Call to Arms

  I gave Becky a hug and punched Finn, still sitting in his chair, gently on the shoulder with my fist. “Later, alligators.”

  Spike, Chase and I went to the computer room. I logged on and saw a new email from Tony waiting for me. I was so excited. I clicked on the new message.

  ‘Hey Jayne, what’s up? School’s fine. It sucks without you, but I understand you had to get away for a while. I’m worried about you, so stay in touch, okay? When are you going to be back? There’s a new guy here now, Ben. He lives right down the street. We walked home together today. He seems pretty cool. We’re in all but one class together. I’m actually not sure why he’s talking to me. All the popular girls were all over him and it’s only his first day. Brad Powers asked him if he wanted a ride but he walked with me instead. I guess his days as a potential popular kid are numbered if he keeps doing that. LOL. Well, I have to go. Ben’s coming over to do homework with me. I guess he’s pretty good at science and math. See you soon, I hope. Tony.’

  I was happy to hear from him, but a little sad he’d accepted my absence so easily. And he already had a replacement friend. I’d never had reason to be possessive of Tony before since I was the only one who really wanted to be his friend. This was the first time I felt like I had competition. Man, I needed to get a life.

  “Did you hear from Tony?” asked Spike, scooting his chair closer to mine.

  “Yep.”

  “How’s he doing?”

  “Good. He has a new friend already.”

  Spike rubbed my back. “That sucks.”

  “No, it’s alright. We’re best friends. Nothing will change that.”

  Spike’s backrub got a little slower. He was using more and more of his fingers to put pressure in little spots along my muscles and send chills up my spine.

  “Mmmm, that feels good,” I said, closing my eyes, smiling.

  “Spiiiike,” warned Chase.

  Spike pulled his hand away and rounded on Chase. “Shit, man, give it a rest! She’s single and available. I’m not breaking any rules here!”

  His tone of voice surprised me. I turned and saw that Spike was standing up now, his legs apart and his hands in fists. He turned and looked at me. “Tell him, Jayne. Tell him you don’t mind.”

  The red glow in his eyes was entirely mesmerizing. The red swirled around with some black mixed in, like black smoke twisting and turning itself through the red, smoldering, seething, burning me up from the inside out.

  “I don’t mind, Chase. You can leave us alone now.”

  I had no idea what I was saying, just that I wanted to get Spike alone so I could feel his body all over mine and drown in that smile of his.

  The trance was broken when Chase grabbed Spike from behind and wrestled him out the door. I could hear a bunch of banging around and grunting on the other side.

  “Idiots,” I said to the air, snapping out of my sexy trance.

  “I couldn’t agree more,” said Becky, suddenly appearing in the seat beside me.

  “Fuck balls, Becky, you’ve got to stop doing that!”

  “Oh, yeah, sorry. Did you get an email from Tony?”

  I looked at her, shaking my head. Damned water sprites and their stupid teleporting. “Yes, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to write him back now.”

  “Sure, no problem. Tell him I said hi.” She turned to log onto the computer next to me.

  I opened up a new message and began typing.

  ‘Tony, Hey. Thanks for your email. I was starting to think you forgot about me. I should be home in a few weeks or so. I’m not sure exactly. So, tell me about Ben. Oh, Becky says hi. I’ll write you more later. Miss you. Love, Jayne.’

  I sat there for a minute, bothered by my email. I couldn’t really say much to him. I couldn’t say anything about being fae, which was pretty much my whole existence now. I couldn’t tell him what I was doing. I’m pretty sure ‘I put thirty elves into a temporary coma’ wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense to him right now, considering he had all knowledge of the fae erased from his memory. He’d think I went loony on him.

  Ah, well, maybe his email about Ben would spark a more meaningful conversation.

  “I’m outta here,” I said to Becky, logging off and standing up. It was finally quiet out in the hallway. “You coming?”

  “Yeah, let me log off.” She clicked the mouse a few times and then joined me. Together we walked back to my room. There was no sign of Chase or Spike anywhere.

  “See you later,” she said, giving me a quick hug.

