Emerald City Dreamer

by Luna Lindsey

  “Kenny, no games tonight.”

  “Yep, srs bsns, Lady Jett, just takin’ notes.” She smacked her bubblegum and tugged at the earrings pierced through the tip of her pointy ears that stuck out the side of her head in size “extra-long”. She continued typing and ate another Smartie, somehow all at once.

  “‘bout time we had some gaddam excitement ‘round here,” Pete muttered.

  “Quiet everyone. Thank you for gathering on short notice.

  “Last week I learned that a group of fiagai, or hunters for those of you who are young, exists here in Seattle. The humans seek to rend us, as a race of beings, as a family, and as individuals.

  “For now it is a small group, and we could be lulled into thinking them weak. Not so, for ideas are like thorny blackberries. We must not let them grow out of control. We must put an end to them as soon as we can.

  “As yet, we do not know enough about them to act. However…” She paused. “…there has been a serious breech… I have recently erred and let one of them into the house. She may have learned things that will help them, or set traps. At the very least, she knows where we live, and… she has broken my heart.”

  Her voice maintained a steady, even calm; several leaned closer with looks of concern at her pain, barely revealed.

  Jett began issuing orders. “Kenny. We need the house cleansed, in case she left any magic or technology that will aid their cause.”

  “Up in our base, killin’ their dudes, milady. No bugs, no transmitters, no hearing devices, no scrypoints.”

  “Good. Also dig up what you can on Sandy Windham. She leads them. Health records, place of birth, people she has contacted, internet activity, her purchases for the last two years. More importantly, I need to know where she lives.”

  “You can haz intel.” Kenny’s typing grew louder, as if the force of her fingertips would aid the cause. Which it did.

  “These fiagai are not afraid to kill. Wyrdwyn told us as much. They have enslaved an unborn redcap, and now target an orphaned leanaí a cailleadh: a troll you have met, Fiz.” Jett nodded slightly in his direction, and he nodded solemnly.

  “They each wear an emblem around their necks representing their organization. It is made of iron and charged with protective spells. If you meet any of these people, do not act. Though they are green, a fresh spear hewn from a sapling is just as sharp, and has not had time to rot.

  “Most importantly, we must find their fort. We also need to learn of everyone who is involved and where they live.”

  “I’m on it,” Kenny said. “All their base are belong to us!”

  Jett nodded, her lips pursed tightly together. “Once we get the location, Ivy will visit and assess their level of warding. We have no idea the length of their reach, so Ivy, be careful.”

  Ivy hissed in assent.

  “And Fiz, once we find out where they are, I want you to follow each time one leaves. Remember, for now we are just gathering information. All of your lives are at risk.”

  “A question milady,” Ivy rasped. “Why not hex them now? Simply attack as soon as we find them? You have said ‘Let the acorn fall where it may’ does not apply to hunters. Surely you have something of Jina’s we could use to attack her tonight? Maim her… Kill her…”

  Jett hesitated. She opened herself to sense the dream’s will, yet it was shrouded in pain and anger. “We will soon have our maiming and killing,” she said. “But not yet.”

  “What you need from me?” Pete asked. “Want me to bake them a cake?”

  “Not for now, Pete.”

  “You can bake me a cake,” Fiz replied.

  “The cake is a lie,” Kenny whispered.

  “Go!” Jett commanded. Everyone got up and ascended the stairs.

  Jett’s phone rang. She saw Jina’s name and calmly declined the call as she made her way to Cloncahir to prepare.

  CHAPTER 36

  *

  JETT STILL WASN’T PICKING UP. She hadn’t responded to Jina’s text. Or the follow-up text. Or the phone calls.

  Jina pinched the dried, brittle daisy in her fingers. The petals had been falling off since last night. She tried to relax, resisting any temptation to text again.

  If only there were some way to crawl through the line and clear up all the misunderstandings, the supposed betrayal. What must Jett be thinking right now? She imagined love’s dark hair swirling around her sobs in her luxurious bed, and couldn’t bear the thought of being the cause of those tears.

  And then there was a fear she could not deny – Jett had made a promise that she intended Jina no harm. Under these conditions, could Jett break that promise?

