by Kimbra Swain
“Don’t you fucking honey me,” I growled. The power in my tattoo ignited, the room swirled, and I left them standing there just like my brother had.
“My brother is here,” I said.
“You sealed the bard,” he said.
“Not now, Daddy,” I pleaded.
He raised his eyebrows at the endearment. I was manipulating him. He knew it, but he followed along just the same. “Which one?” Father asked.
“I don’t know. He won’t talk to me, but his eyes are your eyes. They are my eyes,” I said.
“Hmm,” he pondered.
“Don’t you do this to me, too,” I warned.
“Do what?” Oberon asked as his ghostly figure stood on the triquetra stone. I sat in the grass below him. I hadn’t summoned him, but he appeared not long after I shifted myself to the meadow.
“Avoid the truth. I’m getting sick of it,” I said.
“Who is lying to you?” he asked.
“No one that I know of. It’s like they all dance around the truth. Nestor knows who he is. Dylan talked to him, and he is refusing to talk to me until he is ready,” I said.
“Perhaps they are protecting you,” he suggested.
“Perhaps I don’t need protection,” I replied.
“But you do, Gloriana. Even this moment, my brother sends out killers. Their blades will sing for your blood. Their arrows will fly to your heart. Their magic will rise to crush you. He wants you dead. You and all our blood,” father warned.
Rubbing my forehead, I refused to look at him. Was my life really in that much danger? The most danger I’d seen over the years was from the Sanhedrin who had mellowed in recent times. They hunted me like pack hounds. The confrontation with Lysander was scary, but not as dangerous as one would think. I was in more danger of being evil there, than anyone else.
The Yule Lads were more comical than dangerous, including their mother. The witches hadn’t really scared me, nor the demon. I knew how to handle both of them. The only thing that really came close to killing me was my uncle who shot iron nails into my leg which slowly poisoned me.
“Where are you?” Levi’s panicked voice echoed in my head. I winced as it broke my concentration.
“Your bond to him is strong,” Father commented which I ignored.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry,” I said.
“You know, I can find you,” he replied.
“Yeah, well, I don’t want to be found. Please respect that,” I begged.
“He’s going nuts,” Levi said. I knew which he he meant.
“Tell him that I am fine. I will be home later,” I said.
“I can find you without him,” Levi said. My father laughed. I shot him a go to hell look but occurred to me that he was already dead yet the afterlife hadn’t completely claimed him.
“Can I please have a few moments alone?!” I protested.
“No. You can’t,” Levi replied, then I felt his presence on the edge of the circle. “He’s not here.”
“Levi, go home,” I said, leaving it as a request instead of an order. “How did you get here so fast?”
“That little swirly paint trick,” he said.
“How is that possible?” I asked.
“You did it with me. I felt it, and copied it,” he explained as he sat down next to me.
“Well done, Bard,” my Father said. Levi only nodded to him.
“Come home,” he said.
“No. Levi, I’m so sick of everyone treating me like I’m some fragile bird. I need to know what’s going on with my brother. I need to understand this connection between us. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired!” I shouted. Levi didn’t flinch.
“I can’t answer those questions, but he can,” he said pointing at my father’s ghost.
“What do you want to know, Grace?” Oberon asked.
“Which brother is here?” I asked.
“I am not sure because you have close to 40 brothers,” he said. It sounded like a boast. I didn’t care about my father’s fertility. Levi looked impressed. I slapped him on the arm. He rubbed the spot and rolled his eyes.
“Okay. The connection with Levi and I. Explain whatever you can about it,” I said. “I know you sent Jeremiah to find him and instructed him to bring Levi back to me.”
“I knew Levi’s father. In fact, I knew his mother as well because William was so in love with her. When Levi was born, we knew he had been born with the bard gene. When Jeremiah informed me that the Sanhedrin in Texas were hunting William, I sent him to fetch Levi. My intentions were to bring him back to the Otherworld to be trained. However, when Jeremiah got there, Levi had already left. We were unable to stop the Sanhedrin from executing William. It mattered little because he was dying without Levi’s mother,” Father paused.
I turned my eyes to Levi. “You want to hear this?”
“Yes,” he said solemnly.
“Once Jeremiah caught up with Levi, he knew he was in a world of trouble. He brought him to you by my request. I knew that you could defeat the demon and the witches if necessary. It was exciting to know that the herald tradition of the bards had returned to our family. I saw the two of you together in Shady Grove. The day they arrested you. I knew that he would be better off with you than with me, but more than anything, I knew he would do anything for you,” Oberon admitted.
“You used him,” I said.
“Yes. Shortly after, he became your servant. I suppose you know when that happened,” he suggested.
“Yes,” I replied.
“The connection between the two of you is whatever you want it to be. He’s not bound by anything to provide any services to you except for those you ask of him,” Father said.
“What about his Ghan Canna heritage?” I asked. Levi waited patiently for me to ask the questions. He knew I would ask the right ones.
“It’s filtered by his human side. He’s not bound to you by it,” Father said.
Levi huffed then turned away. He paced to the outer edge of the stones with his hands on his hips. “Then why do I feel like this?”
