I think this all must be for show. Surely Oren’s guards and Olea’s guards and all these swords are just for show. Right?
Wrong.
Olea raises her sword and dives for Oren. His guards are so busy with Olea’s guards, they can’t defend him. Oren dashes out of the way just in time. He grabs his staff and blocks Olea’s sword. Both of them change as they fight. Olea becomes taller. Her wings spread out, green and shiny. Her beautiful face twists into a snarl of teeth and glowing yellow eyes. Oren raises himself up. His face becomes covered with sharp-looking designs like tattoos. His wings spread out too. They are blue and black and—
I knew it.
Suddenly Oren’s staff splinters under Olea’s blade. He manages to kick her, and she tumbles backward.
One of Oren’s guards is now down, wounded. The other one is fighting Olea’s two men. Everyone is screaming. Oren is backing away from Olea. She stalks after him, sword raised.
“How dare you attack me in my own court!” Oren says, furious. “You have no honor.”
“I don’t need honor,” Olea says. “I have a crown.”
Her sword flies down. Suddenly I’m leaping forward, drawing my own sword from the sheath at my waist. I raise it just in time to stop Olea from slicing Oren in two.
Our swords make a huge clang as they crash together. Sparks fly all around us.
“What magic is this?” Olea says. She presses down on my sword. She is much stronger than me. Oren has scrambled away. Now I’m Olea’s target.
“Human boy,” she says. “You should not meddle in Faerie affairs.”
She shoves down, knocking me to the ground. I’m still blocking her, but barely. I have only one thing left to try. If this doesn’t work, I die.
“Olea Nash Panash Buckthorn Briar—” I yell.
Olea’s eyes widen in horror.
“—Bramble!” I finish.
She gasps.
“Olea Nash Panash Buckthorn Briar Bramble, I command you!” I shout. “Drop your sword!”
Chapter Eleven
Olea starts to scream. Her scream makes the trees and ground tremble. The air trembles. Faeries run for their lives as the scream goes on for what seems like forever. Olea’s terrifying, snarling face is inches from mine. The blade of her sword pushes my own sword back until I feel the steel just touch my neck.
Then Olea rears backward. There’s a flash of bright light as her sword flies out of her hand. Behind her I see Salix leap up and snatch it out of the air. In the shock of the scream and the bright light, Oren’s guards have managed to subdue Olea’s men.
Silence settles over the court. Everyone stares at me. I’m sure they’re wondering what I’ll do next. I wonder too. I can’t move yet. I’m gasping for breath as I struggle to stand up. Behind me, I hear the king speak.
“Blue Jasper,” he says. “Where did you get a ghost sword?”
I’m not sure if I should tell him. Maybe it’s against Faerie law or something. I’m already in enough trouble. I look at Finola and Salix, but they are speechless.
“It’s a long story,” I say. I turn to Oren, expecting him to be angry. But he’s smiling.
“I should like to have a sword like that,” he says.
I fumble putting the sword back into its sheath. My vision blurs as I undo the buckle of the belt. Stepping forward, I hold it out to Oren.
“Take it,” I say. I’m shaking so bad the sword rattles in my hand. “Take it, please.”
Oren frowns at me. “Are you sure?” he asks.
“Yes.” My voice is barely above a whisper. “I never want to hold a sword again.”
Oren nods slowly and takes the sword and sheath out of my hand. As soon as he does, it disappears from my view. I think he sets it down on the throne beside him. Then he reaches forward and puts his hand on my shoulder. With his other hand he takes a blue handkerchief from his pocket. I grab it quickly and wipe my eyes.
“No one saw but me,” he says with a small smile.
I take a second to gather myself. Oren squeezes my shoulder.
“Do you want to unite Nearwood and Farwood?” I whisper.
Oren looks surprised, but he nods.
“Yes, I do,” he says in a low voice. “As did my father before me. And his father. Our people have hated each other long enough.”
For some reason that makes me think of Indigo and Violet and how they annoy me with their antics. And how I love them with all my heart. I find I have to wipe my eyes again. Oren releases my shoulder.
