Queen of Wands (The Tree of Ages Series Book 4)

by Sara C. Roethle

  Iseult watched Bedelia retreat, wishing he could question her about Keiren, but knowing he should keep his mind on the current dangers.

  He turned his attention back to those who remained. “Do what you will with the remaining time,” he explained. He landed his gaze on Anna. “If you see anything, I’d appreciate you letting me know.”

  She nodded at him, then led Kai away, leaving Iseult and Finn with only Àed. Iseult watched as the old man looked Finn up and down.

  “Yer different, lass,” he commented. “And yer shining so bright ye won’t be able to hide any longer.”

  Finn frowned, but replied, “I no longer wish to hide.”

  Àed smiled, then turned his gaze to Iseult. “I guess I should have stuck with ye up North, seeing as ye found her first.”

  Iseult couldn’t help his small smile. “Yes,” he agreed, flicking his gaze to Finn. “Though I imagine she’d have found both of us if we’d just stayed put.”

  Àed chuckled, then turned his attention back to Finn. “Well why don’t ye show me around this fortress and catch me up on what I’ve missed. Perhaps there’s something here that can help against the Dark Faie.”

  “Yes,” Finn agreed happily, turning to lead the way. “It was home to the Druid’s after all.” She gazed down at Àed warmly as he walked by her side. “Perhaps you’ll notice something we missed.”

  Iseult followed after them. Even with night fast approaching, he felt a measure of his worry lifted away. Now that Àed and Bedelia were back, Finn could finally focus on her enemies. She hadn’t asked them about Sativola, and he wasn’t about to remind her that he was still missing. She had enough on her mind already.

  He would, however, ask Bedelia about it if he got the chance. Something seemed amiss to him, and he did not believe for a moment that Bedelia had come across Àed by chance.

  Finn was overjoyed to have Àed and Bedelia returned to her . . . if only it had been under better circumstances. They would either be two more people for her to protect, or two more people to watch her fail. It would be dark soon. Their fates would be decided.

  The forthcoming battle weighed heavily on her mind as she led Àed and Iseult into the main entry chamber of the fortress, shutting the heavy wood and iron door behind them. She knew she would need to use the shroud and all of her alleged power to defeat the Dearg Due and Goblins, and whatever else might accompany them, but she wasn’t entirely sure if she was capable.

  She’d used her powers for destruction before, but they were unpredictable, likely linked to her emotions. They only ever seemed to surface when someone she cared about was in danger.

  She shook her head as she stopped and turned to Àed. Everyone she cared about was about to be in danger. The time to use her powers was now.

  “I cannae see anythin’ of use in here,” Àed commented, gazing around the barren space. “Except for perhaps the ghosts of the past. This place gives me the shivers.”

  Finn smiled down at him, fighting the overwhelming urge to hug him again. She knew she must focus on the task at hand, but . . .

  She dove in and hugged him, catching him off guard.

  “I’m filthy, lass!” he shrieked. “Yer goin’ to get the stench of the swamps on ye!”

  She pulled away, not at all caring about the stench. “Lets look out back,” she suggested. “There’s an overgrown garden, perhaps the Druids hid some supplies there.”

  “They were killed long ago,” Iseult commented as she began to walk toward the back end of the room. “I doubt their supplies could have lasted.”

  “Perhaps magical artifacts though,” Àed suggested. “Ye never know.”

  Finn suspected he was simply humoring her, but she continued to lead the way regardless. They couldn’t just sit around and wait for the attack if there was even the slightest chance the Druids had left behind something that might help them.

  She journeyed through the adjoining corridor down to its end, then pushed a heavy door open into the gardens she’d found earlier that morning.

  She stepped outside and surveyed the overgrown vegetation. A few plants still bore fruit, though most had been choked out by the same heavy vines covering the exterior walls.

  As overgrown as it was, the garden instantly instilled her with a sense of peace. It was bordered by a tall stone wall, though not as tall as the outer walls of the fortress. One could scale it easily enough.

