

## Through The Waterfall

### By

### Sandra Elsa

### Book One –Guardian Of The Realm

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 by Sandra Panicucci

**Smashwords Edition, License Notes**

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Foreword:

I have used real place names, and in several instances real facility names, i.e. restaurants, stores, etc. however I have no knowledge of these places except that they exist, so everything pertaining to them in this novel exists purely within this writer's mind. On occasion I used menu items from an online menu, but I offer no guarantees you can go there and actually order what Tess had for lunch. In other words, this is fiction and the story, places, and characters, are also fictional in no way created to resemble real characters or happenings.

That said, please enjoy this tale and if you like it, or hate it, please leave a review.

## Chapter 1

Ninety degree weather and I'm riding around searching for toadstools for Grandma's potion.

Toadstools from a fairy ring no less. Not like I could pass off any old toadstool. In a world populated with non-magical people, Grandma was one of the few who could tell the difference.

Might as well answer the thunderous invitation of the waterfall and cool off. Besides, there were usually toadstools in the woods beside the tumbling water. Not that I'd ever seen them in a fairy ring.

Sweat stuck short bay hairs to my legs as I slid off Nella's back and led her into the cool pond at the foot of the falls. She drank a few swallows, pawed at the water, splashing me until my t-shirt clung to my breasts and hips, and my legs were free of horsehair. Done playing, she lowered herself to roll on a barely submerged sandbar.

After we cooled down I tied her to a small oak while I did the obligatory search for a fairy ring. It was cooler in the shade of the pine trees. Large droplets of water splashed my face. A constant bombardment from the falls kept the branches moist

Didn't search long. Didn't have to. It was a small patch of trees and it contained the largest fairy ring I'd ever come across. Considering the heat, I wasn't going to question a miracle. My hand hovered over a thick patch of toadstools while I scoffed at the subconscious thought that made me select one that wouldn't break the circle.

Magic was real. Why not fairies? Sweat joined the water from the pond in coursing down my skin in rivulets, this time the sweat was caused by more than heat.

Selecting a small brown specimen with bright yellow spots I popped it in my hip pack and started back toward Nella.

A flash of lavender flitted through the pine branches. An extraordinary hue for a bird. It was followed by a sparkle of yellow. Burning eyes reminded me to blink and in that moment three more dots of brilliant color flitted by, two sapphire and one rose red.

A titter of laughter had me spinning in circles. Get hold of yourself, Tess. It's the heat. I spun on my heel and headed toward Nella at a speed just shy of running. Forcing calm on myself to keep Nella controlled, I untied the reins and leaped aboard in one swift motion.

The tugging on my hair was more than wind. The voice in my ear, far too real. "Stop, Miss!"

I drove my heels in Nella's sides and clung to her wet back. She responded with her usual exuberance to being allowed to run wide open.

My parents died nine years ago. Since that night, nothing unusual intruded in my life. Unusual for me and Grandma anyway.

Grandma belonged to a coven of witches and dragged me around the countryside so I could learn from the best. It took a bit more for me to consider something out of the ordinary.

This qualified.

The creature that killed my parents and tried to kill me was not of this world. Neither were these tiny dots of color, and I wanted nothing to do with them.

Flying dots, plus ring of toadstools, equals fairies. Any fool could do the math. Growing up with stories of good and bad fairies didn't incline me to give them a chance to lure me into their world. They're not there. I can't hear them. I leaned forward over Nella's neck and repeated those words in my head

Maybe fairies aren't telekinetic like the beast that rolled my parents' car over, and they were tiny, but magic changes the scale of things.

I swatted at a lavender dot that flew by my ear. An aerial ballerina, she touched my hand and flipped in front of my face. Little buggers were fast. Their numbers trailed off as we left the waterfall behind until only two flitted near me. The lavender and a rose hued creature. The lavender grabbed my hair and floated behind me. The rose grabbed Nella's mane. I released the reins and batted at them as though riding through a cloud of gnats. Finally, even they let go and drifted behind.

Collecting the reins from Nella's neck, I pulled her down to a trot and then a walk, all the while, glancing over my shoulder, searching for minute dots of out-of-place color.

After putting Nella away, I took the toadstool in to Grandma and placed the slightly crumbled, yellow spotted specimen on the kitchen island, it made my fingers tingle. "Hope that's enough."

"I'm sure it will be." She reached out for it, promptly snatching her hand away.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

She bent over to put her face on a level with the counter top and closed her eyes. The wooden spoon she held in her left hand, unerringly jabbed at the toadstool, rolling it from side to side.

When she opened her eyes she stared at me, wooden spoon tapping. "Did you run into anything peculiar?"

"If you mean the owners of the fairy ring, then yes. They chased me halfway back here."

"An active ring." Grandma rubbed her hands together and chortled. "Lordy girl, this tiny toadstool's a treasure. Far more energy than I can touch." She put a cutting board on the island and laid her silver athame next to it. "Do me a favor and dice it into tiny useable bits, please."

The magic prickled as I made cut after cut until Grandma was satisfied with the tiny cubes. She handed me a pair of sterling tongs. "Now put one in the pot and the rest in this jar. After a moment she thumped a second jar down. "Half and half."

When the toadstool was in its proper containers, she poured oil in one jar and closed the other with a vacuum sealer.

The potion on the stove began to bubble and I reached out and stirred the liquid. The odor changed from heavily herbed vegetable stew to candy. The olive green color shifted to dazzling violet. I leaned over the pot to better inhale the sweet scent.

Vertigo hit me. I turned in time to catch Grandma's jaw snapping shut, her warning much too slow. She hurried to guide me to a chair at the dining room table.

