Breaking Out

by Gayle Parness

  Aedus had heard Jay laugh, his tone growing colder. Was that even possible? I was going to be shivering in a minute. “I cannot disturb him unless I know what this is about. Where are you?”

  “I’m hanging up in two minutes. You can’t trace me.”

  He laughed. “You should hope that is true because you are, as humans say, in deep shit. Liam is ready to pound you into a pulp. Farrell has asked to help.”

  “Why?” I already knew, but I played dumb.

  “When did you last call Jacqueline?”

  “I’ve only been gone three weeks.” I grumbled.

  “Think again.”

  Checking the date on my phone, I did some fast recalculations. “Four weeks?” Wow. Time flies when fae park rangers are going through your shit and creepy lunatics are writing you notes and glamouring girls to deliver them.

  “Have there been any calls home in that time?”

  What the heck business was it of his? “We were in the Sierras.” I didn’t want to sound like a whiner so I kept the park ranger encounter to myself.

  “Your excuse is poor. You have the ability to take the lines to the nearest town and then return within minutes.”

  “Look, how many times I did or did not call Mom is my business. I’m not your kid.”

  “If you were mine I would have you digging holes.” That was a punishment their father, Lord Caelen, handed out to him and Aedus’ brother, Liam. They dug deep ditches without using any magic, then they filled them in. It could go on for some time. They hated it. “Your parents have been too lenient with you.”

  I couldn’t speak for a minute. When I did, it was through gritted teeth. “My parents did great. Look, this is serious. Something happened a few days ago and a name came up. I need to know if Fin—if grandfather knows who this guy is. In the note, he says he’s been watching me.”

  “What is the name?” I heard soft mumbling in the background.

  “I want to talk to Fin.” There was no way I was discussing anything with this arrogant toad.

  Aedus chuckled. “So you say.” The sound of the dial tone was almost as big a shock as Aedus’s laughter.

  For the fourth time that day, I slammed down a receiver, mumbling to myself. “Holy crap. That guy’s such an asshole.”

  Hot breath blanketed my neck. “He gets it from his mother.” I yelped so loud every head in the diner turned in my direction. My grandfather’s unmistakably rich voice had come from directly behind me.

  “Is there a problem young, man?” asked the older human lady behind the counter.

  “No. I’m sorry. I, um, I caught my finger in the phone booth door.” The woman nodded and went back to clearing the plates left behind by the group of werewolves who’d been celebrating a bowling victory. I couldn’t picture my uncle Aaron’s pack in a bowling alley, but I guess some of them might do normal stuff like that. I mean they’d all been human once.

  “Quick thinking, young fae.” I felt Fin’s hand on my shoulder.

  I turned. “Sh. Don’t call me that.”

  He was dressed in a poufy white shirt, short pants, and a wide leather belt with a dagger in a sheath. He wore a gold chain around his neck with a carved amulet and to top it all off, he was barefoot—definitely against the California health code for restaurant attire. He looked like a freakin’ pirate, one who couldn’t afford boots. I groaned. “Why didn’t you dress normal?”

  “This is my version of normal. Would you have preferred my ritual tunic, crown, cape, scabbard and sword?”

  “We’re in a coffee shop in the twenty first century. Couldn’t you try to fit in just a little?”

  Jay had come over, a napkin tucked into the neck of his shirt. “Char, you’re acting nuts. Maybe we should go outside.” He’d gotten pretty good at speaking mind-to-mind, although we tended to switch back and forth because Jay said we looked stupid just staring into each others eyes and not talking.

  My chin dropped a couple inches. “Are you eating again?”

  “They have blueberry pancakes.” I remained silent. “You were busy and we were in a coffee shop…”

  “Never mind. What do you mean by nuts?”

  “You’re talking to yourself.”

  “No I’m not. My grandfa…” Oh. Shit. I peeked at Fin from the corner of my eye, just to make sure he was still there. His grin was even more annoying than all that corn chip crunching I’d had to endure for the last hour. I smiled at Jay, trying not to show my irritation. “You go ahead and eat. I’ll go out and get some air. Order something for Samson.”

