Chapter 4
THREE DAYS LATER I was out in the woods, patrolling. While the guards officially kept watch, I wanted to keep an eye out for Aboms. The fact that one had made it up to us was unnerving enough. I had told Tam I was going out for a walk, but really I was scanning the area with my inner Trace, watching for any telltale blips. I had scoured the perimeter of the village, finding nothing beyond a few scattered rabbits and foxes, when I heard a commotion coming from the checkpoints. I hurried over. The guards, seeing me coming, bowed, then quickly returned to their posts.
“What’s going on?”
“Visitors coming through, milady. The scouts ahead sent word via a gravely bird.”
Gravely birds were somewhat intelligent, and they could talk with a limited vocabulary. They were highly useful if you could win them over to working for you.
“What kind of visitors?”
“We’re not sure. But they come on horseback and they’re flying a pennant.”
That didn’t sound too terribly bad. “Weapons?”
“Some, but that’s all I could get out of the damned bird.”
For the millionth time, I realized just how much I missed having a phone. The first few months of living out in the woods had been all about establishing the village, building homes, and figuring out routines. Now that we were somewhat settled, the lack of luxuries from civilization were beginning to make themselves felt.
“I’ll wait with you.” I searched my Trace, but no Aboms.
“Begging your pardon, milady, but the queen-to-be should not be out here in front where danger might befall her,” one of the guards said.
I let out a snort. “The queen-to-be fights Abominations and has taken more than one beating and kept going, boys. I think you need to realize that I’m not a fragile flower to be locked away in the Barrow. And Lord Tam already knows this.”
That quieted them down. Whatever they were thinking didn’t matter—only that they listened to me and didn’t try to stop me from doing what came naturally.
“As you wish, milady,” was the only thing the guard said.
Another ten minutes and we heard noises coming through the undergrowth. Then, a party of seven horses came clopping around the bend and I let out a cry.
“Shevron! Leonard!” I raced up to the party. I didn’t recognize the others traveling with them, but I would know Jason’s sister anywhere. She was as tall as Jason and far more pale. Her son was shorter, with warm, brown skin. Both slid off their horses the moment they saw me.
“Fury! I can’t believe you’re out here to meet us!” Shevron threw her arms around me, hugging me so tight I could barely breathe. Len piled on top.
After they let go, I stood back, looking them over. Shevron may not have gotten any color from the sun, but she was wearing a tunic and trousers, and looked stronger than I had ever seen her. There was a glint in her eye that hadn’t been there when we left them in Verdanya. As for Leonard, he was dressed in the same style, and a hunting knife hung at his side. He had a bow and a quiver of arrows over his shoulder, and the sullen look I remembered had been replaced with a brilliant smile.
“Look at you two. You both look good.” I motioned to their companions. “Introduce us?”
Shevron motioned to two of the riders—a woman and man who looked a lot alike. “Fury, meet Idyn and Var. They’re cousins to Elan and Laren, and twins like them. And our guards, Ket, Traves, and Vilma. This is Fury, Hecate’s Theosian.”
All five of the Woodland Fae nodded, touching their hats.
I motioned to the guards behind me. “Farnes and Zed.”
Zed stepped forward. “Please, allow me, milady.” He turned to Shevron. “The Lady Fury is no longer simply your friend. She is queen-to-be, betrothed of Lord Tam of UnderBarrow.”
I blushed, but realized that the guards were just doing their duty. It was their responsibility to make certain I was treated appropriately.
Shevron gasped as her companions dropped to one knee.
“You’re getting married?”
“Yeah, that’s the long and short of it. Tam asked me to marry him a few days ago, and I said yes. Come now, though, let’s get back to UnderBarrow. There are so many things we need to tell you.” I glanced at Idyn and Var. “Stand, please. I’m so glad to meet you. Elan and Laren are good friends. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to see you.”
“Thank you, milady Fury,” Idyn—the woman—said. “We have much to discuss as well. There are dark tidings from the east. If you and Lord Tam will grant us an audience as soon as possible, it would be safest.”
And on that note, we returned to the village.
