A Fey Harvest (20 page)

The lower half of her face was elongated slightly, her nose lengthened and her cheeks shifted down along with it into a wolf snout, the nose a startling black against the white fur. Her mouth opened to reveal a set of glistening fangs and I could have sworn she was smiling at me.

Along her head was a ridge crest of horns falling back amid her dark human hair like a mutant mohawk. Down below the wolf jaw, the fur became sleeker and more gold scales appeared in clusters upon it, golden spots on creamy leopard fur. I'd almost forgotten how my Nahual had merged with my dragon. The leopard look continued to the crest of her breasts where the scales took over and covered her to her waist. There they blended into golden lion fur. Her legs, ghosting over mine, were all lioness,
with huge paws for feet. Her arms were wolf but they ended in dragon talons and around her legs, around me, swished a tail that was slick and leathery but ended in a golden tuft of fur. Behind us, a pair of leathery wings spanned out, shifting once in impatience.

“
What do you see?” Arach was next to me suddenly and my eyes widened as his dragon immediately leaned in to nuzzle the strange chimera woman above me. She in turn, reached out an arm and stroked her talons down the dragon's face. Arach smiled at me, like the actions had happened between our corporeal bodies and not just our auric.

He is pulled to you even at his deepest self,
Faerie had a smirking tone.

“
I see what I am,” I smiled at him, “The mixture I've become.”

“
Could you maybe stop admiring yourself long enough to help us find the murderer?” Queen Aalish interrupted us.

“
Oh, sorry,” I shook my head and went back to the window. “This is why I don't use these often,” I tapped the goggles. “They can be distracting.” Then I gaped at her.

She was made of earth and that may sound boring but it wasn't at all. She was green, not the brown you'd expect, and the green was moving, writhing in the way that growing things writhe in time lapse video. Her veins were more like vines, pulsing with a white magic core.

You are all white at the center, all pure magic.

“
What?” Aalish cocked her head at me. “What do you see?”

“
You,” I smiled at her. “You're bright and green on the inside, like growing things.”

“
Oh,” she smiled a little. “I'd always thought the Earth
energy would be brown.”

“
I know, right?” I laughed.

“
Vervain,” Arach pushed me along.

“
Oh, sorry,” I shrugged to Aalish and focused my attention ahead of me.

Then I finally saw it, the residue of black sludge along the edges of the wall. It was definitely weaker than when I'd seen it in the Human Realm and I decided that Cian was right. It must have completed whatever scheme it had started by the time I'd touched it in Andrasta's home. That must have been the Darkness at full power and if that was the case, we couldn't let it succeed because it would become unstoppable.

I saw it coalesce and take human form, just as I'd seen it do at the site of the Froekn murders but this time instead of tracing away, it flew through the window and out toward the Forgetful Forest. I tried to track it but it dispersed before I could get an exact location. At least I had a general idea though.

I pulled the goggles off.

I know where she is.

“
Well shit,” I growled. “you couldn't have told me that in the first place?”

I wanted to see what that god tool could do.
Boy she sounded smug.

“
You mean you wanted to make sure you were better,” I snapped.

Precisely. Besides, you can't pursue her yet, you must find a way to kill her first.

“Who is she talking to?” Queen Breana asked King Fionn.

“
Faerie,” Arach answered for him.

“
She speaks to Faerie like that?” Breana gasped.

“
She speaks to everyone like that,” Arach chuckled.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“
Ok, here's the deal,” I faced the gathered royals in King Guirmean's dining room, the intimate pirate one we'd dined in before. “The Darkness King Cian told us about, the one who the fey were created to battle, is what we're facing now.”

There was an instant roar of voices and I refused to be bombarded like that, so I just sat back in my chair and waited for everyone to settle down.

Their reaction is to be expected but I told you this is what you're facing, you could have warned them sooner.

“
You told me Darkness,” I hissed at her quietly as the others continued to argue. “You never told me it was the Darkness the King was talking about.”

Well how many Darknesses are there wandering about?

“You'd be surprised,” I grumbled, thinking about how I mistakenly believed Kanaloa was guilty.

Doubtful, very doubtful.

“You know what? I am a bad influence on you,” I snapped. “Don't start talking like me, the other fey are gonna be pissed.”

Let them be pissed. It's time to shake things up.

“See, right there,” I growled. “The consciousness of a magical realm should not say stuff like
shake things up,
it sounds too much like an earthquake threat.”

Maybe it is,
she said with a sassy tone.

“
You are becoming decidedly unpleasant.”

“
Excuse me?” Queen Meara, seated on my right, asked with raised brows.

“
Sorry,” I gave her my
oh shit that was stupid
face. “I was
talking to Faerie again.”

“
I think the fey royalty are trying to catch your attention,” she smirked and waved at the others.

