Chapter Five
“Go then, there are other worlds than these.”
--Stephen King
King Fionn
The mouth of the cave was broad and wide, and we rode directly in and then got off our mounts to lead them the rest of the way.
Braden’s eyes grew wide when we found the torches we’d used a few days before as we arrived and lit them by snapping our fingers at them.
It was simple magic, no more than a cantrip, but the boy looked startled and a little scared.
I saw him draw closer, as if seeking protection from the little horse that he’d given the absurd name of “Crow.”
“Come along,” I said, a little gruffly, anxious to get through the portal and back home, away from this damp cold and snow, not to mention the horror of that small mortal village.
It had been upsetting to all of us—who could not feel pity in their heart for an innocent child, no matter if it were human or Fae?
Not to mention the grief of the young mother, which had been heartbreaking.
But Braden had spoken strangely at the scene of the attack, claiming words had been written on the wall.
And then there was the knowledge he had about the young father.
Where had all that come from? I decided to put it aside for now and ask him about it all a little later on.
It was Spring in Otherworld, with flowers blooming in the fields and blue skies overhead, so it was good to get back.
My part of Otherworld was vastly different from Svartálfheim or the Quendi Forests of the Elven tribes.
We had seasons of such bitter cold, but those would come later on in the year.
Now it was late summer and my favorite time of year.
As we approached the portal, I could see sunlight glowing against the dark rock. The portal would expand enough to take our horses, as they walked beside us, and I turned to explain that to a wide-eyed Braden.
“Stay close behind me. There’s nothing to fear.
You were born in Otherworld, and all who are true-born Fae, even halflings, are welcome here.
The portal will expand to fit you and your Crow.
” He nodded, but I could see his hand on the bridle was still trembling and with the other, he was clutching the religious beads of glass that he wore around his neck.
We entered in single-file and soon came out on the other side, into a beautiful evening.
The sun was still shining above the far horizon and puffy white clouds floated overhead.
I could smell honeysuckle on the slight breeze.
I turned on my horse to speak again to Braden and was struck suddenly dumb.
I could do nothing pull on my reins to stop and gasp at him.
The glamour had fallen completely away as we came through the portal, revealing his true nature at last.
His hair was a riot of thick, soft curls, a lovely shade of platinum blond, with darker streaks of silver running through it, all mixed up and mingled together.
His skin was fair but slightly tanned to a golden glow, and his face was fine-boned and delicate with a haunting beauty the likes of which I’d never seen before.
His eye color was truly otherworldly now, a remarkable shade of blue, which was unusual in our people, who were known for having green eyes.
They were framed by long, thick eyelashes as pretty as any woman’s.
And I was gratified to see that those soft, pouty, rosebud lips were still in place.
I’d have missed those lips, no matter what I’d thought earlier.
I’d never seen a portrait of his mother, but if she looked anything like her son, I began to understand why Callum had such an obsession with her, and why, after Braden’s mother passed from the moral realm to the next, his family had needed to find a witch to hide all of this beauty from the mortal world.
Whoever it was must have had a great deal of power for the glamour to last as long as it had.
I saw my soldiers all looking in amazement at Braden, who was looking back at them in complete confusion. “What is it? Why are you all looking like that?”
Darragh, the leader of my guard, and the man who had brought him to me that first night, answered him in a soft voice. “It’s you. Y-your face…”
“What about it? Do I have something on me? Oh God, is it a spider? I thought I felt something crawling on my skin as we came through the portal.” He turned to me in a panic. “Lord Fionn, get it off me, please! Get it off! I beg you! I hate spiders!”
He began rubbing and slapping at his face until I came forward to take his hands in mine and stop him.
“Calm yourself, Braden. There are no spiders on your face. The men are amazed by the way you look since you passed through the portal. That’s all.”
“How I look? What do you mean? What’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing is wrong with you. You simply look different. The glamour is gone. Now calm yourself. You’re far too excitable. Are those tears I see in your eyes?”
