The Bubbleship Series; The First Heroes

The Tall Fey Come

The people came running from their homes at the sound of the still crying little girl. If it were not for the friar, the demon might have been chased from the hamlet.

“Tonight, they will come," said Friar John. "They will come at sundown, so we have some little time to prepare. Kontessa, we need you now more than ever, but I fear I have led you to your doom. Surely even a demon cannot stand against so much fey magic.”

"No, Friar, you have not seen what a demon can do. I forsook the heritage for many years of my demon blood, but now I will relish it to defend this little girl's spirit. I need this whole area for twenty feet swept clean."

The women of the hamlet swept the area as told by Friar John and the Demon Kontessa asked for a freshly cut yew branch. The boy who went seemed very eager to please her, but she saw nothing but a blank slate from which to summon the help she would need to defend this village. The boy came back, and Kontessa broke the excess branches off the whole so she could draw.

Then she began.

Spirals, curves she drew. Glyphs from the hells where she had been spawned. She remembered her mother teaching her these things, and now she would use everything she knew to do the unholy for the holy purpose she intended. Oh, it would work. They would obey her every command of this platoon. This brigade. They would defend this village till she said stop.

Pointed characters and loops she drew. They would come. They would obey her every command. Never did she even consider this option even when it meant her soul to be in torment did she think this, but now she had a purpose. She would be righteous in her decision and win the night. The moon would be full tonight. They would glisten in the moonlight.

Circles and oblongs, long and short. Letters from the scripts of hell would be used here. Used to protect these people from the fey who would steal the childlike laughter from this place.

Triangles with eyes and circles with faces terrifying to behold.

The friar came to look at what she drew but ran to a corner of the nearest house and vomited. He did not come back for the rest of the day. The Scarlet Fairy started for an hour at the glyphs before he cried. “These things should not be done, demon. These things should not be written or spoken of. I can look no longer.”

"It must be donee SeaChil,” she stated simply. “We have no choice. I don’t know how to summon the gods or other heavenly beings, but I know how to summon my kind. With these glyphs, I can summon enough power to defeat the fey. We cannot let them succeed this night. We cannot let them have the children of this hamlet. How's Friar John?"

"He's doing ok; he'll be ready for tonight. I'd ask if there's anything I could do, but I really don't want to help you in this demon." That said, he flitted off.

She continued to draw and write.

When finished, she sat at its edge and meditated on what she felt like doing. She longed for the sea. She longed for Marjory. She could never tell Marjory she had summoned these creatures.

She stood and had the little boy bring her a torch. “Stand back,” she told the boy, eager to please as before he stood a ways off.

Kontessa touched the torch to the edge of the glyphs, and they burst into flame, hues of green and blue. Red and crimson. "Bring forth your demons," she said and backed up. "Tolsailrecon," she whispered, and the flame shot high.

***

The night came, and with it the full moon. The carts and wagons were placed at the hamlet roads, and bails of hay and anything that could be found stood in between the houses. They all waited by the blockades except Kontessa; all she did seemed to be standing holding the burnt-out torch at her side.

Howls filled the air. Suddenly, the cats in the village began to cry out; at least a dozen started their call. The children, kept in the house for safety, began to crawl out of the windows and open the doors.

“Friar,” yelled Kontessa when she saw the little girl from the night before walk by. She almost walked into the flame but turned aside. Kontessa ran over and snatched the little one into her arm. She went limp. “Friar, the children!”

The glyphs burned blue now, blue and cold. So cold none could come near without shivering. The boy who tried so hard to please Kontessa left for the barricades sometime before.

The people of the hamlet abandoned the barricades to snatch up the two dozen children now wandering, it seemed toward the east. Each time one would be lifted up, that child would go limp.

The racket was deafening; howls and screeches fill everyone's hearing.

Then the wolves broke through the barricades. The fey lightning caught houses afire.

“Solaris Saycon," shouted Kontessa. The flames from the glyphs turned a deeper hue of blue, more navy blue now. The minor, imp-like demons poured from the fire. "Destroy the tall elves!"

The tiny demons with skin scarlet turned from each person and attacked the wolves, tearing each into small pieces, so small that each piece fit into the tiny ravenous mouths. The tiny demons did not stop there. They climbed over the barricades and ran into the dozens of tall elves who screamed in terror as they too were eaten in small bits.

The friar took the children from the parents and led them all in a short prayer to his God, thanking him for the demons that saved them.

Kontessa found it ironic.

***

Later that night, when the fires had all been extinguished, the friar lay down exhausted just before the sun came out from the east. How to do the things that Kontessa did would forever be hidden from him, and that is how he wanted it. When he saw those runes, he could not see anything but faces of wretched death.

The moon had set, so when the footsteps could be heard, he wondered who it was. "Hello," he said. Could it be one of the fey coming to seek vengeance? The fire came to life, and he could see Kontessa standing in the dim light naked. "But... I...." he stuttered

Kontessa put one foot directly in front of the other, so her hips swayed as she crossed the room. "You will be quiet, John. Now just kiss me. Let's just say I feel I need to be forgiven by someone good.”

John opened his mouth to protest but met her eyes, and everything became lost in those black orbs. "Hush," she said, reaching under his wool blanket to take hold of him. "Tonight, I am yours, John."

She threw the blanket on the floor and kissed his belly. John could do or say nothing; he felt so pleased. He went to take her now. But she put her hand on his chest as she kissed him further down. What was she doing? He soon found out and closed his eyes.

***

Kontessa left the next morning after John quietly fixed her breakfast of honey, toast and served her first mead. She liked it. And said she would be sending people occasionally to buy some to bring it back to her. He asked her to stay, but she just smiled and shook her head. "I'll be back, John. I'll be back."

***

Kontessa walked through the door, and Marjory sat on the edge of the bath the demon bought her months before. The black-skinned woman knew what time this one got into that bath that had cost a pretty penny. Marjory looked up and smiled. "I missed you so much." She almost rose to give her a hug, but Kontessa held up her hands. "No, please, take a bath."

Marjory simply stood and dropped her dress.

***

SeaChan landed on the throne and sat down behind the queen, who stood playing the harp. The other fairies laughed, and the queen stopped.

“What? Is my playing that bad?”

“Hello, I’m back from torturous trials and sufferings.”

She turned and smiled. “Get out of my chair.”