by Renee Greene
“You must be incredible with languages if you can do that,” Vanessa pointed out.
Nea shrugged and explained, “I do speak sixteen languages even without using the land to translate. I am very gifted with language.”
Bryan suddenly looked over at her and said something in Elvish. She responded in English, “No, you don’t know very much about me. I don’t really do back stories.”
Bryan very much wanted to help, but his father and Agent White rang the doorbell, so he held his hand out toward the door and commanded, “Dean kuzlo.”
The door unlocked, so his father and Agent White could get in.
His mother brought ice cream in, so they all sat down in the living room to eat it.
Bryan sat rather pensively as he ate his ice cream.
“What’s wrong?” Vanessa asked.
“Lots of things,” Bryan answered. “I can’t explain.”
“I can,” Nea offered. “He is obviously concerned about the trouble here. He’s concerned about the trouble in Elliad. He rescued your father, but due to that, war will probably break out soon, and Evander will likely do something horrible to draw us back into that realm. He is also incredibly confused about me. He is right that he doesn’t really know all that much about me.” She leaned over and whispered, “But he really likes me.” Then she said normally, “He is also curious how our mind link will be affected when we go back to Elliad. He is unsure if it will be stronger or weaker.”
“He can turn it off there, can’t he?” Vanessa asked.
“Yes,” Nea answered. “Yet, we may not want to. I guess we see what the connection does. Magic is more difficult than you think.” She looked over at Bryan and asked, “Did I get it right?”
“Yes,” he answered. “I want your back story and magic is not as simple as it sounds.”
“What do you mean?” Vanessa asked.
“Um… I have to know… well, the wrong word can…” Bryan stuttered. “It’s confusing.”
“I’ll explain,” Nea offered. “Wizardry isn’t just a matter of knowing the language. He has to figure out which words to use. He can tell you the exact words he uses. I cannot translate them. With as many languages as I speak, I don’t speak magic. It’s not actually a fairy language. It’s much closer to ancient fomorian, although it’s not even exactly that. Yet, I can tell you that he has to really think his words through carefully. For example, he must be very careful about who he calls the spell to affect. When we were fighting the thugs in the parking lot, he had to choose his words carefully. If he had called “push” then everyone would have flown backward. His hands do help, but he could cast spells without them. He could call to push the men, but even then, both Dylan and him would have been affected. He called for the agents to be pushed, but since Dylan is an agent, he was affected too. What word would you use to only affect our attackers.”
“Bad guys,” Vanessa suggested. “Attackers.”
“Bad is relative,” Nea explained. “Attackers would not work either. If one was waiting to strike, he would not be attacking and would not be affected.”
“Can he just freeze everyone in place while he sorts it out?” Dylan asked.
“Not that easy,” Nea explained. “First it takes energy to do an area affect, and it takes energy to make it last longer. He cannot really defy the laws of nature either. If he called to stop to someone who was jumping, the man would not stop mid air and hang there. He would either stop but continue the motion or stop and fall, depending on how fast he was going. Remember when he healed King Giles when he was turning to stone from the inside out that he had to reverse the spell. If he had only stopped it, King Giles would have still had stone inside of him. He could have made everyone drop their weapons in the fight on the road, but they would have picked them up, so it wouldn’t have helped much. In fact, it may have hurt our side worse. Choosing the right word isn’t always easy, and you know Bryan well. Thinking on his feet is not easy for him.”
“Enough about me,” Bryan suggested. “I’d like to hear your back story.”
“There isn’t much to tell,” she responded. “I’m just me.”
“How did you become a spy for your leader?” Dylan asked.
“That’s kind of a sad story,” she admitted. She seemed suddenly very vulnerable, and she snuggled closer to Bryan.
“You don’t have to tell me,” Bryan assured her. “The past doesn’t really matter. I was a difficult child. I’m embarrassed by some of the stories.”
