The Steward (57 page)

A few more unseelie joined the fray. Billy blocked more lightning
. Then he favored
his left side, twisting his body to protect it
.
Something long and narrow pierced him—on
e of the Air Fae had waited until Billy was
either
too busy to notice
or to
do anything about it
—a
nd
lodged deep in
his flank, just below his left shoulder. Billy pulled it free with his teeth and I heard him snarl
and
scream.
Oh my god, he’s vulnerable! Heal Billy, please heal!
. My panic grew stronger when the remaining Unseelie reach the shore—all forty-nine were
t
here. Chalen had healed.

Three of the beasts lunged at Billy as he crouched, ready to fight. I caught two of them with my mind and blocked their attack. One came to an abrupt stop
—t
he second
I drove hard into the rocks. The third arched through the air
,
closing on Billy, jaws open, claws extended. At the initial brush of contact, the giant Leopard rolled onto its back in a flash, claws slashing, teeth snapping. In mere seconds, Billy sank his dagger-length fangs through its neck,
and sank his
curled knife-like claws deep into
its
flesh above its ribs
. With unimaginable power, he
flung the wounded wolf-bear thing into the rocks thirty feet away. Finally healed, Billy changed into his natural form and moved close to the boat, just above the water. He was safe for now, but he was also less powerful
. T
hat left me feeling exposed again.

I concentrated on the ignition and heard the engine sputter to life. Then, above the engine, I heard Chalen’s cackling laugh. He
stood
on the bluff, shaking his head.

In their grip, the boat
moved
closer to the shore. I pushed the throttle wide open but
I couldn’t alter my course
.
A
n enormous rooster tail shot
up
behind us as the propeller spun uselessly.
All around me, icy
pellets, sharpened to needle ends, formed on the surface of the lake
.
They lifted into the air and shot foward. I pushed my barrier out and they dropped harmlessly. The onslaught continued, one wave after another, as Billy took human form in the seat next to me. I tried to push the boat back out, further away, but I couldn’t.

They knew that. While I kept my barrier up, I had no hope of matching them. Even without the barrier, there were too many now, and several had to be Air and Water inclined. I’d gotten off the island, but not far enough.

“I’m sorry, Maggie,” Billy said.

He looked back at them and launched a furious lightning barrage, but it had no effect against so many. The Fae on the shore simply laughed. Chief among them, Chalen—his eyes locked onto me.

I read his lips. “Save her for me.”

He would make this painful
.
I could see it on his face. I struggled to block the
continuous
onslaught of projectiles, and began to shudder uncontrollably as panic and desperation took hold.

Equally easy to make out
was
, “You’re going to die now.”
Chalen
mouthed the words
when we were just twenty feet away.

I pressed my barrier against the island and the boat stopped. The Unseelie pushed harder against my shield, and I could feel them gaining more strength. The water inside the barrier began to roil
,
and Chalen smiled. With the Air inclined Fae attacking, I couldn’t extend the barrier beneath us.

Nonetheless, I smiled back and he appeared stunned for a moment. A wall of water curled up the inside of my barrier and shot toward the boat—it would swamp us.
Now or never.
I reached out with my mind and found the leading edge,
freezing it, then blowing
it apart. It turned to snow and floated to the surface. When I did
that
, small gaps opened in my barrier. Billy blocked everything they sent through the holes
…
except their voices.

I flung my hand in the air like a child does to catch a flake.

“I love snow, thanks Chalen.”
I wanted my voice to
sound
powerful and sarcastic, but it was weak and trembling.

Chalen, however, looked completely bewildered. “Who among you did that
? T
ell me now!”

He stared up and down the line of Unseelie gathered on the shore
,
then
returned his gaze to me. The water around the boat began to bubble and toss again. He was boiling it. I felt it with my mind and fought with him for control. My barrier weakened and the boat moved closer to the rock outcropping. But I won control of the water. I was stronger than him. The water calmed and the steam disappeared. Chalen was seething.

“WHO DID THAT?” he roared, shaking and spitting as he did.

“I did!” I screamed. My voice was finally as furious as I’d intended.

“Not possible!” he said, spittle stringing from his lips.

Three tubes of water began to form, but I blocked them, holding my hand out over the surface. As I did, my barrier shrank inward. More Unseelie were pressing in on it now. I had only moments before it failed.

“I want you to know this before I die—I’m more powerful than you. Yes, you ugly bastard, a human just beat you with your own element!”

He glared and moved closer to the edge of the bluff, he was summoning his strength, and I could feel it.

“This is for Aunt May!” I screamed at him.

