by Elle Casey
“No, actually, I’m not. Go ahead to breakfast without me. I’m not hungry.”
“Well if you didn’t eat dinner then you have to eat breakfast. They’re not big on in-between meal snacks around here.”
“I don’t care.”
Becky sighed. “Okay, listen. You stay here, I’ll be right back.”
She left and I sighed. Good. Now I could go back to sleep.
I had just started to drift off when I heard voices outside my door. There was a knock and then the door slowly opened.
Becky came in with two plates followed by Finn and Spike.
“I’m back! And I brought reinforcements!” She walked over and set a plate with some food on it on my side table. “Eat. And don’t argue.”
I groaned in disgust at her, but I sat up and took the plate in my lap. Becky sat on my bed and the guys sat on the floor next to us.
“So,” said Becky, shoving half a sausage in her mouth, “What’s the deal? Why are you so cranky?”
I pushed the food around on my plate. None of it looked appetizing. “I don’t know where to start.”
“Tell us what happened yesterday.”
I told them about the incident with Chase and then the incident in Dardennes’ office, including the fact that I had to work with Gregale today. By the time I was done, they were pretty much speechless. “And I haven’t even told you the worst part yet.”
“Tell us,” said Finn, putting his plate down on the floor, giving me his full attention.
“You know I’ve been emailing Tony, right?”
Becky and Spike nodded.
“Well, he’s made a new friend, some new guy at the school named Ben who I’ve never heard of. Anyway, in just three days this guy has like totally taken over Tony’s life. Tony has changed his hair, his clothes, he wears contacts now ... he’s totally different.”
Becky looked at me all sensitive-like. “Well, some of that is a good thing, right? I mean, Tony was kind of awkward looking.” She cringed a little, probably worried about offending me.
“That shit doesn’t matter to me. It’s just like this guy has gone in and totally bulldozed Tony’s life. In less than a week, he’s quit computer club, chess club, and he’s bad-talking his mom, which he never did before. He told me in his last email not to expect to hear from him for a few days. And he’s saying stuff that tells me this guy Ben is telling him not to email me or something.” I shook my head, “Maybe I’m just being jealous or paranoid or something.”
“Well, I know Tony is special to you,” said Becky, “So it’s only natural you’d be jealous as he moves on.”
“But this is more than moving on, Becky. At least, it sure seems like it.”
“You know,” said Finn carefully, “we’ve been learnin’ a lot of this warfare stuff in our trainin’ and this sounds a lot like psychological warfare to me.”
“Oh, come on, do you really believe that?” asked Spike, laughing. “Why would anyone wage psychological warfare on Tony? Of all people? He’s not even fae.”
“It ain’t Tony that it’s being done to, dumbass.” Finn looked meaningfully at Spike and then at me.
I was just confused. “What do you mean?”
“What I mean is, don’t you think it’s a little coincidental that Tony goes back and immediately he’s got a new best friend who’s takin’ over his life, and at the same time Jared goes back to south Florida to deal with some Dark Fae issues? I mean, it’s a long shot, but if the goal is to mess with Jayne, it’s workin’.”
I looked at him like he was crazy. “Nawwww. That’s not what’s going on. This guy is just ... I don’t know. Looking for a certain friend and he’s fitting Tony into that mold. I’m just not happy with how easily Tony is letting himself be changed.”
Finn shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno. The way the green elves talk, this war is a heck of a lot closer than any of the elders are lettin’ us think. And the Dark Fae know an awful lot about us. Shee-it, Jayne, one of them tried to get you shot with thirty elf arrows two days ago, and a spelled arrow yesterday! If they know that much about you now – that you’re some important fae that should have a target on her back – I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to think that they know about your relationship with Tony. He was here too, you know. Best way to get to you is through the people you love. Them’s war tactics one-oh-one, ladies and gentlemen.”
I didn’t want to think about what Finn was saying because I was already worried enough about Tony; this was going to put me into panic overload.
