by Kimbra Swain
“Why did they let you go?” I asked. “How did you get out?”
“Dylan got me out when I told him they had Winnie,” he said. “Grace, he made me go. It was one or the other of us. When I left, he was alive, but coming apart at the seams. He told me to tell you not to hope. Occasionally, he had moments of clarity. In one of them, he told me to tell you how much he loved you, Winnie, and his son. He knew you were pregnant. He saw you from the jar do something that clued him in.”
“Tennyson, can we go after him?” I asked.
“My sources say that they guard him well. That it would take an army to get him out,” he said.
“Is there a way to let him know we are safe? That his son is safe? It might give him reason to keep going until we can get to him,” I said.
Tennyson stood up, buttoning his jacket. He gave me a stern look. “Would you have him to continue to suffer?”
I swallowed as Levi sagged in his chair. “I want him to come home to us,” I said.
“If that isn’t an option, Grace, would you have me prolong his agony or put him out of his misery? I have the power to do whatever you decide,” he said, letting himself out the front door.
“How would you do that?” I asked.
“I can deal with Rhiannon. She would put him down if I dealt with her,” he said.
“No deals with her. We don’t negotiate with her. Ever,” I said as my will to hold it together started to crumble. I crawled across the floor to Aydan, scooping him up to hold close to my chest. His warmth spread over me like Dylan’s always had. He knew his momma was distressed the way he held tightly to me. I closed my eyes as the tears fell harder. The front door clicked quietly as Tennyson left the house.
Levi’s hand found my neck again. The tingle surged through me. “Mother fucker. Sons of bitches,” I said letting out a string of profanities. Levi sat on the floor next to me, and I crashed into him. He wrapped his arms around us both as he hummed a song to calm the baby. There was no calming me. Deep sobs shuddered through my body like a seizure. I felt his pain, but I also felt his relief that I knew everything.
“There is still hope,” Levi said.
“No, there isn’t,” I replied.
He replaced his hum with a light song on his tattoo. I felt his body shake along with mine. Aydan whimpered, but never cried out. How would I ever explain to him what a wonderful man his father was? How was I going to do this without Dylan? If he came home, could he hurt us? So many questions replaced the ones that had been answered. I was tired of questions. I was tired of the pain. All the frustrations, all the agony. I poured it out of myself in sobs and tears. Dylan was never coming home, and if he did, he would never be the same. We all would never be the same.
Astor returned home to find us embracing on the floor. Aydan slept on my chest as I leaned on Levi whose scars were still exposed. He’d stopped playing the song once Aydan had fallen asleep. The knight took one look at Levi’s scars, and he knew. Hovering over me, he pulled my arms away from Aydan, lifting him up. I watched as he laid the baby in the crib across the room.
Levi moved his hips to slide away from me. He pushed himself up on the couch, then lifted me off the floor to join him. I curled into him, allowing myself to allow him to comfort me.
“I’ll be in my room if you need anything,” Astor said in a low tone after he put away the things he had bought at the store.
Levi took my hand turning my palm up. I felt a tiny chain pile up in my palm. When he removed his hand from mine, the delicate necklace with the attached teacup charm sat in my hand. I had lost it the night the trailer went down.
“How do you have this?” I asked.
“When they pulled me away from you in the Otherworld, I shoved you through the portal. My hand accidentally pulled it off, but there was no giving it back. It saved my life. After dealing with Dylan in my cell, I decided that I couldn’t kill him anymore. I was going to just let him do his worst on me, but I felt the necklace in my pocket. As he rushed me, I pulled it out dangling it in front of him so he could see. It was almost as if he snapped out of it immediately. He wanted to know how I got it, and I told him about the trailer park, the portal, and shoving you through. He gave it back to me before I left. He made me swear to give it back to you when you needed it the most,” Levi said. His voice choked, and I heard the rattle in his chest.
