by Elle Casey
I tapped into The Green through the nearby ley line again. I needed one more favor from Maggie, so I sent my message out: Maggie, get your wrinkly old lie-detecting ass back here. I will owe you one.
Chapter 12
A grouchy Maggie showed up not long after, joining the three of us under the branches of the Ancient tree where Chase remained tied.
“Maggie, I need you tell me if this guy Goose is telling us the truth. He’s offering to help Chase, but I’m not sure if I can trust him.”
She looked over at him and grunted, then looked back at me. “What is your offer?”
“I will owe you one favor of your choosing, if you do this for me.”
“Anything I want?” a slow smile spread across her face.
I was a little uncomfortable about this opened-ended bargain, and a lot uncomfortable about that smile, but I didn’t see any way around it. I had nothing else to give. “Within reason, yes.”
“Whose reason?”
I rolled my eyes at her. She would have made a great lawyer in the human world. “I don’t know ... an average fae’s reason, I guess.”
“Done.” She nodded at me. Then she turned to face Goose. “Speak!”
“Tell her what you told us,” I said.
Intrigued, Goose began his story. “My name is Gustav and I am of the Dark Fae.”
“Truth!”
Goose jumped, temporarily startled, but then he continued, “I am part of a group of witches that are working to heal those who have been pixilated.”
“Truth!”
“We have found a cure.”
“Lie!”
Gustav frowned at her and then looked at me.
“You have to be exactly truthful or she’ll know.”
“Ah,” he said nodding. “Okay, we are nearly to a cure, and we have had many successes recently in finding it and successfully treating advanced pixilation.”
“Truth!”
“And if I hand Chase over to you, you won’t hurt him?”
“No.”
“Lie!”
“Sorry ... What I mean to say is, the only pain he will endure, is that which is a side effect of the treatment. Otherwise, I intend him no harm.”
“Truth!”
“And you’ll let him go when he’s done with the treatment or when I ask you to return him?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
“Truth!”
“And you’ll tell me the truth about how and where to find him?”
“Yes.”
“Truth!”
I looked at Finn. “Can you think of anything else we need to know?”
Finn looked at him and said, “You have no other reason to help Chase other than your scientific experiments?”
At this Goose squirmed a bit. He took a few seconds to answer. “My only interest in your friend, personally, is scientific.”
“Truth!”
I looked at Finn and he looked at me, shrugging his shoulders. I guess we were both satisfied enough to take the risk. I didn’t feel as if I had any other choice.
“Thank you, Maggie. You can go back to bed now. Go get your beauty sleep.”
She grunted and then shuffled off, disappearing among the trees.
I faced Goose. “Okay. You can take him to your lab. But I want your solemn promise that you’ll take good care of him. He’s very special to me.” I tried not to think about how special he was because a lump was forming in my throat, making my voice rough.
“I promise you, I will do whatever I can to help rid him of his pixilation problem.”
“And when will he be ready to come back home?”
“Assuming you can get us a sample of the pixie’s blood, one week, if all goes well.”
“One week? Holy shit, how in the heck are we gonna put off the council for a whole week?” asked Finn.
“I don’t know. And how the hell do we get a sample of Tim’s blood?”
I focused my attention back on Goose. “Okay. So how do we get you a pixie blood sample and how do we get Chase home when it’s all over?”
“Have your Light Fae healers take the sample – tell them it’s for Maggie. Meet me back here with it tomorrow at noon. And then I’ll return here with Chase in a week. Same time, noon. If I can get here sooner, I’ll send you a message.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I will visit you through the Gray. Now that I know you, it should be possible to find you.”
“How will I know you’re there?”
Goose smiled patiently. “I’ve been told it feels as if the hairs on the back of your neck are standing up, and of course you will hear me when I speak to you.”
“That pleasant, eh?” I smiled bitterly.
“I’m pretty sure it won’t work inside the compound,” said Finn.
I hadn’t heard that before, but being a part of the green elves gave Finn access to a lot more security info than me.
“You are correct. But when you are outside, it will work. I will just keep trying, if need be, until I catch you out in the forest somewhere.”
“Fine. So how are you going to transport Chase to your lab? And where is your lab?”
“I have already contacted some ogres who assist in our security details. They will be here shortly. And my lab is in the Dark Fae compound, here in this forest.”
The fact that there was a Dark Fae compound here in the same forest was an interesting fact, but I had other more immediate concerns to worry about. I decided I could mull over the Dark Fae compound issue later with my friends. Besides, Finn would probably know something about it.
“I’m going to have to release him from the vines or they won’t come off,” I explained.
“If you could wait until the ogres arrive, that would be best. A pixilated fae is hard to catch sometimes.”
“Yeah. I noticed.”
We heard a crashing through the nearby trees and five seconds later two giant fae came walking up, stopping next to Goose.
“You called?” one of them said in a gravelly voice. He sounded so much like Ivar, it was uncanny. These ogres even looked a little like him – big heads with bulky eyebrow ridges that hung over small eyes, thick necks, arms as big around as my waist practically. Good fae to have around as security guys for sure.
Goose gestured to Chase. “Could you please deliver that fae who is tied to the tree over there to my laboratory?”
