Dragon Horn Page 13

  Burn paused for dramatic effect. “And that woman is my mother.”

  “Junipher is your mother, but who is your father?” I asked.

  Burn recounted, “This is where the story gets crazy. My mother is obviously immortal and I am less than two decades old. My mother performed undercover jobs for the Celtic Gods.”

  “I’m well aware of that.” Alayna lowered her voice. “I knew your mother quite well. We expected her back by now. I’ll have to notify the Gods of what happened.”

  “Before I jump ahead to the climactic conclusion, allow me to backtrack. My mother went into the Red Cavern under the guise of a sympathetic convert. She was really trying to get back Lugh’s Spear that was believed to be in the possession of King Bres.”

  “What does King Bres have to do with the Red Cavern?” Alayna asked.

  “Brace yourselves,” stated Burn, “King Bres is one of the original devils to start the Red Cavern some eight hundred years ago.”

  “I knew it,” exclaimed Alayna who had caught her excitement. She whispered, “The Dagda told me that his sudden disappearance was too convenient. I can’t believe he’s stayed hidden this long.”

  Burn said, “Yes, he shapeshifts and goes by the name of Bruceras now. Under guise, my mother submitted herself to the mercy of the demons of the Red Cavern and all that it entails. That includes being at the call of the demons for sexual favors.” She paused for a few moments. “King Bres is my father.”

  I tried to add it all up. “So King Bres is your father, who is Bruceras. I met him before. And your mother is the daughter of his wife. That clears it all up. I guess we all have fucked up families.” I thought for another second. “Wait. Burn, your grandmother is a Goddess and your father a king. Am I the only one who isn’t royalty around here?”

  Felix snored like a chainsaw, right on cue. The women didn’t utter a peep.

  I said, “At least I’m related to Merlin.” The silence continued. “Right, Alayna?”

  Alayna finally agreed, “Yeah. We’re all special, it should seem.”

  Her pause seemed strange. Perhaps she was nodding off. I added, “And we are all a lot more similar than we first thought. All from the same cauldron.”

  I heard Burn swallow a couple times before continuing. “The male demons discovered how truly powerful she was and they filled our cave with lava. I escaped right before that molten mess silenced the rest of my family.”

  Alayna spoke in the soothing tone she’d usually reserved for me, “All may not be lost. Being immortal, nothing is off the table. That downfall sounds pretty vicious, but I’ve seen beings recover from worse.”

  Burn asked, “So what is Sleepy Willow? Is it Tir na nȎg?”

  Tir na nȎg was the otherworld of a group of Irish Celts known as the Tuatha Dé Danann. It was a land of immortal supernaturals and known as the Land of the Forever Young.

  Alayna answered, “Once Tir na nȎg had filled up, they started sending the sidhe and other beings here. Sleepy Willow is the second otherworld shared by Irish and Welsh Celts. The majority of the population here is the sidhe. But now we have beings and creatures from everywhere.”

  “Okay, I’ve read about this, but what exactly are the sidhe?” asked Burn.

  Alayna cleared her throat softly out of respect for Felix. “I’ll explain the mythology first. They are believed to have been fallen angels. A group of ten or twelve were rejected by heaven but not quite bad enough to be sent to hell. However, they were tossed out of heaven carelessly, landing harshly on the earth’s surface somewhere in Ireland. Stories say that they even hit branches on trees that stretched them out on the way down. Apparently, that is why they are so tall. They hit the earth so hard the impact separated the iron from their blood and it caused them to be highly susceptible to the element. The original angels grew in number over the years and are now known as the sidhe. That’s the tale, at least.”

  Felix turned up the volume on his snoring and Alayna paused for him to quiet down.

  “The small folk originally ruled this land. Once the sidhe had a big enough population, they assumed power after a great battle with the Faerie Court. And my ex-husband, King Ballistar, was their leader. The king and the sidhe have had power ever since.” She sighed and cleared her throat.

