Oh, really?
In the darkness, away from the light of the flames, something growled.
“You couldn’t wait to piss him off until we were out of the dangerous tunnel?” Beezle complained.
“I was trying to get us
out
of the dangerous tunnel by pissing him off,” I muttered, drawing my sword.
Beside me Nathaniel readied his magic. I shook my head at him. “You’ve got to let me handle this.”
“Lord Lucifer would have my head if I did not defend you.”
“This isn’t about your pact with Lucifer,” I said impatiently. “Oberon wants me to prove something to him, and I’m going to prove it.”
Nathaniel’s mouth tightened. “Very well. But do not expect me to do nothing if your plight becomes dire.”
The shadows before us seemed to be congealing. I heard a wet sucking sound as the darkness formed into something huge and red-eyed. Silver teeth caught the light from the torches and gleamed.
“Whatever,” I said, and ran toward it, sword raised. I pushed my power through the blade and aimed the pointy end toward one of its glowing eyes.
The sword struck true, my power flowing through it and into the monster. The thing of shadows burst, splattering me with muscle and blood.
“Come on, I just got clean from killing the last monster,” I said.
“You have gristle in your hair,” Beezle said.
“Is that all you’ve got?” I shouted at Oberon, opening my arms wide.
There was a rustle, a chitter, then the sound of many legs moving. I could see a crowd of eyes moving toward us, close to the ground.
“Rats?” I said. “Rats? Really?”
I blasted them with fire. They squealed, tried to turn, and I blasted them again. A few minutes later there was nothing but rat ash.
“You will not beat me,” I said. “I have faced the nephilim in the Valley of Sorrows. I have overcome the Maze. I’ve fought countless monsters that are worse than anything you’ve got. I killed the Grigori’s Hound of the Hunt, and I defeated your own Hob.”
“You might not want to remind him of that since that’s the reason they’re trying to kill you,” Beezle said.
“If you persist in sending these small things instead of facing me yourself, I’m going to get angrier than I already am. And you don’t know what can happen when I’m angry. I might just decide to destroy your whole kingdom.”
“Getting a little dark, are we?” Beezle asked.
I knew that I was on a slippery slope. I’d done things before that I was not proud of, like condoning Violet’s torture in order to get information out of Amarantha. But I’d always justified it by saying there was a greater good at hand.
This time, I was just angry. There was no greater good to fall back on. I was sick of being hunted, of being chased, of being toyed with by immortals. I was sick of dancing to someone else’s tune. And I was not going to permit the king and queen of Faerie to plague me and my child for the rest of our lives.
It had to end today, or it would never end at all.
Oberon did not reply.
“Fine,” I said. “You asked for it.”
I plunged the sword into the ground and called the power of the Morningstar. It flowed easily through me as it had never done before, and I felt the answering beat of my child’s wings inside me. I was not just myself anymore. I was a conduit for Gabriel’s power, too, in the form of our baby.
All of that magic rushed through me and through the sword and into the earth that surrounded us.
“Grab on to me!” I shouted to Nathaniel and Beezle.
Beezle crawled down the back of my shirt, hiding his face. Nathaniel put his hand around my arm. His eyes widened when his skin touched mine. I was burning hotter and brighter than a star, and I was about to supernova.
Then the walls collapsed, the floor fell away, the ceiling disappeared and we were shooting up, up, up. No, we weren’t shooting—we were
growing
. I smashed a mountain out of my way, and knocked over the troll-guarded forest. I ground the gretewitch’s cabin beneath my boot.
Then we were standing in the middle of a throne room made of stone, a thousand shocked faces staring at us. I was covered in blood and dirt and brandished Lucifer’s sword in one hand. The remains of Oberon’s toy lay in shards underneath my feet. Beezle clambered up my back and flew out so that he could glare around.
Two faeries, a male and a female, each more beautiful than any human I’d ever seen, sat upon thrones at one end of the court. Both of them were clothed in velvet and furs and wore jeweled crowns. And they looked just as shocked as everyone else. I shook Nathaniel’s hand off my arm and strode toward the thrones.
My movement recalled the king’s soldiers to their duty. A platoon of faeries, dressed in armor and carrying swords, assembled in front of me.
