Fae MisFortunes

by T K Eldridge

  We clinked beer bottles together. “Time to stop being academics and work on being cops, eh sis?”

  “Guess so, Sin. Either that, or we’re going to end up getting ourselves hurt, or whomever we’re working with. I don’t want that, do you?”

  “Nope. Oh, Tasha was going to tell the Commander that Corby and a couple of her buddies have been stalking Bast Pascal and the other two part Fae teachers at Collegiate. I will bet that they’re on administrative duty as punishment after she’s done talking to him.”

  “Really? Stalking?”

  “They’ve been staking out their homes, the school, and following them around. So yeah, stalking. And after what Corby did with you…”

  “Oh, Sin, you didn’t tell him about that, did you?”

  “Yeah, sis. I did. It’s wrong. And no, I didn’t run to him to tell him. I went to drop off my report and he asked about it. Someone else had said something.”

  Sid stabbed her fork into the container and grumbled under her breath.

  “No, they’re not going to think you’re some spoiled brat, whining to Grampa. He’s well aware of how things are playing out and he won’t undermine us like that. Relax. Corby is dangerous, Sid. It’s a good thing someone said something.”

  “Corby is just a rabid bigot. Sett said if Corby found out she was part Fae, she’d lose her shit. I’m tempted to get in her face and tell her, just to watch her head explode.”

  “No, Sid. Let it be. Let Grampa deal with her. He knows she’s unaware of her bloodline and if he feels she needs to know, he’ll tell her.”

  “Speaking of bigots, Grandma and I had a long talk and she knows she’s part Fae – and she’s really not happy. Give Mira a heads up, before she comes to dinner, okay? I don’t want her being blindsided if Grams ends up being a bitch that night.”

  “I’ll talk to Mira, but I’m also going to talk to Grams. I don’t want her embarrassing herself, or my Chosen, with her racial issues. I mean, would she have a problem if Mira was lily white instead of brown, like us? No. So why is this an issue?”

  “Because of kids,” Sid said. “She’s worried about how the magic will or will not happen with your offspring.”

  “And that’s not her problem. I’m already part Fae, Mira’s a Light Fae, our kids will have a smorgasbord of bloodlines to get their magic out of.”

  “Sylph, Earth Fae, Light Fae, witch or shifter. Or all of the above.”

  “Exactly. Although, I don’t know exactly what a Light Fae specializes in. I’m thinking it’s something we’d probably call Spirit. Daren saw his parents spirits and Mira told me there are guardian spirits around her place, but I’ve not felt or seen them. Ethan has ‘imaginary’ friends he plays with that Mira says she can see, so I am going to make an assumption on that until I can understand it better,” I told Sid.

  “Sounds like you guys still have a lot to work out,” Sid said.

  “Yeah, just because we’re bonded and Chosen doesn’t mean we have it all figured out yet. I’ll let you know if or when she decides to change the living situation.”

  “Actually, I was thinking I’d move there anyway. I kind of like the idea of having my own place, and that way you can bring Mira here sometime if you want. Give her a chance to see the place and decide if she likes it.”

  “As long as you agree to have dinner with me a couple of times a week and still do stuff together, like go for a run or something.”

  “Of course, Sin. We’re twins. That means we’re always connected. I just don’t want to be feeling it when you want some romance time with Mira,” Sid laughed. “Remember when I was making out with Jeremy out behind the garage and you felt it?”

  I shuddered and laughed. “Yeah, I remember that. I realized then I did not have those kinds of feelings for boys. It was disturbing for me.”

  “Well, I don’t want to be picking up on you and Mira either. This is good for both of us. It’s time we took the next step towards being individuals.”

  I leaned over and gave Sid’s hand a quick squeeze. “Never alone, Sid.”

  “Never alone, Sin,” she replied back.

  That had been our phrase since we were little. No matter what life threw at us, we would never face it alone. Granted, ancient prophecies and family expectations would never let us get too far from each other, but a healthy distance and some growing individuality could only be a good thing.

  “So,” Sid said, “did you tell Mira about the prophecy?”

