Chapter Twelve
Cold laughter whispered around the room, followed by a voice that said one word. “Lylaaaa.”
The voice reminded Kara of midnight and despair.
The figure stepped into the light and everyone backed away. It was at least seven feet tall and the color of ancient bones. She found herself unable to scrutinize it any further, her gaze sliding away as every single instinct screamed at her to run.
She heard Icari fumbling in his satchel and she knew he was going for the holy water.
The thing whispered, “I shall trap all of your souls here too. After I desecrate your flesh.”
It took another step forward, and no one moved. Icari had stopped fumbling in the satchel and she prayed silently to the Goddess he had the holy water in hand. She made her frozen neck turn to see what Lyla was going to do. She had a look of fierce determination upon her face as she said, “Release the unicorn, demon.”
More laughter, thin and mocking. “You do not have the strength to resist me and free the beast. Fae were always such optimistic fools.”
From under her lowered eyelashes, Kara saw it writhing, billowing, tendrils of dark racing to trap them-
Lyla's hands flew up and a silver light shot from them. The silver light wrapped around the black tendrils.
The tendrils pulled the light back and ripped it to nothing.
Icari stepped forward and waved the vial of holy water. Kara looked up just in time to see the water splash the demon. It howled as cracks spread on its body and its essence smoked and curled. The air grew rank with the scents of burnt pork and rancid feces. She glimpsed something red and round in the chest cavity as the cracks opened wider.
The demon writhed and bucked-but still stood, clearly undefeated. It hissed, “Weak fae light and little priest magics cannot stop one as strong as me.”
The cracks on its chest were already stitching back together as it moved towards them.
Kara knew she had one chance and about one second to get to the heart of the demon. She gathered every bit of courage she had and prayed this would work.
She sprang forth. This demon was just another mark, and the purse was in its chest.
Her hand pushed past the knitting cracks and grabbed the red object nestled in its cursed body. She pulled it out with a strength borne of desperation and panic. She flung it to the ground and her heavy boot crashed down on it.
It shattered into three pieces.
A scream as high and thin as a kettle began. The dark threads holding the demon together flew apart. Winds full of howling horrors swirled about them then flew out into the dark.
No one said anything for the space of a heartbeat. Kara had shocked herself by her own foolishness and bravery.
Lyla broke into action first, running to the unicorn as she pulled out the pendant. She lay it face down where the horn had been.
A silver light burst from the unicorn, brighter even than Lyla's. It dazzled and warmed Kara, drawing her back into herself and out of shock.
Lyla pulled the pendant back once the silver had faded. “It is done. Run. The demon is gathering his minions.”
Kara dropped and scooped up the pieces of the token then they all spun and ran into the passage. Icari was in the rear, his lamp swinging wildly. They burst out into the conservatory and kept right on going, not even stopping to close the secret door.
Lyla flowed to the front, shouldering past towering hedges and creating a path where one had not been.
They ran and ran, past the hedges, over the brick wall, down a forested hill, over a stream. Lyla seemed to know where she was going, so they had to put their blind faith in her. She spun and darted to the right suddenly and they followed her to a flat rock in the middle of a glade.
As Kara exited the tree cover, she thought she had never felt anything so wonderful as the warm sun on her back and neck. The light was dazzling, so she slowed and blinked, her breathing ragged, her side aching.
She did not care about the minor aches and pains. That was nothing compared to thwarting a demon, one who would collect their souls like trophies...
When Kara's eyes adjusted to the bright light, she saw that Lyla had led them to a perfect little corner of the world. The glade was a gentle oval, the center boasting a crystal clear pool. There was a heady mix of golden flowers and green grass on the ground. The trees seemed to stand in quiet respect of the glade's space; she could not see one fallen leaf nor branch anywhere inside the oval.
She saw Icari collapsing on the lush grass. He was still clutching the oil lamp, his eyes wide. She bet she looked just the same.
Lyla was standing on top of the rock, the pendant swinging free from her grasp. She said something in a lilting language Kara had never heard as the pendant hit the water.
The pool flashed silver as the pendant sank. Then it stilled.
A breeze wafted by, drifting down from the trees, smelling of sweet lilacs.
“She is at peace,” Lyla said placidly. Kara found it amazing she was so composed after such turmoil. “Long has she waited for it.” She turned and sat on the grass with them, and she looked so young and frail that Kara smiled.
Impulsively, she asked, “How old are you?”
“When I went into the long sleep, I was twenty years of age. Very young.”
