Faery Born (Book One in the War Faery Trilogy) (18 page)

I closed my eyes and parted my lips, needing to feel his mouth moving over mine. Needing to feel the heat of his breath, the tease of his tongue… and
that
was when they attacked. A score of huge, dark-skinned warriors leapt from the top of the courtyard walls and surrounded us.

‘Goblins,’ Aethan hissed through his teeth, pulling me around so I was behind him.

I was welded into that dress and those shoes with no weapon. If I could ever have conceived of such a ridiculous notion, it would have been my worst nightmare come true.

Scruffy let out a long, low growl.

‘Hide,’ I said to him.

He whimpered.

‘Hide.’ I said it with enough force that his ears and tail went down, but he obeyed me, scurrying to a nearby hedge and diving underneath.

Aethan reached out to pluck a sword from where he had stuck it tip down into the grass. I turned so we were back-to-back. The least I could do was
try
to defend him.

Somehow I didn’t think my stilettos were going to cut it. I wished fervently for a sword. I wasn’t going to make it out of this alive without one. Hell, I probably wouldn’t make it out alive even with one, but a chance would be good.

The air shivered in front of me and a sword fell into my outstretched hands. Did
I
do that? My magic was so random I couldn’t be sure.

Goblin warriors were still jumping over the stone wall. They formed up, but kept their distance. I reached down and hacked at my skirt with the sword while I wondered what they were waiting for.

‘Well, well, well, what have we here?’

Ahhh, of course.
They had been waiting for Galanta.

Dressed head to foot in her garb of leather and bones, she seemed well recovered from the injury I had given her. Scruffy growled from under the hedge as she jumped down into the courtyard and paced towards us.

‘Aethan, Isadora,’ she said, nodding her head.

‘Galanta.’ Aethan’s voice was terse with anger. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘I’ve come to take you,’ she said. ‘And to deal with
you.’
She nodded her head at me as she said the last bit.

One of his arms wrapped protectively back around me. ‘Don’t you think you’ve hurt her enough?’

‘Hurt her? I haven’t even begun hurting her.’ She threw her head back and her evil laugh echoed around the courtyard.

‘Now, now, Galanta,’ Aethan said in a pleasant voice, ‘you don’t want to harm us.’

‘I may not want to harm
you,’
she said, ‘but I’d like to cut out your girlfriend’s heart and have it for breakfast.’

I pasted a huge smile on my face and turned to face her. ‘Eat shit and die.’

Aethan tightened his grip on me and placed himself back between us as she hissed and took a step towards me.

‘You’ll be smiling on the other side of your mouth when I’m finished with you,’ she said.

‘You mean face,’ I said. ‘It’s smiling on the other side of your face.’

She roared with rage and pounced towards me. Scruffy barked in fury, darting out from under the hedge to bite her ankle. She looked down at him, in his little tuxedo, and snarled in disgust, shaking her foot to dislodge him.

I screamed in rage as she stabbed towards him, sweeping my blade to deflect hers. Power bloomed inside me, and without even thinking about what I did, I caught him up in a shield, formed it into a bubble, and cast him up into the air beyond her reach. He floated above us, barking and growling, but safe.

Aethan swung us around so that she was fighting him, not me. She tried to get through his guard to me, but he fought like a demon. I had time before her warriors attacked to admire his speed and grace. After that I was kept busy dodging and blocking as they tried to dismember me.

We put up a pretty good fight, standing back-to-back. Galanta, breathing heavily and clutching the side I had wounded, stepped back and signalled more warriors to attack us. I willed a second sword and fought double-handed, pulling on my magic to lend me strength. I took a slash to the arm and stabbed the warrior in the eye. He staggered to the side, leaving room for two more to attack.

Laughing like a crazy woman I engaged them. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins. They may have been big, but they were slow and clumsy, relying on their brute strength to dominate. Sweat and blood soon speckled their bodies.

But as fast as they fell, others filled the gaps. Fatigue became our enemy. Just when I was beginning to despair, a cry of alarm sounded from above in the tower.

Galanta swore in fury, put two fingers into her mouth and whistled. At the noise, another score of warriors appeared on top of the wall. They jumped down and rushed us with no thought to their own protection. The sheer weight and size of them bore us to the ground, and even though we managed to take a couple out on the way, they easily overwhelmed us.

I felt my swords ripped from my grasp as I punched and kicked. The faeries’ cries were getting closer, but shutting my eyes, waiting to feel the sting of cold steel, I knew they would be too late.

Then suddenly the goblins were gone. The first of the faeries charged into the courtyard and raced to the wall after them. I pulled myself into a seated position and turned to see if Aethan were all right. Terror shuddered down my spine as I realised he was gone.

