Call to Arms

  “Jayne, I am not going to apologize for what we did to you and your friends. I am fighting for the survival of my race, for my people, for my family ... for my species. We used the most respectful methods we could devise to awaken the magic within you, and we left you with your freedom of choice to become a changeling or not. Your friend Tony is proof of this truth. You have to let go of your bitterness and anger because it does not serve your purpose. Release it; I beg of you. Please look in your heart and ask yourself if you would have done any differently, given what you know about our people and our situation now.”

  I don’t know how she managed to keep doing this – making me feel immature and stupid. Dammit. She was like the most freaky-powerful parent of all time. I thought my mom was bad, but this fae lady, she was friggin’ scary. Maybe that’s what silver elves had as their special magical talent – mad parenting skills.

  “What does a silver elf do anyway – I mean, what are your powers, other than laying on massively powerful guilt trips?”

  She released my hands and sat back up straight, smiling proudly. “We are servants of the wind. We are fast, we can fly, and we are pretty handy with a spear.”

  “Now that is crazy cool. Flying. How do you do that, without any wings?”

  “We ride the wind.”

  Oh, yeah. Once again clear as mud. Friggin’ fae. I didn’t bother asking for a better explanation because I knew I wasn’t going to get it. Maybe she’d show me later.

  “So the green elves ... what’s their deal?”

  “You have already seen what they can do. They are the servants of The Green. They are hunters, trackers, archers ... they serve as our ground troops in the Green Forest. They also know forest herbs and medicines much like your American Indian shaman do. They make excellent healers.”

  “My friend Finn is a green elf. He’s not happy about it.”

  “He will change his mind. The green elves are highly respected here. They are a noble race – one of the oldest, in fact. Their blood runs strong and true. Your friend Finn is a valued addition to their ranks.”

  “What about Chase? Did you put him next to me because he’s a daemon?”

  She sighed. “I cannot share everything we do with you.”

  “More secrets?”

  “No, not a secret. We want to be sure that what happens with you and what happens with Chase, happens as a result of what should be, not what we want to be. We must not influence you by giving you more information than necessary.”

  “So what does that mean? You’re trying to play matchmaker or something? Because I think Chase is cool and everything, but he’s not my type for a boyfriend or anything like that.”

  Céline laughed. “We don’t have to play matchmaker in our world. That happens of its own accord, when the time is right. You will find that we are not as uptight as the human world is when it comes to relationships.”

  I raised my eyebrows at that. I’m not sure if she meant it this way, but I took it to mean fooling around was okay with them. Cool. Visions of Spike’s smile lit up my mind.

  “I must caution you though. Many of our fae brethren have powers that cause them to be much more attractive than they would normally be. I will do what I can to help you recognize the effects of these powers, but if you are not strong, you could find yourself falling prey to a fae’s lust.”

  “Oh. Well. That might be a bad thing. Then again ... ”

  “Believe me. It is never a good thing when your free will is taken from you. There is a lot of regret afterwards.”

  Céline was looking off into the distance. It took me a second to realize that she was walking down memory lane somewhere. Or maybe flying down it.

  “So, back to business.” Céline snapped back to the present. “Where were we? Oh, yes ... we were talking about your choices. I am going to help you learn all you can about your magic – I will and others will – and then you may decide for yourself what you do with this knowledge.”

  I nodded my head. That was good enough for me. For now, anyway. “Fine. Let’s get started then. What do you want to know?”

  “Tell me why you put your hands into the ground.”

  “I don’t really know. I feel more connected that way.”

  “What do you mean by ‘connected’?”

  “I guess you could say The Green is like a huge computer network for me. Like the Internet, kind of. I plug in by touch and the connection is stronger.”

  “Stronger than ... ?”

  “Than if I just do it without touching anything.”

  “So you can communicate with The Green even without making physical contact?”

  “Yes, but it’s a weaker link.”

  “Can you connect when you’re inside your room, in the compound?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t tried.” I really should though, so I decided to remedy this when I got back.

  “Does The Green ever reach out to you?”

  “Sometimes.” I could always kind of feel its hum, if I thought about it. It was as if it was waiting for me ... wanting me to just give a small sign I wanted the link and then bam, it would be there.

  “Can you remember when that has happened?”

  The second she asked that question, I had a flashback – the unhappy kind. “Yes, when Becky drowned and I was very upset.”

  I could tell the idea of The Green having a mind of its own intrigued her. The questions began to come more rapid-fire.

  “What did The Green do then?”

  “I think it was trying to heal my sadness.”

  “Heal it?”

  “Yeah, make it go away.”

  “Did it? Heal your pain, I mean?”

  “No.”

  “Oh, it was not able to.”

  “No, I wouldn’t let it.”

  “How did you do that?”

  “I pushed it away.”

  “Has The Green healed you before?”

  “No, not me.”

  “Others?”

  “Yes, Finn and Becky.”

  “Exactly how did it do this?”

  “I linked in and touched Becky or Finn, and asked The Green to heal them.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Yeah, pretty much.”

