Twist of Fae (9 page)

R
OBERT

We had come into Fae just inside the forest, not far from
the path of worlds. That was the path that skirted the border and allowed
movement between this land and others. We had a brief moment, as I had
neglected to mention the part about our Fae persona.

"Oh my God!" Nikki said a minute later as she took
a deep breath. "The air is incredible."

"You're right, it's so… fresh," Jay said, taking a
deep breath. He turned suddenly, as something came to his attention. "Wait,
what's that? I think someone's coming. It smells like, like, like a dog,"
he said with a surprised look as he turned to see an animal approaching through
the trees. It was a medium sized Border Collie. Jet black, except for a small
patch of pure white at the chest and on the tips of the hind paws.

"Oh yeah," I replied. "That's Sophie."

"Welcome back, my Lord," she barked, as she
dropped a pack on the ground at my feet. "Suitable clothing as
requested."

"Thanks girl," I said. I picked it up and opened
it to find two sets of leather clothing. They were similar to what I was
wearing, only in forest color hues. I held the smaller set up in front of
Nikki. "Here, try this on for size."

"Do all the animals here talk?" Jay asked, as I
tossed the other set to him.

"Many are sentient," I replied. "Don't worry
though. You'll be able to tell the difference. Trust me, we wouldn’t want to
hunt sentient beings for food."

"What, no Fairy Princess dress?" Nikki teased as
she looked over the clothing before going behind a tree to change. Less than a
minute later she stepped out and did a twirl. "Ahem. Not quite as sexy as
Jay's videogame characters, but it'll do!"

She was decked out in leather boots, tight pants and corset,
and a jacket that added sleeves. Jay came out similarly dressed, with a long
sleeve leather shirt that hung below his waist. The colors were forest green
and brown, and the patterns shifted as they moved. There were pockets and loops
for various implements that could be added, and both had leather belts that
could handle a sword or other weapons.

"The material is stronger than it looks," Sophie
said.

"Sophie, let me introduce you to my children, Jay and
Nikki."

"An honor," Sophie replied, bowing her head.

I almost laughed as she took on that Border Collie stare as
her head lowered before raising it again. They both nodded in return.

"A moment, my Lord," she said.

"Sure," I replied and knelt down to be closer to
her level. "Is there a problem?"

"Not yet," she replied. "But Cacilia has
asked me to let you know that strange Dwarves have been observed at the borderlands,
and neither Bernd nor Valen have been seen in many weeks." Cacilia was my
Aunt and, in my absence, ruled the land.

"Strange Dwarves?" I repeated, thinking of what
Alf had told me. "Have any crossed our borders?"

"Not yet," she answered. "But the Naiad say
they have crossed their waters in other lands, so it is only a question of when."
The Naiad were the Fae of fresh water. There were several of them here and some
of the rivers and streams that flowed through Fae crossed the borders of the
different Fae lands.

"Any idea what they are doing?"

"It is rumored that they seek out Valen. It is said they
carry a message for him from their King."

"I bet they do," I said aloud. "Ok, Get back
to Cacilia and tell her I'll be around later today, unless she needs to see me
sooner. In the meantime, I'm taking the kids to the
Wayward Elf
to meet
Handion. Better yet, ask her if she can meet us there as well. Any word on when
Charlie will get here with the weapons I asked for?"

"Dad, is everything ok?" I heard Nikki ask from
behind me. "I mean, not that anything's really ok… Oh hell, you know what
I mean!"

"I think so," I replied. Before I could continue
my conversation a black blur passed through the trees and I saw Charlie land
next to me.

"He has arrived," Sophie said.

"In a hurry?" I asked as he dropped a large, wrapped
pouch from his mouth.

"Hah," he barked. "It is good to run free in
the woods again."

"I'm sure it is," I agreed. "What did you
bring me?" I unwrapped the leather cord and opened the bundle. Inside was
a sword and bow with a quiver of Fae arrows, as well as two short swords
similar to the seax I carried. The metal gleamed as the sunlight hit it and I
knew instantly that these were no ordinary weapons.

"Courtesy of Silvana. These are from Demeter's armory
and should serve the children well."

"We have an armory?" I asked.

"Of course," Charlie retorted.

"Later on we're going to have a discussion about what else
you haven’t told me," I said as I picked up the sword and scabbard and
handed it to Jay. "Here, try this on for size." Then I grabbed the
bow and gave it to Nikki. "I hope you've kept up with your archery practice."

