Exile

by Caleb James

  “I hadn’t thought about that, but now that you mention it….”

  “Don’t,” Finn warned.

  “Look, you want to do this, you got to get ready. But you’ll see. Liam went to meet with Alex Nevus—some stuff he needed to tell him.” He retrieved his cell, flipped through the history for Alex’s number, and called. As he waited he looked at Finn, his cheeks still red, his hair the color of fire, the revelations of the last few moments like flipping the lid on something he and the rest of his family tried to keep shut. Finn loved Rory. Of course he did…. How did I miss that? He bit his lower lip and tried not to think of just how much that would have to suck. To be in love, to not have it returned, and…. Alex picked up.

  Twenty-Two

  LIAM WALKED between Alex and Jerod through the bustling city of Manhattan. Nimby rode on Alex’s shoulder, occasionally flitting into the air to catch a fly, mosquito, or other tasty winged treat.

  It was all new to him, the trees in iron cages, their leaves the bright green of spring, the air scented with flowers and car exhausts, and the sun high and not too hot. He listened as Alex told him the story of May’s sister Katye.

  “She’s the real deal,” Alex said. “And somehow she kept a bunch of her magic on this side of things.”

  “Tell me more,” Liam said, not knowing where to let his eyes rest, every block different from the last. Buildings festooned with carved heads or with walls of steel and glass, no two alike. “I know some of Katye. She and her sisters are legend. Though May is the only one who remained in the Unsee. Katye vanished long before my birth. They say she traveled for love through a mirror.”

  “Sounds right,” Alex said. “It’s her and Lance, as in Lancelot of the round table.”

  “I don’t know that story,” Liam said.

  “Well, I think it got a bit twisted with the frog prince.”

  Jerod snorted. “Poor Lance, he definitely got the short end of the stick.”

  “I’m not certain about that. When he’s not a frog, he’s a stone-cold fox.”

  “You did not just say that,” Jerod said.

  “Whatever. When he’s not green and hoppy, he’s the poster child for Italian Vogue,” Alex stated. He looked across Liam at Jerod, whose shoulder doubled as Nimby’s perch. “And you can’t overlook the fact that he’s probably more than a thousand years old. So spending a few years here and there as a frog may be not the worse deal.”

  “I am confused. Katye, one of the three great sister queens, is in love with a frog?”

  “Yup. It’s freaky. They’re connected. One of them stays young while the other grows old, and then at some point they run out of juice, and he turns into a frog. That happened three years ago.”

  “Yes, he croaked,” Jerod deadpanned.

  Alex rolled his eyes. “And he’s still a frog. Katye says he remains like that for the span of the frog’s life, and then, one day, he’ll be good as new. And then wash, rinse, and repeat, about once every hundred years. She says they get a few years where they’re both young together… and then it’s about love and loss, which, I don’t know, it’s both beautiful and sad.”

  Jerod broke ranks and hugged Alex from behind. He whispered, “He doesn’t have a thing on you. Though you and he were cut from the same bolt, and not just your looks. He’s a hero, as are you… and you’re mine.”

  They kissed.

  Liam watched, unable to quell the war of emotions—whiffs of jealousy for what Alex and Jerod had together, a pang in his chest, and the tingle of Charlie’s full lips on his own.

  The little black fairy hovered and then lit on Liam’s shoulder. She chattered in his ear. “They do this all the time…. It’s love.”

  “Yes.” Liam twisted his head to face her, the tiny thing no more than three inches from his nose. “And you. It’s just you. Tell me of your swarm.”

  Her jewel-red eyes clouded. Her smile fell. “Just me. Just Nimby.”

  Liam studied the tiny creature, with her swirling gold tattoos festooned across coal-black skin. She was similar to creatures of the Unsee but not exactly. “Tell me what you are.”

  Jerod and Alex, still locked in an embrace, turned.

  “I am his… now theirs,” Nimby stated.

  “She’s been with me since birth,” Alex clarified.

  “She was sent,” Liam stated.

  Alex broke from Jerod’s arms and walked up to Liam, his attention on Nimby. “By whom?”

  The fairy shook her head. “No, no, no. I do not know, know, know.”

