A Faerie's Curse (Creepy Hollow #6) (26 page)

C
HAPTER

T
WENTY-
E
IGHT

Hundreds of glittering guardian weapons point toward the man who was once Lord Draven—and at least half of them flash through the air a second later. Chase clenches one raised hand into a fist, and every weapon slams up against an invisible barrier before vanishing. The air ripples as Chase lets go of his shield magic, clearly unconcerned by the possibility of another attack coming his way. I remain hidden behind the throne, my hands clasped over my mouth and my heart pounding as I watch through the latticework of the throne's base.

“We have a problem,” Chase says to everyone. “A new threat. And we're only likely to stop it if we work together.”

“Oh, we have a problem, all right,” Head Councilor Bouchard growls. “You're supposed to be
dead
.”

“Yes. I'm aware of that. As you can see, however, I am very much alive and no longer under the influence of Tharros Mizreth. His power was destroyed a decade ago while I was wearing the Unseelie Queen's eternity necklace. That necklace prevented me from dying.”

“So you've been in hiding all this time,” Councilor Bouchard says, slowly shaking this head, “waiting for the chance to reclaim your power.”

“No. I don't want power. I don't want a throne.” Chase shakes the Seelie crown, and the emeralds glitter in the light of so many weapons. “My mother might have been after this crown, but she and I are not allies—as you very well know. After all, you chose to set her free in exchange for me.” A wave of murmurs spreads across the crowd. “Something you may have chosen not to tell the rest of your Guild about, I see,” Chase adds. “But that's irrelevant right now. What matters is this: You believed Princess Angelica planned to tear through the veil that separates our world from the non-magical world, which is one of the reasons you came here to apprehend her. This, however, has been a ruse. A distraction. There is a man in Velazar Prison who has been freed by the explosion you were just informed of. He is the one who will perform this spell tonight, and if we don't stop him, two worlds that should forever remain separate will begin to merge.”

Councilor Bouchard draws himself up to his not-so-impressive full height as his face flushes pink like the streaks that run through his dark hair. “There is no
we
,” he says. “How can you possibly think we would ever be naive enough to trust you?”

“Perhaps because you have no other choice? The witches assisting with tonight's spell are impossibly powerful. They've consumed the energy of dozens, perhaps hundreds, of fae. You could lose countless guardians in the fight against them—or you could let me help you.”

The Head Councilor's jaw trembles as he struggles to contain his obvious rage. “How dare you? How
dare
you stand there and attempt to negotiate with us as if the atrocities you committed ten years ago meant nothing? You are filled with nothing but
evil
. You are responsible for more devastation than any other person in history, and we will
never
forget that.”

Chase slowly bends and places the crown on the platform floor. His voice is quiet, strained as he straightens and responds. “I will never forget either. Never. So let me do this. Let me help you save our world. Please, before it's too late.”

“The only thing you will help us do is—”

Before Councilor Bouchard can finish his sentence, light blazes behind him and a figure appears. A witch. Guardians everywhere react instantly, but Tilda doesn't waste a second. Her black candle is already burning, and she lunges for Angelica. In a second flash of light, Tilda, Angelica, and every guard restraining Angelica disappear from the ballroom.

Several moments of confusion pass as weapons fly across the empty space and guardians come to a halt, twisting around, their eyes searching. They fall still in the moment they acknowledge exactly what's happened: Princess Angelica, assassinator of the Queen and usurper of the Seelie throne, is gone.

Councilor Bouchard lets out a wordless cry of fury, turns back to Chase, and races for him. Every guardian follows. Magic crackles, weapons fly, guardians shout—before a whirling blizzard blocks out all sound and sight. I jump to my feet as a hand wraps around my arm and pulls me away so fast my feet can barely keep up. I can't see a single thing through the freezing blizzard, and if I were on my own, I'd surely be swept away by the powerful wind. But Chase pulls me along as easily as if the wind means nothing to him—which I suppose it doesn't, since he's the one creating it.

We're somewhere outside with grass racing by beneath our feet when the snow clears enough for me to see where we're going and the wind subsides to the point where I can hear the yelling in my ear: “
What the flipping hell is happening?
”

“Run!” Chase yells back. “Get to the greenhouse!”

I let go of his hand so I can pump my arms faster. “Around the outside, right?” I pant. The greenhouse is all the way on the other side of the palace, but I'd rather take the longer route than have to navigate the passages and hallways of the palace.

“Yeah.” Chase pulls ahead of me, leading the way. “Faster, Calla. Some guardians may know of the tunnel.”

I push myself to the point where my chest starts burning. The blizzard vanishes and the gardens flash by. Statues, fountains, topiary bushes, hedges. We reach the end of this side of the palace and slow as we turn, then speed up again, Chase urging me on the whole time. I hate that I'm slowing him down, but I can't push myself any faster. More hedges and a pavilion and trees whipping by, and then we're around the next corner. I see it now, the jagged edge of the shattered greenhouse dome—and there, approaching from the other direction, are three figures I recognize.

I slow as we race through the greenhouse entrance, almost dropping to the ground in a gasping heap. Chase skids to a halt and pushes through the rosebushes, panting, “Everyone here?”

“Yeah.”

“Open up.”

“Dude, what the
hell
were you thinking in that ballroom?”

“Just get in the tunnel!”

