“Thank you, Lord Daybreak,” he squeaked, then added, “Seth.” It was an intimate touch from him.
“Is there someone to watch for the night?” Ethan asked again.
“Oh, yes, Master Ethan, Lord,” he squealed excitedly. “The Dea brothers will suffice for the night and they currently live near the lake. They will be quite willing to fly the land and observe for us.”
“Okay, I’ll send you to the lake and we’ll pick the fruit here,” I said. “Remember, though, no sacrifices on their part. I don’t want anybody hurting because I wanted to give some gifts.”
“Yes, Lord, what size and how many boxes would you like?” he squealed, much happier than a few minutes ago. He hadn’t realized how homesick he was.
“Two, to hold, I dunno, maybe twenty, twenty-five fruit,” I guessed, looking around at the misty field. Searching further out, there didn’t seem to be any Fae living in the nearby forest, so I wouldn’t be depriving anyone of a food source. The nymphs were already playing further downstream, cheerfully ignoring our presence. “What did you do with the sprout I handed you?”
“I gave it to the nymphs to plant further downstream, Lord,” Shrank said.
“Okay, we’ll see you in a few minutes then,” I said and shifted him to the lake.
“What do you keep playing with?” Ethan asked as he started gathering the ripened fruit with me.
“You don’t see the fog?” I asked, disconcerted by the question.
“No, I don’t,” he said. “Show me what you’re seeing.” He pushed into my cavern through the anchor and I attached his consciousness to mine, linking him to me as closely as I could without binding us together. Then I showed him the Esteleum field from my perspective, dredging my fingertips through the tops of the shrubbery and wafting the energy up like a smoke in the air.
“What do you think it is?” I asked him.
“I have no idea,” he murmured, mimicking my motions and seeing that he had little to no affect on the mist. “It’s obviously related to Daybreak, though, since you effect it and I don’t. It looks like one giant, very diffuse ley line that’s condensing here for no apparent reason.” He pulled back into the anchor, releasing my hold gently. “Do you see this everywhere or just here?”
“This is the first time I’ve seen the fog, but the whole place has that ‘film’ to me,” I answered and resumed picking fruit. Ethan wasn’t alarmed and I’d sort of assumed it was a Faery power thing. “Y’know, come to think of it, I haven’t seen any ley lines here.”
“You don’t need them, especially here,” Ethan said, returning for his reaping chore with me. “Lines are a convenience, not a necessity. They’ll form over time as your people move around and structures get built. The Road will definitely have one over it.”
I dropped my load at the edge of the field and went back in for more, letting the conversation drop into contemplative silence. We covered the field in about five minutes, gathering forty-seven pieces in total. There was still a lot of unripe fruit on the bushes, so we hadn’t wiped out the field by any means.
“You have got to be seriously overwhelmed by all of this,” Ethan said, squatting down opposite me. “I only vaguely remember my first days on Earth. It was a considerable shock. This can’t be too different from that, but don’t worry, Seth. We’ll get all your questions answered.”
“You got all yours answered, then,” I said, dubious.
“No,” he said, ducking and grinning sheepishly. “But that’s because every time I turn around, you’re changing the rules on me.”
My “evil twin” made me laugh and I took a moment to enjoy it. “Do you think I should take the seeds out of these? At least until I find out why the elves take that skin off of them.”
“Will that bruise them, too?” he asked.
“No, not this way,” I answered, shifting the seeds out of one into my hand instead of pulling them through. Calling to the nymphs through the stream, I shifted the seeds of seven fruit out then moved the rest to the lakeside and stood.
“You called, Lord Daybreak?” the male nymph asked tentatively, dripping water behind him. His voice was a deep gurgle in the common tongue. The littler female stood behind some other shrubs, peaking out over the sides nervously.
“Yes, please, Arwene,” I said softly. I had no idea how I knew his name, but it was there in my mind when I spoke to him. “Would the two of you see that these get planted in the near future for me, please? I have no place in mind in particular, just so they have a chance to grow, wherever you like.”