  I guess we really were two of one. The same wavelength thing could really get on someone’s nerves. “Heh. I was just thinking about that. That it could only be healthy for us to put a little distance and some individuality into our lives. But no, I haven’t told her. What’s there to tell?”

  “Probably nothing, really, but if it comes up in conversation and she’s unaware, that could be awkward. I guess it’s already come to pass, or whatever, since it seems to just be talking about us coming into existence – male and female twins with all four bloodlines. There’s nothing more to it, right?”

  “Not that I can figure out, or that Grampa or Grandma have mentioned. I’ll tell her sometime.”

  My phone pinged and I pulled it out of my pocket to look at the screen. Sid laughed and I just shook my head. “Efficient. Ancient prophecy via text.” Sid had sent me the prophecy text in a message.

  “Herne, oh horn-ed one/ Hunter, watcher, hoof and horn/ Sun and moon shall be reborn/ Two of two that act as one/ Danu, mother of us all/ Bring all that is, into the two/ Gifting them with all that lies/ In magic under seas and skies”

  It used to be on a plaque that hung over the fireplace in the house we grew up in, but that house had burned to the ground last year and the plaque had gone with it. It wasn’t until after that all happened that we learned it was a prophecy about us. That was when we were told about the Fae and Mythic bloodlines we carried along with our witch and shifter bloodlines. Honestly? Big whoop. I didn’t see what was so impressive about it all. The more we dug, the more we learned that a lot of others had two bloodlines. There must’ve been more than just us that were born with multiple bloodlines. Maybe the twin boy/girl thing was special, but the rest of it? Yeah, I wasn’t buying it.

  “Hey Sid, did you ever think that maybe that whole prophecy thing was just bad poetry by one of our ancestors that had the gift of precognition?”

  I then watched my sister choke on the snort of laughter that happened while she had a mouthful of beer. She finally got ahold of herself while I laughed at her flailing for a napkin before she swallowed and spoke.

  “Timing, Sin. Damn, that hurt. Snorting beer up your nose is not fun. And yeah, that kinda makes as much sense as anything else we’ve heard, huh?”

  “I wonder who actually wrote it down. Maybe you can dig in the grimoire?”

  Sid had the family grimoire locked in a magical box and hidden under the floorboards of her closet here in the cottage. Mom had given it to her a few months back and we’d both spent a lot of time going over it, but Sid was really into it.

  “I’ve gone as far back as the Revolutionary War, and I haven’t seen any mention of it in any of the older entries. Then again, I wasn’t really looking for the prophecy specifically, just reading the spells and histories. I’ll pull it out later and spend some time with it.”

  We spent some time catching each other up on the case and the problems we kept running into when both of our phones went off. I looked at the text and got to my feet. “I’ll drive,” I said as I headed for the closet to get my gear bag and weapon.

  “Works for me,” Sid said as she put the food containers into the fridge, then ran upstairs to change into jeans instead of her pajama pants. I had the SUV started up and her gear bag stowed with mine by the time she locked up and joined me. I was driving down the road while Sid put on her weapon and pulled her hair up into a ponytail.

  “Hit the Bluetooth to call in?” Sid asked and I did, listening to the phone ring through.

  “Commande
r Walsh here,” Grampa said.

  “Commander, it’s Sin and Sid, we’re on our way.”

  “Okay, kids. There’s a report of a disturbance at the rec hall at Collegiate. Tasha and Ian are already on their way. Sett and I will be there in a few. Why don’t you two go there and back them up?”

  “Will do, sir. See you there.”

  The call disconnected and I heard Sid mutter. “How much do you want to bet it’s either another kid being taken or Corby being an idiot?”

  “I’ll put ten on both.”

  Lights and sirens got us there in record time. Sid sent a text to Tasha and Ian that we were on our way and Ian replied that they were inside the rec hall lobby. We got out and headed that way, our badges on chains around our necks as we moved through a small crowd of people towards the lobby. When we got there, a woman was sobbing into the chest of an angry looking man, and I saw Bast Pascal in handcuffs, looking pale while Corby stood behind him, one hand on his upper arm. She was arguing with Tasha while Ian tried to talk to the couple, his notepad in hand. Sid went to help Ian and I went to Tash.

