by Bonnie Lamer
Turning to Whysper, I say, “I know you believe what you are saying, but we do not believe it.” At least, Kallen and I don’t. I can’t really speak for the rest of the room.
“I must concur,” Isla says.
“Damn right,” Tabitha mutters. She is eying Whysper’s plate like she’s sorry she fed her.
Dagda turns to me. “I believe it is time to speak with Addylyn.”
Whysper turns so white, she could blend in with the clouds. “No!” she exclaims. When all eyes turn to her, she takes a deep breath and tries to calm herself. After a moment, she adds, “That will lead them to the child.”
Something we have already considered. I turn to Dagda, “Let’s wait on that.”
My biological father is not pleased. “Xandra, I do not believe a word this Cowan is saying.”
I cock my head to the side. “Which one of us has the internal lie detector again? Oh, that’s right, it’s me,” I snark.
What a remarkable shade of red appearing on his face. If I could make my own clothes without clothing everyone in the realm, I’d make a dress that color. “There is such a thing as lies of omission,” he growls.
Hmm, he does have a point. Can I detect lies of omission? I consider it for a moment and decide I can’t. But, I can look at the evidence I’ve already gathered. I am about to lay it all out for him when Kallen says, “Perhaps a more private setting for this conversation is appropriate.”
“Agreed,” Dagda manages between teeth clenched so tightly they are going to mold into one giant tooth soon. That would make it really difficult for him to eat.
Dagda stalks from the room and Kallen, Isla, Tana, Garren and I follow. Tabitha, Alita and Kegan stay behind to keep an eye on our guest. Following my father to the second floor and down the hall to one of the many sitting rooms in the mansion, I close the door behind us.
Dagda opens his mouth to say words I am most certain I do not want to hear so I hurry up and speak over him. “Let me tell you what I know before you make a snap decision.”
Dagda’s mouth closes and it is a long, uncomfortable moment before he finally says, “Speak.”
“I am not a dog,” I grumble under my breath. Kallen’s hand on my shoulder reminds me I am here to stop the arguing, not make it worse. I press forward. “When I looked in her mind, her deepest secret is that she hates the Elves. All of them, including Lielle. But, there isn’t a nefarious plan brewing in her head to cause trouble or harm. Plus, she wasn’t lying when she said the Queen sent her or that there is an issue regarding Lielle’s father. If the King Consort does want Lielle dead, he or those who work for him are searching for the baby. Do we really want to get in the middle of that any more than we already are? I believe instead of getting dragged into what might become a civil war, we keep Lielle here with us until we hear from Addylyn. Until we know it’s safe to bring Lielle home.”
“Uncle,” Kallen begins, “Xandra is right. The Cowan has done nothing but confirm what we already suspected. Her own issues with the Elves aside, she did get the child to us for the sake of her safety. Right now, we have no idea how bad things are in the Elf realm and we do not have a treaty with them. If the King Consort learns we have the child and he has enough Elves loyal to him, he could declare war against us.”
I wonder what war with the Elves would be like. I bet their glamour could make battle against them difficult. Even if you know it is unlikely to hurt you, an elephant stampede could draw your attention away from the fight. Which could lead to your death. I think we should avoid war with the Elves.
Apparently, so does my biological father. He doesn’t like it, but he acquiesces. “Three days,” he growls. “I will give it three days and then we return the child to the Elf Queen.”
“Do you really think the Elves will fix their problems in three days?” I counter.
“For god’s sake! He’s offering you an out with the brat. Take it!” Taz insists.
“Three days,” Dagda says firmly.
Before I can argue, Kallen says just as firmly as Dagda, “Let us agree to discuss this again in three days.”
We are definitely pushing Dagda to the edge. He is one finger push away from falling into the crazy chasm. It’s Tana who helps keep him from it. Placing a gentle hand on his cheek, she says softly, “Can you really send a child into a situation where great harm may come to her?”
