Careless Wishes

by Amy Sumida

  I grimaced and looked at my little boy. I didn't like Caelum watching such violence, but his father thought it was good for him. Dax didn't want Cael to be afraid of the people who protected him or afraid of standing up for himself. My childhood and Daxon's had been very different but there were some similarities. We'd both seen things that most human children don't have to see and it had colored our view on the world. His view had gone a little darker than mine, especially where women were concerned, but I'd gotten him over that. The women part, I mean; his other dark views have only lightened a little since we've known each other. I agree that Caelum shouldn't be afraid of the people around him and I want him to feel strong and capable when he grew up. I just wasn't sure that watching violence for entertainment was the best way to encourage that.

  “Violence is not always the answer, Cael,” I said firmly. “And friends shouldn't fight each other. This isn't fun, it's stupid. Uncle Conri and Uncle Desmond both have issues that should be worked out by a therapist, not each other.”

  Caelum giggled. “Uncle Con is silly, but I like him, Mama.”

  “I like him too but I don't like his current behavior and you are not to follow his example. Understood?”

  “Yes, Mama.”

  “Seren, he's a smart boy; he knows this is just training,” Daxon said.

  “I don't like...” I trailed off, something at the top of the hill catching my attention.

  “You don't like... ?” Dax prompted.

  “I'll be right back,” I said absently as I headed toward the forest.

  “Okay,” Daxon said with a note of confusion. “You okay, sweetheart?”

  “Sure. Fine.” I waved him off without looking back.

  I couldn't tear my eyes away from the man standing at the treeline. Correction—the God.

  Chapter Nine

  As I drew closer, Anu drew back into the woods until he came to a stop in front of an old oak. His form shifted through several races before settling on Chinese—short, dark hair, golden skin, and soft brown eyes. I assumed his shifting appearance was similar to what happened when Danu appears; she didn't really do the shifting, it was my mind trying to make sense of her divine form. My mind would flip through pieces of her until I latched onto something I could understand. Relate to.

  The first time I saw Danu, her form didn't settle for me, it shifted until it became a blur. Only her eyes had come into focus, and I perceived them to be my eyes. Danu told me that there are pieces of her in all Fairies. I had subconsciously recognized that part of her in me and my mind translated it into a vision I could understand—that of my own eyes. Evidently, it's the most common reaction. If another fairy had looked upon her, they would have seen their eyes in her face. But maybe that's not a perfect explanation. After all this time, I've come to realize that even Danu's words can sometimes be too divine for me to fully comprehend. No one can truly understand a god except for another god. Speaking of which...

  As I mentioned, Anu's shifting was likely a construct of my mind, which would mean that I had chosen his form for him, not the other way around. Or maybe not. Maybe Anu functioned differently than his sister; I never saw my eyes in his face after all. Or, as I mentioned, perhaps I had gotten it wrong with Danu. Who can say? It's one of those divine mysteries. I should probably be concerned about that or at least curious to learn the truth, but the more I interacted with Gods, the more I accepted the fact that they were beyond my comprehension.

  Anu smiled at me softly as if he had heard all of my god thoughts.

  “Anu?”

  “Hello, Daughter.”

  “What... why are you here?” My stomach clenched as I remembered there had been a time when I needed him and he didn't show. “I prayed for your help when I was in the Undergrounds and you never appeared.”

  “I did appear,” he insisted. “You just couldn't see me. I stood beside you as you burned, Seren.” His eyes went sad. “I gave you my strength. Didn't you feel me with you?”

  “I was a little busy feeling pain.”

  Anu burst into laughter and instead of scaring the birds in the trees around us, it drew them closer. One perched on his shoulder and started to sing. He stroked its head absently as his laughter simmered into a smile.

  “I have missed speaking with you, Seren.”

  “Not to be rude, Anu, but you didn't answer my question.”

  “I'm here because I need you again.”

  I went still.

  “I know that Danu freed you of your obligations to her, but you are not only Danu's child, Seren,” he said sternly. “You are mine as well and your people, both the humans and the Fey who live on Earth, need your help.”

  “I have children too, Anu. I need to take care of them now.”

  “I know, and they're wonderful children; my sister was generous with her gifts. But they are loved and looked after, Daughter. Your children will be safe but my children will not.”

  My heart raced and it wasn't from fear. With horrible guilt, I realized that I envied Killian his job—the job that had once been mine. I'd been trained from an early age to be an extinguisher: to protect humans from Fairies and uphold the laws of the Councils. I was a soldier at heart and soldiers don't do well in times of peace. We dream of action even as we dread it. It's just the way we're wired. I had all of these gifts—both Fey and human—and it felt as if I were wasting them.

  “What do you need me to do?” I lifted my chin.

  “There you are. I knew you were still in there somewhere, my little fighter.” Anu stepped forward and laid his hands on my shoulders. “You will know what to do when the time comes. You just need to be willing to help.” He leaned over and kissed my forehead.

