by Amy Sumida
“Why is it that whenever we meet new council people, one of them always ends up leaving the room?” Tiernan mused.
I turned to smile at him and saw that Cat was still relaxed on the floor. She had never viewed Murdock as a threat. I guess after his earlier bluster and my handling of it, she thought I was good on my own. I kind of loved that about her; her ability to analyze like a human. Or a fairy, I guess.
“I have never seen anyone deal with him so brilliantly,” Teagan applauded as he stood. He held his hand out to me and I walked over to shake it. “Bravo, Ambassador.”
“Thank you,” I sat back down. “Now that the room has been cleared of fairy-haters, I'd like to proceed.”
“Please do,” Teagan still had laughter around his lips.
“I believe it speaks to their innocence that Rayetayah is willing to send his people into Fairy while he remains behind to help us in our investigations,” I went on. “The raven mockers will go to the Twilight Court, where my father can watch over them and Rayetayah will be here under our supervision. That way, if there is another attack, we will be certain that it isn't a raven mocker.”
“But how will you know that all of his people are accounted for?” A councilwoman asked. “One of them could stay behind and do the deed.”
“And then be hunted by his or her own leader?” I lifted a brow. “I don't think that would go well for them. Rayetayah knows that we won't stop searching until we have the villain in hand and I have already vowed to them that if we catch the killer and he turns out to be a raven mocker, I will extinguish him myself. Then, not only would one of his raven mockers be dead but the rest of them would be suspect and held for questioning.”
“That's a rather good point,” the woman conceded.
“And if that doesn't convince you,” I added. “I'd like to point out that raven mockers have wings.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Teagan asked as Tiernan's eyes went wide and he gave a huff of comprehension.
“Remember the tape you showed us, Councilman,” I reminded him. “The heat signature showed no hint of wings and even when the criminal was revealed, there were only shadows around it; no wings.”
“And those were some significant wings,” Teagan mused.
“Also, from being held by one,” I went further. “I can assure you that they run very hot and those wings, although appendages, would retain some of that heat. That's what feathers are meant to do after all.”
“They'd show up on infrared,” Teagan nodded. “Alright, Ambassador, you've made a good case. We'll go with your plan.”
“So instead of being hunted by raven mockers, we'll be assisted by one,” Extinguisher Kate mused. “Isn't life funny sometimes?”
“As long as the joke's not on us,” Conri observed in a low tone.
Chapter Nine
“Do you think I should notify Lord Raza of the situation with his son?” I asked Tiernan as we snuggled in bed later that night.
We had a very nice guest room in the Council House. Technically it wasn't in the Council House but in that smaller building I'd glimpsed from the council chamber windows. It was the old servants quarters and as awful as that sounds, it had been refurbished into a beautiful guest house. It fit all of my Guard comfortably, with a couple of rooms to spare, so it was perfect for our needs. I guess back in the day, rich people needed a lot of servants.
“Do you want to notify Lord Raza?” Tiernan tensed beside me.
“Are you getting jealous again?” I lifted up on my elbow to smile down at him.
“No,” he glanced away.
“OMG, you're like a little girl,” I laughed.
“I'm like a little girl?” He shot back. “You're the one who just used OMG.”
“I obviously added it so I could relate to your teenage girl mentality,” I rolled my eyes. “But seriously, is that something I should do, you know, as in proper princess procedure?” I stopped and considered. “Proper princess procedure. PPP. Triple P. Yeah, I like that, definitely one to remember.”
“I suppose it would be a nice gesture to make Lord Raza aware of the situation,” Tiernan conceded, completely ignoring my ramblings about acronyms.
“T-Baby,” I kissed his nose. “I don't have to even talk to Raza personally. I can scry Uisdean and ask him to tell Lord Raza.”
“Oh,” he blinked. “Well then, that's fine.”
“I'm so glad you approve,” I huffed and laid back down.
“And Seren,” he pulled me into his side.
“Yeah?”
“Don't call me T-Baby,” he grimaced. “That's weird.”
“No?” I barely contained my laughter. “Your little, jealous, teenage-girl mind doesn't like T-Baby? I thought it would be perfect for you.”
“Seren,” he growled.
“How about TeeTee?”
“That's one letter away from being a Native American dwelling,” he said dryly.
“NanNan?” My lips were twitching so bad, I had to bite them.
“That makes me sound like someone's grandmother,” he scowled.
“Tier-Pac?”
“What?” He laughed and sat up to shake his head at me.
“Well, you did tell me once that you're living the thug life,” I shrugged and then gave up and chortled. “Hey, have you ever noticed how similar your name is to my father's? Tier and Keir.”
“First of all, it is not similar. My name is Tiernan and his is Keir,” Tiernan sighed. “And second; are we really going to go from talking about Raza to talking about your father... while we lay naked in bed together?”
“Hmmm,” I sat up and looked him over. “You're absolutely right. Maybe we should be talking about a nickname for little Tiernan,” I pointed down into his lap.
“What?!” His beautiful silver eyes, exotically shaped (as most sidhe eyes are), rounded in horror.
“You've never named it?” I giggled.
