by Bonnie Lamer
“Princess of class you are not,” Taz snarks.
“Instead, you eavesdropped on a personal conversation,” Kai grates out.
“Um, yes.” Out of all the possible answers to that question, this is probably not the best one. But, it’s the only true one. “I haven’t told anyone, not even Kallen. Nor will I tell anyone. Kai, you can simply stay in your room when I do the spell and I can include you with the others. No one need know.”
Kai is torn between berating me for my crime and being grateful I understand the situation and will go along with it. Neither he nor Arie want their people to know. I guess I respect Kai for this. He may not have the feelings he once did for his wife, but he doesn’t want to do anything to hurt her. I wonder how long their marriage will last. Can Merpeople get divorced? Someday, I really need to write my questions down and find answers to them.
“Perhaps we should get started,” Kallen suggests disrupting the awkward silence.
“Great idea,” I say over my shoulder as I hurry to the door. “I’m certain Sindri has everything ready, places for everyone to sleep and all.” I’m rambling, I know. Much to the amusement of my husband who is currently trying to hold back a chuckle. My sour look in his direction does nothing to quell the entertainment value of my discomfort.
Kai clasps both of Arie’s hands. “I shall return to our room. I will see you anon.” Anon? Who says anon anymore? Merpeople, apparently.
Arie gives him a curt nod and follows after Kallen and me. I slow my steps to let her catch up. “Thank you for your discretion,” she says.
“I wish I could do more,” I confess.
“Some things even a Witch Fairy cannot fix.” And doesn’t that just suck.
Chapter 8
The Great Hall has been overrun by males of all shapes and sizes. There are tall ones, short ones, hefty ones, skinny ones, tailed ones, legged ones, old ones, young ones. The testosterone in the air is so strong, I do a quick check to make sure I’m not sprouting chest hair. I’m not. Surely something Kallen appreciates.
We find Dagda and Sindri in the middle of it all. “Is everything set?” Kallen asks.
Sindri nods. “When I give the signal, each male will take his place on either a sleeping mat or in the river.”
Glancing at the water, I notice a net at the far end of the room. “I guess sleeping Mermen can’t keep from being pulled downstream,” I muse aloud.
Kallen smiles. “Correct. We would not want one to end up in the hands of the Sirens simply because he floated away.”
“Good thinking.”
A piercing whistle has me putting my fingers in my ears. Mostly to check for blood. I glare at Sindri who is holding the offending whistle in his mouth. He gives me an apologetic smile. “It needed to be heard throughout the Great Hall,” he explains.
“A little warning next time would be nice,” I grumble, but the whistle did the trick. Both Fairies and Mermen are finding their resting spot for the night. Once they are settled, every eye in the place is on me. Now for the tricky part. Putting only the ones to sleep that need to be while keeping everyone else awake. The spell I used before to protect the Fairies on the beach from the Sirens won’t work because the guys here haven’t fallen under their spell yet. I probably should have been thinking about the spell all day, but I find I do better under pressure.
“Xandra, we are ready,” Dagda urges. “Sunset will be upon us soon.”
My father, a walking sundial. “Just give me a minute,” I say, barely moving my lips.
Dagda is about to snark back when Kallen shakes his head. “Uncle…” he warns. Dagda sighs and presses his lips together.
Slowly, the words form in my mind and I let them flow out my mouth. “The night brings temptation from ones who would do harm. But those who slumber shall not fall prey to their charms. Hearts neither true nor touched by love shall sleep this night through. Nothing shall wake you before the morning dew. Neither charm strong enough nor spell powerful enough shall touch you. Magic neither ancient nor new will have any effect hitherto. My magic alone will hold you. Lay your head down and feel at ease. Wake on the morrow rested and at peace. With dawn comes sanity and light, be safe in slumber this dangerous night.” I push the magic I have been pulling as I spoke the words and I push it outward. As if the sandman is going in concentric circles, row after row of males close their eyes and fall asleep. To me, it seems to happen in slow motion but I know barely a second has passed before everyone in the palace who needs to be is asleep.
