The Iron Sword (The Fae War Chronicles Book 1) (17 page)

I heard my breath leave my lungs in what sounded very like a sigh of relief. “Wisp.”

Wisp flew out from beneath the bed and hovered in front of my face. “My people are excellent at concealment,” he said with a note of pride in his tenor voice.

Apparently that was the cue to abandon said concealment, because seven other glows came whizzing excitedly out from various hiding places throughout my room: three came from under the bed, one wriggled out from a desk drawer, two had hid in my wardrobe and the last had found a hollow space behind one of the paintings on the wall.

“Well,” I said finally, after the glows had all formed a little group behind Wisp, “I suppose you’d better all introduce yourselves.”

“Yes, yes,” Wisp said, “that is a very good idea, Tess-mortal.” He checked himself. “I apologize….in my excitement I sometimes forget that my affectionate name for you is redundant.” He said the word redundant in three syllables: re-dun-dant. I tried to suppress a smile, unsuccessfully.

I turned around my desk-chair to face the room and sat down, arranging my sword to the side and folding my hands in my lap.

Wisp cleared his throat grandly. He bowed. “First, my Lady Lumina, one of the three princesses of the Glasidhe.”

“Thank you, Lady Tess, for taking us in,” said Lumina in a lovely serene voice. Her glow was so bright that I could barely make out the outline of her body, but I was sure she was quite beautiful.

“I am honored by your presence, Princess Lumina,” I said, inclining my head to her.

“And this is Galax,” Wisp continued, introducing a male glow, a giant among the Small Folk. Galax was nearly two heads taller than Princess Lumina, and about twice her size in general. “He is a protector of our royal family.”

Galax nodded to me gravely. I nodded back, managing to keep a serious expression. He wore a sword in a scabbard across his back, and I imagined that it would take him two hands to wield the blade.

“And these two are Forin and Farin,” said Wisp. The two standing next to Galax bowed simultaneously. One was male, one female—I assumed the male was Forin, and the female Farin. They were twins, and both wore their hair in sort of long bob, so only by careful inspection could I distinguish Farin from her slender twin brother. They, too, were armed to the teeth with miniature weapons. Farin favored the bow while her brother wore a bandolier of daggers.

“This is Flora, one of the Princess Lumina’s ladies,” said Wisp, gesturing to the glow hovering to one side of Lumina.

I saw through her glow that Flora wore a very short sword at her waist, and a bandolier of what looked like throwing-knives. Strapped to her delicate leg was another sheath, holding a dagger no doubt. Even though she was no taller than my hand, I decided I wouldn’t want to invoke the wrath of the graceful but undoubtedly lethal Flora. A small silver circlet shone against her purple-dark hair, denoting her as some type of noble, I surmised, or a servant of the princess.

“And her brother,” continued Wisp, “Forsythe. They are cousins to Forin and Farin.”

So that was why their names were all similar, I thought in slight amusement to myself.

“My lady Tess,” said the dark-clad trooping Fae. He looked no less deadly than his sister, with a minute bow slung across his back and a quiver of tiny black-fletched arrows. To my surprise, he bowed to me. I smiled, which seemed to please him.

“Pleased to meet you,” I said. Then I turned my attention back to the whole group. “I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your home, and I spoke just now to one of my good friends, a Sidhe who might be able to gain the ear of the Queen.” I told myself that Ramel would help, that the Dark Court would not be so unconcerned as to do nothing. “And if you wish, Princess Lumina, I could ask for an audience for you, with Queen Mab.”

Princess Lumina glided forward, as if drifting on a gentle swell of air though the room was perfectly still. “Thank you for the offer, Lady Tess,” she said in her mellifluous voice, “but the Small Folk and the Sidhe have never quite seen eye-to-eye, in more ways than one.”

I smiled at Lumina’s calm humor. Flora and Forsythe, too, suppressed chuckles. I admired their resilience, that they were able to see humor so soon after the dreadful event they had survived.

