In their grip, the boat moved closer to the shore. I pushed the throttle wide open but I couldn’t alter my course. An enormous rooster tail shot up behind us as the propeller spun uselessly. All around me, icy pellets, sharpened to needle ends, formed on the surface of the lake. They lifted into the air and shot foward. I pushed my barrier out and they dropped harmlessly. The onslaught continued, one wave after another, as Billy took human form in the seat next to me. I tried to push the boat back out, further away, but I couldn’t.
They knew that. While I kept my barrier up, I had no hope of matching them. Even without the barrier, there were too many now, and several had to be Air and Water inclined. I’d gotten off the island, but not far enough.
“I’m sorry, Maggie,” Billy said.
He looked back at them and launched a furious lightning barrage, but it had no effect against so many. The Fae on the shore simply laughed. Chief among them, Chalen—his eyes locked onto me.
I read his lips. “Save her for me.”
He would make this painful. I could see it on his face. I struggled to block the continuous onslaught of projectiles, and began to shudder uncontrollably as panic and desperation took hold.
Equally easy to make out was, “You’re going to die now.” Chalen mouthed the words when we were just twenty feet away.
I pressed my barrier against the island and the boat stopped. The Unseelie pushed harder against my shield, and I could feel them gaining more strength. The water inside the barrier began to roil, and Chalen smiled. With the Air inclined Fae attacking, I couldn’t extend the barrier beneath us.
Nonetheless, I smiled back and he appeared stunned for a moment. A wall of water curled up the inside of my barrier and shot toward the boat—it would swamp us. Now or never. I reached out with my mind and found the leading edge, freezing it, then blowing it apart. It turned to snow and floated to the surface. When I did that, small gaps opened in my barrier. Billy blocked everything they sent through the holes … except their voices.
I flung my hand in the air like a child does to catch a flake.
“I love snow, thanks Chalen.” I wanted my voice to sound powerful and sarcastic, but it was weak and trembling.
Chalen, however, looked completely bewildered. “Who among you did that? Tell me now!”
He stared up and down the line of Unseelie gathered on the shore, then returned his gaze to me. The water around the boat began to bubble and toss again. He was boiling it. I felt it with my mind and fought with him for control. My barrier weakened and the boat moved closer to the rock outcropping. But I won control of the water. I was stronger than him. The water calmed and the steam disappeared. Chalen was seething.
“WHO DID THAT?” he roared, shaking and spitting as he did.
“I did!” I screamed. My voice was finally as furious as I’d intended.
“Not possible!” he said, spittle stringing from his lips.
Three tubes of water began to form, but I blocked them, holding my hand out over the surface. As I did, my barrier shrank inward. More Unseelie were pressing in on it now. I had only moments before it failed.
“I want you to know this before I die—I’m more powerful than you. Yes, you ugly bastard, a human just beat you with your own element!”
He glared and moved closer to the edge of the bluff, he was summoning his strength, and I could feel it.
“This is for Aunt May!” I screamed at him.
I imagined a massive bolt of lightning flashing down from the sky and burning him to a crisp, and I let it leak out of my mind hoping he’d react. He did, staring upward. Just then, and from deep within my mind, I forced two sharp stone blades, with downward pointing barbs, through his feet, tearing loose chunks of flesh. He lost concentration and screamed in pain. I felt the energy leave him, and several Fae around him gasped. As he began trying to tear his feet off the spikes, I closed stone boots over the top of them, and then wrapped my shield around him to prevent the others from helping. His eyes met mine as I forced a dozen stone spears, from all around him, towards his heaving chest. His eyes contorted with fear. Squirm all you want—I have you and you know it.
It took mere seconds, and despite his best efforts to avoid them, the tips of the spears closed on him. The Unseelie around Chalen stepped up their attack. It was impossibly strong and I felt dizzy. I vaguely heard Billy screaming for me to stop, pulling on my shoulders. I wouldn’t—I’d seen Chalen murder Aunt May—he made me watch her die. I was bent on returning the favor.
