Slumber

by Tamara Blake

  While he was gone, Ruby went to the window again and peered out. The breeze had picked up and the rose petals were beginning to whirl away in the wind. She thought about Shelley and her mother and wondered if they were thinking of her too. A wave of loneliness hit her. She missed them so much. She even missed their crummy trailer. God, I hope I’m doing the right thing. Please let this work out.

  Tam wasn’t gone long. He returned with his arms full of silky garments and a pair of strappy stilettos dangling off one finger. “Before we begin, you need the right clothes,” he told her. “No one at Cottingley would wear what you’re wearing, Ruby. No offense.”

  She looked down at her faded jeans and basic t-shirt. “None taken.”

  Tam grinned wickedly when she told him to turn around, as if her modesty amused him and he couldn’t be trusted. But he turned away while she changed into a beautiful designer dress, its buttery, whisper-soft fabric flawlessly hugging her curves. She toed out of her destroyed chucks and slipped her feet into the Louboutin stilettos. They also fit like they were custom made. She just hoped she wouldn’t break her neck tramping around Cottingley in five-inch heels.

  When she turned back around, Tam said nothing. But she could see admiration flash across his face. “Now for the spell. Stand in front of the mirror. That’s it. This won’t hurt a bit.”

  Ruby gazed at her reflection in the ornate full-length mirror while Tam’s fingers lightly stroked her hair. Shimmering warmth enveloped her, and right before her eyes, her messy hair transformed into a honey-toned curtain as smooth as glass. “What the…?” she breathed as he moved to her face. Her features altered under his touch, her eyes sparkling a bit brighter, her skin more velvety, her brows shaping to winged perfection, her lips pouting. It was her—and yet it wasn’t.

  She stared at herself in wonderment, and the stunning, model-esque creature in the mirror stared back. She’d wouldn’t have recognized herself if it weren’t for the awed trepidation on the girl’s face. “This is really disturbing,” she said.

  “I’m pretty good at casting the glamour,” said Tam with a touch of pride.

  “You’re like the Michael Phelps of glamour.” She could hardly tear away from her own reflection.

  “If that means I’m the best at what I do, then yeah.” Tam flicked an appreciative glance at her rear. He caught her watching him in the mirror and grinned.

  “Remember our deal,” she reminded him.

  “I don’t remember agreeing not to flirt occasionally.”

  She rolled her eyes. Of course, asking Tam not to flirt was like asking the sea to hold back the tide or Violet not to be a bitch, but still. Tam could have his pick of girls to flirt with.

  Yeah, said a voice at the back of her mind. And he picked you.

  “There’s a problem,” Ruby said, gesturing to her throat. The plunging neckline of the dress gave no cover to the ruby necklace. Tam offered a solution there too, handing her a crushed velvet scarf that she was able to wrap around her throat.

  “You’ll need a new name so Violet won’t clue in. We’ll pretend you’re a human I brought here for sex.”

  “That’s disgusting!”

  “No, it’s not. Anyway, none of the others will believe that I’d be entertaining a human for days on end if there wasn’t something in it for me.”

  Blech. “Do you often keep random people around just for hookups?”

  Tam opened the top drawer of the heavy oak bureau and pawed through the shirts. “Of course. It’s fun.”

  At least he was honest. “Is that why you were so nice to me the first day I was here? To try to get me in the sack?”

  He took a fawn-colored cashmere shirt out of the drawer. “If I wanted just to sleep with you, it would have happened. Most humans aren’t as interesting to talk to as you’ve been.” He stripped off the shirt he had on, revealing his cut torso. “Or as much trouble.”

  She tried to look stern, but there was something refreshing about his directness. When he raised his arms to pull the clean shirt on, she suddenly got really interested in examining the intricate carvings on the bedpost. She hoped the dings and notches didn’t indicate all the people Tam had slept with over the millennia.

  He didn’t seem to notice her sudden quiet. “Ready to go downstairs and meet the others?”

  “Do we have to? I thought we were going to sneak into Violet’s room and see if she’s hiding something there that can break the spell.”

  “No point. It’s only 2 p.m., so she’s still asleep. The easiest way to work around Violet is to blend in with the Cottingley way of life and find an opportunity when we know she’s busy doing something—or someone—else.”

