“What do you mean, Chase is coming? Is he okay? I don’t want him to get hurt!”
“Listen ... oh crap, I have to go. Just go with Chase, okay? We’ll fix the problems later. I’ll see you ... ”
And then he was cut off. I wanted to yell, ‘What problems?’ but he wasn’t there anymore. I started to talk to Tim about Tony but realized that I was still seeing wacky images and my body felt like it was in cement. Oh. I’m still sleeping. I roused myself and stretched for a second, looking around the bathroom as my unconscious mind caught up to my waking mind.
“Tim,” I whispered loudly. “Wake up. I have to tell you something.”
He ignored me completely, still snoring away. I decided to leave him alone and go back to sleep myself. If Chase did come tonight, I’d hear him. I needed to get some sleep or I wouldn’t be able to function when my rescuers arrived, whoever they turned out to be.
No sooner had that thought crossed my mind than I heard noises outside the door again. My ears pricked up. Would it be Chase or Ben? Maléna or Leck?
Whoever it was, he was laughing. And then coughing. Okay, so none of the above.
There was a knock at the door. “Jayne? Are you in there?”
I got up slowly and crawled over to the door. “Who is it?”
“It’s me. Chase.” Then another giggle.
“Who’s with you?” I asked, confused. I didn’t recognize the voice of the giggler.
“No one.”
“Who’s laughing out there with you?”
“It’s just me. Hurry up and open the door. We need to get you out of here.”
I was afraid this was a Dark Fae trick. Maybe someone was projecting Chase’s voice. “Prove it’s you.”
“Don’t you recognize my voice?”
“Yeah, but not that fucked up laugh.”
“Okay. Uh, remember when we went into the fourth obelisk? And we had to say what our fondest desire was?”
“Yeah?”
“I still have that same desire. So let’s go.” He started laughing again, only this time it was more of a snort. But even so, I knew this was Chase, no doubt about it. During our changeling test at the end, we had to speak our fondest desire out loud to enter into the compound. His was to take care of me – so I guess that’s what he was still doing. Talk about dedicated. My throat hurt with the devastating emotions that got suddenly clogged in there.
I weakened the shield I’d put up and grabbed the handle of the door, pulling it open.
Chase stood in the doorway, his hand on the frame, a huge grin on his face. “Jaynie!” he exclaimed, stepping in and grabbing me around the waist, spinning me around. “Oh, I’m so happy to see you!”
I quickly put the power back up and bubbled him in with us. Then I pushed off his chest as hard as I could. This guy was Chase, yes – but he was acting about as un-Chase as a guy possibly could. Still pixelated, apparently.
“Put me down, you big dope.”
“You look beautiful,” he said, grinning his fool head off, but releasing me gently to the floor.
I went over and scooped Tim up off the ground where he was sleeping. “Wake up sleepy. We have a problem. A big one.” Not only was Chase mentally crazed, he’d obviously lost his sense of sight – that was the only explanation there could be for anyone to be calling me beautiful right now.
Tim sat up, scrubbing his eyes so he could see. His hair was a mess, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him – his ‘do was so important to him.
“Oh, hey, Chase. How are you?”
“Excellent, my little pixie friend, how have you been? Long time no see.” He laughed at that and put his hands on his hips, apparently waiting for an equally enthusiastic response.
Tim looked at me sadly. “Still not fixed, I see.”
I shook my head, saying nothing.
“So, I guess I need to get you guys out of here. Goose tells me you’re in a bit of a pickle.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn’t. I was picturing Chase selling some useless shit on a QVC infomercial. I’d bet he could sell the hell out of it too with that smile.
“Oh, you’re so adorable, I can hardly stand it!” he squealed, grabbing my cheeks between his hands, squeezing them together and leaning in to kiss me smack dab on the super puckered lips. “Come on, kids, follow me. Bring your mighty green power parade with you, Jayne. You might need it.”
Tim and I exchanged looks and shrugged at each other, shaking our heads sadly. It takes an awful lot to strike both of us simultaneously speechless, but Chase had managed.