Flora stepped forward, with Forsythe close behind her. “If you do not mind, Lady Tess,” she said in a strong alto voice, “my brother and I would like to conduct a sweep of your chambers, to assure its safety.”

I gestured to my chambers with one hand. “Please. And make yourselves at home. I’m the only one who comes in here unannounced. Everyone else knocks and asks permission.”

Flora nodded. “Duly noted.”

She and Forsythe flew off to inspect the nooks and crannies of my room.

“With your permission, Princess Lumina,” I said, “I’d like to ask a favor of your people.”
“You have taken us in and proven yourself to be a Friend of the Small Folk,” said Lumina, “and so each may act in your service according to his own desires.” With that, Lumina turned and drifted toward my bed. Galax followed her, pulling a pillow to the center of the bed and standing by it like a sentry. Lumina curled up in the center of the pillow, barely making a dimple in the fabric.

“What favor do you ask?” Wisp said.

“A group of my friends has ridden out to rescue a party that was attacked by dark forces,” I said. “They said that any venture outside the keep’s walls is dangerous, so they wouldn’t let me go with them. I’d appreciate it if a pair of you would follow them, and come get me if they run into trouble.”

“They should have taken you with them,” Wisp said after a moment’s thought. “Because you are mortal, and you are not hurt by iron. That is what the Enemy is using against them, yes?”

“Yes,” I agreed.

“We shall go,” said Forin—or it might have been Farin. I couldn’t tell without staring, and I thought that would be rather impolite.

“Thank you,” I said. “They headed out about a quarter-hour ago, in the direction of the Royal Woods.”

“We shall have to make up time,” said Farin. I was sure it was her this time because her voice was much lighter than that of her brother. “But we shall follow, and I shall come to you if any ill befalls them.”

“Thank you,” I said, relieved that I would at least have some idea of what was happening to Ramel, Donovan and Emery. And Finnead. His face rose unbidden in my mind and I shook my head to focus myself. I opened the door for Forin and Farin, and they dampened their glow as they sped down the hallway, faster than thought, passing out of sight before I even blinked.

Chapter 16

I
closed the door to my chamber. “Wisp,” I said, “do you or any of your friends need anything else right now? I brought some bread from the kitchens, and I think there’s a piece of cheese in there too, if you’d like. Or I can try to go and…find something else…” I shrugged, suddenly feeling deflated. Now there was really nothing to do but wait for Forin and Farin to return. My stomach clenched at the thought.

“We are very capable of taking care of ourselves, even here in the Dark Lady’s castle,” Wisp said, an uncharacteristic gentleness taking the sting out of his words.

“All right,” I replied wearily, sitting in my desk chair. I sighed.

“What’s the matter, Tess?” Wisp asked, landing gently on the makeshift map.

I smiled a little. “I’m trying not to complain.”

“Sometimes you need to complain,” Wisp said. “Otherwise it rattles about in your chest until you want to hit something. Or someone,” he added with a cheeky wink.

I chuckled. “It’s just that I hate feeling useless.”

Wisp nodded, flying in slow, lazy circles. “This I know, Tess, because that is part of why the Dark Lady told me to go to you. You are a mortal who favors action.”

“And here, in your world, I feel like a kid again,” I said with a dry bitterness. “I don’t think I’ll ever be good enough with a sword to truly fight, and I haven’t even touched a bow or been taken to the stables yet.”

Flora and Forsythe alighted on the edge of the table. Forsythe bowed to me and I acknowledged him with a small nod. “If I may, my Lady Tess,” he said politely. When I smiled at him, he continued, “I don’t mean to intrude, but my sister and I could not help but overhear your conversation.”

“We
are
all in one room,” I agreed. “It’s kind of hard not to overhear everything.”

Forsythe inclined his head. “That’s very true, Lady Tess, and we are still thankful that you have chosen to offer your living quarters to us as a safe haven in this time of trouble. So I would like to point out, with the utmost respect, that you are not, my lady, useless in any sense of the word.”

