by WB McKay
My hand reached out for the handle of the spear and I yanked it back when I felt an uncomfortable buzz shoot down my arm to the base of my spine. The feeling wasn't all that painful. Clearly a warning. If my hand reached into the light that surrounded the spears, I knew it would kill me outright. Even still, my hand drifted upward before I realized it.
"Get yourself under control, Sophie," I hissed.
The talking from the main room was quieter now, but still rapid pace. If they were engrossed in conversation, I still had time. With any luck, they'd leave without ever noticing me.
I stepped back and surveyed the rest of the room. My eyes settled on a wall full of shelves of armor. My target was likely there. I stepped forward and stumbled over a small raised platform. It was identical to the one that the spears hovered over. My right hand automatically went to Haiku's hilt. Aengus was supposed to have had two swords and two spears according to On Seelie Fae.
Two swords that were probably supposed to go on the empty pedestal I was staring at.
Had The Morrigan stolen my swords from Aengus? I'd never given much thought to where The Morrigan might have gotten my swords from before, I only knew she'd left them with me when she'd dropped me off at Belinda's. Now that I thought about it, though, it wouldn't surprise me. I took another step away from the waiting pedestal. The swords were mine now. He wasn't about to get them back.
The whole unsettling situation was enough to get me back on task, covetous feelings well under control.
The shelves of armor took up more space than was actually available. Aengus sure wasn't afraid to use magic to enhance his collections. I was left with a few dozen sets of armor to search through, and no real description to narrow things down. To get things started, I went ahead and assumed that they would be made of leather or scales since they'd come from animals or people. That cut the search down by two-thirds. Aengus really liked his shiny metal.
Because I didn't give two figs about the rest of Aengus's stuff, I pulled a lighter out of my bag and got down to business lighting the different pieces of armor on fire. A dozen scorch marks later, I found a light blue chestplate that didn't scorch after thirty seconds of direct flame. Bingo.
I pulled it off the shelf and grimaced. It was about twice the size I needed. It would fit Graulfv pretty well though. I gathered the rest of the pieces, shoving the smaller parts into my bag. I tried not to think about what or who had been killed to acquire the lightly shimmering blue armor. When I removed the large chestplate, there was a silver plaque behind it with B7 engraved on it.
"Hmm," I said, tapping my lip.
A quick scan of the room found a small panel of wood that blended in almost perfectly with the wall around it. It was next to a curiously empty spot. I'd just assumed that a set of armor had been taken down. I poked at the panel and eventually got it to slide open, revealing a pad with a set of letters and numbers. I punched in B7 and then hit the button at the bottom labeled 'retrieve'.
The small screen above the keypad flashed to life, displaying several sets of armor in various colors and sizes. I flipped through them until I found one that was meant for a woman of my approximate size and hit the retrieve button again.
The whirring of a large machine filled the room.
I gasped. "Fuck!"
Terrible seconds ticked by while I listened to the machinery behind the walls groan and rattle. Realistically, it was pretty quiet for a machine that was supposed to retrieve suits of armor, but it was not at all quiet enough for a stealth thieving operation. I knew I should have bolted as soon as the noise started, but I really needed that armor.
If I had any shred of hope I wouldn't be noticed at this point, it died when I heard two distinct sets of approaching footsteps.
"Come out, whoever you are," said Aengus's companion. Quieter, I heard him say. "I'm going in."
The machine made a last few creaking sounds, and the large empty space on the wall slid open. An arm dropped a package wrapped in plastic cling wrap on the floor of the armory. I could just make out the dark blue color of the armor I'd chosen beneath the film.
I scooped it up and walked to the armory door. I heard boots come to a stop just on the other side.
"Come out with your hands up and you won't be harmed," said the man, his voice the soothing calm of someone in law enforcement or security.
I rolled my eyes. "Harm" was such a subjective term. He wouldn't harm my person—excellent. That didn't mean he wouldn't lock me in a dark hole for the rest of my life. Not that it really mattered; I was leaving this castle with two sets of armor. I trusted we were at a point of disagreement on that issue. Talking wasn't on the schedule.
I grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and rammed the door with my shoulder as hard as I could. I expected the door to slam into the guard, but he was either too smart to stand that close, or too fast. The door banged into the wall and I stumbled due to the lack of resistance.
Overconfidence will get you every time.
A hand grabbed a fistful of my wing feathers. I glanced up at the shock of pain and my eyes focused on a mirror on the back wall of the room. In the reflection, I saw what had to be Aengus filling the door that led into the rest of his chambers. He was a large man, as indicated by the size of the armor I'd taken for Graulfv. I only caught a quick glimpse of his face. His jaw was clenched in anger and then it melted into surprise that bordered on delight. He probably thought the guard had me. Not a chance. I pulled harder and let the guard keep the feathers. It stung like hell, but I was free and jumping out the window before he could get another hand on me.
I clutched my new set of armor to my chest and glided toward where I'd left Graulfv. I kept picturing Aengus's face—something seemed intensely familiar about it—but I couldn't place it. It was going to drive me crazy trying to place why is face was so familiar, but I didn't want to end up thinking about it in a fae prison, so I resisted the urge to turn around and get a better look. He hadn't been focused on the mirror, so he'd only ever seen my back. I didn't hear the beat of wings, so I had a big headstart.
I scanned the ground below. Graulfv wasn't where I'd left him. "Damn it! I knew this was too easy."
After a sweep of the area surrounding the fake cherry trees, I found a group of four men standing to the side of a white horse carriage. Their stance indicated violence. So did the swords in their hands.
A tilt of my wings took me into a quick dive that dropped me silently behind the men. It wasn't safe in Faerie to leave your back unprotected like that. Never knew what might sneak up behind you.
I crept silently closer, and got a better look at what had them so engrossed. Graulfv struggled back to his feet and stepped away from the group of his attackers.
"Shit," said one of the men, his shock clear in his voice. "He's human. And old. What are you doing here other than getting your ass kicked, old man?" The guy smiled at his buddies. When the smile fell away, he was still for a moment before jumping into action, kicking Graulfv hard in the stomach before spitting in his face. "What do you guys think?" He laughed. "Humans taste better than griffins, you know."
The guy was too busy laughing to keep an eye on things.
Graulfv let out a roar and pulled his huge axe out from behind him. He took the speaker's head off before I could bury Epic in the back of the man closest to me.
The other two turned to flee. They'd bitten off a lot more than they could chew, and they knew it. Graulfv buried his axe in the side of a third man. He died instantly, but the blade of Graulfv's weapon lodged in some bone. It took him a while to pull it free. The last man clambered back into the carriage and it raced away, into the bug zone.
"Are you all right?" I asked, helping Graulfv free his weapon. He was bleeding profusely, a few of the flesh-eating butterflies still clung to his skin. I knocked them away. "What happened?"
Graulfv looked at the armor I had dropped to the ground, and heaved a sigh. "I was being foolish." He wiped blood away from his face and winced at the m
ovement, his other hand reaching up to clutch his ribs. "I got worried about you and was looking for a way into the castle. That carriage came by, so I hitched a ride by hanging onto the bottom."
"The bugs weren't fooled," I said, crushing one of the offending insects with my foot.
"They were not," he said, letting out a snort and a laugh, which then turned to a grimace of pain. "The carriage turned around and brought me back outside the border. They got to me before I could shake free of the hold the bugs had on me. They were kicking me when I finally came to myself. That's when you arrived, obviously not needing my help anyway."
"You're right," I said, giving him a stern look. "I didn't need your help in there. I might need your help in Derinia, but now you won't be able to because you're beat to hell." I pointed to the armor I'd dropped on the ground during the fight. "I got you a new suit and everything."
"I'm sorry, Sophie." He hung his head.