His lovely face flushed an exquisite shade of rosy-pink, and he looked up at me in a sheepish, appealing way that made me desperately want to tear his clothes off and haul him into my arms. He was incredibly gorgeous.
“I’m sorry. I’ve always been easily moved by things, and it scares me a little because I don’t want to be crazy like my mother. And I really hate spiders.”
I felt bad for him, and as if I should have warned him in some way about how he would appear to us once the glamour fell off, but I’d wanted to see how he reacted the first time he realized his glamour was gone.
Now I felt guilty for not realizing how he’d react to it, and I hated feeling that way.
And I tried to push down this absurd sense of satisfaction that it had been me he appealed to for help and protection.
“Come, we need to ride. We’re all tired and hungry, and the horses need to be fed and watered too. Let me give you a leg up and we’ll be on our way. I’d like to be at the castle within the hour, before it gets much darker outside.”
****
Braden
The castle that belonged to the Faery lord sat high atop a hill, like in all the Faery tales I’d ever heard. But I’d never imagined the huge fortress built around it.
The setting sun was turning the castle gold with a pinkish cast as we approached it on the long winding road that reached up into the mists, and it was truly a sight to behold.
Its turret flags were all flying a bright blue and yellow triangular banner with a sigil of a lion—the banner of the king, I thought.
What I didn’t expect was that the palace would be surrounded by tall fortress-like walls.
There were three of them, in fact. An outer wall, with guards visible all along it.
It swung open at our approach, only to face another gate farther on, perhaps thirty feet along.
When that one opened, we faced the third and final gate, this one made of stone, with a central gate that boasted a defensive rampart over it, and it was also manned by guards.
I had never realized that Faeries lived in such structures. Was this world truly so dangerous?
We approached in single file, and the final gate swung open wide to admit us.
Inside were many buildings, all made of the same white stone as the main castle.
We rode up to the front door and dismounted in the big courtyard in front of the palace.
Grooms were standing by to take our horses’ reins from us and lead them away.
I looked wistfully back at Crow as he was taken away and hoped I’d see him again.
I pulled back and dragged my feet as we went up the stairs.
“Did you need something or are you just being particularly annoying, a chroi?”
I had no idea what he was calling me, but it sounded like “ah khree,” and I didn’t know if he was cursing me or not, but I needed to remind him we were about to boldly go inside this king’s castle like we owned the place.
Even if he were some kind of Lord, this seemed impertinent to me, like we weren’t showing the proper respect.
I was scared enough of regular Faeries, let alone whoever this king of them was.
Everyone, from the grooms to the guards at the doors were staring at us, so I smiled ingratiatingly at them and pulled back his arm again. “Wait!” I whispered to him. “Maybe we shouldn’t barge in like this. A king lives here.”
“Ah yes. But I know him well. He’s something of an asshole, I hear.”
My face paled. “You can’t say that!”
He laughed and put his arm around my waist to usher me inside and right past the guards, who were still staring at me and not bothering to hide it.
Nor did they try to stop us. I told myself they weren’t used to seeing many mortals, or half mortals anyway.
They must be merely curious. I had no idea what would happen inside this place, and I was sure they’d kick us out soon.
I edged as close to the Faery lord as I thought he would allow.
Why his proximity brought me any kind of comfort, God only knew, but it seemed that it did.
Maybe it was a case of the devil I knew.
He stopped to talk to a guard, and I was on my own for a moment.
I missed his closeness. Then he finished speaking to the man, turned his head to look down at me—he was at least a head or so taller than I was and built on a much larger frame, which was typical of some of the warriors I’d seen on the streets of Jorvik.
He was still unsmiling, but to my surprise, he held out a hand to me.
An extended hand could mean anything from an offer of friendship to a willingness to give assistance or even to offer peace.
I readily took hold of his hand, hoping for the best and found it to be surprisingly warm.
He pulled me to stand close beside him and looked searchingly down into my eyes. I felt my knees go a little weak.