by WB McKay
I couldn't read her expression, but her tone was clear enough. "You would rather I don't ask."
"Not at all," she replied. Or maybe I was terrible at reading people. "I would like you to consider giving her creative license in how she fulfills her obligation."
I wasn't opposed to that idea, but I didn't exactly trust Zoe, either. "If I were Greta, I'd be pissed that you were saying this to someone behind my back."
"I'm her daughter. It's her job to be pissed at me at least twice a year. We're due."
I stretched out on the bench. It wasn't easy to sit comfortably with the wings on my back. Repositioning gave me time to think over what Zoe was saying. I was all for giving Greta a creative way to help me, especially if it wound up with me being actually helped. The end goal was all that mattered to me. Zoe didn't know that, though, and I hoped being quiet would make her worry, and thus make her talk more. She seemed inclined to let me think, though, so I pushed her a little. "You don't worry about your mother's honor?"
She jerked back, immediately furious. "My mother has honor! My mother worries about her honor more than her life, that's the problem." She crossed her arms, and immediately uncrossed them, waving her arms in front of her face as she talked. "Like I said, she would agree to anything to repay you. Her honor demands it, but she hasn't recovered fully from the effects of that necklace."
"She looks strong enough to me."
Zoe nodded. "Her body has recovered well, but her magic is slow to return. She has maybe a tenth of the magic she used to command. It grows every day, and she will make a full recovery, eventually, but she needs to build that up. It's going to take time. Running off with you…"
"Would damage that recovery," I finished for her. "I get it. But tell me, what kind of creative solution do you have to offer me?"
"I'm her daughter," she said.
"How about you say that as many times as you can in thirty seconds and get it out of your system, because we've mentioned that several times already."
"Wow, you're kind of a bitch."
"This is also something I already know."
She turned on the bench and splayed her hands out in front of her, holding them steady like there was something of great import to see there. I was already picking up that this was just something she did. I was amazed the girl didn't hit herself in the face with how much waving she did while she talked. "When my mother went missing we all tried to find her. Everyone in this community searched. At first. But as the years went by, it became this unspoken agreement between everyone around me that she was dead."
"People go missing in Faerie all the time," I said.
"I know that," she snapped. "Sorry, habit. Sometimes I still think I need to convince people she's alive."
"But you were right."
"I was right." She huffed a laugh. "It didn't do any good. You found her. I didn't."
"I stumbled on her when I was doing something else."
She didn't so much smile, as her lips slanted up. "It still counts. I owe you for that as much as she does."
"Let's call it good with the one favor from your mom."
"Right. So, even though I never found her, I grew up trying. And in the meantime, I found lots of others."
"Yeah?"
"I'm young, but I've done a lot of things and developed a lot of skills. If you need a guide around Faerie, I can do that. If you need… I don't know, but I'm sure I can do it. I'm your dragon. Let her loan me out as a way of repaying your favor."
"You find people?"
"Yes. It kind of became the family business in a way. At some point or another, all of my siblings have been involved. We've all had to develop certain skills to do some of the different jobs, which is why I'm sure that--"
"All right, all right. You've made your point. I didn't plan on dictating that Greta do my bidding, anyway." I locked eyes with her. "I'm not that kind of fae." And because I knew The Morrigan's reputation and what this dragon was trying to talk around, I went ahead and said the real issue here: "I'm not my mother."
She leaned back in her seat, her eyes widening. "You took down so many at that castle. You came here wearing the wings of The Morrigan. She's your mother."
"Not all mothers are like Greta."
"I talked to my brother. He says you told them to fly you here and protect you, and they couldn't do anything else."
"Yeah, well, okay." I rolled my eyes. "There's some moral gray areas there, to be fair. I didn't know them, they wanted me to swallow a charm and trust my friends to their care while we were all passed out, and they weren't going to bring us to Greta otherwise. I didn't, like, hurt them or anything."
"So taking away someone's will is okay under the right circumstances?"
"I'm not going to say it's all right, but a lot of things happen under the wrong circumstances that I wouldn't necessarily put down as my most shining moments, okay?"
She crossed her arms and huffed. "I wonder if your mother feels the same way."
"Oooooh, you did not just."
She smirked.
"Yeah, okay. You do realize that if I were like my mother, I might have killed you for saying something. Or because the idea tickled me." Describing her and her actions was never easy. The Morrigan was the epitome of unpredictable; her thought processes impossible to track. She had no clear goals or motivations. She was chaos incarnate. "If I behaved like The Morrigan, it wouldn't have been smart to talk to me alone. Or at all. Slipping away and then running as fast as you could would have been the only wise decision."
Her mouth formed into a wry grin for a full second. "I can handle myself."
"Oh." My head fell forward. "Just when you had me thinking you were so capable, you go and say something so ridiculous."
Her face fell. I let her hang there for a moment.
"Don't worry. I like to know my allies' weaknesses."
Her face lit up like a sprite's ass. "Ally?" she asked.
"That's what you want, isn't it?"
"Yes!"