“Shit, Finn, you’re getting her all freaked out now.” Spike stood up, disgusted. “Listen, Jayne. I hear what you’re saying about Tony. He’s a good guy. Talk to him; see what he says. If he’s still acting all wrong, maybe we can talk to Dardennes about making a visit, or seeing if Jared can at least stop by to see him while he’s there or something.”
Becky rubbed my leg. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Why don’t we just do that now?”
“I think when I left Dardennes’ office, cutting Ivar on my way out, I probably put myself on the bottom of the list of people he’s willing to help.”
Becky shook her head. “Dardennes is fair. He likes you. I know you don’t think so, but he does. But hey, if you don’t want to talk to him, we can go talk to Céline. I know you like her.”
I nodded. She was right. I was okay with talking to Céline.
“Come on. Maybe we can catch her before she’s done with breakfast.”
We all stood up. I grabbed the brush out of my dresser and did what I could to get a decent ponytail going. I threw the brush back in the drawer, noticing the empty silver tray on top of my dresser. “I have to get a token too.”
We all went out, heading to the dining hall, the basic plan being to ask Céline if Jared could go check on Tony and to get tokens for our housekeeping brownies. I was just hoping I wouldn’t see Ivar or Dardennes in there. In all the craziness, I had kinda blown off Dardennes’ order to work with Gregale today. As if life didn’t suck enough already.
I scanned the room when I entered but didn’t see Céline, but I did see Gregale though, and he didn’t look any happier about working with me as I was about working with him. I debated staying in my room for the day and ignoring Dardennes’ order, but the idea of being alone in that cell all day was even worse than the idea of being with Gregale.
I sat and ate the rest of my breakfast that I had carried from my room and then got up when I saw Gregale get to his feet. “See you later guys. I have to go work with the traitor now.”
Becky gave me a pitying look. “You’ll be fine, Jayne, just try to stay positive.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. Do you mind putting a token on my tray? I think Gregale’s leaving.”
“Sure, no problem.” She shoved a forkful of eggs into her mouth.
“Give him a purple one if you can find one.”
Becky nodded, giving me a thumbs up.
I dragged my feet as I walked towards the door.
Chapter 15
Gregale left the room after glancing over his shoulder to make sure I was following. I stayed about ten feet behind him as he made his way down the corridor off the dining hall. We walked for a long way, much longer than I was used to here. It was impossible for me to get a feel for how big this compound was or even its layout because of all these spelled hallways that seemed to all go in the same direction but couldn’t possibly.
Eventually he stopped at one of the doors, pulling on the iron ring attached to it. I noticed a symbol in the middle of the door; it looked like a figure eight lying on its side – like a really dangerous racetrack where the cars would wreck into each other if they weren’t timing their laps perfectly. I wondered if all the doors had symbols on them. I should probably pay better attention to stuff like that in the future, especially if I wanted to get out of here one day soon. I couldn’t count on the fact that they would agree to my departure, so it’s possible I would have to stage a breakout. I hoped
it wouldn’t come to that – it’s not like I felt like a prisoner here – but I never knew anything for sure with these fae.
I stepped out of the hallway and into a clearing. We were still in the forest, but it was definitely a different part of it than I had been in before. If I were to use one word to describe this place I would say: ‘stunning’. The trees were more spread out and there was more sunlight. There were wildflowers mixed in with the heather and grasses at our feet. Butterflies flitted from one flower to the next, staying in place for a few seconds before moving on to another temporary landing pad. Some came and rested on Gregale’s shoulders, which was surprising to me. It seemed to me butterflies should be able to sense the bad vibes of a flaming asshole like him and avoid them like the plague.
Gregale was smiling. He turned his face up to the sun and put his arms out, like he was giving the warm rays a big hug. It was strange to see him that way. He actually looked happy. I couldn’t help but stare.
