by Bonnie Lamer
Whysper ducks her head. “It is more complicated than that, I am afraid.”
Losing his already minimal patience, Dagda growls, “Uncomplicate it.”
Whysper jumps back a step or two. She falls to her knees in supplication while begging, “Please, spare my life. I did not mean disrespect.”
Frowning, I glance up at Kallen. “Does she really think we’re going to kill her for saying it’s complicated?” If we did that, a lot of Cowans back home using Facebook would be in trouble.
“The Elves are not always kind to their Cowan servants,” he observes. “She may truly fear for her life.”
The Elves are quickly jumping to the top of my ‘beings I’m not sure I want to save’ list. “Whysper, no one is going to hurt you,” I tell the trembling girl.
Her wide, pale blue eyes find me. “The stories of your compassion are true.”
Yeah, that’s me. Known for my compassion. I try not to snort. “Please, just tell us what is going on.”
Whysper begins to rise but she sways a little and falls back to her knees. Kegan and Alita rush forward to help her. “Are you alright?” Alita asks her.
Whysper nods. “I am simply tired. I was on the run for days with Lielle before I was finally able to leave the Elf realm.”
“When is the last time you ate?” I ask.
Whisper glances at me and then back down to the ground. “I do not know.”
“Help her back to the house,” Dagda tells Kegan. “She will not be able to explain anything if she passes out from hunger.”
Whysper turns grateful eyes to him. “Thank you.”
When Dagda’s eyes do not soften and he remains silent, Tana steps forward. “Come, we will figure this out.”
I glance up at Kallen as the others are taking care of Whysper. He is staring intently at her as if trying to figure something out. When he feels my stare on him, he says, “Lielle has not shown recognition yet.”
My eyes move to the baby who is happily cooing as she pulls on Kallen’s ears. “Maybe she hasn’t noticed her yet,” I say as quietly as he spoke.
“Perhaps.”
It turns out, Lielle had not noticed the human girl. This becomes obvious as soon as Whysper, who is walking with the help of Kegan and Alita, passes by us. Lielle’s little body stiffens and her bottom lip begins to tremble. Tears well up in her bright little eyes and she begins to whimper. Every protective instinct in Kallen is ignited as Lielle’s fear registers. A growl forms deep in his throat and I expect him to lunge forward and tackle Whysper. If he was not holding the baby, I believe he would. I position myself between them even though I am not convinced I should. What did this human girl do to Lielle that would make her fear her? My internal lie detector hasn’t gone off, so everything Whysper said so far has been true. Unless I’m on the fritz. Could happen.
Kallen’s reaction does not go unnoticed. Dagda approaches us and takes in our moods. “I see I am not alone in my distrust.”
“Not at all,” Kallen grinds out.
“Lielle is afraid of her. What kind of person do you have to be to make a baby fear you?” I wonder aloud. Lielle doesn’t like to be held by anyone other than Kallen or me, but she hasn’t seemed to fear anyone else until now.
“We are about to find out,” Dagda says. “Get ready to expose her deepest, darkest secret.” He walks back to the house with us in silence. I spend the time mentally preparing myself to go surfing inside Whysper’s head.
6 CHAPTER
By the time we arrive back at the mansion, Whysper is already seated at the counter and Tabitha is putting a plate of food in front of her. It is piled high with pancakes and fruit. She definitely wasn’t lying about being hungry. The girl starts to eat so fast, I’m certain I’m going to be doing the Heimlich soon. When she runs out of food, she may start gnawing on the counter.
Lielle is clinging to Kallen as if for dear life as she stares wide eyed at Whysper. The Cowan barely registers the baby’s presence, though. She continues to eat as if there isn’t a baby screeching in fear. Odd. Most people want to comfort a crying baby as Kallen, Tana and Alita are trying to do. If not that, then people get annoyed. Whysper is doing neither. She is completely oblivious to Lielle. Me, I’m debating between pulling the plate out from under Whysper’s fork and taking the stool out from under her butt. I’d get more satisfaction from the latter but before I start doing physical harm, I should get her side of the story. I admit, though, I kind of miss the old me who would do magic first and listen second. So much more satisfying in the long run.
