Pixie-Led (Book 2 in the Twilight Court Series)

by Amy Sumida

  “You don't have to listen to rap music to know who Tupac is. The fellow is kind of hard to ignore,” he sniffed. “And I've always had a wonderful sense of humor.”

  “Yeah okay,” I said as we walked out of the elevator and down the hall to Councilman Murdock's office. “I'm just relieved that I don't have to worry about walking in on you pimp-posing while blasting rap music.”

  “Pimp-posing?” He asked.

  “You know,” I moved my arms up and down aggressively, from the shoulder, like rappers do. “Pimp-posing; the alpha male, I'm-a-bad-ass move. I love it when they add in the head nod, like they're telling the world; yep, I'm gangsta-fabulous.”

  “You're gangsta-fabulous,” he laughed.

  “You only think so because you saw me pimp-posing,” I nodded smugly.

  Before we could go in, the door to the council chambers opened and Councilman Murdock came out. “Ah, there you are,” he ushered us into the room. “I have the artist for you to work with.”

  “What's up, Princess Powerpuff?!” Councilman Karmen Simmel smiled broadly as he came over to give me a hug.

  “What's up, Councilman Karmen with a K?” I laughed.

  Councilman Karmen had gone through training with me and Abby. We didn't have the same classes since we were training to be Extinguishers but we had been pulled into each other's orbit until we finally gave in to fate and became friends. I hadn't seen him in forever and I quickly noted the changes, not only in his appearance but in his demeanor.

  When I'd known him, he was a teenager; snarky, easy to anger, and so very judgmental. He had a bit of a chip on his shoulder because being a councilman chosen from outside the five families was difficult but being a gay councilman chosen outside of the five families was a recipe for extreme teenage trauma. He'd been bullied... a lot.

  But the angry teenager was gone, replaced by a man who had somehow overcome the tribulations of those turbulent teen years and the rigorous council training to become a well-adjusted adult. His brown eyes were bright and warm, filled with an inner peace that seemed to radiate from him. He was taller too and dressed like a professional councilman; in a Brooks Brother's suit and tie. And yet, he was still the playful boy I'd known.

  “What are you doing here?” I flicked his suit-clad shoulder with my finger. “I thought you were assigned to somewhere exotic, like India.”

  “I was,” he shrugged and leaned against the council table, a sketchpad clutched to his side. “India was enlightening. I learned how to meditate.”

  “You should teach Brendan,” I grimaced and then shot an apologetic look to Murdock. “Sorry, Sir.”

  “My boy's a little angry over losing your affections, I'm afraid,” Murdock sighed. “He'll get over it.”

  “Losing her affections?!” Karmen chuckled. “Did Brendan Murdock ever have your affections?”

  “He thought he had a chance at them,” Councilman Murdock shook his head. “I think I'll leave you to it. I probably don't want to hear the rest of this exchange.”

  “Thank you, Sir,” I said and reached out to shake his hand. “We'll come by your office with the sketch when it's done.”

  “Excellent,” the head councilman shook my hand and then made a hasty retreat.

  “So you're a sketch artist?” I asked Karmen, an obvious ploy to get off the subject of Brendan.

  “Yep,” he grinned. “Didn't know I had multiple talents, did you?”

  “Seren's a little slow on the uptake sometimes,” Tiernan smirked and held his hand out to Karmen. “Count Tiernan Shadowcall, Lord of the Wild Hunt.”

  “Councilman Karmen Simmel, Lord of the Dance,” Karmen said with complete seriousness.

  “Pardon me?” Tiernan cocked his head. “I'm unfamiliar with that title.”

  “He's messing with you,” I giggled. “Lord Tiernan meet Councilman Karmen.”

  “With a K,” Karmen held his hands out as if he were presenting himself to an audience.

  “Oh, here we go,” I groaned.

  “Back up, Babe,” Karmen pulled a pencil from an inner pocket of his suit with a flourish and tapped the sketchpad with it. “It's about to get 50 shades of gay up in here.”

  “Oh sweet goddess,” I groaned. “Must you be a cliché?”

