Flash Fiction #444 -- The Fae Underground/21

 We stepped out into the utter darkness that we had left behind in the Fae Lands.  Somehow it felt more forbidding here.  Colder.  I thought about the humans huddled in the cavern below, bringing all the light they could find, setting up their watch against the darkness.

And fighting each other because humans were territorial and prone to overreaction whenever they faced danger.  I'd done my best to avoid finding myself in a battle with any of them because they don't often give up, either.

Which meant that before too long, humans all over would swarm back out of the dark and attack whatever monster they could find.  And there was a monster out there.  It moved with a deliberate thumping step, louder and closer. However, it was impossible to judge any real distance in the dark with the world literally trembling around us.

"I hadn't expected this," I said softly.  I leaned against the wall, taking the weight from my leg again, trying to think if there was anything we could do.  I even lifted my hand and tried to feel out whatever might be behind the darkness, even though that was an open invitation to find me.  We didn't have a lot of other options now.

I glanced back and wondered if I dared do something magical.  Then I wondered what I could possibly do otherwise.  This was magic coming at us, human and fae alike.  Doing nothing to try and help would be worse than doing magic.

I desperately wanted to see what was out there in the dark  Desperation can provide all kinds of extra power for a fae.  The magic I sent out was like a mini-sun, illuminating all the area around us in a bright glare of light.

Two things happened.  

"Angels have come to guard us!" someone yelled from down the stairs in the place where the others hid.

I hadn't been called an angel before.  I would have been amused except that the light showed we were far from alone.  Outside the opening, I could see creatures stretched out as far as I could see, all of them moving toward us in an unnatural silence that had to be part of the magic that created the darkness as well.

"Damn," Yating said.  "But at least this is a battle that I understand.  Trolls to the right, (something) to the left -- but I suspect our true enemy is whatever moves in that dark cloud in the center."

I had not noticed the cloud, having been so caught up in the horror of so many creatures about to surge into the place where humans tried to hide.  Had some already attacked people in other buildings?

Maybe not.  Maybe the problem was that the humans here stood between them and the fae creatures hiding down in the depths of those secret caves.  It hardly mattered since I would not be able to get the humans out of the way.  Desperation gave me yet more power, and the light remained -- a gift to us, but an annoyance to those who thought they would arrive undetected.

A small win for us, then.

"So," a familiar voice said.  "You thought this was the best place as well."

I looked over my shoulder to see Sylph and the Fae Queen slipping out of concealment -- probably magical, in fact, but with this much magic being tossed around, I didn't feel it.

I should not have felt so much relief to find the Queen of the Fae here in this danger.  It was probably cowardice on my part.  It meant that I was not the one in charge.

But then she turned to me and said, "What do we do now?"

So much for my moment of hope.

"We can't hold them off on our own," Lycan said.  I gave him a grateful nod.  "Even with the power of the Queen on our side.  But I know where there are others who will help us.  Unfortunately, they are on the other side of the humans down there."

"They think we're angels," I said and felt a glimmer of an answer.  "And isn't that better than letting them know the truth?"

"I do not like to lie to humans," the Queen said, though, after one quick glance back into the depths, she nodded.  "Although under the circumstances, I think it better than dealing with them and with magic.  What do we do?"

"You know about angels?  Good.  An image, set just behind us and warning them to be calm and quiet, might work.  I can help --

"Keep the light going," she said with a mistrustful stare out at the enemies.  At least they were not rushing at them.  "Yating --"

"Yes, I know what we need to do."

And that made me wonder when the two of them had had this sort of practice in the past.  I had the oddest feeling that there was more going on than this piece I had stumbled upon.

Yating and the Queen created a vision behind us that even took me by surprise.  Light, shape, angelic choruses, the music of the heavens -- If I had continued to watch, I would have been mesmerized.

Of course. The magic was filling the vision with a touch of power to hold the attention of the others.

I turned away and looked at the enemy coming at us still, though with slower steps.  I thought they might even be uncertain now.  The darkness had been their greatest weapon.  With that in mind, I reinforced my own mini-sun that hung over the scene.  I had never tried anything like this before, but I could funnel some of the ambient magic in this real straight into my construct.  It should continue until I stopped it -- or I died.

Not the thought I wanted just then.  The trolls had started to form up in the more familiar attack lines.  There were only me, Lycan, and Sylph to hold them back.

