“With regard to the reinforcements, we have several flights contracted to bring them in. The call has gone out and we have had an overwhelming response. Approximately two hundred and fifty Light Fae, mostly from North America and Europe will be coming in to join us. Everyone here will be expected to either share a room in the compound with one of the newcomers or make accommodation for them out in the forest. We will make every effort to consider each of your, um, proclivities as we make the room assignments.”
“Proclivities?” I whispered to Spike. “What the hell is he talking about? Is that even a word?”
“Yeah. It means they’re not going to put an incubus with a hot elemental.” He looked at me and moved his eyebrows up and down suggestively.
“Oh. No sexy time during war, is that it?”
He laughed quietly. “Something like that.”
“That’s a relief,” I said, without thinking.
Spike raised his eyebrow at me in question. “Meaning ... ”
“That I’m too busy for any of that right now.”
He nodded, saying nothing and turning back to the gray elves.
One of the witches in the audience asked how many Dark Fae had died during the battles, and my ears perked up at this.
“We are not sure of the exact number, but we know at the gargoyle door the count was approximately twenty. That was our most successful defense.”
Robin’s head turned towards me and then he stood. So did all of his green elf friends. Every single one of them put their fisted hands over their hearts and bowed slightly in my direction. I felt my face flaming up.
“Mooootheerrrrrrrr,” said Tim in his best ghost-haunting voice.
“Shut the fuck up, pixie, before I feed you to the buggane,” I whispered angrily.
Tim gifted me with a pixie fart that I could do nothing about since we were hemmed in on all sides by fae who were staring at me.
Unable to force myself to smile, I nodded my head to Robin and his group, hoping they would hurry up and stop that saluting crap and sit back down. I didn’t feel like I was worthy of any pledges or bows right now. Falco, and Becky possibly too, had died. That was not a success as far as I was concerned. I got all angry at myself again, my good mood disappearing completely. Damn this war to hell. Why can’t we all just get along?
I stood up when the signal was given that the meeting was over, namely the council getting up and walking out. I stood in front of my seat, waiting impatiently for the fae to the side of me to move out into the aisle so we could follow and leave.
“Hello, lovelies, what did I miss?” came Valentine’s lispy voice from the end of the row, accompanied by a brilliant smile.
“Stop being so cheerful. There’s a war going on, you know,” I said, grumpily. Valentine was always happy, just like Becky, only with a little tinge of danger to his glee. If he wasn’t so flamboyantly gay, I’d probably be attracted to it. Right now, though, it was just annoying.
“Ooooh, grouchy. You sound like you need a little incubus love. What’s the matter? Spike not up to the task? You can always call on Valentine when you’re in need, babycakes. You know I’m here for you.”
I rolled my eyes, ready to let him have it, but he interrupted me.
“Oh my goodness, will you get a load of those eyes? Mmm-mmm-mmm, aren’t you just the most viciously gorgeous thing I’ve seen in a long, long time? Come here, precious ... let us have a look at you.”
I could see his hands held out like some old granny getting ready to squeeze my cheeks.
“Uhh, no thanks.”
“Come here, elemental,” he said, all humor and lisp gone from his voice. “It’s not a request.” The dangerous glee edge in his eyes just got plain old dangerous. All the glee was missing.
I sighed, properly cowed. “Fine. Here I am. I’m half blind. Are you happy?”
He took the sides of my head in his hands and peered into my face. At least, that’s what it looked like he might be doing. All I could see was a blur this close. I had been able to see him better from far away. He was turning my head from side to side, viewing my eyes from all angles.
“Tsk, tsk, this is a problem, isn’t it?”
“It’s better than it was yesterday.”
“And how’s that, sweetness? Were they bluer before? Because I highly doubt that. You are as blue as blue can be. All tangled up in the elements, aren’t you? Poor baby.”
“No, I meant, at least I can see a little now. Yesterday I was blind.”
“Yes,” he said distractedly as he continued to examine me, “I imagine you were. You’re lucky to be seeing anything, really.” He dropped his hands from my face.
“Why do you say that? What do you know about this?”
“Oh, just a little something, perhaps.”
I felt other fae pushing past us to leave, and part of me wanted to go with them, but another part of me wanted to talk to Doctor Valentine here and find out what the hell was up with my eyes.
“Tell me what’s going on with me, Valentine. Seriously. The doctors don’t have a clue.”
“That’s because they’re too young.”
“I seriously doubt that. Tim told me the one who examined me was a crusty geezer.”
“He’d have to be as old as Céline, Anton, and myself. He’s not. I’ve seen this before.”
“Where?” I was almost afraid to hear the answer. He was being a little evasive, which wasn’t like him at all. He normally liked saying things just for their shock value.
“With the elemental who used to live here. We lost him though. He took to his element and eventually never came back.”
I swallowed hard, my throat instantly dry. “So what does that mean about my eyes?”
“Well, lover, it means that whatever you did yesterday was some dangerous business. You’re an elemental of not just one element, but two. Using and combining those two forces could get you more than you bargained for.”
“How so?” asked Spike, now suddenly very interested in hearing more.