  “Excuse me, Princess Buttercup,” Karmen lifted a thick, dark brow. “But I am not a cliché. I have never been a cliché. If I were a cliché, could I do this?” He levitated off the floor and put his fists on his hips for good measure.

  “You realize, you're a flying gay man,” I said dryly. “And you're posing like Peter Pan.”

  “Well dang it,” Karmen floated down. “I guess all the men in this room are fairies.”

  “I'm not sure if I should be offended or not,” Tiernan frowned.

  “And Princess Buttercup?” I lifted my brow at Karmen. “Was that a reference to The Powerpuff Girls again or The Princess Bride?”

  “Both,” Karmen clapped. “Well done.”

  “But why exactly are you calling me weird princess names?” I asked.

  “Well it seemed rude to just come right out with the Twilight Princess jokes,” Karmen huffed. “Something like that needs a buildup. You need some foreplay. You don't just slam it home without any lube. You gotta tap it a little first. Tap, tap tap,” he tapped the end of his pencil against the tip of my nose.

  “I-I-I don't even... what?” Tiernan stuttered.

  “It's okay, Honey,” I gave Tiernan's shoulder a rub. “Karmen has that affect on people. Just roll with it.”

  “Now, Twilight Princess,” Karmen smiled wickedly. “Where shall I begin; Zelda or The Twilight Saga?”

  “Oh hell, I never even thought of Zelda,” I groaned.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “What mischief and mayhem are you about now?” Was the greeting I received from my Uncle Dylan Thorn; abdicated heir to the unseelie throne and brother to both my father and Uisdean. He was also the CEO of Gentry Technologies, Duke of the Unseelie Court, and holder of the keys to my father's San Francisco apartment. Which is why we were enduring his wrath.

  “Hello to you too, Uncle Dylan,” I grimaced.

  “You signed a contract in your father's name?” His normal eyes lost their glamor and the sapphire of his irises bled through the whites until they were entirely blue. He ran an elegant, pale hand through his short, shiny, onyx hair and exhaled slowly as he closed his eyes. When he opened them, they looked human once more.

  “It was the right thing to do,” I offered in my defense. “And I wasn't able to consult my dad.”

  “We don't contract our services to human companies,” Dylan growled and stood to face me and Tiernan.

  We'd been escorted up to his office within moments of arriving at Gentry. The receptionist, whom I'd caught making googly eyes at Uncle Dylan before, was only too happy to see us up to him herself. She grabbed some woman out of a back room and practically shoved her into her receptionist chair before smoothing her suit and smiling brightly at us. She fussed with her hair the entire way up to the thirty-third floor while Tiernan and I exchanged amused looks. She really shouldn't have bothered, Dylan's secretary (a twilight sidhe woman) wouldn't even let the poor woman touch Dylan's doorknob, much less announce us. The receptionist was sent packing with a sharp look.

  The stern secretary sniffed in satisfaction when the elevator doors shut on the sad receptionist, then picked up the phone to let Dylan know we'd arrived. Then she opened the door for us, giving me a demure curtsy and a murmured Your Highness as I passed.

  It was the first time I'd been in Dylan's office and I was a little curious. So even as he berated me, I surreptitiously looked around. It wasn't what I'd expected of a CEO's office. First off, it wasn't really an office, it was half of the top floor of the building. My father had an office right across the hall, which took up the remaining half.

  It was so large, I could have happily lived in the space. In fact, I suspected that Dylan did. Or rather, he was there so late every night tha
t he ended up sleeping there a lot. There was even a divan against one wall that looked like it could double as a bed. Carved ebony legs peeped out from under a thick, moss green mattress and matching pillows lounged against the painted wall. Painted as in a piece of art.

  Around the ebony bookcases, painted trees appeared to loom off the wall, while fey creatures peered around their trunks and flew through the air. A fairy forest stretched back, done so deftly, it felt as if you could walk right into it. The addition of numerous potted plants around the room helped with the illusion. Even Dylan's heavy, ebony desk was carved to appear as if it had grown right out of the grass green carpet. The only things preventing the artistic lie from becoming too convincing were the large windows giving an amazing view of San Francisco.

