Winged Warriors

by Elle Casey

  Once released from his fireball, the Prime Minister joined the group of other humans, all of them lined up basically in front of me. I had joined Dardennes and Céline, both of whom looked a little paler than normal after having ridden the wind a couple times to get two of the leaders to the meadow. Sam and Red had done their part as well, but they didn't look tired at all after casting their transport spells.

  I thought it was cool that several races of fae were being given the opportunity to show off their kidnapping skills to the community. No one group was being favored or put in the spotlight, which kept any chances of jealousy to a minimum. Not that the fae were jealous types, but these were not normal times by any means.

  Tim was seriously good at functioning inside big plans and playing his part as unofficial leader of the pixies. He disappeared after the leaders started showing up, telling me he was going to work with the pixie colony to prepare them for a show of force, should one become necessary. The truth was, we were both worried about butt dust being accidentally released, so it was better if they weren't around for this. Of course, Tim had insisted it was body dust and not butt dust, but whatever. Same thing. Much too much happiness equals bad in my book.

  I clapped my hands together, pleased to see that I had the humans' attention. With a nod from Dardennes, I began.

  "Although I know you didn't get here on your own steam, I want to thank you for coming. Trust me, I know it's not easy to be yanked out of your normal life and thrust into the world of the fae. I know this from personal experience." I spared a glance for the silver elves on either side of me, and they both cracked a tiny smile. Oh, the memories.

  "We never would have gone to these extremes if it weren't critically important that we talk to you now and get things rolling immediately. And we assumed if one of our emissaries approached you on your turf as fae and asked you to join us, you would have had him arrested and institutionalized." I paused for a response. Most of the humans at least nodded. The American laughed.

  The President of Turkey raised his hand. "May I ask what this urgent matter is about? And also, how are we to return to our countries? And how do you expect us to explain our absences?" He looked at the other people around him. "I was in my private residence, one room away from my wife. She will surely have called in our protective services by now."

  Dardennes leaned down and whispered in my ear. "Everything has been taken care of."

  I had no details beyond that, but knowing what I did about the fae, I was sure there was nothing to worry about. Unless Red had been in charge of the spells. I gestured for Dardennes to lower his ear again, which he did. "Was Red in charge of that part of the program by any chance?"

  Dardennes shook his head no. He might also have smiled.

  I nodded and addressed the humans. "No need to worry. No one in your family or in your protective services or whatever will notice that you're missing."

  "How is that possible?" asked the Prime Minister of Italy.

  I grinned. "Magic."

  He rolled his eyes. "Of course. It's magic." Then he laughed, and not in a respectful way.

  I felt royally dissed. And it didn't help when the men on either side of him started nodding and laughing right along with him.

  My first reaction was to bitch slap them with some of the Green, but then I decided that a mature fae would never do such a thing. So I asked myself, What would Tony do? Tony wouldn't yell. He wouldn't slap anyone silly. He wouldn't mock them, either. He'd just state some facts and make them see reason. He'd use logic to win them over.

  So I tried like hell to come up with something logical, but nothing came to mind. Maybe I could have compelled old Baloney Head into my daydreams again, but he'd seemed a bit pressed for time before, so I didn't want to bug him. And everyone was kind of waiting around for me to handle things, so I just did what I thought would work fastest and best.

  "Spike!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, letting Wind carry my voice up into the ether where some of my friends were waiting. "Bring it, baby, bring it!"

  At first there was just an eerie wind, kicked up by yours truly. It wasn't necessary for Wind to be there for the next part of my plan, but it did make it more awesome. The sound that the humans probably thought were ships' sails came next, but I knew better. I wasn't clear which of the magical beasts were coming in answer to my call, but I'd been assured by my friends—the most amazing dragon riders ever—that they would show up if necessary and not disappoint me.

  Something started itching my hand. I scratched at it for a couple of seconds, but it wouldn't stop. I looked down to see what was bothering my skin so much and noticed that the scale in my palm was glowing red. A grin slowly lit up my face as I realized what that meant.

  "Why are you smiling like that?" asked the Prime Minister of Italy. "Do you realize what a fool we think you are? Are you criminally insane? Does that make you happy to know that you are going to prison?"

  I held up my hand for him to admire. "Nope. I'm smiling because you are about to get schooled by a dragon lady named Biad. Better brace yourselves." I held my hand up to the sky, and my girl Biad lit up the clouds with her fire and brimstone. I could see the blast coming from her heart furnace from where I was standing, and she was still half a mile away.

  All the world leaders followed my gaze to face the sounds they'd heard behind their backs. Several took steps in reverse away from the majestic sight before them.

  Biad was in front, riderless. Behind her was Spike riding his dragon. Next to him was Becky, and behind them was Finn and another rider I didn't recognize. He was older than my friends. A lot older. He had a gray beard that blew over his shoulder and sailed out behind him. As he got closer I could see beads and bits of leather woven in that massive beard. And then I recognized the shape of his eyes.

  "Ish! You sonofabitch! I didn't know you were here!" I almost barfed, I was so happy to see him. He had listened to my advice! He hadn't gotten lost in his element! Woo hoo! We are cookin' with gas now, baby!

