He shrugged. “I guess so.”
“That’s awesome. Really. Jayne totally missed you when you were gone. And she was very worried about you.”
“I missed her too.” He looked up at me and I could see a shine in his eyes. Damn, I was so glad he was here. All would be totally right with my world when Chase was back with us – the regular Chase, not the dancing Chase.
That thought led me to another one. “Hey, when you go into the Gray, can you find anyone you want?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Even a Dark Fae?”
He hesitated. “Uh, maybe. I’m not sure. Why would you want to, though?”
I leaned in closer to him so I could speak softer. “So I could check on Chase’s progress with Goose.”
Tony nodded slowly in understanding. “I could try.”
“Tomorrow?” I asked.
“Yes, tomorrow. You can come out to the Infinity Meadow with me and we’ll try.”
“Where’s that? Have I been there?”
“It’s the door with the infinity symbol on it. The figure eight lying on its side?”
“Oh, yeah, I know that door – the symbol that looks like a racetrack.” It was the one Gregale took me to when he brought me into the Gray to see Tony. “After breakfast, we’ll meet there then.”
“I’m coming too,” said Scrum.
“Fine.”
“And me,” said Tim.
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Anyone else? Beckster? You want to join the party?”
She smiled. “No, I have to work with Naida and the others.”
“Party at the lake?” I asked, sarcastically. I’d been allowed to confirm my affinity to Water there at that lake and do a little training, but they’d never let me totally integrate into or explore their underwater world. I may have an affinity to Water, but I was no water sprite or siren.
“Yeah. Don’t be jealous.”
“Jealous! Ha!” said Tim. “Who’d be jealous of a bunch of smelly squid fae?”
“Hell yeah, Pixieman.” I held out my finger so he could give me a high-one.
“What did he say?” she asked, suspiciously.
“He said the water sprites are wimps.”
“Hey!” she said to Tim, feigning offense.
“Tell her the truth!” he yelled. “She’s gonna kick my butt like she kicked yours!”
I stuck my tongue out at him and then looked at Becky, chagrined. “He didn’t really say that.”
“I know,” she said, smiling. “I’m just playing. It’s okay to be jealous though. I would be too if I were you guys.” And then she was gone, reappearing over at the buffet. Lucky for her, since I was ready to give her a well-placed smack on her bare arm. Fucking water sprites.
“Where’s Spike?” asked Tony.
“He’s doing a night run in the forest,” explained Scrum.
“What’s he doing that for?”
“That’s when the incubi run around like wild fae, running faster than anyone else in the fae world, just for the hell of it. They can be kinda strange that way.” Scrum kept eating while he talked, completely oblivious to the pieces of food that fell out of his mouth from time to time.
I got a little sick, looking at him. “Scrum. Dude. Manners ever?”
“Oh. Sorry.” He chewed and swallowed, wiping his mouth off with his napkin before continuing. “He sucked down some of Jayne’s supercharged energy today, so he’s a little high on life right now.”
“Like, literally,” I said, looking down at my plate as I felt my face flaming up.
“Somebody’s embaaaaarrassed,” said Tony in a singsong voice.
I jabbed him with my elbow. “Shut the hell up.”
“What happened?”
“She practically did it with the incubus!” yelled Tim.
I held up my finger in flicking position, aiming it right him. “Say it again, freak. See what happens.”
“Ack!” he yelled, running away from my plate and over to Scrum. “Save me, daemon boy! She’s gone rabid after doing it with the incubus!” He was laughing maniacally at his teasing, which is the only reason I didn’t reach over and give him a good flick on his pixie butt. The really big-hearted piece of me – granted it’s a small piece, but it’s in there somewhere – was glad to see him so happy, running around with his little burnt off nubby wing. He had plenty of reasons to be sad, so if my semi-sexual escapades entertained him, then I’d just have to suck it up.
“Stay over there or I’m gonna dunk you in my soup and eat you for dinner.”
“Orc!” he screeched, pointing at me in accusation.
“Gnome!” I responded.