  Images burst in my mind, pictures rolling by so fast that I couldn't focus on any single one. I felt a sense of urgency, then horror, then fear. I heard screams and roars and explosions. I felt overwhelming joy and the darkest of despair. It whirled inside me until one truth emerged; a storm was coming, and I couldn't take cover. I had to find it and stand firm against the wind.

  When I opened my eyes, Anu was gone.

  “You couldn't have just told me what you want?” I grumbled.

  But that isn't Anu's way. Danu is the direct one while her brother prefers to work more mysteriously. It's kinda his thing.

  Chapter Ten

  “You must remember something,” Daxon insisted. “Anything.”

  We'd been going over Anu's visit for over an hour. Caelum was outside, swimming with some of my knights in the family pool, and the sounds of his laughter filtered in through the open window of our bedroom. I wanted to be out there with him instead of inside with Dax—and that said a lot. Daxon was having issues with Anu's sudden appearance and vague instructions. It had been a long time since I'd done anything more dangerous than driving down an L.A. street. Dax had gotten used to having me safe at his side, performing the roles of Queen, Wife, and Mother to his King, Husband, and Father. The possibility of me taking on the mantle of Ambassador again—or, even worse, Extinguisher—scared the shit out of him.

  It was a little annoying. Understandable but still annoying.

  “Dax, he showed me a bunch of visions but it happened too fast for me to remember any of them,” I said again. “And he intended it to be that way. He wants me to have the information I need when I need it, but he doesn't want to overly influence me. That's how he works. I'm sure I'll see them clearly when I need to.”

  “That's how he works,” Daxon repeated. “You're acting as if he's a man.”

  Dax prowled across the hardwood floors, barefoot with only a pair of tailored pants on. When I'd returned to the training yard, it was to find Conri and Desmond back in their normal bodies, going over fighting techniques as they companionably headed toward the main house to shower. Caelum had announced that he wanted to go swimming so we'd gone upstairs to change into our swimsuits. While Cael was in his room getting into his swim trunks, I told Daxon about my meeting with Anu. He'd only just remo
ved his shirt and gave up on the rest of the process to focus on pestering me about the God of Earth.

  Caelum had come in a few minutes later and found us arguing. Daxon sent him downstairs to tell my Guard to go swimming with him until we came down. Cael had gaped at his father a moment, then left without saying a word. It wasn't the first time he'd seen us fight, but it was probably the first time he'd seen his father so worried.

  “Anu's not a man,” I said gently. “I know that; I've seen what he can do. And that is why I don't take his request lightly. I'm not just Fey, Dax. I can't ignore my god.”

  “Your god? What has he ever done for you?” He huffed.

  “Oh, not much. Only saved my life and brought my friends back from the dead,” I said dryly.

  Daxon grimaced. “Yeah, okay. There's that. But where was all of his great power when we were fighting for the Undergrounds?”

  “I asked him about that, actually.”

  “And?”

  “He said that he—” my throat closed suddenly and I had to blink my tears away.

  That battle had been rough. I'd nearly lost several people I loved as well as my life.

  “It's okay, Seren,” Daxon murmured as he sat beside me on the bed. He took my hand. “You don't have to talk about it.”

  “He said that he was there,” I pushed the words past my dry throat. “He gave me his strength.”

  “That's a little cliché. Do you believe him?”

  I blinked in surprise. “I don't think he'd lie to me, Daxon. But I don't need to trust him on this; I remember feeling something with me—power that wasn't mine. I don't think I would have lasted as long as I did without his help.”

  Daxon sighed deeply. “So, what are we going to do?”

  “We?” I asked with a grin.

  “As if I'm going to let you face whatever this is alone,” he grumbled.

  “You have responsibilities, King Daxon,” I reminded him. “I don't know where this will take me, but I suspect it will be away from California.”

  “Then I'll leave California.” He shrugged. “It's not as if I don't go on trips to check the other Undergrounds. I am King of all of them, Seren.”

  “Those are trips that you take Caelum on because they're safe,” I reminded him. “Who will watch over our son if you're with me?”

  “We'll send him to Fairy to visit his uncle and grandfather.” Daxon stood up and crossed his arms stubbornly. The action made his tattoos—that covered all of his back, most of his arms, and the upper part of his chest—shift and gave the impression that he'd expanded. “You're not going alone, Seren.”

  I considered it. Despite what I'd said about not wanting to burden my father, I knew Keir would be thrilled to see any of his grandchildren but especially Cael. Caelum doesn't visit Fairy often. Keir usually comes to Earth to see him, and Cael had never spent more than a couple days in Twilight. Plus, Rowan would get to spend time with her brother. I was pretty certain that Killian wouldn't mind it either.

  “I'll ask Killian and my dad,” I conceded.