  “Oh.” Blend in with the other Cottingley residents? Did he mean by acting as crazy as they did?

  “What’s wrong? Are you chickening out?”

  She thought of Mom and Shelley. “No. I’m not chickening out. Let’s go for it.”

  Mindful to walk carefully in the stilettos and avoid stepping on random bits of trash or treasure, she followed him downstairs. Voices drew them to the bar lounge where Tam had made her the deliciously-flavored coffee. Her mouth watered at the memory of it. The sofas had been pushed in a big U-shaped circle around a massive teak table loaded with flowers of every different kind. An odd smell filled the air: musk, a smoky char, and the greeny-floral scent of cut flowers. A group of teens—fairies, she reminded herself, since they all wore that impossible physical perfection she was beginning to recognize as glamour—were draped on the leather, toying with the stems and petals. Including the couple from the gallery party, Cosette and Ash.

  Oh shit! Will they recognize me?

  “Everyone, this is, um—” Tam paused, gave Ruby a questioning look.

  “Madison,” she supplied. “Hi.”

  She held her breath. Was it her imagination but did Ash do a double-take?

  Tam drew Ruby possessively to his side. “What’s going on?”

  “We’re playing a game,” said one of the guys, a gorgeous Asian with his hair spiked all over his head like an anime character. “It’s called Burn the Flowers.” He threw a handful of rose petals into a big silver bowl on the table, where they disappeared in a magical burst of flame. “If you miss, you have to do a forfeit.”

  How lame, crossed Ruby’s mind, but Tam laughed. “Does Aryenis know you’ve gotten into her garden?” he asked.

  “Nope.” Ash tossed a daisy into the fire while Cosette slid a possessive hand between his legs.

  “She’s going to be pissed off.”

  “Probably,” the Asian boy answered. He ripped the petals off an exotic purple bloom Ruby didn’t recognize. “That’s why it’s fun.”

  “Can’t argue with that.” Tam glanced at Ruby, then gave her a wink and said, “Hey, Madison, would you like a drink? I make a mean coffee.”

  Ruby felt a smile cross her lips. “I’ll have a cappuccino, thanks.”

  She caught the other fairies giving her and Tam sideways glances as he made the coffee and pressed it into her hand. What did they think of her? Did they see her as some kind of disposable plaything, someone Tam would get bored of and send back to real life after a couple of nights?

  Tam tugged Ruby down with him to the sofa, where the others made room for them. A lily found its way into her hand.

  She watched while the fairies took turns throwing flowers into the bowl and laughing while the pretty petals incinerated like it was the most hilarious thing ever. When it came to her turn, Ruby managed not to roll her eyes as she tossed a petal in. The Asian guy, however, missed.

  “Well, fuck,” he said.

  “Forfeit, Yukio! Forfeit!” the others yelled.

  Yukio sighed. “Just don’t make it stupid.”

  “You have to clean the kitchen,” Ash told him.

  “Aw Ash, man, that’s cold. The kitchen’s been lost for five years.” Tam draped a casual arm around Ruby’s shoulders and tucked her close
r to his side. She gave him a questioning look, which he returned with a gotta play the part, sweetie expression.

  “How about making Yukio tell Violet she smells like vomit,” shrieked an icy blonde girl fairy who Ruby vaguely recognized from the sextacular cuddle-puddle the first day she’d worked at Cottingley. The girl was even wearing the same turquoise lace teddie.

  “No, no, écoutez-moi, I got it,” Cosette giggled. “You have to be ugly for two whole days.”

  The other fairies gave a collective oooh.

  “Yeah, ugly!”

  “Ha ha ugly, that’s classic!”

  “Yukio, has to be an uggo for two whole days, I can’t even.”

  “Not only does he have to be ugly,” Cosette added, “but he has to be ugly and old.” An evil grin twisted her cupid-bow mouth.

  “Whaaat?” Yukio appealed to Tam. “C’mon, have them pick something else. That’s way too harsh.”

  Tam made a big show of considering his plea, scratching his chin and looking at the ceiling.

  Why do they always seem to defer to you? Ruby wondered.

