Chapter 6
WE WOKE WITH the sun. During the night, the air had grown so chilly that I didn’t want to get out of my bedroll. I tucked my head under the covers, warming my breath before braving the cold. I wasn’t whether Smoky and Shade had slept, for they were both sitting by the fire, warming their hands against the flames. Several of my knights were up—Venus, Luke, Tanne, and Chase. They were busy making breakfast. Lisa, Bran, Clyde, and Amber were still sleeping. Delilah was returning from a nearby thicket. She was carrying a roll of toilet paper, so I knew what she had been doing.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” she said with a grin. “Get up and face the day.”
“Bring me coffee and I will,” I said. As I crawled out of my bedroll, the full chill of the morning hit me and I wrapped myself in my cloak, fastening it snugly around my neck. “I seem to have become a tenderfoot in our time spent over Earthside. There’s certainly something to be said for central heating.”
Delilah laughed. “I totally agree. I’d like to find a nice big sunbeam and roll around in it.”
I took the toilet paper from her and headed toward the thicket. It wasn’t my first choice for a bathroom, but it was our only option. After I finished, I headed back to camp and dipped my hands in the bucket of hot water that someone had thought to heat over the fire. The soap and warmth were comforting and I lingered as my hands absorbed some of the heat. Finally, I joined the rest of them around the campfire, where Smoky handed me a plate of fried potatoes and ham. Delilah brought me a cup of coffee with cream in it, and I eagerly accepted.
“What do you need us to do today?” Chase asked.
“I had a vision last night. Venus cemented my thoughts on the ritual. I need to meditate today, but I know what we’re supposed to do. I would like for you and the rest of the knights to spend the day in meditation. Gather your energy. I need you all at full strength by evening. I’ll explain then, but for now, try not to overexert yourselves.” I knew I sounded vague, but I couldn’t pinpoint anything more exact. I turned to Myrddin. “Do the scrolls say anything else? Anything at all that I should know about?”
Myrddin paused, then held my gaze for a moment. “Only a warning. I translated the last bit this morning,” he said softly. “But I think we should speak of that in private.” He gave a nod toward the knights and my guards.
I understood. “After we eat breakfast, let’s take a little walk. Can Smoky, Shade, and Delilah come with us?”
“I think it’s important they do.” And with that cryptic remark, he went back to his food.
I drank my coffee, and then a second cup, and finished my ham and potatoes.
It felt odd, being back in Otherworld. Especially in a remote location where the silence was so acute. Even in a park, or out at Talamh Lonrach Oll, there were sounds of civilization.
But here in the Golden Wood, it felt like we were a million miles from the nearest encampment or city. The only sounds up here were the sounds of the wind, the rustling of the grass, and the sound of birdsong. It was comforting, in a way. The gentle susurration of the ever-present breeze flowed through like background music.
It both calmed me and yet,unsettled me. I realized that I had become acclimated to living over Earthside. I wasn’t sure if I could ever get used to Otherworld again. Maybe it was a good thing that I was destined to stay in my mother’s home world.
When we finished breakfast, Myrddin, Smoky, Shade, Delilah, and I took a walk a few hundred yards away from Erastel’s End. Once we were out of earshot, we settled down in the grass. By now the chill had burned off, leaving behind the crisp tang of an autumn morning as the sun beat down golden, but not hot.
“So what did you want to tell me?”
“There’s a warning in the scroll. I managed to decipher it this morning. The meanings eluded me until now. It was the only piece of the puzzle that I hadn’t been able to solve before we left.” He frowned. “I take it you had an epiphany about the ritual itself?”
I nodded. “Erastel came to me in the vision I mentioned. I know what I need to do. I know how to proceed. So what was the warning?”
“There’s a chance that…” He paused, then shook his head. “Apparently, the Great Fae Lords knew what Erastel was up to. The warning was added onto the scroll by someone after Erastel died. I’m not sure who wrote it, but I certainly wouldn’t dismiss it.”
“There were probably those who were on her side about this. Someone had to hide the Maharata-Verdi.” Smoky frowned. “Is there some guardian or danger that will appear when Camille starts the ritual?”
Myrddin nodded. “Yes, there may be. Apparently, after Erastel died, one of the Fae Lords volunteered to go into stasis to prevent the ritual from taking place, and he was secured near here. The ritual will probably wake him up, and if so, you know he’ll do his best to put a stop to it. I have no clue as to how powerful he is, but if he’s anything like the Fae Lords that we fought during the Great Divide, he won’t be easy to take down. Even with three dragons at our disposal.”
I bit my lip. I was no match for one of the ancient Fae Lords. But then, I had a weapon nobody knew I had brought. My fingers traced over the unicorn horn, safe in its long pocket within my cloak.
