books 1 - 3

by Ella J. Smyth

  "I didn’t see you last night. Yes. Yes, you did mention it. I forgot. How did it go?"

  John finished talking, and Honi’s voice dropped lower, as if he didn’t want Adi to hear.

  "It was weird. I know he met Adi before, and he told me he liked her. But last night, he was so aggressive. As if he hated her. No, I don’t know what changed."

  Honi glanced at Adi and flinched when he saw that she was awake.

  "I’m sorry, John, I gotta go. We’ll see you in a few hours."

  He hung up and sat down next to Adi. Stretching out his hand, he caressed her shoulder.

  "Did you hear all that? I’m sorry, I’m sure my dad doesn’t hate you. I don’t know what got into him."

  He hesitated, suspicion crossing his face like a cloud. “Do you think the queen is involved?”

  Adi couldn’t allow him to go there. It was closer to the truth than he knew. The faerie queen had put certain conditions on letting them go instead of killing them both. One of them was that Honi would never find out about the deal that Adi had struck on their behalf. She shook her head vehemently.

  "No. That’s over. Look, maybe he was just in a bad mood. Maybe we were too tired and misunderstood what he was saying to us. I don’t know."

  Then she made herself smile brightly. "How about we drive to a diner and get some breakfast? I haven’t had proper American pancakes and maple syrup in far too long!"

  Honi laughed. Mentioning food always distracted him. Hopefully by the time they drove back to the reservation, things would be clearer. But in the back of her mind, she knew it wouldn’t be that easy. Something was happening. Something that involved her, and Honi’s family. She could feel it in her gut.

  By the time Adi had finally made it out of bed and had taken a shower, Honi was nearly finished with loading up the rental car. Adi watched him walk back into the room, his spirit wolf close on his heel. Ho’neo yipped and weaved around Honi’s legs, happy to be back in familiar lands.

  The familiar regret descended onto Adi. She swallowed hard, fighting back the impulse to feel sorry for herself. She wanted what Honi had. She wanted a friend who was always there for her, who could read her mind and guide her in her dealings with the worlds beyond the human experience.

  Adi didn’t know how the spirit animals popped into existence. Maybe they were spawned at a certain place and latched on to whatever human was closest. And maybe once they attached to a human, they adopted their affiliation to their birth place.

  All she knew was that she hadn’t found her spirit companion and was unlikely to ever experience the joy of being bonded to one. She wiped her hand down her face, inhaling deeply, determined to let go of her self-pity and to enjoy the way Ho’neo behaved like a boisterous puppy.

  Honi hoisted the last suitcase into the trunk. Adi felt a little guilty for letting him do all the work, but he seemed perfectly awake and full of beans. In contrast to her, she thought sourly. She was barely able to focus on getting dressed.

  She’d gone through this a few times now, most recently a year ago when she first landed in Frankfurt. Jet-lag was a bitch. She’d hoped that flying into the opposite direction, she wouldn’t have to go through this again. But just bending over to pull her jeans up made her head swim.

  Honi honked. She glared outside, irritated at being rushed, but then smiled when Honi waved at her. She looked around one last time, making sure she hadn’t left her phone charger behind, and went outside to join him. He was in a great mood this morning, his eyes dancing with excitement.

  On the way to the diner, he pointed out landmarks to her. Adi relaxed a little. It was nice seeing the place through Honi’s eyes. There was a little post office in a beautiful colonial building, complete with wrap-around veranda. Further down the street was a white-timbered church, probably the largest building in the little settlement.

  It obviously wasn’t the most prosperous place. There were signs of real poverty. Many stores were closed down, and the further they drove into the little town, the quieter Honi seemed. She caught him looking at some of the businesses, shaking his head.

  "Damn, it’s gotten even worse in the last few years,” he finally said. He pointed at a building with the windows boarded up.

  “This over there used to be Mrs. Callum’s little candy store. I thought she’d managed to keep it going. She’d made herself quite a reputation with her vintage sweets, selling to hikers and tourists. Looks like it wasn’t enough." He shook his head sadly.