“Spend too much time in your element, Jaynie-poo, and you will become part of the element. Then it’s bye-bye Here and Now and hello ... well ... we don’t know what. Not the Overworld. Not the Underworld. You just ... poof! ... disappear.” He used his hands like a magician to add flair to his explanation. He let his words sink in for a second and then said, “Well, babies, I’m off to go drink some delicious fae energy. Spike, care to join me?”
I turned to look at Spike’s face, now very close to mine, and I could see the colors flaring up in his eyes, even if I couldn’t see the swirling that I knew was there.
“Uh, yeah. Sure.” He squeezed my arm. “See you at lunch?”
I shrugged. “Whatever.”
I should probably have been jealous that he was leaving to go mess around with some fae girl somewhere, and possibly in a very sexual way, but I honestly couldn’t allow myself to care enough. It’s who Spike was, and although I found him incredibly sexy, I didn’t really feel like he was good boyfriend material. Now, of course when he was kissing me, it was a different story. But I can’t be held responsible for my feelings when I’m in the middle of something like that. No girl or fae could.
“So,” said Scrum, tentatively, “I guess you’d better be careful about using your power like that again.”
“Yeah,” I said, noncommittally. Of course I didn’t want to be lost in my elements, but if I could blast Samantha and Ben to the Underworld where they belonged? I’d probably do it again, even if it meant losing myself in the process. Besides, I wasn’t so sure I believed Valentine anyway. I needed confirmation from a more reliable source, like Céline. I decided I was going to track her down, right after I talked to Naida about Becky.
“Scrum, are you going with me to see Naida?”
“I go where you go, Jayne, you know that.”
“Okay then, let’s blow this joint.”
“Can you leave me in the room?” whined Tim. “Those water sprites smell lik
e rotten fish poo.”
“Tough shit. You’re going. And watch out, or I’ll throw you in the lake and make you swim for your life.” Tim was making me seriously cranky today for some reason.
“You know, Jayne, that’s really not funny. Some of those water sprites spend so much time in the water, they’re more like fish than fae. And a wingless pixie looks an awful lot like a largish dragonfly. One bite and that would be the end of me.”
“Well, then, I guess I can count on you behaving.”
He pulled my hair.
I sighed. “And then again, maybe not.”
Chapter 5
We arrived at the lake and saw nothing but calm, rippleless water. It amazed me that there could be so much activity going on beneath the surface, but somehow it didn’t show above. I was happy to find that my vision had cleared enough that I could see some more of the details around me now.
I’d been in the lake a few times, mostly there to figure out my connection to the water; so I had an idea of how many fae were under the surface and that they had a whole community down there. I had finally come close to mastering the magic of entering the water without actually getting wet, but I still wasn’t totally perfect at it. Something always came out damp; last time it was my shoes. So rather than wading in, I called to Naida.
“Yo! Naida! You in there? I need to talk to you about Becky!”
“Yeah! Fish lady! Come out, come out, wherever you arrrrre!” added Tim, obviously feeling very secure in my hair, foolish pixie that he was.
Moments later we saw the telltale signs of Naida’s imminent appearance. It was like watching a Loch Ness Monster video. First came a disturbance out in the middle of the lake, then something moving just beneath the surface, headed in the direction of the shore.
“She’s heeeeere,” said Tim, eerily. It totally reminded me of the old Poltergeist movie, which once again made me wonder how Tim knew all of these human references, new and old. I shrugged it off, hoping I’d remember to grill him about it later.
Scrum remained silent. Ever since the battle, he’d been uncharacteristically quiet. It’s like he was suddenly forced to grow up or something. I thought I’d be happy about that, but I found myself missing his constant, annoying prattle. Probably if it started again, it would piss me off all over, though – I guess that’s just how I am. Never satisfied, always confused about what I wanted.
Eventually, Naida’s form broke the surface, small waves streaming out behind her to send small swells across the water. She reached the edge where we were standing, walking completely out to stand in front of me. Of course she was dry from head to toe; not even a single strand of her hair looked damp. She was the Lady of the Lake, and one hell of an imposing figure. I had to look up at her because she had a good four inches on me.
“Hey Naida, what’s up?” I asked.
She bowed her head to me, saying nothing. She was a woman of few words, but that was fine by me. Whenever she started talking, some of that siren stuff came out and made it hard for me to stay focused.
“I’m here about Becky. When we were fighting the Dark Fae yesterday, she was hit ... by a witch. I saw her land in the grass, and she looked ... ” I had to take a moment to finish because the burning of unshed tears in my throat made it difficult to talk. I took a deep breath in and out to calm myself and then continued, “She looked ... dead. But then she transported away. Is she here? With you?”
Naida shook her head, saying no.
“Well, do dead fae normally just disappear like that? I mean, dead water sprites?”
Naida shook her head again.
This was frustrating. “So do you have any idea where she might be? Or if she’s even alive?”
Naida shook her head once more, only this time she looked sad and not completely unaffected like she usually did.
“You miss her too, don’t you?”
Naida nodded her head slowly.
I smiled, sadly. “She did have a certain way of brightening up the place, didn’t she?”
