The target dummy died a death most painful a dozen times over in the span of an hour, but that wasn’t enough for the sadists who insisted I continue to murder it.
“I think you’re gettin’ better at this,” Lex commented as I skewered it once more with my rapier.
“Good. So we’re done then?”
“Nope.”
“You’re an evil bastard.”
“That’s funny, I seem to recall last night-”
“Don’t even think about finishing that statement,” I warned him. Straightening my top hat, I tugged my outfit back into place. Once again I was wearing my Renaissance faire/army surplus ensemble. It was functional and semi-comfortable, and considering the wide variety of fashions sported by my cousins, I blended right in.
Grinning innocently, Lex turned to Tybalt. “She still needs more practice, doesn’t she?”
“Cat could use a few years of practice, but we don’t have that kind of time.” Scratching his chin as though stroking an imaginary beard, Tybalt studied me. “Her skills are showing some improvement.”
“I’m so glad you’re in agreement over this. I don’t think I’m cut out to be a warrior princess.”
“Well if you’d hit them with some destructive magic, you wouldn’t have to be.”
Sheathing the rapier, I placed my hands on my hips and frowned severely at the two of them. “We’ve already proved that I do as much damage to me as I do to them when I try that. I like this shirt. I don’t want to light it on fire.” It would be easier if I could pretend to be a sorceress and hail fireballs down on the vampires, but that wasn’t me.
“We just need to work on your control. And pick a different element, for you’ve frost in your blood, not fire,” Tybalt commented. “I know you hate to admit it, you’ve also sorcerer in your heritage, so I think it’s possible for you to learn more effective offensive spells.”
Before he could continue his speech a strange tearing sound split the air. A large rectangular glow formed on the surface of one of the stone walls of the courtyard near to us, and I realized someone must be opening a doorway into Faerie. The glow brightened and then vanished suddenly, leaving only a murky darkness in its place. Normally I’d expect someone to step through after that, but a thin round disk sailed out of the portal and bounced across the ground. It rolled to a stop a few feet in front of me, and I frowned down at it in confusion. About the size and thickness of a dinner plate, there was a dark rim that looked like a bent tree branch forming the edge, and a black tangle of string webbing in the center.
“What the-” I started, but was cut off as the disk shot up into the air. Hovering at eye-level it began to spin counterclockwise at a slow, mesmerizing pace. Entranced, I stared at it as a tiny rainbow light zoomed past me and danced around the edge.
“Tybalt!” Lex shouted. The alarm in his voice allowed me to tear my attention away from the spinning circle, but before I could turn toward Lex I spotted a new problem. Ponderously slow, dozens of magma elementals poured through the gateway, the sharp hiss of steam heralding their arrival as their feet melted the snow and ice of the courtyard with every heavy step.
“To arms!” Tybalt called out to the rest of the clan. Several choice expletives flew through my mind at the glowing, roughly humanoid invaders-they were the perfect enemies to pit against the Silverleafs, earth and fire to combat my cousins’ mastery of air and water. My hand shot to the hilt of my rapier, but I didn’t draw the weapon. The thin-bladed sword would be useless against them, melting to slag after the first swing. Unsure of what to do, I put my shields up and struggled to come up with a plan.
Wasting no time, Lex leapt into action. To my surprise he didn’t draw his short swords, and instead pulled a weapon out of thin air, literally. Now wielding a silver spear, the guardian attacked the nearest creature, ramming the weapon squarely into the elemental’s chest. Though its blank expression didn’t change, the fiery glow faded from its body, and it crumbled apart in large chunks of smoking rock.
The surrounding mob quickly focused its attention on Lex. It seemed odd that they ignored me-after all I’m sure they’d been sent here for me. Then a black-cloaked figure stepped into view and the portal closed behind him.
It was my father.
