Winged Warriors

  I bowed my head too, and not just out of respect. A searing pain had torn through my heart at the sound of my friend's name and the truth of Jared’s words, a vision of him lying in the Gray with that look of death on his face coming back to me in high def. I had to bite the back of my finger really hard to keep from sobbing out loud. I could hear Becky crying and Finn talking to her quietly. My slightly good mood had disappeared. I hated myself for temporarily forgetting that my best friend had sacrificed himself so that Spike could live. It made me sick. I wasn't mad at Spike, but I was mad at the one responsible: me. I should have been able to save Tony.

  Lost in thought, I hadn't realized that Jared had started talking again until someone yelled something from the audience.

  Dardennes stood and held out a hand. "We know you will all have some questions, but if you could save them for the end of the explanation, that might allow us to hurry this along. As you know, we do not have the luxury of unlimited time."

  The fae in front of us calmed a little as Jared continued. I pushed thoughts of Tony aside temporarily so that I could participate in this process, it being the only hope we had of winning the war against these evil beings who I was going to blame for what had happened to my friend. If it weren’t for them getting those demons all riled up and into the Overworld, we never would have fought with them and Tony wouldn’t have ended up in the Gray. They were going to pay and pay dearly.

  "We did just a little bit of research, and it has not yet been verified by the gray elves, but what we found seems plausible," Jared explained, sounding still doubtful. "A worldwide concert given by a group of musicians that will be broadcast on various media at the same time."

  A gray elf stood in the middle of the room, and I recognized him immediately. Gregale. "If I may, I believe I could shed some light on this for you?"

  Jared gestured to him. "By all means." He sat, waiting for Gregale to continue.

  "Honorable Council members, fellow fae, I am Gregale for those of you who do not know. The information relayed to Maggie the witch by Spike the incubus was gathered by our members and immediately discussed…"

  I tried to catch Spike's eye out in the audience, but he was too busy frowning at Gregale to notice me. He looked just as confused as I was about how that old bag had managed to get Spike's information back to the compound in time for it to lead anywhere. Maybe I'd been wrong about that brew she'd been cooking up. Maybe rat turds were the basic ingredients of a communication spell.

  "And although we did not find anything specific, the data that Jared has shared with us aligns perfectly with the scenario that we determined was the most likely to be followed by the Forsaken." He paused and became more animated. "The idea that millions of people could be tuned in to the same musical broadcast is fascinating, and would actually be perfect for what they want to accomplish."

  "Which is what, exactly?" I asked, before I could think to stop myself. I hadn't yet heard the official gray elf line on what was happening in detail, other than the Forsaken wanted to get to me and destroy the world.

  Gregale turned to face me directly. His words were soft, almost as if he were speaking only to me. "The Forsaken wish to use our Mother's elemental powers to help them bring natural disasters, disease, and pestilence to the human population to such a degree that it all but ensures their extinction. What the elements do not accomplish, these mass musical broadcasts could, by sowing the seeds of discontent, anger, racism, bigotry, isolationism, mistrust and general hatred toward others. And as the humans disappear from the earth, so will eventually all the fae. The fae who do not depend on humans for survival will perish later, but they will indeed perish. Because we do not merely need humans for their meat or their energy; we need their humanity. They feed not only our bodies, but our souls." He bowed his head when he was done and seemed to be waiting for a response from me.

  "Oh. Well…" My voice rang out around the vast room, bouncing off the walls. "That's definitely epic." I sighed in frustration with myself, knowing these fae were looking for something bigger and better from me than that. I decided to add to my thought, trying to make it better. "But just so you know, I'm not planning on helping them out with that gig. I'm not cool with natural disasters or…pestilence or whatever. I won't help them."

  "You might not need to," said a voice from the back. I recognized it immediately.

  "Come forward, Sam," I said. I checked right after with Dardennes, hoping I hadn't overstepped, but he nodded at me, his brows furrowed. He looked as worried as I felt.

