Allegiance (39 page)

‘That’s brilliant,’ Leif said, despite his previous anger with using me as a lure. Obviously the bit about the need to keep me safe had met its mark. ‘Jack, you are a genius!’

‘I know.’ Jack grinned then, looking around the table, asked, ‘So, what about the other five?’

‘The first could be a weapon to ensure the Sun King’s death,’ Leif suggested.

‘I will have a dagger fashioned for you to give to him tonight,’ King Telophy said.

‘Actually, best make that the final gift,’ Leif said. ‘Maybe you could tell the Shadow King he will receive the dagger along with the Sun King’s queen, Jack.’

‘Great idea,’ Jack said. ‘That way I’ll still have it when you turn up.’

‘What about if tonight’s gift is a ceremony that needs to be performed to ensure the Sun King’s death?’ Hilary suggested. ‘Something complicated along with the instruction the Sun King can only be put to death the moment before sunrise.’

‘Great suggestion, Hilary,’ Leif said.

‘The second might be a required poison with which to coat the weapon,’ Ardell offered.

‘And the third, a method which must be followed for death to be a certainty,’ Kashiel suggested, looking in King Telophy’s direction.

I glanced at Leif, took a breath and said, ‘And what about the fourth thing being some kind of prayer the Shadow King must offer to the god to ensure success?’

Leif agreed it was a good idea.

Hilary watched me, smiling, ‘And the fifth might be as simple as the knowledge that on the following night, the sixth will be brought to him—the Sun King’s queen. It would help prepare him.’

‘And the sixth, me,’ I said. ‘With the dagger as a bonus.’

‘With me, close by,’ Leif added.

King Telophy clapped his hands together. ‘Tremendous, I am well pleased with this plan. Jack, I will bring the weapon to you when it is ready. What think you all—highly decorative or perhaps something darker?’

‘Too much embellishment might hint at Fae involvement,’ Leif said. ‘A plain straight blade, perhaps carved of stone with symbols on the blade.’

‘Great idea, an image of the sun with some squiggly fake writing I could pass off as saying something meaningful,’ Jack suggested.

King Telophy rose to his feet. ‘Consider it done.’

‘Who’s the hero?’ I said as we left the meeting.

‘I’ve definitely found my place, haven’t I?’ Jack grinned. ‘Drama, adventure, beautiful maidens to rescue.’

Hilary grabbed his shoulder, turning him towards her. ‘This is not a game, Jack. It’s dangerous. You have to remember that.’

‘I’ve made it a game, Hil. I’m trying to pretend this is just a play because if I start to think about what’s really going on, I’m going to freak. And I’m telling you, that Shadow dude can sense fear. I know he can.’

‘As long as you’re taking it seriously,’ I said.

‘I know you’re both worried, but don’t be, okay? I know what I’m doing. On the inside I’m taking this a lot more seriously than you know.’

The next morning I got out of bed and, like every other morning since the attack, released my wings. I pushed the muscles that moved them, but except for a tingling sensation along my spine, there was nothing. They continued to hang like limp whispers of silk. With a heavy sigh, I retracted them and glanced at Leif. He hadn’t come in until sunrise and would have to be awake again in a few hours for his father’s meeting. Sprawled out on the enormous bed, he looked like a god—a very exhausted, dead-to-the-world god. I pulled the covers over him, and went down to meet Hilary for breakfast.

That afternoon the council met once more, Jack wearing a heavy gold crown compliments of the Shadow King. He shot the king a grin and said, ‘Don’t suppose I’ll be allowed to take it to Earth when I visit?’

King Telophy smiled. ‘You might have a difficult time explaining how you came upon such a treasure. But, if you are
equal to the task, then it is yours. Only wait, by the end of the week you might have greater riches.’

‘Seriously?’ Jack asked, his hands going to the crown.

‘Of course, but tell me, how did you fare last night?’

‘Really well. After I’d shooed all the others away I made a big deal about deciding whether his gift was acceptable before outlining the ceremony he would have to follow to ensure the Sun King’s death.’

‘Including the instruction he can only be killed just before sunrise?’ Leif asked.

‘Yep, or risk the Sun King’s resurrection. You should have seen how flustered he got about it. Then he tried to trick me into giving him more information.’

‘What did you tell him?’ Briony asked.

‘I cursed him for his disrespect and told him to come find me the next night if he desired to know more… So, what will I tell him—that he has to penetrate the heart of the Sun King or something?’

Leif’s eyes opened wide. ‘That might not be the best idea,’ he said. ‘If there is one thing that
will
kill the Fae, it’s a well-aimed strike to the heart. I suggest you give him some less life-threatening direction. Perhaps, something like, the right hand of the Sun King must be pierced directly in the centre. Better still the right foot, because then if he manages to get hold of the dagger, he’ll be below me which should make him easier to subdue.’

Jack nodded and all three kings looked pleased.

‘It is agreed, then,’ King Telophy said. ‘A jab to the foot will be the instruction. So watch your feet, son.’ He chuckled like he didn’t care his son’s life would be in danger.

