After the Fall

  Spike stopped in front of a door I knew to be Dardennes' office. He put both hands on my upper arms, pulling me in for a quick kiss before letting me go. He stared me in the eyes and said, "Get your shit together. Be strong. Know that I'm right there with you, no matter what."

  I nodded once, too choked up to speak. Everything I'd done had gone to crap eventually, no matter how hard I tried. I took in a deep breath and let it out. Time to face the music. I nodded at the door. "Open it. I'm ready."

  Spike nodded back at me and grasped the handle, pushing the door in so I could enter.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  AS SOON AS MY FOOT crossed over the threshold, the applause began. Spike came up behind me and gently pushed me the rest of the way in, since my own motor seemed to be broken. My jaw hung open in surprise, this greeting being about as far from the one I'd been expecting as it possibly could have been.

  I caught movement across the room and found Becky there, doing a crazy dance and smiling her fool head off. I could read her lips from where I stood. "Gotcha!" Then she yelled, "Told you I'm a good liar!"

  I shook my head. Little punk is going to pay for this one. I was about to start concocting my plans for retribution, but my thoughts were cut off by all the fae shaking my hand and thanking me for being so helpful with the whole dragon recruiting plan.

  Eventually, I got to Dardennes. The noise of the little party going on around us gave us a weird kind of privacy, allowing us to speak without being bothered or overheard.

  "So, I guess I'm not in trouble," I said.

  He gestured around the room with his gaze. "On the contrary."

  "It's not that I don't appreciate this shindig and everything, but I'm kind of confused as to why everyone's so happy when I went without permission."

  "You went without the gray elves' recommendation. That is not the same thing."

  "Well, unless that spell that Samantha dropped on my room messed up my memory, I don't recall having gotten permission from the council to go."

  "And yet you went anyway," he said, his expression impossible to read. "And no one stopped you, either."

  I shrugged. "You know me. Just had to do what I thought was right."

  "You went to protect your friend."

  "Yeah. And I'll do it again if you send him to the Underworld without me."

  He lifted an eyebrow at my obvious challenge.

  "Sorry. I don't mean to be rude or anything. I just ... you know ... can't let my best friend get killed. He needs me."

  "I think the need is mutual."

  I nodded. "Maybe so. He saved my life in more ways than one. But I guess you know that already."

  He nodded once, his eyes closing slowly before opening again.

  "So what's the deal with Céline?" I gazed around the room, pretending to look for her again, when I already knew she wasn't there.

  "She is taking care of some business for the council."

  I nodded, acting all casual. "Does that include collecting souls for Maggie?" I looked up to read his expression, but he wasn't making it easy. He looked as stoic as Beau on his best day.

  "No. That is most definitely not council business."

  "Are you pissed at her?" I took a drink of the juice Spike had handed me earlier.

  "No, I am not."

  "I am."

  "Perhaps you should not be so quick to judge that which you do not fully understand." He lifted half his mouth in a smile that did not reach his eyes.

  "Perhaps you shouldn't be so easy on someone who steals souls and delivers them to nasty witches." I wanted to widen my feet and put my hand on my weapon, but I resisted the impulse. Dardennes knew these were fighting words. I couldn't seem to help myself, but it was pissing me off that he was acting like this was no big deal.

  "You will find that I am a very forgiving elf. In fact, I'm surprised you do not already know this about me." He was staring at me intensely, and the swirling of the clouds in his silver eyes sped up.

  He had forgiven a lot from me over the months, that much was true. And if I were being totally honest with myself, I'd have to admit he was the most chill adult I'd ever known in my life. He'd never once given me a hard time about my swearing or going off and messing around. I shrugged. "Yeah, you're cool most of the time. But still ... soul stealing? Seriously effed up, Dardennes. Even you can't deny that."

  "Nothing is as black and white as you make it seem. Another thing you should have learned by now."

  I sighed heavily. This conversation was turning into a total drag. "Okay, so yeah. Whatever. You're right. I don't know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are anymore. I think I liked it more when it was much clearer."

