Suddenly, being in the center of the mushrooms wasn’t such a comfort to Eve. She wanted desperately to leave the circle but feared the man behind the voice. “What do you want? Why are you bothering me?”
“Bothering you? Wasn’t it you who wandered into my forest without an inkling of what you really are? I should eat you for being rude. Alas, the fey are good people and to make you my snack would only serve them a bad turn. The one thing I have learned is one bad turn always deserves another. I want you to open your eyes Faire Eve and leave this place.” He sounded genuinely insulted by her words and an animalistic growl rumbled from him.
Before Eve could argue or try to comply, she heard a rustle in the underbrush to her right. From the darkness, she saw two large eyes peering out at her. She gasped and stepped backward until she slammed into the trunk of one of the mushrooms. Screaming out in terror, Eve spun to face whatever she had bumped into.
She saw the imprint of her body in the fragile skin of the mushroom. The burnt-orange stem, once beautiful, began to turn a sickly brown in the perfect shape of her body. As if she had poured acid on the tender flesh of the stalk, the effect was powerful. In seconds, the weight of the cap caused the mushy brown stem to collapse. As it fell, the mushroom struck the one beside it. The process began all over again on the next mushroom. A chain reaction began and each time a mushroom fell, it struck the next.
Eve forgot to be afraid as she watched the destruction. The fungi seemed strong and magnificent but they were truly more fragile than the gentlest bloom. Once all the mushrooms collapsed into molted lumps of goo, Eve began to weep. Being the cause of such ruined beauty horrified her. She did not know who the fey people were; she did know they would surely be angry that she destroyed the circle. She remembered the voice saying, one bad turn deserves another.
Behind her, Eve heard a snort and she remembered why she had bumped into the mushroom in the first place. Turning around to face her unseen enemy, she nearly collapsed in shock. Before her, there stood a monster stranger than any late night B-movie creation.
Bakezōri of the Baku was bizarre and Eve didn’t know rather to run screaming or fall over laughing. The beast stood at least six feet tall on all fours. His head was that of an elephant, including the long trunk and huge ivory tusks. He had the body of a lion, complete with a thick unruly mane. His legs were orange and black striped with massive paws like a tiger. Behind him, a thin, corded looking tail swished back and forth in his impatience with Eve.
“What the hell are you?” Eve didn’t mean to sound rude but she was in a state of pure shock.
“I told you child, I am Bakezōri of the Baku. I am a cousin to the fey and I am tired of you. Be gone.” His voice sounded gruff but he was hard to take seriously with his little tail swishing back and forth.
“Okay, Bakezōri of the Baku, tell me how the heck to get out of here and I am gone. Wait. Wait! I can see you. Were you hiding and being difficult? Were you trying to scare me with all the ‘you can’t see me because you aren’t looking’ crap?”
Bakezōri growled again and shook his head in frustration. “You dropped the annoying little block inside your head when you became frightened and you can see me like you could see the centauress inside the hotel. You allowed yourself to become too tired to hold up your shields when you saw her. Learn to do that little trick without being overly tired or scared witless and you will find all the answers you will ever need. As far as leaving is concerned, all you have to do is wake up Faire Eve.”
“Eve, wake up. Wake up, Eve.” A cool and remarkably feminine voice soon replaced the monster’s. “Eve, if we are going to go out at all today, you need to get up.”
“Huh? Okay, Mom, I’m up!” Eve sat up slowly and realized the entire scene was a disturbing dream. She was nowhere near the forest. She was in New York City. Looking as she did when she was a small child, Eve rubbed her eyes with her fisted hands before leaping off the bed and cheering.
5
Typically, when maneuvering between Evalon and Upper World, Eldon would have cloaked himself in magic and remained unseen by the humans. Using magic the fey called glamour, he could make himself invisible or change himself into any form of living creature. He found the tactic to be extremely helpful when he was on a mission. Eldon’s opinion of humans was not a high one and he didn’t want the attention of anyone who was not from Evalon.