  Should she be afraid? It was too early to warn Sandy. The last thing she wanted was a bloodbath over a misunderstanding – even a monumentally huge misunderstanding like this. Withholding information had gotten this into this mess, but if she came clean now, things would only get worse.

  Maybe she should lay low for a while, stay in the warded house, at least until Jett decided to return her call. If this were a normal relationship, if Jett were human, that would be the right thing to do – wait for Jett to calm down and then try to sort things out.

  The gnawing pain in her stomach drove her to reach for her phone and text one last time.

  I honestly love you, Jett. This hunter thing, it has nothing to do with you. We only fight the bad guys, and you’re not one of them. Please give me a chance. <3

  Then Jina promised herself she wouldn’t touch her phone again until it was ringing. She longed for a cigarette.

  “Jina, are you listening?” Sandy asked.

  Jina looked up from her phone, remembering she was in the Dungeon, in front of a whiteboard, planning Ezra’s extraction with the others. “Sorry, I’m just worried about something. Carry on.”

  Sandy cleared her throat. “What’s the matter with you Jina? I thought you were finally on board with us, and now you’re back to your f… your flighty ways. Put the Facebook down already.”

  I should tell her, Jina thought. Guilt warred with terror in her. Now was definitely not the right time to come clean. She couldn’t lose Sandy’s trust now that Sandy was willing to listen, willing to stop drinking, help instead of hurt… and she was on the verge of getting help…

  She imagined Sandy screaming at her, before reaching for the bottle. She couldn’t bear to betray yet another person and put Jett’s life at risk at the same time.

  Sandy had already moved on, stabbing at the whiteboard with a wooden pointer. She poked at a bullet point which read, LOCATION.

  “We haven’t been able to watch the mirror at all times. From what we can tell, he’s acting pretty erratically. He knocked over a pile of rocks and has been wandering the streets. There’s no real pattern, but it’s pretty easy to tell where he is based on landmarks around him. We all stay on alert until he reaches a quiet spot, then we hop into the van and head there.

  “Gretel, you’ll be driving. Since there’s a doppelgänger on the loose, and we have Scarf to look out for, you’ll be on the lookout for external threats.”

  The doppelgänger. Jina suddenly remembered. It had imprinted Sandy. That could explain how Jett knew about the Ordo, the support group… She had to assume Jett knew everything Sandy knew.

  Which meant they knew about this house. Which meant when they left on this mission, they would be exposed to Jett’s vengeance. Not only had Jina brought Sandy into danger, she’d jeopardized Gretel and Hollis as well.

  She had to tell them. It was the only responsible thing to do. She opened her mouth to speak. But Sandy was already talking.

  “Jina, the binding talisman you made should work to keep his magic in check. Just in case something goes wrong, we need you for casting situational spells. Impromptu.”

  “Got it,” she replied. “But—–”

  “And hey,” Sandy continued, “sorry for snapping at you a second ago. I’m so glad you’re with us on this, and I didn’t mean to question your dedication. No one has b
een more loyal to me than you.”

  Tears welled up in Jina’s eyes, the confession dead on her lips.

  Sandy smiled. “Anyway, I think we work better together as a team, not fighting. Don’t you?”

  Jina returned the smile weakly. “Of course. I hate when we fight.”

  “Me too. I’m glad we’re over all that nonsense.” Sandy poked at the whiteboard again.

  The moment had passed. There was no way she could tell Sandy now, at least not until after the mission. No matter what Sandy’s reaction, it would jeopardize their plans. And who knows what Sandy would do?

  Nevertheless, worry gnawed at her gut.

  “Hollis will do the heavy lifting. Literally. We may also need his skillful marksmanship.”

  “I’m the only one here who has actually fired a gun,” Hollis added with pride in his voice. His shirt, fitting as usual, read: GUN CONTROL MEANS USING BOTH HANDS.

  “Do we really need guns for this?” Jina asked.

  Hollis crossed his arms. “You never know when one of these creatures can turn on you, defy physical laws, go beyond the limits we understand. We need to be ready for every contingency.”