“Because you love her,” Oberon offered.
Levi hit his knees with his head in his hands. I ran over to him, falling to my knees before him. “This is a good thing,” I said.
“How is that possible? It’s not good,” he said. “Dylan will kill me.”
“No, Levi. I’m sorry, but I’m going to break your heart. And just like any other broken heart, you can get over it. You aren’t bound to me in that way. It means you, we, can find the right girl for you,” I encouraged him.
He pressed his lips together, shaking his head. “No.”
“Yes! Levi, I think a lot of what you are feeling is just the sexual attraction between us. It’s the fairy thing,” I explained.
“You feel nothing toward me? At all?” he asked.
His deep blue eyes stared at me waiting for a response. I hesitated too long. I couldn’t say no. I knew my heart and soul belonged to Dylan, but I couldn’t tell Levi no.
“Make me forget,” he said.
“What?” I asked.
“You can erase my memory. The book says you can,” he said.
“The book says a lot of things. Things that Taliesin thought to be true, however, not everything in the book is absolute. If you forget Grace, you will forget your gift,” Oberon warned.
“Is that what you want? I will do what you want,” I told him.
“I don’t think it matters, Grace. If you took the memories away, I’m pretty sure I’d fall every time I looked at you again,” he said. He raised his hand and traced a tear down my cheek. It had to be the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me. “Maybe you are right. I just need to find the right woman.”
“Well, that’s settled,” my inconsiderate father blurted out. “What other questions do you have, Grace?”
I watched Levi for another moment. “Go ahead,” he said. I stood up and approached my father’s ghost again.
“Why would Chris Purcell, my broth
er, and Lamar, the Yule Lad, steal the sylph’s egg?” I asked.
Levi started giggling behind me. The mood swings on this one. “What is wrong with you?” I asked.
“The pig stole the egg from the bird,” he said.
“Huh?” I questioned his sanity at this point. My father didn’t seem to get it either.
He pulled out his cell phone, opening a game on the phone. “See. The pigs took the eggs from the birds,” he explained.
“Holy Hell. What kind of shit is that?” I asked.
“A game,” he shrugged.
I dismissed him, but he continued to giggle like a girl. At least he had moved on from whatever just happened over there. Compartmentalization wasn’t a terrible skill to have.
“Why?” I repeated to my father.
“The egg is not her offspring. It was a gift to me. Each of the elemental fairies gave me an egg. The eggs were concentrations of their power. I was able to wield the elements with the permissions of the elementals through the eggs. If someone has taken it, then she is angry because it truly does belong to her. When in all actuality it should belong to you,” he explained.
“I can wield the elements besides winter?” I asked because I knew lots of spells. I just never imagined I had the power to do anything outside the inherent magic tied to my ice queen fairy.
“With their permission. You must retrieve the egg. All of them if possible and return them to their owners. If they trust you, they will gift them to you,” Father explained. “This would be easier if you would just take back my power.”
“No,” I quickly retorted.
“Very well,” he said. “What else?”
“There is a stable portal in a hedge near here. Chris and my brother are using it to take things from the vault,” I replied.
“I know of the portal, and it does indeed go to my castle in the Otherworld. If Brockton catches them, he will kill them. On the flip side, everything they are taking belongs to you now. You should confront them,” he said.
“Every time I try to talk to my brother people keep me away from him,” I huffed.
“Grace, use your gifts. You have them in abundance,” he said. “You should go.”
“Why?”
“You need to go home,” he said simply.
“Levi!” I called out to him. His hand found mine, and the world swirled around us. We landed in the front yard of the trailer. It was dark inside.
We rushed to the front door. Dylan stood up from the recliner and rushed me. “I’m sorry. Please, Grace.”
“Stop groveling. You make your choices. Live with them,” I scolded him. Anger furrowed his brow at my abruptness, but my father’s statement had me worried. Everything seemed to be fine at home.
Levi backed away from us. “Goodnight,” he said as he ducked into his room.
“Where were you?”
“Talking to Father,” I said.
“Did he tell you anything this time?” he asked. Frustration laced his tone. I looked toward Levi’s door.
“Yeah. What’s wrong here? He said I had to leave. He said I needed to go home,” I said.
“Nothing is wrong here,” Dylan said. He panicked for a moment, looking out all the windows as if an attack were imminent.
“He means the Otherworld,” I said.
Dylan shook his head. “Probably.”
“Come to bed. I’ll tell you what I learned,” I said.
“Then what?” he lifted an eyebrow.
“None of that, Mr. Sandy Hair. You can forget it!” I protested. I knew, later on, I wouldn’t be able to resist him. Especially since Levi had my hormones tied in knots.
The following day went by uneventfully. I spent most of the day doing normal things like cleaning house and grocery shopping. We had a nice dinner together that evening. Winnie dominated the conversation talking about her fairies and how funny they were. Bramble and Briar hung back from the dinner table waiting patiently for their milk allotment. After dinner, I helped Winnie fix them each a cap full of milk. She offered them some sugar wafers which they delightfully devoured.
After putting Winnie to bed, we sat in the living room. It felt like a family meeting. I’d seen them on sitcoms for years. We didn’t fit the sitcom family mold though. Dylan and Levi sipped beers while I nursed an orange soda.
