Black Lament

by Christina Henry

  “I concur,” Nathaniel said.

  “If we go up, we’re going to get chased by trolls,” I said.

  “There are only two trolls and a whole lot of trees,” Beezle said. “Let’s take our chances.”

  Up above the monsters paused, their giant wings flapping. One of the creatures shouted at the other, which headed away toward the direction of the hill.

  “Maybe it went to get water to put out the trees,” I said.

  “Maybe it went to get the rest of its family,” Beezle said.

  “Okay,” I said, and we went up through the canopy.

  The trees slashed and grabbed at us, but I kept a steady stream of fire coming so that they couldn’t get a good hold. A few moments later we were through the top.

  The troll was waiting for us, of course.

  I blasted it full in the face with nightfire, and the spell bounced off the troll’s skin and careened into the trees, setting some more leaves on fire.

  “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that,” Beezle said. “Trolls are immune to magic spells.”

  “Are you kidding me?” I shouted. “You couldn’t have remembered this earlier?”

  “We will have to try to outrun it,” Nathaniel said grimly.

  The troll swooped toward us, its mouth open. It looked ready to scoop us out of the air with its tongue and swallow us whole.

  I waited until it was so close that I could smell the stink of its breath, and then I dropped rapidly, straight down. Nathaniel chose to go up, and the troll stopped for a moment, seemingly unsure of what had just happened.

  I shot straight up again, sword drawn, aiming for the troll’s belly. The blade struck true, piercing the creature’s abdomen. A gush of fluid poured from the wound, coating Beezle and me. I ignored Beezle’s howls and kept a secure grip on the sword, flying toward the creature’s back legs. All the while I pulled the sword through, until I’d run a nice neat line through the center of the monster.

  More goop poured out, and some large gray things that might have been organs. I yanked the sword out and got out of the way just in time.

  The troll plummeted toward the burning forest, crashing into the trees, tearing branches as it fell to earth.

  I hung in the air for a moment, panting from exertion. Nathaniel approached us, a look of concern on his face, and then he stopped when he got close. I couldn’t blame him. We smelled like troll guts.

  “That was utterly disgusting,” Beezle said, wiping at his eyes with his little fists. “You couldn’t find a less gooey way to kill the thing?”

  “You were the one who said it was impervious to magic,” I said. “Let’s get out of here before the other one comes back.”

  The forest below us swayed, and the angry clatter of branches told us that heading back to the ground wasn’t an option. Some more trees had ignited, and it seemed like the whole place was on the verge of a full-on conflagration.

  “We will have to fly to the edge of the forest,” Nathaniel said.

  All three of us looked ahead. The trees appeared to stretch on forever.

  “It’s got to end sometime,” I said with a hope I didn’t feel.

  We started off, flying as quickly as possible, always checking behind us for signs of the other troll.

  I don’t know how long we flew, but there was no break in the endless expanse of treetops. After a while Beezle started complaining.

  “I’m hungry,” he said.

  “How can you even think about food when you smell like that?” I asked.

  “My beak has gone numb, and it’s been hours since I’ve eaten anything,” he said.

  “That’s not true,” I said. “You had your face in a bag of chips while I was out trying to find Jayne Wiskowski’s soul, and you just ate the world’s biggest ice cream bar.”

  “But it’s been a really long time since then,” Beezle whined.

  “How long has it been?” I asked Nathaniel. I’d left the house without my cell phone, and I didn’t own a watch.

  “It’s difficult to say. I know it only seemed like a few moments that we traveled with Lord Lucifer, but it could have been hours. Time moves differently for him,” Nathaniel said.

  “Well, we can’t eat anything here,” I said to Beezle. “So you’re just going to have to suck it up.”

  My own stomach growled uncomfortably, and I desperately wanted a shower. But neither of those things would be forthcoming until we got out of this stupid country, and it seemed like we would never get to Titania and Oberon’s court.

  Then I looked down and saw the edge of the tree line and, about half a mile beyond, a little cabin beside a lake.

