Zero Hour

by Kimbra Swain

  She stood before the room, drawing everyone’s attention to her. Even mine. I didn’t know how she did it. If she used magic, I couldn’t detect it. The highest born fairy women were Leanan-sidhe; the equivalent of a succubus. However, my mother lived her life differently. Therefore, her powers were deployed in a different manner. She knew how to command a room though.

  Behind her, sitting on her throne, Killian winked at me. The little devil knew I’d been here longer than our deal. If I didn’t know better, I’d bet he was manipulating the situation to get me to stay longer. I needed to keep my eye on him.

  “All of them,” Remy replied. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  Before my mother could answer, Levi shouted, “No!” A ripple of laughter crossed over the crowd. Remy and Mom had once been an item. Not that they ever would be again, but Uncle Levi followed my mom’s lead and drew the attention away from the darker realities that Nick had presented. I loved my dad, but it was obvious that Levi and Mom were perfect for each other.

  He exchanged a bright grin with Remy who bowed slightly, then moved out of the center of attention.

  “Nick, Malphas, and Echo have agreed to take over the Birmingham facility, but I want to wait to open it. I think their talents will be best served investigating the situation in Steelshore. I believe this will a long mission to finally get some answers. Nick, do you agree?” Mom asked.

  “Yes, we will take on this task,” Nick replied.

  “Choose your team and be ready to depart the day after tomorrow,” Mom instructed. He nodded, then moved back to where Echo and Malphas stood. “In the coming weeks, we will be transitioning to the new Fairy Bureau of Immigration building in Birmingham. My son, Callum, is heading up the detail of who will be moving to that location and who will not. If you have preferences, you need to make him aware of them as soon as this meeting is over. You know where to find him.” Mom nodded at Betty, who stood.

  “Are there any other questions or concerns that we need to address?” she asked the crowd.

  A rather plump woman stood in the crowd. Henrietta Purcell was married to Chris Purcell, a winged were-hog. She was a were-hog too, but she was domesticated. She also didn’t have wings. Chris was the only one of the hogs that did. Most of Chris’ harem had abandoned him after the Battle of Shady Grove. The were-hogs defended Shady Grove, and many of them died for it. Chris’ extra women gravitated toward those men who had remained. It didn’t take long for the wild hogs to repopulate. However, Chris followed my mother’s example and settled down with Henrietta. Although, I didn’t get the impression that he was as happy as Mom was with monogamy.

  “I have a question,” Henrietta said.

  “Go ahead,” Betty instructed.

  “There have been rumors that the council is going to limit our offspring. Is that true? I know we have an influx of fairies, but are we really going to have a ban or limit on bearing children?” she asked.

  I’d heard Mom and Levi discussing an overpopulation in the area. Part of the deal when immigrating through Shady Grove from the Otherworld or from the human world to the fairy realms was that you had to keep moving. Troy Maynard and his police force ensured that immigrants moved to their assigned destination. However, more and more were requesting to live in Shady Grove. Ultimately, Mom decided that limiting children wasn’t the way to deal with population. However, they were going to lay down responsibility laws about contributing to the city as a whole.

  When Henrietta asked the question, the crowd responded with shouts and questions. My attention darted to Killian who straightened up on Mother’s throne. He moved his hands in front of him as if he were playing a piano. The soothing tones of the invisible instrument drew everyone’s attention.

  “He’s so cute when he does that,” Soraya said.

  “Are you crushing on my brother?” I asked.

  “What? No! He’s a kid,” she replied. “Besides, I’ve got my eyes on someone else.”

  “Oh, really? You better tell me,” I replied.

  “I want to know, too,” Kyrie added.

  “I’m not telling you,” Soraya said to him. “But we will talk later.” It didn’t bother Kyrie in the least. He probably didn’t want to know. He just used it as an excuse to talk.

  The crowd ceased their shouts and took their seats. Levi knelt in front of Killian, speaking to him softly. I knew he was instructing him not to use his gifts to manipulate people. Killian never meant any harm, but he didn’t fully understand how his power worked.