  Ho’neo whined a little in the backseat. Adi put her hand on Honi’s knee. His hand covered hers, and he smiled at her gratefully. Adi knew all about losing childhood things. Going back in time never worked. You could only travel forward. Honi’s expression brightened, and he parked the car in front of a long one-story building a little further along.

  "Thank God this place is still here! My grandparents had their first date here. In fact, my grandad proposed to my grandma right here at Debbie’s Diner!"

  Adi laughed at his enthusiasm. When he got excited, he turned into a little boy. She watched him with fond amusement as he jumped out of the car and quickly walked to the door. He checked the diner was open, then waved for her to come in. Sighing, she moved her creaking joints and leveraged herself out of the car, cursing her tiredness yet again.

  Honi held the door open for her, and she walked inside the diner, followed by the spirit wolf. It was exactly as she’d expected. A little tired, but with its own charm. The smell of grease was in the air, but it was the pleasant smell of frequently changed frying fat.

  Honi nodded towards a booth, and Adi slid onto the seat. The vinyl under her legs was white, trimmed with red. It had seen better days, but it was clean. The stainless steel surface of the table in front of her was polished well. She bent over and stared at her distorted mirror image.

  When she picked up the plastic-covered menu, it didn’t stick to her fingers. If she ignored the modern cars outside the large windows, she could well have imagined they were in the 1950s.

  "Honi!"

  Honi looked up, and a massive grin spread over his face. He jumped up and greeted a man in his mid-twenties. The guy was even taller than Honi, built like a bear, with huge arms and shoulders. His copper skin and shiny black hair plaited to the middle of his back gave away his heritage. Adi quickly glanced at Ho’neo who showed no signs of distress. The giant wolf sat on his haunches, his tongue lolling.

  When the two men met in the middle of the diner floor, they did some quick, choreographed movements with their right hands, grabbing and releasing each other’s forearms. Then Honi’s friend wrapped his bulging arms around Honi and lifted him effortlessly off the ground. His white paper hat fell as he threw his head back in sheer delight. Honi laughed loudly, and once he was put back on his feet, he slapped the man’s arm.

  "Joe! I didn’t think you still worked here!"

  Joe grimaced, his huge smile dimming slightly.

  "And where was I supposed to go? It’s not like there’s a lot of jobs around here,” he stated matter-of-factly.

  Honi nodded, then grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards Adi who was watching them with wry amusement.

  "Come on, I want you meet someone!"

  Adi stood up and waited for them to get to the booth.

  "Joe, this is my girlfriend Adi. We’ve only just flown back from Germany and are on our way to Heota after breakfast."

  Adi stuck her hand out again, hoping that there wouldn’t be a repeat from last night, but Joe pulled her into a huge hug. Adi was so surprised, she squeaked, but then relaxed into the friendly vibes emanating from the big, burly man. When Joe let her go, Honi was smiling broadly.

  Joe held Adi by the shoulder, winked at her, then said to Honi, “Well, if you had to travel to Germany to find yourself a girl like Adi, maybe I should get myself a passport.”

  Adi had no doubt Joe wasn’t flirting with her but rather trying to get a rise out of Honi. The peeved look on her boyfriend’s face made her
laugh out loud. Adi and Joe exchanged matching grins, and Honi rolled his eyes.

  “Oh great. I think I may have introduced the devil to Beelzebub,” he muttered, before breaking into a good-natured chuckle. He was obviously delighted that Adi and Joe got on right from the start.

  While the two men were catching up, a woman in her sixties shuffled over to take their orders. She pulled a small paper pad from her red, black, and white-striped apron. She smiled, but the tired expression didn’t reach her eyes. Honi ordered a four-egg omelet with everything on it, and the waitress nodded approvingly.

  “It’s good to see a young man enjoy his food.” Then she turned to Adi, her pencil poised.

  "A stack of pancakes please, and plenty of maple syrup."

  The waitress wrote it down, then asked, “Coffee, dear?"

  Adi shook her head. "No, thank you. Could I have some black tea, please?"