  Iseult remained at her side as Àed began to inspect the garden. “When did you find this?” he asked quietly.

  She turned toward him. His expression was unreadable like always, but there was perhaps a hint of something else there. Worry? Unease? She could not tell.

  “This morning,” she explained, “while you surveyed the rest of the grounds with Eywen. It was almost as if it called to me.”

  “I can see why!” Àed called from across the space. He was tugging at a particularly dense cluster of vines. He gave a final hard tug, causing them to snap, flinging him down into the grass.

  Finn rushed toward him, worried he was hurt, but halfway there she stopped in her tracks. Àed’s action had revealed a small stone pillar, covered in archaic writing and topped with a large green gem. The gem seemed to pulse with light.

  She had only stared at it for a moment when Iseult placed himself between her and the gem, facing the pillar as if it might attack. “Stay back,” he ordered. “We know not what it might do. It could be a trap.”

  Àed hobbled to his feet, then approached the pillar, ignoring Iseult’s warning.

  Her hands on Iseult’s arm, she leaned to peer around him.

  Àed hovered his withered hand over the glowing green gem. “There’s some magic within it,” he explained, “though I cannae tell its purpose.”

  Finn watched as the pulsing green glow created patterns on Àed’s face in the growing darkness. Her instincts told her the magic wasn’t malevolent, but she also had no idea what good it might do them.

  Her gaze lingered for a moment more on the stone, then dropped to the stone pillar supporting it. She walked around Iseult and took a few steps closer, then knelt. She traced her fingers along markings etched into the stone.

  She realized with a start that she recognized the language. “It’s a charm stone,” she explained distantly. “Minor in power, but said to bring its holder a connection to nature deities. It’s very old.”

  Àed tilted his wizened head as he observed her. “How do ye know that, lass?”

  Remaining on her knees, she pointed to the pillar. “The inscription is a prayer to Druantia, a forest goddess. This pillar is an offering to her, a way of drawing her magic into the garden.”

  Iseult knelt beside her, then shook his head. “There are no words there.” He reached a hand out to run down the pillar. “It’s only smooth stone.”

  Perplexed, she stood and placed a hand atop the glowing gemstone. The plants shivered around her, and a voice echoed in her head, Greetings, Oak Child.

  She gasped, then looked back and forth between Àed and Iseult. “Did either of you hear that?”

  They both looked at her as if she’d sprouted a second head.

  It’s been a long time since one of my children reached out to me, the voice continued. The stone was growing warm beneath her hand, but she feared if she released it, the voice would rescind.

  Only the strongest survived, the voice continued, those like you. The strongest of the Druids became Dair, true Children of the Oak, but the Dair do not come here anymore.

  She tilted her head, confused. She knew there were other Dair besides her tribe, but had started to believe they did not return along with her people, as they were yet to reveal themselves.

  They live, the voice answered, reading her thoughts. They hide, awaiting a true queen to return them to the earth, as they are meant to be.

  “Finn,” Iseult began, but she held up a hand to silence him.

  The rain began to fall again, dampening her hair and making the gemstone slick beneath her pa
lm.

  “I don’t understand,” she said out loud. “Why are you telling me this?”

  You seek your magic, do you not? the voice questioned. Magic to fulfill the prophecy, to grant rebirth to the land. Three magical queens will come to live in the same time, and their blood shall grant a rebirth.

  “I want to protect my friends,” she said out loud. “Whatever that might entail.”

  Iseult and Àed both watched her intently, but did not speak.

  To protect is not your destiny, the voice replied. It is not your place to decide the fates of mortals.

  Finn shook her head. “I don’t care about destiny. I will protect them.”

  Even if you bring chaos to the land?

  She narrowed her gaze at the green stone beneath her hand. It might have been selfish, but she cared more about those within the fortress than any without.

  “Yes,” she answered. “Even then.”

  So be it, the voice replied.

  Finn felt as if a presence had suddenly left her. As she tuned back into reality, she could hear shouting on the other side of the fortress. The last hints of sunlight blinked out of existence behind the tall fortress wall.

