by Amber Lynn
“We left the witch with the power in the other room. I don't know what she would be able to do. She has already indicated that the magic is really week around these parts and she is saving hers up for our battle.”
“But you are the one that called out to the earth and brought her back from the death. I don't see how that would be any different with Adeline. I can already feel the earthly magic starting to recharge. If Addie was awake, she could harness it and make it grow. I don't think it would take her long to be back to full strength, at least I hope not. I really want her to have a chance to avenge herself.”
Why do people have to keep requesting things from me that I don't think are possible? It didn't used to make a difference, but now I kind of regret having to tell them no.
“We can try. I am just learning about these angel powers. Maybe Gabe is a better person to assist. He is a card carrying member of the angel society.”
“I would assist only if necessary. Our powers come from within us and you need to learn how to use them. At the same time you are learning just what you can do; you have to learn when it is right to use them. Do you think this is a time where an angel should step in?”
He has already mentioned that a lot of people not born with the power end up abusing it or just burning themselves out. I can do a lot of things without an extra wave of my hand and I have people like Hilda around when I need a little extra magic boost, so I don't think I will fall into that category.
“I believe Sylvia needs to be stopped. She murdered her own people to advance her position,” I state the biggest point in the pro column for helping.
“Using their souls as fuel may not be considered murder by everyone,” Gabe points out, causing me to give him a questioning look. If you steal someone's soul and leave just a husk behind, I am pretty sure that equates to murder. It does in my book anyway.
“Even with your illogical point in consideration, you cannot condone any of the actions we have heard Sylvia taking. You are an angel, for God's sake. Death and destruction shouldn't be in your DNA.”
“The destruction maybe not, although that can be debated, but death is a part of life. It has to happen or the world would not be able to sustain itself.”
“I don't think death is helping this world sustain itself at all if it put a bunch of its inhabitants to sleep like it did the pixies because of lack of food. I want to try. You cannot talk me out of this one with your weird logic.” I am ready to get this done. I hear the Dark Forest calling me.
“I wasn't trying to talk you out of it. I actually think it is a wise move, but I do have to make sure you understand the ways of the universe,” Gabe says smiling. I feel like he wants to pat me on the head. If he makes any kind of move in that direction, he is getting a boot to the knee, allowing that I can lift my leg that high.
“Great. Where is your sleeping queen? We can find out if my mojo is up to snuff.”
“She is down the hall. I am the only one that still visits her, so we shouldn't run into any trouble. Sylvia is so hopped up on me having a baby that she probably took one of her other slaves to play in her quarters. I think that even though she keeps us alive, somehow sleeping with us gives her some extra strength,” Killian says and opens the door.
“Like a succubus,” I say and let out a deep breath. I hate succubi. Maybe I can figure out a way with these new angel powers to eradicate them all. Talk about burnout.
“I haven't ever met one personally, but from what I have heard, it would be similar.”
“I wish I hadn't been introduced to one as well, but thankfully mine is back down in Hell and I hope she is being roasted on a daily basis.”
“I think the dwellers from down under were barred from visiting here, but you never know. If someone calls out to them, they are much more likely to answer than someone from Upstairs. We get calls all the time, but only a third of them are really life or death situations and I have already voiced my opinion on death being a natural part of life. Most of the time, people are just going through a little bump in the road and need to learn that life isn't always easy, but in the end, all the battles you fight turn out to make up a life worth living.”
Gabe is getting deep and I can think of better times to get into the meaning of life. Killian is leading us farther away from the dining hall where we left everyone. Since we aren't in the presumably safe closet, I don't want to start up on a Sylvia is an evil octopus chant. I have the same problem Hilda does with having to come up with inventive ways to say bad words without really saying them. If one were to replace octopus in my thought with the dirtiest, most horrific word they can think of, they might be close to the word I was really thinking.
“Here we go,” Killian says while he opens a door.
Inside we find a woman lying on top of a large platform in the middle of the room. It looks like the classic fairy tale sleeping princess setup. I take it Killian has put himself in charge of looking after Adeline because I highly doubt Sylvia would do something like this.
Killian walks over to the woman and brushes his hand through her hair. “We should probably hurry. Sylvia will know we are in here and start heading this way soon.”
“That's great. If that is true we probably only have a matter of minutes to try this,” Sebastian says.
“So what do I do? Do the three of us need to be touching like we were for the grass reawakening?” I ask ready to move this along.
“You can do this yourself. It is really no different than what you did before. You will probably prefer to be touching her since you are still in training. All you really need to do is find the angel place inside of you and bring forth its healing powers,” Gabe instructs.
Oh yeah, that doesn't sound lame at all. Fine. Maybe this will count towards me getting my halo. I make my way over to the body and get a good look at Queen Adeline. I can tell that her and Sylvia are sisters from the slope of her nose and the rest of her facial features. Poor lady, no one deserves to be put in this state, except maybe her sister, and half of the Collective and a succubus that will remain nameless. Okay, so maybe there are some people, but I highly doubt she was one of them. Not if she has a decent guy like Killian still pining for her.
