by Erin R Flynn
Done and done. I didn’t hate laundry but I did hate cleaning the bathroom, and the room we shared a bathroom with wouldn’t do it no matter how we bitched.
Funny, because they were the messy ones too. Jerks.
Izzy went to get a book from the library and I promised to meet her for lunch, ignoring when she made sexual gestures behind Darby’s back as a suggestion.
Mel had thought something was between us too. She’d said as much after I’d gotten jealous with her flirting with Craftsman. I wasn’t against being into Darby, as he was definitely my type.
But I wasn’t his. Maybe in looks or attraction, but I didn’t think my personality was his cup of tea.
“I’m stuck,” I admitted a bit later.
We were sitting on the bed facing different ways with our books in front of us, so when he leaned back to see what I was working on it was strangely intimate. His hand moved on the bed so his fingers were practically under my butt and his face was next to mine looking over my shoulder.
“You switched the steps,” he murmured in my ear, his breath tickling it. “That second step is first, then the third step you did, and that first step is last. You’re on the right track though and fast. That’s a hard section my whole class tripped over. Nicely done.”
“I promised not to be lazy.”
“No, lazy is not something I would ever say to describe you.”
“What would you say to describe me?”
“One of a kind,” he answered immediately, his tone making it clear that it wasn’t a negative.
I turned to see his face but he pulled away and went back to how he was sitting before I could. Well, that was odd.
If I didn’t know better I’d think he was flirting with me. Maybe I just had guys on the brain too much.
That was a college freshman thing for sure. Or according to movies and books and when did fiction ever lead people astray?
Ha.
He was asleep when I finished the section, not having noticed that he had slouched over and was completely out.
I chuckled as I moved our books out of the way, took off his glasses and shoes, and nudged him to get more comfortable. Checking the time, I saw I needed to get going and Izzy would be back soon so he was fine for a nap.
I quickly grabbed my stuff—including the full reservoirs—and headed out. I knew the deal well and glancing around like you were up to something was the quickest way to get caught you were up to something for sure.
Plus more chances to meet gazes or see people who would ask what you were up to thinking it was polite. Maybe normally but not all the time and acting distracted or focused meant people left you alone.
I about jumped out of my skin when I saw two figures in the hallway. I hadn’t thought Claudia and Geiger would be there fifteen minutes early and it sort of worried me how excited they were. They were both busy people.
Well, it was the weekend.
I let them in the room and went to greet them, but Geiger shook his head, holding up a finger. He drew two runes on the door and I felt magic flare. He then handed me a sheet with them.
“One is a magical lock you have the power to make happen and the other a privacy and protection barrier just in case so we can speak freely,” he explained.
“Awesome, thanks.”
“So you can get into Faerie? You know what happened? Are you getting other fairies out?” Claudia asked excitedly.
“Yes, no, no,” I told her, and held up a hand. “Look, it’s sort of… There’s not really words so just let me show you, okay?”
They nodded and watched me with fascination as I handed over the reservoirs to them before tucking my bag behind the portal and retrieving my hiking bag. I let out a slow breath, hoping Faerie didn’t get pissed at me, and touched the portal.
The magic raced through it faster and I wondered if it was glad I was telling people or maybe bringing more magic?
I wasn’t sure but I stepped through before I could overanalyze it. I turned on the electric lantern as they crossed over as well and tied myself off.
“Faerie is dead?” Claudia whispered in horror.
“I don’t know. I came through and the ground soaked up some magic from me and healed,” I quickly explained, handing them both flashlights. “Stay on the path I’ve made. I have no idea what the void of light is I’m pushing back but every instinct in me is saying it’s bad and not to go in it.”
Geiger nodded and shined his light directly into it. “It’s dark magic for sure. It’s not just night or devoid of light but you can see it’s almost a black film as if caustic that might stick to you.” He was a patient teacher, showing me what he spoke of. It made sense and I understood what he meant.
I led the way and stopped when I got to the end. “I’ve not tried it with the reservoirs yet because Craftsman was not around to teach me how to do it.” I explained what I’d been doing so far, showing how each time I extended the circle and that made the path.
“What in the gods happened here?” Claudia whispered as she glanced around.
I shrugged. “Campbell said fairies had to go home and recharge in Faerie but I think it was the opposite. Faerie needed the magic of fairies to keep going.”
“Yes, that is true,” Geiger confirmed, giving me a look that said most didn’t know that and keep it to myself.
“I’m currently working with the theory that there aren’t enough fairies left to sustain this area of the world and it needs help to live again,” I told them as I took the reservoirs and knelt down.
“What led you to that?” Claudia asked.
“Because the idea that I’m really the last fairy alive is too depressing to believe without proof,” I muttered.
I took in a deep breath and then pushed out the power in the reservoir into the ground. I kept my eyes closed and focused, switching to the second one after the first was empty. After that I let the ground syphon some from me too.
“You said you were only achieving two or three feet each time before?” Geiger asked as I opened my eyes, waiting until I nodded. “I believe collecting a larger amount and letting it out as you just did is a much better plan. It seemed to double or triple the distance getting that much power at once.”
