Weald Fae 02 - The Changeling

  Sara leaned toward me and whispered, “Well, Cinderella, welcome to the ball.”

  “Oh my god, I can’t believe…”

  “Oh yes you can. You’ve read the stories. What’s a fairy godmother for?” she asked, spinning toward the door.

  The reactions I got from Mom and Grandma were best described as shock and awe, and they were almost as good as the one I got from my father. Each was awestruck, and I appreciated the attention.

  Candace puckered her lips, raised an eyebrow, and said, “Rhonda is going to loathe you tonight. Well done.”

  “Yes, mirror, mirror on the wall, and all of that,” Sara quipped, still playing her role perfectly.

  Phillip, Candace’s boyfriend was waiting in the living room with Billy, who looked no older than eighteen. I’d never seen him that young—he was beautiful. Sara introduced him as William and nobody seemed the wiser. Standing just behind Phillip was Ronnie, whose mint green eyes were brighter than ever. To his side, Greg, Rhonda’s blond-haired, blue-eyed brother.

  “Oh, sorry about the catty comments,” I said.

  “Don’t be,” Greg said, grinning. “She’s awful. I know that better than anyone. By the way, she will loathe you tonight.”

  “Both of you look beautiful,” I said.

  Ronnie’s wavy black hair was gelled just slightly and combed off his straight forehead, and the tuxedo fit his tall, muscular frame like a glove—he looked the part of a silver screen heartthrob and could have passed himself off as a Fae.

  “You clean up pretty well yourself,” he grinned. “Wanna date to prom?”

  “Three’s a crowd, but thanks for asking.” I grinned at the gesture.

  “Uh, we have a spare.” Greg said, grinning ear to ear.

  “A spare? Spare what?”

  “A spare date,” Doug said, “If you’ll have me.”

  I spun and saw him standing just inside the dining room, next to my dad who had his arm over Doug’s shoulder. Doug was smiling, like he used to. He looked so beautiful in a tux, and so tall. My mind flashed back to the first time he met Dad at the pool. He’d grown at least four inches since then, and was now taller than Dad—at least six foot four.

  “Surprise,” Billy said silently in my head. “Fae godfathers are good for a few surprises, too.”

  My eyes started to mist up.

  “Piñata, no crying tonight,” Mom said. “I worked too long on your makeup.”

  I laughed, and managed not to rub my eyes. “Yes, Doug, I’d love a date.”

  “The Packards are already at the hotel, sweetheart.”

  “What?” I said, looking at Dad.

  “I said the Packards are already at the hotel. Your ride is awaiting you out front. Sherman has offered to drive you, and look after the car.”

  Sherman? As in Seelie Council Sherman? It struck me as a little bizarre that one of the most powerful beings on the planet was going to be my chauffeur.

  “Okay, thanks Dad. We’ll take good care of it.”

  “Well, it is your car after all, but that’s probably a very good idea.” Dad clearly didn’t like the idea of two hundred high schoolers pawing and climbing around on a million dollar Duesenberg for pictures, but he didn’t put up a fight.

  In another ritual, the adults gushed for a few more minutes and snapped dozens of pictures as I relaxed and genuinely started looking forward to going.

  I’d only seen the Duesenberg out of the garage a few times. Dad had occasionally driven it up to the road and back, but I’d never ridden in it because, frankly, I was always afraid to touch it. Rachel rode with Adam, but the rest climbed into the massive Duesenberg with us. Sara and Billy sat in the front, the rest of us in the rear.

  “I feel like Clark Gable,” Ronnie said, taking a jump seat across from Greg.

  “Who?” Candace asked facetiously.

  Ronnie shot her a severe look, “Google it…tonight. Straight kids…” He shook his head and stared out the window to her amusement.

  We were halfway up the drive when I noticed that Smokey and Gusty weren’t trailing me.

  “They’re giving you the night off. I promised Ozara that Sherman and I wouldn’t let you conjure Aether between slow songs,” Sara’s voice sounded off in my head as we turned onto the highway.

  Doug didn’t say anything, but he smiled each time I looked at him. I squeezed his hand and relaxed when he leaned against me.

