Fae War Ch. 10

This is the second to last chapter. I hope you like it. Chapter 11 is still only about half-way, but expect it mid-month.

**********************************************

Luka shot upright in bed at the sound of breaking glass and voices on the ground floor. Pulling the sheets neater across the bed, he told Erin to sit with her back against the headboard and the pillow in her lap.

"This is a crash course in cloaking. We sit right here, silently, wrapped in a spell that will cause them to see a neatly made but empty bed. All you need to do is remain still and focus on me: Just looking at me, and thinking about me, will boost the spell. Can you do that?" Luka asked.

"Yes, I think so," Erin answered, quavering, "but I still have these," she indicated the black iron bands around her wrists.

Luka sat beside her."Nothing we can do about that right now. Just concentrate on me. As long as they are Weres this will work perfectly," Luka stroked Erin's face and then pointed to his eyes, "Right here, sweetheart. I love you," he whispered, taking her hands in his.

Erin felt a buzz of power grow around them as she heard the sounds of beings coming up the stairs. Two wolves bound into the room, noses to the floor. One darted toward the bathroom, the other toward the bed. Two men walked in behind them. Erin resisted the urge to gasp when she realized the smaller man was the guy that spoke to her outside the motel. Her fear had been founded after all.

Continuing to gaze at Luka and thinking only about him was harder than Erin expected as the men and wolves investigated the room. When the one in the flannel shirt leaned over the bed, taking a big whiff at the covers, she had to force herself to remain still.

"Reeks of sex," he said matter-of-factly, "Riahn's gonna be pissed."

"Let her! It's Riahn's fault the girl got away," the bigger man groused, "if she hadn't let everything get out of hand, the girl would still be locked up tight in her cell. I told her we couldn't trust that group!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Erin saw a ghost enter the room. She'd never believed in ghosts, but then she never believed in fairies either, so why seeing a ghost would send chills through her body, she didn't know. What scared her even more was the look of stress that came to Luka's eyes as the ghost moved into his line of sight.

"They aren't here," the ghost stated in a flat, far-away voice.

"Nah. They were. They consummated the mating, but then they must have left with that bitch, Sophie," the big guy answered.

"You need to follow their trail," ordered the ghost, again with no emotion.

The men followed the wolves out of the room as the ghost walked through the bed, staring directly at Luka, but saying nothing. He followed the others out of the room.

Erin was shaking, but remained quiet until they heard a vehicle peal out of the gravel driveway.

"What..." she began, but Luka held a finger up to his lips as he closed his eyes.

"They're gone," he sighed. "I don't know why Caruso didn't take us. He is an elemental, and I was sure he was on Riahn's side." Luka shook his head as he pushed the blankets back.

"That was an elemental?" Erin asked, "Because I thought it looked like a ghost, and I was having problems wrapping my mind around that."

"Now you know how those stories came about," Luka smiled.

"He looked right at us," Erin said with a shiver.

"He knew we were here, whether he could see us or sense us, doesn't matter. I just don't know what he's playing at," Luka put his hand out to help Erin out of the bed, pulling her into his arms and kissing her softly. "We need to go. Your clothes are in the drawer there, he said, pointing to a chest of drawers.

Erin moved to the drawer lost in thought. "What will Riahn do, now that we're mated?"

"What can she do?" Luka grinned, "We're both stronger now, and she already played her trump card with Miko. She is desperate to recapture you, but we're going to go straight to the council. She may be strong, but she's not that strong."

Erin suddenly looked horrified and dropped to the bench at the end of the bed.

"What's wrong?" Luka implored, "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" kneeling in front of her, cupping her cheek and lifting her face to him.

"I'm a terrible person! How could I be so self-centered?"

"What, Erin? You're not a terrible person. Tell me what's wrong."

"Franco..." she replied, eyes far-away.

"What about him?" Luka asked, a hard edge coming into his tone.

"He's her prisoner. I promised I wouldn't leave without him, and I never even thought of him until now," crumbling forward onto Luka's shoulder, Erin sobbed, "I forgot about him. He's beaten and ill and I just left him there."

