The Faerie War

Chapter 10

Ten

“Dude, did you know it’s snowing out there?” one guy says. “About a day away from here.”

I know I’ve lost track of the days since I started going on search and rescue missions, but it hasn’t been that long since I arrived. Two weeks, maybe three. The last time I checked, we weren’t even halfway through autumn.

“It’s insane,” his friend adds.

I’m sitting at a table in the base’s massive dining room trying to turn the strawberry sauce on my pancakes into chocolate sauce. The two guys who’ve just returned from a mission and joined me at the table are both from the Creepy Hollow Guild. They graduated a few years ahead of me and left to find new and exciting jobs at other Guilds. I can’t remember their names. We haven’t exactly chatted much.

“It’s probably Draven,” I tell them, “messing around with the weather to make life difficult for us.”

“Yeah, The Destruction obviously wasn’t enough. He’s probably going to subject us to an eternal winter or something.”

The Destruction. That’s what everyone seems to call what happened. It’s a fitting name.

“Did you find anything more exciting than snow?” I ask. “Like, you know, survivors?”

“No,” the taller, darker haired guy says. He shovels pieces of pancake into his mouth, chews, then adds, “Oh, we did come across a group of some other fae. The scaly-skinned ones.”

“Reptiscillas,” his freckled companion says.

“Yeah. We couldn’t see properly through the trees, so we started shooting as soon as we realized someone was there. It was only when we got closer that we saw there were children in the group.”

“You were shooting at children?” I say.

“We didn’t know.” Tall Guy looks offended. “We backed off as soon as we realized they were no threat.”

“You should have tried to talk to them. We need as many fae on our side as we can get.”

“They were terrified. We let them run. Besides, children can’t fight. They’re better off hiding out somewhere else.”

“And they’re most likely Undergrounders,” Freckled Guy says. “You know we’ve never worked well with that lot.”

I shake my head. “There’s nothing wrong with Undergrounders. They treat us the way they do because they’re afraid of us, and with good reason. We’ve never exactly been friendly toward them.”

“Because they’re a violent, unpredictable lot.” Tall Guy looks like he’s starting to wonder what’s wrong with me.

What’s wrong with me is that I’ve had enough of guardians and their ridiculous prejudices. I’ve had to deal with them for years at the Guild, and now, in the midst of impending war, I figure it’s about time guardians got over themselves. “Yeah, about five percent of them are violent and unpredictable.”

“And those are the only ones we ever interact with, so forgive me for painting the rest of them with the same brush.” Waves of hostility start rolling off Tall Guy. I don’t care.

“You’ve never tried to interact with any of the others,” I say.

“And you have?” Freckled guy makes sure to get his two cents in.

“I’m willing to bet I’ve spent a whole lot more time Underground than most other guardians.” I don’t tell them why. I don’t tell them where exactly. I don’t explain that even though the Underground clubs are filled with far more people than I’d usually want to be around, the mix of numbness and euphoria are a whole lot easier to deal with than the many emotions spinning around the Guild. “This is going to turn into a war unlike anything our world has ever seen. You think we’re going to win it on our own? We’re not. We’re going to have to play nice with all the fae we’ve thought of as inferior for so long. And people like you are going to have to suck it up and deal with it.”

Okay, that last part was probably uncalled for.

Just as the situation is about to blow up in my face, Em and her cheery attitude appear at our table, complete with a tray of pancakes and rainbow colored milk. “Hey, guys, what’s up? Can I join you?” If she could feel the enmity and aggression bouncing back and forth across this table, there’s no way she’d want to sit here.

I stand up and say, “Enjoy the pancakes,” before sending my tray through the air and into a slot in the wall. I turn and stride out.

My fists are balled as I walk along the brightly lit corridor. I hate living in a perpetual bad mood, but I can’t seem to get out from under it. Nothing is happening. We haven’t found anyone on the search and rescue missions I’ve been on, and I don’t believe we’re going to. Anyone who doesn’t know how to hide has surely been captured by now, and those who do know how to hide aren’t going to show themselves when we walk by.

As for the weapon that can supposedly put Draven’s reign to an end … Well, it’s hiding in a room somewhere because no one can use it. Council members spend hours poring over the prophecy trying to figure out who the ‘finder’ is, but I know it’s all a waste of time. I’m almost certain the finder is Violet, and there’s been no sign of her anywhere.

I slow my steps and put a hand against one of the wood-paneled walls. I feel weirdly disoriented. Sick. Dizzy. I lean over and stare at the shiny tiles beneath my boots. What the hell is wrong with me?

Then everything becomes black.

For a moment I’m weightless. Every one of my senses is blocked off. Even the air disappears. I feel like I’m being squeezed, tighter and tighter and tighter until—with a gasp I lurch toward the light growing in front of me.

Glittering knives form in my hands as I suck in air and take a few unsteady steps forward. I turn on the spot, ready to throw a knife at whoever did this to me. My eyes take in a small but opulently decorated sitting room. When I’ve almost turned a full revolution, I see the one who must have brought me here: Violet’s father, Kale.

“Did you just summon me?” I demand. I’m not keen on the idea of my body moving from one place to another without my permission.

“Yes.” He rises from a maroon couch covered in decorative cushions. “Difficult spell, but I eventually found someone who could do it.”

Well, that’s certainly worrying. “Aren’t these—” my knives disappear as I point to the markings on my wrists “—supposed to protect me from things like summoning?” All the protective enchantments embedded in my trainee pendant were supposedly transferred to the markings when they were inked onto my skin during graduation.

“Yes.” He comes toward me. “That’s why it’s taken me so long to succeed with the spell.”

