I was dragged through the forest. Blugnegal was crushing my entire forearm in his huge fist, and no matter how hard I ran, I couldn't possibly keep up with his long strides. My feet hardly touched the ground during the entire journey. Hour after hour with no food, water, or rest, and no one to talk to. I wanted to yell and scream, but the new bald spot on my head told me that that probably wouldn't end well.

  The “mound” that my kidnappers had said they were heading toward came into view, and I was not impressed. In a small clearing was a spot of raised earth, like a moss-covered pimple, about large enough to park a truck on. It was too abrupt to be a hill. I guessed that it was probably an ancient battle-mound, where the bodies had been piled up after an Iron Age battle.

  “She isn't here.” muttered Kumakros. I didn't know who he was talking about.

  “She has to be nearby. It's her job. Can you summon her?”

  “Why not? Not as though I have anything better to do.” Kumakros was worried, which I had to take as a good sigh. All the time I had known him, he had been cheerful and smiling, whatever happened. Turns out, all that time he was waiting for a chance to drag me off to who-knows-where and sell me. Whatever made him unhappy was cool with me.

  Kumakros sat down on the mossy ground. He took a few deep breaths, as though he were trying to clear his mind. His long fingers starting drumming rhythmically on the brass torch he had been carrying. I could tell he was doing some kind of spell, but I had no way to tell what kind. He started chanting under his breath. I strained to hear.

  “Addoroi, Adderoi, Adderoi...”

  Was that a magic word? Worth remembering, just in case I can use it. A silence hung over the clearing for a moment.

  “What's taking so long!” spat Kumakros suddenly, making me jump a little.

  “She must have been on an errand.” said Blugnegal.

  I heard something in the distance, like a hiss. It reminded me of the sound a helicopter makes at a long distance. It got steadily louder until something came flying into the clearing. It was a tiny woman, about six inches tall, with four silver-colored wings like a dragonfly. She was dressed in tiny pieces of white cloth, forming a kind of tunic. I knew that Blugnegal and Kumakros technically qualified as fairies in this world, but this chick actually looked like one for a change. She hovered in front of Kumakros.

  “Yeah? What do you want?” He voice was so beautiful, like a the sound of a trickling stream turned into words. I almost missed how annoyed she sounded.

  “I want you to fulfill the purpose of your miserable existence, Doris!” shouted Kumakros in his squeaky voice. Its weird to see someone go from calmly meditating to screaming in anger with nothing in between. “And be quick about it!”

  “Sorry to keep your highness waiting.” said the tiny creature whose name was apparently Doris. Her voice dripped with unearthly beauty, and sarcasm. She flitted away for a moment, then returned with a tiny stick that she could have used as a staff. She landed at the very top of the mound, and began dancing. I couldn't stop staring at her as she gyrated this way and that. She started to sing as well, and her voice was familiar to me. It was the same voice that Kumakros had sung with when he had hypnotized me into following him. I realized that this might be the Fae that Kumakros had borrowed that power from, which made her a sylph.

  I didn't feel the same dream-like state overtake me as it had the last time, but the song was very good. As she danced, the stick traced a figure in the dirt. It looked like a cartoonish picture of the sun, with a smiling face and a cloud passing nearby. When she finished she stood beside her work without a trace of pride. She gave off the impression that for her, singing songs of wondrous beauty and drawing mystical signs on the ground was just an irritating task, like washing the dishes.

  “Are all three of you going in? This week's version is a long one.” she said. This week's version of what?

  “Yes, all three of us.” Kumakros glanced around the clearing, nervously, and his lips moved. It looked like he was trying to do math in his head.

  “Blugnegal, you go first. I'll send the boy after you.” he finally decided. Blugnegal nodded and lumbered up the mound. When he reached the top, he stepped on the figure of the sun that Doris had drawn. Instantly, the ground seemed to cave in under him, and he suddenly dropped straight down and vanished. The mossy ground closed itself up over his head. The mound was exactly as it had been when we first arrived. The marking was gone, and there was no sign that the ground had been disturbed at all.

Doris began dancing and singing yet again, performing an exact copy of the dance from last time. She obviously had to rehearse a lot, especially if they changed the dance every week. The idea occurred to me that she was actually entering some kind of fairy access code. If it were just a spell, Kumakros could just do it himself, but if the dance and the marking were secret and changed regularly, the fairies could control who accessed their realm. I couldn't imagine myself being able to copy the little sylph's motions, though, even if I got to watch twenty times. I glanced at Kumakros. He was cradling that torch in his arms and watching Doris very intently. No one was paying any attention to me. My arm hurt from being crushed by Blugnegal, but he wasn't here anymore.