  “Do you?” Alex asked Liam.

  “No, but as you’re aware, the fey are best judged not by words but by action.” He held his left forefinger like a perch. Nimby hopped on. She gazed into Liam’s eyes, unable to look away. “It’s her markings that are different. She’s a warrior. But unlike any I’ve seen.”

  “The woman, or whatever she is, we’re going to see—Katye—she called Nimby a Nevus fairy. I’m not sure what that meant. And other than being a bit of a pest at times, she’s always had my back. Alice’s too.”

  “She’s of your family… and she’s but one. Fairies like this come in swarms, flocks, and gaggles. One alone….”

  Tears of blood streaked down Nimby’s cheeks.

  “Tell me your sorrow, little one,” Liam whispered.

  “I am one,” she replied. “I am one, and I am alone. There is but one Nevus fairy, and she is I. When I go, there will be no.”

  Liam nodded. She took to the air and returned to Alex’s shoulder. “I am his,” she said, and in words barely audible above the traffic of Fifth Avenue, “and I am alone.”

  “What does that mean?” Alex asked. “She won’t tell me anything about where she’s from. She says she doesn’t know.”

  Nimby stamped her foot on his shoulder. “I do not lie. I do not know.”

  “If I had to guess—but it’s just a guess,” Liam said as they resumed their progress up Fifth, “I’d put my money on your father, Cedric.”

  Alex muttered, “More riddles. So, here’s something I’m trying to figure out. You and Katye and my dad all have the same last name.” He stopped. “I hadn’t even thought about that. We’re somehow related. Or is Summer like Smith over there?”

  “We are related,” Liam stated. “Your father is my uncle. That makes us cousins. As to the bloodlines with the three queens, it’s ancient history. But yes, the sidhe of Summer are family.”

  As the three walked abreast, Jerod observed the effect Liam had on strangers. “You, Katye, and Alex’s sister all have that glamour thing. You notice how many people turn their head to look at you.”

  “It seems to be the only magic of mine that’s left.”

  “About that,” Alex said. “You know that Charlie is totally caught up in that… in you.”

  “It was not my intention.”

  “Maybe so, but the thing is done. He’s on the hook. When you get set to haul ass back to the Unsee or whatever it is that comes next, what happens to him?”

  “I do not know for certain. I hope it will fade. I hope he will find someone who will love him, someone good.” But Liam did know, and he prayed that things worked differently here. Because in the Unsee, once glamoured, the victim was trapped in love for life. They would pine for the object of their affection. They would waste away, starved for love and not caring for food.

  “You have feelings for him,” Jerod said as they reached the apartment of Katye Summer.

  Alex’s cell buzzed. “Speak of the unlucky devil.” He pulled out his iPhone as they headed through the motion-sensitive revolving door. “Charlie, what’s up?”

  “Liam still with you guys?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good. I’m with the fire marshal. He’s a friend, and he needs to talk to him about the fire. Where are you?”

  Alex gave him the address. “It’s a friend’s place, someone who I hope can give us some information. We’ll be here awhile.” He heard Charlie over the line talking to someone.


  “We’ll meet you there. Give us ten minutes.”

  Alex snorted. “Really? You think you’re going to make it through midday midtown in ten?”

  “It’s called lights and sirens. See you in ten.”

  Liam perked, and his pulse quickened at the sound of Charlie’s voice. What is happening to me? His fingers tingled from the remembered touch of last night’s walk along the shore. He will be here in ten minutes. He stared at his reflection, his hair tied back, dressed in borrowed clothes, his eyes bright. But like a brick to the head, he remembered the truth…. Charlie was glamoured. And while using his power had once given him value and kept him alive, now it made him sad.

  Inside, Frank, the doorman, dressed in dark blue with gold epaulets and brass buttons, greeted them with bad news. “Ms. Summer had to go out of town for a while. She left this and a set of keys. And you want to know the weirdest thing? And you know I love that woman.”

  “What’s that?” Alex asked, taking the envelope and keys.

  “She had a cat carrier with her, so I snuck a peek.”

  “And?” Jerod asked.