Flash Fiction #443 -- The Fae Underground/20

 My leg gave way.  I hadn't expected it after all the insanity that I'd already gone through, but apparently, being dragged from one reality to another was more than my leg and Sylph's cast could take.  It fell apart.  I just fell.

Yating moved quickly -- that was part of his training, and as odd as I suddenly felt, I thought his fast action was probably saving my life.  I thought the world was going black again, but then I realized it was actually my sight -- but a moment later, I felt magic sealing the wound and something wrapping around it again --

"Thank you."

Yating nodded and sat back on his heels, looking around the cavern.

I had the feeling I knew where we were.  

"Lycan --"

"Yes, back in the subway," he said.  "We were being tossed out into nothing, my friend.  I grabbed at the last place we'd been and brought us here."

"Excellent work.  We're in the human realm, Yating."

"I've never been here before.  I need to get back and find the Queen.  My duty is to her."

"Let's see if we can sense anything back in the fae realm first," I said and tried to stand.  My leg wouldn't hold me, though.  "This is going to be inconvenient."

Yating nodded, then moved his hand, brushing against the stone wall.  He pulled away a slab and quickly formed it into a cane.  It was a bit heavy, but I also thought it would make an excellent weapon.

"Thank you.  I've never been good with any kind of magic of that sort."

"I don't get to work with it very often, but it does come in handy.  I think I should adapt my clothing?  I think I might be noticeable in uniform."

Lycan nodded in agreement.  He moved a little away from us to the opening that would take us out into the human world.  It was not where I wanted to go -- but heading farther into the caves to where all the others hid didn't seem wise if things were still after us.

Oh, this was a mess.  I trusted Sylph to have gotten the Queen to safety, at least.  I worried about Lady Winter and King Pixie, too, though.  And all the others we'd lost back there.  Had they gone to the abyss?  Lost forever?

Lycan had saved the three of us, but he was looking worried now.  I could guess why.  Shouts echoed from the outer side of the area where we had arrived.  Human cries, and many of them.  That many humans upset was never a good sign.

"We don't dare go farther in and join the others," Lycan said.  "We could draw people to them.  Whatever is going on out there, we need to make sure it doesn't come this way."

"We can't go out there," I said.  "You, friend Lycan --"

"Ah.  Of course."  He bowed his head, and when he looked up, he had fae features, though there was still a hint of Lycan in him.  "Time not to be so obvious about what I am."

"Yes, that will help."  I moved closer to the opening.  The shouts were not right outside, at least.  Yating moved up beside me, and Lycan kept at our back, ready to defend us against -- whatever trouble might come from that direction.

"Could we go back to the fae lands?" Yating asked.  Going out among the humans was clearly not his idea of a wise decision.

"Not yet," I said.  "We'll need to spend some time feeling out the link to there.  We don't know how wide that darkness had spread."

"Ah.  True."  Yating stopped and shook his head.  "I need to just settle in with this.  You two know more of what to do than I do, so just tell me."

"They're getting louder," Lycan said.  He still sounded like himself, at least.  "We better get out there so that no one sees this opening."

They slid out of the crevice and into the shadows.  I took a moment to seal the fissure behind a slight veil.  It would only last a few hours, but I hoped by then this area would be cleared of people, and those hiding in the caverns would be safe.

Thought safe from what?

At first, all I could hear was human shouts, a mixture of anger and fear.  Humans will do anything when in that state, and more often than not, they would take the least logical action.  I should have warned Yating of that possibility, but I figured he was ready for trouble anyway.  Lycan certainly was, with his hand on his knife and a slight snarl on his face.

"You look like you're inviting an attack, my friend," I said as we moved closer to the crowd.

"And they are not?"

"They don't know any better.  What has driven the people here?  Humans don't often hide underground."

"Are they chasing something?" Yating asked.

"It doesn't have that feel.  Stay close."

I led the way, mostly because I'm used to dealing with humans and knew how to get them out of the way without creating more of a problem.  We were moving against the rush -- though even while we moved forward, the crowd had begun to slow and stop.

Many cowered back against the stone and brick walls.  I heard prayers in a dozen languages, but even those were almost lost in the sounds of fear and anger.  Whatever had set them off --

And then I knew.  I could feel the resounding, slow thump --

"Oh hell," I whispered.  "They're here, too."

And that meant everything had changed in this realm.  We may not know what we faced just now, but it wouldn't be long before the word magic began to be heard.  Magic, evil, and devils.  It would all be caught up in the same cycle.  We were never going to recover from this blow.

The crowd thinned as we neared the stairs.  None of them wanted to go out.

