‘If you could be a superhero, which one would you be and why?’
Why the hell did I do it? Why did I write it down? Dardennes had tried to warn me. He and Céline had asked me: “Why that one? Why did you pick that superhero?”
How was I supposed to know what it would mean?
Chase looked at me, worry written all over his face. He turned, releasing my hand and taking my shoulders in his hands.
“Jayne, talk to me. What’s going on?” He searched my eyes, looking for answers.
“I didn’t know!”
“You didn’t know what?”
“Chase, I didn’t fucking know!” I was in a panic. I had to get out of here. I was trapped. I felt like I was going to have a friggin’ heart attack. I was dying.
“Jayne, you didn’t know what?!”
“That I should’ve picked a different superhero!”
Chase’s face screwed up in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“Which superhero did you choose?” I grabbed his arms and squeezed hard, digging my nails into his skin. “During the interview ... which one?!”
“Ironman,” he said softly, “Why? Who did you choose?”
I looked at him with tears of frustration in my eyes. “That’s what all these dumbass fairies are trying to tell you, Chase.”
“What?”
“Mother Nature. I chose Mother Fucking Nature.”
Chapter 11
Chase gave me a half-smile while his brain started processing all the craziness around us. Green elves on their knees, shedding tears for me ... stories of the power of The Green doing my bidding ... me sending an energy into these fae that none of them could fight, that none of them even wanted to fight.
The light bulb went on. “So you think, because you chose Mother Nature as your superhero on that questionnaire, that you somehow became Mother Nature, is that it?”
I nodded my head, tears in my eyes. I didn’t trust myself to speak because I was sure I was going to start bawling.
“Don’t be silly. Do you see Ironman standing here in front of you?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Kinda.”
He shook his head in denial. “No, you don’t. You just see a bigger than average guy who has a knack for protecting potty-mouthed girls. So just relax. Let’s see how this thing plays out.” He tilted his head to the side so he could see Finn. “Finn, get up. You’re making it worse.”
Finn reluctantly got to his feet. He wouldn’t look me in the eye, so I elbowed him. He had better knock that shit off or I was gonna coma-size him, or whatever that thing was called that I did, making everyone go nutty with The Green.
I finally stepped out of my personal pity party bubble to see what was going on around me. There wasn’t as much commotion following this announcement as there had been before. There were lots of confused faces in the crowed. Some fae were looking at their friends or neighbors, gauging their expressions, as if trying to decide how to react. Eventually everyone looked to Dardennes for guidance.
The fae at the head table were in a private conference, all gathered around the old man who had asked me the questions about Finn and Robin. Some were nodding their heads, some just staring at the old man who was gesticulating like crazy and doing most of the talking.
The chatter in the audience began again and eventually the room was filled with the noise. I leaned over to Chase who had moved to stand beside me. “Do you think we could sneak out of here, maybe?”
He shook his head ‘no’.
Spoilsport.
Dardennes separated himself from the others at the head table and faced the audience again.
“We have come to some conclusions. May I have your silence, please?”
It was like he turned off a light switch. Instant quiet.
“Changelings, please come to the front. All of you.”
I watched as my friends emerged from the back of the amphitheater and came to join Chase, Finn, and me in front of the head table. Becky stood in front of us and Spike took a position next to Finn.
“As all of you but our newest members know, we have been waiting for the return of our Mother for centuries. We call this fae Mother, but I believe the humans refer to her as Mother Nature.”
I made bug-eyes at Chase who raised an eyebrow back at me. I fucking told him! No one ever listens to me ...
“We have reports that the Dark Fae have an elemental in their midst with an affinity to Fire. This makes sense since we are certain that our Jayne has an affinity to Earth and Water.” Dardennes looked to the old man before continuing. “It is probably safe to assume that this Dark Fae elemental has an affinity to air as well.”
The murmuring began again. Most of the heads in the room were bobbing excitedly up and down now. I had no friggin’ idea what Dardennes was talking about or what the significance of it all was.
I shot a ‘what the fuck’ look at Dardennes and he nodded at me. I think he was starting to understand what that look meant.
“For the benefit of our new changelings here, I’d like to take a few moments to outline a part of our fae history.” He turned so he was addressing us specifically. “In human mythology and legend, there are two figures who are often mentioned in relation to the Earth and its human and animal inhabitants: Mother Nature and Father Time. As you may have already learned, many human legends or myths are versions of our fae reality. This one has some similarities, but there exist some key differences as well.”
Dardennes looked out to the audience and continued. “The fae we call Mother has always been an elemental. She has always been tied to the Earth element. All creatures and inhabitants of The Green answer to her. With the Mother we find life, our connection to one another and our planet, and ultimately, love.”
