“I feel kinda funny in these clothes.”
“Are you vibing me again?” I asked accusingly.
“Maybe,” he said, a little defensively.
“Don’t worry about it. Vibing is a fae thing.”
“Well, if you remember correctly, I was doing it before I became fae.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve always said you’re special.” I winked at him in the mirror.
“Do you guys have to be so loud?” grumbled Tim from under his quilt.
“Wake up, sleepy head. Time for breakfast. Gravy train’s leaving.”
“I’m skipping breakfast.”
I pulled back his quilt and flung it on the floor. “No you’re not. Get up. I’m leaving in two minutes and I’m your pack mule.”
Tim scowled at me. “Has anyone ever told you how bossy you are?”
“Yeah, anyone who’s ever known me. Old news. Totally not interesting at all.”
I grabbed the brush out of my top drawer and ran it through my damp hair. “You can brush your teeth after breakfast; come on.” I turned my back to Tim and crouched down so he could climb on my shoulder, tossing the brush onto my bed.
I felt his light weight and then a painful tug as he grabbed a tiny fistful of hair.
“Ouch, you brat. Not so hard.”
“Thhhppbbbttt.”
I sighed.
“What did he say?” asked Tony.
“Nothing. He just blew a raspberry at me.”
Tony tried to hide his smile.
“Don’t laugh. One of these days you’ll be on the receiving end of one of his moods and then you’ll see how much fun they are.”
“Tony’s not bossy like you. He’s nice.”
I shook my head, muttering under my breath. “Tim, I swear to all that is holy ... ” We stepped out into the hallway and I closed the door behind us. “Okay, Tony. Find the dining hall.”
“What?”
“You said this place is just a hallway. So ... find the dining hall.” I clasped my hands in front of me, waiting patiently.
Tony looked down the corridor one way and then the other ... and then turned and headed the wrong direction.
I laughed, reaching out to grab his shirt and pull him back. “That’s what I thought. This way.”
He followed me down the hall until we reached the breakfast room.
“I could have sworn ... ”
“Yeah, I know. This place is spelled to confuse the shit out of you.” I pulled the door open and entered the still quiet and mostly empty dining hall. “You have to imagine the place you want to be – picture it in your head. You’ll notice most of the doors here have a symbol on them. That makes it easier to picture where you want to go. If you know the symbol, you can focus on it in your mind and then you’ll end up there. Just start walking and the right door shows up eventually.”
“That’s cool. But what’s the point?” he asked, as we walked over to the buffet.
“To keep the bad guys from getting in and finding their way around.”
Tony just looked at me, saying nothing, so I took it upon myself to read his mind.
“Guys like Ben.”
Tony rolled his eyes, moving away from me to fill his plate.
I sensed Jared walking up to me before I saw him.
“I think I figured something out,” he whispered in my ear. “Sit with me when you’re done here.”
I quickly filled my plate with fruit and a hard-boiled egg, joining Jared, Finn and Becky at the table. Tony soon followed.
“Spill it.” I waited to hear what Jared had to say while I watched Tim walk down my arm to the table where he grabbed some fruit off my plate and started eating.
Jared hunkered down and talked softly. “I decided now would be a good time to work with the elves on doing some team training and recon against the Dark Fae. So I’m going to let the council know that my team of daemons, minus a few changelings like Scrum who will stay back to help out here, are going out into the field for a week-long event. The green elves will join us for part of it.”
Finn joined in. “I already talked to Robin. He’s good with it.”
I nodded. Robin was cool. I knew he’d cover for us.
Jared looked at me. “You think you’ll have Chase back in a week?”
“Yes. Unless they run into problems; and if they do, they’re supposed to let me know.”
Jared nodded. “Okay. It’s done then.”
“Is the council just going to let you do whatever you want?” asked Becky.
None of us really knew Jared’s position here or how much power he wielded, and it seemed rude to ask. Even though he looked like an older teenager, he was really about two hundred years old or something. Whenever there was an assembly he stood behind the council’s head table with a couple ogres.
“They trust me to do what’s best for our fae family. And that’s what I’m doing – otherwise this wouldn’t be happening at all.” He fixed me with a stare and I knew exactly what he was trying to say.
“Thanks, Jared. Tim and I owe you one.”
“Hey!” I heard from the table where Tim was sitting and eating a piece of fruit.
“Can it, shrimp.”
“What’d he say?” asked Jared.
“He said, ‘Tell him I’ll give him my new-grown wings later if he wants them.’ ”
Jared smiled and winked at me. “That’s very generous of you, Tim, but it won’t be necessary.”
Becky giggled at Tim who was stomping around on the table acting all peevish.
The door to the dining hall opened and I saw Spike and Scrum come in together. Spike’s hair looked really messed up but that was normal for him. He was also frowning though, which wasn’t.
“Uh-oh,” I said.
“What?” asked Becky.
“Yeah, what’s up?” asked Finn, watching me track Spike across the room.
“Spike got a little, uh, frisky this morning and Scrum caught him in the act. It was pretty impressive actually, watching Scrum take him down.” I had to give the dork some props. “He threw open the door, issued a warning and then bam, pulled Spike into this bearhug of death and knocked his ass out. I mean, like out out.”
