When Rory arrived at the workshop, he was glad to find Oszlár with Munro and Douglas. “Huck’s not here?” he asked.
Munro shook his head. “Aaron said he went to find Lisle. I haven’t seen him since you got back.”
Rory nodded to the keeper in greeting. “Any news?” he asked.
Oszlár frowned. “No good news, I’m afraid.”
“Konstanze means to go ahead with the execution,” Munro told him.
“No trial?”
At that moment, Huck and Lisle arrived together, both listening intently for the keeper’s answer.
“No,” Oszlár said, a curious expression on his face as he nodded to the new arrivals. “She kept her contempt for me under the surface, but only just. The lady will be executed tomorrow night after Konstanze returns from Queen Eilidh’s mating ceremony.”
Munro looked like he wanted to punch someone. Huck’s dark expression matched the Scot’s, and Lisle eyes carried a haunted hollowness.
“I’ll send word to Eilidh,” Munro said solemnly. “We’ll postpone the wedding.”
“No,” Huck said. “Don’t.” With a glance to Lisle, he said, “We have a plan. It’s a long shot, but our best chance is if the wedding goes ahead.” He explained his intentions, holding out three ward stones, two from the Amsterdam house, one he and Lisle had just made.
“Fascinating,” Oszlár said.
Munro tilted his head towards Lisle. “One of these days, I’d like to learn how you make those. I’m sure we all would.”
“I’ll wake Flùr,” Rory said. “She can go with you and use her illusions to disguise you.”
“No,” Munro said, holding up a hand to stop Rory. “They’d be better off without her this time. Watchers all over the kingdoms have been training to resist astral influence, including illusion. Huck hasn’t touched the Source Stone. That means faeries can’t detect his flows. If those stones work as well on the Ashkyne faeries as they did on Flùr, Huck might have a shot.” He turned to Oszlár. “What do you think?”
The elder faerie stepped forward and peered at the stones in Huck’s hand. “Unpleasant,” he said to the druid.
“Pardon me?” came Huck’s astonished reply.
Oszlár turned to Munro. “It’s extremely unpleasant to look at him.”
Lisle smiled with satisfaction, a gleam of hope lighting her eyes.
“You think this will work?” Munro asked the keeper.
“As a Keeper of the Stone, I am sworn to be neutral to politics and national concerns. The life of one woman, no matter how I feel personally, is irrelevant in the face of my duty. I cannot, therefore, encourage you to violate the territory of any queen.” He paused and held up a hand when Huck appeared ready to interrupt. “I will say this. We faeries are not adept at embracing new ideas, as you have observed. Therefore, ward stones would prove an advantage, should you find yourself in a position where you wish to move undetected.”
Huck nodded. “I’ll dress in black like their servants and Watchers and hope no one pays too much attention.”
Oszlár tilted his head, still not precisely meeting Huck’s eyes. “Remember, my lord druid. It is difficult to look at you, but not impossible. I would advise extreme caution.”
Munro glanced at Huck, his mouth in a grim line. “It’s a risk. Be careful. I don’t want to lose you too.”
“Thanks,” Huck said. “You go get married. And try not to worry about us. I’m planning to bring Demi and Jago back safely.”
“I’ll need to tell Eilidh what’s happened,” Munro said. “She was prepared to postpone if things didn’t work out.” He flashed a tiny smile. “I confess I’m glad I don’t have to cancel the wedding. She’d probably be graceful about it, but never quite forgive me.” The others gave a small laugh, so he paused before saying, “Listen, I know this isn’t really the right time, but people are going to hear soon. Eilidh’s pregnant.”
An awkward stillness filled the room as the other druids shot glances at one another.
Munro rolled his eyes. “The baby’s mine,” he said, and the friends all chuckled together. “Jeez,” he went on. “Can’t a guy have a wife with three husbands without everyone thinking it’s weird?” They laughed even louder and congratulated him with slaps on the back.
Oszlár bowed to Munro. “My deepest prayer of thanks to the Mother of the Earth for her gift to you, my lord druid. Your daughter will bless our people immeasurably.”