  “No cat…. Frog—huge. Just freaky. But a woman who looks like that…. She could have a cobra for a pet and no one would think twice.”

  “That’s Lance,” Alex said to Liam as they headed to the elevator. “Quite the good-looking man, and as frogs go, not hard on the eyes.”

  On the ride up, Alex slit open the envelope and read her note aloud.

  My dear Alex and Jerod:

  May is not done. She means to bring war. It is an ancient struggle, and I must take Lance and myself to safety. Were he in his human form, he would fight me on this. But frogs are easily tucked into pocketbooks and cat carriers, though he does fuss.

  That you’ve come seeking help underscores the truth of my words and the growing threat. Feel free to use my apartment and the texts you will find within. Alex, I have made arrangements for the expenses on your sister’s and mother’s—who is not really your mother, although she sort of is—apartment, so do not worry.

  I can give one answer, and because it is central to who may rule the fey, I believe it explains my sister’s choice to go into a salamander. They regenerate lost limbs. To rule the fey, one must be whole. And as we know, the travel between worlds takes pieces from us. For me, it was much of my magic, which is why I am no match for my sister, though I hope my travels with Lance might remedy that.

  Again, I apologize for needing to run, but sometimes that is the only course to take if one hopes to live and to fight another day.

  With love, always,

  Katye

  “That sucks,” Jerod said as he keyed into Katye Summer’s light-filled apartment.

  Liam stopped in the doorway and stared. “It’s like the inside of a seashell. So much pink.” Hundreds, if not thousands, of shades of that color, filled the space, from the inlaid rose marble in the foyer to the lavish but fading bouquet of peonies that dropped their petals on the carved table.

  “It suits her,” Alex said. “She’s crazy beautiful. People stop to get a second or third look at you, Liam, but she stops traffic… literally. Even when she’s old and withered, she’s mesmerizing.”

  They passed through the foyer into her living room with its soaring windows, which overlooked Central Park ten stories below. A spacious balcony with potted trees and a frog pond wrapped around the building’s corner. “I can’t believe she took off,” Alex said as his cell rang.

  “Alex, we’re downstairs. Can you let us up?”

  “Let me talk to the doorman.”

  He hung up and looked at Liam. “He’s bringing someone who wants to talk to you about the fire.”

  Liam smiled.

  “You really do like him,” Alex said.

  He nodded. “Yes. I would have died in that fire. He saved my life.”

  “That’s not what I’m saying…. Tell me, Liam Summer, are you capable of love?”

  Alex’s question burned. He thought of Uncle Cedric, who grew to love his Marilyn. He thought of his parents, who loved their son enough to die for him. “I do not know. I hope so.”

  Alex shook his head. “This is not going to end well.” And he headed back through the foyer and opened the door.

  CHARLIE AND Finn, who’d both been inside hundreds of Manhattan apartments and townhouses, were dumbstruck by the lavish pinkness of Katye Summer’s airy home.

  Charlie caught Liam’s eye. He grinned. “Liam, this is my friend Finn Hulain. He’s the marshal investigating the fire. He needs to talk to you.”

  Liam, increasingly used to the greeting customs of the See, walked up to the man with the flame-red hair. “I am Liam Summer.”

  “Good to meet you,” Finn said and shook his hand. The marshal struggled to find words between the drop-dead blond guy, whose bare ass had been all over the Internet, to the millions upon millions of dollars this apartment represented. Nothing here was in his comfort zone, including the two handsome young men, one who’d had his fifteen minutes of fame on a TV talent show, who stood holding hands as though it were the most natural thing.

  Charlie made the introductions as he tried to get a grip on their surroundings. “So what the hell does this friend of yours do?” he asked. He caught Alex’s eye and stopped himself from adding Or is this something you make out of magic?

  “I’ll show you,” Jerod said, letting go of Alex’s hand. “This way.” He led them into a two-story library with a coffered ceiling inset with murals of winged creatures, lovers in the woods, and sea monsters—half dolphin and half horse—pulling gods and goddesses in chariots.