I didn’t stop to think, or even to really look at them. I just hacked them out of the way.
When I reached the thrones I had more blood on me, and I was barely out of breath.
“Who else will you sacrifice because you’re too scared to face me?” I asked.
“How dare you…” Titania began.
“For the love of the Morningstar, enough,” I said, cutting her off. “You’ve tried and failed to kill me several times over. Give it up, or get off your ass and fight me yourself.”
“You have done us great insult by entering the kingdom of Faerie without invitation,” Oberon said through gritted teeth.
“Do you think it’s not an insult to send an assassin after me?”
“You murdered Queen Amarantha in cold blood,” Titania said.
“I hear myself saying this over and over, but she was trying to kill me at the time. I defended myself.”
“So you say,” Titania said.
“Amarantha wasn’t up to anything good,” I said. “She was stealing people’s memories and working in concert with Azazel. She also participated in an uprising against Lucifer, twice.”
“What care we for the troubles of Lucifer?” Oberon sneered.
“You don’t have to care,” I said impatiently. “But if someone takes a swing at me, I’m going to swing back. Amarantha tried me, and she lost. Don’t make the same mistake.”
“You have killed our champion, entered our kingdom without leave and insulted us before our court. We cannot allow that to pass,” Oberon said.
“You should,” I said steadily. “You really should.”
“You will face a trial by combat for your crimes,” Oberon said, standing from his throne.
“I am not a member of your court,” I said. “You do not dictate to me.”
“Watch yourself, Lucifer’s spawn,” Oberon hissed. “I have not yet shown you the full extent of my powers. I could wipe you from the face of the earth without blinking.”
“Then do it,” I challenged. “I don’t think you’ve got all that much, to be honest.”
“I am king. I do not engage with the lower classes,” Oberon said, moving to sit again.
“Coward,” I said.
His eyes narrowed. They were bright green, the color of a new spring leaf glistening with dew.
“I am no coward,” Oberon said.
Titania laid a hand on his arm. “Do not let her incite you.”
The king shook the queen’s hand away impatiently. “She has insulted me for the last time.”
I stepped back, the sword gripped loosely in my right hand, and gave him a challenging look. “Come and get me, then, coward.”
All around us the faerie court was murmuring, but I was barely aware of them. I saw only Oberon. I needed to get him to engage, to make a mistake.
And then I would finish this.
“Very well,” Oberon said, removing his crown. “We will engage in a trial by combat. No magic. Physical weapons only.”
“And when you lose, you will call off your plans for vengeance. No faerie or creature under your command will pursue me or mine any longer. The blood price will be negated. Oh, and you will allow Nathaniel, Beezle and myself safe passage home.”
“And when
you
lose, Madeline Black, you will have your guts torn from you before the entire court of Faerie,” Oberon said.
“Why does everyone always want my guts?” I asked. “Fine, I agree to your terms if you agree to mine.”
Oberon nodded.
“No,” I said. “I want to hear you say that you agree to my terms.”
I wasn’t stupid. Faeries love loopholes.
“I agree to your terms,” Oberon said after a long silence.
“And you, too,” I said to Titania.
“Disrespectful child,” Titania said. “Foolish child. You do not know that which you meddle in.”
“Do you agree or not?”
“I agree to your terms,” Titania said, her eyes hard as flint. She stood from her throne and clapped her hands. “The trial shall begin in ten minutes. Combatants, you may prepare yourselves.”
Oberon and Titania went into an immediate huddle. The courtiers weren’t even bothering to hide their shock and amazement. The room was abuzz with talk.
I deliberately turned my back on the king and queen, letting them know that I wasn’t afraid. Nathaniel and Beezle waited for me in the middle of the court, both of them looking resigned.
Nathaniel tugged me toward an empty corner of the room. The faeries gave us a wide berth. I didn’t know if it was because they were scared of me or because I was covered in blood. Probably a little of both.
“Is this what you intended all along?” Nathaniel said in a low voice. “To provoke Oberon into a fight?”
“No. I was just kind of going with what felt right at the moment,” I said. “Oberon is a weak link. His pride is touchy, probably because of the heir question.”
“Please do not say such a thing any louder,” Nathaniel said. “Do not give them another reason to come after you.”
