by CC Dragon
“Okay, I’ll try. Might take a bit of trial and error,” she said.
“Let us know when you get something. Any update on Green?” I asked.
“Meetings and grouchy. If I mention your name, he waves it off. Sorry,” she said.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m wondering if it was a spell, and he’s just confused,” I replied.
“Possibly someone was trying to scare you away from the Shadowmen,” Mason agreed.
“I’ll also search for underground energy pockets. If I can tap into the geological surveys, it might give off a Fae hill in progress,” Zel said.
“Great. Did they close the cases on the human trafficking?” I asked.
“Yes, the missing kids is ongoing, but nothing new has come up that fits the profile of the case, so it’s not actively worked,” she replied.
I shook my head. “They system is the system.”
“Are you saying the Shadowmen are real?” Zel asked.
“Very and active. Not big in numbers but power,” I acknowledged.
She sighed. “You’re not coming back, are you?”
I looked at Mason. “I don’t think they’d let me. They’ll figure out an excuse to fire me or the timetable for my leave will run out, and I’ll be quickly dismissed.”
“You’re just going to ride it out? Not fight?” Zel asked.
“I doubt there is a reason to fight. I’ll make use of your help as long as you’re willing, official or not. Don’t hate me but I can do more from here without the FBI rules,” I said.
“Never. I’m just going to miss you.” Her voice quivered a bit.
“Me too, but I’m not going away. I’ll be in Alaska somewhere,” I said.
“Okay, I’ll get to work and let you know. I’ll feed you the info as it comes in, but it might take a little bit. I’ll work my magic as best I can.” She hung up.
I ended the call. “Think she knows about us?”
“Us? What are we?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Something that will piss off your mother, I’m pretty sure. Margo will be pleased.”
He laughed. “Definitely. But I think that’s why my mom never really liked you. She tried to be nice at first, but she knew you were it. Once you were accepted here, she’d never be rid of you.”
“She knew I was it? What’s it?” I asked.
“The one I wanted. She couldn’t shake you. Nothing scares you away from this place. You belong here,” he said with smile.
“How would the Fae not know if another hill was being built? Wouldn’t they feel it? Don’t they communicate with each other?” I asked.
Mason smiled. “Workaholic. You won’t change.”
“Being half Shadowman means I should change?” I asked.
“No, that’s what I love about you.” Mason smiled. “But your approach might need to adjust since you won’t be FBI for long. It also really doesn’t mean anything to other paras. Human law enforcement isn’t much of a threat. You need to own your own power, not be defined by a badge.”
“You’re right.” I hugged him.
Two days later, we had enough blips on a map that we roughly knew there was another Fae hill being built in Alaska. It takes a lot of energy, and they were working hard.
“Where is it?” I asked.
“We’re not sure where the Fae hill is. It might be in the center of the changeling activity. That’d be my first guess,” Zel said.
“We’re going Fae hunting,” Mason sighed.
“That won’t be easy. They hide from this side well,” Zel said.
“Got it. Thanks for the help, Zel. Might as well get started.” I ended the call.
“I thought it would be closer to us.” Mason studied the map.
I nodded. “The center is southeast of Anchorage. Weird.”
“Drive, fly, or magic?” Mason asked.
“Why waste gas?” I asked.
He grabbed my hand. “Use my tracking to get there.”
I smiled. “We’re a good team.” I linked our powers and found ourselves in the middle of nowhere.
I touched the ground and felt for magic. Mason tracked and channeled his own powers, but we kept coming up empty. We worked in circles out from our main point and covered acres before we flopped into the snow.
Mason walked over. “Giving up?” he asked.
“I don’t feel a blip of Fae magic around. If they’re planning something around here, they haven’t started at all.” I shook my head.
“You think it’ll be here?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Who knows. Too bad we don’t have some warning system.”
“Magic sensors.” He laughed.
“Fae detectors at least. I wonder.” I snapped and found a cavern under the ground.
“Dot,” Mason called.
I drew him down to me in the cavern.
“What’s this about?” he asked.
“How far can wendigo feel?” I asked.
Mason shrugged. “I don’t know. They don’t really talk.”
I closed my eyes and willed three wendigos to join us.
The trio shrieked. I was learning to tune out their noise—it seemed to be all they could do. They certainly didn’t appear to be in any pain.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I need you to help me,” I said.
I reached for them, and they recoiled.
“I promise, no pain,” I said.
I touched the arm of one, and he cowered, bowing. I heard his thoughts, his fears.
“Can you sense Fae?” I asked.
Yes, but we serve Shadowmen, like you.
“I want you to serve me here. I want you to wait and feel. If you feel the Fae around here, you call to me. Can you do that?” I asked.
We’d need a connection.
“You can bite me, but it won’t hurt me,” I said.
We’d never hurt you.
“You can’t, or I’d kill you. You wouldn’t hurt Mason, either,” I added.
Never hurt. Alert you to Fae.
“Dot, are you having them hurt the Fae?” Mason asked.
“No, but can they?” I asked.
