The Overt Operation (Department of FAE Book 2)

by Renee Greene

  “No,” she answered immediately. “Tengai are not elves. Notice the tail. Elves are humanoid except for pointed ears and possibly wings. Humanoids with any animal feature are not elves. Honestly, I think we are better than elves. I am what I am. I might as well enjoy it.”

  “What do you do besides fighting?” he asked. “And what is in your stinger. I’m not sure I’ve recovered even with healing.”

  “Do you need more healing?” she asked innocently. “I could take you to a pixie.”

  “I have had more pixies throwing themselves at me than I want,” he muttered, looking away.

  She put her hand on his chin and turned his face so she could look in his eyes and suggested, “Let me help you. Explain to me how you got through the arch as a full human.”

  He stared into her eyes. In fact, he couldn’t seem to stop staring into them.

  “Please,” she begged.

  He explained to her all about how he had sacrificed himself to protect Vanessa, how he’d been stabbed and taken so many beatings. He also explained how he and Vanessa had a connection, and that it took both the connection and the selfless sacrifice for one of the human-fairies to get through.

  “Interesting,” Pyria noted. “You are very selfless. I saw you fight against the ogre at the tournament. You were willing to risk your life to keep Vanessa and Bryan from being turned over to Evander. You fought to get their father returned to them. That was so heroic.”

  He still stared into her eyes, but he blinked a few times and then turned away. “I’m confused,” he admitted.

  “What about?” she asked. “I know this entire situation is confusing, but I want to help. You may not be able to cross back into your world, but would that be so bad? Isn’t Elliad amazing? Would it be so bad to stay here?” She stepped up very close, put her hand on his cheek again, and asked, “Would it be so bad to stay here where I am?”

  Something about her was mesmerizing. She had such an incredible sweetness. Yet, she was strong, bold, and enticing. There was a connection between them. He could really feel it, but he didn’t even know her. “I’m confused,” he again admitted. “What venom is in your sting? The pixies healed me of paralysis poison, but I haven’t felt the same since you stung me.”

  Pyria stiffened, but took a breath to try to relax. “That doesn’t matter,” she countered. “What does matter is us. Do you not find me attractive?”

  “Very,” Dylan agreed.

  She ran her hand down his arm as she asked, “Do you not have feelings for me?”

  “I do,” he admitted. “I shouldn’t. I hardly know you. I mean…”

  He didn’t get to think about his feelings too much, as she kissed him, passionately. Dylan had kissed girls before, but never like that. After the kiss, he stared at her, stunned.

  “You want to come with me, don’t you?” she asked.

  “Of course,” he answered, still staring at her. “Where are we going?”

  “To negotiate with Evander,” she answered.

  “Negotiating with terrorists doesn’t work,” Dylan argued. “Terrorists must be fought.”

  “Terrorists?” Pyria asked. “Perhaps this word is being lost in translation.”

  Dylan had forgotten that the land had a spell on it to translate languages so everyone could understand everyone else and that Bryan had connected him to it. “Evil men,” Dylan stated. “Evil does not negotiate.”

  “Evil?” Pyria asked. “What makes you think Evander is evil? Many fairies would like to see the portal between our worlds open. I know I would love to see your world.”

  “It’s better left closed,” Dylan stated.

  “Evander wants to learn to let fairies pass through the portal,” Pyria explained innocently. “Think of the advancements our society could have if we get your technology.”

  “No,” Dylan countered. “It would be bad. Surely many fairies would visit and it would be fine, but the power of the magic and technology together would be great, and evil men could take over both worlds.”

  “But wouldn’t it be nice for me to be able to visit your world?” Pyria asked. “Obviously, you wanted to pass through. Can you blame people for wanting that and supporting Evander?”

  Dylan thought for a moment. She did have a point. He did want to go through the arch. He had been through and not been corrupted with the desire to use magic. Still, it was dangerous. “I cannot condone people backing Evander,” he finally answered. “Even if opening the arch is a good idea, the end does not justify the means. He has kidnapped Vanessa and Bryan’s father, and he keeps trying to kill his own brother.”

