by S L Mason
I looked down at my plate and everything on it took on a sinister, unappetizing air. Another step in a long line of steps to kill me. Someone was willing to poison me to death.
The man next to me leaned over and whispered. “You should eat while you can. They will not allow you to have food sent to your room. If you do not eat, it will insult His Grace.”
I nodded my head, trying to not display the emotions rolling through me. I took a few very small bites from every item on my plate. It all looked perfectly normal.
The food didn’t taste bad. I was hungry, but it felt like sawdust in my mouth. Someone came and poured what resembled golden wine in my goblet. Lavender reached from behind and took a sip of it, putting it back quickly. After wiping the rim clean with a napkin. I took a small sip myself. I sat with my hands in my lap, staring straight ahead.
The room was beautifully sculpted with wood. Based on everything I learned from Lavender today, it was made with magic; they sang it into existence. Trees were sculpted exactly the way they sang it. Someone had to sit there for a long time with their very large voice to create this entire structure. I wondered how many thousands of trees had to die so this building could exist? Or were they really dead? I didn’t remember stories of the Fae bringing people back to life. I did remember stories of them stealing the babies and leaving behind changelings. But every fairytale was either not true or different. What did that mean? My dad used to say there were “the known knowns and the unknown knowns.” I didn’t know what I didn’t know. It was a smart way of saying I didn’t know and I was blind.
My dinner companions broke me out of my revelry. “You should take a few more bites, you will need your strength for tomorrow.” I turned slightly to inspect the man next to me.
His almond-shaped, daffodil-colored eyes gleamed, and his lips parted in anticipation. His long slender fingers gripped his fork.
I need my strength for tomorrow.
What was supposed to happen tomorrow? I ate a little more and then moved onto dinner rolls. Bread was filling. Probably the first carbs I’d seen since my arrival. My body ached for carbs. My greatest weakness was a tossup between bread and ice cream.
I raised the roll to my mouth and gazed around the table. Every face was sinister, every motion a potential threat. I couldn’t help it. I looked around, and all I saw was another person trying to kill me. I had zero way to defend myself. I forced myself, sinking my teeth into the fluffy mass. The outer crust was thick and buttery, and I found myself savoring it.
They brought in the next course with some kind of salad. I loved salad. I was hungry, and it reminded me of a mesclun mix I had at a restaurant once with my parents. How was it that food kept bringing back memories of things I didn’t want to think about it. I swallowed, looking at all those strange seaweed-looking greens. They clearly weren’t the same, and yet at first glance I’d been fooled.
Next was dessert. Everyone got one but me. Okay, I didn’t really want one. Lavender whispered in my ear, “Do not be offended, my lady. You’re simply not allowed to have one because of the competition.”
I sat in silence, watching everyone munch upon their sugary treats. It resembled a cross between Turkish delight and Jell-O colored squares, powdered on the outside. Each Fae ate them in their own fashion with fingers or using a fork. The forks resembled little pitchforks. I wondered if you could take out an eye with one? I pictured very creepily.
The woman next to me leaned in. “For a human, you’re actually quite civilized. I’m surprised.”
I turned and smiled at her. “For a Fae, you’re not very civilized, and I’m not surprised.”
The smile drained from her face as I smiled brightly at her.
“Yes, we Fae are rather a violent sort.” She recovered quickly. For a moment, I thought she was going to stab me in the hand. She was holding the fork in such a way that it could’ve been a weapon, but I saw the light of it die in her eyes as I heard a voice drift over the table.
“Sarah, why don’t you tell us all about yourself?” Deston inquired. My stomach rolled, and my belly filled with butterflies, food churning.
Why the hell would these people care anything about me? “I’m human. I will turn eighteen in two weeks. I’ve been abducted by sadistic psychotics, apparently for some form of competition of which I am unaware. If I had been left to my own devices, I would’ve been starting my senior year next month.” I knew my words stung, and I wanted them to. From the corner of my eye, I saw Deston wiped the corners of his mouth with his napkin before slowly lowering it to the table.
“And do you have any hobbies, anything peculiar about you that would be interesting?” The female Fae next to me implored.
I didn’t want to tell these people anything about me. Information was power. If they knew anything about me, it could be used against me. I looked at Deston, but his face was impassive. I looked over at Janice. His finger wagged as if to say no.
“No, there’s nothing truly exciting about me. I like to read. My favorite pastime is watching football.” The reading part was true, but the football was untrue. I hated it. I despised sitting in the house for hours on end on Sunday or Monday night. I would’ve much rather be out with my friends, actually participating in a sport versus watching someone else. It was a stupid pastime. Old men watched, dreaming of their glory days in high school when they had scored a touchdown and taken their team to the win.
The twittering of female Fae played in the background; that was a nice way of laughing at me.
“What is football?” Janice’s query brought me back. I brightened. Now here was a subject that could really dig my teeth into. I had to sound as if I knew about football. My father liked to watch it sometimes.
Arty was a massive football fan; obsessed that was how I’d described him. I never heard the end of it. He was constantly going on and on. Arty played football, but wasn’t any good at it. He realized he had two left feet. He wasn’t physically talented like that.