“They’re not going to come for me after today,” I said. “I’m going to finish this.”
“If you beat Oberon, then what?” Beezle whispered. “Remember what we were talking about at breakfast? If you kill him, there will be magical repercussions.”
“Oh, yeah,” I said, a little of my righteous anger deflating. I wasn’t interested in causing the magical equivalent of a nuclear explosion. “Well, I won’t kill him.”
“So you will defeat him and leave him humiliated before his court?” Nathaniel asked.
“That works for me,” I said.
Beezle shook his head. “You have to completely neutralize him or this will never end.”
“Look, stop worrying about the endgame,” I said. “Just tell me how I can beat him. I’m not allowed to use magic.”
“You should be,” said another voice, and we all turned to see who was eavesdropping on us.
A youngish male faerie stood there. He was handsome in an impish way, and had black hair and merry blue eyes.
“I should be what?” I asked.
“Permitted to use magic,” the faerie said. “Lord Oberon uses magic to maintain his appearance, and he won’t show his true face even during combat.”
“I’m sure that they’ll claim that a faerie’s glamour is not the same as using power for destruction, blah-de-blah,” I said. “It’s probably not worth the argument. Who are you, anyway?”
“Puck,” Beezle said thoughtfully.
“I see my reputation precedes me,” he said, bowing extravagantly. “As does yours, Madeline Black.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“It depends upon who you ask,” Puck said. “There are some members of this court who welcome your reputation, and all that comes with it.”
“Are you one of them?” I asked.
Puck smiled. “You can’t cozen me into admitting treason.”
“Is there anyone else around here who can be? A few allies wouldn’t go amiss right now,” I said.
“You present such a fearful appearance at this moment that I doubt you would get a truthful answer,” Puck said.
“Does Oberon’s glamour increase his strength or speed?” I asked Puck, getting irritated with this circular conversation.
He shrugged. “Who can say? It has been so long since Lord Oberon appeared without his glamour that he’s probably forgotten his true nature.”
“That’s not real helpful,” I said. “Are you here to help or to annoy me?”
“Who can say?” Puck repeated, winking at me.
“Yeah, okay, you’re cute,” I said, grabbing Puck’s shoulders and spinning him around. “Move along.”
He glanced back at me. “Remember, Oberon has as much at stake as you do.”
Then he disappeared into the crowd.
“That was useful,” Beezle said.
“You don’t sound sarcastic,” I said.
“That’s because I’m not. Puck helped you out.”
“Maybe I’m delirious from all the monster-fighting, but I fail to see…”
“Ladies and gentlemen of the court, the trial by combat will begin in one minute!” Puck announced. “The combatants will now step forth into the ring.”
I turned toward the center of the room and was surprised to see an actual boxing ring set on a dais in the middle of the room. Puck stood in the middle of the ring wearing a tuxedo he hadn’t been wearing a minute before.
In one corner of the ring stood Oberon. He’d stripped off the signs of his office, the jewels and furs and velvets, and wore only a pair of leather breeches. His chest was thin and milk white, but ropy muscle showed underneath his skin. In one hand he held a broadsword with a basket hilt.
“I’m not stripping down to my Skivvies,” I said to Beezle.
“Why not? Oberon might take one look at your little belly pooch and run away in terror,” he replied.
“Hark who’s talking about a belly pooch,” I said.
“Madeline has gotten thinner, in any case,” Nathaniel said.
“No, I haven’t,” I said automatically. How could I? I was overweight to begin with and now I was pregnant. I was only going to get bigger.
“No, she…” Beezle said, and then trailed off, frowning as he looked at me. “Actually, you have. I wonder if…”
“Madeline Black, please step into the ring!” Puck said in a singsong voice. “Your complete and utter destruction cannot take place without your participation!”
I climbed into the ring, wearing my bloodstained jeans and shirt and holding Lucifer’s sword. “You’re not as cute as I thought you were,” I said to Puck.
“Wait awhile and see if I change your mind,” Puck said in an undertone. Then, in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, he said, “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen of the court and honored guests! Today’s entertainment is a trial by combat between our very own high Lord Oberon and the lady Madeline Black ap Azazel, representative of Lucifer’s court.”