A Dark Faerie Tale Series Omnibus Edition (61 page)

Part IV

The War of Faerie

Chapter Twenty-Four

FUNNY HOW LIFE
plays tricks on you. Nothing ever lasts. Shade should have known that by now. How dare she lapse into any kind of comfort when there was much going on in Faerie, and the wards in the perimeter around the land weakened every day? Some days she wished for her simple life back home, watching TV and stuffing her face with pizza as football games ate up all the weekends. Now here she was. Stuck at the Scren Palace without even Brisa to keep her company.

Where was that girl? She and Soap should’ve arrived ages ago, but they’d yet to even send a message. She hoped they hadn’t run into anything really bad, but this was the Land of Faerie, and anything goes when there is magic involved. Even so, her suspicions about the nature of Brisa’s and Soap’s relationship made her wonder if they were taking their time on purpose.

“Hey, Sis.” Benton tossed a fireball up and down as he joined her in the garden of the Scren Palace. “So what’s the agenda now? We’ve been sitting here for days, and nothing is going on. I’m bored out of my mind. The only ones having fun are James and Anna, roaming the halls like it’s a treasure hunt.” He rolled his eyes as he absorbed the fire balls and glanced over at her.

“Nyol is still preparing the army. Training takes time, though faeries are fast learners.  Once Aveta’s army heads this way, there will be no boredom.” Shade sat on one of the ornate cement benches lining the garden, admiring the array of colorful flowers in the bushes and grass under her feet. She felt the most at home here, surrounded by nature, rather than inside the stone walls of the palace. It had been one of Lana’s favorite spots, too, long ago, before she’d been banished.

“Can’t wait. I’m so ready to pulverize Aveta’s sluagh army. It will be the time of my life!” Benton laughed, moving around like he was sword fighting imaginary sluagh.

Shade rolled her eyes as she watched him. Benton was a lot less of a jerk now that they had a lot more in common because of their magic. Still, he was human, and she feared for her family in Faerie, even if they were powerful elemental fire witches. They could best a faery any day, and were even considered more powerful than some Fae. It still sent chills down her spine as she worried for their safety.

“I can wait.” She breathed in the fragrant air around them, hoping it would calm her nerves as they increased in jitteriness throughout the days. But nothing calmed them. She had become increasingly agitated as the days flew by, wondering if the time to awaken Kilara was near. Despite her reservations about Corb, she hoped that it was.

“Shade!” Anna came running into the garden, out of breath but excited as she jumped up and down before settling down next to her.

“Anna, what is it?”

“Oh my gosh, you won’t believe it! Soap’s here! Brisa’s with him. They’re finally here,” she gasped, attempting to catch her breath. Shade had a suspicion she had run all the way from the other side of the castle.

“That’s great! Where are they? I have to go see them.” Shade stood up but stopped when Anna tugged on her shirt, shaking her head violently.

“Wait.” She sucked a breath in, hunching over as she slowed her breathing. “I have to tell you something first.”

“Well, spit it out already!” Shade slipped back onto the bench, feeling her impatience building.

“Him and Brisa, they… they look mighty cozy for being just friends. Just had to let you know before you head that way. They look really, really close.” She gulped, staring back at Shade, her eyes filled with worry.

“What?” Shade whispered. She studied her sister’s sad eyes, knowing full well what she meant. She nodded, standing up and heading toward the castle, hoping she was ready for whatever she was going to find.

“Wait! We’re coming with you!” Benton pulled Anna off the bench and hurried behind her, though she didn’t hear them anymore. Her eyes filled with tears as she thought of Brisa in Soap’s arms. She should be okay with it, right? She’d seen it coming from a thousand miles away. They’d been apart for so long, and her love for Dylan had only amplified. So this should be okay.

But was it? Why did she feel so hurt? Her chest tightened as she got closer to the palace, choking up her breath as she swung the doors open and she flitted down the hall.

Why does it hurt so much?

Dylan was coming down the hall, obviously waiting for her. He came to a stop as he watched her approach, his face empty of emotion as he studied her for any. She paused, looking into his lovely steel-gray eyes, feeling a calm slowly wrap itself around her as he closed in to embrace her. The knot unraveled in her throat, and she could breathe again. His scent filled her nostrils, and she wanted nothing but to remain melted in his arms. The peace it gave her was all she needed now.

