by Riana Lucas
Reed comes to stand next to me and peers down at the cursing Faery. “She seems upset.”
“Yes. I think she is.”
He walks around her looking down at her body, “So how does the spell that you put on her work?”
“She is unable to move unless I instruct her otherwise. She can speak, but that is all. Her body feels as if it is restrained.” I smile, satisfied with my handiwork.
The Faery chooses this moment to not curse but speak directly to Reed, “I am right here, you know. I can hear you talking about me,” she sneers.
Reed looks uncomfortable and walks further away from her, nodding his head to indicate I should follow. Then in a lower voice he continues, “How are we going to get her around if she can’t move?”
“I can command her to walk and she will.”
“Well that’s handy. So what do we need these for?” He holds up the vines in question.
“I am not sure how strong her magic is. If she is able to overpower my spell and become free, she will still be tied by the vines. It will give us time to cast another spell on her or come up with something else.”
Reed listens to my explanation and then begins to walk toward our hostage, “Okay. You take her hands and I’ll do her feet. I really need to sit down for a minute after this. My head is killing me.” He hands me one of the long vines and takes his down to her feet. We flip her over so I can bind her hands behind her back. I watch Reed for a moment to make sure the knots he is tying are secure and tight enough. When I am satisfied, I quickly complete my task of securing her hands tightly behind her back.
She continues to curse and threaten both of us, describing all of the interesting ways that she will kill us when she gets the chance. I look up at Reed and catch him rolling his eyes. I see that her threats are not fazing him anymore than they are me. I find myself being proud at him in this moment. He has shown bravery and intelligence, along with great resilience. He has trusted me and himself in this situation. I know that he will make a very strong Faery one day soon.
We both finish and move back to stand beside each other once again. “She is really starting to get on my nerves. Her yelling is making my head pound. Do you think we can gag her or something….just ‘till my headache goes away?” He asks in a pleading voice that makes me laugh.
I walk over to my satchel that is still resting behind the tree where I wiped Reed’s face. I reach in for another piece of my shirt and walk toward the Fae. She sees my intent and narrows her eyes in warning. I raise one eyebrow at her empty threat. I ball the piece of fabric up. “Don’t you even think…” her words are cut off as I stuff it in her mouth. “Yes, we can.” I tell Reed smugly. We can still hear grunting, but it is muffled and much quieter now.
I walk over to a nearby tree and sit in front of it leaning back against the rough bark and close my eyes. “Now we will rest for a few more moments. I would like to find some water to get cleaned up too. We are both covered in sweat, dirt, and blood. Then, once we are finished with those things, we can start the interrogation.”
My mind begins to wander, reveling in all the ways that I will extract information for the Faery. A slow smile spreads across my face at the thought of the pain that I intend to inflict.
Chapter 11
“Umm, Poppy? I don’t think I like that smile on your face. What are you talking about, interrogation?”
“I fully intend to find out what the Faery wanted with us, however I need to do it,” I narrow my eyes in her direction before returning my focus on Reed, “but for now I am going to find some water. I will be right back.”
I heard what sounded like water when we first arrived in the area so I head in that direction and it only takes me a few minutes to find a small stream. It is not large enough to get into, but it will work for now.
I sit down on my knees and bend over the stream gathering water in my hands and splashing in on my face. The water is cool and refreshing and feels so good on my bruised face. I lightly wash all the blood from my face and hands and dump some on my hair to get the sweat and blood from my hair line. This will have to do for now. Maybe tomorrow we will find a bigger body of water that we can bathe in again. Then I will be able to better assess the damage that was done.
I finish up and head back to Reed. He is resting at the tree where I left him. His head is tilted back against the tree trunk and his eyes are closed. I approach quietly, thinking he is asleep, but then his eyes slowly open and he looks me over. “You look better. I take it you found some water?”
“Yes, just a few yards in that direction.” I gesture back toward the way I just come from. “It is not a lot, but it will make you feel much better. Make sure you wash the back of your head too. There is some dried blood mixed in with your hair.”
He groans as he gets up, using the tree for support. “Thanks. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He begins walking, still a bit awkwardly, but managing better than before. He is only a few feet away when he stops and turns back to me with a stern look, “Don’t start interrogating her until I get back.”
I chuckle, “Okay. I will wait so that you may help.”
He shakes his head at me and continues walking.
I take the time that Reed is cleaning up to close my eyes and rest. My body aches all over and I am starting to feel completely exhausted, but I know that I do not have time to focus on my own needs. Instead I take the time while my body rests, to allow my mind to work. I have to find out who sent this Faery and what they wanted with me. I need to know if there are others following behind her or if she was working alone. Once that is determined, Reed and I must find our way to where Damien instructed us to go. I will only completely be recovered once I reach Faery Land. I need to recuperate and I need to check on Rho.
After a few minutes of peace and relaxation, I hear Reed approaching. I open my eyes and watch him as he makes his way to me. His hair is wet, but it looks like he got all of the blood out. His face is clean and fresh looking as well. The pain in his eyes has begun to fade some. I know that his head must still hurt severely, but he is only showing strength.