“By all means, Lord Daybreak,” Arwene said, smiling and running forward, hands outstretched to take the seeds. He seemed exceptionally happy to take this simple task for me. “Thank you, Lord Daybreak,” he said, bowing and smiling. Then he and his companion disappeared back toward the stream again. I shifted us to the lakeside beside the pile of fruit I’d been depositing there.
Ethan chuckled softly. “I get the distinct impression that you licensed some little nymphos with that move.”
“Huh? Why? Whad’ I do?” I asked, shifting the rest of the seeds out one fruit at a time.
“You gave them a homestead, Seth,” Ethan answered, laughing outright at me now. “You know, enough wealth to go out and start a whole family of their own.”
“But that was already there. All they had to do was pick it up,” I said, dismissing the idea.
“That’s your way of thinking, not theirs,” he said, still chuckling. “Hey, Shrank! Where are you?”
“You don’t think that’s a problem, do you?” I asked, thinking about them.
Shrank darted out of the woods, followed by two larger figures lighting a trail behind him, and headed straight for us. Closer to us, a train of brownies started out from the woods toward us, too, led by the trio of elders. It split twice, rushing forward and threatening to overrun the leads, but the trio maintained control of their over-eager clans. It was amusing to watch the caterwauling little creatures, especially knowing they could and would defend themselves when necessary.
“Lord Daybreak,” Shrank called as he and the two fairies approached. “May I present the Dea brothers, Deason and Deacon.”
“Lord,” they squealed together, bobbing in the air separately as Shrank said their names. They were almost identical twins of each other, even though Deacon was older, ruling out twins, but then I really didn’t know if fairies were even mammals that had live births or what.
“Good to meet you, boys,” I said smiling at them. “You ready to hold down the fort for me for a few hours?”
The fear in Deason’s aura shot through the roof. “What fort?” he whispered to his brother. Ethan snickered quietly.
“It’s a figure of speech, Deason,” I said, chuckling, too. “Shrank explained what you need to do, right?”
“Yes, Lord Daybreak,” Deacon piped in before his brother could get more confused.
“Okay, you two, hold on tight for a second so I can open a link between us,” I said and brushed my power lightly against them, linking us more closely. “There ya go, now you can call while we’re away if anything goes wrong, okay?”
“I didn’t feel anything,” Deason whispered to his brother.
“Deason,” I said gently, “You can talk to me. I don’t bite.”
“I’m sorry, Lord Daybreak,” he squealed, his fear rising to newer heights. “Yes, Lord, you said to ‘hold on, tight’ but I didn’t feel any change. I was afraid I wasn’t good enough for your power to adapt, Lord. I’m sorry that I failed you, Lord Daybreak, sir.”
And now Deacon’s fear shot up. “You haven’t failed, Deason. You were already linked to me through the realm. All I needed to do was boost that link so it would work into the rest of the universe. There wasn’t that much energy involved. It’s not surprising you didn’t feel it.” The pair calmed significantly, but they were still nervous. “Shall we test the link?” They both nodded exuberantly.
“It’s fairly simple to do,” I said. “
Just think my name as if you were at the Palace doors trying to get my attention.” I heard them both squeak the words but they didn’t carry the weight across the link. “No, not in English, in your native tongue.”
The Fae word for Daybreak sprung from both their minds simultaneous in eight melodic voices, four from each of them. Not something they could do physically, but mentally it was beautiful. I was tempted to let them sing for a few minutes, just to hear the sound.
Yes, there you are. See? I responded to them through the link they both created to me. Their faces lit brightly and their auras changed immediately from fearful to happy in a split second. I shut the link down.
“Worked like a charm,” I said, grinning at the duo, just as the mass of brownies arrived. The three neat lines hadn’t lasted either. “Hi, guys!”
