The Changeling (2 page)

“Shut up, Drevek,” Sara commanded with an authoritative whisper just loud enough to hear. “Where is Mitch O’Shea? Tell me now, or
I will
finish what Maggie started.”

His eyes grew large as he watched Sara snap one of the bed posts off with her mind and move it several feet until it pressed his temple.

“You wouldn’t dare, not over a human…I’m Fae!”

“Care to bet your existence on that?”

“But…” he stammered.

“You’ve not been informed, apparently, of what happened on the island. The scheme did not work, your co-conspirators were defeated, and Chalen has been banished from
the
physical realm
for eternity
. It serves no purpose for you to die over this. Tell us what has been done with the boy.”

With a bewildered expression that momentarily reminded me of my brother, the
c
hang
e
ling stared at Sara. “I don’t believe…”

Then with a flash, startling me, Billy took form in the room. “What’s this?” he demanded, staring at the chang
e
ling.

“Drevek, here, has the unfortunate duty of playing changeling for Mitch,” Sara said.

“How long? HOW LONG?” Billy growled at Drevek.

“An hour, perhaps.”
He cringed, still struggling to get free.

Billy closed his eyes and shook his head. “Who is behind this treachery?”

“I am not at liberty to tell you.”

Billy moved toward Drevek slowly, menacingly, and snarled
,
baring feline fangs. I shuddered.

“Please, I’m only doing what I’ve been told. I don’t know where they’ve taken the boy…I’m not sure who is behind it.”

Billy snarled again and moved within inches of him. “Give me the name of the Fae who abducted Mitch O’Shea.”

“There were two humans,
but
I don’t know their names. They were accompanied by Alain and Markus.”

“Humans
,”
Billy
said under his breath
. “Of course, they had to be in the event the guards hadn’t moved. What else do you know? Who is the
S
econd Aetherfae?”
His voice grew fierce.

“Second? How should I know?”

Billy bared his teeth again, twist
ing
his head to the side, and closed them against Drevek’s throat, piercing his flesh.

“I swear it! Please! But I do know one thing…Chalen…he gave me a message.”

Billy moved his face back a few inches. “Go on.”

“I’m to stay here until Maggie O’Shea fulfills her promise to leave. Anything that happens to me, happens to the boy two-fold.”

“I didn’t promise Chalen I would leave—quite the opposite.”

“Then, Steward, you have six months, maybe less, until your brother wastes away.”
He coughed lightly through the sinister smile that spread across his face
.
Staring
at me, dimples in full force
, he said,
“I don’t feel well, and I’m going to get worse—
a
reminder to you of how much time your brother has.”

Drevek’s smile faded and he trembled when Billy bared his teeth again inches from his face. The changeling didn’t try to fight
,
and that surprised me. Instead, he whimpered like a child.

“Why is he so weak?” I asked.

Drevek spat at me.

“He’s exceptionally young. You’ve only learned to take physical form in the last, what, one hundred years?” Sara stared at him with pity in her eyes, and shook her head.

Drevek looked away from her, still frightened but arrogant. “I learned 126 years ago.”

Billy relaxed his expression as he turned to me. “It takes us centuries of being in physical form to fully master our element, and Drevek has not had time to learn the nuances of Fire. He is essentially a Fae adolescent.”

“I didn’t think there was such a thing as a Fae child.”

“Yes and no. There is a great deal we still need to tell you about us, but for right now, you need to get upstairs—midnight approaches.”

I protested, “I’m not leaving him here in my house.”

“I understand,” Billy said. “But you don’t need to watch over him. Sara and I will do that. As you can clearly see, he poses no danger.” Billy shot Drevek a dismissive look. “We need you to be with your family and friends right now, but after midnight you need to make an excuse and go to your room—alone. I will meet you there. Sara will stay here with Drevek.”

“But…”

Sara cut me off. “Maggie, Ozara is coming.”

Hearing her name shattered my resolve and I stopped trying to argue. Would she still be angry with me? Would the Council kick me off the Weald? I didn’t know the answers, but I did want to see her and plead my case. Sara could easily control Drevek, so I yielded and began calming myself down. After a few moments of purposely avoiding eye contact with the changeling, I was ready to go upstairs.

TWO

OZARA’S VISIT

“Three…two…one…Happy New Year!” A chorus of jubilant voices rang through the cottage. I allowed Doug to kiss me, briefly, before I put on my best happy face and tried to share good cheer with everyone around me.

My mind was on Mitch and how afraid he must be at the moment. I knew Chalen had a plan to ensure I left the Weald, but I hadn’t guessed that Mitch would be the collateral. In the spirit of the moment, I made a New Year’s resolution to get him back regardless of what I had to do. Whether that meant leaving the Weald and giving up everything I knew about the Fae or taking his place, I would get him back.

So many thoughts were working their way through my head that I couldn’t carry on a conversation with anyone—not that I wanted to. My stomach was in knots and I was light-headed.

Candace noticed. Her thin auburn brows pinched together above her piercing hazel eyes, and a frown formed on her full lips. “Maggie, what’s wrong?”

“Ummm…I don’t know what…I think I’m getting sick.”

She cupped my shoulders in her slender fingers. “You’re so pale,” she said looking me up and down.

“Honey, you look terrible. Are you all right?” Mom asked, noticing as well.

