by Apollo Surge
“If you’ll pardon my bluntness,” the spirit said, looking at Sawyer solemnly over the mead bottle. “You don’t want this child. I can see the turmoil in you. Old wounds there, sharp as the day they were made. The thought of this babe causes nothing but dread in you.”
“Don’t go digging around in my head,” Sawyer warned, a faint growl in the back of his throat.
“I am doing no digging,” the spirit said, holding it hands up harmlessly. “Only telling you what I see. This isn’t what you want. And I doubt that’s going to change in the next six months.”
“It isn’t that simple,” Sawyer said quietly.
“But it’s less complicated than you’d like it to be,” the spirit said pointedly. “The answer is right there awaiting you. And if you don’t make it soon, it’s going to make itself, one way or the other.”
Sawyer knew the little man was right, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He stood up, shook the snow off his fur, and struggled to put the empty bag back on over his head.
"I'll come back soon with the mead I promised you," he said.
"And the cookies, you'll not forget those," the spirit insisted.
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry," Sawyer assured him. "I'm a wolf of my word."
He paused as he began to walk away, looking back.
"Hey, is there a name I can call you?" he asked. "Not like, a true name or whatever. Just something I can shout if I want to find you."
The little man shrugged.
"Whatever name you like," it said. "I will hear the intent and come to you regardless."
"Oh yeah?" Sawyer asked with a wolfish grin. "So I can call you Wrinkly Old Bastard and you'll come?"
"Respect, you mangy flea-bitten cur!" the spirit said, turning red. "Or you can forget my help in any of your troubles!"
Sawyer laughed but assumed the threat was serious.
"All right, all right. What's respectful then? Pebble? Rocky?"
The mountain spirit rolled its eyes.
"What about Jagger?" Sawyer offered, with another toothy smile.
"A good name," the spirit conceded. "But I'm suspicious of your motivations now."
"You listen to a lot of human music?"
"Never cared for it. Too much noise."
"Then don't worry about it. A rolling stone gathers no moss, as they say."
The spirit squinted at him but finally sighed, giving up.
"It's as good a name as any then. I'll answer to it."
"Then I'll see you in a couple of days, Jagger," Sawyer said, turning away again. "Alicia's probably going to put me on house arrest at least that long..."
As Sawyer had expected, the sun was an hour past set before he shouldered through the back door, still pulling on his shirt.
"See, there he is!"
Sawyer finished pulling his shirt on to see the entire family gathered at the kitchen table, staring at him. Mateo was the one who'd spoken and looked clearly relieved. Jacob, Alicia, Paul, and especially Elliot all looked tense with worry.
"Everything's fine," Mateo said. "Crisis averted!"
The others didn't seem inclined to buy into Mateo's easy cheer.
"Where have you been?" Elliot asked, and Sawyer could hear the edge of angry concern in his voice. "Alicia told us you were sick, then you just disappeared for most of the day."
"I just went for a walk," Sawyer said evasively. "I'm a grown man, you don't need to know where I am every minute."
"No, but it'd be nice of you to tell us when you're leaving," Alicia pointed out. "So we don't think you've wandered off in a fever and collapsed somewhere!"
“I’m fine,” Sawyer insisted. “I don’t even have a fever.”
“But it wasn’t just a walk on the mountain that kept you away all day, was it?” Paul spoke up, silver eyes staring at Sawyer with eerie intensity. “Magic lingers over you.”
Sawyer bit the inside of his cheek, cursing Paul’s uncanny insight.
“What happened, Sawyer?” Elliot asked, concern heavy in his voice. “What magic?”
Sawyer could almost feel Elliot’s anxiety, a tangible tension in the air. It wasn’t that long ago that he’d nearly lost Sawyer because of magic on that very mountain. Sawyer searched for the right words. The pack should know there was something happening with the fae in their territory, but he didn’t want to talk about why he’d been up there, or why the mountain spirit had helped him escape. He took a deep breath, gathering himself.
“I ran into faeries.”
