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He almost laughed. He’d never been a creative type. He liked maps where everything was laid out for him. He made war, organized scouting forays, ruled a realm. He even managed the politicking of the various town and city mayors fairly well. But what he didn’t do was conjure up new and intriguing methods of doing anything.
So what could he possibly contribute to this situation other than his brute strength, which had failed him at Batya’s gallery and which was failing him now?
He cursed beneath his breath, but Batya’s trollish stream flowed stronger now, as though gaining substance as each second passed. Quinlan, think opposites. If your strength can’t beat Margetta, maybe something else can, something you’ve kept hidden from yourself in the same way I didn’t know I had my father’s instincts.
Quinlan opened himself up to Batya’s frequency. Tell me more.
There’s a mystery here. How can Margetta reach Lorelei through my enthrallment shield? Except for the wind she can employ, why doesn’t she just attack you? Maybe Lorelei needs to be a different kind of focus.
He had no idea what she meant, but he heard Lorelei gasping for air. With only half a foot separating them from the top shield, he was squeezing the life out of the woman he was trying to protect.
“Sorry, Lorelei.” He eased up on his hold and for some reason, Margetta lost her grip and he and Lorelei dropped three feet in the air.
But the moment he began fighting Margetta’s hold on Lorelei, he lost his advantage and started rising toward the shield once more.
Batya’s voice once more entered his mind. Tell me what happened.
Quinlan didn’t hesitate, but relayed the sequence of events.
The focus must involve Lorelei somehow.
A new strategy emerged like lightning and he knew what to do, maybe because Batya streamed her new energy toward him, or maybe he’d finally had a new thought. Batya, train all your attention on Lorelei and I’ll do the same. Use this new trollness on her.
You got it.
Her quick affirmative response stunned him because it was very un-Batya-like.
When he felt her attention shift to Lorelei, almost at the same moment, Margetta’s hold began to release. And as soon as he let go of his physical battling of the situation, and even loosened his grip on Lorelei, the descent began.
“What’s happening?” Lorelei’s doe eyes had a startled appearance.
“Change of strategy, and damn the elf-lords, but it seems to be working.”
Lorelei glanced up. “It is. We’re fifteen feet away from the shield now, at least. Thank the Goddess.”
He’d been a warrior long enough to understand that he couldn’t let up right now, that he had to keep his attention on Lorelei herself and not drift back into fighting mode again. Apparently, in that state, Margetta could easily overpower him, but not if he was simply looking at Lorelei and helping her to float back to earth.
The moment, she touched back down, Margetta’s power broke completely.
Batya slid her arm around Lorelei’s waist. “We have you.”
Quinlan released Lorelei as well.
Henry flew in close. “She’s up to something new. Do you feel that?”
“Oh, God,” Batya murmured. “She’s revving up her battle frequency.”
Henry glanced around. “She’ll fry us all.”
Quinlan met Batya’s wide eyes. Any more ideas, Cha?
She shook her head. “Haven’t got a clue.”
Quinlan was about to ask Henry for his take on things, but Lorelei turned to Batya. “Let the forest speak to you. I’ve been thinking about the effect the forest had on you and I have a feeling it was trying to communicate. Haven’t you felt it as well, that the Dead Forest isn’t really dead at all?”
* * * * * * * * *
Batya turn in the direction of the ancient fae. She only had seconds to change what was about to happen.
Glancing up at the sky, she let go of her fears then glanced at Quinlan. “Get me up there.”
“You’ve got it.”
“But bring Lorelei as well.”
He gathered up Batya in his right arm and Lorelei in his left, then headed skyward at top speed.
Batya closed her eyes against the sudden rush of wind, but as soon as Quinlan breached the tops of the trees, the maddening cacophony began, like a thousand voices all at once, shouting over each other, all trying to talk to her.
As she had earlier, though, she set aside her faeness and brought forward Davido’s daughter, and the troll parts of her that might just be able to make sense of the situation.
She gave herself the same advice she’d given Quinlan. She stopped trying to fight against the sound and instead let it flow through her, a steady stream that soon softened and became an incredible internal melody.
Her vision altered at the same time and as she glanced around she saw the Dead Forest with new eyes, as a vast sea of iridescent leaves, glimmering in blues and green, yellows and purples. “It’s so beautiful.”
Lorelei whispered. “She’s here, just beyond your shield.”
Batya turned to face Margetta as she rose high in the air also. Her lips drew back in a snarl and her voice sounded rough. “If I can’t have her, no one can.”
She extended both arms and her power blasted toward them.
Batya had only a split second, so from deep within, that part that communed with the Dead Forest, she begged the extraordinary entity for help.
Just as Margetta’s power reached them in a searing edge of fire, from beneath Batya’s feet an answering cool wave, of enormous power, rose up from the Dead Forest and swept in Margetta’s direction.
The profound wave gathered the ancient fae up, as well as her force of Invictus wraith-pairs, and swept them all away. Within seconds, they were nothing more than a speck in the sky. Another split-second, and they were gone.
Quinlan dropped them almost immediately back to earth and started issuing orders to send out patrols to find out where the ancient fae and her troops had gone. But Batya laid a hand on his arm. “Let me see if I can find out.”
Quinlan raised his arm. “Hold!” Then the entire brigade stopped all activity.
She closed her eyes and withdrew the enthrallment shield. She opened up her troll sensors and focused on the chatter of the trees around her.
The vibration from the Dead Forest became a long string of sensations, but eventually shaped themselves into words that made sense to Batya. She translated for the forest. “The evil ones have been sent hundreds of miles from here, over the western realm ocean, Maris Sol. It will take them hours to reach land. We’re safe to proceed to Ferrenden Peace.”
