“Hey, bitch! Leave my bubble alone!”
“Sorry, Jayne, but she’s going to take it down and then take your friends. I tried to warn you.”
I felt my protective shield bending and disintegrating in the wake of her power. How the hell is she doing this? I started to panic. I drew more power from The Green, but it didn’t seem to matter. I felt weak and tired, not sure if it was part of her magic whammy or not. I couldn’t hold this bubble and call to the elves at the same time. It was taking all my concentration to hold it up and think through my options. I could tell that no matter what I did, she was eventually going to win out on this and it was burning my ass. And obviously my stupid daemon friends weren’t going to be any help, considering that at least one of them was under Samantha’s thrall. Fuck and double fuck.
“Fine,” I agreed, angrily. “I give. I’ll take it down if you agree to leave them alone.”
Ben fixed me with the most intense stare I’d seen since Spike looked at me knowing it was playtime. Ben nodded to Samantha, without taking his eyes off me. I broke away from under his scrutiny to see Samantha’s face as she realized she had been given the order to back off. She looked pissed, but did what she was told.
Something about her made it impossible for me to not say something. “Yeah. That’s right. Back the fuck off, Sam. And don’t think for one second I won’t be telling Jared what you did here today.”
Bullseye. I knew I’d scored a direct hit when she raised her hand as if to send another spell out – but this one directly at me.
Ben reached up and touched her arm.
She pulled it back quickly as if she’d been burned, a look of surprise and pain on her face.
“Do not let her bait you. Remember our cause.”
Samantha scowled at me and turned to go, leaving Ben behind to deal with me. I thought about slamming him with The Green and calling out to my friends, but something told me he would be expecting that – and I couldn’t risk having him hurt Tony or Scrum. I didn’t know what to do about Tim. I could leave him here, which would probably be for the best, except that I’d worry about him being wingless and possibly eaten by a ground squirrel or stepped on, and I didn’t know how long it would be before they all woke up. If I could have sent a telepathic message right then to Tim I would have said I was sorry, because it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that I was about to be taken prisoner by the Dark Fae – and poor Tim was going to end up one too, by default.
Ben held out his hand. “Shall we?”
Damn him for being so hot. The bad guys were always better looking than the good guys. I looked at his hand like it had orc poop in it. Like hell was I going to touch it. I didn’t care how cute he was. “Take me to your leader or your lair or whatever.”
He laughed bitterly. “Why don’t I just take you to the Dark Fae compound instead?”
“Do your worst. I’m sure you and Samantha will get your jollies from it. I’m not one bit surprised that she’s on your side, you know.”
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
“Because you’re all a bunch of Light Fae rejects.”
Ben stormed over and grabbed me roughly by the arm. “You might want to learn to shut your mouth once in a while before it gets you in serious trouble.”
I smiled, bitterly. “You have no idea how perfect that sounds coming from you.”
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
“You sound exactly like my asshole father.”
He jerked and dragged me along, saying nothing, until we were at the edge of the forest. It was then that I saw Maggie, the witch.
“Oh, thank The Green, Maggie! You have to help me get away from this douchebag.” I jerked my arm away from him and stood on my own. I was so relieved to see Maggie standing there, I felt my knees go a little weak. I wanted to run over and give her a hug, even if she was all bent over and lumpy looking. Now these bastards were going to be sorry. She knew her witch shit – Samantha would be no match for her.
Maggie just looked at me, no expression on her face. Then she shrugged and turned, shuffling away.
I was confused for a second. Did she need more space to cast her kickass spell? Was she going to go get her wand? Did she need a wand? She kept walking and I started to freak out.
“Maggie! Where are you going?! I need your help, dammit!”
I noticed another figure standing off to the side. It was Samantha ... smiling. Maggie shuffled past her, nodding as she went.
What the fuck?
“Thanks, Maggie,” said Samantha loudly so I could hear, watching me as she spoke. “We appreciate your help.”
