Chapter 15
“Excuse me?” Hank asked incredulously. “My Grandfather was a happily married man! And what was he doing here anyway?”
Dulci’s smile dimmed only slightly. “You have many questions, and I did not mean to upset you. Would you allow me the pleasure of bringing you to my home, where we could be more comfortable as I reveal the things that you want to know?”
He considered this for a few moments; at least he pretended to consider it. Truth be known, he would follow this beautiful woman anywhere.
“As long as Luci can come too,” he finally answered.
Dulci’s eyes twinkled as she looked down on Luci. “It would be my pleasure to include Luci. We have already been talking about it, and she is anxious to see my humble abode.”
Hank was shocked at her statement. “But I don’t under…”
Dulci laughed…a magical and mysterious laugh that sent his pulse soaring.
“I will explain everything soon, Hank. Are you ready to go?”
Nodding dumbly, he watched as she once again laid her hand on his cheek. Suddenly encircled with colorful orbs, he soon found himself in a comfortable room with an arched ceiling made of rough wooden siding. A warm and inviting fire was hissing away in the hearth, and the air smelled slightly of cinnamon and wood smoke.
Wow, Hank breathed as he looked around the room. “That was much more pleasant than using the subway.”
Noticing a confused look on Dulci’s face, he was about to explain his remark when he noticed her staring at Luci.
“Ahhh,” she seemed to reply to Luci before turning her attention back to Hank. “You were referring to the mode of transportation? Yes, I can imagine. Traveling underground at a high rate of speed in a mechanical contraption seems extremely dangerous!”
Hank glanced at Luci in confusion. It wasn’t just that she seemed to be easily communicating with the red dog, but he was even more surprised that Luci would know and be able to explain what something like a subway was.
“You should not be surprised at Luci’s knowledge, Hank,” Dulci explained, “She is a very smart animal! She lacks only the ability to verbalize it to you.”
Turning suddenly, Dulci moved across the room and pulled a small box off of a shelf. Extracting something out of the box, she then returned the box to the shelf and made her way back toward Hank. Passing by him, she then kneeled in front of Luci and disconnected her leash. The next thing he knew, Luci’s collar was glowing as Dulci placed something on it.
“There,” she stated as the glowing stopped and she once again stood. “That takes care of that.”
“We have to leave the leash on,” he stated with confusion. “It’s how I connect her to the magic of the stone!”
“I gave her a talisman of her own,” Dulci grinned as she sat in a nearby chair. “She already explained to me how the leash worked, and I thought this might be a better solution.”
He felt lightheaded as he noticed the red stone now installed on Luci’s collar. Sinking down into the chair beside Dulci’s, he brought his hands to his face and rubbed…hoping it would bring some sense to his mind about what was going on around him.
“I’m so confused,” he muttered dejectedly.
“The tea should help that,” Dulci replied with a nod to the table between them. Glancing over, he was surprised to see a steaming cup beside him. Giving it some thought as he reached over and lifted the cup, he wondered if he should be surprised at this point that he was still surprised at the things happening around him.
His mind spinning, Hank took a sip of the hot tea. Instantly calming him, he glanced toward his host.
“I know this is a lot to process, Hank” Dulci’s melodious voice was inside his head, even though her lips were not moving.
“Stop that!” He nearly yelled as he stood up quickly, spilling some of the tea down onto his pants. “You are freaking me out!”
Dulci beamed at him quietly, her beautiful lips lifted in understanding. “Your grandfather reacted in much the same way when he found himself here,” she voiced then.
Sighing in resignation, he plopped back into the chair.
“I give up,” he mumbled as he massaged his eyeballs with his hand. “If this is a dream, please wake me up now.”
“It is no dream, Hank,” Dulci replied quietly, “It is your destiny.”
Chapter 16
His hand dropped from his face and into his lap at her words.
Destiny?
“Dulci…with all due respect…what the hell are you talking about?”
Dulci’s lips once again twitched upward in a smile. Hank’s heart melted at the sight.
“Your appearance here has been foretold by the ancients, as was that of Tamaki’s years ago…your grandfather.”
The mention of his grandfather’s name reminded him of something that Dulci had mentioned earlier. His mood shifted with the memory.
“About that…”
Dulci nodded in seeming understanding, “When I mentioned he was my lover?”
He felt suddenly embarrassed. This was not the kind of conversation he wanted to have, especially when it concerned his grandfather.
“Yes,” Hank sputtered, “As I mentioned…he was happily married.”
Smiling a sad smile, Dulci sighed. “Tamaki was a young man when he was here, Hank. No more than eighteen in human years. He had yet to meet Ariel at that point in his life.”
Dulci was silent for a few moments. He noticed a crushing sadness cross her face before a small smile returned.
“Tamaki was a very brave man. When he joined our cause, it was at a very dark time in Faerie’s history. It seemed as if he had only accidentally stumbled upon our land, yet his appearance had been foretold as I said before.”