I stand and walk over to a small plant with tiny white flowers on it. I pick a few and take them over to Reed. “Eat these. They are healthy and will help to make your headache go away.”
He takes them from my hand and looks over them before quickly putting them in his mouth. “What are these, like natures own aspirin or something?” He grins at his own question.
“Yes, something like that.” I tilt my head to study him for a moment. No matter what problems come up or danger this Halfling is in, he still manages to fine laughter in every situation. It is puzzling.
“What? Why are you studying me like some sort of science experiment?”
“Why are you so happy all of the time?” I did not mean to ask, but I had been so curious I could not hold the question back any longer.
His smile fades just a bit but he answers. “Life isn’t always easy. But if you can find the humor in things, it makes it much more bearable.”
“Huh.” Is all I say. Now he looks at me in puzzlement, but a groan from behind us reminds me of more pressing matters. I turn to the Fae lying on the ground and my mood shifts to anger. I rub my hands together in anticipation while asking Reed, “Do you feel up to finding out what this Faery was hunting us for?”
She narrows her eyes back at me in defiance. Oh, yes I am going to enjoy getting the information that I seek out of her. She must see the glimmer in my eyes, because I see her swallow deeply. She is careful though, not to allow her face to show her nervousness. She is going to be tough to break.
I walk over to her and pull her up from the ground then slam her back into the tree behind her. She is now sitting up and facing me. I crouch in front of her with my elbows lightly resting on my knees, hands hanging loosely between my legs. “What should we do to her Reed?” I ask nonchalantly.
“Well, first of all, I would like to revisit the whole you calling me Reed thing. W
e never did discuss that.”
I turn to him annoyed, “Now is not the time.”
“Oh, okay, well then… ummm,” I wonder for a moment if he is stalling, but realize that he probably does not know how this works. It is time for him to get another lesson in being Fae. I unsheathe one of my daggers and run my fingertip along the sharp edge. “Here is how this is going to go. I ask a question and you will answer it. If you choose not to answer or if I do not care for your answer, I will cut you. Do you understand?” The Faery glares at me in defiance, not answering my questions. I do not like this, so I get within an inch of her face and grab her hair in a tight fist and yank back. Hard. Her face is now lifted up toward mine, her neck straining at the unfamiliar angle. I can feel the spit flying from my lips as I ask her again, “I said, Do. You. Understand?”
“Ummm, Poppy… if I may, maybe if you take the gag out of her mouth she can answer you better.” I glare at him. He puts his hands up in surrender but still smirks, “I’m just saying, you’re the expert here and all, I just thought it would help if she could, you know? Speak?”
I grunt at him and turn back to the still glaring Faery. I snatch the gag out of her mouth and she quickly spits in my face. Before I can even think, I grab her hair again with my free hand and jerk her head back, exposing her neck once again. I press the tip of my dagger to her throat, applying just enough pressure to make a small cut. A small drop of blood forms. I watch it as it drips further down her throat before I look into her face again. I still see the defiance and lack of fear. Just as I am about to apply more pressure, I feel a strong grip around the wrist that is holding the dagger. I glare up at Reed. He is glaring at me so severely that I think something must be wrong. I relax my hold on the Faery and allow him to pull me away.
“What?” I look around for any sign of danger or some indication of what was going on. I take a deep breath and wipe the spit out of my eyes as well. My breathing has grown increasingly rougher as my anger began to rise. I am ready to kill her.
“What are you doing?” He hisses at me.
I stop looking around and focus on him. His breathing is heavy too and the look in his eyes indicates that he is angry with me. “You stopped me to ask that? What do you think I am doing? I am going to kill her!” I hiss back. “She is not going to answer my questions and I am tired of her spitting in my face. It is disgusting.”
“Well, how do you plan to get answers if you kill her?” He crosses his arms over his chest and looks down at me. He looks very intimidating right now and I realize for the first time that he is quite a bit larger than I am.
“I just told you that she not going to cooperate.” I do not particularly appreciate having this conversation in front of our hostage, so I take a few steps away from her, turning my back on her, so she cannot see the rage on my face. I will not allow her the satisfaction of seeing my anger or at seeing our disagreement.
Reed follows, apparently catching my drift because his voice is even lower now. “You didn’t even try. Maybe if you stopped threatening her and asked nicely, she would answer your questions.”
I let out a sarcastic laugh and turn to gesture toward the Faery, “Reed, she tried to kill me. Does that sound like someone who would answer questions when asked nicely? Just look at her. Does she even look like she would cooperate to you?”
“Well…no, but maybe if we did the bad cop good cop thing, you know? Like in the movies. Then we might get her to answer some questions.” He smiles as if he has just solved some mystery. He appears eager now, his anger at me almost completely gone now.
“What are you even talking about?” I ask in exasperation.
“You know. You were mean, now I’ll be nice and see if she will talk to me. I’ll charm her.” He smiles broadly and waggles his eyebrows at me, “you know no one can resist that.”