I was seized by a rage I didn’t know I was capable of having.
“You sold me out, Maggie?! You gave me up to the Dark Fae? I thought we were friends!” Spit was flying from my mouth as the venomous words spewed out. “You’re no better than a rotten orc! You hear me?! A fucking black, slimy, pile of steaming, stinking orc shit! I hate you! I hate you! Do you hear me?!”
And that’s the last thing I remember saying before I saw her beady black eye and everything went black.
Chapter 21
My back was hurting – probably from all the bumpy hard things that were poking into it. I wasn’t ready to open my eyes yet and identify what they were. My other senses were telling me way more than I wanted to know. It was cold and damp where I was. The bed or whatever I was lying on was stone, and not very smooth. I could hear water dripping somewhere and there was a musty smell all around me. I was pretty sure I was underground somewhere or inside a cave. I couldn’t hear anything but my own breathing and the occasional tiny splash of water. At least, I hoped it was water.
I moved my hand slowly up to my chest and found that Tim was still there under my tunic. I could feel his warmth, so that meant he was alive. I hoped I hadn’t squished him during the transport. There was no doubt in my mind that I was in the Dark Fae compound; I didn’t need supernatural skills to figure that out. I was probably in a dungeon. They’d definitely have a dungeon. Assholes.
I reached down my leg and felt the empty sheath where Blackie’s solid presence should have been. Dammit.
I opened my eyes and visually drank in the things I saw. I was in a cave room of sorts. The entire space was carved out of stone. There were no bars holding me in here, so it wasn’t as dungeony-looking as I expected. Still, there was a door and it was shut. I was willing to bet it was locked from the outside. There was no bed, just the stone slab I was lying on. It could probably double as a virgin sacrifice altar in a pinch. I turned my head to get a look at the floor, hoping against hope I wouldn’t see a puddle of blood there. Luckily there was none. The floor was stone too and damp-looking. One of the lumpy rock walls opposite me had some water trails on it, and I could see that this was the source of the drip, drip, dripping that I’d been hearing.
I sat up slowly, fighting the dizziness that threatened to overwhelm me. Whatever Maggie or Samantha had hit me with had done a hell of a job. I tried to remember one scrap of information after yelling at Maggie, but there was nothing. I could have hooked up and gotten busy with an orc and I probably would have slept through the whole thing. I squeezed my legs together as the visuals assailed my mind. I’m not sure I could recover from something like that. I shivered with revulsion just thinking about it.
“Okay,” I said out loud to the cave room. “Time to go home.”
I tried to pull The Green into me but there was nothing. Just a black void. The panic started to rise up in my throat, but I talked myself down, my voice bouncing off the walls. “Just relax. The Green is out there. You just need to be patient and try again.” And so I did. And then again. But nothing happened.
“Fuck!” I yelled out to no one in particular.
“Bugger!” yelled someone back.
“Tim?” I looked down at my chest.
“Would you mind getting me the heck out of your bra, please? It’s hot and squishy in here. I’m trying not to vomit but if you don’t get m
e out soon, I can’t promise anything ... ”
“You’re out, you’re out! Look!” I pulled my tunic open as fast as I could and jerked the top of my bra down. Tim wasn’t expecting the sudden freedom, so he tumbled out, landing in my lap.
“Oh, crudbuckets, that hurt,” he moaned.
I watched him struggle to his feet, trying to get his footing on my legs but failing miserably. I picked him up as gently as I could and set him on the bench next to me.
“What the heck happened? How come I was in your bra?” He looked around as he rubbed his butt with one hand and his head with the other. “And where are we?”
“What happened was Ben and Samantha, helped by Maggie, and we are in the Dark Fae compound. I think.”
Tim spun around to look at me. “No!”
“Yes!”
“Oh, this is not good. This is not good at all. Jayne, do you know what this means?”
“I’m pretty sure it means we’re prisoners. Or at least I am. They don’t know you’re here.”
