezing her where she stood.
Then I was back in my room, with Puck and Roman kneeling at my feet and the small girl was now a fox again curled up with Daisy napping.
I took a deep breath and then another. If that was the future, it would be alright. Apparently, we would make it to the witch and kill her.
“We can do this, guys." I said as I looked at them. “We can go back there and kill her. So she never hurts anyone again. We can save the kings son.”
"Just like that, you believe her?" Puck asked, always suspicious.
"I think she sees the future. She showed me. We looked a bit rough, but we did it. At least I froze her. It seemed like we did it."
"Well, the elders have asked to meet us tonight. Maybe they will have something to say about it," Puck complained. I knew he didn't want to go there. He had suffered at the hands of the witch for centuries, so he had good reason to want to stay away.
"Alright you guys, we should get some rest before dinner with the elders. You know it might be a while before we are back in comfortable beds again."
I curled up on the foot of the bed after I grabbed a pillow from the top. Daisy and the tiny girl didn't take up much space, and the bed was crazy comfortable.
Knowing that I would probably be able to take down the witch eased my mind substantially, but I realized she hadn’t answered my other question. She said I was of that world. That didn’t make sense at all. Was she talking about the world the witch came from? Or was there another world beyond the witch’s’ world? I considered her words for over an hour before finally nodding off, then I was able to get a few more hours of comfortable sleep on Earth.
I was praying it wasn't my last.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
There seemed to be a Unicorn in my bed. It was snoring loudly and twitching like a dog. I nudged the giant thing, and he snorted one last time before jumping up and nearly trampling me.
"Get off my hair, you giant oaf," I exclaimed. "What are you even doing on the bed? Shouldn't you be by the door?"
He snorted like a horse and then shifted back into a man. "The danger is in your bed!” He shouted.
By now everyone was rubbing their eyes and stretching, including Daisy who did a super acrobatic stretch of one leg and one wing and then switched and did the same on the other side. It was adorable.
I smiled at him and gave him a pat before turning back to the idiot standing on my bed. "The little fox is not a threat you, nincompoop," I declared before shuffling my butt off the bed and staggering to the bathroom to make use of the shower. Ahh, heat.
When I finally found the energy to come back out, everyone was in the main room drinking tea. It was very nearly time to go meet with the elders, so I had already dressed for dinner, but I noticed the coffee carafe sitting on the cart and bee-lined for it. Coffee was such a simple thing, but so vital.
"So,” I asked “is everyone else ready to go?"
“Yes, thankfully there was another shower in the other room," Puck snorted. Apparently he had discovered the joy of heated water too.
I flipped him off and sat down with my coffee. Glorious hot black delicious coffee.
I had just about finished my cup when the butler came in and told us to follow him.
Down in the large dining room, the butler sat us all on one side of the table leaving the other entirely open for the elders. The last time I had Armond with me, and he was used to meeting with the elders, but this time it was all on me. I nudged Roman, and he looked at me. "Do you know how to talk to them and stuff?" I asked him with a pleading look on my face.
“They are coming to speak to you. I think the elders only let us all in so you would feel more comfortable," he said, setting his napkin in his lap and straightening the cutlery that wa
s already straight. I had never seen him look nervous. He had spoken with them before but perhaps you don’t ever get used to speaking to such powerful Fae.
The elders sailed through the double doors as soon as they were opened by the guards on either side.
They all took their seats, in the same order as last time. I figured after a million years, they probably had a bit of assigned seating.
I smiled at Eliza when her gaze caught on mine.
"Hello children," Francis said as he took his seat directly across from me.
"Hello," I replied. Daisy quacked, and Noman nodded an almost bow, but Puck didn't seem to be interested in the elders at all. Strange. He was always the first to have an opinion about someone. Perhaps he finally found a being he wasn’t willing to go toe-to-toe with.
Anne gazed at him for a moment before her gaze settled on me too.
"Thank you for stopping by," Francis said, and I had a feeling this was part of the mandatory conversation, so I replied
"Thank you for inviting us into your home."