UNDERBARROW PROPER WAS a thriving community, and Willow Wood was also thriving. We had about four hundred people living in the village now, most of whom were refugees from Seattle. A few had moved here from Eleveanor—a small Fae village to the south—but mostly, the people we had taken in were humans and Supes who had fled the city when the tsunami came through. We had very little trouble, and anybody who decided to cause havoc was exiled.
The permanent houses were mostly log cabins, or built of stone from the rubble of past cities found in the woodland, and numerous temporary shelters had been erected as we struggled to make sure everybody would have a sturdy lodging come winter.
We had established several viable wells throughout the town and were on the edge of Reflection Lake, which offered plentiful fish for the taking as well as reeds for basket weaving, and other resources. While our raiding parties had brought in massive amounts of goods that would serve well for years to come—pots and pans, plastic tubs with lids, furniture and canned foods, books and supplies—we all knew there would come a day when the relics from our recent past would give way to those we could create ourselves. So we rationed out what we found, and everyone in the village was required to learn a useful skill that could carry through to the future. Even the children, besides their book learning, were being taught how to hunt and garden and build and sew.
As we rode into the village, Shevron’s eyes widened.
“You’ve built a world already, Fury.”
“Not personally, but yes, we’ve worked hard to establish Willow Wood. UnderBarrow is off limits to anyone not of the Court, at least to live in. So we needed to create a viable town for those who found their way to us. So much has happened in the past six months that I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Fury, are you still chasing Abominations?” Shevron’s voice dropped and she slipped off her horse, leading him by the reins.
“Yes. Why? I haven’t found many out here, but earlier this week I took down one in a zombie vehicle.”
“Because Verdanya is being overrun by them. We can destroy their bodies, but they jump hosts. Until they get someone like you down there, the city has closed its gates and the magicians are using force fields to prevent anybody entering who isn’t vetted first.” She shook her head. “There have been at least two or three a week that try to break through.”
“That’s not good. I wish…I wonder.” It occurred to me that perhaps there was some way I could train others to hunt them. It would take a special type of person—someone who had a way of seeing the Aboms’ soul-holes, but maybe it was a viable thought. “I’ll talk to Hecate and see what we can do. I can’t take care of all of them myself, but maybe we can figure out something.”
“I think Idyn and Var are here to ask for help. I’m not sure what else—they don’t keep me informed, but I know that’s become one of Verdanya’s chief concerns right now.” She slipped one arm around my waist. “I’ve missed you, and Jason. How are things going?”
I bit my lip. I didn’t think that she knew about the fight I had with Jason. “In the times Jason’s contacted you since you’ve been in Verdanya, did he tell you that I found out about him and my mother?”
The puzzled look on her face told me that he had not. In fact, I was taken by surprise when she said, “What about Jason and your mother?”
I tilted my head, trying to read into the question. Did she really not know, or was she just being careful not to say the wrong thing?
“About Jason and my mother’s affair. You knew, right? That he slept with my mother for a while before I was born?”
“Oh, hell.” She blanched. “I had no clue. Nor did our parents. They would have beat his backside for that. Oh, Fury. I can’t imagine how you must have felt.” Shevron had known that I carried a torch for Jason. She had been my shoulder more than once when I waxed mournful over the fact that he was engaged.
“I didn’t take it very well, that’s for sure. But it’s done and over with. And it cured me of any remaining doubt that Jason’s just my friend.” I bit my tongue as I was about to add, “Especially now because of the baby.” But that wasn’t my news to tell.
“So you and Tam are engaged?” Shevron wisely shifted the subject. Hawk-shifters were pretty good about picking up on touchy subjects.
“And I’m thrilled. Leonard seems a lot happier. Has it been rough, living in Verdanya?”
“Their ways are not so different than those of the Cast. And Leonard seems to feel more accepted there. Var has been teaching him to hunt and skin animals, and how to track in the forest. He has a natural bent for it, and he has grown very attached to Var and Idyn, though I wish he’d quit hinting about wanting to join the guard. I don’t like the thought of him being a soldier.”
“That’s what he wants to do?”
