The Brotherhood of the Snake (Return of the Ancients Book 2) (28 page)

There was no escaping them now. Gathering what shreds of confidence I could, I turned back to them and sat down to face my fate.

“Greetings, Sydney,” they chorused in unison.

Pushing back a thick lock of silvery hair with her powdery white hand, the Light Queen graced me with a smile. “You’ve no cause to fear, little human. At least, not yet.”

I suppressed a shiver.

They just stared at me then. Their eyes were sharp and piercing, seeming to drill through my mind. I didn’t like it. It was almost as if they could read my mind.

“The future is fraught with danger,” the Dark Queen suddenly whispered. “We weep for what appears on the horizon and what we must do.”

A single, synchronized tear trickled down their cheeks in the most unnerving way before 
they smiled.

“Yet there is hope with the dawn.” They both nodded at the same time.

I frowned, confused.

Was I supposed to understand this?

From the corner of my eye, I saw Ellison scrubbing the counter with a white cloth. I could tell by the way he was hunched forward that he was trying to eavesdrop. I hoped he wasn’t succeeding. It would be safer for him that way.

“We brought you a gift,” the Light Queen said, holding out a small red silk bundle.

I hesitated.

A moment later, Raven was there, hissing a threat, “When the Queen offers you something, you take it!”

The hand she placed on my shoulder was heavy, and her nails dug into my skin.

What little confidence I’d mustered dissolved in an instant, and I grabbed the bundle. It opened the moment I touched it, revealing a marble-sized chunk of glass.

I recognized it immediately for what it was.

It was a piece of the Glass Wall.

“It belongs to you,” the Dark Queen informed me. “Since you alone broke it.”

As the gazes of the nearby Fae transfixed on the chunk of glass, I wanted to defend myself. I wanted to tell them that the wall had needed to be broken, that it had been devised by the lizard people to hide their evil designs, but I couldn’t make my mouth open to form a single word.

It didn’t matter anyway.

They apparently had plenty to say.

“Humans are dangerous, Sydney,” they began speaking, alternating words with each other. That alone sent chills down my spine. “You have proven humans can naturally manipulate the mirrors. That was unforeseen.”

I swallowed.

So, they knew about the Hall of Mirrors.

“And now, we find ourselves at a crossroads—” Abruptly, they stopped to focus over my shoulder.

The Light Queen gave a knowing smile. “As expected, Sydney. He came for you.”

I whirled then, flooding with relief to see Rafael standing a short distance away.

Wearing a brown leather jacket and a black t-shirt that stretched tightly over his arms and chest to underscore his lean physique, he stood there looking strong, powerful, and every inch the hero that he was. He glanced around the coffee shop, clearly mystified as Samantha’s customers snapped his picture. But then brushing them off, he was at my side in three, long strides.

Resting one hand on the back of my chair, he locked gazes with the Light Queen and accused, “You used her as bait. It’s unethical!”

His face was a mask of controlled calm, but even I could see that he was furious.

“She isn’t just any human,” the Dark Queen challenged, pointing to the piece of glass that I held in my hand.

There was a stilted silence as Rafael and the Queens continued to stare at each other.

I glanced around nervously.

Samantha stood near the pastry case, taking Jareth to task as Ellison diligently scrubbed the counter, only he was still scrubbing the same spot as before.

The customers appeared to be having a jolly time, drinking their lattes and pointing outright at various Fae, even asking a few of them for autographs.

The Fae were clearly confused by the requests. I even heard one of them reply stiffly that their names were classified information, and they were not about to document them on paper for the amusement of humans.

The customers loved that response. They apparently thought it was going to be part of the video.

“We have come to mete out justice, Rafael," the Light Queen said from behind me. "You know your crime.”

I whipped around to face them again, my heart sinking.

They really
were
here to kill us.

Rafael flinched as if he’d been slapped, but he barely hesitated. “Let the others go, including my mother and Harmony, and I’ll not fight it,” he said, but he was clearly angry.

The Queens barely hesitated. “We will honor your request and will not punish the human. However, Zelphie and Harmony will remain as hostages in Avalon. This is not negotiable.”

