by Elle Casey
“We’ve been storing some of your energy for you. We have to give it back. Then we’ll leave you alone long enough to shower – but Theresa’s volunteered us as your hairdressers for the day, so we’ll be back in the bathroom when you’re done.”
Theresa slowly sat up. “What time is it? Where are we?”
Felicia stood up and held her hands out for her sister. “Come on, sleepy head. Up you go.”
Theresa took her hands, frowning in sleepy confusion; then she looked at me and cocked her head, as if slowly putting pieces together. Her head straightened up and she smiled.
“Time to reverse our work.”
“Yes,” agreed her sister.
“No,” I said.
“Yes!” They both responded in unison, moving towards me. I backed up, intending to get closer to the door, but they used that super-fast running mode those damn incubi and succubi have and closed in on me, pushing me back towards the bed.
“Scrum!” I yelled in a panic.
“Don’t worry, Jayne,” he said, totally nonplussed, “they’re not going to hurt you. Just let them get it over with.”
I fell back onto the bed and landed on my butt – my clothes, towel and teeth brushing stuff gripped against my chest. But they were a useless shield against two very determined succubi.
Theresa and Felicia kneeled in front of me, both of them staring me in the face. My gaze swiveled back and forth between them, not sure who I should be looking at.
“Just relax,” said Felicia, lifting her hand to smooth one side of my hair.
Theresa did a mirroring move on the other side of my face, so I felt both sides of my head being stroked at the same time.
“Just close your eyes ... relax ... it will all be over soon ... ” Theresa’s voice was so hypnotic, I felt myself falling into a near trance at the sound of it. I wasn’t completely gone, just enough to feel okay with the twins doing something to me that I really wasn’t crazy about.
Soon I felt something entering my body – something energizing and awakening. It’s as if I could smell it or something. It was a like a shot of espresso mainlined into my brain, heart, and lungs, all at the same time. It was springtime, objectified. I smiled as it filled every inch of my body, pumping through my veins and seeping into my cells. I opened my eyes and saw the last bit of a trail of smoke coming from their eyes and going into my nose.
“What the fuck was that?” I whispered.
Theresa and Felicia shrugged at the same time. Then Felicia explained, “Some of your essence we were keeping for you so you could sleep restfully and heal.”
“We’ll bill you later,” said Theresa, standing up and brushing off her knees.
“Do you guys take chocolate balls?” I asked, still blown away by the feeling that was still revitalizing my body.
“Uh ... no,” said Theresa. “But I’m sure you can come up with something.” Her gaze focused across the room and I followed it to see what she was referring to.
Spike lay sleeping in the corner, his mouth hanging open in a half-smile, his teeth glistening in the darkness of the room.
“You want ... Spike? I’m not sure he’s mine to give.”
“We don’t need you to give him to us,” explained Felicia, “we just need you to tell him it’s okay with you for him to give us a chance. Seems he’s been holding out on some hope that maybe you’ll be his one and only.”
“Oh,” I said hollowly. “Shit. That sucks. For him, I mean.”
Felicia and Theresa did a very fast happy dance together, which consisted of them holding each other’s hands up by their chests and jumping up and down in place ten times fast. They looked at me, now all flushed, grinning from ear to ear.
I shook my heads at them. “I’ll talk to him later. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to ... umm ... take you girls out on a date.”
Theresa lifted an eyebrow at me.
“Just, let me live in my PG world for a few more minutes, would you?” I asked. “I’m still getting over the whole demon lover thing.”
Felicia reached out and touched my shoulder. “We understand. We totally do. Even we didn’t like that guy – and that’s saying a lot, because we can usually find something to get excited about in any person with energy.”
“Rick’s energy sucked?” I asked, out of morbid curiosity.
“Ever eaten a piece of rotten meat?” asked Theresa.
I shook my head.
“Ever smelled something rotten?” asked Felicia.
“Sure. I have a fart machine for a roommate.”
