Dark of Winter: A Between the Worlds novel

by Morgan Daimler

  Selviniaya nodded and reintroduced herself to Bleidd, then gestured for him to follow her. As he stepped away Jess couldn’t resist asking, “Clan Draighean? You have taken Allie’s clan as your own?”

  He saw Bleidd’s shoulders twitch, but otherwise he gave no visible response as he joined Selviniaya at the head of the Queen’s Guard’s formation. “It is human custom when people wed for one to join the other’s family by taking their surname. Allie is sympathetic to my situation with my own clan and was willing to take a human approach in this.”

  Jess frowned, “I was not told.”

  “I am sorry Commander, we should have told you, but I thought it a rather small detail really. It’s not as if you would repudiate your own clan after all.”

  “Commander Jessilaen? If everything is alright, perhaps you could show me to your wounded,” the Queen’s Guard healer said uncertainly.

  Jess shook himself slightly, “Yes, of course. If you will follow me, please?”

  He led Reialenial into the cave, passing Tashlin who was standing guard at the entrance, and to the back where Allie sat next to Brynneth. Jess was relieved to see that the healer’s eyes were open and he was talking to Allie as the others arrived.

  Jess introduced the new healer to everyone and then stood back to let her work, insisting she examine Allie as well. As she did so he found himself turning Bleidd’s words over in his mind.

  *************************

  Allie walked between Jess and Bleidd, surrounded by the Queen’s Guard, marching back into Fairy. This felt enormously counterintuitive to Allie, and no little bit like a failure, but she understood the reasoning behind it. Marching east they could reach a small village by nightfall and sleep under a real roof tonight. Then arrangements could be made for transportation – meaning horses, or possibly wagons – to get them down to the Outpost within another day.

  Brynneth and Tashlin walked just behind them, with the Queen’s Guard healer Reialenial who Allie really liked; she was much more easy going than most elves and had a good sense of humor, and it seemed an endless fascination with human culture. When her commander had ordered her to return to ranks Reialenial had suggested that she should stay by Allie instead, in case the pregnant woman should require any assistance or develop any issues. That request of course was immediately granted, something Allie probably would have complained about since she hated feeling coddled, if it hadn’t become clear that all Reialenial actually cared about was grilling Allie. It was rude by elven standards, but Allie didn’t care, and since the healer knew she didn’t care she took advantage of it, earning more than one shocked look from her cohorts who were shamelessly eavesdropping.

  “You’re a merchant though? I was under the impression that you were a member of the Elven guard yourself?”

  “Oh I am a member of the Elven Guard, a cultural intermediary. But I was a book store owner before that and didn’t want to give it up,” Allie said cheerfully.

  “And you find no difficulty doing both?” Reialenial asked, fascinated.

  “My duties with the Elven Guard are only required in special situations so I do have time to tend my store as well,” Allie said, and then mischievously, “And I suppose I must be good at balancing two diverse things or I wouldn’t have married both Jessilaen and Bleidd.”

  Several people around them gasped, and she smothered a smile, knowing that the idea of polyandry was so old fashioned as to be unfashionable, but also something that was once only done by people of high rank, which Allie certainly wasn’t. Glancing back she could see Reialenial looking at her wide eyed, “Really? Both of them? At once?”

  “Oh yes,” Allie said. “Legal contracts and everything.”

  “You will have to tell me how you managed that, I’ve never met even one I’d want to make a contract with.”

  And so it went as they walked, everyone else quiet and Allie beyond caring. She was tired, and past tired of walking through the woods. She had been under so much stress that having a chance finally to simply relax and talk with someone about a lot of nothing was nice. She was still annoyed with Bleidd, and Jess as well for keeping Bleidd’s secret. She was worried for Sal. She was hoping her mother had gotten home safely, and angry with herself for what seemed like a wasted opportunity to show her mother how strong she really was. She was worried about Jason and her store and Luath and a hundred other things her mind kept wanting to settle on. She even found herself grieving the death of the Pesht, who the Queen’s Guard had killed; the warriors were already making stories about putting down the rare and dangerous creature. Ultimately though she kept looking at the two elves walking with her and reminding herself that she had her little family back together again.