Sitting sideways, one hand gripping the ladder-back, the other clutching at the polished oak table, I swayed. The wood had a cooling effect and I concentrated on grounding myself. Grandma rushed back and laid a dripping paper towel on my forehead. Cool water chased sweat into the corners of my eyes. Shutting them only heightened my dizziness. Colors swirled beneath my eyelids and I opened them again, blinking at the salt.

Gradually the room stopped spinning and I relaxed my death grip on the table. Grandma stood back and I dried my forehead on a sleeve. "What the hell is that?"

A flicker of disapproval passed over Grandma's face, but she gave up chastising me over bad language years ago. Somehow the most powerful witch I knew, considered herself a good Christian, not a pagan, and she used to get upset about 'hell' and 'damn' and any other colorful words I came up with. But she knew how to pick her battles. "It's a simple attraction spell." She answered my question. "Cora asked me to make her a batch."

"Attraction? Don't tell me I just inhaled a love potion."

Grandma patted my hand. "Not necessarily. It's designed to attract whatever you need most. Cora's hoping her grandson can attract a job. And let's not forget this is one of those, I-told-you-so, moments."

OK, not so bad then. "Yes, you've warned me over and over, but it smelled so sweet. So what decides what is most needed?"

She rolled her eyes. "The magic does."

Guess I should have known that answer. She made it sound so simple. Wouldn't be the first time magic screwed me over. "So what about me?"

"Your reaction is most likely due more to the release of the toadstool's energy than to the overall spell."

Sounded reasonable. "I hope you're right. Wouldn't mind attracting a little money my way. But magic seems determined I need a man in my life." Wrong thing to say. Opened up the floor for one of Grandma's favorite discussions.

"You need more than me and those horses."

I refrained from stomping my foot, barely. "Nella and Jax never started going out with my friend, or just stopped calling me, or any of the myriad other break-ups I've had. I'm not meant to have a boyfriend, Grandma."

"You drive them away."

"I'm only seventeen."

A shadow passed over Grandma's face. "I'm not going to be around forever."

I hated when she brought that up. True she wasn't a spring chicken. But she always said it like the end was right around the corner.

"I've got friends," I said defensively. "Gladys and I are going to the movies this weekend."

"You have 'a' friend."

"Carl's going too."

Sometimes I wished I had a half –dozen brothers and sisters to occupy Grandma. "Carl is Gladys's friend."

"It's not like he refuses to talk to me." If I was honest though, I had to admit Carl thought I was a little strange.

"You need to get out more."

"You said the spell shouldn't affect me, so this is moot. I like my life the way it is."

"I wanted you to be strong, but sometimes I wish you wouldn't be quite so mule-headed."

"So what makes the toadstool I brought so potent?" Did you see that track switch coming? Even Grandma could figure out my subtle hints.

"I've always believed the wee-folk existed. Never saw one though. Everything I've ever read, claims fairy rings in use are bursting with earth energy. When the fairies move on, they release the energy so the toadstools only contain residual amounts."

"And I could touch it because I don't have much magic of my own?"

Grandma's jaw worked, eyes narrowed, frustration plain. "Why do you insist you're weak?"

"My potions never work as good as yours."

"I taught you better than that."

I could brew a mediocre potion to get rid of zits--which is important to a seventeen-year old trying to survive being the one with the loony grandmother. Not that I thought she was loony. I'd seen too many of her spells work to think she was anything but awesome. But back to me. "What am I supposed to think? Weak potions. My nose won't twitch. Nothing happens when I blink at it and pointing usually just makes people wonder if I'm talking to them."

Grandma huffed. She always did when I referenced TV magic. Only time I ever heard her swear was when she informed me Samantha was not a witch and Endora was close, but I had to replace the 'w' with a 'b'. She sometimes watched the shows with me but every instance of magic was met with a groan.

"How many times do I have to tell you, magic isn't in your nose, or your eyes, or even your finger--although sometimes pointing does help your concentration-- it's in your mind."

My turn to sigh at the repetitive nature of the argument. "We've had this discussion too. It's in my music. That's the only time I see a hint of personal power."

"Music is your focus. Energy as strong as yours requires a firm focus or you risk it going astray." Grandma insisted I learn to play the flute when I was eight. If she'd told me she believed I could heal the crushed vertebrae that kept me confined to a wheelchair I'd have doubted. Then of course it wouldn't have worked. Instead she told me it was an outlet for an eight year old paraplegic. Something to do besides watch TV and pity myself. The flute came naturally to me and I lost myself in the music.

It wasn't until a year later when my foot started twitching with the music that Grandma told me I was healing myself. I knew she spoke the truth. I'd felt the energy wind around me from the first off tune note I'd played. Just didn't know what it was. After that, every moment I wasn't eating or sleeping was spent with the flute, or singing. Music became my life until six months later I stood and took two wobbly steps before falling on my face. After that my life became three steps, then four, until I could run as fast as before the accident.

I'd always be grateful for that, but there had to be a better way. "I can hardly break out in song every time I do magic."

"Your very first act of magic was more powerful than many people ever accomplish. True healers are rare."

"And it only took me two years."

She shook her head and sighed. "You were eight years old. Most people don't come into their magic until they're at least fifteen. And I didn't have the knowledge to tell you exactly how to do it. You've learned a lot from James Ross." That would be the Navaho shaman she dragged me to down in New Mexico. "A crushed vertebrate would probably take you less than a week now."

I just shook my head. I could raise the energy but I couldn't focus it. She wouldn't believe that. I could do little things. But open wounds were out of the question. If I couldn't heal anything life-threatening, what was the point?

I stood. "You're sure I won't be affected by your brew?"

"There aren't any guarantees."

"If I inhaled too much of it, how long 'til it takes affect or fades away."