He stopped and turned his head to look at me. “What are you staring at?” His face went from happy to sour in a split second.
“Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, I think.”
“Who are they?”
“They are actually one person, from a story, who had a split personality – one of them good and one of them evil.”
“And you are saying I am this person?”
“Yes.”
“I do not have a split personality.”
“You could’ve fooled me.”
“Do you have any idea how irritating you are?”
“Approximately one-half as irritating as you are, if my calculations are correct.”
The elf took a deep, calming breath, once again facing the sun with his eyes closed. “I brought you here because this is the most peaceful place I know. I thought it might help us move past our ... conflicts.”
I looked around, appreciating the thought. “Well, I can see why you would pick this place. It is pretty nice.”
He tilted his head a little towards me and opened one eye, just staring at me.
“What?”
“I’m checking to see if you are being sarcastic.”
I shrugged. “I’m not. It’s a nice place. This is the most sunshine I’ve seen in days. I’m used to sun all the time.”
He stopped his ‘find a happy place’ exercise and turned to look at me face to face.
“Where are you from?”
“The United States. A place called Florida.”
“I know of this place. I have not been there before. You say there is sun there all the time?”
“Yeah, pretty much. Except when it’s raining, which is kind of often, actually.”
Gregale stared off into the distance, like he was thinking about what I said. After a while he said, “I’ve lived in the Green Forest my whole life.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m only two hundred and fifty-eight human years old.”
“Only?” I laughed. He was older than the United States.
“Why is that funny?”
“Because I’m only seventeen years old.”
He smiled. “You are but a newborn in my world.”
“No matter how you figure it, I’m a newborn in your world. I’m a three-day-old fae.”
He put his head down, looking sad. “This is an impossible task.”
“What is?”
“Trying to prepare you.”
“I’m not an idiot, you know.”
He shook his head. “I apologize for my words earlier, calling into question your intelligence.”
“I believe your words were that I’m as stupid as I look.”
His face reddened. “Yes, well, that was a bit much, wasn’t it?”
I laughed. “Yeah, maybe a bit of overkill. You know, Dardennes is right about one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m just uneducated about fae stuff. I’m actually a quick learner when the subject is something that interests me.”
“And does the fae way of life interest you?”
I wasn’t shy about admitting it. “Of course it does. Wouldn’t you be interested if you were in my moccasins? I mean, one day I’m walking down the street an ordinary human, not even knowing the fae species exists, and then all of a sudden I’ve got superpowers that knock people on their asses, my friends can teleport, sense things, suck the life out of things ... it’s pretty friggin’ awesome, actually. Scary and freaky sometimes, but awesome.”
“Yes, I can see now, when you put it that way, how it might be a little overwhelming.”
“You have no idea.”
“So, I suppose since you have a thirst for knowledge, and I happen to have copious amounts of it, we could easily make a day of this project. Or many days.” He looked at me, a bit shy all of a sudden. “Of course, only if you concur. If you do not think it would be worth your while, I am certain there are other places you could be. There are plenty of warrior elves who I would wager would love to match skills against yours.”
“You’re not a warrior elf?”
“Not in the way you mean, probably. I do not fight with my hands generally. I am more of a ‘mind over matter’ elf.”
“Does that mean you move things with your mind? Or you just use your brains figuratively?”
“No, I do not have telekinetic powers. Some fae do obviously, but not the gray elves. No, we are known for our superior intellect. We are most able to help the cause by analyzing intelligence that is gathered and by engaging in psychological warfare schemes. Other fae carry out our plans.”
“Psychological warfare?” Echoes of Finn’s earlier words bounced around in my head.
“Yes. It is a very popular topic these days, which is fun for the gray elves, but overall a bad sign for our times.”
“Yeah, I can see what you mean. Well, whatever, I know that winning wars isn’t all about muscles. Without good leadership, the troops don’t know where to go or what to do.”
The gray elf smiled. “Yes, you are right about that.”
