by Tom Mohan
“This was my father’s blade,” Oberon said. “The king’s blade. Now it is mine.” Without warning, he made two quick slashes across Paulie’s chest.
Paulie’s head jerked up, and he gasped but otherwise uttered no sound. Darius then handed Oberon a small, unadorned chalice. He pressed the chalice against Paulie’s chest at the bottom of one of the slashes. A small stream of blood flowed into it.
Paulie’s breathing was fast and ragged as Oberon dug the chalice hard into his chest to force out more of the blood. The Prince then did the same against the second slash. Liza was mesmerized by the blood flow. She knew she should be revolted by what was happening, but she could not shake the excitement building within her.
“The blood of our enemies.” Oberon held the chalice high. “With this blood comes the end of our imprisonment, the end of our slavery.” He lowered the chalice and held it between himself and Liza. A female with tight green curls and pointed ears scurried forward and poured something into the chalice with the blood. Oberon studied the chalice as he sloshed the mixture together. “With this blood, I claim my place as true king of the fae.” He put the chalice to his lips and tipped it up.
When Oberon finished drinking, he handed the cup to Liza. She took it in shaking hands. The rite felt familiar, as though she had always known that this moment would come. “With this blood, I take my place as true queen of the fae.” She took a sip of the blood and wine. It had a bitter taste but was warm as it slid down her throat.
The world around her brightened as her senses came alive. Lightning sparked above, and thunder crashed all around. She was barely aware of the chalice being taken from her. Oberon pulled her against him and leaned his face toward her. Hot passion exploded in her as his lips met hers. She returned the kiss as though it were all that existed in the universe, her blood pounding with her king’s. She could feel Paulie’s blood mixing with her own, could almost picture it as it spread through her body.
Liza’s stomach cramped, and she gasped. It felt like she had been stabbed with a flaming blade. She bent over and wrapped her arms around her abdomen as the pain hit again. She would have fallen to her knees had not Oberon kept a tight hold on her arm.
“What’s…happening?”
“Your human side cannot tolerate the blood of the False One. Very soon it will destroy you.”
Liza gasped again as pain wracked her body. The calmness with which Oberon pronounced her death sentence confused her. Weren’t they meant to be together for all time?
“Why…?”
“Only you can save yourself now. There is one last thing you must do. Only you can do it for the rite to be completed.”
Liza’s face was covered in sweat as searing pain pulsed through her veins. “Tell me…please, tell me.”
Oberon pulled her upright. He stared down at her, his face hard. For the second time, she thought she saw something hiding behind his beautiful appearance, something dark and hungry. He pressed something into her hands. She looked down and saw the knife he had used to slash Paulie’s chest. The blood was still fresh on the blade. The agony in her body intensified at the sight of it. She almost dropped the knife, almost let herself collapse to the ground in a ball of fire and pain. Oberon kept his hold on her, one hand on her arm while the other kept her hands clenched on the hilt of the knife.
“Only you can stop the pain,” he said. “Only you can destroy the False One.”
Liza stared at the knife in her shaking hands. Silence that surrounded them. Lightning continued to pulse overhead, but there was no thunder. The universe itself awaited what would happen next.
She felt Paulie’s gaze on her as well.
Liza turned her face to look at him. He looked so pathetic strapped to the pillar. Blood ran down his pale stomach and soaked the pants of his silly costume. He was the cause of her pain. He had always been the cause of her pain.
She gripped the knife tighter and turned so that her body faced his. Agony tore through her as she moved, and she heard herself cry out.
“Kill him, and your pain will be over. Kill him, and reign by my side forever.”
Liza’s breath came in short gasps as she brought the knife up before her. The pain was so intense that she would do anything to stop it. She raised the knife higher, and Oberon released her hands. They trembled, but she managed to maintain her grip on the leather handle.
“Kill him.”
Her gaze moved from the knife to Paulie. She saw no fear on his face, no hate or pain or condemnation. His eyes bore into her own with nothing but love and compassion. His lips rose in a sad smile. In that smile, she saw a beauty beyond any she had ever known. Even Oberon paled before this so-called False One.
Her arms relaxed, and the knife dropped a few inches.
Another bolt of pain shot through her, and she fell to her knees, her body doubled over. She cried out as Oberon grabbed her by the hair and hoisted her to her feet. The pain was so severe that she could barely see through the tears that flooded her eyes.
“You are weak,” Oberon hissed in her ear. “Weak and stupid.” He twisted his fist in her hair so that her face was turned up toward his. “The pain you feel now will only grow worse until it eats you from the inside. Perhaps something else will convince you.”
He spun her around so she faced the horde of murmuring onlookers. An opening parted in the crowd as two fae escorted someone into the clearing around the pillar.
“Brianna?” Liza whispered. Brianna Finn stood between the two fae. Each held one of her arms, though she offered no resistance. Her eyes were blank and empty. She gave no indication that she was aware of her surroundings.
Oberon turned her face back toward his. “You think the Finns are your friends. You think they care about you. You’re wrong. They care about nothing but themselves. Still, as my queen, you will be allowed to do as you please with them. That is my promise to you. Hesitate any longer, however, and I will slaughter them before your eyes.” His grip tightened in her hair, and she had to stand on her toes to keep him from ripping out a handful. “You will do as I command. You have no choice.”