  He held his sword up over his head in a warrior's salute. "Mother! Good to see you! Welcome back from your elements!"

  "Our elements, my friend! Our elements!" I shouted back.

  "Indeed!" he bellowed.

  The British Prime Minister backed way up, only stopping when he was right in front of me. "This cannot be real."

  I stood on tiptoe so I could whisper in his ear. "Oh, it can. And it is." I giggled after because I will never ever be a mature fae, no matter how badly everyone might want me to be.

  The dragons arrived in a flurry of wing flapping, wind shifting, smoke, and fire. Thankfully they kept their flames up toward the sky, but not so much the smoke. Biad herself huffed a huge cloud of it right into the group of world leaders. They fell in every direction, trying to find oxygen.

  I walked over, stopping in front of her, ignoring the adult humans crawling around on the ground at my feet. "Biad. My dragon queen. It is so good to see you. I missed you." I held up my hand to her.

  She leaned down slowly, a sound coming from her throat that sounded a lot like a cat purring, only deeper and way the hell scarier. You look well, Elemental. You are with children. She breathed fire at my face, and we hung out in silence for a few seconds as its glorious warmth washed over me.

  "Yes, I am. I don't think I'm showing yet, though." I looked down at my belly. It seemed as flat as ever.

  It shows on your soul.

  "Oh. Yeah. Right. That makes complete sense. So…thanks for coming." I gestured to the men and women to my right. Now that the air had cleared and her fire was banked, they'd helped one another to their feet and were gathered in a tight group. Whereas my fireballs had had little effect, the dragons were making a serious impression. So much for being a kickass elemental.

  What would you like from me? Biad asked. I do not feel that leaving the portal unguarded for very long is a good idea.

  "I thought the golden Ben dragon might be keeping an eye on things for you."


  "He is too young. He needs more time."

  "Yeah. I get it. I don't need much from you, actually." I jerked my thumb in the direction of our visitors. "I just thought you could give a couple of those yahoos a little ride—a display of your fancy dancy dragon magic, so we could cut to the chase with our negotiations. They don't seem to want to accept the fact that they don't have a choice here. That they have to participate."

  Perhaps we should introduce them to your family. A show of force.

  I shrugged. "Couldn't hurt." Since the dragon was the only one besides Tim coming up with ideas, and she had taken an unplanned vacation from the Isle of Skye to come here for us, I figured I might as well heed her suggestion.

  I put my voice in the wind and delivered it to my fae friends—a handy trick I'd learned on the fly just minutes ago as the dragons had approached. "Come out, come out, wherever you are! All the fae in the forest, please step into the meadow and join us."

  I looked at the world leaders who were dumbstruck over the sight of dragons crouched in front of them. "Um, excuse me. Could I have your attention, please?" I said to the humans.

  Most of them looked at me. Not the Italian or the British guys, though. They were too busy shitting their pants, staring unmoving at Biad and her friends. I snapped my fingers several times until they finally looked over. "I want to introduce you to the local fae community. We're only a few hundred in number here, but if you include all the fae across the world, we number in the millions." I gestured out into the meadow, at the space behind and around the dragons. "Behold! The Light and Dark Fae community!"

  The meadow was shoulder to shoulder with fae of every color and size. Green elves and water sprites. Witches and werewolves. Incubi and succubi. Sirens and wraiths. Ogres, dwarves, daemons, and gnomes. Pixies by the dozen. Fae I didn't recognize as any race I'd ever seen before. All the fae that made up our family came out of the trees to surround the humans and make their acquaintance.

  And then the sirens began to sing. Their haunting voices filled the space surrounding us, weaving in and out of the fae, humans, and dragons. The giant beasts closed their eyes and swayed silently. The humans wept. The fae held hands and smiled, reminded that they were the custodians of a very powerful magic. It was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard. I felt our connection drawn together by the siren music, like a needle pulls a thread through bits of fabric and fastens the pieces tight, but it wasn't quite complete. So I added the Earth element. It filtered into our very souls, binding us all together on an elemental level, allowing us to feel how we were connected as one glorious being—a being that had been here since the beginning of time and would be here long after our existence in this realm ended.

  I would have been happy to die to the sounds of that melody, but I pulled myself out of the trance I'd fallen into and prepared myself for our next steps. There was a big picture to see here, and I was finally putting it together.

  In less than two minutes, the humans were putty in my hands. Even the Italian guy. The song stopped, but it took a little while for any of them to be able to function normally again.

  I gave them a few moments and then made my way over to the group. As I walked up, each of them lowered their eyes in deference. Now that's what I'm talking about. Finally, they were ready to deal.

  "As I said before, thank you for visiting us here in the Green Forest. Are you ready to listen to our proposal?"

  The American was the first to lift her head. "I can't speak for the group, but I am more than ready to listen. What can my country and I do to help you?"

  The rest of the leaders fell in line behind her. The last one to speak was the British guy. "When we're all done…do you think…might it be possible…" He kept looking over his shoulder at Biad. "…Perhaps…"

  I sighed. "You want to ride a dragon, don't you?"