He began to pace, alternatively looking at the ground and the ceiling, hands clasped behind his back. “Father Time, as the humans call him, is invariably also an elemental in the fae world. The divergence in the fae concept of Father Time as a historical figure begins with the Time portion. In the fae world, the Father or ‘Father’, as we call him, has no power over or affinity to time. Time is not an element. However, Father is the opposing force of Mother, in that he has an affinity for the elements that Mother does not. And while Mother shows us the connections and love, Father shows us the passion and strength that we all share as species that share this planet. Together, our Mother and our Father, control or are connected to all four elements of the fae world.”
I was starting to get a very uncomfortable feeling about this Father person, whoever he was, with his affinity for air and fire – especially the fire part. I had never been a fan of forest fires, but I especially wasn’t now, since I was so connected to The Green and everything and everyone in it. And the idea of me as this Mother person? No friggin’ way. It was too out of this world crazy to be true. There’s no way I could just mark an answer on a test and suddenly become a fae goddess or whatever. Especially not me. I’m pretty sure the real Mother wouldn’t say ‘fuck’ – and it’s pretty much my favorite word of all time.
“We had an elemental in our midst, centuries ago, I’m sure many of you remember him well. We lost him to his element.” Dardennes put his head down, showing respect for the dead – or disintegrated. “We have long awaited another.” He lifted his head and looked at me, slowly walking around the head table to come and stand with us, the changelings. “And it appears now that we have found her. Changeling Jayne is an elemental. Of that, we are convinced. Whether she is our Mother, only time will tell. But one thing is certain: we need our Mother to return, if we have any hope of holding our own against the Darkness.”
Dardennes turned to look squarely at me. He continued to speak loudly so everyone would hear, but his words were for me. “Jayne, I know this is unsettling for you right now. You have a lot of questions that are yet unanswered. We will work with you to help you find the information you want and need.” He looked out over the audience. “My people, the fae, are
naturally suspicious and doubtful. We have been tricked by the Darkness before.”
Many heads were nodding in affirmation around the room, but no one said anything.
“As I have asked Jayne to work with us, I now ask all of you, my fellow fae, to work with Jayne as well, in our quest to find the answers that we seek. Whether or not Jayne is our Mother, well, that is for us to learn in the future. But whether Jayne is a fae? That is without question. Jayne is one of us now, one of our Light Fae family members. And we should welcome her and the other changelings into our family and into our midst, be they Elementals, Elves, Dwarves, Sprites, Ogres, Daemons, Wrathes, Gnomes, Pixies, Incubi, Succubi, ... ” he chuckled, “ ... well, you get the picture. We must all work together to help them find their places in our family.”
A single, “Hear, hear!” rang out across the room. It came from the green elf camp to the right.
Another answering cheer came from the opposite side of the room, from a group in red tunics.
And then they all joined in, creating a thundering cacophony of voices, vibrating off the walls of the room.
I felt a huge wave of relief wash over me. I wasn’t going to be tried for any crime against the fae today. I turned to look at my friends to my left and my right. They were all smiling back at me. Chase released my hand and put his arm across my shoulders. Finn grabbed my other hand, holding onto it gently.
The only thing missing in this fantastic love fest was Tony. I felt something squeeze my heart. I had to figure out how to get him back with me.
Chapter 12
The meeting broke up and we all practically ran back to my room, doing our best to avoid the crowds and stares. I slammed the door shut behind us. Everyone either sat on my bed or on the floor around it.
I walked over and smacked Becky lightly with the back of my hand. “Move over, Beckster.”
She scooted and made room for me to sit near the head of the bed.
“So,” said Becky. “That was fun.” She smiled at me. “Motheerrrrr ... ”
I shoved her. “Don’t even start that shit with me Becky or I’m gonna ... I don’t know. Whoop your ass or something.”
She disappeared and then reappeared in the corner of the room. “You’ll have to catch me first.” She stuck her tongue out at me and then disappeared again, only to reappear at my feet.
I kicked her fast. “Gotcha!”
She play-frowned while she rubbed her hip. “Meanie. Hey, you know what? My mother used to kick me like that ... ”
I gave her my threatening look. “I am not fucking around Becky.”
She held up her hands. “Okay, okay, chill. I’m only joking.”
Even my threat couldn’t totally wipe the dopey smile off her face though.
Spike spoke up. “Did any of you notice someone missing in there today?”
We all looked at each other, shaking our heads.
“Jared. Jared wasn’t there. Isn’t that kinda weird, that he wouldn’t be there for that important meeting?” asked Spike.
“He’s back in the States,” explained Chase.
“Doing what?”
“Looking into something.”
Chase was being evasive. “Looking into what, Chase?” I asked.
“Not sure exactly. Something in Florida. Dark Fae stuff.”
“Where in Florida?” I was wondering if it was anywhere near Tony.
“Dunno.”
“How come you didn’t go?” asked Finn.
“My job is here with Jayne.”
“Your job? What job?” I asked.
“Bodyguard, basically.”
I nodded my head. “Cool. Super cool, actually. Ironman is my personal body guard.” I smiled, thinking about how awesome that was. I ignored the nagging thoughts that were trying to intrude, about why people generally needed bodyguards in the first place.