  “Although everything about them appears human, they are far from it.” Alayna yawned. “Called the Fair Folk because most are chalky like me. They are fierce warriors, much stronger than humans and quick to lose their temper. They can be killed temporarily and are especially vulnerable to iron. That’s why I made you all bring something made of iron with you.”

  “Thanks for that.” I rolled onto my side, trying to get comfortable.

  “You’re welcome. What else about the sidhe?” She paused for several moments and I could tell Alayna was tired. “They were once a proud race here, but ever since the Crop Curse, they’ve become a cutthroat society. Almost all of them can use glamor, illusions or shapeshift, about half of them know magic and they can only be killed, truly killed forever, by destroying all their organs.”

  Glamor was an illusion creating a false appearance. It was a fascination that intensified reality and caused distortion usually in the form of a beautiful appearance or a shiny object. Similar to shapeshifting, the sidhe used glamor to draw in their enemies under a false guise. Historically, it had been associated with witches’ spells to fool an enemy.

  “And on that lovely note, maybe we should get some shut eye. Goodnight gals,” I said in my Humphrey Bogart accent.

  “Goodnight,” two female voices rang out in unison.

  My mind raced with all the information I’d just learned. Our first day in Sleepy Willow was interesting to say the least. Jonathan was right about having to be quick on your feet in this place. This encounter taught me that you had to be ready for everything and anything. And we’d only just begun.

  I smashed my eyelids shut in an attempt to force sleep. Tomorrow, I had to fight an immortal killer who had only tied, never lost, seven times in the past seven hundred years.

  Chapter 17

  I shoved the emerald key into the slot and turned. Glowing green sparks jumped into the air and I yanked my hand away. The key vanished as fast as it had materialized in Fencester’s hand. The golden door opened toward me and I stepped inside, all alone with a death machine.

  I found myself trapped inside a gigantic dome made of a golden frame that held thick panes of glass in place. A misty tropical heat hung in the stale air and it felt like a greenhouse. I stared ahead at an empty plain of verdant grass.

  Straight away, I formed a sound shield around my body and hoped it was much stronger than the one Burn had set. The Sphinx’s voice could reach levels that had been reported to shatter a mortal’s soul.

  We’d found a guide to get us here. I was worried initially because of his sinister smile, but the older sidhe male proved trustworthy. So far. He was waiting with the rest of the group to guide us to the lake. In exchange for a few more coins, of course. The power of that metal was amazing.

  My rattled bones were shaking and an overpowering stench led my eyes to the right, where they focused on a putrescent pile of losing contestants in various stages of decay.

  Some were missing heads, others were mangled beyond recognition. I wondered what I’d gotten myself into. Oddly enough, a strong smell of fresh vegetation cut through the putrid odor. I had a strong hunch as to what was being used as fertilizer.

  I refocused on the task at hand with my back close to the entrance door. Nobody was going to sneak up on me. A clarion voice attacked my ears, threatening to break through my eardrums, even through my strong sound shield. The shrill auditory attack brought me to my knees and I instinctively slapped my hands to the sides of my head. Tears pooled in my eyes and I shut them to concentrate.

  The sound still overpowered me and I jammed my fingers into my ear canals. My blurred vision started to come back into focus as the racket stopped and an elegant golden Sphinx app
roached me.

  The creature stood taller on all fours than my upright six-three frame. The winged andro-Sphinx had the body of a lion and the delicate, pale face of a blonde woman. Her golden locks were braided and wrapped around her head like an intricately woven skull cap.

  The fur on her body and legs was a tinge lighter than her magnificent braid but speckled with blood. Her elegant white wings gave off a seraphic quality as she drew them in and tucked them against her sides. Her green eyes appeared red, glossy and downright sad as she lumbered up to me.

  I broke the spell for the sound shield, and said, “Hello.”

  The Sphinx stopped and backed up a few steps. “English, huh? Haven’t heard that in a while.”

  Even though she was several feet away, I smelled mint on her breath. Using the tips Alayna had given me, I went for sugar instead of vinegar. “What’s your name?”

  She eyeballed me suspiciously. “I ask the questions. How didn’t your precious eardrums shatter from my voice?”