She chuckled. "It's magic, baby girl. You can't fight it. It will wait around with the patience of Job until you get what you need most."

I stormed out. She tells me I'm powerful, then tells me I can't do anything to escape her potion. Here's hoping it was only the toadstool that sent my head spinning.

I turned Nella out in the paddock with Jax, then went into the tack room, pulled out my books, and began looking up attraction spells. I just flipped to the table of contents when a flicker of color in the corner of the room caught my eye. I looked up to see the lavender dot from earlier. She was beautiful.

Don't trust beauty. Diaphanous lavender wings fluttered behind violet hair. The color was a combination of hair, wings, and a lavender shift. Her skin was the same well-tanned tone as mine.

Except that she was maybe four inches tall and wearing wings, she didn't look so different from anybody else I ever met. She froze when I looked at her. I'd seen animals react like that. Like if they were perfectly still I couldn't see them.

I ran a hand through my unruly auburn curls tugging fingers through knots, but I didn't take my eyes off her. "Is this about the toadstool?"

She unfroze enough to shake her head. "I had to see you."

"Why?"

"You answered the summons."

Oh for Christ's sake. Attraction spells and summonses. "What summons?"

"To the portal."

"Portal? You mean the fairy ring?"

She sat on the beam she'd been standing on, heels drumming the thick oak. "Of course not. Humans can't use rings." She said it as though I should have known that.

"Well, I didn't see anything else that might have qualified."

"But you nearly stepped through it. How could you not see it?" Disbelief echoed in the tiny voice.

I added a dose of surliness to mine. "Maybe because I'm not the one you're looking for."

"We feel the power in you. A Guardian with your magic would assure the safety of the demesne." Her wings fluttered in agitation.

Leaning back in the chair and crossing my feet on the desk, I asked, "Did I say I was looking for employment?"

"But you answered the summons."

"I came to find a toadstool. I didn't see your portal. And I'm not working for fairies."

The tone became imperious. "There will be others answering the summons. You live here so you responded first."

"I didn't respond."

"You did."

It was a barn. Three fly-swatters hung from nails by the door. I wondered if I'd actually have to swing it at her or if picking one up would give her the hint. I glanced at it and her wings fluttered again. I held up my hand and said, "Come." I figured if she watched my magic fail me in my hour of need, she'd go away. Nobody was more surprised when the fly-swatter nearest the door flew from the nail and landed in my hand. Without hesitation, I pressed my advantage. The added length of the flyswatter put me well within reach of her beam. I dropped my feet off the desk. "If you don't want me to knock you from your perch, lock you in a jar and sell you to the nearest side-show, you'll get out of my barn right now."

Naturally wide eyes opened to take up half her face. "You wouldn't!"

"Get out."

"But..."

"Out."

"Why won't you listen?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but somebody from wherever it is you live, killed my parents. I want nothing to do with you."

"But--"

"Out."

"Will you at least not interfere if any others arrive?"

"They'll need to find a way to your little paradise without parading across my lawn. I hope your summons included a map."

Her shoulders twitched. Head bobbed in agitation. The wings fluttered and I finished it off by springing to my feet and swinging the fly-swatter at her. She darted out the door and disappeared.

#

A week went by and I didn't see any of their applicants. I didn't feel any unnatural urges to ride out to the back-forty, walk up to their portal and traipse through. Nor, thank god, did I seem to be attracting any males...or money for that matter, so I guess I dodged that bullet. I couldn't make anything else come to me like the fly-swatter had, so I figure that was a side-effect of inhaling toadstool. I suppose it was even possible that at that particular moment, I really needed the fly-swatter and Grandma's spell had brought it to me.

Life goes on.

Three months passed and I consigned the whole incident to the "in case of emergency" portion of my mind. Only to be recalled if I suddenly felt an unnatural attraction to somebody. Or a tiny winged person showed up in my barn.

So imagine my angst when two weeks later a tiny winged man showed up, not in my barn, but in my bedroom. And good lord, if he'd been five and a half feet taller I would have felt a most unnatural attraction to him. Unlike the beautiful woman. This one went shrouded in black. Jet black hair. Black wings, less lacy and more streamlined than the female's had been. And black clothing which was more along the line of jeans and a T-shirt than the fanciful shift the lavender lady had worn. Looked like they sent me the bad-boy. I'd have laughed at the thought except I didn't want to tick him off before I knew what his intentions were. Magic. Remember? Being six inches tall didn't mean he was weak.

He was sitting on a ceramic branch in my tree shaped lamp, swinging his feet, examining my room, when I woke up. A moment after I saw him, his attention drifted back to me. He flowed to his feet and stood there staring at me. A quiver fluttered his wings and I wondered how far the fly-swatter story had flown. It was too early for any snappy remarks to spring to mind, so I settled for bitchy. In my ever-so-soft-and-sweet morning voice, I muttered, "Get the hell out of my room."

He looked nervous, but he stood his ground. Or lamp. Used to getting his way. He just had that air. If I was five inches tall he'd have a better shot. As is...not that interested. Too bad, cause he was smokin' hot. His eyes matched his ensemble. High cheekbones. Aquiline nose. Full kissable lips. He gave me the look. You know, the one that says I'm six feet tall, not six inches, and baby you'll do anything I want you to.

Not.

I wished he wasn't sitting on my lamp. If I threw a pillow at him he'd probably move quick enough and the lamp would crash to the floor. I settled for the next best thing. I scowled at him.

Not to be deterred, he said, "We have to talk."

"No! I've already said everything I care to. Little Miss Lavender surely reported her failure."

He ran a hand over his hair and fiddled with the gold ring holding it in a ponytail. "She did."

"Then why are you here?"

"King Ral sent me to make a deal with you."

"What happened to your other candidates?"