Within seconds, we're all stumbling down the stairs and into the dark tunnel below. The trapdoor slams shut, and light appears a moment later after Chase touches the tunnel wall.

“Seriously,” Darius says to Chase. “Are you
insane
?”

“Can we argue about my possible insanity later?” Chase says, already running.

I've barely gathered my breath, but I'm all too aware of the urgency, so I force my tired limbs to keep going. Moving as quickly as we can, we soon reach the other end of the tunnel.

“What's the easiest way past the centaurs?” Lumethon asks as we stop by the stairs.

“Probably an illusion,” Gaius says, looking at me.

An illusion? My mind feels as weary as it did when I awoke this morning, but I can probably—

“No, I'll do it,” Chase says as he climbs the stairs and raises his hand to the trapdoor. “Lightning should temporarily blind them, and I'll add a thick mist to bring visibility right down. But they may shoot arrows at random anyway, so keep a shield around you as we run.”

“An illusion is simpler and safer,” Gaius says. “Just let Calla do it.”

“Yeah, I can do it,” I say, stepping forward, my chest still heaving a little.

“No.” Elizabeth places a hand on my arm. “Chase, go ahead. You're far stronger than the rest of us, so you may as well handle it.”

“He just conjured an entire
blizzard
, Elizabeth,” Ana says. “He's probably feeling a little tired at the moment.”

“Can someone just get us out of here?” Darius asks.

“I'm perfectly fine,” Chase announces, “and I'm opening the trapdoor now.” He places both hands against the metal, then heaves. I shut my eyes as blinding light shines down into the tunnel, followed by the crack of thunder. “Run now!” Chase shouts.

I hasten up the stairs. Out in the forest, I focus on both the layer of protective magic over my body and the foggy shape of my closest teammate running in front of me through the mist. I don't know if Chase has any idea where he's leading us, but I simply keep following. As the mist begins to clear, and it becomes less likely to trip over obstacles or each other, we run faster. “Calla,” Chase calls to me. “We're nearing the edge of the forest, but I don't see the rocks.”

I look around as I slow. My memory of the area is almost nonexistent, considering I was concentrating on both an invisibility illusion and keeping Chase upright the last time we came this way. “Uh, I think we were further left last time. We didn't run straight when we came out of the tunnel, remember? That centaur arrow came out of nowhere from the right.”

I'm worried I may be remembering incorrectly, but we veer toward the left anyway, and after another few minutes, the rocks come into view. “Yes,” I murmur to myself as sweet relief hits me.

We race onward, around the rocks, and toward the flat, open area. The gargoyles have moved into the shade of the nearest trees, and the dragon is curled up and sleeping in pretty much the exact spot it landed last night.

“Get on the dragon with Gaius,” Chase tells me as we reach the creatures. “There's space in the harness for two of you.” I don't complain. Climbing onto a dragon's back may be awkward and scary, but not as terrifying as being near the ridged horns, protruding fangs, and demon-like faces of the gargoyles. In no time at all, I'm clutching onto Gaius and dragon wings are beating the air, and then we're rising up, up, up, leaving the forest and the centaurs and every horror of the Seelie Court far behind us.

* * *

Once we're high in the air and Gaius has conjured up a curved layer of magic in front of us to keep the wind from tearing at our faces, I fish through all the inside straps and pockets of my jacket until I find my stylus and the little round mirror Perry gave me. With a few quick strokes across the mirror's surface, I've written the spell to call him.

He answers quickly, as if he wasn't far from his mirror. “Calla! I tried to call you last night.”

“I'm sorry, I've had a lot going on.”

“Did you know about the Seelie Queen's assassination? And Princess Angelica taking the crown? And flipping
Lord Draven
! We heard last night. I think the whole world is probably in a panic by now. The Guild totally freaked out. Dispatched at least half our guardians to the Seelie Court some time during the night, plus guardians from every other Guild. They're scared of that veil prophecy you told us about.”

“I know,” I say when I can get a word in. “They caught Angelica. And then she got away.”

“Where are you?” Perry interrupts before I can get to my point. “Why are the clouds moving oddly behind—Wait, are you
flying
?”

“Yeah, I'm on a dragon. Long story. But I need to tell you something, Perry. I assume you're going to hear about it soon, but just in case Councilor Bouchard is idiotic enough to think it's all a trick and not take it seriously, I need someone at the Guild to know: There was an explosion at Velazar Prison, and a prisoner named Amon is going to perform the spell—the magic that tears through the veil—tonight with the assistance of two witches, and presumably Angelica, since she's free again.”

“But … so … what about Draven?”

“That's not important. I don't have time to explain it now, but … he's not Draven anymore. This isn't about him. This is about stopping Angelica and Amon. It'll take the guardians here hours to reach a place the faerie paths can be accessed from. So every guardian who isn't here needs to get to Velazar immediately. Can you pass that message on, if Councilor Bouchard hasn't already done so?”

“I—Yes. It's early here. I'm not at the Guild yet, but I can go now. Did you …” He shuts his eyes for a moment and gives a brief shake of his head. “You said ‘here.' Are you … at the Seelie Court?”

“Uh … maybe.”

“Whoa! How did you—Oh, did you follow Olive there? Is that where she disappears to periodically?”

“Yes. But, Perry, you have to get to the Guild
now
, okay?”