I glanced around to see what he meant and my jaw fell open. There was a huge area we could now see instead of just the path. It was over a football field for sure, maybe a hundred-yard radius as it did ripple out in a circle.
“Have you found any life yet? Even any animals?” Claudia asked as she squatted down and checked the now plush grass. “Does it start to die off again without sun?”
“No, you were on the only path I’ve managed in a few weeks. The grass near the portal looks the same so the magic must have a longer shelf life than sun?” I blew a raspberry as I picked up the reservoirs and stood. “I’m seriously winging it here. The hobgoblins know though, I swear they do, like they can feel it. It made me worried someone else might and I needed to tell someone.”
“And someone not worried about the university or would risk telling family,” Geiger muttered, bobbing his head. “I will do some research on this sort of dark magic. I feel like I have heard of this before but I cannot put my finger on it. This isn’t a stasis spell like on the properties you own but something… I don’t know, to be honest. But I will look.”
Claudia moved her hand to my shoulder and gave a supportive squeeze. “What else can we do to help? How about a map of Faerie? It might give you better guidance of how far to go and which direction from this portal.”
“Yes, that would be awesome,” I confessed as we started heading back. “I’m planning on doing sixty meters in each direction and filling it in. My current plan is if I can fill in a large enough section, then maybe we’ll get some sun or something to where I’m pushing the darkness back instead of poking little holes in the night.”
“Yes, that sounds like the most logical course of action,” Geiger agreed. We were quiet on the way back, all lost in our thoug
hts until we were through the portal. He took my hands after I tucked away the reservoirs. “You are doing a brave and noble thing, but you must continue to do it safely, child. I hope you are right and there are many fairies still alive.
“Maybe there are legions of them and that spell broke the portals on their end. I pray to the gods it’s true but as of now, you are the last. Life and this planet will never be the same if fairies truly become extinct as we had feared. The past two decades the world has taken a sharp dive into its own destruction and losing fairies is not mutually exclusive on that. You have to stay safe and alive as you find answers.”
“I’ll be careful, I swear it,” I promised him. He seemed relieved and let me go. I looked at Claudia. “On the topic of not poking bears that bite or getting myself into shit, I kinda need you to get into some shit for me.”
“Luckily that’s my specialty,” she teased me. “Who I am scaring the crap out of?”
I told her the names and room numbers of the vamps giving Darby a hard time and blackmailing him into cheating. I felt lighter when she told me she’d have it handled by the end of the day.
Well, that had to be some good karma for me. See, I could be mature.
Some days.
6
Mason and Lucca were sitting in the student union as I headed for the door—Geiger and Claudia agreeing to leave a bit later and disguised so there was no chance people saw us together—and I gave an acknowledging nod when they waved at me. I knew they were waving me to come over but I didn’t want to as they’d ask questions.
Except I wanted to see what the hell was in front of them.
“Hey, what brings you here?” Lucca greeted.
I shrugged. “I found a perfect study spot that’s quiet, hidden, and no foot traffic. Better than the stacks of the library since people go there to hook up.”
“Fair enough,” he chuckled.
“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to what they were eating.
“It’s a monster sushi roll,” Mason answered. “It’s six pounds and so friggin’ good. You want a slice?”
“Really?” I checked, moving closer when they nodded. It did look so friggin’ good and my stomach was completely empty after focusing two reservoirs. “Yeah, thanks.”
Lucca burst out laughing and waved in front of his face as he settled down. “Okay, I mean this in the nicest way possible—”
“But I’m like a distrusting stray you can lure in with food or something curious. Yeah, you are not the first person to get that,” I drawled as I took a seat and set down my stuff. “Mel used to say it was how she got me to stick around after we met. I’m a bottomless pit.”
“It’s cute,” Lucca promised, handing me a plate and nodding for me to help myself. “We got it delivered with Portal Chow.”
“I have no idea what that is,” I confessed, carefully picking up a slice and putting it on the paper plate. I didn’t hesitate, taking a huge bite. My eyes went wide and I moaned, like moaned it was so good.
Lucca smiled at me. “Right? It’s one of my favorites.”
“I get why.”
“Do you know what Grubhub or Uber Eats is?” Mason asked me.
“Yeah, everyone knows those.” I chuckled as I got it. “It’s the supe version, right?”
“Exactly. Instead of it mattering what’s around you at the place you live, all that matters is you’re close to an established and approved portal,” Mason explained in between bites. “There are others like the human ones but Portal Chow’s the only one approved at most universities and they give us a discount for only using them.”
“And it’s only to this portal during certain hours as the portal gets locked overnight and whatnot,” Lucca explained. “It’s not cheap though so we tend to do it once a weekend when we need the encouragement for something.”
“We’ve both got a huge project in Botany 101 for our midterm and it’s time to get it started. I like plants but seriously, I get we need to grow our own stuff for our potions classes but it’s not my thing,” Mason practically whined. It was sort of endearing.
