Through Time-Slamming (23 page)

The beast didn’t move even though Pestale had unchained it. Pestale raised his pendant high and the huge creature got to its feet as it bellowed with fury. Pestale shifted them, calling for Hordly to join him.

It was now all or nothing. He would have to take one final all encompassing, and overwhelming stand.

He had the monoliths in place; they hovered above the Inverness River as he chanted the spell to bring forth his most lethal Unseelie out of the Dark Realm.

And they came in hordes.

Drooling, grunting, starving, with so many eyes popping with ravenous need. They slithered, jumped, and hopped over one another in their scramble to be free and fed.

Pestale watched the sky for the Gorka.

It flew in and terrorized the humans running en masse as it made a sweeping flyby and scorched the streets of the city with its deadly blue flames. It had never fed on humans before, but as it swooped down, its tongue slapped and slid around a woman running for cover. It seemed to enjoy its meal and looked for more.

Chaos.
He had created this. He alone would bring order and rule. He, Pestale, would rule the Universe.

~*~

The Pixies had never been able to resist Prince Breslyn.

They fawned over him and flitted about his handsome face. As they flirted with him all the while, Danté rolled his eyes which only made them giggle and turn to flirt with him as well.

Breslyn whispered softly, “My beauties, I have great news.”

Pixies loved news and they tittered happily as they awaited his announcement. He looked at them and smiled broadly. “You know that I am mated to Princess Ete?”

A few of them sighed.

He grinned. “My news is that we are expecting…a baby.”

This sent them off into a flurry of movement and laughter. A baby was indeed a great thing. They too had a difficult time conceiving. Immortality affected their ability to bear children just as it did the Fae.

At length, he gained their consent to release the Queen as he made an excellent argument for her release.

One of their seers arrived just as they made ready to shift off and advised them that they had to hurry to Inverness which was under attack by more Unseelie than ever thought possible.

Grimly, Breslyn, and Danté escorted their Queen, taking her high above to the roof of one of the taller buildings in the heart of the city, well above the horrendous fray.

Aaibhe gasped at what she witnessed.

~*~

Jazz watched Deimne take to the air, but even as he swiped at the Gorka it blew its blue flame in his direction. She gasped as she watched, worried about Frankie’s father. A slimy reptilian Unseelie, who dared to poke her was taken by its slippery neck and thrown onto the ground before she drove her sword home. She was sprayed with black goo as it went all over her body and face.

“Ewwwww…” she gasped as she blinked herself clean and returned her attention to Deimne. She couldn’t allow anything to happen to Frankie’s father and she was worried. He was in such absolute danger.

She witnessed him shift and land on the grotesque Gorka’s long neck. She was sure he was shielded against the poison the creature emitted. For if not, it would get into his skin and it could be fatal.

What was he doing? Did he think he could ride the thing to its death?

The three eyed monstrous dragon bucked as its leathery wings spanned the sky and she saw Deimne struggling to hold tight while he wielded his sword. He was trying to climb onto position and stab the upper eye.

Frankie would be so proud of her father. He was doing all this to distract the beast from the humans.

Their eyes met for a moment as he grinned like a boy on an adventure. She smiled and returned to the job of
Slamming
group after group of Unseelie, but the grotesque things just kept coming.

They were so totally outnumbered. This was trouble of the worst kind.

She had no choice but to keep taking them down, first twenty, then thirty at a time. She hopped from one still body to the next to finish them off.

Windows to the store fronts were being smashed. The city looked as though a bomb had taken it down. The streets were inundated with Unseelie creatures groping, climbing, crawling and slithering over their fallen brethren.

They came by the hundreds, upon hundreds and they just kept coming.

Jazz looked at Trevor and shouted over the din, “What the hell! We were supposed to surround them Trev, not the other way around.”

“Just keep
Slamming,
love; just keep
Slamming
. We’ll do,” he said encouragingly.

No matter how many she took them down
, they kept coming.

The Milesians, Daoine, and Seelie Warriors as well as Nuad and his team of Trackers, including herself, Trevor, and all the Royals were being backed into a circle.

They were being surrounded by the monsters. Jazz was concerned about the ramifications.

Jazz didn’t know what made her look up at that moment, but she did. It was just in time to see Deimne being thrown off the Gorka’s neck.

“Trevor!” she shouted and pointed as Deimne plunged unconscious toward the street.

Trevor vanished into his shift and then reappeared holding the still Sluagh and gently laid him on the concrete street.

Breslyn was on the spot telling Trevor, “With me quickly!” He and Trevor waved their hands only inches from Deimne’s torso with the healing power that was theirs.

Jazz felt tears well up as she waited for Deimne to regain consciousness. Over and over again, she kept telling herself they couldn’t let anything happen to Deimne. He just had to be okay.

Things were not going well at all. They were losing this war. The human race could be lost.

~*~

Frankie had been sitting beside Ete and discussing baby names. It had been fun and she had for a moment, forgotten that her da, Jazz, and Trevor were out there, perhaps in a battle. Suddenly, a sure vision swept through her like a hurricane tearing away all other thoughts
. Her da!

Her da
.

Pain shot through her entire body and then…
nothing
!

He was hurt. Her father was hurt. She had just discovered her real blood father. He was her connection to herself. She already adored him. The way he spoke and the way he carried himself impressed her. She loved glancing his way to find a look of love in his eyes. He had become all important in her life.

Jazz. Where was Jazz…?

Fear engulfed Frankie as she went within her Daoine Fae and knew exactly where her father and Jazz were.
She saw it all.

Frankie shifted.