Just as the tip of each stone spear met its mark, they all turned to dust. My barrier faltered and I barely recognized the green flash that surrounded us all. An Aetherfae had arrived. But when I looked to my right, I realized it wasn’t an Unseelie.
Donned in an ethereal silver robe, Ozara hovered just off the island. Nothing made a sound, except Chalen. The boots and barbs disappeared and he fell on his back, cursing. He stared at her, angrily, and grasped his wounded feet with both hands. Behind him, Zarkus and the two Unseelie Elders appeared.
“What is this?” Zarkus growled, looking back and forth between Chalen and me.
“Zarkus, I assure you, this was not my doing,” Chalen said as he crawled backwards.
“He’s a liar, Zarkus,” I said. “He told me to come here tonight, before I met with the Council. He wanted me to promise him that I would turn down the role of Steward. He said he would kill my entire family if I didn’t. He said he spoke for the Unseelie.”
Zarkus slowly turned his ferocious glare to Chalen. “Is this true?”
“No,” Chalen evaded.
“Read my mind,” I said. Without waiting I replayed everything at the Water trial and then went on to show them what had happened on the island, including being forcibly compelled to watch Aunt May’s murder. I could barely control my breathing as I did. Billy never let go of my shoulders—he was holding me up.
“Do NOT leave!” Zarkus commanded, breaking my train of thought. When I opened my eyes, I witnessed a few Unseelie attempting to flee.
“With your permission?” Ozara said.
“By all means,” he replied.
A glowing green barrier appeared around all of us—Aether. My scalp tingled and it felt like my hair stood on end. Billy squeezed my shoulder as I started to slump over. It was possible to see through the barrier, but I couldn’t sense anything past it. The trapped Unseelie stopped short and turned back to face Ozara.
“Continue,” Zarkus commanded me.
I started where I left off and I showed them Chalen compelling me. I went through every millisecond of what I saw, including Chalen’s face in May’s eyes.
“Trickery,” Chalen said, squirming away from Ozara and Zarkus.
“No, it is not,” Zarkus said. He forced Chalen flat on his back and pushed his finger through Chalen’s thigh, keeping him in physical form. Chalen muffled a scream.
“You lied to us—you lied to me! You killed the prior Steward, and you have broken our agreement by compelling this one.” Anger filled Zarkus’ voice, and it frightened me.
Chalen’s eyes bulged with fear. If I had not wanted him dead, I might have felt sorry for him.
“Ozara, I didn’t know of this, I assure you. The treachery is apalling. Our agreement is still in place with the Council, I hope?” Zarkus asked.
“If the punishment is swift.”
“It shall be.” He turned his icy blue eyes to Chalen, in a voice just above a whisper, but as serious as any I’ve ever heard, he continued, pushing his finger deeper into Chalen’s leg. “You will leave the physical realm for all time. You are polluted and twisted from having remained in human form for so long—you were warned this would happen. But tonight ... unthinkable ... you risk war. Since you have shown such hostility to the Stewards of the Weald Fae, you are never permitted to return—in any form. Heal yourself and be gone, but know this before you go, if you break this decree, I will destroy you myself.”
“You cannot banish me forever, Zarkus, it ha
s never been done.”
“He has banished you, and I will help him see it done, if necessary.” Ozara glared at Chalen with a serious expression.
Chalen took his natural form and tried to escape—he shot across the water, but she caught him. I could sense his struggle. I watched as a small part of the green wall peeled away from the rest, and wrapped around him. Ozara smiled.
“Was that swift enough to satisfy the Council?” Zarkus asked.
“May I destroy Chalen if I ever again find him here or in physical form?” She asked calmly.
“You may,” he said. The other Unseelie elders nodded their heads in agreement.
“Then yes, it is.” She smiled. “Would one of you mind seeing that Chalen is deposited in the Seoladán. He will not be able to return to physical form as long as he is in Aether, and shortly, I’ll be up to ensure that he never comes through that portal again.”
