Coal: Book One of the Everleaf Series

by Constance Burris

  Chalcedony looked to Tetrick, but he'd already disappeared. He'd told her he wouldn't do anything except phase her here, and true to his word, he was gone. She was in this alone.

  "Why are you here instead of helping your soldiers?" Chalcedony asked.

  "Did you really think you could sneak into my land and take Coal and the child while no one was looking?"

  "Maybe." Chalcedony stepped back. If Queen Isis touched her, she would transport Chalcedony to the border. She needed to keep her distance while she thought of a way out of this.

  "You're only a queenling. You can't defeat me." Queen Isis's yellow eyes narrowed. "Call off this stupid, childish war."

  "I don't want to fight you," Chalcedony said. "I'm only here for Coal and Lizzy."

  "That's not happening," Queen Isis growled.

  Chalcedony was about to argue to buy herself more time, but Queen Isis reached for her right shoulder. She leaned back and punched the queen in her jaw. The impact sent a sharp pain up Chalcedony's arm. She hoped the pain was twice as bad for Queen Isis. If it was, Queen Isis didn't register it because a moment later, Queen Isis's foot connected with the side of Chalcedony's head. Lights danced behind her eyelids as she fell to the ground.

  Chalcedony's ears rang, and she couldn't tell up from down, but she did know she needed to move. She wrapped her arms around her body and rolled twice, ending up on her hands and knees. The group that had surrounded them scampered away before Chalcedony rolled into them.

  She looked up just as Queen Isis's foot landed in the spot Chalcedony had just left.

  Damn, that would have hurt. Compelling herself to remain steady, Chalcedony stood and pulled her sword from her waist, hoping the battle would be over before it started rejecting her.

  "There is no weapon in existence that will help you against me."

  "Go ahead. Pull yours out. I'll wait," Chalcedony lied. This was not an even fight. She needed every advantage she could get.

  "I don't need a sword." Queen Isis lifted her arms. In an instant, her long, slender fingers changed into ten sharp talons. "I prefer to kill with my hands."

  Chalcedony could change shape, but not instantly, and when she did it took hours of practice for her to resemble anything normal and not misshapen. Queen Isis made it seem as natural as breathing.

  "You look scared," Queen Isis said.

  I am. Chalcedony tightened the grip on her sword and embraced her fear. She may not be as powerful as Queen Isis, but she wielded a sword like no other. Talons? Hmph ... what were talons compared to steel?

  Queen Isis had disappeared and reappeared so quickly that Chalcedony hadn't known she was gone. One moment Queen Isis was in front of her and the next, she was behind.

  Then, in a flash of light, they were no longer at the festival, but at the battlefield on the border of Queen Isis's land.

  Chalcedony had grossly underestimated Queen Isis. She was now both fearful and envious of the queen. Had her mother possessed such power, speed, and strength? Will I be this powerful after my coronation?

  Queen Isis hissed. "Tell your soldiers to retreat."

  Chalcedony examined the battleground. It reeked of sweat, dirt, fear, and exhilaration. She heard the clamor of feet against the ground and the sharp clang of metal against metal. Her soldiers were told not to be heroes. But there were more than a few of them bloodied and motionless on the ground.

  Queen Isis had reason to be concerned. She'd outnumbered Chalcedony's soldiers, but Chalcedony's soldiers were all fey and twice as deadly as a human. To make up for their lack of strength, the humans fought in pairs. But that hadn't been enough. There were more humans lying on the ground than fey. Chalcedony's army was winning.

  Queen Isis's talons moved from Chalcedony's wrist to her bare neck. "Call them off."

  "You're losing. Why should we retreat now?" Chalcedony's mood had lifted. She'd lost so many times over the past few days that she hadn't expected her army to be victorious. Queen Isis tightened her grip, cutting off Chalcedony's joy--and her air.

  Just as she began to lose consciousness, Queen Isis loosened her grip just enough to let Chalcedony gasp for breath.

  "I promised Coal that I wouldn't kill you," Queen Isis whispered, her breath hot on Chalcedony's ear. "But I will kill every one of your soldiers while you watch."