Frankie arrived to stand on the roof of a three story building. Below her, deformed, raging beasts were ravaging the city, destroying life and feeding with a gluttony she could never have imagined.

Then she saw her fellow Fae. Many of them had formed an enormous circle and were keeping the monsters at bay. Those monsters were on the attack—attacking the Fae, for some of them had Death weapons.

At the center of that circle her father lay unconscious. She cried out. Above her she spotted the Gorka blowing flames of blue, across the street and eating humans in its path!

“Noooo!” Frankie yelled. Suddenly she was infused with her family’s past. Her mind was flooded with ancient memories that were not her own, but those of ancestors long gone. Her fury and desire to get to her father and protect him, built up with her scream. Her body filled with power all at once. It was a power meant to grow with her as she grew into maturity, but it came as a force and it came all at once.

She shifted to her father and rubbed her fingers along his face. “Da, da.” A growl took over her voice. She rubbed her hands along his Death Sword and whispered an ancient spell she had never heard before, then Frankie stood.

Frankie’s gold lit auburn hair stood out straight all around her face. She felt her body hairs stiffen with electricity. She felt a might take over every magical ability she had to infuse those abilities with a super strength that would not be denied.

Frankie reached out her hand and pointed at the hordes of Unseelie monsters closing ranks on the Fae. A fireball as large as a tank went streaming towards the monstrous crowd. It was as though the fireball seemed to be sentient as it picked out its targets and killed them.

Jazz stared at Frankie for a moment, but stood back and allowed the girl some room. Frankie glanced at her, but knew she couldn’t for long or she would soften and this new power would be lost.

She had the magic of Danu from rubbing her father’s Sword and her own Fios fireball expanded by her Daoine blood. She was going to use that power and end these creatures once and for all.

She sent fireball after fireball at them, cutting them down by the hundreds.

~*~

From her perch on top of the high story building, Aaibhe watched humans shoot iron bullets into the crowd of abominations. She felt such a warm admiration for these brave humans. They were mortal and risked all to stop and take aim.

Then she saw Pestale.

He was holding the Gorka pendant in his hand and directed the Gorka with it.

She put up her hand and chanted, calling for the pendant to come to her. Pestale glanced around as he felt the pendant tug against him and he saw the Queen.

He pointed the pendant at the Gorka and gave it a target. That target being Queen of the Seelie Fae, Aaibhe.

The Gorka stopped in mid-flight and changed its course. With a wild howl of fury it zeroed in on the Queen. Its leathery wings made a swooshing sound in the air as it flew directly towards Aaibhe.

Aaibhe knew she was in danger. The Gorka was a viable threat even to her. She would have to shift off, but the Gorka now had a target and would not easily give up. She needed to keep Pestale in sight, for he was her target.

The Queen looked towards Deimne hoping that the Sluagh had not been poisoned by the Gorka. He should have been revived already. Breslyn and Trevor’s healing powers should have revived him. Then her eyes met with Frankie’s.

All at once Aaibhe realized what was happening to their young Daoine. She watched as Frankie looked past her at the Gorka. She witnessed young Frankie’s contemptuous glare as the child’s hand went up. She felt pride blossom in her as she witnessed the Frankie’s skill.

Frankie shot out a fireball that was larger than the beast. The Gorka tried to outmaneuver the enormous burning ball coming at it, but it made a direct hit. It was full with Danu dust from Deimne’s Death Sword. It exploded all around the Gorka whose agony was quickly over.

All the Fae warriors and Royals went still as the beast made one last bellowing cry and plunged to the city streets; quite dead.

~*~

“Damn,” said Jazz. “That is going to make one big clean up.” She grinned at Frankie and put an arm around her.

Frankie hugged her and turned to her father. “Jazz. M’da…m’da. Why won’t he wake up?”

“He’ll be okay hun, honest. Breslyn and Trevor have healed him. It is just that the poison got onto his skin, but I know he will be fine. I can hear him breathing. Can’t you?”

Frankie listened. “Aye!” she said with some excitement. “I can…oh Jazz! I can!”

“If it is okay with you, Frankie, I’m going to shift him to Queen Mab who has just arrived and is atop the building with Queen Aaibhe. That way he can be safe while he fully recovers. What do you think?” Trevor stuck in.

“Aye then, that would be grand, Trevor,” Frankie said. She turned to Jazz and grinned suddenly. “ We best be taking down the rest of these monsters. Do ye not think?” said the grown up child.

Jazz wanted to protect Frankie from all the death and destruction, but she supposed it was too late for that. “Yup, I’ll
Slam
and I guess you’ll burn,” she said with a wide smile.

Systematically they began this process, moving through the streets, clearing everything in their path. Most of the warriors followed their route, slicing and dicing and finishing off the hordes.

The Queens took to the business of relegating the bodies that did not disintegrate into the wasteland dimension.

An hour of this went by and Jazz paused a moment to scan the streets ahead for any stragglers. She worried where Pestale and Hordly were and then realized that Trevor wasn’t around either.

Jazz pulled up short.

She knew. All at once she knew. She held Frankie’s shoulders “Frankie, I have to find Trevor. Will you stay with the Queens…and your da?” she pointed with her chin, “Up there…please, so I can have peace of mind while I look for him?”

“Aye, but don’t ye want me to come with ye?”

“Not this time, they might need you here,” Jazz said.

“Aye then,” said the child proudly. “Find him Jazz.”

Jazz went into her mind and once again her mate had blocked her out. That told her exactly where he was.

She shifted to Pestale’s castle.

She stood in the grand sparsely furnished hallway and did a quick search with her Fae senses. She stomped across the wide hall and pulled open the large oak door to the huge chamber Pestale had been using as his war room.