“Why would I name it? It already has a proper name,” he gaped at me.
“For pillow talk of course,” I laid back on said pillow.
“Pillow talk?”
“You know, so you can say something like,” I dropped my voice into an imitation of his, “Tiny Tiernan wants to play.”
“Tiny?!” He nearly shouted.
“I didn't mean it was tiny,” I rolled my eyes. “I meant that it was like a mini you.”
“Never use the word tiny in reference to me again,” he narrowed his eyes on me. “Not in bed, not out of bed, not ever and not in any way.”
“Alright,” I laughed. “Sensitive much?”
“Yes, it is rather sensitive,” he smiled wickedly as leaned over me. “But not in the way you're implying.”
“I think I'm going to need an example of its sensitivity,” I slid my hand down to investigate.
Chapter Ten
The next morning, Rayetayah arrived with a flock of raven mockers. I hadn't even considered that there might be children. I don't know why, it made perfect sense that there would be. And there they were; raven mocker families. Mothers, fathers, and children; all holding hands as they stood behind their leader and all of them staring at us with grim expressions. Most of them had black, feathered wings folded behind their backs. They each held a piece of luggage, even the children, and I felt like I was staring a a group of angelic refugees.
“That's a lot of fairies,” I whispered.
“He called them all in,” Tiernan lifted a brow at me. “You wanted all the raven mockers and that's what you got; the entire lot living in the Human Realm.”
“I don't think the plane will hold them all,” I said to Tiernan.
“I had our plane prepared for you,” Councilman Teagan said from his place on my right. “It's large enough to transport two-hundred-fifty people.”
“Thank you. That sounds perfect,” I nodded to him and then I headed down the porch steps to Rayetayah and his mockers... our raven mockers. “Thank you all for agreeing to do this,” I said to the
m. “I know this is a hardship on you and your children but I promise that you will be very comfortable in Twilight Castle. You will be safe there and as soon as we discover who is behind these deaths, you'll be returned to your homes.”
They all nodded their heads in acknowledgment but no one spoke.
“We'll be driving to the airport in these,” I indicated the black SUVs waiting in a row down the driveway. “But before we go, I want you to know one more thing. We don't know each other yet. You have no reason to trust me except for this; I am my father's daughter and I vow to do right by you. You are twilight fey and although most of you have lived your lives here in the Human Realm, you will always be twilight fey. In that we share common ground. I was raised here too. I know exactly how it feels to be pulled from your home and thrust into Fairy, and I can honestly tell you that you're going to be alright. The Twilight Court is different from the other courts of Fairy. We don't abandon our fey and I won't abandon you. I promise you that, as your princess.”
Tense shoulders sagged and grim faces eased. Several children smiled at me and parents nodded in acceptance. Sometimes you just needed someone to tell you it was going to be okay. I was glad that I could be that person for them.
“Alright then,” I waved to the cars. “Let's get going. It looks like we may have to make multiple trips.”
Chapter Eleven
Raven mockers were able to appear completely human. It wasn't just a glamour, it was an ability to magically tuck away their wings. I don't know where the wings went and I didn't ask. Never look a magic horse in the mouth. Whatever the case, I was glad for it because it meant that we were able to squeeze more of them into the vehicles than we would have with their wings exposed. But even with the extra space the lack of wings provided, we still didn't have enough room in the SUVs and instead of making multiple trips, we decided to bring in a few buses to get everyone to the airport in one go.
The plane ride was an astonishing thing for the raven mockers. Unlike my guard, these were fairies who had lived in the Human Realm. They knew all about the modes of transportation available to humans and had seen planes flying overhead many times. However, none of them had ever been in an airplane.
Once we were in the air, it became very difficult to keep the mockers in their seats, especially the children. They all wanted to be near the windows, watching the clouds go by and goggling at how high we were. I hadn't occurred to me that fairies who could fly might marvel at being in a plane but there were limits to their wings and we were exceeding them. We were taking them where they'd only dreamed of going.
Several adults cried tears of joy; a sight I was totally unprepared for. Mothers hugged their children, husbands kissed their wives, and children laughed in delight. I was overwhelmed by their happiness and so grateful that I was able to provide a moment of wonder for them during such a frightening time. I told the extinguishers who had accompanied us to stand down and let the mockers roam, let them enjoy their first flight above the clouds.
“I can touch the sun,” a little boy exclaimed to me.
“It feels like it, doesn't it?” I smiled at him.
“I wish I were out there,” he pointed out my window and suddenly, his wings appeared, spreading wide like they were carrying him instead of the plane.
“No you don't, Samuel,” Rayetayah came up behind the boy and tapped his wings down until Sam pouted and put them away. Then Raye turned him about and shooed him off down the aisle. “It's much too cold out there; even with our body heat, your wings would freeze. Now go find your mother.”
“I didn't expect so many children,” I stared after Samuel.
“We're a fruitful lot,” Rayetayah grinned at me. “Probably because we intermarry often with the humans.”
“Humans,” I frowned as something occurred to me. “Are some of them human?”
“Didn't you notice that some of my people had to be flown in by others?” He countered. “Couldn't you sense their humanity?”