  Sam pushed through some witches and ogres to show herself near the center aisle. "We've seen her children. The Forsaken are using her children. Or they plan to."

  Tim looked up at me, somehow sensing my nerves getting the better of me. "Chill, Lellemental. Hear her out before you lose your shizzle."

  I hadn't even realized I was getting hot around the collar until he said that. I was definitely sweating. Was this what it had been like for Ben, to always have to watch his temper so he didn't light anything on fire? I took a deep breath and willed the heat away as I exhaled. A little steam came from my mouth. I clapped my hand over my lips to stop it.

  When I looked to my right, Aidan was staring at me. I shrugged and tried to smile through my fingers. He grinned back, slowly shaking his head. I was happy to see he at least had a sense of humor and could laugh at a girl almost accidentally setting herself on fire.

  Sam was talking again, and all eyes were on her. "They have been planning this for a very long time. They knew about Jayne's arrival into the fae world before any of us did. Before anyone on the Council did."

  Céline's voice rang out. "Torrie?!"

  There was some shuffling to our left, and the former demon stood in front of a seat one row back from the front. "Yes, my lady?"

  "Were you aware of this when you were a resident of the Underworld?" Her tone was accusatory.

  I couldn't remember ever seeing her pissed, so this was fun. Couple's drama. I leaned forward to put my elbows on the table in front of me, lacing my hands together and resting my chin on them. Yes, Torrie, you turd master…do tell. And while you're at it…why don't we discuss what you did to me when I was totally drugged into unconsciousness, hmmm? I had a bone to pick with that former demon, and it was going to be totally on between us when this meeting was over. He was going to answer for his actions, and I was not going to promise to keep my elements to myself, either.

  "I was never aware of the Forsaken when I was residing in the Underworld. The only non-Underworld inhabitants I interacted with on a regular basis were your sister Malena and her friend Leck." I wasn't sure if that mention of Malena's relationship to Céline was supposed to sting, but she reacted as if it did, flinching at the words. Poor Céline. She'll never have a life untainted by those who were supposed to love her but didn't.

  "Did you know of their existence?" Dardennes asked.

  "I did not, outside of the myths we all learned when we were young."

  My internal lie detector was not pinging, but since he wasn't talking directly to me, I had no way of knowing whether that meant anything.

  "You may be seated," Dardennes said.

  Torrie wasted no time in sitting down. He was probably very happy to not be reminding the world that he'd been a demon not that long ago, intent on seriously messing up everyone in that room. I noticed that the seats on either side of him were empty, even though it was standing room only in the auditorium. Good. Turds like him don't deserve to have friends.

  The talking stopped and Dardennes looked over at me. It was like he was waiting for me to take the reins.

  "This is all you, Big J," Tim said softly. "Our people are looking to you for leadership right now. Don't blow it."

  "But I don't think I can," I said out of the corner of my mouth, ventriloquist style.

  "I believe in you. And I enjoy the comic relief when you screw up, so it's a win win. Either way, it'll be awesome."

  I sighed. "Fine." I raised my
voice and my chin, facing my people—my feeps—trying to feel the pride in myself that I was pretty sure Tim felt in me.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  "SO…EVERYONE…WE need a plan."

  The room was completely silent.

  "A really, really good one. Like, super good. An awesomely awesome plan."

  A squeak broke the silence that followed, that squeak being the sound of a fae leaning toward me in his seat in the middle of the auditorium.

  "And that plan is…uh…"

  Tim put his hand up to the side of his mouth to block the view of his lips from the audience as he spoke in a loud whisper. "Contact the leaders of these countries and ask them to help us fend off the attacks of the people attending these concerts."

  "Uh…the plan is to…contact the world's leaders. And…uh…tell them to help us." I couldn't say any more. My elevated blood pressure was about to cause me to have a stroke. They actually expected me to come up with a plan? Were they insane? I was just me! I was just a teenager!