  Chalcedony surveyed the organized chaos of the battlefield and understood the truth. Queen Isis could, and would, kill as many as necessary to get her way. Chalcedony nodded, and Queen Isis released her grip.

  Chalcedony put her mother's sword back in its sheath. For a moment, she thought that Queen Isis would make her drop it. Instead, the queen stayed silent and followed Chalcedony as if she had no fear in the world.

  One by one, the fighting stopped as the soldiers saw the queen and the princess together. They were bloodied, tired, and relieved. Royden jogged to the front of the struggle. The bastard doesn't have a scratch on him. How is that possible?

  "Princess, is there something you want to say?" Royden asked with a wry smile, his hands resting on his sword. She scowled at him. Then something--someone--appeared beyond the fighting near her soldiers' tents. Tetrick. She suppressed a grin. There was a way out of this after all.

  Chalcedony stood in front of her soldiers while she tried to think of something encouraging to say about their retreat, but she couldn't think of anything. They knew the plan. There was no point in making a big show of losing in front of Queen Isis.

  She called to her fey. "Let's go home."

  She stalked through the crowd, ignoring the look of confusion from Queen Isis's soldiers and the smug sense of triumph emanating from Royden. As she neared her tent, she felt a pleasurable sense of déjà vu.

  Chapter Twenty

  Queen Isis's land had been cold, but it was beyond freezing in the human realm. Snow covered the ground, and the wind felt like ice against his skin.

  "Where are we?" Lizzy asked, shivering. "Is my house near here?"

  Coal turned in a circle, looking for something familiar. They were no longer on a treeless hill but in a forest full of evergreen trees. It was getting dark. The receding sun reflected off the surface of the snow, providing enough light to see.

  "I don't think so. I don't know where we are," Coal admitted. When he'd come through the human realm with Chalcedony, there hadn't been any evergreen trees. The air didn't smell as clean as the fey realm, but it was better than the first time he'd gone to the human realm.

  He wanted to ask for help, but he didn't know whom to trust. Queen Isis had warned him to be wary of Chalcedony's soldiers, but if anyone here were working for her, he couldn't tell who they were. He repositioned his coat, made sure Elizabeth was covered and left the door.

  "Where are we going?" Elizabeth asked. The snow was deep and soft. With every step, her foot sank into the powder. She grunted--from effort or annoyance Coal couldn't tell--whenever she pulled her foot out.

  He stopped. "Let me carry you."

  "No." She pulled away. "I'm not a baby. I can do it myself."

  The fey that had come through the door with them were quickly dispersing. "We need to hurry. Everyone is leaving."

  "I am," Elizabeth said with a sharp tone. "Do you even know how to get to my house?"

  No. "Let's follow everyone else. Maybe we'll see something familiar."

  She pulled her feet through the snow and grunted. Slowly, they trekked through the white forest. After half a mile, the forest ended, and they were standing near a wet, glistening road with a dozen different cars parked along it.

  As they watched, two dwarves embraced before they stepped into a red car and drove away.

  "We need a ride." Coal watched as more cars departed. A human stood against a truck. In the back sat two giants, an elf, and three dwarves. It looked crowded, but with a little bit of maneuvering, he and Elizabeth should be able to fit. And, more importantly, the driver was human, so the chances that he was helping Chalcedony were remote. As they approached, the man
put something into his pocket and started to walk away.

  "Excuse me," Coal said.

  "I'm full," he said without looking in their direction.

  "Where are we?" Coal asked.

  Ignoring them, the man kept walking.

  "Are we in Boston?" Elizabeth asked loudly. "I live in Boston, 777 Oakwood St, Boston, Massachusetts."

  That got the man's attention. He stopped and eyed Elizabeth for a long moment. "You're in Ireland, lass."

  So the door didn't only move, it also opened in different places. No one had bothered to tell him that.

  "Can you help us get to Boston?" Coal asked.

  "You human?" His face was red from the cold, and wrinkles branched out from the corners of his eyes.