“What?” Elliot and Mateo said almost simultaneously.
“You’re not being literal, are you?” Jacob asked, frowning.
“Of course he’s not,” Alicia answered for him, then gave him a hard stare, clearly trying to determine if he was lying to hide the pregnancy. “Are you?”
“Yes, I am,” Sawyer said. “Literal, actual, real life fae. They said they were Seelie court.”
“But that’s impossible,” Alicia blurted out. “Court fae aren’t allowed on the mountain. The treaty forbids them. Even wild fae are strictly controlled by the limits of the contract. The only fae that should be on the mountain are the native guardian spirits and the handful of wild fae that were grandfathered in when the treaty was made because they were already living in the territory.”
“We have wild fae on the property?” Mateo asked curiously, interrupting.
“A leshy, a couple of brownies, little domestic spirits, stuff like that.”
“These were definitely Summer fae,” Sawyer said before they could end up on a tangent. “Three of them, having a party or something. I ran into them by accident and barely got away. They pulled out all the stops to try and trick me into staying. If it hadn’t been for everything with the Erlking I don’t think I would have escaped.”
“What do you mean?” Alicia asked, curious.
Sawyer shrugged a little, not sure how to explain.
“Once you’ve been in the presence of something like the King,” Sawyer explained. “Anything less just seems kind of underwhelming. Anyway, whatever the treaty says, they’re ignoring it.”
“You don’t understand,” Alicia replied. “They literally can’t just ignore the rules. Fae operate in a different reality from us. What we regard as rules and contracts are like… The laws of physics to them. They couldn’t choose to ignore them any more than you could just choose to ignore gravity. Why do you think they’ve been so fascinated with humanity all through history? The fact that humans can break rules, or even create new ones, is like magic to them.”
“But if they physically can’t break the rules,” Elliot asked. “How can they be on the mountain right now?”
“There are two possibilities,” Alicia said. “Possibility one is Sawyer didn’t see what he thinks he saw. Maybe it was the regular wild fae on the mountain messing with him and trying to pass the blame off on the Summer court. Maybe it was something else. I’m hoping that was it, because possibility two is a lot more worrying.”
“What’s possibility two?” Mateo asked, sounding like he didn’t really want to know.
“The rules have changed,” Alicia answered, expression dire. “Which is bad news for all of us. There is a ton of powerful magic tied up in this territory. If the Seelie court gets their hands on that…”
She didn’t need to finish the statement. Either of the courts getting that kind of power was an apocalypse level bad idea.
“Could it have something to do with the Erlking?” Elliot asked. “The Wild Hunt nearly breaking loose had to have shaken things up, right?”
“Maybe,” Alicia said with a helpless shrug. “I’ll call Serena. She’ll know more about it.”
“Good idea,” Elliot agreed. “And if there’s any chance this might be for real, start looking at solutions. Jacob, see if you can get in touch with your family and ask if they’ve had any unusual activity on their territory. If the Erlking incident is anything to go by, this won’t be localized. Everybody else should avoid going up the mountain
alone until we’re sure it’s safe.”
Right, that was perfectly sensible, Sawyer thought as he immediately decided to ignore that advice.
“That means you, Sawyer,” Elliot said as though he’d read Sawyer’s mind.
“Actually, he’s probably safer than the rest of us,” Alicia said before Sawyer could get riled up to defend himself. “During the whole thing with the Erlking, Serena said the fae respect omegas. Plus, if he got away from them once, he’s sort of immune.”
“Immune how?” Sawyer asked, relieved but skeptical.
“They can’t use the same tricks on you twice,” Alicia explained. “It’s against the rules. They may still try to mess with you, but if they’ve tried to spirit you away once, they can’t really try it again. Or at least, they’d have to put some real effort in to find a loophole.”
“You should still stay off the mountain,” Elliot said a little impatiently. “Great, you may be in a little less danger than the rest of us. We still shouldn’t push it. Plus you’ve got that omega fever or whatever Alicia told us about. You’re supposed to stay close to home and rest.”