Something in his words rang false. For a moment, the pain fell away, and her mind cleared. What was it the voices in the sky had said? They said that the choice was mine. That the fate of entire worlds rests on my puny shoulders. Her moment of clarity was ripped away by searing pain burning through her abdomen.
A choice. She had a choice. One that would decide things once and for all.
She struggled to get her mind to think past the pain, past the fear and doubt that filled her with dread.
Oberon released his grip on her and shoved her toward Paulie. Her eyes turned to Brianna, who remained standing but wasn’t really there. Cullen and Ana were here somewhere as well. She thought of Fallon with her red hair and quick smile. Fallon, who had treated her like a sister from the moment they’d met. She thought of her own parents, so different from what she had found with the Finns.
Liza turned the knife in her hands and slowly raised it. She looked again into Paulie’s eyes but found no answer to whatever choice she had to make. Oberon stood beside her, so close she could feel the heat of his flesh on her own.
What if she killed him instead?
She knew she could, knew instinctively that it was a possible choice. She held more power than even he could know. He could not stop her any more than Paulie could.
Is that my choice? Kill Paulie or kill Oberon?
There had to be more. She was still missing something. The pain made thinking so hard. She felt the poison of Paulie’s blood seep into her brain. Her eyes squeezed shut as new agony burned in her head. Images of blood and death dotted the darkness behind her eyelids. Another image hovered there as well. Another choice. She felt her heart lift as her body relaxed.
Words filled her mind, and she began to sing them out, softly at first and then louder. The words were hauntingly familiar, words of love and hope and praise to the king. The real king. The pain rec
eded as she sang, like darkness falling away before the sunrise.
Liza opened her eyes and raised the knife high. She looked at Paulie, at his trusting face. He smiled at her as if to say everything was all right. She turned to Oberon, his dark eyes blazing with anticipation.
“Do it,” Oberon said. There was a hint of desperation in his voice. “You have no choice. It is your destiny.”
“Yes,” Liza said. “It is.”
She brought the knife down and buried it in her own abdomen.
The blade burned white-hot as it slid through her flesh. She gasped and cried out. Warm blood flowed over her hands that held tight to the hilt. She heard Oberon yell something beside her but could not catch the words.
Liza fell to her knees. She heard whispered words and was surprised to find she was still singing. The song held the pain at bay, but her blood was flowing out fast. Her vision darkened, and she knew she would soon pass out and then die.
That was all right. She was ready to die. She had made her choice.
Fallon crouched in the shadows of an alley that led to the town square. The sounds of the town awakening to its new reality were all around her. Screams and curses filled the air along with the too-common sound of gunfire and the occasional explosion.
Fallon had never been so scared and alone. Hot tears ran down her bruised face as she looked upon the chaos that was the town she loved. The sky above was a turmoil of roiling clouds and lightning unlike anything she’d seen in her long life. All she’d ever known had disappeared overnight, replaced by a scene from The Twilight Zone.
The town square had been a random destination, though it felt right. She was certain something had drawn her there.
The buildings and park were cast in shadowed darkness, the light of the new day unable to penetrate the cloud cover. A pickup truck had crashed into the old Air Force jet that was chained to the southwest corner of the park, and flames lit the lumberyard at the other end. Otherwise, the area appeared to be clear of the violence that surrounded it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, fighting to still the fear and calm her mind so she could think clearly.
She remembered Black Annis and what had happened back at the hospital. You have the greatest power of all. Those words had stilled the fear and opened her heart. She allowed the words to fill her mind. Her racing heart slowed as she concentrated on the love she had for the town she’d spent her life in.
She thought of the people, those in the present as well as generations long past. So many people she had loved sharing life with. She realized she had never given much thought to how she was different from everyone else. She’d always thought that the attraction people felt for her was simply a byproduct of her role in the family. She now saw that it was something else, something that she had never heard mention of with her parents or any of her line before her. She had a purpose beyond finding her one true mate. She had a purpose designed specifically for this time and place.
Fallon opened her eyes and scanned the park for any immediate danger. Nothing moved. She sprinted across the street as fast as her exhausted body allowed.
The grandstand was in the corner across from the plane, and she made her way toward it. It sat at an angle that made whatever was happening on stage visible across the entire park. She climbed the five steps to the stage.
A wave of dizziness caused the world to tip, and she grabbed ahold of a beam to steady herself. You don’t have much left, Fallon old girl. Whatever happens now is either going to work or kill you. Or both. She realized in that moment that she would die happy if her actions saved the town and the people she loved. Nothing else mattered to her.
“Well, if it isn’t Fallon Finn.” A man stepped out of the shadows of an oak tree.
“Stan,” Fallon said. “How are you this morning?” Fallon could hear the tremor in her voice. She was pretty sure she knew how Stan was doing. Stan was a good-looking young man, strong if not terribly bright. He lived in town, though his family owned quite a bit of farming land around the Mill.
The man tipped his grubby John Deere ball cap. “Oh, guess I’m doing right well. Didn’t sleep none too well last night. Kept havin’ dreams.”
