all the pixies were dead.” He said, not hiding his excitement well. “What was the last thing you did?”
“I had just stabbed this pixie with an arrow.” She said, indicating the fallen creature at her feet.
“But that’s a pixie arrow,” he started, “where did you get it from?”
“He shot me in the back with it,” she said lightly, brushing it off, “it wasn’t bad so I stabbed him with it.” She finished with a smile. At this, he couldn’t help but laugh. It had been childish she thought, and it sounded much worse when verbalized, but Max seemed to appreciate this. He bent and pulled the arrow from the pixie’s chest and examined it. He seemed to draw his conclusion quickly enough, and lifted his eyes to meet hers.
“That’s what I thought,” he began, extending his arm so that she could better see the arrow, “there’s no blood on it.”
“There was, it was covered in blood before.” She said, furrowing her brow.
“Remember from the book? The blood of a human and the blood of a monster so mix, and aid will come to the Markbearer. When a Markbearer kills a Child of the Spark who has drawn their blood, and the blood of both mix, a blood vengeance spell becomes possible.”
“I didn’t recite the spell – I don’t even know the spell!” she said with frustration.
“I assumed that you didn’t, but you struck me as a Listener the first time I met you.”
“A what?” The mystery he was speaking with was growing tiring to Nameh, she was confused and wanted answers.
“When you receive the Shask, you are given one of many talents. Some people are Healers or Sensers, others are Seers or Whisperers, and a few are Listeners. Listeners are those who can hear magic; basically, they say that when a Listener is in need, the magic that the Great Warlock left behind speaks to them. That’s why you could use the blood vengeance spell; you saw the blood mixing and knew the potential.”
“So, because I killed this pixie with a bloody arrow, all the pixies died?” she asked. Her mind raced with skepticism; she couldn’t possibly have been responsible.
“Not all the pixies,” boomed a deep voice. Nameh turned to face the source of the voice, the general Aksid. “All the pixies that were battling are now dead, but there are still a small number that would have been guarding the Queen. It seems that our wars are now over, for the time being.” He said with a gentle smile. It occurred to her that he was an especially calm Moon faerie, based on Max’s description. “The pixies will return, after rebuilding their numbers and receiving reinforcements from surrounding tribes. But for now, you have brought us peace,’ he said with a small bow.
“General,” she began humbly, “I cannot claim the honor for this battle. It was by pure accident that I unleashed that spell.”
“It is not only for the spell that we wish to honor you for. You fought valiantly, you both did.” He added, turning for a moment to Max. “The Queen will see you now.” He finished. He turned and left the two, apparently knowing that Max could lead the two of them. She could see the surprise in Max’s eyes at this news.
“It’s quite an honor for any humans to be permitted to see the Queen,” he said. “There is a festival once a year where the court is opened, but only warriors can be in her presence on any other day.”
“Max, I don’t know if I should go,” she said with the uncertainty she felt, “I really didn’t’ do anything.”
“You did, trust me. The faeries would not invite you to see their queen if they didn’t know that you proved yourself. I saw you out there; you killed like twenty pixies besides the spell. Actually, I’m beginning to think you have issues,” he said with that boyish smirk that made her stomach knot. She sighed and relented, following him across the lush grass of the park; he had clearly been invited into the Queen’s presence before, and knew his way. He stopped in front of a cluster of trees, before her eyes, the trees separated as if to make way for them. The great trunks groaned as they slid apart, revealing a clearing in their wake. Peering into the dark, she could barely make out a few shadowy forms. Max entered the clearing first, motioning for her to follow.
When she crossed the threshold into the