  "Are you suggesting we contact human leaders of these places where these supposed concerts will be given…and expose ourselves to them as fae…and ask for their aid?" Red sounded like he didn't believe I could be that stupid.

  "It's really not a terrible plan," said Niles, frowning but nodding his head. "It could work."

  "It would require a great deal of magic," said the old lady witch that always sat next to Red.

  "More than we are capable of," Red grumbled.

  "No more than it took to bring Jayne back from her elements," Sam said loudly from the aisle in the middle of the auditorium.

  Everyone started talking at the same time. Several of the Council members stood and moved down to our end of the table. Soon they were all facing Aidan, Tim, and me. We were the only ones still in our seats.

  "How do you envision this rolling out, Jayne?" Aidan asked on behalf of the group.

  Tim was in my ear, whispering like crazy from behind my head.

  I opened my mouth to start sharing his words, but then I stopped. I sighed. And then I said what needed to be said. "Listen, to be honest, it's not my idea; it's Tim's. But I think it's a good one. Tim? Stop hiding behind me and come out here. Tell everyone what you think." It was time for these fae to start respecting the pixie. R-E-S-P-E-C-T, that's what Tim the pixie means to me.

  The Council members waited for Tim to comply. I fully expected him to fly toward us in a blaze of glory and start bossing everyone around. But he didn't.

  I twisted my head around and caught him slowly moving in reverse. "What are you doing?" I whisper-yelled at him. "Get your sweet, microscopic buns over here and tell us what we should do!"

  He shook his head, sounding nervous. "Noooo. I don't think sooooo…"

  I knew the look of pixie panic when I saw it. Before he could get out of reach, I threw my hand out and snagged him in midair.

  "Hey! Paws off the merchandise, lady!" He struggled mightily against my closed fist. "You're wrinkling my cloak!"

  "Sorry, pixieman. Cloak schmoke. Your feeps need you, and now's your moment to shine, so no fair running away."

  "I can't!" he nearly screeched. "Jayne! I can't take on that kind of responsibility! I'm a smooth operator, not a dictator! I'm a solo, under-the-radar flyer, a night mover, a rebel…" His voice dropped really low. "…I'm a lone wolf. Don't try to cage me in."

  It was time to sober his ass up. I sighed heavily, directly into his face. "Stop with the theatrics, lone wolf wannabe. You know you have a plan, and no one else here does, so let's hear it. The worst thing they could say is that it's stupid, and I hear that about my ideas all the time. If I can hack it, you can hack it."

  He acted like he was swooning over my halitosis. "Okay, okay, no need to torture me with the gas chamber. Just let me go. I promise I won't try to fly away."

  I released him from my hand and watched him fly in a somewhat jittery path to the space above my knee. He slowly alighted and started pacing up and down my thigh as he spoke. I repeated his words as he dictated them to me so that everyone on the Council could hear him.

  "Tim says that we need to bring the leaders of these countries, where the concerts are going to be, here to the compound. We need to impress upon them the gravity of the situation. We need to tell them to gather their armies and prepare to quell any uprisings in their citizenry."

  I smiled. I liked dictating for Tim. It made me sound super smart.

  "I like the way he thinks," Niles said, his tone respectful. I'd never heard him speak like that.

  Tim kept going. He was on a roll. "If they try to refuse, we'll bring the magic, we'll bring the dragons, and we'll bring in the scary elemental to light some things on fire if none of the other methods work." I paused. "Hey. What's that supposed to mean? Am I the last resort part of this plan or what?"

  Tim looked up at me. "No. You're the least in control. I think it would help to show them what could happen if they don't follow the program. Give them a taste of some out of control stuff. You know…dazzle them with your inner doofus."

  I swatted him off my leg. "I am not a doofus." Would Spike fall for a doofus? No, he would not. Scrum is a doofus. I, however, am a…a…something wiggled in my belly, reminding me what I really was. I am a mom. Holy shit! I'm a mom! What am I doing?!

