The Raven Queen (14 page)

‘With respect, my queen, the mortal world has changed—' said Meabh.

‘The treaty with the humans holds as long as I am High Queen,' said the Morrighan. ‘My purpose is to keep my people safe and this I have done for centuries. So unless you wish to challenge my right to … rule?' The Morrighan let the question hang in the air. Sorcha and Nuada looked at Meabh and every soldier in the hall bristled as they waited for Meabh's response.

Meabh bowed from the waist. ‘Of course not, my queen. You have my allegiance, as always.' The entire hall seemed to relax and let out a silent sigh of relief.

‘Then drop this foolish notion of invading the mortal world,' said the Morrighan. ‘Your throne in Connacht is gone, Meabh, and you cannot return to the past. So cut that Hound loose. I know you intended to use her against her own people, to dishearten the Sighted by seeing their own Hound come against
them on the side of a Tuatha. So either let the Hound run home or kill her. She is neither use nor ornament to us.'

Maddy shivered with fear as she watched Meabh bow again, with not a hint of protest on her lips. She would never have helped the Tuatha back into the mortal world, but now she and her cousins and poor Nero were alone and friendless in a hall with five hundred Tuatha.

‘Where is your sister?' the Morrighan asked. ‘Where is the Queen of Summer and her king? Do Niamh and Aengus Óg not long for Winter's crown? Even if they harbour no ambitions in their breast, why do they not come and pay homage to their High Queen?'

‘We know not, my queen,' said Sorcha, while Meabh remained silent.

The Morrighan gave a hiss of anger. ‘Very well. We shall have a council of war and decide what is to be done about Liadan. I assume my brother Cernunnos finds himself obliged to lead her troops?'

‘He does,' said Nuada.

The Morrighan shook her head. ‘An ill-advised marriage. But he was so keen to settle all peacefully. Come.'

And with that, the Morrighan stood and swept from the hall, the soldier Tuatha bowing to her as she passed,
the other monarchs trailing in her wake. Maddy kept her eyes on them as they bowed, waiting to see if now would be a good time for them to slip away.

Then she felt a hand clamp over her mouth.

Maddy kicked and struggled as an arm wrapped around her chest and lifted her off her feet. She found herself being dragged behind one of the rotting, dusty tapestries that concealed a narrow, claustrophobic stairwell, lit dimly by torches that smoked greasily. She heard a yammering shriek from Nero and then an ominous silence, followed by more banging and scuffling. She was set down on the stairs and held by the neck of her jacket instead, dragged along as if she were a kitten.

As her feet slipped and stumbled on the stairs, Maddy twisted to look over her shoulder and glared at the granite-faced Tuatha who had her tight in his grip. It was hard to see who was behind her as the stairwell turned in a tight spiral, but she caught a glimpse of Roisin's white, tear-streaked face before she was whisked around another bend.

‘What are you doing?' she asked the Tuatha. ‘Where
are you taking me?' But in answer he simply shook her so hard it made her teeth ache and she was convinced she felt her brain knock against the back of her eyes. Still the Tuatha dragged her without a sound, up and up and up, until she was so tired she seriously considered just letting her feet dangle and leaving the Tuatha to do all the work. There were no windows, nothing that could tell her where she was in the castle, just grey stone that wept with damp, even on a summer night. But as they carried on climbing Maddy guessed they must be in the tall, narrow tower that emerged from the middle of the castle.

After what seemed like an eternity, the stairs finally stopped at the threshold of a small wooden door, arched and bound with bronze. The Tuatha knocked and Maddy heard a woman's voice telling them to come in.

The room had bare stone walls and flagstone floors. A small window punched through the four-foot walls gave a glimpse of the night sky beyond. There was no furniture, no tapestries, not a shred of cloth or colour to soften the place. A woman stood looking out of the window. She was another Tuatha, judging by her height, and she was dressed from head to foot in a pale blue velvet cloak. As Maddy was dragged into the room she had a horrible feeling that she knew who she was looking at. But it was only when a yellow and white butterfly
escaped the folds of velvet and came fluttering over to her that she knew. As Maddy was thrown to the floor the Tuatha turned and pushed the velvet hood back with long white hands laden with rings.

