New World Order (War of the Fae: Book 4) (45 page)

Niles came back in the room, interrupting my thoughts.
 

Dardennes got right down to business.
 
“Thank you, Niles.
 
Now, to begin.
 
We have our meeting with the Dark Fae tomorrow.
 
I expect it will be in the morning.
 
Please be prepared for the summoning.
 
Wear your cloaks, of course.” He looked directly at me, and my face turned beet red.
 
“Celeste, Red, I would like you to speak with your colleagues and see to it that we have adequate spell security around the perimeter of the meadow and of course on our path to and from.”

Red and the old lady in the witch tunic and robe, Celeste apparently, nodded their heads.
 
Celeste started writing invisible letters in the air in front of her with her finger.
 
I was willing to bet Tim’s underwear she was taking invisible notes to read later.
 
It was like a witchy iPad or something.
 

“I will ensure the ogres are there for us.”
 
Then he looked at me.
 
“Jayne, we’d like you to be connected with your elements when we arrive.
 
Not as a show of power, but as a protection for you.
 
I don’t imagine you’ll need it, but just in case.”

“Do you think that’s wise?” asked the werewolf-man.
 
“She has lost control before.”

I frowned at him but could hardly say anything.
 
He was right, even if he was rude to bring it up so publicly.

“We believe this small use of power is something she can manage, as she has proven herself capable on many occasions.”

I didn’t know whether to be proud or ashamed at this point, so I just looked at the table, wringing my hands underneath it where no one could see.

“And what should our mission be, for this meeting?” asked Niles.

“My thoughts are that we should attend with the purpose of listening to what Chase and the Dark Fae council has to say, while being wary of any attempts to gain access to the compound or to harm our people.
 
To be honest, I’m not really sure what to do other than this.
 
The effort on the part of a changeling to bring us together is unexpected.
 
There is no precedent for it.”

 
I started to squirm in my chair a little.
 
I knew more than they did and I felt like I should tell them everything, but on the other hand, I didn’t want to give Chase’s story away if it was a secret.
 

Celeste spoke up in a scratchy old lady voice.
 
“Perhaps the changeling at our table has some insight she’d like to share.”
 
She fixed me with her beady eyes and it felt like she was seeing right through me.

“Jayne, do you have anything to add?” asked Céline kindly.

I looked around at the faces staring back at me.
 
None of them looked angry, suspicious, or anything but hopeful.
 
Chase was my friend, but these people were part of my family.
 
I knew that Chase was too, but in a different way.
 
Maybe he was going to come back.
 
Maybe he wasn’t.
 
He’d always be special to me, but if he chose to stay with the Dark Fae or disappear forever into another realm, I was going to be left with these fae sitting around this table.
 
I had to choose my loyalties and hope for the best.
 
And my loyalties lay with those who would be there to protect my friends and all the fae in this compound, when, and if, the shit ever hit the fan.

“Chase is not a changeling.”

Everyone’s face, save Dardennes’ and Céline’s, went from open to confused to suspicious in a matter of seconds.

I hurried to explain.
 
“He’s from the Overworld – or at least that’s what he says.
 
I don’t know any of the details really.
 
He was a teenager in Miami with me, just like the rest of us Jared found; I mean, Chase was always a little different, but that’s just how his personality is.
 
And up until he got pixied by Tim, he acted normal.
 
But after that incident, and after he went to the Dark Fae compound, he told me that he was not of this realm ... and that he was here to warn the fae about an uprising coming from the Underworld.”

“I
knew
it!” yelled Niles, banging his fist on the table.
 
“I told you those orcs were no random event!”

“When is Jared returning?
 
I’d like to hear what he thinks about this,” said the werewolf-man.

“He should be here later tonight or tomorrow morning if all goes as planned,” said Dardennes.

I was curious to hear what Jared had to say also.
 
I wondered how Chase could have duped him along with everyone else, if duped is what we all were.
 
I still wasn’t sure how much of what Chase said was true and how much of it could be attributed to the side effects of being on the wrong end of Tim’s pixie dust.

“Jayne, did you get the impression that he was ... fully in control of his faculties?” asked Céline gently.
 
“Being pixilated can cause many strange things to happen to one’s mind.”

“I’m no medical expert, but other than a few inappropriate fits of laughter, he seemed lucid.
 
And I can tell you that there have been several orc sightings, which I understand isn’t a good sign.
 
Plus there was that demon at my mom’s house.”

“No, the changeling is right.
 
Seeing the orcs is not a good sign.
 
My brethren and I have smelled their scent in the forest in many places, but were unable to locate the source.
 
If we continue to sense them, a breach is certain,” said the werewolf-man.

“I agree.
 
Jayne is right.
 
The demon in her mother’s home was very clear.
 
And, I’m afraid to say, I recognized him.”
 
Céline dropped her head, as if in shame.
 

“What?” Dardennes was obviously surprised to hear this.
 
“Céline!
 
You didn’t say anything before.”

“I know.
 
I am sorry about that.
 
It was all just so ... unexpected.
 
And I didn’t really see the point.
 
