Devices

The faery soldiers, armored lightly, but armed heavily, ran through the halls of the castle in search of their renegade king. The castle had been divided into sections in case of this very situation; he had tripped the marker in Section 9, a remote part of the castle which covered the upper four floors. Faery soldiers were always divided into packs of six, who ran in pairs, each pair holding one device: a type of infrared sensor. This sensor was also programmed to detect a certain metal which would certainly attached to their king’s wrist.

The castle in the Capital of the faery world is no longer as densely populated as it was a few hundred years ago, but it is still the center of social and political matters in the kingdom. The sensors picked up many people along the way, but since Brand had taken charge, the alarms and drills had trained the civilians to keep still while a search was going on.

Brand was also running with the soldiers, his sword still in his right hand. In his left, he held his own sensor. The lieutenant next to him heard his leader murmur to himself, and found it mildly creepy.

“Where are you going, little king? Where are you hiding?”

Donal’s heart was thumping loudly, but he kept his breathing quiet. Almost there, almost there. He flattened himself against the wall, listening to the distance between him and the soldiers. He was running out of time.

Even though the bracelet was only helping them find him faster, it did help him get through any door he needed to. If he remembered right, there were only three more doors to go, but they were also older, heavier, and more creaky doors. A particularly loud squeak echoed down a staircase and brought a pair of soldiers running in his direction. Donal cursed and quickly shut the door behind him.

“I can see him on the sensor.” one soldier called. “He’s gone this way!

The locked doors took them longer to get through. Donal was almost in the same room as the mirror, and from there... that was when the real danger started. Donal fumbled in his pockets for the device Aunt Maud had given him.

"It's easy," she'd said. "They used to have them everywhere in the human world, although I think they're smaller now. This is modified, of course, but it's still easy to use. You just have to push the button and attach it. Just don't go dropping it on the floor like some careless idiot."

As it came free from the lining in his pockets, Donal dropped the device on the floor. He fumbled for it in the dark on his hands and knees.

Back in the old throne room, Ciaran and I sat on the floor quite helplessly.

“What is he planning on doing?” I asked.

“Donal? I can’t tell you, but it’s brilliant.”

“No, I mean Brand. What will he do with us once he has Donal?”

Ciaran shrugged. “He has plenty of options, most of them villainous.”

“Do you think he’ll kill us?”

“Oh, yes. Very likely. But not right away.”

At that moment, the villain’s sword lightly touched the back of Donal’s neck. Donal watched his reflection in the Endless Glass lift his hands up in surrender.

Brand smiled at his young cousin in the mirror. “You look terrible.”

“You have a bruise on your jaw.” Donal returned coolly. Brand’s smile faded. He signaled for the men behind him to bind Donal’s hands. As they did so, they found the device. The lieutenant handed it to Brand.

"What is this?" Brand asked, holding up the small, strange thing.

"Don't you know?"

Since it was very well disguised, Brand had no idea."Of course, but why did you bring it?" Brand pocketed it. “Why did you come here?”

“To take back the castle from you.”

“With the mirror?” Brand laughed.

“It would have told me how.” Donal glared at him. 

Brand laughed harder. “If you were half the king you should be, you wouldn’t need a mirror to tell you that. But since you’ve so kindly unlocked the door for me, I can use it whenever I want. Take him to the others.” He sheathed his sword and gave the mirror a wistful glance before leaving the room. It would be his soon.