The girl looked so grateful I felt guilty about letting her believe she was getting the better end of the deal. How I had managed to stumble on someone with a passion for finding lost fae in Faerie, desperate to do me a favor, was beyond me. I'd never thought much of it before, but I was starting to give the concept of luck a grudging nod of respect. I'd have to wait to see how it panned out for me before making my mind up on the issue.
"This is going to infuriate my brother." She laughed with glee.
"The leader?"
"Ugh, never tell Zand you call him that," she said. "But yeah, him. He doesn't like you much."
"Oh, really?"
She laughed some more. "Yes, really. And now I'm running off to help you. I'm assuming we have to go do something, right? This favor isn't something my mom could have done from here, is it?"
"Correct. We'll be going on a death-defying adventure through Faerie."
She gave her thigh a few slaps. "Oh, he's going to be so mad. I can't wait to tell him."
I watched her laugh, all the while shaking my head and considering the slap-happy dragon. What I knew about Zoe so far made me think… well, yep. I definitely liked this girl. What was wrong with me? It seemed I liked just about everyone I met lately. Was I getting soft in my old age? "We should go check on Ava."
"She shouldn't be awake just yet. Come on." She stood and brushed the wrinkles out of her pants. "I should give you a proper tour. We don't get many visitors." She held her arms out to encompass the enormous lake in front of us. "This is Lake Macawat. It's filled with caves for our watery cousins." She pointed toward a trail that led down the mountain. "If you follow that path, it will lead to the area where my brothers encountered you. We don't have a lot of visitors, and those who do make it inside, always need it pointed out to them how they came in. You're the first case I know of where that's not true."
"I'm good like that. So, how does that work, exactly? The hidden dragon community in the Faerie desert?"
&nbs
p; "It's not a desert."
"Well, I mean, obviously." I pointed around us at the lush greenery. "Magic."
"Yes, magic." Zoe rolled her lips between her teeth. "Sorry. It's just so funny. It's such an Earthbound thing to say. Magic." Her curls bounced as she giggled.
"What would you call it?"
"I don't know. Life? It just is." She pointed at the area around us. "I guess when I talk about magic I just talk about the kind. Like, our home is concealed by an illusion. It's different than glamour. Both are magic, I guess, but I wouldn't point that out because… of course they are. I don't know. It's an Earthbound thing."
"Okay. So we're concealed by an illusion right now."
"Yes," she confirmed. "There are several differences between glamours and illusions but one of them is the quality of the sensory information in an illusion of this kind. Smell and touch are particularly strong."
"Why would dragons feel vulnerable enough to need an illusion over their whole community?"
"That is such an Earthbound thing to say, and it's still shocking," said Zoe. "I mean, you're the one who found my mom. This is Faerie."
"Right. Right." I wished I'd put an illusion over Owen. Was my assumption that he was a dragon and should therefore be fine the chink in my armor? Was that the thing that had allowed him to get taken? It wasn't the only thing. I should have known this would happen when I pissed off such a powerful fae. I should have done a lot of things. But as much as the regrets were mounting and threatened to drown me in my own misery, I also couldn't imagine Owen agreeing to live in a snowglobe like this. Heck, he probably knew about this place. Images of Owen flashed behind my eyes. Since he'd met me, he'd jumped off a building and shifted mid-air in pursuit of witches actively attacking us. He'd let me lead him through an obstacle course blind as he dodged arrows. He didn't complain about it once. He seemed happier than when I'd met him. He said he was happier. Owen liked the dangerous crap that was my life.
And he'd been kidnapped walking down the street.
How was anyone ever supposed to be safe?
Something was tapping me on the forehead. I opened my eyes to find Zoe staring right into mine. "Can you travel in your mind?"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know, you're a unique fae. You tell me."
I snorted. "Like I'd tell you my secrets. So, this illusion thing. You use it to keep people from finding you. It's also perfect if you decide to let someone in, but don't want them to know where the village is. You can just dump them back out in the desert and they'll never suspect the village was right in front of them."
"Exactly." She turned and walked back toward the center of town. She pointed out a house where the baker lived and another that had comically burned down when a teenage dragon had thrown a tantrum. She told the story like it was the funniest thing that had ever happened.
"I have to ask the obvious question: why do dragons live in wood houses?" I asked.
"Easy to rebuild," she said. "A grumpy dragon is just as likely to destroy something made of stone."
"Huh. I guess property damage is a hazard of a dragon's life."
"Oh, definitely." She pointed out another building that had burned down not long ago. While she spoke, people meandered about the village. There weren't many of them, but as I understood it, they were all dragons. They'd made a beautiful home for themselves. The scene was very much like a storybook, an idyllic display of cute buildings against a mountain backdrop. "I suppose the mountains are home to the…" I had to pause to find the right word. Owen didn't like it when I called his books a hoard. "...troves of your people."
Zoe let out another burst of her vibrant laughter and I found myself joining in, even though I didn't know why. "Troves of my people. That's funny. That sounds like you know dragons are touchy about discussing their troves. That's a good thing to know. Yes, I suppose there are some troves up there. I'm also going to suppose that as someone who knows we don't like to talk about it, that you also know dragons wouldn't like to see you roaming anywhere near where their trove may be hidden."
"Hmm. Dragons are touchy about their hoards, you say? Fascinating."
