The Fire King (26 page)

Nimue was looking more and more alarmed as Emily talked. She looked around the dais. “Where is the Dagda?” she asked. “They say he is part of the plan. That he is in league with Kelindria.”

“No,” said Titania. “I won't believe—”

But she didn't get a chance to finish her sentence, because at that moment the double doors of the throne room flew open, banging hard against the walls. All eyes turned in the direction of the sound.

Kelindria was standing in the opening. It was the same Kelindria Emily had seen through the seeing stone, the withered old crone, not the beautiful redheaded queen. The Morrigan stood by her side, and the two of them could have been sisters, so similar did they look.

The White Knight and the Dagda entered behind them, moving to either side.

Titania surged to her feet. “Who dares trespass in my court?”

Kelindria cackled, sending a shiver down Emily's back. There was a touch of madness to her laugh. “Have I changed so much, sweet Titania? It is I, Kelindria. As to trespassing, how can one trespass in one's own throne room?”

“You presume too much, Kelindria. Guards. Take her.”

There were ten Tuatha guards standing against the walls of the room. Four of them moved toward Kelindria, but they were stopped by the other six, who quickly moved to block their approach.

Titania stared at the traitors in shock.

“Yes, you haven't really been as attentive as you should have been, have you?” asked Kelindria. The Morrigan chuckled.

Emily had shuffled behind the throne as soon as Kelindria had entered the room, gesturing for the others to follow.

“What do we do?” whispered Jack.

“We have to get to Merlin. It's our only chance now.”

“But how?”

Emily saw Titania reach out and take hold of Nimue's hand. The Queen forced something into Nimue's grasp. Nimue closed her fingers around the object and dropped her arm to the side.

“Just stay ready,” said Emily.

Kelindria walked forward until she stood in the center of the room. The assembled fey shrank back from her, casting their gaze to the ground. Titania would get no help from them. They would follow the strongest leader, regardless of who it was.

“How was your wine today?” asked Kelindria.

Titania glanced involuntarily at the goblet that sat next to her throne. “Why?”

“Didn't taste odd? Maybe slightly sharp?”

“What have you done?”

“Poisoned you,” said Kelindria simply. A ripple of shock swept through the room. Kelindria threw an amused look at the fey. “Oh, don't worry. As long as she obeys me, she will be fine.” Kelindria held up a small vial for Titania to inspect. “The antidote. Unless you are given a small amount every day, you will die.”

Titania descended from the dais, her pale face furious. “Why not just kill me? Get it over with.”

“Oh, you are much more useful to me alive. A guarantee, if you will. In case those of your supporters who survive the war still wish to disobey me.”

“War? What war?”

Kelindria held up a hand for silence. In the distance, Emily could hear faint shouting, screams of pain, anger, the clash and clack of weapons. Kelindria waited until all in the throne room had heard it. “
That
war.”

Titania staggered, only just managing to stay upright. She glared at Kelindria. “You have brought ruin on us all. Your petty ambitions will be the end of the fey.”

“On the contrary. I'm
saving
the fey. You have become too soft, Titania. London is our city. And after today, humankind will be burned away like the weeds they are. I will sit on a throne under the open air, and all around will bow before Queen Kelindria.”

“You're insane.”

“No. I am a leader. Unlike you, perfectly willing to live like worms accepting scraps thrown at you by the humans.”

Titania slapped Kelindria. The sound was like a pistol shot, echoing throughout the chamber. All eyes turned to Kelindria. A red handprint was clearly visible on her cheek.

Nimue took the opportunity to step backward, glancing down at Emily. She inclined her head slightly. Emily got the message, and they moved slowly toward the door.

Kelindria touched her face and smiled. “You will live to regret that, Titania. I will make sure of it. Now, you will take the Morrigan and her knight to the Gate Room and unlock the Faerie Gate. Then we can move forward with my new rule.”

“I'll never give you the key, Kelindria.”

Kelindria nodded at one of the Tuatha who had sided with her. He immediately lashed out with his spear and stabbed a courtier who was standing within reach. The courtier fell to the ground without a sound, his body dissolving into a black, bubbling puddle.