The quick flicker of recognition indicated Munro caught the keeper’s choice of words.
Daughter
. Oszlár had already known about the baby. The old faerie had a lot more up his sleeve than he was letting on.
“Keeper,” Munro said, “with respect, I need a little more from you.”
“Oh?” Oszlár said. “How may I be of service, my lord druid?”
“Show us the Source Stone again, and this time, tell us everything.”
Oszlár hesitated, then shifted his posture slightly, standing a little bit straighter. “I’m not one to defy the draoidh. However,
everything
is quite a substantial request.”
“You’ve been keeping more than the Stone,” Rory said. “You have a lot of secrets.”
“When you reach my age,” Oszlár said with a wry grin, “So will you.”
Hon, the Hall’s steward appeared at the doorway. “Queen Eilidh of Caledonia,” he announced.
Munro looked at Hon with surprise, then watched as his future wife swept into the room, her brow knitted with anxiety.
“What’s wrong?” Munro asked, reaching out to take her hand.
She blinked at him. “What’s wrong? My entire nation expects me to take a mate tomorrow night. The celebrations have already begun. The first royal feast commences in a few hours. Queens from every realm will begin arriving through the portal soon. I still don’t even know if the ceremony will take place because one of my honoured guests has threatened to kill my new mate’s comrade.” Her palpable anxiety filled the room.
“Konstanze isn’t backing down,” Munro said. Eilidh’s face fell, but Munro went on quickly. “We have a plan. At least, Huck and Lisle do.”
Huck took a deep breath as though trying to steel himself. “We need you to go ahead with the wedding.”
Eilidh’s frown deepened as she looked at the druids one by one. She pursed her lips. “I understand. Whatever your plans, you must all return by the start of the ceremony if you intend for your absence to not be noted. All the druid lords will be expected for at least that portion of the evening.”
Huck nodded, but his expression was noncommittal. “I’ll do my best,” he said.
Turning to Munro, she said, “We need to go, then.”
“Now?” he asked. “The wedding isn’t until tomorrow. We planned to do some more work at the library tonight.”
Her gaze went to the ceiling as though the queen was striving not to lose her temper. “I told you weeks ago you would be expected to greet the other queens and attend the feasts.”
For the first time ever, Rory thought he caught a bit of nervousness in Munro’s expression. Was the unflappable former cop actually worried about the wedding?
“Go on, mate,” Rory said. “We’ve got this.”
Munro sighed. “I thought I’d have more time.” He glanced at the Keeper. “I still think there’s more you could tell us that would help our situation.”
“Perhaps,” Oszlár said. “The other keepers are buzzing about your new portal. May I see it?”
“Sure,” Munro said.
Eilidh interrupted. “The others can show him. If we don’t behave precisely as protocol dictates, we may arouse suspicions. Many will be watching for our response to Konstanze’s manoeuvres.” She paused. “And you need to change before you come to the Caledonian Hall for the first feast.”
Munro looked down at his clothing, a puzzled expression on his face. He clearly thought his attire was fine. With a sigh, he said, “Rory, Douglas, will you show Keeper Oszlár our portal? Then go with him to study the Source Stone one last time?”
Douglas nodded his agreement. “I know what to do. What Aaron told us gave me a few ideas of my own.”
“All right,” Munro said, his inner conflict playing in his expression. Rory understood. He wouldn’t want to be at a formal dinner just now either. Munro extended a hand to Huck, and they shook. “Good luck,” Munro said.
“Thanks,” Huck replied. “You too.” Rory wasn’t sure which of them looked more apprehensive.
One of Eilidh’s personal attendants arrived secretly at the Druid Hall a few hours later to inform Huck that the guests of the feast would be departing soon for Caledonia. A fleeting, crazy thought popped into his head.
Why not just kill Konstanze at the wedding? Surely that would stop the execution.
He sighed. He must really have little confidence in his plan if he believed murdering a queen in front of her honour guard would be easier than what he intended to do.
