“Yeah, but we’re Light Fae. We’re the good guys. We don’t torture fae.”
He shook his head sadly. “It’s not that simple, Jayne. Good guys ... bad guys ... the lines are a little blurry, don’t you think?”
Everything he was saying disgusted me and pissed me off. He reminded me of Ben. “No. I don’t think they’re blurry at all. Good guy means you don’t torture or kill. Bad guys do that stuff, but we don’t. It’s simple.”
He fixed me with stare. “You need to dig a little deeper.”
“No. I don’t.”
Just then the door rattled and I snatched Tim, throwing him up on my shoulder. I tried not to wince at the pulling and yanking of my hair as he frantically hid himself.
“Were you talking to someone in here?” asked Ben, looking around suspiciously.
“Yes. The army of green elves who are on their way here to kick your sorry ass.”
He smiled patronizingly. “There is a very strong blocking spell surrounding this cell. None of your friends can hear you and neither can The Green.”
“Spells were made to be broken,” I said as fiercely as I could manage.
“No, it’s rules that were made to be broken,” he responded, staring at me intensely.
“Something you’re obviously quite good at – for example, the rules regarding basic decency towards others.”
“I didn’t come here to argue with you.”
“What did you come here for then? To torture to me some more? Because that was just plain fun. Let’s do it again. Maybe we can do some on you too.”
Ben’s eyes flashed red. “Do you have any idea how frustrating you are?!”
“Do you think I give a shit about that?!” I yelled back.
“You should, Jayne, you really should! Because I hold the key to your survival. One word from me and you’re done here, headed on a one-way trip to the Otherworlds.”
I took two steps towards him. “Let’s get one thing straight, Ben,” I nearly spit the words out, “I’m not afraid of you. I hate you with every ounce of my soul. I’m not going to help you hurt my family or anyone else. You can burn in hell for all I care.”
Ben took a step towards me, the two of us now just a few inches apart. I could feel the heat of his body, tied to Fire, sending pulses of electricity up and down my whole body, and not all of them completely horrible. His eyes burned bright, and I knew I should be afraid – I’d seen him nearly on fire before – but for some reason I wasn’t. I felt the purity of The Green in my veins, even if I couldn’t call it to me right now. It was out there, somewhere, waiting for me to link in again. The thought of it filled me with a confidence I didn’t know I had.
“Be afraid of me, Jayne. Please.” He reached out as if to take my hand, but then stopped himself. He was nearly pleading. Had he given me any other attitude, I probably would have spit in his face. But the way he said it? It was as if he was begging me to be afraid of him, and that totally didn’t make any sense.
“Why? Why do you want me to be so afraid of you?”
“Because ... ” his eyes scanned my face and my shoulders, as if he was memorizing my features. Then he rested his gaze on my eyes, staring at me intensely. “ ... I don’t want to destroy you ... ” He reached up his hand slowly, touching my temple with his finger, drawing it down my face to my neck, leaving a trail of fire that didn’t burn as it went. “ ... But I will, if you force me to.”
I felt my breath catch in my throat. Everything he was doing, and every vibe he was sending, was in total contradiction to my imprisonment and torture he had personally ordered just a few hours before.
“Why are you doing this?” I whispered.
His hand froze and then his eyes hardened. He jerked his hand away and stepped back, his eyes now returned to their flaming, angry state. “We are at war, Jayne. The sooner you accept that and yield to me, the sooner your situation can change.”
His abrupt change of heart pissed me off. I threw my hands out, gesturing around at the ridiculous cell I was being forced to sleep in. “Oh, so until I yell uncle, I get to sleep on a stone bench surrounded by my own vomit?” I folded my arms across my chest. “Well, you know what, Ben? You can go fuck an orc for all I care. I’d rather swim in this shit before giving you the satisfaction.”
The red glow built up around him in an instant. He was on the verge of losing his cool, and even though I didn’t know him that well, I knew the temper tantrum of this Dark Fae demon guy would be epic. I doubt I’d survive it. Probably this whole compound wouldn’t. My arms dropped to my sides and my panicked mind went into overdrive ... and that’s when the idea hit me. I could detonate this whole damn place with Ben’s help. All I had to do was make him angry enough. I didn’t even consider the sacrifice I was making of myself and my friend Tim. All I thought about was the end result.