It does not change the fact that he was a demon from the Underworld, there with the express intent to take Jayne and use her to bring a child of demon blood into the world.”

“Well?
 
Who is he?” asked Red.
 
“Don’t keep us in suspense any longer,” he said sarcastically.

“His name, when he was fae, was Torrie.
 
I don’t know how many of you knew him.
 
When he was with us, he was a silver elf as well.
 
Torrence.”
 
She looked around the room.
 
“Was he known to any of you?”

“I knew
of
him,” said Niles.
 
“Headstrong ... brutal ... if I remember correctly.”

Céline nodded.
 
“Yes.
 
That is an accurate description of Torrie.
 
He was very much enamored of my sister.
 
But she had ... other interests.”
 
Céline looked meaningfully at Dardennes and then dropped her gaze.

“Yes.
 
I knew Torrie too.
 
We were not friendly,” said Dardennes.

“One is not normally friendly with the competitor for his lover’s attention,” said the wise werewolf-man.
 

I looked at him and leaned over, whispering, “I guess you knew him too.”

He whispered back, “His reputation was well-known.
 
It was not necessary to know him personally.”

I sat back up and looked at Dardennes again.
 
He was lost in thought.
 
I could imagine what that love triangle must have been like – Céline’s sister Maléna, Dardennes, and Torrie, the beast.
 
Oy.
 
Maléna sure knew how to get the boys’ blood stirring.
 
Now Torrie was a demon in the Underworld, Dardennes had been kicked out of the Dark Fae for refusing to follow Maléna’s and her council’s plans, and Céline was the sad sister in the middle, jilted by the Torrie who had probably never noticed her once her brass-balled sister came along.
 
Poor Céline.
 
I felt sorry for her.
 
I wondered if she’d ever had a boyfriend or husband or anything.
 
Was it possible to live for over a thousand years and never find love?
 
Geez
, I hoped not.

“So.
 
We have a possible Underworld uprising.
 
A War of the Fae.
 
Overworld creatures masquerading as changelings.
 
And a buggane haunting our hallways.
 
Do I have everything correct?” asked Red.
 

I had to give the guy credit – at least he was willing to cut to the chase and get shit done.
 
Without him, we’d probably be here all night, and I was starting to get hungry.
 

Heads nodded around the table.

“Well then,” said Dardennes, “I suggest we attend the meeting tomorrow with the goal of at least calling a temporary truce in our quarrel with the Dark Fae and seeing what we can do to quell the uprising coming from the other realm.”

“Might I suggest that we also include quelling any uprisings from the Overworld as well?” said Celeste.
 
“Chase may mean well, but we don’t need his kind here any more than we need Torrie’s.”

I was instantly pissed off, but soon realized I was the only one.

“Absolutely,” said Dardennes.
 
“The realms must remain separate.
 
Once there is a breach in the boundaries between worlds, it means trouble for all of them.
 
We cannot permit it.”

I burst out with, “But that means Chase will have to leave!”

“And?
 
Your point is?” asked Red, a fierce look on his face.

“That it’s not right!
 
He belongs
here
.
 
With me.
 
With
us
.
 
He’s my daemon,” I finished weakly.

“He is not your daemon.
 
He is not fae.
 
He has already admitted that to you,” responded Red.
 
The others around the table nodded in agreement.

“Well he’s trying to help us ... ”

“Admirable.
 
But it does not change the simple fact that he does not belong here,” said Red, standing.
 
“I move to adjourn this meeting.”

“Seconded,” said Celeste also standing, but slower and more carefully; I don’t think she was making a statement – more like trying not to break one of her hips or something.
 
It struck me out of the blue that she looked as old as Maggie.
 
I wondered what the old witch was up to at that moment, as I was sitting here being asked to vote on a truce with the Dark Fae.
 
She was probably watching it in a crystal ball and laughing her wrinkly old ass off.

“All in favor?” asked Dardennes.

The ‘ayes’ rang out from around the table, everyone but me joining in.
 
I wasn’t done yet.

“But ... ”

“The meeting is over,” said the were-wolf man next to me, touching my arm gently.
 
“Dinner is being served.”

I looked at them in disgust.
 
None of them were meeting my eyes.
 

Well, they might not care about the sacrifices Chase had made, but I did.
 
I left the room in a huff.
 
I was hungry and now I was cranky too.
 
I stormed down the hallway towards the dining room, trying to think of ways I could get Chase to stay here permanently.
 
There had to be a way to do it; I just had to figure it out.
 
Maybe Tony would have some ideas.
 
I placated myself with the wisdom of the gray elves, who I was certain would be able to come up with a solution that would work for all of us.

My dinner tasted like cardboard, and I wasn’t in the mood for the casual conversation that was being batted around the table.
 
Even Tim’s antics with a raspberry didn’t do it for me, and that’s saying something.
 
He loved popping all the tiny, juicy bulbs with his knife and dancing out of the way of the bright red squirts that looked disturbingly like fresh blood.

Tony touched my arm.
 
“What’s wrong, Jayne?
 
Can I help?”

“Only if you can figure out a way to get the old farts on the council to let Chase stay here.”