Call to Arms

by Elle Casey

“No, it’s not! It’s the truth!”

  “No! Lie!”

  I started crying again, but this time in anger. I yelled at her. “What do you know?! You don’t know me! You don’t know Tony! You have no idea what I want!”

  “I know the difference between truth and lies. Speak your truth, girl, or I will no longer waste my time with you.”

  “Fine! Leave! I don’t care anyway!”

  “Lie!”

  I laughed bitterly. All the fight went out of me. I don’t know if it was because I was mentally exhausted or if I had finally snapped, but I couldn’t yell anymore and I was done crying. “You’re nuts, you old bat.”

  “I have heard worse. So. Are you done feeling sorry for yourself? Ready to tell the truth?”

  I shot her an evil look. “You are an ugly old hag.”

  “Truth!”

  “I wish I could smash you right now, right in the head, and not worry about getting turned into a toad.”

  “Truth!”

  “I want to kick the ass of the person who is messing with my Tony.”

  “Truth!”

  “I miss him.”

  “Truth!”

  “I want to get on the plane and go see if he has changed his mind and wants to join me here.”

  “Truth.” She struggled to stand up. “So what are you doing here then? Don’t you have a plane to catch?”

  I looked at her curiously. “How do you know that?”

  She cackled and started hobbling away, chanting to herself in her scratchy voice, “Green things, green things, beautiful lovely green things ... ” She soon disappeared into the trees at the edge of the meadow.

  I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky, sending out a message into The Green, hoping somehow, some way, Tony would receive it. “I’m coming to get you Tony, and anyone who gets in my way, better watch the fuck out because I am pissed.”

  I got up and went back into the door leading to the compound. I had a plane to catch.

  Chapter 25

  I ran to my room, throwing open the door. Tim was there, zipping around the room, his wings buzzing. “Where have you been? Everyone’s looking for you.”

  “I was having a crisis, but I’m back online now. Are you ready to go?”

  “Yep!” He was wearing the miniature fanny pack that I had Netter find for him. He couldn’t wear a backpack for obvious reasons, but he had bitched for weeks about how he wanted some sort of pack like everyone else, so I finally caved and enlisted the brownie’s help. I didn’t have the heart to tell Tim how goofy fanny packs were, he loved his so much. I tried not to laugh every time I saw him wearing it, but it was tough. I don’t even know what he kept inside the damn thing, it was so small.

  Tim flew down and landed on his bed, bouncing up off of it and flying up into the air, doing somersaults and barrel rolls. Tim liked to use his tiny mattress as a jumping off spot for his stunt flying. He had a whole miniature bedroom set on top of my dresser that was a carbon copy of mine, right down to the quilt and itty-bitty silver tray on the dresser. Every day he’d have me put a token on the tray for Netter. The chocolate ball took up the entire top of his dresser.

  I threw my old human clothes into my backpack along with my Converse sneakers. No need to go back there looking like a hippy freak, which is what the tunics made me think I looked like. Netter had made sure my old clothes were cleaned and pressed; now I was glad he’d bothered. I had Blackie strapped to my leg as usual. I added my brush, toothbrush, and makeup to the bag and I was done.

  Tim and I left the room, trying to look unhurried and casual in case we passed anyone on our way. Luckily we didn’t see anyone, because I don’t know if it was even possible for me to look casual at this moment. I felt this incredible urgency now that I’d actually seen Tony and how upset he was and how messed up his life had become. A messy room was no big deal – in fact, I’d always thought Tony had a screw loose, always being so neat – it was the drastic change in his appearance and the way he’d acted towards his mom that had me worried. His violent reaction to our picture was just the icing on the cake.

  We reached the door with the wing symbol on it and I pulled it open. There was a short path just outside the door. Becky was standing there waiting for us.

  “I thought you weren’t coming,” I said cheerily, thinking she had changed her mind.

  “I’m not. I’m just here to say goodbye.” She held her arms out for a hug. “Be safe. Send a message out through The Green if you need me.”