"Every other week," she said as she bent it around
her leg to set it. She raised it up with her left hand and pulled on the
bowstring, testing its draw. "This is so cool. Arrows?"

I handed her the quiver and then looked over at Jay. He was
testing the sword and I watched as he practiced a few moves.

"Damn, this thing is balanced well," he remarked
before placing it into the scabbard and attaching it to his side. "Are we
really going to need these here?"

"I doubt it," I replied. "But better safe
than sorry. Besides, Nikki is going to have to hunt us up something before we
get to the
Wayward Elf
. It's not polite to show up empty handed." I
handed them each a short sword and then rewrapped the cover and placed it at
the foot of the tree we had come in from.

"I'm going hunting? You're kidding, right?" Nikki asked
as Charlie walked up to her and nudged her side. I'd taken both the kids on
hunting and fishing trips as they were growing up, so Nikki was no stranger to
the idea. Even if it had been a while. "Ok, you're not kidding, and who is
this wayward Elf, anyway?"

"Not a who," I explained. "A what. It's an inn.
We can't show up empty handed so get going."

"Come, let us begin," Charlie said to her. "I
smell boar nearby and I feel the urge to hunt." With what seemed to be an
almost reluctant shrug, Nikki followed him and I watched as Charlie led her
deeper into the forest.

N
IKKI

I thought I'd never be able to keep up with Charlie, but I
was wrong. The run was almost effortless, at least compared to running back in
the real world. It was almost like the air itself was different, filling my
lungs with more than just oxygen. What am I saying? Everything is different!

The whole thing had started like a dream. Talking birds, Dad's
explanations, and then the Faerie with the wings. Even that weird little guy.
What had Dad called him... an Imp? It's insane, and now I'd just stepped
through a freakin' tree into a whole different world. And what a world it was!

I watched as Charlie cut left and bounded onward, barking
back at me to wait. I stopped and readied my bow. A minute later, I heard it
coming through the brush. It was almost like I could feel them, Charlie and the
boar I mean. They were close.

Something tickled at the corner of my brain and I whirled
around, my arrow nocked for whatever it was. A cloud of flying somethings
scattered in all directions as I turned, and then Charlie came running up.

"It's just the tree Faeries," I heard him say as
he ran up to me, the boar now crashing through the woods away from me.
"They wish to watch you hunt."

I looked again, slowly pointing the bow toward the ground.
Sure enough, as soon as the bow was no longer pointed in their direction, they
began to appear. Small Faeries, like the ones I had seen at my dad's. I started
to smile and they came closer. I could hear them whispering my name and the titles,
lady, princess, and even queen.

I dropped my arm, and they flew up to me, buzzing my head
as the ones before had done. Suddenly they were all talking. I put out my hand and,
one by one, they landed and bowed, before flying off again.

"Let me begin again," Charlie said. "They
will not get in the way this time." Then he ran off back into the woods, following
the trail the boar had left.

Then the Faeries backed off about ten feet, and they
became silent. The only sound was a faint buzzing from their wings.

Not too long later, there was a noise to my right and I heard
Charlie call. I began to run and suddenly I felt it. The world became part of
me, and I could almost see the boar as it ran, steam puffing from its nostrils
as it jumped over branches, running full speed almost parallel to me. Then I
caught sight of it and, still running, raised my bow, and let loose my arrow,
and it was down.

Charlie met me as I came upon it. My arrow had pierced its
heart and it lay dead on the ground before me. I kneeled down and placed my
hand on its snout. Although I was thrilled at the outcome of the hunt and the
way it had made me feel. I felt a brief moment of sadness that I had taken a
life. I said a word of thanks to the boar for the food it would bring to the
table.

"Do not be sad, my Lady," I heard Charlie say.
"Your aim was true and it felt no pain. Others will live because of its
sacrifice. Such is the way of things."

I saw death every day in my day job, and every time I
gazed upon it, the person was gone and only the body was left behind. But still,
it was seldom from a life I had taken, even if this was an animal I'd killed
for food. He was right. This life had not been taken for some stupid reason,
such as drugs or money, or even as sport or entertainment, but for food and
nourishment. That was something my dad had taught us when I was little girl.

My dad wasn't what you'd call an avid hunter or fisherman.
But now and then he'd go with friends, or on the odd occasion, take us with
him. He'd taken my brother and me hunting and fishing on several occasions when
we were young, and made us learn how to clean the fish and dress the kills. One
thing he'd drummed into us was that we, as humans, were on the top of the food
chain. But with that came a responsibility as well.