“Oh, football is a truly American pastime,” I said. “The game uses a leather, pigskin-covered ball. It’s shaped like a pointy oval, and it has stitching on one side to help you grab it. You put your index finger at the point and your hand around the outer side, and you throw it to your buddy downfield. He catches it, and then he tries to run to a designated goal. You need to get there with the ball in your hands without falling down or letting the ball touch the ground. Then you get six points and go for a field goal by kicking.” I was droning on word for word everything Arty told me. “Or run the ball back into the end zone for a two-point conversion. Most people just kick field goals.”
The Fae females around the table looked bored; one yawned. How was it okay for her to yawn? Unbelievable. A male with orange highlights on his clothes and in his eyes leaned forward.
“These points, what you do with them? How do you gather more points?” His words rushed out.
“At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins.” I smiled. His enthusiasm was contagious.
“So it’s a competition?” Janice’s voice cut through to the room, boring into me. The word competition echoed around the room.
I rolled my eyes. I got his point. “Yes. Aren’t all sports a competition in some form or another?” I turned my head, leveling my eyes at the other end of the table.
Several males nodded their head. A female joined the discussion. “Sports are for men. Women do not participate.”
“Well, that’s just sexist, isn’t it? If women want to participate in a sport, they should be allowed. Women don’t generally play football, at least not in the NFL. That’s the National Football League. But there are female football teams around the country. Women play, and it’s very physical and requires a lot of strength and stamina that most women don’t have. Ballplayers can get hurt pretty badly, and human women just generally don’t like it.”
Muttering ensued between male and female.
The man next to me spoke again, only this time he was
whispering. “You’ll find the females of the Fae are much the same. They don’t like to be injured.”
I thought that was his way of telling me to take a break.
“However, I would like to know what sports human women actually do play,” the man asked. “Which sports you play that you find interesting or fun?”
Janice waved his finger again, this time up close to his mouth. He touched to his nose. He meant to keep it to myself.
“I don’t really play sports. I like to watch football and walk.” I figured they couldn’t find anything wrong with walking. It was just walking. Lavender had said earlier that Fae walk, and several of the women gave simpering laughs.
“Do you walk to a place, or aimlessly?” The female next to covered her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Does it make a difference? Walking is walking. When you decided to come back up to the surface and start killing humans, did you to choose a specific place? Or did you just aimlessly go wherever?”
She laughed. “Well, that would be a question for the minister.”
“Thank you, Sybil. You know as Minister of War, I never do anything without a plan. Of course, it was not an aimless choice to start murdering humans.” His violet eyes hardened into a deep purple stone. His jaw muscle worked over the bone.
“Oh, so are you just being mindless killers, or do you have a plan for our genocide?” My heart sped up, and my grip tightened on my fork, whitening my knuckles. I stared down at the center of the table. I couldn’t meet his eyes.
“Genocide implies we intended to kill all of the human race, or even a large swath of a specific population. We do not.” His demeanor never changed.
“So you’re just culling the weak? Genetically defective or perhaps you’re indiscriminately thinning out the herd?”
Deston cut in. “I find this line of conversation boring. Thank you for your insights into humanity, Sarah. I’m sure you brought us all a little closer to our human neighbors. The meal is concluded. I will take my leave.” A servant pulled the throne back as he rose.
He exited the room as many at the table twittered. Janice stood and headed to my end of the table. His eyes burned a hole in me, but I turned away.
His hand appeared in front of me. “You will accompany me, Sarah.”
It sounded like an order, and I really didn’t like orders. I turned and looked up at him. “Please?” I raised my eyebrows. At least if he said please, it wouldn’t be an order.
He pursed his lips. Exasperation spread all over his face and shoulders, and his hands stiffened. “Please is not a word Fae use. Accompany me, now.”
I leveled my gaze at the wall across from me. “And if I don’t?”
He leaned in close, hot breath on my ear and neck, and he whispered, “This is not the place to make a show of defiance. I understand you don’t want to be told what to do, but I’m not your enemy. There are enemies in this room. Come with me now.”
I didn’t want to take his hand. Lavender had pulled the chair back as I stood. I turned to her and nodded. My instinct was to say thank you, but the words died on my lips. Thank you, I didn’t understand what their aversion was to it. Just another piece of the Fae puzzle.
His hand was still extended in front of me. My body was stiff and immovable.
Lavender whispered, “My lady.”
I glance around. The room was quietly frozen, waiting to see what I’d do. I turned and walked out, I didn’t take his hand. I wasn’t going, and he couldn’t order me about either. Was I a prisoner, a slave, or a person with free will stuck here? I could go wherever I wanted to. I didn’t have to be escorted by him, a man who’d hacked up most of my neighbors and probably the same person who killed my youth group. I hadn’t seen him carrying a bow and arrow, but somebody shot poor Pastor Rollins through the chest. Whether it was him or one of his cohorts, it didn’t matter; he was in charge. It was his fault they were dead.
As soon as I was in the hallway, he grabbed my arm and yanked me into an alcove.