“Thank you,” I muttered, closing my fingers around the necklace that Dylan had given me. He called me “Whiskey in a Teacup,” but right now, I just felt like water in a rusted bucket. My emotions that I’d held so tightly poured out of the holes. “Don’t you ever hide anything like this again.”
“I know, but it wasn’t the wrong thing to do. You have to know that, Grace,” he muttered. It wasn’t, but there was nothing right about the whole situation. I needed to fuss about something because everything else inside of me was in a state of extreme oxidation.
“I just…” I started to explain myself.
He chuckled ever so slightly. “You are just being you, Grace. No need to explain to me.”
I wasn’t sure how long we laid there on the couch, but the shrieking brakes of the school bus roused our attention. Winnie was home. It was like a small reminder that life goes on. Pushing myself up off the couch, I stood to wait for my girl to come running through the door. Boy hidey, did she.
Winnie hit the front door at full speed with tears in her eyes. She ran up the steps to her room without saying a word. Levi and I followed her quickly. By the time we got to her room, she was sitting in the middle of the floor wiping her eyes.
“Winnie, what’s wrong?” I asked sitting on the floor in front of her.
“Mark got in trouble again. So, I got in trouble too.” She handed me a piece of paper that detailed the incident at school. After reading it, I passed it back to Levi so he could see.
“Winnie, you can’t fight in school. We will help Mark. Okay?” I said.
She took a deep breath, calming her tears. “But it won’t change the fact that I’m different from everyone. I’ll always be different from the fairies and wolves.”
I wanted to slap myself because the only comfort I could give her seemed lame. “You are different, Winnie. You are unique and special. That bothers people sometimes because they don’t understand it, especially kids. They also don’t understand why you and Mark are friends,” I tried to explain.
“We are friends because we like the same games,” she said. It was the pure reasoning of a child.
Levi decided to chime in, “Are you afraid to go to school?”
“No,” she said. “I just don’t want Mark to fight them anymore.”
“Okay. I bet I could have a talk with Mark, and he won’t fight,” Levi said. I gave him a questioning look. “Sometimes a boy needs instructions from someone who isn’t a parent.”
I deferred to his expertise because I had no idea what he was talking about. “Why don’t we just forget about today and get ready for the bonfire tonight? You and Mark will have plenty of time to play. I heard there is going to be music, dancing, and s’mores.”
Winnie nodded her head, but she wasn’t completely satisfied. One thing was for sure. She was different. We might consider finding some way to teach her at home. Perhaps Miss Jenkins might want to give her some private lessons. I knew what it was like to be isolated in a group. You lean on those who you know you can count on, but those people were few and far between. Winnie depended on her friend, and he had taken the task too seriously. More than anything, she was afraid that he wouldn’t be allowed back at school. I was sure we could help the situation somehow.
Of all the crises that needed to be resolved, this one would be the easiest. I thought about Dylan and the bad news I’d received. We couldn’t tell Winnie. I wasn’t sure she would understand. Perhaps her hope in her father’s return would fuel the rest of us to find some hope in the situation. Until we had something more concrete, I didn’t want to upset her more than she already was.
I helped her pick out a twirly dress to wear to the bonfire so she could dance. Then I gave her some necklaces from my collection including the teacup necklace so she could look like me, as well as a bright scarf to hang around her waist. She was engrossed in playing the part, forgetting about her troubles at school. Levi danced with her in the room after she was dressed. She squealed as her skirt twirled around. Her laughter filled the house.
Astor appeared at the door with Aydan who reached for me when he saw me. I held on to him, watching Levi and Winnie dance. Astor sighed behind me.
“Life goes on,” he said.
“It has to,” I replied.
He put his strong arm around my shoulders and squeezed his support. “I’ve got to go get ready. I have a date tonight.”
“Ella?” Levi asked as Winnie continued to dance around him.
“Yeah,” Astor said with a blush.
“You need any help with that let me know,” Levi said.
“What do you mean?” Astor asked.