“I’m not on bed rest!" Sawyer protested. "I can still take walks!”
“No, he’s right Sawyer,” Alicia said sternly. “No more walks. Not by yourself anyway.”
"That's not your decision to make," Sawyer snarled, fists tight at his sides. "None of you gets to tell me what to do. I'm not a child and you are not my parents, so I'd appreciate it if you'd all get off my back and let me get back to taking care of myself like I have been for the last twenty-seven goddamn years!
Stunned silence answered Sawyer's angry outburst.
"Sawyer," Elliot said softly, but before he could say anymore he was cut off by the sudden frantic barking of Jingle. Everyone in the kitchen exchanged a confused glance, then followed the sound into the front hall, where Jingle was throwing himself at the front door in a flurry of barking.
Elliot opened the door and the spaniel took off in a black and white blur to menace the RV currently pulling up the drive.
It was a big old beast of a vehicle which looked like it had been in use since the 50's and repaired over the years with whatever parts were on hand. It lumbered up the long dirt driveway and pulled off onto the lawn. It was followed by a small caravan including another RV, two vans, and several cars, a few of which were towing trailers.
The family gathered on the porch in confusion, watching the cars park on the grass. As someone climbed out of the first RV, Elliot stepped in front of the others protectively.
The man from the RV was very tall and very thin, like the shadow of a bare pine. He was black, and anywhere between late thirties to early sixties. The lines on his narrow face gave nothing away, not even his age.
"Evenin'" he called as he approached, taking off a broad brimmed hat. "Pardon the intrusion."
His accent was distinctly French, with a touch of something else that Sawyer couldn't quite identify.
"May I speak with whoever is in charge?" he asked as he reached them, eyes darting curiously between Elliot, Mateo, and Jacob.
"Please do," Elliot said, stepping forward. "I'm real interested to know what you're doing on my property."
"Again, please forgive me," the man said with a respectful incline of his head. Behind him, other people were getting out of the cars, looking tired and bedraggled, staring wide eyed around them. "I am Cuvier. I represent the crocodilian shifter community, previously of the Florida Everglades. We are here to formally request sanctuary within your territory."
Chapter Seven
Elliot invited Cuvier inside and met him at the dining table, as formal negotiations demanded.
"So you're all Crocodile shifters?" Elliot asked as Jacob fetched coffee for everyone.
"Crocodilian," Cuvier corrected. "I myself am a caiman. Most of the families are alligators native to the Gulf coast area. We do have a few true crocodiles. You'll know Gustave when you see him. Massive Nile Croc. Came to the US after some nature photographers caught a few pictures of him in Burundi and started saying he was the largest crocodile ever recorded. And there are a few other exotics, like myself. Our variety of shifter is not common, or particularly social usually. But some years back a few families met up and settled together in the Everglades, and word got around that it was a safe place for our kind. There are difficulties when our people live together, but it is better than living alone these days."
"I know it," Elliot agreed. "So what brought you so far north?"
"That is where the trouble begins," Cuvier said, taking a deep breath. "What dealings with the Fae have you had of late?"
Elliot didn't answer, but Sawyer could see the answer on the faces of everyone at the table.
"I can see that it has been significant." Cuvier answered his own question, raising an eyebrow. "The trouble for us began some five months ago, perhaps a little longer. It started slowly. Strange things happening, people going missing. Local wild fae started behaving strangely or leaving. By the time we knew what was happening it was too late."
"What was it?" Elliot asked. A chill ran up Sawyer's spine, suddenly certain he knew exactly what it was.
"Court Fae," Cuvier said, confirming Sawyer's fears. "Seelie and Unseelie both. The Seelie stole our people away, turned them into near-fae and shanghaied them into the court. The Unseelie just killed whoever they could, to keep us out of Seelie hands. They had already infested the territory completely before we knew what was going on. We had no choice but to flee. And the fae followed us, determined to take us for their wars. What few of us were left filled our cars with as many protections against fae kind as we knew how to make and made our way here."