  She was free. And she was heading home.

  Epilogue

  Sal walked slowly up the steps of the apartment building, unsure suddenly what he was going to find.

  The lobby was the same, as were the stairs and the industrial grey hallways. He reached the familiar door and paused, trying to decide if he should knock or just go in. After several minutes standing there staring at the chipping paint he decided to knock. It was weird to be waiting to see if he’d be allowed into a place he’d thought of as home a week before, but for all he knew after Urien had finished here he hadn’t left anyone behind. For all he knew Alice had already replaced him.

  The tension dragged out, and then, suddenly, the door opened and Tommy’s nine-year old face was looking up at him. The boy’s expression transformed almost instantly from suspicious to overjoyed. He grabbed Sal’s arm and pulled, dragging him into the living room, “Mom! Mom! Sal’s back! Mom!”

  Sal went along with the little boy, stepping into the room with its grainy carpeting and worn-out furniture. The other children had been playing on the floor. When they heard Tommy yelling and saw Sal they jumped up, shoving each other in their rush to get to him. He found himself surrounded by a small sea of tiny bodies, as the four children wrapped themselves around his legs and hips, hugging him as if they could physically hold him in place. Even two-year-old Evie pressed in, her fingers digging into his pants as she trilled “Sa!” over and over.

  Sal smiled, reaching out to ruffle Maggie’s hair and then petting Janey’s shoulder. He felt something easing in his chest, a tightness that had been with him since he’d fled into the night the week before.

  Then he looked up and saw Alice.

  She was standing in the hallway that led back to the apartment’s three bedrooms. Clad in a black t-shirt bearing the logo of a heavy metal band and sweatpants, feet bare, purple hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her brown eyes were bloodshot and she looked exhausted, as if she’d lived a year in the week he’d been gone. He had been prepared for some evidence that she’d been mistreated by his father’s men and was relieved to see that her eyes, for all the redness, seemed clear and alert. He tried to step forward, but was weighed down by the mass of children. “Are you alright?”

  “Am I alright?” she sniffed and he thought she’d been crying. “Where have you been? You go out last week for food and you don’t come back. Am I alright? I’ve been freaking the fuck out worrying about you. I thought something happened to you.”

  “She thought you left,” Tommy said. “For greener pastures.”

  “Shut up, big mouth,” Janey reprimanded her older brother, with a nervous glance at their mother, who had started crying again.

  Sal carefully disengaged the children and walked over to Alice. “No one came here and spoke to you about me? Asked you where I was, how long I’d been here?”

  “What?” she said wiping away her tears furiously. “Yeah, ummm. Yeah some loser came by last week, asked if I knew you. I told him of course I knew you, you were my freaking boyfriend and you lived with me. He got in my face about it, wanted to know where you were, and I told him I didn’t know, that you’d gone out. I said I’d kick his ass if he didn’t step off.”

  Sal closed his eyes, not believing her luck. She’d told Urien t
he absolute truth and he had gotten the information he wanted without having to use magic on her. Sal was willing to bet when she’d told them he was out they’d fallen back and watched, waiting for him to return. Which of course he hadn’t. “Oh Alice,” he breathed pulling her into a hug, “You are so brave.”

  “What brave?” she said, twisting her head around to look at him, frowning. “Telling some jerk to get lost isn’t brave. You gotta stand up for yourself Sal or people will walk all over you. Now you tell me right now where have you been? You don’t take off for a week then walk back in here like nothing.”

  He kissed her neck, enjoying the way she relaxed into him and the smell of the patchouli oil she wore instead of perfume. Funny how he’d thought he disliked that smell all this time but after a week away from her he found he couldn’t get enough of it. “That jerk was one of my father’s people. They were looking for me, to bring me back to him.”