  The waitress nodded again and walked back towards the kitchen, throwing a dirty look at Joe. His gaze followed her before he stood up.

  “Sorry, guys. I’ll get your orders ready. I shouldn’t really be out here, talking to customers."

  He looked around. Adi and Honi were the only guests at this time of the morning.

  “When I’m done, I’ll come back out and join you. We have a lot of catching up to do."

  He walked off, his happy grin firmly back in place. Adi smiled, watching his retreating back. “So I assume you two were good friends?"

  Honi nodded. "Yes, the best. Joe could do so much better than being a fry cook in a crappy little diner in the middle of nowhere, but he never wanted to leave. His entire family is here."

  Before she could think any better of it, she asked, “Do you ever regret going to college? Leaving everybody behind?"

  Honi shook his head. "Never. I always wanted to see more than this place. It was great growing up here, but when you get older, you see all the problems around you. People are really poor here. You’ll appreciate that when I show you around. I wanted to travel the world. If you grow up here, there are only two ways to get out. You either go to college if you can afford it, and most people can’t, or you join the army. And I really, really didn’t want to join the army."

  Adi nodded. Honi had a special gift, just like her. He was a spirit walker, connecting the human world with the spirit world. Hiding his ability from others at close quarters would have been impossible. Especially when the nightmares came or a call from the queen. Adi chuckled ruefully. It was only a matter of time until she was ordered to live up to her part of the deal. When Honi looked at her questioningly, she shook her head, saying nothing.

  When Honi had been seconds away from dying in what the faeries called Emain Ablach, Adi had promised the queen that she would make herself available at short notice to hunt down any errant spirit walkers who could put the balance between the worlds in danger. Adi’d had no choice but to agree.

  And because the faerie ruler was a vicious bitch, she had dictated that Adi could never tell Honi about the deal. If Honi were to find out that she was contracted to do whatever the queen wanted her to do, Honi’s life would be forfeited.

  The light in the diner seemed to dim as the full weight of her responsibility pressed onto Adi’s narrow shoulders. She took a deep breath and shook herself to dispel the low mood threatening to overwhelm her. Honi’s hand covered hers again, before he bent and kissed her cheek.

  "It’ll be fine, Adi. John will be there when we go back. I don’t know why everybody was in such a bad mood yesterday, but it was late, and we were tired, and maybe we both just overreacted.”

  He smiled at her reassuringly, and Adi returned the gesture. He had mistaken her sudden drop in mood as reaction to what had happened yesterday. She was happy to let him believe that. Anything to keep his mind away from the faerie queen was a good thing.

  When the waitress shuffled back out with Adi’s pancakes stacked high, drowning in a sea of syrup, her eyes lit up. The woman put the plate in front of her and set a glass containing an amber liquid next to it. Adi looked at the glass, then at the waitress, then back at the glass.

  "What’s this?" she asked.

  "That’s your tea, hon," the waitress replied, her eyes narrowing, before shuffling back into the kitchen.

  Adi grabbed the drink and sipped. It was tea, all right, but it was cold and sugary-sweet. She grimaced and looked at Honi.

  "What the hell is that?"

  Honi chuckled. "That’s iced tea. That’s what we drink here."

  Adi looked at him in horror. "What do you mean, iced tea? I just wanted a cup of hot black tea to go with the pancakes.”

  Honi laughed louder. “I don’t think you’ll have much luck with that. You can ask, but I’d say Brenda wouldn’t have that on the menu. Here in the South, you either drink coffee or iced tea. Maybe some of the fancier diners offer hot black tea, but not here.“

  Adi lifted the glass to her lips again, but after another sip, she grimaced and put it back down.

  “Ugh, this is so sweet. I can’t drink it.”

  “Have you never had iced tea before? You were eighteen when you moved to the States, right?”

  “Yeah, but the places I lived, they sold hot tea!”

  Brenda’s face popped up from around the kitchen corner.

  “Everything okay?”

  Adi took a deep breath. Jesus, she was about to lose it over a frigging cup of tea. Must be the jet-lag messing with her head.

  “No, no problem. The food is lovely,” she called out, smiling at the frowning woman.

