"You didn't ask."
I gritted my teeth together to keep from blasting him with the choice words floating around in my head. Instead, once I was under control, I slowly and calmly smiled.
"Now that is a scary look," he said, backing away from me slowly across the table. "Can you guys see that? Her eyes are swirling in four colors." He looked to Becky and Finn, but they'd started to back away too, their chairs making screeching sounds as they slid across the floor.
"You have nothing to fear from me," I said in a low voice, quietly calling Wind to me. It was so easy. I barely had to think about it, and suddenly it was there, waiting to do my bidding. The soft hairs around Sam's face lifted, and she looked around suspiciously, apparently not sure what was causing the disturbance.
"Jayyyyne," Tim warned. "Don't do it." He held up his hands in surrender. "I swear, I was going to tell you."
I grinned, enjoying his reaction way too much. "Maybe you should have told me sooner so I could have talked to her when I had the chance."
Tim lifted up from the table, his wings a blur. "Uhhh, heh-heh, I have to go now. Nature calls and all." He cupped his pixie parts and slowly moved in reverse.
Wind, hear my call. Stop that pixie and pin him to the wall.
Tim disappeared in an instant, swept up by the element and thrown to the other side of the room. He slammed into the stone pretty hard, his wings cushioning the blow only a little. He struggled to get away, but his efforts were fruitless. He was no match for the power of the wind pinning him down.
"Jayne, what in the sam hill are you doin'?" Finn yelled. He stood suddenly, looking down on me and then over at Tim.
Becky slowly stood too. "What the…did you do that, Jayne?" She looked mad all of a sudden.
Someone's hand was suddenly on my head. I turned to see who would dare and found my cousin there. She was chanting something as she reached into a leather bag at her waist.
"You have about two seconds to unhand me before I send you into a realm you will not escape from so easily," I said, feeling really strange inside. It was like someone else was speaking for me. Did I just say 'unhand me'? The energy coming from the elements was like a drug, making me dizzy with power.
Her hand came out of the leather bag and she held it out as a fist in front of me. "Dark spirits, begone!" She leaned down and blew the contents of her quickly opened palm into my face, throwing grit and the stench of what was probably skunk nads into my eyes and mouth.
I immediately started choking and threw myself away from her, going over backward in my chair and landing hard on the floor. I lay there for a while, my head spinning, looking up at the ceiling as I worked to removed the crud from my teeth.
Several seconds later, faces started to appear above me. Becky, Finn, and Scrum were all looking at me with concern and maybe some fear too. And then a pixie with a bent wing was there.
"You have some explaining to do, young lady," he said. His voice was missing some of its normal authority. He sounded…scared.
Sam appeared, offering her hand to help me up.
I didn't take it at first. Instead, I stared up at my friends. "What did I just do?"
Becky and Finn shared a secret look that I took to mean they were worried but just as clueless as I was.
Sam sighed. "Take my hand. We can fix this."
I wasn't confident that she was right—I had just intentionally hurt my roommate and I hadn't felt one iota of regret nor had I hesitated—but she had known what to do when it happened and when to do it, so I had to trust her. What other choice did I have? I took her hand and got to my feet.
Sam pointed to my plate. "Finish. Then follow me."
I looked at the food, and my stomach churned. "I can't."
"Do it." She folded her arms across her chest. "You're going to need the energy."
I sat down, unable to look anyone in the eye. The entire dining room had gone silent, and the activity did not pick up. Instead, everyone slowly left the room, probably scared shitless that they were going to be my next victims. I sighed as I choked down the tasteless food. It felt like I was never going to be able to move forward with my plan to save my friends and the world because something always kept popping up to get in the way.
CHAPTER NINE
AFTER I FINISHED eating, I left the room to follow Sam. Tim flew next to me silently, which should have been a blessing, but it wasn't. I knew he was still upset with me and possibly worried too because he wasn't yammering his head off. I was definitely getting the cold shoulder, but I deserved it. What kind of friend slams a friend into a wall? Not one I'd want to have.
