Mark Del Franco - Undone Deeds

I soared through the tunnel, a strange, weightless sensation of movement yet not-movement. Raw essence bombarded me, trying to tear at my flesh and mind. My body shield shunted the energies around me through the nothingness, protecting me from the pain and hemorrhages I had experienced in the past. The tunnel collapsed at its end point, and I landed with a solid thump on Beacon Street. I released the shield, relieved at the lack of pain or fatigue.

Pink light burst in the air, and Joe whirled around me in agitation, his sword in his hand. He spun in place, his face set with concentration that melted to confusion. He sheathed his sword. “Great. All I get for my concern is finding you fondling your spear in public.”

“It’s a very nice spear,” I said.

He cocked an eyebrow at me. “I’ll admit it’s rather long, but I doubt you know how to handle it.”

I cradled the spear in the crook of my elbow, assessing the layout on the Common. The brownie guards huddled in confusion up near the glowing pillar. “I thought you’d be down in the Weird having the time of your life.”

Joe picked up a discarded lottery ticket and sniffed it. “I was, but when a giant dead lady snake appears in the road and a fleet of fairy ships shows up out of nowhere and a hotel explodes all in the time it takes me to finish a pint, I figured you were probably having a bad day.”

I leaned back from the curb as a police car raced by. “Oh, please. You could have finished at least three beers in that time.”

He grinned. “You flatter me, you do. The spear lit up in my head like a candle. Now that , I am sure, don’t mean no good thing.”

Joe flew at my shoulder as I crossed the street. “You felt the spear?”

“Aye. Indeed.”

“Can you call it?” I asked.

Joe looked at me as if I were crazy. “Why ever would I do that?”

While the guards were distracted by the fairies in the air, I hurried across the pond basin and jumped the storm fence. More gargoyles had shown up since I had been there earlier, changing the layout somewhat. It took me a moment to get my bearings before I spotted the small child with the horns. I dodged from gargoyle to gargoyle to get closer, keeping watch on the guards and the sky.

Joe gasped with excitement when he saw the bowl and swarmed around it like a bee after nectar. He darted down and licked the stone, then shuddered. “Oh, my.”

I grimaced. “That’s gross, Joe. Have you any idea where this has been?”

He licked his lips. “A ship, a cave, and a mountain.”

Impressed, I looked down at the bowl. “Really?”

Joe shrugged. “Well, at least the side I licked.”

I pushed the bowl into the front pocket of my jeans. It was a tight fit and made an uncomfortable bulge. I shifted it back and forth. “Remember when you used to do something like that with a roll of quarters?” Joe asked.

“I was ten, Joe,” I said.

“And this will be as successful if memory serves,” he said.

He was right. It looked embarrassing. I took it out and wedged it into the inside pocket of my jacket. Joe let out an impressed whistle. I thought he was breaking my balls again, but he was looking up in the sky. Three people descended, a man and two women, their white robes fluttered in the wind. Silver light flickered from long swords in their hands. “Check it out, Connor. The High Queen’s Archdruids! I haven’t partied with those guys since—” His thrilled expression fell when he saw my face. “Oh. It’s not good they’re here, is it?”

“Yeah, I’m not having a good day,” I said.

“Find Ceridwen for me, Joe. Tell her….” I paused. An image fluttered across my mind.

Joe snapped his fingers. “Hello?”

The image sharpened, and I saw Ceridwen, dressed in her Hunter garb, the red leather armor and antlered helm. “Never mind; I see her.”

Joe sighed toward the skies. “They grow up so fast, don’t they? First they’re waving their spears around, then they’re figuring out how to use them.”

“Follow me if you can keep up,” I said. I tapped the essence in the spear, and a tunnel spiraled open in my mind. Joe stuck his tongue out at me as I let the tunnel pull me in, essence swirling around me with a streak of pink that I knew was Joe.

As I appeared on the street in the Tangle, Ceridwen spun, sword at the ready. She relaxed when she recognized me, turning her attention back to the scene behind her. “Well met, macGrey. I sensed the spear was in play but did not call it until I knew why.”

A thickened essence barrier stretched across the street. On the other side, three Danann fairies were letting loose a field of essence-fire. The barrier sizzled and burned like a fireworks display. “We’ve got the Queen’s Fianna and Archdruids in the city,” I said.

She surprised me by smiling. “Maeve knows how to bring a good battle. I look forward to her defeat.”

“They took out the Rowes Wharf Hotel,” I said.

Ceridwen sent a burst of essence into the barrier. “We anticipated that.”

“We? You coordinated a response with Eorla?” I asked.

She moved closer to the barrier. With the Hunter glamour hiding her face, it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. “The hotel was an obvious target, as is the Tangle. I am protecting access to several evacuation routes.”

“Like the tunnel under the hotel,” I said.

The antlered helm turned toward me. I didn’t need to see her face to feel the confident amusement in Ceridwen’s voice. “One of many. The Dananns are trained to fight the Consortium in the open air.” She clenched her fist. The buildings to either side shuddered, their façades curling into the street, closing off access. The sounds of essence-fire became muffled as the barrier merged with the masonry. Ceridwen walked away. “They also have never encountered a place like the Tangle.”

“But what the hell is going on?” I asked.

“Maeve and the U.S. president made a joint statement as the attacks began. They are fighting the Consortium terrorists and their allies who destroyed the Guildhouse and endangered human lives,” she said.

She paused at the next intersection. “We are about to be cut off from my main force three blocks over. The Dananns are shifting in this direction.”

I lifted the spear. “Where to?”

She held out her hand. “Tide and Summer Street.”

I closed my eyes and visualized the street corner. A transport tunnel opened in my mind, a crisp image of the location at the opposite end. I took Ceridwen’s hand. We jumped and landed in the middle of a firefight.

An essence barrier had been erected across a side street as a bulwark along Old Northern. The barrier bowed outward, shielding solitaries and the Dead. Opposite them, Danann fairies ranged along the street, throwing an effortless stream of essence-fire at the barrier. A few hovered in the air, testing the limits of the barrier. None of them seemed particularly aggressive. “They’re not fighting very hard,” I said.

Ceridwen stalked behind her line of defenders. “I noticed that as well. More are coming down from the hotel.”

“That’s got to be a feint. Eorla is a primary target,” I said.

Ceridwen nodded with a satisfied gleam in her eye. “They’ve lost her. We never intended to hold the hotel, and now the Dananns are confused.”

“What the hell is this plan? Eorla wouldn’t tell me,” I said.

She swung the great helm toward me. “You should not be here. I am trying to draw the Fianna here so that they will leave Brion Mal’s headquarters with weak defenses. It will mean nothing if you are captured here.”

“Where is Eorla?” I asked.

“We don’t have time for this, Grey,” she said.