CHAPTER TWELVE
FLUMPH
The Veil
Fuckin’ dick think he can come inside the necromancer’s shack an’ boss me around! I don’t think so! I gettin’ real tired of Elfie thinkin’ he can jist tell me what to do an’ how to do it. If he don’t watch hisself, I’ll be doin’ some real bad things to his supper. Like pissin’ in it!
My poor wings struggle to fly the bowl o’ bullshit oats up the stairs to the sneaky Mother Heifer. She ain’t worth the sweat off a ogre’s ballsack, if you ask me.
I sets the bowl down an’ use my ass to push the door open. The Mother Heifer scare the livin’ bejeezes outta me when I turns around an’ I see her pullin’ herself up, all awake an’ shit. Her eyes real scary-like an’ I don’t wanna be alone with her.
She smile at me, like I’m gonna fall for that shit.
Fucks right off, lady. Flumph ain’t stupid.
“Did you bring me breakfast?” she ask, soundin’ all nice an’ whatnot.
“Only ‘cause I were asked to. Not ‘cause no one told me. I ain’t no slave.”
“Of course you aren’t! I only meant to thank you. I’m very grateful.”
I’ll believe that when the elf and Shadow Dick get their heads outta their asses an’ admit that they both wantin’ to take Pretty to bed for a whole lotta naughty business. I sets the bowl on the table an’ sit on the edge o’ the bed, decidin’ I needs ta do a little question askin’ o’ my own.
The Mother Heifer sits up and starts slurpin’ on her breakfast like I ain’t even here, an’ that fine by me. Less she lookin’ at me with her sketchy eyes, the better.
“So, Fluff, is it?”
“What Fluff?”
“You.”
“Me?”
“Your name,” she say all pissed-off like.
“That ain’t my name!”
“What is your name?”
“Flumph!”
“Do you know how the others opened the rift to this world?” She still gots that creepy-ass smile on her face. “Baron said they used an artifact called the Oluri , but is there another way? Perhaps portal jumping or something similar?”
I don’t likes her questionin’ ‘specially when I was jist tellin’ myself I was gonna question her. Anyways, no one spose to know how to get to The Veil, that how it stay secret for so long. I ain’t gonna be the asshole that fuck it up for everyone else by spillin’ the beans. “No. They don’t tell me none o’ that shit. They isn’t exactly the most trustin’ sorta people. Keep their secrets real close-like.”
“Oh, I don’t know. You seem pretty close with them.”
“I ain’t. They just keeps me ‘round ‘cause Pretty think we friends. She the only one I really like. Rest o’ them is dicks.”
Somethin’ in her eyes change an’ I get real scared. She sit up a little more, but I can tells she weak. “Tell me how they get the rifts open, or else you’ll find yourself being blamed for the destruction of this Veil.”
“Descruction o’ what Veil? What you talkin’ ‘bout?”
“This world won’t last much longer, little sprite. An’ when it goes, you wouldn’t want all your… friends to blame you?”
“They wouldn’t never think I could do somethin’ so bad.”
“From what I heard of your conversation with Cambion, it doesn’t appear he or the others believe you, even when you’re telling the truth.”
I get real angry when I realize she was eardroppin’ on elf boy an’ me conversation.
“Do we have an understanding?” she ask.
“You ain’t gots no power left…”
Her fake kind smile turn into somethin’ real scary an’ I hear my heart beat pick up. “Are you sure?”
No! For all I knows, she been fakin’ this whole time!
Dick.
I ain’t givin’ her what she want, though. I ain’t that fuckin’ dumb. But I decides ta play dumb anyways. Make her think I be helpin’ her. “I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout nothin’, ‘specially how ta get into The Veil, honest. But... but I can find out. I real smart, an’ they don’t see nothin’ I do.”
She look like she thinkin’ it over an’ I hold my breath till my poor little lungs hurt.
“All right, Fluff, I’ll give you a chance to prove yourself. Bring me whatever information you can find on The Veil and how the Necromancer is able to open portals to the other world.”
“An’ what I gettin’ in return?”
“Considering the fact that I was the one who put Variant in power... there’s nothing I can’t give you in return. So don’t disappoint me.”
I nod, but the whole time I be wantin’ to tell her my name ain’t Fluff.
Dick.
The others won’t believes me. That true. But I don’t need ‘em to. Masky will. Masky an’ I ain’t exactly best o’ friends, but he listen. He care ‘bout us faerie creatures, even if everyone else thinkin’ we useless. Yeah, I’ll tell him.
Holy shit. What my life comin’ to, that I willin’ to trust someone who talk to spirits like a wacko. That’s it. I finally gone clean off the edge. I be fuckin’ crazy, like the rest o’ these damn giants. Next thing I knows, I’ll be drinkin’ blood an’ visitin’ my stone lover in graveyards. Not like I got somethin’ against Shadow King goin’ to see Thoradin—I ain’t judgin’. Too bad Pretty ain’t here, though, I could really use one o’ her belly rubs.
The Queen Heifer give me indigestion an’ I ain’t even eaten yet.
An’ where the fuck be Noni an’ the others? I’m here all alone with this crazy witch an’ a elf who prefer the company o’ them trees in the forest. Aima the only Unseelie I ever met who ain’t a complete dick. But... we’ll see. Just need ta wait till Pyre come back. The Mother Heifer won’t be able to bully him ‘round. He a lot bigger than Shadow King, an’ more powerful than anyone I ever knows.