“Hello, Lord Daybreak!” the mass of brownies called back.
“Wow, I’m impressed! You’ve been practicing, haven’t you?” I said, smiling bigger at the group.
“Apparently they have, Lord,” said the speaker of the trio, smiling up at me. He had grown an inch or two since we’d last talked, too, I noticed, and he looked… almost younger. “We appreciate this chance to show you even the slightest gratitude for your grace, Lord Daybreak.” The trio bowed deeply, their foreheads barely a half-inch off the ground. Every brownie—male, female, and child—followed suit.
“Shrank?” I whispered hoarsely.
“Say ‘You are welcome’, Lord,” Shrank answered simply, bobbing into view on my right.
“You are welcome,” I said, nervously, looking out at some of the elder brownies and knowing they had to be uncomfortable bowing like that. “So long as you didn’t deprive yourselves of anything, I am very happy to accept this.” Everyone rose from the bow still happy, so they’d lived up to their end of the bargain. They’d kept their boxes to the rear of their group and were now moving them to the front by passing them overhead, brownie to brownie. When they got to the front, each box was taken by someone appearing to be the son of an elder, then they walked over to me, holding the boxes up chest high. Considering they were half the size of the brownies and probably outweighed them, it was quite a feat.
“Ethan, would you?” I asked quickly. “Thank you!” Lifting up the boxes and looking at the nearly two-foot little guys underneath, I couldn’t help but smile. The combination of fear and joy of facing me and the overexertion of carrying this heavy load had them both a little loopy. “You guys okay?”
“Yes, sir,” they both manage to say in Common Tongue between giggles. My guy ended up leaning on my leg for a moment to get his balance. I was pretty sure he forgot where he was for a moment, so I watched as his head cleared. He looked out at the crowd around him, spotting his father’s horrified look and suddenly recalled where he was, looking up slowly. It was like watching a cartoon, right down to the gulping as he caught my gaze.
“So you’re okay, now?” I asked, chuckling a little and smiling big. He nodded slowly, peeling himself away from my leg and slowly easing away until he could dart behind his father. “I take it physical contact, even accidental, is a big no-no?”
“So it would appear,” answered Ethan, stepping up beside me and examining the gift boxes. “They look virtually identical on the outside.”
“Yes, Master Ethan,” said the speaker for the group, the one without a son and presenter. “The Regent said you were splitting a batch of fruit between two parties. We assumed you did not wish to show partiality and so made the packages as similar as possible.”
“Good thinking,” Ethan said and held out his box, creating a shelf of energy underneath to hold it up. I called the Stone for a similar structure, opening the lid on the solid wood container. That action shoved the bottom drawer open and released the second drawer about an inch. Each drawer had an interior thin wooden lid and inside was completely covered in blue felt, the same blue color that was so prevalent in the Palace. Inside each drawer was enough small flowers and grasses to nestle the Esteleum in very nicely. Ethan grinned, looking first out at the brownies then at me. “Looks like seven per drawer will work out well. Almost like they’d planned it.”
“Shrank, what does this symbol mean?” I asked touching the emblem etched into the lid. It was the same sigil that our buttons bore.
“That is the symbol for the name of the realm,” Shrank trilled from Ethan’s shoulder, already starting his vacation. “You have not yet taught it to us, so we don’t know what it is, but that symbol is its name.” On the inside, the symbols read “A Gift of Daybreak.” Then on the lid to each drawer, it read “A gift from Seth McClure” in English.
The wood was lightly stained and lacquered, already dry, and without a single piece of metal in its working. The drawers and lid moved effortlessly and fit flush. And the artwork on the scripting and sigils was excellent.
“These are absolutely beautiful!” I proclaimed proudly. “Thank you.” A high-pitched cheer roared through the brownies and several groups within the mass of short figures were congratulating individuals, no doubt for specific tasks. Leaving my box open, I stepped around to the trio of elders and knelt, holding out the rest of the seeds I’d collected. I asked the speaker for the same favor as I asked of the nymphs.