Flash Fiction # 442/ The Fae Underground/19

 I looked back as one of the guards closed the outer door, and for a brief second, I thought I saw a ripple in the darkness.  But then it was gone, the door closed, and we were heading downward as fast as we could manage.  Yating glanced my way once and nodded.  I thought it meant he had seen the ripple as well.

"Slower," I dared to say as we passed the next level.  "I should hate to see what would happen if some of us at the back went tumbling down on the rest of you.  We can slow back here --"

"Slower," the Queen agreed.  She even stopped at the next landing, which was not what I'd had in mind, and I started to protest.  "No," she said.  "Rest a moment, all of us.  We are in a place where we are free of anyone eavesdropping, too.  How is your leg?"

I realized she was addressing that to me.  I looked down with a start -- despite the constant underlying ache, I had mostly forgotten the injury.  Sylph's wooden bandage and brace had kept it from disabling me.

"I seem to be doing fine," I offered after a moment of silence.  "Thank you, Sylph."

She bowed her head but glanced upward toward the darkness.  It still bothered her.

"We'll find a way to defeat it," I said when she looked my way again.  "Or else we will find a way to move all the sacred forests, even to the human realm if that's what it takes."

It was not the sort of statement a minor prince of the line ought to make under normal circumstances.  There was nothing ordinary about this time. Sylph, though, turned to look at the Queen, which was probably wise.  The Queen glanced my way, but I saw no reprimand in her face.

"Yes," she said and started down the steps again.  "We shall do all that we can to save everyone in the fae lands -- but I should not like to think we are giving up just yet.  Let us see if we have a chance against the enemy first."

The ground shook harder, and a wall cracked.  I wasn't the only one to send a wave of magic to reinforce the damaged area.

We hurried faster after that.  The trip to the top of the tower had seemed useless at the time, but now I thought differently.  It wasn't so much what we found there, but rather that the group of us had formed a bond.  Even quiet Lady Winter and King Pixie had joined us.  I could feel it the way a fae could in dire circumstances.

It was no less dark when we stepped out into the open area, though I could see more spots of lights nearby.  Soldiers were trying to form up in battle lines, though I could tell that no one knew what they faced.  I could hear sounds, the scraping of feet, the soft growl of creatures that must be close but unseen.

Yating moved closer to the Queen, and barely in time.  Movement erupted from the dark in a mass that seemed to be nothing more than shadows, claws, and teeth.  Lycan and Sylph threw themselves into the fight around the Queen.  Lady Winter changed, and in a moment, the giant polar bear was grabbing creatures by the neck with her huge teeth or sweeping paws across them in quick killing blows.

As they fell, I could see that we faced mostly Trolls.  That, at least, made it easier to do battle -- though I was aware that there was still the darkness and the pounding of something else coming our way.

King Pixie flew off in a sparkle of lights, and I almost yelled for him to come back, but he swept upward out of the main focus of the battle.  He was probably safer up there anyway.

It was not safe down here.  How did the enemy get into the castle grounds?  The guards fought, but many of them had already been injured.  Were there no more soldiers around to help?

The others, whatever they might genuinely be, were coming closer.  A wall fell -- I couldn't see it, but I heard the crash of the stones and calls of surprise and pain.  Something moved out there -- I could sense it more than feel it, like a wall of black closing in from the right.

And then another from the left.  We were being walled in, and the others realized it.

"Get the queen out," I yelled to Yating.

"How?  Where?" he sounded frantic, and I understood that feeling.

Then Sylph came to my side and took hold of my arm, pulling me over to the Queen so quickly that I hadn't had time to protest.

"I can take her somewhere safer."

"Go with Sylph," I said, and without any doubt that she'd be safe.  "Go, please.  Form a shield around yourself -- just get out of here because I have the real feeling they've come for your crown."

"Why would any of the Lords of Chaos want --"  But she stopped herself from saying more.  "To take control.  They don't understand how it works, but they know the symbols."

"Go!"

Yating gave me a look of disbelief, but the Queen had figured it out, and she moved to Sylph with a nod.  The shield she put around herself was so strong that I couldn't see her.

And then dust rose, and they disappeared, dropping away below the stone and dirt so quickly that I had barely blinked, and they were gone.

Something knew she was gone, too.  A howl rose out of the darkness, and for a moment, it seemed as though the world swirled and everything disappeared.  I grabbed at Lycan, and Yating must have caught hold of me.

Because when things settled again, it was just the three of us ... and we were somewhere else...