“Hey!” came a tiny voice from across the room.
“Okay. Imagine that in taste form,” explained Felicia. “That’s what your mother’s guy tasted like. We figured out soon enough he wasn’t what he was pretending to be.”
“Come on,” prompted Theresa, stepping back and pulling her sister after her. “Old news. We’re moving on. Time to get pretty.” She gestured towards the door.
I stood and walked to the bathroom; I actually learned at that moment what having a spring in my step was like. I felt like I was practically bouncing all the way there. If I’d had a ponytail in, I’d bet it would be swinging from side to side like a crazy cheerleader ‘do. Succubus-stored energy was something else.
Chapter 25
I had never let anyone else do my hair before, other than the lady at the hair salon. Normally the few times of year I bothered to get it cut, the hair dresser would straighten it for me and I’d look like a different person for a day or so until I washed it again. I usually just went with the standard ponytail myself. The humidity was so bad where I lived in Florida, the frizz would set in shortly after any attempts at doing something else with it, making every effort an ultimate waste of time. I was lazy with my hair and totally unapologetic about it.
The twins had arrived at the Light Fae compound with what looked like a complete salon in tow.
“What’s this shit?” I said, picking up a tube of something that was sitting on the shelf in front of me. I was in the bathroom, dressed in a clean tunic and jeans, being attended to by the beauty queen succubi. They had put me in a chair in front of the mirrors, but I was too low down to actually see anything except the shelf and sink in front of me.
“It’s hair wax. Don’t touch,” said Theresa, taking it out of my hand and putting it back down on the shelf.
“You’re going to wax my hair?”
“No, goof. We put some product in your hair that will protect it from the heat of the iron and hold the soft curl we put in. No more frizz head.”
I frowned but said nothing in response. I wasn’t sure how I felt about curls, but I was curious enough not to argue – and no more frizz head sounded good to me.
The girls chatted away while they pulled at my hair and tickled my scalp with their brushes and combs. I wondered if this was what movie stars felt like, and thought that maybe I should have tried out for the school play last year as a stepping-stone to Hollywood. I could get used to having someone do this to me every day. It was relaxing, even if they did yank a little too hard sometimes.
“Ow! Watch it, Felicia. I want to keep the hair actually in my head.”
She giggled. “Oops. Sorry. Your hair got caught in my brush’s crack.”
Theresa snorted. “You said crack.”
I rolled my eyes. “Are we done yet?” They were starting to remind me of Tim. He really wanted to be in here with us, but when he’d suggested it, I started picturing how many burn marks I was going to end up with on my ears and sides of my face if the twins and Tim were both in here cutting up and getting totally distracted, so I told him he had to wait outside. Every once in a while he’d yell from the other side of the door, asking if he could come in yet.
Felicia came around to stand in front of me, where I could see her using her fingers and the palms of her hands to make some last minute adjustments to the overall effect. Then she said, “Okay. Stand up and behold our masterpiece.” She was obviously very proud
of herself and her sister.
I stood up and saw the reflection of myself and the faces of the twins in the mirror. They were staring back at me, both of them smiling from ear to ear. I couldn’t say anything except, “Wow.” It really was a wow moment for me, too. I looked different – glamorous, even. “Where’s my ball gown?” I asked as I slowly turned my head from side to side, seeing their magical transformation from all angles.
I had only been joking, but Felicia and Theresa traded sly looks and Felicia said, “I’ll be right back!” and then left the bathroom in a hurry.
My eyes narrowed on Theresa. “I don’t know what you guys are thinking in those devious minds of yours, but I’m not putting on a ball gown. You can’t make me.”
Theresa smiled enigmatically, but said nothing in response. She walked over and opened the door, yelling out, “Tim! You can come in now!” She stood and waited until he buzzed in, shutting the door behind him.
“Holy bat balls, Jayne, you look ... wow ... I mean. Geez! What happened in here?”
