A Tale of Two Kingdoms (19 page)

“Aye. Well, no one can say the fae are without worth then.”

A similar scene was taking place some hundred and fifty miles northeast, as the raven flies, across the channel of the Irish Sea. The fae king lectured his son for an hour about the way the “escapade” had turned a well-ordered society into an uproar, about how he was a failure as a son and heir to the throne and about how the beloved son of the fae people would now probably have bottles and garbage thrown at him if he tried to go outside the palace gates. Duff’s mother never said a word, but reached now and then to smooth away a tear.

Duff would have been happy to go toe to toe with his father if it would serve any purpose or be productive in any way. For the time being, he knew the only thing he could do was to pretend to be compliant and wait for another chance to escape.

Grieve stood, as the prince was led past him, but didn’t look up and meet his eyes. When the doors of his quarters closed behind him, Duff looked around his room. No way to get a message to Song. He wondered what was happening to her and hoped to the gods that her people were blaming him and not her. He would never forget the look on her face as she was being pulled away.

For a long time he simply stood in his room, not being able to summon the motivation to move. When it got dark, he decided to take off his coat. As he did, he caught a whiff of her scent where she’d been leaning against him in the car on the way to the airport in Quebec. Wondering how old a twenty-five-year-old could feel, he lay down on top of his bed with the sleeve of that coat close to his face.

“They’ve got her confined to quarters in a house arrest sort of situation. She will no’ eat anythin’ and will no’ even talk to our mum.”

Elora was shaking her head and looking dumbstruck. “And that reaction comes as a surprise to a species that mates for life? What other result could they possibly expect?”

Ram shrugged. “They were probably in denial about the possibility of a true matin’, believin’ us to be different species and all.”

Elora exhaled an exasperated breath. “So it’s going to take the death of a royal couple, children of enemies, to prove that you’re the same?” Saying that out loud caused Elora to catch her breath. “Ram, the odds of that, I mean the odds against that would have to be impossible. It almost sounds like divine intervention, doesn’t it? Like some cosmic force stepping in.”

“I wish ‘twas one of your stories, Elora, but ‘tis only a tragic coincidence.”

“Will they let you see her?”

“I suppose I could if I was there. Unless my brother is attemptin’ to top the record he currently holds for world’s biggest asshole by far. Why? What are you thinkin’?”

“Let me get back to you on that. I’m going to lay it out for Litha and ask if she can think of anything.”

Ram glanced at his watch. “Could no’ hurt. How much does she know?”

“Nothing.”

He raised a brow. “So she
really
thought you were goin’ shoppin’.”

“Don’t sound so cynical. Yes. Well, I mean, she thought there might be more to it, but accepted when I declined to elaborate.”

“So, in other words, she’s as scared of you as I am.”

“Uh-huh.” Elora moved her head from side to side. “Go make your call.”

“I see now why you didn’t want to answer my questions.”

Litha had listened to the entire story from the beginning, “…the night we took Kay’s sisters out pubbing in Edinburgh. They met just about an hour before you accidentally burned the place down,” to the end, “Now they’re both political prisoners. Song’s not eating. We don’t know how Duff is, but I fear that he’s the same.

“So the question is, with all your vast knowledge and practically limitless resources…”

“Elora.”

“Okay, just saying, can you think of anything?”

“Think of anything? Spell it out. I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Is there anything we can do for them?” There was a long enough pause on the other end of the conversation to finally make Elora prompt to be sure she wasn’t alone on the line. “Litha?”

“I’m running some scenarios, trying to find a possibility. Let’s just say that, for the sake of argument, there was something…”

“What’s the deal?”

“Hmmm. Got something in mind.”

“In the words of great women, spell it out.”

Litha shared the high points of Rosie’s getaway. “I was just thinking that, if my friend should find out that she’d like someone to talk to, you know, she’s always listened to you.”

“Ha!”

“Well, she hasn’t always done what you advised, but she did always listen.”

“Fair enough. And, yes, of course. You don’t need to call in a favor for that, Litha. And you know it.”

“I have obligations to uphold as a card carrying part demon, Elora.”

“So are you going to tell me what you’re thinking?”

“Got to make a call first.”

“Like a phone call or like a witchy kind of call?”

Litha started laughing. “I’ll let you know something soon as I hear back.”

“When?”

“Have you always been this pushy?”

“I guess I’m a sucker for love. And eating.”

“Yeah. Me, too. I’ll hurry. Promise.”

Litha waited patiently at Kellareal’s summoning spot. If there was a bell or a buzzer, she’d have been sitting on it in an obnoxious way. As it was, the same thing could be accomplished telepathically.

“Alright. Alright. Is there a fire?” He smiled. “Get it, Firestarter.”

“I do. You’re one of my funniest friends.”

“Then why aren’t you laughing?”

“Because I need your help. I want to take an elf and a fae off world and hide them, give them sanctuary.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

Litha summed up the story with all the pertinent details.

