stay.”
“And if they don’t?” asked Talia.
Tommy winked. “The dragons can’t eat fish all the time, eh?” He dismounted and tied his dragon to a stone rail carved into the wall. After a short exchange with the troll, he turned back and said, “The Ladies are in the next room. Try not to make them angry.”
“What will they do?” Danielle asked.
“Oh, they probably won’t hurt you, not with the Duchess vouching for you,” Tommy said. “But most people prefer talking to Veleris. Make them angry or upset, and Bellum takes over. Mind your manners, and you’ll do all right. Leave your weapons with Oklok there, and come along.”
The troll held out a hand large enough to crush a human’s skull. Danielle handed over the short sword she had taken from the bandits, and waited while the others did the same. Gerta gave over a sling and dagger, and Talia did the same with her hunting knife.
Danielle cleared her throat. “Talia?”
Talia’s answering look was half innocence, half challenge.
“We’re guests here, asking for help.”
Talia rolled her eyes, but slipped the black-hilted athame from her sleeve and gave it to the troll.
The next room was larger, dominated by a low oblong table carved from the stone. For seating, the floor had been dug out around the table like a moat. At the table, midway through a meal of mushrooms and fish, were a handful of goblins, a greenish wart-skinned creature of a race Danielle didn’t recognize, and-
“The Fairy Ladies of Allesandria.” Tommy rapped his shovel to his helm twice as he bowed to the two- headed giant sitting at the head of the table. “Veleris and Bellum.” He leaned toward Danielle and whispered, “Veleris is the head on your right.”
The giant stood. Bellum continued chewing, seemingly absorbed in her meal as Veleris wiped her mouth on her wrist and studied them. They-or was it she?-stood twice as tall as a man, and three time as broad. Her arms were thicker than Danielle’s thighs. She wore a thick knee-length skirt dyed orange, with matching boots. Her skin was as pale as Snow’s.
Veleris smiled, displaying yellowed teeth the size of a horse’s. Her black hair was pulled to her left in a braided rope that brushed her shoulder, and she wore a leather headband studded with crudely hammered nuggets of gold.
“Thank you, Tommy,” said Veleris. Danielle recognized the voice. She searched the ceiling until she spotted a small metal cone in the rock, currently blocked by a wooden plug. They must have somehow run pipes through the entire mine to carry the sound to the door on the surface.
Tommy saluted again and backed away. To Danielle and the others, he whispered, “Good luck.”
“So the Duchess sent you to us,” said Veleris, studying them each in turn. When she came to the darkling, she grimaced. “And you’ve brought one of her spies.”
Danielle bowed. “The darkling helped us escape Kanustius, Your Grace.” She wasn’t certain of the Ladies’ proper title, but “Grace” was an accepted default among fairy nobles.
Veleris and Bellum glanced at one another. Bellum’s hair was shorter, slicked to her right with some sort of oil or grease. Her face was a mirror of Veleris’, broad and blocky, with a heavy brow, but where Veleris seemed genuinely pleased to meet them, Bellum looked like she wanted nothing more than to step across the table and start crunching bones.
“We are aware of the attack on Kanustius,” said Veleris. “What help would you ask of us?”
Danielle stepped closer to the edge of the table. “I was told you could help me to find my son, and that you would know how to stop the demon which has attacked Allesandria. The demon which has now taken King Laurence.” As quickly as she could, she summarized what they knew of the demon.
“Find your son and stop a demon,” Bellum muttered. “That’s two favors. Large favors. Humans are fools. Conjuring demons, then running around like children when their plans sour. A true demon, from the sound of things. You might as well burn your kingdom now and save yourselves the time.”
“I’m afraid I must agree,” said Veleris. “Your people are impulsive and quick to act. It can be a strength, but you neglect to think beyond your short lives to the consequences of your actions.”
“We didn’t crawl through miles of dirt and rock for a lecture,” Talia said. “This demon has already burned the palace.”
“Let them burn!” Bellum snatched the headband from Veleris and placed it on her own brow. “Let them know what it feels like to be hunted down, to be driven from their homes and destroyed. The more of you the demon kills, the safer this world becomes for our people.”
The other fairies at the table slunk away, escaping Bellum’s anger.
“Safer?” Talia repeated. “This thing has already murdered the dryad who brought us to Allesandria.”
Bellum slammed her hand on the table. “That’s what happens to our kind when we help humans.”
Danielle tried again, speaking as calmly as she could. “The Duchess-”
“The Duchess does not speak for Speas Elan,” snapped Bellum. “What goes on in your world is of no concern to us. Your people summoned this thing. You deal with it.”
“So you’ll do nothing?” demanded Talia.
Veleris whispered to Bellum, who rolled her eyes. “No,” Bellum said, not bothering to conceal her disgust. “We will help you. You may stay here. This place is safer than any in Allesandria. Whatever hell this demon creates, it won’t last forever. One day both you and we shall return to the surface. If not you, then your children, or theirs.”
“My child is a prisoner,” said Danielle. “I will get him back.”
“Then go,” said Bellum. “None here will stop you.”
Danielle glanced at her companions. Talia appeared ready to attack the giant barehanded. The darkling waited silently in the shadows, as did Gerta.
Danielle studied the giant more closely. Bellum glared right back, her yellow eyes daring Danielle to argue. Veleris, on the other hand, simply stared into the distance, her expression one of weary sadness.
“You’ve lived down here a long time,” said Danielle.
“More than a century.”
Well before the laws of Allesandria were changed. Rose Curtana had been but one in a long line of ambitious rulers who feared or hated fairykind. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” yelled Bellum. Veleris’ eyes fixed on Danielle.
“And how long have you ruled Speas Elan?” asked Danielle.
“Ever since the day we fled underground,” Bellum said. “By then we were hiding in small bands. Always moving. Always hiding. Your people hunted us for sport, did you know that?”
Danielle thought back to what Tommy had said about castes. Giants were servant caste, not royal. “You weren’t expecting to rule when you fled underground, were you? You weren’t trained for this. I know what it’s like to be thrust into leadership.”
“The royal caste ordered us to fight,” said Bellum, her tone wary. “They tried to rally a fairy army against your witches and wizards. Most of my kin joined them. They fell.”
“The demon will hunt humans and fairies both.” Danielle beckoned Gerta forward. “This woman is kin to King Laurence. If you choose to help us, both Lorindar and Allesandria would be in your debt.”
Veleris smiled. Without a word, she reached over to take the headband from Bellum. The headband marked which head was in charge at any given moment, Danielle realized, though she wasn’t entirely sure how they decided when it should be passed. She thought back to Tommy’s warning. Try not to make them angry. Perhaps Bellum dominated in matters of anger and conflict, while Veleris ruled for more peaceful topics.
Both of the giant’s heads turned toward Gerta. “What are you?” asked Veleris. “There’s an aura to you that reminds me of a fairy changeling, but your magic is human.”
“She’s like a changeling, only fresher,” said Bellum. “She stinks like a newborn.”
“A conjuration, to be certain,” Veleris said. “Hastily constructed, a painting not yet dried.”
Gerta sniffed. “I beg your pardon?”
“Typical human sloppiness,” Bellum concluded.
“I’m not-”
Danielle grabbed Gerta’s arm and squeezed. “Don’t upset them.” To Veleris, she said, “She is our friend.