‘They’ve taken him,’ I yelled, pointing over the wall.

‘Taken who?’ one of them asked me.

‘Prince Aethan,’ I said.

One of the faeries turned to another and issued a command. The smaller, slighter faery sprung nimbly over the wall and disappeared into the night.

‘Izzy?’ I turned to the sound of Wilfred’s voice.

‘Oh thank the Great Dark Sky,’ I said as I stood up. ‘The goblins have taken Aethan.’

‘Have you hit your head?’ Wilfred asked, looking me up and down.

I was in quite a state with my ripped skirt, my tousled hair, and blood soaked into the bodice of the dress (the pumpkin was
not
going to be happy), but I had to make them see the urgency of the situation.

‘No,’ I said, panic clawing at my insides. ‘Galanta has kidnapped Aethan.’ Tears welled in my eyes as the words came out of my mouth.

But Izzy,’ Wilfred said, a confused look on his face, ‘Aethan is at the ball, dancing with all the pretty girls.’

‘Dancing with all the pretty girls indeed,’ I fumed as we trekked through the castle to the ball. Scruffy floated in his bubble behind me, attached by a string of air. I wasn’t ready to let him down till I knew he was totally safe.

I looked awful but I didn’t care. After what I had just been through, I couldn’t believe that Aethan was inside dancing. Perhaps I
had
tripped and knocked my head.

The ballroom was filled with brightly-dressed, young women, all waiting for their turn to dance with the Prince. It was a farce on the highest level. I didn’t know him that well, but I was pretty sure Aethan would never have been a party to this disgraceful meat market. But sure enough, there he was, cradling a blonde in his arms as he waltzed around the dance floor. I heard a growl come out of my throat.

‘That’s not Aethan,’ I said to Wilfred.

‘I’ve been with him the whole night.’

‘Would Aethan really put himself on display like this?’

‘He did seem a bit excited by the whole thing.’

I pointed at the imposter. ‘That’s because that isn’t him. Oh come on, we don’t have time to waste.’

I waded through the women towards the floor. Some of them started to protest, but when they saw me, with blood tattooed on my face, they backed away in fright.

‘Aethan Gabrielle,’ I yelled from the edge of the dance floor.

The dancing stopped and everybody turned to look at me.

‘Get her out of here,’ Queen Eloise shrieked from her throne.

‘Not so fast cousin,’ I said. ‘Aethan has been kidnapped by Galanta.’

‘You’re crazy,’ she said. ‘You can’t handle the fact that Aethan doesn’t want you any more.’

I strode over to fake Aethan and his simpering blonde. She pouted her lips and leaned in close to him. I managed to control my urge to scratch out her eyes.

‘Now,’ I said to the imposter, ‘you and I both know you aren’t Aethan. The real Aethan has just been kidnapped by goblins and I need you to stop this so we can save him.’

A look of horror crossed Aethan’s face. ‘That was never supposed to happen,’ he said. And then slowly his features began to morph. His face melted and his body shrank and finally, all that was left was a small being who clung to my skirts and sobbed, ‘You have to save him.’

‘It’s a pixie,’ Wilfred said. ‘Danoo?’

‘Yes, friend of my master,’ the pixie said.

‘It’s Aethan’s personal servant,’ Wilfred explained to me.

I watched as Danoo used the remnants of my dress to wipe his eyes. ‘That’s enough,’ I said as he started to blow his nose.

Her shriek warned me just in time. Queen Eloise grabbed my hair and pulled it as she beat ineffectively at my head.

‘It’s your fault,’ she screamed.

‘How is this my fault?’ I resisted the urge to kick her in the shins with my shiny, glass shoes.

Danoo jumped up and down trying to pull her off me, but in the end I was rescued from her feeble attack by a ruggedly handsome faery. I recognised him from the night he had fought goblins in his bed clothes.

‘Cousin,’ he said, ‘you bring serious news. Can this be true?’

‘King Arwyn.’ I dropped to one knee. ‘We have to save him.’

‘We will child, but we need to prepare ourselves rather than run blindly into their trap.’

Even though every cell in me was screaming to go straight after them, what he said made total sense. Everything I had read on the craft of war told me he was right.

‘A tracker has been sent,’ Wilfred said.

‘Excellent. We will prepare while we wait for his report.’

It took less time than I had feared for the faeries to arm themselves and prepare light backpacks with food and other necessary provisions.

‘Here.’ Wilfred handed me one of the backpacks and then took another look at my outfit. ‘Aren’t you coming?’

‘Of course I am.’

