Through Time-Frankie (13 page)

Chapter Sixteen

FRANKIE WAS STUNNED. She shouldn’t be. She had known in her heart who was behind it all. She had known the Blue Demons must be working with him and still, seeing him now, standing so cool and self assured, standing—looking like an evil god, rocked her equanimity.

His eyes were as cold as she remembered. She murmured his name and for a moment, thought she just might be in serious trouble. “
Pestale.”

“You have one up on me. You are a stranger here, and yet you know my name. May I ask who you are and how you got here?” Pestale inquired softly, his gentle tone at odds with the look of suspicion in his dark lit eyes.

She hesitated and immediately noted that he was studying her carefully. She knew he was bringing all his senses into play, sniffing the air for her scent, searching his memory for her face, and getting closer to her than she had ever wanted him to be.

He stared at her wings, and she tucked them in tighter.

Frankie felt a glimmer of hope when he did not seem to connect her—now a woman, to the twelve year old who had thwarted him six years ago.  The twelve year old didn’t have wings.
Lucky, lucky me, how could he put it together.
She could stall, she thought as she attempted to come up with a story.

She knew that at any moment, he might link her to that child, and he had every reason to hate that child for her part in his defeat six years ago. She wasn’t sure what he would do with her if she stuck around. She should shift off, yet something made her stay.

She had been twelve years old when she had stood in Dublin, enraged because of the death and destruction his Unseelie army had committed against her beloved humans, and Fae.

Her Fios fireball had appeared in her hands, and she found she was able to spin it into something that spread out into a huge flaming fireball. It grew until it was bigger than anything she had ever imagined and eventually took out thousands of his Dark Fae in one fell swoop.

It had given her nightmares for a very long time. It had lodged a dark and unwanted new power deep inside of her that she buried and kept buried.

She was an adult woman now—would he know her if he kept looking at her? Her hair was no longer auburn, but black and streaked with gold, and it was obvious that he had seen her new black feathery wings tucked in at her back. How could he connect her to the twelve year old child he had known? At any rate, until he did, she had time to figure out a way out of this predicament. The thing was
what exactly should she say?

She was in a dimension with two Dark, unredeemable, oh so wicked, princes, Pestale and Hordly. Because Frankie was quick minded, she realized at once, it was no coincidence that the Blue Demons who had attacked Trinity with bombs had come from a Realm which housed the two Darkest of Royals!

Now what are ye going to do
, she asked herself,
do ye know, Frankie girl—do ye have a clue?

“As it happens,” she said with a heavy and flirtatious Irish lilt in an attempt to make him continue to see the woman, not the child, “I was in flight, traveling dimensions, and noticed your beautiful world. Thought I would stop awhile—visit,” she paused, sighed heavily, “But I will be expected home, so off I go.”

“Not so fast,” Pestale said his eyes thoughtful as hell. Time to shift, she told herself just as he lifted his hand.

Pestale’s hand came up short, as Frankie had shifted backward and out of reach. She should leave, but all she could do was take to the sky and he could follow…he could track her, and she didn’t know where she was going.

She stared at him hard for she could see he was plotting out his next move. “Tell me Dark Prince, how did ye open a portal to the Human Realm? Did not yer Dark King—yer dear father take away yer ability to do so?”

“He did, but he did not interfere with the inhabitants of this realm. I am a very good teacher, when it suits me.” He moved toward her once more. “How do you know so much about me? Who are you?”

“Well now, as it happens, gossip is rife in the Universe,” she bluffed, stalling for time, hoping to get some more out of him. “We know quite a bit about the Dark Prince Pestale.”

“So you say, but I say, you are a Fae,” Pestale said sniffing the air.

“In a manner of speaking, I am.”

“What is it you think you know about me?” Pestale asked as he inched closer.

“I have heard ye are wicked, but brilliantly so. I hear ye were banished to live for eternity in some dimension, and I’m guessing that must be so and this must be it,” she said glibly.

“And did you think I would believe your lies,” he asked contemptuously. “Did you think I would not know that you are Daoine—no, not just Daoine, is that not right?” Realization swept into his voice, “You are a
Sluagh
, but how is that…?” Dawning washed over his face and Frankie knew, she absolutely knew it was time to shift away, well away out of his range, but she hesitated, she wanted to hear what he would say, didn’t think he could touch her, after all, how could he? She could fly, she could shift but she heard Jazz so often repeat,
don’t be too cocky, Frankie, it will lead you into trouble.

“I knew your voice was familiar. I saw your wings, and thought perhaps you weren’t Fae at all, but an immortal from another realm. I did not quite know what to make of you, at first, but of course,
you are Deimne’s Faeling.”
It was said with derision.

She put up her chin, “
Faeling?
Aye, that I am, and proud of it. Do ye think it makes me less a Fae, to have a mother who was both human and Fios? More fool be ye then,” she returned with a wide smile. “I love being a Faeling. I love what it means because it says clearly I am both, m’mother and m’father’s child.”

Pestale’s eyes became slits as he considered her, and he said softly, “What now shall I do with you?” he asked more of himself than of her.

Frankie shrugged, “What makes ye think ye can do anything with me?” A voice in her head shouted at her, told her to shift NOW—told her this was the Dark Prince, Pestale, who was forever full of surprises and determination. She knew she was on the arrogant edge of danger and still could not move. She knew she wanted to defeat him more than she wanted to hide.

“Here is the situation, little Sluagh. You no doubt followed the Blue Demons into the portal…”

“I wouldn’t put it quite like that,” she said cutting him off.

“No? How would you put it?”

“Your Daoine spy, Prince Worley pushed me in” she snapped and watched for his reaction.

