Fairy War

Chapter 23

Elion led us down to the vault that had, until recently, contained the eggs hidden in Fort Knox. All that was left of them now, however, were mere shattered egg fragments, next to one of which lay the lifeless form of a creature that appeared to be something between a werewolf and a zombie. A hole had been blasted clean through its chest. At the far end of the vault there was a brightly-lit portal, through which nothing seemed visible to us apart from vague, shadowy outlines of figures none of us could identify.

"That's Heaven?" Crystal asked, raising an eyebrow. "No offence, but I assumed the entrance would be a little more... I don't know... spectacular."

"None taken," Elion replied. "I would, however, make two points in response to that comment: one, the fairy afterlife has very little resemblance to what you would consider the afterlife. Two, this is but a portal to bring the first element of our forces through; it hardly required an elaborately decorated archway." He smiled. "I'm sorry it's not more impressive."

"Sorry to interrupt this interesting discussion," Nightshade said impatiently, "but if this is as urgent as you're telling us then I think we need to get to work as quickly as we can."

"And we will, shortly," Elion said, "but first I would have a private conversation with the human children." He nodded at us before adding, "Selina and Niana, there is something important to discuss."

"I'll be fine," Niana said to Nightshade, who'd been reaching for his sword, clearly feeling uneasy at the suggestion. "Considering the strength of that automaton I'm sure if he meant to attack us he'd have done so already."

After a moment Nightshade nodded, following the rest out through the vault door but only pulling it ajar out of paranoia it would lock behind him.

Niana turned to Elion. "You have our undivided attention, so tell us: what's so important you can't tell it to the whole group?"

"I had a premonition before I entered this conflict," Elion explained. "Well, I should say I had two premonitions in very quick succession. One of them was of the eggs hatching, hence my plan being brought forward."

"That's not telling us anything we don't already know," Mickey snorted. "What about this other premonition?"

"Unlike the eggs, this involved fragments of several different visions," Elion answered. "I don't know whether I was seeing different potential futures or if something was affecting my powers, but there was one common thread: all of you were there in what appeared to be the final battle, along with a young man I don't see among your group. Something is going to happen." He sighed as he looked at us. "I have good reason to believe that at least one of you won't make it out of the fight against Feth'rael alive, but I was unable to identify who."

"What if it's Marek?" Crystal asked. "Clint, I've got nephews his age – like hell am I letting him go into a warzone if there's even a small chance he won't come back."

"You don't understand," Elion said. "There is no coincidence about who I asked to remain here. There were many parts of the premonition I could make little to no sense of, but one thing I am certain of is that all of you are there and then someone dies. I feel the loss, I feel the grief, but for some reason the identity of the person who dies is hidden from my sight."

"Some would consider that grounds not to go," Niana said, her gaze flickering briefly to me. "Who would want to potentially go to their death if they already know it's coming?"

"I can't pretend I like the idea of dying any more than you guys do," Selina said forcefully, "but what's the alternative? If Feth'rael succeeds then everyone dies. If it's a choice between that and risking one of us, I'd still risk my own life. As the old saying goes, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"She's right," I said before any of the others could even attempt to disagree. "Besides, we already proved in New York that just because these visions happen one way, it doesn't mean reality won't happen differently. We'll just cross that bridge when we come to it, agreed?" The others all nodded, Elion offering us what was an approximation of a reassuring smile. "Okay. So what do we do now?"

"You'll be glad to know I have some good news to share with you all," Elion replied, "but first we need to contact some of your allies; they'll need to hear this too."

I was caught by surprise – although only temporarily, remembering I was dealing with magical creatures – when I saw that in one of the larger vaults there had gathered the astral projections of Nareena, the Sidhe Queen, and several others I only partially recognised as having been at the Council. What truly caught my attention, however, was what covered the floor: a map of the Earth that, while not to scale, did seem to fill the entire floor of the room. Although it was coloured how most human maps would be coloured, there were bright white pillars rising out of it in places, and Elion moved over to one that seemed to be in the midst of the Atlantic.

"What you see here is a map of the location of all the eggs – well, the ones we're aware of, anyway," Elion said. "Each one is a known nest."

"I'm counting at least twenty-five," Niana said, biting her lip. "How in Gaia's name are we supposed to stop that many from hatching? Even if we could spare every fairy, we'd still struggle."

"You don't have to," Elion replied. "I believe there is one nest that, if you could destroy it, would break the link between the underworld and the eggs and therefore protect your world from the invasion."

"I hate to sound terribly pessimistic," Selina said with a wry laugh, "but why do I get the feeling it's not going to be as simple as walking into the nest and blowing it up?"

"We know the location," said another of Elion's kind, who'd apparently been standing in the shadows listening to us, "but the enemy isn't stupid enough to make it a case of us simply walking in and ruining his plan. It's located on this island," he added, pointing to the pillar of light Elion was standing next to. "It appears on no human map, it's surrounded by a nigh-on invulnerable magical shield, and there's only one way on and off it. There's a portal inside the White House-"

"Which just so happens to be our enemy's base of operations," Selina said with an exasperated sigh. "So, how exactly are you suggesting we even get to the portal, never mind how we actually get through it?"

"We could hit as many of the nests as we can simultaneously," Nareena suggested, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "He'll want to spread his forces in a way that will protect them if he intends a full-scale invasion. It may not rid the White House of guards, but it will at the very least make your task considerably simpler."

"And who exactly are we talking about when you speak of this group going to the White House?" Crystal asked. "We'll surely need a decent sized team so we can deal with any unexpected surprises?"

"We already know you, your friends, Selina, and my sister will insist on going, Clint," Nareena said with a chuckle, "and I'll send Nightshade, Marek, and his father to help you too, as Marek is convinced he has an important part to play in this and I simply won't send him to go up against the enemy alone."

"I feel Finarae and Nara will want to help too," the Sidhe Queen said. "Finarae wants to do whatever it takes to end this threat, and Nara... well, whether or not her mother realises it, she loves Crystal. Even if the entire Pixie colony told her she couldn't join this fight, I don't believe there's anything they could do to stop her." She couldn't help smiling at the bright red blush that had suddenly spread across Crystal's face at this comment.

"Now that we're sure there are those willing to fight for the forces of good, my kind will provide what forces we can," Elion said. "Plus, we're also able to offer your forces a gift." He reached out, and a series of swords – all of them glowing an eerie white colour – suddenly appeared on the floor, seemingly having come out of thin air. "I've heard that you believe the Wraiths can't die, well these blades are enchanted with the same form of magic that created them. We will provide as many as you require."

"I'm actually feeling slightly more confident that we're not going to die at the end of this," Mickey said with a nervous laugh. "We might even win."

"I wouldn't get over-confident, Mickey," Selina said with a wry smile. "Now begins the hardest part of all."