by Jill Nojack
"Ah, like children, then."
"As you say. Perhaps you should take a run at them. You've more experience in that area than either James or I do."
"If you don't have any success, I certainly will."
“And then, after we’ve rescued the one, we need to rescue your other child who’s trapped in a very different way. I’m so sorry, Sheila, for everything that’s happened.”
Tanji walked into the den, dropped the box of twigs, herbs, and colored twine they would use to make the pixie wards on the coffee table, and sat down on the couch next to pretend-Lizbet.
"Any ideas for on a movie while we knock out pixie wards?"
Lizbet shook her head, "You go ahead and choose."
Tanji checked her streaming movie queue and settled on a superhero flick, something escapist that didn't have magic in it. Once upon a time she enjoyed fantasy movies, but now that she understood magic and magical creatures, they seemed silly. Magic was both more and less than the way it was portrayed. Now that the fae had returned, the whole genre was going to need a makeover—and it certainly couldn't be called "fantasy" anymore.
She brought microwave popcorn and iced tea out to the table, and they worked silently while they watched the movie. Tanji tried to get some social going, but every time she did, “Lizbet” would reply with only "yes" or "no" or just nod. Dull. She wanted her friend back.
Whatever. Decent movie. Salty popcorn. The Queen wasn’t getting Lizbet into any trouble at the moment, and they were getting a lot of pixie wards done for the store, and that store was going to pay for her trip to Scotland to see Langoureth's country for herself. She tried hard to ignore the fact that her best friend was in serious danger and focus on other things. At least 'ol Queenie wasn't flying Lizbet's body around a couple of countries for her own nefarious purposes tonight.
Tanji's phone rang. When she looked at the caller information, she excused herself and went to her room to take the call.
"Yeah, I can get her back there. I think she's bored out of her mind anyway...okay, I'll try. See ya."
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Rescue Me
Tanji pulled her car into the driveway behind Mrs. Moore's SUV. Tanji watched Lizbet step out of the car regally—she had to admit that Morgan certainly had the bearing of a queen. She knew how to make everything look graceful and controlled. So completely not like her charge-right-into-the-situation and trip-on-the-way-in best friend.
The girls walked toward the front door, but they turned when a voice behind them called out, "Your majesty, I seek an audience. I’ve had communication from the elders." The speaker was Freoric.
Lizbet turned to Tanji and said, "Why don't you go ahead and go in. I'll just be a minute. Grab my blue pajamas. You know where they are."
"Sure, not a problem," Tanji said, as she continued to the front door and let herself in.
She hurried through the house and into the backyard. Everything looked pretty normal, except for the worried looks on the faces of human and fae alike.
She approached James and Eamon where they stood on the porch watching Sheila entertaining her son just in front of a small pup tent.
"She stopped outside to talk to Freoric. That elf gives me the willies. She'll probably be heading into the house soon," Tanji said to James.
"Okay then, it might work out better if I try to head her off," said James, "Let's just hope she's as into me as I think she is, or this is never going to work."
As James opened the front door and stepped out onto the walk, he wondered if he had the guts to pull it off. He had to convince Morgan that he thought she was Lizbet and that he couldn’t keep his hands off of her for another minute. It would take everything he had to betray Lizbet that way. He was tempted to try to call on some of Myrddin's magic instead, but there was a chance he would fail against someone as powerful as Morgan. It would also completely blow his cover. His only option was to play her and hope it worked.
"Lizbet?" he called out to the woman who was still engaged in an animated conversation with the elf.
She turned quickly at the sound of his voice. "Myrddin? What are you doing here?"
James pretended not to notice she'd called him Myrddin. "I couldn't stop thinking about you, and I realized that I just had to see you. I was disappointed when your mother told me you weren’t home, but when I found out Bobby may be in danger, I stayed to help."
"You couldn't stop thinking about me?"
As soon as she asked that question, James feared that nothing of Lizbet was still there within her body. Lizbet's only and immediate concern would have been Bobby, not her relationship with James. James steeled himself, walked to her, and took her hand. "You're all I ever think about."
Lizbet turned to the elf and said, "Freoric, we'll speak later. I’ve no need for you at the moment."
Freoric's eyes hardened, but he went to one knee and bowed his head, then stood, turned, and walked to a discreet distance at the side of the yard, continuing to stand guard. He kept his eyes to the street.
Satisfied that they now had their privacy, Morgan put her arms around James's neck and pulled him close. They kissed for a long time. James tried hard to forget he was kissing the woman who had replaced the girl he cared so much about. From Morgan's side, the kiss was passionate, from James's it was merely compliant, going through the motions.
Morgan pulled away from him, "What's wrong? I could feel you pulling away."
"Lizbet, I... I'm worried about Bobby. The gnomes have him trapped."
"Those ridiculous gnomes! I cannot bear gnomes. I should have gotten rid of them when I had the chance."
"I know, but Bobby really likes them, and now it's...they've used their magic to prevent him from leaving the yard. Eamon is trying to talk them into releasing him, but he's not having any luck so far. I think it's going to take someone with a lot more presence than a gruagach to handle the situation. I would be a lot less distracted if I knew Bobby was safe. I'm sure you would be, too."