  “So, The Green speaks English to you.”

  “No, actually not at all. We speak in images and feelings. It’s better that way.”

  “Why is it better?”

  “It’s more accurate – there’s less chance of a misunderstanding.”

  “Have you experienced misunderstandings before?”

  “Not really. Just one time, I asked The Green to protect us while we slept and I specifically thought only about things that would do us harm; and, well, Becky slipped through The Green’s watch, because she meant us no harm. I really have no idea if it worked against any bad guys though. I slept like a baby.”

  Céline laughed, her merriment ringing out through the forest like a bell. For a few moments she gave in to her humor with abandon. It transformed her, making her go from old and sophisticated-looking to young and beautiful. I watched her, unable to keep from smiling along, even though I had no idea what she found so funny.

  “Oh, believe me,” she said, wiping her sparkling eyes. “It worked. It worked very well.”

  “Really? Tell me!” I leaned forward, anxious to hear what she had to say.

  Her eyes were shining as she related the story to me. “Well, during your fae test, Niles had it in his mind to stage a nighttime raid on your camp. Needless to say, he was very unpleasantly surprised to find himself strung up in the trees, along with a few of his friends, when he got close to where you were sleeping. They were not released until you had left the area the next day. When The Green finally let them go, they had nearly lost all feeling in their legs and arms – and they were dumped on their heads to the forest floor from about ten meters up. They had a very difficult time getting back and were not very happy at all about the ribbing they got from the weres and t
he elves.”

  “No. Fucking. Way.”

  “Yes. And until now, we all thought it was the witches having some fun with them, but the witches have been vehemently denying it all along. I will have to go speak with the dwarves and explain what happened so I can cool them down a bit. They tend to hold grudges for a long time.”

  “They do seem a bit ... feisty.”

  Céline smiled. “That would be a good general description of the dwarves.”

  “Well, that’s pretty cool, that The Green did that – for me, not the dwarves.”

  “For all of us, actually. There is a chance that this problem we have with the Dark Fae will find its way to our Green Forest. Having The Green aware of the problem and helping us could be very valuable.” Céline stood. “I think I have picked through your brain enough for now. Would you like to take a walk?”

  I stood up, brushing myself off. “Sure, why not?”

  “Is there anything special you would like to see?”

  “Like what?”

  “Anything. We have lots of fae in the Green Forest. We could visit any number of them.”

  I had a devious thought. She’d made me perform all morning ...

  “I’d like to see you fly.”

  She looked at me sideways as we walked. “Whatever for?”

  “Oh, come on, you’ve gotta be kidding me. I’ve never seen anyone actually fly. Computer graphics and stuff doesn’t count. I want to see the real deal.”

  Céline stopped walking. “I cannot believe I am going to do this.”

  “What?”

  “Fly on command.”

  “I’ve been answering questions on command for an hour or more. And I bet you’re going to make me perform on command pretty soon too.”

  “Fair enough,” Céline capitulated. “Here you are then.” She stopped walking and gestured for me to stand off to the side. She stood in place, shaking out her arms and rolling her shoulders and head around, limbering herself up. “So ... this is me, a silver elf of the Green Forest, flying.”

  I watched as the gray part of her eyes began swirling madly. Her pupils got bigger and blacker. Her hair rose up, as if a big fan was under her. I saw her head and shoulders seem to expand up, becoming narrower and ... taller. Her whole body stretched up, getting thinner and thinner. The top of her head started to point, turning into a swirling mist that had formed above her. Her body began turning like a whirlwind, twisting up and around, following the direction her head had gone. Up and up, she went, twisting and turning, getting narrower and narrower, and more faint – until she ceased to be anymore, and the twisting mist that was her zoomed up and sideways ... and then disappeared all together.

  I was left standing alone in the forest, breathing rapidly, not sure I had seen what I thought I had just seen. Céline had turned herself into a mini-tornado and disappeared into the air around us.

  “Um, Céline? Céline?! Are you there?”

  I received no answer.

  All of a sudden, I felt a whoosh of air off to my right. I looked over in time to see a miniature tornado touch down next to me. Its revolutions decelerated until it was going slow enough that I could see a human form taking shape. Céline’s form. When the spinning stopped, Céline was standing there. I watched as her hair settled down, back into its perfectly coiffed state, exactly how it had looked before she had taken off.

  “That was fucking awesome!” I yelled, totally hyped up on an instant dose of adrenaline that had shot through my veins, my heart racing wildly like I’d just sprinted around the block.

  Céline smoothed her hair down with her hand. “Thank you. Now it is your turn.” She winked at me.

  Fine. She wanted to see some action; I’d show her some action.

  “Come with me.” I had a big smile on my face. This stuff was fun.

  I walked through the forest until I found one of the ancients. I went up to it and touched it briefly, sharing my ideas. I felt the warm and familiar response of The Green. I think it had missed me, and I realized that I had missed it too. And it was also feeling as playful as I was. The Green and I were ready to have some fun with this always cool and calm silver elf.

  “Okay, so, come over and put your arms around the tree.”

