After the Fall

  "Okay, let me see ... what can it possibly be? I can't decide. I'm going to take a nap until I can come up with something good." I snored for effect.

  "Listen, Jayne ... much as I'd like to sit out here all day and wait for you to grow up, I'm afraid the earth just doesn't have enough ozone left for us to wait that long. So, hurry up and wake up enough to tell your lovely friend, the Earth element, to let the dang sword go so we can get you inside."

  His last comment had my eyes flying open. I looked up at the night sky above my head, and the thousand bits of flickering light dancing around my head and in the air around me. "What in the hell ... ?"

  "Hey, you guys!" yelled Tim. "Come on over here and say hello to the messenger!"

  The little lights that were dancing and floating all converged over my head in about five seconds. They went from little pinpricks of light to a spotlight of blinding white light so intense I had to shut my eyes again; and even then, I could still see their glare from behind my eyelids. "Whoa, shut the lights off. You're burning my retinas."

  "Shut it down, friends, shut it down. Just give her the minimum," ordered Tim, sounding every inch the drill sergeant.

  I opened my eyes when I sensed the light pulling back. Above my head was a huge cloud of buzzing, smiling pixies, all of them with lights on their butts.

  "Jayne, I'd like to introduce the firefly pixies of the Jade Colony. Pixies, say hello to my roommate!"

  A thousand voices came at me, mostly in unison. "Hello, roommate Jayne!"

  I found the strength to turn my head and look at Tim who was only inches from my face. "What the frig, pixieman?"

  "You call, we come. Ta daaaa!" He threw out his arms, gesturing around us - not just to the firefly pixies above my face, but to the other crowds of pixies, that hovered just beyond.

  "How many of them are there?" I whispered, freaking out about the catastrophe of having thousands of pixelations on my hands, probably enough that it would wipe out the last unhappy fae on the entire planet.

  "Pretty much all of them, from every colony." Tim started dancing some crazy tap dance jig, his elbows flying out all over the place. "It's a revolution, Jayne, all thanks to you!"

  I closed my eyes and started to cry. "Oh, fuck. I'm doomed. Just shoot me now. Someone get this sword out of me and shove it into my eye."

  "No, Jayne!" said Tim, ceasing his dance moves to run over to my ear. "This is a good thing!"

  "How could the pixelation of every living fae be good?"

  Tim leaned his hand on my cheek. I couldn't see him, but I knew that he was examining his cuticles. He had that special tone in his voice. "Jayne, Jayne, Jayne ... whatever am I going to do with you?" His hand left my face. "Every pixie here has sworn a blood oath to keep his dust to himself. There will be no pixelations now or ever. Or, heh, heh ... not without consequences, anyway. We're all good!"

  "I can't believe Dardennes is okay with this. He put your butt in a bell jar not that long ago. You were the exception to the no-pixie rule."

  "Bell jar, smell jar. That was just a precaution. Dardennes knows me. He's known me for years. I just ... you know ... can get a little feisty sometimes, so he did what he had to do. I don't hold that against him."

  I frowned, opening my eyes again, my confusion and frustration at once again realizing how in the dark I always am firing me up enough to give me new energy. "What are you saying? That Dardennes knew who you were personally? Why would he put you in jail then?"

  "I can't believe you're asking me this, oh airheaded roomie of mine. You know that I'm passionate. Spending a week in the Overworld with the fruit of my loins should have clued you in if all the other months you've known me hadn't already." He came over and put his head nearly inside my ear canal. "What I'm about to tell you cannot leave this eardrum, do you agree to my terms?"

  I nodded, not sure I was telling the truth, but too interested not to at least let him think I was.

  "I am a secret agent spy for the fae. I had just completed a mission for them and returned a little ... hot. So they had to, you know, contain the fire that is Tim for a bit until I could keep my dust under control."

  "But they were going to send you to a colony."

  "Yeah, well, hot is really hot when it's Tim hot."

  I shook my head, sending him dancing out of the way. "You're nuts. Seriously, get me out of here. I'm not even sure this isn't a nightmare."

