I was still young when I'd died. Only twenty-four, though I'd felt a million. Many perished for riches, honor, adventure. I'd died for a pig. And not a very big one. A pig I'd stolen but tripped and fallen with. My hunger and desperation gave me the strength to pick that animal up, but not enough to keep it in my grasp when I'd fallen face first in the mud.

Too bad that wasn't the only bit of bad luck.

As I staggered to my feet that faithful night, it was by a window. I'd peered in to see a husband and wife in the throes...but they were not married to one another.

My attempt at fleeing didn't get me much more than a headstone branding me a horse thief.

It was the lie of it that stung. For years, I'd go back to that farm as a fairy and then I'd visit my grave. Then the farm, and back again. And not once had I sought my revenge.

I did not need to.

The woman died in childbirth some years later and the man, having turned to the drink, abandoned by his proper wife, aged and wallowed alone in his misery as his feeble mind slowly turned to dust.

Would anyone believe that I'd buried the bastard with my own two hands...? I had. Under the pigsty.

Despite my loathing for him, I had not brought his end, because Manoj's guidance as I went to my gravesite and then that farm and back again was simple—patience. Patience and life. Because the living could feel pain; the dead could not.

A day after I'd buried my killer, the first fairy queen joined me on the fence. Our small size afforded us a perfect perch and an even better view.

"It's good that you follow Manoj's teachings."

I hadn't realized then that a tree would be the most apt creature to employ patience. My eyes settled on the village beyond that dingy road leading away from us.

The first fairy queen had yet to find love and I my bloodlust. I was still weak—I hadn't even had it in me to end the man who, naked, ran down a half-starved vagabond and bashed him—bashed me in the head. All to keep his own impropriety secret. Then to tell all far and wide that I'd been a horse thief....

"We should burn this entire village."

A sudden laugh left the fairy queen but I did not understand why. She looked at me, doubtful, and I assured her, "I'm serious."

"Yes. I know. But ask yourself why. You'd be no better than that man you've buried."

Her words hurt me. "How can you say this? Manoj needs souls; I say we give them souls."

Elbows on her knees, she studied me. "It is good that you keep Manoj in mind. But do not use him as an excuse to try to answer your regrets. You could not kill this man," she explained, "so now you will kill others in an effort to answer that call for revenge. This does come off rather weak."

Crossed, I matched her posture but refused to look at her.

Most of the day was eaten up by the time she spoke again. "This is not Manoj's first world. He's been to others. Do you know that he doesn't know how he came to be? Only that one day he was? And his first world did not keep balance well. The creatures there didn't look like humans at all. Instead of two hands, they had six. They walked upright and they talked. But there was no one to protect Manoj or his kind when they began to rip the trees from the ground. Eventually, there was but a wasteland and all that remained of Manoj and his kind was a single seed. So Manoj floated until he found land again and regrew. That new world was already near dead once he became aware of it. And then finally, he reached here."

I tried to picture it, but I could not, distant stars collapsing in on itself with a single speck of life escaping and taking root elsewhere then eventually here.

"The last place where he was, Manoj and his kind had been the victors and they eventually fought one another. So Manoj does not want to spread farther than this valley here. And he does not want creatures prone to violence infesting his domain. He wants the balance—needs it. Though he requires a number of souls to be healthy and strong, he asks only for the souls who've done him wrong. Everything he does has a purpose. People must come to his land with the intent to do harm. Then, and only then should you feed him."

For years to come, her words rang through my ears. I hadn't noticed the hypocrisy. Not until she died by my side. In an effort to do away with me and prompt Manoj to select a new champion, she'd brought several armies to their end.

A time or two, whenever I'd allow my heart to ponder such blasphemy, I wondered if Manoj had manipulated her, despite giving these strict rules of not seeking out slaughters or over-consuming.

It was thanks to her rage and pain why Manoj had fed regularly for two thousand years unabated. And although he was only visible in my forest, I knew—I'd seen that his roots extended well beyond this valley now.

Until...I broke.

In the here and now, as I scanned the horizon and the horde of ogres headed towards me, I also surveyed the destruction. So much of the forest had been cut. No one answered the rule of slight. None sought compensation for the rules of balance.

All because I had lost my way. Before my latest rebirth, frustration and anger were all I knew. I was Manoj's champion, but I was alone. And much like that first fairy queen had lost her way and became obsessed with vengeance, as did I.

But I could not easily be reset as she, and without me, Manoj had no safety from further destruction.

He'd asked the new fairy queen to do away with me—to purify me through a rebirth. And she might not admit it now, but I'd done it for her by forcing her to lock away my memories.

And now that I knew why, I regarded her differently.

"Goblin," I said, "do you understand your instructions?"

Today when I gazed upon the purple eyes of a goblin, pleading with me to cease in my cruelty, it was the first time I felt actual sorrow toward one.

"Calm. Your children will be safe. You have my word."

Anguish filled its eyes. "And what good is the word of the fairy king!"

That was true. I regretted that and I had no way of offering any assurances, but I needed these baby goblins if my plan was to work.