“But so anyone can order?” I asked, excited to have more fun in between all the stress of classes… Or saving all of Faerie. Yeah, the fate of a world on my shoulders was stressful.
Funny, huh?
Mason nodded. “Yeah, there’s no restaurant fee like human apps as the delivery person goes in and orders themselves as it would be hard to explain why the delivery destination was several states or a country over. But it’s a flat twenty-dollar service fee for bringing it through the portal.”
“Plus tip,” Lucca added. “And believe me, you want to tip well on this sort of thing, especially when bringing more or something big like this. It keeps drivers from getting a bit saucy that they’re delivering to the rich college kids who can afford it.”
Mason sighed. “I get it, but they don’t have to be bitchy. We’re also the reason they have a flexible job that pays well. I mean, if we weren’t ordering…”
“No Portal Chow,” I muttered, getting their point. I shrugged when they nodded. “Yeah, but you guys are decent. We know someone like Holly just uses it as a chance to tear into anyone she can.”
“Yeah, she would pay twenty bucks just for that,” Mason said, snorting and shaking his head.
“I’m actually meeting Izzy for lunch,” I admitted when I was halfway done. “Thanks for this though. Maybe I won’t bitch about your stalking anymore.”
“Cold. That’s cold, Tamsin,” Mason groaned, both of them acting as if I’d wounded them physically.
Yeah, ha, ha.
“What is that?” Izzy asked as I walked up to the cafeteria with the last of it in my hand.
“Heaven. Do you know about Portal Chow?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that expensive delivery food place? It’s like twenty bucks just for the service fee and they add to the price of the food to get theirs. Oh, and tip and it’s pretty clear you better tip well as it’s the posh delivery service.”
“Yeah, but we’re stuck here,” I reminded her. “And Mason said there are locations all over.”
“Of course you want to do it,” she teased as we headed inside.
I shrugged. “Once a week sounds nice. Maybe a nice Sunday brunch fun stuff or whatever. I definitely want to see the options.”
“Fair enough.”
Lunch was as mellow as breakfast, basically massive sandwich and salad bars. It was awesome and the array crazy but it was only that and the mood was weekend relaxed and mellow as well.
“Tamsin, I brought the blanket for your picnic,” Irma said as she came out of nowhere. “If you want, we can pack an assortment of what you might like for you and your lovely roommate.”
Izzy gave me a WTF look that I couldn’t even answer. She was going so over the top even if it was sweet.
“Um, are we allowed to take food out of here?”
“Normally just extra snacks from the display I showed you earlier but weekends it’s allowed,” Irma explained. “They don’t during the week as the administration doesn’t want to encourage eating in classrooms and keep the professional structure even if there aren’t uniforms.”
“Picnic?” Elasha practically begged from behind me.
“Do you mind?” I checked with Izzy.
“Not at all,” she chuckled, smiling at the kids who started coming over from wherever they’d been hiding. “I think a picnic while still nice sounds great. I’ll text Darby that we’re studying outside too so he can join us and just some chill Saturday afternoon fun. Sound good, guys?”
The kids cheered and it was so adorable that it was like a balm on my stress. Irma gave me a knowing wink and I had a feeling that was why she was pushing this, not because they wanted me to act as daycare for their kids.
We had so much fun getting everything ready. The range was ridiculous, from proper English tea sandwiches with crusts cut off to give to the birds later, to huge hoagies packed up, to fresh croissants w
ith every type of sandwich salad.
And then one of the other hobgoblins came from the kitchen with hot sandwiches already boxed up and in bags, giving one bag to each kid to carry.
For the love of… It was great. We raided chips and drinks, tons of treats, and set out to the quad.
We set it all out and the problem became when all the kids wanted to sit on my lap. Izzy came up with the idea we all nap later and that was better.
And then we ate. We ate and ate until even I expected my stomach to round out with a nice food baby. But we’d done it slowly and having fun trying new things. One by one the kids started dropping into afternoon naps, adorably piling all on each other for pillows and snuggles.
“They are so friggin’ cute,” Izzy whispered. “I’ve never spent so much time around them, only when I see them at other people’s houses.” She frowned. “They’re treated much nicer here.”
I frowned too. “What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “They all left Faerie when that last war started as they’re cannon fodder but then they couldn’t go home when Faerie was sealed up. They had to figure out something else—a lot of fair folk had to. They don’t blend with humans at all.”
“So they took jobs where they were promised protection and to be hidden even if the people weren’t that nice, crap,” I grumbled, wanting to groan.
No wonder Irma was so excited and willing to help get Faerie back open. She had friends or family working for assholes like the elite families who were probably being treated like dogs.
Maybe there was an answer before I could get Faerie open. I definitely needed to have a conversation with Irma and this leader of the hobgoblins on campus and soon.
Darby came with his own lunch after the kids were asleep, looking amused as he sat down. “So any reason those seniors I told you about came and found me in the cafeteria and told me I won and to call off my dogs?”
Of course Claudia already handled it. I shrugged, smirking at him. “You said not to get myself in trouble or start something I didn’t need right now so I didn’t. I asked my attorney to when I was already meeting with her earlier.”