I lay my hand down on Adeline's chest. I don't sense a heart beating under my hand. “You sure she is actually alive?”
“Yes, your friend wasn't wrong about us sharing a connection. While she is in this state, my heart is beating for her.”
I think he has Gabe beat on the award for the lamest line. I have the touching part down, now I just need to find that special place inside of me. Just how am I supposed to find that when I am on a deadline? I start concentrating as hard as I can, searching for my elusive angel mojo.
“Feel,” Gabe says trying to be helpful. One of these days I am going to write a book on how to actually accomplish the task of being helpful and I will make sure everyone I come in contact with gets a copy.
All I am really feeling is a clammy lady with no heartbeat. I really think the lack of one is messing with me. “Come here, Killian. You said your heart beats for her, prove it.”
He moves closer so I can put my other hand on his chest. Sure enough, I feel the tempo I was missing. Not only that, but there is a second softer beat that accompanies it as they tap out their tale of love. It is about time I got in on the lame line action.
The puzzle before me starts unraveling and I can see this doesn't have to be any more complicated than me transferring energy from one to the other. I find it very similar to a mad scientist bringing a monster to life. I don't want to fry her brain or anything, so I take things as slow as I can with the threat of an evil Fae barging in at any second.
It only takes about thirty seconds for me to start feeling a beating under my right hand. I take that as a good sign and give one last little boost to hopefully propel the sleeping queen into consciousness.
“Killian,” I hear very faintly.
“I am here, my love. As always,” he replies and prac
tically pushes me out of the way to get to her. I take it this angel business doesn't see a lot of gratitude.
“What has happened?” Queen Adeline says coming even more alert. I think the caffeine is starting to kick in. “Why are we in the guest's apartments?”
“I will explain everything fully later. First, you need to harness your power. Your sister will be here any second and her dark power may injure you. I don't think she will be able to put you back to sleep, but she is able to do other horrors,” Killian replies.
“My world. What has happened to it?” The queen isn't going to take things lying around anymore. She bolts up and closes her eyes.
“Killian, you were supposed to be working to kill her for good, but instead I find you waking her up. I should have known better than to let you walk around on your own. I believe that is going to need to be punished,” Sylvia’s voice says and I turn to see her standing in the doorway.
Time to see if Adeline can draw enough power to face off against her sister. After witnessing her looking dead just a couple of minutes ago, I am not looking forward to the outcome. Just to be on the safe side, I sidle over to Sebastian and slip the Panoptic knife into his hand.
“Use it if you need to,” I instruct and prepare for the fireworks.
Chapter 11
Someone has a lot of explaining to do
“Sylvia, what are you doing here? Will someone please explain just what is going on? And who are all these other people?” I cannot blame the woman for having a lot of questions, but now really isn’t the time.
“Questions later, Queenie, your sister needs dealing with.” It is situations like this one where not being pregnant would be really handy. I don't think it is going to come to much of a fight because it is all of my people versus one person, but you never know how demented that one person is and whether or not they have any tricks up their sleeves. Sylvia seems like the kind of girl that is loaded down with tricks.
“I can tell you right now, little girl, that I won't be doing anything until I get some answers. What is wrong with my followers? I cannot feel them anymore. I must go to them.” She makes a move to leave, but Killian holds on tight. I think she is experiencing one of those moments where your brain is trying extremely hard to process a million things at once and it is only getting mush back in response.
“Addie calm down,” Hilda calls from the hall. My army is in place, but the pretend queen blocking the doorway is holding it outside of the room. I don't know where the male Fae Sylvia was with earlier are currently stationed and I don’t really know on what side of things they will land.
“Hilda, you are here too. This makes no sense.” Killian leans down and kisses her forehead. I don’t think that will help clear up the confusion.
“Sylvia gave Nan a potion that ended up poisoning you eons ago. Shortly after that, she went Sluagh. She destroyed everything you love.” Killian gives the cliffnotes version of events, short and to the point, my kind of summation.
“But not you. You are still alive and well. Sylvia said something about you trying to kill me for good. What did that mean?” More questions, little action. I am surprised Sylvia hasn't tried to make a move yet.
“You can discuss all the details later. Are you going to take care of your sister, or do you want us to?”
Adeline looks towards her sister. “What have you done?” she asks quietly. There is not enough anger in her voice. Sylvia tried to kill her, destroyed her land, and fed off the souls of her people. I want to hear some yelling going on.
“Did you really think I would just sit around in my land of banishment forever? You took everything from me, even Killian. You only picked him for your king because I liked him. You could have had anyone,” Sylvia says letting her anger be known.
It sounds to me that Faerie has just changed its name to Cliché City. I hate the “I saw him first” and “he is the only man I have ever loved” sob stories. The way I see it, she either didn't make her move or she wasn't woman enough to keep him. Whichever it is, I wish she had moved on. There are tons of other fish in the sea, at least there were before she killed them all.