"Well, don't get bent out of shape about it." I patted him roughly on the shoulder. "I wouldn't have liked being left out here either." I looked toward the castle where the carriage had disappeared from view. "We should get going before they get their act together and come out here."
Graulfv picked up the chestplate for his armor, letting out a groan of pain when he stood back up. "I'll put this on when we're a safe distance away."
I chuckled. "I doubt you could raise your arms high enough to do it with the shape you're in. Let's head back to our castle and get you patched up. You'll be no use to me in Derinia like this."
"I would fight for you as long as I held breath," he replied, reverting a bit to his old worshiper self.
"Well, I'd like that to be for more than ten seconds, so let's get going. No arguing."
"Yes, Sophie," said Graulfv, setting off at a slow pace that was probably still too fast.
I spent the walk back to the clansmen's castle watching Graulfv out of the corner of my eye, both checking on his well being, and pondering his place in my life. Was it possible the old man had truly gone from a cultish worshipper of The Morrigan who considered me part of his sick idolization fantasy, to being my friend?
Sometimes life really shocked the shit out of me.
CHAPTER EIGHT
"Cheer up," I told Graulfv. "You're home sweet home!"
He didn't appear at all interested in the cheer I attempted to force upon him. I'd had to fight off a couple of large rodent beasts that tried to come at Graulfv as he lumbered along, but a few swipes of Epic took care of them. He looked ashamed as he stood there clutching his chestplate. He'd already been down about his busted up body, but he'd become noticeably worse ever since.
Inside the castle, we walked to yet another wing I'd never seen. This one smelled of herbs and ointments. There were also several magic smells I couldn't identify.
A young man with a curly brown beard and glasses greeted us. "I'm Silas. It's a pleasure to finally meet you..." He hesitated, looking to Graulfv, who nodded for him to continue. "Sophie."
They had a hard time not calling me mistress. I chose to find it cute instead of annoying. Silas was a very large young man, like most of the other clansmen, but the glasses and the way he held himself set him apart. He looked like his large frame was more suited to getting books from high shelves rather than chopping men up with an axe. "You think you can fix up Graulfv? He took a few dozen boots to..." I looked Graulfv up and down. "Everywhere."
"Not a problem, Sophie," said Silas, already running around the room and pulling various small containers from cubbies on the wall. "I'll have him patched up and ready to fight for you in no time."
I patted Silas on the shoulder. "I appreciate that."
It only took making a couple of wrong turns to realize that I hadn't really been anywhere in the castle alone other than the dungeon and the dining room. Without Graulfv by my side, the place was too big, empty, and lonely. It took me way more time than it should have, but I eventually made it to the room I'd been given. Or should I say rooms?
Most of the castle was bare stone with rotting furnishings. I should have known that my room would be different, that no expense would be spared. There was a room off the main entrance that was supposed to hold coats and the like, so that's where I left my shoes and bag. It could have held that much stuff for two dozen people and still carried an echo.
I brought the package of armor with me into the living area, plopped it down on one of the three plush couches, and sat next to it. Haiku made quick work of the plastic wrap.
The armor inside was a rich, dark blue leather. Grudgingly, I had to admit it was beautiful. The texture was unique, definitely not something I'd seen before. I had no way of knowing if I was running my hand over the flesh of an animal from Faerie, or a person. The truth was, I needed to use it either way. "They're already dead," I told myself. Unsurprisingly, this did not make me feel any better.
I cleared my throat and reminded myself to focus on the task at hand, setting out all of the pieces to look them over. Beyond being beautiful, the armor was extremely well made and maintained. The buckles and straps were easy to manipulate. I'd talked to Graulfv, and he'd informed me that the armor had one weakness: the cold. I could tear the armor with my blade and it would survive. Pierce the leather with an icicle, however, and the magic protecting me from fire would be gone. There was no repairing it. Luckily, I wasn't planning on running into a lot of icicles in the lava sea. I got to work on the straps, and within a couple of minutes I was outfitted. Thankfully, the chestplate had two straps that crossed my back between my wings, so I didn't even have to modify it. All in all, it fit better than I'd had any right to hope for.