  “I would guess that he thinks it a necessary sacrifice to get someone with the strength to lead our world to advancement,” she defended. “You are assuming he is motivated by hate.”

  “I don’t care what his motivation is,” Dylan explained. “I care that he kidnaps and kills. I care that he wants power. Those who desire power do not generally want it to serve with but to be served.”

  “I still think we should negotiate with him,” Pyria urged. “If we talk to him, maybe you could make him see your side.” She again looked deep in his eyes. “Perhaps a compromise and some technology could be exchanged.”

  “Even that’s dangerous,” Dylan explained. “Honestly, I don’t want to be responsible for bringing technology to your world. Your world is not peaceful and perfect, but it is beautiful. There is a closeness among the people that has been greatly lost in my world due to technology. I am very friendly and popular, but I am not average.”

  She ran her hand along his arm muscles and agreed, “No, you are not. You are so much better than average.” She again surprised him by kissing him. There was something odd about her kiss, but also something incredible, a feeling he’d never felt. Somehow, he felt as if she was part of him, as if they belonged together, and he’d known her all his life.

  “Let’s try negotiating with Evander,” she pleaded. “If you truly have the feelings for Vanessa that you think you do, would it not impress her to have her come back and have you have rescued her father?”

  He stared at her and said nothing.

  She kissed him again, and then asked, “Do you still have feelings for Vanessa?”

  “I don’t know,” he answered, staring blankly. “I’m so confused.”

  She ran her hand along his arm, again feeling his well-defined muscles. “You are indeed strong, and not just physically. Please, trust me. Come and negotiate with Evander. You are such a hero. Let me be a hero with you. Together, we can do this.” She looked very alluring as she begged, “Please.”

  He thought for a moment. “I don’t know if…”

  “Please,” she again urged. “I’ll help you. Do it for Vanessa. You want to get home. You must connect with her again or you won’t go back.”

  “I’m confused,” he again admitted, rubbing his head.

  She hugged him closely and suggested, “If you can make it back, maybe you can find a way to bring me with you. I would love to see your world and how heroic you are in it.”

  “Let me think about it,” Dylan decided. “I’m not sure what I think about any of this right now. I think I…”

  “Don’t think,” she tempted. “Don’t think unless it’s of me.” As she said it, she pressed up against him. Then she kissed him, very passionately. As she did, she wrapped her tail around him and stung him again.

  After the kiss, she smiled mischievously and asked, “Will you come with me to negotiate with Evander?”

  Dylan stared at her and answered, “I will.”

  *****

  “Oh no!” Nea complained when she heard the news from King Giles that his guards reported that Pyria and Dylan had gone to negotiate with Evander for Alex’s release.

  “I am worried,” King Giles agreed. “Pyria is very skilled. She has been a loyal subject, but she could very well over-estimate her ability, or under-estimate the power Evander has. I’m sure she means well, but this may not have been a wis
e move. She likely thinks Dylan has more power than he does.”

  Nea shook her head, wishing he had worded things differently so she could know what wasn’t true about what he said, but he’d used too many conditionals. She clasped her hands together, and a puff of fire came from them. “I’ll go after them,” she assured him.

  “How many soldiers do you need with you?” King Giles asked. “I guess it’s time we attack full force and free Alex and hopefully find Dylan and he’s safe.”

  “Bringing soldiers will be a blood bath,” Nea countered. “I have already chosen who to do the stealth mission with, so I think we keep this quest stealth and not bring soldiers.”

  “As you wish,” King Giles assured her. “I can have back up near. I fear that this situation is about to escalate. I’ll send out a warning to my people.” He sat on his throne with his face in his hands and admitted, “I am so worried about my people. I have magical shielding from my ring. Faun cannot be poisoned. We can eat anything. But my people are not safe. I didn’t ask to be king. I don’t want to be king. We need Bryan. He is more powerful than all of us. Maybe we should see if we can get hold of him first. I have tried, but no one is in the library to contact.”