“You don’t have to sound so surprised,” I said, dryly.
“Yes I do. When you go from ratty ponytail girl to covergirl, I most certainly do.” He started buzzing around the girls’ equipment, weaving through bottles of goo and spray and other junk they had used on me. “You got any tiaras in this mess? I want to see her with a tiara on that big old head of hers.”
I brushed him away, “I don’t have a big head. Get out of here.”
“Don’t worry, Jayne,” said Tim happily, “it just means you have a big brain.”
I rolled my eyes, refusing to rise to his bait. I had an assembly to go to and I didn’t think I was going to be able to hide in the back row this time. Even though Scrum had given me no further information, I knew this assembly had something to do with me going back home and the demon I had encountered there. I doubted succubi did hair like this for the inconspicuous fae I wanted to be, standing in the back of the hall, getting irate at the stuff going on up at the front. No. This hair was for showing off ... or for walking to the guillotine. My head was going to look so nice as it fell into the basket.
Felicia came back into the bathroom, bearing a largish package, wrapped in a pretty, soft, cream-colored canvas cloth and tied together around the four edges with some green twine. She thrust it out at me, expecting me to take it.
I eyed the package and then her with suspicion. “I’m not wearing a ball gown.” I kept my hands at my sides, refusing to take it.
She laughed. “It’s not a ball gown, Blackthorn, just take it.”
“Blackthorn? What’s up with that?”
“It’s your family name, and it suits you,” she explained. “A beautiful flower surrounded by tough wood and wicked thorns. Magic inside to ward away evil. You know ... blackthorn.”
Theresa chimed in. “It’s all you, babe.”
I reached out slowly to take the package, feeling its light weight in my hands. I had expected it to be heavier for some reason. I put it down on the chair so I could manage the unwrapping.
“Who’s it from?” I asked. “You guys?”
“Nope,” said Theresa, offering no more explanation.
I glanced up at her but all I got was a mysterious smile in return. I kept wrestling with the twine, unable to get it open.
“Never fear! Tim is here!” yelled Tim, swooping down with his tiny knife to cut the last vestiges of the twine from the canvas.
“Thanks, superhero,” I said, folding back the edges of the wrapping.
The first thing I noticed was the color of the thing inside. It was a dark, dark turquoise, and immediately reminded me of the swirling colors that came to me when I combined the Elements of Earth and Water together. I couldn’t speak for a moment, reaching down to carefully pick up the material so I could see what it was.
As I pulled the gift out of its wrapping, it quickly unfolded itself, parts of it falling towards the floor, shimmering as they went. The color that I had thought was a solid blue-green was actually both colors together and then again, both colors apart. It was giving off some sort of illusion, first being turquoise, then green, then blue, then a swirling of all three. It was mesmerizing. Beautiful. Magical, even.
I heard the inward gasps of my hairdressers and knew they were as affected by the gift as I was. They moved in closer to get a better look, admiration for the beauty I held shining in their eyes.
“What is it?” I asked in a hushed tone, turning it to the left and right and looking it up and down, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do with it.
“It’s a cloak,” said Tim in a very awed and respectful voice. “It’s a council member cloak.”
“What?!” I shouted, dropping the cloak on the ground in my shock.
The twins jumped back in fright at my sudden outburst and Tim took off in a frenzied spin of the room.
“No fucking way! I am not wearing that thing!” I shouted.
Felicia quickly bent down and picked it up off the floor, saying, “You have to, Jayne. It’s an honor!”
“Seriously. Felicia’s not kidding, Jayne,” said Theresa, all serious business now. “I don’t know what this is all about – it’s as much a surprise to us as it is to you – but you can’t turn them down. It’s just not done.”
I snatched the thing away from Felicia and rolled it up in a messy ball and threw it on the chair. “Well I can and I’m going to.”
I made as if to leave, but Tim came down and flew himself into my face, totally blocking me. If I wanted to keep going I was going to have Tim smooshed all up in my grill – and the thought of a pixie penis bulge being pushed into my face, possibly even my nose? Not an option.
