Elf-Shot Book 6 in The Twilight Court Series Page 2

  Instead of his usual, true-black skin, Raza appeared to have a tawny complexion which matched the glamoured-topaz shade of his normally, metallic, golden eyes. His dragon wings were gone, as were the aforementioned talons, as well as his dragon-djinn features; the prominent brow and cheek crests. But his massive, muscular build was the same, and so was his rock star hair. Thick swaths of ebony strands hung around his regal face in angled points, two of which were naturally colored deep ruby. The crimson stripes were at his right temple and just below his right ear.

  I had used a little glamour for my visit into HR as well, but it was minor. I masked the silver stars which spread out from the pupils in my eyes. Now they just appeared to be vibrantly green. Striking, but still human. Beyond my eyes, my only other fey feature was the purple, ombré stripe in my hair, and that could easily be explained as a dye job. I flicked the long length of it over my shoulder and focused my attention back on Councilman Murdock.

  The Head of the San Francisco Council House was pointing to areas on a map, hung on the wall behind him, where Moire had been spotted. As I mentioned, it had been over two months since I'd first seen my Aunt at the SF Council House Halloween party, and we still didn't have a single clue as to what she was up to in the City by the Bay. At first, she was simply taunting us by popping up in random locations without any discernible reasons. But now Murdock had called us all here, saying that there was finally some evidence which needed to be evaluated... by fairies. So there we were, down in the council meeting room, surrounded by human council members, two representatives of the Coven, and Killian Blair.

  Killian sat with the Coven representatives, even though he had once been considered a mutant by them. The Coven was composed of several tribes of witches, each tribe with a different power. These tribes were all descended from fairies, which was whom they'd inherited their magic from. A fact only recently revealed. The discovery had occurred when I'd taken a few witches into Fairy with me, and their fey blood had physically altered them to look more like their ancestors. Killian had gone through a similar transformation, but he didn't get features from only one fairy race. Because Killian was a child of two types of witches and, therefore, two types of fey races. So he received traits from both.

  The witch tribes didn't intermarry. It was forbidden. I think they believed it would have a negative effect on their magic. After all, some of them had talents which manifested in physical ways. Like the Pack witches who turned into wolves, or the Bite witches, who were basically vampires. Killian's parents had been part of a group which had decided to thwart convention in the name of love. The founding members had left the Coven so they could marry outside of their tribe, and they ended up forming their own collective. They called themselves the Casters (a word playing on being witches and outcasts), and they lived in a private community called the Hallow. This was where they secretly raised their blended-race children. Children like Killian, who was a combination of Flame and Storm witches.

  This mixture affected Killian in an even more unusual way than it had the other witches who had entered Fairy. Flame witches were descended from snake-djinn, a type of unseelie fairy. Storm witches were descendants of sylphs, a race of winged seelie. This particular combination had changed Killian into a twilight fairy. The first of a new race called the nathair-sith. Vivid, green, snake eyes had replaced Killian's deep emerald stare, and he now sported a useless, but beautiful, pair of dragonfly-esque wings upon his back. They were embedded in his skin, their cartilage veins raised just enough to be felt, as if they'd been put into stasis, halfway through emerging.

  Killian's twilight status had launched him into a new life. He was now my partner in HR, a sort of ambassadorial intermediary. He worked out of the SF Council House, but he traveled a lot, all over the world, to meet with Coven tribes, the Casters, and the Councils. With his twilight ability of walking the In-Between, travel wasn't a big deal for him, a fact which the Councils made great use of. Killian had become an important part of the new truce between the witches, the fey, and the humans. And he'd also become my friend.

  “There have been casualties in every location,” Murdock was saying as he hit the map. “But we didn't make the connection to Moire until now.”

  Head Councilman Murdock held up what appeared to be a gleaming arrowhead. It sparkled as he turned it, catching the light like a faceted diamond. Bress and Raza made surprised sounds. I glanced at them, hoping for an explanation. But they were both fixated on the little piece of metal in Murdock's hand.

