Faeries and Fangs (The Blood Witch Saga Book 5), page 10
Mercy shook her head. “The only reason he could manipulate Leann was because of the curse. He doesn’t have that kind of control over you.”
I grunted. “You’re right. This might be pointless, but we might as well give him our best shot.”
Mercy stepped up next to me and put her arm around my shoulder. “Back to Exter?”
I nodded. “I don’t know what else to try.”
We started to move back to the portal when something grabbed my ankle. I looked down, and a root had wrapped itself around me.
“What the hell?”
Mercy bent over to pull at it, but when she did, another root shot out of the ground and wrapped itself around her body. It pulled her down into the ground. The soil enveloped her. Then the root on my ankle tugged hard. The ground under me cracked.
“Willie! What is happening?”
“It must be the Unseelie Court! I’ll try to free you!”
Willie lobbed a green ball of magic at the root around my ankle. The root loosened just in time for another one to shoot out of the ground. It wrapped itself around my waist, my chest, then my neck.
“Let go of me!” I screamed.
The roots yanked me down into the ground. A violet magic enveloped me as it pulled me deeper.
With a thud, I fell onto a hard surface. Mercy was there as well, her body still wrapped in roots. I tried to move, only to discover the roots remained firmly wrapped around my body as well.
A faerie woman approached us. She was like Willie, but her skin was a deep shade of purple, her hair long and black, and her eyes glowed with violet energy. She was as tall as we were—just as Oberon was when I entered his tree.
“Who the hell are you?” I asked.
“My name is Malvessa. I’m the Empress of the Unseelie Court.”
I snorted. “I thought Leann was in charge here.”
“She is not one of us. She has never been one of us.”
“But didn’t she rule this place?”
Malvessa narrowed her eyes. “She exploited us for power. That hardly makes her a queen.”
“What do you want with us?” Mercy asked.
“I want what you want. Mug Ruith is a threat to all of us. He did us a favor, I suppose, by killing Leann. We are free, now, to operate in our own flesh however we wish. Still, he draws power from our realm and seeks to enslave many of our kind to serve him in his new forest on earth. We’d very much prefer that not to happen.”
I struggled against the roots that constricted my body. “you and me both, sister. If you want our help, choking me out isn’t the best way to get on my good side.”
Malvessa laughed. She raised one hand, and the roots loosened and fell from my body. They returned to the domed black ceiling above. “I simply needed to be sure you’d listen. I’ve been observing you since you returned to the Unseelie Forest. When I heard you intended to go after Mug Ruith I intervened.”
“I thought you wanted us to kill him.”
“I do! But if you’re going to attempt it, I’d prefer to see you succeed.”
Mercy glanced at me and shrugged. “She has a point. A few tips wouldn’t hurt.”
I took a deep breath. “What do we need to do? Do you have a weapon we can use against him? A spell, perhaps?”
Malvessa laughed. “You already have the weapon you need.”
Mercy held up the thorn, still wrapped in my pants. “The thorn from the Wayward Tree?”
Malvessa nodded. “Mug Ruith is powerful in his own right, but the greater dose of power he’s accumulating is coming through the sacrifice of your kind. He’s creating vampires that he might draw power from what your kind has in common with the succubus. Now that he’s eliminated Leann—a necessary move since she was scheming to betray him—he requires another vampire whom he might bind and turn into her replacement.”
I shook my head. “I’m already cured. That won’t work.”
“Not you,” Malvessa said. “The older and stronger the vampire he corrupts, the better. Your power as a witch must’ve been a draw for him before. However, this one will do just as well.”
Mercy grunted. “The name’s Mercy. Not this one.”
Malvessa smiled. “Pardon me for failing to ask. Time is of the essence here. The longer this takes, the more power he’ll accumulate. He’s already taken more than he needs to complete his mission and create a new Unseelie Forest.”
“Are you saying that Mercy is who he is after?”
“I’m suggesting that she might make fine bait.”
