Across the Veil - Part Four

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

“Braitheann sí.” Faldo growled as he stepped inside Talia’s trailer, pointing an accusatory finger at them. “Betrayer.” Faldo tipped his head toward the Sentinel. “Take her back to Summerland. The High Council can decide her fate.”

As the Sentinel stepped forward Keth leapt to his feet. “You will have to kill me first.”

“With pleasure.” Faldo’s mouth twisted into a sick smile. “I have waited all my life for this.”

Keth raised a brow. “No vampires to fight your battle for you this time?”

“Vampires?” Talia got up to stand beside him. “Vampires aren’t real.”

Keth shook his head. “Just because you haven’t seen one, doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I can assure you they’re very real. My dear brother has been sending them to attack me regularly since I crossed the veil.”

Faldo shoved the Sentinel. “Enough talk. Seize her.”

The hulking troll lumbered forward, but Keth dodged his big hand. He lunged forward and hit the creature’s knees. The sentinel waved his arms before toppling over, shaking the entire trailer with the force of his fall. Putrid breath expelled from the Sentinel’s lips as Keth sprang back to his feet.

“Let’s finish this, Brother,” Keth growled. “Just you and me.”

Faldo’s smirk spread and he flicked his gaze toward Talia. Before Keth could react, his brother had her by the throat. “Stay back or I will kill her.”

Talia’s blue eyes met his, but Keth didn’t see fear, instead Talia’s stare burned with determination. She had a plan, so he stalled for time. “Why do you want to crush such a precious flower? Talia has always been yours, Faldo, and you have never deserved her.”

Faldo’s face flushed red. He grabbed her forearm and jerked it up, exposing the vine that matched Keth’s wrist. “She has never been mine. You saw to that when you claimed her for yourself…”

His words ended abruptly when Talia jammed her knee into his groin. His face paled as he bent over in pain. She slammed the heel of her palm into his nose and followed it by bringing her elbow down between his shoulder blades. Faldo crumpled onto her carpet face-first, blood trickling from his nose.

“I don’t belong to anyone,” she huffed. “I’m not a sack of grain or a pretty piece of jewelry.”

Keth started to smile, but from the corner of his eye he saw something moving. His smile faded when he realized the Sentinel was lumbering to his feet.

“Get behind me, Talia.”

She did as he asked and he steadied himself into a fighting stance, ready to counter the creature’s next move. While they circled each other, Talia suddenly ran past him and looped a large metal ringed belt around the Sentinel.

“Diúltach,” she commanded, but the Sentinel kept swiping at her with his large hands. She dodged and glanced at Keth. “My magic never works right on this side of the veil.”

“Diúltach,” Keth growled. “I am your master now.” The Sentinel quieted, his arms lowering to his sides. “You have to combine our magic with human commands. The spell isn’t as strong, but I can usually count on it to work.” He looked over at his unconscious older brother, and then smiled at Talia. “When did you learn to fight?”

She pulled her robe tighter and lifted her chin. “I’m not a little princess anymore. I’ve taken self-defense classes. I can take care of myself.”

He raised a brow and nodded. “I can see that.”

“So what should we do with him now?” She pointed at Faldo. “We can’t just leave him here for the humans to find.”

Keth raked his fingers back through his hair. “We can’t let him live. He’ll never stop hunting us.”

“Are you suggesting we kill him?”

Keth mulled over the thought. Cruelty was Faldo’s specialty. Even before he found Keth and Talia at the lake, Faldo took pleasure in tormenting his younger brother. While Faldo’s physical features favored the light, his soul echoed with bitter darkness. The world would be better off without Faldo in it. Keth turned to grab the stake from his coat, but Talia caught his arm. The gentle softness of her touch pulled him back from his dark thoughts.

Her eyes met his. “We can’t kill him, Keth. If you let darkness win, then your soul will be just as empty as your brother’s.”

“Do you have a better plan? He won’t stop, Talia. Now that he knows where you are, he will send his vampires to call on you too. They lust for Fae blood. They’ll be happy to do his bidding.”

Talia glanced over at Faldo, then back up at Keth. “I have another costume prop with iron in it. We can restrain him and take him back across the veil. The High Council can decide his fate.”

“Why would the council believe us over him?”

Talia straightened up, her glamour lighting up her flawless skin as her eyes twinkled up at him. Even wrapped in her robe she looked every bit the regal faerie princess. He couldn’t help but smile.

“They’ll believe us because I am Talia, Princess of the Light, and I have returned home.”

He took her hand and lifted it to his lips, pressing a slow, lingering kiss to her skin. “We have both been gone from Summerland for five human years; time passes differently there, remember? The kingdom may not be the same.”

“I guess we’ll find out.” She gave his hand a little tug as she rose up on her tiptoes to kiss his lips. No flower on earth smelled as sweet and Talia’s skin.

He tugged Faldo’s arms back behind him as Talia emerged with another belt with iron links. He wrapped the belt around Faldo’s wrists, pulling them tight together. Faldo groaned, but didn’t struggle.

