Yesterday

Chapter Fifteen

Gaia drew herself up to her full height. The wizard facing her was small, very like Harry who stood beside her with his arm around her hips. She turned to face him as he circled her. Ferocious eyes threw black daggers, and she dodged to the left, jarring Harry's grip on her loose.

"Are those vines, the bunch of them, tethers to those he holds against their will?" Gaia glanced down to ask Harry.

"An imbecile would know that, wench! I'll never let them go. And as they turn black, I have sucked the last of their magic from them." Twisted thin lips turned down as he glared at her.

"Pardon me, I'm a stranger here. Explain." Gaia hoped she could buy some time. Harry tugged at her wrist.

She bent to listen to his whispered words.

"He's a braggart. Keep him talking. Pippin and Oberon are following the tethers. We need to anger him to the point of dropping them."

Gaia inclined her chin downward ever so slightly.

"I am Gaia, and who are you?"

"Your death. You're a succulent young one. Power surrounds you." Draoi licked his lips. Ebony darts flew from his fingertips, striking Pippin. The fairy man fell hard, his wings crushed under him.

"Why?" Gaia watched as his spirit floated free.

"He betrayed me. Death is the only payment." His gnarled hand dropped the bundle of green-black strands. "And since you are here without my permission, you are next. Feel my power. I am King here. I am Draoi."

Gaia held her breath as Oberon and Olen slipped past the irate wizard. Draoi's arms lifted and black sparks arched between his hands. As the fairy King and his son tugged the thick braid away, wind began to swirl, pushing them into the ebony fog billowing around them. They disappeared in a blink, but Gaia sighed. The souls attached would be free. Step one accomplished.

"Try me," she taunted. The breeze picked up until her auburn waves streamed behind her. Ice pierced her skin in miniscule pricks, numbing her porcelain features. Her lips froze and her eyelashes thickened with frigid crystals. Behind her Harry pushed warmth through the blue-white sheen encasing Gaia, and frost broke away in clumps.

Draoi sneered.

"Your puny monkey won't save you!" Another wave of hellish hail streamed toward Gaia.

"Monkey? Think again, devil spawn," Harry roared.

Harry stepped forward, and the emerald amulet he wore shot blazing rays as he raised his hands. Gaia stood behind him quaking, barely able to stay on her feet. She forced her stiff fingers over his shoulders, pushing the last of her energy to him as he whispered his spell.

"From the fires of hell, with the Goddess Morrigan as their guide, let my truth stop your wrath. As I will, so mote it be." Harry braced his feet apart, at shoulder width as thunder rumbled around them.

Aqua blue lightning struck Draoi, encompassing him in an electric sizzle. His hair stood on end, smoke rising as he screamed. His robes erupted in flames, and his face melted like the finest bee's wax candle, and Gaia saw his skull crumble into the heap of ash which appeared where he stood.

Her knees wobbled, and her legs weakened as she slid to the ground. Shivers shook, shuddering through her body and she wondered if she would ever be warm again. The last thing she heard, was Harry's terrified voice.

"Stay with me my love. Live for me, we have only just begun."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

King Olen stopped for a moment and raised the green rope in his hand closer to his eyes. "There must be hundreds of lifelines in this bundle. They're twined together so tightly I cannot distinguish one from the next."

Oberon nodded. "It feels like a velvet cord. It pulses. A living thing with it's own life."

"How do we find my sister? How far into the dark will these lead?"

"We can only follow wherever they take us. I'm sure Tatia is there somewhere. But wasting time asking questions isn't going to help her, Father. Let's go." Oberon touched his father's shoulder before he stepped forward to lead them onward.

Oberon muttered a few words under his breath and an orb of light appeared over his head.

"Good idea, cast another, toss it higher," Olen requested.

He continued, tossing lights ahead of them, and leaving a trail behind them. The rope grew thicker as they traced it back. Oberon wondered if time had stopped before the came to a drawbridge over a inky moat.

"Do you hear?" Oberon asked.

"The sobbing? It hurts the heart, an ache I cannot bear." Tears trickled down Olen's cheeks.

"Tatia?" Oberon reminded his father.

Olen's eyes turned piercing black. The Fairy King grabbed his arm, his grip tightening until Oberon felt claws searing his bones. He planted his feet, stubbornly resisting but Olen overpowered him, dragging him through a dull golden door.

As the lock clicked closed, he stared at row up row of wooden cages stacked upon each other. He tilted his head back wondering how far up they went. Each contained a prisoner, and when Oberon pulled on the rope of tendrils in his other hand, the cages rattled and swayed.

Olen cackled. "Welcome to my dungeon. You too will be mine?"

He yanked his arm free. Grabbing his father's shoulders, he shook him until his wings fluttered.

"Papa! Papa! Come back to me. Where are you? What have you done with him?" Oberon roared.

"I'm not so easy to kill. I am Draoi."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"The spirits. Dear Goddess, Olen, Pippin, what happened?" Gaia raised her hand to her forehead, pulling a cool cloth off. Using it, she used it to wipe her face. "Water, please. I'm so thirsty." Her throat burned.

"You're back."

"Where?"

"Your room, in your own body. Oberon and Olen are missing." Harry pointed to their rigid forms, standing with hands extended in mid air.

"Pippin?" She rubbed her temples. "Dead, right? Draoi took him?" Was Harry really there, or had it all been a bad dream?

Gaia pushed herself up and leaned back against cushions someone had place against the headboard of the bed.

"Harry? Is that you?"

"Aye, sweetheart."

"He pulled himself up onto the side of the bed and reached for her hand. His touch brought instant comfort.

"What do we do now? We have to go back don't we." Dread flooded through her.

Harry brought her hand to his lips. His tender kiss touched her innermost recesses. Her soul knew peace. Why now? What changed?

"We will. Prepared this time. I've been reading while I guarded you."

"Tell me." She reached for the fruit on her nightstand. Famished again. What was it about this realm? And when would she find her way home again?