Sam was unusually quiet, helping me over fallen branches and pulling others back so I could get through, but the deeper we went, the more I started to think this maybe wasn’t exactly what it seemed.
“Just a little bit farther,” Sam said like he sensed my uncertainty.
“Can I get a hint?”
“It’s something you’ve wanted a lot lately, but haven’t told anyone,” he said after considering it for a long time.
“But I didn’t want it before?”
“Never even crossed your mind.”
“I want it right now?” I questioned.
He paused, then looked at me like he wasn’t so sure anymore. “You will,” he told me.
We got to the clearing where Eric and I stopped the first time he took me riding. We usually avoided this place now, trying not to slow down so the bugs couldn’t get to us like they were right now.
“I don’t usually get eaten alive when I’m sleeping,” I worried, slapping my thigh, yet again.
“Who says you’re sleeping?” Sam asked, stepping into the muddy swamp.
“What are you doing?” I didn’t like where this was going. At all.
“It’s just past those trees there, in the bog,” he pointed to a spot where I could see a light, but not much else.
“What is it?”
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
“Of course.” Even as I said the words, I knew they were a lie. I trusted Sam more than anything in the world, but this wasn’t my Sam.
“Then follow me,” he put out his hand again, but this time I didn’t take it.
“Why don’t we go back to the house now. I can make us some tea and…”
“Don’t you want us to be together?” he cut me off, looking so upset, before pushing me into the swamp. I landed where it wasn’t too deep yet, but he dragged me further into the water, his hands like claws around my arms.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“What are you doing?” I screamed at the man who looked like Sam, struggling to keep my head above water.
“It’s okay Lucy, don’t fight it, I’ve got you,” he assured me.
“This isn’t you,” I argued, trying to get up.
“It’s okay,” Sam repeated, then came close to take me in for a hug.
He let himself sink to the bottom, which brought me down as well. I fought to stay up, but he was holding on to my arms, and my legs could only kick so much. I looked for something to grab onto, but we were in the middle of the swamp, which was surprisingly deep. I could swear I saw Gabriel coming for me in the distance, but I chalked it up as wishful thinking. Obviously, my mind would go there.
My head bobbed under for a moment, but I could clearly see Gabriel fifty feet away from me once I resurfaced. He had his hand out in front of him, like he was following someone I couldn’t see.
“Lucy!” Gabriel spotted me in the swamp and called out, giving me hope that he wasn’t a figment of my imagination.
“Gabriel!” I struggled to stay on top long enough to call out to him. I saw Embry step into the swamp, looking like he was in a daze, before I was pulled to the bottom again.
By the time I fought my way back to the surface, Gabriel was getting closer to me, but he kept having to pull something, or someone off his back to do it. I tried to swim to him, but my sweater was caught on something. When pulling didn’t work and the material wouldn’t rip, I took a deep breath and willingly went under to untangle myself. When I came up, it was dark and I couldn’t see Embry or Gabriel anywhere. I was wishing I’d brought a flashlight when the white light Sam pointed to earlier moved towards us. It lit up the swamp, but it also made me wish I could go back to the dark, when the ominous orb was farther away.
Fake Sam was gone, but there were still hundreds of what felt like winged mice trying to pull me down, so I used magic to get them off.
Fresh air never tasted so sweet, but I only let myself take two deep breaths before I called out to Embry and Gabriel. I still couldn’t see them, but there were bubbles not far from me, so I swam over and pulled, which was enough for Gabriel to get his head above water.
“I can’t.” I could see him try to use his speed to get to me, but a gargoyle-like creature was digging its nails into his neck. I concentrated very hard on the creature and froze it, not trusting myself to do anything else when it was so close to Gabriel. “They’re all over,” he told me, struggling to get them off and stay above water.
No matter how many I blew up, more kept coming, trying to use my clothes and my hair to pull me down.
“You need to get out of the water,” Gabriel shouted over.
“I’m trying,” I agreed. “Where’s Embry?”
Gabriel ignored the creatures clawing at him and managed to swim close and take a few off me. He pulled me through the water, closer to the edge, which seemed so far away.
My heart nearly stopped when Embry burst out of the water a few feet away from Gabriel, but he went down as quickly as he came up. I could see more now that their numbers were growing, but it was more terrifying than reassuring.
I targeted individual creatures underwater, trying to help Embry, but I didn’t trust my aim when he was squirming like that.
“Focus on you,” Gabriel warned, knocking the creatures off me while they dug into him.
“He’s drowning, and you’re barely staying up,” I pointed out before one of them tugged on my leg. Embry and Gabriel’s immortality wasn’t an exact science, which meant there was a possibility that if the creatures killed them, they wouldn’t come back.
Gabriel struggled harder to help me to a large branch while I blasted any that were close, until I had my arms around the thickest part.
“Don’t move,” he warned before going under, I think intentionally, but it terrified me all the same.
I did what I could with my powers, but there were so many of them, all over the guys, that by the time I could concentrate enough to target one, another replaced it.
