Chapter 2269

For some reason everyone turned to Daniel for the answer. He had no idea. He had his powers and his witches, but little else. He felt insignificant in the grand scheme of things. He looked out onto the grass plain and could see the f ocal point.

He started to speak and then stopped. His thoughts horrified him. He would be ordering all their deaths if they followed him. But he looked and saw exactly where all three armies would focus. The phoenix in him pushed him mentally to accept this action despite it going against his common sense. She seemed desperate. It was all he could do to stop himself from running right there.

He lifted an arm and pointed to the spot."We head there and wait. We raise a white flag and ask for parlay."

Grace snorted."Parlay? That is a human concept. The fae will not pay any attention to that."

"They will if we give them a show of force."

"Force? What force? What can we show them?"

"I don't know. The phoenix is pushing me there.She's pretty insistent."

The others started arguing amongst themselves. Daniel looked toward the approaching human army and felt the phoenix year n for something in that direction.

He urged his liger forward and started toward the spot. Jasmine, sitting in front of him, slapped his knees begging him to stop.

"Daniel, stop!"screeched Jasmine, trapped infront of him.

"Daniel!Where are you going?" demanded Amyand Amber.

"Come. We have to be in the right spot."

Amy and Amber looked at one another and then kicked the flanks of their ligers to join Daniel. Bitty screeched, also trapped in the liger saddle in front of Amy.

Jennifer smiled and looked heavenward. She nodded once and her liger ran to join Daniel. Brian was close behind her.

Glenda, Roger, and Jason looked at one another. "What now?"

Jason snorted."Well, I'm part of The Circle, so I guess I have no choice, huh?"Jason's liger ran after the others.

Glenda sighed. Roger looked at her."Any visions?"

She shook her head."I haven't had any since that last one, you know that."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning the fates are undermined. We'vedone all we can up to this point. Come. We should join them. It's where we belong."

"I love you, Glenda."

"I love you, too, Roger. Let's see the of end this."

The Circle stood together having sent the ligers away. Glenda and Roger stood behind them. All of them watched the approaching armies. The ground rumbled and shook. It took hours but eventually all three armies halted and looked out over the plains toward where the small party of adventurers stood under a white flag lifted high on Roger's longbow, which could extend beyond the shape of a bow if he wanted.

To Daniel it seemed the armies didn't know how

_

to take them. They stopped and stared for a long time before he noticed some movement. Almost as if cued, three groups broke off from each of the armies and headed toward them. Daniel recognised Rhiannon, Pwyll, Titania, Oberon, Arbuckle, and Sylvan.

Amy, Amber, and Jasmine took their normal position around Daniel and waited. The others formed a half-circle behind them.

Grace swore."The queens should not be here. This has never happened. They must remain in their realms."

Glenda muttered watching the heads of the armies approaching."I've got a bad feeling about this."

All three army heads stopped about fifty feet from Daniel and his party. They all stared at one another for a long moment.

Rhiannon was the first to speak."What the fuck is going on? Why are you standing in the way? The fae do not tolerate humans interfering with our affairs. You especially, Arbuckle."

Titania frowned, glancing at Rhiannon with distaste."Yeah. Leave this field if you know what's good for you. You won't stop what's about

to happen. What is it you want?”

Arbuckle, not about to be ignored, added his own commentary."Daniel? What is The Circle doing here? Did you recover my egg?"

Daniel looked over at the King."I would ask you the same question, Your Majesty."

Sylvan snorted."How impertinent."

Both face ns regarded the King and Sylvan. Rhiannon spoke first again."This matter does not involve the humans. Depart at once. You interfere with events beyond your ken."

Titania nodded her agreement."For once I agree with my Night fae counterpart. This war does not concern humans. Depart or die. The choice is yours and honestly, I couldn't care less which one you decide."

Arbuckle surprised them all by laughing."Long have we suffered to the whim of the fae. That time is over. We will watch you fight each other, and when your forces are depleted, we will strike and eliminate you both. Your time on this world is over."

The fae queens and their consorts looked at one another in surprise and then broke into

laughter. Pwyll's stag pranced a little before he spoke."You are very amusing. I could slaughter your entire army with a handful of my Light fae."

Oberon was nodding at his words."It would be a slaughter. Really, you have no idea."

"I beg to differ, Oberon," came a new voice thatstartled them all. Oberon looked up and saw Maeve descending from the sky on a chariot that flew. She landed with ease and leapt off and stood before them.

Arbuckle grinned at Sylvan and then at the fae. "It seems my newest ally has arrived. Have youall had the pleasure of meeting Maeve?"