‘Why don’t you borrow some clothes from one of the Fae women?’

I sucked some air into my cheeks. ‘The thing is,’ I grimaced, ‘Aethan cast a Cinderella spell on me. I’m afraid I’m stuck like this till midnight.’

I had to give him credit for at least
trying
to keep a straight face. A small smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. ‘What happens at midnight?’

‘I’m not sure.’

His grin got bigger. ‘But the dress?’

‘Will go.’

‘And?’ He started to chuckle.

‘Hopefully I will be left wearing what I had on before.’ I was going to be royally pissed if I ended up naked.

‘Are you going to be able to ride like that?’ he asked.

‘Give me your dagger.’

He pulled it out of its sheath and handed it to me, watching as I placed a split in each side of the skirt.

‘Why don’t you put these on?’ I hadn’t heard Isla approach. She held a pair of leather pants in her hands.

Trying not to catch the sharp points of the stilettos in the material, I stepped carefully into them. I shimmied them up under my skirt and fastened them. For a second they fit perfectly, then they disappeared from view, reappearing in a pile at my feet.
Stupid Cinderella Spell.

‘Shame,’ she said as she bent to scoop them up. ‘Your butt looked great in them.’

Wilfred let out a chuckle as she stalked away. ‘Where’s your sword?’

‘Goblins stole it.’

He handed me a belt with a knife sheath attached to it. I held my breath as I placed it around my waist. Unlike the pants, it stayed where it was. He nodded his head in satisfaction and then handed me a long dagger.

‘Why do I get the girlie knife?’ I pointed at the long sword he had belted to his waist.

‘You’re the one wearing the skirt.’

The rest of the Border Guard was already mounted. I was less than thrilled to note Isgranelda amongst their ranks. She grinned when she saw me and whispered in Brad’s ear. He let out a roar of laughter.

Rako sat at the head of the group. He gave me a long look but didn’t say anything about my attire.

Scruffy whined from behind my head. ‘Sorry boy,’ I said. Once my adrenaline had abated, I’d not been able to control my powers. In the heat of the battle I’d only had to think of something and it was done. Now though, I was like a kid in a grenade store; you never knew what I might accidentally blow up.

King Arwyn and Queen Eloise were arguing up the front in quiet voices, but I could hear the words – she, little witch, not going near my son, and his choice – so I figured I was the source of the argument. When they had finally finished, King Arwyn told us all to mount up. I guessed he had won and I was going with them.

I took the reins of a mare from one of the Fae and climbed awkwardly onto her back. A horn blew and then suddenly we were off, racing as a group away from the castle. The moon’s light was so bright I could easily see the terrain.

We travelled for a couple of hours over hills and through country that were both familiar and different to me at the same time. We passed farms with single-dwelling establishments, but there were no cities or villages. Eventually we approached a dark mountain standing like a lone sentinel on the plain. We slowed and then stopped.

I, for one, was glad to stop moving. It was all very well to decree I was going to save Aethan, but I was beginning to think that jumping into a saddle in the remnants of my glittery ball gown had not been such a good idea. My thighs felt rubbed raw.

‘My kingdom for a sturdy pair of pants,’ I muttered.

A small bubble finally appeared and floated towards King Arwyn. He stood still as the bubble popped on his face and then he turned to address us.

‘The goblins have taken Aethan up Black Mountain.’ He dismounted and the rest of us followed his example.

Wary of attack, we moved slowly towards the foot of the mountain where a small path started. I could see it winding its way treacherously up the spur. Two at a time we started the climb, slowing when the path narrowed to single file. I wasn’t the only one searching the side of the mountains for goblins. If they decided to drop rocks on us we were in trouble.

My back was aching, and my calves screaming by the time we reached a clearing we could all fit into. I saw the tracker talking to King Arwyn and pointing up the next path. A few of the Fae ran lightly up the path. They were shaking their heads when they returned.

‘What’s happening?’ I asked Wilfred.

‘I’m not sure.’ He made his way to the front of the group and returned a few moments later. ‘There’s a barrier up ahead. We need to breach it before we can go any further.’

Frustration welled in me as the faeries tried to break the barrier. Aethan was somewhere on the other side and we had to get there before they killed him. I moved up to the front and turned my head from side-to-side. The barrier was invisible. I walked towards it with my arms outstretched, waiting for the tips of my fingers to meet resistance. There was nothing there.

‘Well,’ King Arwyn said, a few seconds later, ‘can you pull me through?’
We linked wrists and I pulled him towards me until suddenly it was like pulling on a tree. I tugged harder. He winced and let go to rub his knuckles on his chest plate.

