Chapter 15: Misery Loves Company
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When Ryssa stormed out of the girls’ room, Reggie followed as quickly as he could. He saw Meek head up the ramp after her, so he wasn’t as worried, but he knew his sister was stressed out. When that happened, it was anybody’s guess as to what she would do next. He made a quick detour into the boys’ room to grab the bag containing Terry’s book and headed out to find her.
As Reggie neared the top of the ramp, he heard voices. He slowed his pace. The ramp led to the Arena Court, where a heated argument carried to him through the acoustics of the dome. Aurelius and Queen Medwyn faced each other, both obviously agitated.
“It can’t be done, Aurelius. You cannot break the bond between the Sprite and the girl.”
“There are cases where the bond has been broken and one or the other has survived.”
“Certainly, but the three who survived the breaking of their wands are still in various stages of catatonia or insanity; and of the two Sprites that survived, one is locked away behind magical shielding and is extremely volatile, and the other—”
“And the other is Darkwind.” Aurelius seemed disturbed. “Have we ever had an instance where a Sprite bonded to a second keeper?”
“Never.”
“So what if it isn’t a True bond?”
“There is no way to know. Would you risk our niece’s life on chance?”
Aurelius was silent for a time, obviously struggling with indecision. The longer he said nothing, the angrier Reggie became.
Finally, he hung his head in defeat. “No, I suppose not, but I fear she isn’t strong enough to control the bond between the two of them. We know what Darkwind is capable of, especially if the Sprite takes control of the relationship.”
“Are you trying to say that the girl is flawed?” Medwyn asked.
“She cannot control her emotions.”
“Oh, Aurelius,” Medwyn laughed, “you are judging the girl through your Seelie sentiments. They once said the same of me, and I went on to become the Queen of Air and Darkness—the head of the New Faery Unseelie Court. Do you consider me flawed?” The last was asked lightly, but Reggie could hear the edge to her voice.
“Don’t put words in my mouth, Medwyn. I have a valid concern here. With the trials that the potentials will be put through in a very short time, it is possible that the girl could snap, and if she does—”
“If or when it happens, we will deal with it. We will have members of the Faery Court on standby to contain her if necessary. If she cannot control the Sprite, then we will break the bond and deal with those consequences as well. But until that happens, Aurelius, just do as you were assigned and train your Team to victory—that is, if you think you are up to the task.”
Reggie had a feeling they were almost finished, and he searched frantically for a way to get past them to the exit of the Sithin mound without being seen. Aurelius’s back was to him, so he wasn’t worried about that. He was more concerned with having the dark eyes of his aunt fall on him. His opportunity came a moment later when she turned from his uncle as though to dismiss him. Reggie ran as quietly as he could to the exit without looking back.
He made it without being discovered, as far as he could tell. By the time he got there, Ryssa and Meek were gone. With only a touch of guilt about breaking Aurelius’ order not to go anywhere alone, Reggie stepped past the dome of the Sithin tree’s branches and into the streets of New Faery.
The conversation between Aurelius and Queen Medwyn played itself over in his mind. More angry than he had been in a long time, he had no idea what to do about it. He certainly couldn’t tell Ryssa. She felt horrible enough as it was.
Of course, Reggie admitted, I’ve never seen what a rogue Sprite can do. But Darkwind had killed his parents! Was Aurelius right? Was it better to break the bond between Ryssa and Darkwind now, especially with so many other lives at stake?
Reggie shook his head. No way. Sacrificing his sister was not an option. Aurelius obviously thought it was, which led him back to thinking about the journal Terry had sent along. Trust no one. No kidding. But he needed some guidance. He couldn’t figure this thing out by himself—he didn’t know enough about this place and how it worked to save his sister on his own.
He was angry with Aurelius most of all. How could the man even think such a thing? Reggie didn’t know if he would ever trust his uncle again.
Reggie tightened his jaw. If this was the world he’d been born into, he was glad he’d been raised outside of it. Away from here, he had a loving mother and brother—even if only a foster family—who were good and decent people. Everyone said his real mother was a great person, loved by all. Reggie wondered about his father. Was he like his brother, Aurelius? Reggie hoped not. What would he have done in this situation?