  “This item was recovered from the latest crime scene,” Murdock leaned onto the table in front of him and put the arrowhead down. “And it was a crime scene,” he tapped the arrowhead angrily. “One of our extinguishers reported that they witnessed Moire shooting an arrow into a crowd of people. Yet when they raced to the victim, all that was left was this arrowhead. The rest of the shaft had disappeared.”

  I felt Raza tense beside me.

  “What happened to the victim?” I asked.

  “He's in critical condition at UCSF,” Murdock said grimly. “The doctors can't figure out what's wrong with him. Shortly after he arrived, he went into a coma.”

  “Damn her,” Bress whispered.

  “Do you know what this is, Lord Bress?” Murdock asked urgently.

  “Elf-shot,” it was Raza who answered. “Why Moire would have it in her possession is beyond me.”

  “She's close with the dark elves,” Bress said.

  “No,” Raza shook his head. “My people would not help her.”

  “You know my mother,” Bress looked across me to Raza. “You've seen first-hand how she can manipulate people. Her allies are blindly loyal to her. As loyal as I once was. Her words are like a sickness. She infects you until she can control you.”

  “Could someone please tell me what elf-shot is?” Murdock ground out.

  “Yes, I'd like to know as well,” I narrowed my eyes on Raza.

  “It's poison, but only to humans,” Raza's jaw clenched. “The equivalent of iron poisoning in a fairy. In fact, that was why it was created, as a way for us to fight back against the insidious, iron weapons wielded by humans.”

  “Go on,” Murdock took a seat, and slid the arrowhead across the table, straight to Raza. Raza caught it with a smack of his hand, like squashing a bug. “Tell us if you recognize this one in particular.”

  Cat lifted her head up briefly at the startling sound, gave me an annoyed glare, then laid back down.

  “It doesn't work like that,” Raza held up the shimmering arrowhead. Now that it was closer, I could see that it wasn't metal at all, but some kind of gemstone. “There's no signature to find on elf-shot. You can't do a ballistics test on fairy ammunition.”

  “I can,” Killian smirked and made a gimme gesture with his hands. Killian had psychometry, a talent he could use to sense who had handled an object, and what they were thinking at the time.

  “Hold on, Killian,” I took the arrowhead from Raza. “Tell us more about this, Raza. You said it was created. When? How?”

  “Elf-shot has been around for thousands of years,” Raza shrugged. “The dark elves sing the stones up from the earth, and the light elves imbue it with magic. It's a combined effort, which makes for a very powerful result.”

  “Wait,” I blinked at him in shock. “You're telling me that unseelie and seelie fey work together to make elf-shot?”

  “The elves were the only race of fey who remained neutral in the fairy wars. At least until Twilight was created,” Bress answered before Raza could. “Even though there are light and dark elves, and they are considered seelie and unseelie fey, they personally believe they are the same race. There is no animosity between elves.”

  “That's rather enlightened of them,” I noted.

  “King Raza the First once tried to make the dark elves go to war with him against the Seelie Kingdom,” Raza sighed. “He was unsuccessful.”

  “Did he hurt them?” I asked.

  “No. He couldn
't find them,” Raza chuckled. “Elves are very good at hiding, especially the dark elves. They simply weren't around when the battle began.”

  “They sound peaceful,” Councilman Karmen Simmel observed. “Maybe they just want to be left alone so they can make shoes. Maybe if we leave them alone, they'll make us some shoes,” he shot Raza a wink. “I could use some new dancing shoes... and a dancing partner to go with them.”

  “They are peaceful with each other, yes,” Raza ignored Karmen's flirtation. “But they didn't create elf-shot to use as a weapon for hunting game. The elves were the most effective of our soldiers during the Human-Fey Wars.”

  “How effective?” Karmen went serious. Seriousness was rare for him, but it did happen.

  “There were no elf lives lost,” Bress smirked. “Not ever. Their archers were like modern day snipers. They'd hide among the trees, and kill whole platoons before they could be spotted.”