* * *

To make matters worse, Daniel was having a hard time concentrating on what was happening right in front of him. Maeve appearing startled him and gave him a strong sense of foreboding. He felt the walls closing in hard and fast.

But what had his full attention was not the squabbling leaders of the fae and humans, it was the female phoenix within him. She wanted him to launch into Sylvan. Several times he almost started casting a spell at him and his

ladies were noticing and sending him curious looks.

What? he thought at the phoenix.

He has it, replied the phoenix, st unning Daniel. She had a most pleasant and sensual voice that immediately gave him a surprisingly hard erection. He winced.

He quickly recovered from his shock on hearing her voice in his head. Who has what?

The Wilds Child, Sylvan! He has the egg! Can you not feel it? How can you not feel it? We've grown so powerful together!

Daniel looked at Sylvan. Behind him, the human army was positioning themselves on the field, forming long rows of pikemen, swordsmen, and archers, with calvary forming on the flanks. Banners were lifted and fluttered in the wind. Looking at Sylvan he felt nothing of an egg, but then he tried to focus. He knew what the phoenix felt like inside him, and he looked for that. And there it was. A bright beacon of power hidden inside his robes. The egg!

Daniel thought quickly. He had to tell his companions what was happening. He knew he

_

could use the bond he had with his circle and that could probably include Grace and Bitty. He had wondered in the Wilds if he could somehow extend his bond to others. In the Wilds, he knew somehow that this connection had kept him and his witches safe from Maeve's manipulations. He now wondered if he could extend that bond to the others.

No time like the present, he thought. He imagined those bonds extending to all The Circle of adventurers and included Glenda and Roger. He pushed his will and watched tendrils form and reach out to join everyone and he grinned to himself. Focused as he was, he didn't see Maeve's small smile.

He took a breath and projected his thoughts. Everyone don't react! Okay?

Despite his warning Glenda and Roger jerked in place and looked right at Daniel in surprise. Grace slowly turned her head to regard him with a raised eyebrow and then smiled at him. Bitty grinned from ear to ear and whispered "Yes!" under her breath.

Listen up!We don't have much time. The egg is with Sylvan. It's really strong; like looking directly at the sun. We need to get it because if we don't'everyone is going to be wiped out

here. I don't know what Arbuckle thought he was going to do here but having the egg here seems really stupid and dangerous.

Grace was staring at Daniel in surprise. Please tell me you're kidding. How do you know this?

Daniel was staring at Sylvan, who was noticing his stare. He could sense the egg like he was holding it. The egg contains both the female and the male phoenixes. I don't understand what's going on, but I bet someone wants that egg to erupt here.

WHAT!? screamed Grace.

Everyone winced. By the gods! Keep it down! chastised Jennifer.

Daniel could feel the eagerness from the phoenix inside him. She desperately wanted him to fetch the egg. Hold on guys, let me speak to her. He turned his thoughts to the phoenix. Explain, he sent her. Now.

She mentally rolled her eyes at him. What's to explain? Maeve and Sylvan tricked my mate and I. Sylvan forced my emergence from the egg and attracted my mate. Yanwe y was destroyed as a result. I should have emerged beautiful and powerful, but Sylvan trapped me, and I was

pushed back into the e gg with my mate. That has never happened before. We didn't know it could happen. I can sense that me and my mate are in that egg. One of us has to emerge and Sylvan can force that to happen.

How can you be inside me and the egg at the same time?

I'm a memory? I'm incomplete. Inside that egg my mate and I are probably fucking like crazy. I'm so jealous. But fucking through you has been fun. I never had a dick before. It's really fun. Oh wait, I can see you're really worried about people dying, so I suggest you get the egg and then leave. Go someplace safe and boom! One of us emerges and our normal cycle returns. Easy.

You do realise that the boom will kill everyone?

Not if we go someplace safe. Well, safe-ish.

Where would that be?

Yanwey.

You already destroyed Yanwey.

No, the man you call Sylvan did that. You need to listen better. He works for Maeve. He's a

Wilds Child. Everyone should be able to see that. Except you and everyone else. Stupid humans. And fae. And dwarves too. Probably the gnomes too, but they should know better.

He's a what!?

A Wilds Child. Maeve created him. A minion. He went to Yanwey and caused my egg to hatch. When I emerged, he used some arcane magic from Maeve to trap me in the male egg. I bet my mate and I were very happy about that. But not so much the death of so many. That was not our fault. Sorry. But now that Yanwey is no more, there's no harm to em erge there now.