Darkness and Light

  “Be patient,” he counseled. “The fae fear change. It has caused many deaths in our world.”

  I sighed, turning halfway so I faced both the council and the assembled fae. “Listen, I’m sorry if I insulted you guys. It’s just that you have to understand – Tony is my best friend. He’s like a brother to me. And like it or not, laws or not, he and I are going to be together. He understands now that war is inevitable. He has new information he didn’t have before. He has decided to join us.”

  The old man on the council stood up. “You flout the laws of the Light Fae! You stand here in front of our assembled body and tell us you intend to break our laws, and then expect no consequence? You are a foolish changeling!”

  “No!” I yelled back, turning to face the old man. “I am not saying I’m going to break your stupid, antiquated, useless law! I’m telling you that if you don’t change this law, I’m outta here! You can take your stupid amulet,” I grabbed at the ring on my finger, pulling and tugging to get it off, “and shove it up your ass!”

  I finally got the ring off and held it in front of me. The crowd that had become very rowdy and vocal in their displeasure, dropped into dead silence when the ring suddenly began to glow.

  Chapter 7

  I spoke as if nothing weird was going on, the green glow from my ring beaming up to hit the stone ceiling above us, bouncing off, and illuminating the entire room with a soft green light. “You have the opportunity to welcome Tony into our Light Fae community. To do this you must revise the law and allow him to accept the change, even though he declined it once. Make no mistake.” I ran my gaze over each of the council members and then back at the assembled fae, “if you keep the law as it is, I will leave this place and never come back. I will gladly become one of the Dark Fae, if you show me today that they want Tony and me more than you do.” I looked at them in disgust. “I don’t stay where I’m not wanted.”

  I turned and tossed the ring to the council, not caring who caught it, the glow immediately turning off as it left my hand. Céline, the silver elf who was the first to train me and the one who initially interviewed me when I was still living a human life in Florida, reached up and caught it in mid-air. She looked down at it with an expression of disbelief.

  My finger felt light where the amulet had previously sat. The ring was a heavy, pyramid-shaped crystal, set in sterling silver with gold prongs. It was the amulet that had been used to change me from human to fae. Everyone else had returned their amulets after speaking the words that started the transformation, but Dardennes had told me to keep mine. I felt a little naked without it on. I wondered if the ring was what kept me linked to my power, so I reached out tentatively to The Green to check. I was relieved to find its welcoming hum still waiting for me – wanting to connect. I didn’t indulge myself though, because I had a grand exit to make.

  “Come on, Tony. Let’s blow this friggin’ popsicle stand.” I started to walk towards the aisle, pulling him after me.

  “Wait!” yelled Dardennes, shouting to be heard over the ruckus created by a roomful of pissed off fae.

  I stopped and Tony ran into me. He whispered his apologies and backed up. I could sense Chase behind us too. I was relieved to know that Dardennes wasn’t going to just let me walk off alone with Tony dragging behind me. I turned to look at the council again.

  “Jayne,” he started, smiling patiently at me, “I don’t think you realize what you are asking of this council.” Several heads on the council started nodding.

  “Oh, no,” I said loudly, “believe me I do. I’m asking them to get off their crusty asses and wake up to what’s going on outside these walls. But I can see they’re too stuck in the past – too busy ignoring the obvious signs around them. That’s fine ... whatever. I’ll go somewhere where my talents and contributions will be appreciated.”

  That one really got them going, especially the old fart who was so critical of me. “She has absolutely no respect for this council or the Light Fae. Let her leave!”

  “No!” came a voice from the back of the room.

  I watched, stunned, as Jared came striding purposefully up the center aisle.

  “You cannot let her leave. She is a valuable asset that we need on our side.”

  “Jared! What are you saying?” asked the old man, taken aback, speaking as if he’d been betrayed. Clearly, he was not happy with Jared getting involved.