Dagda’s eyes fly to me. I can answer that question. I cross my arms over my chest and glower in his direction as he and I both recall he did that once. Or a few times. “No,” he lies guiltily. The word is a bit strangled, but still clear enough.
“What shall we do with Whysper?” Kallen asks.
“She’s the kid’s nanny. She and the brat could sleep together in the garage if they must stay,” Taz suggests. He never really has a helpful suggestion.
“She is not sleeping in the garage,” I inform him.
Garren shrugs. “Might not be a bad idea considering the child’s nightmares.” Everyone in the room glares at him. Holding his hands up in front of him, he says, “I was joking.” The tingling on my arms and legs prove he wasn’t.
Isla doesn’t buy it, either. “We will treat her as a guest until she proves otherwise.”
I wonder if the word ‘until’ was intentional. Does she expect Whysper to do something which would make us treat her differently? Who am I kidding, I think she will, too. I somehow manage not to say this aloud. I must be building neural pathways between my brain and my mouth. I’m getting better at controlling my muscles and not letting everything I think fall from between my lips. “Are we agreed then?” I ask Dagda.
Dagda’s eyes move between Kallen and me before finally saying, “I suggest you two not get too attached to the child. She will be returning to the Elf realm.”
Kallen’s expression hardens. “It is not our intention to keep a child who is not ours. We simply want to help keep an innocent child safe.”
Whysper’s words come back to me. I hope we really are protecting an innocent child.
7 CHAPTER
Back in the kitchen, Whysper is just finishing up with her breakfast. She glances longingly at the warmer and more pancakes, but Tabitha’s not in any hurry to offer her more to eat. How much distrust and dislike does it take for Tabitha not to feed someone? She fed Garren, all be it grudgingly, when he first came to stay and she hates him.
“Tabitha, Whysper will be staying with us,” Isla says briskly. I am not certain who is more surprised, Tabitha or Whysper.
“I am?” Whysper says with a squeak.
Isla eyes her. “Unless you had other plans?”
“N-no,” Whysper says, shaking her head adamantly.
“Where shall we put her?” Tabitha asks. She plans to put her as far from the rest of us as possible if her tone is any indication. Good thing she didn’t hear the garage suggestion.
“The second floor guest room,” Isla replies absently. Her mind has moved on to other things. Like what to do in the long run with this situation.
“If you will take the child, Kegan and I will show our new guest to her room,” Kallen tells me, holding Lielle out for me to take.
I eye him suspiciously. Why does he want to show her to her room? I’m not jealous, I simply want to know what he’s plotting. I give Whysper a quick glance and find her eyes wide with fear. “If you give me directions, I can find my own way.” I am not the only one concerned about Kallen’s intentions.
“We do not send guests wandering about the house,” Tabitha says shortly. “The boys will bring you to your room.”
Kallen leans down and kisses my cheek as an excuse to put his mouth near my ear. “We are simply going to give her rules to follow while she is here.”
Fair enough. “Okay,” I murmur.
Standing straight again, Kallen indicates with a sweep of his arm for Whysper to get going. Reluctantly, she climbs off her stool with a last, longing look at the cooling pile of pancakes and follows him out of the kitchen. I feel the r
elief flow through Lielle when Whysper leaves. “You really don’t like her, do you?” She stares back at me with her big eyes wide. The room grows darker and clouds appear above us. The sound of thunder rolls in from a distance. A shadowy figure appears near the door and it takes me a second to figure out it’s just glamour. The figure doesn’t have a face, but he does have a whip in his hand. He lashes out with it, the tip nearly reaching Lielle. I can’t help it, I take a step back. Glamour or not, the snap it makes implies it would really hurt if it made contact.
Glancing down at Lielle, I realize she is on the verge of tears again. “Oh, baby, what are you trying to tell us?” Because I’m certain this display of glamour is an attempt to communicate something. I hug her tight. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Gradually, the figure with the whip disappears and the clouds disperse. No more thunder can be heard.
“The child did all of that?” Tana asks in awe. “How remarkable.”
“And dangerous,” Dagda reminds her.
