Chapter 7: Attacked
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Sèadna asked as she entered my rooms, with Fiora coming in behind her.
I waited for Fiora to lock the door before responding.
“Of course.” I said.
Sèadna sat down across from me at the table and set the tome she almost always carried with her on the table between us.
“I’m glad. None of Elara’s holdings match what you saw, but her brother has a manor in the hills above Tangier in Morocco that fits the description.” She said, opening the book to a hand-drawn map of the area.
I leaned forward and examined it. It was simply drawn, but showed the coastline, as well as the southern coast of Spain, across the straight of Gibraltar. The town was marked with a nebulous dotted line outlining it, with a few major roads and landmarks filled in. Between the town and the western coast was a hilly area, with some trails and buildings marked out on it.
“Here in the hills next to Tangier, he has a villa. This is the only property associated with Elara or her family that matches the geography of what you saw. Unfortunately, I do not know of anyone friendly to me working or living there. I am, however, friends with a dryad that lives in the woods near there, and according to her, the villa has been a lot busier since the abduction.” She said.
“This is great, Sèadna, thank you!” I said. “Do you have any idea what the villa looks like?”
“No, unfortunately not. I know it only has two levels above ground, and one or more levels below ground. It is more of a retreat than a permanent abode. It is likely that they will keep her below ground, and near the middle of the building, but that is just a guess.” She explained. “There is one bit of luck, though. There is a family living there that is indebted to me. I helped them leave Ireland during the troubles. They are going to cause a diversion for you.”
“What kind of diversion?” I asked.
“I am not sure. They just said it would be loud and hard to ignore. It should give you some time to get in and hopefully get back out undetected.”
“The way my luck has been going, I’m not counting on that.” I said. “How soon can I leave?”
“They are going to do whatever it is they are going to do at three in the morning local time. We can’t open a way too close to them or they will detect it, so you’re going to have about a ninety-minute walk, so to be safe, midnight local time. They are an hour ahead of us.”
“Are you sure there’s no one that can come with to help?” I asked, hopefully.
“I’m afraid not. The politics of it are complex, and we can’t let anyone know she is missing, or other courts would move in on her territories.” She explained. “The ring I gave you will help conceal you in the woods, and should help keep anyone from noticing you in the villa, as long as you are quiet and stick to the shadows.”
Fiora set a duffel bag I hadn’t noticed she was carrying on the floor beside the table.
“This might help you, Lady Aria.” Fiora said, looking at the bag as if it housed a very mad cat.
“What is it?” I asked, kneeling down next to it and unzipping it.
“Armor. I found it in the storeroom. I do not know why Lady Lysandra had it. It has iron woven throughout it.” She said, revealing her unease about it.
When she said Armor, I had expected something heavy. Body armor. But that was thinking of the human world. It was a jacket, but it had some kind of hard plastic plates sewn into it, molded to fit the body. It was a mottled shade of dark green, brown, and grey. I ran my hands over it and could feel the cool metal wires woven throughout it.
“The plates to stop a knife, or claws, and steel wire as protection from the Fae?” I asked, looking up at the two Fae watching me wearily.
“Indeed. Be very careful with that. In fact, take something to cover it with once you find Lysandra.” Sèadna said, warning me.
“Wait, if I’m part fae, why doesn't the iron affect me?” I asked once it occurred to me.
“Honestly, I’m not sure. It could be you do not have enough Fae blood for it to be an issue, or your other ancestry provides some protection. It’s hard to tell for sure. Just be grateful that it doesn't.” Sèadna said.
“Fiora, before I go, I’ll need more suitable clothes. Jeans and hiking boots, and a light jacket or something to cover this one. Could you find something suitable?” I asked. “The clothes in the dressing room aren’t really appropriate for a late night hike through the woods.”
“Of course. I have your measurements. I will go into a nearby town and get you suitable garments.” She said before turning and leaving.
“Thank you.” I said as she left.
“You should rest. I will be in the grove out back preparing to open a way for you. Fiona will be back with proper clothing for you before long, and once she is back, we can finish getting ready.” Sèadna said as she left the room.
Deciding to take her advice, I climbed into bed and closed my eyes, trying not to worry about the night ahead.
