The Dark Throne (56 page)

“You’re up early,” Liam commented, eyeing the cold meat still left in my packet. I gave it to him and he smiled in thanks.

“I have to go check in with Vell,” I said, staring at the silhouettes of the treetops, the interlacing branches dark against the lightening sky.

“What, you can just transport yourself or something?”

“Not exactly, but almost,” I allowed. “It’s called Walking. I guess you can think of it as my soul or spirit—whatever you want to call it—transiting between one place and another by using these hidden pathways.”

“Is that part of being the Bearer?” my brother asked.

“I found out I could Walk before I officially became the Bearer, but I don’t know. Maybe it’s part and parcel, maybe not. I mean,
you
Walked when you met me in the ether, so I guess it’s just in our blood.” I smiled at Liam’s look of consideration; it was the expression he wore when he was thinking of novel ways to use his many skills. “I know the Sword amplifies my abilities. I had some power before I was baptized, but nothing compared to what I have now.”

“Interesting. On that note…I want to show you something else. Without the other guys around,” said Liam, licking his fingers as he finished off his breakfast.

“I have a few minutes before I have to go. What have you got, big brother?”

Liam glanced back over his shoulder, checking to make sure that his teammates were still asleep.

“I don’t know why you think you need to hide your abilities from them,” I said quietly. “They obviously trust you and you trust them.”

Liam ran one hand through his shaggy hair. “I know. I just…I want to understand it myself first before I have to explain it to them.”

I nodded. Then Liam extended one of his hands, palm up, a look of concentration on his face. I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face as a flickering flame appeared in his hand, the core of the fire a flat silver that reminded me of the empty gray rifle magazines on the ground.

“Runs in the family,” I said, calling up a tiny spark of my own
taebramh
, creating a floating flame that danced over my own palm. “It’s called
taebramh
.”

“
Taebramh
,” repeated Liam. He stared at the hypnotic fire. “Can you teach me how to use it?”

“I can try. I’ve really just learned by feel,” I said. “And everyone is different. Some use runes to give direction to their power, etched into objects or even onto their skin. I guess you could say I just use it freeform. There’s not really a set of rules that I’ve been taught, other than if you use too much of your own
taebramh
, you can die.” I closed my hand over the flame, extinguishing it. A bit of white smoke leaked out between my fingers. Liam dropped his hand and the little silver fire disappeared.

“I don’t want to rely on my mojo as a weapon yet,” he said.

“I’m sure Luca and Niamh can get you set up with swords. Maybe even an axe or two,” I said, proud that I’d picked up on the unspoken request. “I’ll probably be gone for a few hours. Just do me a favor and don’t let me get trampled while I’m away.”

Liam smiled. “I doubt you need
me
to protect you, but I’ll step up to the plate if necessary.” He gave me a one-armed hug and ruffled my hair, despite my belated squawk of protest. After grabbing another packet of meat, he walked back over to the log, greeting a just-awoken Jess with a nod.

I found Luca at the edge of camp, looking out into the forest, Kianryk sitting still as a statue by his side. The wolf didn’t move as I approached, though Luca turned and gave me a silent nod. Gaze fixed on something I couldn’t see, Kianryk slid liquidly into the shadows, nose scenting the wind.

“Is he hunting?” I asked in a voice barely more than a whisper.

“Of a sort,” Luca replied noncommittally.

I stood beside him and looked out at the shadows. I made out the still figure of one of our sentries, quietly keeping watch. Dew glistened on the undergrowth. I watched a long-legged white spider weave her web between two branches, marveling at the minuscule precision of her movements.

“Do you have any message for Vell?” I asked.

Luca shook his head. “No. I gave the full report yesterday.” He glanced at me. “They’re calling it the Army of the Three Queens.”

“A bit grandiose, but accurate,” I allowed. “So they’re on the move then? Let me guess, Mab took offense to camping by the carcass of a dragon.”

“You could ask her,” Luca suggested.

“Right, because we were on the best of terms to begin with,” I said, shaking my head.

“Merrick has been tracking the bulk of Malravenar’s forces through his map sorcery,” Luca continued. “The Queens are moving to intercept him.”

I frowned. “That can’t possibly be their plan.” I looked at Luca. “Smashing together two armies and seeing which one outlasts the other? That’s very… medieval.”

Luca only smiled. “You need to go see Vell so she can explain it to you properly.”