  "Yes," Coal and Elizabeth answered together. "We're human."

  "And I'm trying to get home," Elizabeth continued.

  "Take your hoods off and let me see."

  They removed their hoods.

  "Well, I'll be damned." He rubbed his thick brown beard. "What are two human kids doing in the middle of this mess?"

  "We're trying to get to Boston," Coal said.

  "I can't get you to Boston, but I can get you out of here and to the city. I'm sure someone in the government can help get you to America from there."

  Elizabeth smiled and bounced from foot to foot.

  "The back of my truck is full," the man continued, "but you can sit up front with me if you can pay for it."

  "Uh ..." Coal made a show of searching his pockets, knowing they were empty.

  "Crossed over into the human realm without money, eh?" The way the man studied Coal made his stomach tighten. "Well," he said, "how about giving me that sword you have strapped to your back and I'll consider it even."

  "No. This isn't mine," Coal said.

  He walked away. "Nothing I can do for you then."

  "Please don't leave us." Elizabeth ran after him. "I have a dagger."

  He stopped, and Elizabeth showed him the weapon that Haline had given her.

  "I can get a dozen of these for a dollar in the city. I want the sword." He motioned to Coal.

  Coal looked up and down the road. More than half of the cars had left.

  "It's cold. When are we getting out of here?" an elf from the back of the truck shouted.

  "You heard 'em. I can't stand here bartering with you all night. If you want a ride, give me the sword."

  "Please, Coal." Elizabeth clasped her hands together as if she were praying. "Please. My daddy will buy you a new one. I promise."

  He'd promised himself that he'd bring Mischief back when he returned to the fey realm. What more would he have to give up? Slowly, Coal lifted the sword and its sheath from his back and gave it to the man. He smiled so brightly it seemed to light up the entire road.

  "My name is Michael. It's been a pleasure doing business with you." He took the sword from its sheath before he grunted and dropped the weapon into its casing. "It burned me." Michael shook his hand.

  "It's sentient, but it hasn't been bonded yet. So it chooses who wields it."

  "Really?" Michael said with amazement. "I've heard stories about swords like this. I thought they were myths."

  "I don't think it will let you use it. Perhaps you should give it back before it hurts you." Coal reached for Mischief, but Michael pulled it back.

  "Don't worry. I'm going to put this darling above my fireplace. I won't need to use it."

  The sword is meant to be used, not displayed, Coal thought.

  Elizabeth climbed into the truck first. With a weariness that was more than physical, Coal followed. The seat squeaked as he sat, and the truck smelled of overly ripe strawberries. Michael opened the driver's side door and put the sword on the dashboard behind a small female figurine that shook its hips when Michael climbed in.

  Michael lowered his window and shouted. "Welcome to the Fairyland Express. Is everybody ready to get the hell out of here?"

  "Yes!" bellowed the voices from the back of the truck.

  "Good. Let's go." Michael raised the window and started the truck. He drove a few yards before he turned the truck sharply. Elizabeth fell towards Coal, smashing him into the door. By the time they were upright again, the truck was facing the opposite direction.

  "Oops, sorry about that!" Michael yelled. There were some grunts and a few nervous laughs from the back.

  "We'll be in Dublin in no time. Two, three hours at the most," Michael said.

  As they rode, snippets of conversation from the back leaked to the front. The fey were discussing what they were going to do when they got to the city. Some were going to stay in Dublin. Others were traveling to America, France, Johannesburg, Brazil--places Coal had only read about.

  Coal closed his eyes and let the slight rocking of the truck relax him. Just as he was about to drift to sleep, he felt the truck slow before it stopped altogether.

  "Are we there already?" Elizabeth asked.

  "No, there's something in the road," Michael said.

  Coal opened his eyes. Someone was standing in the middle of the road.

  "What the hell?" Michael muttered before he lowered his window and shouted, "Get out of the damn road!"

  The truck squeaked as the fey in the back moved.

  "I am Princess Chalcedony," said a voice outside the truck.

  "It's a damn fairy," Michael said under his breath. "There are no princesses in this country!" he yelled.