As the elders split the seeds between them, I glanced up at the Palace, shining in the starlight at the top of the mountain above the waterfall. A dense fog of blue energy pooled around it, forming an aura of its own color, separate from the other energies it created. It was going to be fascinating when more people lived there. I reached up and tugged a little power down out of that pool and into me, then spread a thin amount over the lakeside, intending just a happy, slightly intoxicating, good health-type feeling. I may have overdone it.
The Stone moved the box to the ground for me as I knelt to the ground to load the box, watching the brownies begin to play and prance around the field now. The son who had grabbed my leg for support gathered his courage again and ran forward to help me by ferrying the fruit between the ground and me. This was well outside his normal behavior and incredibly brave for him, so I let it happen. That, and it saved me a two-foot reach.
“Thank you, Ogdn—” I stopped, tongue-tied. “I’m sorry, I just can’t get my tongue around that sound yet. Give me a few more days and I’ll have it down.”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, softly, then giggled. And giggled. That’s when I figured I’d gone overboard. He wasn’t the only one swaggering and off-balance.
“Um, Shrank? Do I need to worry about them right now?” I asked the pixie as he fluttered on Ethan’s shoulder.
“Well, Lord,” sang Shrank, “Your magic is more potent than you realize, but there is no harm and it will not last the night.”
Turning to the elders, who were also swaying in the air a bit as they watched their families celebrate, I asked, “Do you think everyone is all right? I didn’t overpower anyone?”
“Oh, no, Lord, the Regent Shrank is quite correct, we believe,” the speaker said happily, drunkenly even.
“Good, then,” I said, sliding the drawer shut and closing the lid. “We’ll be back in the morning, Deacon, Deason. Yell, if you need anything.” They chirped in acknowledgment a few hundred yards away as Deacon pulled Deason out of a swan dive into the shallows of the lake. Sending my box into my cavern for easier transport, I took Ethan’s and did the same. Then shifted us back to Fuller’s mansion, to the dining room. Or tried to.
“Oops,” I said, under my breath as I tried creating a portal this time, but creating the endpoint through the ward was not working.
“Oops, what?” Ethan said, now paying attention to the work I was performing.
“I may have fixed Fuller’s wards a little too well,” I answered, trying to slip past the thin layering of the magic, so far to no avail. “It looks like I can get us back, but not without damaging Fuller’s mansion.”
Kir du’Ahn, Ethan called through the universe to Kieran, we have a problem.
Chapter 6
Kieran linked the four of us together as Ethan explained the problem to him, pulling me in last since I knew already. I was distracted by the brownies traipsing across the field. It was like watching a huge elementary school get drunk then play in the playground. And I swear I saw a few of them grow right in front of me.
How close to the house do you think you can open a portal? Maybe we can send a car. Kieran asked us.
The closest I can get is the last point on the highway that we jumped the van, Ethan told him. I wasn’t paying enough attention elsewhere. That made me think about how it felt to try the endpoint under the wards. It wasn’t so much that I couldn’t make it, but that it slipped away from me. If I pushed harder, I would tear the wards to shreds. It was a hell of a powerful push, one I wasn’t sure I could have made a few days ago.
I think I can get us there without opening a portal if I can get a little help, I said through the link.
How? Kieran asked.
Reversing the closets, a knowe, I believe you called it? I said.
And what do you need? he asked. Kieran seemed eager but I couldn’t tell exactly why. I was glad, though, that we had this conversation through a mental link because I didn’t have the words for the concepts for what I needed for Kieran and Peter to do for me. Simply put, I needed them to mutually pick a plane and make that plane resonate between them with some energy pattern not common to the wards. We picked the Fae word for Daybreak for simplicity’s sake since they both knew it well enough to project onto the plane. Kieran and Peter both needed to clear some space to work but a few minutes later we were ready to go.
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