Puck let out a curse. “Dammit, those big uglies are really getting on my nerves. How are we going to kill these bastards before they turn everyone here into madmen? I don’t fancy having to fight all the armies of Faery.”
“Oberon.” Meghan spun toward the Summer King, who turned an electric green gaze on her, eyes blazing. “Don’t engage the largest creatures,” she told the Seelie monarch. “There’s too much fear and anger in the area to have any effect on them, and negative glamour only makes them stronger. Have your forces fall back before they turn them all against us!”
“Retreat?” Mab curled a lip, steam and mist writhing off her huge black warhorse, its glacial blue eyes wide with fear and alarm. She yanked the reins savagely to keep it under control. “They cannot stop the entire army,” she said. “Eventually, they will be brought down. We cannot let these creatures get past us into the Nevernever. I will see my entire force dead before I allow these Monsters to rampage through Winter.”
“That is not acceptable, Queen Mab,” Meghan told the Winter monarch, who glared down at her. “We will lose too many people. I will not throw my subjects at the Nightmares only to die.”
“Then what do you suggest, Iron Queen?” This from Titania, joining the Winter monarch in glaring down at us. “Or do you simply expect us to watch these abominations stroll into the Nevernever without a fight?”
“No.” Atop the Wolf, Keirran suddenly raised his head. “Drive them back,” he stated. “Don’t focus on killing them, focus on pushing them away.” He pointed back into the ruins, at the gaping hole to Evenfall. “Drive the Monsters into the pit and seal it. It will be a temporary solution, but it will buy us time to decide what to do.”
The rulers of Faery gazed at each other as, around us, the battle between Evenfall and the fey of the Nevernever shook the ruins. Finally, Oberon nodded.
“Acceptable,” he announced, dismounting from his steed in a flurry of green and silver. “We will drive the creatures back and return them to the pit they crawled out of. Knights!” he called, his voice booming over the battlefield. “Fall back! Summer forces, return to me!”
Queen Mab’s voice echoed Oberon’s, calling her own forces to retreat, as Meghan did the same. Slowly, the armies of the Nevernever began falling back, still battling nightmare creatures as they retreated. In the center of the chaos, the Elder Nightmares howled as they continued to lay waste, inky tendrils thrashing as they lashed out at fey and nightmare alike.
Titania stepped up beside Oberon, watching the battle and the raging Nightmares with a look of distaste. “And where are we supposed to send these abominations back to?” she wondered.
“Back to Evenfall,” Meghan told her. “The broken seal is where they’re coming from. We need to push them back, and somehow close it before they claw their way out. It’s not going to be easy, though.”
The Summer Queen sniffed. “Speak for yourself, child,” she said, as power began flickering around both her and Oberon, rippling their capes and causing their hair to float around them. “You have only been in the Nevernever a few short years. We are the Summer Court.”
The Elder Nightmares were nearly upon us, and the armies of the Nevernever had been pushed back until only a hundred or so paces separated them from the gathered rulers. The swarms of Evenfey continued to hound them, but the real threat was the four great beasts and the carpet of swarming tentacles that thrashed and flailed in every direction. The screams of our own people rang through the ruins, as scores of Winter, Summer, and Iron fey succumbed to anger and fear, becoming twisted versions of themselves and turning on their former allies.
Deep below, there was a pulse, and dozens of massive roots broke through the stones, rising into the air with muffled roars. They whipped about like dragon heads, striking at nightmare fey and flinging them in all directions. I saw Titania raise her hand, and glamour-fueled wind gusted furiously through the ruins, swirling into howling tornados. Faeries and Evenfey were swept off their feet, hurled like rag dolls into trees and broken walls, as the intense storms cut a swath of destruction through the ruins.
The Elder Nightmares roared, their unnatural voices rising even over the howling winds. Roots and vines slashed at them, and furious gusts tore at their flesh and manes of tentacles, but they didn’t fall back. Lowering their antlered heads, they prowled toward us, coming a bit faster now, and the scent of fear rose up from the forces out front.
Beneath us, the ground turned to shadows, and inky tendrils began rising from the stones, writhing madly as they reached for us. The Wolf snarled and, with Keirran still on his back, sprang atop a pillar, away from the flood of darkness, as Mab’s horse squealed in terror and reared, and the tornado sputtered and died as the Summer rulers turned to the more immediate threat. With a pulse of Winter, Summer, and Iron glamour, the tentacles surrounding us vanished, but more crept forward, a never-ending carpet, and the Nightmares drew closer as well.
As one Elder Nightmare snarled and lurched forward, a trio of spinning crescents flashed through the air, striking it in the face, and it recoiled with a bellow. Startled, I glanced up, as a familiar silver-haired figure melted out of the shadows overhead, peering at us from a stone column.
Puck drew in a sharp breath. “Nyx?” he gasped. “I thought you left.”
“I did.” The Evenfaery dropped silently to the ground beside Puck, her gaze solemn as she rose. “But then I saw what was on the other side. No matter what I believe now... I don’t want you to die, Puck.” She glanced at the red-haired fey beside her, and a faint grimace crossed her face. “It appears I’ve broken the first rule of my Order and have grown rather attached to someone. I hope you’re happy, Goodfellow. I don’t know whether to kill you now or not.”
“Welcome to the club,” Puck grinned. “Remind me to get you the VIP pass. That stands for ‘Very Interesting to Puck,’ if you’re wondering.”
Nyx shook her head, grabbed the front of his shirt, and pulled him into a kiss. “You are very bad for my good sense, Goodfellow,” she said as they parted. “But I’m glad I came back.” She turned her head, observing the approaching Monsters with grim determination. “Think we can keep these Nightmares distracted until the rulers can do their work?”
Puck drew his daggers with another wicked grin. “Just try to keep up.”
They sprang forward, into the hordes of fey, and a moment later a flock of ravens swooped through the ruins with screaming cries, circling the heads of the closest Monsters, and flashes of silver light caused them to recoil with snarls of rage and confusion.
With a snort the Wolf dropped from the pillar and cast an irritated glance back at Keirran. “Get off, cub,” he growled, and the Forgotten King complied. “These creatures don’t frighten me,” the Wolf stated, narrowing his gold-green eyes at the raging Nightmares. “Let’s see how strong they really are.”