  “I’m going after Dylan,” Nea informed him. “I haven’t made it as far as I have by being afraid. I’m not starting now. I’ll get Cullen and get going.”

  “Cullen?” King Giles asked.

  “He’s a water nymph,” Nea explained. “He has helped us before. I know he is on the right side. He is powerful and will be an asset. He’s already been summoned to the castle. He should be here soon.”

  “Be careful,” King Giles warned. “I fear there is more here than we know. Hopefully, Bryan will return soon.”

  Nea held back tears and told him, “If he gets back soon, tell him that I’ll be back as soon as I can and that I… that I think he’s incredible.”

  King Giles assured her he would, and she left to go find Cullen and leave.

  Chapter 9: Rayne Learns that an Immaterial Man Can be Knifed

  “What happened?” Agent White asked as they all sat at headquarters. “I remember going to the warehouse and that Director Mahon is trying to… I think…” He ran his hand through his hair. “I think… Did we save Trina? What happened to… Was there a flying short guy?”

  “Yes,” Bryan confirmed. “His name is Rayne. He is the prince of the pixies.” He looked around and suddenly noticed that Rayne wasn’t there.

  “Oh no!” Bryan complained. He looked around and noticed that Vanessa was there. That was good. She wasn’t running around with him, and he didn’t have her off someplace and in danger.

  “Where would he go?” Agent White asked. “Everything seems so fuzzy. I’m not sure who that girl was, but she seemed to connect to my mind. Even more, I seemed to connect to her. It was like we were one person and my mind wasn’t really mine.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how to explain it. She has some odd ability. She can connect to the mind and affect memories. I saw odd things that I know didn’t happen.”

  “At least you got out safely with your men,” Gail pointed out. She was sitting at the table they were all around, and she had Trina on her lap and was holding her tightly so nothing could happen to her.

  “We will put more agents around your house,” Agent White assured Gail. “Honestly, I think you should sleep in the library. It seems to have magic that has protected it from people getting in, even the eccentric who passes through walls.”

  “We need to find Rayne,” Bryan insisted. “Do that first.”

  Agent White did assign his men to search for Rayne. Finding him would be hard since he could shrink very small, although he likely wouldn’t want to go too far, as he would want to go back to Elliad with them and not be lost on Earth.

  “He can go invisible,” Vanessa reminded them. “He could be very near and we just not be able to see him. My trail is easy to follow. Unfortunately, his is almost impossible.

  Perhaps Rayne had just wanted to look around outside, or perhaps he was trying to look around without getting in trouble. Yet, he was missing, so they had to find him.

  They split up and looked around the building. An armed agent went with Vanessa and Bryan.

  As they walked around searching, Vanessa asked Bryan, “Why couldn’t Dylan come through the arch? Do you think he doesn’t care about me anymore? Did he lose his connection with me?”

  “Umm… it looks like it,” Bryan answered.

  “So you think he doesn’t care about me anymore?” she asked, her fear at the answer obvious.

  “No,” Bryan answered immediately.

  She grasped his arm as she next asked, “But if he still cares, how did we lose our connection?”

  “I don’t know,” Bryan answered, a little frustrated that she expected him to know.

  “Do you think it’s me who lost the connection?” Vanessa panicked. “Do I really like Rayne more than I think I do.”

  Bryan raised his voice as he answered, “I don’t know. How would I know how you feel about Rayne?”

  “Who do you think I should like better, Rayne or Dylan?” she asked.

  She expected him to say he didn’t know, as it was a very Bryan answer, particularly where relationships were concerned. Yet, he answered, “I don’t trust Rayne.”