Kallen wraps his arms around me from behind and rests his chin on my head. “You will never cease to amaze me.”
I crane my neck so I can see his face. “It’s a good thing you’re still awake. I’d hate to have to use my power on you.”
He chuckles. “As I have already said, you have nothing to worry about.”
“We should walk the grounds, be certain everyone caught in the spell is in here,” Dagda says.
I have images in my head of Fairies scattered here and there in the yard. “I thought you told everyone to come here.”
Dagda chuckles. “As you often demonstrate, not everyone does exactly as they are told.”
I am at an awkward age. I am not young enough to stick my tongue out at my father and I am old enough to know the other possible gestures going through my mind are vastly inappropriate with an audience. Unfortunately, this awkward stage is going to last at least until I’m senile and can no longer be held accountable for my actions. “Thanks for the life lesson,” I say drolly.
As if on cue, a Fairy comes running toward us. From her business attire, I assume she works in the offices, not as part of the palace staff. “Sire!” she bellows across the hall. “The Minister of Economics has been injured by some kind of evil magic!”
She does pretty well weaving in and out of the sleeping Fairies until her eyes fall on me. She tries to stop abruptly but the floor of the Great Hall is well waxed and her shoes are not rubber soled. She skids a few feet before her forward momentum is halted by a sleeping Fairy who is now wearing a rather large female Fairy as a blanket. Horrified, the woman tries to scramble away from the sleeping guy, but he chooses this moment to roll over onto his side, still sleeping, and taking her with him. She is now even more tangled. The good news, my spell is working quite well. The bad news, the female Fairy may be traumatized for life after embarrassing herself so badly in front of her King and the MerQueen, who has joined us.
“You were saying,” Dagda drawls when she is finally free and on her feet again.
After a furtive glance in my direction, she says, “The Minister of Economics passed out. He hit his head on his desk and he has a goose egg.”
Oh. So it might actually be an emergency, after all. Then again, I don’t like the Minister of Economics much. He’s boring and covered in a disgusting amount of warts. He is also married. Boy is his wife going to be pissed when he doesn’t come home tonight. Sighing, I put my personal feelings aside and walk forward. “Bring me to him and I’ll heal him.”
The Fairy’s eyes harden. “Wasn’t it your magic that caused the problem?” She sweeps her arm around the Great Hall.
Affronted, I put my hands on my hips. “Do you live under a rock?”
It seemed obvious to me that my question was rhetorical, but she still says obstinately, “No.”
“What the Princess is implying,” Kallen says in his most condescending voice. He is so lucky he’s not addressing me with it. “Is you must be completely out of touch with what is happening in the realm if you do not know all the male Fairies who are not in love have been put in a magical sleep to protect them from the Sirens.” As he speaks, the woman’s face gets redder and redder.
Never above pointing out the obvious, I add, “If the Minister fell asleep when I did the spell, it’s because he doesn’t love his wife.”
Now the Fairy is mad. “How dare you say such a thing about my father?!”
Oops. How was I supposed to know the Minister pract
iced nepotism? Lucky for her she didn’t get his wart problem. Still, the truth is the truth. “I can heal the goose egg he suffered, but I can’t wake him up until morning unless I want to wake everyone else up, as well.” Spells are funny that way.
“Dorinda,” Dagda says sharply before she can speak the words trying to jump off her tongue at me. “My daughter has graciously offered to heal your father. His falling under her spell is an issue you may take up with him when he regains consciousness in the morning. You will not place the burden of his heart on the Princess.”
Dorinda bows her head. “Yes, Sire.” I know this is how Fairies are supposed to respond to him, but I am still getting used to seeing such subservience. It makes me a little queasy thinking Fairies will someday respond to me that way. I may not always like what they say, but I prefer it when people speak their minds.
“Lead the way,” I tell her before she is forced to lower her self-esteem any farther.