  "It was never clear; that was only your poor perception making it appear that way. Don't regret clarity, Jayne. It will save your life one day, I'm certain of it."

  I laughed humorlessly. "What, you know this about me from all that scrying you've been doing? You've seen my future?"

  He frowned at me. "There is no scrying being done."

  "Like hell there isn't. Go talk to Ben about that." I looked around the room but he wasn't there. I could have sworn he had been earlier. "I guess you'll have to catch him another time. He must be busy what with all that demon-raising he's been doing."

  Dardennes set his glass down on his desk. "These are some interesting theories you're bringing up, Jayne. May I ask where they're coming from?"

  I shrugged. "No, you may not."

  His eyebrow went up at that. "Excuse me?"

  "I said, no you may not." I smiled to take some of the sting out of my words.

  "I believe this is a matter for the council," he said, looking from me to Ivar who was off to the side.

  I put my drink down too, preparing to go. "And I believe this is a matter for me and me alone, and not anyone who I don't fully trust at the moment. I'm sure you'll understand, since you're so cool and forgiving and all. But I promise, as soon as I have it all figured out, you'll be one of the first to know." I turned and left the room, ignoring Ivar's stare and grabbing onto Spike's sleeve as I went. He followed behind saying nothing, setting his drink down on a table as we walked by it.

  Once we were out in the hallway, I took off running.

  "Where are we going?" asked Spike, jogging next to me.

  "Tell me why Tony and Finn weren't at that little party back there," I said. "And Niles and Jared."

  "I think they're on their way out of here, going on the next mission." He grabbed me by the arm and made me stop. "Jayne, come on. You can't go this time. Really."

  I detached myself from his grasp. "Says who? The council?"

  "Yeah. And me."

  That pulled some of the wind out of my sails. "Why you?"

  "I'm not allowed to be worried about you?"

  "Yeah, you can worry a little. But that doesn't make you my keeper or my boss." I folded my arms over my chest.

  "I wouldn't even try to be those things. I just think you need to rest a little while with that shoulder injury and everything you've been through, before you go off half-cocked again."

  "That party was meant to distract me from them leaving, wasn't it?"

  Spike frowned. "Why would you say that?"

  "Because. Tony and them were here just a little while ago, and now they're gone."

  "No, they've been gone for a while. The party was just to acknowledge what you've done for the fae, which is no small thing. And you suffered for it, so they were doing something nice for you." He stroked my arm. "Why are you so paranoid?"

  I grabbed Spike's upper arms and stared at him. "Did you or did you not talk to Samantha about what was going on with Céline and all her bullshit?"

  "No, not really."

  "Why not?!" I yelled right in his face.

  He leaned back a little before answering. "Beeeecause ... I went with you to find the pixies, and I heard she got pulled out of your room by Ben right after we left and didn't tell any of the others anything. When I got back from taki
ng care of you, she was gone."

  "Where?!" I shrieked stepping back away from him.

  "I don't know, maybe with the others. Geez, would you relax?" He pulled me into a hug, but I struggled to free myself. "Jayne!" he said sharply. "You need to just chill for a second and think this through with me before you take off. I'm not letting you go until you agree to that."

  I could feel his arms around me like tight bands that would be impossible to break without The Green's help. And I didn't want to do that against him because I knew he had my best interests at heart. I could trust him, as much as I trusted Tony. Or at least I hoped I could.

  "Okay. I won't take off until you're happy with my explanations."

  "Good," he said, letting me go and stepping back.

  "Or until I get fed up with explaining shit to you." He opened his mouth to complain, but I mowed right over him. "I want to know when everyone left and how they got to where they were going. I assume they went to the Underworld."

  Spike nodded. "Yes. That's where I heard they were going."

  "And everyone from the other trip went?"

  "Yes. Everyone but you and me."

  "How'd they get there?" I started tapping my toe impatiently.