"Where're we going?" I asked, hoping to ease the tension.
"To meet with some friends," Sam answered.
Apparently, I would soon be attending a meeting with a group of witches. I had done this on a couple of occasions before, when we had been learning how to best fight off the Dark Fae, and in other general training sessions too; but never under these kinds of circumstances—where their job would be to figure out if I was possessed by a demon or whatever. I was nervous, way more so than I ever had been when going to a Council meeting. The witches in our compound and outside of it harnessed a lot of power, and when there were several of them together, it was intimidating. They knew how to use magic more than any other fae, and when they worked together, there was almost no limit to what they could do. Hell, they'd found a way to rescue me from the elements while everyone else had thought it a hopeless situation.
We made our way through the compound and then out one of the doors I had never used before. It had a symbol on it that look like a pentagram type star inside a circle that was inside a diamond. The air was chilly, but I would've been shivering regardless of the temperature because of my nerves. I was tempted to call the Fire element in to warm me up, but I was worried after that little incident in the dining room with Tim getting plastered to the wall that there was some sort of demon inside me who would use the elements to hurt my friends. So, instead, I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered, my teeth chattering loud enough for Sam to hear. She paused and glanced over her shoulder at me once, but didn't say anything before moving on.
Sounds coming from behind us caught my attention. I turned around, surprised to find Becky, Finn, and Scrum running toward us. I paused and waited for them to catch up before I spoke. "What're you guys doing out here?"
"We decided that you shouldn't be doing any of this stuff alone," Finn said. "Where you go, we go."
One part of me was relieved to see them there, but the more altruistic part of me knew I shouldn't let that feeling take over all my common sense. "Fae who hang around with me tend to disappear into other realms and get thrown across rooms. Are you sure that's a good idea?"
Becky nodded. "We don't regret any minute that we ever spent with you, Jayne, so don't think that. Life is supposed to be an adventure, right?"
"I guess you could always disappear if things get hairy." I tried to smile so she'd know I wasn't calling her a chicken.
She didn't smile back. "I don't disappear when things get tough anymore." She lifted her chin. "I stick."
Finn slung his arm across her shoulders. "Yep, that's my lady. Fearless to the bone. She sticks like molasses to a wooden spoon, and she's just as sweet."
I had no idea what he was talking about from personal experience, but I was pretty sure that being sticky like molasses was considered a compliment in his neck of the woods.
She leaned into him and reached up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "How could I not be brave when I have this big, strong, bad-butt green elf here to watch my back?"
He grinned down at her, his freckles standing out in stark relief against his now slightly pink-toned skin.
I had to smile at them. "You guys are both gross and inspiring." I was so happy they'd found each other. I might've been a little jealous too. I was seriously missing Spike. It had been way too long since I'd felt his arms around me. Don't give up on me, Spike! I'm coming to get you!
"Come on. We don't have all day," Sam said.
"I second that," said Tim, flying over to land on her shoulder. Sam looked at him kind of surprised, because he rarely chose to hang out near her, but then she shrugged and seemed to be good with it.
I tried not to let my feelings be hurt over his desire to be with her rather than me. It took a lot for Tim to be mad at me, but I didn't blame him one bit for being miffed about being nailed to the wall. His rejection still hurt, though. It was easy for me to feel really alone, but Tim was one of the few fae who could help me not feel that way. And now he wasn't interested in being there with me. I was back to flying solo.
Tim's shunning inspired me to work harder at controlling the elements and not letting whatever had happened in the dining room happen again. I prayed to the universe that Sam's witch friends could help me out. I didn't want to be a threat to my friends and family.
Sam began walking again. We followed, moving into an area of the forest that was very dark.
"This is where them orcs used to be locked inside them trees," Finn said. I could hear him sliding one of his arrows from his quiver and notching it in his bow's string.