  “We have no plans to limit offspring. However, as always, all citizens of Shady Grove are expected to contribute to the greater good of the town. That includes the children, as well. I suggest you help them find ways to work around town whether it be with harvests, meals, or cutting your neighbor’s grass,” Mother replied. “Is that what you wanted to know?” Mom seemed upset with Henrietta for asking the question. The were-hog shook her head, then took her seat.

  “Anything else?” Betty asked.

  The crowd remained silent.

  “As always, Levi and I are open to any of your questions. Feel free to schedule an appointment by going to my office at the trailer park or meeting up with us at Hot Tin. We are headed there now. Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” Mom said to the crowd.

  “Meeting adjourned,” Betty said.

  The murmur rose in the room, and I listened to the conversations around us. Despite everything that Mom and her knights had done for this town, they still doubted her. Perhaps it was just the fairy in them. Mom and I didn’t always get along, but I hated when the people of the town weren’t thankful for her sacrifices. She had actually died in the battle but returned to us via the use of a second life. Not her own. It was Uncle Levi’s.

  I asked him once why he gave his second life to Lilith who was the previous goddess over the Tree of Life. He told me that when he was in the Otherworld with Dylan that somehow Dylan knew that Lilith would ask for his second life, and that second life would save my mother. My dad had dreams about the future. I’d had them too, but I never told anyone about them.

  “Are you going to Hot Tin?” Soraya asked.

  “I don’t think so. I’ve got some things to think about,” I said.

  She looked at me with concerned eyes. “What things?”

  “What I told you yesterday,” I replied. I’d spoken to her briefly on the phone after I talked to Mom about leaving Shady Grove.

  Kyrie stood up and looked around the room as if he knew our conversation had become private.

  “Did you tell Mark?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “No wonder he’s giving you the evil eye,” she said. I looked over her shoulder and saw Mark talking with Nick and Troy.

  “He’s being Alpha.”

  She giggled. We had coined the term to describe any time that Mark was upset with me or disapproved of what I wanted to do.

  “Let’s go to Hot Tin. I want to tell you who I’ve got my eye on,” Soraya said.

  Kyrie decided that was his moment. He turned and offered his hand to me. “I’ll escort you, if you will allow it.”

  Just to annoy Mark, I took Kyrie’s hand and went with him outside to his truck. He opened the door for me and then the back door for Soraya. Mark appeared at the door of the assembly hall. His nostrils flared.

  Kyrie climbed into the truck. “It looks like the Alpha and I need to have a talk.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t,” I said.

  “Wynonna, I get how he feels. I completely understand it, but he’s gotta let you do your own thing,” he said.

  “Exactly,” Soraya echoed. Team Kyrie.

  “If you talk to him about me, he will kick your ass,” I said.

  Kyrie grinned. “I doubt that.” He started the truck which came to life with a loud rumble. The huge truck reminded me of the one my mom used to have. I had my father’s old Camaro, but I rarely drove it.

  We didn’t speak all the way to Hot Tin,
but I had a feeling that our night with Alpha-isms wasn’t over.

  Chapter 4

  The patrons at Hot Tin were extra rowdy tonight. Among the regular Exiles, many of the immigrants passing through had bellied up to the bar. Callum and Levi served drinks as Mom sat at the end of the bar, talking to an endless stream of citizens who were too afraid to speak up in the assembly.

  Aydan had taken Killian up to Callum’s apartment to get away from the noise and stress of the situation. I sat with Soraya, Kyrie, and his sister, Celestina, at a table. Our friends Ruby and Rory were here from the Summer realm. Their father was the king there. Both of them had vibrant red hair and freckles. Ruby had blossomed into a gorgeous young woman who caught the eye of every man in the room, except Kyrie who moved his chair over to allow the twins to join us.

  “How’s Summer?” I asked.

  Ruby eyed the patrons while Rory answered. “It’s hot. Like all the time. I miss being here. Do you think your mom will let me work at the Birmingham facility?”

  “I don’t see why not. I’m going to be working there,” I blurted out.