  "I have no idea." He looked down at my foot. "Relax, Jayne. A few more minutes of talking isn't going to change anything."

  "It could! It could be the last few seconds I have to get there and save Tony from some terrible disaster!"

  "Like what? Him getting his eyebrows singed off?" Spike smiled.

  I refused to be sucked in by his sexiness. "Yes! Exactly like that ... or worse. He needs me there."

  Spike held up his hands in surrender and then put them on my shoulders. "Okay. Listen. I get that you need to be with him. And I'm not here to stand in the middle of that. I like my hair too much."

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  He smiled again. "I've seen your left hook. I don't want to go down with one of those. It'll mess up the 'do."

  I punched him in the arm before I started walking again. "Come on. Let's go talk to Tim and get my stuff."

  "What stuff?" he asked, keeping pace with me on my right.

  "Just stuff." For all I knew there were listening spells in this hallway, and I wasn't going to clue any of the council members in on what I was doing before I had to.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  I GOT TO MY ROOM in record time. I left Spike sitting on the couch and found Tim out in the garden regaling a few hundred pixies with stories of his adventures with the wild and crazy elemental, Jayne Blackthorne.

  After a minute or so of standing in the entrance to the garden and listening to a bunch of garbage about how he single-handedly fended off a foaming buggane and saved fifty fae from certain death, I said, "Yo, Tim ... got a minute?"

  "Of course, my liege!" he yelled before turning back to his audience. "Important council business. I'll see you all later. You're going to love the story about how I saved our Mother from a demon at her mother's house." He flew up from the flower throne he'd been resting his big toosh on and joined me in the sitting room. "What's up, chicken butt? Anything interesting?"

  "Did you know about that party they had for me?"

  "Yes, I heard about it, but I was busy with all my admirers. It was hard to break away. I was planning to be fashionably late. You know how it is."

  "Well, don't bother. I'm not there anymore, and the food sucked."

  He suddenly stopped inspecting his manicure. "There was food? No one said there was going to be food."

  "Yeah, you know ... the usual," I said, acting all casual, pretending like I wasn't about to drop a bomb on him. "But, oh yeah, they did have raspberries. That was something different. Pretty good too. I had, like, fifty of 'em."

  "Raspberries?! They had raspberries?!" Tim's hands were now in prayer position. "Tell me they weren't fresh! Tell me they were frozen!"

  I shrugged as innocently as I could. "I don't know the difference. Are they fresh or frozen if they're all fat and juicy and kind of pop a little in your mouth ... oh and taste like they have sugar inside?"

  Tim swooned in midair, and I caught him in the palm of my hand. I had to speak through the laughter that bubbled up. "I'm only kidding. There wasn't any food."

  Tim sat up immediately, scowling at me. "Dirty pool, Lellamental." He scanned the room. "Where's my son? I suddenly find myself in the mood for some polly ball games."

  "Forget my nostrils for a half a minute and listen up. I'm going to the Underworld. I need everything you've got about the posse that went ahead of me and how they got there."

  Tim flew up out of my hand and hovered in front of my face, his hands on his hips. "Jayne Middle-Name-I-Don't-Know Sparks Blackthorne ... what do you think you're doing?"

  I walked around him into my bedroom, grabbing the backpack that I'd tossed to the side and bringing it over to my dresser. "Nothing." I pulled out a tunic, a pair of jeans, and a couple pairs of underwear, adding some extra hair bands for good measure. I looked around my room for the empty water bottle that I'd spied on my side table earlier. It was still there, so I snatched it up and filled it in the bathroom, Tim buzzing next to me the entire time.

  "That's a lie," he accused. "Tell me the truth. You can't go. It's a suicide mission."

  I stopped in my tracks. "What?!"

  He backed up a little. "Hey, watch the volume there, angel-plucker, I'm not the enemy."

  I frowned, confused by my new nickname. "What?"