He nodded and then continued "I will cut to the chase, Eliza has seen you enter the Witches land, as I hear your young fox has also seen this, I doubt this comes as a surprise. Do you have any questions before you leave?" he asked, apparently it was a foregone conclusion that we were going to hunt down the witch to find Aldridge.
I sighed, "I don't think so, Francis, thank you."
He nodded, and our dinner was served.
Roman leaned over to me after a few moments and whispered: "do you think they want us to kill the witch?" I hadn't thought about it. I mean, she was evil, and I was kind of ok with killing her, but that was an excellent question.
"Excuse me, Francis," I said interrupting his discussion with Puck about the unicorn population in his world.
"Yes, my dear, sweet child?" I wasn't so sure how dear or sweet I was at this point.
"Um, are we supposed to kill the witch?" I asked with trepidation. I wasn't sure what I hoped his answer would be.
He just smiled and gazed at me like an adoring grandfather, "what will be, will be, child."
That was apparently all the answer I was going to get, so I didn't let it get to me.
As dinner wrapped up, I couldn't help but ask one more question. "Will we all return from this mission, Eliza?"
She looked sadly at me and cast her gaze down. I'm afraid I shouldn't answer that question, but you must go. The other option is undoubtedly worse."
I knew what she was talking about. I had been warned that I couldn't muck about with what was meant to be, I had to give it my best shot.
The table was cleared, and we all stood to head back to our rooms.
“I will check in with you, while you are on your journey," Theo said before he left the dining room with the others.
We all headed back to our rooms and collapsed in heaps. Roman curled around me, and we lay in silence.
"It will be fine," he said running his fingers through my hair.
"Probably, totally fine," I agreed.
He hissed and flashed his fangs at me with a giant grin. I laughed. It was so typical of him. I had almost forgotten in the heaviness of the past weeks. His light-hearted side was one of my favorite things about him.
"Thank you," I whispered, pressing my face into his neck.
He kissed the top of my head. "For what?"
I sighed. "I don't know. Being here, helping me, being you." I wrapped an arm around him and fell asleep to the gentle rise and fall of his chest.
The next morning, I woke before everyone else. As my eyes opened and I stirred a bit trying to wiggle out from under Romans thick arm, I expected him to wake too. He had said he didn't need sleep, but he was out for the count, so I walked out into the main room and was greeted by Marick and the Timekeeper, Helena. Now it made sense. Apparently, Helena was, once again, using her magic on everyone except me.
"Good morning," I said grabbing the carafe of coffee that always seemed to be there and also always seemed to be hot. I poured myself a cup, and when I turned around, they were both just watching me. Helena had a relaxed, peaceful look on her face.
“Why do you look so happy?" I asked sipping the delicious, black reason-to-get-up-in-the-morning.
"Because you will be the one to end this war," she said.
"Is it really a war though? I mean she took the kings son, but she hasn't really been attacking beyond taking their magic." I took another sip, my brain was waking up. Thank God.
"The war hasn't yet begun, but it will. By the time you get back to Kingsland, the war will be raging, and all will be in peril."
I chewed my thumbnail. She was a timekeeper like me. "How do you know?" I asked still considering the facts she was laying at my feet.
"I am also more than just a simple timekeeper, as you may have figured by now. We are the same, you and I. Our power is great, and someday you will see."
"See what?" I asked.
She just smiled and vanished. How did she do that? I walked over to Marick and stroked her dainty head between her ears. She was so delicate, I wondered if a strong breeze might knock her over.
Marick just watched me with large blinking eyes and ears twitching.
"LEX!" I head Roman roar from our room.
"I'm in here," I replied.
He zoomed out and scooped me up so fast that I giggled.
"What happened? One second you were beside me, then you were gone."
I shrugged. “Helena stopped by for a chat. It was actually more of a warning. Evidently, all hell is going to break loose, and she expects me to fix it all.” As usual. No pressure.