‘That would be a no,’ he said. His voice was neutral, but his face showed bitter disappointment. ‘One at a time, try the barrier.’

I stood on the other side and waited while one-by-one the rest of the group pressed against the invisible force.

‘Whizbang,’ Wilfred muttered as he bounced off it.

The rest of them had no success either until Isgranelda walked up to it. She stood for a second as if something prevented her, and then she stepped through. Smiling like a cat in a house full of mice she stood next to me.

‘I guess it’s just the two of us,’ I said.

‘Try not to get in my way.’

‘Get in
your
way?
You
try not to get in
mine.’
Oh yeah, this was going to be a
real
hoot.

‘Teamwork ladies.’ Rako clapped his hands together before we got to the hair pulling. ‘Scout out the area. Find Aethan. You are not to engage the enemy. We
will
find a way through this thing.’

They would eventually, I was sure of that. The question was, would it be in time?

‘You can’t go dressed like that,’ King Arwyn said, pointing at my ripped and bloodied dress. One of my glass heels had smashed off on the way up the mountain.

‘What time is it?’ I asked.

‘Twenty minutes till tomorrow,’ he said.

Oh goody. I was going to transform very soon and it was going to be in front of a horde of goblins. I wondered if they’d ever seen a naked witch.

‘We have to go, and we have to go
now,’
I said. They might be planning some horrible ceremony for Aethan at midnight.

We travelled slowly up the path with Scruffy floating in the air behind me. I wondered what Isgranelda’s familiar was. I’d never seen it. Maybe she didn’t have one. Maybe she was half-human. She was
definitely
all bitch.

The path we followed twisted and turned through the mountain till I lost all sense of direction. It had remained the same width as we climbed, but suddenly it narrowed. Isgranelda turned so her back was against the rock and slid her feet sideways as she edged carefully along the rocky ledge.

Halfway across, I made the mistake of looking down. It was so narrow I could see the drop off through the tips of my glass slippers. I froze, staring at the valley below. It was so far away. If my foot slipped an inch I was going to find out exactly how far it was. A cold sweat broke out on my body.

‘Don’t look down,’ Isgranelda growled.

I ripped my eyes away from it and stared straight ahead while I panted. If
she
could do it,
I
could. I pressed my hands against the wall behind me, looking for finger holds as I slithered sideways until the path widened again.

We travelled for a few more minutes before Scruffy let out a low growl.

‘Shut him up,’ Isgranelda muttered as she squatted to peer around the next corner.

‘Shhhh,’ I said to him, squatting as well.

Isgranelda pulled back from the corner and moved closer to me. She held up five fingers. Then three and pointed to herself, and two and pointed to me.

‘Why do you get three?’ I hissed.

Ignoring me, she drew her sword and launched herself around the corner. I yanked the dagger from my belt and scrambled to catch up.

I rounded the corner to see her kick a goblin off the length of her sword and twirl to attack another. So much for not engaging the enemy.

I leapt into the air, pulling my legs into a tuck as I somersaulted over a goblin. I landed behind him and dragged my blade across his throat. Hot blood gushed onto my hand as he fell.

Scruffy barked and I ducked, feeling the air above my head move as a sword swept through the space where my neck had been. I spun and kicked up with my glass stiletto. My attacker let out a bellow of pain as the heel embedded itself into the soft tissue of his groin. I heard a ripping sound as my leg whipped back down.

Blood darkened the front of his pants. He clutched at his privates and I swung my blade up under his ribs and into his heart. He was dead before he hit the dirt.

Isgranelda had already disposed of her three, a small smile on her face. I felt a moment of chagrin as I wiped my blade off on the material of my skirt.
Smug bitch.

The path continued around the side of the mountain until it reached a clearing. The moon shone onto a large, flat rock in the centre. Aethan lay unmoving on top of it. Was he alive? I couldn’t tell from where I was standing.

I had expected a hoard of goblins would be guarding him, but there were none. That in itself stunk of a trap, so I resisted the urge to rush to his side.

Isgranelda wasn’t so concerned. She stalked to the middle of the clearing and swung her sword from side-to-side.

‘What are you doing?’ I whispered.

‘You still have no idea do you?’ She started to laugh, a low guttural sound. It sent chills down my spine.

Scruffy barked and it took me a panicked moment to realise he wasn’t barking at goblins. He was barking at her.

She stretched slowly, as if luxuriating in the feel of her muscles, and then she started to change. Her hair grew longer, changing from blonde to black as it matted into dreadlocks. Her outfit shifted until leather, covered with small bones, encased her. Her nails lengthened and thickened till they were black talons.