“I don’t see why
you
can’t explain it,” I muttered. Luca didn’t answer me. I wondered whether he even
knew
the entire plan, and then I chastised myself silently for my surly thoughts. “Sorry,” I said. “I’m just not a morning person.”

“I have observed this already, and it doesn’t offend me,” replied Luca, an amused gleam in his eyes.

I sighed. “Well, no use in procrastinating. I shouldn’t be more than a few hours. I told Liam that you could help them with weapons and such.”

“That I can,” said Luca. He gazed into the shadows among the trees for another moment and then strode back toward camp. I made my way back to my pack and cloak, still in disarray from the night’s sleep. I shook out my cloak and carefully arranged the Sword by my pack. The emerald in the pommel blinked sleepily at me. Only a small distance away, Niamh folded her legs and sank to the ground with boneless Sidhe grace. She gave me a small nod as she set out her blades to sharpen and spilled her quiver to examine the arrows for broken feathers and cracked shafts. I smiled a little, recognizing her post as the watch guarding my unconscious body; but we said nothing to one another. I lay down on my cloak and folded my hands over my stomach, closing my eyes.

I slid into the ether the instant that I reached for the seam between the waking world and the stuff of dreams. The speed and ease with which I plunged into the pathways surprised me—it felt almost
too
simple, as though I’d been halfway to Walking already—but I regained my focus and waited by the border I’d just passed, wondering who Vell would send as her messenger. Then a miniature shooting star hurtled across my vision, changing paths abruptly and curving toward me, cutting through the mist and the faraway kaleidoscope of color. I couldn’t help my smile as I watched the comet resolve itself into a Glasidhe.

“Tess-mortal!” Wisp pulled up just short of colliding with my face, the tip of one iridescent wing brushing my nose.

“Wisp,” I said fondly. “You’re hard to see so close.” I moved back just enough so that I could see the Glasidhe without straining my eyes. Moving through the ether felt strangely weightless, almost like floating in water, especially when I wasn’t hurtling toward my destination. “That’s better.”

“It is so very good to see you again, Tess-mortal,” Wisp said, his aura flickering with bright gold and blue, like a beautiful candle flame.

“I’ve missed you,” I said, smiling.

“And I, you,” Wisp replied with an elegant little bow. He still wore the little down-feather behind one ear, just like when he’d come through the tear in the window-screen. But now he wore armor: a dark breastplate that shone like the carapace of a beetle, black pointed-toe boots and gauntlets on his arms, daggers bristling at his belt. His wild, boyish face carried a new gravity.

“You look very fierce,” I told him, and I meant it.

“You look very battle-hardened,” he replied, swooping down to seize one of my hands in his small grip. His fingers delicately traced one whorl of dappled red-and-white flesh.

“New scars to prove it,” I agreed.

“You are all the more intriguing because of your scars,” pronounced the Glasidhe, letting my hand drop as he flew to hover in front of me again. “But look at me, losing focus so easily. It is just so good to see you!”

“I’m grateful that Vell sent you as my guide,” I said.

“Oh, yes. It is always much safer with a guide.” Wisp nodded gravely.

“Let me guess,” I said, thinking of my foray into Darkhill to rescue Murtagh. “There’s wards or protections or booby-traps. Something of that sort.”

“Yes!” said the Glasidhe gleefully. “The High Queen sent me to make sure that you arrived in good time.”

“How nice of her.”

“It is indeed, and I am happy to be of service to both the Bearer and the High Queen,” said Wisp, landing on my shoulder and patting my ear with one small hand. “Come on then. They will be waiting for you.”

The journey through the ether became much easier with Wisp directing me down the appropriate paths. I didn’t have to focus on my destination, and the sensation of floating through the spinning clouds of color became almost enjoyable.

“Tess-mortal, you will be amazed,” said Wisp, guiding me with little pushes on my ear in the direction that he wanted me to go. “Such magnificence, all gathered in one place!”

“I’m sure it’s awe-inspiring,” I said, thinking about the cool elegance of the Unseelie Court, the blazing golden beauty of the Seelie, and the wild perilous splendor of the fledgling
vyldgard
. “Has everyone been getting along?”

“There were a few tense moments,” admitted Wisp. “Some fistfights and a couple of attempted duels.”

“I would’ve thought the Sidhe were above petty fistfights,” I murmured, adjusting my course at Wisp’s direction.

“Nearly there,” said the Glasidhe. “Well, at first when the three Courts met, it was almost chaos. And then the Queens used their power and—” He clapped his small hands. “It was mostly the High Queen. She was truly marvelous. I think that the other two Courts were just too stunned and surprised to resist her, and then the other Queens stepped in as well.”