He started moving to the door again, so I gathered my wits about me as best I could and surrounded all three of us with The Green. I sent the message out that I needed this power bubble to move with us, keeping all of us inside at all times, without letting anything or anyone else in. I did it as fast as I could because Chase was already moving out into the hallway. I included a small addition to my instructions, asking The Green to block any noise we made from reaching outside the bubble. I had no idea if it would work, but it would sure make it easier to escape if the Dark Fae didn’t hear Mr. Chatterbox on the way out.
“I’ve sure missed you guys. This place is boring with a capital B. All they ever talk about is getting ready for the war, starting the war, defeating the Light Fae in the war. It gets old pretty quick.”
“Why are they saying all that stuff to you? Don’t they know you’re Light Fae?”
“Oh, I’m not Light Fae anymore. I’m Dark Fae now.”
“What?” the word came out strangled. I was instantly sick to my stomach. “Chase?” I grabbed his arm and made him stop walking. “What do you mean, you’re Dark Fae? Did you ... change sides?” I almost couldn’t say those last two words. It was inconceivable.
“Had to.” He shrugged. “Don’t worry about me though, Jayne. I’ll always have your back.” He grinned spectacularly at me, like he was modeling for a toothpaste commercial.
Tears sprang to my eyes and I started crying. “No, Chase, no! I don’t want you to be Dark Fae! I won’t let you!”
He smiled as if he felt sorry for me, patting me on the shoulder with his great big hand. “Ssshhh, don’t cry. I’m fine. I’m happy, see?” He gave me a heart-stoppingly handsome smile and pointed to his face.
“No you’re not! You’re pixelated, you idiot, there’s a difference! This is not you. This is a maniac, crazy, drugged-out version of you. You’ll be better soon, back to the old Chase, I know you will. If they can’t fix you here, Maggie will fix you. Tim will give her more wings, won’t you Tim?” I looked at him, desperation on my face.
Tim’s expression looked no better than mine. He nodded his head furiously. “Sure. As soon as they grow back, they’re yours, Chase. All yours.” He kept nodding, now at me. He looked as freaked out as I felt.
“Come on, sweet thing,” murmured Chase in a calming voice. “We have to get moving. Someone’s bound to come see what’s going on. I don’t have a lot of time to get you to the door.”
“But you’re coming with us, aren’t you?” I pleaded, pitifully, even to my own ears – and I totally didn’t care. This couldn’t be happening. It was like losing another Tony.
He gave me a playful frown. “No, silly. I’m staying here. This is my home now.” He started walking briskly again, looking back to make sure I was following. “But I want you to know if you ever change your mind, you can come be Dark Fae, here with me. I’ll be your daemon again and things will go back to the way they were.” He laughed really loud then and then coughed, almost as if he was trying to control his laughter with it.
The tears continued to flow down my face and I choked on sobs that rose up from deep inside my heart. All I could think about was how I’d really fucked things up this time ... big time. I’d hand-delivered my daemon – the toughest, most solid, dependable, loyal guy in the world, to the enemy. The pixelation had messed him up, and obviously their treatment wasn’t worth a shit; I’d totally fallen for Goose’
s line of bullshit. And on top of all this, I’d handed over a vial of Tim’s pixie blood to the Dark Fae which the healers had warned me could be used in very dangerous witch spells. The idea of Tim’s blood being used to conjure up weapons that could be used against my friends made me physically ill. My head started to spin, making it necessary that I stop walking and hold onto the wall for support.
“Chase!” yelled Tim. “She’s going down!” He had a slight edge of panic to his voice, which probably stemmed from the fact that he was on my shoulder, and if I went down, he was going down with me. Stupid pixie never seemed to remember that I was the only one who could ever hear him.
“Whoa, there, Jaynie-girl. Just relax. I’ve got ya.” And that’s the last thing I remember – Chase picking me up in his big, thick, strong arms, the smell of his delicious body drifting up into my nose, the warmth of his embrace enveloping me, and for one moment, making me feel safe.
I lost consciousness and slipped like a worthless coward into the welcoming blackness.
