Faerie Tales from Hell Pt. 02

"Aye, I'll tell her. I always keep my word." He caught his own breath before shouting for his sister.

"You bellowed?" Brighid shimmered in behind them.

He gave her a solemn look. "This one is ready to go back."

Brighid's mixed emotion of elation and sadness showed on her face. "Oh my dear, that is wonderful. I am shocked to be sure, but so very proud of you. I suppose a deal is a deal. You do know you don't have to leave though."

Avinn saw her mother's face cloud over. "It isn't as though I'm never going to see you. I'm returning to my world and my life." Who knew how much longer she had to actually enjoy it before someone assassinated her or dragged her off to Hell.

In the three months that she had been here, she and her mother had become rather close. Avinn never had a mother. Believing her mother died in childbirth, Avinn never questioned it. Her father insisted he didn't want another wife and then delved into work. Also, raising four children as a single parent no doubt made it difficult to date.

"I feel as though I just got you back. Forgive me. It is difficult to see you go." Brighid tried to smile. "We still have so much to talk about. And I do need to tell you about your father. Oberon that is."

Avinn wanted a bath, but put the thought on the back burner. She took a seat while her mother sat opposite of her. After half a minute of silence, Brighid began to talk.

"How to explain Oberon? Well, being what he is, charming first comes to mind. Fae are so connected to nature that it is sometimes like looking at nature and being drawn in by its beauty. Imagine a beach sunset, or in your father's case, storm clouds and lightning over a violently churning ocean. He is intense and possesses a great deal of magnetism. He isn't without faults. He is one of the few such powerful Fae and as such grew accustomed to getting his way. He may have changed being in the Unseelie, though I doubt it. Regardless, he will be overjoyed to learn of you. He always wanted children."

Nodding, Avinn let it all sink in. She knew a bit about the Unseelie, having done her own research. The Fae world was known as the Seelie and the capitol was called Aos Si. When Siofra created the Unseelie, she made a deal with Lucifer himself to have that specially built prison erected in Hell. The area of the Unseelie acted as a giant transport pod that took a chunk out of the Seelie and moved it into Hell. However, Oberon used what little power he had left to put up a force field that prevented anything from getting in and also prevented anything from going out.

Avinn thought aloud. "Why does he need me to free him? Why can't he just free himself? If he is stuck in Hell, can't he just put down the barrier at the exact time he tells all the Fae to shift out of there?"

"The Unseelie is a prison, Avinn. Even if your father had not used his powers to create a barrier to safely house his followers, they cannot shift out of that level of Hell."

"I guess they will be looking for me then." She responded quietly. Although she meant her father's followers who wouldn't harm her, she also knew her comment extended to include Siofra and her assassins.

With a nod, Brighid agreed. "Yes. Remember I will always be here to protect you, love."

They talked for a bit more before Brighid finally agreed to let Avinn go.

"You must concentrate, Avinn. Your magic is a bit unusual. Also, remember to keep iron on you at all times. The Fae can't stand the stuff. They also cannot enter your home unless invited." Brighid paused and materialized a bracelet and a pendant. "These will help you."

In her hand she held a thick antique iron bracelet with woven Celtic knots and a pendant of a smooth stone with a hole in the middle.

"Is this one of those stones where the hole was bore through with water?" Avinn asked curiously as her put on the pieces.

Brighid nodded. "Yes. It will help you see through their glamour. You will know it is a faerie if you see translucent wings. Glamour is a bending of light. Mere illusions." She also materialized a large tome. "This has everything you need to know. It is a spell book and informational guide kept in the family for centuries."

Her mother stood and waved a hand to open a portal that would send Avinn back to the airport about an hour after she left it. The Fae assassins would have left by then. Avinn would catch her flight to Scotland to spread her family's ashes with her friend Tally. Then it was back to as normal a life as Avinn could muster before she knew she fate would inexorably lead her to fulfill a destiny she honestly wanted no part in.