She snorted. “How can he possibly know what he wants? He isn’t even seventeen yet. But I’ll tell you, he started out belligerent, but after a month or so of being assigned wood-chopping and kitchen duties when he fucked up, he came to his senses. Once he realized they were willing to teach him if he followed the rules, he stopped screwing around. I’m proud of him.”
We arrived at UnderBarrow, where one of the guards summoned grooms for the horses, and I led Shevron, Leonard, Idyn, and Var into the depths of the Barrow after sending word ahead to Tam and Jason that we had company.
I led them to the council chamber, figuring some visits were best made in private than in public. Tam, Jason, Elan, and Laren were there. Elan flashed me a nervous glance, but I shook my head and smiled at her.
Jason and Shevron hugged, briefly, and then he clapped Len on the back. “You’re looking good. You know how to use that bow?”
“Yes, Uncle J.” Len sounded a lot more respectful than he had before.
“Good. Be sure you keep up the practice. It’s not an easy skill.” He turned to Shevron. “I’m so glad you decided to visit. We have news.”
“I don’t think this—” Elan started, but Jason took her hand and pulled her to his side.
“Nonsense. This is happy news. Elan and I are going to become parents.”
I groaned, softly but loud enough so Tam heard it. He flashed me a bemused look, then nodded me over to his side. I joined him, watching as the look on Shevron’s face turned from one of disbelief to startled worry. She paused, just a beat but enough for everybody to feel the awkwardness of the silence, then broke out in a wide smile.
“Congratulations! You hear that, Leonard? You’re going to have a cousin.”
“Well, I didn’t expect that.” Len cast a quick glance at me, and I winked at him. He followed his mother’s suit and hugged both Jason and Elan, but there was a certain strained feel to the situation and I was glad that it wasn’t me involved.
“Well met, cousin,” Idyn said when there was a lull in the chatter.
Laren broke in. “It’s been too long. Please, sit down. We can catch up later. I assume you have official business with Lord Tam?”
“True enough.” Idyn slid into a chair. Jason led Elan to her chair, then sat down. Shevron and Len sat near him. Laren sat near his cousins, and Tam led me to the chair next to his.
“I see there’s much to catch up on, but first, Idyn, Var, welcome to UnderBarrow. Why don’t we get official business out of the way, first?” Tam knew how to take hold of the situation, that was for sure. I really found myself glad I wouldn’t have to sit in on the family reunion that I foresaw coming up. Congratulations aside, I had the feeling that it wasn’t going to be as hunky-dory as it might seem on the surface.
Idyn spoke for the group. “You surmise correctly. We came as escorts for Shevron and Leonard, yes, but more than that. Verdanya is under siege from Abominations. We are keeping them out via gate and force field, but something must be done. Far too many are wandering in the woodlands now.”
I stepped in. “Shevron mentioned your problem. I’m willing to ask Hecate if there’s any way we might be able to train those with the natural talent to fight and destroy them. It’s one thing to destroy their vehicle, but unless you send them back to their realm, they’ll just drift till they find another vessel they can take over, which puts anybody fighting them at risk. If, say, a guard manages to destroy the body, it’s all too easy for the Abom to jump the guard afterward.”
“It’s happened. We’ve seen it. We need help. If there’s anything you can do, we beg you to try.” Idyn looked tired. I had the feeling Verdanya wasn’t faring as well as we were.
Tam must have picked up on the same thing because he asked, “What else is happening to the south? I have a sense that there’s more at stake than just fighting Aboms.”
“There is,” Var said. “Two pieces of information. First, Lord Tres is dying.”
Elan and Laren froze.
“He was taken with a wasting disease and nobody can figure out how to treat it. They’ve given him two months to live unless something can be done, but there’s little chance of that.” Idyn turned to me. “Lord Tres is the lord of Verdanya. Like Lord Tam runs UnderBarrow.”
“Then he’s your king?”
Elan nodded, but it was Laren who spoke. “He’s also our uncle. Idyn and Var’s father.”