  “As I said,” Raza grimaced, “they are very good at hiding.”

  “So this is imbued with seelie magic?” I frowned at the arrowhead. “I don't sense anything.”

  “It's a combination of magic. The dark elves leave behind a trace of power from their song, and then the light elves finish the spell. But there's no magic to it now. The magic was released when it hit its mark,” Raza explained. “As soon as the stone pierces flesh, the poisonous enchantment is freed, and the discharge of energy disintegrates the shaft of the arrow. Only the stone survives.”

  “It's another reason they were so effective in battle,” Bress added. “The evidence disappeared so quickly, leaving only the little arrowhead behind, that half the time, the humans didn't understand why their comrades were dying.”

  “Similar to a gun,” I mused, and then slid the thing over to Killian. “Alright, Snake-Eyes, go ahead and do your thing.”

  “Similar to a gun perhaps,” Raza shook his head. “But these bullets are poisonous. They kill slowly.”

  “Is there an antidote?” Councilman Ray Teagan surprised me by asking a sensible question. He was a bit of an ass normally.

  “Only one,” Raza answered. “It's a fairy flower called suvanis. A single petal will combat the enchantment if taken within an hour of being struck.”

  “And if it's not taken fast enough?” Murdock asked.

  “Death is assured,” Bress ground out.

  “Damn it all,” Murdock hissed.

  “Can you get us some of these flowers, Dragon King?” Killian asked Raza.

  “Possibly a few,” Raza narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

  “I think we're going to need a lot more than a few,” Killian put the elf-shot down and slid it into the center of the table. It spun, casting sparkles in all directions before it went still. “Moire has just declared war, and she has an elf army to back her.”

  Chapter Two

  War. Three letters. Such a tiny word to encapsulate so much tragedy. As an extinguisher, I was raised to defend the truce which prevented war. Then I became Princess of Twilight, the Kingdom integral to keeping the peace between the Kingdoms of Seelie and Unseelie. As if that wasn't enough, I was made Ambassador between the realms and races. My existence is centered around peace. Which ironically involves me in its opposite quite often.

  I sat silently through the angry discussion on Moire and the threat of war. Fists pounded the long council table, voices became strident, and expressions shifted into antagonistic territories. The mere mention of that three-letter word had instigated an argument among allies.

  “Cease,” I said softly, wearily. Then, when no one listened, I stood and shouted, “Knock it off! You're behaving like a bunch of buffoons.”

  The room went quiet. All except Cat, who started growling to emphasize my point.

  “Buffoons?” Karmen mouthed silently at me with a horrified expression.

  “Princess Seren is right,” High Councilman Murdock sighed. “None of this is helping. We need to come up with solutions, not start casting about accusations.”

  “Blame is always easier to throw than to shoulder,” Raza said. “I will gather the flowers for you, and speak to the dark elves. That is the extent of what I can do for now.”

  “Can I record you gathering flowers?” Killian smirked. “A video of the Unseelie King prancing through the forest, picking fairy flowers, will go viral.”

  “You're a child,” Raza glowered at Killian. “And if you wish to make it to adulthood, I recommend that you learn some respect for your elders. Or, at the very least, some manners.”

  “It was just a joke, Dragon,” Killian rolled his eyes. “You don't have to go all uppity fey on me.”

  “Killian,” I shook my head at him.

  Raza started to make this grumbly, grating sound, low in his chest. One of the signs of impending doom for anyone dumb enough to try his patience.

  “I'd be happy to pick some flowers for you,” Karmen offered Killian. “If you'd like someone to video.”

  Raza snorted, the sound of doom drifting away. I breathed a sigh of relief as Killian glanced at Karmen in surprise. On the surface, it had appeared to be shameless flirtation, but Karmen Simmel hadn't been made a councilman because of his good looks. He was smart and subtle, even, and perhaps especially, when he seemed like he was being obvious. His little comment had just defused a potentially disastrous situation.

