"I did everything I promised I would do." Helios told me fervently, his huge indigo eyes boring into mine. "The traitor is extremely clever. He probably found a healer before coming up to the sky; our scars disappear the closer we are to the sun. No weapons were found either."
"The gear." I replied coldly. "When we spoke of it, it didn't seem familiar to you."
The solstae prince looked pained. "It's a new war design by our armourers. The solstae's greatest weakness is our luminescence, and the heavy material conceals it perfectly. It wasn't due to be released till only recently, and my father only approved them last week."
"So the traitor had access to them before they were released, obviously."
Helios nodded grimly. "We searched all the personnel that had even the slimmest access to the suits. Every single one of them were cleared - they all had alibis for the times you were attacked, and when all the faerie murders were occurring as well. He was nowhere to be found among our royal armourers."
I was silent. Of course I'd been right. The murderer was far too tricky and clever to be found out by his people. He'd never reveal himself willingly.
"You two almost done?" Apollo called. Helios and I glanced over. We were all in the shadow of the Tsingy rock formations; the sky far above us was grey and dreary, suiting the mood perfectly. Our squadron waited several feet away, seemingly paying no attention, but I knew their keen ears could pick up everything Helios and I were talking about. Apollo watched quietly, his back straight and his face polite.
"In a minute!" I called back. I turned back to Helios and spoke softly. "I guess there's nothing we can do about it for now."
"I suppose so." Helios was earnest, and he gently picked up my hand with his gloved ones. The material was slick and cool. "I promise Lilah, he will be found eventually - "
I pulled hard on his hands so that we were nearly nose to nose. The solstae blinked in surprise. Up close, it looked like stars were shifting under his delicate skin. I would've been entranced if I hadn't been coldly looking into his dark eyes.
"Don't make me anymore promises." I hissed icily. "Do you know what my gut is saying? It's saying that the murderer is someone no one will suspect, someone people would never dream of accusing. He's gotten away with this for so long, hasn't he? Now who better to pardon than the beloved prince of the solstae, a man who told me himself that he would give anything to have the earth as his home?"
There was a tense pause, and Helios eyes hardened. The colour looked almost black, and it clashed jarringly against his soft, glowing skin. "What are you accusing me of, Lilah Winters?" His voice was low and deadly.
"Nothing yet." I whispered harshly back. "I'm simply stating that something about you just doesn't sit right in my stomach. I'll be watching you."
Helios slowly reached up and pushed a stray lock of my hair out of my eyes. I was careful not to flinch. He'd get no weakness from me.
"Watch me carefully, dearest Lilah." Helios told me lowly, his voice soft and seductive. "You'll regret your bold statements soon enough."
And with that, he pushed away from me gruffly and strode to where the rest of our squadron was waiting. I followed silently, my eyes boring into the solstae's golden locked head.
"Are we ready to go?" Apollo touched my waist and rose an eyebrow. What's going on? He mouthed.
I shook my head at him before turning and seeking out Laen from the group. "Lead us to the river, please."
Of course." Laen nodded encouragingly at me. "Forward, men!"
The squadron began to trudge forward. Helios strode to the front of his group, his step as airy as ever as he pulled his smoke coloured hood on. I headed towards the right flank of the group, where Apollo was lightly traipsing with a thin, silver sword in his hand, but Laen's gentle hands held me back. I looked up at him questioningly.
His graceful fingers felt like feathers as they drifted across my brow. "Keen eyes are gifts before battle." He told me quietly, his violet eyes steady as they looked into mine. "But hearts see more clearly in the midst of it."
I waited for him to explain his riddled words, but he simply took my hand and started after the group. I watched his scarred face for a while before looking away. His words would make sense soon enough.
---
The shell had barely grazed my lips when the green water of the river began to glow a bright blue. Everyone murmured quietly behind me as the shapes began to appear; the rippling surface of the water began to churn as dozens of mermen began solidify all along the winding snake that was the water. I looked around in vague surprise; for some reason, I'd expected only Jed to appear.
