Mistfall (19 page)

“Where am I going to go?” I asked, bewildered
at my new set of circumstances.

“Sssh, you’re going to wake Melissa,” he
warned, pushing a strand of my dark hair out of my face and behind
my ear. “Don’t worry,” he crooned into my ear, “you’re coming home
with me. At least until things are safe.”

My anxiety eased some. John’s home was
secluded, far removed from any populace. If I’d feel safe anywhere,
it was there, with him. I rested my head against his bare chest and
snuggled closer. He stroked my back, lulling me back to sleep.
After a few minutes silence, John’s breathing slowed as he nodded
off. I closed my eyes and joined him soon after.

I slept restlessly at first. Images of Abel
enslaving the masses flickered through my head. The tortured, dead,
and dying were pointing at me, blaming me for their circumstances.
I must have been thrashing around, waking John, because my dream
shifted all of the sudden. I was transported to the day John and I
had spent in the pixie garden. I was more aware of when my dreams
were being hijacked and knew John was responsible for the change in
scenery. Normally I would’ve been angry with him since his previous
infiltrations of my dreams were not done with my permission. This
time I was thankful for the diversion. For the next two hours, I
slept blissfully by any standard.

“Hey, Sleeping Ugly. Wake up.” It was Hailz
and she was poking me in the back with her shoe.

“Go away,” I mumbled, still enveloped in
John’s strong, muscular arms.

“Fine with me, enjoy Ireland,” Hailz replied
as she turned on her heel to leave.

That got my attention. “Hailz wait.” Sitting
up, I eyed her groggily. “I’m up,” I told her.

“Here.” She threw three parcels to the
ground. “Put this on,” she ordered. “Dress for the wedding is
formal and mandatory.”

“Who’s wedding?” I inquired, nudging John
awake.

“Does it matter?” Hailz shot at me, perturbed
by the question.

“Oh look, Bitchy Go Lightly’s back,” Melissa
spoke up after being awakened by Hailz’s dulcet tones.

“Watch it Witchy,” Hailz warned, seemingly
ready to fight.

Melissa ignored her posturing, picked up a
parcel, and walked off.

Hailz stood there, like a petulant child
tapping her foot. The petite, strawberry-blonde bundle of badass
bitchiness was in rare form this morning.

“What’s your problem today?” I asked Hailz.
“You’re always a smart ass, but why so bitter?”

“If it was up to me, you wouldn’t be going at
all,” she sniffed, avoiding the question.

It was too early to deal with whatever bug
was up her butt. She wasn’t being too forthcoming either, so I
followed suit with Melissa and ignored her too.

The three of us, John, Melissa, and myself
dressed hurriedly as the arrival of the elder approached.

“Hailz, are you kidding me?” I asked
incredulously. Our formal attire was reminiscent of the gaudy
opulence found in the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV.

“Put it on or stay here and rot,” she
demanded before snickering. “Oh, I almost forgot, full hair and
make-up too.”

My gown was an icy blue satin number with
white petticoats. It had a low cut bust line and tight sleeves from
shoulder to elbow that ended in lace and ribbons. The extra wide
hoop skirt was going to be a little hard to get used to. I was
pretty sure that I needed a wide-load sign attached to my backside
with warning horns.

Melissa’s dress was in the same style as my
own. Hers was a rose color that nicely accentuated her ivory skin
tone. John was costumed in knickers, a long coat, and heels. Though
in fashion at the time of Louis XIV, the heels only emasculated him
now. It would only get worse when I magicked up our hair and he was
in a powdered wig. If time wasn’t of the essence, I would tease him
mercilessly for wearing girl shoes.

Melissa noticed the heels as well. She wasn’t
as kind as I and was snickering behind a hand held fan as John was
trying to figure out how to walk in them. Luckily, he was too busy
trying not to fall and didn’t notice Melissa or I would have
destroyed the oh-so-tight corset from the laughing.

With hair and make-up magicked to perfection
on us, I looked in a mirror. I looked like Madam Pompadour or Marie
Antoinette. Hailz shot me a blood thirsty look, telling me which
one she was considering I looked like.

