“It isn’t near…not here, anyway. It feels like the portal’s mouth is further away than Scotland,” Frankie shook her head, and then it hit her with a horrific slap across the face, “Jazz…its Dublin, it has opened into Dublin, but I don’t know from where?”
“Pestale? Has Pestale escaped?” Jazz tried to keep the horror from her tone.
“No,” Frankie shook her head. “I don’t feel him, and I would if he had. I don’t know how that is, but it is. I could feel these things…streaking blue…so many charging out of the portal, but I don’t know what they are. This is something Otherworldly, but I don’t know what.”
“Unseelie?” Jazz asked, dread in her tone.
“Not Unseelie, Jazz. They give off a different vibe, but I can’t tell you what these things are. And there are many of them…many.”
“We have to tell Trevor!” Jazz turned toward the open door.
Trevor however, was already standing in the doorway.
Frankie looked at his dear, handsome face. He had picked up on his mate’s distress, and as he took Jazz into his arms, and held Frankie’s hand, he said, “Time to visit with the Queen Aaibhe, and get word to yer father.”
* * *
Sventer stood near the Liffey River. It was dark, but the night lights gave off the aura of life, a land filled and teaming with life.
One day, he and his kind would find a way to take all that they wanted and live apart from Pestale and his brother.
One day, he was going to kill Pestale.
He would do it when the Dark Prince least expected. He would find enough of the Danu Dust and coat his sword and shift in and slice off the Dark Prince’s head, severing it from his wicked body.
For now, he had to be content with the dream.
For now, he had to bide his time. He stared up at the bridge full with vehicles, their lights giving everything a celebratory effect, welcoming him and his warriors.
Ha, soon, all that traffic, all the noise and the bustle of the night life would belong to them.
He and his warriors could not be seen, as they were cloaked with demon invisibility, very different than the Féth Fiada of the Fae. A Fae could remain invisible indefinitely, a Blue Demon, only for an hour at a time with a needed fifteen minute interval before he could invoke invisibility again. However, a redeeming facet of demon invisibility was the fact that Fae could not see through it.
Pestale would never see him coming—when he finally made his dream come true.
Enough of that. They had work to do.
He contemplated the rush of trucks and cars and people with a sigh, thinking this a very strange world, much in need of conquering and guidance.
Why was everyone in such a hurry? What was it all about? These humans were unfathomable creatures. They built vehicles that could cause bodily harm to their mortal bodies. They ran around from place to place, always putting their lives at risk at every turn. Why? To what end? Why not use their minds and discover the science of ‘shifting’?
He looked at his soldiers and saw that they too were watching the humans in their vehicles and looking perplexed. He said with a grimace, “Don’t try understanding them.” He shrugged. “Humans are no more than savages. Be careful if and when we find we have to interact with them in the future. They are low-level thinking creatures and can be dangerous.” He saw that they all agreed with this philosophy and he added, “Very well then. It is time to shift into the catacombs.”
Their style of locomotion which was similar to Fae shifting was slower, less agile, but it took them where they needed to go—to the historic Customs House. Once there, they looked around with mild interest and then shifted below its historic foundation into the catacombs beneath.
The walls of these interconnecting dungeons seemed to be bolstered with stone and aged thick dark beams. Torches unused in a century hung in various places along their way and Sventer used a bit of magic to get them lighted. He had to conserve his magical energy for the job ahead. However, even with the light from the burning torches, the tunnels were dark, dank and raging with rats scurrying about making his men grimace and curse.
Once again, Sventer used his magic to diminish the population of rats within their close proximity.
“So then, my worthies,” he said in a tone to bolster their morale and purpose, “We will make our way down these corridors and find the catacombs that lie beneath Trinity Campus. There, you will find the Hallows and get to work to create a diversion.” He paused, and sneered, “Humans revere the Book of Kells, and will at this time of year be at the Ancient Library in numbers. Tourist season, and what we do today will impact the world.” He shook his head, “I shouldn’t be more than a few moments, and by then, it will be daylight and by the time we are ready, the campus will be full of students as well. That is when we will strike.”
“We will have to keep hidden for a time until we can use our invisibility to get the iron…” one of his soldiers mumbled.
“Aye, now let’s get started,” Sventer said idly and shrugged.
“Why does he hate the humans so much?” another asked. “They shouldn’t matter. They are naught.”
“It isn’t humans he hates, but his father. Hurting humans would hurt the Dark King’s consort and what hurts her would affect the Dark King.” Sventer shook his head and said, “All that has naught to do with us. All we need know is that we will conquer this universe and take what we will.”