  “I don’t either,” Vanessa admitted. “He believes in the cause of opening the arch, and I think he is trying to go about it in ways that don’t hurt anyone, but I just don’t know.” She looked around for any sign of Rayne as she explained, “He is so attractive and so romantic, but I’m not sure that’s enough for a good relationship.”

  “It’s not,” Bryan agreed. He suddenly stopped and stared at her.

  “Thinking of Nea?” Vanessa asked.

  “Let’s get back looking,” he suggested. “We need to find Rayne and get back. Our father still needs rescuing.”

  “Rayne,” Vanessa called out loudly. “Rayne, where are you? We need to get back.”

  Unfortunately, he wasn’t the one who answered the call. Instead, the same man they’d seen before stepped through the wall.

  The agent with Bryan and Vanessa immediately shot a taser at the man. It went right through him. The man laughed. “You cannot kill me,” he hissed. “But be warned, Bryan. You will get us through the portal, or we will hunt you down and everyone you care about.”

  Bryan stood staring in shock at the threat, but Rayne suddenly appeared behind him and struck him with a knife. It drew blood before the man thought to change to his immaterial form and run back through the wall.

  They all ran to see if they could get to the other side, but there was a room there, and the door was locked.

  “Can you get us in?” Vanessa asked the agent she was with.

  “No,” the man answered. “That’s an Eccentrics room. I deal in fairy science.”

  Vanessa really wanted to know if the man was dead or not, so she shrank to six inches and flew up to the top of the door. There was a glass window over it to let light in, so she looked through it.

  She couldn’t hear what was being said, but the man was lying on the floor, talking to someone, another agent from Eccentrics no doubt, who was trying to stop the bleeding.

  She didn’t wait to see what the other person did. He may just have been an agent, or he may have some unusual power. Either way, she flew back down and announced, “He’s still alive.”

  The agent with them then turned to Rayne and scolded, “We don’t kill unless absolutely necessary, and you almost did there.”

  Of course, Rayne didn’t understand, so Bryan stepped in as a translator so they could talk.

  “He was working for the side who kidnapped Trina,” Rayne defended. “He has attacked before, and he obviously is up to no good. He knows what he is doing is wrong.”

  Bryan translated for the agent.

  “But we would rather capture and question him,” the agent pointed out. “We don’t kill unless it is absolutely nec
essary. We don’t have license to mete out justice as we see it.”

  Bryan got sick of translating very quickly. He really didn’t want to be in the middle of the argument, but he relayed the message.

  “I do,” Rayne stated. “I am the crowned prince of Pixieland. I can mete out justice as I see it.”

  “You aren’t a prince here,” the agent scolded once Bryan translated. “I would have liked to see if we could get him to talk more. We need clues. Yes, we know the Eccentrics department is corrupt, and we know their goal, but we don’t know how they intend to reach it or what their next step is. Unfortunately, even though we know Mahon is behind this, he covers his tracks well. We could flat out see him when getting Trina, but still have no proof, at least, not any that will hold up in a court of law.”

  Bryan passed the message and then told them they had said enough.

  Rayne leaned over and asked Vanessa, “What’s a court of law? Is that where the leader decides if you are guilty or not?”

  “It will take some explaining,” Bryan told him, as Vanessa didn’t understand, “and we don’t have time. We need to get mom, and Trina to safety and get back to rescue dad and see if Dylan is all right.”

  “Understood,” Rayne agreed. He stepped close to Vanessa and playfully teased, “I guess we’ll have to spend some time together, while you explain to me earth customs.”

  “I’m not translating that,” Bryan insisted. “I’m not saying anything flirty to my sister.”

  “Let’s go,” Vanessa insisted. “Seriously, Rayne, if you hadn’t wandered off, this could have been avoided.”

  “Here we go again,” Bryan muttered before translating.

  “I was just curious,” Rayne defended. “Wouldn’t you be?”

  Vanessa softened and agreed, “I guess.”

  Bryan informed him that he was through translating and Rayne could just shut up. Then he insisted, “We need to go. They may have people who can heal as Vanessa does.”