“So, you didn’t hear then?” asked Spike.
“No, apparently not. What’s going on?”
Chase pulled out a chair next to him. “Sit.”
Chase had been a gentleman before, but now, he was extra polite, like Tony. He credited me with saving his life. I credited Tim. When Chase acted all chivalrous though, my thoughts of Tony still came; but the pain in my heart got less and less every time. I had stopped emailing him that day over a month ago that he had told me to back off. Letting go was the most painful thing I’ve done, but I was doing it. It was better that way.
I sat down, suddenly feeling paranoid. “Stop fucking around. Tell me what’s going on.”
“Tell her, Chase,” said Finn, leaning back in his chair, balancing on the back two legs.
“Jared’s back.”
“From Florida? Does he have new recruits with him?”
“Yeah, but that ain’t the problem,” said Finn, unable to wait for Chase to finish explaining.
“Problem? Okay, so what’s the problem?”
“We’re not exactly sure,” said Becky, “but there’s a meeting after lunch and they’ve summoned all of us.”
“All the fae in the compound?”
“No. Just us. Our changeling group.”
Since we had been brought into the fold, several other changeling groups had come in. The dining hall was filled with their eager chatter. We were the most senior of all of them, so in a way it was kinda cool because they looked up to us. But then again, it was often a pain in the ass because they were so full of questions and acted so stupid sometimes. I really didn’t have the patience for them most of the time; I was too obsessed with my own training. Luckily my friends were patient and good at making excuses for me; so far, I hadn’t managed to make enemies out of any of them.
“Just us? That’s weird.”
“Yeah,” said Becky, looking down at the table. That was a sure giveaway with her.
“She’s hiding something,” said Tim from down at the table where he was sitting.
“Yeah, I know.”
Becky glanced at me, at first not understanding what I said. Then she realized I was talking to Tim. They were getting used to me talking like a crazy person and having all of these what looked like one-sided conversations. The new changelings always thought for a few days that I was a nutcase, walking around talking to myself. Part of me was always a little disappointed when they were filled in on the details, usually by Becky. I kinda liked it when they gave me my crazy person space.
“Fess up, Becky. Tim and I both know you’re hiding something. What haven’t you guys told us?”
She sighed. “I hate that you guys can read me so well.” She paused for a moment looking at Finn and Spike, then continued. “Whatever Jared has to talk to us about, it involves Tony.”
I could actually feel my blood pressure go through the roof, like instantaneously. My heart started pumping double time.
Tim jumped over and landed on my hand. He did this whenever he thought I needed comforting. I kept telling him how dangerous that was because one day I was probably going to squeeze my hand involuntarily and squish him, but he didn’t listen. That’s one thing I had come to find out about my pixie friend, Tim. He did whatever the hell he wanted, when he wanted. He might be little, but he was as stubborn as a full-sized mule. Plus he snored and had a lot of gas. He blamed it on the fruit.
“Is Tony okay?”
“We don’t know any details, other than he’s alive. So don’t panic, just yet.”
“Don’t panic? Are you kidding me? How can I not panic over this?”
Chase got up, nudging me in the shoulder as he stood. “Eat. Then we’ll find out what’s what.”
He left the table and headed to the buffet.
“He’s right. We have to eat. We have no idea what’s going on, but missing meals isn’t going to help,” said Spike, smiling weakly at me.
Of all of us, I think Spike had changed the most in the last few weeks. His training was almost the hardest because it was mostly mental, not physical. Of course he did have some workout type stuff, but mostly it was learning how to capitalize on his speed and control his cravings. His body was such that he was never going to get bigger or more muscular, so there was no point in doing workouts like Chase, Finn, and I did. He had to learn to control his urges, use the energy he took to heal himself of wounds, and most importantly, how to draw energy from humans and fae without draining them dry. It was easier for him to work with fae – they had a greater life force that was hard to drain completely, which is what made us hard to kill from regular stuff like arrows to the chest for example – lucky for Valentine and Naida, since both of them had suffered arrows to the chest during our training, and occasionally were injured again when changelings came through for their tests. It was still only the old-timers who worked in the forest during tests, matching their wits and skills against the potential changeling candidates. Spike was doing well, but he was tired a lot. He lacked his usual verve and spark. He hadn’t made a move on me in weeks, but I was glad. Not because he wasn’t sexy as hell and still tops on my list for a hot makeout session, but he’d grown stronger and I was a tiny bit afraid of him, even though he’d been nothing but a gentleman to me and Becky.
“You’re right, I know.” I got up reluctantly to get some food from the buffet. A new changeling was there and he stopped, allowing me to go in front. Another perk of being a senior changeling was priority at the buffet. I put some stuff on my plate even though I didn’t really feel like eating.
I got back to the table and Chase had already finished half of his very full plate. At least someone still had an appetite. Not surprisingly, it was Chase.
Before I even sat down, the door on the other side of the room opened and Jared strode through. This was the first time I’d seen him in weeks. He ran the tests with the changelings every time, always disappearing from the forest and leaving them to fend for themselves and showing up from time to time to explain his absence. In between moments of prodding them through the forest, he would come back to the compound and help with training, council decisions and whatnot. He and I still didn’t talk much. It was taking me a long time to forgive his deceit, even though now I could appreciate the reasons behind all of it.
