Hunt and Seek

by Zenina Masters

  She stood and held on as the magic began to mix and swirl inside her. She was a little bit her and a little bit him.

  The mixed magic felt like it was expanding inside her, like the spray foam insulation that they had used in one of the storage sheds. She thought she had been full, and then, it kept expanding.

  Suddenly, there was pressure from the outside, and the expanding magic was forced down, locking into her skin and just beneath. Roxanne wanted to collapse.

  Tomas let them go, and Roxanne clung to Moriven.

  Tomas did something, and he frowned. “Her magic is climbing. You are stable, but her system is overloading.”

  Roxanne inhaled. “Can you get us sent back to my family farm? There is a pool there that should help.”

  Moriven stared at her. “How?”

  She sighed. “Trust me.”

  He nodded and lifted her in his arms. “I trust you.”

  He carried her to the Meditation Centre, and he got the coordinates from Tony and Teal. They sent them off in a rush.

  Once at the farm, Roxanne inhaled. “Go down that path and take the left fork.”

  He walked with her in his arms, and he followed her instructions as she guided him through the woods.

  “Where am I taking you?”

  “My dad taught me that when my senses get out of control, I just need to swim here. So, when you see the pond, toss me in.”

  “This wasn’t in our discussions.”

  She chuckled. “I haven’t been overwhelmed since I was a child. It doesn’t come up that often, but when my beast rose for the first time, the feelings were similar.”

  He rounded a corner, and he paused. “Throw you in?”

  She nodded her body tense. “Now, please.”

  Roxanne felt the momentary freedom as she was launched into the air, and then, the consistently surprising warmth of the pond closed around her.

  She floated under the water, the familiar stones and reeds surrounded her. She stared at a flicker and was amused when she recognized her imaginary friend. She couldn’t speak, but she inclined her head. Hello, Aunty.

  Hello, Roxanne. You are doing very well.

  What is going on, Aunty?

  I told you, you are of a line of ancient gods. The drops of my blood that Moriven carries are now activating your true nature.

  My ears are already going to go pointy, why do I need this as well?

  KekoRoma laughed. This has been your destiny since you were born. Are you better?

  I feel calmer. Have you always been here?

  I have or one of mine.

  It didn’t take long to figure that one out. Suulak.

  Your mother is doing much better, and he is enjoying being a house husband for a change. Normally there are so many demands on him. This time, he only needs to make himself happy, and it pleases your mother as well. It is a rare thing for a bound fey to be granted free will.

  Well, it is weird, but my mother is feeling better, so if he makes her happy, I will consider him her companion.

  Very mature. Now, you had best return to your mate, Moriven is fighting my grip on time.

  I will go. If I come back, will you be here?

  This pond is a gate to the fey realms. Your family has kept it for generations. One of us will always be here. When you breach the surface, we step through the gate to see what it is that you need.

  I am going to ask you how someone can keep a pond, but that will be later. Thank you for coming, Aunty.

  My pleasure, Roxanne.

  Roxanne kicked toward the surface, and she walked out on the pebbled slope that her father had installed when she was small.

  She held her gown away from her feet and looked to see Moriven moving slowly toward the edge of the pond, he was staring downward and getting ready to jump.

  “Moriven. I am fine.” Her words literally broke the spell, and he turned his head toward her in surprise.

  “Where did you go?” He rushed to her side.

  “Around the world and back again. The pond is a portal linked to Underhill.”

  He nodded. “Of course, it is.”

  She elbowed him. “I just finished a conversation with KekoRoma. Have you noticed that the sun has already set?”

  He looked around, and he blinked. “Okay, I am definitely listening.”

  “The pond has helped me, as it always has. It’s fine now. We can consummate our union and then find a place to sleep.”

  “What about the house?”

  “I don’t want to disturb my mother if she and Suulak are otherwise engaged.”

  A sharp voice that she hadn’t heard in years snapped out. “Don’t be stupid, Roxanne. This is your home, and I am not going to stand here and believe that you think you are not welcome.”

  She looked down the path, and her mother was standing there with her hands on her hips, Suulak nearly disappeared in the darkness. Adele didn’t quite look like Roxanne remembered her. She looked like Adele from thirty years earlier. A mom that Roxanne had only ever seen in photos. She had never seen her mother so young and healthy.

  Roxanne started to cry. “Mom?”

  Adele ran to her and held her tight.

  * * * *

  Moriven took Suulak aside. “How long will it last?”

  Suulak looked at Adele and smiled. “If I get permission to go to the Crossroads for balancing, she will last as long as I do. She is a truly remarkable woman, and I look forward to decades and centuries with her at my side.”