  “We only shoot in absolute self-defense,” Sandy said.

  Jina hoped Jett wouldn’t show up. God, that could get messy.

  “Everything is prepped. Hollis?” Sandy pointed at him as if he were another bullet on her list. “Want to give us the run-down on our equipment?”

  “Yeah. We have duct tape, iron manacles, ski masks to defend against facial-recognition software, two Tasers, a Glock 17C, Motorola GP300…”

  Hollis went on and on with his list of high-tech gear and model numbers of items they wouldn’t even need. Facial recognition software? Why would faeries have anything like that? She didn’t want to wear a ski mask. She’d look like a criminal.

  “…a case of Red Bull,” he continued, “and a box of Quaker Chewy Granola bars with chocolate chips. For transportation, we have a white Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500–”

  “Enough,” Sandy said. “In laymen’s terms, what are we driving?”

  “You know, it’s the van. The police would describe it as an unmarked white van. Tall enough to walk around in, even with the cage. Oh, and it’s as iron-warded as the house.”

  An upgrade. That was a relief. Jina felt a little safer. “Speaking of the police,” she said, “what if someone sees us and writes down the license number?”

  “I thought of that,” Hollis said. “I’ve designed a mechanized rectangle of sheet metal that drops over the license plate, on-demand. Within two blocks of the position, Gretel will press that button, and there are no plates to see. Upon a successful extraction, pressing the same button will reveal the plates again, so we’re not pulled over for a routine infraction.”

  “Wow, that’s… that’s actually really cool.” The man was a huge nerd, and he could be useful.

  Hollis beamed.

  “Jina, are you going to bring your guitar for any spells?” Sandy asked.

  “I don’t want it broken. I have a small Casio keyboard that will work. Technically I don’t need the music itself, but it helps me think.”

  “Good. To recap, we all sit here in standby until the target gets to a quiet, recognizable location. Then we jump in the van and head over. Jina will approach him and ask for a light.”

  “Do we have to wear ski masks?” Jina asked. “Like bank robbers?”

  “I was hoping,” Hollis said.

  “It depends,” Sandy said. “I don’t want to use them either, so if there are no security cameras, we leave them in the van.”

  “Tell me again why we can’t just drive up and offer him a hot meal,” Jina asked. “He’d probably hop right into the van.”

  “It’s not going to hop into the cage,” Hollis said.

  “And if it suspects anything is up, it could run. Or worse,” Sandy said.

  “I’ve seen worse,” Hollis said. “An angry faerie does not mess around when it’s being chased.”

  When had he seen worse?

  Sandy continued. “While he’s distracted, Hollis will come up from behind and slip the binding talisman over his neck. I will activate it using the chant with his true name. He shouldn’t be able to move or make a sound at that point, although just in case, Hollis will snap the manacles on him and I will stick a piece of duct tape over his mouth.

  “Once we have him in the van, Hollis will take the time to gag him properly. Then he goes in the cage, and I put another binding talisman on the lock. Meanwhile Gretel is driving away.

  “To conclude, we bring him back here, and the cage goes into the holding cell with him in it. He will have three layers of both magical and physical restraint.”

  The plan seemed extreme, though if it kept them all safe, Jina wouldn’t question it.

  “Okay, I think we’re ready. Now we wait. Everyone stay close. Jina, would you like to stay with me and watch the mirror?” Sandy asked. “Another chance to talk?”

  “Of course.” Jina wheeled her chair over as Hollis and Gretel went to finalize prep work.

  “It feels better, not drinking,” Sandy said. “It’s hard, but I’m clearer, more connected. Know what I mean?”

  Jina nodded. She was so happy Sandy was talking about it. “Remember when I used to stay out too late, drinking or smoking too much pot? I made a lot of poor decisions. So I know all about clarity.”

  Sandy laughed. “That’s true. Who would have thought that you of all people would be lecturing me about the dangers of addiction?”

  “I never would have believed it,” Jina said. Sandy seemed so open now. It was finally comfortable to be around her. If only she didn’t have the one other worry niggling at her. Her phone hadn’t buzzed.

  Still, she had to check one last time. No messages.