  I went back to admiring the artwork, noticing the subtle shafts of sunlight sifting through tree branches to spotlight the forest floor, and the ripe fruit hanging from weighted boughs. I spotted a tallywook sitting on a branch, smiling at me broadly, and instantly knew which part of Fairy had been portrayed.

  “The Unseelie Forest,” I exclaimed. “We were just there. I met a tallywook named Effra...” I trailed off when I saw Dylan's furious face.

  “Have you heard a word I've said?” Dylan's nostrils flared like a bull's as he breathed hard.

  “We're a bit fatigued, Your Highness,” Tiernan took over for me. “This business with Cailleach has been stressful.”

  “Callie can be a bit trying,” Dylan sighed and composed himself. “Don't do that again, Seren,” he handed me a set of keys. “You've opened up a hornet's nest of problems for us.”

  “The ecosystem was in danger,” I defended myself once more.

  “And there are other ways we could have helped,” Dylan said reasonably. “To make us accountable to humans was not wise.”

  “We aren't accountable,” I tried to explain. “I agreed that we'd do two research projects for them. That's it. You can handle the research any way you like. These aren't scientists we're dealing with, they're fisherman and concerned citizens. They need you because you know what you're doing. Just help them prove that this mine will wreck the environment, that's all. Isn't that what Gentry is about?”

  “Gentry performs research for the fey,” Dylan grumbled but I could see that I'd convinced him. “We look for advancements we could utilize in Fairy or ways we could merge science with our magic. We try to stay out of the affairs of this world.”

  “But why?” I shook my head. “Cailleach obviously cared enough to interfere. Why don't we?”

  “It's not about caring,” Dylan shook his head. “This is not our realm, Seren. This is the realm of Anu and we can't overstep our reach or we shall anger our goddess and her brother.”

  “I don't see why either one would be angry at us for helping to save the Earth,” I frowned.

  “Because it's not our place to save it,” Dylan sighed. “We are not the keepers of the Earth, the humans are. They must be responsible for it, it's part of their path, and to deny them the walking of it would be a great disservice to them.”

  “Oh,” I said simply and Tiernan took my hand.

  “It's to be expected that you'd want to help the humans, since you are part human,” Dylan laid a hand on my shoulder. “But we, as in Gentry Technologies, cannot interfere.”

  “Part human,” I whispered. “Gentry can't interfere but I can?”

  “Well, that's not what I meant,” Dylan's hand fell away.

  “But it's true, isn't it?” I thought over everything that had happened; my role as ambassador, my conversation with Danu, my meeting with ACF. “My blood gives me rights to both realms and my path is a precarious line between them,” I said with the tone of epiphany. “But I'll walk it, alone, if I have to.”

  “No,” Tiernan squeezed my hand to get my attention. “You will never walk alone. I don't care which gods I anger. I'll walk beside you wherever your path may lead.”

  “Thank you,” I whispered as my chest constricted with emotion.

  “As romantic as that declaration was,” Dylan drawled, “there may be places where Seren must go that you can't follow, Lord Tiernan.”

  “You can't just let us have one little moment?” I gave Dylan a nasty look.

  “Absolutely,” he waved his hand. “But if you're speaking blasphemy, I'd appreciate it if you had your moment outside of my office. Outside of Gentry in fact. Oh, just go away, you two are making me nauseous.”

  “Goodbye, Uncle Dylan,” I shook my head.

  “Thank you for your help, Your Highness,” Tiernan gave Dylan a courtly bow.

  “Do you need a ride to the apartment?” Dylan asked brusquely.

  “No,” I answered, “the Council has a driver waiting for us.”

  “Then get out!” Dylan snapped and we laughed as we left.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “I just need to lie down for a few minutes,” I said as we entered my father's penthouse apartment.

  It was modern with splashes of fairy. The furniture was bright crimson and the carpet was a dull gray, made to fade into the background. Floor-to-ceiling windows gave an amazing view of the city, blocked only by the balcony on one side, which was filled with a plethora of plants. The kitchen was steel and stone but in the center of the living room sat an amazing terrarium/aquarium, plants overflowing its glass box and fish swimming amongst the roots. It, along with the garden on the balcony, kept the room from becoming too human.