  I had my magic on the surface in case the Sphinx pulled a rash move. I maintained the sweetness approach. “I thought it sounded beautiful.”

  She cocked her head to the side and her golden eyelashes fluttered excitedly. “Thank you. Although you are a crafty one. Give me one reason why I shouldn’t...” In less than a heartbeat, her wings extended fully and began to beat rapidly.

  The lightning quick move took me by surprise despite being prepared for an attack. Before I knew it, the Sphinx was in mid-air, heading straight for me. I tried a quick sidestep, but the enormous creature bowled into me, easily knocking me on my back and slamming my head into the ground. Once the streaking stars in my vision relented, I found myself under the full power of the legendary Sphinx.

  I tried to wriggle loose, but the massive animal had a firm hold of me. She raised her right paw above my face. I zeroed in on pieces of human skin, tendons, muscle tissue and dried black blood on the undersides of her claws. She asked, “Would you like to get it over with and die now, or would you like to try a riddle?”

  I remained devoted to my original effort. “Why are you crying?”

  She snapped back defensively, “I’m not crying, you’re crying.” She raised her right paw to dab the corners of her glistening eyes. “Hah, I would never cry.”

  I spoke softly, in a caring tone, “There’s nothing wrong with crying.”

  “I don’t need you to tell me that.” She nibbled nervously on her bottom lip. “However, I don’t cry. Never have, never will.”

  I could see the agony in her eyes. I assumed her irises had been a vibrant jade at one point, but now they had dulled to a dreary gray. On the other hand, her dilated pupils seemed ready to take in anything life could offer.

  I analyzed the dichotomy, and chose my words carefully, “Seeing as to how you are probably going to kill me soon, you could confess if something has you down, and no one will ever find out. Might feel good to get something off your chest.”

  She looked over at her deadly paw and slowly lowered it to the ground. “I’m going to let you loose, but if you try to run from me, I’ll kill you.”

  I didn’t plan to go anywhere. “I promise.”

  I sat up with my back against the glass of the cage. The Sphinx sank down into a relaxed position in front of me. She said, “Knelly Knell.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “That’s the stupid name they gave me. It’s a riff off death knell since nobody has defeated me. Seven people have solved a riddle over my two millennia of living. That damn Oedipus got lucky, I tell you. I’ll bet he ran home to mommy as soon as he won. Anyway, I hate the name. I hate my job.”

  Either she was lying about her true age or Oedipus lived during a different time than previously recorded. However, that was neither here nor there right now. “Why do you do it?”

  She sniffled and craned her neck to look around as if she was scared someone else might see her in a vulnerable state. “The King forces me to do it. I’m trapped in here. I came here a little over seven hundred years ago; he asked if I would like a house to keep out of the rain and snow. Being a young, foolish eight-hundred-year-old, I jumped at the chance. Once I was inside, he locked the door. No matter how hard I try, I can’t break out of here.”

  That was sad, but she’d shaved years off her age by the sentence. It had to be a female thing because Alayna still claimed to be nine-hundred-ninety-nine, the same age as when I’d met her three years ago. “How did a Greek Sphinx end up in a Celtic otherworld?”

  “Curiosity. If it’s good enough to get the cat, what chance had I? When I arrived here, it was a utopian paradise. That was before the ouster of our once-legendary queen. Back then it was much more appealing than the Olive Pit.”

  The Olive Pit was the name of the Greek otherworld.

  I returned to my sweetness approach, although I didn’t have to make much effort because I really enjoyed talking to Knelly Knell. “What do you really want out of life?”

  She gazed up to the sky and paused for an extended period of time. She smirked and focused on me. “I’m a bit stumped. I’ve been in here for more than seven hundred years and you’re the first person to ever ask me that. Look into my eyes.”

  I stared into the dense green pools of her irises that had suddenly regained vibrancy. A tingle ran down my spine and I knew she was searching my soul. After about two minutes, Knelly Knell finally blinked and smiled. “I had a hunch.”

