New World Order (War of the Fae: Book 4) (16 page)

He frowned at me.
 
“It’s not a joke, Jayne.
 
It’s serious.”

“Oh, I know.
 
I’m just saying ... I’m not the most talented elemental, if you haven’t heard, so I can’t be responsible for what happens if you’re not there to watch my six.”

Chase shook me slightly by the upper arms, like I’d done to Becky earlier, but gentler.
 
“Stop.
 
Being your daemon in the Here and Now has been the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do, for many reasons.
 
Please don’t make it harder than it already is.”

I stuck my tongue out at him and gave him a raspberry.
 
“
Tthhppbbttt.
 
No one ever said life was going to be easy.
 
Especially with me in it.”

“Truer words were never spoken,” said Chase, giving me a half-smile.

“Hey!” I said, playfully punching his chest.

He grabbed my hand before I could pull it back, enveloping it in his giant palm and wrapping his warm fingers around it.
 
“Just be careful.”
 

“Fine.”
 
I pulled my hand away and backed up.
 
“See you soon, P.J.”

Chase looked at me in confusion.
 

I smiled back, giving no explanation of his new nickname, Personal Jesus.
 
It was probably sacrilegious or something, but I didn’t care.
 
I was a Sunday school dropout and perfectly okay with that.
 
I knew I wasn’t going to use the name permanently – only in dire situations when I needed to express that he was making me cranky.
 
And he was doing that right now, by refusing to come home with me.
 
It was going to make my cell of a room seem much colder.

Tim buzzed down to join us.
 
“So, let’s get back to the good stuff.
 
You were saying you had something to tell me?
 
A little secret from the watery wuss?”

I was trying to figure out the best way to tell Tim the secret.
 
I knew I couldn’t keep it from him – it was only right that he knew he had a child, for shit’s sake.
 
I couldn’t figure out why the hell no one thought to tell him before, especially his stupid wife.
 
I couldn’t wait to meet that wench so I could give her a piece of my mind.

“Stop trying to make up a story in your head, Jayne.
 
Just tell me the truth.”

I waved him away.
 
“I am, I am.
 
Just let me figure it all out first.”

“No!” he demanded, hovering in front of my face now.
 
“Out with it!
 
Secrets give me indigestion!”

“Good lord, Tim, no need to threaten me with the gas chamber.”

He just frowned at me, his arms crossed over his chest.

I fixed him with a stare.
 
“Why have you been so cranky lately?
 
You’re acting like a brat, like, all the time now.
 
I’m starting to think you’re not happy being my roommate.”

Tim zoomed in so close to my face he was practically sitting on my nose.
 
I went completely cross-eyed for a second and then shut my eyelids to keep myself from getting a headache.
 
“I can see your nostril hairs, Tim, you’re too close.”

“Fine.” His voice was coming from farther away.
 
“I’m back now.
 
Open your eyes.”

I followed his command and waited for his response.

He pouted.
 
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me either, other than the fact that I’ve been grounded way too much lately.
 
Pixies don’t do well without their wings.
 
We were
 
meant to fly.”
 
He punctuated the last word with a flip and a barrel roll, finishing up to hover a couple feet in front of me again.

“Okay.
 
But you have your wings back now, so you have no more excuses for being a brat.
 
Cheer up or else.”

“Or else what?”

“Tim!”

“Okay, okay, chill out crazy eyes.
 
I was only kidding.
 
Geez.”

I glared at him and he had the brains to put his hands behind his back and look remorseful.

“May I ask what the secret is, your high-and-mightyness?”

I tried to pull up the righteous indignation that his smart ass probably deserved, but it was impossible.
 
I smiled instead.
 
He
was bringing me back from the romantic goofy cloud I’d been floating on, to deal with his pixie attitude.
 
Anyone who says pixies are small?
 
Doesn’t know pixies very well.

“Yes, pissant.
 
You may ask.”

“What is the secret you and Becky are withholding from me?”

“Okay, I’m going to tell you, but first, a warning.”

“A warning?
 
That doesn’t sound good.”

“No, it’s not, really.
 
But here it is anyway.
 
Some conditions actually ... first, you can’t go all ballistic and pixie someone here.”
 
I looked around me to make my point and noticed that Chase had managed to slip away while I was arguing with His Tinyness.
 
But Tony was standing off to the side, speaking with Scrum and Finn in a quiet voice.
 
Gorm was lying under the tree snoring his head off.
 
I wondered if the real Chase would do that, if I ever got to sleep in the same room with him.
 
I had to immediately check my thoughts and keep them from going any further down that road.
 
I had a soon-to-be-pissed-off pixie to wrangle.
 
I continued with my conditions, adding, “Second, you cannot fly away and try to deal with this without me.”

Tim sized me up, at first not saying anything.

“I’m not going to tell you if you don’t agree to my terms.
 
And you have to swear on your life that you won’t break your promise.”

“You know that fae promises made on their own lives can’t be broken, right?”

“No, I didn’t – but thanks for telling me.”

“Fine. I agree to your terms.”

“Okay then.”
 
I took a deep breath, wondering if I was going to regret this.
 