As the moment ticked by, she straightened and pulled away, smiling at Dylan. He clasped his hand around hers and began walking toward the main foyer of the palace, where Soap and Brisa were most likely to be waiting. With him holding her hand, she felt more ready to face anything.

Voices echoed down the hall, and she could here Jade and Nyol speaking with someone. They got louder the closer they got.

“Shade!” Brisa’s exuberant voice shrieked and brought her back to reality. She fell into her arms, squeezed tightly by her oldest friend. “Oh my gosh, we thought we’d never get here!” She pulled back to look at her and admired the sparkling diamond tiara on her head. “Wow, you’re an amazing queen!” She pulled her back into another breath-crushing hug.

Soap stood quietly behind her, watching their exchange and smiling. He looked genuinely pleased to see her and waited his turn to come in for a hug. She squeezed his slender frame, his familiar scent filling her mind with a pleasant array of memories.

“Hey, beautiful. You finally have the crown you deserve.” He also admired the tiara, his grin making him look unbearably handsome. Shade smiled, still feeling a bit shocked to see them together, but the sadness had faded away, replaced by the happiness of seeing them both.

She suddenly didn’t care that they were together. If anyone deserved each other, it was the two of them. This revelation set her at ease, making the reunion much more sweet than bitter. Nothing was better than to have everyone she loved under one roof. She hugged them over and over again, knowing that it wouldn’t last, but it was pure bliss for now.

Chapter Twenty-Five

THE ALARM RANG
in the early morning hours, jolting Shade from her slumber. It echoed across the cobblestone streets and through the towers of the palace like a fire alarm, waking the kingdom into full alert within minutes. Panic didn’t ensue, but an organized assembly of guards and people gathered on the grounds, readied for anything.

Shade had wrapped her robe around her frame when Nyol burst into her room. He looked wide awake, as though he never slept and was ready at a moment’s notice. He approached her in full armor, concern flashing in his eyes.

“The Unseelie army is approaching. We are ready to meet them, and all our defenses are in place. I’m not sure how big their hoard is, but from the looks of it, it’s vast.” Nothing could veil the concern behind Nyol’s eyes, which sent a shiver down Shade’s spine.

She nodded. “Get me some armor.”

Hesitating, Nyol’s confused face only made her more determined. “Please, I’m fighting with my people. I won’t stand up here and watch them fight for me from afar. I have powers, and I need to use them for this. I was meant for this. It’s always been for this. They need me, Nyol.” Shade waited, her patience waning as she watched understanding float across his features.

“Of course, Your Majesty. I’ll send a squire and servants immediately.” He turned and rushed off down the hall. His uneasiness made her stomach churn as she paced back and forth in her room. She could do this, she had to. Everything had been building up to this moment. Her strength, her powers, it was all for this war in Faerie. She was meant to fight with her people, no matter what. And she would.

Servants poured in, arms filled with leathers, chainmail and weapons. Floating about her as they took in her measurements and began dressing her with the armor, Shade tried to calm her nerves, breathing slowly in and out and going over in her head Lana’s instructions on engaging in a full-out war. To observers, she looked crazy, nodding every now and then, confirming a maneuver or two in her head, but no one questioned her, and in no time, she was fully armored.

Clasping the hilt of her sword, she glanced down at the chainmail and faerie armor clasped around her body. The metal was lighter than armor made by humans would’ve been, but the weight of it and the chainmail felt oddly comforting to her. She headed out of her room and into the foyer, where she found Jade and Benton waiting, also fully prepared for battle.

“Where are you going?” Jade inquired, narrowing her eyes at the armor she was wearing. “You’re the queen; you don’t go out and fight.”

“I will be there with my people, and I will be fighting. They need me. You know this.” Shade held her ground and only stirred from the spot when Dylan came running into the room, followed by Soap. They were also dressed and fully armed and waited for further instructions as they gathered around her.

“Where’s Nyol?” Shade glanced around, looking for the NicScren Guard’s leader.

“He’s at the gates, already transporting legions to the outer gates of the palace. He said he will be waiting for you,” Paki offered as he stepped past the others and came to kneel before her. Afterward, he stood and motioned them forward to follow him through the doors and out past the gardens.

This is it,
thought Shade. Her nervous stomach gave way to a dangerous calm. She tried to shut off her feelings, but she knew she was out for blood. This was for everything she’d been through up till now, so there would be no mercy, only death and blood.