She could have been Sorcha's twin except her hair tumbled down in curls and her face had an open, innocent look, in stark contrast to Sorcha's stern intelligence. Like the Queen of Spring, the Summer Queen had her own retinue of butterflies that fluttered in the confines of her cloak, bathing in the golden light of summer that radiated from her body. In her simple blue dress she looked like an angel, albeit an angel who liked a lot of jewellery. Maddy had always thought she was a bubble-head – vain and self-obsessed. But there was a cunning look in her blue eyes that she had not seen before and it made Maddy's skin prickle with unease.

‘Maddy, how good to see you again,' Niamh cooed, her voice as sweet as the high notes of a violin. Danny and Roisin were dragged in behind her and shoved against the wall. ‘Tie those two up,' Niamh commanded. ‘I don't want them interfering.'

Another guard in Autumn livery walked in with Nero's still body in his arms.

‘What happened to him?' asked Maddy.

‘They knocked him out,' said Danny as his arms
were yanked behind his back and tied with rope. Roisin was weeping silently, her head bowed as she was trussed up like a Christmas turkey.

‘Why would you hurt him?' Maddy asked Niamh.

The Summer Queen simply raised an eyebrow. ‘I am hardly going to risk a Tuatha being bitten by that cur, am I?' she said.

Light footsteps sounded on the stairs outside and Meabh walked into the room, her eyes sparkling with excitement and her cheeks flushed.

‘I got away as soon as I could,' she said to Niamh, ‘but we need to be quick. The final ingredient is on its way. Out of the room, all of you,' she commanded the guards. ‘One of you must stand guard outside, but the rest are to report back to your captains.'

‘What are you doing?' asked Maddy.

Meabh walked up to her, smiling lazily. She cupped Maddy's chin gently in her hand and raised her face up so they were looking into each other's eyes.

‘I'm going to unlock your true potential tonight, Maddy,' she said. ‘You are going to get so many answers and then, just like I said you would, you're going to run for me.'

‘No, I won't,' said Maddy. ‘I know what you are trying to do, Meabh. I'm not going to let you into my world and I am certainly not going to fight my own kind for you.'

‘That's the problem with Hounds,' said Niamh, showing her little white teeth in a very unladylike yawn. ‘They always think they know their own minds.' She considered this for a second. ‘I mean, they always think they should
have
their own minds.'

‘You're going to do exactly what I want, little Hound,' said Meabh. ‘Do you know why? Because by the time I am finished with you, what I want will be what you want.'

‘In what parallel universe is that going to happen?' asked Maddy, jerking her face out of Meabh's hand.

‘Do you remember, once we talked about all that hatred and rage coiled up in that scrawny little form of yours?' purred Meabh. ‘You thought you had got rid of it. You thought you were a different person. But all you did was lie to yourself and call your hatred and rage something else – moral, righteous, words that felt good on your tongue and in your mind and let you rest easy. But I am going to let you look right into the dark heart of yourself tonight, Maddy, and when I do, you're going to see that these are not bad emotions. They don't make you a bad person. They are the best part of what you are, they are your strength, your salvation. And it's all there inside you, waiting to be unlocked.'

‘That's not who I am,' said Maddy. ‘I made some
mistakes last year. I didn't think clearly, but I paid for them—'

‘No, you didn't,' interrupted Niamh. ‘As I recall, someone else died because of your stupidity.'

Stricken with guilt, Maddy felt the blood drain out of her face.

‘Maddy, all your problems stem from the fact that you will not embrace what you are,' said Meabh. ‘You struggle against your true nature and you struggle against the ones who would love you for it.'

‘No,' said Maddy, shaking her head and blinking away tears. ‘You want me to become some hateful, twisted creature and I don't want to be that kind of person. I won't let you make me into someone like that.'

‘Liadan had the right idea when she lured you in here,' said Meabh as she began to pace around Maddy. ‘She knew you were the key to unlock the mound on this side. She knew all that hatred and rage were powerful weapons that could punch through the barrier and let us loose. But she didn't know all the ingredients that were needed to make such a weapon. She didn't realize that what she also needed was the mist of dreams.'

Maddy shuddered.

‘All those twisted souls looking for comfort inside that mist, wandering around aimlessly, making part of Tír na nÓg uninhabitable for the rest of us,' Meabh
continued. ‘All that pent-up rage, that longing to return home. But they are sheep who need to follow someone. And they won't follow a Tuatha, they hate us so. Guess who they will run bleating after?'