  “You sure you’re okay?”

  I gritted my teeth, still smiling. “Sure. I’m fine.” I grumbled under my breath as I wove through the tables, all eyes still on me. “Typical, just typical. Would it be too much to have one normal relative? No. Every freakin’ one of them is some kind of crazy-assed supe.”

  I pushed my way through the door with a little too much force, making it bang against the wall. I winced, hoping no one would call the medics to send me to the looney bin, or the cops to drag me off to the city lock-up.

  I untied Samson, then stomped as far from civilization as I could get without leaving Jay and the restaurant too far behind. I ended up half a block away in a small playground that bordered a park. Looking at the sky, I was shocked to find it was almost dark. The playground was empty so I sat on a swing and glowered at my pirate-wannabe fae grandfather. If he said arrrr I was going to punch him, fae king or no fae king.

  He looked at the swing set with a curious frown, deciding finally to sit on the swing next to mine. “What is the purpose of this machine?”

  It’s for kids. They swing back and forth.” I tried to show him, but I wasn’t in the mood to go all out. “It’s fun, at least for kids.”

  He shifted his feet against the ground, moving his body forward and back a few inches. “Ah, I see.”

  “You can go higher, but since no one else can see you sitting there, I don’t recommend it. People will think the park’s haunted.”

  “Of course.” He stopped.

  “I called you ‘cause I got this.” I showed him the note, which he sniffed first, then read. He wasn’t grinning now.

  He held it beneath my nose. “Tell me what you smell, cheetah.”

  “Paper. You. Me. Jay. Samson.” I paused. “Blood. Human blood. I didn’t notice that before.”

  The blood is combined with…?

  “I can’t tell.”

  “Elderberry, a binding herb, and lemon verbena, a plant which encourages travel and communication. This creature wishes for you to visit. The herbs and blood he’s mixed with the spell encourage you to take that action.”

  “Creature?”

  “So many questions.” Fin stood, walking slowly between each piece of playground equipment, marveling at their design. He climbed on the jungle gym and slid down the slide, laughing when he reached the bottom.

  One normal relative would have been awesome.

  “These structures are all for children? For play?”

  “Yes,” I snapped, angry that he was wasting time and hadn’t told me what to do about the creep who was watching me.

  His body whipped around faster than any vamp’s, his hands on my shoulders pulling me off the swing, his furious gaze on mine. This fae male had fought in battles waged long before humans existed. He could stop my heart with a thought or shred the skin from my body with a gesture. I’d never be his equal in power. Pissing him off was not a good idea. I forced myself to breathe.

  “You are young.” I hated conversations that started with those words, but I didn’t let it show. “The young are careless and cruel, impatient, concerned only with themselves. Yet here is a monument erected to ensure their happiness, built by humans for their human offspring. Parents are forgiving of their children’s sins.”

  He tilted his head, indicating that I should follow him onto the grass and through the trees at the far end of the small park. He struck out at a leisurely pace. Obviously Fin was
going to be taking his time and I was just going to have to put up with it.

  I rubbed my shoulders where he’d grabbed me. I’d have a couple of bruises.

  There was a lake in the center of the small park that I hadn’t noticed before. In fact this whole section shouldn’t be here. It made the park seem much larger than it actually was, but anything was possible for the King of Faerie.

  “Each species loves their offspring, although some do not deserve a parent’s love.” Oh good. I was going to get a lecture on what a bad son I was.

  He tossed me a cell phone and lowered his body onto a bench. Samson joined him, hopping up on the other side. I grunted and looked away, tucking the phone in my back pocket.

  There were flowering trees of every type circling the lake’s shoreline. The water itself was a crystalline blue, ripples of yellow and green running through it in currents. The ley lines were very strong here. I could pull up power and work on new magic, experiment with spells I’d only imagined.

  When I turned back, he’d changed. Fin was no longer the good-natured pirate, grinning at his joke. He was once more the ruler of Faerie, a male who could take the power beneath our feet and destroy the world, if he were that sort of creature. The former queen, his daughter Fionna, had been that sort and so had my birth father. No one knew what had become of them, only that they’d disappeared.