“Why would she show us a man with a whip? Do you think it was the King Consort?” I ask the room in general. All I get in return is a bunch of silence.
Finally, Isla says, “I do not believe the child has the cognitive ability to communicate such exacting images. I believe she is simply demonstrating her feelings with random images.”
“Random images?” I’m not buying that. “A guy with a whip isn’t a random image. How would she know about whips?”
“Many Elves are schooled in using whips,” Tana informs me. Her tone implies I should have known this.
Ignoring her tone, I ask, “Why?”
“A whip is a quick way to determine if something is made of glamour,” Isla explains.
Ah. “If it goes through it, it’s glamour.”
“You figured that out all on your own? You’re deductive skills always manage to underwhelm me,” Taz snarks.
“Keep it up and I’ll ban Tabitha from giving you bacon,” I retort.
If Tasmanian devils had faces which could convey horror, Taz’s would be right now. “You would take from me the only comfort I have in this world?”
I snort. “Yes, and you have plenty of other comforts.” Instead of replying, he waddles over to Tabitha and sits at her feet in a demonstration of where his true loyalty lies. Tabitha tries not to grin down at him.
“Can we get back to our discussion now?” Dagda asks dryly.
I wrinkle my nose at him. “Fine.”
“Who will watch the Cowan while she is here?” Dagda asks Isla.
“We will take shifts but primarily it will be Kegan and Alita,” she replies.
This catches Alita by surprise. Trying to not to show it, she hurries to say, “Of course.” She is not able to hide the fact she is not thrilled about it.
“With Kallen and Xandra so tied up with the child, they would not be able to give the situation their full attention,” Isla explains.
“In other words, you suck at multitasking,” Taz snarks.
I roll my eyes at him but Isla thinks I’m doing it to her and she glowers in my direction. “Not you,” I clarify. “Taz is being obnoxious.”
“Is he ever not being obnoxious?” Dagda asks.
I think for a moment. “No, not really.”
“I will remember that the next time you need me to save your life,” Taz sniffs.
“Back to the subject at hand,” Dagda presses. “I believe that is an excellent suggestion. Alita, you are temporarily relieved of your duties at the palace so you can be here. The two of you need to be hyper vigilant.” With a surreptitious glance at me, he adds, “I still do not trust her.”
Nonplussed, I ask, “What do you think she is going to do? She is human for goodness sake.”
“In my experience, it is not wise to underestimate Cowans,” Dagda replies. “They are capable of incredible destruction when they put their minds to it.”
He does have a point. “Okay, so we watch her. But I really don’t see her trying to blow the house up or anything.” I regret the words as soon as I say them. Tana’s cheeks flush pink as everyone in the room recalls how she tried to blow Kallen and me up in our bedroom. Fortunately, we were not in it at the time as she thought. “Sorry,” I mumble.
Side stepping the awkwardness, Alita promises, “We will keep a close eye on her.”
Dagda inclines his head toward her. “Thank you.” Turning to Tana, he says, “I have much to do today. We should be going.”
Tana gives him a tiny nod and then walks out the kitchen door. Wow, she is so sensitive about trying to kill me in the past.
8 CHAPTER
Lielle has decided it has been too long since she was the center of attention. She is squirming in my arms and agitated. I offer her a bottle but she doesn’t want it. I do a quick sniff of her diaper and she smells okay. “What’s wrong with her?” I ask Tabitha.
Tabitha considers the fussing baby. “Perhaps she is bored and wants to play. Take her outside. I will provide a blanket and some toys.”
“Don’t trust me to do it?” I tease.
“I simply prefer not to have the entire house covered in a blanket and then smashed to pieces with giant toys,” Tabitha teases back.
“Hey, I’m not that bad.” A quirk of an eyebrow implies I am.
I shake my head in feigned frustration. “Fine. I’ll be outside if you need me.”
I carefully make my way down the hall and through the large living room to the terrace door. I’m still afraid I’m going to trip over something and drop Lielle. She is also getting a little heavy. Funny, when I first pick her up she seems light as a stone but the longer I hold her, the more it feels like I’m holding a boulder in my arms. I really need to exercise more.