  “I will take this information back to the Coven,” Jared Turner, Elder of Quake, said. “We'll call Head Councilman Murdock with our decision.”

  “Decision?” I asked.

  “Whether the witches will join this war or not,” Jared explained.

  “Whether they'll join?” Murdock lifted his brows. “Are you kidding? You are in it, Elder Turner, whether you decide to be or not. That elf-shot will hurt your witches just as much as it will hurt my people.”

  “Possibly,” Jared shrugged. “Possibly not. We have fey blood after all.”

  “Not enough to save you,” Raza declared ominously. “The poison will react with your human blood. The more human blood you have, the more the poison will affect you.”

  “And you don't even register as fey to my psychic senses,” I added. “You're evolved, remember? A new race descended from the fey, but not exactly fey.”

  “We're fey enough to be affected by a trip into Fairy,” Elder Turner waved a hand to Killian to illuminate his point.

  “Yes, and then you become fey. Fairy doesn't discriminate,” Bress huffed, “unfortunately.”

  “What was that?” Jared growled. “You have a problem with witches? We're your descendants, you realize?”

  “Shut up!” I snapped. “Both of you. What are you? Children? You bicker over blood and battle while Moire gathers her troops and plots against us. You're in, Turner. Murdock is right. You can choose to run back to the Coven, and stick your collective heads up your asses, but that will only give Moire a bigger target. Together, we have the power to crush her, but if we scatter, she'll pick us off one at a time.”

  “She's good at thinning the herd,” Bress grimaced.

  “I still have to report to the Coven before I speak on their behalf,” Jared shrugged as if he were unaffected by my speech. But when he stood, his hands were shaking.

  “Fine,” Murdock nodded. “Go and speak with the witches. The Human Council will be on high alert, especially here in San Francisco. We'll keep looking for Moire while King Raza returns to Fairy to collect as much of the antidote as he can. Princess Seren, what are your plans?”

  “My plans?” I lifted a brow. “I plan on finding my Aunt and stopping this war before it starts.”

  Chapter Three

  “What happened?” Tiernan asked as soon as he got within speaking distance of me.

  “We're going to war,” Killian answered for me, earning himself a glare in the process... from both me and Tiernan.

  “Do you mind not bellowing that out for everyone to hear?” I asked.

  “It's not like they won't be finding out soon enough,” Kill shrugged unre
pentantly.

  “Yes, but perhaps they'll hear it in a manner which will be less startling,” Raza growled, then muttered, “Infant.”

  “Call me 'infant' one more time, old man,” Killian dared Raza. “I'll be happy to show you the advantages of youth.”

  “You are behaving childishly,” I smacked Killian in the chest. “And you do this every time you come within ten feet of Raza. Stop it. Now. Or I'll find a way to get a magical restraining order on you.”

  Raza smirked at Killian, rather childishly in fact, then headed out the front door.

  “No one can take a joke anymore,” Killian grimaced.

  “We are at war?” Tiernan asked.

  “It seems so,” I followed Raza out of the Council House. “Moire is using-”

  A shouting scuffle in front of me cut off my words, and I rushed down the steps to see what was happening. Several of Raza's Guard were on the ground. The rest were circled around him, dragging the protesting dragon to our waiting SUV.

  “Seren!” Raza was shouting and gesturing back to me. “Protect the Princess!”

  The Star's Guard had already been flanking me, but we were hindered by the doorway, and only a few of them had made it out with us. Tiernan drew his sword, his eyes scanning the empty street. Cat started growling, her hackles lifting. Conri rushed in front of me, and the rest of my Guard was following his lead. Killian was gone, racing across the deserted street. Everyone did their duty as best they could. But they were all too late.

  I looked down at the disintegrating arrow shaft with horror.

  “Tiernan,” I whispered as the poison shot through my limbs, turning them to ice. I fell backward, but strong hands caught me.

  Tiernan's face filled my vision as the roar of an enraged Dragon King filled my ears, and a cold muzzle whimpered its way to my cheek. The last thing I saw were terrified, silver eyes.