Fort Collins

by Christian, Claudia Hall

  “But Hedone!” Abi said.

  “You had all day to ask for what you wanted,” Heather said with a sniff. “In fact, you’ve had months and months to ask for help. Did you?”

  She raised her eyes to Abi.

  “Now, I need to get my children home,” Heather said. “They’ve had a big day and will have another tomorrow. If you need help with your mysterious problem, you can stop by in an hour or so to ask me for help. Maybe I’ll help you tomorrow.”

  “My sister won’t survive the night,” Edie said.

  “What?” Heather asked. “Your sister’s life is in danger, and you wait until the last minute to ask for my help?”

  Heather looked at Abi. The fairy was looking down and chewing on her lip. Heather looked at Edie. Sorrow was etched on the princess’s face.

  “I’m sorry,” Abi said in a soft voice.

  “What?” Heather asked.

  “I’m sorry,” Abi said and looked up at Heather. “You’re absolutely right. We have manipulated you. We have lied. And in this situation, we grossly miscalculated. I’m sorry. If you’d like, we’ll leave and never return.”

  “So you’re just going to pick up your toys and go home?” Jacob asked with a shake of his head. “What? Are you three? I thought you stepped out of the molten lava or some crap like that.”

  “What do you mean?” Abi asked.

  “When there’s a problem in a relationship, the brave work things out,” Jacob said. “You say, ‘I’m sorry,’. . .”

  “I am,” Abi said. “I really screwed up.”

  “And I say, ‘Don’t do it again,’” Jacob said.

  “Oh,” Abi said. “Really?”

  “Jeez, you really are three,” Heather said under her breath.

  “Please,” Delphie said. “Stop lying. Stop manipulating. Ask for what you want. We might not say ‘yes,’ but we’ll help you find solutions.”

  “Your problems become our problems,” Jacob said. “That’s how we treat each other.”

  “Oh,” Abi said.

  “Will you help us?” Edie asked. She gave a little impatient hop. “We do need help.”

  Heather looked at Blane for a moment. He nodded.

  “I’ll help Blane get the kids home,” Jacob said. “Edie, can you help Jill with the boys, Katy, and Paddie?”

  “Of course,” Edie said.

  “And me?” Abi asked. “Am I forgiven, too?”

  “You will sit down at that table right there and tell me what’s going on,” Heather said. “Leave nothing out. Delphie?”

  Heather looked up at Delphie.

  “I’ll stay to make sure you’re truthful,” Delphie said.

  Heather nodded.

  “What if I show you?” Abi asked. “Nice bit of fairy magic.”

  “Parlor trick,” Heather said. “Speak, and I will hear your truth.”

  Abi looked uncertain.

  “What?” Heather asked.

  “If I sit here, anyone can listen,” Abi said.

  “That’s the point,” Jacob said. “If you don’t trust us, all of us, then why are you here at all?”

  Abi bounced back and forth from one foot to another.

  “Tanesha,” Heather said in a low tone, and Tanesha appeared next to the table.

  “Did you call me here?” Tanesha asked.

  Heather nodded. Without saying another word, Tanesha pulled a chair out from the table and sat down. Heather sat next to her. Abi stood on the floor, biting her lip. Shrugging, Delphie went to the electric kettle. She filled it with water and turned it on.

  “Come on, Blane,” Jacob said. “Let’s get these kids to bed.”

  Heather kissed her son and gave Jacob the sling. She touched Mack’s back and kissed Blane. With a nod, Jacob and Blane left the room together.

  “It’s nice to see them together again,” Delphie said.

  Heather nodded.

  “How is he feeling?” Delphie asked.

  “Okay,” Heather said. “He’s a little worn out from working with Sissy and Ivan — Charlie, too. He’s happy to do it, and, of course, he’s happy to be home. It’s just all new.”

  “He looks great,” Tanesha said. “I saw his blood numbers. They’re really good. He must feel like a new person.”

  “He does,” Heather said.

  Delphie nodded. Abi watched the women talk back and forth. After a few moments, the women looked up at Abi.

  “What’s it going to be?” Heather asked.