  Moriven exhaled. “Well, congratulations on finding her, cousin.”

  “It has been a long wait, but I am more than delighted by the results. She is a woman worth waiting for.”

  Moriven looked toward the sobbing Roxanne. “I definitely know what you mean.”

  Epilogue

  Being a registered fey had its advantages. Roxanne could use her shapeshifting in public, and no one commented on it. She was photographed a lot, but it didn’t matter as long as she was working.

  She used the Anubis form a lot nowadays. It was easier to communicate and seek in the human world in that form. Moriven simply charmed everyone in their vicinity. She hadn’t learned that yet.

  The missing child was firmly in her senses. She sprinted down the canyon and caught the scent of a wolf pack. They were hunting as well.

  She picked up the pace and tapped out a message to Moriven on her wristband. As she ran, a streak of fire passed her, and it struck the rock ahead, causing yelps of surprise. The wolves were working on circling the child.

  The wail of a small, frightened human came to her, and she growled to startle the animals, causing them to back up and regroup. A barrage of arrows struck in front of the pack, and Roxanne changed her shape before she picked up the little girl. “Easy, Mara.”

  The girl was fighting, kicking, and squealing. “Easy, Mara.” Roxanne kept herself calm and turned away from the wolves, walking away slowly as Moriven kept the animals back.

  Roxanne heard a buzzing and looked up to see a drone with a camera. She grunted and looked down toward the child in her arms. “Are you doing better?”

  Mara was staring at Roxanne’s pointed ears. “An elf?”

  “Yes.”

  The four-year-old flung her arms around Roxanne’s neck and held on tight.

  “I am taking you back to your mommy and daddy. How did you get lost, sweetie?”

  Mara sniffled and told her the tale of being scared by a racoon and sliding into the canyon. She even pointed to the slide when they passed it.

  “Three hours in the wild and you did really well.” Roxanne saw Moriven, and she smiled. He arrived at her side and tried to take Mara.

  “No. I want to stay with her.”

  Roxanne sighed. “You can’t stay with me. I don’t live around here.”

  Moriven grinned as they walked back up the steep slide to the camping area full of volunteers. The word spread rapidly that
the girl had been found.

  Her sobbing mother and chalky father collected the child for medical checks, and Mara finally let go of Roxanne.

  Roxanne leaned against Moriven. “Well, that was more exercise than I had planned today.”

  He held her, and they ignored the obvious cell phones being lifted in their direction.

  “So, what do you want to do for dinner?” She looked up at him.

  “Celebrate our three out of five, I think.” He pressed a kiss to her very sensitive ear.

  She laughed and turned into his embrace, going up for a kiss when there was a clearing throat near them.

  “I am sorry to ask this, Miss, but we need a statement of where she was found?”

  Roxanne pointed toward the man with the landing drone. “Ask him. He flew the drone over her twice before I got there. Since he can see it on his phone, I have no idea why he was waiting to tell someone about her, or he could have been waiting until the wolves tore her apart. It would definitely go viral.”

  The law enforcement officer’s eyes went wide, and the drone and phone were confiscated, the owner was settled in a police vehicle to answer a few pointed questions once the footage was analyzed.

  Roxanne sighed. “I hate photos. They don’t serve a purpose.”

  “Ah, I can look at them and see your emotions from any given situation. They take you and hold you still in time.” He offered her his arm.

  They handed the law officers Moriven’s business card, and then, they walked off to a shaded spot where Moriven could transport them home.

  They were only home for twelve seconds when she got sick for the fourth time that day.

  Moriven held her hair back for her, and he murmured soothing words.

  A nut-brown hand presented her with a metal water bottle, and Roxanne rinsed out her mouth. “Thanks, Mom.”

  Adele helped her stand, and she supported her on the right while Moriven took the left.

  Roxanne smiled at her mother’s new look. One week since their balance ceremony and her mother had transformed into a brownie.

  “I was constantly ill with you in the first months, baby. I lost a lot of weight. Your dad was perpetually shopping for ice cream, just to keep my weight up. It will fade soon.”

  Roxanne looked to Moriven. “Three weeks and this is how bad it gets? I am so going to be taking this out of your hide for the rest of our lives.”

  He winced but nodded. “It is no worse than I deserve.”

  Roxanne chuckled and got into her new position with a cold pack on the back of her neck and a compress on her face.

  Adele asked, “Did you find her?”

  Moriven nodded. “She did. Ran to her, grabbed her, and I held the wolves off.”

  “You mean reporters.”

  Roxanne looked up with a bleary expression. “No. Real wolves. They were baited to the girl, but that will show on the video.”