  Tam shrugged. “Rules are rules, man.”

  Yukio grimaced. He stood up and took a deep breath. Ruby blinked as Yukio’s handsome features started morphing into a wrinkled old man with a bulbous nose, mismatched eyes, and empty gums. His athletic body shriveled with age until he was bent over like a question mark.

  “OHHHHHHH!” the fairies yelled. Then they busted up laughing.

  “Dude, don’t start cruising the retirement homes for chicks,” Ash catcalled.

  “Or leave your Depends lying around,” Cosette tittered.

  Yukio’s young voice came out of his old body. “This is so embarrassing.”

  Ruby couldn’t hold back a laugh. It was just too insane, Yukio scowling at them like an old man yelling at the kids to get off his lawn, his hipster clothes looking ridiculous on his withered frame.

  One of the boy fairies stood up. Ruby hadn’t caught his name. “Bet you can’t take a punch anymore, bro.” He gave Yukio a thump on his shoulder. Yukio staggered and fell over the girl fairy wearing the turquoise teddie.

  Without missing a beat, she lifted her leg and slammed her toe into his stomach. “Yeah, bet you can’t take a punch.”

  Yukio went flying and landed spread-eagled in front of the fireplace.

  Ruby gasped. She turned to Tam, expecting him to tell them to knock it off, but no emotion registered on his face as he regarded Yukio sprawled on the ground.

  The boy who hit Yukio first landed another kick to his prone body, which made him whimper and cover his head. Cosette and the other girl jumped up, laughing, and started kicking Yukio too. “You’re so old, Yukio!” the girl in the teddie squealed.

  “Damn, girls can be vicious,” Ash said to Tam, while Yukio curled into a fetal position to shield himself from the blows. “Skye is really giving it to him.”

  The girl in the teddie stomped on Yukio’s brittle ribs. Her skin gleamed with sweat and excitement.

  Nausea bubbled up inside Ruby. “Aren’t you going to stop them?” she said to Tam.

  Tam gave her a strained smile. “He’ll be fine, Madison.” Nuzzling her neck, he murmured, “He’ll be safer if I don’t try to interfere…”

  Yukio cried out.

  “But they’re hurting him!” Ruby got up and shoved the skimpily-dressed girl away before she could deliver a blow to Yukio’s spine. “Knock it off. You too, Cosette.” She swung around to the boy fairy and pushed him back too. “And you.”

  “What the hell’s your problem?” the guy fairy said.

  “My problem is you’re going to seriously hurt him.”

  “So?”

  “Yeah, so?” Skye was breathing heavily from the exertion, her teddie hanging loose to expose a breast.

  Ruby stared at them, appalled. Seriously? But they seemed really puzzled over why she would be concerned about someone getting hurt. Yukio took advantage of the lull by scrambling up and staggering out of the room.

  “Aw, now look what you’ve done, you’ve let him escape,” the boy fairy said in mild annoyance. “Can’t you control your human, Tam?”

  Tam grinned lazily. “Not this one. She’s special.”

  “In my opinion, chéri, your Madison needs an extra strong dose of the Slumber.” Cosette balefully rubbed her arm where Ruby shoved her.

  “No one asked your opinion, Cosette.”

  She made an irritated sound, but before she could snap a retort, Ash held out his hand to her. “Come on, baby, Tam can deal with his human. Let’s keep playing the game.”

  “We need more flowers,” Cosette said sulkily, plopping down on Ash’s lap and allowing herself to be mollified with a kiss.

  “There’s a bouquet in the hall,” Skye said. “I’ll get it.”

  Ruby didn’t want to start playing the stupid flower game again, but since Tam showed no inclination to leave she had to retake her seat next to him. “What’s the Slumber?” she muttered while they waited.

  “It’s sort of a spell but different,” he murmured in her ear like he was whispering sexy nothings. He draped his arm around her shoulders again and ran a finger sensuously down the side of her neck, making her stiffen.

  Ruby caught Ash’s appraising eyes on her, so she forced herself to snuggle into Tam and smile like a brainless bimbo. It wasn’t as hard as it should have been. “What do you mean, the Slumber’s not really a spell?”