Once Talia was dressed, he yanked Faldo to his feet. “Come brother. It looks like we’ll be going to see the High Council after all.”

Without incident, they made their way off the movie set and out into the arid Arizona desert wind. Keth jerked Faldo to a stop and waited for Talia and the Sentinel to approach. With Talia at his side, he closed his eyes and opened his soul to Summerland’s magic. Cool air, rich with the scent of springtime, whipped through his hair as he chanted, “Osclaíodh sé geata. Open the gate, lift the veil.”

Talia added her voice to the plea. Crossing the veil wasn’t like a spell. It required the veil to welcome you. That was probably part of the reason Faldo sent vampires to attack him. The undead were part of the world of man. Faldo could bribe them with magic or jewels or even the enticement of Fae blood, without ever crossing through the veil himself.

The air around them charged with frantic energy as the desert warped and the color faded. Then as suddenly as the change began, they were back home. Keth frowned, his green eyes narrowing as he took in the stark countryside. Clouds blocked the sun and the lush green grass was withered. All of Summerland was gray.

“What’s happened?” Talia gasped.

Faldo let out a bitter laugh. “Welcome back.”

***

When they reached Talia’s home, the castle no longer sparkled. The stone was dull and cold. Her eyes welled with tears. “I don’t understand.”

Keth took her hand and led her inside, his brow furrowed. How many years had passed since they left? How could the magic of Summerland be lost? The air no longer carried the scent of spring flowers, instead the stale odor of dust and mildew stung his nostrils.

When they reached the chamber of the High Council, Talia gasped. Up on the throne sat the withered bodies of her parents. The king and queen stared blankly ahead; unaware that Talia was in the room. Tears streamed down her face as she knelt between them.

“What have you done?” Keth whispered.

Faldo smirked. “This is all your doing.”

“I had no part in this.”

“You took what was rightfully mine. It was within my right to demand justice.”

Keth’s brow furrowed as he gripped Faldo’s arm tighter. “You call this justice?”

“Justice comes at a high price. After our parents were dead, I had to offer the vampires more Fae blood.”

The world tilted and his legs went weak. “Our parents…”

“Are dead,” Faldo finished.

Keth looked up at Talia kissing the hands of her parents, and the realization that he would never see his parents again hit him squarely in the chest. All the years of rage and hatred burned through Keth’s veins like an inferno as he tackled his older brother, knocking him to the ground. Faldo erupted with maniacal laughter as Keth pummeled his unprotected face.

“Yes, kill me brother. Finish off the world of magic. Replace it with darkness and hate and retribution. Finish it for me. Kill me.”

Keth stopped punching and clamped his hands around Faldo’s neck, squeezing until his brother was silent. He watched Faldo’s eyes bulge as he struggled instinctively for breath.

The sound of Talia’s scream shattered the darkness that embraced him.

Keth let go of his brother and winced. Searing hot pain flared through his head. Talia’s hands covered her face as she wept, and Keth forced his legs to move through the pain. He had to help her. Blood oozed down his forehead when he finally reached her side.

“It hurts,” she gasped as he pulled her into his arms, clenching his jaw to keep from crying out. His vision clouded and for a moment he almost welcomed unconsciousness. He kissed her hair and whispered, “I am so sorry, Talia. An aimsir láithreach.”

“I love you too,” she sobbed.

He closed his eyes, and whispered a heartfelt plea to the Lady of the Lake. “Take me. Let Talia live. Please. Take me in her place.”

Talia clung to him. She always fit so perfectly in his arms, like he was born to hold her. As he drifted away, a smile warmed his lips. He’d finally come home.

“Keth?”

Her voice sounded distant. He tried to answer her, but he couldn’t move. Her fingers slid through his hair, soothing the fiery ache. Gradually he took air into his lungs, savoring the sweet taste until his eyes fluttered open. He stared up at Talia, dazed by the glow of her red hair. As his vision cleared, he realized streaks of green now flowed through her mane, and around her head a tattoo vine appeared green with life. He opened his mouth, but couldn’t find the words.

Talia traced her fingertips along his forehead as she bent to kiss him. “You have one too,” she whispered. “Summerland has made you my king.”

Keth sat up, his jaw dropping as he took in the flowers that surrounded them. The High Council chamber sparkled with magic and glory once again. He spun around toward his brother, only to find a twisted oak tree in his place. The Sentinel blinked, rubbing his head and wandered out of the room.

“Kethian of the Gollan Clan, please rise.”

Keth blinked. How long had it been since someone referred to him by his full name? He gave Talia’s hand a squeeze and rose to his feet. The king was no longer a shriveled husk. His long silver hair shimmered around him and his eyes twinkled with magic.

“Summerland herself has chosen you for our daughter. By offering your life for hers, you have brought the Light back to our world.” The King rose and helped his daughter to her feet. He brought their hands together and looked at each of them. “Magic grows from love, may both bloom in your lives.”

Keth’s eyes shined with emotion as he stared down at Talia. After a lifetime of longing, they were finally together, no more hiding or pretending.

“I love you,” he whispered, and without hesitation, before all of Summerland, he kissed her.