"Yes, it is, but there are no orcs here anymore," Sam assured all of us. "The area holds a lot of elemental magic that's useful for what we're doing."
Elemental magic? What? "Please tell me we don't have a bunch of rogue witches on our hands," I said. I could just picture how the Council would react to finding out that a whole coven of rebel witches were out in the dark woods cooking up scary brews with elemental magic. Even I, rebel to the core, felt a little uneasy over the idea.
"I wouldn't be dissing any witches right now, Jayne," Tim said from Sam's shoulder, his back to me. "They're the ones who rescued you from the white void, if you recall."
"Yes. Thanks for the reminder, Tim. I had actually forgotten about that for about ten seconds."
He didn't answer and I didn't elaborate, even though Becky and Finn looked at me with questions in their eyes. Scrum thankfully was his clueless self and didn't seem to care either way. He was too busy looking out and around us, ever watchful for boogie men who might jump out and try to harm me.
As we trudged on, I stared at the ground, trying not to trip over the fallen branches that were becoming more numerous with every step. I built up a decent sweat too, but it felt good. It had been way too long since I'd had a solid workout. It made me think of the times we'd spent training in the woods together. I really missed those days. It had been hard work, but fun too. All the fae and I, regardless of race, had shared a ton of laughs under the leaves and stars. Life had been so simple then. I wished I had appreciated it more.
We finally reached a clearing in the trees a few minutes later, where several loose tree stumps had been arranged in a circle around a pit of fire. Outside the ring of the stumps were branches on the ground lined up and touching in a perfect circle. My mind immediately picked up on the fact that there was a circle of fire, inside a circle of tree stumps, inside a circle of branches. I wouldn't have been surprised to learn that there was a pile of salt laid out in a circle outside the perimeter of those branches, too. Witches sure do love their geometry. Damn.
There were several fae sitting on the stumps who stood to acknowledge us when we arrived.
Sam stopped just outside the branches arranged on the ground and gestured to each witch in turn. "This is Magali, Sharif, Tana, Sylvia…" She continued with the introductions. There were ten of them, with Sam bringing their number to eleven. When she was done, she turned to face me. Her tone sounded very official. "Jayne, you are hereby invited into our circle so that we can help you discover your connection to the Forsaken and determine if there's any way that we can use this connection to defeat them. You are also invited into our circle so that we can aid you in finding and rescuing our friends, Spike and Tony, if it's at all possible. And finally, you are invited into our circle so that you can aid us in locating and managing the wyvern who has recently joined our community."
I stood there and blinked for little while. I didn't know what to say. Is there some official way to accept? Did I have to say some magic words? Bow? Execute a secret handshake? Dance an Irish jig? Do the Macarena?
"Welllll, that's a long list of stuff," said Scrum. He walked up and stood next to me, patting me on the back gently. "Do you think you can do all that?"
I shook my head no as I answered. "Probably not, but I'm willing to try?"
"Do not try. Do." This came from the witch name Sharif, a dark-skinned and dark-haired man-witch wearing a very ratty looking cape over his bony shoulders.
His words reminded me so much of the Ben-dragon, I narrowed my eyes at him. It was as if he had been there to overhear our conversation during the council meeting. Was it possible that these witches had listening spells in Ben's old bedroom? I doubted it, because even if they'd managed to put one in there, it wouldn't have worked; we had all been wearing our cloaks, which ensured that no one could use magic in our presence. Before I could say anything to him, though, Sam spoke.
"Do you accept?" She was looking at me, urging me with her eyes to say yes.
The problem was that I wasn't sure exactly what I was saying yes to, and I'd learned with certain fae—especially witches…yes, I'm talking about you, Maggie, you old bag…where are you right now? Are you watching me out here in the forest? Cackling at all the mistakes I'm making?—that you really need to be specific when talking to them. I looked at her and frowned. "Accept what?"
"Our invitations."
