Chapter 28
Warren
I DIDN’T EXPECT THE knock to come so soon after having seen Lorretta and asking her for time to think about her offer. I consider ignoring her knock, but that would be extremely rude of me. I open the door and am shocked at her appearance. Her once smooth hair is frizzy and looks brittle. Her perfect complexion has fine wrinkles forming around her eyes and mouth. Her clear blue eyes are now clouded in pain.
“Oh, Warren. You have to help me.”
I pull her into my arms, “With what? What has happened? You look so . . . unkept?”
“It was horrid. I went to Puck. He was upset, he hadn’t showered, hadn’t eaten, wouldn’t speak. I only tried to help him, and he pushed me away.”
That doesn’t sound like the Puck I know. He’s so sweet and gentle. “He pushed you?”
“Yes, he said that he didn’t need me. Then I went to Orrin. He has been flirting with me, and I flirted back some. He physically pushed me to the ground and left me there.” She puts her face into my shoulder and cries, soaking my shirt.
I can see Orrin playing the flirt, but he was never one to harm the girls, though there was rumors that his bedroom activities tended towards the naughty side. I rub her back soothingly. “I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding. When you see them again, things will be different.”
She sits back to look at me, and it almost looks like her appearance has changed a little, back to how she looked when she visited earlier today.
“Maybe you’re right,” She sniffled. “Have you thought anymore about my offer?”
I gently set her next to me and stand so that I can pace. “It’s all I have thought about. You make many good points, but I can’t take you up on it.”
She jumps up from the couch and stomps her foot. “Why not?” her hand slashes out, and a whip of air suddenly binds me.
“This is one reason. Every time I or someone else angers you, or does something you don’t like, you lash out at them. People don’t always agree, but we work out our differences. But more, I don’t need the magic you want to give me. I have my own talent, one that comes from myself. I invent things, I study. That’s who I am.
I don’t want to be an officer in some perceived war. And most importantly, I want to be able to live with my family where we choose, to love who and how we choose. So no, I will be leaving.”
With each word the whip of air loses strength and Loretta’s appearance changes. More lines appear on her face, her hair becomes more brittle and frizzy. I walk past her, avoiding her reaching hands, and out the door. A keening wail follows me down the hall.
Chapter 29
AFTER MY MASTERY OVER feeding myself using magic, Loretta had stomped off somewhere in the castle. I wanted to laugh at her temper tantrum and the fact that she had forgotten to take me back to Lithius. I play with the magic she had taught me, making harder and harder demands on myself, even going so far as to use a knife to cut a piece of bread and then butter it. After that one, I had to rest awhile before doing anything else.
With a full tummy and bored with magic practice, I decide to go exploring. I know that the one set of stairs goes down to where Lithius is kept. I could go up those stairs, or I could try one of the two doors in the room. I decide on the doors. The door to the right of the stairs opens into a small hallway. I peek into the first room and wrinkle my nose, laundry. The other three rooms are small bedrooms, the last room is a little longer than the dining room and looks to be a common room with a kitchen and eating area, as well as lounge area. That hallway is boring.
I go back to the dining room and walk towards the other door as it bursts open. “Puck?”
“Lin?” He swoops in and picks me up in a bear hug, swinging me around and in a circle before gently setting me down. He gently touches my face, one hand on either cheek. “It really is you!”
He leans down and gently kisses me, tentatively exploring and tasting my mouth. When he finally releases me and leans back, my fingers touch my lips in wonder.
“The past few days have gone from the best dream to the worst reality. But I realized some things. The most important is that I love you,” he says.
I smile up at him and take his hand in mine. “I love you, too,” I whisper. “So much has happened and I don’t want to have to say it all three times. Let’s not tell our stories until we’re all together.”
“I agree. Do you know where the others are?”
I shake my head, “No. I can tell you that they’re not down the stairs. That’s where I was kept.”