Transported to the outside gates, she saw her army filtering though one-way portals that would let people out through the magical barrier, but not back in. Pulling out her sword, she kept close to Dylan and her mother, hoping things would not be as bad as she thought they would be. The last time she was surrounded by the sluagh hoard of Aveta’s, they’d been marked for death. This time, she was determined to never fall into such a trap again. Following Paki, who led them right behind Nyol, she made her way to the front and stepped through one of the many one-way portals.

A flash of light enveloped her and after a millisecond of that and a slight jolt, she was surrounded by deafening screams and thousands and thousands of fighting sluagh, Unseelie fey and NicScren soldiers. There were fallen all over the place, covering the ground with blood and bodies. She rushed forward, slamming into a dark fey warrior that was about to thrust its spear into a NicScren soldier who had fallen to the ground.

She groaned as her breath was knocked out of her, but she had done what she’d intended. The dark faery landed on its back but jumped right back up, narrowing its gaze at her. Smiling maliciously, it ran toward her, aiming the spear at her chest.

But Shade was already expecting it and swung her sword to smack the spear out of its hand before sending a fireball right into its chest. The deafening screech it let out as the fire consumed it made her skin crawl. It collapsed to the ground, already still and unmoving. Shade turned to find another replacing its fallen comrade and began sparring with the creature, hitting it hard with the sword, causing black blood to squirt into the air but not damaging the creature enough to bring it down.

What the hell was it? It looked like a combination of a goblin and salamander. Its black blood streaked across her armor as she slashed at it. With one final stab, she caught it in the neck, and it quivered right before falling lifelessly to the ground.

“Shade!” Dylan fought his way toward her and turned to cover her back. “Nyol’s army is gaining ground but taking heavy casualties!” he yelled as he decapitated another dark faerie who had plunged through the line of sluagh and had targeted them.

“What can I do?” She kicked at an Orc which had stomped over, swinging its mallet in her direction. It was slow and easy to dodge, making it a swift job to maneuver around its swinging arms and stab it in the throat. Dark red blood gushed from the wound as she pulled her sword back out. It made the hilt slippery, but she didn’t have time to think about it, for another and another Unseelie warrior pounced on her with unrelenting force.

Dylan yanked one off her back, sending it crashing into a group of four others. But he had his own battles to fight, and she continued hacking through the sluagh crowding around her.

They kept coming, and she wasn’t sure if she would be able to last forever, considering she was a mortal, and they were most likely all immortals.

Great.

The fight became a blur of dark, black-red blood and filth. Shade barely felt the slashes across her arms and legs, barely registered the fall of NicScren soldiers around her. She had lost sight of Dylan, her mother and Benton and saw nothing but her own need for blood vengeance. It filled her with an exuberance she’d never felt before. It was dangerous to feel this way, but right now, it was all she needed.

A wall of NicScren soldiers pushed the Unseelie army back and she found herself picking off the few that made it through the line. Breathing hard and beginning to feel the exhaustion from the constant fighting, she glanced around, one sight catching her eyes like a stiff, sharp pain. It sent a burning sensation into her chest as she ran through the field of bodies of the fallen, almost tripping over them as she stumbled forward.

On the ground, her neck twisted at an odd angle, was her mother. Blood was spattered across her stomach, and her sword was still gripped in her lifeless hand.

No.

“No, no, no….” Shade dropped her own sword as she scooped up her mother, clutching her to her chest and checking her thoroughly for any sign of life. Closing her eyes, she sent her healing magic deep into mother’s body, searching for any spark of life to grip onto and brighten once more.

But there was none. The tendrils of her power could find nothing to heal.

“No, Mom. Come on, Mom.” She shook her mother’s body, unaware of the tears and sobs that filled her choked breath. Her blood mixed with that of the dark army’s remains smudged across both their armors and skin. Shade’s body trembled as she cried, screaming for her mother to awaken and make everything all right once more. But she didn’t move. Her skin was pale, free of the blush of life. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a braid, now matted with drying blood and bits of gore. Shade pushed a few strands of hair away from her mother’s face. She was afraid to let go, afraid to accept that this was all real and not some godforsaken nightmare.

Slowly pulling away from her mother’s body, she scanned around, blinking away the blur of tears as she searched for the ones she loved. Dylan was not too far away, still fighting back a group of sluagh and taking hard hits to his side from one particular troll. Benton was nowhere in sight, but from the fiery pillars of smoke coming from the west side of the battlefield, she knew he was having a time frying the enemy. She stepped forward, finding a breach in Nyol’s line of soldiers where an outpouring of Unseelie made their way toward her.