“Yeah, go ahead. Blast me, Ben. Send me to the Otherworlds with your fire. You know the only reason you can do it is because you’ve totally cut me off from my power down here. If we were up there in the Green Forest, I’d kick your ass to the Underworld and back. I’d take your Fire and shut it down with my Water! I’d take your Wind and snuff it out with my Earth! You’re weak!” I stepped closer until I was close enough to smell the brimstone that was like an aura around him. “You’re a user and a torturer. You have no code of honor. You don’t deserve to be a fae.”
That last bit was what did it, I guess. It was the worst thing I could think to say at the time. Even though I wasn’t born fae, I do have a natural talent for making up good insults. Apparently the whole ‘deserving to be fae’ thing was a hot button for him – a truly inspired shot to the heart.
The fire burst forth and surrounded him in a giant, flaming ball. I stumbled back, getting as far away from him as I could, but the heat was nearly unbearable. I hoped he was angry enough to burn this whole place down. I didn’t want to get roasted for nothing.
I had a few seconds as he was being consumed in the flames to think about my moment of sacrifice and death. I should have been more afraid, terrified even. But there was nowhere for me to go, and I knew that. It was pointless to fear now. There were no windows to jump out of ... no way to get past him to the door ... no Green power to cool me off and protect me. I was just sorry that Tim would be caught up in it.
“I’m sorry, Tim!” I yelled.
I felt a responding tug in my hair at the exact same time the door to the cell flew open and a great roar of displeasure filled the room.
Chapter 24
The room went white – all white. Not only the colors in the room, but the sounds and the temperature. It’s as if we were all suddenly transported to a completely blank place with nothing on the floors, walls or ceiling but emptiness. A strong wind whipped past and over me, sending my hair flying around my head. Just when I thought it was going to be strong enough to lift me up and take me away, the noise of the wind disappeared and was replaced with a faraway tinny sound, like a television channel that isn’t getting a signal. My hair settled back on my shoulders. I didn’t know if I was still in the same room or somewhere else. I felt like Dorothy must have felt when she was swept away to Oz.
Then it came to me – maybe this is what the Otherworlds are like. Maybe I was in a waiting room for the Overworld. Oh, pleasepleaseplease let it be the Overworld and not the Underworld.
The only problem with this theory was that I could still feel Tim in my hair, and I was pretty sure that when I died, I wasn’t going to be able to take hitchhikers with me. I slowly reached my hand up to place it on the back of my head. Tim was there, trembling. Somehow he’d managed to hold on and not get blown to kingdom come. He was being quiet now – probably in a state of shock. I hoped he wouldn’t pee on me.
I shifted the weight of my legs from one foot to the other, feeling around a little bit with the toes of my moccasins. I was still standing on the ground of the cell; I could feel its uneven surface below me. The white began to recede into a light gray. Slowly, the st
one floor, walls, and surfaces in the room began to take on their natural hues. I saw that I was still in the same spot in the cell, but now Ben was gone and in his place stood another fae – a female wearing a silver robe. She had white hair and silver-gray eyes. She looked so much like Céline, it was freaky. I almost called her Céline before stopping myself. I didn’t need to give these fae any intel at all, and I decided that included names.
“Who are you?” I convinced myself that the first one to speak automatically had the upper hand.
“I am Maléna of the silver elves. And you are Jayne, the elemental of the Light Fae.”
I just tilted my head, refusing to confirm or deny who or what I was. “That your light ball that came in here?”
She looked at me, a question in her eyes, before she caught on to my meaning. “It was the wind that came, not light.”
“Seemed pretty bright to me.”
She examined me as if I was a rat in a cage doing something curious. “You are amusing.”
“No, actually, I’m pissed. I want to be let out of here. You have no right to hold me against my will.”
“According to whose law?”
