Faere Warrior: Passion's Price
Conclusion
by
Ellie Mack
Chapter 9
Queen
Aeswitha stood to announce her final decision.
It had taken 20 minutes of deliberation by the council to come to a
unanimous decision. Twenty minutes in
Faery, translated to weeks in the human realm.
“The creature mormo, known as Siann shall be cast in
prison, and questioned for any information we may obtain pertaining to Prince Brogann.” She banged her scepter on the marble tile.
“As to the Guardian of the clan McIntyre, Keegan
Alistaire McIntyre, currently at warrior status, shall be administered a half
dose of elixir to preserve his life. If
however, he turns to our dark Fae brethren as a result of the poisoning, he
shall be hunted and killed with the Spear of Luhn.” She banged her scepter once more.
“Guards shall be doubled at our prison, and wards
shall be increased to hold Prince Brogann.
He remains within bodily.” She
hesitated, choosing not to speak any further information about his condition,
then tapped her scepter.
“Finally, the slayer known as Selena Mubarak shall
be stripped of the cuffs, which are the cuffs of Nuada, first king to our race,
conqueror of the Firbolg. She shall be destroyed by the spear of Luhn, bound by
blood runes to Prince Brogann as wife and concubine; as such guilty of treason
to the Fae High court.” She tapped her
scepter once more. “The cuffs shall be
brought to Faery, and remain in the treasury until the time when our contract
ends.”
“These edicts shall be executed this day.”
The
Queen sat in a slump. It took a lot of
her magic to make edicts. By the power
of her title every word she spoke while holding the scepter came to pass. Leevander stepped forward, kissing his
mother’s hand before he saw her laws carried out.
* * * *
Siann
was taken to the lower levels of the prison, those reserved for the lower caste
Unseelie. The guards questioned,
extracting every bit of information they could before destroying the miserable
wretched creature. Siann had served
Prince Brogann for twelve centuries, before that she had served King Vortigen.
It
was uncertain if they could have saved her, but the Seelie had little use for
the grotesque castes of Unseelie. With a
perverse pleasure at seeing her torture, the Seelie Fae showed themselves to be
no better than their darker brethren. In
many instances they were often more cruel. The guards laughed, watching as the
pitiful creature writhed in agony for hours until death finally came.
Leevander’s
servant women were tending Keegan when the Queen’s aid arrived. Their constant touching, bathing,
caressing, and kissing; hoping that he would awaken so they could be pleasured
by him, was brought to a swift halt. Examining the puncture wounds on his leg,
the elder Fae made an incision, knowing that no scar would remain after the
administration of the elixir. Keegan was
treated roughly, as a tool that had malfunctioned and could be easily replaced.
It was more expedient to fix the broken
one than to replace it, luckily for Keegan.
Leevander carried the half dose of elixir. It wouldn’t be enough to grant immortality,
but the unnatural longevity went along with their service to the Fae. Keegan’s longevity would just last a little
longer than most, but not be granted the immortality that his Uncle Robert had. Once Lee administered the elixir, Keegan
began to stir. The Fae women continued
their caresses and ministrations.
Keegan
woke quickly, aware of his arousal and the Fae women by his side. He was also well aware of the addictive
factor to Fae/human sex. Some never
recovered, some chose to stay in Faery as their toys. The temptation was there; sex like you’ve never experienced that would
literally blow your mind. Far more
powerful than any illicit drug, Fae sex was never meant for humans.
“Get me the fuck out of here! Of all places,
why did you bring me here and how much of my life have you stolen now?” He was furious.
Keegan
snapped out of his haze to see Leevander standing, arms crossed staring smugly
at him. “What the hell? What have you
done to me you faery wanker? Get me the
fuck out of here! Of all places, why did you bring me here and how much of my
life have you stolen now?” He was
furious.
Lee
chuckled. “I saved your arse
again.” He spoke in the ancient Fae
tongue to the women and they sulked away.
“Now if you’re ready to get off your lazy arse we’ve work to attend.”
Keegan
didn’t even argue, just sat up, raked his fingers through his hair and followed
Lee without any argument. When he
translated back to his apartment; nearly four months had passed. Time in Faery always passed slower than in
the human realm. Leevander had paid his
rent, and dropped him from his classes. Lee
sat with Keegan and explained how things were with the momo. It was harder to
convince him about Selena.
He
froze mid sentence. The portal had been
opened. This time they were ready for the slayer. He pushed the sword into Keegan’s hand as
they transported to the portal beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. The rocks crumbled away as dozens of imp-like
creatures poured from the dark depths.
They barely advanced two before Keegan was upon them, sending them
back.