Dulci’s eyes glistened, “He too was extremely reluctant to believe what his eyes beheld…much as you have been. But eventually, he came to the decision that helped save Faerie from Unseelie control. His exploits are now part of our history, although I am afraid that much of his heroics have been lost to our younger generation. His name is not as well known now as I would have liked. Such is the way with the passing of time I’m afraid.”
“After the Winter Wars,” Dulci continued quickly, “Tamaki had traveled back to your world for a time, promising to return within the cycle of one moon. Unfortunately our enemies, while defeated, were still powerful. A ranking Unseelie Wizard cast a spell on Tamaki, making it impossible for him to return to our world.”
Dulci shifted in her seat as her eyes came to rest on Hank’s.
“The wizard cursed the Kyan family from entering Faerie for three generations. I’m not sure why three however. Either he thought that would be enough time for everyone to forget about Tamaki, or maybe that was just the extent of his powers.”
It didn’t take Hank long to do the math.
“But I am the third generation!” he nearly shouted. “You’re saying that I’m not even supposed to be here?”
Dulci nodded thoughtfully.
“Forgive me for bringing this up, Hank, but I think your brother figures into this.”
Dulci’s words hit him like a sledgehammer, pushed back into his seat by the powerful emotions that always accompanied thoughts of his twin, Howie.
Howie had been the firstborn of the two. Born with a congenital heart problem, his brother had lived only two years before succumbing to the disability. Amazingly, Hank could remember almost every minute of their time together, one of the amazing things about being a twin. When Howie had passed, Hank remembered thinking that his world had come to an end. Even now however, he sometimes thought he could feel the spirit of his brother hovering around him.
“We were never sure until today, but many of us thought that the curse might have died with Howard,” Dulci continued softly. “I don’t mean this to sound crass, but we were…hopeful.”
Hank nodded slowly in understanding as he once again worked through the grief of his loss. Finally sitting up, he let
out a breath as he pulled himself together.
“Ok,” he finally muttered as his eyes sought out Dulci’s. “I still can’t wrap my head around most of this, but I can’t deny that I am here.”
The smile on Dulci’s face grew at his remarks.
“Indeed you are, Hank,” she intoned before taking a sip of her tea.
Noticing this, he lifted his own cup to his lips, taking a sip and enjoying the immediate calming effect it seemed to have on him.
“So,” he started again after another couple of sips, “You mentioned something about this being my destiny?”
Dulci nodded happily as she leaned forward. “Yes, you see…”
Her eyes suddenly moved toward the window before she whispered, “Shelyk!”
Not understanding the word, Hank nevertheless understood her sudden fear associated with it as he too looked toward the window.
Seeing nothing, he was surprised when Dulci suddenly materialized at the window.
“No,” she whispered, looking through the glass. “Not already!”
“Dulci…what is it?” he asked as every nerve ending in his body tingled in warning.
Suddenly in front of him again, Dulci was kneeling, her eyes determined.
“You are in danger,” she said with conviction as she reached out and touched Hank’s cheek. Placing her other hand on Luci’s head, Dulci bowed and started whispering something as colorful orbs of light again suddenly surrounded them.
Chapter 17
When Hank again opened his eyes, he jumped up and reached for his staff.
It was gone!
Reaching for the gun in his belt, he discovered that it too was gone. Looking at his surroundings for the first time, he discovered that he was back in his own yard, the sky lightening in the east.
“Crap!” he whispered as he quickly spun around, looking for an enemy that wasn’t there.
The only other being in sight was Luci, who was sleeping peacefully ten feet away.
Feeling lightheaded, he finally settled back into the lawn chair, the hair on his arms prickled with Goosebumps.
What the hell?” he whispered as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, discovering that it was Sunday morning…again.
Again...Or still? He wondered to himself. Was it all just a dream?
By this time, Luci was watching him before rising up and moving over beside him. Reaching over distractedly, he scratched behind her ear as he went over the events in his head:
A strange land called Faerie.
A beautiful woman named Dulci.
His grandfather, a revered warrior, in love with Dulci.
Cursed for three generations.
Howie’s death had broken the curse.
He was in danger.
Dulci made his heart skip a beat.
Hank moaned at the last thought.
“Great!” he spoke aloud, “I’ve fallen in love with a figment of my imagination!”
Shaking his head in frustration, he looked down at Luci.
“You wouldn’t believe the dream I just had girl,” he grinned as he sat up straighter in his chair. “But man, was it ever real feeling!”
Luci whimpered as she put her head on his lap.
Actually feeling relieved when he determined that it was all just a dream, he finally smiled as he reached down and scratched behind Luci’s ear again.
“Thank God,” he sighed, “Something like that would be hard to explain to everybody.”
Moving his hand to Luci’s other ear, he was suddenly concerned when he found a lump on the back of her neck.
“What’s that girl?” he asked, fearing the worst.
Feeling around a little more, he determined that it was actually something on her collar.
Immediately feeling relieved, “What did you get into girl?” he asked as he turned the collar on her neck.
Moving the collar but a few inches revealed what he felt earlier…A Red Stone!
***
“Holy shit!” he exclaimed as he jumped up from his chair.