  “Oh, really?” Kyrie said. I covered my mouth.

  Soraya laughed at me. “She can’t keep a secret for nothing.”

  “Shut up. I can too. I’m just excited that Mom is going to let me go,” I said.

  “You going too, Starboy?” Rory asked Kyrie.

  “Probably.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I talked to Dad about it yesterday,” Kyrie responded. For a moment, I thought he was lying. I didn’t have the uncanny sense of knowing the difference like Aydan.

  “Before I said anything?” I asked.

  “Coincidence, yeah?” he shrugged.

  “It’s a sign,” Soraya said.

  Kyrie grinned and tapped his glass against hers.

  “We can’t be friends anymore, Raya,” I smirked.

  “I’ll survive,” she replied, flicking her eyes to the young Summer Prince. She didn’t have to tell me who had caught her eye. I clearly saw it. He grinned at her, but quickly laughed at the rest of us. His sister, Ruby, ignored us. She was on the hunt. I didn’t know if she had been with a guy yet, but I’d seen her make out with a ton of them. The room was full of fresh meat, too.

  Mark walked in the door with Nick, Malphas, and Echo. The latter three moved to the bar to get drinks. Mark stared at us.

  “Alpha,” Ruby muttered.

  Soraya’s eyes darkened, then shot to me. I stared at the little Summer Princess. She didn’t know it, but one puff and I could turn her to ash.

  “You know he only has eyes for Winnie,” Rory said, noticing my frustration.

  “We will see about that.” The sweetness dripped off her voice like honey. I wanted to bury her in fireballs.

  “Winnie.” Raya’s voice had become strained.

  “Hey, Sunshine,” Kyrie said close to my ear.

  “What?” My teeth grinded together. Kyrie slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

  “Let her give it a try. In the meantime, dance with me,” he said. I felt the power of his magic move between us. It had no effect on me, and he couldn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to do. It was almost involuntary on his part. If he saw something he liked, he went after it. Or at least that’s how he explained it to me. I’d asked Remy about it, and he said it was true.

  My eyes darted to Raya, then to Ruby who was making her way to my wolf. No, not my wolf. “I’ll be glad to,” I said to Kyrie.

  He led me to the dancefloor, and I tucked my body close to his as we danced to the slow song on the jukebox.

  “Are you using me to make him jealous?” Kyrie asked.

  “No, I’m using you to calm down,” I replied.

  “Use me, baby,” he said with a grin.

  I shook my head at him, but I couldn’t help but laugh. I didn’t bother to look toward Ruby and Mark. Kyrie kept me turned away from them.

  “I don’t want to use or hurt anyone,” I muttered.

  “Hey!” He lifted my chin so that my eyes met his. “You are an amazing woman. You aren’t hurting anyone here. And I was joking about me.”

  “I’m hurting him.”

  “No, he’s hurting himself. He’s got to learn to fight that urge inside of him that wants you forever. All he is doing is pushing you away which benefits me, but it’s not your fault,” Kyrie said.

  “When did you get to be so smart?” I asked.

  “It’s a Star Folk thing. It’s like I can see the bigger picture as if I’m looking at the world from the stars,” he explained.

  “And if I told you not to follow me?” I asked.

  He took a deep breath. “I’d do what you asked.”

  I leaned into him, resting my chin on his shoulder. Closing my eyes, I focused on swaying to the music. Behind us, I could hear Ruby giggling. I wanted to stuff a flaming fist in her throat. Mark wasn’t mine, and Kyrie was right. He had meant me, too. I was hurting myself by pretending I had some claim on Mark. I had to let it go. I didn’t owe him any explanation, and if he wanted to have fun with Ruby, then that was a good thing for both of us. Mark had been my constant companion. The one I could always count on. I doubted that would ever change, but it needed to stop there and not go any further.

  Opening my eyes, I saw a woman leaning over the pool table. Her short dress pulled up to her ass as she aimed her shot. A couple of men leered at her. She missed her shot, and another woman stepped up to the table. As the first woman stepped back, one of the men reached out for her, caressing her ass. She jerked away from him and said something. I tensed, watching them. She moved away from the men, but the one who had touched her kept staring.

