Free Faerie Tale by Nicola Rhodes

anyway.’
    The what?’
    ‘The children of women and angels – the Nephilim.  You did not think you were the first did you?’
    ‘I never thought about it,’
    ‘Very well,’ said Hecaté. ‘Watch this.’ And she waved an iron skillet that she had taken the precaution of hiding amongst her clothes.  Jacky shrank visibly. 
    ‘See?’ she said.  ‘He’s afraid of the iron.’
    Maternal instinct took over.  ‘Don’t you hurt him,’ shouted Cindy, grabbing Jacky and holding him to her body protectively.
    ‘He’s not Jacky!’ yelled Hecaté coming incautiously towards them still holding the skillet. But Cindy had had enough.  She dumped Jacky behind her on the bed, grabbed an extremely heavy glass bedside lamp and swung.
    As Hecaté lay on the bedroom floor, unmoving, Jacky came and took Cindy’s hand, he grinned malevolently.  ‘Come on Mummy,’ he said.  ‘It’s time.’
    Cindy looked blankly at him.  ‘All right dear,’ she said.
    If you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise. 

~ Chapter Nine ~
    I t was a palace – that was what Stiles could not quite believe. An actual goddamned for-real fairy palace – with turrets.  Tamar was not a bit surprised.
    It stood on a hill that certainly had not been there before, in fact, it seemed to float just above and in front of the landscape, a bit like a very realistic hologram.  Tamar thought it had been grafted on to the scenery rather than fitted into it, and if you looked properly at it, it appeared that the rest of the terrain had been subtly moved out of the way to make room for it. For some reason, this made her intensely angry. 
    Stiles just stared at it in wonder.
    ‘Weapons?’ she snapped to bring Stiles back to the matter at hand.
    ‘Check,’ said Stiles automatically.
    ‘Good, you guard the gate,’ she said unexpectedly. ‘I’m going in alone.’
    ‘Oh no you bloody well are not !’
    Tamar gave him the benefit of her best steely-eyed gaze, which impressed him not at all.
    ‘Do you really want to argue with me right now?’ she said dryly
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘This is between me and her,’ said Tamar.
    ‘Yes,’ agreed Stiles.  ‘But a bit of back-up never hurt. Anyway, I’m coming, so get used to it.’
    Tamar opened her mouth to argue but Stiles forestalled her.  ‘He’s my friend Tamar.’ he said gently.
    Tamar just stared at Stiles with her mouth open as if she had not even considered this.
    She gulped guiltily once or twice. ‘Right,’ she managed.  ‘Come on then.’
    ‘They’ll be expecting us,’ Tamar cautioned Stiles. 
    ‘I know,’
    ‘But I’ve got an idea,’
     
    The doors stood open with only two door wards guarding it.  Tamar tornadoed*   into the castle –– a lithe chain mail clad figure wielding the biggest sword this side of the Middle Ages.  Knocking Faeries to the left and right of her – those of them, anyway, who were incautious enough to get near to her.  The rest she ignored.  Stiles could mop them up. 
    * [ Like storming in, but more so.  Tamar did not have a motto, but if she had, it would have been along the lines of “Enough is never enough” or even “ Too much is never enough” or possibly “If a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing” ]
    Stiles was finding his chain mail a little cumbersome, but he was glad of it anyway.  The Faeries clearly had not expected it, and they shied away from it as if it burned.  He was sweating and short of breath in the heavy helmet and breastplate; in fact, he was certain that he was going to have a heart attack, and he was as happy as he had ever been in his life. 
    Tamar seemed to be enjoying herself too. This was what life was all about.  Swinging a great heavy sword while the Faeries ran and screamed.
    * * *
    Denny knew he was dying. He just did not know exactly how long it was going to take.  He had never been tortured to death before. 
    She knew it of course, and she would save him if he