  This room was not as pink as the others, with tufted red leather chairs arranged in groupings and the walls lined with books. “Here.” He crossed to two bookcases filled with hardcovers and paperbacks, all with the name Katye Summer on the spine. “She writes romance novels, like two or three a year, all bestsellers. A bunch have been made into chick-flick movies. She’s not hurting for cash.”

  “Are you related to her?” Finn asked Liam, torn between getting his answers about the fire and trying to make sense of what they were doing in this lavish apartment. Okay, so maybe this Katye Summer is his aunt or something. God, she’s written a lot of books. His eyes tracked up the shelves, as the titles and styles of the books shifted from the kind you get at the airport to ones bound in fabric and others with her name embossed in leather on the spine, which had to be more than a hundred years old.

  “Distantly, yes. But I’ve never met her.”

  This makes no sense. What is going on? He looked back at Alex and Jerod. “And you two?” he asked, trying to piece together the connections between the three young men and Charlie.

  Charlie sensed Finn’s confusion and had a pit-in-the gut foreboding. Worse even than the feel at Sunday dinner with Liam in the lion’s den of his family. He worried that Finn would think Liam had set the fire or that Liam would say something that would…. Crap. Not good.

  Liam stood by his side. “It’s okay, Charlie. I’ll answer your friend’s questions. Though we both know he’ll leave with more than he came.”

  “Why’s that?” Finn asked, noting the attraction between them and the odd impression that they were holding hands, but they weren’t.

  Liam smiled and met the redhead’s gaze. “Let’s find out.”

  Caught in Liam’s eyes, Finn couldn’t focus. “What’s happening?”

  Alex interjected, “Liam, stop it!”

  “Sorry. I will try.” He searched deep inside for the source of his glamour, like a wellspring in his chest.

  “What are you talking about?” Finn asked, feeling a fog in his head when he looked at Liam. He has such beautiful eyes.

  “I can have an effect on people,” Liam said. “I’m trying to not have it happen. Maybe it’s better you don’t look at me.”

  Finn was about to remark on Liam’s high opinion of himself. But he’s right. The guy is so beautiful.

  Charlie looked at Finn.
“You sure you want to do this? I wasn’t kidding about the rabbit hole.”

  Finn froze. He looked from Charlie, to Liam, to Jerod, to Alex, to… a little black fairy with butterfly wings and gold tattoos on her mostly naked body, smiling at him from Alex’s shoulder. “What the hell is that?” His finger shook as he pointed. “What is that?”

  Alex followed the direction of his gaze. “She’s not a what, but a who. You’re going to want to sit down for this.”

  FORTY-FIVE MINUTES later, Charlie’s cell startled them. It was Kyle Schmidt at the fire station, wondering what had happened to him.

  “I’m still with the marshal. Will be for another couple hours at least.”

  “Uh-huh…. Investigating Naked Chihuahua Guy?”

  “Schmidt, you’re a pig.”

  “Oink-oink, and you owe me, Fitzgerald.”

  He hung up and caught Finn slack-jawed and staring at Liam. His friend’s expression bordered on comical. His mouth opened like a landed fish, about to ask a question. Then he’d glimpse Nimby, and the question died before it made it to his lips.

  For his part, Liam was candid. He laid out all that he knew, which made things worse for Finn.

  “A salamander,” Finn finally muttered. “You’re saying that the fire on East Third was caused by something spit out of a fire-breathing salamander.”

  “Yes.” Liam smiled. He looked to Charlie. “You saw her too.”

  “I did, Finn.”

  The marshal tore his gaze from Liam. He looked to Charlie. “You got to help me out here.”

  Alex interrupted. “Finn, you saw my second-to-last performance on IT?”

  “Yeah, the one where… holy fuck me! The one where you did all that pyrotechnic stuff and….”

  “Just say it, Finn.”

  “Something came out of you. But that was special effects. That was….”

  Jerod walked over to Katye’s writing desk and booted up her computer, with its large curved-screen monitor. He clicked on her browser and flicked over to YouTube and the video of the performance. With nearly a billion hits, it was an Internet favorite with thousands of comments, which ranged from speculation on how it was done, to the power of love, to angry rants on how Alex had been robbed of the IT title because of some technical crap.