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.

“Mom!” he pressed his fingers into Jade’s neck, feeling for a pulse but finding none. “Oh no, no, no!” He stood up and smashed his hands into a statue of a horse decorating the hall. It flew across the marble floor and shattered into a million tiny pieces.

Shade refused to move from the spot, only coming to when Dylan knelt down before her, embracing her softly, and rocking her in his arms. “Come on, love,” he whispered into her ear, pulling her back to the present. “Come back to me, Shade.”

Turning toward the Teleen guard, her wet, red eyes focused on his grey ones. The love in them made her suck in a breath and sent her glancing around and pulling herself together. She couldn’t fall apart. Her family needed her. How could she disappear at a time like this?

She scuffled to her feet, spinning around, still feeling like she couldn’t breathe or speak. Gulping back the knot of pain in her throat, she scanned the faces of the ones she loved, the ones that mattered.

“I have to get Kilara. This needs to end now!” She paced the floor, pondering how to contact the Summer Seelie Ancient. She’d have to do it soon; they could no longer wait for Kilara to come willingly. Shade had to wake her now.

She stopped, watching as Benton settled on the floor next to Jade, picking her up to take her to a nearby bedroom. He threw her a quick nod, telling her to do what she had to do. Brisa had finally joined them and was hugging Anna as they sat clutching each other and crying on the floor. Soap, also covered in blood and dirt, hunched down and helped them to their feet.

“I have to go, soon. Camulus, get Ilarial. I need her to induce a sleep so I can contact Kilara with my spirit guides.” Camulus bowed and immediately disappeared. Shade began pacing once more but almost lost her balance. The fatigue and blood loss was taking a toll on her, leaving her weak and dizzy. Dylan caught her before she stumbled again.

“Come on, Shade. Let’s get cleaned up and wait for Ilarial. You have to heal, or you won’t be of any use.”

She nodded as he stared intently at her and let him lead her away from her mourning family, down the hall to her room. “What about the Unseelie outside the gates?” she asked.

Nyol appeared next to her, taking her arm and pulling it around his neck so that he and Dylan were both supporting her. “They can’t enter,” he said. “Our troops have pushed them back, and most have retreated since you put on that fire show.”

She could barely walk, so letting them carry her along was mortifying, but she had no energy to fight it.

“Are you sure they can’t enter the palace?” Shade inquired. She hoped he was right. They needed to buy time to get Kilara back here before the Unseelie army breached the gates.

“Yes, I’m very sure. Ariana may have been insane, but she was extremely paranoid and efficient. She had some of the most powerful witches in the world ward the gates of the Scorching Scren Palace. Nothing can enter without permission of the queen. It would take more witches than Aveta has at her disposal. So we have time to find this Kilara you speak of.” They reached her room, and Nyol withdrew while Dylan helped her out of her filthy armor.

Leading her to the bathroom, he ran a bath for both of them and peeled the last remnants of the torn clothes clinging to their frames. He led her into the warm, soothing water and held her, letting her cry and shake in his arms until the tears ran out and she let the numbness encircle her aching head. She felt safe in his arms and hoped that the smoke clouds beyond the horizon would stay far, far away, along with Aveta’s horde.

Long after they had cleaned up and donned soft, clean clothes, Shade lay in her bed, barely noticing when Ilarial entered the room and helping her to heal and sending her into a deep, dreamless sleep. She remembered Dylan next to her, whispering sweet words to lull her into a calmer state so that when she awakened, she could do what she needed to do.

The sun set over the horizon, and Dylan pulled the curtains, enveloping the room in a cocoon of darkness. Shade finally drifted back into the sleep she very much needed.

Kilara, where are you?