  “Wait for us!” Jill jogged into the kitchen, with Sandy on her heels.

  “I called you,” Heather said in a low voice.

  “I know, but we had to get the babies settled,” Sandy said.

  “How did you keep from coming?” Heather asked.

  Sandy pointed to Jill.

  “I knew you wouldn’t mind,” Jill said.

  Sandy pulled out a chair at the kitchen table just as the electric pot clicked off. Jill went to make tea for everyone. Tanesha got up to get the cups. After a few moments, Jill set a pot of English tea on the table and gave Delphie a cup of green tea. She sat down on the end of the table between Delphie and Sandy.

  “What’s it going to be?” Heather asked.

  “You don’t know what you’re asking!” Abi said.

  “I know exactly what I’m asking,” Heather said. “I’m asking a fellow being to sit at this table and speak her truth. I am allowed to have as many of my own counsel as I choose. I deserve a response, at the very least.”

  “But you’re human!” Abi asked.

  “Not any longer,” Tanesha said.

  Abi was visibly shaken. She blinked. Without saying another word, she pulled out a chair and sat down next to Sandy.

  “Hedone,” Abi said.

  “Really?” Heather asked. “You sat down only when you knew I wasn’t human. Do you despise humans so much?”

  Abi blushed. She shook her head.

  “I. . .” Abi started. She let out a breath. “Uh. . .”

  Giving Abi space to collect her thoughts, Sandy started pouring tea. The women doctored their tea and waited. By the time Sandy set down Abi’s cup of tea, the fairy seemed clearer. Abi pressed her shoulders back and sat up straight.

  “I want to apologize again,” Abi said. “You’re absolutely correct — all of you. I haven’t trusted you or any human. I can give you reasons for that, but truth be told, my reasons don’t matter very much.”

  She nodded.

  “For a long, long time, Gil and I — and, eventually, Fand and Liban — danced across this Earth’s surface without a care in the world,” Abi said. “At some point, we knew that humans existed. But. . .”

  Abi shrugged.

  “It was Manannán who brought humans into our world, and we went from four fairy friends to an entire Queendom,” Abi said. “Sometimes, it boggles my mind. And. . .”

  She looked from face to face.

  “I’ve never had a human friend,” Abi said. She gave a partial smile. “When Fin proposed that we live here, I laughed in his face.”

  Abi gave a sad nod.

  “So, I am sorry,” Abi said. “I will try to be a better friend.”

  “And Olympia?” Heather asked.

  “I’ve had plenty of trouble with Olympia,” Abi said. “That’s why I sat down, Hed. . . Heather. I know what happens when you cross Olympia. I was thinking while Sandy was pouring the tea. It would truly break something inside of me to not have you as my close friends. This is why I am so ashamed. I love you so much, and, yet, I still think of you as primitive little. . .”

  Nodding, Abi opened her mouth.

  “Don’t say you’re sorry again,” Sandy said. She put her hand over Abi’s. “We’ve all done plenty of thoughtless things in our lives. We understand.”

  Jill, Tanesha, and Heather nodded, and Delphie smiled.

  “Please,” Heather said. “Let’s start with what you need.”

  “Since we are talking about truth,” Abi said, “did you act
ually kill a breeding pair of serpents and all of their offspring?”

  “I will take you to both locations,” Tanesha said.

  “Both locations?” Abi asked. “You killed them separately?”

  The women nodded.

  “Why?” Delphie asked.

  “They are much more dangerous separately,” Abi said.

  “We had help from a dragon,” Tanesha said. “At least, I think it was a dragon.”

  “For the female,” Abi said.

  “No, the male,” Jill said with a shake of her head. “We killed the female on our own.”

  Abi’s eyebrows went up with surprise. After a few moments, she nodded.

  “Okay. Yes, I underestimated you,” Abi said. “That was dumb.”

  “What do you need?” Heather asked.

  “Aife’s life force was perilously low when the Queen gave her the Blue Fairy role,” Abi said. She shook her head and waved her hand. “The whole Blue Fairy thing is complicated and off point.”

  “Why does Aife spend so much time with Alex and John?” Sandy asked.