Flash Fiction # 441/The Fae Underground/18

 (My numbers are off somewhere on the entries for this story.  I haven't figured it out yet, but I hope to soon)

We had stepped out into a sky as black as the darkest night.  Worse, really, because there were not even clouds.  The guards all created lights, but even those small flares seemed to disappear into the inky black.  We instinctively huddled together, all of us moving closer to the Queen.  I wasn't sure if we went to her for help or to make sure she remained safe.

"This cannot be good," Sylph said.  I could hear a hint of fear in her voice for the first time since we met.  "What power could rob us of the sun itself?"

Ah.  Sylph was a spirit of the trees, and the loss of the sun would mean the end of her world.  The trees could not move to other places like the fae and the rest of our kind could.  I began trying to figure out how to transfer a forest, in fact.

Not what I should be considering, but it gave me a moment to think we could deal with this problem, one way or another.  When I looked to the Queen, I could see her eyes narrowed in consideration.  Distant sounds came from the ground below, but I did not think they were the sounds of battle.  That would come soon, though.  Something moved in the darkness, the thumping still growing louder.

"What is out there," I asked, just to say something in the silent darkness.

"My guess would be the Gods of the Outer Dark," Lycan answered.  He put his hand to his weapon and then pulled the fingers back with a shake of his head.

If he was right, this was not an enemy that you could take on with mere swords and shields.  I didn't know what we could use to face it.  The beings of the Outer Dark were not like us -- never mind that these might be their gods.

"What did the army face?" I asked with a wave of my arm down toward the ground we could not see.

The Queen nodded to Yating.  She had her attention elsewhere.  I wondered if she could better feel what was out there than I had managed.

"Mostly trolls and ghouls," he said to me.  "Not anything I would have related to this problem."

"And that's the problem overall," Sylph said.  "None of this seems related, from missing crowns to whatever we faced in the subway, all the way to this."

Lycan and I both looked at each other.  "Chaos," we chorused.

The Queen turned our way with a start -- and then gave a quick nod of agreement.  "Yes, something out of Chaos seems a likely answer if we have the pieces explained properly."

"We could be wrong," I was quick to point out.

"Something to pursue," she said.  Then gave a slight twitch of her shoulders.  "Unless someone comes up with another idea, it seems our best chance to fix something."

"And how do we deal with Chaos?" Captain Yating asked.  He looked to me, and I almost protested that I was not even a soldier --

But then I had an idea, odd as it was.  I looked at Lady Snow.

She met my stare with a nod, though her eyes looked bleak.  "Yes, I am something of Chaos," she said and drew the looks of others.  "Weather nature exists because life is not balanced.  I believe my companions might be right about the nature of the problem ... and I will think about that problem.  There may be others I can call upon.  I want my daughter back."

"We'll do all we can to help you," I promised.  The wording somewhat included the Queen, but I would leave that up to her if she wanted to help.  She didn't nod, but she didn't glare, either.  

It fell chill up here in the dark, and I couldn't tell if that came from the outside or if I just felt the fear of what was happening.  If I stood with the Queen here, right now, that put me in a place of power that I had never sought to hold.  I was the youngest child.  By rights and by custom, I should have been the one who was turned free to roam, learn things -- yes, to spy.  I liked that position in life.  I saw no reason to want to live at court.

Lycan looked my way with another of his frowns.  Of course.  He'd picked up my worry about the court life, but he couldn't know what had set me off.  I gave a little shrug and turned my attention back to the current problem.  After all, if this didn't work out, court life would not be a worry for the future.  Not for any of us.

The pounding grew louder, but the Queen had spread out the magic that settled the tower to a slight tremble rather than feeling as though we were going to crash.  I thought, instead, that something would likely smash us down.  I still could not see it, though.  The thumping sound had become so pervasive that I couldn't tell what direction it came from, either.  Maybe there was no single direction. Perhaps it came from everywhere.

"Is there anything more we can learn from here?" Yating dared to ask.  "Is there anything we can do?  Because if not, I think we had best get back to the ground, my Queen.  The magic you use to keep us safe would be better used elsewhere, don't you think?"

She gave Yating a little glare, glanced around as though she could see beyond our slight flickering of light, and then nodded agreement.  Yating didn't even try to hide his look of relief, but then neither did the rest of us.  We cleared the tower's upper level faster than we had come up into this dark abyss.

Chaos?  That was not an enemy -- it was a way of nature, not something that could be controlled.