  “I’m saying that I’ve been out on the front lines, recruiting for the Light Fae, gathering candidates for the change. And I’ve seen first hand that the Dark Fae are very busy doing the same thing. But they aren’t being so selective and they’re building their forces a lot faster than we are. We need everyone we can get – so to let someone of Jayne’s ... talents ... go? That would be a big mistake in my opinion. A mistake that would ultimately hurt us all.”

  “I agree,” said Gregale, speaking up to be heard. “In fact, all of the gray elves agree. We have very limited resources. Although at first against the idea of changelings being involved in our efforts to combat the Dark Fae and their ever persistent attempts to force their agenda on our human friends, we have since come to change our minds on that score, in no small part because of the things Jayne has shown us that she and her friends are capable of. Without them, we would be missing a significant and vital portion of our arsenal.”

  My heart began to soar then. Jared and the gray elves were important and respected fae. And they sounded smart as hell to me right now.

  Then Robin of The Green, a green elf like my friend Finn, stood. “Council members ... fellow fae ... the green elves are unanimously in agreement. We do not want to face our Mother on the battlefield. We fight with her, not against her. We go where she goes.”

  Those words, spoken by the leader of the green elves, launched the biggest uproar this assembly hall has probably ever seen. Fae were springing up out of their chairs, shouting and gesticulating. The witches in the back were waving their staffs above their heads threateningly, and the council members sat there with shocked looks on their faces. A group of ogres moved up behind the council, standing there like impressive, scary-looking bodyguards, just in case any of the rowdy fae decided to get too frisky. I knew exactly what everyone was thinking: how could they possibly hold off the Dark Fae if all their green elf warriors were gone?

  The green elves had just lobbed an old tomato over the fence. They were the mighty and noble warriors of the Green Forest. Without them, the Light Fae in this compound would be sitting ducks. I looked over at Robin, trying to put all of the thanks and appreciation I felt into my eyes. Then I decided I could do one better. I reached into The Green and grabbed a tendril of power. I sent it to my friend Robin, hoping he would feel it. I’m pretty sure he did because I saw him looking stunned for a second, and then watched as a smile broke out across his face. He turned to me and placed his hand over his heart in a green elf salute. I nodded my head back. No one had officially called me Mother yet, but that didn’t stop the green elves from thinking it was true. I wasn’t going to argue with them about it now. I needed their support and I wasn’t above using The Green to get it. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

  I heard Jared’s voice call out over the commotion. “The daemon Chase and I stand for Jayne. We go where she goes!”

  The roars of the fae got even louder. It was like thunder echoing through the compound. Tony squeezed my hand and I squeezed his back.

  Then Spike and his trainer Valentine walked up the center aisle, Finn following behind. Spike yelled out, “The incubi stand with Jayne! We also go where she goes!” They stopped in front of me, just at the end of the aisle.

  Now the members of the council were standing. Even the really old ones who were so hunched over they had difficulty looking at anything but the floor in front of their feet. Everyone was gesturing and shouting. I saw spittle flying out of the mouth of the old man who had questioned me.

  I don’t know when it started exactly, but soon I became aware of t
he sound waves of an eerie call that started trickling through the anger around me, and the noise of the crowd became almost like an afterthought in my mind. Within seconds, the only thing I could hear – the only thing I wanted to hear – was this new sound. A song, maybe? A person’s voice? I couldn’t tell. It was pulling me in, making me want to listen.

  I watched in a daze as a figure in white floated down the aisle towards me. All eyes turned to watch her advance. It was a woman. Her mouth was open and the bewitching song we were hearing was coming from her. I felt a hand on my arm and looked to see who was touching me. It was Chase – the only one who seemed to be unaffected by her voice. “Jayne, it’s the siren. Focus on my voice. Don’t look at her.”

  The blueness of Chase’s eyes, his strong grip on my arm, and then his serious voice snapped me out of my reverie. What the hell? I gave myself a mental shake to get the fog out of my brain.