Jared walked over to our table. “Hey, do you guys mind bringing your lunch to the meeting? I have to get out of here and back to my changeling candidates soon.”
“Pulled another disappearing act, eh?” I said.
He shook his head at me and rolled his eyes, saying nothing. I guess he wasn’t in the mood for my teasing today. That wasn’t a good sign. He usually gave me a half-smile at least.
Something about him made me want to harass him. I don’t know what it was. Maybe because he was so cool all the time – unruffled. Nothing bothered him. Maybe I had some sick need to be the thing that bothered him ... the one thing. Sometimes I looked for trouble, even where there wasn’t any. Becoming fae had not changed that part of my nature.
We all grabbed our plates and drinks and followed him out the door. He brought us to a meeting room that had a conference table with chairs and nothing else. I’d never been in this room before. On the door was a circle with a line through it. It looked like a Greek letter or something.
Dardennes and Céline were already there. We each took a seat, nodding to them in greeting. I had found my peace with them, albeit reluctantly. Jared was my last bitter holdout for forgiveness. Even Niles had earned my respect, the little turd. He may be gruff, but he knew his stuff when it came to strength training and brute force in battle. He may be the size of a small child but he has the heart of a lion. He pretended to be mad all the time, but I knew he had a soft spot for me. Must be because I’m the only one who’s ever gotten the better of him out in the forest during the changeling tests. He’d so far taken out five candidates with his little band of warrior dwarves, and he was very proud of that. He was always saying that we are only as strong
as our weakest link, and his job was to find the weak links and get rid of them. The changeling group that I had been a part of was the only group to make it through without losing anyone. We found out later that Becky was allowed in, even though she didn’t finish, because she was able to establish her status as a water sprite through her interaction with Naida and because I had tied her flag to the last Waypoint, so she technically had her flag up at each one. They have since changed the rules so that only the person owning the flag can officially tie it there. Becky and I shared a special connection over lots of stuff, not the least of which is that stupid fourth flag.
“Okay, Jared, can you fill us in on what you’ve been doing? I think the changelings here would appreciate a little background.”
Jared stood at his seat. “Thank you, Anton.” He nodded his head to us. “Changelings ... ”
We all nodded back.
“As you know, I’ve been back and forth to Florida, New York, and California quite a bit in the last several weeks, working on finding and bringing back recruits for our changeling test. The results have been quite good. We are happy to say that as a result of our efforts, we now have thirty-two new fae including a variety of races.” He paused to recognize our nods of approval.
“My last assignment was in Florida again. I was up in an area very familiar to Jayne, I believe, West Palm Beach.”
My heart started hammering again. Now we were getting to the good stuff – or the bad stuff, depending on how you looked at it.
“We have been receiving reports from our colleagues there that there is a strong Dark Fae presence moving in, so we have been keeping an eye on the situation, trying to determine the extent of the issue and the reason for it.” Jared looked at me and then at Dardennes. Dardennes nodded at him, encouraging him to continue.
“We do not know all the details, but we believe the Dark Fae have figured out some way of identifying fae candidates without putting them through any test. They are actively recruiting for their side and seem to not only be targeting candidates indiscriminately, which has resulted in a group of fae roaming around that are not only stupid but dangerous, but also they seem to be spending considerable resources on recruiting specific targets. We’ve seen them build elaborate schemes and even false identities and false families, just to ingratiate themselves into the lives of those they wish to recruit most.”
Warning bells were going off in my head. This was starting to sound like my most paranoid thoughts of Tony – and Jared was talking about West Palm, my hometown.
“And this brings me to why we have asked you here today. It appears that Tony has been targeted by the Dark Fae as a potential recruit.”
I jumped up from my seat. “I knew it! I totally friggin’ knew he was being influenced. It’s Ben, right? The fae’s name is Ben!”
Jared looked surprised. “How did you know that?”
“Tony told me about him the day he got back. In an email. Ben immediately started taking over Tony’s life, changing him, becoming his new best friend.” I choked on the last two words and tears jumped to my eyes. I swiped at them angrily, sitting back down. I was shaking with fury, sadness, and fear. A big ball of misery lodged itself right in my throat, threatening to gag me. I breathed in and out loudly, trying to get my emotions under control. I felt Becky’s comforting hand on my back. Spike reached over and put his hand on my forearm, squeezing gently.
“Jayne,” said Tim, warning me, “I feel your energy humming in my wings. Control yourself.”
He was right. Sometimes when I got really emotional, The Green kind of seeped in. Our connection was so close, sometimes I forgot where I stopped and it started. Tim was kind of my energy barometer. He could sense when the balance was off. I took a second to collect myself. I recognized the power flowing around me uncontrolled and separated myself from it. Now was no time to be knocking people out into la-la land. I hardly ever did that anymore, but it was always a small worry for anyone training with me.
“You are correct. His name is Ben, and he is a particularly powerful fae. We don’t know exactly what he is, but we know that the other fae look to him for direction and that many of his own kind fear him.”