I scanned their faces. They all looked grave, but I never would have guessed he was such a close relation if they hadn’t told me. The Woodland Fae were even more reserved than the hawk-shifters. Maybe it would work out between Elan and Jason.
“Who ascends to the throne if he dies?” Laren said. “You or Var?”
“There’s the catch. Neither of us. Your father will become the Lord of Verdanya. He’s the next in line. I thought you knew that.” Idyn waited a beat as the news sank in.
Elan and Laren broke out talking at the same time.
“Father? But that means—”
“You really mean it? I thought sure the throne—”
Var held up his hand. “No, it’s been so long since Verdanya has had a new king that we actually had to research the passages relating to who is heir. Last time was before Bifrost was its own country, long before the World Shift.”
“Back when Eire was UnderBarrow’s home,” Tam said softly. “This means you and Laren should return home.”
Elan froze, glancing over at Jason. “Perhaps Uncle Tres will recover. We can hope.”
“I would not waste much time on wishing. The oracle says he will not, and whatever disease has riddled his body, it’s not likely to leave him breathing.” A cloud covered Var’s face and he stared at the table. “The best direction to take is to prepare for the transition of power. Your father concurs, as does ours. He’s making preparations now to invest Uncle Kesbet with the crown. But we do have a problem. Shay. You know his and Tera’s father passed away a few years back?”
“We hadn’t heard,” Elan said, frowning. Shay was a subject we left alone, after sending him back to Verdanya for punishment.
“Excuse me, but how do he and Tera fit into the picture?” I wanted to make sure I was following this carefully.
“Tera is our youngest cousin,” Idyn said. “And Shay’s younger sister. Their father was the youngest brother of Lord Tres and Kesbet. I’m next in line for the throne after Uncle Kesbet, then Var. After that, Elan, Laren, and then Shay. But given he’s incarcerated, he’s no longer considered suitable material. But that’s the other matter we came to discuss. Shay’s escaped.”
I rubbed my head. Tam had warned me that we should execute him for his crimes, but I couldn’t do it and I didn’t want him to, either. Now, Shay was out and probably looking to take revenge on Tera.
“Are you on your way to warn Tera, then?” I asked.
“We already have. We’re going to loop back to Eleveanor and make certain she’s all right before we head back home to Verdanya.” Var’s dark look told me just how much he thought of Shay. “When we catch him—if we catch him—he’ll never escape again.”
I wanted to ask what that meant, but decided perhaps I was better off not knowing. The Fae could be ruthless, whether Woodland or Bonny, and they all lived to strict codes of honor. That honor might not always match what humans or Theosians acted on, but they still had a code of ethics they were expected to abide by.
“How’s she doing?” Elan asked. “Dare I ask about her daughter, Sara?”
“Yet another tragedy. Sara killed herself shortly after her marriage. Apparently, she cursed Shay as she did so, and you know how family curses can be.” Idyn’s eyes were luminous and she looked as though she might cry, but I also knew that most of the Fae didn’t cry easily.
“Great Mother of the World,” Elan whispered. “Poor Tera. She must be a wreck.”
“She is. When she found out Shay was on the loose, she went into seclusion. I think she’s petitioning Artemis to release her from her curse. She wants his blood, and she’s hungry for it. If he even gets near Eleveanor, he’ll be shot on sight. The guards have orders to catch him, whether dead or alive doesn’t matter.”
“It would do the world good to have him out of the gene pool,” Tam said. “He was a monstrous man and responsible for a great deal of harm. If we see him, we will capture him and return him to…should we take him to Tera or to Verdanya?”
Without missing a beat, Idyn said, “Technically, he should be returned to Verdanya. But if you capture him and he still lives, my thought is a stop in Eleveanor wouldn’t be amiss.” She caught Tam’s gaze and I read the unspoken message in her eyes. If Shay showed up anywhere around here, or Eleveanor, he was a dead man walking.
“Very well. So, Elan and Laren, it sounds like you should prepare for a trip back to Verdanya. You must pay your respects to your uncle before he passes.” Tam glanced at Jason. “We need you here, Jason. At least for now. With what we have coming up, we need every member of the Sea-Council we can muster.”