Strangely silent for once, Dorian strode toward me, weaving his way through the mob of steaming, swaying magma men, and I noticed that in addition to his clichéd black robes he’d added a sorcerer’s staff. He waved the staff at me, and as a blast of unseen force hit me I sailed backward and smacked into a wall. My top hat popped off as my head collided hard against the stone. Falling to the ground, I landed in a small snowdrift and the air exploded from my lungs. The courtyard faded in and out before me in a nauseous wave as pain throbbed through my head.
“Bloody hell,” I slurred as I drew my rapier. I was more than a little irritated that my shields had fizzled out for no apparent reason, and I intended to take that frustration out on him. Dorian’s molten minions might not bleed, but I was willing to bet he would. He stood motionless as I charged toward him, ready to plunge my blade into his chest. The tip of my rapier bounced off his shield only a few inches away from his heart. Rookie mistake-just because necromancers aren’t good at shielding, doesn’t mean they don’t have any at all.
With a cold smile he waved the staff, and I found myself airborne again. This time I flew in a new direction across the courtyard, landing with a bone-jarring thud in the middle of the battle of fire and ice. Our side wasn’t doing as well as we should be-the faeries should’ve wiped the floor with the invaders in a matter of moments. This was their home turf, and yet somehow they were losing.
I was hauled to my feet and found myself standing next to Tybalt. “You’re bleeding,” I blurted, shocked. A blackened streak and a stream of blood flowed down the side of his face, a startling contrast against the frost-white of his skin. Concerned, I touched the wound upon his brow in an attempt to heal it, but nothing happened.
“So are you. Leave it be, it’s not bad. Give that here.” Tybalt reached for my weapon and I handed it over. A line of frost and ice instantly coated the blade when the faerie touched it, along with a soft white glow.
“Thanks. Will this get through Dorian’s shield?”
“I’ll take care of that bastard. You get yourself behind your guardian and stay there,” Tybalt ordered. “Now go!”
The faerie charged off in the direction of my father, and I looked around for Lex. Hurrying, I stumbled in the direction I’d last seen him, dodging flailing limbs and fluttering wings. A hulking elemental loomed in front of me suddenly, reaching out with red-hot arms to grab me. I jerked backward and almost lost my balance, and the creature swiped at me again. Before it could launch another attack the silver tip of a spear exploded out of its chest. With a smoking sizzle the weapon withdrew, leaving a hole burned through it. Like a broken doll it crumpled to the ground in a heap of glowing coals, and Lex stood on the other side of it looking like the modern incarnation of a god of war.
“You’re bleeding,” he said, concerned. Crossing over to me, he grabbed my chin and turned my head, searching for the source of the blood.
“Yeah I noticed. Tybalt’s gone after Dorian, we have to help him.”
“This way.” Lex motioned for me to follow him, and he wove his way through the melee, knocking the occasional intruder out of our path. My cousin and my father struggled against each other, squaring off near the strange spinning web. Lex and I drew to a halt in front of it, and I was surprised at the sheer volume of tiny lights that whizzed around it like a thick cloud of angry fireflies.
“It didn’t look like that before.” I resisted the urge to reach out and grab it, reminding myself that it’s a horribly bad idea to touch strange magic. Instead, I thrust the point of my rapier at the center of the web, but it bounced away, tearing the weapon’s hilt from my grasp. The rapier flew into the crowd and I lost sight of it.
“Stop them!” my father’s voice bellowed above the crowd.
My arm was nearly wrenched from its socket as something grabbed my forearm and pulled, searing agony shooting out from where it gripped me. Following the momentum, I fell toward my attacker, hoping to break its hold, but before I could show off my self-defense skills Lex thrust his spear through the creature’s neck. My skin was blackened and blistered where it had touched me, and the edges of my shirt smoked and smoldered around the wound.
“Where’re your shields?” Lex asked. I ducked behind him as he fended off the elementals shambling in our direction.