  In front of the hotel, throngs of my classmates stared and smiled as the big Duesy purred up to the red carpet at the front door and stopped between the Packards. Micah Johnson, a cute sophomore with big brown eyes and spiky brown hair, was dressed up as a period bellhop. He opened the rear door as oohs and ahs began in earnest. Candace pursed her lips and winked at me as I stepped out. I felt like a starlet, the feeling exponentially heightening when Rhonda gawked at me. My smile affected her like pepper spray. She spun and dragged her date inside.

  The Crystal Dining Room at the Crescent looked stunning, and had Ronnie’s touch all over it. Art deco murals, lights and centerpieces, thanks to Sara, transformed the space. Period movie posters, including Sonja Henie, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Clark Gable watched over us. At dinner, I caught Doug staring at me every time I looked up. I wanted to talk to him, but thought it best to wait until after the music started. I was content just to have him with me for the evening.

  After dinner, the sophomore prom servers, all dressed like Ginger Rogers or Fred Astaire, engaged in a rite of passage at Eureka Springs High. They performed for the amusement of the juniors and seniors. I’d been spared from the experience last year, thankfully.

  When the music started, I dragged Doug to the floor and didn’t waste any time.

  “This means so much to me.”

  “You shouldn’t go to prom alone. It’s pathetic,” he said.

  I laughed. “I’m not talking about prom. I’m talking about volunteering to come see me. I’m guessing it wasn’t an easy decision.”

  His eyes gradually found their way to mine. A pleasant smile pulled at the edges of his mouth. “I wanted to see you before now.”

  I felt my goofy smile begin to form. “Really? I wouldn’t have blamed you if you decided to have nothing else to do with me.”

  “I don’t want that, Havana. Now that my head’s clear, I really want to see if we can work on being friends again.”

  A reply caught in my throat and I stared at the lapel of his jacket, fighting to keep my breaths even.

  “Cat got your tongue?”

  I shook my head, unable to look up at him. He was really back. “I don’t deserve you.”

  “Yes. You do. Crazy life and all, I’m powerless against you. Besides, who else is going to keep you out of trouble until Gavin comes back?”

  Tears started rolling down my cheeks, and I couldn’t catch my breath.

  “No. Don’t cry. Let’s just be happy tonight, okay?”

  I nodded, still not looking at him. Instead, I rested my head against his shoulder and wrapped my arms around him.

  “Would you look at them?” he asked, gently spinning me to the right.

  Sara and Billy danced not far from us, but they were infinitely more elegant. It occurred to me that my classmates might notice Sara and Billy were different. Everyone noticed, but they didn’t suspect. The Fae took center stage, and true to their narcissistic natures, they enjoyed the attention.

  Doug and I danced and laughed for an hour. I took turns with Ronnie and a few of the other guys, but when I finally came back to the table, Doug was gone. Then I saw Rhonda wander through the crowd to Rachel, who was visibly upset and gesturing wildly. I made my way toward them. Rachel said something, and shook her head. That sent Rhonda out of the room near tears. While I knew drama was a natural part of any gathering of teenagers, especially at prom, my curiosity was piqued.

  “What’s wrong with Rhonda?”

  “It’s nothing.” Rachel rolled her eyes. “Doug disappeared while she was talking to him, and she?
??s feeling neglected.”

  “Has anyone seen him?”

  “No. I don’t know. He probably went upstairs to hide from her. Can’t say that I blame him. All she did at dinner was complain about…well…you. Anyway, Mr. Dow is guarding the lobby, and he won’t let any students from Eureka Springs go upstairs. Since Doug’s not a student here, it was the perfect way for him to escape. That, or he’s just hiding in the men’s room.”

  “Yeah, I suppose so.”

  “Don’t worry, Maggie, he’s fine. Why don’t you come sit with Adam and me?”

  “I’ll be over, just give me a minute.”

  As I turned, I saw a flash of lightning to the west. “Great, a storm, and I’ve got two convertibles parked out in the open.”

  “Want me to help?” she asked.

  “No, I’ve got it.”