  Moriven growled. “If it doesn’t, he will receive the same treatment, only with far larger beasts.”

  Roxanne nodded, and then, she sat up. “I have to head to the pond. I can sense far too much right now.”

  Moriven lifted her slowly, and he carried her out of the house and to the pond. He kept her in his arms, and he walked into the water with her.

  Better?

  She smiled at him and leaned against his chest. Better. We have to finish the small house soon. Sharing a house with a pair of fey in rut is particularly annoying to my senses.

  Are you up for work tomorrow?

  She snorted, and a stream of bubbles rose from her nose. Of course. Work is the only time I am not puking. I can focus on one thing and only that. It is bliss.

  Then, we shall go to the guild tomorrow. You will seek out fugitives, and I will use my bow to keep the interference to a minimum.

  Lovely. Who is our contact today?

  Roxanne looked around, and she saw today’s contact. There was an elegant frog sitting on a stone with his small crown and scepter. Good day, mistress.

  Good day to you, sir.

  May I assist you?

  What can you do for morning sickness?

  For you? I can offer you this. He extended his scepter, and a woven weed bracelet was on it. It will let you keep your senses and stop nausea, mistress.

  She extended her hand, and as she touched it, the weed formed a tattoo on her skin. How do I take it off?

  It will fade when your illness wanes. Anything for you, sir?

  Moriven smiled. Nothing for me, pond lord. Thank you for helping.

  My honour and duty. I shall leave you to recover now.

  Thank you, sir. Roxanne inclined her head.

  They remained together under the water, and then, Moriven carried them out.

  She was still damp when they entered the farmyard, and the small house was finished. She whispered, “How long were we in there?”

  Moriven set her down, and they examined the present. The frog had been right, her senses were keen.

  “He’s on the porch with Mom and Suulak.” She took his hand and pulled her mate over to greet the king of the fey on this continent.

  King Larion looked remarkably at ease, sitting back with a glass filled with lemonade and chatting with the two brownies.

  Roxanne stopped a few feet away, and she inclined her head, while Moriven went for a full-court bow.

  “Thank you for completing our home for us, King Larion.”

  He inclined his head. “You are very welcome, Mistress Roxanne. You are a welcome addition to the fey court.”

  “Ah. Right. The queen’s court.”

  He grinned. “Well, she is your cousin and soon will be the queen.”

  “Yes, but it won’t make her less bossy. Possibly more.” Roxanne chuckled.

  Suulak asked, “How are you feeling?”

  “Oh. Great. A little damp. A frog king gave me something for nausea.” She held her wrist up.

  Larion’s eyes widened slightly. “The frog king?”

  Moriven smiled. “Yes, Your Majesty. You would be amazed at who you can meet at the bottom of the pond.”

  “What kind of pond?” Larion leaned forward.

  Adela spoke. “I was told that it had always been in my husband’s family. That seemed silly, and he used to simply shrug and say that truth was truth.”

  Larion stared at Roxanne, and he leaned back. “And the frog king came to you there.”

  “Sure. The frog king, Suulak, KekoRoma, the speaking ice, they all are summoned when I drop into the water. They come when they are needed, but KekoRoma is the only one who takes a lot more time than you think.”

  Larion chuckled softly. “You remember all of them?”

  “I do now. Once the balancing had settled, I could remember every touch of fey magic that had brushed through my life.” Roxanne smiled. “I hope that Eilonwy settles things soon, or I am going to be huge or breastfeeding at court.”

  Larion had been sipping at his glass, and he spluttered. “That is an interesting image.”

  Moriven grinned. “I know. I dream about it every night.”

  She elbowed her mate, and the king laughed.

  They took seats, and Larion explained that the reason for his visit was to be near Eilonwy’s family without harassing her. The building of the house had been nervous magical energy.

  While Roxanne couldn’t imagine Larion getting stripped down for a game of touch football with a bunch of shifters, he did seem like he wanted to learn how to be part of the family. She could give him as many tips as she was able and offered it, provided that she could get one tip on etiquette for the court for each informational tidbit offered.

  The deal was struck, and the shifter socialization of the fey king began.

  Author’s Note

  This took a while. There will be a few quiet weeks, and then, I will return to the Crossroads with a few new tales and one old one that has never been told.

  By
xmas this year, we will learn how Teal and Tony got together.

  Thanks for reading,

  Zenina Masters

  About the Author

  Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

  An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around, and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.

  In real life, she now is engaged in beekeeping, and her adventures can be found on the YouTube channel, Mystery Bees Apiary. Just look for the cartoon kittens.