  “See ya,” I said, going into my room. I went to my dresser and gathered stuff for my shower.

  Thirty minutes later I was clean and snuggled up beneath my covers, wearing a clean, white pajama tunic. I fell asleep wondering what tomorrow would hold. If I were lucky, it wouldn’t include any backfiring tests of my abilities or fae-wide assemblies convened to determine my fate.

  Chapter 13

  I got up extra early and hurried to the computer room to check my emails. There was one from Tony waiting for me. I clicked it open.

  ‘Jayne, Hey. Ben just left. He’s really cool. I think you’d like him. He reminds me of you. We’re going to hang out tomorrow after school, at his house. He wants to show me some stuff. Do you think I should get contacts? And who is Becky? Talk to you later. Tony’

  That was strange. Did I think he should get contacts? Where did that come from? And he didn’t remember Becky. I think they erased more than they said they would. I wrote him back really quick before going to breakfast.

  ‘Hey Baloney Head. Contacts are cool. But I like your glasses too. Do what you think is best. Did Ben tell you to get contacts? What’s he going to show you? Email me back with details, please. You know I’m a girl, and we need those. BTW, Becky is a new friend of mine. You’ll like her. Love, Jayne.’

  I logged off, feeling weird. Who the hell was this Ben guy, telling my Tony he should wear contacts? I knew that’s where it had come from. No one else really even talked to Tony, except for me and his geek friends who also wore glasses. No way any of them would have suggested it.

  I went to breakfast. Becky noticed I was quieter than usual and commented on it, but I blew her off. I didn’t want to get into it. Tony hadn’t done anything wrong, but his emails were still bothering me.

  After breakfast, Chase went with me for my training with Céline. I practiced linking her to The Green and managing the strength of its power. When it started to get too overpowering, she signaled me so that I could start to recognize her energy in the whole mix and be able to sense when she was near overload status. It was odd; I could now feel Céline individually within The Green. I’d never been able to do that before.

  We took a break for lunch. I felt a lot better than I had earlier. It was nice having Chase around as a kind of companion. He didn’t talk much but he made me feel safe, which after the last few days meant a lot. A piece of me hated being this weak girl who longed for Chase’s protection; but the reality of my situation and what I had already confronted – with mixed results – made me want that crutch. At least for now.

  I went to the computer room, leaving Chase to go back to the buffet for his third trip. I logged on and saw a message from Tony waiting. I clicked and opened it up.

  ‘Jayne, Hi. Me again. I’m going to bed soon. Ben dropped by a little while ago. He brought me some stuff he said he didn’t want anymore. He was wondering if I wanted it. You wouldn’t believe all of it. Clothes mostly. Some shoes. All brand new. He said his mom is a shopping nut and buys him way too much stuff. It’s not my usual style, but I think you would like it. I have an appointment in the mall at the eye doctor tomorrow. Ben is going with me. Talk to you later, Tony.

  “What the hell?!” I yelled out to the room. Who the hell was this Ben guy anyway? And that bullshit story about the clothes – I can’t believe Tony actually believed that. I had to admit, Tony had the world’s worst wardrobe; but that didn’t mean this guy Ben had any business going around changing
it. He’d just met Tony for fuck’s sake.

  Chase opened the door and stepped in hurriedly, looking around.

  “What’s up, Chase?”

  “You okay?”

  “Yes. Just a little pissed.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “All alone?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Shut up, Chase. Come on, let’s go.” I logged off my email account and stood up.

  He shrugged his shoulders but stepped out into the hallway, waiting for me. We left for our afternoon training, this time with Naida and the water sprites.

  After three hours I finally figured out how to get into and out of the water without being soaked. It took a ton of concentration. I was pissed how they made it look so easy when it really wasn’t at all. Hopefully, I wouldn’t give myself an aneurysm trying to get the hang of it. I was already nursing a pretty big headache.

  “Chase, I’m beat. Can you take me back to my room? I think I need a nap.”

  He took me by the elbow and led me away from the lake to the door that would take us back to the compound. I started to step through and tripped, falling into the doorway. As I went down I heard a strange whistling sound.

