Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
CORMAL
H yne, Meri, and I get to the rendezvous point first. The Phoenix laid traps along the shore, hoping to catch the Water Fae. We’re going to use all their hard work to trick them into thinking it worked and draw them away from the island.
Kavi appears with Lux. Hyne mutters furiously under his breath when he sees the dark little monster. Bristling, I turn toward him and shake my head. “He’s harder to control when he’s pissed off. Shut the fuck up.”
Hyne chokes at the tone in my voice, but an unhappy Lux is like a destructive genie, and damn near impossible to put back in the fucking bottle. I watch the dark demon skip over to us.
He stops and looks at Meri. “You’re pretty. Are you my friend?”
I flick a warning glance at Meri, but she’s already bending down to his level. She studies his face for a minute. “Do you want us to be friends? It’s a big question, so make sure you think about it. Friends are there for each other and enjoy spending time together. We support and trust each other. Still want to be friends?”
His small face is serious as he considers her words. “What if I make a mistake? Or do something bad?”
“It depends,” she replies with a rueful look on her face. “Sometimes it’s easy to forgive each other and sometimes the hurt goes too deep.” When his shoulders drop, she takes his hand. “We can try, though, can’t we?”
Staring at him and Meri in disbelief, I realize I’m never getting rid of Lux now. I put my hands on my hips and glower at her.
Standing, she raises their clasped hands. “Friends?”
With a dark grin, he nods. “Friends.”
“We need to get a move on,” I snarl, irritated beyond belief.
I look around and spot Madoc and Aamon behind me. The look on their faces as they stare at Lux and Meri makes me want to bang my head into the nearest tree. Two more conquests, although I suspect Madoc’s been teetering on the edge for a while.
Because of the pact with Leandra, I couldn’t spend too much time around Meri, but I had men watching her. Report after report would come in, telling me about her strays. Beasts, demons, people, kids, lost souls, it didn’t matter. Her loneliness created a hole inside her, and the only way she knew to fill it up was to befriend another. I used to worry they would get her in trouble, but if anything, they often deflected Leandra’s wrath.
“Lux,” I say quietly, motioning Madoc and Aamon forward. “This is Aamon. He’s going to stay here with you and make sure you do exactly what I tell you. He’ll let you know when it’s time to leave, okay?”
Lux’s red eyes assess the monster before him. “You’re like me, aren’t you? Never grew up.”
Aamon considers his words, then shrugs. “Sort of. It’s okay.”
Lux turns to me and smiles. “I like Meri. And him.”
Thank hell for small favors.
Before he can turn his attention to Madoc or Hyne, I direct him to the map. With my finger, I trace each line from the shore to the trap, then I show him how to set one off. When the first one explodes in a geyser of water and fire, he jumps back and squeals in delight.
He sets the next one off and once the dust settles, I pat him on the back. “Good job. The rest of the traps are laid out on the map. Follow it to the end, setting them off along the way. Then Aamon will take you with him to the Wilds, okay?”
He claps his hands and jumps up and down with excitement. “Got it. This is fun!”
“We’ve got to go to a meeting,” I explain to him. “Kavi will meet you at the edge of the Wilds tomorrow morning to take you home.”
Lux is barely listening to anything as his eyes dart from the map to the next target. I hope this works. He gets so caught up in causing destruction, he doesn’t know when to stop.
“Bye, Lux,” Meri calls out.
He whirls around and waves his leathery hand. “Bye, friend!” Then he dashes off with Aamon on his heels.
“Keepers help us all,” Hyne pleads in a gruff voice. “This better work.”
After waving goodbye to Kavi, the four of us move to a little stone cottage on a seaside cliff. Warded by Kavi earlier, it provides us with the perfect view of the sea and Avalon. From here, the ancient island is shrouded in fog, with only the mountain peak visible, but we can clearly see the ships in the sea below.
“Sneaky,” Hyne rumbles behind me, his eyes on the seventeen ships unfurling their masts. Phone in hand, he texts his second command to let him know the Phoenix are coming.
Seconds later, they sail off, using magic to whip the wind and get there faster. “They should arrive when the last charge goes off. Hopefully, they’ll chase their prey inland instead of returning here.”
Covering the windows with the darkest of shadows, I light the fireplace and sit at the table, Solandis’ map of Avalon before me.
Meri frowns for a second, then closes her eyes. Her brow crinkles with concentration, then she holds out her hand. A rolled parchment appears, and she hands it to me.
“It’s a map of Avalon’s castle,” she says nonchalantly, but the smirk on her face tells me I should have asked her for this earlier.
She’s right, I should have. Just like I should have included her and Madoc in the debriefing for the weapons cache. She gave me hell for that one, too.
I lean over and kiss her pink lips. “Thank you. This helps tremendously.”
Rolling it out, I secure the corners, then we all stand to look at the massive castle. Bailey, outer courtyard, battlements, outer gatehouse, portal, and all the usual rooms and layout you expect to see in a castle as well as a few unknown areas.
“You’ll enter here.” I tap the arch in the portal. It stands in the outer courtyard. “We need to find a way to shield you from the battlements.”