He laughed, “Indeed, Prince Worley thinks that when I take the earth away from the humans, he will have his chance to rebuild it and overthrow Queen Mab. He is a fool.”

So, her suspicions about Worley had been correct from the start. “Aye,” she nodded, “He is that, but why then do you use him?”

“He has proved useful. He has the freedom to meet with Sventer, my Blue Demon in the human world.” He scoffed, “Another fool who thinks he is my right hand man! But he too has proven useful. I had hoped he would be in Queen Mab’s inner circle, but I should have known such as he would not have her ear.” He clucked his tongue and added, “Well, you
are
a bit of an inconvenience and obviously must be contained. However, I don’t think I shall put you to death quite yet.”

“As though you could,” Frankie sneered at him.

“As I said, I shan’t kill you yet. You could prove useful and that buys you a guest room, of sorts in my castle.”

“I will never
be of any use to ye. So then, do ye want me dead? Go for it, Dark Prince, just go for it, but I give ye fair warning, I so am that little girl who got in yer way six years ago, aye, that I am, but now… well, I am full grown.” Frankie bluffed as she looked for a way out of the mess she was in. Jazz’s voice in her head said,
you are
being an arrogant little ass
.

He sneered, “Yes, you did get in my way.” His voice dropped and she heard the hate in every word as he said, “Do you think I would forget the child—
now full grown
, who took on my Unseelie army?”

“I didn’t just take them on, Dark One,
I took them down
,” she said with contempt.

Before she realized what he was doing he had shifted in behind her and suddenly she felt the weight of the heavy bronze metallic netting over her head as it fell to the earth around her feet, she knew, damn, she knew. She had talked herself right smack dab into a deeper hole.

She was frozen in place, not by the net, but by the magic and the poison the net contained.  It was not just the
Gold Wiele
the Trackers use to halt a Fae in place. This was different; it was beginning to send rocketing pain through her body.

Pestale stood back to view his handiwork, flicked his wrist and she was lying on the grass. He didn’t touch the net. She noticed he was careful not to touch it, as he sealed the ends with her feet tucked in. She was completely enclosed by it.

“You see, I did remember what you could do. I remembered the little girl with the fire power. I lulled you into bragging about it, kept you here, got into position, and captured you.” He sneered at her, “What say you now,
Faeling
, what say you now?”

“We should have killed you!” She answered and restrained a whelp of pain that formed in her throat. She couldn’t talk. She couldn’t listen to him. She had to concentrate on finding a way to reduce the pain shooting through her veins.

This net, unlike the Trackers’
Gold Wiele
, seemed to be a patchwork of needles, all of them shooting poison into her veins and it hurt like hell!

She pulled at the metallic netting, gritting her teeth through the agony that swept through her. What was happening? She was a powerful Daoine—this couldn’t be happening!

As the poison ripped through her body, her blood seemed to be exploding in little bubbles in her veins. She went into her mind. She had to find a way to overcome it. Her da had taught her so many things that she had filed away. One of those things had to help her now?

Think
, she told herself.

Whatever this netting was coated with, whatever was blasting into her system could be overcome. It had to be overcome. She could not allow Pestale to win.

“Arrggghhh…” she cried out against her will as she struggled.

Think! Right Frankie, she tried calming herself, ye know, don’t ye, that the
Gold Wiele
the Trackers use to capture wayward Fae and Otherworldies, never tortures them like this, so ye have a bit of black magic on the job here, don’t ye?

Ye know a thing or two about black magic
, she was now totally in her mind, attempting to rest her body which was still writhing in excruciating pain, she was already depleted from healing so many at the bomb site.

Every place this netting touched her felt like a zillion prickly needles piecing her flesh. She wanted to scream because of the agony and burning sensation it had created throughout her system, seeping into her organs, playing havoc with her brain.

She tried to hide in her head, but the hurting kept pulling her out. Was it really filled with poison—or was it all an illusion? Black Magic was based on the premise that illusion was all it needed to set the stage. No, this was
not
illusion. This was real. She knew it.

She could smell the herb. It was an ancient recipe which used an herb toxic to Fae, for it came from Danu and had altered itself in earth’s atmosphere.  Her father had taught her all about dangerous herbs and this one was
Dragon’s Breath.
It wasn’t deadly to a Fae, but it caused great pain and hallucinations to Fae and humans alike.

Solution? Right then, Frankie-girl
, she bolstered herself,
ye must find a solution.

She was definitely in a serious predicament.

She should have listened to Jazz who had always told her not to get too cocky. She should have shifted away and hid to fight when she was stronger, thinking more clearly, but no, she had to be an arrogant ass.  Now what?

She thought of Graely.

Would he come for her? Would he know where she was? Would anyone know?

But now, now she had to get past the pain…but how?

She heard Pestale laughing and for a moment, that helped her to focus away from the agony—the agony caused by her blood feeling as though a million exploding burning bubbles were passing through her veins.

“Your arrival has been quite fortuitous. I have not been certain until now that my little invention,
my secret weapon
, if you will, would work just in the manner I needed.”

She pulled herself out of the world of hurt, just a moment, a fraction of a moment and screeched at him, “Go to hell and hide there Pestale, for you have just signed the Death Warrant we should have had on you from the start!”

He sneered, said nothing and flicked his wrist. All at once, Frankie realized as she was thrown bodily into his Unseelie shift, that they were on the move.

“I hate the way you Unseelie shift…without style or finesse,” she taunted and then told herself, she had to get a grip or she was going to pass out from whatever it was that was happening inside her body. Still wrapped tightly in the bronze netting, she landed hard on a cold stone floor.