“You have two more commands,” he says, flicking his eyes to where Olea lies crumpled on the ground.
I nod. I know exactly what to do. It feels like the first time in my life that I have. As I turn, Olea sits up.
“Olea Nash Panash Buckthorn Briar Bramble,” I say with as much severity as I can manage. “I command you to answer this question. Is the father of your twins, Indigo and Violet, also the father of Oren, King of Farwood? Is their father Gelso Bramble?”
There are horrified gasps. Olea’s face twists with fury.
“Yes,” she spits out.
Oren stands. “Is this true?” he asks. “Indigo and Violet are my brother and sister? Olea of Nearwood, are you telling the truth?”
“Faeries cannot lie,” Olea says bitterly.
Oren spins to his guards. “Let them out of the cage!” he commands.
A guard turns the lock of the cage, and Indigo and Violet step out, holding each other.
“Approach me,” Oren says. “Let me look at you.”
The twins stand in front of him. I can tell they’re scared. But not that scared. These are the kids that jumped out of the back of a moving truck, after all.
“Show him your wings,” I say.
Indigo and Violet shiver for a few seconds, as though they have been chilled. Then their wings shimmer into view behind them. Blue and black butterfly wings. Just like Oren’s.
“Oh my stars above,” Oren says. He rushes forward and gathers them into his arms. He kisses them each on the forehead. “Brother. Sister,” he says. After a few seconds, the twins squirm away.
“Can we sit on the throne?” Violet asks.
Oren laughs. “Please do!” he says. But when he turns back to Olea, his mood has darkened.
“Tell me how this came to be,” he says. “I note you were commanded by my family name—Bramble. Does that mean you and my father were married?”
“Yes,” Olea hisses.
“Stand before the king!” Finola suddenly says. “You are a guest of this court!”
Olea sneers at her, but she stands up.
“Yes, Gelso and I secretly married in the Crosswood,” she says to Oren. “A wandering priestess performed the ceremony. Gelso wanted us to rule the Woods together as husband and wife.”
I can see Oren is feeling the loss of his father. His eyes fill with tears.
“Why in the name of the sky was that not enough for you? Why, why, did you kill him?”
“I didn’t want to share power!” Olea shouts.
“Why on earth not?” I ask without thinking. When Oren doesn’t react, I go on, “The Woods are enormous and…” But I trail off, not knowing what I want to say.
Olea laughs sourly. “A human telling me about sharing territory? That is amusing.”
She has a point. I press my lips together.
“I discovered I was pregnant,” she says. “I knew my child could be the ruler of the Woods and I their adviser. It would be as good as being High Queen of both Woods myself. But when I bore twins…”
She looks at the twins with resentment in her eyes. I suddenly know she never loved them. At least, not the way Mom does. Not the way I do.
“With twins, I knew Gelso would suggest that one rule Farwood and one Nearwood,” Olea says. “I would have even less power than I already had.”
Oren takes a step toward her. “So you sent them away,” he says. “You killed my father and sent away his children. My brother and sister.” One of his
hands is clenched. I realize he is holding the ghost sword. As much as I hate Olea right now, I don’t want to see her killed. I do the only thing I can think of.
“Olea Nash Panash Buckthorn Briar Bramble, I command you!”
A hush falls over the hall. All eyes turn to me, including Oren’s. I need to get this right.
“I…I command you to relinquish the throne of Nearwood in favor of Violet Nash Panash Buckthorn Briar Bramble!”
“No!” Olea shouts, her eyes filled with horror.
“I command you!” I repeat. “Give Violet your crown!”
Olea bends over, clutching her stomach as though she is in pain.
“No! I cannot!” she cries. “I will not!”
“I COMMAND YOU!” I shout. It echoes through the trees. The magic of the Woods rises up around us, causing everything to rumble like an earthquake. Olea screams and falls backward, like something has pushed her. Her crown flies off her head and sails through the air. It lands neatly on Violet’s head, settling there as though it was made for her.
