I stood before my king and queen in the throne room. For some reason I felt as if the entire kingdom watched my every move, but it was only them and a few guards. I ran through a through list of emotions, from fear to excitement. Then I was stuck on pure fear. Why am I here? What did I do? Is this because I was recently named too powerful? Is this because I had a vision of their heir’s disappearance? Am I being charged with the crime itself? What did I do?

“It has recently come to our attention,” the king said, “that you have eyes that can see the world round.”

“Excuse me?”

The queen smiled. I took a chance and read her mind, she was smiling because she knew it would calm my nerves. A kind woman, that queen of mine. “I held a secret meeting last night to help in my quest to find my lost children. Your mother, Margaret the Seer, Kalen the High Priest, Sigept the traveler, and Dien.” At the sound of the names I remembered thinking that it was strange that were all missing at once. “They all believe that my last hope of finding my children lie in your eyes.”

I licked my lips, I always hated court life. A courtier, I am not. I have always been known for my harsh and truthful tongue, but I didn’t dare tell them that if I was their last hope then there was no hope. All the thinking before speaking was giving me a headache, “You may always find hope in the last place you’d never look, my queen. My eyes may not be your last hope.”

“I appreciate your sentiment, but if those I trust most appoint you to the task then you are the one I need.”

I swallowed in anticipation. No doubt I wasn’t up to the task I’d been called to do, especially hung over and still reeling from my morning encounter. That reminded me. “Do you have any other children, your highnesses, besides Princess Saijose, Prince Rio’se, and Princess Amara?”

The royal couple looked between them, and unison said, “no.”

“What about Errol? Does he have more than that child, Prince Daiden?”

Another speculative look between them. “No.”

“I believe your children are fine, your highnesses.”

The king eyed me suspiciously, “what makes you think that.”

I shook my head, not knowing exactly why I was talking about my drunken vision. “Just a conversation I had earlier.”

He nodded his head, as if he’d expected such an answer. Who knows, maybe he’d spent more time with Margaret than I thought. “Even so, I’d like you to attempt to scry my daughter’s and my wife’s son’s whereabouts.”

“With all due respect, my liege, but if the Collective Faerie couldn’t do anything for you then I can’t.”

“I’ll issue an order, son, if I have to. I’d just like you to do this for us, to ease our minds, so that we can know we’ve done everything possible.”

“Okay,” was all I could possibly say. “I’ll need a bowl full of fresh water. Also if your witch downstairs has some morning dew and consecrated oil that would helpful, but I can manage without.”

The king smiled a wicked grin. “I think I can do you one better.” He nodded to a guard behind him, and the man promptly walked out. Seconds later the man returned with two others struggling with a veiled basin.

I looked on curiously as the three men struggled across the thrown room with the veiled object. It must have weighed a ton- literally, if the three struggled with it. The king got up, as the men set the thing down and wiped sweat off their brows. He smiled at me, and with a flourish unveiled the object. I stared, unseeing, at the Holy Grail of faeries. I licked my lips in anticipation and walked slowly forward.

My breath came out strangled. I was absolutely not seeing what I was seeing. I looked up at the king who was watching me curiously. Another breath that struggled its way from my chest, tears filled my eyes, and I nearly wept at the sight of it. I’d never seen the thing before, but I knew what it was. Another breath that worked its way over my pounding heart. “The pool of Taurwak?”

“A family heirloom, I hear. Can you use it, or should I send for some other bowl of water?”

“No!” I screamed nearly at the top of my lungs, the guards looked relieved. “Just... give me a minute.” As an afterthought I added, “please, your highness.”

The base of the pool of Taurwak was no more than two feet across with intricate vines that looked like that had rooted themselves in the floor of the castle. I knew they were in fact doing just that, but on another level. The roots were reaching deep into the Earth and being fed magic. The stand above the base was breathtaking. I could feel the heat from the flames that licked up the bottom, and they moved with every blink of the eye. Above the flames were birds and dragons flying. They were actually flying, wings flapping but only if you looked from the corner of your eye. The basin set above that depicted rolling waves and occasionally a hand would come up from the depths and wave, the faerie allies of old- mermaids.

The pool of Taurwak was made nearly a half million years before my time for King Taurwak Hawk-Thorn-Reisasan. Thereon passed to every high son, king, of his line. Technically my father’s, but en route to me. It had been said to have crumbled a thousand years before after King Feyas Hawk-Thorn died, and King Eadric took over reign of the island.