“Well, hot damn,” said Finn, his voice full of respect.
“I know,” I said, shaking my head slowly, my eyebrows raised. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”
“Well, good for him,” said Becky, smiling like a fool. “He seems really sweet.”
“Yeah, but, I don’t think Spike’s feeling the love right now.”
“That’s for sure,” said Finn, laughing. “Poor guy. He’s just tryin’ to get some action around here and he keeps gettin’ shot down.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked. “Who else is shooting him down?”
Finn shrugged. “Well, you – about a hundred times – Becky, some of the elf chicks I know ... ”
I looked at Spike, feeling sorry for him. In the human world, he’d have no trouble at all getting a girl to fall all over him. He was a musician – a good one, in fact. He’d played guitar in Miami when we first met. He was totally gorgeous in a bad-boy way, which is the best way as far as I’m concerned. On top of all that, he was a genuinely nice guy. So, why did I keep telling him no?
Spike joined us at the table, slouching over his nearly empty plate.
“Hey, Spike. How’re you doing?” I asked tentatively.
“He needs a good pixying,” said Tim, giggling.
“Don’t even joke about that, you evil runt.”
“What’d he say?” asked Finn.
“You don’t want to know, trust me.”
Spike didn’t look up answering, “I’m fine. Just tired.”
“Giving up’ll do that to ya,” said Scrum as he sat down with us.
Spike scowled but said nothing.
“What did he give up?” asked Becky.
“His will to fight me,” said Scrum as if that explained everything.
/>
“I don’t get it,” said Finn.
“Well,” said Scrum excitedly, obviously very happy to be teaching us something, “as a daemon, my job is to protect those who need to be protected – so, like, Jayne for instance. And whenever there’s a threat to her safety, I can sense it. So as soon as I get that feeling, I move into action. Ka-chow!” And then he did a lame ass karate chop, slicing the air diagonally in front of him.
I was shaking my head. If I hadn’t already seen him ‘move into action’ I would have started laughing my ass off at this point in the story. But he really had put that keg-o-beer body into motion pretty quickly when he needed to. I found myself surprisingly curious about what else he had to say. For some reason the fae didn’t get into each other’s race talents or characteristics much, so it was cool when someone revealed something like this. It seemed kind of like a private thing or something to share too much race stuff. This was not the first time I was wishing there was some sort of manual that came with this changeling crap.
“Spike was threatening Jayne’s safety, even if he or she didn’t realize it, so I had to ask him to leave.”
This was the part of the story where my face got a little red from embarrassment, and Spike’s eyes got a little red from the remembrance.
“He refused to leave, so I had to break his will – his will to resist my orders.”
“You mean, everyone has to do what you say? No matter what?” asked Finn, who I could tell was not happy about the idea.
“No, it’s not like that. It’s just that something inside me tells me when something is right or wrong. And if it’s wrong, then my will is going to be stronger than anything else out there. And just like in other parts of life, it’s all about the strength of will. A battle of the wills, I guess you could say. The person with the strongest resolve wins. And between a daemon who knows what’s right and a guy just ... uh ... you know ... trying to get a little kiss or whatever? Daemons will win every time.” He smiled, placing his hands down on the table, looking to each of us for our reactions.
“That’s jus’ kick butt cool if you ask me,” said Finn.
“Chase never told us that stuff before. I’m kinda impressed,” said Becky.
“I guess that explains how he’s gotten himself hurt so many times so far, since we became changelings,” added Finn. “Guy’s been shot, pixied ... what’s next?”
“Shh!” I whispered. “The pixilation is supposed to be kept on the down-low, dipshit.
“Oh, yeah, right. My bad. Sorry.”
“So what’s the deal with that?” asked Scrum. “I heard something about training maneuvers?”
“You’re staying here,” explained Jared. “The rest of us, minus Brian who will also stay here, are going for a week-long training mission out in the field.”
“Who’s Brian?” asked Tony.
“You got me,” I said.
“He’s another daemon changeling,” explained Jared.
Scrum looked at me and then Jared. “I understand, Jared. You can count on me.”
Jared smiled, looking at Spike. “Yeah. I got that.”
Spike looked over and scowled.
“Come on, Spike,” I said. “You’re not going to be cranky all day, are you?”
He looked at me, refusing to smile. “Yes, I am. Maybe for two days.”
“Poor guy needs some loooooove,” teased Finn.
Spike raised his eyebrow in challenge. “Better be careful. I’m not discriminating between females and males so much anymore.”
Finn got a horrified look on his face. “What? Are you gay now?”
Spike laughed – he couldn’t help himself. So did Becky and me. It was impossible not to. Even Tim was giggling.
Finn held up his hands in peace, “Not that there’s anythin’ wrong with bein’ gay, don’t get me wrong. I’m just askin’.”
“No, for your information, I’m not gay. But I can get my needs for energy satisfied by anyone, fae or human, male or female. It’s not sex, even though it might feel as good as sex. And eventually I get so hungry, I stop worrying so much about whether the giver is even cute or not. And trust me Finn, you aren’t very cute at all. Not even a little.”