“No,” I blinked. “I mean, I saw that some didn't have wings but I hadn't considered what that meant and I was too focused on getting everyone to the airport to sense whether they were fey or not.”
“Will it be a problem?” He took a seat across the aisle from me and Tiernan.
“I don't know,” I glanced at Tiernan and he shrugged. “No,” I said suddenly, with complete certainty. “As long as they know what they're getting into, I think my father will be fine with it. He loved a human woman after all.”
“That's very true,” Rayetayah smiled. “It's been a long time since I've seen your father. I almost wish I were accompanying my people.”
“You knew my father?” I lifted a brow.
“Yes, of course,” he smiled. “I am the first raven mocker. Your father was the one who welcomed me to Twilight when my mother brought me to court.”
“You know, I've never asked any of my fey how they felt when they had to leave their families for Twilight,” I mused. “Would you mind telling me what it was like? I just want to know what my people go through to join our court.”
“It wasn't a trauma,” he shook his head. “Back then, it was like winning the lottery. I was one of the blessed and I felt honored to become a part of the Twilight Court. Several mothers used to bring children to Twilight at a young age, thinking it best to have them raised by twilight fey, but my mother raised me among the Cherokee and then took me to Twilight when I was sixteen.”
“So it wasn't like you were leaving your family,” I mused.
“Not at all,” Rayetayah shrugged. “It was more like gaining family. Your father was kind to me and when I asked to return to the Human Realm, he agreed immediately.”
“King Keir would never hold anyone at court against their will,” Tiernan agreed.
“No,” Rayetayah smiled. “Besides, other mockers had been born by then and it was determined that we were a new breed of twilight fey. So King Keir thought it was a good decision for me to return to the Human Realm, where a lot of the raven mockers were being born.”
“Sweet Danu, I didn't think to ask,” I huffed, a little angry at myself. “Do you have a family? If you do, you don't have to stay with-”
“No, not as you mean,” he leaned forward and laid a hand on my arm. “I am unmarried. I have a human lover but she doesn't know about all of this yet. I've been waiting for the right time,” he sighed and sat back in his seat.
“What did you tell her about this situation?” Tiernan asked.
“I told her I had to take care of some tribal matters,” Rayetayah shrugged. “She's not Cherokee so it wasn't too hard to come up with a plausible explanation for my absence.”
“Good,” I nodded. “But I'm sorry you had to lie to her.”
“I've been lying to her for a very long time,” he shook his head ruefully. “Hopefully I'll be able to come clean soon but sometimes with humans, it's easier to just hide what you are and wait for time to take them.”
“Don't they get suspicious when you don't age?” I asked.
“We have glamor for that,” Rayetayah said sadly. “It's when children are born that the truth must be told.”
“It seems tragic to have to hide who you are from those you love,” I noted.
“It can be,” Rayetayah turned somber eyes to me. “But that is the choice we make when we allow ourselves to love a human. You begin the relationship knowing that you might never be able to be completely honest with them and that you will most likely outlive them.”
“Exactly, it's a tragic sort of romance,” Tiernan nodded and I glanced at him in surprise. He shrugged, “I once thought you were purely human.”
“You were the one trying to convince me into being with you,” I huffed. “I thought I was the only one with misgivings about our relationship.”
“If you'll recall,” Tiernan smiled wickedly. “I had plenty of misgivings but my lust for you outweighed them all. The call of Danu won out in the end, as it always does.”
“Danu ca
lled you two together?” Rayetayah asked with interest.
“The Goddess herself told me to look after Seren's heart,” Tiernan's smile turned sweet.
“The Goddess herself?” Rayetayah lifted a brow.
“Danu revealed herself to Seren and the Star's Guard,” Tiernan nodded. “Though she spoke to and through Seren many times before that.”
“The Goddess speaks again,” Rayetayah whispered. “Now I'm truly jealous of the others.”
“You can visit Fairy any time you wish,” I shrugged. “You're a fairy, you know?”
“Maybe I will go back after this is all over,” he smiled brightly. “But right now, I'm going to tell the others that Danu is among us once more. It will lighten their spirits and make this trip into something to be treasured instead of born.”
He got up and headed off to speak with the other raven mockers.
“That's definitely an innocent man,” Tiernan observed.
“I think so too,” I agreed. “And for his sake, I hope we're right.”
Chapter Twelve
I had phoned my Uncle Dylan before we left Tulsa so there was a fleet of passenger vans waiting for us when we landed in San Francisco. The few Tulsa-based extinguishers who had come along with us, waited with the plane while I headed over to Gentry Technologies with everyone else.
When we arrived at my father's company, the vans dropped us off in front of the entrance to the basement parking garage. There were a few fairies in business suits waiting to help direct everyone down into the building and then to the rath. It was quite a long process; getting all of those families up to the second floor and then downstairs to the hidden fairy mound. Uncle Dylan had given directions for his people to lead us up the stairs instead of using the elevators, so there wasn't any hold ups while people waited for the elevators to arrive. It was a good idea even though it meant that my poor tired fairies had to tromp up two flights of stairs with luggage and whining children before climbing down yet another flight of stairs to get to the rath.