“Have you considered sending her away?” Dylan asked me.
“Away where?” I replied.
“School. There are places,” he said. “I’ve heard of a school in Massachusetts that caters to special cases. There is one north of Chicago as well.”
“I’m not sending her away. No one can protect her like we can,” I replied. “I can’t believe you would suggest it.”
“Grace, you know this town is falling apart. It will rip itself to pieces before it’s over,” Dylan said.
“Doom and gloom, Man,” Levi scolded. “Chill out.”
“We are talking about my daughter, Levi. I wouldn’t expect you to understand,” Dylan said.
“I was Uncle Levi long before you were Daddy,” Levi spat back.
“You done? ‘Cause I’m tired of the pissing match. Winnie stays here,” I finished the discussion. “As for the town, I’ve considered trying to block it off somehow.”
“It’s possible,” Levi replied. “There is something about it in the book.”
“What creates a safe zone?” Dylan asked.
“No more like a large continuous glamour for the city,” Levi said. “But it requires an elemental power source.”
“Like an egg,” I replied, and he nodded.
“The sylph egg,” Dylan said. “But why would Purcell want it? It’s not like he can set that kind of thing up. It would take someone powerful like Brock or…”
“Riley?” Levi asked.
I inhaled. Riley was definitely powerful in her own right, but I doubted she cared that much about Shady Grove. However, she did have the book which contained the information that Levi knew about the protection spell.
“Maybe that’s why she took the book,” I offered.
“Hell no. I don’t believe she’s in it to help everyone,” Dylan said, which was true. She could have just given us the book and let us take care of it. She had the book for other reasons. “Why are you still trying to see the good in her?”
“I have to believe there is redemption for all of us. I know I need it,” I said thinking back to my years before I came to Shady Grove. Hell on wheels. Granted it was the wheels of a trailer or other moving home.
When I left the Otherworld, I roamed around until I settled in with a band of gypsies. It didn’t take me long to realize they were fairies. Or at least mostly fairies. I was adopted into their troop under a fake name, Hannah.
We traveled across Europe avoiding the Sanhedrin hunters. It never failed that we would be descended upon by a few of the zealots. We always lost people. At first, I just feared for my life, but later on, the people became like family to me. I kept my distance, except for the few available men in the troop. One, in particular, Fordele, spent a lot of time with me. Ford, as I called him long before vehicles were invented, kept me company at night and tended the animals during the day. We always met by the nearest watering hole for evening baths. After my many trips into the real world from my father’s realm, I had never attached myself to one man. I can’t say that Ford and I were attached long enough to matter, because late one evening after a long rowdy, musical party, we entertained each other in the quiet of his wagon.
The Sanhedrin raided the troop, and we scattered. One of the black-robed zealots dragged me to the ground by my ankles. Ford pounced on him which made the Sanhedrin release me. I can hear his voice telling me to run. As I turned to run, another Sanhedrin beat him down. I ran until I couldn’t run anymore. I was very young then. Going to find him wasn’t an option. The Sanhedrin was known for executing fairies. I knew Ford was dead the moment they subdued him. From that point on, I made sure not to get involved with any man more than once. Unti
l I met Remington Blake, who turned out to be his own kind of disaster.
“Where did you go, Grace?” Dylan brought me back to our conversation.
“Just thinking about the problems I’ve caused over the years,” I mumbled. However, I remembered the mystic we had in the troop, Barsami Ingram. Sami had a way to mask the troop when we circled wagons for the night. Thinking about it now, I assumed that it was similar to whatever spell Levi found in the book. “How much of the spell do you remember, Levi?”
“All of it. I memorized everything that I could in the book,” he said.
“I know of a similar spell, but it took several people of power to pull it off,” I replied.
“Yes, it does. We should have plenty of people in town to accomplish it,” he said.
Dylan eyed me for a moment. “You never talk about knowing spells,” he said.
“So? Doesn’t mean I don’t know them?” I replied. Before I could berate him for underestimating me, someone knocked on the door. Levi stood to get it. I heard her voice even though I couldn’t see her.
“Oh, well, hello young man. You must be Levi. I swear, the Queen has the best-looking men all to herself,” she rattled on. “I need to speak to her if it’s possible. If it’s a bad time, I can come back. I know it’s late and if the little one is up, or something like that I can come back. I hate to bother her, but it’s important.” She wouldn’t draw breath, so I approached the door.
“Henrietta, please come in,” I cut her off.
Levi opened the door wide for her. She waddled in wringing her hands. “I’m so sorry to bother you, but I didn’t know where else to go.”
“What’s wrong, Mrs. Purcell?” Dylan asked.
“It’s Chris. He went off with Lamar and the Unseelie man and they haven’t come back. They were supposed to meet someone about business. He should have been home,” she explained.
“Chris lives in that house with you?” I asked.
“He’s my husband. Of course, he does,” she returned.
“He’s never been much for keeping house as long as I’ve known him,” I added.
“No, but a good woman can straighten a man out,” she said matter-of-factly. I shot a look at Dylan who hid a smile behind his hand.