"Why here?" Sawyer asked.
"Wolf shifters are the only shifters whose territory is magically protected," Elliot explained. "Because both courts were forced to recognize our boundaries during the original negotiations, wolf territories are some of the only places in the world that are completely safe from court Fae. Other shifters never formed territories like the wolves, either because most other shifters are solitary species or there were so few of them that they couldn't find each other."
"More is the pity," Cuvier confirmed. "In the past, it may have been easy for a single shifter or a small family to live among humans undiscovered. These days, it is far more difficult. We need the support of others of our own kind. Especially in situations like this."
He looked at Elliot expectantly. Elliot scratched the back of his head, bit the inside of his cheek, and finally sighed.
"You and your people are welcome here, of course," he said. "I could never turn away a shifter in trouble. But you may not be any safer here. We've had Seelie activity on the mountain just today. As far as I know the mountain's protections are still in effect, but it's obvious the courts are up to something. It may not stay that way."
"Any protection is preferable to being on the road with none at all," Cuvier said, bowing his head. "You have our deepest and most eternal gratitude."
"You know," Alicia said suddenly, interrupting. "We were talking not long ago about trying to modernize- Unify the wolf shifters and start making more of an effort to preserve our culture and share knowledge between packs. It didn't even occur to me to reach out to the non-wolf shifters. But this could be an opportunity for both our groups to build a lasting relationship of cooperation."
"Indeed," Cuvier said, raising an eyebrow. "In times such as these, there is strength in numbers. There is much we lost, or struggled to preserve, in abandoning our home to the Fae."
"Then it's all the more important that what you have left be protected," Alicia said with a strange intensity. "Maybe we could schedule a sit down, try to get things digitized and recorded-"
"After they've had a chance to settle in, Alicia," Elliot said, raising a hand to encourage her to cool down. "What are your sleeping arrangements like, Cuvier?"
Sawyer tuned out a bit as they dug into the logistics of finding places for everyone to sleep.
He was still a little stunned by this entire turn of events. He'd never met a non-wolf shifter before. He knew the pack had a few run-ins with them from time to time, but it seemed like they were fairly rare. Alicia had met a few over the years and Craig and Deidre had mentioned meeting a few in their travels before joining the pack. Elliot had been with the pack during a run in with some were-spiders, and with a pod of Selkies that briefly summered on the coast nearby, who were technically a kind of wild fae and not shifters. Jacob had a nasty scar from a run in with a polar bear shifter. Mateo claimed to have had a fling with a were-flamingo, but may have been making it up. Either way, Sawyer felt out of his depth. The news that the Fae were causing trouble everywhere, not just on the mountain, didn't make him feel any better about his encounter earlier today, and it certainly did help with his current problem…
The evening was consumed by getting the crocodilians settled in. They were a surprisingly friendly bunch for reptiles, mostly just tired and stressed by the long exodus from the Everglades. Elliot and Sawyer gave up their cabin and moved into a guest room in the main house, leaving both the cabins and the trailer for their guests. There were about two dozen adults and a good handful of children, who had first dibs on the structures with actual walls and beds. Everyone else who couldn't cram into one of the RVs set up a tent city on the lawn, which Elliot insisted was only a temporary solution until they could figure out something more permanent. Alicia called up Serena, who arrived within the hour to help her set up fae-wards around the house and the yard, just in case. Sawyer helped wherever he could with setting up tents and distributing food, running himself ragged until Alicia forced him to sit down for a minute.
He and Elliot didn't cash out until well past midnight, too exhausted to think straight as they tried to get comfortable on the too-narrow guest bed.
"What are we going to do?" Elliot groaned into Sawyer's shoulder as they settled, practically wrapped around each other just to fit on the mattress. Elliot squeezed him close and Sawyer rubbed a hand over his back, feeling how tense he was. "First fae on the mountain, now this. I only just became Alpha. I'm not ready for this…"