He set my feet down and turned my face up to meet his. "I'm sure you will. I just wish she wouldn't keep doing that. I find it very disconcerting," he nudged me back towards where my coffee sat on the table, and I happily scooped it up and sipped some more.
Marick shifted into a girl again. "It's time to go, Lex," she said with a sad look.
I woke Daisy and tracked down Puck who was sleeping outside the door. Apparently, he had decided that Marick was ok and needed protection too, so he spent the night guarding us all. Such a good Unicorn.
We piled into the car and travelled back to the dirt lane.
"Are you sure we can't rent some four-wheelers or something to get back to the door" I whined as we got back out of the car.
"It's too rough even for ATVs." Roman replied, helping me into my backpack.
Marick was zooming around like a weirdo chasing Daisy who was quacking and hopping. They had hit it off right away, and I was happy to see Daisy getting some exercise.
The trail was no worse than last time, but when I got tired, Roman carried me, and we moved at a good pace, getting to the portal door in record time. I was definitely the slowest member of our group this time.
The forest on the other side of the portal was quiet. It was eerily quiet. We walked for hours before we made it to Macs village. As we approached the smell of char and smoke caught my nose. We broke into a run and found several dead wolves at the edge of town. They lay in a bloody heap as if someone had thrown them haphazardly into a pile.
I had no way of knowing who the wolves were. If they were the little old ladies who had given us food or the guards who had pulled their swords, ready to fight me to protect their leader, Mac. The fires were just smoldering, so this must have happened overnight. They were good quiet farmers and families. This was unjustified slaughter of innocent people. Helena was right. The war had begun. I was too late getting back. While I was sipping coffee, these people were dying. When that thought crossed my mind, I nearly collapsed, but Roman was there and supported me as we walked through town.
At the far edge of town, I saw a small pile of clothes off to the side. My brain couldn't register what it was until we were right beside it and then I knew. Once I knew, I couldn't look away. I couldn't breathe. My knees entirely collapsed as I looked into the clouded-over green eyes of the most innocent of them all. It was littl
e Collin who had bravely run up to us the first time we entered the village and had given me the tiny wooden blade to protect me. The rage that flew through me in that moment was icy cold and burning hot. I could barely control the feeling in my chest as my magic filled every ounce of me. I couldn't think straight. How could someone destroy such innocence?
The world was a darker place for having lost Collin. I would never be able to erase the sight of him bent and broken, thrown like trash to the side of the path. My magic was going to consume me if I didn't get moving and find something to aim that magic at.
"We should get to Kingsland and tell the king," I said without a single drop of emotion, "but I wonder if they will cross into earth." I glanced back at the way we had come.
I looked at Roman, he shook his head. He knew what I was thinking. I wanted to blast the portal, just to be safe. To save earth from the threat of invasion.
"Not yet," he confirmed. We had already had this conversation. He knew where I stood on the subject. I would burn my magic out entirely if it meant saving the earth from this kind of invasion and destruction. He knew he couldn't stop me if I decided to do just that. So he did the next best thing and scooped me up before I had a chance to make up my mind. He started running towards Kingsland and away from the magical door.
Getting to Kingsland was much faster with Roman carrying my slow ass. Daisy flew, Puck and Marick ran, and Roman zoomed. I had to squash my giddy giggles because this was not a time for laughter and any emotion now would break me. I had to stop myself from thinking too hard about what I had seen.
As we topped the hill just before Kingsville the sound of fighting rose into the sky along with billowing smoke. We could see the huts and small shops were on fire and men and women fighting giant men. The giants looked like trolls from Earth if that was possible, and I suppose it was. It seemed like trolls were the mercenary of the supernatural world and they had no problem slaughtering innocents.
"Shit," I said as Roman sprinted towards the city. I pulled all my magic and slammed it home. The only ones not frozen were Roman and I as we entered the town proper and were greeted with a sight beyond comprehension. There were people strewn everywhere. Wolves and humans and monstrous men swinging swords.