  The King knew, but he wasn’t talking.

  Bushes laden with colorful berries appeared along the path we’d just taken. The sky changed colors, bleeding into one vibrant shade after another. “Am I in Faerie?” There was no place in the human world this beautiful.

  “No. I am simply amusing myself as I wait for you to make a decision. One must keep occupied while one waits.” Two swans appeared in the water, followed by two tiny cygnets trying to keep up with their parents. He wasn’t being subtle about what he wanted. He leaned forward on the bench. “What is it you fear? Her anger, her pleas for your return, her rejection?”

  I pulled out the phone and stared at it, wanting more than anything to hand it back. “She’ll cry and it’ll be my fault. I’ve made her cry a lot lately. I hate it.”

  “And yet by not calling, you continue to do so.”

  “You don’t know what it’s been like.”

  “What, your life? No, I do not know. Has it been worse than many others? Have you not been loved and fed and housed and kept comfortable in all manner of weather? Have you not been educated? Trained to use magic? Trained to use weapons? The realms hold many terrors for the innocent among us. You have the gifts required to protect and defend those who cannot defend themselves—to live an honorable life. Few would complain, and yet you do.”

  I stood up straighter and spoke clearly. Now seemed to be the time for truth. “I don’t want to lead an army. I don’t want to be the main player in a prophecy that has nothing to do with who I am or who I want to be.”

  “What we want is rarely what we are given. You are already the star of Lady Sinlae’s prophecy, that cannot be changed. But whether you stand beside our people is up to you.”

  “I’m a healer. I’ve never killed. You can’t force me to lead an army.” My fingernails made crescents on my palms, my breathing growing rapid.

  “Nor would I. Every choice is yours to make and each must be made freely. The prophecy is not an iron cuff around your neck. It is yours to shape.”

  “I don’t believe in fate.” I was pacing now, back and forth in front of the bench. Samson whined, sensing my distress.

  “I do not speak of fate. I speak of choice.” He scratched Samson behind the ears, calming him.

  “Do you think I’ll make the right choice?”

  His eyebrows rose. “Would I be here if I did not?” He stared pointedly at the cellphone.

  I dialed home.

  “Hello?”

  “Mom? Hi.”

  She took in a quick breath, but when she spoke her voice was calm and controlled. “Charlie. I’m so glad you called. How are you? Are you and Jay okay?”

  “We’re fine, really. We were in the Sierras for a few weeks and now we’re along the coast.” Fin scowled, but I turned my back.

  “Where?”

  “Mom…”

  “Okay, I won’t ask.” There was a shuffling sound. “Go away.” She’d whispered that to someone else in the room. “Sash is trying to take the phone away. Don’t worry—I won’t give it to him. He’d just spend the next ten minutes threatening you and then you’d hang up and I wouldn’t get to….” Her voice had choked up.

  “Mom…”

  “I got your note. It was wonderful. Thank you for thinking of me. I love you, too.”

  The hand I was using to hold the phone felt wet. I wiped it off on my jeans. “Mom, I’m…I’m sorry.”

  “For what, honey?”

  “For being such a douchebag for the last year, maybe longer.”

  “We both messed up. I wouldn’t listen and neither did you. I’m sorry, too. We can start with a clean slate now, okay?”

  My hand was wet again. I almost dropped the phone when I realized it was wet from tears. Good thing Jay wasn’t here. “That sounds great.”

  “I’m…I’m proud of you. Are you eating enough?”

  “Yeah, plenty, especially Jay.” I joked.

  “You have enough money?”

  “Yes.” We hadn’t run dry yet, but we were spending faster than we thought we would.

  “Do you know when you might be coming home?”

  “No. Probably not for a while.”