When he popped out of the water, grinning at me and his golden hair dripping into his face, I saw he'd donned a breastplate that shimmered navy and white like the insides of shells. A matching helmet that pointed sharply at the tip was fastened on his head, and he pulled at it irritably with the hand that wasn't holding a deadly looking trident that glimmered with the lustre of a pearl.
"Greetings, lovely Lilah." Jed beamed up at me and stretched up his free hand. I waded a few steps into the shallows and gripped his large, cold hand with both of my own. "I had a feeling you'd be calling soon. The waters are shaking with unease at the shift among the earth walkers."
"I see you assembled an army." I told him, glancing at his comrades. They were clad in similar armour, and they were all looking and pointing up at the limestone formations in bemusement.
Jed shrugged good naturedly. "My uncle found out I'd given you the portal shell and he was randomly delighted. Ordered everyone to ready for war, so that we'd be ready when you called."
"That's smart of him." I smiled down at the handsome merman and squeezed his slick hand. "We really do need you."
"And we are ready to serve." Jed bowed his head respectfully, and I was reminded sharply of Prenjaw. "What are our instructions?"
I looked back uncertainly at Laen. As I did, I noticed Helios standing behind him, his hood betraying none of the prince's emotions. I looked long and hard into the black panels before returning my gaze to Laen.
The klaae man pawed forward. "I am Laen, klaae of Ireland, and my instructions were to tell you to lie in wait for the faeries."
"Well, Laen, klaae of Ireland, I'm honoured to meet you." Jed smiled warmly at him, barely blinking as he took in the klaae's lion half. "And when the faeries are close enough to the water, what then shall we do?"
Laen returned the merman's smile. "Then you'll reach up, grab them, and pull them under the surface. Their wings will soak up the water quickly and do the rest."
The two magical men nodded at each other in grim understanding. The faeries would be left to drown.
"We'll make sure they stay under." Jed twirled his trident almost lazily to emphasize his point. His face suddenly fell. "It's a shame that we're forced to commit such heinous acts to begin with."
"They have brought these heinous acts upon themselves." Laen uttered curtly. "We're just advocates for the peaceful world."
"Gaining peace through violence." Jed replied wryly. "Now that's a theme repeated countless times through history."
The two gazed at each other, both their expressions suddenly weary.
"Strength be in your hand, friend." Laen told the merman softly.
Jed took the slogan in stride. "Strength be in yours, klaae Laen of Ireland." He turned to me. "Stay vigilant, alright Lilah?"
I nodded at him. "You too."
He suddenly popped up from the water like a cork to plant a cold, wet kiss on my cheek. He began to drift away from me, grinning that boyish smile I'd gotten so used to. "Aren't I always?"
He flipped up, his dazzling blue and green tail sparkling like jewels, before diving into the river depths and swimming away. I watched as the mermen in the river began disappearing beneath the water, no doubt hearing what Jed had to say. I felt a sudden surge of pride that King Kavait had appointed his nephew in this position. Apparently the playful Jed was more reliable than he seemed.
"Are you ready, Lilah?" Apollo asked me. He'd remained silent during the conversation with Jed, but he stood languidly beside Laen now, his lovely eyes watching my face.
I glanced at the group behind them. They were a group of at least twenty men, a mix of werewolves and dwarves and elves and an occasional goblin and vampire. Helios was the only solstae, and I looked at him again before reaching out for Apollo's hand.
"We're as ready as we'll ever be." I told him confidently, and the squadron behind us roared its approval.
---
"Can those curious eyes of yours pick up things keenly, prince?" Mognem the Great asked conversationally, peering up at the towering mongool.
Prenjaw smiled down wanly at the dwarf chief. "How well can you see, Mognem?"
The dwarf considered it. "Very well." He decided.
"Then our eyesight is the same." Prenjaw went back to searching the sky. The heavy, grey canopy made him uneasy; it cloyed down on them from where they stood at the top of a limestone spire. Back home, open air was only tolerated temporarily, as the mongool's preferred home was his crude tunnels and dimly lit caverns.
"If only they'd picked a fight underground." Mognem followed Prenjaw's gaze moodily. "We're so unprotected in this open air."
