“Hold my hand, Benton.”
Shade held her palm out to her younger brother, waiting as he made a face at it but did as she said. His eyes danced with excitement and gave away his real thoughts about the trip. He was secretly wondering if this grandmother Shade was so eager to meet might be his grandmother, too. They had never met any grandparents. It had always been just them with Mom and Dad, at least until Dad had died. Now it was just their Mom left. Meeting a relative would be quite interesting.
He held his sister’s hand and Camulus’s. The strange-looking surfer dude glamour he wore made Benton cringe. The Elven-Pixie’s hand was unnaturally smooth and warm. Benton hoped he wouldn’t have to touch the faery too much longer. Benton could feel a strange magic inside this unusual being tingle across their grasp. A feeling like ants crawling up his arm. He gulped and waited as the whole group gripped each other’s arms or hands. Camulus voiced a warning right before they went swirling away in a wind-whipping, stomach-churning jaunt.
Not a moment later, they stood in a completely different scene. They were near the edge of a thick redwood forest bordering a grassy green clearing that swooped up a steep hill. Atop the hill stood a large farmhouse, standing like a queen of a throne on the edge of the hillside. Benton let his hand fall away from the faery’s disturbing grip and rubbed it. The tingle faded as his own magic flowed over it like a seal. It was definitely a feeling he didn’t like.
Shade grinned. “Is that it, the house up there? Wow, it’s such a serene-looking place. Why didn’t you just teleport us to the entrance? Now we have to hike up that steep slope.” She bit her lip to stop the usual, endless torrent of questions which seemed to flow out of her. She knew she could annoy anyone with her twenty questions and tried to stop before someone rolled their eyes at her.
“Oh, Sis, can’t shut up for second, can you? What, afraid of a little hike?” Benton smirked at her and proceeded to roll his eyes, knowing it would piss her off.
Camulus sighed, pointing up toward the hill. “I can’t get any closer. There’s a magical shield in place. It’s the same thing that keeps your grandmother confined to the area. This is her prison. We can walk in, but no magic can penetrate it, so teleporting into it is out of the question. Since it is meant for her specifically, we will be allowed to come and go as we please, but without magic to aid us across the shield.” He began to walk up the edge of the tree-lined slope, and the others followed quietly.
As they crossed the shield, Shade felt the air fill with a vibration which floated around them and swam along her skin. It felt familiar and powerful, making her feel safe as they neared the top of the slope. She wondered if it was her grandmother’s essence making her feel so serene. Since she had entered Faerie in the spring, her ability to sense magic had heightened to the point she could feel magic emanating from all her faery friends, like auras bleeding onto her own. Some felt stronger than others, but they all felt unique and amazing.
At the top of the hill, they gathered together and took in the majestic view. The house had two stories with worn down, peeling white paint on the weather-beaten exterior. The shutters were no longer the baby blue they had once been. Flowing sheer curtains with dainty, faded daisies on each of them covered every window for privacy. It could’ve been a farmhouse from the Midwest planted in the middle of a desolate, forested slope. Shade wondered how it didn’t just slip off the edge of the hill to its bitter end at the bottom of the cliff. Maybe some kind of magic was at play here. She couldn’t be more eager to find out.
The front door swung open and slammed hard against the wooden sides. A big and husky man with bulging muscles and a warrior’s getup engulfed the doorway with his bulk. He stared out with silver-glinted eyes and silver-streaked white hair. His deathly white, pale skin looked sickly compared to their human-colored appearance, which they had remained glamoured with. Shade gulped and stepped back, right into Benton and Soap, who stood frozen behind her.
“You are trespassing. You will die if you do not leave. Do not come any farther. You will be destroyed,” his robotic voice growled over to them, making them gasp. The ghostly warrior stepped forward, holding up a massive sword in his thick fist, narrowing his eyes as he scanned the five of them.
“Wait, Queen Lana, Your Majesty of the great Southern Realms. We have been looking for you, and we mean you no harm. Pardon our disturbance of your peaceful exile. “Please,” Andraste said as he waved his hand, pointing toward Shade and Benton, hoping to deter any drastic actions from the great, pale warrior. “Your son’s only daughter, Shade, is here to see you.”