  “Alex and Max are descendants of Aife’s lover,” Abi said. “Aife heard a whisper of Alex getting her tattoo — that’s how it is for us. We can hear you when you think of us. Anyway, Aife met John, and, well, she knew Brigid, John’s mother, and...”

  Abi shrugged.

  “Why is Aife in such danger?” Tanesha asked.

  “She was nearly dead when she became the Blue Fairy,” Abi said. “The Blue Fairy is a mantle that is to be passed around. It’s too much for one fairy. But Aife couldn’t survive without it.”

  Abi looked into each woman’s face and found understanding there.

  “If the Blue Fairy is so important to Aife, why did Edie take it off?” Jill asked.

  “Because it’s killing her,” Abi said. “And honestly, Aife will probably put the Blue Fairy back on when we’re done.”

  “But she must be stronger to do it,” Heather said. “To survive it.”

  “Exactly,” Abi said. “Fin and Aife were born within a decade of each other. For fairies, that’s like being twins. If she dies, which is likely, she will take a part of him with her.”

  “Oh, that’s what he meant,” Tanesha said.

  Everyone looked at her.

  “He said over and over again that he needed all of himself to lead their world into the modern era,” Tanesha said.

  “We need to transition to the modern era or wither and fade,” Abi said. “That’s just a fact.”

  “What do you believe Aife needs?” Jill asked. “Certainly, I can heal her.”

  Abi shook her head.

  “She can heal herself,” Abi said. “She must heal herself.”

  “Why doesn’t she, then?” Tanesha asked.

  “That’s the question, isn’t it?” Abi asked. “Fin and his sisters have staged this intervention to get her to see what must be done.”

  “She refuses,” Tanesha said with a nod. “She wants to die to be with her lover.”

  “Oh,” Heather said. “That’s what you need.”

  “We need you to unveil her eyes to see the man for what he was,” Abi said. “A monster. A rapist. The whole — ‘Send my son to me’ thing — was merely a cruel joke. He always had intended to kill the child.”

  Abi’s face twisted as she frowned with disgust.

  “For the record, I relieved the man of his head with one blow,” Abi said. “He was no warrior.”

  “You mean he’s a great warrior only when he’s fighting seven year olds?” Jill asked.

  “Precisely,” Abi nodded.

  “Delphie?” Heather asked.

  “There is something she’s not saying,” Delphie said. “Something about your father. She’s afraid of offending you.”

  “What is it?” Heather asked.

  “Unlike what his mother thinks, your father has always had a cruel streak,” Abi said.

  “You mean the dark arrows are not his first cruel love,” Heather said.

  Abi nodded.

  “He did this?” Heather asked.

  “With great intention,” Abi said. “He ensnared Fin and would have trapped Edie and Mari had their father not concealed them from him.”

  “What did Manannán do?” Jill asked.

  “Manannán made them seem human,” Abi said. “Eros had no idea Fand had other children besides Fin and Abi. And Keenan — well, you know about the whole Patrick thing.”

  Abi’s quick nod held the weight of Keenan’s life as Maughold and the betrayal by Patrick of Ireland.

  “Eros’ hatred for Queen Fand is second only to his hatred of Liban, her twin,” Abi said.

  “Why?” Heather asked.

  “She doesn’t know,” Delphie answered quickly.

  “Do you?” Abi asked.

  “It has to do with his father,” Delphie said.

  “Ares?” Jill asked.

  “The God of War,” Heather said under her breath.

  “Eros has the urge to use love as war,” Delphie said.

  “How nice,” Sandy said, shaking her head.

  “Explains my awful relationships,” Heather said with a smile. She looked off into the near distance for a moment before her eyes flicked to Abi. “I need to think and speak with my friends.”

  “Fair enough,” Abi said. “I will wait with the Oracle until you return.”

  Heather nodded. Jill pointed upstairs, and the girlfriends nodded. They made their way to Jill and Jacob’s loft.

  Chapter Three Hundred and Eighty-one

  Sparklers

  “So, let me get this straight,” Tanesha said as she, Sandy, Heather, and Jill entered Jill’s loft.

