“Be it so.” That phrase was fae shorthand for putting the consequences on me and not him.
“You will need appropriate attire,” he said. “I probably have some samples of fae gowns here, they are very popular with celebrities and I do a good trade in them. Let me see if my secretary can kind something that may fit you.”
“Are you sure about this, Smith?” Rolfe asked. “I have no desire to lose another partner, and none of us can go with you.”
“I will meet you at the safe house later tonight,” I responded. “Please, don’t wait up for me.”
Kaosium’s secretary led me to the sample room. Sarah came with me, saying she would not miss seeing the gowns and she would assist me in getting dressed. I guess she was no longer upset about my vamp nature. There were several gowns hanging on a rack, most would be too small for me at first glance. There was one however that appeared to be designed to be a flowing, floor length gown, with the sides slit up almost to the hips and a deep V-necked back with matching V-neck front that might do. It was the color of Jade, my first name, and yes, it had my name all over it.
I would leave my weapons behind. Bringing metal of any kind into Faerie would set off alarms as would my bra and panties, human-made materials of any kind are forbidden. I had a feeling the dagger of darkness would pass through without notice but I just could not chance it. Karen, the fae secretary, was apologetic.
“I am sorry I don’t have any undergarments for you,” she said. “This gown does come with a pair of matching slippers that might fit you, however.”
They were open-toed. A little short but would do, I thought as I pulled the slippers on. Naked in front of strangers again, I thought, what a day.
There was a full length mirror on the wall and I took a look at myself. The dress fit like a glove, and other than the length it was gorgeous. It had been designed to touch the floor but was just about ankle length on me. I had no complaints, at least I would not be tripping over it. The price tag was twenty grand. When I got back, I would be buying this one.
Sarah was carrying my clothes and weapons and promised to take the weapons back to the safe house with her, I simply could not chance them being left here. My clothes would remain however, so I could change on my return. The boys were staring at me as we returned to the office, even Kaosium had a slightly stunned look on his face.
“I think that will do just fine,” he said. Rolfe laughed and even Chris had a silly grin showing.
The door was directly behind Kaosium’s desk, perfect for an emergency retreat into Faerie if he ever came under attack. “You better hang on to my arm,” he said. “I don’t want to lose you in the mists.” Opening the door you could see a hallway, perhaps ending at the edge of those mists just a yard or so inside. Karen would close the door behind us.
“Be careful,” Sarah said.
“Later,” I replied and we entered the mists.
* * * *
As we walked, I held Kaosium’s arm and I could feel the world changing around us. I believe I had even less discomfort than he, it was frankly exhilarating. As we continued on, I instinctively let my fae nature take over, my eyes turned from a normal green to a deep jade, and my hair grew six inches in a matter of seconds. My ears became pointy and my eyes narrowed a bit. Probably a combination of being a shifter, as well as a fae, I thought, pretending I was not surprised at all about the changes I was going through. Kaosium could see some of this as we hit a few gaps in the mists, but he was focused on our path. I was noting the way for future reference. A shifter has a very good sense of direction, even in Faerie.
As we approached our destination, two double doors with the Summer Courts royal seal in the middle flanked by two guards armed with fae swords, Kaosium told me the plan.
“I will make your introduction to the Queen,” he said. “All guests approach the Queen as they arrive. I have a date waiting for me, so unfortunately you will be unescorted after that but looking as you do, I don’t think it will be difficult for you to find an escort. I will let the Queen know of your needs. When I finish, simply say, ‘I so petition.’ She will either answer you now or shelve your petition for later consideration. Whatever her answer, do not protest, or your life will be forfeit.”
“I understand,” I replied.
The doors opened and we entered the court. Straight ahead of us was the Queen and her entourage, she alone sat while the others stood. A pathway for guests arriving led straight to the raised dais where she was seated. There were a few guests ahead of us, I believe we were on time or maybe even a few minutes early but the room was already pretty crowded, On one side of the path, tables of food and drink. On the other, a floor for dancing with musicians already warming up in the corner. It was a huge place, many chairs and smaller tables lined the walls. Trees and flowers were growing through the floor in several places, making my shifter side happy as well.
It was our turn. I saw the Queen looking at me as we approached, trying to place me, not succeeding.
“Kaosium at your service my Queen,” Kaosium said and bowed. “This is Smith,” he continued. “She is a member of the paranormal division of the southern Capitol’s police force and would like to petition you for an audience. She hopes your knowledge and expertise will aid them in their quest to solve the murders and kidnappings taking place in Winston.” He glanced at me.
“I so petition,” I said.
I could tell the Queen was very interested. “Are you a member of Summer or Winter Courts?” she asked.
“Neither,” I said. “I reside on the other side of the divide.”
“What is your lineage?” she continued. I had to be careful in my response. I could not lie in Faerie, there was too much fae blood in me to even try it.
“I do not know who my parents are,” I replied, which was a truth.
I could see her thinking. “I will consider your petition,” she said. “I will approach you with my answer when I have decided. In the meantime, please mingle with our other guests and enjoy your time in Faerie, it is my guess that you may have a relative or two among the inner court.”