“My son has no daughters. He is dead. How dare you speak of him? You are nothing but the scum of Faerie!” A disembodied women’s voice echoed along the ghost warrior’s deep baritone. Shade could feel the air thicken around her and grabbed Soap’s arm, letting him embrace her in his, offering her reassurance.
“Shade, speak to her. Kin will recognize kin. Your voice will tell her who you are,” Soap whispered down to her. Shade looked up at him. His handsome face deepened the calm and warmth he radiated over her fear. Reluctantly, she realized it was the only thing to do. She pulled away and stepped toward the ghost-like man.
“Your Majesty. I am Shade. I was told you’re my father’s mother. Please, I just found out recently he was my real father. I’ve come here for your help. I need your help to harness my magic.” She stepped forward as she spoke, moving closer to the ghastly warrior. His sword seemed to waver as she came closer to him. She hoped he wouldn’t swipe it at her.
The apparition seemed to buzz and disappeared with a quiver of smoke. In its place, a beautiful older woman with bright, silver-white hair down past her waist appeared. Intensity flowed from her eyes as she took in Shade, sizing her up and studying her like a specimen under a microscope. Shade felt the prickle of her magic poking at her as they came to stand face to face. The frown on the woman’s face seemed to take forever to melt away, but her lips gradually upturned into the brilliance of a smile Shade saw in her own reflection every day.
“Shade? I can hardly believe my eyes, it really is you. I can feel our blood calling toward each other! You are truly my son’s daughter!” The woman’s eyes lit up and danced with happiness. She reached out to touch Shade on her cheek, her power flowing across her fingers, almost zapping at Shade. Shade flinched back, wide-eyed. What was that?
“Oh, excuse me! I’ll tone it down for you! It’s just….” Lana paused as she smiled at Shade. Though she was shaking her head in disbelief, she continued to smile. She grasped Shade’s hands, her touch now lacking the zap which had hit Shade before. “I knew you would come one day. I foresaw it. I called you here. You heard me, didn’t you? I tried to find you for so long. I sent out whispers in your dreams to bring you here. You found me, Shade. Just like I knew you would.” She hugged Shade so hard that her breath escaped her chest. The Faerie Queen’s aura felt exhilarating and danced along her skin like tiny swirling sparks. Their magic agreed well, making Shade smile, and caused a feeling to stir within her almost like being home for the first time in ages.
Lana pulled back and held her out at arm’s length, studying her even more. She finally let her go and scanned the rest of them. She stopped at Benton and Soap, observing them just a bit longer than Camulus and Andraste. Shade wondered if her grandmother could answer Benton’s question of paternity. She gulped, sucking in a deep breath as she built up her courage to ask.
“Queen Lana?” asked Shade.
“Just call me Lana, please. I have not been Queen in so long, I feel unfit for the title.”
Shade grinned, her nervousness still swirling in her chest. “My brother here, Benton, would also like to know if Verenis is his father. He possesses magic, too, and we wondered….”
“No. He is not of my line though he is your brother in blood,” Lana interrupted as she walked forward and reached out to Benton, pausing first for his permission. Benton glanced back at Shade, who gave him a slight nod to proceed. He looked
back at the Queen and let her approach him. She touched his face with a gentle stroke, tasting the magic that filled him.
“No. He is definitely not of the same father. Human blood flows in his veins, but no fey. Fire Magic runs wild inside him. Your mother is, perhaps, a fire witch?” She smiled at him, not really expecting an answer as she brought her hand down. “A very powerful fire witch at that.” She studied his face intently. A far off look shone in her eyes before turning back to Shade.
“Sorry about the precautions. I don’t really get visitors out here. Nothing personal.” Lana’s face stilled as she studied Shade’. A flicker of something flashed across her very brown eyes. As it passed, she smiled at her once again. Slight wrinkles framed her eyes and mouth, betraying her age. Shade could feel her power, so strong, like a thick mist surrounding them. Yet her grandmother’s eyes looked almost too human, not an extraordinary fey color she’d noted in her friends. It was the same brown color that dwelled in her own eyes. The realization her grandmother was not a full faery surprised her more than she thought it would. It hadn’t occurred to her at all. Her list of questions grew tenfold as they continued to look at each other.
“I suppose you have a million questions for me, Shade.” Lana took a deep breath as she motioned them toward the house. “Might as well come in and make yourselves at home.” She headed up the stairs and into the farmhouse with everyone following in her wake.