Dorinda spins on her slippery shoes, almost stumbles again on a sleeping male Fairy, and storms from the Great Hall. I follow at a good pace but I’m not going to run to catch up with her. Kallen stays with Dagda so they can search the grounds looking for any other mishaps like the one I’m heading toward.
Dorinda leads me through several hallways I’m not familiar with until we reach the Minister of Economics’ office door. Inside, the rather rotund, warted fella is snoring loudly. It was definitely the spell which knocked him out. He does have a good size goose egg on his temple, though. He would have a terrible headache if he was awake. Kneeling next to him, I try to find a patch of skin to touch that is wart free. His wrist seems pretty safe. Pulling magic, I concentrate on healing his wound. It’s fascinating to watch the goose egg shrink. Even Dorinda can’t look away though she may kill her father in his sleep later for her mother’s sake. When I am finished, I stand up and turn toward the door.
Aghast, Dorinda asks, “Are you just going to leave him there?”
I glance down at the sleeping Minister and shrug. “He seems comfortable enough.”
Standing akimbo, his daughter practically screeches, “He is a high ranking member of the Fairy government. I will not have you treat him like this!”
“Do you always speak with exclamation marks?” I ask, barely restraining myself from covering my ears in preparation for her next outburst.
She tosses back, “No!” My pursed lips and raised eyebrows cause blood to rush to her cheeks.
“Look,” I begin in a firm voice. I’ve been practicing firm, less snarky, Princess tones. “If you want your father moved then I suggest you find someone willing to move him. I have other things to occupy my time at the moment.” With that, I walk out of the office.
As I walk down the hall, I glance into the various offices. There are still Fairies working in some of them. From what I can tell, the Minister of Economics was the only one caught unawares by my spell. Back in the Great Hall, the only ones still awake are the guards who are to look over the sleeping men throughout the night. It didn’t cross my mind that the Sirens may be working with others to start a war with the Fairies until Dagda suggested it over dinner. It is an ideal time for someone to attack. All the young, unattached Fairy males are sleeping, or, as the Sirens may believe, walking to their deaths this evening. That reduces the number of possible soldiers in the Fairy community significantly.
I turn at a sudden noise behind me. It’s Sindri. He’s pushing what looks like a double decker gurney with two sleeping Fairies on it. Their skin and clothes are dotted with purplish spots. “More stragglers?” I ask.
He nods. “I found them in the garden. They fell upon one of the cook’s blueberry bushes. Something they will pay doubly for I am sure.” There are cuts and scrapes along the Fairies’ arms and faces in addition to the spots of berry juice. Between those and the scolding they’ll get from the palace chef, yeah, they’ll pay doubly for not fessing up and coming here.
Using magic, Sindri lowers the sleeping Fairies from the gurney to empty spaces on the floor. He’s even considerate enough to provide pillows. “That should do them,” he says as he makes the gurney disappear. “If you will excuse me,” he says, “I have more areas to search.”
“Of course,” I say, then ask, “Have you seen Kallen?”
Sindri smiles. “He is there.”
I turn toward the palace entrance above the Great Hall where Kallen is carrying a Fairy over his shoulder. He comes down the stairs easily, as if the Fairy weighs nothing. I love how strong he is. I also like watching his muscles flex as he walks to a spot in the Hall with an empty space and lays the Fairy on the floor. When the Fairy is settled, Kallen grins at me. “Enjoying the view?” he teases.
I walk to him and wrap my arms around his neck. “Absolutely.” I kiss him deeply.
After a moment, he pulls back slightly so he can say, “I believe the search is concluding. We should be able to sneak off to bed soon.”
“Mm, I like the sound of that.”
Movement behind us ruins the perfect moment. At least, as perfect a moment one can have while surrounded by a bunch of sleeping Fairies. “What is it?” Kallen calls out to Dagda. My biological father has returned and he does not look happy.
“The singing has begun,” he says in distaste.