Chapter 28
I felt the warmth next to me and moved closer to it. I didn’t want to wake up from this nightmare, especially now that the physical torture part was over and had been replaced with this ... comfortable whatever it was.
“She’s moving.”
“Are her eyes open?”
“No.”
I could hear the concerned voices of my friends. I could tell from the familiar soft blankets under my fingertips that I was in my own bed in the Light Fae compound. I was happy about that and wondering what this warmth next to me was. It felt like a golden retriever or something – warm, soft, and heavy. But I still didn’t want to face the reality that was surely waiting – my world, turned all upside down.
“Bring me over there.”
“Tim, maybe you should just let her sleep.”
Yeah, Tim, just let me sleep. Somehow Tim had conned someone into getting close enough to him to be able to hear him and do his bidding.
“No, she’s faking. I can tell. Her eyelids moved. Bring me over there so I can see her better.”
I heard footsteps moving from the dresser to my bed. Soon enough there were little footfalls moving up my body towards my face.
Fucking pixie.
“Time to wakey, wakey, Jayney-poo,” said his annoying voice. I felt a tiny tapping on my cheek.
“Go away,” I croaked.
“She is awake!” exclaimed Becky.
“Foof! And she’s got the bad breath to prove it!” yelled Tim, making exaggerated gagging sounds.
Idiot.
“You can’t pull a fast one on Mr. Tim,” said Finn’s deep south voice.
I turned my head so it was facing where I thought Tim might be standing, breathing out as much as I could as I talked. “Go away and leave me alone. All of you.” I didn’t want any of them there. I wanted to be alone in my misery.
I felt Tim fall down on my chest and heard him continue his gagging act.
“No deal, babe. You gotta get up.” This was Spike, and now I knew who it was that was laying with me on the bed.
Someone took my hand and tugged on it a couple times. “Come on, Jayne. Come back to us.” It was Tony and he gave me just what I didn’t need to hear – his kind and patient voice, with no judgment in it.
I felt the tears coming again. I flung my arm up over my face. “Just leave me alone, would you? Get out.” I tried to yell it but I didn’t have the strength. Too much of my energy was focused on the sadness.
“We’re not going anywhere,” said Tim in one of his sassiest voices. “Now get up and stop feeling sorry for yourself. And brush your teeth, Jayne, Dragonbreath of Blackthorn.”
I waved my hand around where I thought he was standing, trying to brush him off of me. “Get out of here, you pain in the ass,” I growled angrily. It was on the tip of my tongue to blame him for Chase’s predicament, but I knew that wasn’t fair. I clamped my mouth shut, just letting the tears flow down into my ears. I hated crying lying down; it made my ears all squishy.
I cracked my eyes open and turned my head to the side. I found myself about two inches away from Spike’s gorgeous face. He cracked a sexy as hell grin at me, flashing me my favorite smile. “Hi beautiful.”
It should have made me happy to hear that, but instead I started bawling. It made me think of Chase saying it earlier. I covered my face with both hands and struggled to turn over under my tight covers so I wouldn’t be facing Spike anyore. I wished they would all get out of my room and leave me the hell alone.
“I know you want us to leave, Jayne, but we can’t,” said Tony. “We need you to get up and talk to us. There’s a lot of stuff happening right now. You’ve been asleep for about eighteen hours.”
I barely heard what he was saying. I tried to block it out so I could wallow in my despair.
“Let me give her a little kiss. That’ll get her up,” said Spike, his smile still blazing in his voice.
“No!” said four voices all at once.
“Okay, okay, sheesh ... I’m just trying to help.”
As sad as I was, I couldn’t help but laugh a little inside at Spike’s attempts to get some sexytime in, under the guise of ‘helping’ me.
I felt Spike’s body weight leave the bed. “Time to take serious measures in hand.”
“Spike, I’ll get Scrum if I hafta,” said Finn, a warning in his voice.
“He won’t hurt her,” said Tony, calmly, confidently.
I was still crying silently, but my gasps for air were fewer and less forceful. I didn’t feel as though I was drowning in the darkness quite as much.