  She stepped back, pushing him away, “You’re leaving, going home?”

  “No,” he said stepping back towards her, wanting the physical contact. “This is my home…if you still want me here.”

  “Of course I want you, you idiot,” she said, mollified and letting him pull her into another embrace. “God men are so fucking dumb. So where have you been then? Telling your dad to get bent?”

  He snorted, not entirely sure what she meant, but enjoying the mental image her words evoked. “He sent people after me, to bring me back on his terms. I was…trying to make sure that didn’t happen. And I saw the one who came here that night. I was afraid he’d hurt you, hurt all of you, looking for me. So I ran. And I brought him something I thought he wanted, hoping he’d forgive me for making him angry.”

  “You left to try to protect us?” she said, sounding as if she couldn’t quite decide if she was impressed or annoyed with him.

  Sal looked down, knowing the truth would only hurt her. He misdirected her, hoping she’d think he was agreeing when he wasn’t. “I did what seemed like the only thing I could do.”

  “But you’re back now, you said you wanted to stay.”

  “Yes,” he said resting his head on her shoulder, “My father isn’t an issue anymore and won’t be again. I’m free. I can do whatever I want and go wherever I want.”

  “And you came right back here?” she said her arms wrapping around him. “You really are dumb. You could have found some gorgeous elf chick and set yourself up for a cushy life.”

  Sal smiled into her t-shirt thinking that she really had no idea about elves at all if she really believed that was possible for him. All he said though was, “This is where I want to be.”

  “Well,” Alice said straightening up and giving him a possessive look. “I guess I can forgive you this time, but no more of this taking off without even a phone call mister you got that? You upset the kids. And I was screwed for a babysitter. You can’t leave me hanging like that, okay?”

  Sal looked into Alice’s eyes and for once he didn’t see the tough façade she always worked so hard to project. He saw someone who needed him, who depended on him. And he saw someone who loved him, in her own way. He nodded, “Yes Alice I understand.”

  She relaxed, smiling through the last of the tears, “Good. Now why don’t you take a look at the tv and see if you can fix it and I’ll get something fixed for dinner, okay?”

  He nodded and turned towards the old tv set, which sat dark and silent in its corner. The kids swarmed him again as he moved across the room, each of them trying to get his attention and tell him about their week while he was gone, or ask him questions.

  Yes I suppose I am home Sal thought feeling content. It’s not Fairy, and it’s not fancy, but its serviceable and no one is trying to kill me. I can leave whenever I want to. If I want to. Anytime. But for now, for now this is alright.

  **********************************

  Allie sat on the couch in the living room, staring out the window into the darkness with a fire crackling cheerfully in the fireplace. Luath was curled up on the floor next to her and the house cat Riona was sprawled out on the back of the couch sleeping. Allie should have been sleeping too, but she had been too restless and had finally come downstairs, creeping through the darkness to avoid waking anyone else up. She sat now with a blanket wrapped over the oversized t-shirt she slept in, staring out at the snow.

  The hands of the clock over the mantle pointed to just past 2 am. Jason was upstairs snoring – she’d heard him faintly through his door as she’d passed – but Shawn was still out and Hannah was working the night shift at the clinic. That last fact was the only reason Allie had felt brave enough to build the fire, otherwise she wouldn’t have risked anything that might wake the downstairs roommate up.

  She was sitting there wondering how Sal was doing when Jess’s voice cut through her thoughts, his feelings distressed, “Allie?”

  “I’m downstairs,” she thought back, wincing and realizing that he must have woken up and panicked to find her gone from their bed. Understandable after everything that had happened in the last few days. “I couldn’t sleep.”

  A few moments later she heard two sets of footsteps and looked over to see both Jess and Bleidd walking in. Jess had re-dressed in the shirt and loose pants he slept in. Bleidd hadn’t and she rolled her eyes at him as the two crossed the room. “Seriously? What if Jason comes downstairs? Or Shawn comes home?”