No matter how much glamour a member of the fey used, humans tended to draw to them. The Upper Worlders did not want the fey’s magic. Not many mortals believed in the old world gifts. A basic human instinct, hardwired into their brains, whispered the truth to them. Calling them to draw near to what they didn’t understand. Most mortals thought they felt a physical attraction and others believed the pull was true love.
The idea of a cloak appalled Aibell when Eldon suggested it. “Oh Eldon, you are really no fun! How often do we get to come to Upper World and hang out? This is major.” As she spoke, Aibell watched a teenage boy roll lazily by on a skateboard. Open desire flashed in her eyes.
“Aibell! We are here on a mission to save all of Evalon. We are not here to fraternize with the natives. Get your head in the game. I only agreed to be visible to avoid the trouble of discretely popping into sight in time for Eve to see us. In fact, I invited you to come along because I needed someone to buddy up to her. Having you here meant I didn’t have to. I mean, you seem to have a certain fondness for the mortals.” Eldon was being devilish and he knew it.
“You don’t have an exciting bone in your body. I do have a fondness for humans but Eve is not a human. She is part Sidhe and she’s a girl.” Aibell nearly stuck out her tongue at him.
Eldon watched Aibell pout. He caught himself wondering if the rumors about her mom were true. He had never seen a Valkyrie pout. Yet, Aibell did exactly that. She looked completely human in her newly fashioned Upper World outfit and the sulking look. She wasn’t very warrior priestess like at all. Aibell definitely resembled the rich elf brats back in Evalon.
For a human disguise, they decided they would play it off as if they were brother and sister. The two were polar opposites in every way possible, but they could claim to have different fathers. The fact many humans had numerous children by numerous partners assisted them in the charade without having to use an extremely strong glamour.
Eldon was tall, even for a Daoine. Most young warriors his age were not yet six foot, but Eldon surpassed that mark at barely fifteen. Unlike human boys, he was never gangly despite his height. His body was as strong and worn as many of the long time warriors of his battalion. His chest was wide and muscular, his powerful arms strained the sleeves of his marching jacket, and his abs looked as if a washerwoman could have scrubbed the whitest whites on their ripples.
Outside his hearing, the fey women often described him as a dark angel. His ebony hair curled a little at the ends and complimented his light olive skin. His eyes were so blue that they were almost clear. Fairy women, young and old, swooned when Eldon graced them with one of his rare smiles.
His only physical fault was also his greatest charm. His smile was a bit crooked and his teeth shined white and perfect. His lopsided grin caused one dimple to appear near the corner of his mouth and women nearly fainted when it made a surprise appearance.
Throughout Evalon, people acknowledged Aibell’s great beauty. She didn’t look quite like any of the other Valkyrie. Her hair shone like golden wheat instead of being a white wash blond. Her eyes were the color of onyx instead of the slate gray her clan possessed. Though most Valkyries were willow thin, Aibell boasted an impressively curvy figure. Not an ounce of fat hung on her frame but her endowments were definite.
The questions about her true nature were not because she failed to be beautiful. They were because she dared to shine in beauty. Instead of being sorrowful and solitary like other priestesses her age, Aibell virtually percolated with energy. She could never quite remove the smile from her lips, could never sit still enough, and never managed t
o look benevolent instead of a bit mischievous.
Valkyrie priestesses possessed, by nature, a solemn and reserved beauty. At the age of eighteen, they underwent initiation into the world of the spirits through death and rebirth. Afterwards, they were the ones who led the great armies into battle and guided the fallen soldiers to their final resting place in the Great Hall of Asgaurd. A typical priestess before and after initiation was quiet, thoughtful, kind, and unapproachable because of their chosen aloofness.
As the two fairies in disguise stood nonchalantly on the boardwalk, they received many appreciative glances. Eldon kept his head down and swept the beach and walkway every few minutes with his eyes, searching for Eve. Aibell spent most of her time smiling brightly at the boys and men who passed by. A few times, Eldon rudely reminded her they were not there to play with the humans. Each time, Aibell pouted a bit more and heaved a heavy sigh.
