by Julie Wetzel
Vicky blanched under the queen’s intense gaze.
Darien laughed a warm, rich sound from behind her. “We’ll join you for the feast,” he answered. “Miss Westernly is my guest tonight, not my dinner.”
The blood rushed back to Vicky’s face at this answer.
The queen smiled at her again. “Very well, Kian.” The queen stood up. “We’ll make arrangements for you.” Lord Dakine held out his arm, and Lady Aine took it and let him walk her from the room.
Darien held out his arm for Vicky to take. Her mind was a little too overwhelmed to say anything.
Darien escorted Vicky out of the door and into the same bright meadow, but now there were long tables filled with the creatures that had been hidden in the halls.
Vicky looked over the things she had believed only existed in stories. Things with tentacles and wings beyond what she could ever have imagined. Small, winged creatures flew around their heads, giggling and talking to the host of fay.
“Cailín will join us for dinner,” one of the little people cried, and a whole flock of them came swarming over.
Vicky watched them with fascination.
“Lord Dakine granted cailín sight,” another called. “She sees us.”
Darien brushed the little people away from his face as they flew around, calling for Vicky. He followed Lord Dakine and Lady Aine to a long table and sat down across from them.
Vicky was drawn by the wonders and turned her head back and forth, trying to see everything around her.
“Will Kian Dubhlainn let cailín play with us now?” A small fay landed on Vicky’s head. The creature weighed no more than the butterfly it resembled.
“Not now, little one.” The queen spoke softly to the lesser fay. “Let cailín eat in peace.”
The fay pouted but turned away to find something else to entertain herself with for a while.
“You must forgive them.” Lady Aine smiled at Vicky. “They don’t often see mortals.” Vicky didn’t know what to say to this.
“They’re just so fascinating,” she said, looking around at the little bodies whizzing past.
Lady Aine laughed a musical sound. “I’m glad you are entertained. Please, enjoy what my land has to offer.” The queen waved her hand at the table of food laid out between them.
“Thank you,” Vicky answered and looked over the plates filled with wonderful things.
The feast commenced, and Vicky enjoyed the fruits of the Fairy Realm as Darien and Dakine talked about the outside world. It wasn’t long until two of the lesser fay brought Darien a goblet. Vicky chewed her food slowly as he took a sip from the cup. She still wasn’t used to him drinking blood, but she worked to keep it from bothering her.
“So what brings you to my table with a mortal woman, Kian Dubhlainn?” Lady Aine finally decided to come to the point of Darien’s visit.
“This.” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and held it out for the queen to take.
Lady Aine took the cloth and opened it up to see the small coin in its folds.
“There has been a rash of unexplained fires recently. This was found in Miss Westernly’s home after she became the most recent victim.”
Lord Dakine took the cloth from Lady Aine and wrinkled his nose in disgust.
“I believe this coin is responsible for the burn on Victoria’s hand,” Darien continued. “It’s a wound I haven’t been able to heal.”
Concern crossed both Lady Aine and Lord Dakine’s faces.
“Did you try Niall’s potion?” Dakine asked.
“Much to Miss Westernly’s chagrin.” Darien nodded his head. “It healed a little, but the wound is still fresh.”
Vicky listened intently as they talked about the fire and her hand.
“Let me see.” Dakine looked at Vicky.
She held her left palm out towards him.
Lord Dakine pulled it closer and touched the raw spot. “This isn’t good. It looks like the work of an ifrit.”
“I haven’t seen an ifrit in years.” Darien leaned forwards to look at the mark again. “Are you sure?”
“As sure as I can be from just this,” Lord Dakine said and released Vicky’s hand. “There’s nothing I can do to heal this wound. You’ll need to find the ifrit that’s marked her and bargain with him for her release.”
Vicky didn’t like the sound of that. “What’s an ifrit, and what do you mean by ‘bargain for my release’?” she asked as she looked at the mark on her hand.
“An ifrit is a fire jinn,” Darien explained.