“We have to prepare. But how can we prepare against an enemy we don’t know? Is there a way to find him today? If he is secured near here and in stasis, can we go hunting for him? He must be close by if there’s a chance he can interfere with the ritual.” I paused, then my gaze fell on the series of Barrow Mounds. “Those mounds. Could he be in one of those?”
Smoky shaded his eyes, looking out over the expanse. “You might have something there,” he said. “The great kings of old were interned within Barrow Mounds. With the ego of the ancient Fae Lords, I wouldn’t be surprised that they would choose to follow suit. It makes sense. There, they would be secured from the weather and from raiders.”
“I won’t have my knights hunting with me. They need to stay in meditation today. However, I’m quite capable of going alone. So don’t try to dissuade me.”
I knew Smoky. If he could prevent me from putting myself in danger, he would. But this was too important. And I had the feeling that if there was one of the Great Fae Lords hiding around here, I’d be able to find him easier than the others.
The Keraastar diamond was changing me, slowly but surely. I could feel it working on me—just like the spirit seals had been working on my knights. I felt more aware of everything around me, and when anybody who had anything to do with the spirit seals was near, I could sense them even before they announced themselves.
There was a connection between me and the Keraastar Knights that went beyond friendship, beyond allegiance. It was as though the webs of our lives were now woven together, and our common destiny had settled into the very bones and cells of our body. I had the feeling that a common threat would put us all on alert.
Delilah was watching me closely. “Where do you think this will lead?”
“What do you mean?” I knew she wasn’t talking about the hunt for the Fae Lord.
“Once we’ve defeated Shadow Wing, where will the Keraastar Knights go? What will happen to them…and to you?”
I had thought about that question quite a bit over the past few months. Ever since I had taken the Keraastar diamond, I found myself playing with thoughts of the future. We were bound by a destiny that I could only hope would soon be over, but beyond that, it felt like there were new playing fields that awaited. I couldn’t see them, not yet. But I knew they were there. Defeating Shadow Wing would not be the end of the Keraastar Knights. We were all evolving together, in both our personal lives and together, as a unit.
“I’m not certain, but I know we have things to do in the future. I think, though, we should focus on one step at a time. I don’t even want to talk about Shadow Wing yet, because the thought of facing him fills me with terror. Regardless of how much help we have on our hands, fighting him is going to be one of the hardest things we’ve ever done.”
Delilah mulled over my answer. “I’m not sure I agree,” she said. “I think one of the hardest things we’ve ever done was when we were sent over Earthside. We didn’t know what life would be like. We didn’t know how long we’d be there. There was so much of the future left in question. At least now we know I’m a Death Maiden, and you’re a Fae Queen, and Menolly… Well, Menolly is a vampire princess. Of all three, that would be the last one I would have seen coming.” She laughed and I laughed with her.
“I still can’t get over the Princess Menolly title. But perhaps you’re right. So much has happened since we were assigned over Earthside. So much water under the bridge, so many people we’ve lost, and so many people who’ve entered our lives.”
I glanced at Smoky. My mother’s home world had brought two of my loves into my life, and had brought my first love back to me. The intervening years had been so full that I hadn’t taken the time to think about the past, to follow the path that had brought us here.
“Do you think that we live several lives within each lifetime? We had our lives back in Otherworld, before Mother died. Those years are hard to remember because we were so young, but they were a life in their own. And then, we had our lives as we grew up and joined the Y’Elestrial Intelligence Agency. That time ended when Menolly died. When she was turned, another chapter started—another lifetime. And then for me, when I met Trillian. And when we were sent over Earthside. It’s as though we live these miniature dramas within the bigger scope of our life. How many transitions have I been through? And you? And Menolly?”
Myrddin was listening to us closely. “All good philosophical thoughts, but if we’re going to hunt for the Fae Lord, we’d better get started. Why don’t we split up into two teams? Shade and Delilah, you look together, and Smoky, Camille, and I will look together. We can cover more territory that way. Why don’t we start with those two mounds over there, the ones closest? And Camille, the reason I didn’t want your guards to hear what I had to say, or the knights, was because we have no idea if any of them have been influenced by anybody else. We can’t chance that they’re safe to confide in.”
“What you mean? You can’t mean you distrust my knights?” I could see him distrusting the guards. They might swear an oath of loyalty, but it was easy to mouth words, and it wasn’t like we administered a truth serum to them.
“During the Great Divide, the Fae Lords were incredibly powerful. They split three worlds asunder. You can’t do that if you don’t wield enormous power. It isn’t so far-fetched to think that even now, one or more of them might still be awake and working against us. Mind control isn’t that difficult. And until the last of the Keraastar Knights is found, your circle will not be complete. I think once it is, you will know the loyalty of your knights.”
