Silver Hollow (51 page)

“In spite of meself, I like you
,
Jessamiene Wenderdowne. It is for this among other reasons we are protecting the estate from those wild rebelling murderers outside.”

Had she not been diverted, Amie might have paid more heed to his words. But she was too busy currently aiming daggers at Emrys’ partner, after the woman leaned in to kiss him softly on the lips. Morcant Hogswillow was the most beautiful creature Amie had ever seen. Her brown eyes burned yellow as candlelight, her voluminous curls were the luster of chestnuts and piled high on her head in their sapphire net. Peacock feathers sprung from this nest of hair and adorned her tightly bound dress. Skirts of purples, blues and greens swished around her tiny frame in sync with every musical sweep of strings.

“Jealous
,
are we?” Grim followed her line of sight and slowly turned back to face Amie. “But
this
will never do
,
my dear bauble. He can sense your dark emotions, is drawn to them like a troll to unicorn scat.”

“Are you sure you aren’t the jealous one?” Even though Amie knew Grimwich spoke the truth it still hurt. But she knew enough about Rumplekins to know one must always keep a step ahead. “Morcant must be a kind mistress, but I have heard of her fickleness,” she said, hinting of what Emrys
had
betrayed to her.

Grim’s eyes lit blue as the summer skies, delighted rather than repulsed. “Oh
,
they really have you on a leash
,
don’t they? Feeding you lies of my mistress’ affections? Have you not noticed the intent of her eyes this night? Fantasies of him make her live and breathe, and he gives into her mad cravings just to appease her appetite for destruction.” Sure enough, Morcant was staring at Uncle Henry as he spoke to…
oh crap…

What does Faye think she’s doing?

Faye looked up the moment Amie’s eyes found her and chanced a wink before leaning on Henry’s arm. Why was Faye suddenly so willing to blow their cover?

“Quite honestly, milady, I would have thought
you
of all people would have learned by now, nothing here is as it seems.” Grim’s twirl was accompanied by another flash of his hidden self, his glamour removed solely for her benefit. She could see why he kept it hidden, for his skin had taken on an indigo shade, contrasting with the pale tribal tattoos
covering
his body. His eyes too had taken on a different, alien shape, giving him a more frightening air.

As the second dance ended and hands arose to applaud, Amie asked, “What are you really?”

Bowing graciously low
,
he pressed something into her hand as he kissed it. “Where would the fun in telling you that?” Drawing her closer so she could smell his elderberry breath, he whispered, “A family heirloom for your collection
,
my dear.”

With a flurry of his cape he was gone and Amie left befuddled by the object fisted in her right hand. She rushed to escape the dispersed crowd before another dance and unwilling partner arrived to claim her attention
, o
nly to be blinded by a sea of peacock feathers and jewels as Morcant Hogswillow arrived to greet her. Amie might have been forgiving had it been Morcant alone, for the power
-
hungry Sidhe was no better than the popular high
-
school chicks. She might have been able to blow her off alone, but not with Emrys attached to her hip.

Once again, against her will, Amie saw the world through a brief flash of red before clutching the object even tighter. Gathering her skirts in said hand to hide it further she took the hand proffered her and placed a pleasant smile on her lips.

“I see my tastes are spot on as I predicted.
This
dress makes you look positively grown up! Emrys, is she not
frazzleging
?”

Amie refused to meet her protector’s eye and instead deepened her smile. “And I had no idea how many years
your
dress would knock off you either, madam.”

Morcant’s honey eyes flashed all the fury of a dark angel before a shrill laugh escaped her painted lips. Clapping her hands together, and thus dragging Emrys’s trapped arm in several rough jerks, she crowed, “Holy
wicklewashers
! Your darling bride-to-be is not without her wits, milord. Hopefully she shall take my advice and be mindful of the path before her.”

Bride-to-be? What the flipping crap!

The dark
w
ight
looked on the cusp of fury to Amie’s satisfaction, his lips set in a tight line, eyes boring holes into her forehead. Still she refused to look at him, gripping her skirt tighter, reminding her of the object hidden in her hand.

“
There has been no acquiescence on her ladyship’s part, Morcant. And
I believe you’ve had quite enough fun at the lass’ expense,” Emrys said with a glower.

Holy crappola, he’s not kidding, is he?

“Oh
,
I have only begun. And I think the Princess may decide what is and isn’t best for her, wouldn’t you agree
,
Myrddin?”

“Lord Emrys has been a most valiant protector and nothing more, Lady Hogswillow,” Amie said with a saccharine grin.

Think whateve
r you want to, Phoebe Halliwell.

“Now
,
if you’ll excuse me
.
” Lifting her skirt with her other hand Amie inclined her head and turned to leave. A group of admirers led by Grimwich Rumplekin arrived in the nick of time.

Amie listened to Emrys’ protests as he tried to follow her. “Excuse me! Pardon but I really must go… Jessamiene!”

She found the space behind the thick curtain unoccupied, and after taking a final peek at the other side, reveled in the privacy. After enduring the scrutiny of hundreds she felt gloriously alone. Her fingers reached to pry open Grimwich’s gift when a ruby
-
dressed figure ripped aside the curtain’s edge and darted inside.

“Amie?” Faye hissed, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Not interrupting anything
,
am I? But this is disappointing really. You could have at least found a hot guy to make out with back here or something…”

Stamping her foot onto the tile
,
Amie quickly hid the parchment in her fist. “Faye! Now is not the time! And what happened to a
covert
operation anyway? You were over there flirting with my…Henry, half the night.” Faye smiled and up close Amie saw how her teeth too had a faintly pointed end, a
Seelie
trait
,
she supposed.

