“Edan, you cannot go into the faery hill. Your iron blood will force it to collapse and…”
A lump caught in his throat. “I have to go in for my daughter.”
She moved closer to him, Lia and Dyna following her. “Edan, Tora, and I saw the same thing. Your iron blood could destroy the hill, just as you did the grass around it.”
His gaze locked on hers, his insides crumpling so quickly that he nearly moaned, but he kept it inside. “Heilyn…”
“We’ll get her out.”
“Ailith, you are willing to do this?”
She squared her shoulders and said, “I will be honored to go after all the bairns, Edan. I will find Heilyn and Milo.”
The rest of the day had blended together in his mind since he’d spent much of it trying to reconcile what they’d told him. He didn’t know if he’d be able to stay back. He had to convince them that he should go inside.
The group decided they would travel to the faery hill the next morning.
Magni and Morgan had joined them at midday, asking about the banshee and what was to come.
Lia gathered everyone together and explained the plan they’d made. “We are not leaving until the morrow. And I need you all to understand that there will be certain conditions.”
Magni quickly interjected, “But we’re fighting their crystal warriors, are we not? Is that not what they’re called?”
“John will be the only one fighting. Let me explain, please. Then ask your questions.” Lia sat down on a nearby stump, settling her green skirt about her. She looked no more than seven summers, making it difficult to believe this lass was truly a faery inside.
“We must approach this carefully. We cannot go at them the way the Scots usually approach battle. I know how the Grants and Ramsays fight. They go like bulls into a crowd, swinging wildly with a row of archers behind them or above them in trees. That will not work with the Unseelies.”
“Why not?” Magni asked, his hand clenching and unclenching as though he held the hilt of his favorite sword.
“Because they are expecting us. We cannot surprise them. Now, Magni, I know you are anxious to battle, but I believe this could take two or three attempts to make our way inside this hill. Then we have to find Heilyn and the other bairns. I don’t know how long this will take, but I can tell you it will not be easy. It never is when you deal with the Unseelie. They have a huge world built underground and use trickery everywhere. They also lie like… like banshees.” She smirked at her attempt at humor, but no one laughed.
“We can approach as a group, but the warriors and archers are to stay at the back. You cannot be perceived as a threat to anyone, especially not to Gruin. I will approach the hill with Edan, Dyna, John, and Ailith to negotiate the return of Heilyn. Remember, though, that we hope to find Milo and the other missing bairns from Islay. Eleven, I believe. We should find thirteen bairns inside but know that there could be many more.” Lia’s gaze misted, something that surprised Edan, but he didn’t mention it, and no one else said a word.
“What does their world look like?” Ailith asked.
“I don’t know. Every underworld can look different, much as our worlds do. It could be mountainous or endless rivers oroceans. I have no idea. Much can appear like a reflection of this world, but it could also look entirely different. Expect to see things you’ve never seen before.”
Magni scowled, looking at John and Morgan in question. “What exactly does that mean?”
“How the hell would I know?” Morgan replied, crossing his arms across his broad chest. “As long as I have my sword, I’ll be fine.”
“They may not allow your weapons inside,” Lia said, cutting into their conversation.
Magni frowned. “I’ll not go in then. I’d prefer to battle outside the faery hill. Those creepy things can’t come out, can they?”
“Nay, they don’t usually come out, but there’s a first time for everything in the Unseelie world. Everything there is different, unusual to say the least. Their trees could be red or their oceans yellow. They don’t have the sun or the moon to guide their world, so who knows what you might see? I’ve heard of giant caterpillars and flying dogs. I don’t truly know, Magni, but some of those items are just tricks. Gruin threw a pile of snakes on the hill the last time we were there, but they weren’t real. I dispelled them easily.”
“Don’t you think we should go this eve?” Dyna stood, arms crossed, rocking from one leg to the other. Edan guessed this woman would be formidable in battle. Her bow was rarely more than an arm’s length away from her. There was something about the female chieftain that reeked of power, strength, and an unsettling unpredictability.
“Nay. We wait until first light. I would not recommend nighttime. That’s the Unseelie’s preference, and we don’t wish to make them happy. Gruin will meet us there. Any questions?”
John stepped to the front and said, “I volunteer to go in alone. I’ll take my sapphire sword, and that will be enough.”
“Nay, John,” Alasdair said. “I’ll go with you.”
Edan cut in, “I still believe I should go after my daughter. What if she will not go with any of you?”
Ailith announced, “I’ll go in with John, but you cannot go, Edan.”