“Usually there wouldn’t be anything, but there may be a loophole.”

“Oh?”

The angel’s lips tightened. “Council business.” He looked at Litha like he’d made up his mind about something. “Let me plead the case. I’ll find you as soon as I have an answer. Cross your fingers.”

CHAPTER 10

“The Enforcer’s here.”

“What does he want?”

“Well, I don’t know that, do I? That’s why he’s here. To tell us. Right?”

“Do you always have to be so smarmy? You might know because you asked. Right?”

“Oh. For crap’s sake, let him in.”

“S’up, angel?” asked Hu.

“If your graces would indulge me, I’d like to ask for a guideline waiver. A young couple in Loti Dimension in need of sanctuary.”

“Loti Dimension?” Culain looked up.

“Yes. Of all things the prince of fae and princess of elves are a mated couple whose families have separated and imprisoned them because of an historical misunderstanding.”

“You see?” said Ming Xia. “Culain’s children are
always
getting into trouble. I told you it would be a mistake to interfere. All we had to do was remain detached,” he looked at Heralda pointedly, “and objective and let them die out, which is what a strain ruled by passions is supposed to do.”

“Kill each other off you mean,” said Rager drily.

“What’s the difference?” Ming then changed to a falsetto tone to mock Culain, even though Culain didn’t have a high singsong voice. “I’ll give them arts – song, dance, and storytelling to use as an outlet for their passions so that it isn’t always expressed in war or lust.” He switched back to his normal voice. “Then when that didn’t work out, you got witch girl to meddle with the genetics so that they’re monogamous and mate for life. You thought then they’d stop killing each other over women.”

“And they did, didn’t they?” said Heralda. “So why don’t you mind your own fucking business. Go back to your sudoku.”

“Since when is Council business not my fucking business, Gothmerelda?” Theasophie drew air through her teeth when she turned over the next tarot card in the spread she was reading. “Every time we muck around stuff goes further off track and you know that. Look at this very thing. You introduced a new code to the genetics to spark the instinct toward mating and it was that very thing that almost ended the entire race when those twins were born and both of them wanted the same girl. Isn’t it ironic?”

“Ming’s just jealous because he doesn’t have any children,” said Heralda.

He gaped. “ JEALOUS?!? Look at the muddle your vampire have caused. I thank atoms every day that I
don’t
have children.”

“Where’s Etana?” asked Hu. Culain, Heralda, and Minq all looked at him. “What!”

“We all agreed when we started that if any of our hobby projects started to get out of control that we would take steps to insure that no individual interest threatened the group assignment. We don’t want to be stuck here forever, you know,” Ming continued even though no one was paying attention.

“How long do you think it’s been since she was here?” Heralda cocked her head to the side and challenged Huber Quizno with a borderline sneer.

“It’s been a long time. I know that. I’m just saying that maybe it’s time someone questioned where she is. Don’t you think? I mean in Earth terms it’s probably been…”

“…
two thousand years,” said Ming.

“There! Two thousand years!”

Heralda shook her head. “That’s not very long, Hu. She can’t stand to be around us because…”

Hu took his cue and made the turkey gobbling noise that he did so well which had become their private code for the constant in-Council squabbling.

“Exactly. You know she’s flitting from dimension to dimension trying to start peace movements.” Heralda laughed and shook her head. “She kills me. She was probably Cervantes’ muse.”

Culain flopped into his chair and let his long athletic legs dangle over the arms. The movement drew Heralda’s attention. He was everything in the world she shouldn’t want. Copper hair, flawless skin that glowed, and eyes that twinkled so that he actually seemed to be a flaming light. What in the world would the mistress of dark magicks do with the master of arts and passions? Well, some ideas did come to her mind, but Culain had been far too busy bedding her creations the past six millennia to take notice of her. “What do you want to do about this, Culain?”

At length, he sighed, then looked around. “Did any of you interfere with my peeps?” Silence. “Did any of you do anything that would cause the royal house of fae to mate the royal house of elves?” Silence. “Very well then. ‘Tis a trick of fate. Nothing more.”

“Okaaay. Do you want Kellareal to help them or stay out of it?”

“Yeah.” He looked at Heralda until she began to feel uncomfortable and squirm just a little. Then he grinned. Bastard. “What do you want?”

“I’m a woman, Culain. That means I vote for true love.”

He cocked his head. “True love. The mating instinct isn’t true love, love. It’s mating instinct. Not the same thing at all.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Then what is true love?”

“Who says I believe in true love?”

It was Heralda’s turn to stare. At length she said, “Yes. I think we should allow our Enforcer to help them.” Her head jerked toward Hu as if she’d received a jolt of brilliance.

“What!”

“Hu.”

“What!”

“We
do
need to find Etana.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s a perfect opportunity for a mediator. When Kellareal moves the young couple to a different ring, the ruling families, who will also be grieving families, may be of a mind to negotiate for a real and lasting peace.” She turned toward Culain. “Assuming that’s what you want.”