I couldn’t help but smile at the small Fae’s eloquence. He was very courtly, and from what I could see very handsome. I was sure he was probably very popular among the Glasidhe ladies.

“And,” he continued, “if you’d allow us, my lady, I believe that my sister and I could be of some use in further relieving your feeling of inadequacy when it comes to using weapons.”

It took me a moment of thought to process Forsythe’s words.

“What my brother means to say,” said Flora with a small smile in Forsythe’s direction, “is that we can teach you.”

“Teach me?” I repeated.

“We may be small,” said Flora, and her sword, which was about the length of my pinky, flashed as she drew it, “but we fight better than the Big Folk, for our size. When we fight an enemy our own size, that’s easy. We have to be skilled enough to defend against—
larger—
threats.” Flora hesitated at the end of her sentence.

“Like me?” I supplied with a smile. “It’s all right, I won’t take offense.”

Flora smiled and bowed a little. “Very well, Lady Tess. Yes, like you.”

“So you could help me with swordsmanship?”

“We could help you with swordsmanship,” agreed Forsythe seriously, “and we could also teach you archery.”

“And knife-throwing,” added Flora, “although Forin is better than me at that.”

“Don’t be modest, sister,” said Forsythe teasingly. He turned back to me and said in a mock-aside, “She can put out the eye of a spider at two hundred paces!”

I thought about that for a moment, then nodded in respect. “That sounds pretty deadly to me.”

“Weapons aren’t my forte,” said Wisp without rancor, “so I’ll leave you in the capable hands of my companions, Tess. My strength is strategy, and speed.”

“Thanks, Wisp,” I said fondly, watching him turn to study the map. Then I looked at Flora and Forsythe. “Can we start now?”

“Certainly!” said Flora, her aura pulsing with enthusiasm. Her sword flashed again as she made a few lightning-quick passes, the metal singing through the air.

I grinned, suddenly feeling an almost overwhelming rush of optimism. I felt like I had a secret weapon now. Ramel, yes, he was a good teacher, but these small Fae, they had fought against beings literally a hundred times their size their entire lives. I figured I could use every bit of their expertise. “Let me get my sword,” I said.

For the next two hours, I found out that Flora and Forsythe were excellent swordsmen—they probably could have beaten Ramel, if the size differential were taken away. I also found out that they were exacting and demanding taskmasters: Flora would stand on the desk, and tell me what maneuvers to perform while Forsythe hovered above my head, examining my stance and execution from an aerial perspective. Then Forsythe critiqued my form, ever polite but painfully precise. Every half hour or so they switched positions, Flora hovering above me and Forsythe taking over the role of drill-sergeant. By the end of the first hour I felt sweat sliding down my back, and by the end of the second hour my arm ached and throbbed.

“Perhaps we should give her a short rest, brother,” said Flora, sitting on the edge of the table, dangling her legs and giving me a wicked smile.

“Yes, perhaps,” I agreed in a slightly mocking tone as I wiped my sweat-soaked face with a spare rag.

But Forsythe didn’t answer. He seemed deep in thought, turning in slow circles up near the ceiling. I took that as agreement, so I pulled out my chair and sat down with a sigh of relief, leaning my sword against the table.

“Flora,” I said, “how long do you think it will take the rescue party to return?”

“They were going to the Royal Wood?”

“Or somewhere close to it.” I nodded.

“It depends on many factors,” said Flora slowly. “If they are a rescue party, they will probably have to travel slower than a raiding party, because they will have healers and supplies to help aid their comrades. Then, once they arrive on the scene, they must decide whether it is most advantageous to leave on the return journey immediately, or if it is most wise to wait a time before beginning the return journey. They would have to wait if the healers require time to stabilize the wounded, or if the rescued warriors’ mounts are in no condition to travel. There are many different situations which all require different responses.”