Now the hall is completely silent. Indigo clambers off the throne, leaving Violet there by herself. She looks different. Older and wiser. When she looks at Olea, I take a step back. I’ve never seen Violet so angry.
“Olea Briar,” she says. “You have killed our father, the King of Farwood. You have threatened our foster mother, Juliette Jasper. You have endangered our brother, Blue Jasper. You have drawn a sword against King Oren in his own court. You have broken the laws of the Woods. All pacts with you are hereby made null. You are hereafter and ever after banished to Witherwood.”
“No!” Olea cries. “You can’t!”
“I can,” Violet says. “And I do. King Oren, do you agree?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” says Oren.
Olea screams as the roots beneath her feet curl up around her ankles. She shouts curses, but the roots pull her down into the soil. Her mouth fills with dirt, and her cries are muffled by the earth closing over her head. In seconds she is gone.
It takes a while for me to be able to speak.
“What is Witherwood?” I ask.
“It is the place bad Faeries go,” Oren says.
Chapter Twelve
Violet and Indigo have been spending weekdays in the Faerie realm. They spend weekends with us. So far, it’s been a month. It’s working well. Mom has a part-time job in town. I’ve started high school. Life is back to normal.
“Indigo!” Mom yells from the kitchen. “Don’t open your wings in the house! You nearly knocked over the dish rack!”
Normal except for that.
I’m just putting away my clean socks when I see Salix and Finola outside my window. They wave at me.
“We’ll be right out!” I yell.
Salix and Finola come to get the twins every Sunday night. They take them back through the Crosswood. King Oren thinks it best if I stay away from Nearwood and Farwood for the time being. Olea is definitely imprisoned in Witherwood. Permanently. But she might still have supporters in the Woods. Oren and Violet need to secure Violet’s reign. Then it will be safe for Mom and me to visit.
In the kitchen, Mom struggles to put a hoodie on Indigo. He doesn’t want to fold up his wings. Violet has a cooking pot on her head and one hand in the jam jar. Business as usual.
Five minutes later I take them out the back door. Salix and Finola meet us. We head down the path into the forest. I can almost hear Mom collapsing on the sofa, exhausted.
“How is Oren?” I ask as we walk. The twins, as usual, bounce along the path ahead of us.
“He’s fine,” Salix says. “He managed to get the toadstools out of his rug!”
“That’s good,” I say, trying not to laugh.
“The people of Nearwood are happy with Violet as their queen,” Finola says. “They didn’t like Olea much. She was cruel.”
“Violet is easy to like,” I say.
Oren meets us in the grove with the twisted trees.
“All well, Blue Jasper?” he asks.
“All well,” I say. “The twins are little maniacs, as usual.”
Oren laughs. “I wouldn’t want it any other way,” he says.
It still makes me nervous to come here. This is where Indigo and Violet disappeared the first time. Now this is where they’ll leave me for another week.
They hug me before they go. After they disappear into the twisted trees, I realize Violet took the coins from my pocket. Indigo put a spider in my hair. They both left jammy handprints on my shirt.
Salix and Finola snicker as I turn.
“I suppose you should go too,” I say.
“Salix has something he wants to ask you,” Finola says, grinning.
“Okay,” I say cautiously. Salix and Finola are my friends. But with Faeries, even ones that are friends, it pays to be cautious.
“You still owe me a favor,” Salix says.
“Oh no,” I say.
“I promised it wouldn’t be bad!” Salix says quickly. “And it isn’t. Remember how I told you about the place I’m from?”
“Yes,” I say. “You said the way into it had disappeared.”
“That’s right,” Salix says. “But recently there have been rumors it’s been found again.”
“That’s great!” I say. “You can go home!”
Finola grins and covers her mouth.
“It’s very far away,” Salix says.
“You can make it,” I say.
“I’ll be lonely on the journey,” Salix says.
“Finola can go with you.”
Both of them just grin at me.
“No,” I say.