Rafael’s jaw clenched with barely contained fury.

“You have been judged, Rafael,” the Queens continued coldly. “And you have been found wanting. You will now be sentenced.”

“Wait!” The word tore from my lips. Instinctively, I rose halfway to block him. “You can’t do this! He’s done nothing wrong! He’s just trying to save us all. In fact, we’re all just trying to do our best—”

Rafael’s strong hands clasped my shoulders. Exerting a gentle pressure, he pushed me back into my seat and whispered so softly that I could scarcely hear him, “It’s going to be all right, little pixie, I swear it.”

I shivered.

But this time it wasn’t out of fear, and my heart did its strange fluttery thing.

I looked up to find both Queens skewering me with their penetrating eyes.

“An interesting twist,” they said, but didn’t explain further. Turning to Rafael, they announced, “As punishment for your crime, your Light will be banished.”

Rafael blanched.

Suddenly, Jareth was there, gasping in outright disbelief. “You can’t do this to him!”

I blinked, wondering what I should do. Rafael had said it was going to be ok. But was it? Watching his furious gaze move from queen to queen, he sure didn’t
look
ok.

Angrily, Rafael struck his fist on the table and began to swear.

Immediately, Samantha’s head swiveled our way.

Catching the movement, Rafael abruptly fell silent and sent her his most lethally engaging smile.

It was a smile that could melt any resistance, even Samantha’s. Her thin lips actually curved up in response, and she returned to her spot, cupping her chin in her hand and began writing in one of her order books.

Leaning closer to the Queens, Rafael protested softly, “I’m still searching for the Tulpa. I’ll need my abilities unhampered if I’m—”

“If the Tulpa ever existed, it must be gone by now.” The Dark Queen coldly cut him short.

Surprisingly, Jareth jumped to Rafael’s defense. “No, my queen. Pray delay your judgment in this matter. Rafael will need all of his senses to aid me in tracking this Tulpa. It’s still here. I can sense it.”

My mouth dropped open. And then it snapped shut.

Something was suspicious here.

I thought the Queens didn’t know about the Tulpa. But then, it was theoretically possible that Melody had just informed them. But in either case, it was more than odd that Jareth discussed it so easily, almost as if they’d talked about it before, when he’d sworn he’d withheld the information from them. Somehow, it just felt suspicious.

I glanced over to find the Light Queen watching me, and for a moment, her face was unguarded.

She was ageless, wise, and kind, and all at once, I knew I could trust her. I knew it in my bones. And just as my gut told me that Melody was evil, my gut was telling me that this queen was good.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, and for the first time in my life, decided to trust my intuition. Maybe I really could develop my sense of Light.

“I thank you for your faith, little Sydney,” the Light Queen’s cool whisper floated through my mind.

I gasped, and my eyes flew open.

With an almost imperceptible nod, her lips remained sealed, but her voice continued, “And now I must ask you to show the same faith in yourself, child. Trust yourself. Be true to your heart. Your heart will guide your way through the dark times ahead. Remember, love is the ultimate power.”

I stared at her numbly.

She was actually talking
in
my mind.

I was so shocked that I could scarcely comprehend her words.

She lifted a finger, and for the briefest of moments, I saw a bright golden feather appear, so bright it looked as if it were made out of pure sunlight. I gasped at the overwhelming beauty of the thing even as I frowned a little, trying to recall where I’d seen the feather before.

The Queen smiled. “I am pleased you can see my Light, child, even if only for so little a time. As you have faith in me, so I have faith in you. Only those who have gained my complete trust may see and keep my Light.” Reaching across the table, she pressed her fingers lightly over my palm. “And though you can no longer see it, this feather is yours to keep. I trust one day you may see it again.”

I stared at my empty hand. I didn’t see or feel anything. But it sure didn’t seem like she was joking. I shook my hand a little and nervously jammed it into my pocket.

The Queen turned away, focusing her blue eyes on Jareth.