He fidgeted some more. His wings flapped open and remained pinned behind his back. "We ended the summons. Joli--That's Miss Lavender to you--informed us you would not allow others to trespass."

I closed my eyes and counted to ten.

Damn. Still there. "I didn't want them coming by my house. If you bring them in from the next road back, I don't care if they walk to the waterfall." I clapped my hands, just to watch him jump when the light turned on.

He did. Spectacularly. The wings snapped from their pinned position when he slipped from the ceramic limb, but there were more ceramic branches in the way. He wasn't clear to fly until halfway from his perch to the nightstand. Before he got that far, he managed to clutch another branch and pull himself up. He ran his hands over his wings. Damage check. When he had collected himself he turned and glared at me. "That was not nice."

I glared back. "I asked you to leave. Nice is not a requirement when dealing with an unwanted male in your bedroom."

He glanced up at the light bulb. "Joli told me you were powerful. I've never before seen anyone turn on the sun by clapping."

I snorted. "You guys don't get out much, do you? It's a light, and I didn't use magic." I clapped again and the light went off. "It's science. We pitiful non-magical humans have replaced magic with science. It turns on and off when I clap because somebody designed it to."

"The humans in this house are a long way from non-magical," he said, then poof, we jumped tracks again. "It turned out to be a good thing we shut the summons down. It seems the council has decreed a major summonsing. Had we kept our small one going, we would not have the energy to assist them."

"What's the difference?" I smacked my forehead. "Never mind. It doesn't matter."

As though the latter words never reached his ears, he informed me. "Ours was a small summons, to search for a Guardian for our demesne. The council is searching to replace a major position."

"Whatever. Will you please leave my room. Or do I have to summon my fly-swatter."

"You would break this glass tree."

Too smart for his own damn good. "I can force you out of there. I might break a wing pulling you between branches though."

The wings fluttered. Adams-apple bobbed. "Will you not let me make the offer I was instructed to bring you?"

"And then you'll leave?"

"If you reject the offer." He swallowed hard and bobbed his head. "I cannot return to His Majesty without uttering the words. He would know."

"Then say your piece and get out." No sense getting him in trouble. He was only doing his job. And damn, he was cute.

"Joli spoke of the difficulty you had with a citizen of the realm. I have been instructed to inform you that were you to become a Guardian we would assist you in any way possible, hunting down and slaying the creature who killed your parents."

"There you've said it, now..." His words sank in and I stuttered to a halt. Revenge. I'd never even thought about revenge. I just prayed the thing never came back to finish the job it started nine years ago. It had been far too big and powerful to even contemplate seeking it out for revenge. But if the fairies would help... "No. I don't even know what it was. It was too strong."

"Let us judge that. Perhaps if you described it, we could identify it." I sat up and flung my legs over the side of the bed, feet feeling around for my furry slippers while I maintained eye contact with the fairy. I pulled out the drawer of the maple nightstand and withdrew a sketch book. It was filled with page after page of the same thing.

He examined the drawings and said, "At first glance I thought you ran into a dragon."

"So did I. But the more I thought about it, the more certain I became it wasn't. It didn't have scales. And while human descriptions of dragons vary considerably we all seem to agree on scales. Its teeth were too small and flat, as though it was herbivorous. But it had the size, and it had the wings and claws. Long neck and tail. It was telekinetic...."

He was rubbing a hand back and forth along an ear, eyes half closed as though I'd just set him a big puzzle. "You don't have a clue. Do you?"

"You lost me at herbivorous."

"Plant eater."

"You couldn't just say plant eater? And what is teleki—tele—"

"Telekinetic. It could move things with its mind."

He shook his head, a frown disturbing the beauty of his face. "I'm sorry. This does not match anything I've ever heard of. Are you sure it was tele-ki-net-ic?"

"And telepathic." Threw another big word at him just to watch him squirm. He rolled his eyes so I continued. "I heard it in my head. It unlatched my seat belt without touching it. Other things just...they just weren't right. The airbags never deployed. Mother's seat belt released as well. She was crushed under the car when she flew out the window. My parents were neurotic about safety. None of that should have happened. The accident shouldn't have happened. The police declared it to have been a blown tire, but there wasn't any sound to warn of a hazard nor was there anything in the road that should have started the car flipping end over end."

He rubbed at the ear again. "I don't understand half of what you're talking about but you seem certain of your facts."

It felt good to discuss the accident with somebody who not only believed what I was telling him, but might have some answers. I'd kept it all inside far too long. Now I found myself on the verge of tears.

Grandma's door opened and I heard her headed down the steps. She'd be cooking breakfast shortly and I needed to get the horses fed. The distraction gave me a moment to collect myself. "Look, not that I have anything against being woke up by a cute guy, but I have things I need to do, and this isn't going anywhere. I'm not going to be your Guardian, and my horses are hungry. Your message has been delivered, now I gotta get moving."

He preened when I said he was cute, and sagged when I told him the conversation wasn't going anywhere. But in the end he did leave, as promised. I had the feeling I wasn't done with them yet. The idea of revenge was taking a firm grip on my mind.

What if they really could find the creature and help me destroy it?

## Chapter 2

I dressed and hurried downstairs, but wasn't fast enough. Bacon sizzled, but Grandma wasn't one to wait when her curiosity was up. "Who were you talking to?"

"Tell you about it in a few. Gonna feed the horses."

"How long could it take to just tell me who you were on the phone with this early in the morning?"

The phone? Of course she wouldn't hear his voice. They were too small to be all that loud. At least she didn't assume I was talking to myself. "Really Grandma, I'll tell you all about it when I get back in." I dashed out the door before she could protest any more.