  “Hey, Bast. You okay?” I asked, doing my best to ignore Corby for the moment.

  “I don’t feel too well, actually,” Bast said. “I need the restroom.”

  Tash looked at me and nodded. “You take him to the restroom, Boudreau. I’ll deal with Officer Corby.”

  “He’s my prisoner!” Corby snarled. “He’s not going anywhere.”

  “Then he’ll puke on your shoes and in your car, Corby. Take a breath, I’m not going to let him climb out a fucking window,” I said as I reached out to block her grip with my body and escort Bast to the men’s room across the lobby. She didn’t want to let go at first, but I physically moved myself between her and Bast and pushed her away as he started to walk. Corby could either let go or slam into me. She chose to let go. I kept a hand on Bast’s upper arm because he was shaking so hard I feared he might go down.

  “Hang in there, Bast. We’re almost to the restroom.”

  Once inside, I locked the door, then checked to make sure the stalls were empty. When I saw we were alone, I unlocked his cuffs and leaned back against the outside door. “Go ahead, pull yourself together.”

  Bast went to the sink and ran cold water before he splashed his face a couple of times, then cupped his hand to drink some.

  “Can you tell me what’s going on?” I asked.

  “Justin Duchamp and Steven Mills were fighting in the lobby. They’re two students here at Collegiate. I was breaking up the fight when a figure in all black appeared.”

  “A figure…appeared? Like, just showed up or ran up or what?”

  Bast shook his head. “I don’t know. I wasn’t watching the doors, I was busy keeping the boys from beating each other senseless. Then Justin yelled and I looked up and this black figure was just there. I’m guessing it was male, but it was covered from head to foot in black. Gloves, boots, one of those silk type ski masks with the eyes and mouth covered, everything was covered. I saw a hand lift and the next thing I know, that Officer was handcuffing me, Steven was being taken out on a stretcher, and a paramedic was asking me if I was okay.”

  “And Justin was gone?”

  “I guess so? Officer Corby said I took him, but I was lying on the floor with Steven when she came in with the paramedics.”

  “Get yourself dried off and we’ll go back out there. I am not going to cuff you again, but please, don’t do anything stupid. We’ll get this figured out.”

  Bast nodded and looked relieved.

  “Bast,” I said, “Stick with me and I’ll get you cleared. Fuck me over and I’ll put you in a cell myself. Got it?”

  “Got it. Thanks, Officer Boudreau.”

  I unlocked the door and we went back over to Tasha and Corby. I handed Corby her cuffs and she started to lose her shit.

  “How dare you uncuff my prisoner? How dare you?”

  I just smiled at her. “I wasn’t going to shake it off for him, Corby. Relax. He’s innocent anyway.”

  Tasha gave me a tight smile. “That’s what I’ve been saying. The paramedics found him just coming around next to the other boy. He couldn’t have taken Justin.” She turned to Corby, “Now I’m going to ask you to get outside and handle the crowd control. The Commander should be here shortly.”

  Corby’s face was bright red as she spluttered, then stomped to the doors and slammed one open hard enough to bounce it off the wall outside. We could hear her yelling at the people out in front before the door closed behind her.

  Tasha then looked at Bast. “We do need you to come down to the station and answer some questions, but you are not suspect, Mr. Pascal. Thank you for being so accommodating.”

  Bast gave her a wry smile and nodded, then glanced over at the parents Sid and Ian were speaking to. “Those are Justin’s parents. They were in the hall for the science fair along with about two hundred other people.”

  “What were the boys fighting about?” I asked Bast.

  “They both had done similar projects and Steven accused Justin of using magic to make his work more smoothly. They came out here, the fight took off, and I heard them yelling from where I stood watch by the doors. I came out to break it up and you know the rest.”

  I turned to Tasha, “From what Bast said, it looks like the kidnapper used magic to subdue them.” I then looked at Bast. “Did you recognize anything about the feel of the magic?”

  Bast paused and looked thoughtful. “I’ve not felt that kind of magic before exactly but it felt similar to the kind of magic Daren Simmons can do. He’s got some witch magic, but mostly fae magic. The flavor is similar.”

  “So, it is likely the magic wielder is full fae,” I said.