“I couldn’t resist. Do you have any idea what he’d have done if he knew I was from the outside?” A devious chuckle escaped her waif
-
sized proportions, spiked hair shivering with every bob of her head.

Amie sighed and said, “Faye
,
I really don’t have time for this. Can you give me another minute? I haven’t been alone all night.”

“Yeah, we
saw
.” Faye’s wide mouth twisted in disgust, shivering as though she had touched a gremlin. Which was really unpleasant, Amie knew first hand. After waiting one solid, thoroughly awkward moment, Faye broke her lapse in concentration.

“I almost forgot what I came back here for.” Gravity and a cold resolve which
Amie
had never seen before entered
Faye’s
very stance. “Ginuog passed along the word like five minutes ago. They’re coming.”

“When?” Amie felt very small, even though she knew the power of her father’s ring,
her
power.

“He’s already stationed on the roof with our supplies. Tell me again you have the defenses properly in place?” Faye’s assured confidence made her believe in the militant upbringing the twins had shared.

“It won’t budge unless I deactivate it.” Amie had switched the defenses of Wenderdowne earlier that morning so they could fire human weapons from inside but nothing could breach the wall from outside.

Faye nodded, a ghost of a smile tightening her angular cheeks. Reaching out
,
she clasped Amie’s clenched fist. “Don’t worry
,
little princess. We’ve always got your back.” As abruptly as Faye had arrived, soon only the swaying curtains gave evidence to her presence.

Amie threaded her fingers through the gap and watched her people mingle with a heavy heart
. She wanted to stop the coming terror
, wanted to warn them. But Dearg told her more than one traitor was waiting here in their midst. When the time for battle came, they too would attack. She only hoped Faye and Ginuog could help protect those she loved most dearly. In spite of her misgivings
,
she was worried about Henry and Emrys and was thankful none of her new friends were here. Neither her uncle nor protector would be giving her the answers they promised this night.

She froze when a space between shifting forms revealed Morcant now laughing away in Henry’s arms. Emrys watched from the shadows of the crowd, his expression taut with worry, eyes searching, searching…

Amie pulled back further
in
to her retreat with a shake of her head. Now was not the time to deal with the Merlin’s drama. Frankly, she wasn’t thrilled about being compared to his dead girlfriend.

And my relative apparently,
she thought, remembering Henry’s lessons.

Holding Grimwich’s present to the light revealed its textured surface. As she began to unfold its contents she noticed the archaic handwriting, the faded ink and parchment.

This looks so familiar
.

It was torn in half, worn nearly threadbare over misuse and time. The voices surrounding her faded until only the beat of her heart slowing resounded in her ears as she read what remained of it.

“...Should you fail to apprehend the girl
,
be certain my letter is brought to her. Should Drustan fail to let her come freely, you are to use any means necessary to persuade him. And should none of these efforts to reclaim my daughter Jessamiene succeed,

I,

Iudicael Oberon Wenderdowne, Prince of Silver Hollow,

d
o so issue this order of death to be carried out by one

Myrrdin Emrys, Dark Wight and King of the Dreade”

In the distance the centaurs unleashed whickers of deep laughter. Hooved men and winged women crowed in their unnatural voices. A great beast rumbled beneath the valley, from the caves.

Amie crushed the parchment in her fist, unable to focus, to think clearly or even begin to react. She was nearly ready to bury this revelation in the recesses of her mind, ready to fully embrace her dormant power and protect what belonged to her. Instead the world chose for her in the shattering of glass and eruption of screams and roars of fury and terror.

For tonight, chaos would reign.

Henry surrounded half the ballroom in an orb of glowing golden light. Standing upon the stage he shouted loudly for all to hear, “Everyone pour your source into the defenses!” A group of elderly
-
looking
Seelie
had gathered near the stage below Henry to follow his direction, while their family and attendants set a perimeter around them. Beams of light rushed from the elders’ arms and into her father.

Amie instantly felt the rush of foreign power filling her up and the brush of Iudicael’s dawning strength flooded her senses. Amie calmed the heart palpitating in her chest with several deliberate breaths. Two choices had presented themselves in front of her. She could rush to the stage, take his hands and help him fight the onslaught together, or keep her secret longer.

Trust no one you have come to believe in,
Dearg had warned her. Tears welled in her eyes as she added a sliver of her own strength into the elders’ defense. She wasn’t ready to reconcile the truth just yet, couldn’t face it now. She was torn between the Henry she had come to know over the past several weeks and the interpretation everyone else gave her.

Beasts roared outside in a sudden foray of fight and flight. Some were desperately trying to enter the house and the centaurs and gryphons lined the border, bellowing their war cries.

Through the shattered glass Amie heard the rising answer of a thousand dark creatures gathering at the edge of the hill beyond the garden. Atop the slope they stood, throwing beams of their inner
nixy
at the invisible wall protecting Wenderdowne. As each lightning force met the wall it instantly rippled and then absorbed the gathering power that had made it. Each stroke was overwhelming to Amie who was taking most of the brunt of the attack.

Energy sparked and crackled in the air, leaving clouds of smoke in its wake.
Seelie and Unseelie
were revealed in the ballroom now as the enemy happily struck against their brethren. Children attacked parent and spouse against spouse. Still the number of the good outweighed evil and there were a few she had not expected to rush in and be the hero.