Hyne shakes his head. “Brixton won’t kill me right away. Most of the Lesser Fae like me.” He pauses for a second. “Well, they did before my mate passed. Anyway, the point is, he won’t want too many witnesses. It could make me a martyr. That’s the last thing he needs if he’s going to convince the Water Fae to join him when I’m gone.”
His dark eyes scan the castle from head to toe. He taps his finger on a rough area depicted by rocks and water. “There. If I die in the water, I won’t surface. Everyone knows krakens return to the deep.”
I bend over to read the small type. “Grotto.” Moving my finger to the rear, I follow a long hallway. Along the way, small rectangular rooms catch my eye. “Dungeons.”
Meri taps her finger on one. “Do you think that’s where he’s holding Rivan?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe,” I murmur, skimming the rest of the map. “There aren’t that many secure rooms. Most are open to the next. It’s either one of the bedrooms or the dungeons.”
Hyne snorts. “Brixton hates Rivan for surrendering. It would have been better if he’d have died with his men. He’ll hold him in the worst place possible.” The blunt tip of his finger taps the dungeons.
Meri’s face lights up with anger, but she looks away before anyone else can see it.
Madoc’s hand rises and hovers over her shoulder for a second, as if he intends to comfort her, but he drops it when she lifts her head. His dark eyes meet mine, and his face resets into his usual scowl.
Something to deal with later. “You know Brixton better than us. What do you think he’ll do first?”
Hyne chuckles. “Invite us in for a drink. He pretends to be very civilized until the knife is slicing across your throat.”
I trace a line from the portal to the great hall. “Ok, he brings you two here. Offers you a drink. How many guards will he have with him?”
“At least twenty,” Hyne replies with a broad grin. “Any less would be insulting to me. More and he’ll open himself up to my insults.”
“That’s good. We can use that to buy us some time. Ask him questions about the real Kaius and Fisk, his plans, and whatever else you think will make him talk. A lot,” I tell him. “Madoc will refuse the drink, stand by your side, and hold a shield around the two of you.”
Hyne raises an eyebrow at Madoc. “A dark Fae with scars for days. He might be too much of a threat. We’ll need to tone him down and make Brixton think there’s nothing out of the ordinary about him.”
Meri studies him for a second, then waves her hand. Glasses appear, along with a navy shirt instead of his usual black. She adds jeans and a simple fisherman’s cap. “Will that work?”
“Give him blue hair, similar to Fisk,” I add. “He can be a mix of dark Fae and Water Fae.”
“Good idea,” Madoc inserts, adding a hint of scales along his forearms while Meri changes his hair to a deep blue.
Both Hyne and I nod at the same time. “Perfect.”
“We need a way to get Meri and me into the castle,” I murmur, studying the expanse of sea between the two. “Can we go by boat to the grotto? It would put us in position for both Rivan and you two.”
Hyne’s large shoulder lifts. “I need to go down and read the sea.”
When we all look at him in confusion, he rolls his eyes. “I need to get in the water. It will tell me about the inhabitants and any obstructions along the way.”
The sun is barely cresting the horizon. “Dawn is coming. You might want to go now. We’ll cover you from above.”
Bitter wind whips around the cliffs in front of the little cottage, but a little magic creates a buffer from it. We stand and watch as Hyne takes a running jump off the cliff and dives into the sea below.
Meri moves in closer to me. “Do you think this is going to work?” Her eyes are full of worry. “What about the old magic?”
That’s the biggest unknown. I couldn’t find anything to protect us. “All we can do is keep our shields up and hope nothing wakes.”
Madoc looks pointedly at Meri. “A shield. Did you hear him?”
She scowls. “I heard. I will. I know I forgot earlier, but it was one lapse.” Her voice has an edge that makes me shake my head at Madoc.
He heaves a sigh but relents. One step brings him closer to her. “Thank you.”
She says nothing, but the tension eases from her shoulders.
Madoc suddenly whips a hand across her eyes, and she laughs. I look down and see a very large and very naked Hyne strolling out of the sea.
“Clothes,” I tell Hyne, who looks at me as if I’m crazy.
He darts a glance at Meri, whose eyes are still covered, and chuckles. “I see. Done.” Tailored black pants and a button-down shirt cover his body.
Madoc removes his hand, and Meri winks at Hyne. “I’m sure you had all the ladies once.”
Hyne preens and winks back. “Krakens are big and known for their longevity.”
Madoc and I groan in unison. “Stop.”
Hyne motions to the water behind him. “There are creatures in the sea I haven’t seen in at least a thousand years. And there are a couple of unknowns, too. Most of them seem benevolent, but it’s hard to tell.”
Tying his wet hair back, he continues. “I can get you across in a boat in five minutes, but there are traps in front of the grotto you’ll have to unravel. The sea had very little information on them, except their presence.”
“Ok, creatures, unknown traps, five minutes,” I say, contemplating the worst that can happen. “We’ll make it work.”
The sky lightens further. “Let’s get back inside before someone sees us out here.”
For the rest of the day, we study the castle, especially the exits. There are a few places marked with a door, but I don’t see their origin. Probably best to stay away from those.
Madoc slips away to confirm Aamon and Lux made it back to the Wilds.
As the sky darkens, I hear Meri say quietly, “We’re coming for you, Rivan. Hold on.”