“So they could return tonight,” I said, “or days from now.”

Flora nodded. “Yes, Lady Tess.”
I waved my hand. “Just Tess, please.”

With a grin, Flora acquiesced. “As you wish.”

“Lady Tess,” said Forsythe from above me.

Leaning back in my chair and looking up at him, I pointed a finger at Forsythe. “That goes for you too.”

“I apologize,” said Forsythe in his courtly manner. “I was not paying attention to the conversation between you and my sister.”

“Not Lady Tess. I’m not nobility of any sort. Just Tess.”

“Very well, if you wish it,” said Forsythe.

“I do,” I replied, seeing from the corner of my eye that Flora covered a grin at my mock-serious reply to her stiffly courteous brother.

“I noticed,” said Forsythe, “that you hold your sword in your left hand, yet you favor your right hand when doing up buckles and picking up other objects.”

I smiled. They were small, but their minds were as sharp as their tiny swords. “When I first came here…the reason I was brought through the Gate was that I was injured in a fight with a
garrelnost
.”

“You fought a
garrelnost
?” said Flora. I wondered if I was imagining the undertone of awe in her voice.

“Yes,” I said, and I noticed that Wisp had stopped pacing about on the map. “But it was only because of Wisp that I survived.”

Flora and Forsythe turned to Wisp, who stood up and puffed his chest out just a bit. I hid my smile, grateful for the reprieve from my sword-lesson.

“Tess already knew of the Weakness,” explained Wisp. “She would have worked it out in her own time.”

“But time was what I didn’t have,” I pointed out, remembering the horrible spine-chilling growl of the
garrelnost
and the carrion stench of its breath, the bristling of its ugly mottled fur as it circled Finnead.

“I only urged you in the right direction,” said Wisp. “That was my given task. Pushing you in the right direction.”

“Well,” I said, “you obviously did a very good job of it.”

“How did you kill it?” Flora asked.

I cleared my throat. “You can’t tell anyone else. It’s…it’s sort of a secret. The Sidhe, except for my sword-teacher, they don’t know that I know the Weakness.”

“Have you not met the Queen yet?” Forsythe asked, landing lightly on the desk next to his sister.

“She…um, she didn’t see it,” I said awkwardly. “I don’t…know. She…”

“You hid it from her,” Flora said, standing up and leaning toward me. This time I was sure I wasn’t mistaking the awe in her voice. I shifted in my chair uncomfortably.

“I…well, yes, but…” I trailed off.

“You should not feel useless, or like a child,” Flora said, suddenly grinning, “because you are the strongest mortal we have met in
ages
, and I have
never
heard of a mortal besting Queen Mab in a mind-sweep.”

I cleared my throat a little. “Well, I guess that’s good to know.”

“Your secret is safe with us,” said Forsythe.

“I know,” I said. “I wouldn’t have told you if I didn’t trust you.” I stretched my legs as I leaned back in the chair, trying to suppress the vivid memories of the fight enough to talk about it without a quiver in my voice. After a moment, when I spoke, my voice sounded steady. “Finnead took Molly on his motorcycle, and Kirby, Molly’s dog, he stayed with me. They went over a hill. I couldn’t see them, but I heard Molly scream.” I heard my voice going slightly distant and felt my eyes go unfocused, but I continued with the story. “The
garrelnost
had knocked Molly off the motorcycle and Finnead was fending it off. I had our backpack, and there was some iron in it.” I took a breath and stretched my legs again, the tug of my sore muscles bringing me back to the present, anchoring me against the pull of the powerful memory. “That’s when I heard Wisp in my head. He helped me, told me what to do. I had an iron horseshoe in my pocket. I…I jumped on the
garrelnost
and shoved it in its eye.” I shrugged. “And then Finnead finished it off.”

“It would have gone very badly for the Unseelie Court if their Vaelanbrigh had been killed,” said Forsythe.