“I’ll tell you,” Nea conceded. “I told you that I am half nymph, a quarter dryad, and a quarter sprite. My mother was half-dryad and half-sprite. That should be impossible, but she was a random mutation. She was quite pretty, but looked very much dryad, only short for one. Half-breeds are looked down on in the fairy world. They do not want the various races becoming mutts, so people are shunned if they marry outside of the race. You will notice that some who follow Evander are half-breeds because they were kicked out of the kingdom.”
“That’s wrong!” Vanessa exclaimed.
“I agree,” Nea stated. Then she continued, “My father was a fire nymph. He loved my mother and did not care what type of fairy she was or that she was a mix.”
“Did they get kicked out of the kingdom?” Vanessa asked.
“No,” Nea explained. “Dryads are only female. When they marry, their daughters are full dryad, and their sons are fully the husband’s race. As I said, my mother was a mutant. When I was born, it was obvious that she was half sprite. Because of my mother’s mutation, I didn’t become full nymph or dryad. The people were appalled by me, a mix of three races. They demanded that my parents drown me because they were afraid that I would be some powerful freak.” She hugged around Bryan’s waist, and he held her closer. She continued, “Fortunately, Lady Locklyn, the leader of the nymphs, was sympathetic. She did not like the races intermarrying, but she definitely did not want to see a baby harmed. Thus, she decided that I had special abilities and told people that I would be of use to her. She raised me to spy for her. She was kind enough to let my parents help raise me in her palace. This worked for her, as it would discourage others from intermarrying, thinking their child would be taken to use as a spy, but it kept me alive. That’s how I became a spy. I was raised doing it, and I had to if I wanted to stay alive and not let Lady Locklyn lose face. I’ve worked hard for her.”
“That is an incredible story,” Vanessa noted afterward. “I’m sorry you went through that. It must be hard.”
“There is something hard about everyone’s life,” Nea pointed out. “I don’t complain about mine. I just never know if I’m going to get caught and killed. Fortunately, fairies are good at healing.”
“I’ve noted,” Dylan responded. “I’d be dead if Vanessa wasn’t.” He smiled at her and teased. “She’s an amazing girlfriend.”
“What is a girlfriend?” Nea asked. “I do not know how to translate that word. Does it mean betrothed?”
“No,” Vanessa corrected quickly with a blush. “It means that we date each other, but not other people.”
“So betrothed,” Nea concluded.
“No,” Vanessa corrected. “Humans don’t get married at our age. We are not looking for that. Right now, we are just enjoying what we have, and we’ll see how long it lasts.”
Nea scrunched her eyes curiously and concluded, “That doesn’t sound like much of a commitment.”
“It’s not,” Vanessa agreed. “Yet, it is at least some level of commitment.”
Nea thought about that for a moment, then looked over at Bryan and suggested, “If you aren’t going to ask me to marry you, then we at least ought to be boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“Usually, the boy asks,” Vanessa pointed out.
“Sorry,” Nea apologized. She turned to Bryan and urged, “Well…”
Vanessa and Dylan had to hold back the chuckle. Watching Bryan try to get the words out to ask a girl to be his girlfriend was going to be amusing.
They weren’t sure what Nea said back to him, but her face lit up and she bounced as she replied. Then she threw her arms around him and kissed him.
“I think she agreed to being his girlfriend,” Vanessa whispered to Dylan.
“That’s great,” Dylan whispered back, “but I still think I have the prettier girlfriend.
Once the girlfriend situation was finished, they debated if they should all put on a movie or go to sleep, but Agent White and Alex came in the room.
Alex announced, “I’m afraid trouble is coming. Everyone needs to get to the library for safety.”
Chapter 24: The Twins Learn they are Interesting to Scientists
“They are coming!” Agent White warned. “The government has ordered me to turn all of you over to them for study. They are coming to pick you up now! The library is the only place they can’t get in.”
“Go!” Alex ordered. “We can plan in the library.”
“How much time do we have?” Bryan asked.