  "I will. The healers who are standing just over there will. But we need you to get this sword out of the ground first. They've done their best to heal you here in the meadow, but until that blade's out, you're not going anywhere."

  It was then that I finally realized that I was still pinned to the meadow like a butterfly in a display case. I'd forgotten to tell The Green to let the damn blade go. I sighed heavily, asking it to release the weapon from its hold, instantly feeling a shock of pain as it moved just a millimeter in response to my breathing.

  "Holy ... shit on a stick, that hurts!" I moaned.

  Tim took off, and I heard him bossing somebody around. He was probably yelling in their ear from the sound of it. I felt some vibrations in the ground as someone approached. From the light of the still-hovering pixies, I could see the wrinkled face of the healer who'd once taken Tim's blood for me.

  "Can I take this out now?" he asked, concern marring his features.

  "Yes," I said. "Do it carefully, though, please. It's friggin killing me just to breathe."

  He looked up and nodded at someone. Beau came into view, his giant wings tight against his back. I heard whisperings of awe coming from the pixies nearby, and they flew out of his way as he stepped over me, straddling my torso with his legs.

  I stared up at his gorgeous face, wondering what a girl says to an angel who's about to rip a blade out of her shoulder.

  "Got stuck," I said, unable to come up with anything more.

  He nodded.

  "You're going to take it out?"

  He nodded once more.

  "Try not to hurt me," I said, gritting my teeth together tightly.

  He bent over and curved his fingers around the handle. "Close your eyes," he said softly.

  I followed his orders but had zero time to consider their uncharacteristically soft tone before the blinding, scorching pain from the blade moving out of my body sent me back into the land of the barely living.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  I WOKE UP IN MY room, lying in the center of my bed, covered to the neck in my soft comforter. Tim, Abby, and Willy were asleep in a little pile on the pillow to the right of me. I turned my head to watch them, a spot in my heart melting at the picture of family love they created.

  Tim was snoring on his back, as usual, his arm and shoulder cradling the head of his wife who was snuggled up to his side. Willy was cuddled up in between them, also on his back, also snoring, his broken wings, arms, and legs thrown out in all directions to cover his parents. I wasn't sure how Abby managed to stay asleep with all that racket, but she sure did look content. Even when Tim's body shook with a choking and snorting seizure, she didn't move or alter her breathing pattern.

  I felt a warmth on my left, and turned to figure out its source. Spike was asleep on my other side, his face in repose, his eyes closed, giving me the perfect opportunity to study him up close without him knowing. His dark hair was in its usual state of disarray, and his dark lashes lying against his skin showed off how thick they were. Why do guys always get the gorgeous lashes? I thought of my own sparse ones and the possible state of my hair and face and hoped he wasn't going to wake up before I could get out of there and shower.

  As if he'd read my mind, his eyes opened and he caught me staring at him before I could look away.

  "Good morning, gorgeous," he said, flashing me his amazing smile.

  "I see your eyesight hasn't improved with the ingestion of demon blood."

  He grimaced. "Don't remind me. That chick was nasty."

  I smiled. "You didn't think she was super sexy with
her leather and black wings and stuff?"

  "Welllll, I'm not saying she's ugly or anything, but I'll take a girl in a hoodie and jeans without any wings, any day of the week."

  I shook my head, turning to look at the ceiling. "Sad."

  He reached out and put his hand on my cheek, forcing me to look at him again. "Not sad. Just in love."

  Tears came to my eyes, and I had no idea why.

  He moved his fingers from my cheek to wipe the moisture away. "Why does that make you cry? Should I apologize?"

  I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak. I'd probably start bawling and wake all the pixies up.

  "Are they happy tears? Maybe? Possibly?"

  I nodded, more tears coming out at the idea that it was the truth. I really was happy that he loved me, and for the first time, it didn't feel like a burden or a hassle. Maybe it was seeing my roommates all wrapped up, vulnerable, in that love nest or whatever. Maybe it was getting skewered by a demon. I wasn't sure, but something was telling me that love like this didn't come along all that often - I sure hadn't seen much of it in my lifetime - and I shouldn't just walk away from a gift that precious. Apparently, being stabbed had made me all gooey or maudlin or whatever.