Got my morning exercise climbing to the loft to toss Nella and Jax hay, and topped off the water buckets before giving them their grain. Did a quick job picking their stalls, then went back in and washed up. The bacon was beginning to smell really good and I heard the wire whisk flicking the bowl as Grandma scrambled eggs. I went into the kitchen, pushed the toast down to cook and got out plates and silverware.

Grandma finished the eggs without asking again but the moment we sat down to eat it was clear she was expecting details. "Well?"

"Truth is Grandma, I didn't get his name."

"You called a boy you don't know at six-thirty in the morning?"

"Nope. He was sitting on my lamp when I woke up this morning."

"Sitting..."

I could see the gears turning. As usual she came up with the right answer. "One of the wee-folk visited you?"

"Yeah. Seems I've been voted in as, 'Most likely to succeed' as Guardian of the fairy demesne."

She put her fork down and went to rummage in the refrigerator coming up with butter. Grandma never ate butter. She spread it on her toast, all the while staring at me as though she were trying to catch me in a lie. She knew better. I gave up falsehoods a long time ago. There were some people who were naturals at lying. I wasn't one of them. It wasn't just Grandma either. She was unnaturally sharp--or knew me better than anybody else--but rather than responding in the normal way of becoming a sneakier person, I was forced to give up even the contemplation of lying. She knew the moment the thought ran through my head. Reckon I'll never be a poker player. Finally she put the heavily buttered bread down and stroked her fork through it, making swirly designs. "Did he tell you exactly what being a Guardian would entail?"

For a brief moment I had the thought that she was going to tell me. When she didn't, I shook my head and said, "I turned him down, so we didn't get into specifics."

She said, "It might be interesting. It would be different than hanging around here all day."

I slid her toast out from under her fork and took a big bite. I like butter. Besides, my food was nearly gone and I needed something to do while I contemplated how many of my excuses she could drive a truck through. The best defense is a good offense. "Why are you so determined to be rid of me? Am I not useful enough to merit my feed and board?"

"You know I'm not trying to get rid of you. I could never keep up the garden or the canning or even the cleaning without your help, but did this fairy say they'd expect you there all the time or just occasionally? You probably didn't even listen to his proposal."

She could have used a much better word than that. Proposal was her effort at pushing my buttons. She was good at it too. "I let him say his piece. It was the only way I could get rid of him without a fight."

"And he just left?"

"He agreed to, before I let him get his two cents out. I'll give him that much, he did abide by our agreement."

She reached across the table and stopped my hand from pushing my last bite of eggs around the plate for their third trip. "I'd have been thrilled if somebody made me that offer when I was your age. A whole new world that hardly any humans ever see. What's really bothering you?"

I chewed my lower lip for a bit. "The thing that killed Mom and Dad came from over there, Grandma. What if I were to run into it? What if it recognizes me and decides to finish the job?" My jaw quivered and I fought emotions back under control. "I don't care how much magic you think I have. It's still just human magic drawn from my own body. Even if that thing couldn't draw magic from our world it was large enough to carry more within its front leg than I have in my whole body."

"I'll teach you to draw from the earth. I'm sure you can. I'm just not sure you're ready to center that much strength."

"I'd like to learn another source, Grandma. But I'm afraid you're right. You could teach me the theory now anyway." I was all for learning, but I couldn't even focus my personal energy. No way was I going to draw any from the earth and try to ride it. "I'm not ready to seek out a creature that could flip a car around like it was playing soccer."

"Did you mention this to your visitor?"

"Actually, he brought it up. I mentioned it to the last one I saw and they decided to offer to help me find it."

"And did he know what it was that attacked you?" Like I said, she can pick her battles. Didn't blink an eye at the obvious fact I'd neglected to mention speaking with a fairy before this morning.

I shook my head, struggling against tears. "I showed him my drawings but he said he'd never seen one."

"You were on the coast when it happened. The thing probably lives a long distance from here."

"You may be right."

She covered my hands with her own. Skin still stretched taught around slightly arthritic knuckles, she didn't show but maybe fifty of her sixty-five years. "You've been hiding here. I wondered if you didn't go out more because of what happened. I guess I just thought you'd bring it up if it was bothering you."

"I didn't want to concern you, Grandma. It's not like we could do anything about it."

"There are steps that can be taken. I've known...people... who've successfully hid in plain sight for years."

She hesitated. Why? Had she helped somebody hide or was she herself in hiding. All the long trips we took, staying with coven members in Salem, Massachusetts for three months out of the year. Two months in New Mexico with James Ross. And every other year or so until I turned fourteen we spent summer in the Appalachia mountains with Eloise and Honey, a mother-daughter hedge-witch pair, quite strong in earth powers. Grandma's family had come from around there but we never went to visit. She never spoke of them. I wasn't even sure any of them were alive. Maybe they were the people hiding in plain sight.

All that traveling though, we always returned here to Salem, Kentucky. She was attached to this place. I guess I could understand. She and Grandpa had lived here since they were married forty-two years ago. Grandpa had died of lung cancer before I moved in, but her memories of him are fond.

I gave her plenty of time to offer up names of who was hiding in plain sight, but she went on as though she hadn't said anything in the least bit curious. "If you're worried..."

"No Grandma. I mean yes, I am worried. I've been worried for nine years, but I can't let that rule my life."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"So both of us could worry. It wouldn't have changed anything. As far as I know, the thing believes I'm dead. Or at least crippled."

"Why do you believe it was targeting you?"

I nibbled on my lower lip for a while then scratched an ear. I found myself remembering the fairy's similar mannerism. His had been lack of comprehension. I was stalling. I'd never told anybody what the creature said when it ravaged my thoughts just before it tried to kill me. It would sound pretentious--even now, as a reasonably mature young woman.