  Of course, she wasn't going to make this easy. "I need my sword," Coal told Michael. "She's here for us."

  "Well, this isn't fairyland. Princess or not, this is a democratic society. She can't come here and order people around." Michael reached underneath his seat and took out a long, cylindrical metallic object.

  "Is that a gun?" Coal asked. Guns were not allowed in the fey realm, but there was a gun encased in the library at Legacy. Coal had always thought it seemed too little to do much damage, but what Michael held looked ominous.

  "No, this is a rifle, but they both work the same." Michael stepped out of the truck. He approached Chalcedony with an arrogant swagger.

  Coal didn't hear what they were saying, but it could not have been pleasant because Michael lifted his rifle. Before he was able to get the gun level, Chalcedony grabbed it and kicked his legs from underneath him. With her foot on his chest, she threw his weapon into the forest.

  Elizabeth gasped just as Chalcedony glanced towards the truck.

  "Come out, Coal and Elizabeth!" she shouted.

  Coal sighed deeply, trying to control his anxiety. "Stay here," he told Elizabeth.

  "Coal, can you drive? Maybe we can drive away," Elizabeth said.

  "No, Lizzy. It's okay. I'll think of something."

  She nodded while he grabbed Mischief from the dashboard.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Coal stepped out of the truck and walked slowly towards Chalcedony and Michael. With Mischief strapped to his back, he hoped he appeared more confident than he felt. The snow was falling faster, and it was starting to blanket the road. His hands were both sweaty and cold. Sooner than he'd expected, he stood across from Chalcedony. Michael struggled with renewed urgency.

  Her new pale skin revealed large purple and blue bruises on her neck. Her right eye was bloodshot. She looked terrible, but none of that registered in her stance. How had she escaped Queen Isis? Had she defeated a full queen?

  Chalcedony kept her foot on Michael's chest.

  "You can let him go now. I'm here," Coal said.

  Chalcedony removed her foot, and Michael stood up. He was about to run towards his truck, but Chalcedony grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. "Go get the girl and bring her to me," she told him.

  "She isn't an elf. You have no business here," Michael said.

  Chalcedony tightened her grip on his wrist.

  "Okay. Okay," he said through his pain. "I'll get her. I'll get her."

  She released him, and he walked away, cursing.

  "How did you g
et here so quickly? I just saw you and Queen Isis disappear," Coal asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

  "I asked for help." Chalcedony motioned towards the dark forest.

  Who, Coal wondered, could get her here so quickly? Tetrick. Only queens and sometimes their children had the ability to phase through the two realms. "You've always hated asking for help."

  "Well, I've learned a lot over the past few days." Chalcedony stepped towards Coal. "I let Queen Isis and Royden think they'd defeated me and that I was on my way home. She may be stronger than me, but she isn't smarter. Are you ready to go?"

  He couldn't let it end this way. "I'm not going back with you. Not yet. Not until I get Lizzy home."

  "You don't have a choice. This time there is no one here to rescue you. There are no crazy dwarves, no rogue human shadows, no wild dragons, and no insane queens. You cannot defeat me on your own."

  "How about I fight you for it? If I win, you let me take Lizzy home. If you win, we'll come back with you without a fight."

  "You've already lost," Chalcedony said.

  "What do you have to lose? I've never been able to beat you."

  Before Chalcedony answered, Michael returned with Elizabeth. He met Coal's gaze and shifted his shoulders in an apology. With a nod, Coal tried to tell the man he understood.

  Chalcedony needed to hurry, get Coal and Elizabeth, and get out of this realm, but phasing was hard enough with just one person. Tetrick needed Coal and Elizabeth to come willingly, or they wouldn't make it to where they needed to be. "Again, why would I accept a challenge from you?" Chalcedony didn't want Coal to know she needed him to come without a fight.

  Coal bit his lip. The hood of his coat covered most of his face, but his large eyes and thick eyelashes were hard to hide. Through them, she saw his mind racing for a way out of this. She reached for his arm.

  "Let's go, Coal."