Page 57 of Beltane

Carter

Hitting the ground on my back hurt, knocking all the air out of my lungs, and when I finally got my muscles to work again, I gasped and scrambled to my feet. I gaped at the sight in front of me, my mind almost unable to understand it.

Diana and Alberich hovered thirty feet in the air, their magic twisting together like the clouds in a hurricane, creating a force field around them that stretched as far as I could see in either direction. Dark tendrils swirled with the queen’s pale counterparts, engulfing the ruins and the ground between them. A loud roaring sound whipped through the atmosphere, blowing the trees against each other, the crisp Faerie air hitting me in the face. If I couldn’t see this, I’d swear a helicopter had landed right in front of me. But no, this was two pissed-off royal fairies taking it out on each other on their most hallowed ground.

The rest of the fairies had been blasted as far away as us, and now they pushed to their feet, their eyes as black as the others. But they weren’t going for the circle of chaos, no. They were turning on each other. Clangs of metal from crashing swords echoed over the wind, and I moved out of the way of two fairies who had tackled another to the ground.

He’d entranced them all. He’d put them under some spell that made them fight among themselves.

The bastard!

We were the only ones left standing, the only ones in our right mind. I didn’t know why he wasn’t able to manipulate us the way he’d done to the others. If he tried, it didn’t work. Perhaps the queen was protecting us. Or perhaps it was our magic shielding the effects of his. I thought back to Siobhan’s insistence that it had to be us, that we would be the ones to end it. Now I understood what she meant.

But Ivy and Lex were on theotherside of the whirlwind, and we’d either have to go around it or through it to get to them. I found Miri on the ground near me, scrambling on her hands and knees like she was looking for something. I kneeled next to her, grabbing her shoulders to try to pull her to her feet.

“No!” She shoved me away. “Help me find it!”

“Find what?” I held her face up to mine, cupping her chin so I could wipe the blood off her cheek. She must have hit her head when she fell, but it wasn’t too serious. “Miri, we have to get to Ivy and Lex.”

She said something back to me, but I couldn’t hear it over the sounds of soldiers and royalty tearing each other apart. Miri kept searching, her features draped in alternating shadows and bright lights, making me feel like I was in some fucked-up rave.

“Miri!” I shouted again.

She found whatever she’d been trying to get and sagged in relief before pushing to her feet and showing me the bag containing the ruby dust.

“Come on, Romeo.” She leaned in closer to my ear so I would hear what she said next. “Just like Lex said. We can do it.” Miri glanced back at the swirling nightmare of magic in the distance, Lex and Ivy on the other side of the shield…on the other side of the veil. Ivy’s features contorted into confusion while Lex talked at her with his hands, probably also trying to figure out how to get through.

The screams of the battling fairies around me grew louder, drawing my attention. Some of them tried to enter the force field, and the strength of it ripped them to pieces. Another one ran for it straight on and disintegrated the moment he crossed through. A few of the enthralled soldiers on the ground got caught up in it, exploding into dust.

When the rest of the bystanders realized they couldn’t get inside or go around it, the front line backed up, but the storm grew bigger. They pushed into the human realm to keep from getting caught in it, others retreating farther into Faerie. The longer we waited, the more overwhelming their combined power became, and if we did nothing, it would eventually take over. How much damage could it do?

“We have to get to the other side,” I said, tugging Miri over to the edge of the spiraling magic, the crackling energy nearly sending me back into the crowd with the rest of the fairies, but I squeezed her hand tighter and focused on Lex and Ivy.

“We can’t get in.” Miri stopped and winced, looking at the fairies that were still risking their lives to join the fight. “We have to throw it at him from here.”

I couldn’t explain how I knew this was the right thing to do, only that luck had been on my side this far, and it wouldn’t abandon me now. I remembered that green mist last night, the one created out of our love for each other, the one that grew exponentially with each confession of adoration.

If they’re like us, we’re like them.

I visualized that emerald energy like a shield, like I could wrap it around my body, around the bodies of my lovers. It would protect us, it would give us strength. That was why it was still within us, why we still glowed with it. It flowed out of the center of my chest, coating my skin like armor before cascading to Miri behind me.

“Don’t let go, okay?” I shouted at her.

She nodded, but I had no idea if she heard me. The thunderous boom of crashing energy might have blocked it out.

I pushed my other hand into the explosive mist, now twirling more violently around the two royals locked in its embrace. When I didn’t lose an arm or disappear completely, I pushed in farther and the strength of the forest-green magic held, allowing me to take a step.

Then another. And another. The weight of their fight bore down on me from either side, suffocating in its intensity, like I’d suddenly been dragged thousands of miles below sea level. The pressure ached, pulsing and throbbing against my skin while I walked. It took eons to get through to the other side, and even then, the roaring did not stop. My hand clamped around Miri’s, yanking her into the eye of the cyclone so hard, she tripped on the edge and stumbled into me. I caught her, my knees locking in place as I glanced around.

From inside, the sight was even more mesmerizing. Each royal’s power had hit the other and launched skyward, arching over the middle to create a dome. Gale-force winds ripped around me, chapping my cheeks and making my eyes water, but I gave myself one heartbeat to admire its raw primal beauty. I had never seen such magnificence, and despite the dire circumstances, I believed I never would again.

“We need to get them,” Miri said, our combined attention going to Ivy and Lex, who were still trying to get through the force field. We couldn’t do this without them. We were stronger when we were together. We needed them to finish this. Their emerald shield did not radiate as powerfully as it did with me and Miri. I needed to help them. I needed to reach through the magic and tug them both inside with us.

“This way!” I pulled her over to our spouses, too focused on getting to them to realize Miri was scrambling for the ruby dust and chanting something too low for me to hear.

Ivy’s fingertips were so close to the middle, so close to breaking the barrier. I dug deep for more of the power we’d generated between us, feeding the extension of it through my arm into my hand. I pushed against the fairy magic, knowing only I could do it, only I could rip it apart.

The pressure ached like a thousand splinters sliding into my skin, piercing my bones, but I kept going. We needed Lex and Ivy.Ineeded them.

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