Morgan responded teasingly, and she stroked her hand across his chest as she spoke, "If it would make you kiss me with passion, James, I'm sure I have the presence to handle that situation."
James watched Morgan's face change, quickly moving to an expression of false concern. She continued, "Yes, I love Bobby so much. I'm sure that I can help."
He turned toward the door then, still holding her hand to lead her. "I'm so glad you can help! We'll have more time together after this situation is fixed up. Staying away from you has been torture."
On the inside, James cringed with every word. He was more than grateful that mind reading was not a fae talent.
Morgan exited the house onto the patio, still holding James's hand. She looked into the back yard where Bobby and his mother were watching a video. Tanji was sitting in one of the patio chairs and did not appear to have collected Lizbet's bedclothes as instructed. Eamon came to her, went to one knee, and bowed his head.
"You may rise."
"Thank ye, mistress. Has James told you what happened?"
"He's told me that Bobby is trapped by the gnomes."
"Aye, they've used their magic to stick him in place with a barrier that only allows objects that are not Bobby to pass through. We can pass through and visit, but Bobby can't come out. As you can imagine, the boy's terrified. Your mother's got him calmed a bit now, but she can't live in the back yard forever. Neither of them can."
"Let me think for a minute how I could take him through the barrier. Certainly, I can break the magic of a huddle of gnomes."
"Aye, mistress, I know you can. We're all countin' on it."
She squeezed James’s hand, "I have it. It's simple."
Morgan walked toward the tent purposefully. As she did, she saw several gnomes run quickly to their burrow holes, shouting a warning to others, "the queen, the queen!" and then disappear inside. Once she’d freed Bobby to please James, she’d take care of the gnomes permanently. If she had to live, even for a brief time, in thi
s residence, she would no longer permit a gnome-infested garden.
When Morgan was in front of Bobby, she offered him her hand, "Bobby, take my hand. We're walking out of here."
Bobby took her hand and stood up. Morgan saw Sheila watching her closely, her expression guarded. She spoke as she hoped the girl would speak to her mother, "It's okay, mom. Bobby's safe with me. He always is."
Then, she walked toward the barrier with Bobby's hand in hers, secure in the knowledge that the ward she placed around him with her quiet chanting would prevent any magic from acting on him as long as she held his hand.
Eamon hoped that Lizbet was conscious enough inside her mind to realize what was happening. They'd laid all of their bets on Lizbet being strong enough to save herself from the queen if they provided the right kind of help.
He'd known it wouldn't be a pleasant thing to watch, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of the barrier. He glanced quickly at Sheila and then at James. Each of them was riveted in place, too, barely breathing.
Then it began.
Bobby went straight through and turned to tug on Lizbet’s hand with both of his as she hit the barrier. A look of struggle and pain appeared on her face as the boundary of her body blurred where it met the magical fence. Then she dug in and started to push through, tearing herself and Morgan apart, both of them screaming as their essences split from each other.
Eamon ran to her and grabbed her other hand as Lizbet strained to shed the queen's body. At the same time, James replaced Bobby and all three of them shouted encouragement to her as they helped her pull away from the fae who had inhabited her. It was only a matter of minutes, but to all of them, it felt like hours.
When she was through, she collapsed. Morgan fell to the ground behind her.
Sheila rushed forward with Bobby's sleeping bag to cover the elderly fae's nakedness. The gnomes had done their job perfectly. They’d changed the barrier to prevent only things that were part of Morgan from leaving.
After Sheila covered Morgan, she moved quickly outside of the barrier to go to her daughter who was now safe in James's arms. She touched Lizbet’s cheek and asked, "How are you? Are you okay?"
Lizbet smiled weakly at the friends and family whose faces, stiff with concern, surrounded her. "Really? That was the best plan you could come up with?"
James laughed. His Lizbet was back. Soon Sheila, Tanji, and Bobby joined in, everyone engaging in an awkward but effective group hug, expressions changing from concern to relief.
Once he saw that Lizbet was safe, Eamon went to the elderly woman he had served for so many, many years and cushioned her head on his lap, smoothing her hair. Her face was pale and feverish, her body stiffened by pain.
"Eamon, what have you done? I..."
"Mistress, I'm sorry. The gnomes let the magic pass through with Lizbet. Without the magic, I fear the same disease that killed the human side of you will now finish its course. I think you've very little time."
"I don't want to die, Eamon."
"I know. I’d hoped the disease had left you long ago, but we didn't have any choice that we knew for sure would save you. We couldn't leave the magic with you; it would be far too dangerous. It wasn't right what you did, to try to take over a life that didn't belong to you. You should have been content to share a part of what Lizbet and James will have together rather than try to bring Myrddin back to you."
"But the fae...they'll split apart without me to guide them, do you care nothing for them? The elves will go on the hunt for the gruagach again, as they did until I intervened all those years ago."
"Perhaps they will mistress. I have no way of knowing. I do know that once she becomes accustomed to the idea, Lizbet will make a kind and strong queen, just as you were a thousand years ago, before your sorrow destroyed you."