  He nodded hard enough that I started to worry his neck was going to go out of joint.

  "Maybe. We'll see if you can behave during the negotiations."

  His smile was tremulous, but it was real. I looked up at Dardennes. "I think I'm going to hand this off to you. There's someone I need to go talk to." Like Ben said, I was all about the big picture, not these little details.

  I left the Council to the business of making deals with the human world leaders, of making plans for coordinating their armies, and of explaining to these eight people that we would use our powers to convince their colleagues and cabinets and congresses that putting troops in place outside of music concert venues was a perfectly normal thing to do with their military forces. It was going to take a hell of a lot of logistical magic not just because it was a lot of things to put together but also because we had little time, but we had a hell of a lot of powerful witches standing ready to serve our community, so I wasn't worried. My job was big picture and that was detail stuff.

  I walked over to my dragon and talked to her in my mind. So, Biad…you'll give those humans a quick ride over the forest for me? Just to kind of seal the deal? We need their help to stop the Forsaken.

  Yes. I understand the importance of your negotiations. I will do this for you.

  Thank you. I reached my hand up to stroke her nose. She purred again.

  When will I see you at the portal? she asked.

  As soon as we kick the Forsaken out of our universe. I promise.

  I fear for you, companion.

  I tried not to be scared shitless over the fact that my powerful dragon was worried about me. What did she know that I didn't? And did I want to know it? I'm going to be okay. I think. I have lots of friends.

  I am aware you have friends and many who love you. Many who would lay down their lives for you. But the Forsaken have powerful weapons to use against you, and no military will be able to stop them.

  Her words laced my heart with ice. The fear was almost paralyzing. I've heard they're going to use my kids against me. Don't worry. I can handle it. Yeah…I was totally bullshitting that dragon. I didn't want her to be freaking out about me when she had a whole realm of demons to keep under control. She had bigger fish to fry than worrying about little old me.

  "You coming, Elemental?" Tim yelled from the edge of the woods. "I found him for ya."

  I hadn't told Tim who I'd planned to go look for, but maybe he'd somehow managed to read my mind. That was what roomie soulmates did for one another, I guess. I raised my hand at the pixie to let him know I'd heard.

  I have to go, Biad. Thank you again.

  She blasted me with a wall of fire, giving me a moment of blissful calm to enjoy before I left on my next mission. "That is so awesome," I said as it slowly faded away.

  The world's leaders had stopped talking with Dardennes and were staring at me, their eyes practically falling out of their heads. I waved at them and smiled. "See you guys later. Have fun!"

  I walked off without a backward glance, but I could tell by the way Tim was fist pumping and midair break dancing that my dragon fire bath and my easy, graceful exit had accomplished the shock and awe we'd been going for.

  And now it was time for a shock and awe session of a different type. I steeled myself for the difficult and horrible conversation I was about to have with the last fae I ever wanted to talk to outside of Leck and Malena.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  WE FOUND TORRIE sitting in the auditorium in the same spot where he'd been earlier in the day during our big meeting. He was slumped over in his seat like he was asleep. Or dead.

  "Is he dead?" I asked as I walked over, tiptoeing for some unknown reason.

  "No. He's very much alive, unfortunately." Tim sounded angry.

  I appreciated the loyalty that I assumed was fueling his ire, but I needed to make sure this didn't go sideways. "You'd better wait over there," I said, pointing to the raised dais where the Council normally sat.

  "Why? You don't want me there with you?" He sounded hurt.

  "Of course I want you there, don't be ridiculous. But I can tell you're coming in hot, and I need him to st
ay alive long enough for me to talk to him and get some answers."

  Tim nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing. "I get it. You're worried I'm going to unleash my inner dragon and take him out."

  "Exactly." More like your inner butt duster, but whatever.

  "Yeah. That could complicate things. I have a family and all…"

  "That's what I was thinking. Sooo, wait over there, maybe? But be ready. In case he attacks."

  "He'd better not even think about it." Tim punched his opposite palm a few times, screwing up his mouth into a tiny little microscopically-sized butthole shape.

  I stifled a giggle, and when Tim looked up at me, I covered it up with a coughing fit. It woke Torrie up out of his trance or nap or whatever.

  "Hello," the former demon said, getting to his feet. He looked every inch the silver elf today. He no longer had those horns or those claws or that demon junk that sometimes haunted my nightmares. I had literally seen demon balls when a cut-off pair fell to the floor once, and that shit was nasty. They weren't Torrie's nuts, but it didn't matter. No set of demon balls was ever going to be nice to look at.

  Tim flew over to the Council's table, but he hovered near the edge of it, staring daggers into Torrie's face. It was kind of ironic, because he'd actually stabbed Torrie in the face with a dagger once before. Right in the eyeball. It was awesome. Part of me wanted him to do it again.

  "Hello," I said as I approached the silver elf. "I have some questions for you." Torrie and I had spoken since he'd come back to the fae compound after living in the Underworld, but not alone and not about something as important as this particular subject.