“This guitar can do a lot of things,” Levi said unleashing a strum across the tattoo.
“Like what?” Astor asked.
“Grace says it can melt panties,” Levi said.
“Levi Rearden!” I exclaimed.
“You did say that,” he protested.
“Sounds painful,” Astor replied.
The laughter rattled around in my rusted bucket, but it felt good.
“Trust me. It’s a good thing. Right, Grace?” Levi continued.
“That’s enough,” I scoffed.
“Whatever. You just let me know, Freckles. We can work together to get that cherry popped,” Levi said. Thankfully, Winnie wasn’t paying much attention to his words, because he had started to play a song that she could dance to. It sounded like an old folk song.
Astor looked mortified. “Ignore him. He’s being bad,” I said.
“Uncle Levi needs a spanking,” Winnie said as Bramble and Briar showed up to join her dance. Perhaps she was paying attention.
“Oh, I like spankings,” Bramble cooed.
“Look what you started,” I said.
“I’m waiting on that knot in the tail,” Levi laughed. I was pretty sure I’d turned fifty shades of Astor’s hair color.
“Sounds painful. I like it,” Bramble replied. Visions of Bramble tied down and whipped by the dominatrix Briar flashed through my head. I groaned hoping the sight wouldn’t embed itself in my brain.
“But you don’t have a tail,” Winnie said.
“That’s true. So, I don’t think your momma can do it,” Levi teased.
“I’m sure I could turn you into an animal of some sort,” I bragged. I’d never turned anyone into an animal because I never had the need to do it. But heck, if you could make a human a fairy, I could make Levi a dog or some other tailed creature. Aydan yanked on my hair. He was getting strong, and it hurt. The last thing I needed was a bald patch before the ritual dance tonight.
“Devils have tails,” I said.
“Are you saying I’m evil?” he smiled as Winnie jabbered on to him about her dress.
“Yes,” I replied simply. He took Aydan from me prying his hand out of my hair.
“Go get dressed. We will make the best of this,” he said.
As I walked away, I heard Astor talking to him.
“Burns?” Astor asked. I supposed they hadn’t talked about Levi’s scars since last night.
“Yeah,” Levi replied.
“Damn,” Astor said as I shut myself in the room.
The leather jacket hung on the back of the old chair. I refused to spend any time looking at it. We needed to get this curse off the town so that we could focus on finding a way to get Dylan out of the Otherworld, and hope to all that is good in the world, that we could bring him back to us.
Donning the dress giving to me by Wendy, I stared at myself in the mirror. My eyes had dark circles under them, and my eyes were bloodshot. Adjusting my glamour, I hid my heart behind a fake face. A light knock on the door told me it was time to go.
“Come in,” I said to Levi.
He walked in wearing dark jeans and a white button-up shirt. Clean and crisp. He stood dumbfounded looking at me.
“I know I just had a baby, but I didn’t think it looked that bad,” I said.
“Grace, you know that you don’t look bad. You also don’t look like you just had a baby. You are gorgeous. That dress is incredible because you are in it,” he said.
“Thank you, Dublin,” I said.
“Look, tonight, if you need to get out of there, or whatever, you just call on me. I’ll be there,” he said.
“I know you will,” I said. “We can get this curse behind us, then focus on the Otherworld.”
“Are you coming?” Winnie called from downstairs.
Levi offered his hand. I sighed, and just before he lowered it, I slid my hand in his. Goosebumps stood up on my skin as the tingle of our fairy bond rippled over my skin.
I held my dress up with the other hand, as we walked down the stairs where Astor stood holding Aydan. Winnie spun in circles with Rufus yapping at her feet. She stopped when she saw us coming down.
“Oh, Momma, you look beautiful,” she said.
“Thank you, baby,” I said. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yes!” she exclaimed, and she wrestled to get the front door open. Astor helped her with his free hand. I walked up taking my little bird from him. Levi grabbed his keys from the kitchen, meeting us as I strapped Aydan into his car seat. Astor opened the door for me, so I climbed up into the truck next to Levi. Astor sat in the back with Winnie between him and Aydan.