“I don’t have to go,” Elan said. “Laren can go for me.”
“No, you must come. Your father has ordered both of you to return home for the vigil and wake, and then you must be there for the investiture when your father ascends to the throne. After that, you’ll be expected to take up duties as the king’s daughter.” Idyn’s tone was firm.
“What? But this is my home—”
Idyn shook her head. “You cannot go against a direct order from your father, Elan. No matter how much you want to. Your post here was agreed on with the explicit ruling that it not supersede your duties to Verdanya. You know that.”
Elan pressed her lips together, looking ready to boil.
Jason shook his head. “With the baby coming, I don’t want to be apart from Elan.”
Idyn, Var, and Shevron froze.
Elan turned to Jason. It was hard to read what she was thinking. “I wanted to tell them in my own way, but I guess now’s as good a time as any.” She glanced back at Idyn and Var. “He’s right. I’m pregnant.”
“When’s the wedding?” was the first thing out of Idyn’s mouth.
“We can make it part of the investiture. Your father can preside,” Var said. “This doesn’t give us much time to prepare, you know. But the wedding of a princess of Verdanya will have to be quite an affair. We’ll need to rush invitations to the other Fae clans.”
Jason looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “I didn’t ask her. But we haven’t even agreed whether we want to get married.” He gulped.
Right then, I knew he was in trouble. That was the wrong thing to say to the mother of your child when her relatives were pressuring her, even if it was the truth.
Idyn turned to him, fixing him with a steely-eyed gaze. “Oh, you will be married. Any child coming into the royal line of Verdanya must have legitimate parentage. There’s simply no question of it. Elan knows this.”
Elan gulped. “Laren, help?”
Laren shrugged. “You didn’t even tell me. I may not be one for tradition, but Elan, there’s nothing I can do to help you get out of this. The minute you conceived that child, you engendered an heir to the throne and the heir must have bona fide parentage. You know full well Father won’t entertain any arguments on the subject. He won’t let the family be shamed, and neither will you.” He turned to Jason, eying him with a friendly but sober look. “Welcome to the family, brother, whether or not you want to be one of us. If you refuse to marry Elan, you’ll be disgracing her in the eyes of our people.”
Tam reached under the table and took my hand, squeezing it. I swallowed the lump rising in my throat. It was one thing to make a decision to have a child, and another to have the world suddenly arranging your life and marrying you off. Elan looked like a spooked deer, and Jason had walled himself up. I recognized that look. He was back in his head, trying to analyze the best response.
“I need to be near the water,” Elan said, suddenly pushing back her chair in a panic. “I really need to get some air.” Elan was an otter-shifter, something I usually forgot because most of her shifting was done in private.
I pushed back my chair as Idyn and Var continued to yammer at her. “Come on. The rest of you just hush. We’ll be back in a while.” I grabbed Elan’s hand and headed out the door. Shevron followed. “Will shifting hurt the baby?”
Elan blinked, looking confused. “What?”
“If you shift, will it hurt your child?”
“Oh, no. It’s fine.”
“Then come along.” I motioned to a couple of the guards. “We need to go down to the lake. Bring several guards to keep watch for us.” I swept out of the Barrow, Elan in the middle and Shevron on her other side. Elan was crying by now.
UnderBarrow wasn’t far from the lake. It took us ten minutes to reach there. I glanced behind us to make sure no one but the guards were following, but I suspected Tam was keeping everybody occupied, giving us time to help Elan adjust to all the changes being thrown at her. Not only was she pregnant and not certain of her relationship, but now her family was trying to marry her off.
Reflection Lake was aptly named. The water was glassy, reflecting the surrounding trees and mountains in its mirrored surface. The afternoon was warm, and sun peeked out from behind a few lazy clouds drifting by. While the guards took up their stations, I walked over to the shore of the lake and stretched.
“Come on, let’s get a swim in.” I motioned to Shevron.