“Perhaps we could speed this along,” Dagda urges, once again vying for the least patient Fairy in the realm award. He’s won it three hundred years running. His only real competition is me. I’m certain I’ll win it eventually.
“Whysper,” I begin, placing what hopefully feels like a reassuring hand on her shoulder, “would you like something to drink?” As soon as my hand makes contact, I am zipping through her brain like a tornado through an open field. Who knew Cowan minds could be so easy to delve into? Where there are usually dark walls and a tunnel when I do this to a magical being, I skip right to her deepest, darkest secret as if it was lying on top of her mind waiting for me. Surprised, I snatch my hand back. Would it be like this with all Cowans or is Whysper just particularly shallow?
“What did you see?” Dagda asks and we both ignore the sudden panic on Whysper’s face. She has no idea what I just did, but she knows it could get her into a lot of trouble.
Except, what I saw doesn’t really prove anything one way or another. Whysper’s deepest, darkest secret is that she hates Lielle more than any other being in the entire universe. She hates the way she smells, the way she sounds, the way she eats and she especially hates her glamour. The only thing which even comes close to such a degree of hatred inside her is how she feels about Elves in general. She wishes they were all dead.
The problem is, I can’t see that she is planning to do anything about any of it. Hatred in and of itself isn’t a crime. She hasn’t hurt Lielle physically or emotionally that we know of, nor does she seem to have any plan to do so. Yet, Lielle is scared of her. Are babies like dogs and they know when someone doesn’t like them? Whysper is also not planning anything against the Elves in general. Thinking back to what she said outside, she didn’t lie about any of it. She was sent away with the baby and she brought her here for refuge. She was on the run for days before she could finally make it here and she didn’t hurt Lielle in any way I can tell from her innermost secrets.
“Why do you hate the Elves?” I blurt out.
Whysper nearly chokes on a strawberry. “I do not hate the Elves,” she finally manages.
A cosmic dam bursts and a million centipedes start crawling over my skin. At least, that’s what it feels like and that’s why I’m doing the ‘get the centipedes off me’ dance. As I do this, Whysper is staring at me like I’m crazy. I’d like to see her reaction to a million centipedes crawling over her.
“I suggest you tell the truth,” Kallen drawls over Lielle’s whimpers. Since he has not brought her near Whysper, the baby has finally stopped crying. “My wife can tell when you are lying and you do not want to see what she does to liars.” What do I do to liars? I try to keep the question off my face as I am certain he said it for effect.
Whysper puts her fork down and hangs her head. “It is true, I despise the Elves.” Finally, my skin stops crawling. “They took me when I was very young.”
Dagda cocks his head. “They took you against your will? That is not the Elven way.”
Shaking her head, Whysper rushes to say, “No that is not what I meant. I went willingly. I was just so young and naïve. I believed what they told me about their magical realm and how amazing it would be to live forever there.” She lifts her eyes and meets Dagda’s gaze. “They forgot to mention I would basically be a slave.”
Ouch. That’s a pretty big detail to leave out. “A slave?” I ask.
Whysper nods. “I have li
ved among them for sixty years and it is true, I have not aged.” That explains her style of dress. “But, I am basically just an unpaid servant. I cook and clean for the Queen and I play nanny to her child. I am treated as if I am a dog with mange. No one even looks my way when I enter a room. There is no frolicking amongst the forest or receiving my heart’s desire as I was promised.” The bitterness in her words is acidic enough to make my nose hairs burn.
“They wouldn’t let you leave?” I ask.
The Cowan shrugs. “A commitment to the Elves is for life.”
Sounds more like a life sentence. I turn my eyes to Kallen and then to Dagda. They have identical expressions of thin lips, unsympathetic eyes, and scowling brow. Neither of them feel sorry for the Cowan girl.
“Many Cowans find life enjoyable amongst the Elves,” Kallen says. “How is it you have come to such a dire end in their care?” Wow, he really is unsympathetic. My own brow crinkles into a scowl and it is directed at him for his insensitivity.