Tim thought about that for a second. “Are you sure they don’t know I’m here?”
“Pretty sure. Why would they have left you in my bra? And I sure didn’t tell them you were there.”
“Tell me everything you know,” he ordered, all business, walking around and occasionally shaking out a leg or bending over to stretch his back. “We need a plan, but first I need as much info as you have. Go.”
I filled him in on our sad predicament, trying to remember as many details as I could. When I finished, Tim was shaking his head.
“I can’t believe she helped them capture you. That’s just typical Maggie. I should never have introduced you to her.”
“What do you mean it’s ‘typical Maggie’? She’s always been nice to us.”
“Ha! That’s what you think. Maggie does what Maggie wants for Maggie’s reasons. If it suits her to be nice, she’s nice. If she wants your wing, she pulls it off. If she wants to sell you out to your worst enemy, well, she does that too. Believe me. I know what she’s capable of.”
“You guys have a history, and I know it’s not all good. Tell me what she did to you.”
“Other than pulling my wings off more than once?”
“Yeah.”
“No. What’s in the past needs to stay in the past. Right now we need to figure out how to get out of here. If they keep us too long, we’ll end up staying.”
I got a super creepy feeling hearing that. “What do you mean? I’m not staying here.”
Tim sighed loudly. “Fae who are brought here rarely leave.”
“Why? Do they get ... killed?” The idea had me feeling barfy and panicky all over again. I could hear my heart beating in my ears. I had to take a few gulping breaths to keep my stomach contents where they belonged.
“No. Worse. They choose to stay. The Dark Fae mess with their minds.”
“Not this mind,” I said confidently. “I’d no sooner willingly shack up with a Dark Fae than I’d sleep with an orc. Ain’t gonna happen, as Finn would say.”
“You say that now, but I’ve seen it. Perfectly rational, intelligent fae. One day they’re Light Fae and happily married, the next they’re Dark Fae and saying ‘See you later, sucker.’ Trust me. It happens. And it can happen to you and me. We need to get out.” He started pacing back and forth even faster. At this rate he was going to wear a track in the stone bench.
“Okay, fine. We’ll make a plan.” I thought for a few seconds and then realized I was fresh out of ideas. “What’s our plan?”
“You said we were out there with Tony and they didn’t take Tony, right?”
“As far as I know, they didn’t. Just us – and you only because you were in my shirt.”
“I was in your bra, Jayne. Your bra. And let me tell you – your boobs are seriously sweaty and sticky.”
“Yeah, well, next time I’ll leave you to be a squirrel’s lunch, how about that?” I got up and walked around, testing out my legs. “Ungrateful punk.”
“Have you seen anyone here yet? How long have we been here?”
“No, and I don’t know.”
Just then there was a sound at the door.
“Quick, get in my shirt!” I leaned over and scooped Tim up, shoving him back in my bra before he could react. I could feel him trying to get out, digging around and scratching my skin, so I lightly smacked him on the outside of my shirt. “Sssh, someone’s coming in,” I whispered desperately, “and stop scratching me,”
The door opened to reveal Samantha standing in the doorway, smiling her catty smile at me, making me want nothing more than to smack it right off her stupid face. Now that I knew Maggie was somehow involved in messing with my powers, I wasn’t as impressed by Samantha’s witch status. She was probably a goofy changeling who didn’t have a clue, just like all the rest of the newbies.
“Ready to cry uncle and let me out of here?” I asked.
She sneered at me. “Right. You’re not going anywhere until Ben’s done with you.”
“Oh, yeah. Ben. So what ... is he Jared’s replacement for your shriveled, black heart?”
“Shut up.”
“How long did that take? To forget your friend Jared? A whole day?”
“It’s not like that, Jayne. But I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”
“No, that’s good. Don’t expect me to understand how you could sell all your friends out for a lying demon just because he happens to be good looking. I’ll never understand someone like you.”