Ozara turned to me and her face twisted with anger. “Leave Immediately. I will come and speak to you soon. Do no more harm and do not leave the Weald until I have returned.”
“What about him?” One of the Unseelie asked, pointing to Billy.
“What of him?” Ozara’s voice sounded dismissive.
“The law demands that he be punished for coming onto the island out of cycle.”
Billy laughed. “That part of the agreement was never intended to aid you while you attack a Steward—I know, it was my idea. I am her Treoraí--It’s my duty to protect her. Besides, you blithering fool, that rule wasn’t violated. I am not Seelie. The language doesn’t apply to independents, and yes, that was my idea, too.”
“He is correct, Zarkus, he is, foolishly, no longer a part of the Seelie clan.”
“Like so many others.” Zarkus laughed and shot Ozara a smug look. “He is free to go.”
“Let’s go Maggie,” Billy whispered.
THIRTY-TWO
THE BRIEF RESPITE
I started the boat and steered it away from the shore, guiding it through an opening Ozara created in her barrier. Zarkus and Ozara watched me speed away until I could no longer see them. As soon as we were far away from them, I started crying. I couldn’t stop. I had thought I would die—convinced of it in fact.
Billy pulled me away from the wheel and moved over me. The boat swung hard to starboard—I hadn’t realized we were heading straight for the first island.
As we approached the cove, Billy said, “I need you to pull it together, Maggie. You have to calm down.”
He killed the engine to silently guide the boat down the cove and into the dock. While I collected my thoughts and calmed down, he quickly pulled the boat’s cover into place. He was right—I couldn’t go back into the cottage looking or acting like this.
“Ozara has left the island. I assume she has gone to inform the Council,” he said.
I took deep breaths, and watched him secure the last few knots. I was numb, but grateful to be alive. He grabbed me by the arm and hurried me through the woods, back up to where the car was parked. He put his hand on the boulder and it transformed back, exacly as it had been—a perfect, pink, ‘57 Thunderbird.
Sara appeared, dropping out of the sky as a blue jay and landing on her feet in human form. I was too numb to be startled. She exchanged a quick glance with Billy—they were both quiet.
“What are you saying?” I asked, a little annoyed.
They continued for a few moments, then Sara closed her eyes, shaking her head.
“What?”
“Maggie, you used your abilities to attack a Fae, several in fact,” she said. Worry filled her face.
“I had no choice.” I was irritated that I had to defend my actions to her.
“She did not. They would have killed her. It was a trap, just as you suspected. Thank you for finding Ozara on such short notice,” he said to Sara. “She arrived at the last possible moment, but there was no other Aetherfae.”
“I’m not judging you Maggie. I’m proud of your courage but, nonetheless, the Council will not take this lightly.”
“I will explain it to them when we meet after midnight. Oh my … what time is it?”
“You’ve been gone sixty-three minutes. Midnight is still an hour away. We’ll go back down soon, so relax—you can’t see anyone in this state,” Sara said.
“I’ll calm down, don’t worry. An hour, wow, it felt so much longer than that,” I said, still dizzy. I began taking deep breaths again, working through my calming techniques.
“I will go to the Council and see if there is any news.”
“I was just with the Council, Billy. They’ve pulled the guard, so one of us should return to the cottage immediately.”
“You go with Maggie. I will see if I can gather any more information—I’ll return as soon as I can,” Billy said. With that, he was gone.
I started the engine and drove back down the hill.
“Sara, what did you mean by that—the Council pulled the guard?”
“I wasn’t permitted to listen to their discussion or take part in the decision, but I did hear the Council order the guard to return. I think they were preparing for a confrontation, but that is merely conjecture. Honestly, I don’t know why—they could be back within the hour. But Maggie, there is something else—you won’t be meeting with the Council tonight.”