As an eight year old, everybody, Grandma included, would think I was trying to make myself feel important. Grandma waited patiently. She knew me well enough to know I was mulling it over, not shutting down. She was also smart enough to know, from mulling to shut-down was only one wrong question away. Finally I looked up at her and whispered, in a voice I wasn't even sure she'd hear, "Because she told me I had to die."

There was that stunned fish look. Jaw working, hands flapping like little fins spinning in circles. If I looked close enough I swore I'd probably see gills working to take in extra oxygen. "Who?"

"The creature. I don't know what it was. But I know the voice it projected was female. She gloated. When the car skidded to a stop she came over and sniffed Mom. Licked her face. Then she rocked the car to see if Dad was alive." I shuddered as I remembered the baleful yellow eye peering through the window as my father's blood sprayed me. He hung from the seat belt and I lay on what used to be the top of the car, underneath him. "Then she stuck a claw in and tried to get at me. I groaned and she started peeling back the metal. That's when she told me I had to die. It's also when the first police car approached. She left, but I felt her presence at the hospital. I don't know how something that big could possibly have been at the hospital, but she was. Just outside my room. I guess she was satisfied with the damage she'd done because she went away. Ever since I learned to walk again I've worried that she would come back to finish the job."

The arthritic knuckles whitened as the grip on my hands became almost painful. "I wish you had told me all this before. We've driven that stretch of road since then. There are so many more precautions we could have taken."

"Which is precisely why I didn't tell you."

She harrumphed. "Well now you have. Now you'll listen to my advice. Other than the fact that I'm not pleased they sent a male to your bedroom, these fairies don't seem to wish you harm. In spite of the fact that I have long believed in Others and the Other Realm, I've never been there and I only have my guesses about what's real and what isn't real. If this creature declared it wished you dead, the power you are beginning to come into may well attract her attention. If the fairies have any help at all to offer, it may be worth cultivating their friendship."

"I'll think about it. They just seem...annoying."

"Give them a chance. And if learning from them and accepting the help they've offered doesn't seem like the best plan, we'll see what I can cook up. Maybe I can bind your power so it won't glow like a beacon in the ether. Teach you from books. Then when my spells can't hold you any longer you'll at least have the knowledge if not the practical skills."

That wasn't happening. I'd been waiting for years for this grand magic she claimed I had, to rear its head. What little I possessed now, was out of control because I couldn't bring it to focus. I couldn't imagine any sort of instruction that would teach me how to focus the magic if I didn't do any practical exercises. It was easier to smile and nod though.

When the dishes were clean I went upstairs and checked on a couple of things I was buying online. Read my email, did part of a course in my home school program, then went out to the barn. I decided to take Jax out for a ride. The bay gelding was always eager.

Most people say I give my horses too much credit for intelligence, but I think Jax knew Nella was my favorite. On the occasions I did take him, he tried very hard to ingratiate himself. Couldn't ask for a better mount, but Nella and I clicked. I felt a little guilty. Mostly I'd bought him to keep her company and as a spare in case a friend wanted to ride. He was calm, sturdy, and dependable. This afternoon was no different. He stood like a rock while I saddled him, didn't even puff up his gut to keep the girth from tightening. I brought the bridle out and he turned his head and opened his mouth for the bit. After sliding the crown-piece over his ears, I checked for loose strap ends then dropped the reins and backed away from him. I stopped abruptly when my elbow struck the gate and I snagged my sweater on the wood.

He didn't even shift a hoof as I shook the injured appendage and cursed about the pulled sweater. I think I mentioned he tried to please. Well he didn't try this hard. Comatose is the word that best described it. He stumbled as I led him from the stall. Only my grip on the reins kept him from collapsing as he balanced himself on the bit. I stopped and unsaddled him. Took his pulse and respiration, and checked capillary refill time. All of these appeared normal. Temp was normal so I began looking for the abnormal.

Not on him. I was reasonably sure he was all right. He'd been bright-eyed and ready to go when I arrived in the barn. I kneaded my mind to try to pinpoint when his symptoms began, and came up with the moment I started brushing him. I returned the saddle to the tack room, fighting my instinct to examine every beam and stall top, or even look in the corners of the room. I tossed the saddle back on its rack and sat down in the chair by the tack room door with a book in my hands. After focusing my mind on the book a few seconds, I gathered my sight and sent it searching out the brilliant glow of a magic-user's aura. This was a trick I was good at. Three colorful candles lit up my barn. My bedroom friend's midnight-blue aura was here. As was Joli. The third was a dim, pale yellow, light. Magic was there, but it was limited. He sat on a stall railing, right beside Jax. What was their game? They almost seemed unaware of each other's presence.

I flipped a couple more pages then put the book down with a theatrical sigh. Jax never moved a hoof. Grabbing a carrot from the tack room's mini-fridge I trekked back to where Jax waited. I whistled as I approached his head and held out the carrot. I was going for nonchalant, but I whistled Folsom Prison Blues to raise a bit of energy in the proper frame in case I wanted to try using it. Jax's ears swiveled, his nose twitched toward the carrot and I watched the aura of the invisible yellow fairy flare as Jax fought for control of his body.

When the little yellow candle flared and dimmed, I struck with my right hand, snatching him off the stall. I was careful not to squeeze hard enough to do permanent damage, but if there was any chance I'd be working with them regularly I wanted them to realize up front they weren't going to mess with me or anyone I cared about, including my horses.

As I yanked him away from the stall he became visible in oddly shifting bands of color. Not invisibility then. A really good chameleon act. It almost kept up with the background colors as I dangled him in front of Jax's nose.