The mongool looked at Mognem in surprise. "It appears we have a lot in common, friend."
"Friends we are!" The dwarf boomed happily, clapping Prenjaw in the back. Surprised by the strength the little man possessed, Prenjaw grinned down at him. It was clear they were going to get along very well.
The tall, heavily muscled mongool and the stout, sturdy dwarf made an interesting pair. Across the vast shelves of Tsingy de Bemahera, the odd groupings repeated hundredfold on the jagged tips of the rock towers. Witches conversed with werewolves, shifters scanned the skies with elves, and goblins grudgingly compared weapons with dwarves. Mongools traipsed expertly across the rocky towers with the equally dexterous klaae, and vampires watched silently from the shadows of their shrouding cloaks. The air was heavy with expectation, and the alliance of so many magical parties was a rare and awe inspiring sight to see.
The air was ripe with war and anxiety, and the magical world hung in the balance, tipping precariously into a void of bloodlust and death. Things would never be the same after this.
"Look!" Prenjaw's light green eyes turned out to be very keen indeed. He raised a scaly arm to point into the sky. "The faeries are approaching!"
It was a cry being repeated all across Tsingy. Commanders began to bark instructions as a cloud of white and black clad figures appeared on the dreary horizon.
"Weapons at the ready!" A witch with fish gills shrieked.
"Cannons on my command!" A goblin bellowed.
"Everyone on your guard!" Eisha roared.
"Strength be in your hands, gentlemen!" Mognem growled. He brandished a fierce looking double bladed axe from his belt of many weapons. "We fight till the death for the life of our beloved world!"
The elves and mongools behind him let out a war cry in agreement. All animosity between the group was forgotten in lieu of the battle. The elves nodded grimly at their mongool partners, and the mongools bowed curtly back. They had a common enemy now.
A few spires away, a dainty vampire woman with long, lustrous black hair nodded absently at a pale haired elf. "How good are you with that sword?"
The elf turned up her nose. "Fantastic."
"Good." The vampire smiled demurely to reveal pointed, white teeth. "We can cover each other. You impale their hearts, and I'll rip off their heads."
The elf stared at the gorgeous vampire calculatingly. "Deal." She finally said.
The vampire's smile widened even more, and the elf took her place with her back to the vampire's. Nothing would be getting through them.
"Wolf, huh?" An orange eyed shifter glanced sideways at a ebony skinned werewolf. The werewolf tossed thick dreadlocks out of his chocolate eyes and nodded.
"How well do you work in pairs?" The shifter asked casually, his sunset eyes following the shifting faerie cloud as it approached ever closer.
The werewolf paused. "You favour a wolf form?"
The shifter turned fully to grin at him. "I should have been a werewolf, I reckon."
"Then I work extremely well with a partner, mate." The man grinned wolfishly back. The pair chuckled boyishly and pounded fists in spontaneous camaraderie.
Back where Mognem and Prenjaw stood, the dwarf nudged the prince's arm.
"When this whole mess is over." The chief told the mongool seriously. "I'm buying you a drink."
"Only if I can buy you the second." Prenjaw replied just as seriously.
Mognem smiled robustly. "I like how you think."
Prenjaw smiled faintly back, and a shadow fell over their figures. The pair looked up. A maelstrom of faeries descended on Tsingy d Bemahera, and warriors across the rocky shelves tightened their grips on their weapons. A stiff wind drifted across the air as the faeries flew straight down like raining arrows, their lovely faces grim and their weapons glinting dully in grey light.
There was a moment of tense stillness, in which the only sound was the whistle of wind through the towers and the subtle hum of hundreds of faerie wings. Somewhere in the distance, a lone bird cried, and the grey sky churned in unease.
And then a earth splitting, deafening roar rent the air from both sides, and the faeries clashed like lightning against the opposing army. With a mighty groan, the disgruntled sky opened up and a thick, cold rain began to pour. The water stained the faces of all the fighters below, and rivulets splashed down the limestone towers.
The water was already mixing with blood.
The battle had begun.
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