I looked at Becky. “Do you have a bodyguard?”
She shrugged. “Don’t need one. No one wants to mess with a water sprite. Plus, we’re hard to grab.” She sent a challenging look over to Spike.
He took the bait. “I could grab you if I wanted to.”
“No you can’t.”
He started to get up. “Yes I caaaaaan.”
“Nope.”
Spike moved in a blur of speed I had not expected. One second he was on the floor, and the next he was in front of Becky, his arms wrapped around her body, pinning her arms to her side.
“Gotcha!” His eyes were glowing bright red.
“Nope!” she yelled delightedly, right before she disappeared, leaving him sitting there, hugging the empty air like a total dork.
“What the ... ?”
There was a knock at the door. Spike moved to answer it, still confused. He opened the door to reveal Becky standing in the doorway.
“Told you.”
She came back in and sat on the edge of the bed.
The look on Spike’s face was priceless. Everyone except Chase started laughing their asses off. Even Spike eventually joined in, the light in his eyes fading to a dull amber. Chase just shook his head. Must be the daemon in him that kept him from losing control like we seemed to be doing at the moment.
Finn managed to get back to business while the rest of us tried to catch our breath. “So, what was that stuff you were tellin’ us about before the meetin’ started? Somethin’ about bein’ eliminated?”
I took a deep breath to calm myself. “Yeah. That’s it. I told you everything I heard. But today I recognized the voice of one of them and he was at the meeting.”
“Who was it?” asked Chase, all business.
“I don’t know who he is. I think he was wearing a light gray tunic.”
“Elf,” said Becky, matter of factly.
“It wasn’t the same color as Finn’s or Célines.”
“I know. The gray elves wear light gray.”
“Why would a gray elf want to eliminate one of us? We’re practically harmless.”
“I wouldn’t say you’re harmless, Jayne,” said Finn. “You turned a whole group of warrior fae into a buncha blubberin’ babies, me included, I’m sorry to say.”
“Yeah, but that’s a lot different than actually being a threat. Sure, I can make someone cry. I don’t see how that’s very threatening. I’ve been able to do that to other kids since kindergarten.”
Becky admonished me. “Jayne, did you make other children cry when you were little? Were you a bully?”
“Hell, no. But if I was in the play area playing with the mini-kitchen and some bossy little bitch came in there thinking she was gonna take my tiny plastic frying pan, then of course I would have been within my rights to have some words with her, which may have then involved some crying; but I never did anything unprovoked.”
Becky laughed. “Oh, well that’s different. I hated those kids who came in and took the frying pans away.”
“I know, right?” I shook my head. Damn five-year-old bullies.
“Uh, hello, can we get back to the subject of war and survival please?” asked Spike.
Chase stood up. “I suggest we keep our eyes out for this gray elf. Jayne, when you see him again, point him out to us. I think we should do what we can to get near him, see who his friends are, that kind of thing. If there’s a plot against Jayne or any of us, we need to figure out what it is before we go running to Dardennes.”
“Yeah,” agreed Finn, “I don’t wanna go in there half cocked, bein’ new guys an’ all.”
I looked around and everyone was nodding in agreement.
“Okay, so that’s the plan then. Recon. I like it.” I smiled at my friends. “I’m going back to the computer room. Anyone want to join me?”
“I’ll go,” said Chase.
The others chose to go back to their rooms and wait for dinner.
Chase and I went to the computer room where I checked my email account. Nothing from Tony yet.
“I’m gonna take a nap before dinner,” I said.
Chase shrugg
ed.
We parted ways in the hallway outside my door.
“Hey, Chase?”
He stopped in his doorway. “Yeah?”
“Thanks for being my bodyguard.”
“I’m your daemon. But you’re welcome.”
I smiled. He gave me his reluctant Chase smile, which was plenty good enough for me. I went into my room and laid down on the bed, instantly falling into a dreamless sleep.
Ì
It seemed like only a few minutes later I was back in the dining hall eating dinner, trying not to notice all the fae staring at me. Most of them were friendly stares, but not all. The gray elf we were discussing in my room earlier didn’t show. In fact, there were no gray elves around at all.
I finished and stood up. “I’m going to check my emails one more time. Anyone want to come?”
“I’ll come,” said Spike, casually.
Chase sighed loudly. “No you won’t.”
Spike looked at him, perturbed. “What business is it of yours if I go or not?”
“I know your intentions, Spike, and that makes it my business.”
“What are you talking about?” Spike was the picture of innocence.
Chase looked at me. “He’s not going for the computers, he’s going for you.”
I raised an eyebrow at Spike. “You got bad intentions, sexy boy?”
He smiled and offered me a slight shrug. “They’re all good intentions as far as I’m concerned.”
“Well, I don’t mind if you come. I can behave myself, and it takes two to mess around.” I stood to go, Chase and Spike moving to follow me.
Finn and Becky decided not to go.
“See you guys tomorrow morning at breakfast,” said Becky.