  “Will do. You be safe too. Stay away from the elders for the next couple days if you can.”

  “I plan on it. Talk to you soon.”

  I hurried down the path, hearing a car engine start. Tim flew ahead to announce our arrival. I broke through the trees and saw a passenger van waiting, everyone already inside. Tim and I were the last ones in.

  “Come on! Let’s go!” said Jared from his spot in the front passenger seat.

  I ran around to the back and threw my bag in on top of everyone else’s stuff, slamming the trunk door closed. Then I jogged over to the side door, hopping in to the seat by the door and sliding the big door shut.

  “Tim in here?” I asked, breathlessly.

  “Yes!” he squeaked from somewhere in the back.

  The car took off, Ivar driving it as fast as he could over the bumpy forest roads and then onto a main highway. This was the first time any of us changelings was seeing the route that we had taken to get to our new home. The last time we had all been drugged unconscious. It seemed like so long ago but wasn’t really. It’s incredible how much all of our lives had changed and not just Tony’s.

  My mind was too bogged down in the what-ifs and whys to pay much attention to the scenery or the conversation flowing around me. Tim’s reassuring presence on my shoulder helped to keep me grounded. Every time I started feeling tense about what was happening with Tony, Tim would either accidentally pull my hair or fart near my ear.

  “Geez, Tim, what did you eat for breakfast?!” I finally yelled at him.

  Everyone in the car got really quiet, wondering what the hell I was talking about.

  I shook my head. “Sorry. Never mind me.”

  I could hear Tim giggling in the back of the van. He had wisely moved out of range.

  An hour later we found ourselves at a private airport where the jet was waiting for us. We were late, but I guess that’s the benefit of having your own jet – it’s not like it was going to leave without us. We were on board and in the air within thirty minutes. We all sat in our cushy, leather seats, reflecting on the last time we were in that plane.

  “Hey Ivar!” I said loudly, getting his attention. He was standing up near the pilots. “You got anything to drink on this thing? A shot maybe?”

  Everyone grinned. Ivar turned his back on me, but not before I saw him with a hint of a smile on his face. Ivar never totally smiled at anything.

  Last time we were on this plane, everyone but me had been drugged with the famous shots from Ivar. I got the injection of a tranquilizer in my arm instead, since I refused to drink. If I had a syringe with me now, I’d jab Ivar with it, just for fun. I still hadn’t gotten him back, nor had I forgiven him.

  Jared came from the front and stood in the aisle next to Chase. “You guys want to put together a plan before we all fall asleep?”

  Spike and Finn were sitting across the table from me and Chase was at my side. I looked to them for a response. Everyone nodded, including me.

  Jared pulled a small folding stool over and sat down in the aisle, facing all of us. “So, does anyone have any ideas about getting into this thing with Tony?”

  Spike looked at me. “Well, what do you know about the situation, Jayne? Anything that can help us?”

  “Not really. I know what he looks like now, but that’s not much help.”

  “Yeah, I do too,” I said. “And none of you are going to recognize him. Take Tony and turn him into a grunge rocker, and you’ll get close.”
r />   Spike raised his eyebrows at that. “I would not have expected that.”

  “Me neither,” said Finn.

  “That makes three of us.” I said. “I can also tell you that I think he’s angry. Possibly at me.”

  Jared looked at me. “Don’t jump to any conclusions, Jayne. If you say this because of what you saw through the Gray, you are probably wrong. Or at least off a little bit. The Gray taints things in a negative light sometimes, making it hard to see what’s really going on.”

  “Yeah. Let’s hope so. Let’s hope there was a lot of gray taint going on there.”

  “So tell us about Tony’s habits, his house, school.”

  “Well, he lives not far away from school, a few blocks. He walks to and from. He said Ben lives nearby too. He used to do well in school, but I get the impression he doesn’t care anymore. He’s not popular. He used to hang out with ... well ... me, and some computer dork guys, but that’s it. But now?” I sighed. “I have no idea. I think he’s changed a lot.” I thought about our late nights at the library that always ended by nine o’clock. “He never went out at night before except to study, but I just saw him sneak in his room after midnight – and I know it wasn’t for studying. He didn’t have any books with him and he was climbing in through his window.”