“No, Mom, I think I’m going to be sick. I…I think I need to go lie down for a little while.”

“Do you need me to go with you? Get you anything? Should I take you to the hospital?”

“No, Mom, really, it’s probably just too much excitement.” That much was true. “I think I’ll just go to my room for a little while.”

At the top of the stairs, I took a deep breath and pulled my door shut, the antique lock mechanism clicking solidly behind me. A moment later Billy joined me, leaving Sara in the basement to watch over the changeling.

“What are we going to do?” I asked in full panic mode.

He frowned and looked out the window. “We don’t have time to discuss it. Ozara is here.”

I felt her presence too, below, moving across the garden. A moment later she appeared in my room dressed in the same shimmering silver robe I’d seen her wearing before. Just a few feet away, she was majestic, ethereal, and appeared to emanate a faint light. She didn’t glow, but her face, kind, relaxed and quite unlike it had been on the island an hour earlier, seemed somehow backlit. I relaxed a little when she smiled at me.

“Maggie, are you all right?” There was concern in her voice. It threw me off-guard—I had expected her to be furious.

“No, I’m not. Thank god you’re here.” My voice was quivering and full of emotion as I wiped tears from my cheek.

“Why? What’s wrong?” A small furrow formed in her smooth forehead just above her straight, elegant nose.

“Mitch, they took him.” I choked out the words.

“Who took him?”

“Ozara, not all the Unseelie were on the island,” Billy said.

“What have they done?” The anger returned to her voice, though she maintained her pleasant visage.

“Changeling, Drevek.” Billy’s voice was as grim as his expression. “They waited until the guards were pulled, and lured the boy outside—Sara has Drevek in the basement. Alain and Markus have Mitch O’Shea. They were aided by two humans.”

Emotion crossed her face for the first time. “Were there
any others?
”

She didn’t say it explicitly, but she clearly wanted to know if the other Aetherfae had finally made an appearance.

Billy shook his head quickly. “No, there were no others—here at least.”

I wasn’t about to let them off the hook. “Is there another Aetherfae? Is that who has Mitch?” I asked pointedly.

Ozara smiled confidently. “I do not know whether there is a Second, but I intend to find out.”

“Ozara, where could they have taken Mitch? You have to help me find him, please,” I begged.

Ozara turned and stared out the window. Moonlight from above combined with the light of the flickering gas lamps in the garden to illuminate her fiery red hair and the strong features of her face. I was enthralled and uneasy, unable to stop staring at her. We said nothing for several minutes. She didn’t turn around when she spoke again. Her melodic voice was just above a whisper. “I assume they’ve given you the terms.”

“Yes. They want me to leave the Weald with my family. If I do that, Drevek, or whatever his name is, said they would return Mitch alive. Is that true? Can I trust them?” My voice was stronger, but still desperate. My emotions were in check, but barely.

“In the past, they have always kept their word on such arrangements. They have no real interest in your brother, except of course that they can force you to do to get him back.”

“Is he still here in the physical realm? Because I’ve read they can…”

Ozara cut me off. “Do not believe what you’ve read. My kind does not whisk humans away to some mythological
fairyland
, and it’s quite simply not possible to remove a physical being to our realm—not your brother, nor any other human. But those responsible have undoubtedly hidden him somewhere they believe he will not be found.”

“It is not my intention to upset you further, but you deserve the truth: he will probably not be found unless they want him to be, but he is in the physical world…somewhere. You have my word on this, Maggie—
loyal Seelie
will search for him, as will I.”

“And you have my word, Maggie—I will search for him as well.” Billy said, visibly agitated by Ozara’s slight.

Ozara turned from the window and frowned at Billy, but she didn’t say anything to him. Instead, she closed her eyes and whispered, “Bring him to me. Now.” Sara and Drevek appeared in my room and stood against the opposite wall. Drevek’s eyes trained on Ozara and fear spread across his face, Mitch’s face. I’d never seen a Fae tremble until that moment.

Ozara lifted her slender, elegant arm and a pea-sized green sphere appeared at her fingertips. “As long as your treacherous lot has the boy, we shall have you.” With a nearly imperceptible flick of her finger, the sphere disappeared into Drevek’s chest despite his futile attempt to evade it. Muffling a scream, a wretched look filled his face. I had to remind myself that it wasn’t Mitch. Instinctively, I looked away as he slumped to the floor and writhed in pain. After a moment, though, his agony appeared to subside.

I understood what she’d done. Forcing Aether into his body would prevent him from taking his natural form again.

“If the boy dies, so do you. If you attempt to use the gift of Fire I will destroy you. If you cause any harm to this Steward or anything she cares about—even the dog—I will destroy you slowly. Now, do not resist, I will have your thoughts.”

She crossed the floor with ferocious speed and grabbed both sides of his head. Drevek’s lips pulled back and his mouth hung open—he appeared unable to breathe. Again, I looked away.

“Tell me what you know,” she whispered seductively into his ear.

Drevek whimpered for a few minutes, staring helplessly into her eyes, and then his body went slack before crumpling on the floor when Ozara released him.

She nodded. Sara grabbed his arm and they disappeared through the window. I sensed them move quickly back into the basement. Satisfied that Drevek was back in Mitch’s room, Ozara turned to me.

“As I expected, he knows nothing more than he told you. He is a pitiable fool whose naiveté will cost him dearly,” she said.