“But then again, without the muscle, all the planning in the world doesn’t do you any good. You need someone to execute the plan.”
The gray elf nodded his head grudgingly. “You are young, changeling, but you are not stupid.”
I laughed. “Uh, thanks. I think.”
“Would you like to spend this morning with me discussing the war?”
“The war? Which war?”
“The war that is coming, of course. Which war did you think I was referring to?”
“I guess I wasn’t even sure that you guys were certain there was a war coming. I thought it was all just a guessing game at this point.”
“No. There is no guessing about it. If you want to be technical, the war has already begun. Certainly you realize that, since you have already been a target of our enemy.”
“Yeah. About that. Maybe you can explain why it’s me who keeps getting shot at.”
“Generally speaking, during a war, the most high value and easiest targets are taken out first.”
“So that makes me ... ”
“According to the Dark Fae? High value, easy to kill.”
“I get the easy to kill part, believe me. But high value? No so much. Like you’ve pointed out very clearly, I’m useless.”
Gregale perked up at that, excited to share his knowledge “Useless? No, I never said useless. It would not be correct to call any of the changelings useless. You all have powers and skills that will be useful to the Light Fae against the Dark. The problem is that you do not know how to use most of them. And you in particular do not even know what skills you have – in fact, none of us do. You are a mystery.”
“Seems like you would enjoy mysteries, being the elves of information.”
“Oh, I do, believe me.”
“Okay, if that’s true then tell me why you were plotting to eliminate me and my friends and tell me why you were such a pain in the ass in Dardennnes’ office.”
&
nbsp; Gregale shut his eyes and shook his head. “You are talking nonsense. I never made any plans to eliminate you or anyone else. There may have been discussion amongst the gray elves about sending all of you away from the conflict, so eliminating you from our equations here, but not killing you. We do not waste resources like that. And regarding the other item you mentioned, it was entirely reasonable for anyone to react that way upon seeing the possible release of that pixie.” He shuddered at the memory.
“What’s the big deal about the pixie anyway? He’s like, the size of one of those butterflies. Harmless.”
“You really are at a distinct disadvantage not knowing the most basic fae facts. I can see that part of your training has been neglected. This should have been the first thing you learned, before testing your skills. What good is teleporting, for example, if you let a pixie out of a bell jar? It is just ridiculous.”
“Gregale. Are you going to tell me about the pixie, or am I gonna kick you in the ass?”
“Ah, I think I shall tell you about the pixie.”
“Thank you.”
“Pixies are members of the smaller fae. I did not say ‘lesser fae’. Be careful that you do not confuse ‘small’ with ‘weak’. No, it is actually better if you consider ‘small’ to mean ‘concentrated’. Sometimes, some of the strongest magic comes from the tiniest individuals.” He started strolling in random patterns around me as he described the pixies in detail.
“Pixies are a very, very old fae race. Maybe one of the oldest. They pre-date our written records. They are a playful race, not concerned with much more than dancing, laughing, singing, and skipping through the flowers.”
“Wow. They sound horrible. No wonder you keep them trapped in jars.”
Gregale looked at me sideways, deliberately ignoring my sarcasm as he continued. “Their power lies in their ability to seduce and charm other fae. You see, pixies don’t understand why the other fae are always so worried about anything other than having fun, dancing, laughing, and singing. So, as soon as they see fae doing anything other than those things – like going to work, practicing skills, managing their households, or what have you – they decide they need to intervene. They work their pixie magic on the unsuspecting fae, and the next thing you know, the charmed fae is dancing around, playing and singing and unable to do anything else. They don’t even want to do anything else. They lose their will to live, essentially. Some of them have been known to dance themselves to death. The pixie charm is very hard to break; in fact, anyone who’s been charmed by a pixie and then had the charm broken, is always a little ‘off’ in the head. We can never get them back totally, and believe me, all the best witches have tried.”