Lee spotted Selena coming around the far side of the
bridge. He motioned the guards who had
made themselves invisible to hold her.
Keegan worked in his skilled dance, banishing the Unseelie in a
seemingly effortless display.
“Stop!
You’re not helping! They’ll just come back.” It was Selena. Keegan turned towards her, seeing her struggling
against the two Fae guards.
“Well,
well. If it isn’t queen of the
damned. Oh, or is that queen
Mubarak? No wait, mistress of the
dark. Or how about Mistress of Misery? Yeah that one fit’s.
We’ll stick with that one, Mistress.” He took two long strides to stand in
front of her. “I just want to know one thing.
Why Selena?” His jaws clenched in
anger. He slashed the sword, catching two straggling Unseelie in his peripheral
vision.
Selena
struggled in the guards grasps. “I don’t
know what you’re talking about.” She stilled, seeing the pain on his face.
“Don’t
play coy with me Salena, it’s unbecoming. Sicking that Unseelie creature on me?
That was low.” He wiped the sweat from
his brow and flung it to the ground. His
burr thickening as he spoke. “Obviously you aren’t as innocent in matters as
you’d want me to believe. I just want to
know one thing. Did you decide to kill
me yourself? Or did your Master, Prince Brogann
order you to do it?”
“What?
What are you talking about? I never
tried to kill you.”
“It’s
a little late to be tellin’ lies. He
turned and walked away from her a few steps then stopped. “You know, it’s funny. I thought I’d found a real treasure in
you. I thought I loved you. I was obsessed night and day with seeing you
again, and when I did you nearly killed me.”
He threw a stone into the bay. “Only to find out ye’re a back stabbing
bitch working for the Dark Prince.
That’s rich. Yeah the jokes on
me, now isn’t it? I hope you enjoyed
your little game, ‘cause there won’t be a next time.”
He
stormed away, leaving Salena between the guards, letting Lee deal with
her. Lee took the cuffs first, then her
Ankh pendant. Lee spoke the ancient
language, breaking her glamour spell.
“Sher en hachth; du bien a’ nalle; nuchthreit Sher
doch im hath neyet, etren dub naucht. ”
Keegan
turned back, her glamour stripped. She
was covered in runic tattoos and glyphs.
Slowly her features were fading from beauty to a time ravaged hideous
form. Lee took the spear from the
sheath and stabbed her in the heart. Keegan turned away at her screams and kept
walking down the shore tossing rocks as the tears flowed unbidden, a piece of his heart dying with her.
Lee
caught up with him some time later with a six pack. “It’s done.”
“Aye” Keegan accepted one of the beers. They sat on the rocks staring out over the
bay in silence for some time.
“Don’t
suppose you’d be amused by older women jokes?”
“That’d
be right.”
When the beers were gone they walked in silence back
to the bridge to seal the portal.
* * * *
Brogann
fell to the floor. They thought to kill
his beloved. He couldn’t have that, all
his plans all the suffering would be for naught. He blocked out the stabbing pain he felt
from their connection. Every bit of
effort he could muster, he projected himself to his faithful servant
Slede. Slede was a were creature.
“I
summon thee my servant Slede.” Brogann
cast his voice into Slede’s head, and Slede instantly transported into the
cell. Brogann grabbed Slede, transforming his shape to resemble his own as he
took Slede’s appearance. In the few seconds it took to make the transfer, the
guard shuffled down the corridor to check on him. Brogann translated to Salena.
“What’s
goin’ on in there?” The guard shone the
torch into the cell.
“Get
that fucking light out of my eyes or I’ll pull your arms out.” He turned in his
chair, facing the cell wall, not allowing the guard to see his face.
“Show
yourself!” The guard yelled, shoving the
torch further into the cell.
“Instantly
Slede was on his feet, the irons on his ankles jerking him back inches from
reaching the guard.
The
guard pulled back in terror. Brogann was
a tricky one, and deceptively calm most of the time. “I’ll bring your
food.” He hastily retreated up the
stairs, confident that Brogann was safely restrained.
* * * *
As
the sword pierced Salena’s side she screamed. Her glamour had been
stripped. They’d taken Keegan from her
with lies and a setup. Her eyes burned
with hatred. Brogann was the only one
that had ever cared for her.
In
an instant a man was beside her, sending the guards flying. He pulled the sword from her, simply touching
it burned his hands. Before it clanked
to the ground, he translated Salena to his chambers. He stayed with her,
nursing her along as long as his strength would allow before returning to his
cell.
Slede
would have to tend to her needs. The hidden chambers at Petra provided a safe
refuge for his bride, for his future queen.
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