I pulled up to the rock wall, weaving between cars, and shut the engine off. The Seelie in the garden were gone. I could only sense two Fae—Sara beside me, and Billy, who was downstairs in the basement. Apparently he hadn’t gone to the Council after all and had beaten us down the hill.
Before we went inside, I listened to the laughter and music coming out of the house. It helped me relax. Thankfully, everything was just as I had left it.
“Why?” I asked. I finally succumbed to my curiosity over the cancelled meeting.
Sara smiled, trying not to look worried.
“I understand you did what you had to do to survive, but I fear it may have created an enormous problem. By now, Ozara has told the Council that you are Water inclined—that you’ve deceived them. Depending on how much she saw, she may have told the Council what Billy told me—that you, not even a Maebown yet, are more powerful than some individual Fae. Those on the Council who were wary of you to begin with will have even more reason to distrust you. The fact that you nearly destroyed Chalen, that you knew to wound him to make him vulnerable—that will have a deeper impact.” She closed her eyes for a moment before looking at me again.
“The news that you are, after all, most likely a Maebown will win you some support on the Council, because it likely means there is another Aetherfae out there somewhere. With that in mind, many will lobby to keep you here as Steward.”
“Keep me here?” I was stunned.
“Yes, Maggie, the reason you will not be meeting with the Council as planned is because the decision is not up to you anymore. They know your desire, you made it clear in your confrontation with the Unseelie, but the Council will now decide what to do with you.”
I was numb again, and too emotionally spent to care at the moment.
“Fine, I’m sick of this, Sara. I nearly died tonight. I was on that island alone with fifty of them—well, forty-nine.”
“You were very brave, but you were never completely alone. Billy was there the entire time, waiting to help you if he could. We both assumed, correctly, that you’d be too headstrong to wait at the dock like you were told.”
Of course he was there, that’s why I miscounted. “He did help, and he saved my life several times.”
“He told me, and he said that you did the same for him. I have to believe the Council will decide in your favor. It took great courage and a great deal of power to do what you did. But enough of that right now—we should go inside. I’m sorry I left the cottage unattended, but I had to warn the Council. Had I not...”
“I would have died, and Billy, too. Ozara saved us both.”
“Yes, she did.”
“Tell her I sa
id thank you, and please, tell her I want to stay.”
“She will be here later so you can tell her yourself. But now, we need to get you back inside before your mom and dad form a seach party and come looking for us.”
I relaxed a bit more and made myself smile.
“There you are!” Doug grabbed me as I walked into the living room. I clung to him, pressing my face into his muscular chest, and exhaled loudly. He squeezed a little harder and laughed.
“Wow, Havana, I guess you were right about the distance thing.”
I checked the room, and everyone seemed to be having a good time—oblivious to the danger they’d been in. I allowed myself to relax a little more. Coming down from the experience completely was apparently going to take some time.
I was grateful to have Sara close to me and to have Billy downstairs. When I smiled at Sara, she had a strange look on her face. Candace asked her something, but she was distant. I caught her eye. She appeared worried again and quickly looked away. She was sensing something. I extended my mind to the yard. The conspicuous absence of the Seelie guards was disturbing, but I couldn’t sense any others. Except for her and Billy, I couldn’t sense any Fae at all near the cottage.
I followed her eyes as she stared at Mitch’s friend, Scotty. He said something to his mom, and appeared to be upset. I walked closer to hear.
“Mitch won’t let me play the game. He’s being mean—I wanna go home.”
I smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. I took Scotty’s hand, and he immediately grinned.
“Scotty, why don’t we go have a talk with Mitch. I bet he’d be more than happy to share.”
“No he won’t!” Scotty shook his head. “He went outside to see the lightning and was really mean when he came back in.”
“Come on, please?” I gave him a smile.
“Go on, Honey,” his mom said.
He smiled back and walked with me. Sara and Doug followed—he wasn’t going to let me out of his sight again. We wound our way through the crowd around the pool table, and past Ronnie, Rachel and some other friends on the leather sofas.