He used to say that every life was precious, and even
those we took, we only did so for food, or to protect ourselves or others. He also
said a prayer every time he caught something, as I had just done. It was his
way of saying thanks for providing food for the table. Like the animal had
given its life so that we could live.

Don’t get me wrong. My dad isn’t some kind of namby pamby
liberal. I'd been there the time he'd come home after a police shoot-out that
had ended in him taking down two of the bad guys during a botched robbery. I
doubt he'd been too sorry that he'd done that at the time. But he had a weird
way of looking at the world we lived in, and I think that's what I felt now. There
was something about this place, and I was becoming more than just a part of it.

My sentimental musings were soon forgotten as the tree
Faeries caught up to us and started chattering. They were praising my skills in
the hunt, and Charlie's as well. Suddenly the thrill of it all returned as the
Faeries started talking about the meal and the celebration that was still to
come.

Then something they said clicked, and I wondered what else
I'd missed.

R
OBERT

After Sophie left I had a quick conversation with the
Hamadryad, Aeva, about notifying me if any Dwarves crossed the border. By the
time that was done, Jay had decided where to put the short sword and had come
up behind me.

"So are you going to tell me what the deal is with the
EAB, Dad?" he asked. "You never quite finished the story."

"I guess I didn’t," I agreed. "Apparently,
they're part of Homeland Security."

"Yeah, that much I already knew," he interrupted.
"But what kind of deal did you get me involved in?"

"Not really a deal, Jay," I answered back.
"They merely agreed not to screw with you because of me or because of what
we are. Although, I did get the impression that they already wanted you on
their team. So don’t be surprised if you get an offer."

"I don't want any charity," he said. "If
they're only interested in me because of this Fae thing, they can forget
it."

"I don’t think that's the case," I said, quite
proud of his attitude. "And it's nothing I did. Apparently you had already
come to their attention because of your work. Samson said that you had already
proven yourself and I don’t think he's the kind to bullshit."

"What's he like?" he asked. "I heard some of
the guys talking about him this morning. Even as strange as they are, they
seemed almost… I don't know, afraid of him. What is he anyway?"

"He's a Nephilim," I answered. "Part Angel,
but the fallen kind. Seems quite powerful as well."

"A Nephilim?" Jay repeated. "Aren’t they
supposed to be bad guys?"

"That's a myth. The short version is that they're
descendants of the Angels known as the Fallen. They were kicked out of heaven
for lusting after human women," I replied. "Anyway, just like you
can’t blame me for what we are, you can’t really blame him for being descended
from a fallen Angel. Besides, I didn’t get a hint of evil from him. No, I think
he's just doing his job."

"Jeez," he sighed. "You do know how crazy
that sounds, don't you? I mean, this shit just gets weirder and weirder."

"Pretty much," I said, slapping him on the back.
"But you get used to it."

He didn’t look convinced.

Not too long after, Nikki came running through the forest
with Charlie beside her as if they were racing. She still carried her bow and slid
to a stop as she reached us.

"Having fun?" I asked as she began to laugh.

"Oh my God, Dad," she said. "It was amazing!
Charlie led it right to me. And this bow is incredible. Downed it with the
first shot and there's not even a peep sight. Jay, you should have seen it… damn
I'm good!"

"If you're so good, then where is it?" he asked with
a big grin. "Sounds like bullshit to me."

"Oh, you think so, do you? Well, you're gonna love
this," she replied before pointing her bow in the direction she had come
from.

I looked the way she was pointing and, to my surprise, there
was a boar floating towards us. Looking again, I saw that it was being carried
by a variety of Faeries and even a few Pixies. Behind them were more of the
beings following along as in a procession, their small voices filling the air
with an ever increasing chattering. As they got closer, they flew lower, before
finally depositing the animal at our feet and flying back up, halting about 10
feet away.

"Looks like you made a few friends," I observed.

"They just started showing up as we were stalking the
boar," she explained. "At first I thought, well, I don't know what I
thought, but then I realized that they wanted to watch."

"Told you," Charlie corrected as he sat down next
to the boar.

"Fine," she said as she gave him a dirty look.
"Make that after Charlie told me they just wanted to watch." She
walked closer to the flying group and raised her hands. The little beings
started landing and then taking off from her fingers. She stood there for a
moment as others buzzed her head before continuing. "Anyway, as soon as I
brought the boar down they all started clapping and congratulating me. I've
never felt anything like it." She turned and bowed to the Faeries and then
walked back over to me.