  “It’s more like a side effect of being at Cottingley. We’ve been living here since the first colonial settlements. We think humans absorb the fae magic that’s been soaking into the property for hundreds of years and get, uh, spacey. Kind of the way sniffing marijuana smoke on your clothes can still pack a wallop.”

  “In other words, humans get high on magic just by being here.”

  “Yeah. The effect can be pretty strong depending on the person’s resistance and, um, other things. When people leave, they think anything that happened here was just a dream. And even if they don’t, who’s going to believe them?”

  Ruby remembered the girl in the emergency room who thought she broke her arm falling out of bed. “So you can talk to us like we’re your pets and do magic right in front of us, and we won’t remember. How convenient.”

  He thumbed her ear, which sent an unwilling shiver through her. “Blame the fact that humans are always trying to rationalize the unexplained. It’s not our fault that it works in our favor.”

  “Is it going to happen to me, this Slumber effect?”

  He lifted a shoulder. “Maybe. Or not. Magic is unpredictable. Now that you’re aware of it, you might be immune to the effects.”

  Ruby opened her mouth to ask him why awareness would make a difference, but at that moment Skye returned holding another bouquet of flowers, this time beautiful blood-red roses. The game continued. After the first round, where everyone’s flowers went poof in a puff of flame, Ruby’s carefully aimed petal somehow just missed the edge of the bowl. Her heart skipped a beat.

  “Forfeit! Forfeit!” the fairies hollered.

  “Make her fat with warts all over her face!” Skye screamed.

  The boy fairy’s face lit up with a predatory smile. “I wouldn’t mind if she gave us all lap dances.”

  “How about seeing if Madison can fly off the battlements?” Cosette murmured, sensuously circling Ash’s thigh with a fingertip.

  “Wouldn’t that, like, break her neck or something?”

  Ash spoke up. “Let Tam decide, since she’s his human.”

  Everyone expectantly turned to Tam.

  Ruby’s heart was jacking against her ribs. She was completely at Tam’s mercy, but that had to be better than letting the other fairies determine whatever psycho forfeit their twisted minds could devise. Right?

  Tam’s lips curled into a smile. “I think Madison’s punishment should be…to kiss me.”

  The others rolled their eyes. “That
doesn’t sound like a punishment at all,” Skye pouted.

  “Trust me, it is.”

  “Est-ce vrai?” Cosette murmured. “But why?”

  Ruby’s eyes locked onto Tam’s. There was a challenge in them, plus amusement. He’d leaned back into the leather. Waiting.

  “Just get it over with so we can keep playing,” Skye said impatiently.

  Fine. Ruby leaned into Tam and pressed her lips into his.

  His lips parted, and the kiss deepened. Oh holy cow, Tam kissed like Hendrix played guitar, with complete and utter awesomeness, and the kiss he was giving her now was every bit as good as the one at the art gallery. She felt her body melt into his while his palms ran down her back.

  Applause pierced the fog of bliss misting her senses, and she broke away, gasping, to see Skye and the other boy groping each other.

  “Mmm, Tam, chère, your human knows how to give quite the performance,” Cosette said while Ash’s hands quested up the hem of her dress. “You should take care not let her get away from you.”

  Tam’s black eyes never left Ruby’s. They sparked with a knowing gleam. “Believe me, I’m working on it,” he said.

  Ruby’s cheeks burned with humiliation and anger. The door to the lounge thumped open, and Aryenis ran into the room.

  “Oh shit, busted,” the boy fairy stage-whispered, while the others giggled.

  Aryenis snatched up the remaining roses, fury and shock on her face. She cradled the mangled bouquet to her chest like it was a wounded kitten and wiped a tear away from her cheek. Then, with an accusatory glare at all of them, she ran back out of the room, snickers following her.

  “What was that all about?” Ruby asked Tam. The others had got up and started drifting away now that the game was over.

  “Aryenis doesn’t like anyone messing with her flowers.”

  “Then why do it if it’s going to upset her so much?”

  “Because it’s fun. It’s not as if she’s going to yell at us or anything.”

  “But—”

  “Best not to ask, Ruby.” Tam’s earlier playfulness was gone. “Seriously. The less you know about us, the better it will be for you in the end.”