  “Hey, put it away.” Sandy nudged Jina’s shoulder. “I said no Facebook.”

  “I’m just checking my–”

  Sandy grinned. “I’m giving you a hard time. By the way, you said you were worried about something earlier. Want to talk about it?”

  Jina just shook her head. “It’s nothing. Not right now. You’ve got too much on your mind. We’ll talk about it later.”

  “Aren’t you always telling me it’s best to talk about your problems?”

  This wasn’t the same thing. At least, Jina didn’t think it was. If only her phone could tell her what to do, since it was so smart. Or if Jett would reply to her messages telling her everything was going to be okay.

  Jina put the phone back into her pocket, and concentrated on the mirror.

  CHAPTER 37

  *

  “THAT’LL BE $5.24,” the cashier said. His nametag read: Bill.

  Ezra held out a crumpled five-dollar bill, the last of the money Jett had given him. Even with eating out of dumpsters it had only lasted a couple of days.

  “Where’s the rest?” Bill asked.

  “I thought it was only going to be $4.79,” Ezra said. “This is all I have.”

  “Taxes. You want an Extra Value Meal, you pay $5.24.”

  Pogswoth lied, too. He said his stew would feed him for a week, but as soon as he was outside the warehouse, he’d been hungry again. “Maybe just… take off the drink?”

  “Costs more without the drink, actually. How else would the meal be an extra value?”

  That didn’t make any sense.

  Someone tapped Ezra on the shoulder from behind. He flinched, waiting for something worse to happen. It was just a woman in a bright construction vest, handing him a quarter. “Here you go, kid. Don’t spend it all in one place.”

  Ezra smiled and accepted her kindness. It might be the last he’d see in a while. As he laid it on the counter, he worked up the courage to ask the question he’d come here to ask. “Are you hiring?”

  The cashier looked him up and down and smirked. “In this economy? I guess you could fill out an application.” He pulled a stack of forms from under the counter and peeled off
the top one. He passed it to Ezra along with a pen and a tray of food.

  Ezra sat by the front window to think about his prospects. He held the pen in his hand and looked helplessly at the page before him. He stumbled over some of the words, and the pen shook in his hand.

  As he ate, he thought about getting someone to help him fill out the form.

  His clothes weren’t getting any cleaner. He’d left his other clothes at Congregation, and none of them were up to the latest styles. His torn coat came from a dumpster behind a thrift store. Even if he had a place to shower and could get help filling out the forms, he had no address or phone number to reference.

  Ezra pondered a life of panhandling. He couldn’t stand the idea of holding a sign to beg for food. If only Pogswoth and those other devils had let him finish his cathedral. Then he’d have plenty of everything he needed.

  He finished his burger and neatly folded the job application and put it in his pocket. Then he wandered back out into the streets.

  He felt wrong about everything. About his speech, about knowing God by knowing himself, about finding God in everything around him. Some prophet he was. He wasn’t even sure if he believed in God anymore.

  Ezra touched his bracelet and drew comfort from its bits of simple beauty he’d found in dumpsters two states away. And one new charm: The earring that woman had given him.

  He played with the tiny earring and stared into the red gem. He only had to touch it and call for help, that’s what she’d said. His Wanderer name meant ‘help’. And his new name, Orvenoldsted, meant all of those new things he’d learned about himself. Jett had promised to help him, if he’d just ask.

  A warm home. Dinner.

  Or maybe he’d be her dinner. Pogswoth was no saint either. How could he tell the difference?

  He craved the certainty of living with the Wanderers, the familiarity of quoted scripture. Even if they were full of crap, at least he’d known something.

  It was getting late. He’d found a safe place to sleep every night, hidden and well-lit all night long so no one could sneak up on him. He drifted in that direction.

  When he reached the Mercer on-ramp, he climbed over the Jersey barrier, crossed a lane, walked into the depths of the tunnel, and then climbed over the next barrier between it and the square pillars. The lights glowed orange and reflected off the dirty and scuffed yellow tiles. There was just enough room where he could lean his shoulders against one grimy pillar and prop his feet against the other. Only a passing car exiting the freeway might be able to see him, and no one would give a crap if they did.