“So, either up the stairs or down the hallway I came from, right?”
“Yes, I checked that door,” I point to the one behind me. “It looks like servants’ quarters maybe.”
“Before we go search, we need a plan to deal with Loretta.”
I smile and take a small whip of air and slap his butt gently with it. He yelps, and I giggle. “I got us covered to some extent. I’m not as practiced or as strong as her, but I tricked her into teaching me some of her magic.”
“That’s awesome. Was it hard to learn?”
“No, not really. I was given the advice that love is the strongest magic there is. If you use that as the base for what you are working with, then your magic will be strong. It might have helped that she forced me to feed myself with the use of magic and when that wasn’t enough incentive, she would whip me every time I failed. I don’t think she expected me to succeed or be as strong as I was.”
“That’s great. Let’s go save our family,” Puck says.
I stop and look at him. I had been thinking of them as my family, but hearing it out loud made me teary. “Family?”
He gives me a questioning look. “Yes, family. We might not be the traditional Fairy House, or even the traditional fairy family. But if I know the other two guys, then I can say you’re going to be stuck with three possessive males doting on you.”
I run and jump, wrapping my legs around him, forgetting about my size in my joy, and we go crashing to the floor. I don’t think either of us feel the punishing blow as I rain kisses down on his face.
When he can finally stop laughing long enough to speak, he grabs my face and pulls me away. “I take it you like the idea?”
I nod my head vigorously.
“How about we wait till after we’re home to celebrate our family?”
“Fine.” I pout at him, and then brighten with an idea. “Can I at least hold your hand?”
He pushes me off him and stands, then offers me his hand. “Of course.”
Chapter 30
WE WALK THROUGH THE dining room door into an entryway with doors at the front and back. I start to walk towards them when Puck stops me.
“I already tried them. They’re locked, and the glass doesn’t break.” He pointed to a metal candle holder that lay on the ground next to one of with doors.
“Oh. Might as well skip searching here then.”
“Yeah, the next room isn’t much more interesting. It’s just a living room, decorated in gastly orange and purple.”
I drag him across the entry to see this color combination and have to agree it is pretty gastly. Across the room, there’s a door at one corner and an opening into what looks like stairs into the other,.
“Did you check those?” I ask him.
“Not the one that goes up the stairs. The door is where she kept me.”
“So, from an image that Loretta showed me, I know that Warren is on the top floor. I don’t know about Orrin, but I think he’s in a tower.”
“She showed you images? You knew we were safe?” he asks, jealousy and almost anger lacing his his voice.
“Puck, it wasn’t like that. She used it to hurt me. To make me feel that you didn’t care for me, didn’t need me. I cried when I saw them. I was glad you were each safe and appeared happy, but it hurt that I was miserable.” A tear slips down my cheek.
“I’m sorry, Lin.” Puck hugs me. “The first day, I don’t think I thought of
anything I was on such a high. The second day, I was starting to feel sorry, and Lori, I mean Loretta, showed up and made me feel better. But the third day, I hit a low that I have never hit before.”
A noise on the stairs has us jumping apart like guilty teenagers. I grab the shimmers and center love in my mind, but then drop everything and start running as I see it’s Orrin and not Loretta on the stairs.
He pulls me close, “Hi, baby, I missed you.”
I’m a laughing and crying mess. “I love you.” I finally get out.
He pushes me back and looks me in the eye. “Whatever that bitch says, I never touched her willingly, and was faithful to you. I love you.”
But what Orrin does next melts my heart, he takes my hand and walks with me to Puck. “I know we still need to find Warren, but I want to ask you now. I was a jerk after the dust ceremony to Aislin, you and Warren. I know it will be awhile to repair that. But can we be a family, loving Aislin equally?”
Puck places his hand on Orrin’s, “To love equally.”
I touch Orrin’s arm. “I want to hear all about your time away, but as I told Puck, let’s wait till we’re all together. Now let’s find Warren.”