“I know. Or at least, now I know. I wasn’t told that Finnead was anyone important. He just showed up at Molly’s cabin, when she didn’t respond to the Queen’s letter quickly enough.”

Forsythe nodded. “In these times, the Queens have little patience even with their own people, much less when it comes to mortals.”

“You are a very interesting mortal, Tess,” said Flora. Then she turned to her brother. “What was it you were about to say, brother, when we were distracted by the tale of the
garrelnost
?”

Forsythe leapt from the table into the air. “Yes. Tess, your right hand was injured, but it’s the hand you prefer to use the rest of the time?”

“Yes,” I said. “I guess the Sidhe don’t have a dominant hand. Ramel laughed at me when I told him.”

“The Sidhe,” said Forsythe with a trace of disdain in his voice, “do not deal with mortals half so often as we do anymore, and they do not take care to remember the details of mortal life.”

I shrugged. “I didn’t take offense.”

“In any case,” continued Forsythe, “is your right hand strong enough to hold a sword?”

With a smile, I transferred my sword to my right hand, showing my two small instructors the strength and range of motion that I had carefully built up since my injury. Then, to my dismay, Flora said brightly, “Well, I suppose we should start from the beginning, then.”

They proceeded to have me run drills with my sword in my right hand. At first I felt just as clumsy as if I’d never held a sword at all, but my right hand, being my dominant hand, caught on quickly when I concentrated. And even though my grip on the sword weakened after about twenty minutes, I kept practicing. The burn of my muscles and the sweat dripping down my face distracted me from thoughts of Ramel, Donovan and Emery, riding out in the dangerous dark. But there was one face that I couldn’t erase from my mind with the salt and sting of sweat, and that was a certain named Knight with mesmerizing eyes and the colors of a raven’s wing shimmering in his dark hair. I bit my lip and clenched my jaw, forcing my hand to keep steady so that I could keep drilling, keep my mind busy. I wouldn’t think his name. I wouldn’t wonder if there was an iron-tipped arrow somewhere in the night, destined to bury itself in his flesh. I wouldn’t feel a subtle, twisted prick of jealousy at the thought of the healer who would try to save him, her hands touching his skin as I had never done, fingers tracing over warm bare flesh, feeling the hard muscles beneath.

Muscles. I gritted my teeth. Concentrate on your own muscles, Tess, I told myself fiercely as Forsythe called out the name of another sword-pattern.

“Mind your footwork, there!” Flora called out from above me.

Forsythe, standing on the desk, drew his own sword. “When you bring the sword through the half-crescent pattern, make sure you tend to your feet as well. There’s no use having your sword in the right place if you have no power behind it because you’re off balance.” He demonstrated, dimming his glow so that I could clearly see his small feet tracing an effortless pattern in time with his sword.

I nodded, took a breath and tried again, patiently listening to Flora and Forsythe as they corrected smaller errors in my technique. I ran through the half-crescent pattern several more times until they were silent after I completed the move. I’d learned to take their silence as approval, one trait they had in common with Ramel as an instructor. Though light-hearted and jovial the rest of the time, Ramel became deadly-quiet in our more serious lessons, the Fae-fire flashing in his eyes when we sparred. At first it frightened me. I wasn’t sure whether he would accidentally forget that he was fighting a half-trained mortal girl, and slice me in half, but time built my trust and made it unshakeable. I tried to bring up that trust, and use it to stem the worry clouding the back of my head, telling myself that Ramel would be true to his word and come back in one piece. He’d never broken his word to me before. The Sidhe held honor in high regard, higher than their lives. It would sully Ramel’s honor to die out there, I told myself.

After the two Glasidhe switched positions, Flora called out the next pattern from the desk, and I lifted my sword. Pain flashed through my wrist but I swept emotion from my face, hiding it as best I could behind a clenched jaw and thin lips. But Flora’s glow brightened and she drifted up into the air as lightly as a soap bubble caught on a breeze. “Your sword is shaking, Tess,” she said.