Mercy raised an eyebrow. “Bait? You can’t be serious.”
“Since much of his power has been extracted through vampires, and through the succubus, he can be weakened in much the same way that he killed the Leanhuan-Shee. The thorn you hold will not kill him. He is not a succubus, himself. It will give you a chance to beat him.”
“Why is he planting his forest, then? Why does he need it if he can curse vampires and make succubi for himself?”
“An Unseelie Forest of his own will give him access to immense power. The larger his forest, the stronger he might become. That is why you must act fast.”
I furrowed my brow. “One question. Once he’s gone, that convergence will still be open, connecting our realms. What are your plans once Mug Ruith is gone?”
Malvessa grinned widely. “My interest is in my own realm. I cannot close the gate between worlds. I can dislodge it from the Unseelie Forest. What realm it might connect to after that will be your problem.”
Mercy sighed. “You’re saying that there’s no telling what monsters might come through the convergence next?”
“Monsters? Angels? Gods? How could I possibly know what will happen. I simply intend to ensure that no other sorcerers from earth take an interest in my domain.”
I glanced at Mercy. “That means Willie won’t be able to move freely between the Seelie Forest and earth. He’ll have to choose where he goes.”
Mercy nodded. “It would be best if he remains with Wanda. You’re right, though. It’s his choice.”
I interlaced my fingers and popped my knuckles. “Alright, Malvessa. Send us back. It’s time to take the fight to Mug Ruith.”
“One question before we go,” Mercy piped up. “Do you happen to know how to purge the succubus essence from Hailey?”
Malvessa shook her head. “If I knew how to do that, the Unseelie Faeries would not have endured the Leanhaun-Shee for so long. I know even less about your kind. I am sorry that I cannot help.”
I bit my lip. “No problem. You’ve helped enough. Thank you for the assist.”
Malvessa laughed. “I’m hardly the virtuous King Oberon. My interests are my own. Still, if it so happens that saving my realm and our faeries from Mug Ruith also protects the people of the earth, then so be it. Do not mistake this assist, as you called it, for an alliance. Should we cross paths again, under circumstances that are not suited to our mutual benefit, we may very well be enemies.”
“Noted.” Mercy nodded. “The same goes for you. Don’t get any funny ideas about taking over and making an Unseelie Forest on earth after we get rid of Mug Ruith.”
“Please.” Malvessa rolled her eyes. “Earth is a lesser realm. My ambitions remain here.”
I smiled and bowed my head. “Let’s keep it that way.”
Chapter 17
Malvessa channeled more roots to carry us back to the surface. I wasn’t sure if we were inside a tree or some kind of cave when we were speaking to her. Magic was involved. Whatever the case, her roots dropped us back on the ground next to Leann’s bloodied body.
Willie was sitting on a large rock with his elbow on his knee and his chin on his fist. When he saw us, he flapped his wings and flew circles around us.
“You’re back! Willie was so worried!”
I smiled. “We’re fine. It was Malvessa.”
Willie shuddered. “You’re lucky to be alive at all!”
“Our interests align for now,” Mercy said. “She told us how to stop Mug Ruith. We just have to get back to earth and use the thorn against him.”
“Right-o!” Willie exclaimed. “Let’s go!”
“One thing.” I raised my hand to get Willie’s attention. “Malvessa said she’s going to try to separate the convergence from the Unseelie Forest after we stop him. If you come with us, Willie, you might not be able to get back here.”
“You should probably go be with Wanda,” Mercy added.
Willie waved his hand through the air. “Nah. She’s a nag! Besides, the veil between the worlds is like swiss cheese. If this convergence won’t get me back, there are many others that might. What’s important now is to stop that sorcerer!”
I grinned widely. “Alright. Glad to have you on the team.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to tell Wanda goodbye?” Mercy asked. “It might be a while before you get back to see her again.”
Willie shook his head. “Wanda will be fine. Earth will not. She will understand.”