“Get out of my way, Tim,” I said threateningly, trying not to lose the menacing power of my words with the inadvertent crossing of my eyes that were trying to focus on a pixie only one inch away.
“No. Listen to me first. I have something important to tell you.”
I crossed my arms and closed my eyes to give them a break for a moment. “You have one minute.” I could hear Tim back up a little by the fluttering of his wings and opened my eyes to stare him down, practically daring him to come up with one good reason for me to listen.
“Fine. Okay, what I was going to say is ... uh ... ”
“That’s what I thought,” I said, making as if to move past him.
“No! I know what I’m going to say. Just wait! You’re stressing me out. I’m getting locked up from the pressure.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. You have thirty seconds left.”
“Okay,” said Tim, taking a deep breath, “what I was going to say is that you have to take the appointment as council member. First, of course, it’s a great honor. You can see there are only a few of them. They serve for life. We don’t see changes on the council very often. And you said yourself they’re too old and they don’t change their minds about important stuff often enough. You could fix that!”
“Sorry. Not good enough.” I started to move again.
“Wait! I’m not done!” he shouted, holding out his hand. “There’s other stuff too. First, you get to be in on all the important decisions they make for our community. Think about it! Softer beds! Two pillows instead of one! Tortilla chips on the buffet!”
I frowned at him. “Since when do you like tortilla chips?”
“I love tortilla chips! Are you kidding me? Who doesn’t?”
“So you want me ... to become a council member for life ... so you can have tortilla chips for lunch?”
“And dinner too. And breakfast if you want. You’ll be the boss, so, you know, sky’s the limit.”
“Sorry. No deal. You’ll just have to fly to Mexico or something.”
I started to move again, but this time, Tim got serious. “Girls! Grab her. I have to tell her the last part!”
Both girls moved up to the side of me, but didn’t touch me.
I reached down to my leg to grab for Blackie but cursed to myself as I realiz
ed I’d left it in the room. I sighed. “Fine. Last try. What?”
“If you are on the council, you are bound to the other members.”
I looked at him disgusted. “Ew. Is that supposed to be a selling point? Because all you’re doing is making me feel better about my decision to decline.”
“Yes, it’s a selling point, dummy. Because if you’re bound, it would be much harder for you to disappear into your elements. They can keep you grounded here with us, Jayne.” He suddenly got all shy-sounding. “ ... And I ... well ... I’d really like it if you stuck around.” He cleared his throat and then did a few loops in the air, as if he needed to clear his brain of the emotion that was jumbling his words.
Of all the reasons he had given me to wear the cloak, that one was the most convincing – even though the idea of tortilla chips did have its appeal. Even now, in the relative safety of this bathroom, surrounded by my friends, I felt the draw and pull from Earth and Water. I knew they would be happy, if it were possible for an element to feel an emotion, to have me join them for all eternity. It was as if I were a piece of them, somehow separate. No one, and no element, likes a piece of itself to be apart. Ever since hearing about the wind elemental who had disappeared into his element, never to be seen again in any realm, I’d been a little afraid of suffering the same fate. There had been times, even when standing in front of the demon, that I had hesitated in bringing up The Green – or I had done it reluctantly after realizing I had no choice – because I was afraid of the consequences. The only recent exception had been the tree for my mom, but that was different. I had been using the force to connect with The Green and create – not destroy. I could do that all day long and not worry about disappearing ... but fighting Dark Fae, orcs, and demons? That took a more destructive force – one that could eventually destroy me too.
I walked over and picked up the cloak, holding it in my hands. The material was smooth and cool, almost like silk. The cloth wasn’t as light as air, but it was nearly so. I could feel a warmth building inside the palms of my hands that gripped it. I was willing to bet the cloak would be cool in the summer and warm in the winter – some magical quality making it wearable year round.