She still didn’t know what an ifrit was.
“The burn is a brand that marks you as his,” Dakine answered. “The ifrit has claimed you for some reason and will be back for you.”
“Why would he claim me?” she asked, trying to understand what had happened.
“It depends on the ifrit.” Dakine shrugged. “Could be that he just likes you, but if there have been a lot of fires, that probably isn’t the case. More likely, someone who feels they have a claim on you could have offered you up as payment for something.”
The color drained from Vicky’s skin as she thought about this. Who could have a claim on her that would deal with a jinn, whatever that was?
“Is there something that we can do to stop it?” Darien asked.
“We should be able to track it back through the brand, but the fay aren’t able to handle something like this by ourselves.” Lord Dakine swirled his drink in his hand. “Our power isn’t what it used to be.”
“What if I could get the wolves and the vampires to help?” Darien asked.
“With all three groups together, we should be able to confront the culprit,” Dakine agreed. “Maybe it’s time to hold a council of the night.”
Their thoughts were interrupted when Vicky let out a surprised squeal. She had been too busy listening to the conversation to notice the lesser fay flying around. The small creatures had been refilling wine cups all evening. One slipped just as he flew over her head and spilt chilled wine down her back.
“That was not nice,” Lady Aine reprimanded the winged creature as it begged for Vicky’s forgiveness. “Take Kian Dubhlainn’s lady and clean her up.” The queen waved the lesser fay to Vicky, and they squealed in delight as she found herself pulled to her feet.
“We get to play with cailín!” the little fairies giggled and sang.
“Darien!” Vicky cried in panic.
“It’s okay, Victoria,” he calmed her. “They won’t hurt you.”
She was left to go with the fay as he turned back to his discussion with Lord Dakine.
***
“So, I’ll set everything up, and we’ll all meet under parlay,” Darien agreed. He and Lord Dakine had worked out all the details on how to get the three groups of supernatural beings together without killing each other. It would take all Darien’s diplomatic skills to convince everyone to work together, but it was necessary. There was no telling how much damage an ifrit on the loose could do.
“You have our support, Kian.” Lady Aine bowed her head slightly to the vampire.
Darien bowed back to her. “Thank you, My Lady.” He looked around for his missing assistant. “What has happened to Miss Westernly?” She had been gone an exceptionally long time.
Both Lord Dakine and Lady Aine looked around for any signs of the woman. Most of the lesser fay were missing also.
“I’m not sure.” Dakine stood up. “But, we had better go find out.”
Darien joined him and they bowed to Lady Aine as they left together.
“She has both my protection and yours, so she should be safe, but you know how the little ones love mortal women.”
Darien let out a knowing sigh. “I remember.” A seed of worry took root in his heart as his mind recalled the last time he had brought a mortal to the fay unprotected. She had come back out unharmed, but it had taken Darien three years to convince the lesser fay to release her.
Lord Dakine led Darien through a door in the side
of the chamber and down a hall. The men wound their way through the halls, looking for the lesser fay. Vicky would be where the greatest concentration of them were. It didn’t take long to hear the giggles and the songs of the little ones.
“Where is she?” Dakine asked the group.
They scattered, giggling, away from him. A path opened up that led them into another chamber. The two men stopped as soon as they walked through the door, and Darien let out a deep sigh. The lesser fay had done what they were told, but they had also found a hitch in her protection.
Darien walked over and looked down at his assistant sleeping upon the bed of flowers. Vicky was wrapped in a white, corseted gown. The sleeves attached at a point on the shoulders and split open to reveal the pale skin beneath. Bands held the material together at the wrists and elbows. The skirt of the silken dress was made of white scarves, attached by one corner to her waist. The fay had arranged them so they split up her leg to show off a long line of creamy thigh beneath. One of the fairies had attached a ring of silver flowers around her ankle.
But, it was not the clothing that had Darien sighing. Vicky had been fair before, but her skin was now kissed with moonlight, and her hair hung in golden curls to her waist.