Eamon stayed with his mistress, holding her hand. It wasn’t long until she relaxed, and her spirit returned to the aether.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Bury Your Dead
When Lizbet materialized up the hill from the McShane farm, she felt a brief twinge of nostalgia. Back when she was just a regular girl, she'd depended on a bike to get her to this spot rather than riding the aether from Ohio to Scotland in moments. No going back, though. Being queen was the new normal, and she was learning to deal.
On the way down to the farm, she hoped the kind, elderly woman who had helped her only two months ago would be receptive to her request.
Lizbet knocked on the door tentatively and smiled when Mrs. McShane answered, "Hi...Mrs. McShane, do you remember me from when I was here before?"
"I do, lass. But I remember you better for freeing the fae. Who would have thought it? My father would have roared with joy. He was always a believer." Mrs. McShane stepped back from the door and beckoned her foward. "Come inside then. I'll get the tea, shall I?"
Once Mrs. McShane had Lizbet seated comfortably on the couch with a cup of tea for one hand and a sweet biscuit for the other, she said, "Now, lassie. To what do I owe this visit from a queen?"
"Well, do you remember we were looking for a grave when we were here before?"
"Aye, I do. And that you found what you were looking for."
"So, you were the one who told us that the Victorians called that grave the ‘fairy grave’, and they were pretty close to right. A powerful sorcerer who was half-fae was buried there. His name was Myrddin, but you would probably know him as Merlin."
"Och, now ye're just pulling me leg, lassie."
"No, it was Myrrdin. He's my friend James's half-fae, as it turns out, just as Morgan Le Fae was mine."
"It's an interesting history lesson, but I think you're not here to educate me on the history of the fae."
"No, I'm not. But I wanted to put some things in context for you, so that you would understand why I'm going to ask the really, really huge favor I've come here for."
"Might as well just say it, lassie, I'm not getting any younger while I wait."
"Yesterday, Morgan Le Fae passed away—we were separated from each other physically, and when we were, she didn't survive it. I and some of my friends would like to bring her back here to be with Myrddin who was the only love of her hundreds of years of life. We want to show our respects to her in the best way we can."
"That's quite a request, lass, but I'll honor my own father by telling you yes. He'd be well pleased to know that not just one but two fae are resting comfortably up there on the hill."
Lizbet went to the old woman and hugged her gently. "Thank you. It would have meant everything to her."
"How could a good Scots woman deny a request from the faery queen?"
“Thank you, Thomas, for helping with this. I didn’t have the first idea how to go about dressing Morgan’s body for burial,” Eamon said as Thomas wrapped Morgan’s body in linens soaked in herbs and fine mud, then ran his hands over the wraps to smooth it to her cold skin.
“I consider it an honor.” Thomas soaked another piece of cloth and repeated the operation. “She was Queen of the Fae. How could I refuse her?”
James brushed a piece of lint off his best and only suit, smoothed his hair, and put the packet of pixie dust in his pocket. Lizbet would need it to carry him, Eamon, and Morgan's body along with her on the aether. When they arrived in Scotland, it would be full dark, and they would have no worries of being discovered placing a new body in an old grave. This time, there would be no digging to disguise then they were done. Lizbet would use the power of the aether to place Morgan with Myrddin.
James planned a long, hard think when they returned. When the gnomes had removed Morgan from Lizbet, he’d realized that the gnomes could also help him. With sufficient motivation, they could create a barrier that allowed him to walk away from the magic that Thomas had forced upon him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
First Date
“Tom, I feel like the proud parent sending you out on your first date tonight. Are you sure you don’t want Lizbet and me to come along and keep you fro
m making a complete fool of yourself?” James asked from where he sat on the edge of the bed, watching Thomas make his final clothing check.
“Thanks, but I’d rather make a git of myself with as few people present as possible, if it’s fine with you.” Thomas gave a final glance at himself in the mirror on the back of the bedroom door and pushed back a curl that had fallen over his eye. “Anyway, her father’s going to be joining us, so no pressure there.”
James smiled and then leaned forward with a more serious expression, “I’m happy for you. I can tell you’re uncomfortable with this, but I think Tanji gets that. She may seem pushy, but that’s just surface. She knows you’ve spent six lifetimes as a monk. I’m sure she won’t try to rush things.”
“Maybe if I’d known her before this—in a lifetime when she wasn’t my great-aunt, I mean—I wouldn’t have been such a successful monk.” Thomas kept a straight face as he said it, then turned to James and burst into a grin, raising his hand, palm out, “High five, mate! I’ve got a date!”
Tanji ran past her father as he walked to answer the door when the doorbell rang. “I’ve got it, dad! It’s Thomas. He’s coming to dinner, remember?”
Ron turned and walked back to the den to finish his show, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. Like he could forget! He never would have believed his daughter could fall for the monkish type, but she’d begged for her father to allow a trial date and approve of Thomas despite the difference in their ages. When you have a force of nature for a daughter, it’s nearly impossible to resist her.
EPILOGUE
Season Of The Fall