  "I'm serious. As your roommate, and confidant ... as your father-figure and mentor ... as your rock star crush and unrequited love ... I cannot condone your going on this trip."

  "You have no authority ..."

  He zipped over and slapped me on the cheek. "Hey! I wasn't done talking! Don't sass me!"

  I was so shocked, all I could do was just stare at him as he finished.

  "As I was saying ... I cannot condone your going on this trip ... without me."

  My brain was going haywire trying to figure out what the hell he was saying. "Are you ... ?" I shook my head. "No ... you're not ... "

  "H to the E to the double L, yes I am too saying that I'm going!" whisper-yelled Tim feverishly. "You can't leave me behind again! Do you have any idea how I suffered? The agony I was forced to endure? The anguish of the unknown? It was the single worst period of my life. I almost drank myself to death! Did you know that I ingested an entire vat of fermented blueberry juice by myself? Yes, Jayne. It's true. I gained three pixie-kilos. They threw me in the drunkards tank! I was an outcast for at least a day! I tried to jump off a cliff but my wings kept opening up and flying me back to the top. I couldn't even manage my own suicide properly."

  I smiled. "Are you sure that wasn't just your refusal to leave all of your legions of fans that kept those wings from staying closed?"

  "Legions of fans mean nothing without family, Jayne. Never forget that."

  I nodded soberly at him. "I missed you too, Tim."

  "I wasn't talking about you. I meant Willy."

  I tried to swat at him, but he was too fast for me, giggling like an escaped mental patient the whole time. "Gotcha on that one, Lellamental! Whoo hooo! That is just pixie dust for the soul! Somebody get me a fire hose because I am too hot right now, too hot!"

  "Whatever, turd monkey. I'm outta here." I snagged the new toothbrush and paste Netter had made sure would be there when I returned from my swording, and walked over to slam my dresser drawer shut.

  "I'll bee are bee," said Tim, flying out of the room.

  I shrugged. Whatever that means. I finished arranging the water bottle in my bag alongside everything else and zipped it up, throwing the backpack over my shoulder and leaving the room.

  Spike stood up from the couch. "Ready to go get my stuff?"

  "What are you going to get?"

  He shrugged. "I don't know. Just some water and a toothbrush. Maybe some food."

  We moved to the door, but before we were fully through, Tim came
screeching up behind us. "Hey! Where are you going? Didn't you hear me say I'd bee are bee?"

  I turned around to face him and nearly laughed out loud. He had his fanny pack on and had slicked his hair down until it was plastered to his head. "What are you doing? What happened to your hair?"

  "I'm coming with you. Geez, when did you get so thick? And I've done my hair for the trip. You like?" He spun once in a circle. "Of course you do. What's not to like? Come on. Open the door. My wings are burning with the need for adventure."

  I sighed. "Tim you're not going."

  "Yes, I am!" he screeched in a high-pitched voice.

  "You can't."

  "Why not? You're not the boss. I'm the boss. You do what I say, and I say open that door." He nodded once to look extra tough, but the fanny pack was killing any hope he had of seeming authoritative.

  "What does Abby say about this?" I asked.

  "She gave me her blessing, not that it's any of your business." He snorted in disgust.

  "You can't risk your life for me, Tim. You have your family here."

  He flew over to hover at the end of my nose. I just closed my eyes and prepared myself for the berating I knew I was about to get.

  "Open your eyes when I'm talking to you."

  "I can't. Your man-parts are too close."

  "Ha! You wish. Open 'em."

  I peeked one lid up. He was farther back now, so I opened them all the way. "Say what you have to say, but you're not going."

  "Abby!" Tim yelled while staring me down. "Tell her what you said!"

  I could tell he was fuming over having to do this, but all that did was make me want to laugh more. Pissed-off pixies were hilarious. Pixie dust for the soul is right.

  Abby's voice rose up from the plant-covered table that served as their home. "Let him go, Jayne! He was miserable here without you. I'll either divorce him or kill him with my bare hands if he stays behind again!"