  I was confused. “A hunch? What hunch?”

  “The fact that you seem to care about me and not just getting the lake coin told me that you were special. I can see you’ve had to do some terrible things, much like myself. And I know you don’t enjoy them.” She batted her eyes, now appearing as if she were a proud parent or sibling. “Why do you care about me considering I’m only a vehicle for gaining the coin?”

  That was it. She just wanted someone to care about her. A simple wish, really. I asked, “Why wouldn’t I want to help someone like you? I’ve actually heard good things about you.”

  She laughed in a scoffing manner, rolled her eyes and threw back her head. “Sure. I’ll bet you have. So do you want the riddle so you can get the key and get on your way to the Dragon Horn?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. I want to know what you really want in life.”

  Tears spilled from her ducts, dampening her smooth cheeks, then falling to the grass. “You really...you really do care.” She swallowed a few times and fought back the emotion. Her lips quivered as she spoke, “I want to be free. Why have wings if I am going to be left in this tiny cage?”

  “What if I help to free you from this slavery?” I wasn’t sure how, but Knelly Knell desperately needed a healthy dose of hope right now.

  She raised her eyelids, showing more of the red veins in her sclerae, and shook her head quickly. “No. Don’t you dare,” she warned, head still moving side to side. “The last person to try to help me escape died for her noble actions. Nobody should help me.”

  “At least you know someone loved you.”

  The Sphinx exhaled audibly through her nostrils, which resulted in a snorting sound. “A lot of good it did her. Queen Al was the embodiment of compassion. She was the only friend I’ve ever had in this land.” She used the back of her paw to wipe away the tears on her cheeks.

  Knelly Knell appeared to be fighting away a new batch of emotional moisture as she continued, “One day she told me that she would convince the King to let me loose. I never saw her again. They killed her. They killed her and I can only blame myself.”

  “I think you may be way off base there. That might have just been a coincidence.”

  “It was no coincidence, fool. Sorry, I get emotional about this.” Knelly Knell took a few deep breaths. “I’m convinced they killed her because she asked them to free me. She laid down her life that day. For me. Fighting for me. And I will always love her for that. If I could only see her one more time, perhaps her spirit, I could offer proper thanks.”

&nb
sp; I grinned and attempted to give her more hope. “I have a feeling she might find out. Or she might already know this.”

  Alayna hadn’t revealed any of this. No wonder she was revered by the people of Sleepy Willow and her king husband saw her as a possible threat. Popularity seemed to be viewed as a sign of strength and a subsequent threat to those in power too.

  “I promise that if I get out of here and over Lake Geopold safely, I will come back and get you out of here.” I was pretty sure I could hold up the pledge. Although extremely unsure of how to pull it off, I felt she needed this right now. “I don’t know when and I don’t know how just yet, but I will come back for you.”

  “You’re too nice.” Her pale face blushed and the burgundy rush ran down over her neck.

  “Thank you.” I nodded in the form of a bow.

  Knelly Knell laughed and said, “It wasn’t a compliment. Not around here, at least. That’s the exact kind of foolhardy behavior that will get you killed. I’m the only one with a gushy heart around here. I’ll tell you what. Since you’ve been an honorable, respectable young man, I’ll give you an easy riddle to solve.”

  “Sounds good.” I’d almost forgotten about this part of the equation.

  “I’ll give you one that is old as time and everyone has heard. Originally told to me by the Oracle of Cadmus. Wish she had warned me to stay away from this land. Some Oracle, huh? Anyway, here it is.”

  I leaned forward in anticipation as she continued, “There are two sisters. One gives birth to the other, who in turn gives birth to the first. Who are they?”

  Uh oh. I definitely hadn’t heard this one before. Was she really going to kill me after we’d just become good friends? I slammed my eyelids closed and thought about the question. Nothing came to mind so I had to develop another plan.

  Chapter 18

  Opening my eyes, I asked the Sphinx, “Don’t you ever get sick of eating people?”

  A smirk developed slowly on her face. “Since you are going to keep my secrets, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’m a vegetarian.”