I must have fallen asleep, because I woke to a hand on my shoulder, gently shaking me.
“Lady Aria, it’s time to get up now.” Fiora said as I blinked the sleep out of my eyes.
“How long was I asleep?” I asked, sitting up.
“A little over an hour.” Fiora said.
I twisted my upper body around, sighing with relief as my back popped in multiple places.
I saw the backpack and folded clothes on the table and walked over to them.
The backpack was a sturdy one, and it had some rope, binoculars, a flashlight, a first aid kit, and some other items that might come in handy.
Next to it was a pair of boots and some clothes. I began stripping out of my pajamas, still feeling a tinge of embarrassment, but Fiora had seen me naked often enough these past couple of weeks that I was getting used to being naked around the older woman.
Lacing up the new boots took longer than getting dressed did, but before long, I was dressed and as ready as I could be. I didn’t bother putting on the armored jacket yet. I would put that on when it was time to leave.
“Do you have everything you think you’ll need?” Sèadna asked as she entered the room.
“I think so.” I said, though in the back of my mind, it felt like there was something I was forgetting.
I thought back to the mental image of Lysandra, laying there in the empty room, her clothes shredded, blood caking her body, an iron collar locked around her neck.
“Locked. Fuck.” I swore. “I’ll need to do something about the locks.”
“Locks?” Fiora asked, raising an eyebrow.
“A guard might have keys.” Sèadna offered.
“That might be dangerous.” I said, a thought occurring to me. “I’ll be right back.”
I left at a jog and was most of the way down the hallway when I heard someone chasing after me.
I grabbed the hilt of the dagger that was stuck through my belt as I looked over my shoulder to see Sèadna and Fiora running after me.
I nearly missed a step as I flew down the spiral staircase down to the garage.
I remembered seeing shelves full of parts and tools to maintain Lysandras vehicles. I slid to a stop and looked around until I spotted what I was looking for. Stacks of windshield wiper blades filled one shelf.
I grabbed a couple of them and walked over to the workbench, dumping them out of their boxes and ripping them apart, removing the spring steel from them. Finding the files and saw took a little longer.
“What are you doing?” Sèadna asked from over my shoulder.
“Making lock picks.” I said as I filed one piece of metal down into the shape of a hook.
“What is a lock pick?” Fiora asked.
“They are used to open a lock without a key. There was a lock sport club, people who do lock picking as a hobby, at my university, that I was involved with because of a former partner.” I said.
They watched in silence as I made a simple set of picks. Two different hooks, one rake, and a tension tool. Back in a storage unit back in Phoenix, if Lysandra had my belongings packed up already, that is, there was a box of lock picks, a bunch I made myself, and a couple of sets I bought when I first started. Since I was in a hurry, I hadn't refined them as much as the others, but I hoped they would do the trick.
The two Fae women were both fascinated watching me make them. It seemed that steel didn’t have the same effect on them as cold iron did, as they both held and examined the picks after I made them.
I slipped them into a pouch on the backpack’s strap and turned to face the two women.
“I’m as ready as I’m ever going to be.” I told them. “Lets get this over with.”
Sèadna turned and lead the way out of the manor to the grove behind it. The walk wasn’t long, and before I knew it, we were standing in a circle of trees.
“Where is the way?” I asked, looking around.
I don’t know what I expected. A ring of fire, or a glowing hole in the air, maybe. But the clearing was empty, as far as I could tell.
“It’s here.” Sèadna said, pointing to the middle of the clearing. “Until I activate it, it’s invisible though.”
She walked over to where she pointed and held her hand up. Her hand glowed and suddenly there was a shimmering arch in front of her. It wasn’t quite what I expected. It was a swirling plane of silvery mist, maybe half an inch thick. I could see the other side of the clearing through it.
“When you step through this, you will step out in a similar clearing in Morocco, not too far to the southwest of the villa.” Sèadna said. She handed me a folded sheet of paper. “Here is a map of the area my friends down there drew for you. Once you have her, return to the clearing and call to me through the ring, like you did with your pendant. I will open the way again.”
“Wish me luck.” I said as I stepped up to the way.
“Good luck Aria.” Sèadna and Fiora both said.
“Please bring her back to us,” Fiora added.
I nodded to both of them and stepped through the shimmering mist.