We can bite and scare them. If you wish…
“Sure. But alert us first, so we’re here quickly. They may not settle here, but I need to know, and I can’t watch all of Alaska at the same time,” I said.
We’re grateful to serve.
“Don’t tell anyone about this,” I said.
No, never.
I looked at Mason. “They’ll help.”
“We should rattle Gil’s cage too. See what she knows,” Mason said.
I nodded and grabbed his hand.
Chapter Eight
“The Fae stone ring is gone,” Mason said.
I looked around. “Did I bring us to the wrong spot? My powers aren’t perfect.”
“No, it’s the right place. They moved.” Mason shook his head.
“Moved?” I looked around the vast open space. Alaska had tons of room on the surface. “Off tribal lands, I hope.”
“I would assume so. You basically threatened them. They probably moved off of all Native lands, not just ours,” he said.
I scoffed. “I didn’t threaten them that much. I just wanted them to understand they can’t win. I was bullied and rejected so much by them. Every time I just wanted to learn about that side of who I was—nope. Now, they don’t have a choice.”
“Well, they do. They moved.” Mason closed his eyes. “Off our lands. Inland a bit.”
I grabbed his hand. “Let’s go.”
It took two tries, but we found the ring.
“Don’t be so scary,” he said.
I frowned. “I’m not scary. I’m just not going to be pushed around when I finally have the advantage. Now I know my true nature and they will lose in a fight. I like not being the misfit loser for a change.”
“Your shadow magic is insanely powerful, but you get very dark when you tap into it,” he said.
“Good, if t
hey are scared, that’s good.” I shrugged it off. “I’d never hurt you.”
“I know that, but…” Mason took a deep breath. “We can go into detail later.”
“Detail? I’m not going to become one of those weirdos wearing a cloak. I’m not going to steal kids or suck power from innocent humans or paras. There’s no fighting that I’m half Shadowmen and that comes with powers. I can still be my own person.” I stepped onto the ring.
There was a blip, but I closed my eyes and pushed right through. They could try to keep me out but I wasn’t going to let them. Force and power were on my side. I stood at the outskirts of town. Mason was right behind me.
“They didn’t try to block you?” I asked.
He shook his head no just as Gileal appeared.
“No, we don’t need you around again. You’re not welcome here,” she said.
“You moved fast. That’s a lot of wasted energy,” I replied.
“We will not be subject to the rules of Natives by sharing their land. Nor will we be intimidated by Shadowmen. We had an agreement, but with you around,” she said.
“Me?” I asked innocently. “You’re afraid of little old me?”
“You think I’m in charge? I respect the Natives and their elders,” I said.
“For how long? You’re stronger than they are. If you don’t agree on something, are you going to bully them? Put them down? I won’t let you,” I demanded.
“And Dot is the one who brought in a Thunderbird to protect us from others. No one feels threatened but you, Gil. Not with Dot around,” Mason replied.
Gil looked down her nose at us. “Independence is best for both of our groups given the situation. You have found more changelings?”
Mason showed her a map.
“That’s a lot. As I said, we’re not behind it. I suggest, you stay out of it.” Gil folded her arms.
“There are dozens of children being swapped out or stolen. This is your problem. Maybe it’s not your group, but it is your people. Fae are doing this,” I said.
“We will handle it internally. It’s not your concern.” She nodded.
“It absolutely is when you’re taking innocent human kids from their families,” I shot back.
She got in my face. “We will handle it, our way. Back off and don’t approach us again.” She glared at me.
“Or you’ll what?” I asked.
Gileal disappeared.
“Let’s go find her,” I said.
Mason held my hand. “No, this is what I mean. Your eyes go dark. You threaten people.”
“She threatened us. She’s threatening those kids. Internally—that’s crap.” I wanted to wring her neck.
Mason looked into my eyes. “Dot, you can use your Shadow magic for good. You’re very strong. But you can’t let yourself get out of control.”
“I know. I wasn’t going to hurt her.” I shook my head.
“Dot, if you go too far, you could slip into the Shadow realm.”
I laughed. “The what?”
“Like the Fae underworld, the Shadowmen have their own realm. They didn’t tell you about it when we met, which is why I can’t fully trust them. I’ve never been there, but it’s part of their mythos and history. They care about saving Earth, but they can escape to the shadow realm and exist there. Most people believe the majority of Shadowmen have slipped there over the centuries because they lost control and the shadow realm sucked them in for containment—so they didn’t upset the balance on Earth or destroy it. In the realm, they can recharge their powers, without any worries about Earth. It’s supposedly dull, only Shadowmen I suppose.”
“If they have this powerful home, why bother with Earth?” I asked.
“That’s their playground. Also, reproduction and whether it’s people to play with or torture…or saving the Earth, they aren’t as limited as anyone. But if you slip there without intending, you may not be able to get back,” he warned.
“Why didn’t the Shadowmen invite me there?” I asked.