I looked across the table to see that indeed, everyone was staring at me like I'd gone a little loony, everyone except Arach of course. Which was silly since they all knew that the voice in my head was actually real. They heard it too and they knew how annoying she could be so they could have given me a little slack.

“So you're all done arguing then?” I tried to act like they were the ones acting inappropriately. When in doubt, act like you know what you're doing.

“
Queen Vervain,” King Cian sighed. “Could you please elaborate for everyone.”

“
Oh, sure,” I nodded. “The story you told, King Cian, about how magic rode with the elements and then the Darkness was formed of its emptiness and loneliness. How magic decided to create the first fey from the elements so that it could battle its own dark emotions. That dark is what's killing the fey.”

“
And...” King Cian prompted.

“
And I believe that somehow, maybe the fey chased it there, the Darkness ended up in the Human Realm.”

“
According to the stories, that's correct,” King Cian nodded. “They fey chased the Darkness out of the Faerie Realm for good, banishing it to the world of men forever.”

“
Not forever,” I grimaced. “The Darkness waited and planned, and when it saw the Atlanteans fleeing their home, it saw an opportunity. It offered great power to any of them who would give it a body to reside in. It probably thought it could end its loneliness by simply finding itself a host.”

“
But it didn't work,” Meara surmised.

“
I don't think so,” I agreed. “It may have worked if the host had been fey but the host was a goddess and she had no elements to offer it, nothing to ease the loneliness. The fir darrig, Ualraig, told me that the Darkness has no breath, no blood, no brine, or stone. It needs the elements, it needs the energy of each of them to be complete.”

Something clenched inside me at the words. Complete. I'd finally been made complete myself. It was hard to fault this Darkness for wanting what I had and I felt a brief moment of sympathy for it. Unfortunately, it was trying to find completeness through murder, so my sympathy was very brief indeed.

“Do the stories tell of how the fey banished this Darkness the first time, High King?” King Cahal asked, his vines shifting through his hair in what looked like nervous agitation.

“
Just that they banded together to do so,” Cian shrugged.

“
Ualraig said that no weapon made of man or god could kill the dark,” I mused. “Is there anyway we could make a weapon of all the elements?”

“
An arrow,” Arach's voice rang out strong in the silence. “A hollow wood shaft filled with water, feather fletchings, and a steel head, released by the hand of Spirit.”

“
Wood of the Earth with Water within,” Cian nodded, “Feather of Air and steel forged by Fire. An arrow that I must shoot into the heart of Darkness. Yes, that feels right.”

Because it is right. Duh.

King Cian's eyes went round and I groaned.

“
You heard that, huh?” I gave him a pained expression.

“
She...” King Cian blinked. “What is
duh
?”

“
Um,” I faltered as Faerie laughed at me. “It's a sarcastic
way of saying that something was obvious. Duh is the sound of stupidity.”

“
Ah,” King Cian nodded, “duh.”

“
So the weapon...” I tried to focus everyone again and tried very hard not to start laughing at the King of the Faeries saying duh.

“
Yes,” King Cian nodded. “Everyone, go and gather the items we'll need and bring them to the Castle of Eight as quickly as you can. We've got an arrow to make.”

Chapter Twenty-
Six

We'd rushed back to Castle Aithinne and sent red caps into the kingdom to warn everyone to stay indoors, to be on their highest guard for any kind of black fog or sludge, any kind of darkness that moved on its own. They were already on high alert but we wanted to make them aware that things had become worse, the Darkness would be coming for fire fey next.

Then we double checked the defenses we'd added to on the Castle after the air fey had been taken. Windows had been covered with shutters and the bridge over the moat raised. Everything looked secure but I had Neala, her pups, and Fionnaghal(the pregnant Hidden One) ensconced in the cave that housed our lava lake, guarded by red caps and Hidden Ones. We couldn't lose the children, that would be a crushing blow to the House of Fire, and this way the guards could keep an eye on the lava lake as well.

I wasn't sure what good any of it would do if the Darkness decided to come for our fey but it was better than doing nothing. I was comforted that at least the children were harder to get to and everyone else had promised to stay in large numbers so they wouldn't be easy pickings either.

Steel was gathered to take with us, along with tools for the shaping of the arrow head, and then we were back in the carriage and heading into the Forgetful Forest to the Castle of Eight. I watched as the drawbridge was raised behind us and the Castle closed up tight once more. I hated leaving the fire fey at such a risky time but hopefully we could get to Andrasta before she came for my fey.

The ride to the castle was eerie. The Forgetful Forest was quiet with hardly any movement to it beyond the breathing of the trees and even that seemed labored. The fey creatures who normally made their presence known in fabulous and frightening ways, were burrowed deep in the underbrush or perched high in the
tree tops, surveying us with suspicious eyes as we rode by. Occasionally a screech or some other panicked sound would tear through the silence with shuddering glory, making me wince more than once, but other than that, the only sounds were of our own making.