  “Thank the Morningstar,” I said, and started to descend toward the ground.

  I was exhausted. I didn’t often do a lot of long-distance flying, and the unfamiliar exercise plus the constant fatigue of pregnancy had worn me down.

  “Wait,” Nathaniel said, grabbing my shoulder. “We don’t know if there are friends or foes in that place.”

  “I don’t care,” I said. “I need to set down for a while or I’ll never make it.”

  “Yeah, and I’m going to jump in that lake and wash all over,” Beezle said.

  “Let me investigate first,” Nathaniel urged.

  I could see the wisdom of this, so I nodded, hanging in the air while he went to the ground to check things out.

  Nathaniel covered himself with a veil, and disappeared from sight.

  I couldn’t see what he was doing, but no alarm was raised by his actions, and after a few moments he reappeared in front of the cabin, waving us to the ground.

  “Bath time!” Beezle shouted, and dove for the lake.

  I followed more slowly. By the time I’d reached the ground Beezle had cannonballed into the pool of water and was happily splashing around like a puppy.

  “Any sign of who might live here?” I asked Nathaniel.

  He shook his head. “The cabin is empty.”

  I went to the window and peeked inside. There was a fire roaring in the fireplace, a pile of soft-looking furs on the floor before it. Steam rose from a silver bathtub in the corner of the room.

  “Did you set all that up?” I asked Nathaniel.

  He blinked. “Set what up?”

  “The bath and the fire and all that,” I said.

  “There is no bath or fire,” he said. “The cabin is bare of furniture or any sign that anyone might have ever lived here.”

  I looked back in the window. The tub and the fire and rug were still there.

  “Either I’m hallucinating or there’s something screwy going on here,” I said. “You don’t see anything inside there at all?”

  Nathaniel shook his head, a line forming between his eyebrows. “If you do, then there must be some magic here to lure you, and we should leave.”

  The cabin looked comfortable and inviting, as I’m sure it was meant to do. Especially if one was covered in dried troll slime and totally wiped out from a long-distance flight.

  “Let’s ask Beezle to take a look,” I said. “Beezle!”

  Beezle was floating on his back near the shore of the lake, his round belly pointed toward the sun. “What?”

  “Come over here and look at something for me,” I said.

  He heaved a long-suffering sigh and flew out of the water to join us. I nodded toward the window. “Look inside and tell me what you see.”

  The gargoyle flew closer, peering inside. “Ah. Yeah, you don’t want to go in there.”

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “This is the home of a gretewitch,” he announced.

  “A great witch?”

  “Yeah, like ‘Hansel and Gretel,’ you know. She’s trying to lure you inside with something you want. Kids like gingerbread houses, but you would see something else. Once you get in there, she’ll pop out from wherever she’s hiding and eat you up,” Beezle said.

  “What do you see when you look in there?” I asked curiously.

  Beezle sighed. “A
n all-you-can-eat buffet.”

  I laughed. “And you didn’t see anything, Nathaniel?”

  “No,” he said shortly.

  I was pretty sure he was lying and, if so, wondered why. Surely he wouldn’t want me to get eaten up by a witch? But it didn’t seem wise to hang around a witch’s house. She might decide not to wait for us to come inside.

  “I guess we have to continue on,” I said, looking sadly at the sparkling water of the lake. Washing off the muck would have to wait. “I don’t think I can fly, though. We’ll have to walk for a while.”

  We set off around the lake, which seemed as large and endless as Lake Michigan. After a very long while we came to the farthest shore. When I looked back I saw that the cabin was far out of sight.

  The sun had not moved its position in the sky the entire time we’d been in Titania and Oberon’s kingdom. The constant blaze of sunshine was starting to get annoying, and I was thirsty and tired.

  Before us was yet another field of tall grass and wildflowers and, at the end of it, a forest. A forest that looked a lot like the one we’d just come through. I could see a mother deer and her fawn foraging at the edge of the field.

