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"I don't know. I heard a command to go to the cave. The magic has been calling me since we first arrived on the land, and it's grown stronger with every passing step." I bit my lip. "I need to go. I need to go into the cave."
"We all need to go into the cave," Menolly said, still holding Chase firmly by the wrist. He was off in la-la land, that much was obvious, and I had my doubts he'd be any use at all to us until the charm of the meadow was broken or until we got him far enough away from the meadow to negate it. We should have left him home.
"What do we do with him? If we leave him out here, he'll be mush by the time we get back. If we take him with us, one of us will have to keep a watch on him." I stared at Chase, trying to decide what our best course of action was.
"I'll watch him and make sure nothing happens. Come on, let's get moving," Delilah said. "I'm stronger than Chase, so I can protect him."
"There's no help for it, then." I motioned toward the entrance. "All right, I'm going in first, since I'm the one being called. I don't smell Demonkin here, so whatever's going down is separate from them. I hope."
Smoky and Morio nodded and took their places at my side, then Chase and Delilah. Menolly swung around, skulking through the shadows so that she couldn't be seen. She'd be our invisible guard. Better than invisible, since she was silent and left only her scent in her wake.
I stared at the cave, now just a few yards ahead, and readied the horn, keeping it in the folds of my gown. Finally, I ran toward the entrance, Smoky and Morio on my heels. As my feet touched the first fingers of light emanating from the cave, the icy shaft of the Moon Mother's power impaled me, shattering into my heart with the echo of a thousand chimes.
I broke through the entrance and stumbled into the cave.
Morgaine and Titania stood beside a forest of crystals, guarding a woman trapped inside a huge stalagmite. Their grins feral and Fae, they beckoned to me.
Titania stepped forward, holding the short sword, which contained a faceted amethyst that shimmered under the shifting lights of the cave. The spirit seal. Just as Benjamin had said.
"We've been waiting for you, Camille," she said. "You will help us free Aeval. You have no choice."
"What if I say no?" I stared at the two of them. Where before they'd been at odds, it was now clear they were working together, and that Titania had regained much of her former power.
Morgaine stepped forward. "Camille, you are the crux on which the equinox turns this night. You alone can help us raise the Unseelie Queen. We will bring her back to life and right the balance that so long ago was thrown off when the worlds were divided."
"The scales will tip tonight. Tomorrow is the equinox, and the balance must shift. What has long been set askew can be righted this night. The powers that once reigned will rise again. You must be present to bear witness, and you must do what you can to help the shift occur."
Grandmother Coyote's words echoed in my ears, drumming like a timpanist gone mad. And then I understood. She had ordered me to help Titania and Morgaine. The Courts of Fae were destined to rise again, and I was the one on whose shoulders the final decision rode.
If I didn't help, the balance would be thrown further out of whack. If I did help, who knew what I'd be setting in motion? And there was no time to weigh decisions. The demons were on their way from one direction. Benjamin was on his way from another. Feddrah-Dahns and Mistletoe were coming from yet another—from Georgio's house where they'd been hiding. And they were going to converge here, in this cave, before the night was half-past.
All of these images collided in my mind as I looked back at the others, who stood watching, saying nothing.
Smoky had a dangerous look on his face, Menolly one of disbelief. Morio just gave me one small nod. Delilah stood beside Chase, her hand on his arm. They were near enough the entrance that they could run if need be.
I turned back to Titania and Morgaine. "What do you want me to do?"
Chapter Twenty-six
Titania motioned for me to move beside her. She looked at the others. "You will not interfere. Do you understand?"
Smoky raised his hand. "A moment. Morio, cast your spell."
I caught his drift. "Do it. I'm certain they're okay, but…"
Morgaine began to bristle, but Titania relaxed. "Be our guest, Master Fox."
Morio nodded, stood back, and held out his hands. After a moment, he chanted something in Japanese, and a bright light filled the cave. There was a shimmer around all of us. As I watched, a series of rotating images flashed where Delilah was standing, alternating between her, her golden tabby shape, and her black panther form. Smoky, on the other hand, was swathed in a mist that mirrored the image of his milky dragon self. Chase—now. Chase was interesting. There was a glow to his aura that told me he was who he was and yet, there was more. Faint—a promise of things to come.
Neither Morgaine nor Titania shifted form, nor did the figure encased within the crystal change shape.
Relaxing, Morio shook his head. "They're not illusions created by the Raksasa. They're the real thing."
"I guess we'd better get on with it," I said, looking around the cave. The chamber went back a long ways, covered quartz spikes with crystal formations jutting out from the glossy black rock. A crystaline sheet that resembled glacial ice covered the floor, reflecting a light that seemed to emanate from the very core of the walls.
A dais, also formed of crystal, rose in front of the stalagmite holding Aeval prisoner, and on that dais was a chalice blown from volcanic glass, and in the chalice a steaming brew, the mist overflowing the rim to slowly creep out into the air.
Titania motioned me forward. I gave the others one last look. "I have to do this. Grandmother Coyote foretold it. I have no choice. Destiny is too strong." Even as I spoke, the energy of the chamber forcibly pushed me forward.