"They called me Lady, and Princess, a few even said I
was their Queen," she said, directing the comment at Jay. Then she
whispered in my ear. "What am I missing here, Dad?"

"Like I said, it's a long story," I said as I
walked over to the Faeries. "My friends, this boar needs to be taken to
the
Wayward Elf
. Shall I have the Prince carry it or would you be so
kind as to deliver it for us?"

"We will take it, my Lord," one of the Faeries
said. She was hovering in the front and I recalled that she had been one of the
first to land on Nikki's hand. "We shall tell the Elf that it comes from
the Queen and we will let it be known far and wide of her skills with the
bow."

"Thank you," I replied. "But if I may?
Perhaps it would be best to call her the Princess. She has not yet taken the
throne and we would not want the current Lady to be offended."

The Faeries flew into a huddle and began to chatter. It was
but a moment later that the one who had spoken returned to hover in front of my
face before speaking again. "Wise is our King," she said. "We
meant no offense. It shall be as you say" She bowed as she spoke and
returned to the group. They all flew down and picked up the boar again and I
let out a chuckle thinking about them telling the tale of the Princess's hunt when
they arrived at the inn.

"Let's go," I said, waving for the kids to follow.
"I'll tell you more on the way there."

"Whoa, whoa. Just a second there, Daddio," Nikki
said, taking a stance with her hands on her hips. God, she looked just like her
mother when she did that. Of course, I also winced when I heard it. I knew that
tone and I figured she must have put two and two together and I had better have
an explanation. "What did you mean I haven’t taken the throne yet?"

"Well, it's like I was saying earlier," I began,
walking back to her. "There's never been a male leader in the entire
history of our line. Sure, there are in other lands, but not in ours. So when I
claimed the title as heir to the throne, as was my right, not everybody was
happy. As a matter of fact I had to fight for it."

"Fight for it?" Jay asked. "Who did you have
to fight?"

"Another long story. But to keep it simple, let's just
say that several of the local Fae weren't happy about my claim and since they
had the support of the other High Fae, the whole thing turned into a big battle.
Demons, warriors, and other nasty folks. Well, you get the idea. Anyway, when
it was over, we won. So I claimed the title."

"And I fit in this story where?" Nikki prodded,
still giving me that look. "The Faeries seemed to think I was already their
Queen and Aeva even asked if she could tell the others about me. I didn’t see
you arguing the point. So spill it, what else haven't you told us?"

"Well, you're the first female of our line since my
mother so that makes you eligible for the throne. Because of that and since I
was trying to soften the male part, I kinda mentioned that since you were my
daughter, I was also saving it for you."

"Saving it for me?" she probed. "It sounded
like a lot more than just saving it for me!"

"Come on, Dad, we need to know what's going on. You
gotta quit holding back," Jay implored.

"Holding back!" I said, returning to where they
were stopped. "Oh, for God's sake! What do you want from me? I'm not
holding back. There's simply too much to tell in one afternoon. Hell, there's
probably too much to tell in a lifetime!"

"I'm sorry, Dad," Jay replied. "And you're
right, there is a lot to tell, but you need to tell us the rest now, especially
where Nikki fits in."

"He is right, Dad," she agreed. "I mean, come
on! Two days ago I was a normal person handling a crime scene detail. Then I'm
talking to birds and now I'm what? A friggin Faerie princess! I mean it's a
nice forest and all," she added, waving her arms in demonstration.
"But fighting battles with Demons and who the hell knows what else was not
exactly what I had envisioned! I need to know the rest of the story."

"You're right," I admitted. "You do." Damn,
and here I thought I'd actually been doing pretty well at it up till now. But I
had been holding back, if only just a little, so they had a valid point. But
where to begin? I'd told them a lot already but there was no way to cover
everything. "Alright guys… Let me see if I can explain this properly.
Before I begin, we're all good about the magic part, right? I mean, here we are
and you've seen the Faeries and animals that talk."

"Yeah, we got that," Nikki agreed.

"Ok. Good," I replied. "Then let me begin by bringing
you up to speed, as it were. You need to know what we're dealing with here.
Then I'll get to the part about us." I sat down in front of them, leaning
against a tree and motioned for them to sit as well.