"Hoards?" she asked me.
Oops. "What is it you covet, Zoe?"
She raised an eyebrow at me. Yes, I was pushing it. "I collect human things."
"Human things? Like what?"
"Like things I like--and that's all I'm going to tell you because you're going to stop asking about dragon troves now." She flicked her brown curls out of her face.
"Touchy dragons." Yeah, I knew I was pushing it. "What's that over there?" I waved my pointer finger around until it landed on the first thing I saw, a small restaurant with tables outside. Zoe went in to talking about what they served there as we toured the rest of the small village. Our walk ended back at the hospital building where I could hear Phoebe talking animatedly to Greta, though I couldn't make out their words.
"Sounds like Phoebe is worried about me. We should get in there before this ends in a brawl."
Zoe picked up her pace. "True. If your friend is anything like the dryads I've met, she can be difficult to deal with when she's feeling protective."
I beat her to the door and walked in to find Phoebe had Greta pinned to the ceiling with vines. "You have no idea."
CHAPTER TWELVE
"Phoebe!" I shouted. "Why?"
"What did you do with her?" Phoebe hissed. "Give me the truth, or I'll crush you like a bug."
Ava, having heard me, tugged on Phoebe's arm. "Phoebe, Sophie's here." I noticed that she had one of her long knives clenched in the other fist. "You can put Greta down."
Finally, Phoebe spared a glance in my direction and her posture relaxed. Her vines uncoiled from Greta's throat and lowered her to the floor.
Zoe brought her hand from behind her back, quashing the flame she'd been hiding. That had been close. While in a controlled, safe setting it might be fine to see Phoebe and a dragon or two duke it out, real fights were more dangerous than that. I'd recently learned that watching people I care about fight made me feel helpless, and feeling helpless was absolutely the worst feeling in the world.
"Hey, Sophie," said Phoebe, sounding not at all embarrassed by her mistaken attack. "Glad you're okay."
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Oh." Phoebe flipped her hair over her shoulder, the universal symbol that this wasn't a big deal. "Ava woke up. Patricia couldn't find you. It had been a while since you left. We thought it might have been a trap. But you're fine now, so it's all good."
"Yes, I'm fine." It wasn't very diplomatic of me, but I laughed. "I would tell you to apologize, but you're not sorry, so it would be a lie." I sat on the edge of one of the hospital beds. Ava put her knife away.. "You're wonderful maniacs. Both of you."
"No apology is necessary." Greta cleared her throat. She still looked a bit shaken. "It's good to meet you, Ava."
They shook hands and we made a round of introductions. It would have all been very pleasant if it weren't for the underlying reason for our meeting.
Ava sighed. "If we don't discuss our reason for this visit, Sophie may start molting."
Everyone laughed but me.
"Haha, bird jokes never get old." I rolled my eyes, but really, it was kind of funny. "Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, I have to ask you to return my favor, Greta."
Greta nodded solemnly. "As I said, I will do it gladly."
Zoe was staring me down desperately. If she didn't cut it out, Greta was going to figure out what she'd said to me. Well, I supposed that wasn't my problem. "Here it is, Greta. I ask that you give Zoe permission to aid in my quest to rescue Owen. I have reason to believe he has been taken to Oscura."
Greta's mouth flattened into a thin line. "Oscura."
"Yes."
Zoe's eyebrows were high on her forehead. I'd managed to surprise her all right.
"Zoe doesn't require my permission, so this doesn't fulfill my obligation. I will go with you."
"Maybe you don't require she get your permission, but she respects you. Having your permission is an issue for her, and I need her focused on the task at hand."
Zoe stuck her bottom lip out and nodded; it took me a moment to realize she was taken aback by my adept reasoning.
Greta looked stuck. "While that may be true, I don't see why you'd ask for Zoe unless she asked you to ask for her."
Zoe wasn't any better at controlling her facial expressions than I was. In fact, the next time Art told me I was bad at it, I was going to have to tell him about Zoe. She might as well have held up a sign that said "guilty as charged".
"Your daughter has skills I need." I immediately wished I hadn't said that, since I didn't know what those skills were exactly, but Greta didn't offend her daughter by asking me to list them. In fact, she looked like she had to give way to the point.
"I would be taking her away from the community here, reducing your ability to protect yourselves. Besides, this is a dangerous trip, so she could die." I just shrugged. It was true. I wasn't much for sales pitch lies. "This would fulfill your obligation to me."
Greta turned her flat gaze on her daughter, who managed not to squirm. I had the feeling she'd gotten that look a lot in her life. "As usual, you have gone beyond your place, Zoe."
"As usual, I'm not sorry," replied Zoe, managing a half-smile. "Besides, you know that my definition of 'my place' is different from yours."
"Careful, daughter, you're not too old to receive a nip." Greta's lips turned up into a mischievous grin that wiped the smile from Zoe's face. She turned back to me. "I will honor your request for repayment of the favor owed by allowing Zoe to accompany you on your quest to rescue your mate."
"The debt is repaid," I said, formally. A tingling zip of magic crossed my lips, making them itch. It was strange not offering even my gratitude for so much help.