“Come on,” Finola says. “It will be much more fun with the three of us.”
“No way,” I say. “Mom will kill me.”
“I already told her you’d made a deal with me,” Salix says. “She didn’t take it well.”
“Salix!” I shout. “I thought we were friends!”
He shrugs, trying to look innocent. “Friendship with Faeries is always a bit tricky,” he says.
“You think?” I let my face fall into my hands.
“Please, Blue,” Salix says, now serious. “There is magic that only works with a human helper. We might need you. Remember how you broke the bog witch’s spell? You turned Finola back into herself?”
I look at them both. “I can’t go like this,” I say. “I don’t even have a jacket.”
Finola reaches over and pulls back the branches of a shrub. My backpack is there. A hoodie is neatly folded on top of it.
“Your mom even packed snacks,” Finola says. “Cupcakes!”
“Oh my…argh!” I throw up my hands. “Fine!” Finola and Salix cheer as I slip on my hoodie and backpack.
“Where are we going and how long will we be gone?” I ask.
“The Crosswood first,” Salix says. “Then we have to walk. For a few days.”
“A few days?” I cry. “What about school?”
“Eh,” Salix says. “You can miss a week.”
“Or a month,” Finola says. Salix shushes her.
I just shake my head. “Let’s get going,” I say. I’m pretending to be angry. Really, I’m excited to get back to Faerie land. High school isn’t nearly as interesting as I thought it would be.
Finola leads us into the tangled trees.
“Now,” Salix says. “A few safety tips.”
“I know, I know,” I say. “Rule one: Never make deals with Faeries.”
Chapter Three
The breakfast feast is nearly as big as the dinner feast. Finola and Salix stuff themselves on little blue eggs and bright purple porridge. Oren gives me a box of toaster waffles. Then he uses magic to make a tiny fire in a teacup. I toast my waffles over it with a fork.
Two servants bring me a giant silver tray. There is a small can of orange soda on it. Everyone watches me drink it. They cheer when the bubbles make me burp.
Mealtimes are weird in Faerieland.
After breakfast
Oren sees us off at the castle gate. He has decided Indigo will go with us.
“I’ve looked at the Faerie laws,” Oren says. “Blue will go with Salix to the entrance of the Wherewood. I believe the Woods will see that as your pact fulfilled.” He frowns at Indigo. “After that, Indigo will take Blue back to the human realm. While he’s there he will stop in at…” He turns to one of his guards. “What is the name of that place?”
“Garden Depot,” the guard whispers.
Oren nods. “ Ah yes. Indigo will stop at Garden Depot and buy me a new rose bush.”
Salix laughs. He quickly covers it by pretending to cough.
While Finola and Salix check their supplies, Oren takes me aside. When no one is looking, he presses something into my hand. I look down. A sword and scabbard shimmer into view. The ghost sword!
The ghost sword is visible only to the person using it. Back when Finola was a swan, I commanded her by using her full name. She had to give me three wishes. I used one wish to turn her back into a human. Then I commanded her some new clothes. Finally I asked her for an invisible sword. That was the ghost sword. I used it to help defeat Olea. But I didn’t like it. I really don’t like any kind of violence.
I had given the ghost sword to Oren. Now he was giving it back to me.
“A loan,” he says. “I hope you won’t need to use it. You’ll only be in Farwood and the Crosswood, but still. I want you to be safe. Indigo can bring the sword back to me when you’re done.”
“Thank you,” I whisper.
We set off, slipping by magic back into the Crosswood. Then we continue on foot. Hours pass. Indigo chatters away about nothing. I notice that Salix and Finola sometimes hold hands as they walk.
“Are you two together?” I finally ask. “Like a couple?”
“Yes,” says Salix
“No,” says Finola.
“Never mind,” I say.
Indigo snorts with laughter. It’s nice to see that romance is just as dumb in Faerieland as it is in the human world.
It’s nearly dusk when Salix spots something in the dense trees.
“There it is!” he cries.
The Crosswood Page 5