Kallen takes my hand and we walk up the stairs leading to the palace entrance. The doorman opens the door for and we step outside. Sure enough, the Siren song is resonating through the air.
Come to me, My Darling,
Waken from your rest.
Come to me, My Darling,
Lay your head upon my breast.
Come to me, My Darling,
Heed my loving call.
Come to me, My Darling,
Ere daybreak must fall.
Come to me, My Darling
Make a gift of your heart.
Come to me, My Darling,
Then we shall never part.
“I hate Sirens,” I mutter.
Kallen’s hand tightens around mine. “I concur.”
“Do you think there will be Fairies who die tonight?” I ask. “Ones who wouldn’t admit they don’t love their significant others?” I remember the sight of the Minister lying on the floor. At least he was in range of the spell. There may be Fairies in outlying areas who chose not to come here and are now walking toward certain death.
“I hope not,” is the best response Kallen can offer.
We listen in silence for a few minutes. Finally, I can’t take it anymore. “Kallen, I need to do something. I can’t just wait around for a miracle.”
Face sober, he turns to me. “Xandra, please. We have time to figure this out. We will find a way.” He doesn’t finish his thought aloud.
“A way that doesn’t involve me doing something stupid, you mean,” I sulk.
Wrapping his arms around me, he smiles. “Yes.”
Laying my head against his chest, I sigh. “You’re right.”
“You will find that is most often the case.”
“Don’t push it,” I warn grumpily. He chuckles.
After a moment, he says, “We should go inside.”
I study his face. “Why? Are you responding to their call?”
Now I’ve made him angry. “You can read my darkest secrets. Is fearing the Siren call one of them?”
I feel terrible. “You don’t have any dark secrets,” I admit. We don’t keep things from each other.
Forcing his anger back, Kallen says, “I promise you, the Sirens will never, ever control my heart. Do you believe me?”
The depth of truth in his green eyes is too powerful to ignore. “Yes.”
“Thank you. Now, we should see what Dagda has planned for us next.” I nod and we go back inside.
We find Dagda and Arie together in the Great Hall. We come up just as Arie is saying, “I shall retire to my room.”
With a frown firmly in place, Dagda says, “I thought we could spend more time strategizing this evening.” He glances at
his watch. “It is still quite early.”
Arie wants to argue. She wants to check on Kai. Regardless, she says, “Of course. Your office?”
Still wearing his scowl, Dagda says, “The family sitting room again will be fine.”
Why is he being so nice? My biological father is generally strict regarding the rules for entering the family area. Namely, you must be family. No foreign powers are ever invited there. Does he have a thing for Arie or something? I narrow my eyes and assess his behavior. Okay, I can’t read anything from his face. It would be so easy to step forward and touch him. Which would show me his deepest secrets. But I promised my family and friends that I wouldn’t do that without their permission. If I do come in contact with them long enough for the vision to start, I step away before I see the full picture. But in this situation…
Kallen is reading my mind. I can tell by the slight shake of his head and the hand on my shoulder when I innocently take a step toward Dagda. Innocent is a relative term, after all. I am innocent of wanting to cause him harm. Maybe not so innocent in wanting to pry into his psyche. But, I take Kallen’s not so subtle hints and back off.
Sweeping his hand in the direction of the elevator, Dagda says to Arie, “After you.”
“We’ll take the stairs,” I rush to say. My nerves are too on edge to dangle in the air at the whim of an ancient Fairy. Dagda rolls his eyes but doesn’t say anything as he and Arie make their way to the elevator.
Climbing the long flights of stairs, I ask, “Isn’t the elevator woman old enough to retire? Maybe she has a great, great grandchild who would like to learn her trade.”
Chuckling, Kallen shakes his head. “You face down Dragons and Archangels yet you fear you will die in an elevator accident. Does that not seem a bit ridiculous to you?”
I stop and put my hands on my hips. “Hey! Are you saying I’m ridiculous?”
Kallen stops walking and turns, a wide grin on his lips. “I find it to be one of your most endearing qualities.”