I felt Spike’s hands slide under my legs and back, lifting me from the bed. My arms stayed at my sides. “Don’t hate me for what I’m about to do, love. I’m helping you.” He leaned over and kissed my neck, inhaling strongly, giving me chills. My cries dialed back even more, but I kept my eyes shut, my head resting against his chest. I didn’t care what he did.
He walked. I blocked out the sounds of those around us. I heard some whispering and the drawing back of curtains. What the? And then the sound of water shooting out of the showerhead hit my eardrums. Two more steps taken by my friend Spike and suddenly I was instantly awake.
“What the hell?!” I started fighting him, trying to get away. “Let me go! Let me go!” I was squirming and lashing out at him as hard as I could. The water from the shower poured down over both of us, soaking through my clothes and spattering into my nose and mouth.
“I’ll let you go when you calm down!” yelled Spike, “Jayne, chill.” He held on tight, doing nothing to protect himself from my violence.
“I’m not going to calm down! Do you hear me! I’m not! I’m leaving! I’m leaving here!” My struggles mingled with my cries and slowly weakened. I couldn’t do both at the same time. I didn’t have the strength for it. I gave up on the struggling and just sobbed instead. “Do you hear me, Spike?” I said weakly, “I’m leaving this fucking place.”
“Shhhh, I heard you, but I’m not buyin’ it. Just relax.” He dropped my legs, but held on to my shoulders, pulling me firmly against his chest and gripping me in a not unpleasant bear hug.
I put my arms up against his chest, meaning to push him away, but he held me tight. He lifted one hand to pet my head, over and over while he murmured comforting words and sounds. “Shhhh, everything’s going to be okay. Just give it a little time.”
“Nothing’s going to be okay anymore. Chase joined the Dark Fae. Did you know that?”
“Yeah, we know. Tim told us everything.”
I choked on a random sob. “Then you know it’s my fault. We lost Chase because of me. He’s totally changed.”
“I don’t know that at all. I know that he was doing what he wanted to do, namely taking care of you, and he got accidentally zapped by a pixie. And you tried to help him and the Dark Fae got to him. It’s no one’s fault that it happened, but theirs.”
“I did it,” I whispered.
“Jay
ne, babe. You know I love ya. And if you’d let me, I’d show you just how much. But that doesn’t change the fact that looking at this objectively, it’s not your fault. You do not control the fates, ... ” he chuckled almost to himself, “ ... just the elements.”
He continued to stroke me as the water poured over us. My crying gradually dissipated in the face of reason. I wanted to hold onto the pain, but my brain wouldn’t let me. And my mad wouldn’t let me either. I wanted to get back at those Dark Fae bastards – especially Ben. If I couldn’t blame myself for this shit, then I was going to blame it all on him. If he had left Tony alone, we wouldn’t be in any of this mess. I didn’t care if it made sense to anyone else; it made sense to me, and now I had a nice big fat target for my anger.
Spike’s petting slowed down and he pulled away from me a little to look at my face. I lifted up a hand to wipe my nose. I’m sure this moment was one of the ugliest of all time for me. It was hopeless, really, but the idea of standing here in the shower with Spike while snot dripped out of my nose ... was too much for me to manage.
“Better?” he asked, searching my eyes for confirmation.
“No.”
He smiled, pulling me to him and squeezing me tight. “Better. Good. Take a shower. Becky will bring you your stuff.”
I put my hand on his face as he moved to pull away.
He stopped instantly, a question on his face, hope in his eyes. His hand dropped to my waist and held on.
“Thanks, Spike. You got soaked for me. You probably have my boogs on your shirt too.”
“Anytime, babe, you know that.” He leaned in for a kiss, but I dropped my head. I was embarrassed about what I’d done ... my tantrum ... my runny nose ... everything.
He grabbed my chin, forcing my head up and giving me a very chaste, close-mouthed kiss on the lips. “Later, when you’re feeling better, we’ll finish what we started here.” He raised an eyebrow and then looked pointedly at the shower.
I cleared my throat, embarrassed and a little aroused. “A-hem. No promises.”