by Kimbra Swain
He approached me slowly. “Hey, seriously. I should have told you. I’m sorry.”
“I just thought that,” I stopped myself.
“That what?” he asked.
Closing my eyes, I tried to gather my emotions. I felt his warm hand touch my elbow lightly. I opened my eyes to see him cautiously reaching for me. “I’m sorry. I just thought you were turning me in,” I said.
“Did you do something, Grace?” he asked. The heat pulsed off his hands. It felt good. He’d never touched me for such a long time before. I felt parts of me melting that I didn’t know could melt.
“No, but in my life, there have been a lot of misunderstandings,” I said.
“I swore not to hurt you. You should give me some credit,” he said. His blue eyes struck me with the accusation. I’d just thought of him as a friend, and here I was not trusting him again.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered. He released my elbow.
“It’s okay. Just calm down. Do you need a minute?” he asked kindly.
“No. I’m fine,” I said.
“Okay. Let’s go. It’s not far from here,” he said.
We walked through the woods as the day turned to twilight. I hated walking around in the woods at night. I knew what lurked in the darkness. There were things worse than me out there. I’d rather not run across any of them. A few of them could kill even me. Other royal fairies. Any number of animalistic beings with great powers, like the Sphinx or the Phoenix.
“We are here,” he said as we reached an opening in the forest. A large field growing with different plants loomed before us. Just on the hill, a broken-down house sat showing no signs of life.
I took a smell of the plants at our feet. “Fennel,” I said.
“Your botany is pretty good,” he said. “I knew that one. There are two others that I don’t know.”
Darkness fell quickly as we walked across the field when we reached another patch of bushes. I knew immediately what they were. “Wormwood,” I replied.
“What would someone use wormwood for?” he asked.
“It can get rid of parasites. People use it to treat stomach ailments. It’s like a cleansing agent,” I said
“What else?” he asked.
“It’s used in absinthe,” I said.
“That’s illegal here,” he said.
“I know, but in Europe, it isn’t,” I replied.
“Have you had it?” he asked.
I grinned. “Yes,” I admitted.
“Is it a hallucinogen?” he asked.
“Yes, there is a component in wormwood that can cause hallucinations. It is toxic if used too much,” I replied. I’d seen people die from overdoing it on absinthe. Even fairies. The gypsy folk that I traveled with in Europe used to brew it. It was the moonshine of the Roma.
“What other ingredients?” he asked.
“Just one. Anise,” I said, pointing to the white flowering bush just ahead of us.
“The house is empty. We checked,” he said. “So, they are making it somewhere else.”
“Probably,” I said.
“Can you track it?” he asked.
“I’m not a dog,” I said.
“That’s not what I meant, Grace,” he said.
I nudged him a little to let him know I was kidding. “No, I can’t. What’s wrong, Dylan?”
“You don’t talk to me. I’m not going to talk to you,” he said, turning back to the woods to his car.
“Okay,” I replied.
“Hypocrite,” he muttered.
“I beg your pardon? Forgive me for asking. It won’t happen again,” I said, storming past him.
Blasting through the forest, every critter for a hundred miles could hear me swearing and cussing him. I’d had enough of Dylan Riggs. One minute he wanted to be friends. The next minute it was like he hated my guts. I was sick of it, and him.
I plopped back down in the car and waited for him to come back out of the woods. I waited for a long time, but nothing happened. I stepped back out of the car. “Dylan!” I called out to the woods. “I swear, you better not be joking.”
No answer. I started back into the woods when I heard a rustling in the trees around me. I spun in a circle. Darkness surrounded me to the point I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. I pressed power out of my tattoo. The red stone glowed casting an eerie gloom over the forest.
“Come out,” I demanded.
A gangly creature stepped into the glow of my tattoo. “That’s a nice tattoo you got there, little one.”
“Where is he?” I asked.
“Ain’t you scared?” he said, stepping closer to me.
“You are nothing but a boggart. Give me my friend,” I said.
“You mean the man? Well, it’s the second time he’s been through here in the night. We can’t let him keep passing through our forest,” the boggart said. He stood just under six foot tall. His arms and legs were gnarled with disfiguration. His nose stretched out past his face to a fine point. His eyes were blue, but the whites were blood red. His skin was a deep pink hue, almost red.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” I said.
He laughed, then nodded behind me. I turned to see another boggart holding Dylan who struggled against the creature. However, the boggart had him hooked by the mouth with a long finger. Dylan made gagging noises as he struggled.
I turned on the first boggart and unleashed the fairy within me. My skin turned pale white. My tattoo glistened to silver, sending long tendrils of silver up my arm and across my chest. The inked stone pulsed to a sapphire blue. Long platinum hair cascaded down around my face. My plain clothing vanished revealing a long silver dress. The air turned cold as snowflakes drifted from unseen clouds.
“I am Gloriana, daughter of Oberon. Let. Him. Go.”
The boggart stepped back unsure of what to do. “Oberon’s daughter is long dead,” he said.
“Such they claim, but here I stand. Do I need to demonstrate my power?” I asked.
