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

“What explains
what
, Tim?”

“The torturing.
 
Or the yelling anyway.
 
It’s a buggane.”

“What the fuck is a
buggane
, and why does it have Chase’s voice?”

“What’s he saying?” asked Spike.

“He’s telling me what this thing is.
 
What does it look like, Spike?”

“Well, it kinda looks like Chase, actually.
 
Only ... hairier.
 
And gross.”

“Tell her, Tim, so she can tell us,” said Tony, “What’s a ... buggane?”

Tim cleared his throat and then used his best documentary narrator voice to explain.
 
“A buggane is a low-fae creature in the Here and Now, usually a minor demon in the Underworld.
 
While in the Here and Now, the buggane likes to dwell in caves and other dark and dreary places, usually near lakes and waterfalls.
 
Buggane usually shun the company of other fae ... ,” he dropped the narrator voice and continued, “ ... which makes me wonder what he’s doing in this room.
 
He must have been snooping around or something for Dardennes to have brought him here.”

I repeated what Tim had said as word-for-word as I could.

“Oh, and tell them that he eats human or fae flesh.
 
And that he can take on the appearance and voice of certain people or fae if he so desires.”

I shivered at the thought.
 
“Tim says he can do some shape shifting stuff and he’s a cannibal.”

“No, that’s not what I said!
 
You have to tell the story right.
 
And use the flair voice that I’m using.
 
It’s way better that way.”

“Okay, so he’s not a shape-shifter.
 
He just can look like and sound like another person or fae.”

Tim grumbled, “It’s better when I do it.”

“Well, get a bigger voice then,” I said testily.
 
“I need to know what’s going on here, Tim, and I can’t see shit, so stop messing around.
 
I’m seriously running out of patience with you.”

“Jayne,” came the Chase voice, pleading from across the room,
“Help me.
 
I need to get out of here.
 
How can I protect you if I can’t be
with
you?”

I trembled at the sound, involuntarily backing away a step.
 
“Holy shit, could that
get
any creepier?”

“No,” said Finn, matter of factly.
 
“It damn sure couldn’t.
 
He even looks kinda like Chase.
 
He ain’t no dead ringer, but he’s close enough to fool me for a second.”

I almost wished I could see this bastardized version of Chase, just because I missed him so much.
 
But I was probably better off only having the real Chase in my mind.
 
No need to give my nightmares any more material.

“So what’s the deal, do you think?
 
Why is he here?” I asked to no one in particular.

“Who cares?
 
Let’s get outta here,” said Finn, obviously anxious to go.

“I want to talk to him,” I said.
 
I had no idea what information I could get from this creature, but I needed to know how he got here, and why he was impersonating or
indaemonating
Chase.

“So, uh, buggane.
 
Why are you here?”

“My name is not buggane.
 
My name is Chase.”

“Your name is
not
Chase!
 
Don’t say that!
 
Chase is my friend and I don’t appreciate you taking over his voice like that.”

“Well, he does,” was the sly reply.

“I doubt it,” I said angrily.
 
“So tell me how you ended up here.
 
You’re Dark Fae, right?”

“Yes, I am Dark Fae.
 
I’m here because I was taken by a Light Fae silver elf.”

“Where were you when you were taken?” asked Tony.

“I was in the Green Forest.”

“
Where
in the Green Forest?” I asked, impatient with his evasive answers.

“Near the place I believe you call the Infinity Meadow.”

I had been there with Chase the day he was pixelated by Tim, just before I handed him over to the Dark Fae healer who somehow ended up recruiting Chase over to their side – one of my more spectacular screw-ups to date.

“What were you doing there?” asked Tony.

“Protecting Jayne from the orcs.”

His words made me momentarily speechless, especially since they were said in Chase’s voice and I couldn’t see the bastardization of his face.
 
Plus only a few fae knew I’d run into orcs out there.
 

“What?”
said Spike, “that’s a bunch of bull.
 
You’re pretending to be Chase and you eat ... people.
 
You were probably there to eat
her
.”
 
Spike’s voice came directly at me then.
 
“Jayne, don’t listen to this ... monster thing.
 
It’ll say anything to trick you, I’m sure of it.”
 
He sounded disgusted.
 
“Let’s just leave.”

I held out my hand to stop him.
 
Something about the
buggane’s
voice, maybe because it sounded so much like Chase’s, I don’t know, but I had to hear his explanations.
 
I hadn’t decided yet that he was entirely full of it, especially because he knew about the orcs.
 
And I had gotten away under pretty bad odds – four of them against Tim and me.
 
I should have bit the big one that day, but I didn’t.
 
I had written my escape off as proof of my amazing skills of enemy evasion, but now I wasn’t so sure.

“What do you mean, you were protecting me?”

“I was given that duty.
 
The assignor didn’t tell me why, only that I must do it to pay my debt.
 
I have been unable to do this, so I have been in much pain.”
 
He let out a howl that made all the hair on the back of my neck and head stand up.
 
A shiver passed through me, and I felt a corresponding one on my shoulder as Tim reacted.

Tim said tremulously, “Holy pixie butts, is there anything more creepy than a buggane cry?
 
No, I think not.”

“Is that the sound you heard, Tim?
 