“About seven minutes until they get here,” Agent White answered. “Hurry!”
“Wait!” Bryan called. “Give me a minute.” He turned to Nea and they had a quick discussion in Elvish.
She gave him a quick kiss, stepped back, and told everyone, “Watch, he’ll protect the house.”
Everyone became very quiet and stared at Bryan.
“Come,” he asked Dylan. “Help me.”
He took Dylan to the front door and told him to push on it as hard as he could. Then he held his hand out toward the door and ordered, “Sgaith et zamok. Popriat. Vensit dom caraid ali genean samo vese dean.” He then told Dylan he could stop.
“What did you just do?” Dylan asked.
“I put a spell on the house to shield it and lock it from anyone who is not a friend to my family or part of it until I dispel the magic.”
“What did you need me for?” Dylan asked.
“To put the strength into the shielding,” Bryan answered. “Let’s go.”
“Go where?” Gail asked. “They can’t get in, and we’ll get caught if we go out.”
“No,” Bryan argued. “They don’t know dad teleports. They want us.”
“What?” his mom asked.
Nea explained, “I think he means that we can’t all hide in the house forever, so he, Vanessa, Dylan, and I probably ought to go to Elliad where they cannot get us, and you all can either stay in the house or find another safe place. They do not want to experiment on all of you.” She looked over at Alex and asked, “They don’t know that you teleport, do they?”
“I don’t think so,” Alex answered. “I try to keep that hidden.”
They saw a swarm of government agents heading toward the house. They started trying to break in the door. Even with Bryan’s spell, Alex thought it best to go to the library where they wouldn’t be as easily seen through windows.
Before they did, one of the agents pulled a gun and tried to shoot out the window to get in, but the bullet bounced off the glass and hit Agent Hall.
“No!” Vanessa screamed and she immediately ran out of the front door, calling to the officers, “Let me heal him!”
Of course her parents and the others followed.
When she ran out, the agents grabbed her. She tried to pull away, but they insisted she was coming with them. After a moment of struggle she shrunk to six inches and flew above them, surprising them all. The agents began to try to catch her.
Agent White flashed his badge and called out, “Stop!” to everyone. “She can heal him. Let her!”
The agents did let her go over to Agent Hall. She grew to full size and did not try to hide her wings. She put her hands on the bullet wound and began healing him.
Everyone watched in awe as she did.
“What do we do?” Nea whispered to Bryan in Elvish as Vanessa worked. “They will capture her, you, and me, as soon as this is over.”
Bryan looked around and whispered back in Elvish, “Your fire would likely really injure or burn, and these are just agents following orders. They don’t know what they are doing.”
“Where I’m from you’re guilty if you are working for the villains even out of ignorance,” Nea pointed out.
“Indeed,” Bryan agreed. “Yet, I bet that both Pyria and Rayne are glad we showed mercy.”
Nea couldn’t argue that. “What do we do?” she asked again.
Bryan looked around. They were outnumbered. Dylan had gone over to where Vanessa was and was right beside her to protect her. That actually would make a spell harder for Bryan to figure out.
Alex leaned over to him and whispered, “Son, I have this.”
As soon as Agent Hall was healed enough that he started to sit, Alex told the others, “Get inside.” Then he teleported over, grabbed Vanessa and Dylan, and teleported back to the front door.
An agent tried to shoot them with a taser, but Bryan was waiting at the door and said, “Sgaith!” as soon as they materialized. The taser electrodes stopped short as if hitting a force field and fell to the ground.
Bryan, Vanessa, Dylan, and Alex hurried through the door. Agent White, Gail, Trina, and Nea were already in.
“What do we do?” Nea asked. “They now know you teleport, Alex. I really think we all go to Elliad.”
“At least let’s go to the library,” Agent White suggested. “Let’s not encourage them by having them see us.”
They all hurried down the stairs and saw the blue light was coming through the door to the library. Something was wrong.
