by Bonnie Watts
“Give him a good knock in the head if he needed it so he didn’t say anything wrong?” I smile at her.
She smiles back at me. “Exactly.” The smile drops off. “Until one of my enemies managed to set it up so the King got angry and hit one of my brother’s hounds.”
“Yes, he told me that’s why he left the court, so he wouldn’t embarrass you.”
“That and to keep himself safe from those same enemies, Lady Dragon-Spears.”
“Please call me Jerrie. Any debt owed has been paid, Ceresa. For today, your gifts to me, my sidhe lion-dogs, saved my life from a magical attack. Beauty and Courage lived up to their heritage.”
The queen smiles and leans over to pick up my little general, who of course had managed once more to get through a closed door into the room.
“She is one of the brightest ones I’ve ever bred. I am glad she served her purpose."
“She’s done more than that. She’s become one of my generals. She also has a real knack for bringing the testosterone-laden down to what she thinks are their proper places. They’re her loyal servants, waiting on her tail and paws.”
Ceresa laughs and snuggles Beauty for a few seconds, then puts her down. “Good for her.”
“Now, if you will let me, I would like to examine you to see if your difficulty in conceiving is organic in nature, if I may.”
I motion to my examining table, and the Queen climbs on it and lies down.
I go into the elf’s body with my healing magic, moving down to where her reproductive organs are. Instead of the healthy tissue I expect to see, I feel the foul darkness of a spell shriveling up the seeley queen’s womb and ovaries. The filth of it tries to stick to my magical “hands” as I scan her, like chewing gum on the bottom of a shoe. Nasty.
“Ceresa, you’ve been spelled to render your female parts unproductive. It’s pretty vile and designed to spread. More than likely your husband has been affected by it as well. Heck, you might have gotten it from him in the first place. Whoever conjured this was trying hard to make both of you sterile, I think.”
The woman under me stiffens. “How would it have been placed, Jerrie?”
“Only one way that I can see. Forgive me for such a personal question, but has your husband or you been with other partners? It probably spread from that, acting like a venereal disease, as unpleasant as that sounds.”
“The king has been with a few others. I have not. Elven mores are more relaxed than the short-lived races. When I couldn’t conceive again, Gwiddion took a few mistresses to try to get a child on them. It didn’t work, and he stopped trying so as not to be confirmed as sterile. Being labeled so would be enough for our enemies to force him to abdicate the throne.”
I bring up a battle shield around myself and the queen. “This shield will protect you from any backlash. I’m going to try to destroy the spell. It isn’t a situation of simple healing anymore.”
I use my reddish-orange offensive magic like a knife, cutting off the foul stuff in the queen and burning it away afterwards. During the operation, the spell attempts both to latch on to me by crawling up my magic as well as attacking my patient’s body in retaliation to my assault. The shield around her stays strong, thank goodness. Once all the blackness is destroyed, I send my healing magic back inside Ceresa and heal the damage that was done to her. There is a lot of mutilation, but since nature always prefers to move the physique back towards healthiness, I finally do manage to cure her. Whether she’s going to be able to have another child is yet to be seen.
Drooping in fatigue from all the magic I used today, I say to my patient, “You should be fine now. But the king and everyone else who is infected needs to be healed, or you’ll just become re-infected again the next time you have relations with him. Did you go to a healer in the court to get checked previous to this?”
“I did. Once, about a century ago. She said everything was all right then.”
“Do you trust her?”
“I thought I could, but now I’m not so sure.”
The look on the seeley queen’s face is rather frightening, actually. I wouldn’t want this lady pissed at me, that is for sure.
“Do you need my help to track this down to its source or to heal your afflicted?”
“My thanks for your kind offer, Jerrie, but this is seeley court business. Since I am now aware there are several traitors in my court who would deny fertility to all of us in order to grab power, I know how to proceed from here. Our healer priestesses should have no problems doing what you have done for me.”
