Faerie Elemental by Samaire Wynne

Author:Samaire Wynne [Wynne, Samaire]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781948594219
Publisher: Black Raven Books
Published: 2020-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Hideout

The Holly King, Brendan, and I stood and stared at the center of the room.

The candles were unnecessary: the walls were earthen and covered in a bioluminescent glow from lichens and mosses growing up their lengths, to the very top of the room. I stood and examined the ceiling above our heads.

Mushrooms of every type grew from the ceiling, stretching down into the room. And this massive ecosystem was so extensive that...

“I see faeries!” I exclaimed in delight.

Father and Brendan chuckled at my enchantment.

“I forget how wondrous is our underground community,” the Holly King murmured. “Thank you for reminding me of its charm, daughter.”

The Fae Folk living in the mushroom kingdom under the forest were tiny — so tiny I only saw the largest of them, going about their daily tasks.

The mushroom realm reached far beyond the room we were in, which opened into a grand cavern that went on as far as the eye could see.

“Does this realm extend under the entire forest?” I whispered.

“It does, although the cavern shrinks again and there are mostly tunnels,” Father answered.

He focused his attention on the relatively small room where we were gathered.

He stretched his arms wide, and the realm below began to move in answer to the Holly King’s command.

Mushrooms and lichen and Fae Folk all slowly shifted and softly trundled, clearing the space they had once occupied. The light shifted with the movement, so that different colors of illumination were on display, and I was reminded of the Northern Lights.

The larger mushrooms moved to the outer edge of the room, and into the cavern beyond.

I was amazed they could move at all.

“The floor consists of mycelium, and they are enchanted fungi,” Brendan murmured in my ear, in response to my startled gasp.

Slowly, the moss in the middle cleared.

It took a while, but it was fascinating to watch.

After ten minutes of shifting, the floor was covered in a thick moss, and three rows of mushrooms in all sizes made up a circle. The mushrooms glowed different colors, and were of all different sizes. Some, squat and small, were no bigger than a grain of rice. Others, tall and slim, rose almost a foot into the air.

They all combined to form ...

“A faerie ring,” I said.

“A portal ring,” my father answered, a finger in the air.

“A portal?!” I exclaimed.

“That’s what we need to travel, when the portal tree house is besieged as it is now,” he answered. He gestured to Brendan to come forward. “Dwarves have a special affinity for earthen magic, as that is their normal dwelling place.”

Brendan stepped into the mushroom ring.

I drew Aspen and Tundra back, and we waited.

Brendan closed his eyes and appeared to be concentrating. His hands curled into fists after a while.

After ten minutes of trying, Brendan opened his eyes. “It’s no use, Sire. They have laid a strong dampening field over the entire forest.”

The Holly King looked worried.

“Can I try?” I asked in a small voice. “They aren’t used to me, and part of my magic is Elfen.

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