  “Someone approaches the gates,” Iseult observed, tilting his head to listen. “We thought we had at least some time after dark before they arrived.”

  Finn slowly lowered her hand from the stone, which had gone dark. She turned her gaze to Iseult. “I think my people were once Druids,” she explained, still perplexed, “but they became what they are now to survive. They made a choice to no longer fulfill the purpose for which they were born.”

  Àed watched her cautiously. “Well Druids or no, we should see who approaches. If it’s the Dark Faie, we must be prepared.”

  She nodded. Feeling as if she were in a dream, she peered down at the darkened stone.

  Iseult placed a hand at the small of her back. “We should go.”

  She nodded again, then allowed him to lead her back toward the fortress door. The voice’s words lingered in her head. Three magical queens will come to live in the same time, and their blood shall grant a rebirth.

  It went in line with Slaine’s prophecy, except that the voice had said nothing about two dying so the third might live. Perhaps it meant that none needed to die. Or, perhaps it meant they all did.

  She walked back into the fortress with Àed and Iseult right behind her. Part of her knew there would come a time when she had to become like her people in order to fight them, to be strong.

  That time had come.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Kai waited atop the fortress wall with Anna. She’d seen something magical coming their way, but whatever it was had not moved close enough to be spotted with their eyes. In the stables below, protected by the wall, Finn’s unicorn snorted and stomped, clearly agitated. He briefly wondered if the animal would prove useful against the Dark Faie, but quickly dismissed the idea. It wasn’t like they could bring the unicorn up on the wall, and putting her outside of it would be akin to sacrificing her. It would be best to just leave her in the stables where Finn could reach her if necessary.

  Tired of peering into the growing darkness, Kai turned his sights further along the wall. Eywen, his few Aos Sí warriors, and Bedelia stood a few paces away, bows held at their sides for what good it would do them. The Dearg Due were impossibly fast, and seemed impervious to pain.

  Their only real hope were the Faie that Finn had recruited. They were allegedly in the surrounding forest below, lying in wait, though Kai could not see them. For all he knew, they had all run off.

  “Where in the blazes is Finn?” Anna asked, glancing over her shoulder with abrupt, irritated movements. Her black braid was slick with moisture, and droplets slid down her sharp cheekbones.

  Kai turned at the sound of echoing footsteps leaving the fortress behind them. Finn, Iseult, and Àed hurried across the courtyard.

  A loud trill cut through the evening air, whipping Kai’s gaze forward. “I thought the Pixies said they were hours away,” he gasped.

  Anna looked at him, perplexed, and he remembered she’d been unconscious for their previous encounter. She would not recognize the hunting call.

  “It’s the Dearg Due,” he explained. “They’re coming.”

  As one, the Aos Sí lifted their bows.

  Kai focused on one end of the wall as Finn, Iseult, and Àed reached the top of the adjacent stairwell, then hurried toward him and Anna.

  His attention on Finn, Kai jumped as something crashed down on the wall behind him, then relaxed upon hearing the chitter of Naoki’s beak. He glanced over his shoulder at the small dragon, though he supposed she couldn’t really be considered small anymore. She seemed to be growing by the day, and was nearly the size of a small pony now.

  He looked back at Finn as the group reached them. Everyone remained silent, tension thick in the air.

  Finn peered into the darkness, her long hair blowing freely in the cool breeze. Kai admired how the moonlight glinted in her dark hazel eyes, before joining the others in scouring the darkness for signs of the enemy.

  Àed moved past Finn toward the parapet, squinting to see further into the darkness. “I can sense them not far off,” he muttered.

  Standing behind Finn, Iseult placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you ready?”

  She nodded, then lifted the bottom edge of her tan tunic to untie the Faie Queen’s shroud from her waist. She lifted the ragged, dirty fabric in her hands.

  “They’re closing in,” Anna hissed, her eyes darting from shadow to shadow.

  A group of Pixies flew up out of the darkness to hover around Finn. “We are prepared,” one of them chimed. “We will attack on your signal.”