  Honi’s arm came around her shoulders, giving her a quick squeeze. “I’d forgotten how cranky lack of sleep makes you.”

  Adi was about to snap at him when she realized that yes, she was cranky. And it wasn’t Honi’s fault. Or Brenda’s. She needed to shut up and eat.

  By the time she’d cleared her plate, she was full, and the sugar was hitting her hard. Even though her body was still tired, her mind was buzzing. Ho’neo’s weight was resting on her feet and pressing against her shins. The big lug hadn’t moved since they sat down.

  It was time to face the music. Honi’s posture had stiffened while she’d finished the last crumbs on her place. He was obviously keen to get back to his family and try again.

  Adi sighed. She wiped her mouth with her napkin. Joe hadn’t come back out, but Brenda was standing by the cash register, looking at both of them with an unreadable expression. Adi tried to see her spirit animal but couldn’t. She was just too tired.

  After they’d paid, they sat in the car and looked at each other. Adi touched her wolf amulet. She really hoped that the second meeting would go better than the first. She’d know in less than an hour.

  Honi covered her hand with his before leaning over and gently touching her lips with his. He cupped her cheek with his other palm and looked at her steadily.

  “I love you. Never forget that. We’re in this together, you and me.”

  He swiped his thumb over her brow. His fingers caressed her skin as he moved his hand along the side of her face. Her doubts melted like ice cream under the warmth of his smile. He was right-it would be alright. It had to be.

  4

  Adi held her hand outside the car window. It was this strange time of year in which the sun warmed your bones during the day, but at night, the temperatures dropped sharply. At mid-morning, there was still mist rising off the swamplands beside the road, as the sun burned off the dampness from the night.

  The breeze was warm, though, and Adi enjoyed it playing with her long, auburn hair. She glanced over at Honi, who was deep in thought as he drove them back towards Heota. She’d never seen him wear a hat and a padded jacket before. He somehow looked more Native American in these clothes—like a photograph she’d once seen in a magazine.

  Soon after, the car climbed towards the hills. Fields and marshlands gave way to forests—first individual pine trees, and then denser and denser growth.

  "Honi? What kinds of animals live in
these woods?"

  Honi took his eyes off the road before speaking. "I don’t know exactly, but I’ve seen coyotes, wolves, elk, even the occasional bear."

  He laughed as Adi’s alarm was obvious. "Don’t worry, none of these animals come close to the houses. But I wouldn’t wander off in the woods alone. At least not too far."

  Honi slowed the car as they came nearer the settlement. Adi looked around curiously. Yesterday, in the night, she had not really gotten an impression of Heota. The place was tiny, with two roads that ran parallel to each other. Either side of the road were old bungalows and houses, many of them dilapidated. The signs of poverty that Adi had seen in the larger town were much worse here.

  Most houses could have done with a coat of paint. Window frames were rotten, and there were no pretty front yards that she could see. They passed some people outside what seemed to be the post office. Honi waved at them, and after a moment’s hesitation, they waved back, smiling broadly once they recognized him.

  "This is a busy place," Adi said.

  "Yeah, it is. There’s little work here in Heota. Not much to do but hang out with friends."

  Adi looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

  "You see, there is no investment here, no natural resources. The schools are pretty bad. If you want to get a good education, you have to leave. Many people here are unable or unwilling to do that because they have relatives that need looking after. For them, it’s not a choice. But if you stay here, you become dependent on handouts. We have a huge problem with drugs and alcohol."

  Honi’s voice had lost all its cheerfulness. He stared ahead as he continued driving, then visibly shook off the gloom and smiled at Adi.

  "You need to give them a chance, Adi. People here are fearful of outsiders, and with good reason. We’ve gotten a shady deal from the government for hundreds of years, but you’ll find that these are the most genuine folks you’ll ever meet."

  "Is that the reason why you wanted to go away and become a lawyer?"

  Honi nodded. "Yes. You have to work within the system to change anything around here. The idea was that if I studied law, I could come back, and maybe run for office, play the system, and change things for my people."