New World Order (War of the Fae: Book 4) (3 page)

Once I was inside and seated at the head of the bed with my back against the wall, I began.
 
“Okay, guys.
 
First, thanks for coming.
 
I know you’re all super tired and would rather be in bed.
 
Me too ... only sleeping not sitting ... and with none of you here ... but I want to know some stuff, and without eyes right now, I need more of your help than usual.”

“No need to explain, Jayne.
 
We’re here for ya,” said Finn.

“Yep.
 
No place I’d rather be right now,” said Spike.
 
I could hear the smile in his voice.

“I don’t have a choice.
 
I live here,” said Tim, sarcastically.
 
I could tell, though, that he didn’t mind.

I didn’t wait for the others to chime in, continuing in a more subdued tone, “Okay, so first of all, I want to know about Becky and Falco.
 
What’s going on with ... ?”
 
I couldn’t finish because I was having a lot of trouble forcing the tears to stay away.
 
I told myself I had to be military-minded about this, just for now – until everyone was gone and it was just Tim and me.
 
But it was impossible to stay impassive about two of the nicest fae to ever walk this earth.
 
My brain kept torturing me, recalling visions of their faces during their last moments in the Here and Now.
 

Finn cleared his throat, also clogged with emotion.
 
“I don’t know about Becky, but I can tell you that Falco didn’t ... make it.
 
The arrow pierced his heart, and it was spelled.
 
If it hadn’t been, he might have been okay, but ... ”

“That’s dirty!” yelled Tim, clearly incensed, his voice much higher than normal, “The fae don’t play dirty like that!”

“Says who?” I asked, my ears not believing what they were hearing.
 
“I’ve never seen one of those Dark Fae play fair yet.”

“No, that’s not true,” insisted Tim.
 
“The fae have an innate sense of fair play.
 
We fight, yes – but we fight fair so the real,
true
winner comes to the fore.
 
We don’t stoop to those kinds of tactics.”

“Well, apparently the Dark Fae do.
 
So we need to step up our game.”
 
I turned in Tony’s direction.
 
“What do you think, Tony?
 
You’re the chess master, slash, training coordinator.”

There was a pause while Tony measured his words.
 
“Well ... I haven’t been fae for long, so I can’t speak about fair play from their perspective; but I can say that if we’re not willing to make hard decisions, to spell arrows for example, then we will be at a distinct disadvantage.
 
And Jayne affected the green elves’ arrows with her power, so I don’t see how that’s any different.”

“But where does it stop?” asked Scrum, quietly.

“Where does what stop?” asked Tony.

“Well, how far are we willing to go?
 
Spelled arrows is one thing – but I can think of worse.
 
And my grandma used to say, ‘you can’t un-ring a bell’.
  
Seems like that could apply here.”

Wow
.
 
The voice of reason coming from old keg-o-beer-himself.
 
I was beginning to think that all of the daemons had secrets.
 
First Jared, then Chase, now Scrum – hiding in the outward appearance of a clumsy oaf, but inside another story altogether.

“You’re right, Scrum,” agreed Tony.
 
“There are some lines that we shouldn’t cross.
 
Torture is one of them, in my opinion.
 
We shouldn’t be doing things like that.”

“Tim says we are,” I said, without stopping to think about it first.
 
As soon as it was out of my mouth, I regretted saying it.
 
Now they knew Tim was a snooper.
 
But the bell was rung, I guess.
 
Come to think of it, I’d rung a
lot
of bells in my time that I’d wished I could un-ring.
 
A lesson to contemplate another time.

“No, we’re not,” said Tony, firmly.
 
“The gray elves are very clear about that.
 
We don’t use torture, and I’m totally in agreement with them on that.
 
We don’t need to do that to win.”

“Well, Tim says someone’s doing it here.
 
He was outside a door when he heard someone inside being hurt.”

“Tim, tell us what you know,” demanded Tony.
 
I could tell from the tone of his voice he was getting cranky.
 
“Jayne, tell us what Tim was saying.”

“Who?
 
Me?” said Tim. “Oh, I was just messing around.
 
It’s nothing.
 
Really.”
 
He yawned overly loudly.

I frowned in his direction.
 
“Stop dicking around, Tim.
 
I know you weren’t lying before.”

“I’m tired.
 
I’m going to bed.”
 
Fake snores, coming from over near my dresser where his bed was stationed, reached my ears.

I rolled my eyes, earning only one gasp this time.
 
Shit
, I kept forgetting about the zombie eye thing.
 
“Sorry.
 
Listen, Tim.
 
We need to find out what’s really going on here.
 
I don’t like all the mystery and games.
 
I’ve already completely trashed my eyes.
 
Falco’s dead.
 
Becky’s gone to who knows where.
 
I feel like we’re only working with half the information we need.” I decided a little threatening was in order.
 
“Come on.
 
Cooperate.
 
Or I’m gonna sic Maggie on you.
 
Your wings will be fully grown, in what?
 
Four days?
 
Less maybe?”
 
I had to give him both barrels – otherwise he was going to pixy around all night on this, and I was tired.

“You wouldn’t!” he squeaked.

“Maybe not.
 
But I
would
move you to Scrum’s room.
 
And
put your stuff next to his pillow.
 