  Chase had leaned over just as I fell, sensing my loss of balance, intending to help steady me. He stayed in that position, even after I got back on my feet.

  I grabbed his shoulder and pulled on it. “I’m okay, you can get up now.”

  He collapsed in a heap on the floor.

  “Come on, Chase ... stop messing around. Let’s go. I’m fucking tired, okay?”

  He didn’t move. This was getting stranger and stranger by the second.

  “Chase?” I nudged him with my toe, but there was no response. I bent down to look in his face.

  I started wailing immediately. “No! Nonononono! This is not happening! Chase! Chase!! Wake up!” I slapped his face really hard, but he still didn’t move.

  I ran my hand across his back to see if I could help him stand up, and I felt something sticking out of it. An arrow shaft. A small one, about one-third the size of Finns’.

  I looked back at Chase’s face, frozen in an expression I’ve seen there a hundred times. Patient, helpful – he had been leaning over to catch me and he’d taken an arrow that was meant for me in his back. And for some reason his face was frozen like a stone statue, but he was still breathing.

  I needed help, fast. What to do ... what to do ... Then inspiration struck.

  “Spike!” I yelled out. “I need you! I really, really need you right now!” I tried to think sexy thoughts. I focused hard on images of Spike’s body without his shirt ... his tattoos covering him from belly to neck ... his sparkling white, pointy-toothed smile ... his black spikey hair that looked like it never got combed but somehow totally worked for him.

  “Come on, come on, come on,” I chanted, eyes shut. “Sexy Spike, sexy Spike, Spike is sexy, sexy, sexy.”

  “Hmmmm, I like the sound of that,” said Spike, suddenly standing right next to me, the sound of his voice caressing my neck, along with his breath.

  I shoved him hard. “Not now, Spike. Help me with Chase.”

  Spike pouted. “Hey! What happened to ‘Sexy Spike’? I’m right here, Jayne. You called, I came. Let’s play.”

  “I’m not kidding, Spike, Chase is hurt!”

  “Oh. Shit. Sorry, I didn’t notice.”

  “Look, he has a fucking arrow in his back.”

  “Wow, that sucks.” Spike blinked a couple times, giving himself a mental shake, and then got serious. “Come on, let’s get him inside.” He looked around, “Whoever did this could still be out here.”

  “Yeah, thanks. He’s a little big for just me.”

  Spike grunted while he manhandled Chase’s giant body into the doorway. “So ... you didn’t call ... to play ... eh?”

  “No, sorry, not this time.”

  Spike got Chase in the door and shut it behind us. “That’s alright. We have plenty of time. Did you know that incubi live an average of two thousand years?”

  “Tell me all about it later. Let’s get Chase to the doctor.”

  Together we were able to get him partway down the hall until we ran into a couple of elves. With the four of us working together, we got Chase to the healer fae who pronounced him a victim of a spelled arrow. None of his organs were damaged, but they had to find a witch who could figure out how to reverse the spell. Until then, he was going to be in la-la land.

  Spike and I walked slowly back to my room, talking the whole way.

  “So, you were saying incubi live a long time ... ?” I prompted him, trying to get my mind off Chase and the fear that someone was trying to assassinate me.

  “Yeah. Like two thousand years long.”

  “No shit? Wow. I wonder how long an elemental lives.”

  “More. Unless they go crazy like the last one did.”

  “Crazy? Oh yeah, Céline mentioned something about that. I wonder if that’s ... common.”

  “I heard it is. With elementals anyway.” I glanced over and caught him looking sheepish.

  “What did you hear, exactly?”

  “Oh nothing. Just incubus gossip. Valentine’s a big gossip, did I tell you that? Yeah, he’s always talking shit about someone. Today he was talking about the daemons. Did you know that ... ”

  “Cut the crap, Spike. Fess up.”

  “No, seriously. Did you know Jared is five hundred years old? And he dated a hag for like the last two hundred. I think she’s dead now though.”

  “Yeah, I killed her. Back to the other story, please.”

