~~~
Indigo Sykes told Jackson everything. It took nearly two hours, he only interrupting occasionally, particularly to try to figure out why she had pointed ears and a slightly goblin-ish nose and eyes.
She explained all about the friends she was hanging out with as she was finishing high school and making plans to enter college and study film, just to irritate her father who wanted her to be a doctor. The meeting with Aragonamat was described and the intent the dragon has for reclaiming lands for the faeries, and of course for herself as a deity. She talked about how she spied on humans a lot lately, envious of all the things that they have while she must bide her time at the pace the dragon sets and prepare for a war.
And then she asked him to join her.
Jackson had to rise after the tale and pace the room a bit. At one point, Tword knocked on the door down the hall to the bathroom, attempting to warn that he was returning to his precious closet. Both Jackson and the Goblin Queen shooed him away again. They heard the basement door creak open and a slow creak of older wooden stairs.
“We must be quiet. He goes down there to listen to me through the vents so he can hear me talk on the phone or something and say things he might use against me later.”
“Wretch,” the queen commiserated. “I could take care of him…if you want me too.”
“No that’s alright.”
His pondering continued.
“So?” The queen asked. “What do you think? Are you and I friends? Do you think it might be possible to be a bit more than friends some day?”
Her desire was clear too. She needed him. Of course, if he said no she would be angry, perhaps vengeful. But she would eventually go on and find someone else if her loneliness was strong enough. Jackson wasn’t sure how long she would live but he figured it was likely now on the scale of most faeries rather than the short terms humans lived by. She’d been too strongly entangled in the magics and the enticings of what must be the most powerful of faerie folk imaginable. Is a dragon even faerie? he wondered.
“I’ll tell you what,” Jackson determined and sat on the bed to put himself more on the level with the queen again. “You tell me your name, and…well. We’ll see where this leads us.”
The queen smiled and placed her left hand on his right cheek.
“Indigo,” She grinned pleasantly. She seemed happy to share something with someone finally. “My name is Indigo.”
And then, she leaned close and closed her eyes. Jackson gave her a sweet kiss. He’d not felt the softness of a woman’s lips like that since he broke off with his high school sweetheart once he knew he had been accepted as an intern for the IPMA. The queen’s own kiss a couple years earlier in the forest was different and perhaps a little forced. This one held a spark, and Jackson knew he was committed to making a difference, though not for the humans for whom he thought he worked and struggled all his life.
A new philosophy was growing in his mind, and he wasn’t entirely sure it was his own. He would serve those who needed him most, whomever that was, not just humans. And Indigo needed him. And he knew, he needed Indigo.
~~~
By the time Halloween evening came about, and children were out and about door to door collecting their candies, the queen and her three soldiers were back on another train riding westward home. The goblins were taking turns peeking out of the cargo door’s cracks and reviling the little miniature humans and their sugar-laden wrapped treats.
The Goblin Queen, however, put her back against a softer mailing package and her head against a crate and thought about Jackson and how they might one day live together, provided everything works out the way Morduk had promised. Only a little longer, she thought to herself. And then I will have everything I want
Truly, her heart had been corrupted. And she had high hopes she had equally corrupted his.
~~~
Near Pontiac, MI, Jackson drafted his resignation from the IPMA. Then he thought better of it and hit delete on the file on his laptop. There was no sense ending that job right away. Why not play both sides of the field until he needed to score some points for one or the other? He’d keep his agency status, and meanwhile wait for instructions from Indigo.
~ The End ~
About the Author
IPMA (Institute for the Preservation of Magical Artifacts) historian P. Edward Auman is the only known human among the IMPA records to have had a familial relationship with a faerie, though the details are unknown. It is rumored that a foul experience with a water sprite, during the first half of the twentieth century is the source of his ill-will towards any human-faerie relationships and the motivator for creating aura readers to detect faerie folk who may be disguised. However, the activity for which Eddie is most famously known is his creation of 43 clones to assist him in all of his many ventures. 42 clones survive today, following a mishap with a gene-splice bio-fuel algae agent, to which Eddie responded, “42’s probably good enough. It is the normally accepted answer to the Universe and everything in it anyway.”
Discover Other Titles by the Author at All Online Retailers
Troll Brother – YA Novel – 2013
Troll Brother 2: Little Brother Troll – YA Novel – 2015
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The Yeti Uprising: An IPMA Adventure for Christmas 2013 – YA Novel – 2013
Revenge of the Sylph, The Yeti Uprising 2: An IPMA Adventure for Christmas 2014
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Remuneration, An IPMA Troll Brother Extra #1 – Short Story – 2015
Vernon’s Ghost, An IPMA Troll Brother Extra #2 – Short Story – 2015
Corrupt, An IPMA Troll Brother Extra #3 – Short Story – 2015
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The Old Silk Hat, A Frosty The Snowman Prequel – An IPMA Short – 2012
Seeing Devils: An IPMA Adventure for Halloween 2013 – An IPMA Short – 2013
The Goblin Queen’s Cache: An IPMA Adventure for Halloween 2014 – An IPMA Short – 2014
Leprechaun Gold: An IPMA Adventure for St. Patrick’s Day 2015 – An IPMA Short – 2015
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Speak Rain – Novel – 2013
Troll Brother Books 3 and 4 and More to come 2015 and beyond!
Connect with Me Online:
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www.PEdwardAuman.com
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