“Into long sleep?”
“In troubled times, most fae tend to go back into the Earth to sleep. Some stay awake to record what happens during the long sleep. We do not wake unless the trouble has passed or someone has forcibly roused us. Usually only another fae or a powerful mage can do this.”
“Did that dark mage in the manor wake you?”
Lyla grew still and her purple eyes flicked up and around. She finally said, “I think so. I remember fighting, pain, as if in a dream. He wanted to use my light for terrible things.” She smiled at Kara. “Until you saved me.”
Kara laughed, embarrassed. “Icari helped too. He was just stuck hauling Vayne's big butt out of the manor.”
All three chuckled at that. Lyla looked at Icari and smiled. “She is right. Though I remember little, I do recall you trying to thwart the encroaching demon with that blessed water.”
He shrugged. It was his turn to be modest. “It did not work very well.”
Kara, still insatiably curious about a living, breathing fae who could shoot silver light out of her hands, asked, “How long did you sleep?”
Lyla's face fell. “You said it was the year of 2728? Which dynasty?”
“Dynasty? You mean which King?”
“Yes.”
Kara tried to think back on her history lessons. When she was younger, her father had been indulgent, letting her learn writing, reading, history, and math with Anna. Lady Brahm had eventually taken offense that her gently born daughter would sit beside a slave during lessons.
Her father, as always, had relented and stopped her education. She sighed and tried to push that sad little memory away. She had liked her tutor, had loved the smell of ink drying on parchment. “His name is King Nikalas Hansun, the first of his name. I think the royal family before him had a last name of Durkan.”
Lyla said softly, “I would need to speak with one of our record keepers to make sure of the time passed. When my family went into the Earth, Queen Ryenna ruled.”
“Goddess,” Icari swore softly. “The Queen Ryenna that ruled from 1102 until 1162? The tyrant? The one who would rule the world and the heavens?”
“Is that how human history remembers her? Very apt. She was cruel. I went to sleep in 1122, when she was still fairly young.”
Kara did some quick math. The number seemed unbelievable. “You were asleep for over sixteen hundred years? One thousand, six hundred and six years to be precise?”
“That sounds correct.” She looked sadder than Kara had ever seen her. “I miss my family. And I do not remember where they sleep. We hid in different places for safety. I must find a record keeper so I can try to wake them. Or at least go back
to my resting place to continue the long sleep.”
Icari and Kara shared a quick glance. Lyla must be delusional, she thought. Perhaps she was borne with deformed ears and her parents made up some silly lie about her being fae to make her feel better...
That still would not explain her silver light or the way nature bent to her will. Kara swallowed her doubts back and asked, “If fae are so powerful, why did you hide and go to sleep during the troubled times, instead of staying awake and fighting whatever threatened you?”
“Creatures much stronger than us roamed the land freely, many eager to extinguish our light. I think your King has figured a way to block them.” Hope shone bright in her face. “Perhaps my family can awaken, if there are a few safe places.”
Icari asked, “Are you talking about the King's Posts? The last ruler installed them. They do hold back the things from the mists most of the time.”
“But at a terrible price,” Kara said. “The King has to use the powers of dark and light mages alike to keep the kingdom safe. Once dark mages were banned from practicing on our soil. Now they have a place at court.” She remembered how appalled her father was that the dark mages were allowed to sit beside the King at feast time. He had called them 'bone rattlers.' From what she had gathered, the Lords were often placed under the mages, causing no end of discord at the courts.
Icari said to Lyla, “I know we are not supposed to talk about our pasts, but you must have a very interesting one.”
Kara gave him a quick smile. He returned it and she knew what he was feeling. As tainting and haunting as the demon's presence had been, the unicorn's peace had filtered throughout the glade and cleansed them.
Lyla said, “My past is not as interesting as our entwined futures.”
No one had anything to say to that, so Kara picked up the three pieces of the token and looked them over. She had dropped them in the grass at some point. The stone was red and dull under the morning sun. She asked, “What are we supposed to do with this?”
Icari was staring at the three pieces. He said, “Keep them. Those tokens are very valuable, even broken.”
“Valuable to who? Dark mages?”
“Anyone who wants to summon that demon in the manor. It does not have to be a dark mage.”
They shared another glance. Hither might want the token for his own mysterious reasons. And he paid very well for the right items. Or maybe they should hold onto it, see if there was ever a situation where they needed to call the demon...
“Destroy it,” Lyla said softly. “It will only cause further harm.”