“Embry!” I exclaimed when Gabriel grabbed hold of him, but they weren’t out of the woods yet. The white, orb-like structure above the bog seemed to be a hive with millions of them, waiting to come after us.
I tried to reach out, to give them my hand so they would have something to hold on to, but the creatures hadn’t let up on me either. If I didn’t have a good hold on the branch, I couldn’t stay above water. I also couldn’t get close enough to them without completely letting go.
Embry struggled to help Gabriel when he went under. When Embry went down as well, I decided it wasn’t worth me being safe if they drowned on me. I let go of the branch and tried to swim to them. If I could get close enough, I could blast the creatures around them.
I got swarmed as soon as I was out of the branch’s reach. It was like they knew I was the one who attacked them, so they attacked me with a vengeance to ensure it wouldn’t happen again. I quickly changed course and got back to the branch, but this time I had an idea.
I climbed up a little higher on the tree-like structure, until my body was no longer in the swamp. The little creatures followed me, clawing into my skin, but at least I had a better view of what I was dealing with.
I took a deep breath and concentrated as hard as I could on levitating Gabriel and Embry, lifting them out of the water so they wouldn’t drown. They came out coughing, which I took as a good sign, but I couldn’t break my concentration.
“Just do it,” Gabriel suggested when I tried to figure out a way to blast the creatures without hurting the guys. I was not going to let them die so I could save myself. Not again.
“I’ve got this,” I argued with a confidence I didn’t feel.
Gabriel looked at me like he wanted to argue and tell me to do as I was told, but he wasn’t going to discourage me from saving them with magic.
The creatures were everywhere, attached to every inch of Embry and Gabriel, as well as my legs. I tried to focus on them, like I had with the sand, but there was no way I could get all of them
at once.
I took another deep breath and held my moonstone necklace tight. I imagined all of the little creatures as warm fireflies, giving light on summer nights, rather than leading mourning innocents to their deaths in the swamps. I pictured it with all my might until I slowly felt the claws leaving my body. I knew I was imagining the buzzing, but I heard it and felt warmth all around me, like the energy from a million fireflies.
I was terrified to look, because I didn’t know if I would be able to turn Embry and Gabriel back if they were fireflies now. They definitely wouldn’t regenerate if they weren’t human.
When I slowly opened my eyes, Embry and Gabriel were there, floating in the air, looking at all the fireflies with wonder.
“You did it,” they looked as amazed as I felt.
“I thought you might be fireflies too,” I admitted.
“I had more faith in you than that,” Gabriel said as I floated them over to solid ground.
“No, you didn’t,” I argued, since his solution had been for me to kill everyone and everything in the bog. I half-waddled, half-swam over to the shore with them.
“What were they?” Gabriel asked.
“Fee follet,” I admitted. “They lure people into the swamps and drown them.”
“The missing people Ingrid was worried about…” Embry ventured.
“We all fell for it,” I defended them.
“You followed someone out here even after you knew this was a thing?” Gabriel was upset.
“I thought I was dreaming.” They looked to me like that was nowhere near an acceptable excuse. “I know it was stupid, but Ingrid said they looked like floating lights. I wasn’t expecting something that looked like Sam. They’ve clearly evolved because I wouldn’t go anywhere with a floating light, but I would follow my real Sam to the end of the earth.”
“You nearly did,” Embry pointed out.
“I wasn’t alone in that swamp, and it wasn’t just because you were rescuing me,” I threw it back at them.
“We were. At first,” Embry said before they looked guiltily to each other.
“Point is, they shouldn’t be bothering us anymore,” Gabriel got us off the topic of how we all got duped.
“I don’t know if it’s permanent,” I argued. “I don’t know much when it comes to my powers.”
“You knew enough to do that,” Gabriel pointed back to the fireflies, clearly impressed, as we headed to the house.
“How did you come up with that?” Embry asked. “I don’t think I’ve seen anyone actually turn something into something else. Other than Ingrid’s illusions.”
“I couldn’t get rid of them, there were so many. I figured I wouldn’t be able to individually destroy them all, but I could try something that would free you, but not kill you if it went wrong.”
“I’m glad you didn’t kill us,” Embry smiled, wrapping his arm around me.
“Speaking of…” I confronted Embry once Gabriel was far enough ahead.
“I didn’t nearly kill you,” he took the defensive.
“No, you nearly killed you,” I called him on it.
“I’m pretty sure we agreed that all of us got tricked.”
“We did,” I agreed. “But Gabriel and I realized something was wrong and fought back. You were down a really long time.”
“I wasn’t trying to die.”
“But you’re ready for it.” He wasn’t guilty or offended enough for it to not be the truth.
“Don’t look so shocked.” He didn’t meet my eyes, but he was sure of himself, “I’ve lived centuries. Literally. I’ve fallen in love, I got married, I had children, I watched one of them get married and have a child of her own...I buried all of them. I won’t be jumping into any swamps, or intentionally doing anything reckless, but when my time comes and I don’t wake up…” he let the thought linger, and even though he made excellent points, I didn’t like it.