“That is why you did what they claim? You turned Sluagh because you had a crush on Killian? I cannot believe we are even related. How long have I been asleep?” Adeline asks anyone that will answer.
“With the darkened world, days weren't passing like normal. It feels like a really long time though,” Killian responds.
Sylvia makes no move to indicate whether she has been counting the days. “It is 2013, if that makes the math easier,” I say filling the pause that has entered the conversation.
“You are joking. There is no way that is possible. I still don't see how you could have done this to me.”
“With magic getting stronger the angrier you get, I wouldn't mind zapping her a few times,” Hilda offers. It makes me shiver just a bit because I know the kinds of things Hilda can do. Sylvia is in for trouble if the request is granted.
“That is a very kind offer, but I have to restore a few things first, then I may let you toy with her a little.” Queen Adeline holds out her right hand and closes her eyes. Dude, your opponent is standing right across from you and I doubt she is just going to stand still while you are preparing for battle.
The move makes me itchy and I pull out one of my knives for comfort. Good old Clytemnestra knows how to calm me down.
“I am sure she knows what she is doing,” Sebastian says trying to soothe me.
“Says the vampire who hates Fae to begin with. I want you to know that after we get Dad and high tail it out of here; you are to make sure I never go off into a different world again. I don't care if the angels claim I need to go Upstairs for a halo fitting. I am staying put and so is Sophia.”
“Oh good,” Alex says piping in. “That means you aren't going to be working as a private investigator anymore. That will let us guys rest easier.”
“Bite your tongue. I just won't take cases that go off planet. Less talking, more preparing to fight if need be.”
Both of them laugh maniacally in my head. Stupid mates. The scene before us didn't change at all during the conversation. I really don't understand what is going on. I feel a buzz of energy through the room, but that is about it.
“She is calling her people back to her,” Gabe whispers. “If she is strong enough to do that, we should have no worries about how things will turn out here.”
“The dead people? Just how in the world does she think she will accomplish that?” I ask confused.
“I would accomplish it a lot easier if you would quit yapping,” the queen snaps back.
Whatever. I look over at Sylvia wondering why she hasn’t made a move while her sister is occupied. I still cannot believe she hasn’t attacked. Seeing the look on Sylvia’s face leads me to believe she couldn’t move even if she wanted to. I don’t see any pink bindings, like Hilda’s freeze bombs have, but I can tell when someone is being held against their will.
“There. I have brought back the ones that I could. It appears the majority of them are alive and well. Some of the souls must have gotten lost over the years. Now that they are back, they can serve as your jury. We will let the people decide what is to become of you,” Adeline announces.
“Can we return to my question from a second ago? Are you saying you brought back the Fae that had their souls snacked on? Just how many is that?” It is one of those times where questions just keep forming in my mind.
“I mentioned earlier that being separated from your soul doesn't always mean you are dead,” Gabe points out.
“You did, but I cannot imagine there were bodies just lying around waiting to be put back together like a puzzle. I haven't heard anything that indicates Sylvia killed everyone yesterday,” I counter.
“No, some of my people had been gone for a very long time. I take it you are an angel with training wings. I may not allow your kind here, but I don't keep our knowledge from you.”
“My halo is in th
e mail. What key information am I missing?” The correct queen seems to have things in order here, so I really should be on my way, but I am curious about the zombie Fae I may be running into.
I see Hilda push her way past everyone and into the room. “My niece still doing good? I was a little worried about her.” I am a little worried about Hilda calling Sophia her niece. I may have told her I loved her earlier, but that was just a show for the crazy queen. We aren't quite to the level where our offspring are considered nieces and nephews.
“Sophia is still holding strong, but we do really need to move things along,” Sebastian says as he tries to start dragging me out of the room.
“Sebastian deYork in Faerie. If I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it,” Adeline says focusing in on us. “To answer the woman you are trying to drag away from me, my people are made up of a different kind of energy than most beings. Our bodies are vessels we choose to make it easier for others. All I had to do was call back their souls and they were able to reform. I am sure once you get the package in the mail that you mentioned earlier, you will learn these kinds of things.”
I guess that answers my question. “Great. I think it is time for us to go now. I need to find your Dark Forest and retrieve my father.”
“Even with my energy fixing things, the Dark Forest isn't a place for someone in your condition. Why don't I send some of my people to get him for you?” Queen Adeline asks.
It would be a swell idea if I thought for a second that Frank would go for it. I believe if anyone were to show up without me, Aaron would be a goner right quick.
“It is something I have to do no matter how big my belly is. I may be pregnant, but that doesn't impede me from walking a little ways.”
Adeline tilts her head a little as if listening to something. Maybe she has a telepathic connection to her people. I wouldn't doubt it since she can bring them back from the dead. No matter what her explanation, I am still looking at it that way.