  He grinned impishly at her, intentionally flopping down on the couch next to her with more force than necessary, making her blush. Jess slid in on the other side, and she smiled at him as he pulled her into a loose embrace, so that she was leaning against his shoulder. Bleidd leaned back, stretching. “I doubt Jason would care, it’s not like he doesn’t see your kelpie friend walking around here nude every time he visits.”

  “Bleidd-“

  “And if it concerns you so much rest easy,” he went on, talking over her. “I’ll simply conjure my clothing if anyone unexpectedly walks in.”

  “You are incorrigible,” she said rolling her eyes at him and purposefully extending her legs out across his thighs.

  “You have no idea, babe,” he sighed, relaxing. “for all you know I walk around the house like this all time.”

  “You do not,” she said, mildly alarmed because she knew he might actually do it. And with his clothing only a few magical seconds away the odds were no one would ever catch him at it. “Do you?”

  He grinned that Cheshire cat grin of his, “Perhaps.”

  Jess pulled her closer, pressing his face into her neck, “It is good to be home.”

  “Yes it is,” she agreed, still giving Bleidd a side-eye. “so much has happened in such a short time. I think that’s part of why I can’t sleep. I’m almost afraid I’ll wake up and be back in that little room, and this whole escape will have been a dream.”

  “Oh no my love,” Jess said firmly. “You are home and we are right here with you.”

  “And you got yourself here,” Bleidd said, reaching out and rubbing her calves gently. “We may as well have just stayed home and waited for you to get back here. I don’t think you needed our help at all.”

  She made a face at him, but inside she agreed. After everything they’d gone through trying to rescue her, knowing she’d gotten herself out – and Sal – made all their trouble and pain seem like wasted effort. She’d never tell them that of course, but part of her almost wished she could have known things would turn out that way and spared them all of it. Hindsight is 20/20 she thought settling back but now I know I can take care of myself a lot better than anyone thought I could. Including me. I even impressed my mother – okay that’s a double edged blade because now she thinks I could do okay by her side which I don’t want, but at least she’s maybe realizing I wasn’t so weak after all…I negotiated my own terms with the Dark Court when I was a prisoner, I used my abilities to my advantage for once to know what was going on and when to get the Hel out. I made it through the Wilds, negotiated with the Makiawisug. With their hel
p I avoided a Fey monster that could have eaten me for lunch.

  There were still some serious conversations that they needed to have, but she wasn’t ready for that, not yet. She sighed, letting herself relax into both of them. “It’s good to be home.”

  She tensed suddenly, grabbing Bleidd’s hand off her leg, “What?” he said, alarmed, tensing with her.

  She dragged his hand to her abdomen, “The baby’s kicking, can you feel him?”

  He gave her a patronizing look but let her press his hand down, and then like Jess had what felt like a lifetime ago his face lit up. “That? That’s him?”

  “Well it’s not me,” she quipped grinning, feeling Jess’s happiness merging with her own.

  His eyes met hers, delighted, and in that moment, in Jess’s arms with Bleidd feeling their child move for the first time, everything was perfect.

  She’d worry about all the problems waiting to be dealt with in the morning.

  Addendum – ‘Chess’

  This is a bonus short story, which originally appeared on my blog at lairbhan.blogspot.com/2017/06/chess-between-worlds-short-story.html . It was the result of a social media suggestion to do a short story in canon for my characters to fill in some of Bleidd and Jess’s backstory and featuring the concept of ‘strip chess’. I thought I’d include it here for those of my readers who don’t follow my blog who might enjoy the story, which occurs after the events in ‘Fairy Gifts’ and before this book.

  Chess

  December 26th

  "What is that?" Bleidd asked as he walked into the small reading room off the living room, drawn by the noise of Jessilaen moving something around. The formerly Outcast elf was bored and had been contemplating ways to entertain himself until his wife returned from work; finding his other spouse in the rarely used reading room piqued his curiosity.