  As Finn nodded, Kai spotted dozens of reflective eyes within the deeper shadows of the nearby trees.

  “I don’t believe this is the hunting party the Pixies spotted,” Eywen observed, sidling closer to them with his eyes trained on the trees, bow at the ready, “unless they left the Goblins behind. Goblins have a particular stench about them that carries on the wind. My nose tells me they are nowhere near.”

  “Why aren’t they attacking?” Kai whispered.

  “Perhaps because Finnur is awake this time,” Eywen replied. “Or perhaps they wait for reinforcements.”

  “Comforting,” Kai muttered, though it was anything but. He couldn’t help wondering if the particular Dearg Due who’d attacked him was out there right now, staring at him from the trees.

  “Something else is coming,” Anna hissed. “Something . . . big.”

  “I am ready,” Finn muttered, barely loud enough for Kai to hear. She clutched the shroud so tightly her knuckles turned white. Naoki sat behind her on her haunches like a giant obedient dog.

  An earsplitting shriek echoed across the dark marsh. Kai’s blood ran cold. The cluster of Pixies hovering around them cried out.

  “What was that?” he gasped.

  The Dearg Due watching them from the trees seemed to shift.

  “Bows at the ready!” Eywen shouted.

  Iseult unsheathed his sword, though little good it would do them unless the Dearg Due scaled the wall . . . which they might. At the thought, Kai unsheathed his daggers. He would not go down without a fight.

  The shriek sounded again, followed by the sound of breaking branches, no, breaking tree trunks. The snaps thundering toward them were too loud to be smaller branches.

  Clenching his daggers, Kai’s gaze darted toward the rustling treetops, their upper leaves illuminated by moonlight. Whatever this massive beast was, it was heading this way.

  The shriek sounded again, then a burst of fire blasted forth from the trees far left of the Dearg Due.

  “Fire-spitter!” Eywen called out to his men. “Everyone! Down behind the parapet!”

  Kai didn’t have to be told twice. He took hold of Finn and dove to the stones beneath their feet, just as a wash of flame hit the wall, splashing over their heads. Naoki chittered in fear,
curled up against Finn’s side with her long neck folded back against her body.

  The heat was almost unbearable. Kai broke out in an instant sweat as his body pressed down on top of Finn’s, with Anna and Iseult right beside them. He couldn’t see Àed, but could hear him cursing somewhere near his feet. Most of the Pixies had dropped to the ground for safety, but Kai believed he counted a few less than there were before.

  “It’s a Caorthannach!” Eywen shouted. “Aim for the eyes!”

  Now that the flames had passed, Kai lifted his head just enough to see Eywen climbing to his feet with his men and Bedelia.

  Kai released Finn, then stood, crouching low in case he needed to duck behind the parapet once more. He leaned forward to peer over the edge, just as something heavy thudded into the base of the wall.

  He braced himself against the quaking reverberation, then looked down at a long, serpent-like creature, grunting while scratching at the base of the wall with long, ink-black talons. The creature was nearly tall as a horse, but as long as five, with four spindly legs topped with pointed black scales. It jerked its lizard-like head up to meet Kai’s gaze, then puffed smoke through its nostrils, just as the first volley of arrows hit it, most of them bouncing off its hard scales.

  “Tell the Faie to wait,” Finn frantically instructed the Pixies. “Let us try to defeat the creature with arrows. Any on the ground will not stand a chance against its flames.”

  The Pixies buzzed away to deliver the message, unnoticed by the great serpent.

  “Fire again!” Eywen shouted. “The eyes are its only weakness!”

  Snarling in agitation, the creature crouched, ready for a pounce.

  “Down!” Kai shouted, pulling Finn down well beneath the wall. Everyone was crouched as the creature’s snout appeared at the top of the wall, spewing flames over their heads.

  The heat washed over the crouched group, then died away. The fire-spitter, as Eywen had called it, couldn’t leap high enough to pull itself over the wall, so it was trying to roast them alive instead.