The War of Elevens| Book 1 of the Space Thief Chronicles

Chapter 29| The Magical Dimension

Only the Fae and Melissa Stowe knew the Fae Queen.

The Fae made up a one-fifth of the Shifter World's population. Fairies (both small and human-sized), giants, goblins, trolls, mermaids, pixies, naiads, dryads, elves, dwarves, banshees, and brownies made up much of that one-fifth portion. In Bria Hungary, the Fae lived together in popup cities like Faevil, channeling the Earthens revolution that currently took the Shifter World by storm: Earthens-style clothes appeared in hodgepodge hubs from both the Western and Eastern hemispheres, and new technology like cappuccino machines and iPads originally stolen from Earthens placed Bria Hungrian Fae in the high-tech bustle that uncannily mirrored Earthens. In every other country, the Fae lived in nature's imperfect palaces—gardens, oceans, forests, lagoons, caves, the damp overgrown world of a bridge's underside—all places that seemed perfectly fitting for humanoid creatures whose magic resembled the most natural forms of the world.

Shifters paid no attention to the Fae, and the Fae paid no attention to the Shifters.

As a result, the Fae knew next to nothing about the Shifter World's government. The Fae also made sure not to reveal too much about their own precious queen.

At fourteen years old, Melissa Stowe saved the Fae Queen's daughter from an assassination attempt by a jealous cousin. Melissa had taken her extensive love and knowledge of herbs and brewed a tea that flushed the poison right out of the Fae princess's system. In return, the Fae Queen promised Melissa a favor.

Just over fourteen years later, Melissa cashed in that favor right before the war of elevens started, thinking that favor was going to save her cousin. Instead, that favor saved every soldier who was not already dead in Elliott Way. Melissa wrote a letter to Amaranth, because Amaranth was one of the few women who knew where and how to reach the Fae Queen. Amaranth, in turn, wrote a letter to the Fae Queen, detailing Melissa's favor-in-question.

Ever since the beginning of time, human-sized fairies have had an extremely useful and sometimes concerning love of wars. "It builds facial features," said every fairy in every culture in the Shifter World. "It tones the muscles. Makes you gorgeous."

Human-sized fairies have also loved beauty ever since the beginning of time.

So when the Fae Queen received Amaranth's letter regarding Melissa's favor-in-question and the Fae Queen summoned twelve generals of the fairy army to her throne room and asked them how they felt about joining the war of elevens in northern Bria Hungary, the fairies were more than happy to oblige.

Two hundred human-sized fairies came pouring in from gates inside Elliott Way's carved walls and flooded floors. They were blue-skinned and green-scaled and red-haired; their paper-thin wings glittered as if light beams shone through the translucent membranes and veins. Every fairy was dressed as if they were ready for both a masquerade ball and a war: they came wearing the pale skin sheared off tree roots as dresses, had machetes strapped to their thighs, wore giant sky-blue leaves from the Lightning Islands as headdresses, covered their thin-boned hands with brass knuckles, adorned themselves with masks the color of an angry sky, and had bows and quivers of arrows slung across their backs.

The fairies arrived with two orders, one from Amaranth (as part of the favor to Melissa) and one from the Fae Queen. The favors went hand-in-hand: get every single soldier out of Elliott Way, and look good while doing it.

The war of elevens raged on. 

***

There.

When Lilly finally calmed down enough to get her fear and anger under control, she felt the current, writhing through her fingers like many anxious worms. Slowly, she rose to her feet to face Storm, to face Storm, focusing her energy and thoughts on the invisible current keeping everyone in the Shifter World alive. She could do this if she kept calm.