“How are Tulpas ‘sensed’ by our kind, Jareth?” the Dark Queen was asking him. She looked offended at the mere suggestion and her voice sharpened. “You speak in disgusting riddles. We share nothing with the lizard kind.”

At that, Jareth drew back.

It was Rafael’s turn to step in. “You must trust him, Queen of the Dark. His fate is to walk this path, even my mentor, Melody, has foreseen it.”

They searched his face, both nodding sagely in agreement.

“Then we shall execute our judgment and return from whence we came,” they said, once again alternating words with each other.

“Must you—” Jareth protested almost desperately.

As they nodded, Rafael expelled a breath, and the fury in his gray eyes returned.

I felt a ripple of fear.

There was something dangerous about Rafael that came out at the most unexpected of times. It made me wonder just how much I really knew him.

In what looked like barely controlled fury, he virtually commanded the Queens, “Then do it and be gone!”

“How can you accept this?” Jareth burst out in raw indignation. “You’ll be as blind as a human, if not worse!”

I knew I should be insulted by that, but concern for Rafael overshadowed everything else. What were they going to do?

“For now, it must be,” Rafael whispered hoarsely.

Bowing his head, he extended his arm as the Queens placed their hands over his golden bracelet.

Their fingers began to glow, and in an ominous whisper, they pronounced their judgment, “From now until we release you, if ever, your Light shall remain locked out of your reach, Rafael Channing, descendant of Cor.”

Two Prana sparks leapt from their fingers to entwine around Rafael’s bracelet before melting together to from a grid of light around it. It flared a moment before disappearing entirely. And when it had faded, his bracelet looked much the same as it always had.

With a gasp, Rafael turned white.

Jareth looked only a little less pale.

Suddenly, I doubted my judgment. Had I just blindly trusted the wrong person? Had the Queen actually harmed him? I felt angry, but I didn’t exactly know why.

Abruptly, the Queens rose to their feet. 
“We will leave now,” they announced without preamble.

Without looking at us further, they turned on their heel and swept away, the Fae guards jumping up to rapidly form a protective aisle leading to the door.

And as the Fae filed past us to leave, one of them stopped in front of Rafael.

It was Raven.

Rafael’s expression tightened, but he didn’t move to acknowledge her.

Fake tears pooled in her large, reproachful eyes as she searched his face. “How could you betray me so?” she whispered.

Blowing out a breath of exasperation, he turned his face further to the side.

“Just go away,” Jareth snapped at her rudely.

She glared at him, but she left, running a little to catch up with the others as they exited the coffee shop.

I didn’t move. I sat where I was, across from Jareth and Rafael, watching as the color slowly returned to their faces.

“What do we do now?” I whispered, swallowing nervously.

“We find that Tulpa!” Jareth slammed his palm onto the table. “Then they’ll have no choice but to undo this travesty of justice!”

It was odd to see Jareth sticking up for Rafael. It only made me realize even more how grave his sentence had been.

A quick peek at Ellison revealed him still wiping the same spot, but he was openly staring at us now, leaving me to speculate on just how much he’d witnessed.

Catching my eyes on him, he jerked, and coughing behind his hand, grabbed a pen and began writing furiously on a piece of paper.

Rafael stood, breathing heavily. 
For a moment, he looked as if he wanted to say something, but swiftly changing his mind, pivoted on his heel and headed for the door.

I glanced at Samantha.

She was watching me, absently chewing on the end of her pen, and reading my silent plea, answered with a distracted wave, giving me permission to go.

“We’ll do the cappuccino butterflies tomorrow,” she called after me as I bolted out of the coffee shop after Rafael.

I was worried about him.

Bursting out onto the sidewalk, I saw him heading down the street.

He knew I was following him, and at first, he seemed determined to shake me off, lengthening his stride and cutting around the corner of the coffee shop before I could catch up.

By the time I made it to the corner, it was too dark to see where he’d gone.

I scowled.

But I couldn’t really be angry. I figured losing a sense like that wasn’t easy.

Determined not to let him slip away, I decided to check the back parking lot.

As I stepped into the alley, a blast of cold wind greeted me, its icy edge chilling me to the bone and making my teeth chatter.