“Oh, yes. That sounds lovely.” She didn’t sound terribly enthusiastic, but she stripped off her clothes alongside me. Elan silently followed suit. When we were naked, Elan and I dove into the lake. I had learned to swim when I was fifteen—Shevron had taken me out to a pool and taught me. I had taken to it well. Shevron gingerly waded into the lake until she was up to her waist, and then she stopped.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“No, I’m just trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’m going to be an aunt. I’m thrilled, Elan, but with what just went on in there, I admit I’m floundering a little.”
“I wish he hadn’t told them! I wasn’t going to, not for a while. Not until we figured out what we wanted to do. If we decided not to marry, I wasn’t going to tell my family who the father was, just to prevent something like this from happening.” Elan buried her face in her hands. “I’m so stressed.”
“That’s not good for the baby. Now you just breathe and shift if you need to. Swim around, play. We’ve got plenty of time. Nobody’s going to force you to the altar right now.” I motioned to a nearby log that was floating by. “Go for it.”
The worried look began to melt as she eyed the log. “Thanks, Fury. I owe you one.”
“No, you don’t. Just get busy. Meanwhile, I’m going to get some of my workout today in swimming a few laps.”
Without a word, Elan shifted into her otter self. This was the first time I had seen her up close as an otter. She was a river otter with tawny fur, darkening into a deep brown near her feet and tail, and her eyes were luminous and loving. She dove beneath the water, surfacing to float on her back, and as she splashed around the shore, all of a sudden she did a barrel roll and began to swim in earnest.
Seeing she was all right, I pushed off, heading toward to the right. The lake had several little inlets where the shore came to rest, and the nearest was about a quarter mile. It was still within range of our village territory that we had claimed, and I swam between there and here to build up endurance. I took long strokes, moving my head from side to side as I powered my way along. Behind me, Shevron had found a place to sit so she was up to her chest in the water, and she was leaning back, closing her eyes as the warmth of the sun broke through what clouds there were and showered down on us.
I put in three miles before I decided that was enough for the moment, and I swam back to Shevron, who was watching Elan play in the water. I leaned back next to her, my hair plastered to my back.
“How do you really feel about this?” I kept my voice low. Elan might be in otter shape but there was nothing wrong with her hearing.
“I don’t know. I’m happy, I suppose. I like Elan well enough, and I think she could fit into the Cast, but it seems to be a question of will Jason fit into their world? I don’t like to think of losing him to the Woodland Fae, but it’s not my call.”
I sought for words, trying to figure out a way to say what I had to say without offending her. “Thing is, if she came into your world, her family would be losing her. And even if it is a distant chance, she’s heir to a throne. Can you reasonably ask her to give that all up to just be Jason’s wife?” I swatted at a little fish that decided to take a nibble on my arm. It flickered away so quickly I almost thought it was an illusion.
“No, I guess not. The Cast is very insular. That’s why we seldom took you to meetings.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. I have the feeling that anybody who’s any sort of an outsider is always and forever going to be kept outside. Isn’t that true? Look at what it’s done to Leonard.”
“He’s Cast…” Shevron stopped. “No, you’re right. He’s not Cast and he never will be. Even if he were to do everything the way they wanted, he’ll never be Cast because he doesn’t know what it is to fly. To be up there, soaring over the earth. It’s a freedom that you can’t begin to understand until you have it.”
I wrapped my arms around my knees. “Shevron, you’ll pardon me but I think that you forget, there are other freedoms in the world. Look at Elan—she can dive, she can travel in the water, she swims in a way neither you nor I ever will. And me—I have the freedom to shift over to the Crossroads. Granted, it’s usually to fight, but it’s something that you can’t understand until you do it. Hawk-shifters are no more special than anybody else who has a unique talent. The Cast may be your world, but it’s not the only world.”
Shevron blinked. She was about to answer when one of the guards behind us called out.
“Milady Fury! Come quickly! Lord Tam needs you. Something’s happening back at UnderBarrow.”
As I scrambled out of the water, I prayed an Abom hadn’t gotten loose in UnderBarrow, because that would be a nasty fight, and in close quarters, there was so much damage he could do. I called back that we were coming and, leaving Shevron to watch Elan, I grabbed my clothes and put them on at a run.