He nodded at me. “You may release him now.”
I quickly sent out a message to the vines that they could let Chase go. I didn’t want those ogres tearing them away. I had never gotten any signal from The Green that breaking its vines or leaves off was painful in any way, but it still didn’t seem right to let it happen.
The vines quickly retreated, going back to the trees and bushes that they had come from.
Chase tried to get up, obviously planning to go run and dance some more, if the glee in his eyes was any indication. But the two ogres quickly put an end to those plans, grabbing him firmly by the arms. He struggled valiantly, twisting his body around as far as he could, trying to look back towards the meadow, all the while yelling for them to let him go so he could go dance. He even invited them to go with him, which if it wasn’t so pitiful, would have been hilarious. I mean, Chase frolicking in the flowers with two ogres? – Hilarious and hideous, all at the same time.
“We will take our leave now, and I will see you in one week’s time,” said Goose, giving us a slight bow as he began to fade into the Gray.
“Goose! Wait!”
He started to come back a little. “Yes?”
“What kind of fae are you again?”
“I am a wrathe.”
I nodded. “Okay, thanks. See ya.”
He faded into the Gray, disappearing completely.
“Why’d you ask him that?”
“Because I suddenly remembered where I’d seen eyes like his before.”
“Where?”
“On Tony’s face. Righ
t after he changed.”
“Oh shee-it. I didn’t put two and two together, but you’re right.”
“Do you know what a wrathe is?”
“No idea.”
“Me neither. Let’s get back. Tomorrow we can ask Dardennes or Céline. Maybe even Jared will know.”
We started walking through the forest and then the meadow.
“So what’re we gonna do about Chase bein’ gone? What’re we gonna say to everybody?”
“I don’t know,” I answered distractedly. “Let’s go find Jared. He’ll know what to do.”
“Or he’ll rat us out and we’ll all be totally screwed.”
“Yeah, well, that could happen. But I have a feeling it won’t. Jared does the right thing for faekind, even if it makes people hate him.” I knew this firsthand because I had just recently gotten over my feelings of anger towards him that had started when he pretended to be a regular teen in Miami and in the forest with us during the test, rather than the fae recruiter he really was. But ever since he’d helped rescue Tony, he was off my bad list forever.
We arrived at the door to find Becky nervously waiting for us.
“Hey guys, where’s Chase?”
“We gave him to some Dark Fae guy,” I said. I was teasing her, enjoying her discomfort.
“What?” She looked at Finn for confirmation.
“Yep. Gave him up. Dumped his sorry butt.”
“You guys aren’t serious ... are you?”
I laughed a little because she looked so worried and sad, my sick sense of humor guiding me as usual. But I couldn’t keep up the game. I was afraid she’d start crying. “Yeah, we did, but not like that. Just relax. Come with us to see Jared, and we’ll explain everything. I don’t want to say anything in the hallways, just in case anyone’s around to overhear.” I had no idea what time it was – it was late – but there were some fae night owls like Spike who might still be up and roaming around. “Anyone know where Jared’s room is?”
“I do,” said Becky, trying to act all casual but failing miserably when her voice caught.
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh, ya do, do ya?”
“Shush, it’s not like that,” she said, her face beet red.
Finn frowned. “Well, what is it like then, Becky?” He sounded like a parent.
“Jared’s a good person. He’s good to talk to if ... you know ... if you have questions and stuff.”
Finn looked at her suspiciously, but I didn’t care one way or another. If she wanted to hook up with Jared, it was her business. She was a big girl and could make up her own mind whether she wanted to get with a guy who was two hundred years older than her.
We followed Becky down the never-ending corridor until we reached the door she indicated as Jared’s. She knocked three times and he opened it, standing there fully dressed. I guess he was one of those night owl types.
His eyes took in the sight of all of us standing there. “Hey. What’s up?” he asked cautiously, as if he wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear the answer.
“Can we come in?” I asked.
“Sure.” He stepped back, giving us room to enter. After we were in, he shut the door.
These rooms of ours were very small, so whenever we gathered in one, we all immediately sat on the floor. Jared joined us there, hiking up one leg and resting his forearm on his bent knee in front of him.
“Jared, we have a problem. A big one. Is this room ... soundproof?”
“Yes. And there are no bug spells in it either.”
“Bug spells?” Becky asked.
Finn quickly explained. “Witches can put a spell on your room that listens to whatever goes on there and reports it back to the witch.”
That pissed me off and made me wonder whether my room was bugged. “How do you know if you have one?”
“Gotta have a witch come and do a scan.”
“Motherfucker.” I felt like I was never going to know all there was to know about being fae. They needed a school here or a manual at least.
“You were saying?” prompted Jared.
“Sorry. Okay, so ... big trouble. It totally wasn’t his fault, but Tim pixied, I mean pixelated, Chase ... ” I kept talking fast, even though I could see Jared was practically shitting his pants angry, “ ... so Chase got a little out of control and ran out into the woods, dancing and messing around, so we went after him and eventually tied him to a tree. Then this wrathe fae named Gustav came and offered to help with a new cure, and I made sure he wasn’t lying by using Maggie the witch, who can tell if someone’s lying, and he took Chase to his lab where he’s going to fix him. But it’s going to take a week, so we need you to cover for Chase while he’s gone – otherwise Dardennes and the rest of the council will send Tim away. And right now he doesn’t have any wings and it really wasn’t his fault, so it wouldn’t be fair.”