  On my way through the lobby, I stopped to talk to Mr. Dow. He confirmed that Doug had gone upstairs, alone, after he forced Rhonda to stay in the lobby. “You look stunning Ms. O’Shea, but you’re not going upstairs, either.”

  I was relieved that Doug was probably just hiding from Rhonda, and went outside to make sure the tops were up on the cars.

  Sherman was putting the top up on one of them, but staring toward the west, in the direction of the storm.

  “Do you need any help?”

  “Maggie, go inside, quickly,” he said without looking at me.

  “Okay…”

  “And make sure your friends are inside as well.” The tone of his voice was off. He was agitated.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “This isn’t a storm,” he said, slowly looking back at me.

  My blood turned ice cold. “What? Unseelie?”

  “Yes. I cannot believe they would be this brazen.”

  “Maggie,” Billy said from behind me, “You need to get inside, now.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Inside, now,” he insisted with a grave tone in his voice that I found all too familiar.

  Sherman closed the top on the Packard with his mind and moved to the front of the building. I started backing up but channeled power from the night air as I did, extending my mind.

  “…twenty five, so far,” I heard Sherman say to Billy.

  “Is there time to gather reinforcements?” Billy asked.

  “No, there is not. Sara?”

  “Yes?” She said.

  “Take the back of the building, quickly. Half approach from the rear. I’ll stay here. Billy, do not leave Maggie’s side.”

  I felt like I was moving in slow motion when I ran back inside the hotel. I couldn’t believe the Unseelie were coming here, right now, in such a public place. My friends were gathering at the front of the hotel, under the awning and in the windows, staring at the violent flashes headed our way. I had to get them inside and away from the windows, so I screamed, “Tornado. Get in the basement.”

  “Brilliant thinking Maggie,” Billy said silently, before he also yelled, “Tornado, everyone into the basement. Now!”

  Billy compelled everyone, both urging and calming, as the crowd quickly shuffled toward the stairwell. The lobby quickly filled with students, and then the power went out, setting off a wave of panic through them. Again Billy compelled them, powerfully, and generated power to the lights in the lobby and down the stairs.

  With my mind still extended, I felt the Unseelie approaching. They advanced slowly and methodically at first, then rushing forward in pairs, attacking and streaking away. The wind picked up just before sheets of rain hit the windows and deafening thunderclaps rattled the hotel. Ignoring the chorus of screams that filled the air each time thunder rocked the building, I focused on the Unseelie, ready to defend my friends regardless of the consequences.

  During one of the Unseelie charges, I felt a familiar presence enter the building high above me. Cassandra was there. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead and a shiver ran down my spine the moment I realized that Doug was somewhere above me too. I headed for the stairs.

  “Maggie, stay put,” Billy screeched in my head.

  Ignoring him, I raced for the stairs, passing Mr. Dow who was busy helping my classmates to the basement.

  “Maggie, you need to stay with me.”

  “I have to find Doug.”

  “No, you do not. STAY WITH ME!”

  “I can’t. I’m sorry, Billy.”

  I ran up the stairs, past a few bewildered and frightened guests, as the storm raged outside. The power was out above the first floor, turning the corridors into frightening, dark spaces. At the next landing, my senses confirmed that Cassandra was still above me. My heart was pounding and my breath labored as I reached the top floor. Outside, in the dark woods surrounding the hotel, the Unseelie were charging in and darting back out, trying to get past Sherman and Sara. Billy was still on the first floor, trying to corral frightened students and keep them out of harm’s way. He couldn’t help me any longer as several Unseelie had taken their natural forms, dove into the earth, and tried to enter the basement from below ground. Billy had to remain downstairs to prevent them from making a subterranean entrance.

  Gripping the thick wooden banister, I forced the air out of my lungs and slowly pulled a long breath through my nose—the calming technique worked immediately. Venturing forward in small, tentative steps, I started down the hallway, all the while trying to shake the feeling of being swallowed alive. My senses spread out around me, groping in the darkness, numbly searching for anything that shouldn’t be there. To the south, an Unseelie drew close. Just a few hundred yards from the building, I felt it channel energy. Instinctively, I threw up my Air barrier and turned in the darkness to face it. Through an open door, lightning struck the building, temporarily blinding me. Like a flashbulb, the intense burst burned a residual jagged spot in my retinas. I blinked in the darkness until the ghostly shape dissipated. My confidence faltered as more flashes, like slow strobe lights, turned the hotel into a house of horrors, with the main feature waiting just ahead: Cassandra lingered down the hall in a room on the right.