“So, whose wedding are we going to?” John
asked Hailz, trying to get her to answer the question I asked
earlier.

“What’s it to you? Doesn’t Santa need you or
something?” she snarled.

John threw his hands up in the air. “She’s
yours to deal with Mags. Sorry but I’m not dealing with hormonal
hell beasts.”

I hung my head. This was going to be a long
day.

“What’s it to them?” an old man’s voice
boomed causing us to jump in surprise. “Our village leader, the one
who will return your friends home, is getting married to you today.
Of course it’s their business.”

John, Melissa, and I stood there with various
looks of shock on our faces.

“You’re getting married?” I asked, amused
that someone could put up with her longer than ten minutes.

“Hmmph!” Hailz stomped her foot and
disappeared, leaving a cloud of purple and gold in her wake.

“Don’t mind her,” the man said, nearing us.
“The ceremony was decided upon only recently and she’s merely
having wedding jitters.”

“It’s not a problem Phineas,” Melissa assured
the man.

He waved his hand, dismissing the subject.
“Of course not, of course not.”

John put his hand on my back and gently
pushed me towards Phineas. “Phineas, allow me to introduce you to
Magdalene Maguire.”

Phineas took my hand in both of his. “It’s a
pleasure my dear. I’ve heard so much about you.”

I laughed nervously. Most of my stories end
up in mayhem and justifiable murder. “All good things, I hope.
Otherwise I’ve an explanation,” I joked.

“He chuckled, amused by me. “You have nothing
to worry about my dear.”

Phineas wasted no time jumping into his
official capacity. “The rules,” he began, “are as follows. No
fighting, even if your mortal enemy is found within our walls. We
will not tolerate it. Remember, you are under our jurisdiction once
you enter the village. Our penal system is designed for those of us
with life spans near to the gods’ own. You will do well to remember
that.”

Phineas then looked to the three of us to
make sure we understood. He explained that this rule was the most
broken by outsiders.

“The only other rule we have is no weapons,”
he explained. “Not under any circumstances. Aside from that, please
enjoy all our village has to offer.”

Uh-oh. That no weapons rule was going to be a
problem.

“Um Phineas?” I cringed. “I have a slight
issue with rule number two.”

He looked perplexed as he scratched his bald
head. “How can there be an issue with it?” he asked. “The rule is
straight forward.”

I didn’t bother with a long and drawn out
explanation. The Fae had interacted enough with the gods in the
past to know of their weapons. I brandished Hofuo, its silver
glinting in the morning sun. Phineas’s eyes widened in awe at the
sight of Heimdall’s sword.

“I don’t understand why you’ve been entrusted
with the blade of Heimdall,” Phineas thought out loud.

“I don’t understand the gods’ reasoning for
it either,” I interjected, returning Hofuo to its sheath across my
back. “But, I have been given explicit instructions not to lose it.
With all due respect to your rules, the gods’ wishes contradict
them.”

“This does pose an issue,” the elderly Fae
agreed. “Please allow me a few minutes to decide on the matter.

We took our cue to leave him to his thoughts
and walked a short distance away. We huddled closely to talk so as
not to be overheard by Phineas.

“What will we do if he says no?” Melissa
asked.

“We’ll just have to find another way home.
Surely the Fae portal isn’t the only way to cross continents
undetected,” John replied.

Here we were, me with a problem with the
possibility of no solution, and I was dragging my friends into it
once again.

“You don’t have to stick around because I’m
stuck with Hofuo,” I said offering them an out. “You’ve already
done so much and I’ve returned very little of your generosity.”

It’s not that I didn’t want them around.
Without them I wouldn’t have gotten here. I just couldn’t keep
asking them to do more. I wanted them to know they could bow out,
no feelings hurt.

Melissa punched me, hard, in the shoulder.
“Are you out of your mind?” she asked, incredulous.

“I concur,” John added, giving me a
disproving look.

Now they’re mad at me for doing the right
thing?

Melissa put her hands on her hips, or at
least tried to in the ridiculously wide dress, in a sign that she
meant business. “You must be out of your mind if you think John or
I would leave without you. We’re in this together,” she reminded
me.