  “I’d agree with that, yes,” Bast replied.

  The Commander and Sett entered the lobby then and the look on the Commander’s face made me glad it was not directed at me. Sett went over to Sid and Ian while the Commander came over to us and looked to Tash for a status report.

  Bast was still looking pale and I leaned close to speak quietly to him. “Do you need the paramedics or anything? You still look pale enough to fall over.”

  “No, I should be okay. I feel like I just got off the world’s worst roller coaster ride. Queasy and wobbly, but it’s fading.”

  “Got it. If you need anything or start to feel worse, let me know, okay?”

  “Appreciate it,” Bast replied.

  Once Tasha filled him in, the Commander turned to Bast. “Mr. Pascal, I personally apologize for the behavior of Officer Corby. She will be disciplined for her actions. I am also grateful that you are willing to come down to the station and help us fill out the reports. The smallest bit of information may be the most helpful.”

  I couldn’t help the surge of quiet joy when I heard that Corby would be disciplined. It had been difficult to not just ambush the twat and beat her senseless for what she did to Sid. I could play those scenarios out in my head all I wanted, but actually doing it? That wasn’t me. Not anymore, anyway. When I was a young teen, I was a lot more volatile. I got into fights all the time, probably just like Steven and Justin.

  “Steven’s a shifter, isn’t he?” I asked Bast.

  “Yes, how did you guess?”

  “Temper and hormones. I remember the fury well. Justin is one of the part Fae kids, isn’t he?”

  “I have felt fae magic from him, but his paperwork doesn’t say fae,” Bast said.

  “Well, that explains why he wasn’t being watched,” the Commander replied. “We put watchers on all of the fae identified children.”

  “And the perp took one of the non-watched ones. So, we are impacting his schedule. Good,” I said.

  “Commander, perhaps an announcement for the school tomorrow would be useful?” Tasha asked. “One in which you send home information to the parents that if their child is part fae, to let your office know so the children can be better protected?”

  “That’s a good idea, Officer Campbel
l. I’ll talk to Headmaster McGinty about it tonight. Sin? Take Mr. Pascal back to the station and get his statement. Tasha? I’d like you to help with that, to make sure Mr. Pascal is comfortable and there can be no questions about his treatment from here on out.”

  Tasha and I both nodded and I turned to Bast. “That work for you? I’ll drive you there and then drop you home. We can load your bike in my SUV.”

  “Yeah, that works,” Bast said. “I need to grab my bag and keys.”

  “I’ll meet you guys at the station,” Tasha said.

  She headed out and I followed Bast into the hall, now empty of most of the parents and kids. He got his things and we slipped out a side door to avoid the crowd out front.

  “What’s going to happen to that other officer?” Bast asked.

  “I don’t know, but the Commander has had enough of her shit. She’s been a problem for a while now. I’m just sorry she took it out on you, too.”

  “Eh, I’m fine. I just hope I can remember enough to really help you guys.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  Chapter Ten

  Sid

  I stepped up beside Ian and listened as he spoke to Justin Duchamp’s parents.

  “Mr. Duchamp, I understand you’re upset and worried about your son, but threats and recriminations are not going to help me find him. Please, take a moment to calm yourself so we can both work towards finding Justin,” Ian said.

  He was so calm. I really could learn a lot from him. I watched how upset Mrs. Duchamp was and decided she needed water. It was a good way to get people to calm and center, so I went into the main hall and found the refreshment table and grabbed two bottles of water. By the time I got back, Ian had managed to get both parents to sit outside one of the offices and I joined him to silently hand each parent a bottle of water.

  Ian nodded his gratitude to me and Mrs. Duchamp sniffled her thanks. I watched as she drank some of the water and let out a breath. She might be able to hold a conversation soon after all. Yeah, I know, I’m being an asshole. She just had her son stolen and all that. I guess I just didn’t get all twisted up about stuff like normal people. Growing up in a family full of cops, you learned stoicism early. It didn’t mean we weren’t emotional or loving or easy to anger – it just meant that stuff that other people would fall apart over, we didn’t until later. When we were alone. In our bedrooms. Behind closed doors. Maybe.