  “Are you kidding me?” I said, my temper blazing to the surface. I shouted at the sky. “Are you kidding me? You want me to walk in circles until I’m crazy? Do you think I’ll fall for that?”

  “Who are you shouting at?” Beezle asked.

  “It’s an illusion,” I said.

  “Well, yes, we knew that. Remember I told you that the glamour was too deep to penetrate?”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s not a glamour to make a bad place look good. This whole path-to-the-court thing—it’s an illusion. Titania and Oberon are probably watching us walk around like idiots. There’s no forest, no hill, no lake, no troll, no witch. It’s not here at all.”

  As I said this, the ground beneath our feet trembled. Nathaniel grabbed my hand as I stumbled. There was the sound of trees falling in the forest ahead.

  Then the lake rose up behind us like a tidal wave, and before we could do anything, we were swept away.

  10

  THE WATER SMASHED INTO US, AND NATHANIEL gripped my hand tight as we went under. I kicked toward the surface and broke through, calling Beezle’s name. I couldn’t see him or hear him, but Nathaniel clutched my fingers like a vise. He wasn’t going to lose me.

  The lake had turned into a rushing river that was contained by a gorge. White stone cliffs rose high on either side of the water. We were tumbling through the water, pushed by the roaring current.

  “Beezle!” I called. “Beezle!”

  The swirls of water slammed us against the sides of the rock wall. I cried out as the jagged points bit through my shirt.

  “Beezle!” I shouted again.

  “Maddy!” He was behind us, flying above the surface of the water, trying to catch up.

  The sound of water seemed to grow louder, and I looked ahead of us in dread as we were tossed about like garbage.

  “Of course there’s a waterfall,” I muttered angrily as we sped toward the precipice and our certain doom. “Of course there’s a thrice-bedamned waterfall and I… have… had… ENOUGH!”

  My magic burst out of me, hot and angry, and just like that, the river was gone.

  Or rather, it wasn’t gone. Nathaniel and I stood in a dry riverbed, with the water crashing and pushing on either side without actually touching us. We were both soaked to the skin, and I was furious. I shook my fingers out of his grip.

  “Enough games!” I shouted. “I want to see Titania and Oberon, NOW!”

  Beezle came and landed on my shoulder just as the ground beneath our feet crumbled away.

  We were falling through a long dark hole, and it was freezing. Rocks and debris tumbled through with us. Flying particles of dirt made it hard to breathe. The rapidity of our descent made it impossible to contemplate trying to fly. It seemed like the air was pushing down on us, making us fall faster and faster.

  Beezle gripped my shoulder, digging in with his claws. “We’re going to die, we’re going to die,” he repeated over and over.

  “We are not going to die!” I shouted, but I was starting to wonder about that. We seemed to be moving faster with every passing second.

  “Madeline!” Nathaniel shouted, reaching for my hand again. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him, spreading his wings wide.

  I automatically struggled against him, but he wrapped his other arm around me.

  “Hold still,” he said through gritted teeth. “I am not trying to harm you. I am trying to slow us down.”

  And indeed, I could feel our descent slowing by increments. Nathaniel seemed to be straining hard against the press of the air from above, using his wings both to slow us and to protect me from the crash of rocks. More than once I heard the thud of debris against his wings, and saw the flutter of white feathers torn asunder.

  After a while we had slowed to a drift, and it was almost pleasant to float along in the air like a dandelion seed. Beezle’s death grip on my shoulder loosened.

  The tunnel seemed just as long and endless as everything else in this place, but we finally reached the ground. Nathaniel touched down softly, putting me down with great care. His hands lingered at my shoulders.

  “Are you well?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I said, feeling as awkward as I always did when he was kind to me. “Thank you.”

  He nodded. “You are welcome.”

  “Can we stop with the meaningful glances?” Beezle said. “There’s another tunnel, for Morningstar’s sake.”