Dakine stepped up next to Darien and looked down on the girl surrounded by giggling fairies. “I told you the magics didn’t mesh well.” He sighed regrettably, looking down at the medallion still resting on Vicky’s chest.
Darien reached down and petted the curls at her temple.
The fay giggled at him. A choral went up with instructions on how he should wake her up. “Kisses! Kisses! Kian Dubhlainn has to give cailín kisses!” The fay giggled.
Darien leaned over Vicky, and the fay urged him on with cries and laughter. “Miss Westernly, if you don’t wake up this instant, I will fire you.” His voice was soft with the threat.
Vicky’s eyes popped open as she pulled free of the fragile spell.
He stood up to the boos of the lesser fay.
Dakine laughed at the foiled attempts to humiliate the great vampire.
Unsure of what was going on, Vicky went to sit up and clutched her head as pain shot through it.
Darien dropped to sit on the bed next to her. “Careful there.” He pulled her over to lean against him. “Fighting off fay magic can be taxing.” Taking her hand from her head, he caressed her back lightly.
The fay squealed in delight.
Vicky curled her legs under her and sat in his arms until the pain and fog in her head cleared. “What happened?” she asked, when she became more aware of her surroundings.
“The little ones found you a delightful distraction,” Dakine answered from where he was watching.
Vicky looked down at the dress she was wearing, confused. “This isn’t what they gave me.” She lifted one of the scarves and looked at it.
Amusement slipped across Darien’s face. “Where’s her clothing?” he asked, and the fay giggled again.
A rain of scraps fell from the swarm of winged creatures. Vicky picked up a piece with a button on it. She gasped in horror as she recognized the button from her shirt.
Chuckling at the fay’s joke, Darien looked down as the soft gown Vicky was wearing. “I’m going to be very mad if this doesn’t survive outside the mound.” He glared up at the swirl of giggling beings.
“What do you mean?” Vicky asked, looking at the dress.
“Things inside the Fairy Realm don’t always survive the banality of the outside world.” Darien gestured to the dress. “Things like this.”
Vicky looked at the dress again. It looked solid, but it was the softest silk she had ever seen. “What is it made of?”
Darien stood up and held his hand out to her. “Spider silk.”
Vicky made a face and looked around for the eight-legged creatures. The fay giggled at her reaction. Embarrassment rushed over her, and she reached out to have Darien help her from the flower-filled bed.
“Where are my shoes?” Vicky asked as her feet touched the cold stone floor. She looked down to see one of her heels resting on the ground next to the bed. When she bent to pick it up, a dark tentacle shot out from under the bed and grabbed it. Screaming, she jumped back into Darien as she watched her shoe disappear into the darkness.
The fay zoomed around laughing in wicked delight.
Dakine laughed from behind Darien and stepped around the pair to look under the bed. “It’s just Zak,” he said and made a motion as if calling a dog. “Come on out here, boy.” Dakine patted the floor. “Give Kian Dubhlainn’s lady back her shoes.”
Vicky nearly climbed Darien when a ball of greenish-black tentacles wiggled out from under the bed. She watched in horror as the thing held on to her new shoes. She could see beady, little eyes staring at her as a mouth full of tiny, sharp teeth chewed on the toe of one of her heels.
“It’s all right,” Dakine said, motioning her over.
Vicky shook her head.
Darien laughed. “It’s okay.” He pushed her towards the doglike fay.
Vicky looked at the tentacles and teeth, then back at Darien as if he were kidding her.
“Go on.” He waved her towards it again.
Drumming up her courage, she went to where Dakine was petting one of the squirming tentacles.
Dakine reached up and took a hold of Vicky’s hand. “He won’t hurt you.” He pulled her down to touch the undulating mass.
She touched the creature hesitantly, expecting it to be slimy, but she found that it was soft and warm. The tentacles wiggled bonelessly under her hand. One feeler wrapped around Vicky’s hand playfully.