“Even Mab?” I asked.

“A bit more to the east. No,
that
way is east.” Wisp tugged hard on my ear, pointing in the appropriate direction. “You still have a terrible sense of direction.”

I laughed. “I didn’t know that you counted that as one of my shortcomings.”

“We all have our weaknesses,” said Wisp forgivingly. “And yes, even Mab. I think she will always be difficult to
like
, but she is not as cruel as I think you expect.”

“She dug through my mind without my permission. That counts as cruel in my book.”

“When you have ruled for hundreds of years, holding unimaginable power, it might be easy to lose sight of what others might find painful.”

“You don’t need to make excuses for her,” I said.

“Just don’t be rude during this council,” said Wisp. “Please, Tess-mortal?”

“Only because you asked nicely,” I replied, only half joking.

“Do you want to see the army?” Wisp asked. “We can approach from the sky.”

“Sounds like fun,” I said. Wisp leapt from my shoulder.

“Follow me closely. There are defenses even from the air,” he cautioned.

“I’ll be right behind you,” I reassured him. Wisp wriggled into the seam between the ether and reality, and I slid after him.

Chapter 28

W
e emerged into the blinding blue of a bright morning sky. Even with the muted sensations of Walking, the cold still bit into my insubstantial form. If I’d had to breathe in my Walker form, I was sure it would have emerged as a cloud of ice crystals from my lips. Instinctual panic sliced into me as I realized we were hundreds of feet above the ground.

“You are lighter than air,” said Wisp in my ear, as though he could read my thoughts. “For this, you do not need wings. Do not be afraid, Tess!”

I didn’t answer, all my energy focused on taking in the magnificent sight below us. I remembered the horror I’d felt at the glimpse of Malravenar’s forces, the bloodstained banners and bleached skulls held aloft over the monstrous Dark army. Now, the hope and pride surging within my chest overtook the intensity of that horror. The Army of the Three Queens covered the land, stretching to the western horizon, the stunning vision emptying my mind of conscious thought for a long moment. To the north, I picked out golden banners bearing the Seelie crest of a rising sun interwoven with vines and heavy-headed roses; and to the south, I saw midnight-blue flags depicting the Unseelie sigil, a graceful tree with the moon and stars in its branches. Finally, to the east, at the forefront of the great force, scarlet banners flew above the warriors, a golden crown and flames hovering above a fierce wolf on the crimson field.

I couldn’t begin to estimate the number of warriors riding beneath these banners. Spears rose like a thicket of trees, armor glinted in the weak sun of the Deadlands, and dust rose up in clouds above the great host, churned by the dancing hooves of the innumerable
faehal
. As my eyes followed a plume of dust, rising smoke-like among the bright banners, I saw the Glasidhe, their collective auras bright as a star, holding their own sky-blue banner with three trees picked out in gold, the sun on one side and the moon on the other.

“Come,” said Wisp with a tug at my ear. “They are waiting for you.”

I followed Wisp as he led me lower, still stunned by the overwhelming sight of all the warriors in Faeortalam riding out for the last and greatest battle. We wove our way down through the cloud of dust, and I felt the slight warm touch of inquisitive wards brushing past us, crackling with power and protection. I couldn’t see clearly through the gritty cloud, but I still felt the sensation of sinking lower and lower through the air. A great horn bellowed a deep call over the warriors as we emerged from the blinding dust, and I found myself only a few feet above the ground, facing the three Queens at the head of their host.

“Stay with me?” I murmured to Wisp.

“I’ll return,” he said, patting my ear as he stopped resisting the siren call of his physical body, his small ethereal form zipping away. I planted my feet on the dusty ground and looked up at the three Queens on their
faehal:
Titania to my left, resplendent in bright silver armor, a snow-white cape embroidered with green vines and red roses sweeping over the hindquarters of her mount; Mab on my right, wearing armor that gleamed with rippling light like the depths of a stormy sea, her coldly burning star diadem resting on the lustrous waves of her unbound dark hair; and finally, directly in front of me, there was Vell in her scarlet breastplate with the white-and silver wolf, the crown of the High Queen across her brow and her dark hair braided in its fierce ridge again, her golden eyes flashing as she gave me half a smile. I gave her half a bow, an answering smile on my face. Then I sobered as I nodded to both the Seelie and Unseelie queens.