He thanked the messenger and checked his pack one last time. He’d worn black and packed only the bare minimum he thought he’d need. If everything went his way, he hoped to return in time to attend Munro’s wedding. If nothing went his way, he might not come back at all. He’d seen fae combat spells. No way would he survive if one was aimed directly at him. Stealth and deception were his only hope.
When he made his way to the Druid Hall’s main courtyard, he found Lisle waiting for him. The old woman stared towards the blue portal in the distance, clutching Jago’s teddy bear to her chest. “Take this,” she said, handing him the toy. “He will be afraid. He’s just a little boy,” she added.
“Sure,” Huck said and took the bear.
A little boy who’d killed his father.
The thought had played over and over in Huck’s mind ever since he found out Jago was a blood faerie. But what child wouldn’t want to protect his mother? Huck sure as hell would. His thoughts drifted to his own mother. She’d been one of those women who joined clubs and committees, went to parent-teacher conferences, drove him to soccer practice twice a week and games on Sunday afternoons.
Shoving the memories aside, he put the teddy bear in his pack, then slung the black bag over his shoulder. Huck strained to see the courtyard in the distance. It was too far, but he thought he saw the blue flicker of the portal. The chimes rang in the Druid Hall. Soon, the sun would rise in Caledonia. The queens and their massive entourages would make their way to their day of rest before the wedding tomorrow night. Munro and Eilidh would be paraded in front of tens of thousands of faeries.
Where will I be then? Will I even be alive?
He looked at his watch. With the sun up in the human realm, the Otherworld gates would be closed already. That blue shimmering portal would be his only way out of Ashkyne for at least the next ten hours.
“It’s time,” he said.
Lisle put her ropy, wrinkled hand on his arm and squeezed. She remained silent, but her expression spoke volumes. Hope, fear, dread, and a prayer for safe return all wordlessly passed between them.
Huck checked for the stones in his pocket. They were there, as they had been the first dozen times he’d checked.
One foot in front of the other
, he thought. He strode down the pathway and to the bridge over the fog that gave the Halls of Mist its name. His gaze never deviated from the portal.
He slowed when he approached the immense courtyard, surprised to find it still crowded with faeries dressed in resplendent formalwear. Moving hundreds of wedding guests would take time, he supposed. Part of him wanted to turn back to his Hall, but he had to move on. His best hope was that they would think he was going to Caledonia like the rest of them. It even occurred to him the portal might take him there. What if he truthfully didn’t want to go to Ashkyne, no matter if his sense of duty told him he had to? What if he walked through that portal and ended up alongside the other party-goers?
As he moved towards the crowd, not one of the faeries acknowledged him. None bowed their heads with respect as they usually did. He looked at them incredulously, searching for a sign that Konstanze’s new attitude of disdain had spread even beyond her own kingdom. But then his confidence surged. Of course. The ward stone. He’d known how they worked and even hoped they would cause him to be ignored, but wanting a thing and experiencing it were completely different.
A cluster of faeries stood between him and the shining portal globe. “Pardon me,” he said quietly.
One female faerie glanced up, then her eyes darted away. She frowned as though she’d smelled something unpleasant. “We should go,” she said to her companions. “I’m tired after the meal. The food, I think, was too rich. I have a headache.” Her friends tutted with sympathy, but not one of them noticed Huck.
A voice suddenly rang in his head.
Your wards have a limited area of effect. Be cautious.
He whipped around, looking for the source of the message. From the far side of the courtyard, he saw Eilidh. She met his eyes and held his gaze for a few seconds before casually and deliberately turning away.
With that sober reminder, he slipped into a group making its way towards the portal’s glow.
Any fear, or secret hope, he would not end up in Ashkyne vanished. The blue glow surrounded him, and the cooler air of an Ashkyne breeze whipped at his shirt as he stepped through to the other side.
He touched the identity token beside the ward stone in his pocket, marked with the rune of the Druid Hall. He’d decided to keep this part simple. In the best case scenario, the Watchers wouldn’t even challenge him, but as Eilidh had reminded him, he wasn’t truly invisible, only, as Oszlár put it, unpleasant to acknowledge.