I imagined a massive bolt of lightning flashing down from the sky and burning him to a crisp, and I let it leak out of my mind hoping he’d react. He did, staring upward. Just then, and from deep within my mind, I forced two sharp stone blades, with downward pointing barbs, through his feet, tearing loose chunks of flesh. He lost concentration and screamed in pain. I felt the energy leave him, and several Fae around him gasped. As he began trying to tear his feet off the spikes, I closed stone boots over the top of them, and then wrapped my shield around him to prevent the others from helping. His eyes met mine as I forced a dozen stone spears, from all around him, towards his heaving chest. His eyes contorted with fear.
Squirm all you want—I have you and you know it
.

It took mere seconds, and despite his best efforts to avoid them, the tips of the spears closed on him. The Unseelie around Chalen
stepped
up their attack
. I
t was impossibly strong and I felt dizzy. I vaguely heard Billy screaming for me to stop, pulling on my shoulders. I wouldn’t—I’d seen Chalen murder Aunt May—he made me watch her die.
I was
bent on returning the favor.

Just a
s the tip of each stone spear met its mark, they
all
turned to dust. My barrier faltered and I barely recognized the green flash that surrounded us all. An Aetherfae had arrived. But when I looked to my right, I realized it wasn’t an Unseelie.

Donned in an ethereal silver robe, Ozara hovered just off the island. Nothing made a sound, except Chalen. The boots and barbs disappeared and he fell on his back, cursing. He stared at her, angrily, and grasped his wounded feet with both hands. Behind him, Zarkus and the two Unseelie Elders appeared.

“What is this?” Zarkus growled, looking back and forth between Chalen and me.

“Zarkus, I assure you, this was not my doing
,
” Chalen
said as he
crawled backwards.

“He’s a liar, Zarkus,” I said. “He told me to come here tonight, before I met with the Council. He wanted me to promise him that I would turn down the role of Steward. He said he would kill my entire family if I didn’t. He said he spoke for the Unseelie.”

Zarkus slowly turned his ferocious glare to Chalen. “Is this true?”

“No,” Chalen evaded.

“Read my mind,” I said. Without waiting I replayed everything at the Water trial and then went on to show them what had happened on the island, including being forcibly compelled to watch
Aunt
May’s murder. I could barely control my breathing as I did. Billy never let go of my shoulders—he was holding me up.

“Do NOT leave!” Zarkus commanded, breaking my train of thought. When I opened my eyes, I witnessed a few Unseelie
attempting
to flee.

“With your permission?” Ozara said.

“By all means,” he replied.

A glowing green barrier appeared around all of us—Aether. My scalp tingled and it felt like my hair stood on end. Billy squeezed my shoulder as I started to slump over. It was possible to see through the barrier, but I couldn’t sense anything past it. The trapped Unseelie stopped short and turned back to face Ozara.

“Continue,” Zarkus commanded me.

I started where I left off and I showed them Chalen compelling me. I went through every millisecond of what I saw, including Chalen’s face in May’s eyes.

“Trickery
,
” Chalen said, squirming away from Ozara and Zarkus.

“No, it
is
not,” Zarkus said. He forced Chalen flat on his back and pushed his finger through Chalen’s thigh, keeping him in physical form. Chalen muffled a scream.

“You lied to us—you lied to me! You killed the prior Steward, and you have broken our agreement by compelling this one.” Anger filled Zarkus’ voice
,
and
it
frightened me.

Chalen’s eyes bulged with fear. If I had not wanted him dead, I might have felt sorry for him.

“Ozara, I didn’t know of this, I assure you. The treachery is apalling. Our agreement is still in place with the Council, I hope?” Zarkus asked.

“If the punishment is swift.”

“It shall be.” He turned his icy blue eyes to Chalen, in a voice just above a whisper, but as serious as any I’ve ever heard, he continued, pushing his finger deeper into Chalen’s leg. “You will leave the physical realm for all time. You are polluted and twisted from having remained in human form for so long—you were warned this would happen. But tonight ... unthinkable ... you
risk
war. Since you have shown such hostility to the Stewards of the Weald Fae, you are never permitted to return—in any form. Heal yourself and be gone, but know this before you go, if you break
this
decree, I will destroy you myself.”

“You cannot banish me forever, Zarkus, it has never been done.”

“He has banished you, and I will help him see it done, if necessary.” Ozara glared at Chalen with a serious expression.

Chalen took his natural form and tried to escape—he shot across the water, but she caught him. I could sense his struggle. I watched as a small part of the green wall peeled away from the rest, and wrapped around
him
. Ozara smiled.

“Was that swift enough to satisfy the Council?” Zarkus asked.

“May I destroy Chalen if I ever again find him here or in physical form?” She asked calmly.

“You may,” he said. The other Unseelie elders nodded their heads in agreement.