I caught the eye of a creature who was pressed far back into a thick growth of thorny bush. He never even blinked, just stared steadily at me, the scent of his fear on the stuttering breeze. Even the wind barely stirred, as if it couldn't stand the sound of rustling leaves.

“Arach,” I whispered, not wanting to break the silence either.

“
I know,” he surveyed the dark recesses of the forest as if he expected an attack at any moment. “The Forgetful Forest is afraid.”

When we finally reached the Castle of Eight, I gave a sigh of relief but it was short lived.

The ramparts were lined with guards, their intent gazes scanning the fearful forest. As soon as we were through the gate, a portcullis was lowered behind us and more guards strode forward to stand watch through its bars. I was glad to see that they were taking the threat seriously but then it occurred to me that ours wasn't the only fey the Darkness needed. Andrasta would need a fey of the House of Spirit to complete the collection and that meant a royal because I doubt the magic would accept a fey who was considered a part of the House of Spirit merely because it had joined the High Court. The High Queen was fire at heart so that left only one fey. The High King of Faerie was in danger.

No wonder the Castle of Eight was going crazy.

Once out of the entry tunnel, I could see what appeared to be the entire armory laid out on an expanse of lawn on our right. Racks of spears, pikes, and swords were set in orderly rows, sunlight flashing off the metal edges. Tables groaned under the weight of daggers, bows, arrows, armor, and assorted other weaponry that I couldn't identify. Fey guards strode among the rows, inspecting and assigning weapons with an air of haste.

Then, as we passed the arsenal, I caught a flash of light and looked back over my shoulder and out of the window to see a man on the rampart behind us, holding his hands up to the sky. I glanced left and right, to either side of us, and saw other men up on the battlements with hands raised as well. A few feet in front of them wavered a bright blue mist. It expanded out, down, and up, meeting above our heads in a glittering dome.

“The Mages of the House of Spirit,” Arach's eyes were narrowed on one of the men. “King Cian's elite guard. Nothing should be able to get past that ward without their approval.”

“
Should?” I lifted a brow.

“
Honestly,” he looked back at me, “it's hard to be certain of any defense at the moment.”

We stopped in front of the main steps of the castle and unloaded. Our red caps carried in the trunks that held the tools and supplies we needed to craft the arrowhead as Arach and I hurried inside where a nervous looking Danal was waiting to escort us to our rooms.

“King Arach,” Danal nodded, “Queen Vervain. I'll see you
settled and then the royals are meeting in the smithy. They believe everything needs to be prepared together.”

“
Yes, I concur,” Arach nodded and gestured for Danal to lead the way.

We were led into the heart of the castle, the very center of the tree at ground level, and Arach shot me a surprised look when we went through some very impressive looking doors. They curved up to a point and were made of pale white wood banded in silver. There were intricate carvings on them, also inlaid with silver, of all the different types of fey. They swung open on their own at Danal's approach so I knew they held magic but I wasn't sure why. It had to be more than a mere spell to open doors if it managed to impress Arach.

“Where are we going?” I gave Arach my own curious look.

“
The High King and Queen want all the royals kept close in case of an attack,” Danal answered. “You and the other royals will be the first non-Spirit fey allowed to stay inside the family quarters of the House of Spirit. Ever. This is the first time I've even been allowed inside.”

“
Sweet,” I nodded and then saw Arach's shocked expression. “Uh, very sweet?”

“
It's very generous of the High Royals,” Arach took over for me.

“
Yeah,” I smirked, “what he said.”

Inside the family quarters there was a whole different castle. The walls of the hallway we were led into were lapis lazuli, a deep blue stone with veins of gold running through it like comets across the night sky. I ran a finger along it and got a jolt of energy for my trouble. It didn't really hurt, it was more shocking than anything, but I got the hint: Don't touch.

“Lapis magnifies and protects the power of Spirit,” Danal said over his shoulder. “These walls have been collecting power for millennia, they're very strong.”

“
No kidding,” I huffed and shot the strong walls a strong glare. “You couldn't have mentioned that sooner?”

“
They keep out even the most powerful of magic,” Danal glanced back at me. “You'll be glad for them if the Darkness attacks.”

“
I'm sure I will but if the Darkness gets past that ward the mages just set up, I doubt a little bit of lapis is going to make a difference.”

I looked back and saw that even the door was lined with the stone. Floors and ceilings were covered too, lapis lazuli seemed to coat the perimeter of the living quarters. Fey globes hovered around the ceiling, brilliant against the deep blue backdrop. Their light glinted off the gold in the walls and brought out the bright, jewel tones of the silk carpets that lined the floor. The hallway curved in slightly, its beautiful and evidently powerful walls unmarred and unbroken. Then it ended in an open doorway.