  To the right of the living room, I opened one of two doors and found myself in a lavish bedroom. It was done in tones of blue; cerulean bed linens, cobalt velvet drapes, and sapphire upholstered chairs. The bed boasted mirrored posters and mirrors also lined the side table as well as the dresser. My tired face stared back at me from a multitude of surfaces. Ugh, I wondered if they'd detract princess points if they caught me looking like this. I rolled my eyes at my numerous reflections and headed towards the back of the room. There was a door beside the bed and it led to the bathroom. I was hoping a shower would help.

  “Do you want me to order us some food?” Tiernan asked from the doorway.

  “Sure,” I looked back at him over my shoulder. “Do you think there's a place that'll deliver a fresh change of clothes?” I joked.

  “Actually, I believe that can be arranged,” he pulled out the Black American Express.

  “That would be amazing,” I smiled gratefully. “I'm gonna jump in the shower. Do you know my size?”

  “Darling,” he smirked, “I know every inch of your body, I could give them exact measurements if I had to.”

  “I don't know if that's flattering or unsettling,” I blinked.

  “I'll get this taken care of and then join you,” he promised with a wink and shut the bedroom door.

  I started pulling off my clothes; first my shoes, which fell to the gray carpet with dull plunks. I started to shove my jeans down but something was jabbing me. I slid my hand into a pocket and pulled out the shiny packet of chocolate that Cailleach had left for me. I shrugged. Why waste it? It would take awhile for dinner to get there.

  I opened the packet, the crinkly sound of it seeming loud in the silent room. A normal piece of chocolate was revealed, stamped with the Ghirardelli eagle and all. I gave it a sniff and didn't detect anything, then I broke it in half and inspected the pieces. It looked fine to me. So I stuck the square of chocolate into my mouth. Sweet, silky milk chocolaty goodness coated my tongue and I sighed, falling back on the bed. This was just what I needed, a little pick me up. I rubbed my tongue up against the melting square and tingles spread through me. I ended up snuggling into the silk comforter as I relaxed into the sensations. Chocolate had never tasted so heavenly. I was gonna have to buy me a bag of Ghirardelli before we left SF.

  Then I opened my eyes and found an old woman sitting on the bed beside me.

  “What the hell?” I jerked up and stared at her.

  “I may be a hag but I'm not from Hell,” she chided.

  She was w
earing a white veil, like a bride, but it was held on her head by a crown of dead branches. She pushed the veil up, over her head, and revealed a weathered face, gaunt and grim with blue-tinged skin. She had only one eye but it was a sparkling sky blue, beautiful and way too young for that face. In the spot where her left eye should have been, there was a closed and slightly sunken eyelid beneath a snowy eyebrow. A carrion crow sat on her left shoulder and it had cried when she lifted the veil, ruffling its feathers indignantly before settling down.

  “It's an expression,” I whispered. “Sorry, I've been trying to stop using it but it's too ingrained. I didn't mean that you were actually from Hell.”

  “Oh yes, of course,” she smiled softly, her wrinkles deepening. “Did you enjoy the chocolate?”

  “Yes, I... you enchanted it, didn't you?” I gave a self-deprecating huff.

  I should have known better than to just give the chocolate a cursory look. I mean, really, I'd just gone through that apple thing with Danu. Then there was my Extinguisher training; one of the first things they taught us was to never take food from fairies unless you were in their company as an invited guest. Then the rules of hospitality forbade them from enchanting you. Barring all of that, there was always the basic rule every child learns; never take candy from strangers. Damn but I was acting a fool lately.

  “Yes, I did. But don't concern yourself, it's merely a light enchantment. A temporary connection between us so I could talk with you,” the Blue Hag's smile went mischievous. “Are you enjoying my game?”

  “Not so much,” I narrowed my eyes on her. “Why are you doing this?”

  “Because someone has to,” she sighed deeply and the crow stirred again, cocking its head at me. “The humans are destroying the world. They spread like wildfire across the wilderness but unlike true fire, they do nothing for the land. They are more like salt, poisoning the soil until all is forever dead.”

  “Yes, some humans do horrible things to this world,” I agreed. “But it's not for you to fight them. Or punish them.”

  “I know,” she leaned closer. “It's your responsibility. That's why I've called you, Seren Firethorn.”