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Jazz laughed out loud, but Frankie was pulling at Jazz’s hand. She leaned over and said softly, “It is nothing. Trev just doesn’t like me to spend time with other male Fae alone.”
Ete smiled at Frankie. “Ah, I am so pleased Frankie. You have met with Deimne. This is the most wonderful news. It is just what you both need; each other.”
“You knew then?” Jazz asked surprised as she realized that Ete knew Deimne was Frankie’s father.
“Yes, I knew,” Ete answered softly.
“By Danu!” snapped Trevor. “Why should Frankie need the Sluagh? I don’t like it.”
All at once the air began to glow so brightly that Jazz grabbed Frankie and held her tightly as she shielded her eyes. Trevor, who had dropped his hold of Jazz and had stiffened noticeably when Deimne had been mentioned, now took up her waist again and drew her in closer.
The arrival of two Seelie Queens was a remarkable moment.
It was an explosion of soft light, and yet completely infused with a power that could be physically felt as its force flowed in undulating strokes pushing all living beings present, a few steps backwards.
The atmosphere sparkled and pulsated with magic and might so strong that it shook the classic paintings on the walls of Queen Aaibhe’s private parlor. It did, in fact, cause the furniture to wobble.
Both Queens stood regal in their shimmering gowns, but over their lovely faces were masks of sorrow. It was so great that the sadness was felt by everyone present. They were beings of nature and life. War was a devastatingly repugnant outcome.
Breslyn and Danté were close behind both Queens, but Deimne was absent. For a moment no one spoke. Both Breslyn and Danté each stomped across the room and took their mates into their arms.
Aaibhe raised a hand and said, “We are grievously saddened to report that we were unable to stop Pestale from using one of the Portals he had confiscated. It has started.”
“Where—where has it started?” Z asked as she stepped forward and away from Danté. He reached for her and she turned to him, her face drawn in outrage. Jazz watched and understood that the human in Z was crying.
She looked up at Trevor and his gold eyes caressed her. “Oh Trev…”
“We will drive them into the ground. There will be nothing left of them when we are done,” he reassured her.
“The Dark Ones have conducted what we think was a test run.” Aaibhe said quietly. “We are guessing that they released not more than one hundred Unseelie into a crowd in Venice, Italy. It happened so quickly, and even with our combined magic we could not stop the Unseelie monsters as they spread out into the homes and hotels. We were able to dislodge and destroy them when they were together, but so many spread out in different directions. We are told that over one thousand people were tortured and then eaten alive.” Aaibhe looked away, then at Queen Mab before continuing. “We were successful only in the sense that Deimne with Daoine Warriors arrived to stop their progress into the heart of the city. Pestale was also forced to recall his abominations—shifters all.”
Queen Mab added, “Deimne and Daoine Prince Raynor are in Venice now sending the Venice Portal to another dimension.” Queen Mab looked at Aaibhe who then stood up straight and waited for the murmurs to quiet.
“Many of those that fed today will multiply and that is our problem, a very serious problem that we must immediately deal with. Many of the lower castes can only multiply when they feed on humans, and the process takes less than a week. Within the upcoming week in human time, those that fed today will multiply in numbers. Hence, we must contain them by getting to the remaining Portals and removing them before they can be utilized.”
“Oh, dear God,” Jazz thought out loud. She had a vivid picture of men, women, and children unsuccessfully trying to fight off Unseelie monsters. They never knew what hit them. She could only imagine what the news was reporting and the terror people were experiencing. She closed her eyes but the images remained.
“We have no choice but to act quickly. None but our Royals, and only some of our Druids and Fios are capable of the magic that will enable us to diffuse the dolmens and remove them from use,” Aaibhe said grimly.
Queen Mab had lived and ruled for eons. Her regal stature and bearing conveyed a sense of her worldly wisdom and experience. She did not look at anyone in particular, but when she spoke it felt as if she was talking to each individual although she spoke to them as a whole. She said in quiet, sorrowful tones, “It pains me. War; what it will bring and what it will change. It will physically cause all Fae great anguish; particularly the Daoine Fae. We believed after Danu was destroyed that as the highest Seelie caste we would always be above war. We are beings in harmony with nature. War is repugnant to us, but if the Dark Ones overtake the human world they will turn to Tir, and then to Daoine. The numbers of the most beastly lower castes will multiply as they feed. We must stop them at once. As Daoines, beings of nature, we can help in the battles by using nature against them.”
“How?” Trevor asked roughly. “We need an immediate plan.”
“At the moment, Pestale has only one set of monoliths strong enough to allow his collected numbers of evil creatures to pass through. He has those dolmens closeted somewhere within his castle. I felt them when we met with him earlier. He is using Dark Magic as a ward around the perimeter of his stronghold.” Aaibhe scoffed, “As though Mab or I couldn’t penetrate such inadequate magic.”
Mab spoke then. “The dolmens he has are not large or powerful enough to transport all the lower castes he brought with him from the Dark Realm. The other castes are considerable and they can shift anywhere. He has been allowing them to make nightly visits in limited numbers to various cities throughout the human world and feed.”
Aaibhe pyramided her hands “Here are the facts as they stand. Daoine Magic is the highest form of Fae Magic. Seelie Fae Magic is very close in nature. Pestale knows this, but is using a form of Dark Magic we have never encountered before; no doubt stolen from his father in earlier years.” She paused before continuing. “Queen Mab and I believe he is working on a way to lift the dolmens at Stonehenge, the ones I spelled at Killarney, Inverness, Edinburgh, Belfast and Dublin and make them his own,” Aaibhe said quietly. “We are asking our Royals with their warriors at their backs to shift immediately to the monoliths and work their brand of magic to shift them to a dimension Queen Mab and I have prepared long ago. A dimension the Dark Ones can not enter. It is riddled with iron and only Queen Mab and myself are immune to its poison. If you are not successful in your efforts to obtain the monoliths the evil creatures will emerge, then we will have no choice but to fight them. Using hand to hand battle and all the powers we have to hold them in check.”
“I like it. If and when we fight them, I don’t just plan to bring them down or keep them in check. I mean to put them in the ground, so there won’t be a next time,” Radzia said looking at Danté who stroked her cheek. She smiled warmly at her massive mate and turned back to the Queens. “Where do y
ou want me and Danté to go, and how many warriors do we take with us?”
“Wait!” Trevor said with a darkling frown. “I haven’t had a chance to speak with you my Queen, but you have to be told. When we were in the Dark Realm, I spoke with the Dark King’s consort, Crystal. Jazmine Decker told me something as she lay dying in her retreat in the Dark Realm. She said you will need Twalla to re-thread the walls of the Dark Realm and contain its evil within. She said it was used by Queen Bridget when the wall was first created. It is the missing ingredient we have lacked all this time.”
Suddenly, the occupants of the room could almost touch the magic that vibrated off both Queens. Jazz was sure the air was actually pulsating with the force of the power emanating from the matriarchs.
“Twalla?” Aaibhe said softly and closed her eyes. “But of course. Bridget used Twalla, which none but a pure royal can touch. Twalla which can be woven by magic to make an invincible wall that can only be cracked by time. That is why we have had problems with the wall. Time.” She frowned and looked at Trevor. “But Twalla was lost to us when Danu was destroyed.”