I stopped for a breath, anxiously studying Jared’s face for his final reaction. He’d gone from disbelief, to anger, to surprise, to something I now couldn’t discern.
Chapter 13
“What ... ? ... How did ... ? ... When are ... ?” Jared ran his hand through his hair. “What am I supposed to tell the council, Jayne? This community is too small. Someone missing for that long will be noticed. You know this isn’t going to work.”
“No, I don’t know that,” I said, testily.
Finn suggested, “You and Ivar go on recruitin’ missions all the time. Why don’t ya’ll go on one and take imaginary Chase with ya?”
“I don’t have any scheduled right now, and it takes a lot of coordination to get one going. I can’t just throw one together like that. And the council is always involved; they’ll know something’s up. They’ll want explanations that I won’t have.”
“Well, we have to come up with something. I just got one friend back; I’m not going to go and lose another one now. If they send Tim off to a pixie colony he’ll never survive. He won’t have new wings for a month at least. I don’t even know if the one Ben burned off is going to come back.” I hadn’t voiced that concern to anyone before, but I’d been thinking it; and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to lay it on thick right now. Jared needed convincing.
Jared got up and went over to sit down on his bed, looking down at us. “I’ll do what I can to think of something, but for right now, I’m coming up empty. Come see me at breakfast. Nothing’s going to happen tonight to change anything.”
“Okay,” I said, getting up and moving towards the door with Becky and Finn. “And thanks, Jared. I appreciate your help.”
“Yeah,” he said absently, his mind obviously still on our predicament.
Finn, Becky, and I stepped outside Jared’s room and said our goodbyes to each other. They walked away, down the corridor in the opposite direction of my room. I imagined my room, and a few minutes later, was standing outside the door. I could hear the low murmur of voices coming from inside. I wondered if there was a bug spell in there.
“Hey, guys,” I said as I entered, instantly pissed to see Scrubs sitting on my bed and Tony on the floor.
“Scrubs, get off my bed, you dumbass.”
He jumped up. “Oops, sorry ‘bout that. It’s Scrum, by the way. Not Scrubs.” He stepped over with exaggerated goofy tiptoe strides and sat on the floor near Tony.
“Tony, you can sit on my bed.”
Tony smiled. “I’m fine here. What’d you find out?”
Tim was looking at me anxiously.
I frowned at him. Little shit was the cause of all of this – if he wasn’t such a good friend I’d happily hang him out to dry. But he’d somehow found a way to get under my skin, so now I had to cover for his pixie ass.
“Chase is with the Dark Fae witches who are trying to work on a cure.”
“What?!” yelled Tim. I was the only one in the room who could hear him. I’d taken a spell from Maggie so that I’d be able to hear his tiny voice, which was normally too small for humans to hear unless he was talking right down into an ear canal from half
an inch away. Now I could hear his voice like it was from a normal person.
“Yeah, you heard me right, you little punk. And tomorrow, you and I are going to the healers so they can get a blood sample from you. The Dark Fae need it for the cure.”
Tim was shaking his head, fear on his face.
“Don’t even think about telling me no, Tim. I’m not messing around with you. Chase can’t be cured without it. You either cooperate and don’t give me any shit, or I’m putting you back under that bell jar myself.”
“Yeah,” he said pleading with me, panic all over his face, “but do you know what a Dark Fae witch can do with a blood sample? And from a pixie?”
“No. And I don’t want to know. Maggie said this guy we met in the forest was telling the truth. He can fix Chase – mostly fix him, anyway – so we have to do it. We’re going to bring the sample to him tomorrow right before lunch.”
Tim turned to face the wall, giving me a view of his angry back.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” asked Scrum.
“Just stay out of my way.” I wasn’t in the mood to babysit tonight.
“Jayne, he can help us, I think. He’s been telling me a lot about his training and what goes on here at the compound.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. This guy was such a klutz, it was hard to imagine him doing very well at any training. But he was a daemon, so he would at least know what they did on a day-to-day basis.
“Whatever. Scum, your room is next door to mine, that way,” I jerked my thumb in the opposite direction of Chase’s room. “Tony, yours is on the other side of his. Come on, I’ll take you there.”
“It’s Scrum, not Scum. But okay, thanks. I guess they moved me.” He walked out into the hallway and opened the door to his room. “Goodnight guys. It was nice meeting you, Tony. See you in the morning?”
“Sure, Scrum. Thanks for the orientation,” said Tony, smiling. Tony’s a sucker for misfits. I hated to think about what that said about me.
Scrum disappeared inside. I heard a banging and scraping sound coming from the room, which told me the kid had probably tripped and landed against his dresser, knocking it to the side. What a dipshit. How that guy could be a daemon warrior was beyond me. I wondered if it were possible that they had screwed up somewhere letting him in.