“This is the last mission I go on with you Eldon of the Daoine. You are absolutely predictable, completely boring, and totally obnoxious.” Aibell was building up to go into a true rant about Eldon’s flaws when he quickly told her to shut up.
Inclining his head in the direction behind Aibell, he said, “Here comes our girl. It looks as if she is on her own.”
Aibell instantly forgot all other things. Pushing her oversized sunglasses on top of her head, she swung the gigantic purse over her shoulder. “I will never understand human preference for such oversized and useless accessories. Wish me luck.”
Before Eldon could speak, Aibell worked her way through the crowd toward Eve. Eldon watched and listened carefully while he pretended to check out items at a nearby gift shop. Aibell twitched up to where Eve stood, looking friendly and a bit lost.
Seeing the girls side by side, Eldon couldn’t help but compare them to each other. Aibell was a beauty unlike any other in Evalon but Eldon thought of her as more of a force of nature than a woman. Like a tornado, she could be beautiful to look at but a disaster to deal with. A typical mortal girl would have paled in comparison to Aibell and at first glance, Eve seemed very human. She didn’t have the gliding walk, unfailing grace, or the prideful posture of the Sidhe at all.
Yet, something in her features spoke of great bloodlines from the fey world. Eldon shouldn’t have been able to see the color of Eve’s eyes from the distance he was standing but they shined like golden orbs. Her light brown hair had natural blond highlights and they held the sun as if made from a reflective surface. He also noted that her nose was smallish and turned up in almost the same way Queen Mave’s did.
Eldon found his mind drifting on thoughts about the exquisite way the sun caught Eve's nail polish as she gestured to Aibell. Quickly, he snapped back to himself. He knew Faire Eve would be a spoiled, human acting child for a long time to come, despite her beauty and the touch of Sidhe he could see in her appearance. Eldon despised over indulged, mortal children more than he despised ogres. Shaking his head a bit to clear his thoughts, he concentrated on the mission.
Their plan was for Aibell to befriend Eve and then introduce Eldon. Together, Eldon and Aibell would be able to spend time close to Eve and it would be easier for them to introduce her to magic. The two were working on a tight timeline. Beltane would end in one week. During the festival, fey and humans passed between the Upper World and Evalon easier. Eldon only had a few days to convince Eve that magic was real and to convince her to return with them to Evalon.
To make matters worse, once word spread Eve was making her yearly voyage to New York with her parents, magical residents of Upper World and Evalon, flocked to the city. The creatures held no true alliance with the Sidhe but were as dependent on the magic they guarded at Trig Na nOg. Eve became a savior in their minds and they all wanted her in Evalon quickly.
Typically, the fey avoided the inner city as much as possible. Some lived in the harbors and bay, others took shelter in Central Park, but the city was too full of cold iron for any fairy to stand to be there for long. The area teemed with well-meaning creatures, convinced they could wake Eve from her human world.
Corrigan informed Eldon both a centauress and a nightmare eater had contacted Eve only hours before. The unauthorized contacts were dangerous for Eve and could possibly derail his mission altogether. Corrigan was attempting to stop the visits but was having little luck. Bakezōri of the Baku, the nightmare eater, visited Eve in her dreams. His presence was less likely to affect her on its own but the appearance of a female centaur in the middle of the New Yorker Hotel was a blatant threat.
Things between Aibell and Eve seemed to be going well. Eldon wasn’t sure what Aibell said to Eve to start up the conversation but the two seemed to be chatting a way. Eldon kept his distance and watched as Eve’s parents joined the girls. Eve introduced Aibell to her mother and father. Eldon was shocked.
He didn’t expect large red letters to appear on Clarisse's forehead spelling out traitor but he also didn’t expect her to be ordinary either. He choked on the idea that the woman chose a human man over Evalon and Trig Na nOg. In his mind, he always pictured her as sinister or somehow marked.
Clarisse looked as if she could be Eve’s older sister. Her hair was only slightly lighter in color, but her eyes were the same strange gold and her smile was identical to her daughters. Fairies, even the Sidhe, are mortal. They lived thousands of years longer than humans but death was eminent for them.