Clearly, this was the best explanation I was going to get out of my cousin. She might have wanted to help me by giving more detail, but she was standing there in front of all those other witches, and taking the time to humor me would have come off as a weakness. Knowing her, she wouldn't want to look like a rookie who was intimidated by a mere elemental like me, so she was keeping her mouth shut tight. Her lips were pressed together so firmly they had become a very thin line. I was just going to have to trust her.
I shrugged. "I guess so. I'd like to do all those things you mentioned, anyway…find out the connection, get Tony and Spike, and find the wyvern too…"
She gestured toward the ring of fire. "Enter our circle."
I would've liked to do it without any of my elements present, but every fiber of my being was telling me that I should not go into any situation like this naked. So I started with the Green, because Earth is the element I am most comfortable with. I pictured it covering my body in the slightest hint of its power, like the sheen of magically scented body lotion. And because I had no time to plan, I couldn't come up with a rhyme. My elements were just going to have to behave without that little trick.
Green, come to me. Bring wind, water, and fire with you, not to act as a weapon against anyone here or elsewhere, but as my protection. I pictured myself in a defensive posture carrying a shield but no weapons. The shield was in the shape of an equilateral diamond or a square tipped on one of its corners. It was made of four elements in the shape of four smaller squares that fit inside the big diamond, represented by their colors: green for Earth, red for Fire, blue for Water, black for Wind. I prayed that the elements would understand what I was asking for.
Their response was immediate. First the Green came, its welcoming and soothing Earth energy covering every inch of me from head to toe. Something in my belly twitched, making me think I either had gas bubbles floating around in there or that the babies inside me were waking up. Then a warmth came over my body, which I knew was Fire announcing its presence. I could feel its power banked, however, and that made me smile. It was doing what I'd asked it to do, which was nothing less than a triumph. I'm doing this! Yes! Next came Water, cooling Fire's temperature just the slightest bit, but at the same time, not fighting it. It was the first time I'd felt the elements working in such harmony. It was truly magical. And lastly, came Wind, lifting the fine hairs around Sam's face again but so slightly I don't even think she noticed. I felt
like I was walking on air when I stepped over the sticks and between the stumps to be next to the fire pit, probably because I was. Ben would have been so proud.
Sam looked at our friends. "You guys need to stay outside the circles. No matter what happens, do not come in."
"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that," Scrum said looking at me with concern in his eyes.
"Don't worry about me. I'm covered." I gave him a look that I hoped was telegraphing the idea that I wasn't going in there totally alone; the elements had my back. And my front and sides too, which was nothing less than awesome. "It's cool. Trust me. I'm good."
Even with my assurances, Scrum definitely didn't like the idea, his nostrils flaring and his jaw tensed, but he stepped back. Finn and Becky joined him, but Finn's weapon did not leave his hand. He still had an arrow ready to go. Becky reached down and took his free hand in hers and squeezed his fingers a couple times before letting go. I was proud that she stayed, even though she could've easily disappeared into thin air. She was a real friend who didn't go poof when things got tough. I nodded at her to thank her, and she grinned back, giving me an enthusiastic double thumbs-up.
My gaze roamed over all the witches but stopped on Sam. She might have been the least experienced one of the bunch, but she was clearly in charge. It probably had something to do with the fact that she was destined to be a Fate one day—poor kid. No one knew better than I did about other fae's big expectations and having to live up to them. "I'm ready. For whatever it is we're going to do here," I announced.
Tim was still on her shoulder, but he quickly jumped off and hovered next to her at my words. He started to move toward the circle, but Sam held an arm out to block him. "Sorry, Tim, but you have to stay back."
"I think I need to be in there with her." He moved as if to go around her arm and cross over the line of branches.
I was worried he was going to get sizzled or something. Witch circles were nothing to mess with. "It's okay, Tim. I'm good in here. Just stay outside the circle and wait for me. I'll be out soon." I hope. His wing was already bent, which caused him to fly funny, all because I had another split personality issue to deal with. I didn't need any more guilt heaped onto my plate; it was plenty full already.