Jax found himself mobile and stretched out to take the carrot. When I sat the little fairy on top of the carrot, the chameleon spell faded and he began shrieking incoherently. I pinched his wings together and lifted him, smiling while he struggled. If they thought I was a bit cruel and sadistic, maybe they'd respect me. But I'd settle for fear. I kept an eye on his aura not quite sure what I'd do if his magic-use spiked. I could safely assume if it did, he'd be attacking me. I was hoping the dimness of his aura meant either his magic was drained or he wasn't that strong to begin with. A corner of my mind kept track of Joli and the bad-boy. I was glad they didn't seem inclined to interfere. Both of their auras were strong enough I probably wouldn't have been able to beat them into submission. I held the one in front of me up to eye level. Gradually the volume of his shrieks decreased and his legs stopped kicking. I grabbed Jax's reins and returned him to the stall, dangling the fairy by my side as I did so.

With the stall gate secured, I carried the fairy into the tack room and popped him in an iron banded jar. After the first incident with Joli, I had done my homework. If the fairytales were to be believed, iron was poisonous to fairies. He wouldn't be walking out of this prison. The top was a glass stopper which I latched with a fine iron band. I didn't want him sick, just trapped. Like the others of his kind that I'd seen so far, he was physical perfection in miniature. He didn't seem quite as self-assured as the other two. I suppose that could have something to do with his current situation. "Why are you here?"

He cupped a hand to his ear. It was possible that the glass distorted my voice. I hadn't thought out the communication problem. They were hard to hear without being locked in a sealed jar. Whether he could hear me or not, I probably wouldn't be able to hear him if he chose to answer.

Joli flew in the door of the tack room. "Please don't hurt him."

"Why shouldn't I?" I snarled. "If I'd been riding my horse when he stumbled and tripped all over himself, I might have been hurt or killed."

"That wouldn't have happened."

"How could you know that? What the hell did he think he was doing?"

She stood on the beam above the prisoner. "Papa decreed that the first one who could convince you to enter the realm, would be handsomely rewarded."

"Rewarded how? What am I worth to the fairy kingdom?"

"Papa is King Ral. He promised the throne would go to whoever brought us a Guardian."

I scratched my head. "He's willing to give up his throne?"

She giggled. It started as a giggle anyway. By the time she composed herself she was wiping tears of mirth from her eyes and holding her sides. "I don't think so. But he is five-hundred and thirty years old. Even he has come to the conclusion that he can't live forever. He has dozens of children and he dangles the throne like a carrot to get us to perform." She looked at the fairy in the jar. "He hasn't actually promised the throne, just a hefty advantage to the one who brings in a competent Guardian."

Well, good to know they thought I was competent. Just goes to show you they don't really know so very much. "So you're saying you're a fairy princess, and this, " I rattled the jar, "is a prince?"

"And I believe you met Trey this morning."

"Little guy, dressed in black?"

She held her sides and controlled her giggles. "It would distress him to hear you describe him as such, but yes, that would be my brother."

"I suppose he wants to be described as a smokin' hot little guy."

She couldn't contain the giggles now, and the aforementioned, smokin'-hot-little-guy, AKA Trey, appeared in the doorway, glaring at his sister. He darted up to stand beside her on the beam, and with all the dignity he could muster he said, "That would be an improvement, but I am hardly little."

He did in fact tower over his sister. Compared to me though--not so much.

Joli's laughter stopped. "What are you doing here?"

"You think the two of you are the only ones that occasionally bother to pay attention to what father has to say?"

"No. In fact when it comes to the throne, all hundred and sixty-three of us tend to sit up and take notice. But Calum here was bound to get himself in trouble. I just tagged along to keep him safe."

"And a fine job you're doing too," muttered Trey.

"The young Miss, was just about to release him." She turned to me with wide, hopeful eyes.

With a sigh, I popped open the lid of the jar. Calum stood in the middle of it with his wings wrapped around himself, staring at the iron bands. I reached in and before I could pinch his wings again to lift him he snatched hold of my finger. Drawing him out in the open air reanimated him. The moment his wings cleared the jar he zipped up to sit at Joli's feet. "Thank you, your Highness."

To my mind they were all highnesses if they were children of the king, but the triumphant look Joli shot Trey said this was a bit more than an honorific. I addressed the yellow male. "So what did you hope to accomplish by controlling my horse?"

He gave me a sullen look, but when Joli prodded him with a toe he said, "I was going to run him up to the portal and have him toss you through."

"Not with the fine touch you were using. He could barely walk, much less run."

"I've never tried to control a horse before. Their minds are not exactly the same as a bird or even a deer. I'd have figured it out before we got out the door."

"And what did you plan on doing after that."

"Father only said we had to get you there. I wasn't concerned with what happened after that."

Not a deep thinker. "How did you hope to prove it to him?"

"It is our demesne. We are keenly aware of intruders. Father would have known. Even if you were only there for a moment."

I was beginning to wonder which was more common. Joli and Trey seemed to have brains. Calum...not so much. "And did you actually expect to be rewarded for doing nothing more than dumping me on foreign ground. I gotta tell you, out of the three, Trey has been the most persuasive. After consulting my grandmother, I was actually on my way to see if I could find this portal of yours."

Trey flapped his wings, grinning in triumph.

Joli stomped. "But he never could have tempted you if I hadn't spoken to you in the first place. Surely you weren't attracted to... that," she waved a hand at her brother, "image he presents. It had to be the offer to help you learn enough to face down your parents' killer."

"He is cute, but a bit on the short side to interest me. You're right. I never even thought of going after the monster that killed my parents. After his visit I started thinking it might be preferable to hiding out the rest of my life."

She turned a smug glance on Trey. "We'll both get points." She reached down and petted Calum's blond hair. "And I've got yet another follower out of this debacle."

"Points? You mean you keep score?"

Joli nodded and giggled again. "Of course we keep score. And don't think you're all that important. This game has been going on since Papa turned five-hundred. It's really down to about forty of us in contention."