Outside near the water, a blue blanket has appeared. On it are several toys in vivid colors and very much like what I would find back in my realm. I guess baby toys are universal. There is a soft doll, a red ball, and some wooden blocks with pictures on them. There are also a couple of things I believe are for Lielle to chew on if she wants. One of them is shaped like a bone and I suspect Kegan had something to do with its creation when he returned to the kitchen. I sit down on the blanket and set Lielle in front of me. She grabs for one of the blocks. She proceeds to throw it at me. Good thing she hasn’t built up any real muscle mass yet.
“That’s not for throwing,” I tell her gently. “It’s for building.” I grab a few of the blocks and stack them in front of her. “See?”
Lielle reaches out and knocks the pile of blocks down. She lets out such a laugh that I have to build them back up so she can knock them down again. But, like peek-a-boo, this seems to be something she is never going to tire of doing. I am relieved when Kallen joins us and Lielle is distracted from the blocks. She picks up the teething bone and throws it at him.
“She likes to throw things and knock things down,” I tell him.
Kallen smiles. “So I see.” He glances at the water. “It is a shame the water is too cold to swim.”
Taken aback, I gasp, “You want to bring her in the ocean? What if you drop her? She’d drown!”
Kallen shakes his head. “Where does this intense fear of dropping her come from?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. She just seems so fragile.”
My gorgeous husband leans over and kisses me. “You will be a great mother someday.”
I grimace. “Not any time soon, though.”
He nods. “Agreed.”
Lielle is not happy our attention has been drawn away from her. She throws the bone at Kallen again. He gives it back to her so she can throw it yet again. This repeats several times. “It’s like you’re a dog and she’s playing fetch with you,” I tease.
Kallen chuckles. “So it seems.”
“I thought I would take a walk on the beach.” Whysper’s voice carries from the terrace and Lielle begins to whimper.
“I do not suggest you go far,” Tabitha tells her. “Not all Fairies are friends of the Cowans.” I’m pretty sure
Tabitha is just trying to scare her because I seriously doubt Whysper is going to get attacked during her walk. Then again, many of the Pooka Fairies do hate Cowans.
Pulling Lielle into my lap, I whisper to Kallen, “Tabitha really doesn’t like her.”
“No, she does not.” Kallen is thoughtful for a moment. “You have the ability to detect lies but Tabitha sees souls. Perhaps she should have been included in our conversation regarding the Cowan.”
“Good point,” I sigh. Just because Whysper didn’t lie doesn’t mean she’s a good person.
Tabitha watches Whysper as she steps off the terrace and makes a wide arc around Kallen, Lielle and me. When she is far enough down the beach for Tabitha to speak without her hearing, the older Fairy says, “There is darkness in her.”
Neither Kallen nor I are surprised. “Do you think she is capable of harming Lielle?” I ask.
Tabitha’s brow creases as she thinks about it. “It is hard to say. If she was going to hurt the child, I do not know why she has not already done so. She was alone with her for several days.”
True. Why would Whysper wait until after she drops Lielle off to us to do her harm? A sickening thought hits me. “Maybe she plans to frame one of us.”
Kallen and Tabitha both turn surprised eyes to me. Kegan has joined us, as well. His eyes follow Whysper’s every move. What good a good babysitter he makes.
“What do you mean?” Kallen asks.
I shrug in discomfort. “I don’t know. Maybe she wants to start a war between the Fairies and the Elves. If so, she could hurt Lielle and make it look like one of us did it.”
Both Kallen and Tabitha are silent for a long moment. Long enough for Isla to come out on the terrace and pick up on the fact I have rendered the two of them speechless. “What is going on?” she asks.
“Xandra suggested that Whysper may want to start a war between us and the Elves by hurting Lielle and making it seem as if one of us did it.”
Isla’s probing eyes focus on me. “Have you asked her?”
I shake my head. “Um, no. I just thought of it.”