So spill it.
 
Give us the goods or you’re outta here.”

“You’d do that?
 
Make me sleep next to gnome-head?”

Tim was disgusted by Scrum’s belief that hair shouldn’t be washed with shampoo – or anything else for that matter.
 

“Yes.
 
Whatever it takes.
 
So give it up.
 
Who’s torturing who and where?”

Tim grumbled some more but then he started speaking.
 
“It was in a hallway far from here.
 
I followed Dardennes there one day.
 
I don’t know who it was he was torturing.”

“What?!” I said, shocked.

“What’d he say?” asked Finn.
 

“Who was it?” asked Spike.
 
“Niles?
 
I’ll bet it was Niles.
 
He’s little, but he always looks like he wants to hit someone.
 
And he’s got that axe ... ”

“No.
 
Tim said it was Dardennes who went into the room.”

“No way.
 
I don’t believe it,” said Tony, firmly.
 
“He wouldn’t.
 
Tim, tell Jayne exactly what you saw and heard.
 
I’m sure there’s a misunderstanding somewhere.”

“I saw and heard what I just said.
 
I flew down the hallway and followed Dardennes to a room where someone was being held. After the door shut, I heard screaming from inside.
 
It sounded like torture to me.
 
And I saw
him
go in there, so I don’t know who else it could have been doing the torture.”

I repeated his story to the others, then added, “I know when I was kidnapped by the Dark Fae, though, they had three people in the room at one point, and only one of them was actually doing the torturing.”

“Yeah, but one of them was ordering it,” said Tim.

“Tim’s right.
 
Only one was bringing the pain – but the others were telling him to do it.
 
No one was innocent in that room.”

“Well,” said Tony, matter of factly, “the only way we’re going to get to the bottom of this is to go see for ourselves.
 
Who’s going?”

“Right now?” asked Spike.
 
“It’s pretty late, don’t you think?
 
We already missed dinner.”

“I’m not going to be able to sleep if I don’t find out what’s going on in that room,” I said, standing next to my bed.
 
“Scrum?
 
Could you please lead the way?”
 
I held out my hand for his elbow.

“Jayne, I’m not so sure this is a good idea.”

“I know you don’t.
 
You never do, party pooper.
 
Let’s go.”

Never one to fight me too hard on anything, Scrum shuffled over and took my hand, putting it on his arm.
 
“I’ll go.
 
But it’s under protest.”

“Fine,” I said, brushing his caution aside, “Who else is with me?”

I heard Tony’s voice off to my right.
 
“Get Tim, Spike.
 
We’re all going.
 
Just in case.”

I smiled.
 
My friends were sticking with me, even though I’d pretty much shown I wasn’t exactly worthy of undying, unquestioning support.
 
Please don’t let me screw this one up
.
 
I didn’t know how much longer they’d stick around if I didn’t start getting some things right – all the way right, not just partially, half-assed right.

We made our way down the hallway, walking a long distance that involved a lot of tripping on my part before we reached the door that Tim identified as the likely candidate.
 
The torture chamber.
 

“What do we do now?” whispered Spike.

“I don’t know.
 
I hadn’t thought this far,” I whispered back.

“And you wonder why you’re not on the war strategy team,” snickered Tim.

I reached up quietly to flick him in the butt, but he moved out of range, grabbing onto my ponytail and hanging from it.
 
I gritted my teeth to keep my retort from flying out.
 
This was no time for games.
 
There could a bleeding, angry Dark Fae behind this door.

“Give me some space, guys.
 
I’m going to open it,” said Tony in his trying-to-be-brave voice.

Scrum stepped back, taking me with him.
 
I heard something clank loudly and then maybe feet, dragging across a stone floor with grit on it.
 
The next thing I heard was the sound of the door creaking open, some chains rattling, and then the collective gasps of my friends.

“What?!”
I whisper-yelled.
 
“Who is it?
 
What
is it?”

Nobody was answering me, so I spoke up in a normal tone of voice.
 
“Who the hell is in there, guys?
 
Talk to me.”

“Jayne?”

The voice that came from inside the room nearly stopped my heart.
 

“Chase?”

“Chase?
 
Is that ...
you?”

“Yes,” was the weak answer.

I dropped Scrum’s arm and rushed headlong into the room, not caring that I couldn’t see shit.

“Jayne! Stop!” yelled a chorus of voices.
 

The sound and urgency of it caused me to falter in mid-step.
 
“Why?
 
It’s Chase.”

“No, it’s not, Jayne,” said Spike, suddenly at my side, using his incubus speed to get to me first.
 
He gripped me by the shoulders and pulled me back towards the door.
 
I heard Scrum now, making that grunting sound that told me he was wrestling with someone who had put me in danger.
 
It was mixed with the sounds of clanking chains.

“What’s happening?” I asked weakly.
 
I detested that tone in my voice, but I couldn’t help it.
 
I was at a complete loss.
 
I hated not being able to see anything.
 
I knew I’d heard Chase’s voice.
 
It had to be him sitting there.
 
Why was Scrum putting him in the daemon squeeze?

“Oh, boy,” said Tim in a slightly breathless voice, hanging onto my hair a little tighter than usual.
 
“That explains it.”