I took unsteady steps toward the pool of my family and looked inside. It had yet to be filled with water. I leaned forward to look into the empty pool, a ring of where a million times over it had seen oil. Faerie history had been writ and seen through this thing. I nearly lost my breakfast when I saw the blood on the far rim. I knew it my grandfather’s blood, no one had to tell me. It was as fresh as the day it had been spilled because no new Hawk-Thorn had claimed the pool of Taurwak. Kings were made by it, I didn’t dare touch the thing, it was my father’s birthright to rule. Not mine, not yet. Not ever. Long live the king of Imorali.

“Water,” I gasped.

I knew I looked like I was about ready to fall over when the king himself took my arm to steady me. “Bring the boy a glass of water! Hurry!”

Not exactly what I meant, but truthfully what I needed. A guard shoved a jug of water into my hand, and I drank it long pulls at a time. “For the pool...”

“Your ready, are you sure?”

I licked my dry lips. They felt like sand. “Yes,” I hissed.

Two women with large jugs of water poured liquid into basin. My breath caught as magic rose to the addition of water. That’s all it took, I thought mystified, magic at the touch of water. I stepped over the pool, not daring to touch it, I looked in. There was no picture there, nothing. I thought about Saijose, I thought about the rich smell of sage that always surrounded her. Nothing. Damn.

The king touching my arm startled me, and I fought not to bark out a startled yip. “Did you still need morning dew and consecrated oil? I’ll have the palace magician bring it up at once.”

“I shouldn’t need it. I’m not sure this will work, Taurwak’s pool doesn’t seem to recognize me. You realize that this is meant for kings, right?”

“Are you saying that I can use it?”

I took a deep breath, and looked into the king’s hopeful eyes. I hated to bash his hopes, but... “Faerie kings. It’s meant for my father.” My hand went passively toward the scrying necklace that hung behind the high collar of my court shirt. I was named heir, it should work for me! “I’ll get it working, my liege, it’s been a while and the magic has been dormant.”

I felt bad for the Taurwak’s pool. It’s been said that a piece of every faerie king has been placed within. A piece of a hundred faerie kings, all alone inside that thing for nearly a thousand years. They must be lonely. I longed to reach out and touch the basin. Feel the cool stone, the lapping water, the blood of my grandfather that I knew was still warm. My hand was nearly touching it when I stopped myself. No, it’s not meant for you.

I leaned over and looked into the water again. Damn it all to Tartarus if I wasn’t going to find my king and queen’s children. Princess Saijose was heir to current throne, and I’d been damned if I’d leave this kingdom to the mercy of Errol’s murderous son after my king and queen were gone. I gave every ounce of magic into calling up an image of Saijose. The reverberation of my magic bouncing off the basin and flying back at me nearly knocked me off my feet, and I reached for something to hold onto as I found my magical equilibrium again. I reached and found... cold stone.

My breath was knocked out of me, spittle flying. Mind spinning, I slipped out of my body and felt my essence falling into the pool. I looked out of the water and could see my body standing dazed, empty of spirit, in the middle of a blink of an eye. Turning about, I looked at my surroundings. I was standing on some precipice looking over the edge into some cavern with undefined limits.

There was a weight on my chest, like an elephant was just sitting there. It started rising up across my breastbone. Though it took me quite longer than necessary to realize, there is only one thing in the world that can laugh in the face of gravity. That being magic. Something magical was rising up from my chest. The thing grew heavier the higher it got, staggering me. And finally... the magical thing flopped over the top of my shirt and I had precisely one second to realize that it was my moonstone scrying necklace before the weight of the thing threw me over the cliff, falling quite certainly to my doom.

My fall turned nicely into a glide down to the cavern floor. I alighted just as softly as if I sprouted wings and glided down. I turned in a wide, wary circle checking for dangers as my soldier training had taught me. There was nothing about me, save for shadows. I was totally alone, completely lost, could no longer see my true body that stood above the scrying pool... and there were shadows all about me.

Apparently shadows that hid people rather well. A hundred faces appeared around, and slowly a hundred bodies. They all took steps toward me, all looking interested. Every body wore the same symbol as I, the same necklace in fact, signifying them all as kings of my line. Some faces I could place names to- King Taurwak Hawk-Thorn-Reisasan, King Neiman Hawk-Thorn, King Deil Hawk-Thorn-Reisasan, King Farkson Hawk-Thorn-Dailastroe, and my own grandfather, King Feyas Hawk-Thorn. A hundred kings trapped in their primes, from the moment their hands first touched the basin, as I had, and the lot of them seemed disinterested in me. Except for two of them, one of them being Feyas Hawk-Thorn and the other being my own person, aloof from me and akin with the other kings.