“:Your father would have considered the same thing,:” Starsong said.
“Really? Well, that stinks.”
Reggie caught the sidelong glances from nearby people. He needed to find a place where he could have privacy, so people didn’t think he was talking to himself.
“:Take a right here and go to the end of the street. You’ll end up at one of the training fields. You can be alone there. As for the talking to yourself part—first of all, they’ve almost all been in your position before, when bonding with their wands. Second, you don’t have to speak out loud, we can talk inside your head.:”
“Really?”
“:In your head.:”
“:Really?:” Reggie sent the thought to his wand. “:Okay, but it’ll take some getting used to.:”
“:You’ll slip from time to time even after you get used to it. It can be confusing.:”
“:So how do I shut you out if I want privacy?:”
“:Well, that’s the thing—you can’t. I’m a part of you now. Besides, what if there was a way of shutting me out, and you forgot to open it back up again? Think of how that would’ve played out with Lord Aurelius and Icewand when you came out of the In-Between with Darkwind on your heels. If he’d had to take that extra moment to unlock a closed bond with Icewand, you wouldn’t be here right now.:”
“I see your point.”
“:In your head.:”
“:Oh, sorry.:” Reggie turned his half of the conversation back inside. A thought struck him. “:Hey—how long were you locked away in the Hall of Sprites?:”
“:I don’t know. Time really doesn’t hold any meaning for me in the sense you think of it. Since long before you were born, I’d imagine—probably several decades.:”
“:Then how do you know about this whole thing with Aurelius and Darkwind? I hadn’t thought of it since we bonded. Can you dig through my memories?:”
“:No. You have that much privacy. I can only connect with your thoughts on a very conscious, surface level. So in a sense, there are many parts of you that can always be shut off to me. I was told what happened by Darkwind, and then I asked Icewand to fill me in on the other details.:”
“:So you guys talk to each other, too?:”
“:Yes.:”
“:Can you ask Darkwind why she tried to kill me and Ryssa? Or why she did what she did to the potentials and my parents?:”
“:Do you think you’re the only person who has had that thought?:” The Sprite’s sarcasm dripped through the link. “:We asked—Darkwind isn’t answering.:”
“:Oh.:”
“:There’s the training field, just up ahead.:”
The end of the street open onto a large dirt area, the size of several football fields. As Reggie drew closer, he noticed several blackened or otherwise charred objects scattered about the field.
“Let me guess—Fire magic training?”
“:Yes.:”
Reggie found a space at the edge of the field where the grass still grew and sat down with his pack in his lap. He pulled out the journal Terry had given to him. His hand brushed against another object. With a smile, he pulled out his football. He gave it a spinning toss into the air and caught i
t, satisfied. Whenever he and Ryssa became bored at home, or needed to talk things out, they tossed the football around. He set it to rest between his crossed legs and opened the journal on top of it.
“:What’s that?:”
“It’s a football.”
“:Interesting,:” Starsong eyed it critically, “:although it doesn’t look like it would roll very well. But that’s not what I meant. The book—what is the book?:”
“Oh,” Reggie said out loud and then remembered to speak inwardly. “:It’s a—:” he stopped. “:Let me ask this question first. If I tell you something, do you automatically share that info with the Sprite network, or is it kept between us?:”
“:I only answer questions from other Sprites when they are directly asked of me. But if there is information you wish me to keep private, I am bound to secrecy. Just let me know what you don’t want talked about, and it remains between us. As the bond grows, I will actually learn without your telling me what you would prefer, but for now, you’ll need to be a little more specific.:”
“:Fair enough. This book is one of those things. My foster brother in the Zombie—the mortal world, gave it to me. He and my foster mother are also not open for discussion. I don’t know where the lines are drawn between the mortal world and Faery. Whoever is attacking the potentials and put together the attack on my parents—I don’t want that to carry over into my life outside of Faery. I may have to deal with it here, but I don’t want my family in the mortal world to be touched by something they can’t protect themselves against. Terry gave me this book to try and help me work through some of the stuff he thought I might run into here.:”
“:He sounds like a good brother.:”
“:He has his moments.:” Reggie smiled.
Reggie opened up his book to the second page, the one where the rules began.