“I was told by Becky that your blood that the Dark Fae healers used, ran out – so they needed to find a relative of yours to get a fresh batch.”

Tim looked confused for a second.
 
“And they found one?”

“Yes.”
 
I eyed him warily.
 
So far, so good.

“Where?”

“In the Dark Fae compound.”
 

Now Tim looked suspicious which made me nervous.
 
Shit, here it comes.

“I don’t have any relatives in the Dark Fae compound except She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named ... Abby.
 
The abandoner of husbands.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.
 
“I thought we weren’t supposed to name her.”

“Shut up.
 
I’m under duress right now.
 
I can’t be held accountable.”

“Yes you can ... you promised.”

“Okay, okay, I know already.
 
Just tell me the rest.
 
Stick the knife the rest of the way in and twist it.
 
I’m ready for the pain.”

I doubt it
, was all I could think, before I said, “You have one other relative in the Dark Fae compound with Abby.
 
Your child.
 
You and Abby have a son.”

Tim’s face went white and he faltered in midair.
 
I shot my hand out just in time to catch him before he went into a death spiral onto the forest floor.
 
He landed on his back in the palm of my hand, his eyes closed.
 
He looked unconscious.

“Tim?!”
I yelled, in full panic.

Finn, Tony and Scrum came rushing over.
 
“What happened?” asked Tony, his voice full of concern.

“I just gave him some amazingly awful news.”

“What?” asked Finn.
 
“Did ya tell him he has to give his wings up again?”

“No, worse. But I can’t tell you what I said.
 
If he wants to tell you he can, but it’s kind of private.”
 
I didn’t even spare them a glance.
 
All of my attention was focused on Tim’s prone body.

“Tim, wake up, please,” I begged.
 

“Is he ... dead?” whispered Scrum.

“No.
 
I think he fainted,” I said.

Tony reached over carefully and used his finger to push on Tim’s leg.
 
“Hey.
 
Tim.
 
Buddy.
 
Wake up.
 
We’re all here for ya.”

I nudged Tony with my elbow, letting him know I appreciated his support for Tim.
 
I had a feeling Tim was going to need a lot of it.
 
Man did that pixie-girl do a number on his heart.

Tim began to stir.
 

Scrum leaned in and got really close to Tim’s body, saying, “I think he’s waking up.
 
Do you think he’s okay?
 
Maybe he had a heart attack or something.”

Tim got a disgusted look on his face.
 
“Holy gnome-head!” he groaned out angrily.
 
His eyes shot open and he quickly scrambled crab-like over the side of my hand farthest from Scrum’s face.
 
“Get that foul stench away from me!”

I touched Scrum’s shoulder.
 
“He wants you to move back.
 
You’re too close.”

Scrum stood up.
 
“Oh.
 
Sorry about that.
 
I know, big faces can be scary.”

“Yeah,” said Tim, standing up and brushing invisible smells off his arms and chest, scowling, “and the stink of a gnome’s head can be downright nightmarish.”

I tried not to laugh but a small giggle escaped.
 
I was tentatively hopeful about how this was progressing, but then one look at Tim’s white face and tiny pinched lips told me not to be so hasty.

“So.
 
I have a son.
 
Well.
 
Isn’t that just peachy.”

“Tim, I have reason to believe it’s not what it seems like.”

“Not like what?” he feigned innocent casualness.
 
“Not like she’s a heartless pixie wench who left me, bore my child, and then hid him from me?
 
No.
 
It can’t be that.”

“Sarcasm is for slackers, Tim.”

“Sarcasm is for angry pixies who have sworn not to pixelate others or fly off to handle matters themselves.”

I nodded my head.
 
“Okay.
 
Be sarcastic if you need to be.
 
Just understand that both Becky and Chase said things aren’t as they seem.
 
So I think the most mature and un-Jayne-like thing we could do is arrange to have a nice civil conversation with the wench who shall not be named, called Abby, and see what she has to say for herself.”

“And what would the Jayne-like thing to do be?”

“Mmmm ... probably go in there, guns blazing, blasting her ass off and then asking questions later?”

“I choose Plan B,” said Tim, nodding for emphasis.

“Nope.
 
I can’t let you do it.”

“Why?
 
You know that’s what you’d do!”

“Yeah, Tim, but you’re smarter than me.”

“Can I get that in writing?”

“No, shut up.
 
So what’s the plan then?
 
Do you want to try now or do this another day?”

“I’m not in the mood now.
 
I have to think about this.
 
It’s too much to process all at once.
 
I need to be in top shape to deal with
that she-pixie
.
 
My wings are too new.”
 
He folded his fingers together and turned them backwards, cracking all his knuckles.
 
It made me wonder if he’d resort to physical violence against his ex-wife, but I dismissed that thought from my head as quickly as it came.
 
Tim was no wife-beater.
 
He might be a wife-berater though – and that would be more effective, since he was practically a master at that.
 
I’d been on the receiving end of his verbal assaults often enough to be a good judge.

“Okay, fair enough.
 
We’ll come back then, when you’re ready.
 
Want to head back?
 
To the compound?
 
It must be time to eat dinner by now.”
 
I looked up above our heads, through the treetops.
 
The sun was definitely going down and the air was taking on a chill.