He didn’t move so I held my hand in the air prepared to freeze him into a block of ice, but he stopped me. “No, please. We will let him go,” he said.
I heard Dylan grunt behind me as he hit the ground. “Off with you. If I hear of you touching another person in these woods, I will hunt you down. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, my Queen,” he said.
“I’m not your fucking Queen,” I said.
“Yes, Gloriana,” he cowered with his companion back into the darkness. I rushed to Dylan who lay in a heap on the forest floor. His hand covered a bloody wound on his right side.
“Let me see,” I said, prying his hand off of it. He grunted in pain. “I can fix it.”
“Just leave it. I’ll go to the doctor in town,” he said.
“Don’t be so stubborn,” I said.
“It’s okay,” he said, pushing up off the ground. His knees buckled and he hit the forest floor face first. I looked down at him like he was a fool because he was.
“Dylan,” I said.
“Okay. Fix it,” he grumbled. I helped him roll over on his side. He lifted his shirt for me to see the wound.
“Did he stick a knife in you?” I asked.
“No, it was his finger. It hurt like hell. Like he was made of bone,” he said. “Thanks for coming back for me.”
“Yeah,” I said, knowing that part of me wished I would have left his stubborn ass out here. I took a deep breath, focusing the remaining power in my tattoo to his wound. I pressed hard, and he pulled away. “Stay still, please.”
He settled letting me send fairy power into his body. I knew it would be cold for him. Unbearably cold, but he didn’t even shiver. My fairy façade faded as the power drained from my tattoo. I pulled my hand away revealing his skin to be completely healed with no scar.
“That was amazing,” he said. “Thank you, Grace.”
He reached up and touched my cheek. I stepped back from him. “Don’t,” I said.
“You told him I was
your friend,” he said. “I heard you.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t want the Sanhedrin thinking I led you out here to be killed,” I explained.
“Or maybe, I am the closest thing you have to a friend,” he said.
“I don’t have friends, Dylan,” I said. The conversation made me uncomfortable, so I turned to go back to the car. I could hear him walking behind me, but he didn’t say a word until we got back to the car.
Dylan
I cursed myself for letting the boggart get the slip on me. I was too focused on the fight I had with Stephanie and the continued frustration with Grace. I knew I needed to consult her on the field of crops. I had recognized the fennel, but the rest I couldn’t have pieced together so quickly without her. She wouldn’t relent though. Even after healing my stupid self, she wouldn’t admit to being my friend.
When she switched to the fairy queen that she normally kept hidden, the two boggarts were in awe of her. She was striking as Gloriana. Her voice and presence commanded power. I wondered if her father knew where she was. Just claiming her heritage like that probably sent a ping through the Otherworld. Fairies would talk. He would find her if he were looking. I’d heard tales of Oberon. Not just the ones written by Shakespeare, either. He was a ruthless king. What kind of man banishes his own daughter?
I had never seen anything in Grace that made me think she was dangerous. When I sat down next to her in the car, I contemplated my words.
“Even if you don’t want to be my friend, I still consider you one of mine,” I said.
My words affected her. She chewed her bottom lip, then turned her face away from me.
“I tried to leave after the night with Joey,” she said.
“What?”
“Jeremiah caught me. He made me stay,” she said.
“Why would you leave?” I asked.
“I can’t stay here anymore, Dylan,” she said with a whimper. “I’ve been in one place too long. I don’t settle very well. Plus, I can’t live under this contract.”
“What can I do to help?” I asked.
“Just take me home,” she replied.
I did as she asked. I had no desire to fight with her after she saved my life. I’m not sure what the boggart could have done to me, but after him sticking his finger in my gut, I figured that whatever it would be had the potential to be very painful.
The drive back to the trailer park was silent. She kept her head down and remained still. I pulled into the drive at her place, but she didn’t move.
“Grace, what’s wrong?”
“I’m just drained after that,” she said. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine. Thanks to you. I really appreciate it,” I said. “You really are a great help to me here. I would be lost in all of this without you.”
She sighed and shook her head. “No, they would find someone else to help you,” she said.
“Don’t leave,” I begged.
“I’m not. For now,” she said. “Is that all, Sheriff?”
“Yeah,” I said. She climbed out of the car and entered the trailer without looking back.
Stephanie was back in town again with her lawyer friends. I told myself over and over that I shouldn’t go down there to see what she was really doing. However, I’d had enough of the lonely nights. I stopped by Hot Tin to talk to Nestor. Perhaps he could talk me out of it. Besides I had a guess for him about what kind of fairy he was.
“Howdy, Sheriff,” he greeted me when I came in. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please,” I said.
“What brings you in?” he asked.
“I’ve got a guess,” I said.
“Well, let’s hear it,” he smiled as if our last argument had never happened. He laid his towel over his shoulder, then pushed his long black hair back around his ears.
“You run a bar. So, I think you are related to water,” I said. “You know, watering hole.”
“That’s an interesting theory,” he said.
I held my hand up so I could continue. “I think you are a selkie,” I added.
He grinned. I knew I had him pegged. Then he shook his head. “Sorry, Dylan. I’m not a selkie. They tend to hang around sea water. There isn’t much of that here in middle Alabama.”