  “Kyrie.”

  “What’s going on behind me?” He must have felt me tense.

  “Just some people playing pool, but one of the guys is getting handsy.”

  Kyrie turned so that he could look that direction but continued to dance with me. I could clearly see Mark and Ruby now. She sat next to him at one of the tables. She laughed as she ran her red fingernails up his arm. He looked at me, then turned to her. Whatever he said must have been hilarious because she cackled.

  “Earth to Winnie,” Kyrie said, bringing me out of my stare.

  “Sorry.”

  “He’s not done anything with her. He won’t do anything with her. You know that.”

  “You said that he needed to give me up. I gotta do the same thing.”

  Kyrie shook his head slightly. “That wasn’t what I meant.”

  “Did you see the guy?” I said, changing the subject.

  Levi rang a bell behind the bar. It was the last call for drinks which meant Hot Tin would be closing soon.

  “Yeah, I see him,” Kyrie said. “We should tell Levi.”

  “No. Just watch them. He might just go on and not bother her.”

  “We will watch out for her,” Kyrie suggested.

  “Yes, we will,” I said as the song ended. Kyrie took my hand, leading me back to our table.

  Until closing time, the man leering at the woman held my attention. I might have noticed that Mark left with Ruby, but I pretended that I didn’t. I also pretended that it didn’t hurt. It shouldn’t hurt when you get exactly what you wanted.

  The woman we had watched gathered her purse and said good-bye to her friends. Kyrie stood, and I followed him.

  “Where are you two going?” Soraya asked.

  “Home,” I replied.

  “Oh, okay. See you tomorrow?”

  “Definitely,” I replied, giving her a wink. I nodded to the ruddy prince and her eyes lit up. Yeah, my best friend had it bad for the ginger.

  Kyrie and I made it to the door before the woman did. When we stepped out into the night, Kyrie took my hand, and we shot straight up to a low hanging cloud.

  “Fuck,” I muttered.

  “You got that from your mother,” Kyrie laughed.

  He’d taken me to the clouds before and it always ca
ught me off guard. We could see through the cloud to the ground where the woman exited with another woman. They parted ways.

  “What is she?” I asked Kyrie. I hadn’t figured out how to tell the difference between the fairies.

  “She’s Winter, but not very strong. Almost like her blood is mixed,” he replied. “You are going to have to get better at that out there.”

  He meant in the human world, and he was right. “I’ll be fine. What was the man? He looked dark to me.”

  “Wild of some sort, but again, mixed blood,” he said. “They. probably are immigrants.”

  Our cloud followed the Winter fairy to the apartment complex that Kyrie’s father had recently finished for immigrants who were passing through to the Otherworld.

  “Once the light turns on in her apartment, I’d say she’s okay,” I said.

  “Maybe,” Kyrie responded. “It’s not like we can see inside.”

  We waited, but she disappeared under the roof that covered her doorway. The lights never came on.

  “Something is wrong,” I muttered. My hands began to glow with fiery power. He looked down at them but didn’t move to dowse my fury.

  “We will give her another minute. Maybe she dropped her keys or something.” Before he finished the sentence, my body ignited, and I flew down to the door where I expected to find her. Kyrie landed beside me.

  “Where is she?” I asked.

  Kyrie’s eyes flickered with stars and he nodded behind the building toward the woods. We ran in that direction. A thousand warnings went off in my head. We should have alerted someone. However, if she was in danger, a detour might cost her life. I cooled my flames once we hit the forest. No need to piss off the park ranger who just happened to be a bear. And no, his name wasn’t Smokey. It was Humpty. Someone got their nursery rhymes mixed up.

  “How far ahead is she?” I asked.

  “A hundred yards or so. She’s running,” Kyrie said.

  Whenever I used my fairy sight while funneling the Phoenix, I got discombobulated, and one or the other ability took over. I needed my fire, so I let Kyrie use his sight.

  “Winnie,” Kyrie whispered, as he slowed next to me.