  Everyone mulled over what I said for a minute.

  “Okay, so how about this: Jayne, I think you should make contact with Tony, maybe by calling his house or something like that, and invite him to meet you somewhere. And make sure you tell him you want to meet him alone,” suggested Jared.

  “And what’ll we do?” asked Finn.

  “We’ll be there with Jayne, for backup. In case that guy Ben comes.”

  “What? Are you going to, like, take him out or something?” I asked.

  “No. We’ll hang in the background, just be there in case something goes wrong.”

  “And what am I supposed to do? Say, ‘Hey Tony, time to come with me and become a fae’? He was erased, so he doesn’t even know fae exist anymore. I’m not even sure how much he remembers you guys. I remember Céline telling me that he would remember everything from before the meeting at the hotel, which means he should remember you, but how did he get from Miami to West Palm in his mind? I mean, there must be a blank space in his memory. And he didn’t remember who Becky was when I mentioned her in an email.”

  Jared explained, “The fae who do the erasures try to fill in blank spaces with suggested explanations, but ultimately it’s the human mind that fills in the unknown with whatever it thinks fits. So none of us knows what Tony thinks happened between meeting us at the warehouse and getting home a few days later to his parents’ house.”

  “He never mentioned anything in the few emails he sent me; and then he sent the one telling me to back off and give him some space so ... ”

  Tim flew down and landed on my hand. I pretended to try and catch him, making him fly up really fast to avoid my grabbing fingers. He hated when I did that, but I had to get him back for the pixie farts in the van. Luckily, the witch leaf didn’t give me supersonic smelling powers too – but still, I’m pretty sure being able to hear a pixie fart is almost as bad as smelling one.

  “So, what if this Ben guy is the real deal and he interferes in Jayne’s meeting with Tony?” asked Spike, smiling absently at my antics with Tim. “What if she can’t get him alone?”

  “I don’t know. I guess we’ll regroup and figure something out.”

  “Chase, do you have anything to add?” I asked.

  “Just that where you go, I go.”

  “How are you gonna explain your presence to Tony, Chase??” asked Spike.

  “You can say you guys are dating now,” suggested Jared.

  I looked at Chase and he looked at me. He shrugged.

  “I don’t know if Tony will buy it,” I said.

  “Why not?” asked Spike. “Because everyone knows it’s me you really want?” He winked.

  I smiled, “No. Well, kinda. I mean, Chase isn’t exactly my type.”

  Chase raised his eyebrow at me but said nothing.

  I was worried I had hurt his feelings. “No offense. I mean, you’re hot stuff and everything. You’re just ... I don’t know ... too nice.”

  “You deserve nicer than me,” said Chase, enigmatically. He caught Jared’s eye and looked away.

  Jared raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

  My attention was distracted by Finn saying, “Yeah, well, I think if Tony’s changed as much as you say, he might not think too hard about it. He’s changed a lot so there ain’t no reason for him to doubt that you’ve changed a lot too.”

  I nodded. “I agree. And I would feel better with a wingman, Chase, so thanks.” I patted his muscled bicep, trying to snap him out of whatever mood he’d just dropped into. He was always so quiet, it was hard to figure out where his head was sometimes.

  I imagined him as a boyfriend for a minute and it was kind of funny to me that I’d never really thought of him that way before. I guess I had spent so much time with him at meals and after in our rooms and stuff, not to mention the horrors of the test, that he’d become one of those friends who cease to have opposite sex qualities for me – kind of like Tony. I had more sisterly feelings towards them. Looking at Chase now though, picturing him as a boyfriend, caused me to question that whole sisterly love thing. I mean, he is pretty hot, there’s no denying that. He’s big, in excellent physical shape – Jared had seen to that with his exercises and training, but Chase was already pretty much that way before we met him – and he had gorgeous light blue eyes and blond hair. His hands looked like football player hands, strong and wide. Whenever he moved I could see his muscles flexing under his clothes. Today he was wearing the t-shirt and jeans he had on during our test. Somehow they’d managed to get the blood out of the shirt. I started thinking about seeing him being attacked by that incubus, Valentine, when Spike interrupted my train of thought.

