Alessia Troisi, MD, DVM, code name: Tyche
Faerie, In the Time Between ‘Then’ and ‘Now’

He was as pretty as he’d been the night he’d come to me in my bedroom in New York, tall, willowy, with golden skin and pale, platinum hair. His cheekbones were high and delicate, and his almond, bright green eyes were more cat or serpent than human. He wore court finery, sumptuously bedecked with silver, gold, rubies, and emeralds.

We stood before him in the lavish hall where he held court, and it was impossible not to feel just a bit intimidated. The floor was tiled in a rich, white marble, unmarred by the countless feet that had crossed it over the centuries. The walls were carved from quartz and reflected back the light from the mounted torches in rainbows across the room, while expensive and ornate furniture that had never been touched by mortal hands was scattered around the room in tasteful disarray. The room had no ceiling, but I did not doubt that it never rained here except when our host desired it. Overhead, dim stars could just barely be made out against the gloom, and faint St. Elmo’s Fire played along the wall’s spires and parapets.

“Little Alessia,” he said, and I felt a shiver pass through me again. When he’d said my name all those years ago, it had felt creepy; now I understood why, a little better. He wasn’t just saying my name, he was invoking my true name. I had no idea how he had learned it- certainly, I’d never given it to him- but his pronunciation was flawless; if he’d wanted to, he could have ordered me to flap my arms and cluck like a chicken, and I would’ve done it. Fortunately, he had more restraint or, possibly, more honor than that. “After a score of years, you wish to claim my boon for something so inconsequential.”

I swallowed. Was he insulted? I couldn’t be sure; the fae was hard to read, even for me. “I do not mean to belittle your gift,” I said, “but, no offense, this is important.”

“Indeed?”

“You told me, once, to never take true friends for granted. Kate and Agosto are true friends, and I cannot let their pain go unanswered.”

Dark Siren nudged my elbow and I looked at her. “You going to start talking in ‘belikes’ and ‘mayhaps’ next?” she teased.

Evidently the Faerie prince heard her, as well, because he gave us both a wry, tolerant smile. “It is both mete and proper to speak to your betters with the respect they are due, Miss Chen, even if, to immature ears, it sounds a trifle foolish.”

I cleared my throat interrupting Dark Siren’s retort before she got it past her lips. “Can you help us?” I asked.

The prince pursed his lips, then nodded. “It is within my portfolio, but what you ask is not as simple as you think. If I give you nothing but the information you seek, my debt would not be satisfied, and you would dash yourself to pieces trying to use the information I gave you.

“On the other hand, if I gave you material aid- a fighting chance, as it were, that would be worth considerably more than sparing the life of one foolish girl. Were I to offer, would you accept it?”

I considered that. Wasn’t it the rule that faerie gifts always cost more than they were worth?

“Freely offered?” I asked.

“Freely offered,” he confirmed, “and given in all good faith, yet the consequences of such a gift are beyond my ability to command or predict. Still, it is all I can offer that will make your quest less than a fool’s errand.”

I nodded. “Freely offered and freely taken,” I agreed; the words seemed to be conducted through me, as if I were merely a conduit for their power, rather than the will giving them force, “and may our peoples take strength in our shared cause.”

The prince’s eyebrows rose and he stepped down from his throne.

“The fiend you seek- and I mean that most literally- is named Kazimmirin.”

“Wait,” I said, “you knew who was behind this all along?”

“The affairs of demons are not so hard to track, when you have reason to fear them,” he said dryly.

“And we’re asking this guy for help?” Dark Siren scoffed.

“And you are wise to do so,” the prince confirmed, obviously nettled, “or do you believe you could face even a minor demon with nothing but your fists and your ancient mysticism and your courage and still have a hope of besting it?”

His composure stilled almost instantly and he went on. “The fae have long given gifts to mortals we found interesting; some of these are little enough trifles, but those would not be much aid in this case. Instead, I entrust you with Aspída ton Polynices, a shield carried first by one of the Greek heroes who fought in the battle of Troy and which was later claimed and remade into Henry II’s Sciath Leon. This aegis granted protection to those pure of heart, such that no mortal wound could befall them. Added to this, I will loan you Balmung, the reforged sword, Gram, that Sigurd used to slay Fafnir.”

He paused and gave me a wry look. “I would warn you to be careful- these are faerie artifacts and have grown both more powerful and more capricious with time- but I suspect such warnings will come to naught. Instead, I simply ask that you do not take unavoidable risks; the loss of these artifacts would have consequences that I could not protect you from.”

Attendants appeared silently, so softly that I barely heard the whisper of their clothes before they were upon us, and presented a large, rectangular shield embossed with a lion’s head and a long, broad-bladed soldier's sword that wore a plain, leather-wrapped hilt and looked nothing like any sort of noble weapon. They bowed low, proffering the artifacts in outstretched arms, and I took them.

“Thank-” I began to say, but the prince raised his hand.

“Do not ever thank the fae,” he commanded. “We do our part for our own reasons; be grateful that you benefit, but do not make the mistake of placing yourself into our debt. We are not kind masters.”

I blinked.

“Excuse me,” I said at length, “what I meant was that we will see these treasures used as they were intended. I am sure we will find their aid invaluable.”

A faint hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Better,” he said. “Go now; your presence here has disturbed more than you know, and I must busy myself setting things aright.”

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Asking the fae for help... what could possibly go wrong?

This story will feature demons, fae, a heap-big dragon, 's Dark Siren, and 's Tyche.

The Affairs of Dragons takes place in  and is directly related to the history of 

Part 12 

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Mature Content

Part 14 

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Mature Content