  There was an awkward silence, neither of us knowing what to say. “Charlie,” she whispered. “You’re nothing like him. I know it bothers you that you look a little bit like him, but…”

  “More than a little bit.” I made an effort to relax the hand I’d clenched against my thigh. Thinking about what my birth father had done to Mom turned my stomach in knots. I’d wanted to kill him so badly when I’d seen him in Faerie. He’d been trying to pull the same BS with Mom he’d tried before. Fortunately, Fin showed up to save me the trouble—at least I hoped Kennet was history.

  Mom sighed. “You have a big heart. Plus you’re a healer. Use those skills, not just the fae and demon magic. You’ll see the world differently if you do. Kennet didn’t have a healing bone in his body and his heart was a shriveled up raisin.”

  Fin laughed. He must have heard her. “Who’s with you?” she asked. “That didn’t sound like Jay.”

  I waited two beats. “Grandfather.”

  “What? The King of Faerie stopped by for a visit? What’s wrong? Something happened, right?”

  He took the phone from my hand. “Little mother, do not fear. Your son is well. I will see you at the winter solstice, yes?”

  “Yes, Your Highness. But…”

  “Good.” He handed back the phone. “Short goodbyes are best.”

  I held the phone to my ear. “Is Dad around?” I asked.

  “No. He’ll be sorry he missed you.”

  “Tell him…tell him, hey.”

  “I will. And please take care of Samson. You know how he gets if he doesn’t eat.”

  “Yeah, well, he’s a goat. He eats anything.”

  “But does he digest everything?”

  “Uh. Good point.” That kind of mess was not my favorite thing to clean up.

  A few more beats of silence passed between us. “I love you, Charlie. I’m proud of you.”

  “You said that.” A strange tightness filled my chest. I pulled my hood up.

  “Doesn’t hurt to hear it again, right?”

  “Love ya back, Mom.”

  I ended the call and handed the phone to Finvarra, hoping he hadn’t noticed my baby-assed behavior. He didn’t comment, but instead began to walk around the lake, stopping to admire a flower or remarking on the sunset. By the time we were half way around, it was dark and I was back together. He might be the King of Faerie, but he had his human side.

  As he lit the path with warm shades of fae
light, we finally got down to business. “Although I do not know the creature’s true name, I am fairly certain it is not Ammon.” Fin was stretching his arms over his head, rolling his shoulders and using the lines to reboot. His body stored enough magic that he rarely had to pull extra from the lines. Maybe he was planning something big. “Do not call this Ammon creature or communicate with him in any way. Call me if you have need. Use this.” He placed his hand on my forehead and sent me a line, not a ley line but more of a mind-to-mind line. “I will respond to your personal call. No need for another chat with Aedus.” He winked.

  I bristled, my normal reaction when someone infringed on my personal space. “I didn’t say it was okay to hook into my head.”

  “I could have connected to you in secret—spelled it so I’d know if you were hurt or frightened.” And he could have. Funny, but the same arrogance that annoyed me with Aedus, didn’t bother me as much with Fin. Maybe because I knew he liked me.

  “Is it a tracking device?”

  “Would I do that?” He tilted his head.

  “Uh, huh.”

  He laughed. “It sends messages only in one direction. I cannot contact you through the link.” Aaaand because he was the King of Faerie, it was impossible to know if he was telling me the truth. He noticed my frustrated grunt. “Trust should not be so difficult where I am concerned.”

  “But who is Ammon? Is he a demon?”

  The fancy magic was fading as we walked, so I figured we were almost back to the playground. “I think not. He is unknown to me, although the combination of scents reminds me of another I met long ago.”

  “Who was it?”

  Fin smiled and ignored my question. “If he attempts to make contact, alert me.”

  “I can handle…”

  “This is a command from your sovereign lord, young fae.” No smiling going on now.

  I’d known it was coming, I was just hoping it wouldn’t be so soon. Half of my bloodline was fae, stemming directly from the royal line, Fin’s line. In his mind, he had every right to order my obedience. His grandson, Liam, was half human/half fae and had purchased a home near ours in Crescent City, spending half his time in our world and half in Faerie. But when it came down to following an order given by Finvarra, the King, there was no question as to Liam’s loyalty.