  I turned and punched Kumakros right in his wrinkly head as hard as I could. I had never punched anyone before, and I was not prepared for how much it would hurt. Every time someone got punched in the face on TV, they were always knocked backward, and the guy who punched them never seemed to break his hand, which is what I had just done. Not wanting to waste time, I ran away into the forest as fast as my legs could carry me. This was my last chance. If I didn't escape now, I would be off in High Brazil, and who knew how I could get out of whatever that is.

  I didn't even make it out of the clearing. A whirlwind skimmed the ground and ripped me off my feet. My head bounced against the ground. Before I could recover, Kumakros was on top of me. He slapped me hard across the face. I tasted blood in my mouth.

  He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me toward the mound. I had just time to appreciate how gentle Blugnegal had been compared to Kumakros. Being crushed in a huge hand is uncomfortable, but Kumakros was the one that was going to leave a bruise.

“Enough! Just...just get in there!” snarled Kumakros. Even after seeing how fast he could climb, I never really considered that the funny little man could be stronger than me. I was forced to the top of the mound and on to the fresh marking Doris had made. As soon as I stepped on it, I was gone.

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  The ground disappeared under me, and fell through a blinding radiance. Cold wind blasted upward at me as I plummeted. I tried to open my eyes, but found that I couldn't. I don't know how long I fell, but eventually I struck something soft and cold. I lay in what I had to assume was a snowbank. I didn't want to ever move again.

  Huge, familiar hands hauled me to my feet. “Up you get, little wizard. Welcome to Hy Brasil. Don't worry, you can stay as long as you like!”

  I looked around. Despite all the pain I was in, Hy Brasil left an impression. We were standing on a beach. Snow was gently falling all around us. Behind us, the snowy sand gave way to crystal-clear, turquoise-colored water, that in turn disappeared into white clouds of mist a mile or so offshore. I was on a large island, the center of which was a huge mountain of clear, blue ice. I couldn't tell how big it was. It was miles from me, and yet I had to look nearly straight up to see it disappear into the overcast sky above. Judging by the size of the base, the top had to be in outer space. Around the base of this mountain was a city unlike anything I had ever imagined. The architecture was all gentle curves and fanning wings. The roofs were shingled with tiles of gold and silver, so that whole thing sparkled in the light, like the surface of a lake. Trees of enormous size and impossible beauty sprang up in the city and all around it. There were fields of colorful wildflowers poking up through the snow all around me. They seemed to be laughing at the basic rules of biology. There was no sun here. The sky produced an even white radiance that came from every direction at once. As much as I wanted to be angry at the people who had dragged me here against my will, I was forced to admit that I was impressed. No, I was awed. How sad would it have been to go my whole life without ever seeing this place?

  The sound of a splat broke me out of my trance. Kumakros was picking himself out of the snow, his precious torch in his hand. I realized that the sight of this magical island had entranced me, just like his little song had earlier. That was the trick of these fairy bastards. Their beauty was real, real enough to literally enchant you. And while you were staring in awe at them like a slack-jawed idiot, they would take you for all that you were worth. If I wanted to get out of this, or even maintain something resembling free will, I would have to learn to shut out all this beauty.

  It wasn't easy. As Kumakros and Blugnegal dragged me toward the city, I began to see the inhabitants of this place. The city had a vibrant, carnival-like atmosphere. There were hundreds of spriggans running around, all looking like they were late for something. They seemed to be the lower class in this society. There were swarms of sylphs darting through the air, although most of them seemed to at least have time to talk to each other. But there were others that I had never seen before. Some looked like vague shapes that shone so brightly that I couldn't look directly at them. There were things that looked like trees or waterfalls that walked around or fluttered through the air. There were people that seemed to be made of thousands of flower petals that were being blown around by the wind. There were animals of all kinds among the crowds. I saw peacocks, birds of paradise, nightingales, lions, tigers, zebras, giraffes, rhinoceroses, and hundreds more. There were a few trolls, and some people who might have been humans, but they were hard to see among all the dizzying shapes and colors. The air was continuously full of music and song. The voices and instruments changed as we walked, but the rhythm of the music never changed. All these creatures were singing and dancing to the same tune. I couldn't help but stare. I must have looked like such a tourist.

  We approached the palace. It could not have been anything else. It stood out even in this city. The roof was shingled with what looked like emeralds and projected out of the side of the ice mountain in a shape that reminded me simultaneously of ocean waves and bird wings. The walls were composed of living wood; hundreds of tree trunks had been somehow woven together in elaborate knots to form the structure. The stair-case leading to the gates had been carved from the ice of the mountain and decorated with gold leaf. Whoever or whatever had built this place had probably heard that less was more, and had then concluded that way too much could also be more.

  The gate was guarded by a pair of those shining people armed with halberds. They were wearing armor, and their light poured out from every gap between plates. One of them stepped forward to address us.