“I will say again. You will take my people to the Gate Room, and you will hand over the key. Every time I have to ask, there will be another death. It is up to you.”

Emily and the others were at the door. Nimue carefully pulled it open.

“You are too late, Kelindria.”

Kelindria frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I've already sent one loyal to me to take the key and hide it where you will never find it.” Titania raised her voice when she said this, and Emily realized she was directing the comment at Nimue. “And she will bring someone to stop you, someone who has the power to destroy your Fire King.”

Kelindria's eyes narrowed. “How do you know about the Fire King?”

Titania smiled. “I am not as powerless as you think, Kelindria. This is not over. Not by a long way.”

Emily just had time to catch a glimpse of Kelindria's furious face, and then Nimue pulled her through the door and closed it quickly behind her. Emily thought that the Morrigan had glanced in their direction just as she did so, but it was hard to tell with all the fey standing between them.

“So,” said Wren in a strained voice,“I take it you are going to help us after all?”

Nimue's face was set, her eyes blazing with anger. “Oh, yes,” she said. “We're going to stop that evil witch if it's the last thing we do. Follow me.”

She turned and sprinted along the corridor. Emily and the others ran as fast as they could, their short legs making it difficult for them to keep up with the fey. They arrived back at the central shaft and the chaos that Kelindria had brought to the Faerie Tree was revealed in its entirety.

Pitched battles were being fought throughout the tree. Emily leaned over the balcony and saw that fey were fighting fey on every level. War had broken out, and nothing would ever be the same again. Friends were battling friends, grappling for weapons that would end years of companionship, simply because they had sworn allegiance to different leaders. The sounds of frantic fighting echoed throughout the Faerie Tree. Grunts of effort, yowls of pain, bellows of anger. The frantic, primitive instinct to kill or be killed.

Emily stared, transfixed by the horror of what was unfolding around her. As she watched, a piskie dropped past her field of vision, screaming as he fell all the way to the bottom of the central shaft of the tree. Emily quickly stood back, feeling sick to her stomach. She had thought they could stop this. She had thought they could change history. But she had been wrong. It was all happening anyway.

There was a shout from behind them. Emily whirled around to see the Morrigan's White Knight appear in the corridor, followed quickly by the Morrigan herself.

“Stop them!” shouted the crone gleefully. “Rip their heads from their bodies. Snap them in half. Just stop them!”

The White Knight pulled his helm off, revealing not a he but a she. A fiercelooking woman with golden skin and cruel eyes. She smiled, revealing teeth as black as oil. She dropped her helm to the ground and pointed at the four of them.

Then she started running.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY-THREE

In which Emily and Co. flee the wrath of the White Knight. And a small fey called Cob finally gets his freedom.

E
mily and the others had a head start on the White Knight. They leapt down stairs, darted around pitched battles, and avoided the blades of those who thought they were attacking them. The only advantage they had was that the White Knight looked so threatening that she had to stop frequently to fend off attacks herself. Emily didn't think these interruptions would delay her for long, though. Whatever they were going to do, they had to do it quick.

They ran on. Emily's chest was burning, her breath coming in heaving, rasping gasps. Jack and Wren were faring no better. Jack looked as though he was about to be sick, and Wren's goblin face was covered in sweat.

They darted into a corridor that sloped downward.

Identical doors opened off to either side, and Nimue pushed one open and vanished through it. Emily threw a quick look over her shoulder. There was no sign of the knight.

Emily's legs were trembling, but they made it to the door, yanking it open and falling through before the knight could see which one they used. That should at least give them a bit of time. Wren quickly slammed it shut behind them, and they paused for a brief moment to try to catch their breath.

But they couldn't afford to linger. Nimue was disappearing up another set of stairs. Emily set off after her. Nimue led them along more passages and corridors before finally stopping before a single white door.

She glanced quickly at them. “The knight?”

“I think we lost her for the moment.”