“You publicly shame me? You have no idea what you’re doing or what’s really going on here. This is a matter of life and death.” His eyes bored into me. “Now I’m to take you to Deston. He needs to start training you. If you don’t train, you will die.” I felt his breath on my face, and my heart beat through my chest. I couldn’t stop staring into his eyes. I couldn’t breathe in enough air, the fire in my veins burned it off too quickly.
I hated him. He was Fae. Everything about them draws you in. They make you want their beauty. The coloring appeals to the eye. My lips parted, and his eyes darted to them. I tore my face away from him.
“You killed everyone I ever knew, and I don’t even know if my parents are still alive. You probably killed them too.” My index finger pushed into his chest. “If you didn’t do it, you gave the order for it. If you think I care about publicly shaming you, you’re wrong. I don’t trust you, I hate you.” The tears built up in my eyes. “You killed all my neighbors. Arty’s parents—you cut off his father’s head.” I choked out the last words, unable to address my own fears over my parents.
He turned my face, forcing me to look at him. “You will understand one day. I didn’t want to do any of this; it’s my job. I must do what His Grace commands. You want to be angry at me, go right ahead—take your anger out on me.”
His lips were inches from mine, but the warmth of his breath touched my lips. Deep purple eyes held mine hostage. He flashed from my eyes to my lips and back again. The hand holding my chin slid down my neck to my arm to caress my forearm.
“Remember for every war, you must have allies. And right now you have none. You think Lavender can help you? She can make pretty clothes and paint your face, but she has no pull. Her ties are in the dressing rooms and the weaving halls. As long as she is engaged to dress you, she will remain loyal. You have no allies, and you need them. Let me say it very clearly, Sarah: this is a war, and if you want to win, you have to gather your forces.” He stepped back, thrusting me away from him. My chest was heaving, and heart pounding. Hot tears fell down my cheeks, creating molten lava rivers down the side of my face. It was the fire in my chest I found most frightening.
He thrust his hand in front of me.
The only way to win is with allies. You can’t fight by yourself; you need an army. I needed an army.
I placed my hand on top of his.
Lavender waited by the elevator doors, and she dabbed my tears away.
“My lady, Fae do not cry. Luckily all Fae makeup is waterproof.”
I shot her a death stare. I am not Fae.
She whistled something, and I felt my face dry as the door to the elevator opened. Janice led me inside. It carried us up, up, and up. For all I knew, he might’ve been taking me to the highest tower to throw me off of it.
“You must sleep as much as possible tonight. I’m taking you to Deston, and then I will return you to your chambers.” His breathing never wavered, like nothing happened.
I didn’t want to talk, see, or touch Janice. I wanted him to go away. Instead, I pretended he wasn’t there. Finally, the elevator came to a stop and opened. Janice snatched his hand away. I faced a foyer with stairs going up through archways and off to the side.
“Go to the left and down the hall. When you reach the end, you will be in His Grace’s office. I will be here for you when you return.”
I nodded curtly and headed down the corridor, my feet tapping on the stones. I reached the end. There were no doors, of course.
“Come inside.” Deston invited me into a sitting room with two wingbacks in front of a green fire. It roared in its hearth and was pleasantly warm. He was already seated in one of the chairs with his legs stretched in front of him, resting on top of a heavily decorated footrest with clawed feet. His two feet poked up into the air. My gaze traveled from the footrest and up to the Fae sitting in the chair. His elbows rested on the arm rails with his hands clasped between. He indicated toward the chair adjacent to me.
&nbs
p; “Study the fire with me.” He never turned his head, keeping his eyes trained on the licking, green flames.
My eyes trailed over the wall and mantle, the folds of wood with twisting curves. The floor was dark gray, but I couldn’t tell if it was wood or stone, or wood turned to stone? When I became bored, I stared into the green flames.
I didn’t like fire. It was relaxing. It didn’t just warm you. It soothes, reminding you that at one time it was the most powerful force in the human world. I needed to be alert and ready, not soothed into stupidity.
“I did not better prepare you for the meal. However, everyone has a right to meet the competition.” He released a deep sigh. “I know right now you have no understanding of what I’m referring to, and by the rules we’re not allowed to tell you; no one is. When it comes down to it, your job is to keep your mouth shut as much as possible and win this competition for me. Whoever wins will decide the fate of Fae and humanity. The world’s a dangerous place, and you humans like to war amongst yourselves. Somewhere in the back of your mind, I’m sure humanity felt you were alone in the universe. The only intelligent life, or so you’ve been led to believe. Human authorities have known for a long time the Fae existed. They didn’t bother to tell the rest of you. It’s really not my problem. We had a truce with humanity. That truce has been broken. We broke it on purpose.”
I gasped and turned to see his face.
“Don’t allow yourself to obsess over the past, Sarah. Tomorrow is day one of the competition. If you win, you have my eternal thanks and devotion. Losing will cost your life. Now sit and stare at the fire, and relax. It might be your last chance.” He never flinched.
“Will I be competing against other humans?” I took a deep breath and held it.
“Yes.”
CHAPTER 17
Deston should have entered the Olympics in the statue category, he’d win a gold for sure. He was the Fae version of the thinking man, perhaps in marble instead of bronze. His eyes stared straight ahead into the hypnotic, green fire, unblinking.