“Oh. No. You. Did. Not just call me a gnome,” he said, hands on his hips.
“Oh, yes I did. Little dirt eater.”
Tim stood there fuming. Apparently I’d hit the jackpot coming up with that insult. Personally, I didn’t think gnomes were so bad. A little dirty, maybe, but friendly. But compared to my sparkly, clean, perfectly coiffed Tim, they were probably considered second-class citizens – at least by him. I’m not even sure they brushed their teeth, like ever, and Tim could be found brushing and flossing away at least three times daily, sometimes more.
“You just wait. Don’t fall asleep tonight, that’s all I have to say.”
I laughed. “What are you going to do? Fart all night? That’s no threat – I’m used to it.”
“You are soooo lucky I don’t have wings right now.”
“Yes, I am, aren’t I?” I smiled at him devilishly, reaching out slowly to grab him.
He squeaked and ran up Scrum’s arm, hiding behind his head. Seconds later, I heard a muffled gagging sound and then Tim yelling, “Holy gnome head, don’t you ever wash your hair?!”
He came out onto Scrum’s shoulder, waving his arms around his face, as if trying to get a swarm of flies away from him.
“The smell is on me! Ew! Get it away!”
I stood up and walked over, taking Tim in my hand. “Relax, Tim. Playtime is over. Are you done eating yet?”
“I’ve lost my appetite. I think there were bugs living in there. I hope whatever he has going on isn’t contagious.”
“What’s wrong with him?” asked a mystified Tony.
“He said he doesn’t like Scrum’s shampoo.”
“Oh, I don’t use shampoo,” said Scrum.
“Why not?” asked Tony, obviously a little repulsed by this piece of information.
“It’s not good for your hair.”
“Who told you that?” I asked.
“I read it somewhere.”
I laughed. “Where? Homeless Housekeeping?”
Tony laughed and then quickly tried to cover it up by coughing.
“Is that a real magazine?” Scrum asked.
I started walking away. My patience and understanding can only be expected to go so far. “Good night guys. See you tomorrow.” I turned back to Tony, now walking away in reverse. “Tony, come see me before you go to bed.”
He nodded, still laughing behind his fork at Scrum who was now trying to pull his hair out as far as it would go so he could look at it; but it was too short, so he just kept turning and swiveling his head while pulling on clumps of hair. I shook my head as I left the room. The kid was pitiful. If the future of the Light Fae were in the hands of guys like this? I was afraid for my continued existence in this world.
Tony joined Tim and me in our room about twenty minutes later. It was perfectly timed since it had given me enough of a head start to get showered and dressed for bed. Tim took his shower in the sink while I took mine in the actual shower area. I’d ceased being embarrassed about Tim seeing me naked. What was he going to do about seeing a gigantic boob anyway? It probably grossed him out since the boobs he was used to were probably about the size of half a Tic Tac. And those would be the busty pixies.
Tony sat on the edge of my bed while I got under the covers. “So you had a good day today, huh?” I asked.
??
?Yeah, I really did. And I didn’t say this at dinner because it might not work out, but the gray elves are going to recommend me to be in charge of organizing the training.”
“Whaaat?! That’s amazing, Tony? Congrats! How the hell did you manage that?”
He smiled, obviously delighted at the idea. “I don’t know. I mean, one minute I was just listening to the meeting stuff, and then I started getting ideas for strategy and ways to make things more efficient, so I started talking. It was like it just was so obvious – problems they’d been dealing with, all the changelings coming in and not knowing what to do with them ... it was just so basic to me. It reminded me of playing chess, you know?” His eyes were bright with excitement and he gestured with his hands without even realizing it. I’d never seen him so animated. “You have to look at your end goal, winning this war or being prepared to win this war, and then you look at all your resources and how you can capitalize on different strengths, and you see how this move or that move will cause a ripple effect down the line. It’s all like the strategies we learned and used in chess club.”
“I told you the better name for that group was the ‘Rule the World Someday’ club.”