  “State your name and business.” the voice was cold and crisp. It sounded like a whisper, even though it was a little loud.

  Kumakros bowed. “I am known as Kumakros. I humbly beg an audience with her majesty, as I have gifts to offer.”

  I had heard Kumakros in his bullshit chirpy mode, and in his sincere grouchy mode. I didn't know he had a pathetic groveling mode. I liked it.

  The guard tapped his halberd against the floor, and a sylph popped out of a gap in the wall and fluttered over to hover near his helmet. After a whispered conversation, the sylph disappeared into the wall again. We stood on the front porch and waited. I shivered in the cold air. After a long pause, the sylph returned and whispered to the guard. He (or she, I had no idea) addressed us.

  “Her majesty has generously offered you permission to enter her court. You shall not address her, or any of her noble guests. You shall go where you are directed within her house, and only where directed. You shall accept all these conditions with gratitude and joy. Do you so swear?”

  Kumakros bowed. “I accept these conditions with gratitude and joy. I so swear.” What a gigantic suck-up.

  “The troll shall now depart.” said the guard. It was not a request, or even an order. It was a factual statement. I expected Blugnegal to call him out on his rudeness, but the huge troll just bowed, then turned and silently walked away.

  The gates of living wood silently swung inward. Inside were dozens of spriggans, all dressed in colorful robes. Kumakros looked ridiculous in his little fur loincloth as he walked through the crowd. I barely even thought about running away now. Where was there to go?

  The shining guard led us through several huge hallways. At first, the halls were made of more living wood, but that abruptly gave way to long galleries of carved ice. We finally arrived at the throne room. It seemed to have been carved into the heart of the ice mountain. Dozens of fantastic creatures of all kinds were gathered around the the throne. The throne itself was carved from ice, and the queen who sat on it was completely naked. Her skin glowed like a hot coal. Not only was she the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, she was the most beautiful sight I could imagine seeing. The moment I saw her, I loved her. I would have done anything, anything to please her. She was painful to look at, but I could not look away.

  Kumakros walked slowly forward and threw himself to the ice floor. I'm sure it was painful, but he pressed himself against it, as though he could not make his body bow as low as he wished to. He lay there clutching his torch for what felt like an hour. Eventually, a voice that filled me with utter warmth broke the silence.

  “You may stand, Kumakros.” he shot up like a jack-in-the-box. “You may approach.” He slowly walked forward, holding the torch out lengthwise. She plucked it from his hands.

  “You may withdraw.” Kumakros shuffled backward until he was standing next to me again.

  The queen smiled a faint little smile as she looked at the burning torch in her hands. The look in her eyes was strangely unfocused. It was a playful, careless expression. She looked like I imagine a person who is dreaming would look if someone in the dream could see them, as though nothing around her was real to her. She raised the torch to her mouth, and pursed her lips. The torch was instantly extinguished. I heard a faint gasp come from the assembled figures.

  “We accept this gift, that you have quested for so long. We forgive you of your debt. You may once more stand among my subjects as an equal, my good and faithful servant, Kumakros.”

  I glanced at the spriggan. He was weeping and bowing his head pathetically. It looked like all his dreams had come true. God, how I loathed him.

  “Kyle Porter. You may approach the throne.”

  I was so delighted to have her address me, it didn't even occur to me to question how she had known my name. I wanted to step forward with poise and dignity, but I found my feet stumbling forward awkwardly, seemingly on their own. I stood in front of her, not daring to speak. I was sure I was blushing down to my toes. My head sagged in shame.

  She reached out and touched my chin, raising my eyes to meet hers. Her skin didn't merely look red hot. Her fingers burned my skin, but the pain was nothing compared to the thrill of her soft caress. Her eyes...I was lost in them. Utterly lost.

  “This gift I also accept. You are mine now, Kyle Porter. You shall always be mine. You will serve me. You will obey me. You will love me. You will live and die as I choose. Do you understand?”

  “...yes.” my voice was so small. There was no choice in what to say, or how to say it. I was as helpless as a dry leaf in a tornado. Her voice, her beauty, her eyes filled the universe from end to end. In this kingdom, when they say “her majesty”, it wasn't flattery. It was an accurate description. Her fingers left my chin, leaving painful burns behind. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered except her. I was just a dream she was having. At any moment, she might close her eyes, and I would cease to be.

  “Nadua.” she said. A sylph flitted into view. She had a long blonde braid that she wore over her shoulder. If I had seen her a week earlier she would have been the most lovely creature I had ever seen, but in the Queen's court she wasn't even in the top five.

  “I charge you with the care and training of this human. See that he learns all that he will need to serve me.”

  The tiny figure bowed, and turned to me.

  “Follow me, human.” she said in a bored tone that I would come to hate.