My mood plummeted. He was right. And when I thought of the power it took to split part the worlds, it underscored just how easy it would be for one of the Fae Lords to reach out and twist the mind of one of my knights.
“I see what you mean. Very well, I’ll tell them to stay at the fire.”
We walked back to the campfire. All my knights were sitting in a circle, meditating, as I had instructed them to. Telling them one more time to stay in meditation, and telling my guards to stay with them, I joined Smoky and Myrddin to head for the Barrow Mounds.
WE HUNTED AROUND the first mound while Delilah and Shade took the one next to us. The mounds were even, sloping up in a circular fashion, as though the ground had grown perfectly formed breasts. They were obviously formed not by nature, but through some magic or careful engineering. We looked for any sign of a door, any magical nuance, and then I leaned against the earth, pressing my hands to the side, searching for something to tell me that what we hunted might be buried within. At the first mound I sensed an ancient energy, but it was quiet and steady, and felt alien to me. I wasn’t sure what the Barrow contained, but it wasn’t a Fae Lord—of that I was certain. Twenty minutes later, we moved on to the next.
“Shouldn’t I…feel the ones that Delilah and Shade are searching as well?” While Delilah’s ability to sense energy had increased exponentially with the advent of her being able to see ghosts, that was no guarantee that she’d be able to suss out the particular energy I was looking for.
“If we don’t find anything by the time we searched through all of these mounds, then you can go back along the ones she and Shade have looked at. There appear to be thirteen mounds in this area.” Myrddin shaded his eyes. The sun was fully up now, and while the day wasn’t warm, it was bright.
“That sounds good to me. I think we should be able to work our way through all of these by early afternoon, if not sooner.”
We moved on to the second set, and then the third. By the time we came to the fourth set of mounds, I was getting tired. Each mound seemed to contain a force of some sort, an energy that I could almost recognize, but not quite. I motioned for Delilah and Shade to join us as we rested for a moment.
“Have you been able to sense anything?”
She nodded. “There are ghosts within the ones we have looked at. The dead walk in there, they aren’t sleeping, and they sure as hell aren’t resting. I have the feeling that they were entombed here for a reason and not allowed to move on to the Land of the Silver Falls. They make me feel uncomfortably nervous, just like the sword did that Daniel found. The one with Einar in it.”
I groaned. The last thing we needed to face was a Viking ghost who was out for trouble. Fighting one had been problematic enough. But it helped that if they hadn’t been dead, she wouldn’t have been able to sense them. Which meant that, most likely, none of the Barrow Mounds that Delilah had looked at was the one I was searching for. If, indeed, the Fae Lord was entombed within one of them.
“Well, that gives us something to go on. I suppose we should get back to the search. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go eat lunch.” My stomach was rumbling.
Delilah pulled out two candy bars, handing one to me. “I thought we might get hungry.”
I bit into the Snickers bar, smiling as the chocolate and caramel melted in my mouth.
“Bless you, and remind me never to complain about your sweet tooth again.”
After we finished eating, we split up again, and headed toward the seventh and eighth Barrow Mounds. We were about three yards away from the mound when a sudden headache hit me, so blinding that I stumbled, falling to my knees. It felt like someone had taken up a sledgehammer and was pounding on my skull.
“Camille, love, are you all right?” Smoky knelt beside me, wrapping his arm around me.
I fought through the throbbing pain, trying to speak.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure what happened, but my head hurts so bad all of a sudden I can barely think.” I pulled away from him, resting on my knees with my forehead pressed against the earth. My head was awash in a haze of confusion, and my stomach lurched, queasy from the pain.
As I crouched on the ground, a rush of anger swept out from the Barrow Mound in front of me, shrouding me like a blanket. By this point I couldn’t even open my eyes. I felt as though I had tumbled into a deep pit, freefalling at a rapid drop. I let out a cry, and the next thing I knew, Smoky had picked me up, carrying me in his arms.
I tried to open my eyes, but couldn’t manage. I pressed my head against his shoulder, trying to shake off the attack. It felt as though there were waves of pain, lashes of anger aimed directly at me, coming from every direction. I tried to get the words out—to tell them what was happening, but my mouth wouldn’t work right.
“I have to get her out of here,” I heard Smoky say.
Myrddin said something in response but I couldn’t understand what it was. And then I heard Smoky speak again, but it was a jumble of words that made no sense. I grabbed his jacket in my fists, holding on for dear life as my world spun around me.
The next moment, everything came to an abrupt stop. I felt like the rug had been yanked out from under my feet. I tried to catch my breath, but Smoky held me tight against him, and when I opened my eyes, I saw we were surrounded by a haze of mist and cloud. Everything felt odd, as though our world had shrunk to a narrow bubble enclosing Smoky and me. Then I realized what had happened. He had shifted us over into the Ionyc Sea.