  Tim had moved up to Dardennes' ear and was telling him more details about his plan. I didn't pay attention to all of it. The gist was that we were going to scare the bejesus out of some important people and convince them that the end of the world was near, that they needed to work with us or basically…die. And once it was all done, we'd wipe their memories clear of anything having to do with the fae. That little addition came from Red, which made me narrow my eyes at him in suspicion. He better not have ever used that spell on me.

  "Okay. I believe we have a plan we can all live with. All in favor?" Dardennes asked, holding up his hand in the 'aye' position.

  It was a unanimous vote, the first I'd ever seen on the Council. Whoa. I was pretty sure we had just voted to start the biggest military offensive and defensive force that had ever been assembled in this planet's history. Double whoa. Which then made me wonder who was going to be the sucker in charge of all this craziness. My vote was for Niles.

  "Who's going to be in charge?" I asked, wanting to get that cleared up before we started inviting people like the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to the compound. I didn't want the fae to come off as a bunch of disorganized clowns.

  Everyone on the Council looked at one another. Then all their eyes landed on me.

  On. Me.

  "No."

  I shook my head.

  They kept staring.

  "Nope." I shook my head again, more emphatically this time.

  Not a single one of them even so much as blinked.

  "Not happening." My voice took on a kind of singsong tone. "Not in a million yeeeaaars…"

  "Jayne…" Dardennes held his hands out toward me.

  "No!" I yelled a little too loudly. Everyone out in the audience stopped talking to listen in.

  I whispered loudly, leaning in toward my fellow Council members. "I'm not qualified!"

  "Agreed," said Red.

  "She's more qualified than you give her credit for," Niles grumbled at the old man witch. "She's been trained by the best. Been put through the toughest tests of any fae alive and lived to tell about it."

  I smiled briefly at the dwarf. "Thank you, Niles. That was very kind."

  "You'll probably be killed within the first five minutes, but you'll put up a hell of a fight." He nodded at me like he'd just complimented the heck out of me.

  "Uh. Yeah. Okay. So." I smiled bitterly at Dardennes. "Do you have any questions? Because I think these two—I gestured at Red and Niles—just summed up the situation perfectly."

  "Jayne, you, and only you, can speak to these leaders and get them to understand our connection to one another. Céline or I could show them the power of the wind, yes, and Red and C
eleste could show them the power of magic, and Valentine and Spike could show them the power contained in their sexual energy… And that is all well and good for creating fear, causing awe, for forcing the questioning of their long-held beliefs…but it's not what we need right now. None of us is as uniquely qualified as you are to show how we are all one…how their fate is tied to ours and vice versa."

  My voice came out as a definite whine. "But I can't talk like you can, all grown-up and fancy and shit. And I get nervous, and then my gums get dried out and then my upper lip sticks to my upper gums, and I look like a deranged clown smiling at people like I want to eat their faces off. And I might actually pee my pants, and I'm not sure how that is going to inspire confidence in anyone. They'll be like, 'Who wants to be one with that?' Honestly…anyone in this group would be better at this job than I would. Even Celeste." I pointed at the shriveled up old witch. "She's like ten thousand years old. She's way more experienced than I am. Let her do it.“

  "Is she talking about me?" the old witch said, asking Red. "What did she say?"

  He waved her off, too busy glaring at me to answer her.

  "You won't be alone," said a tiny voice to my right.

  I looked at my roomie who was staring at me with the most serious expression, I almost couldn't identify him as Tim. "What?"

  "You won't be alone. My family and I will be at your side the entire time. We will never leave you." He put his hand on his heart and bowed in midair. He literally bowed, and not one wisecrack or pixie toot followed.

  My heart felt like it was going to burst. He was so serious. So brave. So annoying. What was he trying to pull, guilting me into doing something I should never have been considered for? This was serious dirty pool. He'd never stooped so low. This cannot be my job! I'm going to fail and fail mightily!