Tony smiled. “You were right. It’s helping me show them how to plan for the war. They really liked what I had to say in there.”
“I always knew you were the smartest guy in the world. Now I have confirmation from the smartest fae in the world that I was right.”
Tony leaned down and hugged me. “Thanks, Jayne. Just ... thanks. For everything.”
I hugged him back. “You’re welcome. Now stop thanking me before you get all blubbery. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay.” He stood to go out. “See you tomorrow, Tim.”
“Good night,” came the little voice from across the room.
I flipped over so my back was to the door, calling out to my friend. “Tony?”
“Yeah, Jayne?”
“Don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.”
Chapter 19
Tony was lying on his back on the ground, next to me out in the Infinity Meadow. Scrum sat off to the side, watching us and the edge of the forest that lie not far away. Tim rested on my chest near my neck, quiet for once.
“Just for the record, guys, I don’t like this,” said Scrum.
I sighed. “You don’t like what? Tony going into the Gray? The meadow? What?”
“This place. Something feels ... off.”
I probably shouldn’t doubt his daemon radar because it had been able to sense when I was in trouble with Spike before, but I’d been out here several times for training and stuff and never had a problem. It was a beautiful day – the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and great, big, puffy clouds slowly drifted overhead. There was even a gentle breeze mussing the hair around my face. Of course, Scrum’s hair didn’t move since it hadn’t been washed in, like, ever.
“Just relax, gnome-head, we’ll be fine. Your radar – I mean, daedar – probably has a glitch in it. Just keep your eyes out for the bad guys.”
“I plan on it. And just so you know, my daedar, as you call it, has never had a glitch. I’m going to be right over here, and if I tell you to get inside, then you have to agree to just go and not argue.” He gave us the most serious look I think he’s capable of.
“Cross my heart,” I said, rolling my eyes.
Tony looked at me and spoke in a low tone, “You really shouldn’t give him such a hard time, Jayne. He’s just doing his job.”
I stuck my tongue out at him. “M – Y – O – B.”
“It is my business. I could be the new training coordinator.”
“Yeah, well, when you get your promotion, maybe it’ll be your business. For now, the only thing you need to be worrying about is finding this guy in the Gray.”
“Okay, so remind me ... what exactly am I doing?”
“Find that Goose guy, he’s a Dark Fae gray elf, and ask him how Chase is doing.”
“Where does he live?”
“In the Dark Fae compound.”
“Do you know where it is? What it looks like?”
“No.”
“Do you have anything of Goose’s?”
I frowned at him fiercely. “No, dumbass, I don’t. I’m not in the habit of collecting trinkets from people I meet out in the forest.”
“Okaaay, chill, I’m just asking. It’s easier to find someone if you have some sort of connection. Searching around in the Gray for someone you don’t know can be tricky.”
“Well, don’t do it if you can’t.”
Tony sighed loudly. “I didn’t say I can’t do it. I just said it can be tricky. So tell me what the deal is exactly. If I reach him, what am I supposed to say?”
“Ask him how Chase’s treatment is going and if he’ll be ready for me to come get him in a few days. Try to get an exact day and time – and verify the place. It’s supposed to be the big tree where he found us the first time.”
“Okay,” said Tony, squeezing my hand, “here goes nothin’.”
I waited patiently, gently holding on to Tony’s hand and staring at the clouds in the sky. I saw one that looked like a rabbit and then one that looked like a turtle. That’s funny. Like the fable. At first they were moving slowly across the sky, but then they began moving faster. The rabbit lost form, becoming smaller clumps and wisps – the turtle turned into an orc. It looked like it was racing across the sky, chasing the bits of rabbit that were left. Ugh. The memory of those disgusting creatures was not what I wanted to deal with as I waited out here in the meadow for news of Chase.
The wind started to kick up; it wasn’t cold, but it felt strange. It was as if a storm was moving in. I heard something near the edge of the meadow, coming from the trees. I turned my head to look at Scrum. “Scrum, did you hear that noise?” His earlier words were starting to make me feel paranoid.