She stands up, straightening her dress. “Where is my brother?”
“Most likely at the kennels. I’ll show you the way.”
I got up to do so and nearly blacked out. I sat back down quick, calling Lucifer to bring Cirwin to take Ceresa home.
“Are you well, Jerrie?”
“I expended too much magic today breaking dark spells. Forgive me for not seeing you out.”
“No forgiveness needed.” She nods at me. “I will send someone in to assist you.”
Jeff enters a few minutes later and helps me to my bed where I crash out and don’t wake up for twelve hours.
I stand on a precipice overlooking a void. All around me are many barriers made up of layers of twinkling lights, like starlight, only thinner and more ephemeral. Within those layers are worlds. Life teems on some of them while on others nothing moves or breathes. The barriers are flexing constantly, moving towards each other in one motion, then flowing away again. My breath catches at the beauty of it all.
“This is what your Familiar sees every time he moves through dimensions.”
I glance up from the view to my father, who stands next to me. I smile and move into his arms for a hug. Finally pulling away, I look at the void again.
“This is another vision?”
He smiles. “You already know the answer to that, White Dragon.”
I stare into his brown eyes.
“Did you know what I was going to become?”
“Yes, since a vision I had at your birth. But not how it was going to happen. Otherwise I would have tried to stop the slaughter. I only realized it when I was dying, then I knew what needed to be done.”
“Could you have saved them? Georgie and Chaz?”
“No. It was all I could do to hide a portion of my power from that creature to help your sister use her Final Glory spell to send the magic to you.”
“What’s going to happen, Daddy? The vampire witch that killed you is only a tool to make me into the White Dragon. I know that now. Why haven’t I seen what’s coming? It’s related to this, isn’t it?” I wave out to the void.
“Yes.”
“An invasion like the air elementals?”
“Yes, but worse than them.”
“Worse than them? They nearly destroyed the world!”
“They wouldn’t need a White Dragon if the world wasn’t at risk.”
“I need details, Dad, not riddles! If I don’t know what we’re fighting, how can I prepare?”
“You’re fighting us, Jerrie, or what we were before the Great Magics limited the amount of magic a witch could be born with. Great warrior mages from a dimension similar to ours are learning how to pierce the barriers of the void. Soon they will come looking for a new world with magic to exploit. They’ll destroy the Great Magics and conquer this world, unless you stop them.”
“Right. Super Mages. Great. Then bringing back Sir Frederick, who actually fought them before, becomes extra important.”
I glance at my father, who is grinning.
“Why in the world are you smiling like that? This isn’t a smiling matter, Dad.”
“Not one word about not being strong enough this time?”
“Even if I’m not, it doesn’t matter. I’m all there is. Mom always said that complaining just wastes time that could be spent getting the task you are bitching about done.”
“That she did say, and you are definitely her daughter. You�
��re more than strong enough to fight this, Jerrie, do you know why?”
“No, why?”
“Because you, unlike your sister, inspire love along with loyalty. The people who follow you know that you’d give your life for them, as Georgie would also have done. But they also know that you love them, every dysfunctional one of them. Even down to that poor pathetic mad treeman who you tried twice to save. In the end, despite his crimes, you eased his pain and cried over the death of him and his kind. That compassion is the mark of a White Dragon, my lovely daughter. It’s why your sister gave her life and risked her soul for you in the end.”
“I guess it’s too much to ask when these super mages are coming, isn’t it?”
“Even the dead can’t see everything. But you’re on the right track, with reviving the wizard Torlean and Sir Frederick.” He hugs me again.
“I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too, kitten. We’re so very proud of you. Oh, and Georgie told me to tell you that she likes the dragon better than the seal.”
I snort. “She would. She always did like the biggest bad-asses around.”
I wake up from my long sleep refreshed, half hanging off the bed. My position is caused by Beauty, who is taking up most of my pillow, and Courage lying horizontally on the mattress and poking me with his little legs. It is amazing how much space these tiny dogs can take up.