They all turned away and walked back to their shadows, except for Feyas who stood and stared at me with questioning eyes. “A peculiar turn of events, this is. Who are you?”

“I am Yoden Hawk-Thorn, son of Ivar Hawk-Thorn.”

“My grandson then. It seems the throne skipped a generation, and if I’m correct a thousand years. Did I live so long, and my own son so short?”

I smiled at him, trying to play me for information so that he could pass it to his living counterpart several thousand years before. “I cannot tell you these things, grandfather, but I’m glad to have met you.”

“So, we’ve never met before?”

Damn, I’d have to watch my tongue. I smiled my answer to him. The way his eyes followed my eyes reminded me of the way I looked at people. I think he was trying to read my mind, and if so it was incredibly creepy the way we looked at people. “What is this place?”

“The hall of souls, King Yoden, all of us kings are trapped here together to guide new kings into their rights. But back to you, grandson, you look to have a bit of Unseelie in you. I’ve always thought my younger son would be the one to marry for duty, and my eldest to marry for passion. What happened?”

“I can’t tell you what is to transpire in or after your lifetime King Feyas, it would break the laws of nature, and you know that. But I will tell that neither of your sons are unhappy.”

“Are? So they’re both alive, which means that you have come out of turn. You are not meant to be here yet.”

“I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t completely necessary, I need help, I need to help the people.”
“Of course, Hawk-Thorn’s have always been rash, headstrong, brazen, and have their hearts with the people. What do you need?”

“I need to find someone. The princess.”

“Of course, of course! If a Hawk-Thorn is missing, do what you need.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that the princess wasn’t a Hawk-Thorn, or even a faerie. How far our great line had fallen. “Thank you.”

“Tell me something before you go, I swear I won’t tell myself. Will I die a good death, an honorable one?”

I looked my grandfather in the eye. Some thousand, maybe more, years in his future, and a thousand years in my past, he would die at the hands of my king. I couldn’t warn him, I couldn’t change fate. “No one has ever died a more honorable death. You will be remembered as the greatest faerie king.”

He smiled at me. “Thank you. You’ll never see me again, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. If you come back, you’ll only talk to yourself, if you need to talk to anyone. It was lovely meeting you King Yoden Hawk-Thorn of the Seelie throne.”
“And you King Feyas Hawk-Thorn of the Seelie throne. Blessed be.”

“Blessed be.”

And I was whisked away back into my own body. I finished the blink that I’d been in the middle of then looked around me. It seemed no time had passed, the king stood patiently by. The queen watched interested. The sweat still gleamed on the foreheads of the men who had brought me the basin. No time had passed and I was getting tired of losing time.

The king cocked a royal eyebrow at me, “are you ready yet?”

“Now, I am.”

I set my hands gently on the basin’s lips and stared down at the placid water. I poured every ounce of my magic into the water stirring it into a swirling pool. I thought of the smell of sage, the precious face of the baby Saijose, and I thought her name over and over again. Then before my eyes I saw her face, that angelic face. I smiled at her and she looked straight into my eyes and smiled right back at me, and a soft gurgling laugh that sent ripples across the once again still water.

“By the gods!” The king shouted in my ear. “Where is she?”

All I saw was her face, and something behind her that I new to be a nursing mother’s breast. There was an arm around her, cuddling her gently, and a soft woman’s voice singing a song in a language I didn’t recognize. I tried enlarging the picture to see her whereabouts, I tried locater spell after spell and ended up with nothing.

“My king, I’m sorry. I can’t find her, but I know she is safe. In fact she’s happy.”

The queen stared at me from across the basin, she appeared there before my eyes though I vaguely realized she’d been there for a while. “What of my son? If you could place him in the world perhaps we could find Saijose?”

Breathing deep, in exhaustion, I said, “I’ll try.”

I thought of snakes and the smell of them, and the smell of Nefar blood that came with the idea of Prince Rio’se. I thought of vampire blood, and Elder Alic, and most of all, the word vampire. A thousand pictures, a thousand faces, flashed through the basin. A man with blond hair, an entirely too buxom woman, a boy with deadly eyes, a woman with soft tan skin... many, many faces. Alic’s familiar face flashed right before a picture of the most beautiful woman on the planet: darkish light skin, dark, velvet soft hair, dark but kind eyes, a smile that I’d pay to see again... and then she was gone followed by a man I’d pay never to see again. All vampires but no prince of mine.

Then for a split second the water turned black, something forced me not to see what I was wasting my power to look for. Then other faces. “I can’t find him,” I wheezed. Dazedly I looked at the queen, “can’t... see him. Blocked.” Then all there was was blackness and the faint thud as I collapsed on the floor.