“There are three floors above here, the top was the one I was in. The second was locked. And the one directly above us must have been Loretta’s.”
“So, we either try the locked door, or we go to the other set of stairs and try that side. Could you see out a window over the castle? The room Warren is in is large, and a portion opens so that you can sky gaze.”
He shakes his head. “No. I had one small, thin window and it looked over the forest.”
“Then I guess we go up the other set of stairs.” I turn to leave, but find I can’t move. Two men, opposite in appearance and personality, have sandwiched me between them.
“Promise us you’ll be careful. I don’t think we could bear to lose you,” Puck says.
“I promise.”
Orrin pushes his not so small bulge into my bottom and whispers into my ear. “If you’re not careful, I’m going to have to punish this backside of yours.” My bottom clenches and tingles, and I am not sure if it’s in anticipation or fear. Puck just gives Orrin a look that Orrin returns. I gather Orrin’s bedroom proclivities are well known, and Puck doesn’t approve.
“Okay, guys. Let’s go find Warren before you get into a pissing match.” I can feel both of them prickling at my comment, but if we are going to make this work, they are going to have to get over each other’s differences. If I’m okay with what one wants in the bedroom, then the others should be, too.
I pull away from them and walk out into the entryway and into the dining room. I quickly walk to the stairs and start up them, only to run into Warren.
“Warren! You’re safe. How did you get free?”
“Love and remembering what really matters.” He takes my face and kisses me. “I love you.”
I whisper “I love you,” and let him hold me for a few minutes.
Puck and Orrin catch up to us, and the guys spend time catching up.
“Hey, guys! Let’s go down to the dining room. I think that there’s still some food left, and we can talk there. This stairway is a bit crowded, and I don’t care to fight Loretta here.” The guys quickly move down to the dining area. I had forgotten how quickly guys could put away food, and the table was quickly empty.
Chapter 31
“ISN’T THIS COZY? FOUR pariaha, sent on an unattainable quest.” Loretta sneers as she walks into the room. She limps slightly, her steps slower and not as sure. Her hand trembles slightly. Her physical appearance has changed drastically since the last time I saw her. No longer is she the beautiful woman, but now she appears to be a much more elderly woman. Her hair is now snow white and brittle, knotted and unkept. Her face is lined and sagging, her frame is thin and frail.
I look up at her and instead of the hatred I had expected to feel, all I feel is pity. Instead of filling her life with love, she filled it with hate. “Why, Loretta? Why hate? Why steal talents?”
“Why?” She spits. “She stole everything from me. I was to be queen, I was to rule the Fairies and bring them to glory. But instead, it was given to her, and I was banished. I swore vengeance on her, and I will have it. Slowly, more and more of her precious initiates will not receive talents and will come to me. And she will be left with an empty kingdom.”
I shake my head at her. She has clearly gone off her rocker. “Loretta, it’s not going to happen. We are the only initiates coming, and your plan has failed. Love is always stronger. That’s why you were not chosen as queen. Love didn’t rule your heart, and love must rule the fairy kingdom.”
A whip of air slashes across the table, hitting me in the face. “NO! I will have my revenge. If you won’t join me, then you will die here, and the next who come will join me.”
As one, the three men stand to defend me. But they don’t have the magic ability that I do. This is a fight that must be fought between Loretta and I. But their love and strength supporting me will make me stronger.
I touch each of their shoulders. “Thank you for stepping up to protect me. But you don’t have the skill to fight her magic. I do. Your support gives me strength. Stand for me, be my mental strength.” I quickly kiss each of them and push past them.
I don’t give Loretta a chance to hit me. Instead, I gather the shimmers close and hold onto love and then I lash out with two whips. With one whip I slap her buttocks, with the other I bind her hands tightly.