“Hmmph. Now you’ve invited yourselves into the bed. Great. My mom is probably turning in her grave.”
I take a shower then head to the kitchen and ask for a meal. I’m starving after using so much magic. Of course it seems like I’m always starving now.
Hearing me moving around in the dining room, Jeff comes in from the library, a book in his hand.
“Hey, you look a lot better than you did. You were whiter than a sheet after you healed the Queen.”
“Destroying two powerful dark spells followed with two major healings will do it to a girl.”
I drink the entire glass of orange juice that appears in front of me.
“We need to call a meeting after I eat. I’ve had a vision and I know what’s coming. I want Cerwin, Lainn, Dragon, Roc, Maggie and of course, Beauty there. Tor, you need to tie in Fred as well. Jeff, did you send out the meeting requests?”
“I did. I got responses from both court ambassadors. I also sent out a request to the head of the hobgoblin community here in Avalon and requested that Roc be our liaison. Their leader, Frome, okayed it. The druid community has assigned Auralis as our liaison.”
“Good. Should we get the djinns involved too?”
Dragon spoke up from behind me.
“The djinns are rather antisocial Jerrie. They would kill and eat any messenger you sent, unless it is me, of course.”
I look away from my food and at Dragon. He certainly is good-looking, with his broad shoulders and muscular chest and arms. Just my sister Georgie’s type.
“After this meeting, I’ll let you decide whether we should get them involved. Can we get everyone here soon for the meeting? I prefer to tell my vision just once.”
After I finish eating, we head into the living room. I smile at my friend the druid Auralis when he comes in. He is a druid healer I’d helped when I first got here.
“Auralis, how’s Athena doing?”
Athena is Auralis’ girlfriend, a vampire who has given up drinking human blood to study druidism. She survives on animal blood now, but I suspect that Auralis lets her drink from him occasionally, despite his druid’s vows.
The elderly druid blushes. “She is well, Jerrie. Now that we are back in the nest, she is quite content. Our new head druid, Tolbin, values her wisdom and experience greatly.”
The new druid leader should value her knowledge. Athena had been turned before the advent of the Greek gods and actually was the model for the god Athena.
By that time everyone is here and have made themselves comfortable. Beauty and Courage jump onto the sofa and sit on each side of me like black bookends. Lucifer lies on the floor by my feet.
“I had a vision while I was sleeping after healing Torq.” I don’t mention Queen Ceresa.
I turn to Roc.
“How is he doing, by the way?”
The hobgoblin guardian has a voice that is surprisingly light for his seven foot size.
“He woke up with an ache in his head, Jerrie, as you told Cuchulainn he would. We questioned him. He never got to the unseeley court when he left here. He was magicked on the bus getting there. He has no memory of who did it, he just woke up outside the mound. His family never sent him a message. He traveled back here, entered the gate, then the spell triggered. He told us he was aware but couldn’t stop himself from attacking you. He understands that he owes you his life.”
“We sensed that it was a demon that spelled him, Roc. We’re setting up a meeting with the top demon now. I figured you would like to be a part of that meeting?”
Roc growled. Hobgoblins were big, green, and had horns and tusks. He looks quite fierce when he is pissed.
“Yes, I would like to be there.”
“You’ll need to let me take the lead if you go, Roc. No anger acted on. That’s what Lucifer wants, an excuse to attack, and we can’t give him one.”
“Aye, my Lady. I’ll follow the White Dragon’s lead.”
I tell them about my vision.
“Super mages?” Dragon asks.
“Well, that’s what I call them. I gather from what my father was saying that they’ll be coming from another dimension, a type of parallel world a lot like ours, except that there, the Great Magics weren’t put into place to limit magic. They destroyed their world with their wars, and now they’re looking for a new one to exploit.”