I reached for Leif’s hand under the table and squeezed it in mine.

King Telophy continued. ‘Now, as for the poison…’

‘I’ve been thinking about that,’ Hilary interjected. ‘Do you think it would be a good idea to get something from Earth? Then he’ll really believe it’s from another world.’

King Telophy smiled at my friend before catching Leif’s eyes and saying, ‘Go today and select something suitable, my son.’

Leif inclined his head. ‘I will take Marla to visit her family while we are there.’

King Telophy nodded his agreement before turning to Jack. ‘For the fourth night, I think your wit will inspire you to devise some verse the Shadow King must recite in your honour.’

‘I can do that,’ Jack said.

‘Good. Show it to me when it is done. That will be all for today. Good luck tonight,’ he told Jack. ‘We’ll all meet back here tomorrow.’

‘Are you all right, Leif?’ I asked as we left the room together.

‘Why would I not be?’

‘The way your father speaks to you.’

‘I am well used to it, Marla.’

It made me feel hollow the way he sounded so unaffected, like he had no expectations of his father at all. It was the opposite of my own experience.

After visiting my family and choosing something from the medicine box to pass off as the poison, we went to the beach with Lysander and Ashleigh. It was January hot, the sun scorching the sand and thickening the air with coconut fumes. Leif quickly fell asleep so I spent the rest of the day splashing about with my brother and sister. Ashleigh had broken up with her boyfriend. He wasn’t right for her she said, and was just using her anyway. It didn’t take me long to realise there was more to the story. My brother and sister had become close—and not in a sibling kind of way. They flirted with each other whenever they thought I wasn’t looking. Twice, I saw them kissing behind the waves. I was worried for Ashleigh’s heart—at only sixteen she was already developing a talent for falling for the wrong guy. It bothered me I couldn’t be around for her. Not only did I miss her, but I couldn’t remember a time we hadn’t been there for each other. When Leif and I left for Faera just before sunset, I wanted to rip myself in two and leave one of me behind.

‘You were gone for a long time today, Leif,’ King Telophy said when we sat down for dinner with him and Atara.

‘I informed you we would visit with Marla’s family while we were there,’ Leif said, reaching for the jug to fill his goblet.

‘But I did not expect you would be away so long. I had things for you to do.’

‘If you had told me so, I would have been sure to return in time to do them. I cannot
know
if you do not
say
.’ Water sloshed over the edges of the jug as he returned it to the table.

King Telophy looked from the jug to Leif and with an uncharacteristic amount of patience said, ‘I do not care for your attitude, my son. A simple apology would be sufficient.’

‘Sorry,’ Leif said—but not like he meant it.

‘Did you bring back our poison?’

‘That
is
the reason you sent me, is it not?’

King Telophy gave Leif a long, probing look. The look went unanswered. Leif simply took the little bottle of Betadine from his pocket and put it in front of his father without uttering another word.

I was expecting some kind of confrontation but all King Telophy said was, ‘What is this?’ I wondered if his promise to Mirren was the reason for the amazing change to his level of tolerance.

‘An antiseptic,’ Leif told him.

The king squeezed a drop of the yellow-brown liquid onto his finger, lifted it to his nose and sniffed. ‘Hmm, unusual—it is a good choice.’ He picked the label from the plastic. ‘Instruct Jack to present it to the Shadow King just so. The creature will know it is not of Faera.’

Once again the night meeting with the Shadow King yielded more treasure for Jack. This time, a silver sword with a jet black handle. According to Jack, the night had passed smoothly. After being told the gift was acceptable, Jack gave the Shadow King the poison together with the instruction that it must be applied to the entire blade of the dagger in order for a successful kill. The
Shadow King had been captivated by the tiny bottle and full of questions as to its origin. Finally Jack had bellowed ‘Enough!’ before telling Mirresen that the following night—
if
the gift were acceptable—he would learn the
only
method to ensure the certain death of the Sun King.

The next night Jack was given a cloak in olive green. He told Mirresen it was acceptable only because of the jewels sewn into the hem. Then he informed the Shadow King he must pierce the Sun King’s left foot directly in the centre with the poison-coated dagger. In this way the poison would travel through the Sun King’s blood, stopping each of his bodily functions. Before dismissing him, Jack told the Shadow King that the following night, he would be given one of the most important gifts of all, a tributary passage he must dictate to his god in order to receive the required blessing.

A heavy silver shield was the fourth night’s gift and, after being told it was acceptable, the Shadow King—kneeling before Jack—repeated the tribute my friend had devised: ‘
All glory to the mighty one. May his blessing be upon me and may his strength and will determine my success.
’ Jack told the Shadow King his will would indeed be done, but to remember that every step had to be followed precisely as his god had outlined, if not, the Sun King would resurrect in an even more powerful form.

The following night, after receiving the gift of a woven belt holding a clutch of diamond-tipped arrows, Jack told Mirresen what he could expect the next night: the dagger to kill the Sun King and the most important gift of all—me, the Sun King’s betrothed and the lure to bring him to his death. Jack told the Shadow King no one would even realise I was gone, for as a god he had magic of his own.