Nimue nodded and opened her hand. Emily saw that she was holding a pendant on a delicate wooden chain. This was what Titania had pushed into her hand.

“It's a key,” said Nimue. She took the pendant off the chain, then placed it in a small hole in the door. The pendant flared to life, illuminating them in a green light. It revolved slowly in the wood. There was a quiet click, then the door opened.

Nimue hurried inside. The others followed her and found themselves in a huge chamber, empty but for an archway of wood that stood in the center of the room.

Nimue approached, the others following after. The wood was still alive. Shoots and leaves grew from archway, writhing in the air like worms seeking moisture.

“This is the main Faerie Gate,” said Nimue. She pushed aside some leaves and pulled something from the wood. Emily realized with a jolt that it was the key to the gate. The same key she had in her pocket. She quickly patted her coat. The familiar circle was still there. How odd. They were the same thing from different times, yet here they were existing in the same space.

Nimue pulled and pushed the small branches on the key, fixing it so that it would take them to where she wanted to go.

“Are you ready?” she asked.

Emily nodded. As did Jack and Wren. Nimue placed the key back in the wood. Immediately, the space between the arch darkened. Emily could no longer see the other side of the room. Just a black shadowy mass, like clouds moving against a moonlit sky.

“Let's—” Nimue started to say, but her words froze on her tongue as she stared back at the door. Emily whirled around to see the White Knight and the Morrigan standing in the doorway. There was a moment of frozen silence, then Nimue turned and jumped toward the gate.

“Hurry!” she shouted.

The knight surged forward, a snarl twisting her golden features. Emily closed her eyes and jumped into the darkness. For a moment she felt as if she had been caught in a spiderweb, frozen in place, then there was a lurch, and she was yanked downward.

A second later her face was resting against a cold flagstone. She quickly rolled to her feet, staggering as a wave of dizziness overwhelmed her. Jack and Wren were lying close by, groaning. Against the wall was another wooden archway, similar to the one they had entered in the Faerie Tree. As Emily tried to keep her balance, Nimue appeared through the opening. She staggered a few steps, then skidded to a halt and whirled around, facing the arch.

But no one else came.

Nimue allowed herself to relax slightly.

“Where are they?” asked Emily.

Nimue glanced at her. She held up the key to the gate. “I yanked it out as I came through.”

“So they're gone?” asked Jack, pushing himself to his feet.

“No. The gate would have stayed open for a few seconds, so they probably still made it through. The key was set for this location, but if we're lucky they've been dropped a few miles away.”

“And if we are not lucky?” asked Wren.

“Then they could be waiting in the next room.”

Emily took a moment to survey their surroundings. The cold flagstone floor was a design element the builder obviously liked, as the walls and roof were made from the same thing. They were basically in an empty stone room with a single arched window allowing the weak gray light inside. Emily approached it. She could see it was raining outside, a steady downpour that looked like it would carry on for days. The rain spattered against the stone sill, bouncing up and gently prickling against her face. She stood on her tiptoes and leaned out the window, taking in their surroundings.

There were two colors outside. Green and gray. The green of a vast forest that coated the hills surrounding them, and the gray of the sky. A cold breeze ruffled her hair as she gazed out over the trees. Far in the distance, she thought she could just glimpse a huge towering castle with spires piercing the gray clouds.

She turned from the window. “Are we in Faerie?” she asked.

Nimue nodded. “The Valley of Forgotten Dreams.”

“Charming name,” muttered Jack, peering out the window. “It doesn't look very … fairylike, does it?”

“We are far from the beaten track here. This is the Unforgiven Forest.” Nimue looked puzzled. “But what exactly were you expecting?”

“Magical cities. Golden elves. Ogres and things traipsing around the landscape. Magic everywhere you look.”

“Oh, we have all that. You should see the Floating City of Arberlast. A place of such beauty you will weep. But now is not the time for such things. We must move quickly. Follow me.”

Nimue strode across to a heavy door and pulled it open, revealing a rather dank, dark castle foyer. A wide set of stone stairs rose up from the middle of the room, separating and curving up and around to either side.