"You are absolutely right, goblin. And while I regret having to gain your cooperation this way, I have little choice. As I have your offspring in my grasp, you either do as I say and pray I'm suddenly forthcoming, something you are uncertain of. Or defy me and watch them perish, something you are more than sure I'm willing to do."

The slime of the tusks gleamed, and the creature gave me a reluctant nod.

"Dig a hole, one that extends far deeper than even the elves tunnels, and leave her there for Manoj. Are we clear?"

Wyrn had already reached us but slowed to a jog. He was unsure of me—uncertain if I were friend or foe. That hesitation would be his end.

Once the goblin nodded, I turned and willed myself from fairy form. The goblin only reached my knee in height but it was enough. Something else surprised me, the kilt I wore still remained—it had grown to fit my human size.

I looked from it to the shield where the princess still slept. She'd used her magic to fashion this fabric. In truth, I was touched, but as the tiny pouch in my hand moved and pulsed with the goblin babies, I pushed that affection for her aside. It would only hamper me.

Wyrn, carrying an ogre's club, closed in at a measured pace. "Ahoy...."

How did one act friendly? I needed him closer, but deception was never my forte. I never lied from the beginning—not really. I merely...changed my mind often.

I'd have to learn the art of deception now. "Calm. I'm back to myself—minus the penchant for suicide," I added. It was a smile I meant to give him but who knew if I'd pulled it off.

Was this how friends spoke?

Perhaps it was, because he lowered the club and let out a low sigh as he waved a hand to his comrades. His first mistake.

The ogres ceased in charging. Now they simply walked toward us.

My focus there shifted when I spotted a little black Fae riding on Wyrn's shoulder—Matax.

Him...I'd deal with later.

Wyrn turned to me and stood tall. "What is the plan now then? How many more things should we bring down? The magistrate has made headway. Soon he'll have enough protective spells to keep the people here in their homes. He'll set the fates free soon—"

Suddenly, he stopped speaking and looked down at Matax on his shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Wyrn argued, "they're his plans."

Matax perched his elbows on his knees as he stared at my mortal form. I was the only fairy able to keep my wings—thus wielding my power—at this size. Those same wings concerned him now.

"What are your orders now?" Matax asked. "Speak."

My lips twitched but I swallowed down my curses.

"Heal the princess," I said. "She's lost a lot of magic. Especially with rescuing us from the elves then with Manoj feeding from her for near a day."

"All right." Wyrn's voice thundered as his ogres arrived and he conveyed my words to them.

Matax would be a problem; he rode Wyrn's shoulder without fail. The moment I got him out of the way, it would all start. I needed to time it well, and I needed to do so before the damn ogres brough the fairy queen back to full power again.

As was required, a line of ogres circled the shield, ready to call on their magic to heal the princess. Oh, the irony. An act that ogres used to revive prey so that they may eat it fresh and fighting was now a life-saving tactic.

"Wyrn?" I called.

The ogre in question tensed. It was a slow turn when he finally faced me.

Perhaps it was my tone—my stance, something about me—but he wore the stone-cold expression of a killer.

"Move back," he warned the ogres behind him. "Now."

The bass of his voice drew even the ogres set on reviving the fairy queen.

"And the princess?" a female ogre with a ring in her nose asked. "We—"

"Don't touch her. Don't touch anything. It's not him. It's the wrong one."

"But he wants to save her—"

"It's not him. It's the fairy king! Look at him."

The female ogre studied me then slowly came to realize that my gentle smile hid something more.

"My maker be damned, no!"

She turned but I did not care. Matax stood with the intent to instruct the ogres.

Him, I forced mortal immediately. And as soon as he fell away, now human and shivering in the cold, I kept my sights firmly fixed on Wyrn.

"You have no magic," Wyrn warned me. "Stand down and we will help you—"

"You'll erase my memories, you mean."

Despite his immense size, he looked gentle when he nodded. "If that is what's best. But—"

"I do not need my magic to handle you...fairy."

All color drained from his green skin.

I hoped my boast would pay off because I hadn't much magic left. In fact, my plan was to steal some from the land again. Manoj would suffer but he'd be pleased in the end. He could forgive it.

Wyrn hefted his club, warning, "You cannot kill me."

He was right. The magic pouring off him was worse than I fear. Ogre treasure, through and through. He was nearly indestructible, but although I wasn't counting on that, it would be perfect now. I just had to take care in the timing.

As expected, they ignored the little goblin at my feet. I dug my toes into the cold soil, preparing myself for the theft of a lifetime. I was no horse thief. I'd failed at stealing even a pig. But this heist...oh, it was one for the ages.

I was slow in draining the tree of life's power now. Matax, though shivering and miserable, widened his eyes and turned to call out a warning.

My lance formed in time to smack him in the face to keep his mouth shut about my intent. Blood shot from his mouth and nose but he fought through the pain. Wyrn charged and Matax jumped before him.

"He's got power—"

The big ogre brushed him aside. "So have I."

As Wyrn neared, the world went in slow motion. My focus should have been on the massive beast heading my way and the land which shook under my abuse, but instead I found myself looking at the shield and the princess abandoned there by a line of confused ogres.