“You won’t win,” Shade whispered under her breath. She closed her eyes and reaching her power out toward the earth and the wind. She set free her magic, which had lived in her all this time without release, and sent its fingers crashing through the dirt, upheaving the land into a wave of mud and rock, pummeling the rushing sluagh into the ground. The ones behind them paused momentarily before continuing to pour in through the breach.

This only made her angrier. She curled her fingers into her palms, cutting into her skin and feeling her blood drip softly into the earth. Her face hardened into a grimace as she breathed in slowly, letting her heart beat calmly as she pulled in more energy from the earth. Fire burned inside, begging for release as she let her breath out.

Let the Unseelie burn.

She held out her arms and splayed her fingers apart as she called forth her fire, and it balled up inside her palms, growing in intensity.

The little fireballs multiplied in size and power, spreading out before her until a wall of fireballs stood readied in front of her as more sluagh made their way toward her. Nyol was now nearby, watching in fascinated horror as she gathered more and more fire until it was a funneling firestorm around her. Just before the enemy made it to her, she sent the flames toward them, igniting the line of Unseelie.

Their screeches echoed across the battlefield, bringing all eyes of the NicScren toward the inferno consuming the Unseelie army, rapidly spreading from warrior to warrior and miraculously avoiding the NicScren and Shade’s loved ones. Everyone stood still, the horror of the power jumping from soldier to soldier, consuming them until nothing but ashes remained.

The ring of fire extinguished as she exhausted her power. She stumbled back toward Jade’s body and sank to her knees, sobbing. Tears were still slipping down her dirty cheeks as she scanned the land around her once more.

The NicScren soldiers had pushed the remaining Unseelie back even farther, but were still fighting the vast horde. Where was Dylan? And Benton? She prayed they were okay, that this insanity had not taken them from her, too. How could she find them in such chaos?

She fingered the blue orb dangling from her necklace, another gift from Dylan, who had given it to her on the dark, desolate beach of her recovery. Those days on the beach, healing with Soap and Dylan, seemed decades ago as she sat in a puddle of blood next to her mother’s body. The summoning orb reminded her of loyalties broken, but somehow she knew that one loyalty wasn’t really broken. Camulus had given the orb to Dylan to give to her. In a way, he must’ve done it to make sure she knew he’d always be there for her. That assumption felt right. He had left them at The Great Divide, to her dismay, but it was at Ursad’s command, who couldn’t disobey Corb. She knew that now. Lana’s voice echoed in her head, reassuring her that her feelings were correct, that the elven-pixie would come if she summoned him, and he would take her wherever she needed to go.

She held the orb to her lips, softly rubbing her fingers over it as it pulsated and turned milky white. “Camulus, help us.”

A moment later, a bend in the air and a jolting whoosh brought the green-skinned, orange-eyed teleporter next to her. He kneeled to bow before her and searching her for affirmation and forgiveness.

“Shade, I’ll take you wherever you need to go. Tell me, quickly.” His eyes darted toward the fighting faeries nearby. The wall of warriors, Seelie and Unseelie alike, was closing in, and Shade had to get Jade’s body out of there now.

Gripping onto her mother’s hand, she held the other out toward Camulus who gripped it and held onto Jade’s other flaccid hand. “Take me to the Scren Palace foyer, now!” Shade hollered over the screams of the dying. The jaunt shook the air around them, and they landed back inside the Scren Palace.

“Benton, Dylan and Soap are out there! Find them, please!” She begged Camulus before letting go of his smooth, green hand. He nodded and immediately disappeared.

She prayed he was successful. She prayed for so many things at this moment.

Still clutching her mother, whom she’d cradled in her embrace, feeling numb and lost, she waited as Camulus reappeared and disappeared, dropping off Dylan, Soap and then finally Benton.

“Shade?” Anna entered the foyer, having impatiently paced the palace as she waited for them to return. She collapsed next to her and their mother, looking at Shade in disbelief. “What’s wrong with Mom? Shade?”

Shade couldn’t answer. Her voice had been swallowed by her throat and remained there. Anna shook their mother, wailing and screaming as Benton rushed to their sides, soot and blood streaked across his face.