Noticing, Dagda explains, “It is unusual for anyone to be unhappy under the care of the Elves’ glamour. They take pride in making sure their conquests are kept happy.” Oh, that sounds much better.
So, why did Whysper end up with such a sucky existence? “What did you do to deserve the way they treat you?” The words pop out of my mouth like I am making mouth popcorn.
Realizing we are on to her, Whysper tries avoidance. She picks up her fork and shovels a big forkful of food into her mouth. When we continue to stare at her expectantly, she swallows. “I do not know what you mean.”
I begin my bug dance anew. “I’m this close,’ I say, holding my thumb and index finger so they are almost touching, “to showing you what I do to liars.” I’m still not sure what that is yet, but I’ll think of something.
Scared now, Whysper says, “I am immune to glamour.”
That surprises me out of my skin crawling haze. “What?”
“Impossible,” Isla says, speaking for the first time since we arrived back at the house.
“It’s true,” Whysper assures her. Isla looks to me for confirmation she is telling the truth. I nod. The creepy crawly feeling has completely gone away. “I was so caught up in the excitement of meeting magical creatures and going to a new realm, the Elves didn’t realize I was not under their glamour. It was only after I was in their realm and they started giving me jobs to do did they figure it out.”
“Because you weren’t happy,” I finish for her.
Whysper nods. “Because I wasn’t happy.”
“If you despise the Elves, why would the Queen trust you with her child?” Kallen asks.
Meeting his doubting gaze, Whysper says, “Because I have never done anything except serve as expected. I may not be happy with my fate, but I accept it. I am loyal to the Queen. I am also the only one who cannot see or feel the child’s glamour which made me more likely to avoid capture on our way here.”
“You truly cannot see or feel her glamour?” Isla asks, still not convinced it is possible. She is pretty darn old. It seems she would have come across at least one or two in the past who had the same ability.
“Truly,” Whysper says, nodding her head. She shovels another bite of pancake into her mouth like she is afraid we will take the food away as soon as we have her story.
Considering how much Lielle fears her, I just may. “What did you do to make Lielle hate you?” I ask.
Guilt washes over Whysper’s plain face. “I am not unkind to her, if that is what you are asking.”
“No, that is not what I am asking. I want to know what you did, not what you didn’t do.” I thought that was clear enough in my question.
Sighing, Whysper sets her fork down again. “I am sometimes told I am cold of heart and I do not have the maternal urge many females do. The sight and sound of babies does not switch my biological clock into the on position and children can sense that. Even though I am never unkind, children, like animals, can tell if someone does not like them and in turn, they do not like me.” Hmm, did I mumble that thought out loud earlier or is she simply making the same analysis?
“I don’t like her,” Taz chimes in. “So, she’s telling the truth about that. I can’t believe she compared a whining, driveling, odoriferous brat to the likes of me, though. I’m insulted.”
“I’m sure you are,” I drawl.
“Are you speaking to the creature?” Whysper asks and then she blushes. “My apologies, it is not my place to ask questions of you.”
Wow, the Elves have her trained well. “You can ask questions,” I tell her. “Taz is my Familiar.” I get the look from her that I get from most magical beings when they find out I have a Familiar. In general, only evil magical beings have Familiars. I’m the exception. Since she said I am known for my compassion, I don’t bother to explain this. After all, a compassionate bad person is an oxymoron.
“What is happening in the Elf realm which made it necessary for you to leave with the child?” Kallen asks. Lielle is still clinging to him, but even her whimpering has stopped now. She feels safe in his arms. Me, too.
“There is trouble between the Queen and the King consort,” Whysper explains. “He is a…jealous Elf.”
“Understandable as she has four other husbands, but that does not explain why you had to leave with the child,” Dagda drawls. Fairies take monogamy seriously. Unless they’re trying to bring a prophetic child into the world, anyway. My biological father is being a bit hypocritical at the moment.