Naida gave a weak smile and nodded again.
I reached out my hand to her, and she looked down at it – then she looked up at me, a question in her eyes. I gestured with my head at my hand, urging her silently to take it.
She slowly reached up, as if in a dream, and softly took my hand in hers; it was cool but dry. I pulled The Green up into my core, heedless of Valentine’s warnings. As an elemental linked to Earth, I was born to do this – to channel this energy. If I was going to die from it eventually, then so be it. It wouldn’t be right to keep this beauty and connection all to myself, refusing to share it with others out of fear of what might happen.
I wanted to comfort Naida the best way I knew how – sirens were a mystery in general, but as a living creature here in the Green Forest, I knew, if nothing else, she could appreciate the sensations of the Earth energy. I sent her some of that power that rose up from beneath us and through my hand.
Her eyes brightened at the contact, and when the surge hit her fully, her face lit up as well. Her mouth opened and a siren song began to come out, unbidden. Her eyes closed as she sang this haunting melody without words. The sounds washed over me – sad and at the same time, full of an emotion that felt more like renewal and hope than despair. I couldn’t stop the trembling of my lips and chin and the tears that began to fall from my eyes – and I didn’t want to. I looked at Scrum and saw that he too was crying. He didn’t bother wiping his tears away either. I could even hear Tim sniffling behind my ear.
Naida opened her eyes and stopped singing, nodding her head at me and breaking away from my hold as she moved backwards into the water.
I raised my hand in a weak goodbye. “See ya, Naida. Thanks.”
Scrum, Tim, and I stood quietly there together, until the movements of Naida’s return to her underwater realm had subsided.
“Where are we going now?” asked Scrum in a quiet voice.
“I need a nap after that,” said Tim. “I’m exhausted.”
“No. No naps. We’re going to see Céline. I need to talk to her about my vision issues.” After connecting with Naida, I was seeing better than ever. I wasn’t sure now if my vision problems were related to my using of the power, or how I was using it – or even, what I was using it for. Maybe Céline would have some answers.
“Come on,” I said, “Let’s go find that wild and wacky silver elf.”
“What silver elf?” came a voice from behind me.
I whipped around to see Céline materializing out of a spinning cyclone.
“Where the hell did you come from? Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?” I put my hand to my chest, trying to calm its runaway beats. I could feel the pulse pounding away in my neck too. I realized that I really should stop letting fae sneak up on me like this. It wasn’t always going to be one of the good guys doing it. Scrum or no Scrum, I had to start watching my own back. Or maybe I could insist Tim ride backwards so I’d literally have eyes at the back of my head. But that would only work for about another week or even less, since Tim’s wings were almost fully grown back. I don’t know who was more excited about that, Tim or me.
“I came to find you,” she answered in her typically calm tone. “Tony told me you would be here. Did you find out what happened with Becky?”
“No. No one seems to know. That’s why I was coming to talk to you – and to ask you some questions about my eye problem.”
She studied my face. “You seem to be talking to me as if you can see me, but your eyes look the same. How is your vision now?”
“It’s better. Much better actually.”
Céline gestured towards the woods. “Let’s walk and talk, shall we?”
I shrugged, following her, not wasting any time in starting with the talking part. “It was already getting better – but then I had a moment with Naida where it kind of cleared up all the way.”
“What were you doing when that happened? Anything special?”
“We
ll, I was sharing The Green with her and listening to her sing.” I looked down while I talked, trying to be careful and not trip. I was partially successful, giving Tim a bumpier ride than he liked. Super powers do not help with grace, apparently. At least not with me. I went down to my knees twice, stupid branches getting in my way. I could probably use my connections to have a clear path swept for me by some branches, but it felt a little bit too much like an abuse of the power for my comfort. Damn the few morals I have.
She thought about my question for a second and then responded. “Perhaps it was using your power to help someone that caused your accelerated healing? You have healed others with The Green before.”
“I don’t know. Maybe. That leads me to another reason I wanted to talk to you actually. Valentine said something that bothered me earlier.”
I could hear the smile in her voice when she said, “You should probably get used to that. It is Valentine, after all.”
I had to smile back. “No, you’re right about that. But it bothered me in a different way. I think he was actually being wise, as in smart, for a change and not just being a wise ass. He said that there was an elemental here before who got lost in his element. But first his eyes went all wonky, like mine are now.”
Céline sighed. “Yes. We had a wind elemental here before. We silver elves were close to him for the most part, since we are servants of the wind. At least in the first few hundred years of his life, we were close. But slowly, we did lose him to his element. That is true.”
“So, how does that happen? And where did he go?”
Céline gracefully picked her way over a fallen log before answering. “If you fill yourself up with your element, or in your case your elements, plural, you run the risk of getting too attached. That may be the best way to describe it. I’m really not sure, though, if it’s a matter of you being attached to it or the other way around, but regardless, at some point you connect and just don’t come back to us. And you disappear altogether, as if you have become a part of that element somehow.”
“So you mean, I die? Or what?”
“Not really. We have no evidence of that. We have ... occasional contact ... with the Otherworlds, and to date, we have received no information that this elemental ever showed up in either realm.”