  Spike leaned in for a soft kiss on my lips, the warmth and promise it carried making me tingle. But he pulled back almost as soon as he'd made contact. "You have a lot of healing to do, so I'm not going to bother you. But when you're all done, you and I are going to the forest together so I can finally show you something."

  "What?" I whispered.

  "What I do," he whispered back.

  "I can't wait." And I meant it. I grinned at him, trying not to wince at the pain that came from my shoulder as I tried to roll on my side.

  "Don't move," he said, sliding out of bed and scrubbing his hair. "I'm going to find someone to help you."

  "Don't go," I said, pitifully. I felt like this thing between us was maybe just a fantasy, and I wasn't ready for it to end yet.

  "I'm not going anywhere. I gotta make sure you don't change your mind and start mooning over that angel guy."

  I frowned. "What angel guy?"

  "Beau. The one who pulled the sword out of you and carried you around like some kind of babydoll."

  He left the room in a flash, one second he was there and the next just gone. I looked back at the ceiling thinking about what he'd said. I had no feelings for Beau, other than the total admiration for his beauty and of course the little jolt his sexiness sent into me when he just stood there studying me. I'd already learned well enough that loving an angel was a waste of time and energy. We lived in different realms, and well, that was a little too long distance for me. I needed someone who could hold me in his arms, kiss me when I needed it, and tell me I didn't suck. Beau was not that man. Chase was not that man. But Spike? He was that man. And he did it so well, I could hardly hope for anything better. I smiled, thinking about all the bullcrap I'd been through to finally find my prince oh-so-charming.

  "Well, there she is!" said a delighted Becky, popping into my room and appearing next to my bed without any notice. "And even with some color in your cheeks too!" She clapped her hands excitedly.

  I frowned at her. "Don't be so happy. I still have a giant hole in my shoulder."

  She pulled the covers down off me. "No you don't, silly. You're almost totally healed."

  I looked down at my wound, for the first time brave enough to check out the damage. I expected to see bloody gauze or at least a seeping wound that was probably festering with demon germs, but my shoulder wasn't covered with anything medical. I reached up with my opposite hand and pushed the open neck of my tunic aside to see that the skin was almost totally back to normal. There was just a darker red patch in a small spot where there should have been something totally nasty and huge.

  "What the ... ?"

  "Fae blood. Fast healing. Remember?" She was smiling again. "Come on. I'm here to help you take a shower and get ready."

  "Get ready for what?" I asked, sitting up and wincing at the ache that came from my former wound.

  "For the meeting," she said, acting busy in my drawers taking things out; but she was opening the same ones over and over.

  "What meeting, Becky? And don't try and lie about it because you can't."

  She turned around. "I can so lie if I want. I'm a good liar."

  "No, you're not," I said, sitting up and swinging my legs out of bed. "You suck at it, in fact."

  She crossed her arms. "I've lied. You don't know."

  "You might have lied, but I'm sure you didn't do it well. You're probably the only one you fooled."

  "Ha!"

  I looked over at her, confused why she was getting in such a snit over it. "Why do you want to be good at lying? It's a compliment to your character that you can't do it, you dope."

  She lifted her chin. "Lying is a skill necessary in the art of espionage."

  I laughed. "Yeah. Right. So the fact that you're part of the super spy fae network, globe trotting to thwart the plans of the evil empire is not in jeopardy because I've sussed you out since you're such a good liar."

  She disappeared and reappeared in front of me, hands on hips. "Who told you? Tell me right now, so I can turn them in!"

  She was seriously fuming, leaving me at a total loss. "Becky? Have you been drinking the buggane martini in Ben's room?"

  She frowned at me. "What? No. Why would you ask me that?"

  "Because, you're acting drunk. Now help me get to the bathroom before I pee the bed and send those pixies floating away."

  "Ew." She looked over at them as she put her arm around my back, helping me to the bathroom. "Awww, they're so cute, aren't they?"

  "Yep. Adorable. Except for the snoring and farting parts."

  Becky screwed up her nose. "Poor Abby."