Bryan typed the code into the door and they all went in. They headed straight for the dragon orb and Bryan talked to King Giles through it. He spoke in Elvish, so the others, except for Nea and Alex, couldn’t understand him.
After a minute, Nea announced, “Evander’s army is on the move. They can’t get there as quickly as we could get out there. They have a large army moving on foot, but they will be there by tomorrow at the latest.”
“We haven’t even slept,” Vanessa complained. “It’s after midnight.” She looked over at Bryan and asked, “Can you make it so we don’t need to sleep tonight?”
“I can,” Bryan answered, “but I won’t.”
“Why not?” Vanessa complained.
Bryan ran his hand through his hair and tried to explain, “If I… you could… oh…” He then explained something in Elvish to Nea.
She smiled and explained to Vanessa, “If Bryan made you be able to continue without sleep, you could do it, but it would take a toll on your body. It would put undue strain that could cause real damage.”
“Could I heal the damage?” Vanessa asked.
Bryan shook his head, threw his hands in the air, and said, “Let’s go. King Giles needs us.”
There was some discussion about what to do, and Alex made the final decision that he would go with Bryan and Vanessa to help King Giles in the morning. Obviously, Nea was coming too.
Agent White decided to send Dylan, figuring that he would be in danger in either place, but hoping that the fairies could protect him. It didn’t hurt that Dylan wanted to go to Elliad with the others.
There was quite a bit of discussion, and Gail was not eager to have Alex leave again, but she didn’t want to send her children without him.
They weren’t doing anything until morning, so they decided to get some sleep. They gathered pillows and blankets from the house and met back in the library. Bryan’s spell seemed to be protecting the house well, but they still felt safest together and in the library. They all found places to sleep. It was really crowded, as the floor didn’t really have space for that many, and there was only one couch. Vanessa got it, as she and Trina were the only two small enough to sleep on it, and Trina wanted to lie on the floor beside her mother.
Vanessa stared at everyone all around the room. How could she sleep with all that had happened?
“Ev
erything will be fine,” Dylan assured her in a soft whisper.
She startled, not expecting him to say anything, but he was on the floor by the couch, so he could see her. She looked down at him and smiled. He always did protect her. She would be fine. But would he? What if he was hurt and she couldn’t save him? They were going to a war, a war with magical races.
“Sleep,” Dylan urged. “I’ll protect you. Let’s sleep so I have the strength to.”
It had been such an eventful day, and being attacked was definitely terrifying, but the date was fun. Dylan was so comfortable to be around. When she first met him, she thought he was very nice, but likely typical of popular guys who wouldn’t even notice her. Yet, now he was her boyfriend.
She looked over at Bryan. It was funny that he had a girlfriend. Honestly, she never had expected him to find a girl he could even talk to, much less one he’d feel so comfortable dating.
She closed her eyes and began to doze off, peacefully forgetting the attack and all they had been through. After all, Bryan had put a spell on the house, and the library was always safe. Nothing would happen.
She woke up in the middle of the night to the dragon orb glowing blue. She screamed and woke everyone up.
Everyone gathered around the orb. Bryan spoke into it in Elvish.
Evander’s voice came back through it asking, “Where’s Agent Hall? He hasn’t been responding.”
“Recovering,” Bryan answered. “He was shot.”
Evander laughed and mocked, “You can’t beat me. I have the ring. I am immune to your magic and weapons. Don’t even try coming back to Elliad. You will lose.”
His threat sounded confident. Yet, it wasn’t going to stop them.
“What do we do?” Bryan asked his father.
Alex took a breath and answered, “I hope the few hours of sleep we got was good enough, because I think we need to go to Elliad now before we are too late.”
“We may already be,” Vanessa pointed out.
Alex shrugged tensely. Everyone then said good-bye. Gail was terrified having her husband, son, and daughter head into a war. Alex had just returned, and he was leaving, and the twins were only barely sixteen.