I took a few quick practice swings with Epic and Haiku. Good. I stretched out my wings, rose a few feet off the ground, and darted around the room, throwing a few more practice swings into the mix. Very good. I alighted on the arm of the sofa, pleased with the whole experience. It barely felt like I was wearing anything. "Here goes nothing." Without giving myself time to think about it, I marched over to the fireplace and stuck my foot inside. "One one thousand, two one thousand…" Four seconds was as long as I could stand the suspense. I jumped back from the flames, looked down at my foot, and saw… nothing.
It wasn't a full test, like jumping into a sea of lava, but it gave me faith.
There was the gentle flap of wings behind me and my shoulders slumped. I'd just started to feel good about my progress. "Hello, The Morrigan. Come to threaten me, perhaps?" I didn't bother to turn and face her.
When she walked into my view, The Morrigan was smiling. It was a cruel thing that never made it to her eyes. She ignored my comment. "It is time for your first lesson."
"I'm working on weakening Aengus's power base," I said, since in the greater sense, I was. I needed to make sure this armor would work for me, even if I didn't intend to use it until Graulfv was well.
The Morrigan saw through my weak attempt at deceit. "Nonsense. You've decided that you want my underling to accompany you. You are in a holding pattern, and that time is mine for forty hours."
I grinned at that. "I was not on Earth for two full hours, and hours are all we discussed." I'd intended to push it to fifty-nine minutes, just for giggles, but had come back after an hour and fifty-five minutes, to make sure I had time to spare. "I spent one hour on Earth. I owe you twenty hours of training in return."
The Morrigan sniffed and didn't reply. That was the closest she would probably ever come to acknowledging I'd outplayed her. "It's time for your training. Meet me in the courtyard." She burst into a cloud of feathers, and then dissolved into black smoke and disappeared.
I tried to think of some way that I could refuse her. I came up with nothing. "Damn it."
Ostensibly, learning how to use my magic was a good thing. I'd been wanting to know more about it my whole life. Once I realized how awful it could be, I had a powerful need to learn how to control it. I'd have been desperate for anything anyone could tell me a year ago. But I'd been doing better since my
first trip to Faerie, and since then the crown had taught me a way to keep my death light from killing, allowing me to knock people unconscious instead. I doubted The Morrigan wanted to teach me anything like that. No good could come of this.
I was so deep in my thoughts that I made it outside without remembering how I'd gotten there. I was surprised at what I saw when I looked up.
It would have been too much to hope that my training would have been a private affair between The Morrigan and me. Instead, we had an audience of clansmen. There were at least twenty of them. I thought I recognized some of them as the men who'd gone with me to deal with the Orani. "We don't need an audience for this. I work better when I'm not being scrutinized."
As usual, The Morrigan ignored me. The clansmen shuffled back and forth nervously, obviously picking up on some cue from their master that I hadn't noticed. I did, however, notice the icy smile that twitched at the corner of her mouth. "Let me see one of those pretty balls of light."
Of course, she would want a death light. It was the one type of magic I had that she didn't. I knew she'd been too curious about it when she'd first discovered it. She wouldn't want me to do anything with it other than kill. "I don't see what good showing you my death light would do. You don't have that magic. What could you possibly teach me about it?"
The Morrigan's smile turned into a sneer. "You would purport to know more about magic than I? Your lifespan is but a blink of an eye to the likes of me. I've forgotten more about magic than you know. Show me this 'death light'."
I exhaled heavily and summoned a sparkling ball of white light to my hand. I looked at it as if it were the first time, trying to see it from The Morrigan's perspective. It had been so long since I'd really thought about it, I'd almost forgotten how beautiful it was. The clansmen all shuffled forward, unable to help themselves. They all surely knew how deadly it could be, but they were like moths to the flame; they just had to get closer to anything that pleased The Morrigan.