“Do you think that’s likely? I mean, for you to not come back, we either need to defeat the Big Bad, or I have to not be worth saving.”
“I’m going with the first one,” he told me like the second wasn’t an option.
“The fee came to you as Beth?” I asked him.
“Beth, Helen and Jackson,” he corrected.
“Everyone you love.”
“Not everyone,” he pulled me close.
“It would be really hard to not follow that,” I let him know I understood.
“It was,” he agreed. “But I wouldn’t knowingly choose them over saving you.”
“I’m pretty sure Lucy saved us this time,” Gabriel rejoined our conversation.
“I raised you right,” Embry teased.
“No, she would have stayed where I told her if you had.”
“And we all would have drowned,” Embry defended me.
“Which shows we all make mistakes sometimes,” he gave me a look.
“What now?” I asked when we got to the house.
“Now? We sleep,” Embry answered like I was crazy.
“What about the fee follet?”
“We’ll have Ingrid come over tomorrow after we’ve all showered and had some sleep.”
“Agreed.” The smell and the cold were getting to me now that I wasn’t dying.
We went upstairs, where Embry walked straight to the master bathroom without even saying goodnight.
“You can go first,” Gabriel said awkwardly when we both headed for the common bathroom.
“Thank you.” I went in while he headed downstairs, but I called him back, “Gabriel.”
“Yes?” he lingered on the top step.
“Thank you for breaking out of it. I know how hard that must have been.”
“They weren’t real. You are,” he said simply.
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ingrid came over the following evening to see if the fee follet truly left us. Just to be sure, she came back every night that week, each time with a different group of paranormal beings. Mostly witches and warlocks, but one called herself a seer, one a druid, and another a leprechaun. Gabriel snickered under his breath for that one, but given the company we were keeping, it didn’t seem that far-fetched. On the last day, instead of heading out to the swamps, Ingrid handed us a tiny envelope, smiled and left.
“That was odd,” Gabriel stated, waiting for me to open the envelope.
“There’s a party in the quarter tonight to celebrate the end of the disappearances. She wants us to go, even if we can’t be the guests of honor.”
“Not a good idea,” Gabriel argued.
“It’s in the alley in front of her shop, which will be protected by every means possible to meet our stringent requirements,” Embry continued reading from where I left off.
“Who else is going?” Gabriel asked.
“Please find enclosed the list of attendees,” I handed him a second sheet from the envelope.
“I wish we had more time to make sure it would be safe…” Gabriel struggled with the decision.
“I’m pretty sure that’s why she didn’t give you any,” I pointed out, completely understanding her smile and quick exit now.
“I don’t have a choice in the matter, do I?”
“Of course you do. As long as you don’t care whether or not we do what you choose,” Embry teased.
“We’re not staying long and you’re not leaving my sight,” Gabriel warned.
“Of course,” I agreed.
We left the villa at five so we could be at Ingrid’s shop by six. It really wasn’t that far distance-wise, but they liked to take precautions. The dress I brought was coming in handy in NOLA. I paired it with Ingrid’s shawl in case it got chilly. The last time I got dressed up pretty to go somewhere was prom. I was no longer under any illusions about magic, or life working out for me, but I was excited at the prospect of spending a night out, where we could pretend my life wasn’t extremely complicated and dangerous at the moment.
As soon as I walked into the alley, I felt that horrible, yet familiar feeling of someone trying to get into my brain. I pushed him out immediately and heard Mr. Fraser’s “Ow!” before Ingrid came over.
“I’m so glad you came,” she took me in for a hug. “Come, there’s food and drinks and people to meet…” she brought me through the party, where we were the last to arrive.
“This is my niece, Beth,” Ingrid winked to me as she lied, introducing me to a man who lost his father to the fee follet weeks before.
“You’re very good at that,” I pointed out once we were away from the crowd a bit.
“Talking to people?” she asked.
“Lying to them.” Her face went dark, so I made an attempt to get my foot out of my mouth. “No, I mean it as a compliment. You didn’t miss a beat when he asked who I was. You said it so seamlessly that I nearly believed you.”
“You need to mix a little truth with the lies and commit,” she advised. “Always remember what you tell people, because they do. Not all of them, but the day you mess up, they’ll remember, and then it’s over.”
“Is everyone who’s here…”
“Gifted? Of supernatural inclinations?” she finished for me. “No, some are friends of mine, others are people who’ve lost someone to the fee follet...It’s not a magic party, it’s a community party. It’s very important to have friends from all walks of life.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“Beth would be proud,” she said out of nowhere. “I’m amazed at how well you’ve adapted to your powers. From fearing them to controlling them and experimenting...that’s no easy feat.”
“I wasn’t experimenting,” I argued.
“You needed to save them,” she gave me a knowing smile.
“Thank you for being here and helping me through it.”
“Of course. It’s not every day you get to nearly go back in time and fix a mistake.”
“What mistake?” I asked.
“I was so jealous of Beth when she was figuring it out that I was useless.”
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