He didn’t answer me – he just kept staring. “Scrum!” I said more forcefully, “did you hear it or not?”
Still no answer. In fact, no response at all. He was just staring out into the distance as if he was in a fog. Or frozen in place.
I sat up quickly and felt something land in my lap. I looked down and saw that Tim was laying there, all stiffened in a sitting position, staring off into the distance. A ringing began in my ears, as my brain tried to compute what was happening. I reached my hand down slowly, and carefully lifted Tim up. His body was warm and his skin still soft, but he was definitely not okay. He was all zombied out. I looked back at Scrum and saw that he was in the same condition. I looked at Tony in a panic, but I couldn’t tell if this was happening to him too or if he was just walking the Gray. Maybe he was still in there and fine, or maybe he was in a trance too. I was afraid to disturb him, worried it would trap him in the Gray or something.
A noise came from the trees again and I jerked my head towards the sound. Coming from the darkness of the green canopy were a guy and a girl. I nearly pissed myself when I saw who they were. I quickly shoved Tim into the front of my tunic, praying I wasn’t hurting him, and jumped up to meet the duo head-on.
Chapter 20
“Well, hello, Jayne. Fancy meeting you here.” The bitchy half-smile she gave me was a straight up flashback from Miami.
“Hello, Samantha. Looks like you found a place where you fit right in.”
She scowled in response. I noticed she was wearing a black robe over a white tunic and black pants. I was afraid to think that this uniform meant the same thing it meant in my Light Fae world. If she were one of us, I’d say she’s a witch.
Ben smiled at me. “Hello, Jayne. I see you’ve managed to convince Tony to make the change. Good for you. I’m sure he’s making all of you very proud.”
“Blow it out your ass, Ben. I’m not interested in your bullshit. You’d better get lost before I call a platoon of green elves in to waste you and Ms. Congeniality here.” I gestured with my chin to Her Royal Bitchiness. Samantha and I had met before when we were both
runaways hanging out with Jared and his crew in Miami. I had only known her for about two days, but it was enough to see that she had a bad attitude and a massive chip on her shoulder. All of us in Miami thought for sure she’d be invited to take the changeling test with us, but after the interview, she had been rejected – the only one of us. At the time, Jared had been really upset and so had she. I guess she’d found a back-up plan ... or it had found her.
“No, you won’t do that. Because if you do, your friends here will get hurt.” He nodded towards Scrum and Tony on the ground.
“Seems like you’ve already managed to do that, so I guess I’ve got nothing to lose.” I tapped into The Green, angry with myself that I hadn’t powered up as soon as I’d heard the noise that was them coming. I could have been better prepared than I was, and with Tony lying there helpless like that, it was totally stupid to not have had the power on standby. What had I been thinking?
“No, they’re fine. Just in suspension for a few minutes while we take care of business.”
I rubbed my hand slowly over the spot where Tim rested in my shirt. One of his feet was jabbing my boob and I needed to move it, but I didn’t want them to know he was there.
“What business?”
“The business of taking you with us.”
I barked out a laugh. “Ha! As if that’s gonna happen. Listen, I appreciate the drama guys, but I’m not going anywhere with you a-holes.”
Ben shrugged, still smiling. “It’s either you or them. You choose.”
“Hmmm,” I said sarcastically, putting my finger to my lips. “I chooooose ... none of the above.” And with that, I threw up a Green energy bubble between them and us, enclosing my friends inside, praying Tony would still be able to get out of the Gray. “Now get the fuck outta here before someone gets hurt. And by someone, I mean you.”
Samantha looked at Ben, as if seeking his approval. He merely nodded, not even looking at her. He just kept staring at me. His steady gaze and unwavering calm was eerie as shit and making me nervous. He was seriously good at this psychological warfare stuff.
Samantha raised her hand and started waving it slowly near the top of my bubble. I felt a glitch in the system – a stuttering of the power. I’d never felt anything like it before and I didn’t like it at all. I didn’t even have to look up to see what she was doing – she was bending my power shield and getting around it.