“There is doubt regarding the child’s parentage,” Whysper says quietly.
Again, the Queen does have five husbands. “I take it they don’t do DNA tests in the Elf realm?”
Whysper gives me a quizzical look. “I do not know what this is.”
She did leave the Cowan realm before the discovery of DNA, so I should have expected her ignorance. “A way to tell for certain who the parents are,” I explain.
Jumping back into the conversation, Kallen says, “Let me get this straight. Because the King Consort is unsure if Lielle is his daughter, he is going to kill her?” That seems like a stretch even if the Elves don’t have DNA tests. After all, Lielle could be his.
Whysper pales. “I do not know what the King Consort is planning. I was simply told to take the child and go.”
Dagda eyes her suspiciously. “Who, exactly, told you to take the child and go?”
A disturbing thought hits me. What if Whysper kidnapped Lielle and now the Elves are going to think we helped her. A quick glance at Kallen tells me he is thinking the same thing.
“The Queen,” Whysper whispers.
I wait for the creepy crawlies. Any second I am going to feel like a million millipedes are mauling my mind. But, despite my creative alliteration, nothing happens. I don’t feel a single tickle to indicate she is lying. The Queen did tell her to take Lielle. Everyone in the room turns to me for confirmation and I shrug. “It’s the truth.”
“Why does the child only want to be held by Xandra or me?” Kallen asks. Lielle is currently tugging on his slightly shaggy hair. His occasional grimace demonstrates how much he is enjoying this fact.
Whysper smiles. “Elf babies are very particular.”
“I have held Elf babies in the past without issue. I believe you are withholding some vital truth,” Tana interjects. I eye her wondering if she is saying the baby should want her to hold her instead of me, or if she thinks Whysper or someone else did something to make Lielle attach herself to Kallen and me.
“There may have been suggestions implanted into her mind,” Whysper says cautiously. “As I am human, I cannot say I entirely understand the process.”
So, Kallen was right. Someone did want to be certain Lielle would cling to us. Not someone, the Queen. “How long are we supposed to keep her?” I ask.
Whysper shakes her head. “I do not know. I was only instructed to bring her to you. Honestly, I would have explained all of this yesterday, but I thought someone had followed me through the gate
way. I had to get the child to safety and then backtrack to see if I was right.”
“Were you?” Kallen asks.
“I found no one I recognized.”
Since she is not magical, Whysper can’t sense magic. So someone could have followed her and she wouldn’t have known. Something else is bothering me. “If you are unaffected by Lielle’s glamour, why do you hate it so much?”
Again, Whysper is taken aback by my knowing something about her. She has to figure out soon that I was filing through her brain. Whysper opens her mouth to lie but reconsidering, she closes it again. Finally, she says, “I do not like the child’s glamour because of the effect it has on others around her.” Her expression turns bitter as she stares at Lielle. “She tortures people with it.”
My bottom jaw drops so low it’s going to need to be excavated from the kitchen floor. As I stand here speechless, Isla vocalizes my thoughts. “Are you implying the child intentionally creates glamour to terrorize people?”
Whysper squares her shoulders. “Yes.”
“But,” Alita interjects, “she is a baby. Babies are not capable of such things.”
Cold eyes focused on Alita now, Whysper points at Lielle, “That child is evil. She drove one human among the staff mad.” I don’t feel anything indicating she is lying. Whysper really does believe Lielle is evil.
“Let me get this straight,” Dagda says dryly. “The child is evil yet Addylyn still sent her to my daughter?”
Eyes wide in fear again, Whysper is quick to say, “Queen Addylyn does not believe her child to be evil.” I bet the mothers of many a serial killer thought the same thing.
I stare at Lielle, studying her. Does she already have the cognitive ability to do what Whysper is implying? I consider the glamour we have experienced from her. When she is awake, her glamour is happy and charming. It is only when she is sleeping that her glamour becomes dark. No one can control their nightmares, especially not a baby.
Just as the answer pops into my head, Kallen’s eyes meet mine. We are on the same page. “No,” he says and I nod in agreement.