“If you succeeded, that means someone else could—”

“Ryn, that’s not the point right now.” He grasps my shoulders. “Did you find the Order? Did you get the weapon?”

If he’s going to demand information, then so am I. “Where’s Violet?”

His hands slip from my shoulders. He looks away.

“What? Tell me.”

“I don’t know,” he says.

“You don’t know? But you were there when all this happened. You weren’t traipsing around a mountainside unaware of the devastation taking place everywhere.”

“I wasn’t in Creepy Hollow. I was with the Queen.” He starts pacing. “The moment we knew the Guild was under attack, the Queen and her guards went to investigate. My first concern was for Violet, but the Queen ordered me to secure her hideout. Only when she arrived there hours later was I allowed to leave.”

“So you chose your Queen over your daughter?”

“I couldn’t abandon my duty, Ryn! I left as soon as I could. And I found …” He takes a deep breath. “Our home was destroyed. Vi wasn’t there.”

So I still know nothing.

“But I found someone else.” My heart seems to freeze for a second, waiting for him to name the person. “It was Tora.” He swallows. “I found her body near what remained of our home. She was crushed by a falling tree. Her injuries must have been too severe for her body’s magic to heal them.”

A wave of heat rolls over my body, followed by a chill of goose bumps. I didn’t know Tora all that well, but Violet loved her as much as her own family. This news will devastate her.

“I looked everywhere for Vi,” Kale continues. “I searched the wreckage of every home she might have been at. I hid near the ruins of the Guild and watched as Draven, this faerie—halfling—I’ve never seen before, weaved a spell over every guardian he’d forced to kneel before him. His army was small, but they must have possessed some power I don’t know of because they controlled that crowd of guardians as if it was nothing to them. But I didn’t see Violet there.”

“Did you see my mother?” I whisper. A slow boil bubbles in my blood at the thought of her being forced to kneel in front of some lunatic halfling.

“No. But I saw others I remember working with.” He stares at the floral patterned rug—or rather, he stares through it. Probably reliving a scene I’m glad I didn’t have to witness.

“This Draven,” I say between clenched teeth. “Who the hell is he? What do you know about him?”

Kale’s eyes clear as he looks up at me. “He’s half-faerie, half-human. He possesses more power than any single person should ever have. He created the storm inside the faerie paths. He’s been changing the weather across the entire fae realm. And he killed the Unseelie Prince Zell.”

“What?” And here I was thinking Zell might be hiding behind the scenes, using this Lord Draven as his puppet.

“Yes. He opened the chest that contained Tharros’ power and allowed it to enter him. And there’s only one thing that can destroy that power.” He crosses the room to stand in front of me once more. “Which brings me back to the weapon I sent you to find. Please tell me you succeeded.”

“I did, but it won’t do you any good. The weapon can only be used by one person. And that person can only be found by the ‘finder.’ Who do you think that sounds like?”

Kale’s gaze slides away from mine and comes to rest somewhere behind me. “Violet,” he says quietly.

“That’s what I thought.”

“And no one knows where she is.” He clenches his fist and presses it against his forehead. “Which means we’re as helpless against Tharros’ power as we’ve always been.”

I nod.

“I need to take this information to the Queen.”

“Great. Do you mind returning me to Fireglass Vale before you run off to do the Queen’s bidding once more?”

He’s quiet for a moment, watching me. He may not have my ability to sense emotions, but I’m pretty sure he knows I’m not happy with him. “It’s not my fault that Violet is gone, Oryn,” he says. “I’m as desperate to find her as you are, but I also have a duty to perform. I swore an oath the day I became a guardian, just like you did. That oath means something to me. Perhaps you should think about what it means to you.”

And with that, he leaves the room. Moments later, a tall man with quiet steps and very little hair comes in. He holds something in his long fingers and begins chanting. His eyes never leave me as I feel the world begin to tilt again. It creeps me out. It doesn’t feel right, this summoning thing—and I’m not just talking about the nausea and dizziness.

I stumble back into the corridor at the Fireglass Vale base, wrapping my arms around my aching chest and gasping for breath. I can’t get Kale’s words out of my mind. How can he think I’m not committed to my guardian duties? Being a guardian means protecting people. Keeping them safe. Rescuing them if they’ve been captured. So why would it be a betrayal of the oath I made if I put every ounce of effort into finding and rescuing Violet and my mother?

Because you’re needed here.

My father said it himself. They need every guardian they can get if they’re hoping to take down Draven. I can’t go running off on my own little rescue missions.

Lord Draven. My arms drop to my sides as I remember what Kale said about him. He created the storm inside the faerie paths. He’s been changing the weather across the entire fae realm. It almost sounds like … But no. It can’t be him. The boy who accidentally stumbled into the fae realm and was cowardly enough to hand Violet over to Zell to protect his own skin couldn’t have caused complete destruction and overpowered thousands in a world he knew barely anything about.

“Ryn, there you are. I’ve been looking for you.”

I turn and see Oliver walking toward me. Oh, hell, I’m going to have to tell him about Tora.

“I know you’ve been part of several search and rescue missions,” he says, “but I’m putting together teams for a different purpose: gathering information. It’ll be a lot more dangerous, as it’ll most likely involve interaction with the enemy. If you agree to it, I’d like you to lead one of the younger teams.”

Here’s my chance to prove just how committed I am to the surviving guardians and their cause. “That … would be great. Thank you.”

“Fantastic. Oh, and we’re looking into alternate modes of transport, since the faerie paths are no longer an option. Come check this out.” He waves for me to follow him. “I have a feeling you’re going to love it.”