I almost didn’t want to ask, but I had to. “What has he done to Tony?”
“So far, at least as much as we can tell, he has done nothing other than ... influence him. And not in the way you might be thinking.” Jared actually smiled before continuing. “In fact, I saw Tony. It was from a distance, and I almost didn’t recognize him. I sensed his energy signature though, so I knew it was him. But truthfully, I don’t think any of you would recognize him. Even you, Jayne.”
“Whaddya mean by that?” asked Finn.
“He looks very different. Different hair, different clothes ... he even walks like someone else.”
I thought about that email Tony sent, telling me about Ben giving him clothes. It made me mad all over again. “So what are we going to do? We can’t leave Tony there for the Dark Fae.” I looked at Jared, then Céline and Dardennes expectantly, but they weren’t saying anything. “What? You can’t leave him there. Right guys?” I looked around at my friends. They were all nodding.
Dardennes cleared his throat. “We have a unique situation here, a problem essentially, and the council has made a ruling.”
I felt my hackles rise. Usually the council involved the other fae in important rulings, and Tony was important. They should have involved us. I didn’t get a good feeling about this at all.
“The rules are that once a changeling candidate has refused the change, he is released following erasure and can never become a fae using one of our amulets. That has been the rule forever and will not be changed by this council.”
We all started talking at once, some of us – Tim and me – louder than the others. Well, Tim was louder in my ears anyway.
“That’s bullshit!”
“You can’t abandon him like that!”
Dardennes held his hands up to try and calm us down, but I wasn’t having it.
“That makes absolutely no sense at all. We all know Tony has fae blood. If he doesn’t come with us, they’ll take him over to the Dark Fae side! We’ll lose him forever!” I was so frustrated I started quoting my gray elf friend Gregale’s words. “That’s a waste of resources and we don’t do that!”
Dardennes nodded, still holding up his hands. Everyone quieted down to hear his next words.
“I could not agree with you more, but the council has spoken. I am not to bring this candidate back here, give him an amulet, or allow him to speak the words that bring the change. I cannot do that. I am helpless here. There is nothing I can do.” He raised his eyebrows at us expectantly. He didn’t look sad at all. He looked ... like he was waiting for us to say something.
I frowned, scanning all the other faces around the table. My friends were obviously as confused as I was. Jared looked like Dardennes and now Céline too – like they were waiting for us to figure something out.
Finn spoke up. “You said that you can’t do any of these things. Does that mean no one can’t do ‘em, or just you can’t do ‘em?”
Dardennes smiled broadly at him and then at all of us. “The council has ruled that none of the elders may bring Tony to our compound or give him an amulet or allow him to speak the words of the change. That is all I can tell you. It is merely the truth and nothing more or less.” He and Céline got up to leave the table, both of them grinning at one another conspiratorially. “We will leave you now. I am sure all of you have a lot to discuss. It is a sad day that I couldn’t bring Tony to you here. I hope you can find a way to make things right in your hearts.”
Céline nodded her head, pausing at the door and turning to us. “I wish you all the best of luck in your ... future endeavors. And Jared?”
“Yes, Céline?”
“The jet is fully fueled and waiting to take you back to Florida. Ivar will be aboard to help you and anyone you need to bring to assist you on your next mission.”
>
“Thank you, Céline.”
She and Dardennes left the room. For a few seconds, it was completely silent in the room. Then Finn spoke up. “Are ya’ll gettin’ the same meanin’ outta this that I am?”
“If you mean they’re saying we can go and do this stuff, just without them telling us we can go, then yes,” said Spike.
Jared sighed. “Listen guys, Anton and Céline can’t tell you guys to do this. But they aren’t going to stop you if you want to go. It’s up to you. But we have to keep quiet about it because the elders were clear. Anton cannot sanction this trip or what we do on it. As far as the elders are concerned, I’m going on a recruiting mission. As far as Anton and Céline are concerned, I’m recruiting and I’m taking assistants.”
“I don’t give a shit whether the elders or Dardennes say yes or no. I’m going.” I looked at each of my friends in turn. “You guys can go or stay. Either way, you’re still my friends. But nothing is going to keep me back here when Tony’s in trouble.”
Jared looked at me. “I suggest you go spend some time with Gregale. He can give you a sneak peak at what we’re dealing with. Ask him to take you into the Gray. Go see Tony with him.”
“What the hell are you talking about? If I could go see Tony, don’t you think I would have already done that?” Jared was crazy talking as far as I could tell.
“Just go see Gregale. He’ll explain. Do not tell him what our plans are, though. The fewer people who know, the better. Just tell him you miss Tony and you really need to see him from the Gray.”
Jared turned to the others. “You guys need to let me know now if you’re coming with us. I have to pack provisions for the correct number of people.” He looked around expectantly.
Chase was the first to speak. “Where Jayne goes, I go.”
“Me too!” yelled Tim.
“Tim says he’s going,” I informed them.
“I’m in,” said Spike, lazily. “This place was getting boring anyway.” Something told me he was just looking for some fresh energy, but whatever. The more the merrier.