Once a fairy turned eighteen, they reached a type of stasis and the aging process slowed to a crawl. However, if a fairy spent too much time in Upper World, they tended to age at a faster rate. In Clarisse’s case, she looked younger than her thirty-seven years and Eldon wondered if she had found some way around the ban her parents placed on her when she refused to rear Eve in the fairy world. If she did, it could be a huge problem for Eldon and Aibell. If Clarisse had kept in contact with Under World, she was more likely to see through the glamour they both wore.
Corrigan knew there was a chance Clarisse was still able to access her magic and would be able to recognize others of her kind. They all hoped Clarisse had blinded herself almost as effectively as she had blinded her daughter. They banked their entire mission on hope. Eldon held his breath as the threesome greeted each other and chatted.
After a few minutes, Aibell waved goodbye and bounced back to where Eldon was waiting. “Well, that was almost too easy. What did you think about Clarisse? Isn’t it weird to see the only fairy princess to abandon Trig Na nOg? Oh my goodness, it was incredible.”
“Stop blathering Aibell and tell me what happened.” Eldon’s patience was strapped and his nerves raw. Being in the presence of humans taxed him. He was also a little angry with himself for finding Eve attractive.
“We have been invited to have dinner with the whole family tonight at the Hard Rock Café. I have no idea what it is but it does sound interesting.” Aibell was positively glowing with pride at her success.
“Hard Rock Café? How bizarre. Ok, what’s our cover story?” Eldon was all business. Though Aibell did a great job at securing them an entrance, he wasn’t about to start congratulating her yet. They still had a lot of work to do.
“As planned, you are my brother and we are in town with our mother, who is much too busy with her new boyfriend to bother with us. We are vagrant and abandoned children who are lost in the big city. Oh, we are from Fayetteville, TN. I simply walked up to Eve and I complimented her shoes and asked her where she bought them. I told her I wasn’t from here and wanted to do some shopping. She instantly said the same, and ta-de-da, we are friends.” Aibell was nearly breathless by the time she finished blurting it all out.
Eldon shook his head in astonished surprise that even a magical being could spit out so many words without taking a breath. “Okay, okay. Good job, I guess. Did you get the sense maybe Clarisse was looking at you a little strange? Any clue she recognized you for something other than human?”
Laughing and reaching up to tug on a stray curl, Aibell was all confidence. “Nope, I think we pulled
this off, Big Brother.”
Aibell and Eldon returned to their own hotel. They camped out at the Belvedere. Not as secular as the New Yorker, it still held its prestige and remained one of the better upper class establishments. The room had two king size beds and a flat screen TV. Eldon would have preferred to shrink himself and live in an oak tree as they had during their first visit to Eve, but Aibell insisted on a hotel. Luckily, a half-fey working at the Belvedere helped them. The girl got them the room on short notice. Her father was a Satyr and her mother human. She visited Evalon enough to understand the tragic situation. Even in the magical world, a sense of patriotism existed.
Aibell was positively infatuated with the large, flat screen television. She had only seen one on a rare trip to Upper World and she couldn’t wait to hold the remote. Flipping through the channels at the speed of light, she exclaimed about how badly the mages needed to figure out a way to bring real technology to Evalon.
No one really knew if the crossover between dimensions affected the wiring or if the high concentration of magic in Evalon was to blame. Either way, electronic equipment never seemed to work when brought through. Some of the more daring and unallied fey who lived in Upper World, charmed normal human equipment with magic. The downfall was, when the items came through the gates, they ceased to work. The result was not devastating to the fey. Their magic allowed them every luxury except for cell phones, televisions, computers, and the Internet.
Eldon lost his patience when Aibell began to shrill with excitement when she stumbled upon a channel playing music videos. “Aibell, turn it off and get over here.”
Eldon sat on his own bed, cupping a strange crystal in his hands. He held it as if the smallest movement might shatter the clear, smooth surface. The egg shaped crystal was as clear as glass except for the wider bottom portion, which looked as if someone filled an inch of the bauble with wispy blue smoke.
Faire Eve Page 4