But I timed it. And the moment Wyrn struck, I turned, shortened the lance, and used it to slice right through Wyrn's back. The ogre skin split in two and human flesh shined as Wyrn buckled at the knees from the pain. I struck again, slicing that flesh. A fairy's small size was its power. This fairy was still incredibly big but I saw the blue of his back. And I was pleased with myself when the human skin began to mend, then the ogre one. He wouldn't stay separated for long—he couldn't be, not with the power that sustained him. So I dragged the pouch of goblin babies forward from behind my back and dumped them onto the fairy flesh where they immediately clung and began to suck.

After that, everything sped forward. The human skin closed, then the ogre's. Wyrn was whole but that didn't matter. He wailed in pain and he should, especially when the little lumps under his skin began to travel and move.

Wyrn remained on his knees, his back sporting fresh new boils he couldn't scratch out.

The ogres rushed him, but Matax extended his hands and they obeyed.

"Pest..." the female ogre marveled.

She had the right idea. "Not just one pest," I corrected her, "seventeen of them. Seventeen that will eat away until there is nothing left. And...." When I had their attention, I finally gave them a genuine smile of satisfaction. "There is literally no one that can remove them." My grin widened. "Not even I, because someone's locked my power. That was the last of it. So stand down and confess to me how I get my power back."

"No!" Wyrn turned on his side, writhing as a small lump traveled up his shoulder and to his throat. Another crawled along his face. "No. Don't tell him."

But I wasn't looking at him or even Matax who, hands still extended, gazed down at the tortured ogre.

I stared at the ogress with the ring in her nose. The one who watched Wyrn with a look of both sorrow and affection. It was an expression that the princess often gave me.

So I approached her. Other ogres wisely stepped back. She stood steady.

"Speak," I entreated her. "Who has my power—who's locked it?"

The ogress shed a tear but tore her gaze away from Wyrn and looked me in the eye. "I answer only to the fairy queen."

A derisive laugh left me. I hadn't expected this. "Very well. Then he'll remain like that. Because even your unskilled fairy queen, even if she knew how, doesn't have the power to help him."

My words hurt her, I could see, but she stood defiant.

Damn ogres.

I commanded an air of calm but that was not how I felt. The goblin behind me was worried, as was I. Without my full power, I had no way of retrieving those babies. They would feed and grow, but never escape as ogre treasure was virtually impenetrable. When I'd said the fairy queen did not have the power to undo this, that was no bluff. Even if she were fully powered, slicing through magic like that required a destructive tinge to a primal magic. The fairy queen could only heal. Any attempt she'd make at undoing this would only solidify it. It was me or no one and now I cared less about the soon-dead ogre crying on the ground and more about the concerned goblin at my back.

A glance there showed a worried but hopeful pair of purple eyes.

Inside, I cursed. Damn.

Worst yet, the baby goblins would consume all of Wyrn's magic and very being, leaving nothing behind for Manoj.

Damn. Damn. Damn.

"I'll tell you who has your power."

I picked my head up, surprised but satisfied to see Matax staring at me. Why would a fairy get involved?

"You, I don't trust."

"Nor I you." Matax begged, "Release him first, and I'll tell you."

I scoffed, defiant as I crossed my arms.

He would gain nothing from me.

Hands still extended, frozen in that stance, Matax averted his eyes to the snow and said, "The magistrate of Wissen. He has your power. He's using the fates to keep it locked away. If you go there, as he is a human and of a feeble heart, he'll easily surrender and release it."

I did not move from my stance. Instead, I listened to the shaking of his voice. He and Wyrn were wholly different beings, and yet...he'd confessed everything to save him.

Why?

"The magistrate...." I tested the words on my lips then nodded and took flight.

"Wait!" Matax called out to me. "Wait. Pest—"

"Ah, yes. The pests. Well, you made a bet—a calculation that I'd keep my word." With a shrug, I rose higher. "And you were a fool to do so. Goblin!"

Behind my bravado, I prayed with all in me the goblin would obey.

I didn't look there because it would draw attention to it, but I heard the crunching of clawed hands in the snow. The goblin charged the shield, per my request, snatched the resting princess, much to the shock and dismay of all on lookers, and began to dig with her in its jaws. In seconds, it did what goblins did well—disappeared underground.

Some ogres came to their senses and rushed the hole, but it was too late. The goblin returned shortly after, packing the dirt back in with its legs. Once it stood in the snow again, it looked up at me, hopeful and afraid.

I was afraid as well, because if they were wrong about the magistrate, I'd have no way of getting those babies back.

"Shoot him down!" one ogre ordered.

"No!" Matax barked. "No. Let him go. Tell no one to hinder him. Allow him to find the magistrate."

But he wasn't finished. He looked up at me and said, "When you come to your senses, you'll regret this."

I scoffed. "Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you."

When I shot through the sky towards Wissen, I could not shrink down again. I also could not ignore the cry coming from the land as the fairy queen struggled in the dirt.

The female ogre stepped beside Matax, her eyes fixed on Wyrn who now lay on his back, the little lumps covering his body as he drew ragged breaths.

"And the princess?" she asked.

Matax set his mouth in a straight line and swallowed hard. "What princess? She's now food for Manoj."