I clung to his neck, not trying to speak, just grateful that the pain was gone and the confusion was subsiding. I’m not sure how long we stayed there, but it was long enough that I started to get sleepy. I yawned, resting my head back against his shoulder. As I relaxed, once again we shifted. I blinked as the sunlight blazed on my face again, and realized we were back in the Barrow Mounds, standing just outside the place where I had been hit.
“What the hell happened to you?” Delilah ran over.
Smoky carefully set me down, and I steadied myself on his arm.
“I believe we found what were looking for,” I said, pointing toward the Barrow Mound. I told them what had happened. “Even if he is in stasis, the anger against Erastel is still there, and I believe it’s acting like a guardian force. I don’t know if I can get close enough to go in.”
“You can’t go in,” Myrddin said. “We can’t risk losing you. Let the dragons take this on.” He looked directly at Smoky. “You and Shade have to destroy the Fae Lord. And try to prevent him from getting out of the Barrow. I should take Camille back to Erastel’s End. If the Fae Lord gets free, it doesn’t matter where she is. He’ll hunt her down and try to kill her.”
“Gee, you’re so incredibly comforting,” I said, sticking my tongue out at Myrddin. “Well, we have to deal with him before I start the ritual tonight. I’m not budging. I’d rather make my stand at the top of this Barrow.”
Myrddin tried to cow me with his gaze, but I stared him down.
“Infernal woman, how on earth have you stayed alive all this time?”
“Through an incredible amount of luck, help from my friends, and pure stubbornness. I’ve never backed down from a fight and I’m not about to start now. It doesn’t matter whether I’m over at the fire or here, if he comes out of that Barrow looking for me, he’ll be able to find me. But I’ve got something he won’t expect.” Slowly, I reached within my cloak and pulled out the unicorn horn.
Delilah blinked. “I didn’t know you brought the horn with you.”
“This is probably one of the most important missions I’ve been on. I wasn’t about to come here unprepared. Given we have three dragons with us and one of the ancient Druids, along with all my knights and my guards, I figured I’d be safe enough from anybody trying to pilfer it.”
I held it out, closing my eyes. Within the unicorn horn lived a jindasel—a creature similar to a djinn but who was an avatar of the horn itself—and four of the prime elementals. They were there, waiting to do my bidding. I dropped into trance, and within the blink of an eye, found myself inside the horn.
ERISKEL WAS WAITING for me. He was in his usual form, that of a man with brown skin, wearing large hoop earrings to die for. He was handsome, but I knew that he was, in reality, an energy being. He was sitting at the table in the center of the room. To each direction was a large monitor on each wall, like a massive TV screen. I slowly walked up to the table and pulled out a chair, sitting down and resting my hands on the table.
“Lady Camille, welcome. What can I do for you?” Eriskel had quite a sense of humor, but he seemed to sense that today wasn’t the day for jokes.
“We’re about to take on what I believe is one of our bigger enemies. One of the ancient Fae Lords from the Great Divide is lying in stasis out there, waiting for me to begin the ritual to complete the Keraastar Knights. If I begin that ritual, he’ll wake and tried to stop me. We mean to put a stop to him before he tries to put a stop to me.”
“That’s a large order,” Eriskel said. “What do you need?”
“I’m not sure what the Elementals can do for me, but they need to be ready. Especially the Master of the Winds. I may need his lightning. Remember when you shot the lightning bolt at me?” At one point, when he was testing me, Eriskel had nearly fried me with a lightning bolt sizzling with over one hundred million volts.
Eriskel laughed. “Indeed I do, and I remember how quickly you dissipated that lightning.”
“Don’t remind me. Anyway, I need a bolt like that ready for my use. I doubt if one of the ancient Fae Lords could survive being skewered with that.”
I paused, realizing how casually I was sitting here, discussing destroying another person. But said person was out to get me, and out to stop something that would help save the world from the demons. I couldn’t allow myself to have any mercy or compassion, it was only the end finish that mattered at this point.
“We will be ready, Mistress Camille.” Eriskel gave me a gentle bow, and I opened my eyes to find myself standing back by Smoky’s side. I motioned to Delilah.
“I’m ready. Let’s head up to the top of the next mound so we can prepare ourselves if he should escape. Smoky, Shade, go on in and don’t let him kill you, whatever you do.”
As they headed toward a dark spot on the Barrow that could only be a door, Delilah and I prepared ourselves. Myrddin was whispering under his breath and suddenly Áine showed up, swirling around him. I sensed that she, too, was preparing herself for battle.