I looked at the house through my sight as Levi backed away from it. The bright blue wards floated around the house protecting it from evil. However, the evil eye had managed to make it through the wards to affect Astor and Levi. It hit me then that we weren’t dealing with a run of the mill evil eye curse.
Pushing the grief and pain back, I put temporary plugs in the holes of my bucket. I just hoped they would hold until this was done. After that, I was due for a big cry. A big, ugly cry.
The wood from the bonfire made a large conical shape in the middle of the field near the RV Caravan. Strings of light bulbs stretched between wooden poles lining the field with dim light. People mingled around the wood while the gypsies had already started playing lively music.
Winnie bounced up and down begging to get out of the truck before we could even park. Astor barely got out of the way before she shot out the door, barreling toward Mark who stood with his mother, Amanda.
“Wynonna Riggs!” I called out to her. She screeched to a halt. She turned toward me. “Stay away from that fire!”
“Yes, Momma,” she said.
“Please stay where I can see you!” I called out to her as she resumed her sprint toward Mark.
Levi got Aydan out of the truck while Astor hurried off to find Ella. Before Levi could give Aydan to me, Nestor appeared to take him from us.
“There’s my boy,” Nestor said. “Good heavens, he’s grown.”
“Yes, he’s growing too fast,” I said.
“You look lovely, Gracie,” he said, but tilted his head to the side. “What’s up with the glamour?”
I bit my lip, forcing back the sadness I’d locked away. “Later. We do this, then worry about everything else,” I said.
“I saw that Tennyson was back. Did he bring you bad news?” he asked. Nestor always had an uncanny ability to sniff out the truth. It was a good trait to have as the local bar owner. He knew how to read people without magic.
“Yes. Nestor, I can’t talk about it right now. I’ve got to hold it together tonight,” I said.
“I’ll be with her,” Levi said.
“I know you will, Son,” Nestor said as he carried my child to show him off to anyone that would let him.
We mingled with the people of the town watching for the green haze which drifted around, not focusing on anyone in particular. This wa
s the right move. I watched as everyone laughed and danced enjoying the lively music.
Lamar sat with Cletus and Tater who had brought a jug and a washboard to play music with the gypsies. Lamar wore a peg leg with holes in it.
“Lamar, what kind of leg is that?” Levi asked.
“It’s my peg flute,” he said. “I’m gonna play tonight with these two fools.”
“Howdy, Grace. You sure are looking mighty fine,” Cletus said.
“Why thank you, Cletus. You are looking rather dapper yourself,” I commented. He was probably wearing his best pants which only had one patch on them at the left knee. His button-up shirt was faded, and missing a button where I could see his hairy belly button. A pair of suspenders kept it all in place.
“I tried not to over-do it. I couldn’t have all these women folk fainting over my good looks,” he said.
“You don’t look good. I look goooood,” Tater said. His outfit matched Cletus’ almost to the T, but Tater wore a flower in his shirt pocket. “The ladies love flowers.” He took a long sniff, then sneezed loudly.
“Bless you,” I said.
“Thank ya, Grace. I’m allergic to them, but it’s a small price to pay to look nice,” he said.
“Alright. Y’all enjoy yourselves,” I said ready to move on through the crowd. Cletus and Tater always made me smile. They had good hearts even if their elevator didn’t go all the way to the top floor. I was pretty sure there was only one elevator between them.
Looking through the crowd I saw Ella and Astor. They made a very handsome couple. “He seems very happy,” Levi said.
“I hope so. He deserves it,” I said. “Plus, she is a siren.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Levi asked.
“Remember the night in the diner when you first saw her?” I asked. He blushed remembering how horny he was after her display for his benefit.
“Yes,” he muttered. “That seems like a long time ago.”