Luka rubbed her back, shushing her gently. "Franco is her prisoner? How do you know?"

"I saw him, Luka! He's been beaten so badly! I just left him there!"

"It's all right. Shh, shh. We'll think of something. You can't blame yourself. We didn't plan for an escape for anyone but you. There was nothing you could have done," Luka murmured to her, lifting her face and wiping her tears, "Come on, now. We have to go. We'll find a way to get Franco out, I promise."

Erin wiped her tears and looked into Luka's eyes, "There's just so much I don't understand, and so much happening! I'm losing control," she paused and rolled her eyes, "Who am I kidding? I never had control. Everything I was is gone. Everything I am is a confused mess."

"Erin, pull it together. We need to go. Now," Luka said again, pulling her up as he grabbed her few items of clothing out of the drawer. "Put something on."

Erin wasn't used to falling apart. She had always been the one in her family, and then at her workplace, who kept it together when everyone else was losing it. Suddenly she felt as if the earth had crumbled beneath her feet and left her tumbling down a long slope, gathering speed as she went. She felt battered and used, and had no one to blame because the whole mess started so long ago, and was orchestrated by so many forces.

Forcing herself to concentrate on the here and now, Erin dressed and followed Luka down to the garage to another non-descript SUV. She climbed in the passenger seat and sat staring out the windshield as Luka took her who knows where.

In a few short days Erin's world had shifted. What was real and what was fantasy had all been redefined. Somewhere along the way she had forfeited her strength, her self-reliance. She needed to find herself in this new reality. She was not weak, and she was not a pawn to be moved on the table by the will of others.

After ten minutes or so, Erin suddenly turned to Luka and asked, "So explain the history of this whole mess. How did it start? Who were the main players, and how did the current circumstances come about?"

"Wow! You want that in one hundred words or less?" Luka said, smiling over at her. When Erin just stared back at him, mouth set in a grim line, he cleared his throat and began, "Your father was the umpteenth ruler in his line to enforce a caste system on the supernaturals, claiming that certain characteristics required the subjugation of certain groups to the wisdom of the Upper Fae.

"It was believed that Weres, because of their tempers and their innate threat to humans, were fit only to live as a servant class to Higher Fae, so that they could be controlled. They became like pets to many of the richest families.

"Woods Spirits were considered Lesser Fae because their magic tended to be weak, and they could take only one form, that of an animal.

"Elementals have always been greatly feared because of the destruction they are capable of, so a millennia ago a powerful ruler put them under a curse that holds them bound to the ruling family, unable to use 80% of their powers unless directed by the ruler.

"While most human rulers had learned that subjugating a class of people is a misuse of resources, and will inevitably lead to revolt, our rulers failed to learn that and continued to retain power amongst a small ruling class. Many of the ills that befell the human ruling class because of their refusal to expand the gene pool began to be seen in our upper class, mutations that frequently displayed as a lack of magical power or the inability to control one's powers.

"Unrest was rampant, yet your father and his supporters refused to make changes. Many on the council, my father included, pushed to give the Lesser Fae a more equal standing in our government, as well as remove some of the restrictions on Weres.

"A writ of secession was delivered to the council. The Weres, the Spirits and the Elementals were going to remove themselves from Fairy society, move north, and be self-governing. Your father and his supporters were furious and were debating ways to punish the secessionists and bring them back under the power of the council. They discussed using force, but the risk that humans would become aware of our people was too great. They decided to use economic pressure, as well as incentives, like some increased representation on the council, to close the rift. Negotiations were slow and certain factions among the rebels weren't happy with where those negotiations were heading.

"Riahn gathered support amongst a large group of Weres. She put together a violent and volatile force that wrested power from the intellectuals who were negotiating with the council. Her demands were for a complete reversal of the system of the past. She demanded all Fae be under the rule of Weres, basically creating another system that would subjugate one group to the will of another.