  The song stopped. The crowd that had been on the verge of rioting was now completely silent. You could have heard a marshmallow drop in that room. Standing next to me was the Lady of the Lake – a cunning seductress and one hell of a devious siren bitch when she wants to be, as I had discovered on a couple of occasions.

  She opened her mouth and everyone sat in stunned silence, waiting to hear what she would say. Her voice was nearly as spooky as her song.

  “The sirens and the water sprites stand with Jayne. We go where she goes.”

  Becky then walked up the aisle to join us. The space in front of the head table was now filled to capacity.

  Voices began shouting again from the assembled fae in the audience; but they were singing a different tune now.

  “The gray elves stand with Jayne! We go where she goes!”

  “The silver elves stand with Jayne! We go wherever she goes!”

  “The wood sprites stand with Jayne!”

  “The dwarves stand with Jayne!”

  And on and on it went – all of the fae races aligning themselves with my cause.

  My heart was so full, I was afraid it was going to explode right there in front of everyone. Tears came to my eyes, much as I tried to hold them back. I quickly swiped them away hoping no one would notice. I looked over at Tony and he had a sheen in his eyes too.

  He leaned in and whispered to me. “Now I get it, Jayne. I totally get it.”

  My life had gone full circle. I had gone from being an invisible nobody, to being someone nobody wanted to be without. If I ever had doubts about being fae before, they were now completely gone.

  I turned to look at the council, watching as they all took their seats. I pulled my shoulders back and lifted my head high, standing as straight as I could. I stared at the old man, the one who seemed to speak for the council, the sparkle of tears still bright in my eyes.

  “So what’s it gonna be then, council? Can my friend Tony accept the change, or what?”

  The old man looked to his left and right, receiving nods from each of the other members.

  He turned to look at me, obviously pissed off but unable to do anything about it, and answered, “The fae have spoken. The council has heard their wishes. We hereby grant a special dispensation from our law related to being offered a second opportunity accept the change, but only for this potential changeling, Tony, and for no other. The council rests.”

  Chapter 8

  I hugged Tony to me as tightly as I could. I felt Chase’s arms go around me and then Spike’s and Finn’s too.

  “Hey! What about me?” came Becky’s voice from behind us. I felt Spike let go and then the press of Becky’s face between my shoulder blades a second later.

  “Uh, thanks Spike,” she said, her voice muffled.

  I laughed with happiness. I have awesome friends. “Come on,” I said after a few moments, still patting Tony’s back. “Let’s go to Dardennes’ office. That’s where the amulets are.”

  The six of us reluctantly broke up our group hug to leave the room. Everyone was filtering out, occasionally looking back at us. The council members were long gone, always the first ones to leave.

  “Hey, Gregale!” I shouted.

  He turned on his way out.

  “Thanks!” I shouted, giving him a thumbs-up and a ten thousand watt smile.

  He looked down at his own hand as if he was going to return the gesture and then just nodded instead. I guess the thumbs-up was just a little too human for him.

  Ten minutes later we were in front of Dardennes’ door. Chase knocked three times and then pushed the door open. Dardennes, Céline and Ivar were inside, standing by Dardennes’ desk.

  Tony started rubbing his hands together nervously and then down the front of his jeans again.

  “Don’t worry, man. These’re the nice ones,” Finn whispered in his ear.

  Tony gave him a faltering grin.

  “Please, come in. Shut the door behind you.”

  Spike was the last one in, slamming the door with too much force.

  “Oops. Sorry about that. Guess I’m just a little excited.”

  I looked back and noticed that the red glow in his eyes was bright. I’m not sure whether it was exhilaration from the assembly or Becky’s hug that had gotten him going, but he was definitely feeling a liiittle too happy. I raised an eyebrow at Chase gesturing with my head for him to check Spike out. He glanced over at him and then back at me, rolling his eyes. He was on constant guard against Spike’s amorous advances towards me. I didn’t mind them – I mean, Spike was hotness times two – but Spike didn’t always wait for me to say yes before he got started; so Chase was Spike’s cold shower in daemon form. They had a love-hate relationship.

