Children of Fey and Night: Chapter Eighteen

The Legion of Thieves

Children of Fey and Night

Royal Decree

Lissa Altanik 

The home of the fairies had changed since the last time we were there. Any bright, earthy colors that once covered the landscape were now replaced by darker, ominous shades.

As if reading my mind, Alyssa spoke up. "Fairies have a special connection with nature. We reflect each other. When we are in a state of disarray, so too is our home."

That made sense. It was sort of like how the Olympians changed to match the state of their domain, only in reverse.

"Long as the place hasn't changed too much," Dawn said. "Just need to find Visania."

"That will not be a problem," Visania's voice said behind us. We all turned to look at her. She strode slowly toward us. "Why do you wish to find me?"

"For Lissa," Dawn spoke up. All according to plan. "She's still your captive. Free her. Take me in her place."

The queen considered it. "No. Although I will free Lissa in exchange for my daughter."

Well, that plan did not take long to fall apart. "Out of the question," I said. "Xaro won custody fair and square."

Visania rolled her eyes and leaned against a tree base. "From here forth, it is decreed that only Fair Folk affiliated with the Court have permission to enter."

She drummed her fingers against the wood when she spoke. By the time she'd finished, the ground had sunk beneath Alyssa and roots were beginning to weave around her body. Dawn and I each grabbed onto one of her arms, but the earth beneath her kept pulling her down.

Visania smiled as we kept Alyssa level. "You have very few options," she said calmly. "Despite her father's heritage, fairy blood breeds true. There is no way to make Alyssa stop being a fairy. Therefore, either she must rejoin the Court or I have to renounce my decree. Lissa, we both know that I am immune to your magic, so you cannot force me to change my decision. At that, if you do not return her to me, she will continue to descend until she is out of the Court's bounds."

"How deep do Court boundaries go?" I asked Alyssa.

"It has no lower limit," she said. "Just the geographical area. This won't stop until I'm on the opposite half of the planet."

Dawn looked at me. "I have an idea. You think you can hold Alyssa up while I take care of her?"

I shifted my feet a bit and adjusted my grip on Alyssa. I had a decent hold on both of her arms when I said, "I think so, but hurry."

The instant Dawn released Alyssa, I learned exactly how much she was contributing to holding her up. Where the two of us working together were able to balance out the force of Visania's spell, Alyssa was slowly sinking without Dawn to help me. This needed to be done quickly.

Alyssa bit the ends of the root and grabbed onto the ground for leverage. The ground started to suck her in when she touched it.

"Okay, you can pull on the plants, but not the earth," I summarized for her.

Dawn revealed the blade of her scythe and struck at Visania. The vines around her shot out and wrapped around the scythe. Dawn hung in the air, dangling from her own weapon. Without missing a beat, she continued her attack by kicking Visania in the face.

Visania's face showed a tranquil expression of fury. The closest thing I'd ever seen to real emotion on her face. More plants swung out around Visania's face and wrapped around Dawn's leg.

"Dawn!" I cried. I grabbed my stake, realizing a second too late that I had taken one hand off of Alyssa. She started sinking faster. I threw the stake in Visania's general direction and grabbed Alyssa's arm again. She was so far underground that my hands were submerged. Only her head still stuck out from the ground, and even that was still sinking.

The plants that had Dawn continued to weave around her. Some were wrapping around her neck... and tightening...

Chapter Nineteen