They shuffled into the house where the living room was cozy, to say the least. Soft floral couches lined one of the wainscoted walls. Worn and smooth wooden tables hugged the sides of the couches. Oil lamps sat unlit on them, for there was still bright daylight streaming through the sheer curtains lining the dusty windowpanes. Shade sat down on one of the overstuffed chairs, looking around the room. She studied the pictures which hung randomly across the wood walls, pictures of a young boy with long black hair flowing down his back with an intense, mischievous look on his face. He looked like Lana in a way. Shade assumed he must be her father. The other pictures showed other men and women, none of whom looked familiar to her. She wondered who they were and if she was related to them.
Her excitement fluttered in her stomach as she took all of it in. Even though it was a place of exile, the house looked quite comfy. As she scanned the room, she stopped to see her brother fidgeting on one the sofas, sitting next to Soap. His frown gave away his disappointment at not being related to Shade’s grandmother. She was sure his list of questions was just as long as hers.
Lana returned with glasses and a jug of lemonade. Watching her serve her friends made Shade think how much more like a grandmother she seemed than the Southern Realm Seelie Queen. She wondered how long she’d been exiled and why she could not escape. Lana made her way around the room, handing a glass to Shade and smiling. Sinking into a wooden chair that stood alone on the opposite side of the room, she scanned all of them and waited patiently as they drank their drinks.
“Well, I suppose we might as well get this over with. Ask away, Shade. I’ll answer anything you want to know.” She crossed her legs, placing her hands on her knee.
Shade flushed, and her mind went blank under the pressure. Gulping down the last sip of her lemonade, she breathed in deeply as one swam around in her mind.
“Lana… er, Grandmother? I’m still not sure what to call you yet.” She paused, waiting for an answer.
“You can call me Lana. I know I’m not much of a grandmother to you yet.” She grinned and waited for another question.
“Right, okay, Lana. Um, well, I want to know where my father is and if he is dead like I’ve been told. Would you also know why my mother never told me about him?” She paused, not wanting to bombard Lana with a stream of questions.
“Well, Shade, I can’t say why your mother never told you. She’s probably suffering from some form of memory loss from a spell I’m pretty sure your father put on her. Maybe to protect you both. Seeing that he is dead, I don’t blame him for doing it. He died at the hands of that wretched Queen Aveta. I have wanted to avenge him for so long, but I see it will be quite impossible for me to do it.” Her mouth formed a tight line of tension as she thought of her son. Shade didn’t let the pain which seeped into Lana’s face go unnoticed. Just as quickly as it had manifested, Lana seemed to realize the slip as she breathed in and straightened in her chair.
“Um, what am I? What kind of fey am I? My powers grow the more time I spend in Faerie, but no one can tell me what they are, what I can do with them or how I can control them, and I really need to know.” She waited almost impatiently as she watched her grandmother smile and nod.
“Yes, of course, you don’t know what you are. I’m part Changeling. I can change my appearance into anything I want to. I am also part human, like you. Your grandfather was full Sidhe, the most powerful and beautiful of all faeries. He was King of the Southern Realm before your father.” Her voice cracked for a moment, the memory flooding her eyes with pain. She gulped it down as she continued. “He is also dead, poisoned with iron by Aveta.” She sighed, rubbing her temples as she leaned forward. Shade wanted to comfort her, but the unfamiliarity of her grandmother kept her from rushing over. Lana looked back up, the pain still in her eyes but more steadied.
“Sorry, I still miss him, even after so long. He was my only love.” She gave a weak smile but motioned for Shade to continue with the questions.
“It’s okay, thanks for telling me. I was wondering if you could show me how to use my powers. I haven’t a clue how.” Shade waited, watching Lana as she nodded.
“Yes, of course. It won’t be easy, seeing you’re not a young child anymore. But if you work hard, I can show you everything you can do with your magic.” Lana stood up, passing her gaze around the room, studying the warriors.
“We’ll get started right away. No time to waste. You’re all welcome to stay here as long as you need. I have several rooms to spare. I’ll take you to them first, and then we can get started. Shall we?” She motioned to the group as everyone voiced their agreement. They shuffled quickly behind the Seelie Queen, following her up the stairs.
Chapter Thirteen