I just stare back at him saying nothing for a few seconds. I am at an utter loss for words. When he continues to just look at me, with a hopeful look on his face, I relent. I throw my hands up in the air and spin around to walk a few feet away, “Fine, whatever you want to do. Can we just get this over with? When you are proven that your plan will not work, I will enjoy slitting her throat.”
He walks over to the Faery, smiling at her and crouches down next to her. He gives a small wave and I roll my eyes. “Hey there, I’m Reed. What’s your name?”
She looks over at me smugly and I know that she has overheard at least part of our conversation. I am not quite sure what she is up to but I pay close attention. She looks at Reed again when she answers, “Holly.”
“Hi Holly, it’s nice to meet you.” I let out a grunt and pace over to the other side of where they are ‘chatting’ and continue to watch. “That’s my friend Poppy. I’m sure you already know who she is. Do you mind telling me what it is you want with her?” He asks sweetly as if they are long time friends just having a conversation.
“No I don’t mind at all.” She says just as sweetly before she turns to lock eyes with me. This time she yells angrily, “I want to kill that bitch!”
I casually walk over to where she and Reed are and punch her in the face. Blood gushes from her broken nose and she starts yelling to Reed. “See? She deserves it! I am sitting here defenseless and she just punches me. She deserves to die!” I can hear in her voice that she will try to compel Reed to let her go. She is not nearly as defenseless as she is trying to make him believe. I do not like that one bit. It is time that I take the interrogation back over. Reed is strong, but he still does not understand all of the ways of the Fae. He is vulnerable in this way.
I move to get between the two of them once again, but Reed jumps up to stop me. He keeps his place between us and looks at me with a look that a parent would give a naughty child. I look at him innocently, just as that child would. When he does not speak, I finally ask as sweetly as I can “What?”
“What do you mean what? What did you do that for? She was talking to me,” he looks completely exasperated with me. I do not understand this ‘good cop’ thing he is trying to do, but it is entirely too friendly for my tastes. And it is clearly not working.
“She called me a name that I did not care for,” I tell him and try to dodge around him to grab her and assault her once again.
“So you just decide to break her nose?!” He grabs my shoulders before I am around him and holds me in place. He clearly wants me to stay put. He glances back to Holly, quickly assesses the damage once again, then turns back to me with a raised eyebrow and disappointed look.
I shrug. I am not going to apologize, if that is what he thinks.
He lets out a breath, almost in defeat. “Have you ever heard of the saying ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me’?” He sounds as if he is scolding a small child.
I straighten my shoulders and lift my chin, not liking his tone, “Yes that is why I broke her bones.”
“That doesn’t even make any sense. The point of the saying is…” he shakes his head at me. “It is a saying for children,” he sighs. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. Don’t hit her again, Poppy. I mean it.” He narrows his eyes, giving me a stern look.
“I cannot promise anything.” I tell him, but walk back to where I was standing before.
I hear him mumble under his breath something about anger management as he crouches back down to the Faery. “Sorry about that Holly. Are you okay?”
“Yes. That weakling did not hurt me,” she says loud enough to carry to my ears.
I instantly start for her to bloody her some more, but without even looking at me Reed has raised his hand in a “hold off” motion. I grind my teeth and settle back down.
“Well good. I’m glad you aren’t injured. So back to my first question, why do you want to kill Poppy? Did she do something to you? Maybe steal your boyfriend or something?” He winks at her.
Holly stares at him for a moment and then begins to laugh. “You are very stupid, aren’t you Halfling? Do you really think that I w
ould answer to you? You are even weaker than she is!”
I begin to make my way over to her again, but Reed anticipates me and shakes his head firmly at me. I take a step back once again, but do not go as far this time. I do not understand why he is even going through with this. She continues to insult both of us, yet he thinks he can still make friends with her. His human side is beginning to show now.
“I will admit that I’m not really familiar with your ways yet, so why don’t you tell me,” he says as charmingly as he can, but I can tell that his patience is finally starting to wear thin.
“I have never met this Faery before. She is Unseelie” she says this with a sneer in my direction and looks me up and down with disgust before continuing, “and I am Seelie. There is no reason for us to have ever met.”
“If that is so, then why would you want to kill her? You haven’t even met her before.”
“I was sent by my Queen.”
I straighten when I hear this. The thought that the Queen herself had sent a hunter after me had crossed my mind, but I can admit now, that I did not really think I would be of that much interest to the Queen. Knowing now that the Queen herself wishes me dead raises many more questions.
“Why did the Queen send you?” I demand. She just glares at me. “Reed?” I prompt.
Holly looks back at me smugly. I can tell that she thinks it is an insult to speak to the Halfling and not directly to me. She thinks that she is somehow degrading me and gaining the upper hand. I almost laugh at her stupidity. But I hold it in. If she knew that Reed and I had become close and were becoming friends she would voice her disgust and then she would stop talking all together. We will continue to play her game for a while.
Reed repeats my question and this time she answers him. “I was sent to bring her back to the Seelie Court.”