by Amy Sumida
“I do not claim to know the motivations of a person consumed by such depths of evil,” Eimhir said stiffly. “But I assure you, King Torin, Eileen of Copper is guilty. We have found remnants of her presence predating the poisoned trees and the first reports of missing fairies.”
“What kind of remnants?” Gage asked.
“Energy signatures that we can now identify as hers,” Eimhir said. “Also, there have been footprints found in her size, and testimony from the trees. But the most damning evidence comes from the Amber. It communicates with us; telling us what we need to know about our land.”
“And it says that Eileen is guilty?” I asked.
“Not in so many words, but yes,” Eimhir said evasively.
“In what words then?” I pushed. “What did Amber say to you exactly?”
“You have no reason to distrust us,” Ceanag snapped. “We allowed you into Primeval, and now I have shown you every room in the Amber Temple. How dare you question our honesty!”
“Queen Elaria is being thorough,” Eimhir said sweetly to Ceanag before answering me. “The Amber said that Copper had brought her evil to Primeval. Is that clear enough for you?”
“No, not really.” I scowled. I personally knew how tricky it could be to interpret messages from magical presences. Speaking of which... “Give me one second to confirm with Kyanite.”
I turned my attention inward and called to Kyanite. When I felt his presence in my mind, I silently asked him if what Eimhir said was true.
She has reported accurately, Kyanite said. Amber does not indicate any falsehood. But it is unlike other stones—both solid and fluid at once—and it communicates differently with me. I get only images from it. Eimhir's words may be true, but I cannot be certain if her message is. She may be misleading you. I advise caution.
Well, that was unsettling. I silently asked Kyanite if Eileen was responsible for the poisoned trees.
I do not know. There is not enough of me here to probe my memories. All I know for certain is that the poison is spreading, and something must be done to stop it.
“You say that you've been investigating,” I lifted my head to speak to Eimhir again. “What were the recent events that led you to suspect Eileen?”
“Ah; now there's a good question.” Eimhir nodded approvingly. “Amber showed us images of Eileen with a group of fairies. They had captive barghest children and Blooders.”
Banning sat forward with a growl.
“I see that you already suspected Eileen,” Eimhir noted. “Shall we not work together to find this traitor queen and the missing people? Then you can gather your information and make your own conclusions.”
“Either way, we want Eileen,” Torin said.
“So, there's no reason to split our efforts,” Eimhir said reasonably. “Let us unify and battle this villain together.”
The others agreed, but I continued to stare at Eimhir. This felt odd to me—off. No one throw open s their doors and takes you on a tour through their temple after you've traipsed across a forest to accuse them of kidnapping and tree-murder. And Eimhir was way too sweet. I trusted the leanan-sidhe and redcap more for their honest antagonism than I did the dryad's charm. But when the others looked at me for my opinion, I nodded and went along. There was nothing else for me to do. Either way, we had to go where the Trinity led us... for now.
Chapter Fifteen
We were offered rooms for the extent of our investigation and were invited to join the Trinity for dinner. Since we had to wait for the rest of our party to catch up with us and we had no other leads, we decided to take them up on their hospitality. The investigation would continue in the morning, but for the moment, we'd be taking a break.
“Thank the stones,” Torin said after we'd been shown to our massive suite. “I couldn't take much more of that amber.”
The color did get a little overpowering, and then there was the thrum of energy running through the place. It was like the crackle of electricity you can hear when you get too close to a light bulb, except it was felt instead of heard. But our suite was paneled in wood with carpets laid across the floor. Only the ceiling showed the underlying amber, and the barriers helped to tone down the vibrations. We stood in a central, socializing area with bedrooms branching off it. Our entire group was being lodged in this one set of suites, and that was fine with me. I liked having us all together; it would be easier to fight or flee if we had to.
“I'm in full agreement,” Declan said as he rubbed his temples. “I can still feel it, but at least it's dampened.”
“And at least we can't see so much of it,” Cerberus added. “It's a nice color and all, but after awhile I started to feel like a fly trapped in honey.”
“So, all of you can feel the power in the amber?” I asked them.
“It's significant,” Odin said. “It must come from the forest directly.”
“Can the Trinity use this power?” I asked Reyne.
“No more than any of us can.” Reyne shrugged.
“What's that supposed to mean?” Gage asked.
“Any fairy can connect with our world,” Reyne explained with a wave toward the Shining Ones. “It gives of itself freely. You just need to know how to access that gift.”
The Shining Ones nodded in agreement.
“But can any of the Trinity connect through this amber?” I said as I laid my hand on the wood paneling to illustrate my point.
A zap of energy shot through the wood and into my palm. I jerked back with a hiss.
“What the fuck?” I growled at the wall.
“What happened?” Banning came over to inspect my hand.
“The fucking wall zapped me like a bug,” I grumbled.
It's merely saying hello, Kyanite said in my mind. The pain was an accident.
“Hello?” I huffed. “That's a hell of a greeting.”
“What?” Banning scowled at me.
“I'm talking to Kyanite,” I explained.
“What is your stone saying?” Torin asked.
“That Amber was saying hello.” I glared at the wall. “Hi, Amber, reel back the energy, please.”