  Daxon deflated in relief. “Okay. Good.”

  “Hey.” I got up and took his hands. “Are you really this upset? I'm a trained extinguisher, remember? I've fought the Sluagh.”

  “And nearly died doing it,” he growled as he yanked me into an embrace. “I can't lose you, Seren. My world would crumble without you in it. I don't think I'd ever recover.”

  “I'm not dying, Dax,” I said gently. “I'm acting on behalf of a God, and we need to trust that he'll be with me while I do so.”

  “If it was Danu, I could trust that.” Daxon pulled back to look at me. “But I can't put my faith in the God of the humans.”

  “I understand. But I'm part human, babe, and I can.”

  “So be it,” he gave in. “But this is just your first fight, Extinguisher. You'll have to convince your other husbands too.”

  I grimaced. “After we swim with our son.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Daxon and I were on our way to the pool when Desmond intercepted us. His rugged face was drawn into grim lines and he inclined his head respectfully.

  “What is it?” Daxon asked.

  “We've got a lead, Your Majesty,” Desmond's voice emerged from his throat, low and rumbling.

  Daxon looked pleased at first but then glanced at me and sobered.

  “A lead on what?” I asked.

  “Black-market spells, Your Majesty,” Desmond said. “We've been trying to locate a dealer who's been selling illegal enchantments to humans. He's managed to evade us until now.”

  When I'd first met Daxon, his main source of income came from Enchantments—a club that catered to the Fey but also did a fair amount of business with humans. The humans had to be sponsored by a fairy to get in, cleared for interaction, as it were. Once inside the club, they could purchase anything from a swim with a Mermaid to a sexual interlude with a Gancanagh to a spell to enhance beauty. All of that had been legal back then but things have changed a bit.

  After the battle for the Undergrounds, the subsequent clearing of them, and the implementation of new Underground rulership, the Councils, Coven, and Caster Witches got together to rewrite the laws about the use of magic in the Human Realm. Sorcery—the acquisition or distribution of items or body parts with magical remnants, for use to collect and condense their magic—was outlawed. That had been a given, but the sale of spells to humans was trickier. There were pages of laws and amendments on what was and wasn't legal now but what they boiled down to was this: humans could be enchanted legally if three criteria were met—consent was given by the human without coercion, the spell didn't hurt the human or any other humans, and the spell didn't break any human laws.

  This worked out well for Daxon and he was able to keep selling most of the goods and services he offered as well as other... unique entertainments. Well, except for the interludes with Gancanagh. Fey prostitution continued to be legal but only where other fairies are concerned. In other words, Fairies could sell themselves to each other but not to humans. At least, not in countries where prostitution is illegal. The Fey had to abide by human laws as much as possible. I know, it's surprising that the Fey haven't outlawed prostitution. But they have a different outlook on sex and sexuality; they're more casual about it. As far as Fairies are concerned, if you have to pay for sex—a tragedy indeed—and someone is willing to accept payment for providing that sex, then there's no problem. Both parties are getting what they want and no one is being abused; that makes it a private issue between those two fairies.

  Back to the Gancanagh. They're very sexual fairies who love to seduce humans. Their voices alone can do the trick but they also happen to be gorgeous. Daxon employed several male and female Gancanagh who offered humans “entertainment” packages. Now, they could only peddle their packages to Fairies. A few of the spells Daxon used to offer—those that interfered with human justice, such as getting humans out of parking tickets—also had to be removed from the menu but, for the most part, everything else had stayed. He'd been able to keep running Enchantments in nearly the same manner as he had previously.

  Not that he would have been financially hurt if he'd had to close the club. Daxon is a sharp businessman and owns several businesses in L.A., including Inkantations—a tattoo shop that offers enchanted tattoos to Fairies, Taboo—a Fey strip club, Dark Muses—an art gallery run by Leanan-Sidhe, The Cleaning Fairy—a maid service staffed by Brownies, Line of Fate—where Hags read fortunes, Fantasy Flowers—an Anthousai flower shop, and Foxy—a salon run by a Kitsune. None of those businesses had been affected by the new laws. So, his finances were safe.

  But Daxon wasn't the only one who'd been selling magic. Far from it.

  Before the Fairy Underworlds had been cleaned out of all the criminal Fey and illegal operations, most of the black-market magic originated from there. But now, Daxon's soldiers patrolled the American Undergrounds and his appointed Princes and Princesses patrolled the other undergrounds with the
ir armies. This didn't stop the sale of illegal magic, only moved it upward.

  As King of the Underworlds, it wasn't exactly Daxon's responsibility to patrol the streets above his domain; that was the job of the Extinguishers. But Dax wanted to do his part to help since it had been the act of cleaning the Undergrounds that had sent the rats scurrying into Extinguisher jurisdiction. Also, I think he wanted the Fey living on Earth to know that they couldn't disobey him by simply moving above ground.