"Formal negotiations ceased. The moderates on both sides continued to try to bring a peaceful end to the discord, but Riahn never wanted peace. She staged a coup that succeeded in killing all of your family except you, as well as three councilmen and their families. Her success hinged on the element of surprise, and when her forces were unable to wipe out the entire council in the first several hours of her coup, they were quickly overcome. Many of her original force were killed in the ensuing battle, the remainder jailed.

"The council over-reacted. They declared war on the entire secessionist population. Weres, Spirits and Elementals fled to protect themselves from a judgment of death or imprisonment on sight. All economic ties were cut and the rebels were on their own."

"That's how they ended up in the camp in Canada?" Erin asked, interjecting for the first time and startling Luka out of his recitation.

"Eventually, yes. They scattered for a while, but they found one another again and joined together for safety and socialization. Weres, at least the wolves, are pack-dependent. They had not been allowed to act as packs for many years, so they were grateful to be able to congregate again."

"How did you come to be in contact with the rebels?" she asked, eyeing Luka critically.

"Because the moderates from both sides had been trying to work a compromise even after Riahn came to power, they remained in contact after the schism. My father and a few other council members tried to help the rebels both overtly, by trying to get the punishment order rescinded, and covertly by providing resources and helping them find a place that was safe to build their compound. While Riahn and her goons have stayed in power through force and fear, the real leadership of the majority of rebels has remained in negotiations with us all these years, and we are ready to strike strategically against Riahn, while reintegrating the rest of our people."

"And the people the rebels planted in my life. Did you know about them?" Erin importuned.

"Yes," Luka said, glancing toward Erin and seeing the flicker of irritation in her eyes, "We thought it was a good idea, another layer of security. You had been raised by good people, but we hadn't had any opportunity to influence your education or ascertain your politics. It seemed like a good idea to plant people in your life who could nudge you toward an enlightened outlook. They really didn't influence you much. You were already a very modern thinker, very sympathetic to the causes we hoped to lean you toward..."

"And you chose not to tell me all of this at the cabin because..." Erin asked.

"Because I'm an idiot," Luka replied with a lopsided smile. "I thought I could protect you. I thought we would have time for you to learn to use your powers and to fall in love with me. I thought you could learn all of this from the council members who have been at the center of it all for the last twenty years. I thought I had it all under control."

Erin sat back and stared out the windshield again.

When she didn't say anything for a few minutes, Luka probed, "Well, do you want to deny my idiocy, maybe? I mean, I did get Garrett planning your escape before you even arrived at their compound. And we got you out before you even spent the night there. And..."

"I want to know all the plans from now on. I want to know what contacts we have in the rebel camp. I want to know what our numbers are, here and there. I want to know everything from here on out," Erin stipulated, looking intently at Luka, "and if you can't do that, then I'm out. I feel like the plan was to use me, to wave me in front of both sides and pretend I was making decisions when I was really just a face to put on plans made without my input. I will either be a real leader, or I won't be anything."

Luka looked back and forth several times between Erin's face and the highway he was driving before he smiled. "I knew you were ready to be our Queen. We're on our way to the council now. Show them what you just showed me and I think everything is going to work out just fine."

* * * * *

To Erin's complete surprise, the council occupied five stories at the top of a medium rise building in a major metropolitan area. It immediately occurred to her that this arrangement served to perpetuate the segregation of the Fae that were not humanoid in appearance. That was only the first thing she found that would need to change.

A wizened little man stopped her in the hallway and pulled her into a small room, Luka nodding encouragingly.

"This is Faulk," Luka explained, "He is the best there is at removing enchantments. I assume you'd like to have the ability to use your powers again," he motioned to her wrists, still wrapped in the black iron bands Miko had placed there at the compound.

"Yes, I would," erin replied, "though I didn't miss them as much as I suspect someone who had them all their life might have."

Faulk said a few words over the bands and removed them as if they were ordinary jewelry. Erin thanked him as Luka pulled her out of the room and toward a conference room.

After meeting seventeen council members Erin was barraged with information from all sides until she finally just stood up and walked out of the conference room without a word.