Though I began to doubt the truth of that last statement...

Flash Fiction #440/ The Fae Underground/16

 Thump

Thump, thump.

And the sound of the soldiers shouting as they prepared.  Lycan turned my way with his eyes wide and the edges of his teeth showing.

"I know," I said.  I can hear it.  My Queen, we have no time for more discussions.  We seem to be under attack."

"What have you brought on us, boy!" Suntour demanded.  I looked at him with a little surprise because I hadn't thought he was that blind.  He even dared a step closer --

Lycan had a blade in hand before I could protest.  Sylph moved just as quickly, though, strands of her hair snapping out, one of them cutting across his face and others wrapping around his neck -- but those did not cut, I was glad to see.

"Shall I slit his neck, great Queen, and we can get on to the business of survival?  Do you hear that great booming sound that makes the building shake?  We are in trouble."

"That we are," the Queen said.  She rose and gave a sigh that sounded far too much like regret.  "Please let the fool go, Councilor.  We might still have use for him."

"We could toss him to the oncoming trouble," Lycan suggested.

Suntour finding himself released, put a hand to his bleeding face and retreated in haste.  The look he gave Sylph showed there might be more trouble there, later.

However, they would have to survive to reach that point.  The guards signaled the Queen, and she stood without argument.  Everyone bowed their head out of habit, but by then, the building had started to tremble.

"Take what cover you can," she told to her people and then looked at me and gave a quick nod.  "I am going to the tower."

I nodded as well and then glanced at my companions and back to her.  She gave a subtle second nod that others probably didn't notice since they were rushing to getaway.  I half expected to see some transport straight from the room to somewhere -- anywhere -- else.

Fae, in general, are not easily frightened.  However, there was a feeling to this attack that I think must have left us all on edge.  The thumping unsettled thoughts.  The feel of strange magic in the air made me shiver.  This was more than just some other clan coming to take hold of Queen and Castle.  This was not anything I'd felt before.

The Queen left, and I followed in her wake, a nod to my companions who looked uncertain if they wanted to go along as well.  I didn't blame them.  Wherever we went, we were bound to be in the heart of the trouble.

I was surprised to see how fast those who had been in the castle had cleared out, though.  I saw Lycan give a snarling look around, too, and I thought it best to settle that trouble right now.

"They were not the soldiers, you know," I said, even though I would have liked to have seen some willing to actually stand with the Queen.  "Sometimes, it is best that those people are out of the way."

"All of my people are warriors," Lycan replied with a lift of his head.  Then he gave a slight shrug.  "But some more than others.  And the High Fae are not the same, are they?"

"Not at all," King Pixie replied.  He had gone very quiet but seemed happier that we were doing anything at all.  I tried to feel the same way.  "I do not like the feel of whatever is out there, my friends.  I think this is a new aspect of the war.  Something such as this would have been mentioned before now."

The Queen had stopped at a locked door to the highest tower where only she could go, along with those she invited.  The guards had already spread out to guard the door, and I thought I saw the shock in the faces of a couple when they realized that my friends and I were going up with her.

"My Queen," her captain said, his voice soft.  "I ask --"

"Yes, yes," she said with a wave of her hand.  She had always been impatient.  "You and one other with us.  But I trust these people, Captain Yating.  Don't let me regret bringing you up with us."

Yating gave a nod of gratitude to her, maybe just in knowing that she did trust him.  Under the circumstances, that reason for going with us might be more critical than any mistrust he felt toward the strangers.  Whom did you trust in the High Court these days?

I had been gone too long.  That meant I knew nothing of what was going on -- and that I was suspect for the very reason that I was away in the human lands.

Oh, and because I came to the Queen in such odd company.  That didn't help.

I had only been up these stairs once before in my life.  As the son of the Queen, my coming of age ceremony took place on the highest tower in the brisk wind of what I had considered an unseasonably cold day.  Someone could have fixed that, at least for the ceremony.  

I knew we would face more than bad weather once we reached the summit this time.  Even here, the walls shook, and I wondered about the wisdom of going up in the tower in this situation.

I said nothing.  I looked at the fair, white walls and thought of the countless others who had come this way, usually on more grave business than a coming-of-age ceremony.

My companions said nothing, but if they knew anything about the Fae Queen's Castle, they knew that outsiders rarely went up these steps.  In fact, I couldn't think of a single one.

I remembered coming out into the bright, blinding light of day and feeling as though I stood before the gods for judgment.  

Instead, we stepped out into utter and complete darkness.