When you thought someone was being tortured in here?” asked Tony.

“Uh ... yeah.
 
Maybe.”

“He says yes.”

“Okay, then, so maybe Dardennes wasn’t torturing anyone in here.”

“Maybe not,” conceded Tim.
 
“But he still has a prisoner.
 
And he’s been here for a while anyway.”

“Back on track guys,” I interrupted.
 
“So, buggane, who was your assignor?”

“Chase of course.
 
Your beloved daemon.”

“How is that possible?
 
He’s been pixelated.
 
He couldn’t have assigned you, or whatever.”

“
Bugganes
are liars,” said Tim, “don’t believe him.”

“I can
smell
you pixie,” the buggane said in a low, unnerving voice.
 
“Don’t think hiding in her hair will protect you from me.”
 
He continued in a more Chase-like voice.
 
“But I’m not in the mood for pixie snacks today.
 
Why don’t you tell her about fae who are pixelated?
 
It seems to me she doesn’t have all the facts.”

“Tim, what’s he talking about?” asked Tony.
 
The war strategist in him had to be feeling at a distinct disadvantage here, not knowing enough about pixelation.
 
I know I was.

“Well ... I guess it’s possible Chase assigned him the task of looking out for Jayne.”

“How, Tim?” I turned to face where my friends were standing to pass on Tim’s words.
 
“He says it’s possible Chase told him to look out for me.”

Tim explained, “If Chase or someone who was with Chase had a debt to call in over this buggane, he could have ordered the assignment to pay off the debt.”

“Even if he was pixied out of his mind and laughing his ass off?
 
And what kind of debt?
 
How would Chase have that with a buggane?
 
He’s just a changeling.”

“Even all pixied out, you know Chase was still worried about taking care of you – he told us that when he rescued us.
 
So, yes, he could have done it – he was with-it enough to stage our breakout.
 
But how a buggane could owe a debt to Chase?
 
I have no idea.
 
You’ll have to ask the buggane that one.”

“Okay, buggane,” I said, turning my sightless eyes toward the creature, “why did you owe a debt to Chase?
 
Or was it someone else you owed?”

“My name is not buggane.
 
It’s Chase.”

“No it’s
not!”
I yelled, losing the edge to my voice as it started to tip into teary-sounding territory.
 
“You are
not
my Chase.
 
What’s your real name?”

“While I am assigned, it’s Chase; however, I can see it’s upsetting you to see me in this way, so I will tell you my real name.
 
You did ask me for it, after all.”
 
He paused for a moment, a wet sound coming from the general direction of its face, causing me to think it was probably licking its disgusting lips. “You can speak it aloud if you wish.
 
My name is
Gorm.”
 
He chuckled low and deep.
 
“Go ahead ... say it.”

“Your name is G... ”

“NO!”
yelled Tim. “
Don’t say it!
 
Whatever you do,
do not
say his real name.”

I leaped in fright at the sound that erupted from where Gorm sat chained.
 
He had started howling again, and the sound mixed with the clanking chains made me feel like vomiting in anxiety because it wasn’t just unintelligible sounds this time, it was angry words spoken with absolute viciousness.
 
“
Eeeaaaat
yoouuu
!
Piiiiiixiiiieeee
!
Aaaarrrrgggghhhh
!!”

I backed up until I was in the doorway, surrounded by my friends.
 
I swallowed hard, barely getting the words out, “What did I almost just do?”

Tim’s voice was shaking as he answered, “You were four letters away from becoming a buggane meal along with all of your friends here.
 
Me included.
 
Can we please go now?
 
I think I might have peed a little.
 
I need to go change my pants.”

Great.
 
Pixie pee in my hair.
 
Could this day possibly get any worse?
 
No, I don’t think so.
 
Right now, I was more afraid than I’d ever been of anything in my life, unsure if it was Gorm himself causing me to feel this way or the fact that I couldn’t see any of the horror I could hear and otherwise sense.
 
But I had to know more.
 
I took a deep-shuddering breath and continued.

“Chase-monster ... I need you to answer one more question for me.
 
No ... wait ... two more questions.”

All I heard was heavy, growly and gurgling breathing in return, which I decided to take as a positive sign.

“First, what debt did you owe to Chase?” I battled to keep my voice steady, “And second, why are you screaming in here like this?
 
Are they torturing you?”

“I will answer your questions, fae girl, because I will consider my debt paid to Chase once I am freed and report back to him that you are still alive, in spite of the Light Fae having locked me away during my assignment.”
 
He took a rattling breath.
 
“I owed a debt to Chase because he and I served together in the Overworld, and when I fell, he made sure I only fell this far – to the Here and Now – and not all the way to the Underworld where I was intended.”
 
He paused to take another gross-sounding breath and then continued, “And as for your second question, I scream because until my assignment is complete, I live to serve you, and I have been kept from my assignment.
 
It is painful for me.
 
Also ... I am quite
hungry.”

I was too stunned to speak, but Tim wasn’t.
 
“It’s probably a lot less painful for you in here than it was in the past for one of your unsuspecting dinner guests!”

Gorm answered slowly, his words dragging out, one at a time, “I can hear you, pixie.
 
I can smell you ... and I can hear you.”