‘A Hound?' said Maddy in a tiny voice.

‘A Hound!' said Meabh. ‘One of their own people, whose blood is like a siren's song. A Hound can lead them out of the Shadowlands, a whole army of split souls, and all that rage and hate and combined longing for the mortal realm on the other side of the mound will create a weapon strong enough to overcome the barrier that separates the worlds. And where your army goes, a Tuatha army will follow.'

‘I am never going to do that for you!' yelled Maddy. ‘Why would you think I would willingly sign up for an end-of-the-world plan like that?'

‘I don't think any of us truly knows the extent of what you would do, Maddy,' said Meabh, cocking her head toward the door at the sound of more booted footsteps ringing out on the stone and, beneath that, the sound of something heavy being dragged. ‘You're a Hound that has never been blooded. Once you kill, you'll be overcome with bloodlust and you will follow anyone that promises you battle and glory, like all the Hounds before you. You wanted to follow in Cú Chulainn's footsteps?' The door to the room flew open and two more Autumn soldiers
entered, dragging someone between them. ‘Now you will get your chance.'

‘Ah, 'tis the faerie who would be queen,' said Niamh in a mocking tone. ‘Looking a little bedraggled for royalty.'

It was Fachtna.

The soldiers threw her face down on to the floor. As she lifted herself on to her arms, Maddy could see her face was swollen and bruised and her white hair hung limp and sweaty across her face. One leg was soaked in blood, and when Fachtna tried to get up, she could only brace herself against one knee. They had hamstrung her.

Meabh bent over Fachtna and drew her sword, throwing it at Maddy's feet, while Niamh hissed at the soldiers to get out. Maddy looked at Meabh in confusion as the sword rang on the flagstones.

‘A gift for you, little Hound,' said Niamh.

‘I don't understand,' said Maddy, looking at Fachtna. The faerie looked up through her tangled mane of hair with angry red eyes.

‘Now is your chance to kill Fachtna,' said Meabh. ‘We knew it wouldn't be a fair contest so we gave you a helping hand.'

‘A helping hand?' said Maddy. ‘She'll never walk again!'

Niamh giggled. ‘She won't need to.'

‘The Morrighan will be angry that you've done this,' said Maddy. ‘Fachtna's her favourite.'

‘The Morrighan isn't going to care,' said Meabh. ‘Fachtna has proved herself twice a traitor – the Morrighan knows better than to trust such a creature as that. She has also coveted a Tuatha's rightful place and that is unforgivable.' She curled her lip in contempt as she looked at the stricken faerie. ‘She is worthless to the Tuatha now.'

‘Killing her would be a mercy,' agreed Niamh.

‘I'm not doing it,' said Maddy.

‘She has tried to kill you,' Niamh pointed out.

‘Yeah, but to be fair, she hasn't tried that for ages,' said Maddy.

Meabh stepped over to Maddy. ‘I told you once that yourself and Fachtna had much in common. Do you remember?' Maddy nodded. Meabh placed her cool fingers over Maddy's eyes, plunging her into darkness. ‘Then See.'

Absolute black descended on her vision and Maddy felt her eyes straining in their sockets as they sought out a scrap of light. Her vision began to clear a little and dim shapes started to come into view. But she wasn't in that little room at the top of the tall tower any more. She was in a small dark space … a car! She could see the dashboard glowing green, feel the engine rumbling
through the seat. But everything was tilted to the side and, now that she could see a little more clearly, the glass on the windscreen was cracked and blind.

No
, she thought.
They wouldn't send me here!

Cautiously she eased forward between the front seats and a sob caught in her throat. There was her father, slumped sideways, his head resting against the window, cracks radiating in the glass around his skull. She knew this wasn't real, she knew she wasn't really here, on that freezing cold night in Donegal when her parents' car had skidded on ice and left the road, flipping over as it went. It was a like a movie that the faeries could play back to her, a movie that she felt she was in. But this
was
the past – her parents were gone and nothing that she did here was going to change that. She couldn't turn back time and have her life back to the way it was before, safe in London with her parents, surrounded by iron, blissfully unaware that such a thing as faeries existed outside storybooks.