I have to admit, it’s good to have friends as
crazy as you. Life wouldn’t be as interesting and no one would have
your back if they weren’t.

I was saved from having to answer John or
Melissa by Phineas.

“I’ve come to a decision regarding the god’s
weapon,” he informed us.

John was holding onto one of my shoulders for
balance. He was still having an awkward time adapting to heels.
“And that would be?” he inquired.

Phineas turned to me. “You will be permitted
to carry Hofuo, but you will be under guard while in our
village.

I accepted his offer. My tension eased.
Having a Fae babysitter was a small price to pay in order to return
home. I also felt a little safer having the sword with me.

Having been deemed worthy, we left the cave,
heading towards the Fae village. Melissa and I offered John help
while he continued to struggle with the shoes. I may or may not
have welcomed him to a woman’s world. He may or may not have
threatened to tie me to his bed until I took that comment back. It
wasn’t exactly incentive to try.

One wedding and a good night’s sleep and I
would be home. Melissa and I would be safe, staying with John until
we made new living arrangements. I would be able to put the last
few weeks behind me. The budding romance between John and I? Icing
on the cake. Thank the Goddess, this ordeal was almost over.

I’ve never been in a Fae village before and
didn’t know what to expect. Willa had told me tall tales about them
to entertain me as a child. Being as isolated from the Otherworld
as I was until five years ago, it was all I had to go on.

Fae powers were varied among their
population. Collectively, they were a force to be reckoned with,
due to the wide magical diversity amongst the individual Fae.

There were elemental Fae who specialized in
one of the four basic elements: earth, air, fire, and water.
Seasonal Fae had nature magic based on the time of year they were
born. There were also Fae who could talk to and control the
animals. These three types were just a small percentage in the Fae
range of magic. With all their power, I could wildly imagine what
their village would look like.

We made it to the gates of the village when
Phineas stopped us to await his return. I wasn’t going to be
allowed to set one jinn foot inside without a guard. We didn’t wait
long and Phineas arrived a few minutes later with what had to be
the least intimidating person I had ever seen.

My escort was shorter than me and built like
a twig. I didn’t understand how he was supposed to keep me in line
when it appeared the only fear he could instill would be to door
mice.

“Magdalene, this is Rory. Rory, Magdalene,”
Phineas introduced us. “He will be your guard and escort while in
the village.”

I stuck out my hand. “Nice to meet you,” I
told him.

“A pleasure Magdalene,” he said bowing to
kiss my hand.

I gave him an odd look over his greeting but
shrugged it off to Fae hospitality. The Fae tended to be polite to
a fault.

“Mags will be just fine,” I informed him.

“As you wish,” he acquiesced.

Pleasantries dispensed, we entered the Fae
village. Willa’s exaggerations were nowhere close to correct. This
place was unlike anything I’d ever seen or heard of before.

Roses, in every color, the size of dinner
plates, bordered the interior fence line. I suspected the two inch
thorns were the reason they surrounded the fence. Anyone who made
it over the fence was sure to get a big surprise in the form of
multiple holes in their body. The rose fragrance perfumed the
morning air. Rory informed me that the summer Fae, who attended the
roses, grew them large to provide enough material for potions and
medicines.

Bees, ranging in size from normal to that of
a Chihuahua were being herded from one section of plants to
another. The dog sized bees made me wish for a can of Raid. My skin
crawled at the size of them.

The Fae homes, shops, and other buildings
were built in the Tudor style. Rory told us that the Fae change the
style of their buildings every five years. He gave us an amusing
anecdote on the reason the village leader no longer chooses the
design. Long ago, a particularly eccentric village leader decided
on tents and not the pretty Bedouin ones. After working and living
the better part of the year in pup tents, the Fae chose to
collectively vote for the changes.

The Fae, contrary to popular human belief,
are wingless. They did like to adorn themselves with as many bright
and shiny baubles as they could. This tended to give them an
ethereal glow. Throw in their magic and fairy dust and it’s no
wonder the humans seem to think they’ve seen them fly.

Phineas and Rory lead us to a local inn,
named The Dragon’s Head Inn. There we were set up with rooms for
the night. Phineas left us to explore the village on our own until
the wedding festivities began.