IN FULL COLOUR - Dark Fantasy

Axel

It suddenly occurred to me that the bewitched man at the border wasn’t the only nether fae of Shadows and Whispers who had decided to grace us with their awful presence.

“And the second encounter? There was a second encounter with a black entity in the guest wing of Dire Mountain,” I stated, winching at the memory of that THING making its way into the packhouse so stealthily. Completely undetected.

“Mine,” Coyne answered quickly, “it was before I managed to escape. An effort to scare you,” he shook his head, “I thought that if I could scare you shitless, then maybe you would realize that something was coming and be on your guard.”

“Well, you definitely managed to scare the crap out of us,” Locke said, throwing me a knowing look.

“I’m sorry,” King Coyne grumbled, "I didn't have much to work with."

“So, what happens now?” Dorian asked.

“We prepare for the attack,” Locke replied on behalf of the king.

Coyne nodded, “she is coming. Might be here already for all we know.”

“She wouldn’t risk travelling with her beasts in broad daylight, not where they can be spotted by humans at least,” King Gaute added, “although most of them should be able to shift between forms. Human to beast.”

“The Serpent Queen is ruthless and has a large, very skilled army, but when I was there, I didn’t hear of plans to ambush. She might be using some of her allied forces to do some of her dirty work,” Coyne said more to himself than to the rest of us.

“The vampire attack on Feral Grove?” Alpha Blake asked, snapping his head in Coyne’s direction.

The young king considered his words for a moment. “She has two fairly strong vampire rebels fighting for her cause, each with their own group of followers. She wants to unite the fallen kingdom of Death and Blood with her own. Form one unbreakable kingdom the likes of which the world has never seen before.”

With a flicker of realization, the shadows disappeared from the king’s eyes as he started putting the puzzle pieces together.

“One of the vampires, the stronger of the two, has been her secret lover for years now. They never mated formally because he is already wed to another. Well, I don’t think they are fully mated since she bears no claiming mark on her flesh. His followers call him the Vampire King because of his assortment of impressive abilities, and I have no doubt that he would do anything to get a crown on his head, formally.”

“But why attack Feral Grove?” Dorian asked, his gaze focusing on Alpha Blake, but it was Coyne who spoke first.

“I don’t know, it could have been a mistake. Or a coverup of some sort. What I do know, however, is that the Serpent Queen and her lover has been conspiring with the other vampire, Pierce Campbell I think his name was, to wed his sister, a half breed with the ability of seeing glimpses of the future, to the Vampire King. An arranged marriage to combine the two strongest vampire bloodlines and a strategic move to gain the seer's powers.”

My mind was a jumbled mess of information. So many new factors to consider, loose ends and unanswered questions. I needed time to process all of this.

“Pierce had practically sold his sister off to the self-proclaimed king. Apparently, she, uh-Catalina, I think, had a vision of when his wife would die, and the young half breed girl would be wed to him within the fortnight after his former wife’s burial.”

Locke swore under his breath again and I was starting to wonder if I was hearing everything wrong.

“As far as I know, Pierce had already left, travelling in Feral Grove’s direction to retrieve his sister in preparation for both the funeral and wedding.”

“Anything could have gone wrong along the way,” Alpha Blake stated.

Vampires travelling over pack territories was never a good thing. They were never welcome, and we could scent them a mile off.

“Right, so, in conclusion, we might be facing a group of vampires or an army of fae?” Dorian asked, worry lines already edging over his usually friendly face.

“That is right,” Coyne replied and folded his hands on the table.

Locke swore again.

“We could seal off the tunnel,” Jumoke, the crowned prince stated, “it would create a bottleneck, make it easier for us to take on the masses.”

Locke nodded in agreement, “it would definitely help to even the battlefield a bit more. There is no way they would be able to get through the mountains any other way.”

“Iron,” King Gaute added, “the wolves can help us with an unbreakable solid iron gate in the tunnel in exchange for protection and housing in Lighthaven.”

Alpha Blake nodded in agreement.

Iron burns fairies and would keep the army well away from the residents of Lighthaven, should the time come.

“But we need to install the locking mechanism for the gate in Lighthaven itself. Some fae and even vampires have mind-controlling powers. It would be useless to have a gate only to be forced to unlock it by one of their beasts.”

Right, mind-control only works on an individual if they were in you line of sight. So by placing the locking mechanism well away from the gate and in Lighthaven, it would help to ensure that the gate stays locked once it has slammed shut.

Alpha Blake started barking orders and Dorian’s eyes glazed over relaying them. King Gaute did the same with his sons and I stayed seated, staring only at the young, troubled king. He had seen so many horrors. Lived so many nightmares, and had very little left, yet, he had come to warn us. He might look like the embodiment of death but there was still something left inside of him. Maybe a mere flicker of a flame that hadn’t died out after all these years spent in darkness. A tiny kernel of hope in a dark and destructive world.

As everyone started moving and yelling out orders around us, Coyne stared at his hands, shadows dancing in his golden-brown eyes yet again. I couldn’t help but wonder what he would do next. Where he would go, how he would cope. Would he stay and fight with us? And if so, why?

Who was this broken young king who clawed so desperately to the tiny kernel of hope? Hope of a better world and hope of a future. Not just for him, but for all of us.