Danal headed through and we followed him into an octagonal room. There was a seating area in the center of it, graceful pale blue couches set in a circle around a round coffee table made of one giant piece of polished emerald. There was a fire burning in a basin carved out of the emerald table and it provided most of the light in the room. There were a couple of fey lights near the ceiling but they seemed to be on dim mode and gave only the barest glimmer.

I went to stand in front of the table, drawn to the fire, and then slowly, I angled my head up to admire the ceiling. The room had murals painted on the walls, scenes from the different kingdoms of Faerie flowing seamlessly into each other, but its ceiling was the lapis lazuli once again. In the firelight it truly looked like the night sky and at the center of it was a single star, a nine-pointed star.

I gasped and fell back onto one of the couches, my hand going immediately to my chest where I felt the pulse of my own star. Arach and Danal rushed over to me, Arach slipping onto the
couch beside me to take my hand.

“
What is it?” He looked up at the ceiling and then at my face. “Are you ill?”

“
The star,” I lifted my hand to point at it. “What does it mean?”

“
It's the symbol of Faerie,” Arach glanced at it and then over to Danal.

“
I'll go get the High King,” Danal nodded at Arach's unspoken request.

“
No,” I stopped him, “really, I'm alright. I was just startled.” I got to my feet. Whatever it meant, I didn't want to make the mistake of involving the High King again. I needed to talk to Arach alone first.

“
Queen Vervain,” Danal frowned. “Does the symbol mean something to you?”

“
I've seen it before,” I waved away his questioning. “Could you just take us to our rooms, Danal? I think maybe all of this excitement has taken a toll on me.”

“
Of course,” he nodded brusquely and then gestured to another door. “Right through here.”

He led us down another curving hallway, this one lined with amethyst and the stone seemed to calm me a little. I was able to enjoy the beauty around me. There was artwork on the walls, amazing paintings of fey people and landscapes as well as intricate tapestries. I studied them as we passed by, they all seemed to be done by different artists and the range of styles was fascinating.

Finally, we came to the suites. We passed a few doors before we arrived at one which Danal opened and led us through.
It was a silver room. The walls were hammered silver and they curved up to a central point from which a crystal chandelier hung. Oh but this was a faerie crystal chandelier, not at all like the chandeliers I was used to. This one was a fall of crystal shards, starting with a large grouping near the top and tapering down to just a single clear quartz point at the bottom. This bottom piece hung low into the room, coming to about mid-chest on little five-foot-three me, making the chandelier more of a central art piece than a form of lighting.

Each crystal had a fey light inside it, so it glowed brilliantly and reflected off the silver walls, making me feel kind of like I was in the center of a light bulb. On top of that, all the furniture was made of polished silver, so everything was nice and shiny. From the central sitting area that enclosed the chandelier to the dining set off to the side, it was all too bright for me. Or maybe it just reminded me too much of Odin's silver Hall, either way, it was a little too much to take.

“Um, can we turn down the lights a bit?” I squinted at the chandelier.

“
Of course,” Danal clapped briskly and the light lessened to a more comfortable level.

“
Fey lights respond to clapping?” I was barely holding back my laughter.

“
These do,” Danal frowned at me.

“
Clap on, clap off,” I laughed at Danal's expression. “Never mind, it's a human thing.”

“
Very well,” Danal sighed and headed for the door. “Your sleeping quarters are through there,” he gestured to a closed silver door to his right, and the bathing area is beyond that. As soon as you're ready, meet me back in the star room and I'll take you to the smithy.”

“
Thank you, Danal,” Arach nodded and followed him out.

I went to look at the bedroom, wondering if it was as bright as the living room. Thankfully, it wasn't. The walls were stone, painted a deep blue, not lapis lazuli just blue. The bed was large and set into a black dais so that the top of the mattress was flush with the top of the dais. Sort of sunken and raised all at once. The linens were blue silk with silver stars embroidered on them and there were panels of the same star-embroidered silk hanging from the ceiling to enclose the bed.

Other than the bed, there was an armoire for clothing and a dressing table made of the same black stone that the bed's platform was made from. In the wall across from the foot of the bed was a fireplace, the black stone once more, going up into the wall in a smooth tube. The fire was already lit and I went to stand in front of it, holding my hands out to its warmth.

“
Are you going to tell me what all that was about?” Arach came into the bedroom behind me and shut the door. Without the shine of the other room, the bedroom seemed much cozier, more like the star room. I parted the bed curtains and took a seat on the edge of the mattress, facing Arach.

“
A lot happened while I was gone,” I sighed. “I'm not ready to talk about everything yet but there's something I should have mentioned. I've just been so focused on Andrasta that I haven't really had the chance.”