Page 9 of The Unseelie War
“Your…natural order?” Another of the Seelie—a woman Valroy didn't recognize—stepped forward. “You speak madness.Thisis madness.”
“I speak of work long constrained, finally unleashed.” His voice dropped to a dangerous purr. “Humanity has had their long-awaited day of judgement finally come calling. For too long, they have been spared. Long ago, Mother Morrigan had a moment of brilliance in making me, only to have her conscience get the better of her. But now? The chains are gone. And where is she to stop me? Hm? Indeed, it seems to be her machinations with the Weaver to thank for all this.”
Lord Caelum was backing away now, finally understanding the true scope of what Valroy intended. “But—the Queen—your wife—she would never sanction this. When she learns what you're planning?—“
“My beloved Abigail is somewhere, and no doubt dealing with her own crisis at the moment.” He shrugged. “The merger has scattered us all across this new reality. By the time she finds me? It will be too late.”
The Seelie were clearly preparing to flee—a wise choice, though ultimately futile. Before they could move, the air around them began to shimmer. Someone was coming. Valroy felt it too, a familiar presence that made his skin crawl with anticipation.
Nos materialized first, his mismatched form solid and real in a way it hadn't been for centuries. Rendered unto a dream and once more given flesh. Howcharming.But even more interesting, was the living lie that came beside him. Ibin, the never-born fae, given physical substance by the merger of the worlds. Both of them looked around the chaotic street with expressions of wonder.
It seemed moving through space was unpredictable. Valroy was impressed that Nos was daring enough to try it.
“Well, well.” Valroy shifted his attention to the newcomers. He was a bit annoyed to be interrupted, but he still had plenty of time to murder the Seelie. “How lovely to see you, Nos.”
Nos's mismatched eyes fixed on Valroy with obvious wariness. “Where is she? Where is Ava? I cannot find her.”
“I am insulted! And here I was thinking you were looking for me.” Valroy laughed. “I hate to disappoint you, but I do not know. Somewhere in this delightful mess she's created, I imagine.” He gestured at the chaos around them. “Three worlds merged into one, reality itself made malleable, the barriers between conscious and unconscious thought dissolved completely. It's really quite impressive for someone with so little experience to have buggered things up so perfectly.”
“You have to help fix this,” Ibin said, her voice carrying a note of desperation. “We need to put the worlds back to the way they were.”
“Fix this? Fixthis?”He cackled as he gestured at the chaos around him with a hand. “Why would I ever seek to right this chaos? This is such wonderful fun! I am finally free to fulfill the purpose for which I was created.”
The Seelie had been listening to this exchange with growing horror. Lord Caelum found his voice first. “You truly are mad. You’ll destroy everything—Seelie, Unseelie,all lifeitself. You must stop!”
“Do you think I am here to take orders from you,Seelie?Your choice is either to serve me or die. I care not how your life is spent.” He lifted his sword and pointed it at the woman. “Either at the end of a blade or at the end of a leash in my army. But make no mistake—this new world belongs to me now.”
Nos stepped forward, his expression grim. “Ava won’t let you do this. When she realizes what you’re planning?—”
“Do you think she does not know? My designs upon the world have never strayed. And the Weaver is powerful, yes. But she's also inexperienced, overwhelmed, and currently struggling to control abilities she barely understands.” Valroy smiled. “Besides, why should she oppose me? I am simply doing what needs to be done. She set this all in motion, after all, did she not? She knew precisely what would happen if I were to be let loose on Earth. And here I am. Well. In what remains of it after all. Though if the humans are left to theirown ends for much longer, I may not be needed too much to destroy them.”
As if to emphasize his point, a nearby tree suddenly burst into flame—not from any external cause. Simplybecause.The merger had made thought itself a force of nature, and of course the weak-minded humans had no idea how to control it.
“You see?” Valroy gestured at the burning tree. “Mortals cannot handle the power they have been given. They never have been able to. They are once more destroying themselves through their own unconscious fears and desires. I will simply put them out of their own misery.”
“By murdering innocents,” Ibin said flatly.
“There is no such thing as innocence. I will forgive you for not knowing this, as you, like the concept itself, are merely a fiction.” He shrugged. There was no point in arguing with a dream. “All things will die. All thingsmustdie. That this world exists is a folly. That humanity exists at all is a farce. Humanity had their chance to prove they deserved to share this world with beings of power. They’ve spent the last several centuries demonstrating their unfitness through war, pollution, and the systematic destruction of magic itself. I was born for their destruction. And lo, I come to deliver it.”
Holding up his sword, he watched the remaining crimson blood glint off the blade. “The simple fact remains, my dear friends, that humanity is best relegated to the position ofdust.And Seelie shall be kept in pens where they can do no harm. So, if you wish to cavort and enjoy this ‘madness’ while you can, I suggest you flee and do so.” He grinned at them. He could almost taste the carnage on his lips already. “Before my fun begins in truth.”
“M-my liege—” the foolish Seelie Lord Caelum opened his mouth for the last time.
Before Valroy tired of it being able to produce sound.
With a sigh, he swung his sword, and cleaved Caleum’s head from his neck. The blow was fast enough that it did not even draw blood for the first few seconds.
The woman accompanying Caelum screamed.
The corpse of Lord Caelum slumped to one side. His head rolled to the other, the mouth moving and eyes searching in its last moments of disembodied life. Always fascinating how that tended to happen. Idly, he nudged the head with his foot. He wondered if anyone had ever done a study of how long it lasted.
Nos was standing there in wide-eyed horror. “The treaty, my King…”
Valroy laughed. “I suppose we can duly consider it broken, hm?” He turned toward Nos, lowering his sword to his side. Ibin was now standing beside Nos, her hands clenched in fists at her side. “Oh? And what is this? Is the dream angry with me now? How adorable!”
Nos shook his head. “This is wrong, King Valroy. And you know it.”
“Dospeak to me of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ as if I give a damn, Nos.” He rolled his eyes.