She had given me a compliment, a hint as to being pleased with my appearance. I was pleased, as well. “Thank you, my Queen,” I replied and we moved to the side to make room for the other guests who had arrived behind us.
“Have fun,” Kaosium said, looking towards a little fae beauty staring at us with a slight scowl on her lips. “Try not to get yourself killed,” he added, walking away.
Chapter Ten
I looked around the great hall and noticed a group of men gathered around some swords laid out across the tables. I love swords. I was drawn to that and had no intention of not taking a look. I stopped slightly outside the group of men and observed their conversation. It seemed there was a game being played. A man was examining each sword and making a guess as to who had forged them. There were perhaps twenty swords along the tables and as I watched, he guessed two correctly, the owner of each sword groaning and acknowledging the truth of his guess.
He must be an expert, I thought, kinda like me. There were two stacks of gold on the table, it seemed this was a group bet. The man making the guesses was about halfway to winning with just ten swords to go. The present one had him stumped however.
“Is it allowed that I provide assistance?” I asked. I just could not resist. I loved swords and this was a fine collection of some of the nicest ones made in Faerie over centuries if not millennium.
“Only if you have a stake in the bet,” the man whose sword appeared to have the guesser stumped said. He was obviously one of the high-ranking members of the Queens circle having the Royal Crest on his jacket. The guesser also had the Royal Crest.
“I have nothing on me,” I replied.
“I see that you are unescorted for the evening, allow me to be your escort then, and I will allow you in on the bet,” he said. I could see the others would allow this, even the one doing the guessing, who looked at me quizzically.
&nbs
p; “And nothing is expected other than my company?” I asked. It is always important to get the rules spoken when dealing with the fae. “I can’t stay long as I am expected in the human world at some point tonight.” I would stay until I had the Queen’s answer.
“Of course,” he answered. I could see he was interested in me but gave me the impression of being a gracious and generous man.
“I accept the terms,” I replied.
“My name is Diocletus,” he said. “The man you are going to help in the guessing is referred to as the Queen’s Blade.” He proceeded to make introductions all around.
“My name is Jade,” I said. “People on the human side just call me Smith.” For some reason I felt it was important that my first name be used here, I don’t know why.
The Queen’s Blade handed me the sword he was looking at, a question and a hint of a smile on his lips. “I bet you know this one,” he said. “Otherwise you would not have joined in the bet.
“Maybe I just wanted a handsome escort,” I replied and they could hear the truth in that as well. “It was forged over a thousand years ago by Erngot, a student of one of the great fae metal-smiths, called Alexus.
“That is correct,” Diocletus said. “How about the next one?”
I proceeded through the remaining blades, not even touching most of them, for an expert some of them were obvious. The better fae metal-smiths all had some unique things about them and it was pretty easy to call. The next to last sword concerned me however. This one belonged to a younger fae, from his looks Royal, but fairly new to the Court. I picked it up and handed it to the Queen’s Blade, who had graciously allowed me to call the previous swords even though he had a stack of gold at stake.
“The answer would appear to be obvious, but I am concerned that it may just be a fake, a copy of the original, designed to look like the real thing. I think it would probably be suitable only for practice, not for real fighting.”
“You have a good eye,” the Queen’s Blade said. “Yes it appears to be a fake. I am afraid you have been cheated on this one he said handing it back to the younger fae.” Then he asked me, “Do you practice, Jade? Perhaps he would allow you to keep it since I have a feeling he no longer wants it.”
“I love sparring with swords,” I replied.
From my side, the Queen said, “Then let’s see what you can do with the Queen’s Blade, in a friendly sparring match. First blood to determine the winner.”
The Queen’s Blade called out the last sword and gathered the gold up in one pile calling for bets on our match. The fae loved betting on just about anything. I did doubt anyone was going to take his bet however, even I knew what the position of the Queen’s Blade meant. There was probably not a fae here that could beat him.
“I’ll take that bet,” the Queen said, and one of her attendants went to fetch some gold. Okay, I was thinking, the queen had just placed a bet on me, against her own Queen’s Blade. Maybe she knew more than she let on earlier. The royals around us looked at me strangely. They were also wondering what was going on. The Queen’s Blade just smiled.
“I am not really dressed for this,” I said. I looked at Diocletus. “Perhaps if you could lend me your belt?”
“Of course, “ he said taking it off and handing it to me. I was concerned the dress would billow out on me, getting in my way. The fact that I was wearing nothing underneath the gown might come in handy as a distraction, however. I was not beyond using all available resources, after all.
“I will need something to tie back my hair,” I said. The Queen handed me a ribbon from her cloak. Jeepers, I thought. I was in real trouble. I used it to tie my hair back in a pony tail, it might be a problem in a real fight, that’s why I normally wore my hair short but since this was more of a sparring match, I thought it would be better to have the hair not getting in front of my eyes. Diocletus handed me his sword rather than the fake one from the younger fae I thought I would be using.