  “You killed her? Oh man, wait ‘til I tell Valentine. He’s gonna die.”

  “Seriously, Spike, you scare me sometimes. And not in the scary way; in the ‘you’re so gay’ way.”

  “Most incubi are not gay. So far as I know, it’s only Valentine. Although, I have to say, being an incubus does open your eyes to the sexiness that’s present in both males and females – and all races for that matter.”

  We’d finally arrived at my room.

  “Whatever, Spike. Too much information for me right now; I’m worried about Chase. But don’t think you’ve gotten out of this conversation. We are going to discuss the subject you’ve been avoiding ... soon.”

  “Sure, Jayne, whatever you say,” he said, winking at me. I could tell he was twisting my words into some sort of x-rated invitation, but I couldn’t think about that right now. Chase had me very worried and the doctors didn’t seem all that confident about how they were going to fix him.

  I shooed Spike away from my room and went inside, shutting the door behind me. He sure was persistent these days. I was kinda surprised that I wasn’t taking him up on his obvious offers, but I was just too stressed out with everything that was going on. Maybe I’d be able to focus on indulging in some heavy duty making out with the sexiest incubus alive after Chase was taken care of. Hopefully.

  I went to my dresser and reached in the back, pulling Blackie out. I felt something under it this time that I hadn’t noticed before. I grabbed it and took it out too. It was a leather sheath with a belt attached to it. It was too big for my arm, but it fit perfectly around my waist and over my jeans to hang by my thigh. I put it on and slid my black stick inside the holder. I looked at myself in the mirror above the dresser, angling it down so I could see my lower half. Holy badass bitch! I looked friggin’ awesome with a weapon attached to my delicious body! I practiced jumping into a few attack stances, drawing my stick out from its sheath and brandishing it at my imagined enemies. Obviously I was going to need some work in this area. I wondered if they had taught Chase any combat moves yet. Maybe he could teach me some when he got better.

  I got tired of messing around in my room and had some time to kill before dinner, so I went to the computer room again. I logged on and saw another message from Tony.

  ‘Jayne, Hi. I don’t have a lot of time to write. I’m in the school computer lab. Ben will be back in a second. Every time I try to write you he’s got anot
her crazy idea of something to go do. Anyway, having fun with Ben, chilling out. Gonna hang out with him after school. He’s awesome at video games. I’m quitting computer and chess clubs. I’m tired of hanging out with those losers. Anyway, Ben’s back. Gotta go. Tony.’

  I sat there in the computer room feeling even worse than I already did. Losers? Tony never says ‘losers’. And those guys were his friends. This was not good. Not good at all.

  My daemon bodyguard friend was bewitched because he got in the way of someone trying to kill me, and my best friend Tony was falling prey to some bossy, I’m pretty sure, asshole who was influencing him to change his look, attitude, and group of friends. My paranoia was getting the better of me as I read into Tony’s message that Ben was trying to distract him from writing to me. But that was just plain stupid. I was intelligent enough to recognize jealousy in myself when I saw it. I sighed. Time to grow up and be a good friend.

  I clicked open a new message.

  ‘Dearest Tony. Did I mention how much I miss you? I’m bummed you quit computer and chess club. You liked those guys, even if they were a little dorky. Have fun with your new friend but don’t forget your old one. Me! See you soon. Love, your best friend of all time, Jayne.’

  There. That should do the trick. A little subliminal best friend manipulation. Time to go talk to Dardennes about someone’s apparent plot to knock me on my ass. I left the computer room and found his office easily enough. I knocked, but no one answered. I pushed on the door experimentally and it swung open. I peeked around the open door.

  “Hello? Is anyone here?”

  No one answered and the place looked empty.

  I walked over to the desk, my eyes roaming around the room. This place looked like a museum. Every shelf had not only books on it but gadgets and knickknacks, many I couldn’t identify. I reached the desk and stood in front of it, looking at the surface. Sitting among the items was something I hadn’t seen during previous visits to Dardennes’ office. It was an upside down glass jar. And something was inside it. Moving.

  I bent over, looking closer. “What the hell?” I whispered in shock.