"This place, this land I call Fae is connected to the
human world. In the old days, before… oh, civilization as we know it, everyone
played well together. Fae and humans, that is. Then things kind of went
downhill. Eventually, humans started to worship the stronger Fae. Those are the
High Fae that in mythology are called Gods. After a time, these Gods started
getting uppity. Well, you've read some mythology, I'm sure. Here's an example; Zeus
turns into a bird, flies down to earth and changes into the image of some guy
so he can screw his wife. You get the picture. Anyway, as they got more out of
control, they began to fight one another for power. That led up to
The Fall
.
These High Fae, or Gods, if you still want to call them that, literally fought
themselves out of existence."

"Now what's important here is that these Gods had
control over the Fae they led. And when I say control, I mean that literally.
They could influence their followers, and in doing so, force them to fight. Not
just by decree, but by magic. That’s the part you need to understand. But I'll
get back to that in a minute so let's get up to the here and now."

"
The Fall
decimated their numbers and the Fae
here have been in hiding ever since. The High Fae are gone, right? But they
can’t forget what happened. So it's a lot safer to just stay here in Fae and
keep to themselves. Oh, sure, some Fae eventually did travel to back to the
human worlds, but only the most adventurous, like the Milagres and the others
who showed up in Vegas. But none of those are from our line of Fae."

"What do you mean none of them are ours, Dad?" Jay
asked. "You mean none of the Dryad here ever left?"

"Exactly," I answered. "Our Fae, the Dryad,
stayed put, at least until my grandmother left. The reason they did so was a
prophesy foretold after Apollo killed the Dragon at Delphi. Apparently, by that
time, Gaea, Goddess of the world and mother to all the Gods, could read the
writing on the wall. You have to remember your mythology here. Gaea and Ouranos
are the top of the line. Every Titan and God is descended from them. So when
they started acting like idiots, this prophesy foretold that she would allow
them to consume themselves into darkness."

"Kinda cold isn't it?" Nikki commented.

"Well, she did castrate her husband when he went after
her first batch of kids, the Titans, and cast his parts into the ocean. So she
is not exactly the kind of Goddess you want to piss off. But anyway, this
prophesy would have wiped out all the Fae as well. But one Dryad prayed to her
and offered up her life to save her line. Anyway, for whatever reason, Gaea
agreed to save the Fae. But another prophesy said that in doing so, she would
see that the High Fae returned but when they did, there was a catch. All the
Fae would also have to make a choice which to follow, good or evil. To make a
long story short, the Fae that prayed to her was my grandmother, Maria. Then
Gaea told her something else as well. That her daughter, my mother, would bear
a male child. So that's where I come in."

"So why is that such a big deal?" Jay asked.
"I mean, I get it, there's never been a male leader. But so what?"

"I'm getting there" I replied. "But the truth
is, since Demeter herself sat on the throne there has never been a male born
into that position. The Dryad have always been the daughters of the trees.
Daughters being the operative word. Any male born from that pure bloodline was
considered an abomination, not to mention most likely the evil one. So when I
came along, I was the bad guy. What do you do with the bad guy, especially if
you're aware of the prophesy? You get rid of him. That's why Maria did what she
did. Which is a good thing for us or none of us would be here."

"That’s still just wrong," Jay observed. "I
mean the male thing."

"Maybe," I agreed. "Remember, we're only
talking about our line here and don’t forget the added concerns of the prophesy.
They knew by Gaea's words that an evil High Fae would be born to the Dryad.
Sure, some of the other Fae do have males as leaders, but they aren't Dryads so
they weren't part of the prophesy. As to why female, that's just the way it is.
But all you have to do is just look at your mythology again. Almost all the
Nymphs and beings, except for half of the Gods and Titans, are female. The only
time you ever hear about males, not counting the Elves and Dwarves, is if
they're Satyrs, half goat, half man. So a male born to our line was, ipso facto…
evil. Now, you don’t have to like their reaction, but I do want you to
understand it, because that's where Nikki comes in."

"What do you mean?" Nikki asked.

"Knowing what I just told you, just imagine the reaction
when I showed up to claim the throne. The Fae here knew my history and they
couldn’t be sure of what I was. Then the followers of the other High Fae
immediately protested and a battle ensued. One where Demons and other creatures
also showed up. By the time it was over just being the winner wasn't enough. I
still had to convince them that I wasn't the evil High Fae. Even Cacilia
wouldn’t speak up for me at first, although she didn’t stand against me either."