I hesitated. “According to the law of the Green Forest.” I was pulling stuff out of my ass now, but it sounded good to me.
“There is no such law.”
“Well, there should be. I’m not sure who’s in charge of making them around here, but obviously they’ve been asleep at the wheel. They missed the whole ‘torture is inhumane’ thing too.”
“We are not humans, and so we are not bound to act humane. We act as fae and therefore do what must be done to protect faekind. You may leave once you have answered our questions. I believe you have been given enough demonstration of our methods. Do not force us to send you to the Otherworlds. Tell us what we want to know and we will send you back to the Green Forest to find your way back home.”
“Why? So you can destroy my home and everyone I care about? No. No thanks. I’m not cool with that.” This was one cold-hearted bitch – she made Ben look evil-lite.
“What happened to Ben?” I was wondering if he’d been blown up by the tornado that came through. It had seemed designed to put his fire out. It would be awful convenient for the Light Fae if the Dark Fae started blowing each other up. Maybe I could orchestrate another one of those little catastrophes.
“Ben is none of your concern. You should be more concerned about yourself.”
“I’m not concerned, I’m curious. Big difference.”
Maléna just looked at me and then left the room. She kept the door open, so I wasted no time going over to it and looking out. She was nowhere to be seen. I ran a few paces down the corridor and tried to open another door, finding myself once again in my own cell.
“Sonofafuckface,” I said disgustedly, sighing as I entered the room, shutting the door behind me. “You okay, Tim?”
“Yeah,” he said weakly from my hair.
“Want to come out?”
“No. I’m gonna stay in here for a while.”
“I don’t blame you. I wish I had a giant hair nest I could hide in.”
I laid down on the stone bed wondering what time it was, thinking it must be pretty late. I was exhausted. Despite the terrible hard, coldness of the bench, I found myself drifting off. As my brain tried to unwind itself, my sleepy thoughts floated over different parts of the events of the day or days – I really had no idea how long I’d been here.
I thought about Ben and warred with myself. Part of me hated him down to his very essence, and another part of me was curious about him. I tried to deny it and ignore it, but things weren’t adding up with him, so it kept my brain interested and wondering, damn traitor that it was to me sometimes. Ben was cruel and did terrible things; he was willing to do anything to reach his goals – even kill me. But he was also showing flashes of compassion or mercy. He could have taken Tony and he didn’t. He could have killed him in the meadow and he didn’t. He could have tortured me more, but he didn’t. None of this was making any sense and it frustrated me. I placated myself by imagining what type of torture I could do to him to get answers to my questions. First, I’d make him sit and listen to Scrum for six hours straight – I’d have a witch do a spell on him so he couldn’t block out the sound of Scrum’s voice and couldn’t fall asleep. Then, I’d feed Tim an entire plate of fruit, and lock Ben and him up in a very small, enclosed space ...
My happy thoughts were interrupted by another sound at the door.
Leck entered the room, alone this time.
Fuck me, not again. My brain was weeping in fright, but I refused to let it show on my face. “Oh, boy. Lucky me,” I said, sitting up and fixing him with a bold stare.
Leck stood in the doorway, saying nothing.
“You won’t beat me at the staredown game, Leck. I rock at this.”
He still said nothing. He just kept looking at me. It was creeping me out.
“Anyone ever tell you that you have the personality of an ogre?”
I saw a slight, almost imperceptible lifting of one of his eyebrows, but nothing else. I knew I was getting closer to pissing him off, and for some sadistic reason, I really needed to do that – make him angry. I couldn’t use The Green or Blackie against him, but I could use my razor sharp wit. At least, that’s what I told myself.
“No, wait. That would be in an insult to ogres everywhere. I think it would be more accurate to say that you have the personality of an orc ... ”
Leck’s lips thinned.
“ ... an extra stupid one.”
He took three long steps towards me and then gave me the evil eye. The pain exploded in my head. I had time to get a few words out before it became too much to bear.
“ ... orc ... fucker!”