“I am betting on Jade as well,” he said and emptied a large bag of gold on the table in front of him. “Any takers?” He had no trouble finding enough that were willing to bet against me to match his pile.
“Are we ready now?” the Queen asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“You may begin,” she said, looking at the Queen’s Blade.
The Queen’s Blade attacked immediately, at full speed and full force. Nothing half-way about this guy, I thought as I parried, barely meeting his initial attack.
As we fenced, I could tell he was one of the few talented swordsmen who could give me a real run for my money. He was a natural and had probably been practicing for decades if not centuries. I had just a little more in terms of speed and strength, in those two areas he was way past what I considered to be a normal fae’s talents. I was almost at my max, still a bit faster but not pushing it further. I had to stay faster, I realized as we went back and forth across the room because he was simply better than me, something that really shocked me to the core. I had not expected this.
Fifteen minutes in, neither of us had been able to penetrate the other’s defenses. Even with my strength, that is a long time to be continuously swinging a sword around. We were both starting to work up a real sweat.
I had an idea, wanting to take advantage of my shifter side, and leaped up on a long table we had come close to. He, of course followed. This table was covered with platters and trays of various food. My shifter side could smell the placement of these things easily and I allowed my nose to place my feet as I pushed the battle towards him. He retreated down the length of the table, stepping in one plate of food after another, starting to curse and swear the whole time. This is fun, I thought to myself as he stumbled a bit to get his balance. I almost had him then coming within a very small fraction of an inch of nicking his arm and ending our match.
He did the smart thing and jumped down from the table and I of course, followed. He almost had me a few minutes later, if I had not maxed out my top speed a few minutes earlier, he would have had me with a slice across my cheek. We were both starting to tire. I was thinking espresso and steaks. I was going to need a lot of food after this effort.
“I think we have seen enough,” the Queen said and we stopped, both breathing heavily. My gown was absolutely plastered to my body at this point. I think it was probably pretty obvious I had nothing on underneath. The Queen’s Blade looked at me in admiration.
To the Queen I said, “I think he may be better than me,” and she could hear the truth in that.
“It doesn’t mean I would have won the match,” he said and we could hear the truth in that as well. “Nice touch with the table, you almost had me there.”
“I will answer your petition now,” the Queen said. “I had somebody do a quick check on things. It is worse than I knew over there and my interests in the human world are already taking a beating. Noon two days hence I will visit your realm and meet with your Captain and the Mayor of your city. They will need to provide me with access to the evidence and I will assist in whatever way I can.”
The Queen’s Blade looked at his Queen. “If I may ask, how did you know she would be such a worthy opponent?”
“I heard she killed three zombies, without a flame thrower, and had taken out three vamps the day before. I don’t know how she did it but I guessed she was not without some great degree of talent.” To me she said, “Stay as long as you wish, you are welcome back here at any time.”
She held out her hand, ring side up, the ring with the royal crest on it. I bowed and kissed the ring.
* * * *
I was now a member of the Summer Queen’s personal court, I knew her offer and my acceptance had many consequences. I hoped I had made the right decision. The fact that her ring was made of one of the most beautiful pieces of jade I had ever seen probably helped in that acceptance.
I also knew I needed to go, but I had something I needed to do before I left. I looked to Diocletus, such a nice man, I felt. “Would you do me the p
leasure of the next dance?” I asked him. “I may not smell very good, but to dance with you before I leave would give me great joy.” He smiled. I think I had just made his day. The fae love to dance and he liked me. I felt like I had made another friend.
I went back the same way I had gone in, emerging in Kaosium’s office. I had returned the belt I had borrowed from Diocletus. The Summer Queen had insisted I keep the ribbon she gave me for my pony tail. They had all treated me like family, asking when I would come back for an extended stay.
My eyes kept the jade color and my hair, instead of growing shorter, actually even grew longer on my return, now about eighteen inches longer than when I had gone in. The shape of my eyes still seemed slightly narrower and my ears seemed a bit more pointy than when I had entered Faerie. I wondered if the Summer Queen had put some sort of spell on that ribbon.
I left the gown on Kaosium’s desk with a note that I would be back to purchase it in a few days but to please get it cleaned. I had no idea how to clean a fae made gown. I went out the back way and hailed a cab, I didn’t know if I was being watched. I had the cab stop at two Starbucks and a minute saver on the way home. They had some cheap red wine, I bought three bottles and every dark chocolate bar they had. A dozen shots of espresso and several chocolate bars later, I had the cab let me out a few blocks away from the safe house and walked the rest of the way, carrying my bag of goodies.
I was afraid they would not recognize me and let me through but my appearance must have been close enough. I spotted at least three undercover agents on my way in. I could sense Rolfe looking through the peephole as I approached the door, he had probably smelled me a mile away, I was in serious need of a shower.
“Smith,” he said. “Nice touch with the wig disguise but next time go blonde or redhead, this one is the same color as you hair.”
“Not a wig,” I said, “and please call me Jade.” There was a small dinette in an area off the kitchen, I could see they had been playing cards. I went over and took the seat with no cards in front of it. Chris and Sarah gave me a curious look but didn’t say anything.
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