She laughs. “Child’s play.” A wiggle of a finger, and the binding around her wrists is cut. She twirls her fingers and wraps me in a cord of air so tight I can barely breathe. I feel myself panicking. I take long breaths as deeply as I can to calm myself and center myself on the love I feel emanating from my guys. I mimic her finger movement and cut the band around me and then immediately bind her as she bound me.
I don’t know what makes me do it, but as I am binding her I find myself speaking as if some unknown force has taken over my body. “By love I bind you, forcing hate out. By love you will return to your natural sssstate without magic.”
When I finish speaking, I collapse to the ground, too tired to even look and see what happens to Loretta. As my eyes flutter shut, I hear gasps and exclamations from the guys and a keening wail that is cut off abruptly from Loretta.
Chapter 32
WARM HANDS MASSAGE my back, leg, and arm, as voices whisper words of love and encouragement. My eyes open and then shut a few times before I can finally open them to look around. I’m laying on the floor of the dining room, half on my side. Orrin is rubbing my back, Puck my arm, and Warren my leg. I smile at them and slowly sit up.
“What happened?” I ask them, my voice hoarse. Puck quickly gets up and finds a cup of juice left on the table from breakfast. I greedily drink the warm liquid, soothing my sore throat.
“Other than that you were totally hot with that air magic, and kicked Loretta’s ass?” Orrin asks.
“Yeah, besides that.” I smile at him. “What was up with that weird speech?”
Warren cleared his throat, “I don’t know, but when you hit an S, you hissed it out. After you finished speaking, Loretta screamed, and she suddenly started to age drastically, as if time sped up. You can see what is left of her.” He pointed to a pile of clothes and dusty dirt and bone shards.
“Oh! I guess we don’t need to worry about her now.” I sat quietly, taking everything in and then jumped up. “We have to go save Lithius!”
“Who is Lithius? Orrin asked.
“Lithius was my warden, but he also helped me realize how to love myself and how to escape Loretta. He’s also one of her prisoners. I don’t know the full story, but she saved him from something and by saving him, imprisoned him in the water tunnels under the castle.”
“If he was responsible for keeping you captive, why would we want to help him escape?” Orrin frowned at her.
“Orrin, part of love is helping others just becau
se it’s the right thing to do.” I go up to him and take his hands in mine. “Love is not just the romantic kind, there is the familial love- what you would hopefully feel towards Puck and Warren. But then there is also agape love. Sacrificial love that you would help your fellow man just because it’s the right thing to do.”
He nods and looks at the other guys, they all nod at him, and he sighs. “All right. This idea of loving someone without a return benefit is new to me, being part of a family is new. I will trust you three to teach me. Let’s go save your Lithius.” He pauses. “Wait, you never said what Lithius is.”
I smile, “I didn’t, did I?” I turn and lead them down the stairs to the dark tunnels below.
“Lithius,” I call. “It’s safe to come out. You’re free now.”
Lithius’ head pops up out of the water, and I hear a gasp behind me. “I know I am, little fairy. I wass the one who gave you the ssspell to break her magic. Now that her magic iss gone, the doorway to thesse tunnelsss iss open, and I can leave.”
“What do you mean you gave me the spell?” I ask. “Who, or should I ask what, are you?”
“Come, little fairiess. Ride on my back, and I will take you out of here and sshow you who I am.” He moves over to the edge of the platform that we stand on, and it seems as though he has tripled the width of his body, making it easy for us to sit on him.
I look at each of the guys and can see them struggling with the decision. I decide for them and step out, swinging my leg over his back. Orrin, Puck, and Warren follow my example. Once we are all settled, Lithius starts to slither through the water. As he carries us he tells us his story.
Once long ago, while you were just a sspeckle of moon dusst, I wass an arrogant ssea dragon. No one could tell me what to do, or how to do it. I was the sstrongesst and besst at everything I tried. In the air I was virtually invinccible, and in the water I was nearly asss sstrong. Over time, I became carelesss, ussed to defeating anything that came after me.
Finding Her Wings Page 10