I rolled off the stone slab, cradling my head in my hands and falling onto the floor. I panted, some part of my brain telling me that it could be possible to breath through the pain, like women did when they were having babies. A few seconds later the only rational part of my brain that was still functioning decided that anyone who says you can breathe through intense pain like that has never tried to do it before. Lying bastards.
The agony was so great, it overwhelmed my thinking. Tim was no longer my concern. Ben blowing me up? Okay, fine. Whatever. Tornados carrying me off to never never land? Sure. Whatever floats your boat. Just get this awfulness out of my head, and I’ll agree to anything.
The pain began to recede. My tightly closed eyes fought to open. I wanted – no needed – to see if Leck was still there. My desperate hope was that he was gone again and I could fall into a deep, dark sleep where the stinging, slicing barbs would no longer be able to reach me.
One eye opened and my hopes were immediately dashed. Leck still stood there, only now he had a slight smile on his face. He didn’t have to say it – I knew what he was thinking. Now who’s laughing?
I felt like he’d nearly knocked me out with that last hit. Maybe that was the key. Piss him off enough to overdose me, and then I could sleep through it. I looked up at him, now with both eyes open.
“Not bad,” I groaned, “for an orc fucker.”
I had expected my torture to continue with the brain melting, so I was totally unprepared for the kick to the face that I received. It snapped my head backwards and caused me to roll halfway onto my back. I tried to keep my head lifted off the floor a little so I wouldn’t squish my friend, but it was taking all of my concentration. If this guy was going to start physically kicking my ass like this, Tim wasn’t going to make it. So even though the pain from my eye was distracting me from the pain in my head, it changed things. I could no longer afford to bait him and hope for a blackout.
“Shit! What’d you do that for?”
“Tell us what we want to know and it will all stop.”
“Yeah, I got that. And maybe I’d be willing to talk, but I have to go to the bathroom first.”
“No.”
I lifted my head and locked eyes
with him, giving him the most withering look I could muster. “Are you seriously going to torture me by making me shit myself? I’m not the only one who will suffer with that one, you know.”
Leck got a look of extreme distaste on his face, which made me very happy. I tried like hell not to smile. I really didn’t have to go, but I was struggling to think of any way I could both delay the inevitable and also find a place to stash Tim so he wouldn’t get taken down with me in a beating.
“You may use the bathroom. If you take too long, I will send someone in after you.”
I bit back the retort that was ready to fly out of my mouth. I didn’t want to push my luck. I knew this guy was the real deal – a truly black-hearted Dark Fae. It’s like someone had taken away his soul. I shivered thinking about it. Tony could have been made into one of them.
I stood up slowly, trying to ignore the pounding in my eyebrow where Leck’s foot had caught me. I could feel something warm trickling down the side of my face – I wasn’t sure if it was sweat or blood. I walked as casually and as confidently as I could, only stumbling once. Leck moved to the side, allowing me to pass by.
I pictured the bathroom in my mind and got there too soon. I wanted to stall as long as possible, even though he’d threatened me about hurrying up. I stood in front of the mirror, noticing that the stuff dripping down my face was indeed blood. He’d split a section of skin above my eyebrow, so I not only had a gaping, bleeding wound, I also had a puffy, swollen knot above my eye. At least it wasn’t the eye itself. I slashed some water on my now not so pretty face, trying to rinse the blood away; it only served to make the bleeding worse.
Tim tiptoed out onto my shoulder and just watched me, saying nothing. He had a very sad look on his face. I didn’t say anything because I couldn’t handle his pity right now. If a single traitor tear came out of my eyes, I’d probably turn into a Neanderthal and punch the mirror or something.
There were paper towels near the sink, which I used to try and stop the worst of the bleeding. I’d already stained the heck out of my tunic, but at this point it was hopeless – I don’t know why I bothered with the towels. I was covered not only in blood but also dirt, drool, and I didn’t want to know what else – please don’t let it be barf. I threw the wadded up, red-stained papers in the sink and grabbed some more. They soaked up the blood too quickly, and every time I took them off, it pulled the dried blood away and started the bleeding again. Is it possible to bleed to death from an eyebrow cut?