  "Shoot. Abby's the worst of all three of 'em," I said, laughing.

  I heard Tim giggle too and then Abby yell, "Hey! I heard that!"

  I sighed in happiness. I loved my roomies, and my dorky water sprite friend. I'd been stabbed with a kickass sword and lived to tell about it. I felt like I could rule the world right now and not mess it up.

  "So what's this meeting about?" I asked from my seat on the toilet.

  Becky stood in front of my mirror, tweaking her hair. "The general upheaval you've caused by hijacking the guardian seekers and bringing an angel of death back with you."

  She said it with such a straight face that I wasn't sure if she was joking or not. "Say what?"

  Becky looked at me in the reflection of the mirror. "You heard me. You're being called in for a major scolding." She went back to her hair. "But don't worry about it. Jared's got your back. So does Ben. It's all just for show."

  "What do you mean?" I asked, finishing up my business and getting out of my clothes so I could take a shower.

  Becky went over and sat on the toilet, pushing up her cuticles as she talked. "Do you really need me to explain this to you? You left the realm without the council's permission, you took a baby with you and an innocent incubus who really should have known better, you got Tony's and Finn's faces burned off, and you somehow got Maggie all irate and over here raising cain with anyone who will listen to her. The doo-doo is so deep right now, you're going to need waders to get out of it."

  I stood there with my mouth half open and the shampoo bubbling on my head. "Are you friggin kidding me? I'm going down for all that? Most of that's not even me!"

  "Oh, yeah ... and I forgot to mention ... Céline's disappeared, so you're taking the fall for that, too."

  I sputtered in the water, squinching my eyes closed when the shampoo invaded them and started burning. I quickly rinsed my head and face, talking the whole time. "Céline's gone? That's just great. You can blame Maggie for that one, not me. Those two are in some serious crap together, you would not believe. Samantha was supposed to tell you all that. Didn't she? And besides, that baby pixie snuck in my bag, and he was charmed to sleep by Sam. How was I
supposed to know he was there? And Spike is his own guy. I didn't make him come. And as for your stupid boyfriend's face, that's all on him. I told him to stop walking towards the dragon, but he didn't listen to me. The punk had it coming."

  "Tell it to the jury," said Becky, shrugging. "I have to go get ready." She started walking towards the door.

  "Get ready for what?"

  "For your hearing. See you soon." And then she was gone.

  I stood there in the water, freaking out about my near future. I was going on trial for shit that wasn't even my fault. What about all the good things I did? What about getting that dragon on board? Aren't I going to get any credit for that? So maybe it was Ben who had to actually do the deal, but I was the one who'd negotiated it. The negotiator should get some credit. At least, that was what I kept telling myself as I got dressed and towel-dried my hair.

  The pixies had left me to my own devices in my room, and by the time Spike showed back up to take me to this hearing thing or whatever, I had worked myself into a real panic.

  "Come on, babe, let's get outta here."

  "Where are we going? The Underworld? Because I'm totally ready for the trip. Let's go." I rushed over to my bed and pulled out the new backpack that I'd seen stored under there next to my mimicker boxes. I'd lost track of my old one in the Overworld somewhere, so I was happy to see Netter was so on the ball and got me a replacement. I went to my dresser with it, planning to fill it up, when Spike stopped me, his hand on my arm.

  "What are you doing? You're not going anywhere right now. Definitely not the Underworld."

  "But ..."

  "No buts. Come on. Everyone is waiting."

  "Et tu, Spike?" Desperate times called for desperate measures. Time to bust out the Shakespeare.

  "Seems I've heard that before," he said, leading me to the door, through my sitting area, and then out into the hallway.

  "Yeah, well this is the second time you've led me out to the killing fields."

  He laughed. "Dramatic. I like it."

  I grumbled the rest of the way to wherever I was being taken. "Everyone always focuses on the bad. What about the good? There was good happening there, too. Adults need to be responsible for themselves. It's not my fault if people volunteer to help me. I think the negotiator should get some credit, and that credit should erase a lot of the bad, right? All's well that ends well. Hasn't anyone ever heard of that? I'm a big believer in that saying, you know."