I bit my lip. “Are you sure about that? She didn’t seem to be especially understanding, before.”
“Don’t worry about her. I’ve made my choice. Willie wants to fight!”
I smirked. “You really should choose between the first and third person and stick with it.”
Willie tilted his head. “Who are these persons you speak of? I see two of you. I am the third. That means we are three persons together!”
Mercy snickered. “Mercy thinks he has a point, you know. It’s not exactly a shocker that Wee Willie Winker never attended human grammar school.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Hailey finds Mercy annoying sometimes.”
We returned to the convergence. It wasn’t visible to the vampire eye, but we knew it was there. Willie activated it before when we were back in the forests outside Exter. Would any magic do? It didn’t take much. All Willie did was lob one of his magic balls at the clearing.
Magic balls. Not the best name for what he did, I suppose. I wasn’t sure what else to call it. Referring to them as faerie balls was ripe for confusion.
No one wants to get blasted with faerie balls. That’s the sort of thing that will really ruin your afternoon.
Green and golden magic swirled around the clearing.
“Cannon ball!” I jumped in and tucked my knees. It didn’t make a splash, but it worked well enough. Mercy probably belly-flopped in behind me. Willie might have performed a swan dive. He wasn’t anything like a swan, but he was the only one who had wings, so he was the best candidate.
We landed in a forest of gigantic mushrooms.
“What the hell?” I asked. “Is this Earth or did it take us back to the Seelie Forest?”
Willie sighed “It’s Earth, alright.
Mercy pointed at the sky. “Look at that.”
I followed Mercy’s finger with my eyes to what looked like a massive wheel of oak floating through the sky. Something like gigantic oars swept through the sky as if the wheel was floating down a river. “Is that what I think it is?”
Mercy sighed. “It’s Mug Ruith’s flying machine. Roth rámach. The one from Saint Columba’s prophecy. He’s terraforming the forest.”
“This looks more like the Seelie than the Unseelie forest.”
Willie nodded. “You’re right. It makes little difference. It’s still a great source of power. It’s not the trees or mushrooms that make the Seelie Forest seelie, or the Unseelie Forest unseelie. It’s the connection of each to the Tree of Life or the Wayward Tree, respectively. It’s the decisions made by the faeries who inhabit and rule it.”
“Which tree is this place connected to?”
“Neither,” Willie said. “There is no master tree to norm the magic of this place. Everything here is connected, but it operates according to the sorcerer’s will.”
Mercy sighed. “How are we going to get to him? I’m betting he’s up in that giant wheel.”
“I can fly up there!” Willie fluttered his wings.
I shook my head. “We aren’t sending you up there alone. We have to do what Malvessa suggested. He wants more power. That means more vampires and a succubus. All we need is a hook and a worm.”
Mercy shuddered. “I have seen enough worms today to last my immortal existence.”
“You realize I’m not talking about literal worms.”
Mercy rolled her eyes. “I know. I’m the bait. The oldest vampire with the most influence who he might use in his quest to expand his power. If I’m the worm, though, and the thorn is the hook, how are we going to reel him in?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Not by going after him like this. We need to know more about what’s happened since we left. We should go back to Ladinas and find out what he knows.”
Chapter 18
There was no way to get past Ladinas’s security measures to go through the armory. He had cameras around there, but he didn’t tell us they were monitored. Unless they triggered an alarm, or he or one of his vampires was watching the monitors, they wouldn’t see us anyway. The only way to get back to his lair was to reprise our journey through the sewers. Yes, I called it his lair. Birds have nests. Dogs have dens. Men have caves. Vampires have lairs. At least some of them do. Why didn’t I have a lair? I wanted a lair!
Casa do Diabo was cool and all, but you can’t have an above-ground lair. At least, if you do, it has to be hidden from view. You might get away with a lair at the top of a skyscraper, for instance, if it was hidden behind the façade of a Fortune 500 executive office. The key to a lair was that no one knew it was there. With Casa do Diabo we took the opposite approach—we were hiding in plain sight. There was even lore about the vampires who lived there. Most people laughed it off, but the stories were well-enough known that people steered clear. It worked but, damn it, it just wasn’t as cool as a lair!