“So, you think I’m good looking?” said Ben, stepping out from the other side of the door to stand next to Samantha. “That’ll be all for now, Sam. I’ll meet you at lunch.”
“But ... ”
“I said that’s fine. Please leave us.”
“Don’t you think ... ?”
“Samantha. Go.” He glowered at her.
She shot me a look of hatred and then stormed off, leaving Ben and me almost alone, Tim still hidden in my bra. Thankfully he had stopped struggling. I could feel his tiny body moving with each rapid breath. I prayed Ben wouldn’t see or hear it. For all I knew, this turd had supersonic hearing powers.
“So what’s the plan?” I asked, irritated. “Torture? Dismemberment? Death? Just tell me; the suspense is giving me a rash.”
Ben smiled and walked in, shutting the door behind him. “None of the above.”
“So?” I threw my arms out. “Why did you bring me here?”
Ben shrugged. “It’s a necessary part of the plan.”
“Your plan for world domination?”
He laughed humorlessly. “Hardly. But call it whatever you want, it makes no difference. I will get what I want; I always do.”
I stuck out my chin, unable to help myself. “You didn’t get Tony. And I know you wanted him pretty badly.”
Ben smiled at me pityingly. I didn’t like that look one bit. “If it was Tony I wanted, don’t you think I would have just snatched him up like I did Samantha?” He must have read the surprise on my face because he continued, “Yes, I did take her as soon as you and your friends got on that plane. She’s been here even longer than you’ve been Light Fae. We don’t require our recruits to go through any ridiculous tests.”
“Yeah, that’s right. I hear you’ll take any mentally deficient shitforbrains that comes along. Samantha’s not the only proof of that.”
Ben’s look went from looking condescending to annoyed. “You are patently incorrect, but it makes no difference to my plans. Continue to be ignorant for all I care.”
“Astute observation is not ignorance.” I had no idea where that had come from, but I decided to roll with it. “All I’ve seen is deceit and tricks. You lied to Tony and you hurt my friends. You’re willing to kill humans and fae to get what you want. That tells me you need people of questionable morals to build your army. Samantha is a perfect example of that.”
“And what has Samantha ever done to you?” he asked, folding his arms and leaning back on the doo
r.
“Nothing, other than being a person who hangs out with losers.”
“I’m sorry, but you must be mistaken. You’re looking at the soon to be winners of the fae war. You’d be doing yourself a favor to join us.”
“In your dreams. Send me back now and I’ll tell them to go easy on you.”
Ben shook his head slowly. “You really don’t have any idea what you’re saying.” He pushed himself away from the door. “But that makes no difference. You will serve your purpose and then you will be released. Or killed. Whichever suits my needs at the time.”
The hardness in his voice chilled me to the bone. There wasn’t even a hint of potential remorse in his expression. I believed him when he said he would kill me if it was convenient. It had a tempering effect on my words.
“Why me? Why did you take me instead of Tony?”
He looked at me, searching my face. “You really don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?!” I asked, exasperated. I was already tired of his games.
He took two steps towards me. I backed up until my legs hit the stone bench behind me. The closer he got, the more I was able to feel his warmth; it came off him in waves. I stared at his face, unable to look away. His hair was gently tousled, a shock of it falling over his forehead. It was dark, dark brown, nearly black. His deep green eyes penetrated my resolve as he stared at me and began speaking again.
“You will be the one who starts the war,” he said coldly, calmly.
I felt the blood drain from my face. “Me?” I said weakly. “How can I possibly start a war locked up in here?” I licked my lips in nervousness, my entire mouth having gone bone dry.
Ben smiled, almost sadly it seemed, slowly reaching up and touching a finger to my face. “So soft. So cool to the touch,” he said, almost as if to himself. Then he blinked his eyes a few times and his expression hardened. He dropped his hand to his side. “They will come for you. And when they do, we will be ready.”