“Cirwin, you did mention that the type of familiar that chooses a White Dragon is indicative of the kind of hazard the world will face. These mages can manipulate the void and jump dimensions, which is why the White Dragon’s Familiar is a creature who can do so as well, don’t you think?”
The elf nods. “I believe that to be true.”
“Right. I thought the same thing. We might need the demons and their hounds to patrol and fight in the void.”
I look at Roc. “I think your people will be crucial to this fight as well, Roc. Your magic resistance will make the hobgoblins ideal serving as special forces against magical enemies.”
“I will speak with Frome, my Lady. The Hobgoblin guardians are ready to swear to your service after what you did for Torq. Frome still has contacts with our people in the unseeley court. She can send out a message to them calling for volunteers as well.”
“We’ll have you set up a conference for us with her in the near future to get everything started. I’ll be meeting with the seeley and unseeley Ambassadors soon, and we’ll let them know what’s coming. Auralis, when I healed Torq, it took a tremendous amount of magic because of his resistance. Can I have you work with the hobgoblin guardians to research the best way we can get around that problem for healing purposes? If they’re called to fight, I want us to be able to heal them. They are too precious to waste their lives in this conflict if we can help it.” I smile at a blushing Roc.
“My healers will be happy to do so. I’ve treated a few of Frome’s people during my time here and have made notes. I’ll get with her to do some more in-depth studies. Their resistance comes from an inert shield they are born with. Magic usually just slides off them. If they learn to temporarily take down that barrier, we can get in with our healing with no problem. It may be just a simple training issue, I hope.”
“Excellent! If you need me to help, just let me know.”
He nods absently, his mind already on the project I gave him. The hobgoblins are in good hands.”
“Dragon, Cirwin, are there any more resistant species that you know of?”
“Griffins were resistant to air magic.” Cirwin answers. “However, I believe that they have become extinct in the last two thousand years.”
“Dragons ar
e resistant, of course, but there is only me and you when you mature into a dragon shifter. I believe kobalds and red hats are fairly difficult to spell as well, and the djinn are extremely resistant because they’re made of magical essences.”
“Magical essences?”
“Of course. They were created by the old mages before the Great Magics were put in place. They were slaves then and were called golems. Now they are a unique people like shifters and dragons are.”
“In that case, we are definitely bringing them in to this. They have a lot of motivation for fighting these super witches. Not wanting to be re-enslaved is a powerful incentive.”
Dragon nods. “I agree. We’ll visit them soon.”
Jeff points out, “Demons are also strongly resistant to dark magic. You know this makes our plan to raise Sir Frederick and Tor even more crucial, Jerrie. The Founder was instrumental in the fight against the mages of his own time. We need to move on that soon.”
Lucifer, can you please go see how soon Liam will be finished? We need to get going on our planning.
Lucifer go get brownie after this.
I said, “Lucifer says he’ll go to check on Liam after the meeting. Jeff, now that we have an idea what’s coming, I really need to meet with the demon Lucifer. If you don’t hear from the demons by the end of today, then I don’t see a choice. I’m going to have to go to Hell to speak with him myself.”
“It is unwise to meet with them on their home territory, Jerrie. That is where they’re at their most powerful.”
“We have to get them to the table somehow, Dragon. If I bring you, Jeff, Roc and Lainn along, we should be fine.”
A strident bark turned everyone’s eyes to the diminutive Beauty.
Beauty says we need to take her and Courage to see demons.
No way. It’s too dangerous even for our brave-hearted lion dogs.
She says they have to go, or the meeting will end bad.
I don’t want anything to happen to them, Lucifer. I love them.
They have chosen you. If they wish to risk their lives for you, then that also is their choice. We will take them.
“Lucifer says that Beauty is insisting that she and Courage come along to meet with the demons. She’s saying that the meeting won’t end well unless they go. After what happened yesterday, I’m inclined to believe her. Besides, Lucifer isn’t giving us a choice. He’s insisting we take them. Cirwin, we’ll need carrier bags for them.”