His head was spinning in a thousand directions as he wordlessly stared at the collar. Feeling lightheaded, he plopped down on the ground. Luci quietly moved over in front of him, sitting down and eyeing him with a look of wonder on her face.
“I don’t feel so good girl,” Hank admitted as he lay back on the damp grass. Watching the last of the stars disappear overhead, he thought back once again to the land of Faerie.
It had been real, he finally admitted to himself.
All of the doubts and insecurities of the memories being real returned to him like a tsunami, flooding his mind with impossible thoughts and unimaginable images.
He wrestled silently with his demons for a time before finally sitting up determinedly.
“Let’s go get some breakfast,” he told Luci as he pushed himself up off of the ground. “We’ve got a full day ahead of us.”
While he’d been wrestling with his thoughts moments before, he finally determined what he had to do. He was long overdue for a visit anyway, but now he felt like it was imperative that he speak to her.
“You are lucky today girl,” he spoke to Luci as he reached down and gave her a pat on the head. “There are always plenty of squirrels at the farm.”
Chapter 18
Benton stared out across the rooftops, watching the early evening moisture steaming off the tar tops. It was balmy, and evening dew stuck to his cheeks and coated his hands. He could sense Unseelie nearby and it made the fire burst along his veins.
He was restless, but things hadn’t exactly gone the way they were supposed to.
Dulci’s introduction had slowed them down significantly. With the cop in her hands, they were free to track down more Unseelie. Portland had been severely affected with its proximity to the borders of Faerie, but the sheer amount of them here was overwhelming. If they didn’t move to seize the banished Unseelie before it got out of hand, their task would grow tenfold in difficulty.
Who were they kidding? It was already out of hand.
Even worse with that damn cop on their tails.
He hoped Dulci had a better solution to work him out of the equation before everything went down the gutter. Everything they’d worked for.
“What do you make of it, Benton?”
Nautilus handed him a tin cup filled with steaming tea. Benton made a face as he glanced down into the hot liquid. He liked tea. But they rarely sweetened it with sugar.
“I don’t like that Hank dude one bit. He’s not right, but I can’t pin point out why.” Benton sighed.
“How can you stand this stuff?” He added suddenly as he wrinkled his nose and brought the cup to his lips again. He grimaced as the tasteless fluid slid down his throat. It did nothing for his taste buds but it soothed his aches and fed the inner fire that kept his elemental fire alive. “Thanks.”
Nautilus chuckled as he sipped his own draught from a beaten tin cup.
“It’ll keep the hair on your chest.”
Benton downed the rest but shook his head at Nautilus.
“Whatever.”
“That Hank dude might be able to help us more than you know.” Nautilus waved his cup toward Benton, his shiny eyes reflecting the evening fire like a mirror. He was pensive…as though he knew something the others did not.
“So…this Dulci Oracle lady…you never said you’d gotten hold of her.”
Nautilus shrugged and placed his cup on the ground, already emptied.
“I didn’t exactly get a hold of her. She got hold of me first.”
“How the hell did she know you were looking for her?”
“Dulci is an ancient Oracle. Nothing gets past her much. Especially not here in Faerie.”
“My sister Shade knows an Oracle named Ilarial. The woman is like some sort of earthbound angel or something. Kind of creeps me out. They…know shit about you…you know? Stuff no one else knows.” Benton almost shuddered at the thought. Oracles were some of the most powerful f
aeries he’d ever met, but they were inherently good natured, even though the way they looked at others made it seem they knew more than they should know about everyone.
“Yeah, but they’re harmless. Every faery clan has one. A clan without an oracle is one without a center, without focus.”
Benton rolled his eyes. He didn’t quite care for some of Faerie’s customs, including letting one person decide the fate of others. Ilarial had told Shade about her fate and how she had to save the faeries by taking on a dangerous journey. It was all in favor of each faery clan, not in the person who was pressed to do what they said.
Sometimes it was much better to be human.
“I hope she doesn’t lead us into any kind of weird mumbo jumbo journey or quest. I doubt it’ll help. Besides…we have better things to do here as it is. Portland is infested. It’ll take forever to get all the escaped Unseelie at this rate. Especially if Hank keeps getting in our way.”
Soap tossed another log on the fire before settling down across from them.
“No sense in worrying about Dulci and Hank. I’m sure when the time comes, we’ll find out what we’re all supposed to do.”
“I know what I’m supposed to do and I’m not letting some crazy oracle woman tell me my role in all this.” Benton slid over to his sleeping bag, ready to get some rest. “I don’t really care what she has to say as long as it gets us to the end of this mission faster, that’s fine. If not, I’m not doing anything any old faery tells me to do.”
He settled back and dropped his arm on top of his eyes. Letting the fire heat his skin instead of spending extra energy keeping his inner fire burning for heat, he dozed off in no time at all.
“Benton has a lot to learn.” Soap said quietly, knowing Nautilus could hear him.
“I agree. He is but a child in our years of experience. He’ll find out sooner or later what he’s dealing with. The forces of Faerie are strongly influencing his life. Especially since Shade is his sister.”