“No idea. Not working,” I said through gritted teeth. Biting back any further comments, I turned and stared at the hovering web. Any spell that’s been cast can be undone, provided you know what kind of magic was used. From the general design of the thing I figured it was a dreamcatcher gone horribly wrong-instead of being used for protection through trapping negative energy, it’d become a weapon that drained our strength. Everyone but Lex’s strength, that was. Why wasn’t it affecting him?
“Hey, Lex-” I started, turning toward him. With amazing speed and skill he kept our attackers at bay, and a pile of crumpled, broken earth formed a half-ring around him. Suddenly the crowd parted and I saw Dorian striding toward us. “Look out!”
Once more he swung his staff, but this time he aimed it at Lex. The impact wrenched the spear from the guardian’s hands and sent him flying past me, and I shrieked in terror as Lex smacked hard into the far wall of the courtyard and fell limply to the ground, where he lay in a motionless heap.
“Lex!” My heart fluttered with fear, but before I could move to help Lex, Dorian raised the staff for another strike. This time I ducked and covered, letting my arms take the force of the blow. The wave pounded against me and rushed over my body like a blast of hurricane winds. The soles of my boots dug into the snow, and I could almost feel the bruises forming.
“Just give up, Catherine. There’s no one left to protect you,” my father mocked. A nearby elemental took a swipe at me, and the blow sent me rolling across the ground. When I came to a stop I spotted the silver spear in the snow a few feet away, and I lunged for the weapon. The electric buzz of powerful magic shot up my arms as I picked it up and gripped it tightly. There were two options left to me: I could try to fend off the monsters closing in around me, or I could take out the disk and hope that its destruction would turn the tide of the battle.
Clutching the spear, I staggered to my feet and rushed toward the web. With a loud battle cry, I stabbed the spear through the center of it.
The lights shot out from it in an explosion of blinding rainbow sparks, and the rim hung limply on the end of the weapon. Shaking it off, I stomped on it for good measure. Satisfied that it was dead, I turned back to Dorian, but he’d disappeared. Without waiting to see where he went, I ran to the spot where I’d seen Lex fall. A magma man shuffled toward him, slow and menacing, and with a battle cry that would have made Xena proud I stabbed the spear through it. The shaft of the weapon bucked in my hands as it shoved through stone, and pain from my burn surged up my arm. I had a moment to ponder the fact that it was nothing like stabbing a target dummy with my rapier before the elemental fell forward and almost tore the spear out of my hands. Wrinkling my nose in disgust, I yanked it free and turned my attention to Lex.
“Are you okay?” He looked bruised and a little bloodied, but otherwise intact. Lex stared up at me as though I’d announced I was an alien queen here to abduct him. “Umm, here’s your spear back.” Sheepishly I held it out to him, and he stared at both it and me for a long, strange moment.
A series of loud, rumbling thumps echoed through the courtyard, and I turned to see the members of the shambling horde collapsing like marionettes with their strings cut. My father was nowhere to be seen, and the place was filled with battered but victorious Silverleaf faeries. Lex got to his feet and stood next to me, gently taking his weapon from my grasp.
“Thanks, Cat.” The spear melted from view, returning to the thin air it had been drawn from. Taking my hands in his, he turned them over and examined them closely.
“It’s not that bad,” I said, assuming he was looking at the forearm burn. He nodded, distracted, but before he could reply Lex was cut off by a piercing shriek that made me shudder. A heartbroken wail filled the air, and I instinctively hurried toward it, spotting Portia crouched over something across the courtyard, her frosted wings drooping with sorrow. I stopped next to her and stared down at the figure cradled in her arms.
Tybalt.
“Oh no,” I said, my throat squeezed tight with emotion. “Lord and Lady, no.”
Portia sobbed hysterically as she hugged her brother’s body. Tybalt’s head lolled at a very unnatural angle, and I realized Dorian must have snapped the faerie’s neck with that damned staff of his. My knees wobbled and Lex wrapped his arms around me. Resting my head against his chest, I wept bitter tears, and wished none of this had ever happened.