I fly over to the window in the kitchen, my favorite spot. I watch outside, waitin’ for my companions to come save me from this crazy bitch they think is gonna save us from Variant. If only they knew she just out for herself.
***
EILISH
The Echoing Spire
“We’re nearly there,” I whisper. My body is sore and my mind feels like one of the harpies is digging its talons into my brain, trying to pull out memories that aren’t ready to come forward. Pyre is still quiet, but we lean against each other as we make our way to the Echoing Spire. It’s beautiful this close. Less than a mile away; I can feel the ripples of magic coming off it.
“Don’t be alarmed when you see them,” Pyre says suddenly.
“See who?”
“The Sentinels. It’s a dark brotherhood of keepers who protect the spire’s magic from anyone who is not the guardian. Because you’re with me, they’ll grant you entrance, but proceed with caution.” Pyre takes another step and falters. I’m by his side instantly as he continues to sway on his feet. I can’t carry him if he falls unconscious again, so I try to hurry things along.
I’ve done this before...
The thought hits me like an anvil.
And suddenly I’m beyond sure I’ve carried someone up a mountain while they were injured. I don’t know who, exactly, but it was someone I cared for. Deeply. It makes me want to ask Pyre how to unlock my memories again, but I know it’s pointless. I’ve already asked him and it’s not possible. Besides, he’s too sick to do more than keep his head elevated for more than a few seconds at a time. “Hold on, Pyre. We’re almost there.”
“The Sentinel will perform the ritual. I don’t know how your power will react to being in the spire. Just... don’t let it consume you. Many good people have been seduced by the pool.” Pyre stumbles once more. I try my best to lift him from the ground, at the same moment that three figures appear. They look like shadows wrapped in shadows, hooded figures that float across the ground. They take Pyre from me.
I stand with empty arms and a wound tugging at my chest. One of the Sentinels urges me to follow. The magic within the spire is unlike anything I’ve ever felt. I wonder how it doesn’t simply tear Pyre to pieces each time he uses his magic. I can hardly stand it. The sensation of intense power worms its way beneath my skin and settles into my bones. My teeth begin to chatter and it’s more difficult to walk.
I didn’t know what I expected the Echoing Spire to look like, but the care with which it was created is evident. My eyes dance around the cavernous chamber that looks more like a temple than a well-pool of magic. Walls carved from jade glisten in the light of the candelabras, white trees with crimson leaves arch over my head, and the stone beneath my feet ripples with each step. I hear a waterfall in the distance.
Statues surround me. Statues that depict great sorrow, repentance, and even relief.
I catch sight of pillars with glowing objects floating on them: a dagger, a book, and a mirror. I can’t tear my eyes away until I hear Pyre’s voice echo through the vast space. “Keep moving, Eilish. The Sentinels do not appreciate outsiders lingering here long.”
We continue through the spire until we stand at the edge of what appears to be an ocean of magic. Standing at the center of this swirling accumulation of power, is an enormous statue of an elven woman whose tears flow like a waterfall. But the substance that collects here is not entirely a liquid, but a writhing entity of its own making. The colors shift like opals in the sun and I hear a song that’s painfully familiar.
How is it familiar, Eilish? I ask myself and frustrate over the fact I have no answer.
I search high and low for the source of the song, peering through the thick vines that crawl toward the top of the spire like hands reaching for the sky. I see no one, but I hear the woman from my visions, my mother.
My mother? How can that be? My mother is dead!
The Sentinels help Pyre into the pool. As soon as the necromancer touches the surface, a swell of energy engulfs the room. I fall to my knees, bending beneath the might of the power that thrives here. My hand reaches out of its own accord. One of the Sentinels grabs my wrist with so much force, he lifts me off the floor before tossing me onto my back.
The air is forced from my lungs and I can’t breathe. Can’t even think. All I can do is look up at the Sentinel.
He hisses, showing a horrific face beneath the cowl—one with no mouth and insect-like features. Petrified, I scurry back on my hands and put some distance between myself and the spire’s power. My heart is pounding and blood is rushing to my head, making me dizzy.
The Sentinels begin to chant in a deep voice I’ve heard Pyre use in the past. It’s too deep to be an actual sound, but I feel it and hear it nevertheless. The necromancer submerges himself in the magic.
When he stands and walks toward me once more, I’m struck by the sight of him. Strength oozes from his every pore. This is The Guardian of The Veil . Long, scarlet locks flow down his back and the runes on his body glow brightly. Those eerie, sightless white eyes stare directly at me, and I feel the hunger coil within me. But soon, it’s replaced with something else.
Awe.
He looks at me, his expression betraying nothing. “What is it you want, Eilish?” he asks me, his voice echoing through the magical place.
I close my eyes and allow the question to probe me, to sink into my subconscious. When I look at up at him again, I know with no uncertainty what my answer will be. I clear my throat and continue. “I want you to help me become the leader you believe I can be. I’m terrified and I don’t know what will happen next, but I’m tired of playing the part of the victim who must be protected.” I swallow hard as the truth in my words rings through me.
Pyre’s smile fills me with relief. “I think you’ll find you’ve been ready for a long time.”