With a relieved sigh, she regarded Nuad. “I saw him slam that…” she pointed at the scepter into the ground. “Just like I said the Queen vanished.”
Nuad’s glittering eyes narrowed as he turned and looked at Banzar. “How did you get this?”
“I have my ways…there are many things I am capable of,” Banzar said.
“Include dying in that list,” Nuad snorted. “I repeat, where did you send our Queen?”
He shrugged, “I don’t really know. I read somewhere that it could send the Queen off indefinitely and so I did.” Again the laughter that Jazz believed comes with overwrought obsession. He stopped suddenly and said, “Ete is next.”
“Son of a bitch!” Jazz took a step towards him. “Nuad, Z would say this one needs dying and she would be right.”
“You can’t put me to death,” Banzar shouted and sneered. “Only the Queen can do that…and she is gone.” The laughter took him over again.
Nuad stepped right up to him and landed him a facer that sent him reeling and quieted him. His roar was up close and very personal, “What have you done with my queen?”
“I sent her away, far away” Banzar giggled. “Oh put him out of his misery,” Jazz said with a shake of her head.
“He is right, only the Queen can order his death and we haven’t had a Seelie Fae put to death in eons.” Nuad said quietly. “I must consult with Breslyn.
She eyed Banzar, “You are certain he can’t get away?”
Nuad smiled at her and arched a brow, “You question us?”
She laughed, “At this point, I question everything.”
And together they shifted.
~*~
Thousands upon thousands of years ago, when Danu still thrived, Trevor had only been a youth, what humans would call a toddler. He only knew the old tales of the Gorka and how Queen Bridget and the Dark King had captured the last remaining two--just before their falling out.
He had heard stories of the slaughter of so many Fae, and had formed a picture of the grotesque creatures in his mind. He had heard about the brave caste of Sluagh and how they had taken to the skies to defeat the Gorka.
These were Fae eating monsters and Deimne was the last of his brave caste. Trevor knew the stories that the Gorka was the reason that Deimne was the last of his kind. For the moment looking upon the ancient beast, he could only stare. It was a sentient beast. It was huge grotesque dragon whose tongue was black, forked and spiked. Its venom paralyzed its victims they would then die slowly. Sometimes the beasts ate their prey immediately while they were still alive, other times after they would wait until they had been preserved for a while and kept alive in a slimy cocoon, to be chomped down on at the beast’s leisure.
Trevor watched the ancient three-eyed dragon with disbelief. He watched the jets of fire scorch the land as it flew over. He found the sound of the monster’
s roar deafening, and he saw death before him for both Deimne and himself.
Death Swords would not kill the Gorka unless the weapon was plunged into one of its three eyes and to do that, one had to get close to that lapping dangerous tongue.
Deimne took to wing, a look of horror and determination on his face and Trevor tried to stop him, calling out, “Wait, Deimne, don’t go till we get reinforcements!”
But it was too late; Deimne flew straight up ready to distract the beast from the village below.
The Sluagh had witnessed the devastation and havoc the Gorka had committed against his kind on Danu and Trevor could see that Deimne was determined to destroy it.
This was not acceptable.
Deimne was Frankie’s father. He couldn’t allow him to be killed. And then Trevor got an idea.
What he needed to do was shift onto the Gorka’s long neck. He would hang on and divert it, keeping a shield around his body against the poisonous goo oozing from its leathery flesh. He would call on his Lugh chain and beat at the beast to distract it from Deimne. Together they could do this, until Deimne could get a shot at one of its eyes.
Just as he was about to shift, he heard Pestale charging at him and turned to see the Dark Prince, with his Death Sword drawn and pointed at him. What was Pestale doing? He couldn’t hope to win in a hand to hand battle.
Trevor regarded him as he took a stance, a sneer crossing his face. He wondered where Hordly had gone, and then all at once, he knew.
Trevor couldn’t move.