“I suppose not. Oh well, back to my list,” I said.
“You have a list?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’ve been researching the ones I don’t know much about,” I said.
“Why don’t you ask Grace?” he said.
“She’s oblivious to all of you,” I reminded him.
“She is, but that’s something Jeremiah did for her own good. Until she is ready,” he said.
“Wait! Jeremiah has a spell on her? He has the power to do that?” I asked.
“He does. She is paranoid about everyone. Until she is ready to accept who she is, it’s best she doesn’t know. She will run,” he said.
“That’s true. She’s already tried once,” I said.
“Jeremiah won’t let her leave,” he said.
“Why are you telling me all of this?” I asked.
“The Sanhedrin are manipulating the fairies in this town. I think that Grace is our best bet to rid ourselves of their meddling. But I think that you are our best chance of keeping Grace here,” he said.
“Um. I think you have me confused with someone else,” I said. “She barely speaks to me on some days, and when she does, it’s usually a profanity-laced bless out.”
“Betty says that the two of you have lunch on the regular,” he said. “She said that you laugh and talk about nothing in particular, but that you both are enjoying yourselves. My only question is, why aren’t you with her?”
“Stephanie,” I muttered. “I’m going to town today. She hasn’t been home for a week. She’s called, but I thought I’d go check on her. Tell me that’s a bad idea.”
“My question is, why do you keep forgiving her for what she does?” he asked.
“Other than she threatened to tell Grace that I’m here to kill her, nothing,” I said.
“She can’t tell Grace what you are any more than you can,” he said. “She has a contract just like the rest of us.”
“No, that’s not true,” I said.
“Do you really think the Sanhedrin would let a powerful Leanansidhe stay here without some sort of rules?” he said.
“Well, I wondered. Apparently, she can sleep with whoever she wishes,” I said.
“Oh, that rule is just for Grace,” he said.
“Why?” I asked.
“They are saving her for something,” he said. “I don’t know what.”
“Me. They were saving her for me. Jeremiah tells me all the time I chose the wrong fairy. I need an heir. That’s why I came here. I was stupid to fall for the first royal fairy that I saw,” I said. The longer I stayed in Shady Grove, the more I felt like an idiot. I knew how Grace felt now. I wanted to run.
“I will ask again, Dylan. Pay attention this time. Why do you keep forgiving Stephanie? Would you do that in any other situation? If Jeremiah can influence a fairy queen, what could he do with you?” he asked.
“Enough,” Jeremiah burst through the door behind us.
“Dylan, leave,” he said. His eyes burned with hatred for Nestor who didn’t back down.
“It’s okay, Dylan. I made my choice,” Nestor said.
“No. I won’t let you hurt him. Do you have a spell on me? On Grace?” I asked.
“Not now. We will discuss this later,” Jeremiah said, waving his hand at me.
For the first time, because of my awareness, I felt the power move in the room. He tried influencing me again, but I wasn’t so naive anymore. I started to go after him, but Nestor stopped me.
“Dylan, go take Grace to lunch. Ask her about the selkies,” he said.
My teeth ground with hatred for Jeremiah who stood there smiling at me.
“Yes, Dylan, go torture yourself with Grace,” he laughed.
“Nestor,” I sa
id.
“Son, you’ve done a great deal for this town. You can keep her in check and bring her to the place where she is ready to accept who she is. I’m counting on you. Please leave me alone with Jeremiah,” Nestor said.
Nestor was telling me that this wasn’t the fight we needed to have. He wanted me to hold off for Grace’s sake. I barreled out of the bar to my car. I dialed Grace as I pulled over to the diner.
“Good afternoon, Dylan,” she said sweetly.
“Hey, I’ve got some fairy questions. Want to meet for lunch?” I asked.
“You sound out of breath. What’s wrong?” she asked. Just when I thought she isn’t paying attention, she reminded me that she always was.
“It’s just a little frustration,” I replied.
“Well, now, Sheriff you know I’m not allowed to help you with frustration,” she quipped. I laughed because it was so flirty. So Grace, and so far out of my reach.
“Not that kind of frustration, but you can pencil me in for your next hall pass,” I returned the flirt. She paused not knowing what to think, because I rarely flirted with her. I decided that I was going to do it more often now, just to piss off Jeremiah.
“You are taken, Dylan,” she said.
“I might not be by the time they let you go another round,” I said.
“You having relationship problems?” she asked.
“Grace, will you meet me for lunch?” I asked again. Her laughter filled the phone. It turned me on.
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. I’ve been sitting around naked all morning. I really should put some clothes on,” she teased.
“Holy shit,” I muttered.
She laughed again. “See ya in a few, Sheriff Riggs.”
I was going to lose my mind. Instead of waiting for her, I went on in to talk to Betty. She always cheered me up.
“Hello, Handsome,” she said, as I walked through the door.
“Hey, Betty. Howdy, Luther,” I said waving at him.
“What brings you in this afternoon, and where is that girl of yours?” she asked.
“Stephanie has been busy in town,” I said.