He laughed. “It’s not necessarily a good place. The problem with Shadowmen is they can lose their humanity, their sense of right and wrong, because of all that power. You have half Fae, so they probably weren’t worried about you slipping there. But you use your power for the wrong reasons or become a real danger, and they could trap you there…”
“I use my power for good reasons,” I insisted.
“Yes, but if you can’t control yourself, you could use it all. Pulling more, digging deep into the Shadow magic might make you fall into their realm and be trapped. You’d be at the mercy of stronger Shadowmen,” he explained.
I nodded. “Okay, I get it. I want to stay on this realm.”
“Good. Now the Fae are off our land. They are aware of the changeling problem continuing. Let’s give them a chance to do the right thing. Why don’t we go to dinner in the village?” he asked.
“Your village? Like a date?” I asked.
He smiled. “Sooner or later, they’ll have to know.”
“Will they be mad at me for getting rid of the Fae?” I asked.
“No, they thought the Fae might help protect us, strength in numbers, but the Fae are selfish creatures. They wanted a safe space. They share the desire to recharge and protect the Earth, but obviously, they are willing to go about it in very dubious ways. Harming children, para or human, that is unacceptable. When they hear about the changelings and how Gil acted about them—it’ll be fine. The Thunderbird is a better ally.”
I smiled. “At least I did one thing right.”
Chapter Nine
I tried to be extra quiet sneaking off to the washroom. We’d ended up back at Margo’s house, and I didn’t want to wake anyone. The darkness lasted longer now, and I returned to the bedroom to get dressed.
“Going to try and sneak me out?” Mason asked.
I laughed. “Please, it’s all over the village by now. Margo is always cooking for us. I want to make her breakfast.”
“I can help. You don’t seem that domestic,” Mason said.
“I have magic,” I countered.
“Magic isn’t the answer to everything,” he argued.
“But this is nice magic. Good magic… Pancake magic,” I replied.
Tossing on clothes, I searched for my hair tie.
“Pancakes?” he asked.
I found my hair tie, along with my phone, on the floor. I brushed my hair and fixed it in a ponytail before checking messages.
“Nothing from Zel or Green. I swear, I’m ready to quit law enforcement and go rogue. Come on, pancakes.” I grabbed the blanket and tugged it off of him.
“We have no more leads. We could just sleep in.” He got up grudgingly.
“And right there, you have just jinxed our day off. Now someone will call or your mother will decide to torture me,” I predicted.
“Considering how many bridges you’re burning, she has the rest of her life to torture you. Mom plays the long game,” he teased.
“This is starting to feel more like home.” I tugged on socks. “Okay, time to magically cook.”
I headed downstairs as he got dressed. Setting the table, I magically conjured pancakes, bacon, and syrup.
Mason was down in a moment, and he started coffee the human way.
“I heard Margo moving around. I told her breakfast was ready. You really went straight magic,” he said.
I shrugged. “Saves on the cleanup too.”
Margo puttered down. “Well, isn’t this nice?”
“Hope you like pancakes,” I said.
“I do. And you did it without touching a bowl.” Margo nodded. “Magic practice is good, but you don’t want to get too lazy.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I teased.
We sat down as the coffee brewed and began eating.
“The Fae are gone?” Margo asked.
I nodded with my mouth full. “Changelings.”
“Shame. They can’t seem to resist using their powers to benefit themselv
es and to the detriment of humans.” Margo went over and grabbed the coffee just as the cycle ended.
Mason got the mugs, and she poured.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Don’t let your magic go to your head,” Margo said.
I nodded. “I’m sure you and Mason will keep that from happening.”
“I hope so. Everyone will talk about you two,” she fussed.
“Don’t tell me the village is that old fashioned?” I asked.
Mason shrugged. “More like we’re not being overly discrete, but you’re also not one of us.”
“Do they want another Thunderbird?” I asked.
Mason and Margo rolled their eyes at me.
“It’s about respect, not gifts or powers. But you’re not sleeping around the village, and you’ve known Mason for a long time. This is how things were meant to be. It took time, but you didn’t rush things early or write each other off. It’s good,” she said.
“Tell his mom that, please,” I said.
Margo nodded. “I will. The elders have already approved.”
“Approved what?” Mason asked.
My phone rang, and I fished it out of my pocket and answered it.
“Hi, this is Lt. Morrow with the Bethel PD. I believe we have some acquaintances in common,” she said.
“Okay,” I replied.
“We have a case that I think falls into your area of expertise. I know you were working on the missing kids. We have a case that has more of a twist that you have addressed.” She was talking around the magical troll in the room.
“Sure.” I added more syrup to my pancakes.
“Does that mean you’re willing to consult?” she asked.
“Are you Fae?” I asked.
“I’m not sure I can answer that,” she replied.
“You’re the one who was spying on me for the Fae?” I asked.
Mason frowned.
“I’m sorry. I’m not exactly what you think,” she stumbled over her explanation.
“So, you’re only half? Hybrids aren’t well regarded. Why would you help them?” I asked.
“I’m human. What other advantages do I have?” she asked.
I shrugged. “No one gave me any contact or concern. Why you?”