if you disrespect her.”
“Can we throw the word ‘respect’ out the window?” I asked. “We’re past that now, and it’ll go smoothly for us all if we speak plainly. I need your help, unfortunately. Tell me what you know about the Sidhe. What makes them so special?”
“Ancient bloodlines have the strongest magic,” he said. “Magic builds over time, gaining strength with each passing century. The trees are even more ancient than the Sidhe, which is why they possess so much power at their cores.”
“Huh. Interesting. So what about the swords? Each one belongs to one Sidhe, right? Avakis—I’m sure he put his magic into the sword. Most of it, anyway. It was unbreakable.”
“It’s my understanding that most of the higher Sidhe choose to store their magic in a talisman,” said the Chief.
I frowned. “What about if they’re exiled? They’re allowed to take their weapons with them?”
“No, of course not,” said the Chief.
So Avakis stole his. Velkas had hinted as much—he’d said Avakis took magic that wasn’t his to begin with. Avakis’s magical essence had been stored in his blade, before I’d taken it. But the sword hadn’t been his in the first place. He’d stolen it, presumably from someone else in the Grey Vale after his exile.
And Velkas… Velkas must have killed someone else to steal theirs and give to Calder, because Avakis’s son had never been to Faerie.
“How long ago?” I asked. “I know time passes weirdly in Faerie, but from what the Lady said, this Great Oak talisman was stolen recently. Who owns them? The Sidhe lords?”
“Yes,” said the Chief. “If a talisman is unclaimed, it belongs to whoever is currently in power.”
“So this could mean—war, in Summer?”
“If they know it’s missing, then possibly. They’ll blame Winter, no doubt. It depends which noble was left in charge of the talisman. I’m not privy to their politics.” Bitterness tinged his voice, though I could tell he was masking his reaction. Being out of touch with Summer really bothered him.
“Do they know the Grey Vale exists?” I asked.
“As far as I know… they don’t,” said the Chief, a nervous expression crossing his face. “When they exile people, they must know they’re sending them beyond reach, but the idea of another realm entirely… if they do know, they must assume it’s not a threat.”
“It’s a threat to us,” I said. Not to mention, Velkas and Calder had both wanted to draw the attention of the Sidhe who’d cast them out. “Anyway, how common are these tree-forged swords? Am I likely to find one on the market?”
“No,” said the Chief. “They’re rare—incredibly so, especially in this realm. None of the weapons we carry here are tree-forged—not in the sense that they have power stored in them, anyway.”
So his own staff was all for show, then. “So… it’s got to be hidden, if they’re so rare.”
Vance and I exchanged looks. I’d encountered no fewer than three in the comparatively short time I’d been involved with Faerie. What were the odds?
“So will you help us find the sword?” asked Vance. “There are only so many places a magical artefact might be hidden, right?”
“In theory,” said the Chief. “Within this realm, I can’t imagine a store of Summer’s magic could go unnoticed for long.”
“And you didn’t notice your magic was fading?” I asked.
“Our territory is sustained by our collective magic, combined. With the chaos around the veil lately, it did occur to me that the balance might have shifted, but I assumed Winter was about to take over.”
Not that Summer was losing its power. Damn. “I don’t get why she wanted me to investigate,” I said. “I don’t even have Summer magic, for a start. Not to mention I can’t go to Faerie. I’m not Sidhe.”
“If you did manage to go to Faerie, they’d tear the magic from you with your heart still beating,” said the Chief. “The answers must be in
“Can we throw the word ‘respect’ out the window?” I asked. “We’re past that now, and it’ll go smoothly for us all if we speak plainly. I need your help, unfortunately. Tell me what you know about the Sidhe. What makes them so special?”
“Ancient bloodlines have the strongest magic,” he said. “Magic builds over time, gaining strength with each passing century. The trees are even more ancient than the Sidhe, which is why they possess so much power at their cores.”
“Huh. Interesting. So what about the swords? Each one belongs to one Sidhe, right? Avakis—I’m sure he put his magic into the sword. Most of it, anyway. It was unbreakable.”
“It’s my understanding that most of the higher Sidhe choose to store their magic in a talisman,” said the Chief.
I frowned. “What about if they’re exiled? They’re allowed to take their weapons with them?”
“No, of course not,” said the Chief.
So Avakis stole his. Velkas had hinted as much—he’d said Avakis took magic that wasn’t his to begin with. Avakis’s magical essence had been stored in his blade, before I’d taken it. But the sword hadn’t been his in the first place. He’d stolen it, presumably from someone else in the Grey Vale after his exile.
And Velkas… Velkas must have killed someone else to steal theirs and give to Calder, because Avakis’s son had never been to Faerie.
“How long ago?” I asked. “I know time passes weirdly in Faerie, but from what the Lady said, this Great Oak talisman was stolen recently. Who owns them? The Sidhe lords?”
“Yes,” said the Chief. “If a talisman is unclaimed, it belongs to whoever is currently in power.”
“So this could mean—war, in Summer?”
“If they know it’s missing, then possibly. They’ll blame Winter, no doubt. It depends which noble was left in charge of the talisman. I’m not privy to their politics.” Bitterness tinged his voice, though I could tell he was masking his reaction. Being out of touch with Summer really bothered him.
“Do they know the Grey Vale exists?” I asked.
“As far as I know… they don’t,” said the Chief, a nervous expression crossing his face. “When they exile people, they must know they’re sending them beyond reach, but the idea of another realm entirely… if they do know, they must assume it’s not a threat.”
“It’s a threat to us,” I said. Not to mention, Velkas and Calder had both wanted to draw the attention of the Sidhe who’d cast them out. “Anyway, how common are these tree-forged swords? Am I likely to find one on the market?”
“No,” said the Chief. “They’re rare—incredibly so, especially in this realm. None of the weapons we carry here are tree-forged—not in the sense that they have power stored in them, anyway.”
So his own staff was all for show, then. “So… it’s got to be hidden, if they’re so rare.”
Vance and I exchanged looks. I’d encountered no fewer than three in the comparatively short time I’d been involved with Faerie. What were the odds?
“So will you help us find the sword?” asked Vance. “There are only so many places a magical artefact might be hidden, right?”
“In theory,” said the Chief. “Within this realm, I can’t imagine a store of Summer’s magic could go unnoticed for long.”
“And you didn’t notice your magic was fading?” I asked.
“Our territory is sustained by our collective magic, combined. With the chaos around the veil lately, it did occur to me that the balance might have shifted, but I assumed Winter was about to take over.”
Not that Summer was losing its power. Damn. “I don’t get why she wanted me to investigate,” I said. “I don’t even have Summer magic, for a start. Not to mention I can’t go to Faerie. I’m not Sidhe.”
“If you did manage to go to Faerie, they’d tear the magic from you with your heart still beating,” said the Chief. “The answers must be in
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