  I pulled away from Nathaniel and looked around. We were, indeed, standing in another tunnel. This one looked like it was part of a rabbit’s warren. It was just a path dug through the underground—dirt on all sides, exposed roots, worms and bugs crawling in and out.

  It was just barely tall enough for Nathaniel to stand straight, and wide enough for two people. There were torches set at intervals along the path. The flickering flames cast strange shadows on the wall.

  “What is it with faeries and their stupid games?” I asked, trudging forward. Shouting at the sky had gotten me nowhere.

  “They’re old and have lots of time on their hands,” Beezle said, fluttering ahead of me.

  “I just want you both to know now that I am in a bad mood and I’m probably going to say and do things that are impractical, impolitic or just plain stupid when we finally get to the court,” I said.

  “We know,” Beezle said.

  “I would not expect any less of you,” Nathaniel said.

  “Because I can’t stand games. I cannot stand this stupid BS where they try to wear me out because they’re too cowardly to face me,” I said.

  Cowardly?

  The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. It was a part of the earth, but also a part of my own mind.

  I stopped and glared down the tunnel. “Yes, cowardly. You’re afraid to face me so you’ve trying to run me like a rat in a cage.”

  The king of Faerie fears nothing. Especially not Lucifer’s half-mortal whelp.

  “More like a quarter-mortal, actually,” I said. “So if you’re not scared, then why are you putting me through my paces? You think you’ll break me? I’ve faced a lot worse than your pathetic illusion.”

  Oh, really?

  In the darkness, away from the light of the flames, something growled.

  “You couldn’t wait to piss him off until we were out of the dangerous tunnel?” Beezle complained.

  “I was trying to get us out of the dangerous tunnel by pissing him off,” I muttered, drawing my sword.

  Beside me Nathaniel readied his magic. I shook my head at him. “You’ve got to let me handle this.”

  “Lord Lucifer would have my head if I did not defend you.”

  “This isn’t about your pact with Lucifer,” I said impatiently. “Oberon wants me to prove something to him, and I’m going to prove it.”

 
Nathaniel’s mouth tightened. “Very well. But do not expect me to do nothing if your plight becomes dire.”

  The shadows before us seemed to be congealing. I heard a wet sucking sound as the darkness formed into something huge and red-eyed. Silver teeth caught the light from the torches and gleamed.

  “Whatever,” I said, and ran toward it, sword raised. I pushed my power through the blade and aimed the pointy end toward one of its glowing eyes.

  The sword struck true, my power flowing through it and into the monster. The thing of shadows burst, splattering me with muscle and blood.

  “Come on, I just got clean from killing the last monster,” I said.

  “You have gristle in your hair,” Beezle said.

  “Is that all you’ve got?” I shouted at Oberon, opening my arms wide.

  There was a rustle, a chitter, then the sound of many legs moving. I could see a crowd of eyes moving toward us, close to the ground.

  “Rats?” I said. “Rats? Really?”

  I blasted them with fire. They squealed, tried to turn, and I blasted them again. A few minutes later there was nothing but rat ash.

  “You will not beat me,” I said. “I have faced the nephilim in the Valley of Sorrows. I have overcome the Maze. I’ve fought countless monsters that are worse than anything you’ve got. I killed the Grigori’s Hound of the Hunt, and I defeated your own Hob.”

  “You might not want to remind him of that since that’s the reason they’re trying to kill you,” Beezle said.

  “If you persist in sending these small things instead of facing me yourself, I’m going to get angrier than I already am. And you don’t know what can happen when I’m angry. I might just decide to destroy your whole kingdom.”

  “Getting a little dark, are we?” Beezle asked.

  I knew that I was on a slippery slope. I’d done things before that I was not proud of, like condoning Violet’s torture in order to get information out of Amarantha. But I’d always justified it by saying there was a greater good at hand.

  This time, I was just angry. There was no greater good to fall back on. I was sick of being hunted, of being chased, of being toyed with by immortals. I was sick of dancing to someone else’s tune. And I was not going to permit the king and queen of Faerie to plague me and my child for the rest of our lives.