“They weren’t your dreams, Stan.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. They were pretty good dreams. Matter of fact, you were in them.” He smiled at her as though she should be honored by such a thing. “So were some of the other girls.” He winked at her. “I know you’ve been flirtin’ with me. We had a really good time in my dream. You know, you look like you could use a good time. Been a rough night, has it?”
Rougher than you could know.
“What are you doing up there, Fallon?” Fallon recognized the voice of Lester Morgan, mayor of Halden’s Mill. “Are you the one causing all this trouble? You and your family? This is my town, you hear? You Finns have been nothing but trouble.”
Fallon opened her mouth to respond, but the sight of others approaching took her voice away. Across the street, the door to The Morning Light opened, and Maggie stepped out. Fallon could see the smile on the woman’s face. There was someone with her that Fallon could not quite make out. She squinted, but the image remained fluid and elusive.
Maggie reached out and took its hand as though it were her best friend, and they walked across the street. Maggie approached the grandstand and looked up at Fallon. The look on her face was radiant. “My Harry came home last night. Isn’t that wonderful, Fallon?” Her eyes were filled with love and longing as she turned back to the thing that had her so mesmerized. Fallon could feel the hate coming from it.
“That’s not Harry, Maggie. Please believe me, that’s not him.”
Maggie’s face changed so fast Fallon took a step back. Pure hatred stared back at her. “He said you’d say that. He told me you Finns would try to take him away from me again, just like you did the first time. I always trusted you, but you took my Harry away from me. You won’t do that again. You Finns will never take my Harry away again!”
Rumbles of agreement murmured through the growing crowd. Fallon’s unease built as more people wandered into the park.
“It’s you who draws them, child.”
Fallon was startled to find Tobias Yoder standing beside her. His form was translucent, and his voice had a slight echo, as if he were in a large, empty room. “How did you get here?”
“I ain’t actually here. What remains of us are combining what power we have left to give you and Marcas any help we can. Nidawi’s seeing what she can of Tír na nÓg. Isn’t something we’ve done before, and don’t know how long we can keep it up.” He looked out over the crowd. “Your love calls them. They are filled with so much darkness right now that you’re like a beacon to them. ‘Course, that don’t mean they want the light you’re offering.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“Stand strong, child. God above will give you strength and guidance.”
“I’m not—”
The scent of rotted meat wafted over her. She felt panic rising as she scanned the crowd of familiar faces. From the center of the park, she saw the familiar form of Black Annis moving closer. A few in the small crowd gave her a wide berth, but many appeared to not even notice her.
“You didn’t really think you had escaped me, did you, dearie?” The fae crone stopped at the foot of the grandstand. “You look mighty tasty. Young and tender.”
“I’m older than I look.” Fallon’s voice came out more confident than she felt.
Black Annis laughed. “What are your years to me? Your life is but a day to me and my kind.” Her eyes shifted to the image of Tobias. “You have no power here. Your time is over.”
“I have what power the good Lord chooses to give me, witch, and my time’s not yours to decide.”
Fallon could feel waves of hatred flowing from Annis. It drifted through the crowd like her stench, filling them with the darkness she carried. The people grew more agitated, more aggressive. They pressed forward against the grandstand.
The stench of Black Annis combined with the almost physical waves of hate pushed Fallon to the edge of panic. She couldn’t breathe. Dots of color danced before her vision.
“Stay calm, child. Don’t let the darkness in.”
“I don’t know what to do.” She gasped. “Can’t even think, I’m so scared.”
The image of Tobias took her hand. He was not flesh and blood, but still Fallon felt warmth and reassurance. “Concentrate on the love you feel for them, on the love you feel for the town and all who live in it. Let that love flow out. Push the shadow away and let your light shine in the darkness.”
Fallon did as he said.
At first, it was almost impossible to tear her thoughts away from the darkness that surrounded her. She imagined a spark of light in her heart and allowed the image to grow and flow from her. She replaced her terror with memories of the wonderful times she’d had in Halden’s Mill. There were so many, so many good people she had loved and who had loved her back.
She felt the darkness flinch and fall back. She dared not look at Black Annis for fear of losing what little ground she had gained.
Fallon heard something hit the wall behind her. Then her concentration shattered as something hard struck her on the side of the head. She stumbled to her knees, bright stars dancing across her vision. Another rock hit her shoulder. She cried out and covered her head with her arms.
Black Annis cackled. “You see? Even your own people hate you. Your time is over. Ours has come.”
Another rock bounced off the ground. She wanted to curl up in a ball and pretend none of this was happening, hope it would all simply go away.
A melody interrupted her thoughts, unknown and yet strangely familiar. She found herself humming a tune she did not know as she cowered on the floor of the grandstand. The tune filled her mind with hope and her body with enough strength to stand. She found herself singing strange words in a foreign tongue. She lifted her voice as she stared out over the crowd. She no longer worried about the rocks, no longer worried about Black Annis or the destruction happening all over town. The song was all that mattered. Her voice grew stronger as the haunting strains floated out over the people gathered in the park. She stood and lifted her face to the sky, her arms held out to her sides.