So, we went all Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and headed for the sewers. Why couldn’t Ladinas’s lair be behind something more sanitary? The basement of a deodorant or pot-pourri factory, perhaps.
Add the sewage smell to my body odor and killing Mug Ruith might not take any effort at all. I’d just show up and raise my arms and say, “take a whiff, buddy!” He’d gag. Death by asphyxiation. Victory: mine.
If Ladinas wasn’t home, we were wasting time. If he wasn’t home, chances were Mug Ruith had him. Could a dude become a succubus? I’d heard of an incubus before. They were a nineties rock band. Also, a demon who can bone the soul right out of someone. I had to wonder, if I became a succubus, could I do an incubus? Would we kill each other or would our soul-killing sex cancel each other’s out?
I had to chase those thoughts out of my mind. This wasn’t about me. Not right now. Still, you try having demon blood in you that wants to transform you into a homicidal horn ball and see if you can focus on anything else.
Saving the world was old hat. Been there, done that, killed the bad guy and got the t-shirt.
What I was going through was existential. It was like when I became a vampire. It felt like the world I knew before was being yanked away from me and a new life was being thrust upon me. That word “thrust” was going to take on a whole new gruesome meaning if Leann’s essence took over.
I still didn’t know how Mercy found the way, but we arrived back at Ladinas’s door. She knocked. The camera focused on us. I could hear the little mechanisms in the camera moving as it turned and zoomed in on us. The door clicked and opened.
Willie was on my back. He hadn’t said much since we got back, which wasn’t normal for him. Something was bothering him but I didn’t know what it was.
Ladinas welcomed us in himself this time. Demeter was somewhere across the room, most likely, but there were too many vampires in the room to know for sure. If it wasn’t for the unusual quiet, I’d have thought a party was going on. You don’t get that many vampires in one room without a lot of chatter and noise. The air was thick with stress. It was almost like a funeral and when I walked in, it was like I was the widow everyone felt bad for. Everyone wanted to say something to me but no one could think of the right words to use without resorting to trite cliches.
Then again, maybe they were responding to Mercy, who walked in behind me. She was the famous one, after all.
Either way, these vampires weren’t here because they delighted in Ladinas’s hospitality. They were hiding.
I guess when a giant wooden wheel is rowing through the skies, younglings are being bred faster than rabbits, and a nasty sorcerer was out there extracting power from vampires, taking cover was a rational response.
“Are you well?” Ladinas asked.
I nodded. “I’m cured. The sorcerer made a lot of progress while we were gone.”
“How long ago did he go Proud Mary?” Mercy asked.
Ladinas tilted his head. “Proud Mary?”
“You know. Big wheel keep on turning.”
I chuckled. “Right. Tina Turner.”
Mercy huffed. “Try Creedence Clearwater Revival. I was living in New Orleans when the song came out. Fogerty’s version, the original version, is more my style.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know who that is.”
“Seriously? Kids these days.” Mercy shook her head.
I furrowed my brow and looked at Ladinas. “More to the point, what do you know about this flying machine? What can Mug Ruith do with it? Does it ever land? We know he’s planting a faerie forest. How much land has he covered so far?”
Ladinas narrowed his eyes. “We know little. So far, all he’s done is fly around and blast the land with a green beam of magic. The trees change shape. Giant mushrooms sprout up everywhere. It’s like he’s engaged in some kind of high-level botany project.”
“Has he spread into Exeter at all?”
Ladinas shook his head. “So far, he’s stuck to the surrounding forests. That doesn’t mean Exeter is fine. All the vampires he’s been making mean a lot of missing persons. I suspect he isn’t transforming the city because he’s treating the place like a farm. Raising up humans until he can harvest them as vampires.”