We all gasped as the thrumming power around us lessened and faded.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
See? It likes you.
“I guess so,” I muttered.
I strode through the room, heading out to the balcony. An amazing view of the sea spread out before me, but I ignored it. I was too intent on finding an unpaneled wall; one where I could touch the amber. The group followed me to the archway that led onto the balcony, then stopped to watch as I laid my palm onto the amber directly.
I inhaled sharply as images bombarded my mind. The castle walls flew by as I fell through the floors, dropping down further and further until I was tunneling through the earth itself. I saw the golden columns of amber turn into liquid sap, and I flowed along a river of it. The river surged away from the temple, deeper and deeper into the ground until it emptied into a massive lake of sap.
The heart.
I dove into the sticky heart of Primeval; the blood of the forest which held the magic of Tír na nÓg. Not the gem magic, but the power of the planet itself. Soil and sap; like blood and bone. This was the life of the world. There, I floated; my mind merging with the consciousness of the forest. A feeling of endless peace washed over me, and time stretched forward and backward from where I floated. Eternity was a river, and I was caught in one of its pools. The magic of Tír na nÓg streamed in all directions, and I had the feeling that if I could just understand it, I could see the future.
Then something bit me. I flinched and flailed, turning to see what was attacking me. An inky ribbon hovered before me, its sharp tip angled up, ready to strike again. I tried to move away, but my body wouldn't respond. I wasn't really there; this was a vision given to me by Amber, and my body was just a projection of my soul. So, I went where Amber took me; which happened to be up. I rose; following the trail of darkness upward, through the earth a
nd back to the surface.
The river I swam within split; two, four, eight, sixteen; it multiplied over and over and went in all directions—arteries racing out from the heart. The black lines split with them, and I saw the darkness flow up into the roots of the massive trees. Up I went with it; into a tree. There, the blackness thickened—tearing apart the living wood—and became that awful sludge. I oozed out of the bark with it; an acidic venom dripping back into the earth.
As soon as the soil covered me, I went rushing back to the Amber Temple; a horrible pain and urgency filling me. The trees formed circuits with the heart; sending sap back to replenish what was sent into them. Along the way, I saw those streams of sap flowing toward the heart, but the infected veins were broken; curled in on themselves. I looked around the golden network surrounding the sap heart and noted all of the shriveled, black veins. Then I surged up into my body and opened my eyes to see the solid amber wall before me. My body ached with the pain I'd been shown; as if just my spiritual travel through that filth was enough to bruise me. That and the speed of the vision, which was enough to leave me reeling.
Declan's hands steadied me, and his cheek pressed against mine. “Breathe deeply, sweetheart. Just focus on breathing; don't speak yet.”
I did as he suggested; breathing through the disorientation. Then I turned in his arms and hugged him; tears pouring down my cheeks. Declan didn't try to comfort me with words; he merely held me and rocked me gently. I felt my other consorts circle us, and then they laid their hands on me. Our connection blossomed, and I was able to pull on their strength. I took another, steadier breath before I eased away from Declan.
“If the poison isn't coming from the temple directly, it's from somewhere very close,” I said.
“It can't be from here,” Torin said. “They showed us every room in this place, and there was nothing that could cause a forest to die.”
“Or did they?” Gage asked skeptically. He cast a look toward the other Griffins, and they nodded in agreement. “That tour felt incomplete to me.”
“You're right,” Cerberus agreed. “That bitch made a big show of taking us around. It's a stage magician's trick; 'Look over here, look over here!'”
“While they slide a piece of a playing card into your shoe,” Torin finished with a sage nod.
Cerberus scowled in confusion.
“You had to be there.” I smirked. “Street performer.”
“Ah; the old playing card in the shoe trick.” Cerberus laughed. “That's right, Onyx King; I think that fairy Blooder was trying to slip a card into our shoes. She was definitely hiding something.”
“Fairy Blooder?” Banning groaned. “Come on, Cer.”
“That's what she is, man.” Cerberus shook his head unsympathetically. “She's a fairy who drinks blood. At least you ain't related.”
“Very few Blooders are related,” Banning huffed. “We're created, not born.”
“Can someone please explain to me what's being said right now?” Reyne asked with wide eyes; the leaves around his face shivered with agitation.
“They think the Trinity has tricked us into believing that we've seen every room in this temple; when in fact, we have not,” Odin explained.
“Oh.” Reyne nodded. “Well, I can assure you that they showed us every room that I know of. If there is a space that is hidden, then they created it themselves.”
“Interesting,” I murmured.
“What else did Amber say to you?” Declan asked.
“She didn't speak; only gave me visions,” I explained. “I saw a heart of sap, collected from all of the trees of Primeval. Sap flows down to the heart from the trees like veins, and then back out to the trees, refreshed with new magic, like arteries.”
“It's their way of sharing magic and life,” Reyne confirmed. “The trees are all connected. Which is why poison is so dangerous for them; especially if their sap carries the infection.”
“Yes, I saw that too,” I said. “A ribbon of infection twisted down from the surface and touched several arteries leading to the trees. But the poisoned trees have sacrificed themselves. They disconnected their veins going back to the heart. I saw blackened lines of sap that had been broken.”