  Dardennes smiled at us as we advanced towards his desk. “So, we have a changeling candidate with us here today, eh?”

  “A-hem, yes, sir,” said Tony, nervously clearing his throat.

  Céline smiled at him serenely, saying nothing. She and Dardennes looked like sister and brother – they both had silver hair and icy gray eyes. Their tunics were silver, which matched their looks perfectly. When they walked around in the human world, they wore silver suits too, but they didn’t look tacky at all. They just looked extremely rich and a little bit intimidating. I didn’t know if they were officially brother and sister, but they were both silver elves, so they belonged to the same race of fae. Whenever there were decisions to be made about us changelings, they were involved. Dardennes is the one who had given amulets to my friends and me, helping us begin our awakening from human to fae. He’s also the one who had interviewed all of us and chosen us to come here in the first place. At first I blamed him for every bad thing that had happened to me and my friends in the forest, but I’d learned to forgive him. Mostly.

  Dardennes carefully lifted the lid of the box I knew held the changeling amulets. He looked up at Tony and then down again at the contents in the box.

  “I have not had enough time to evaluate Tony as I would normally like. Let’s see if this one works.” He handed him the amulet I remembered Finn wearing – a wrist cuff.

  Tony took it from him, looking at me as he put it on.

  “How does it feel?” asked Dardennes.

  Tony shrugged his shoulders. “Fine, I guess. Am I supposed to feel something?”

  “Not necessarily. But no, I don’t think this is right. Please give it back.”

  Tony took it off and returned it.

  “Try this one.” Dardennes handed Tony a ring.

  Spike whispered in my ear. “That’s the ring I used.”

  “I know, shh!” I whispered back. I was wondering why it was taking Dardennes so long to find the right amulet. I was starting to get nervous. I had thought this was going to be a mere formality, not a pain in my ass, involved process.

  “No, no, that’s not right either. Let’s try this one.”

  He handed Tony a necklace and took the ring back, putting it in the box with the others.

  I looked at Chase, a question in my eyes. Chase nodded back, confirming this was the necklace that he ha
d worn.

  Dardennes and Céline smiled at the same time. “Yes, this is the one.” He closed the lid on the box and clasped his hands together, looking at Tony. “Okay, young man, now is the last chance you have to change your mind. Are you certain that you want to become a changeling?”

  Tony looked at them for a second and then turned to look at me. I know he saw complete fear in my face – fear that he was going to walk away again.

  “Come on, Tony, don’t do that to her again,” moaned out Finn. “Shee-it, she’ll be unbearable if you ain’t here.”

  Tony smiled. “So, you were a little difficult to live with?”

  “You have no idea,” said Spike.

  “Trust me, Tony,” said Becky, a smile in her voice, “It’s better to just give her what she wants. Your life will be much easier that way. And so will ours.”

  I shot a dirty look at my friends. They acted like I was a monster or something. Just because I knew what I wanted and when I wanted it ...

  Tony took a deep breath and reached out to grab my hand, turning to face Dardennes again. “Yes. I want to be a changeling. Let’s do this.”

  I squeezed his hand back excitedly, unable to keep the huge grin from bursting out on my face.

  I heard Finn say, “Yesssss ... ” quietly behind my back. He and Spike were probably high-fiving each other. Idiots.

  Dardennes began the ritual. “Tony, please repeat after me:

  I call to the fae blood that courses through my veins

  I ask the fae magic to bring about the change

  A fae I am

  A changeling I will be

  From this moment now

  For all eternity.”

  Tony said the words and I watched his face closely for any changes. They weren’t physical ones, at least they weren’t for us. But when I changed, I had felt something – like a tingle where the amulet was. It wasn’t until several hours later that we began to notice differences in our strengths and discover abilities we had gained.