  “Around the tree?”

  “Yeah. Hug it. Hug the tree.”

  She lifted her eyebrow at me in question, but stepped forward and stood at the base of the tree. She put her palms on the tree’s bark to steady herself and then laid against it, spreading her arms out to her sides.

  I stepped up beside her, looking at her face as I got into position.

  “I do feel a little bit silly standing here like this,” she said.

  I smiled, saying nothing. I wanted to see the look on her face when she felt the energy for the first time.

  I leaned on the tree, taking my time as I placed first my right hand and then my left on the tree’s warm and chunky bark. The energy of The Green was humming, buzzing, flowing through every particle of my being. Damn it feels good to be back here. I got a responding welcome back from The Green.

  I moved my hand closer to hers. It was only inches away. “Are you ready?” I asked, laying my cheek against the trunk.

  “Yes,” she said softly.

  I moved my hand and placed it over hers. I saw from her eyes that she was feeling it. The gray color was slowly swirling around in her eyes.

  I sent out my request for more. And more came.

  Céline’s eyes opened wide, her gray irises now turning to violet and blue swirls and waves, moving around faster and faster.

  I sent out another request. More. And it came.

  “Oh my ... it is ... unbelievable,” she said, tears in her eyes now.

  I made one last request. I asked The Green to show her all of it. To show her the beauty. The love.

  I felt the blast coming before it arrived. I gripped her hand hard, hoping it was okay to do this to her.

  She frowned at the look on my face a split second before it hit her.

  A ray of silver light burst from her eyes, shining directly into mine, temporarily blinding me. All I could see was liquid silver. I felt her gasp and scream out. Her hand pulled away from mine and I heard a thump.

  I sent my thanks to The Green, which quickly ratcheted the energy back to its normal lower levels. I broke my connection with the tree and sat down, waiting for my vision to return to normal. Fucking fae had lasered me with her freaky silver eyes.

  I heard her moaning faintly next to me. My vision began to clear and I saw her lying on the ground, covered in leaves. Her hair was all messed up and she had some twigs on her tunic.

  I crawled over to where she was, nudging her on the shoulder.

  “Céline? Are you okay?”

  She just moaned weakly and then dropped into unconsciousness.

  Dammit. Now I’d done it. I’d given my trainer a stroke. I was going to be in serious trouble now. I touched the trunk of the ancient and asked it to go find me a green elf, explaining it was urgent.

  Minutes later the elf I knew as Robin Hood showed up. I could finally see normally again, the silver laser vision having faded.

  “The Green has brought me here. What happened?” He was looking down at Céline who was lying motionless on the ground.

  “Um, I ... uh ... was showing her some stuff and ... well ... this happened.”

  The elf bent down and touched her forehead, keeping his hand there for a few seconds.

  “She is not dead.”

  Phew. “Well that’s a relief.”

  “But I do not know what is wrong with her.”

  Double damn. I’m screwed.

  “I will take her back to the compound.” He bent down to pick her up. She was a tall woman, but he lifted her with ease.

  “What should I do?”

  “Go back to the compound.”

  “Um, I don’t really know where it is.”

  “Follow me.”

  I followed him a distance throu
gh the forest to a door that was standing there in the middle of a bunch of trees. He grabbed the heavy iron handle, a ring, and pulled. The door swung out to reveal a hallway. It looked exactly like all the other hallways in the compound.

  He entered and I went in behind him, following him through the corridor as it twisted and turned for what seemed like a long distance. He finally stopped outside a door I didn’t recognize. “Wait in this room.”

  I opened the door and saw that I was standing in front of my own bedroom. I watched from the doorway as he continued down the corridor, headed towards the dining room. Or at least I think that’s what was down that way. Stupid magic hallways made it impossible for me to know for sure.

  I went in and sat down on the bed, sighing loudly. “Well, that was fucking awesome.”

  “What was fucking awesome?” said a voice from the corner of my room.

  I took one look at the creature standing there and started screaming my head off.

  Chapter 6

  The creature took one look at me screaming, got a panicked expression on its face, and started hollering too. “Aaaaahhhhhh!!!”

  My scream petered out as I realized that this thing was as scared of me as I was of it. But that didn’t make a whole lot of sense, since it was the creature, not me.

  “What are you screaming for?” I asked.

  “What are you screaming for?” he asked back.

  “I asked you first.”

  The thing sniffed while dusting some imaginary lint off its jacket. “I was being polite.”

  “Polite?”

  “Yes. I didn’t want you to feel bad about being scared and screaming like a little human girl.”

  “I think you were as scared as I was.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Brownies don’t frighten that easily.”

  “Oh! You’re my brownie!”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say I’m your brownie. I am a brownie. I am in your room, but I belong to no one. Brownies were freed two thousand years ago by the great and powerful Landor. Everyone knows that.”

  “Oh sure, yeah, Landor, the ... whatever. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Anyway, thanks for cleaning up around here. I appreciate it.” It was a big relief to find out that he wasn’t here to eat me but that he was here to clean up after me. Big difference.