  “Doug!” My voice sounded weak and tentative.

  There was no answer.

  “Doug,” I yelled as loud as I could. “Are you up here?”

  “Go away, Maggie,” he yelled back from down the hall. It sounded like he was in the last room on the left, just opposite the room where I felt Cassandra. I sensed her move in the darkened room and ice-cold fear clutched my chest.

  Courage failed me and I stopped in the middle of the hall. The rapid, thrumming timpani of my heartbeat dominated my senses. Lightning crashed against the building again, startling me back into motion. With my shaking hand against the wall, I shuffled down the hall, picking up speed and courage with each step. Between the thunderclaps and gusts of wind rattling the windows, I crept to the door where I’d heard Doug’s voice.

  In the darkness, Cassandra moved again. I froze. When she stopped, I moved forward, my nerves frayed. I faced the darkened doorway to the right, and behind that door, my senses were locked on her as I gripped the handle to Doug’s room. It was locked, but only for a second. I felt the latch with my mind and the door sprang open an inch.

  “Doug, come with me. Please,” I called out.

  “No. Leave me alone, Maggie.” His words came slowly, clumsily.

  “Dammit, there’s a tornado. You need to come to the basement with me.”

  “I don’t care,” he said.

  Cassandra moved closer again, and without flinching I pushed Doug’s door open. I felt movement behind me, so I instinctively spun toward it, turning my back on the room Cassandra occupied. He was standing in front of the window, staring at the swirling rain. A thunderclap backlit his shape; he was bare from the waist up and he had a bottle of whiskey in his hand.

  “Doug, please, come with me. You’re being compelled.”

  He looked at me, shook his head, and scowled. “Why bother? You hate me. Why do you even care if there’s a tornado? Tell me the truth, wo
uldn’t that be doing us both a favor?”

  “You’re drunk. Now come on, please.”

  He laughed and stumbled a bit when he turned around.

  “I don’t think I will, thank you very much,” he slurred.

  Cassandra moved again, just on the other side of the door across the hall. Fear got the best of me, and even though I didn’t want to get trapped inside the room, I ran to Doug and grabbed his hand.

  “You’re coming with me, now. When we get you away from her, you’ll be fine.”

  He yanked me to him and twisted my hand behind my back, forcing my body next to his.

  “You’re hurting me.”

  “Oh, sorry, I guess you’re the only one who’s allowed to do the hurting.” His breath stank of alcohol.

  “Doug, please, let’s get downstairs. It isn’t safe here.”

  “You’re right, it isn’t safe here. You see, I have a good friend across the hall who bet me you wouldn’t show up. She said you didn’t love me—she’s really jealous.”

  “Doug, please…she’s not a friend. She’s making you do this.”

  “But I said, no, Maggie does love me, I know it, and she’ll come for me. And what the hell, here you are.”

  “Doug, you’re hurting me, now let’s go.”

  “Cassandra, did you hear that? She came—she does love me.”

  He twisted my hand again and tried to force his mouth on mine. I’d had enough. I felt his fingers with my mind and pulled them away. When I was free, I pushed him off me.

  “Where do you think you’re going,” he said, stumbling toward me.

  “I’m going to the basement.”

  “Naw, hell no, you’re gonna stay here with me and we’re gonna have a little fun. You know you want to.”

  He took another drink and pushed me backwards until my back was against the wall. I turned my face when he tried to kiss me and grope my body. I screamed at him to stop, but that only made him more frenzied.

  As he began rubbing his body against mine, I found his shoulders with my mind and blew him into the wall across the room. He slid down the wall and crumpled onto the floor. He tried unsuccessfully to focus on me, but Doug was the least of my worries. Cassandra had moved to the doorway of the room. She was staring at him.