“Well,” said a mollified Finn, “that’s good news ... that you don’t think I’m cute. Not about the gay thing, though. I mean, you can be all broke-back if you wanna be. I don’t care. We’re friends no matter what.”
“I’m not gay.”
“Sure, man, whatever you say. I believe you.” He turned his head and muttered, “Even though you wouldn’t catch me suckin’ no energy outta no guy. I don’t care how damn hungry I got.”
Becky was already giggling but that last comment had her laughing so hard she nearly fell out of her chair. Even Jared was smiling.
Spike threw his fork down. “Oh yeah? Well, just try being an incubus for one day and see how selective you are!”
He stood to go, but I reached out and grabbed his arm.
“Spike, don’t go. He’s only teasing. I think it sucks that you’re kinda like a slave to this need thing. I’d be ... interested in seeing what it’s like.”
“I’ll bet you would,” said Finn, teasingly.
“Ooo-hooo,” said Becky. “Go for it, Jayne.”
“Shut up, you fucknuts. I’m not talking about it like that. I’m just saying ... I don’t know ... I’m curious.”
Spike got his smile back. “I would be more than happy to indoctrinate you into my world, Jayne. Anytime. You just say the word and I’ll be there.” He winked at me, his spirits restored.
“You can count on it.” I noticed Scrum getting antsy at the idea, so I added, “And Scrum can supervise.”
“Whatever,” shrugged Spike. “He can watch if he wants. We can do it fully clothed for all I care – even though ... ” he leaned in closer to us and lowered his voice, “ ... it’s much more fun when you do it naked.”
“Oh, geez, Spike ... did ya have to go there? Now I’m gonna have to go wash my eyes out with soap, picturin’ you without your clothes on an’ with a guy.”
“Oh, for shit’s sake, Finn, I’m not gay!”
We all collapsed in laughter, our worry for Chase temporarily falling away.
“So what are we going to do today?” asked Tony, deliberately changing the subject as part of his constant bid to be the nice guy who worries about other people’s feelings and keeps the peace.
“We are going to go talk to Dardennes about you, and then I have to go with Tim to get his blood taken by our healers – then we have to bring it out to the forest for Goose to take back to his lab.”
“Who’s Goose?” asked Spike.
“Long story – but he’s the guy who’s helping fix Chase.”
“How come you’ve got to meet him out in the forest? Sounds like a bad drug deal scene, passing out vials of pixie blood under the cover of trees.”
“Just don’t say anything to anyone, ‘kay? We have to keep this a secret from everyone but us.”
“No big deal. I can keep a secret.” Spike smiled at me. “Just let me know when you’re ready for a test-drive of the Spikester.”
Everyone groaned. Test driving the Spikester just sounded so wrong.
“What? She offered! You know I’m not going to turn that down.”
I stood, motioning for Tony to join me and for Tim to hop on my hand so I could lift him up to my shoulder. “We’re outta here. You guys have a good time out in the field. Becky – see you at lunch?”
“Yep!”
“Save me a seat. I might be late.”
“Sure. See you later, tater.”
Tony followed me out of the room and towards Dardenne’s office. He hadn’t been in the dining hall so this was the only other place I knew to look for him.
We arrived and I knocked three times. The door opened and Ivar was standing there.
“Is Mr. Dardennes here?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Please show her in,” said a female vo
ice from inside.
Chapter 15
I walked in and saw that Céline and Niles, the commando dwarf as I liked to call him, were gathered with Dardennes around his desk, looking over what appeared to be a map of the forest. Walking closer, I noticed that it had symbols and markings all over it, but I couldn’t see exactly what they were; and some manners learned long ago forced me not to strain my eyes to get a better look. I wished I could ignore them and act as nosy as I felt, but it just wouldn’t happen. Dammit.
“Hey, everyone. I think you all know Tony?”
All the heads around the desk nodded. Dardennes smiled.
“Well, anyway, he hasn’t heard what race he is yet, so I was wondering what I should do with him today. Can he train with me?”
Céline and Dardennes looked at each other. Céline gave a slight shrug.
Dardennes answered. “I don’t see why not.”
Tony and I exchanged smiles.
I continued, “I also wanted to know if maybe you thought Tony might be a wrathe?”
Dardennes’ eyes opened wider at this question, as did Céline’s.
I noticed Niles getting agitated. “What makes you think that?” he asked gruffly.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t know much about them really. But Tony’s eyes turned gray after the change. I heard wrathes have gray eyes.”
The three of them and then a fourth as Ivar walked over and joined them, looked closer at Tony’s face.
“What color were your eyes before, son?” asked Dardennes.
“Brown.”
“Interesting. Tell me ... what other things do you notice that are different about yourself?”
“Well, I’m still able to vibe Jayne; that hasn’t changed. But now ... uh ... I’m kinda vibing other people too? I think? And I think I’m hearing voices also. Voices that aren’t ... uh ... attached to people.”
I looked at Tony in shock. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me all this stuff?”