“Now give her back her shoes,” Dakine said to the creature.
Vicky looked at the shoe still in the thing’s mouth and the partially eaten toe. “He can keep it.” She waved the ruined shoe back to the creature.
It made a noise as if it was purring and rolled over, wrapping itself around Vicky’s leg.
She squealed and tried to back away from it.
“He likes you,” Dakine said as more of the tentacles reached for Vicky.
She tried to scrabble away, scared of the little creature clinging to her leg.
“Enough, Zak,” Dakine called the animal to heel. “You’re scaring the mortal.”
The small creature made a whining noise before releasing her leg.
The fay giggled as they flew around the ceiling.
Darien reached down to help Vicky to her feet. “That was very brave of you,” he complimented her as they both looked down at Zak moving on the floor.
Vicky laughed, slightly deranged by the experience. The entire visit was making her sanity slip just a little. She hadn’t even thought to question how her hair had gotten long, curly, or golden blonde.
“Now that the little ones have had their fun, let’s head back.” Dakine stood up and headed towards the door. “Lady Aine will be worried about you.”
Darien took Vicky’s hand in his left and patted the back of it with his right. “Just in case.” The fay giggled and swarmed around them as he led her out of the door behind Dakine.
Vicky felt something soft on her ankle and found Zak was following her closely with her chewed shoes.
***
Lord Dakine led them back into the bright light of the banquet hall. Lady Aine looked up when they entered and smiled at the rescued girl. “Fairy looks good on you.” The woman looked over the change the lesser fay had made. Lady Aine looked approvingly at the golden hair and fair skin, but it was the blue of summer skies that the fay had set in Vicky’s eyes she like the most. “You are most welcome to stay and enjoy our hospitality for as long as you like,” the queen offered.
“That will have to wait for later,” Darien intervened before Vicky could say something. “We need to be heading back so Miss Westernly can rest before work tomorrow.” He bowed to the lady.
“What?” Vicky asked. She didn’t understand what he was talking about. Was there something that needed taken care of on Saturda
y?
“Very well, Kian Dubhlainn,” Lady Aine tipped her head forward, acknowledging him.
Vicky picked her foot up where Zak was nuzzling her leg again.
The queen smiled at the small fay. “Looks like you had better go before you lose your lady to Zak.” The little creature’s tentacles had reached her knee. “I haven’t seen him this excited in a long time.”
Vicky was trying to keep the small creature from climbing up her leg. “Get down, Zak,” Lord Dakine called the creature to heel again. “That’s no way to treat a lady.” Zak whined before releasing Vicky’s leg and dropping to the floor next to her. Vicky let out a sigh of relief.
“Then we’ll take our leave of you this evening.” Darien bowed to the queen.
Vicky dropped another curtsy, and Darien led her out of the Fairy Realm.
Lady Aine watched the pair go. “It’s so nice to see Kian has finally found a pet.”
“He does seem to care for her greatly.” Lord Dakine responded. “The little ones were trying to get him to kiss her.”
“Oh, I wonder what mischief they have in store for Kian.” Lady Aine smiled wickedly. “I would love to be there if he does kiss her properly.”
Lord Dakine’s smile matched Lady Aine as they looked towards the door where Darien and Vicky had disappeared. “I’m sure we’ll hear about it from Odette.” Zak rolled around on the floor at Dakine’s feet, happily mauling Vicky’s abandoned shoes.
The brightly lit forest stood just a step in front of Darien, but he had paused before crossing into the real world. He looked over at his changed assistant and took a deep breath before stepping through the veil separating the two realms. Vicky gasped as the tingle of the barrier passed over her skin.
Darien was glad to see her clothing hadn’t melted away in the sun. Whatever glamour the lesser fay had used to change her looks also remained. He shook his head and released her hand so they could head back to the car. Now that she was out of the mound, she was safe again.
“Ouch.” Vicky cried as her bare foot met with a sweetgum ball.
Darien turned to see what had caused the woman pain. “Are you all right?”