  They walked to the kitchen area and sat down in chairs at the bar counter. Jill went in to retrieve a tin of Sandy’s chocolate crunch cookies.

  “Tea?” Jill asked.

  “I’d love some,” Tanesha said.

  “I bet you would,” Heather said with a laugh. She nodded to Jill. “Before anything else, I want to hear about what happened when you were with the fairies.”

  “What a mess,” Tanesha said. “It was like a drug intervention.”

  “Remember when we tried to do that with Sissy?” Sandy asked.

  “Fucking horrible,” Jill said. Unaccustomed to Jill swearing, the women looked up at her. “Well, it was!”

  “It was like that,” Tanesha said. “Aife was furious with Fin. They argued for what seemed like forever. Then Aife went after me. ‘Why is this creature here?’ Blah, blah. She’s a little unhinged.”

  “A little?” Heather asked.

  “What do you think is wrong with her?” Sandy asked.

  “Remember how crazy Sissy was when she was sick?” Tanesha asked. “She was sure she was seeing reality, but. . .”

  “Her reality was not actually based in fact,” Sandy said with a nod.

  “She didn’t recognize that picture we took of her,” Jill said.

  “Accused me of doctoring it,” Sandy said.

  “Photoshop,” Heather said. She looked at Tanesha. “It was like that?”

  Tanesha nodded.

  “She’s addicted to feeling awful,” Tanesha said. “Addicted to the pain and loss. She can’t seem to let it go.”

  “What do you think I can do?” Heather asked. “She’s been broken like this for a thousand years or more.”

  “You can teach her to love,” Sandy said.

  “How?” Heather asked. “If I cast love for her, she’ll probably fall in love with a stone.”

  “Ain’t that the truth,” Tanesha said with a shake of her head.

  “What if you taught her to love herself?” Jill asked.

  The women fell silent.

  “I want to know why Eros hates Fand,” Tanesha said.

  “She’s pretty dislikeable,” Sandy said.

  “I think it’s a good question,” Jill said. “The fairy world has been brutalized. Fand ripped apart. This thing with Aife. Who has it in for them?�
��

  “My father,” Heather said. “I guess.”

  “Any idea why?” Jill asked.

  Heather shook her head.

  “Let’s promise not to ask him,” Tanesha said.

  “After what happened with Sissy, I dare not,” Heather said. “Did I tell you. . .”

  She closed her mouth and shook her head. She fell silent before her rage came up.

  “He made it so that Sissy and Ivan couldn’t be together in one life,” Heather said finally. “It was a hidden part of the arrow. If they got as close as they are now, they would die. They had to die.”

  “Is that what my father did?” Jill asked. “He never said.”

  “He forced Eros to tell me what he’d done,” Heather said. “His mother fixed it for them and every other dark arrow.”

  “I wonder what special surprise Eros created for the fairies,” Tanesha said.

  “Exactly right,” Heather said. “He controlled the most powerful force in the human world, and he wielded that power with. . .”

  She shook her head. They fell into contemplative silence while they ate their cookies. When the electric pot finished heating the water, Jill made them individual cups of tea. They drank their tea and ate cookies in silence. After a few minutes, Heather sighed.

  “Well?” Heather asked.

  “You need to fix this,” Sandy said. “For your own sake as well as Aife’s.”

  Tanesha nodded. Heather looked at Jill. She was looking down, eating her cookie.

  “What?” Heather asked.

  “I guess I’m just wondering what will happen when Aife has her strength back,” Jill said. “Should we run for cover? Will she destroy Alex and Max? She’s obsessed with Alex’s husband John, and he hates her.”

  “Lucky we know an Oracle,” Heather said. “Let’s go ask her.”

  The women set their cups in the sink and went downstairs. Abi and Delphie were sitting at the table in grim silence. They looked up when the girlfriends entered the room. Delphie scanned Heather for a moment before giving a nod.

  “Aife will return to the mantle of the blue fairy,” Delphie said with a nod. “We can’t expect her to give up her obsession with Alex and Max. They are her heirs.”

  “I thought the jerk killed her son,” Jill asked.

  “She had a daughter first,” Abi said. “No one mentions her because — let’s face it — she’s just a girl.”