“They're trying to save their brethren,” Reyne whispered sadly; tears springing to his eyes. “And all of us. We owe them our lives. If the infection had made it back to the heart, all of Primeval, and then all of Tír na nÓg would have sickened.”
We went silent for a moment; partially in honor of the trees which were dying so tragically and yet so valiantly, and partially to let the horror of it all sink in.
“Why would someone do this?” I whispered. “There is no benefit to it.”
“They probably didn't mean to,” Torin said.
“He's right,” Odin agreed when we all stared at Torin with skeptical grimaces. “Spells can have adverse reactions, and one of the most common side-effects of black magic is an evil taint which infects anything in its vicinity.”
“An evil taint?” I asked.
“Now, that sounds kinky,” Declan noted with a grin.
“All magic alters energy,” Odin explained, ignoring Declan. “Your intent, and the spell itself, factor into how the energy is manipulated. If your intent or the spell is dark, you will manifest a sinister aura. Those who delve into black magic have special rooms to cast their spells within. These rooms are usually lined with material made specifically to absorb the excess negativity the magic manifests while you direct the spell and release it onto your target. But, if you were to cast such spells without the proper precautions, you could infect your workspace, and that infection could spread if left untreated.”
“You think that someone is practicing dark magic without anything to absorb the negative byproducts?” I asked.
“Precisely,” Odin said. “If you saw it seep into the ground beneath this temple, it could be coming from here, but it also could be runoff from an altar in the forest.”
“Should we tell the Trinity?” Banning asked.
“I vote; no,” Gage said.
“So do I,” Reyne added.
“I think we're all in agreement,” Torin said. “We keep this information to ourselves for now. When we discover the source of the infection, we'll be able to determine who we can trust. For now, we're in the dark.”
“I wonder why Amber didn't speak to me,” I mused as I looked at the amber wall.
“She only speaks to the Strengths,” Reyne said. “Any fairy can touch Amber and feel her energy, but only the strongest among the lesser races can speak to her. They are similar to the Jewel Monarchs.”
“Oh, okay,” I murmured.
“But we do not get images from her, Your Majesty,” Reyne added. “We can sense things, but never are we shown them. She chose you, and she pushed past the boundaries separating you in order to show you those things.”
“Then I had better not let her down,” I said firmly.
Chapter Sixteen
Dinner had a dangerous undertone to it. We were led to the dining room by a burly redcap guard, and along the way, we spotted several more members of the Trinity Army. I had named them this in my head because they were indeed an army. Every face I passed was new, which meant that the guards had been rotated from the earlier shift. They were set in stationary positions as well as patrolling the halls. The Amber Temple was guarded better than Fort Knox. And yet there had been nothing of real value shown to us. The longer I was there, the more convinced I became that there was more to the temple than met the eye; or at least our eyes.
The dinner conversation was stilted and tense. Eimhir tried to be sweet; playing good Strength to the other two bad ones. But there was an obvious division, and although a truce had been agreed upon, I wasn't hopeful about its lifespan. By the time the meal was over, my shoulders were rock hard with anxiety. I was not accustomed to holding my tongue, and I'd had to do so several times throughout the evening.
“Perhaps they are innocent,” Torin
mused after we shut the suite door behind us.
We all turned to stare at him.
“If they were guilty, shouldn't they all be acting like Eimhir?” He pointed out. “Their very rudeness speaks on their behalf.”
“He has a point,” I grumbled. “But something feels wrong here. Maybe we should search the temple tonight.”
“They'll be on high alert tonight,” Declan said. “We don't want to spook them by roaming the temple, searching for hidden rooms.”
“He's right,” Odin said. “Let's pretend to trust them for now, and wait until the rest of our team joins us. At least then we'll have some reinforcements.”
“And perhaps it really is Eileen behind all of this,” Banning said. “Theo said he saw a red-haired woman; that does corroborate their story.”
“I can't think about this anymore.” I held up my hand to stop the conversation. “I need some rest. Let's talk about it in the morning.”
“Agreed,” Declan said as he walked over to me. “Goodnight, Elaria.” He kissed me sweetly and then headed to his room.
Banning and Gage did the same, leaving me to retire with Torin. I guess the night in the trees didn't count. Torin smiled at me and took my hand. We said goodnight to the others and went into our bedroom. As soon as the door closed behind us, Torin was on me.
I moaned into his mouth as we yanked the clothes from each other. I still had my panty around one ankle when Torin laid me on the bed. I kicked it off as he joined me, and he covered my body with his massive frame. I ran my hands over his thick biceps as his mouth met mine again; luxuriating in the feel of his muscles tensing as he held himself above me. The scent of his spicy skin covered me as he did, and the heavy weight of his silky, black hair swung forward against my cheek. I ran my hands through the straight length of it; pushing it back so I could see his striking face. High cheekbones, a narrow nose, and a rugged jaw; Torin almost looked Native American. But his skin was a touch too pale—even with the golden tones to it—and his eyes were too large. Then there was their color; an intense blue—like the deepest part of the sea. Torin set that cerulean stare on me as he angled his hips between mine.