“Charming place,” muttered Jack.

“It was the best we could do at the time,” said Nimue. “We were rushed …” She hesitated, then sighed. “Look, I know what you think about me. But the stories have it all wrong. Merlin
agreed
to be interred here. It was part of a plan—”

“Agreed?” asked Emily, surprised. “Why would anyone agree to such a thing?”

“It was the only way to stop Morgan Le Fay.”

“Sorry,” interrupted Wren. “Morgan Le Fay?
The
Morgan Le Fay? From the stories? Half sister to King Arthur?”

“The same. Morgan was half-fey herself. And she had many followers. Followers who wanted the same as Kelindria. The eradication of humankind. But Arthur and his knights vowed to stop her.”

“The Knights of the Round Table?” asked Wren.

Nimue nodded. “Or to give them their original name, the Knights of the Invisible Order.”

There was a pause while they took this in.

“So…,” began Jack. “All those legends. The knights. Arthur. Mordred. They were all true?”

“The people existed, yes. Although the legends that survive today are more …
distortions
of what really happened. Morgan Le Fay was very dangerous. She thirsted for power and didn't care how she got it or how many people had to die. Merlin tried to stop her, but by this time, her power was simply too much.”

“She was stronger than Merlin?” asked Emily, surprised.

“In some ways, yes. Merlin had a conscience to stop him from going too far. Morgan Le Fay did not. That gave her the edge, as there was nothing she wouldn't do to achieve her aims. Titania had no love for Morgan and wanted her stopped just as much as Merlin did. For the first time in history, the fey and humans actually agreed on something. So a plan was hatched. And I was the bait.”

“I don't understand,” said Wren. “How were you the bait?”

“Merlin and I were in love. Had been for some time. When Titania found this out, she wanted to use it to our advantage. I was to pretend allegiance to Morgan Le Fay, take her information about Merlin and the Invisible Order. It took me a long time to gain her trust, but I did it in the end.”

Nimue trailed off, a sad look on her face.

“And?” prompted Jack.

“There was no way Morgan Le Fay could capture Merlin on her own. He was too wary, too powerful. So Morgan had an idea. I was the only person in the world who Merlin would allow inside his defenses. I was the only one who could capture him. So she … it's hard to describe. She took most of her power and put it inside me. It left her weak, defenseless, but it enabled me to ‘trap' Merlin and lock him away here in Faerie.”

“Didn't he fight you?”

“Don't you understand? He knew what I was doing. He was the one who came up with the plan. He sacrificed himself so that Morgan Le Fay could be leeched of her power. I locked him up here, and while Morgan Le Fay lay in her tower, weak as a newborn babe, the Invisible Order captured her.”

“Did they kill her?” asked Emily, fascinated by the story.

“No. They didn't have the power. But they locked her away in a similar manner to what I did to Merlin. The plan worked. We stopped her.”

“But if you were successful,” said Wren, “why was Merlin kept trapped here?”

Nimue hung her head in shame. “Yes. That was where things went wrong. Titania decided to … alter the plan. The Invisible Order was still a danger. It was still dedicated to fighting the fey. And Merlin was their leader. She thought it would be better for all concerned if Merlin was to … remain where he was.”

Emily was horrified. “And you allowed that?”

“What was I supposed to do? I argued, yes. But she is my Queen. And she controlled access to Merlin. This is the first time I have been to Faerie since it happened. In Titania's defense, her plan worked. Since that time there have been no major wars. A few skirmishes, yes, a few hidden battles, handled by her spies, but on the whole it has been a thousand years of peace.”

“You've kept that poor man locked away for a thousand years?” asked Wren, anger rising in his voice.

“He is not a man. Not as you are. But yes, for a thousand years.”

“And he expected … what? A few days? A week?”

“He was to stay locked away till Morgan was captured.”

“And how long did that take?”

“It took some time for the knights to get through her defenses. About a month.”

Jack shook his head. “I don't think he's going to be very pleased to see you,” he said.