  “Uh, Jayne. You may want to tone down those sexy thoughts you’re having about Chase right now, because we’re in a closed space here and I’m kinda hungry.”

  I looked over at him and saw that his eyes were burning fire again. My face starting to flame up to a bright red. “Shut up, Spike. You’re imagining things. Excuse me, I have to go get a glass of water.” I nudged Chase so he’d let me out. I heard Finn snicker as I walked away. I was too embarrassed to look at Chase’s face.

  When I went back, I sat across the aisle from them, taking the window seat in the same row as Chase. That way I didn’t have to look at his face. I grabbed a blanket from under the seat and covered myself from toe to neck. Luckily, my seat reclined all the way back to make a pretty comfortable bed. I ignored Spike and Finn who I knew were itching to tease me and closed my eyes, planning to sleep as long as possible on our long trip. Tim joined me on my pillow and flopped down on his back, obviously preparing to fall asleep next to my face. I opened one eye and warned, “One fart and you’re outta here. And make sure you sleep on your side so you don’t snore.”

  Tim yawned as he flipped over. “Do you have any idea how much you sound like a pixie wife?”

  “Whatever. You’ve been warned.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah ... ” he said, as he drifted off to sleep. That’s one thing I noticed about pixies – or at least, this pixie. He fell asleep almost instantly. I wished I could do that, especially now. I wanted to escape my embarrassment in dreamland but it took a while for sleep to claim me. I kept thinking about Chase and his muscles, Tony and this guy Ben, and what I was going to say to Tony when I saw him – that is, assuming he’d agree to see me at all.

  Chapter 26

  We arrived at the smaller executive airfield next to Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach. It was late afternoon, almost the time Tony would be getting out of school. We all got off the plane and collected our bags to take with us into the executive airport lounge where we went to regroup. Tim stayed in my hair, which I had taken out of its p
onytail so as to hide him better.

  Jared made a phone call from a cell phone he took out of his bag. I suddenly remembered my old cell phone and wondered what had happened to it. The last time I saw it was when I took it to the airplane that had Ivar and his poison brew on board. It’s funny how I hadn’t even thought about it in over a month, when before, it was like an extension of my hand.

  Soon after Jared made his call, a hotel shuttle came to get us. We were staying at the same chain hotel that had hosted our meeting and interviews in Miami. I was sharing a room with Chase and Tim and all the other guys were next door. After throwing our stuff on our beds, we all met down on the ground floor to finalize our plans. Tim kept his fanny pack on, refusing to keep it at the hotel.

  “Jayne, do you know Tony’s phone number?” asked Jared, holding out his phone.

  “Yep. I used to call it about ten times a day.”

  “So, what are you going to say?”

  “I’m going to ask him to meet me at the library at six o’clock. That gives us enough time to grab a sandwich, ‘cause I’m starving. Plus the library is a safe, public place, right?”

  “Does this sound good to everyone?” Jared asked, looking around at all of us.

  The guys nodded. Tim said, “Yep!” from the back of my head.

  I dialed Tony’s cell number and waited for him to pick up. I was freaking out, listening to the sound of the ringing. I couldn’t wait to hear his voice but I was also afraid to hear it – afraid it would be different or sound angry.

  All my worrying was for nothing because he didn’t answer. I hung up as his generic voicemail message started playing.

  “Now what? Should I text him?”

  “Sure, go ahead.”

  ‘T. IT’S ME, JAYNE. CAN U MEET AFTR SCHL? LIBRY, 6PM?’

  We sat around waiting to see if he would answer.

  Five minutes later, the phone buzzed. I grabbed it off the table in front of us and read the text.

  ‘HI JAYNE! SHR. SEE U THR. U CN MT BEN’

  “Shit. He wants to bring Ben.”