Luka and a secretary ran after her as she walked calmly down the hall toward an employee lounge she had seen on the tour.

"Where are you going?" Luka cried out as he hurried to catch up. "I thought you wanted to know everything. These are the people who can tell you everything about our history and the current situation."

"No, Luka," Erin stated firmly, turning to look at him, "These are the blathering idiots that can't stop arguing long enough to get the facts straight. Every time one councilman reports a fact or figure, three others contradict him. I can't gain anything useful from that group."

"Then how are you going to get the information you want?" he asked, feeling desperate.

"Melanie, right?" Erin asked, looking at the secretary trailing Luka, "How many secretaries are there for the councilmen?"

"Three, ma'am," Melanie replied quickly, "Myself, Veronica and Geri."

"I want the councilmen who are considered the experts on the current situation in the rebel camp to go with one secretary and create a succinct report about the strengths and weaknesses of Riahn's forces and of those we can count on as moderates amongst the rebels. I want to know five recommendations for action to end this war."

Erin continued as Melanie pulled out her steno pad and wrote everything she said. "I want the councilmen who have been opposed to integration to meet with a different secretary and create a report that outlines the historical as well as the current reasons for segregation amongst the Fae. I want five recommendations for how to decrease the discrepancies in treatment among the Fae.

"And the last secretary is to come with me and no more than two historians. I want to hear the history of the Fae with emphasis on powers, training, and race relations. These meetings will last no more than ninety minutes and the reports need to be typed and handed to me tomorrow at noon.

"If there are councilmen who are not experts in these areas, and I certainly hope most of them are not considered experts, they are to write a personal position statement concerning bringing this war to an end and reintegrating the rebels who are not guilty of actual crimes. The statement is to be no more than two double-spaced pages typed.

"Have you got all that?" Erin looked between the two people staring wide-eyed at her.

"Yes, ma'am!" Melanie said as she rushed off the find the other secretaries.

Luka continued to stare, so Erin turned and continued toward the lounge.

Luka grabbed Erin's arm and spun her back to look at him, "You're going to make some of the council livid," he said flatly.

Erin shrugged, keeping her gaze even.

"They are going to call for a resolution to operate separate from the monarchy, citing the years they functioned independently," he continued with a hint of warning.

"Then take it before our people for a general vote. The council has proven itself woefully inept at dealing with a war that never should have been fought, and certainly should not still be lingering after nearly twenty years. I expect the council to answer for that, as well as redress the situation."

Luka stared at Erin for a moment, then swept her up in his arms and kissed her thoroughly. "You are glorious when you are justifiably outraged!" he exclaimed, kissing her again, lingering until someone cleared their throat nearby.

"Mmm, yes," Luka spoke, refusing to let Erin free from his enclosing arms, but turning to look at the interloper, "Melanie. What can we do for you?"

"Sir, Ma'am, the secretaries are ready, and I've delivered the edict to the council, but they are fighting over who should be allowed in which group, and some want to be in more than one."

Erin looked at Luka with a tight-lipped smile, "Are we surprised?"

Luka let Erin go and turned back toward chambers. Erin put her hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Peter is one of the eldest and seemed a thoughtful, deliberate sort. I think he and your father should choose who belongs in each group," Erin suggested.

"Agreed," He replied, smiling. Looking at Melanie's stricken expression, he continued, "I'll tell them."

Melanie smiled and trotted back down the hall.

"I'll meet you in your office in ten minutes to get started with the historians," Luka said, taking a step away, then turning back for one more kiss before following Melanie back to chambers.

* * * *

Exhausted and overwhelmed, Erin was led to an apartment set up on the top floor of the council space. She had heard nearly two hours of history, thanks to the questions she interjected, and received two resignations and a call for impeachment before she declared the day over. She accepted the resignations immediately, to the outrage of the councilmen who had submitted them, after learning that council seats were inherited, and there had never been a popular vote for any position in the Fae government. Once those two councilmen's votes were negated, the impeachment request was nullified for lack of support. Overall it had been a good day.