I wasn't sure I appreciated being part of their game but after the discussion with Grandma, I was determined to at least hear what they were offering and listening to bickering siblings wasn't likely to get me accurate information. I went back out, fed Jax another carrot and then saddled up Nella. I wasn't sure if there would be residual effects from Calum's techniques but Jax was probably better off with a day to rest.

The three of them fluttered after me as I led Nella down the barn aisle. Outside, after I swung up into the saddle they all sought out places to ride. Trey settled on the horn of the saddle which probably bothered me more than it should have. Maybe if he didn't think of himself as so good-looking and irresistible I wouldn't have minded him sitting so close to my private parts...as is, I lifted him up to my right shoulder. Joli rode on the left and Calum nested down in Nella's mane. The two on my shoulders kept up a steady line of chatter which I only half paid attention to. On more than one occasion, Joli pulled my hair to get my attention so I'd answer whatever trivial question they had at that point. I was reserved in giving any straight-forward answers about my intentions for the future, and my life in general. Joli asked my name and I felt all of them perk up in anticipation of the answer.

That set off warning bells, anything they were that intent on was probably something I didn't want them to know. I'd read books where a true-name gave a lot of power to anyone who knew it. I went with my nickname. "Call me Tess." I'd have to remember to tell Grandma I didn't want anybody to know my name was Theresa Mae Merrywhether. If I chose to become their Guardian, it was going to be because "I" chose to do so.

"That's your full name?"

"Of course not. But it's all you need to know."

It was hard to see them, sitting so close to me, but when Trey leaned forward, he stuck his tongue out at Joli. Obviously names were important and he had believed I wouldn't be stupid enough to cough one up.

"Fine." Joli huffed. Probably more in response to her brother's taunt than my refusal, still, point to remember, she had a temper.

Her failure temporarily silenced Joli, but before we made it to the waterfall the chattering, and reasonably good-natured give and take of the siblings was back in full-force. Calum remained silent. If I understood it correctly he was out of the competition. I wondered if he was normally more quiet, or if his morose demeanor was due entirely to his capture. An entire species as voluble as the two on my shoulders would get old fast. I reached down and cupped Calum in my palm. I wasn't ready to forgive him for messing with my horse's head but I couldn't stand watching him brood, knowing I was the cause of his angst. He smiled at me when I lifted him and placed him next to Joli. Then I tuned them out altogether, riding on to the waterfall. The fairy ring was still present in the woods and I tied Nella to the same tree I'd used the last time I came out here.

Not seeing anything else obvious I turned to the ring. Other fairies danced within it. But Joli grabbed a strand of hair and tugged me to the opposite side of where I'd tied Nella. If she was hoping to avoid the interest of the other fairies, she failed. Even those who had been dancing in dreamy abandonment focused and flittered over to where I stood. Multiple tiny voices oohhhed and ahhed about how their royal highness' had captured me. I almost turned around on the spot, but I held my temper. They had not caught me yet. Not by a long shot. It wasn't worth the effort it would take to convince them of that though.

Between the waterfall and the bit of forest where I tied Nella, a slight shimmer brightened the air. If I wasn't looking for it I never would have noticed. Trey rode silently on my shoulder, giving me a moment to contemplate if I wanted to do this. Finally I strode forward through the shimmering curtain.

## Chapter 3

I felt like Alice in Wonderland. Except I guess her initial entrance through the rabbit hole was pretty frightening. And Alice had to chase down the white rabbit. I had fairies I couldn't get rid of if I tried. Except Calum, he was ready to go hide the moment we stepped through. Other than that though... OK, so it wasn't really like Alice at all. But the portal was a single step from here to there. I walked into a world few humans ever got to visit.

The land was similar to what I'd left behind.

And here I expected cookies dangling from tree limbs and soda instead of water cascading down beside me. What good was a fairytale world if it wasn't different from the one I lived in? The major differences were the waterfall which was twice the height it was in my world, cascading in multiple falls each one creating a rainbow. And the fairies. Who'd a'thought there were so many fairies.

They were gathered around the portal. I didn't know if they'd been waiting to see the outcome of the royal heirs' fun and games, or if they were waiting to meet me, but hundreds of them lounged around the waterfall. Joli twisted around as though searching for somebody, then launched herself off my shoulder and flew to the uppermost rocks to the cheering of the lavender fairies. Calum flew behind her about two body lengths back and one wingspan to the right. The position of swordbearer. Apparently it meant pretty much the same here because it didn't take but a couple of wing-strokes for every yellow fairy in sight to moan their disappointment. Calum's red face was visible until looking into the sun made it impossible to see him any longer. Trey bowed to me and then darted after them, easily overtaking Joli and Calum.

There were very few fairies in black scattered about. Guess they're not into the goth thing. The few that were present watched their champion in silent respect, contentment on their faces. They didn't know the score yet, but unlike Calum, he was still a free-agent.

I waited a few moments, then under the scrutiny of hundreds of pairs of eyes, I stepped forward on my own, walking to the shade of the oak and elm trees in front of me. There were fewer pines here than on the other side of the portal and the familiar looking trees were only familiar until I moved close enough to see the veins of gold and silver running through their leaves. I caressed one and snatched my hand back sucking on the wound left behind. The metallic veins created an edge as sharp as Grandma's kitchen knives. Another form of defense? I examined the branch and carefully broke off the leaf with my blood on it and stuffed it in a pocket.

Moving away from the waterfall, the leaves turned a normal green. I wondered if these trees closed around the portal when it was unoccupied by fairies. I wandered deeper into the forest but kept the waterfall in sight. No sense getting lost on my first visit.

I came across the fairy ring that had started the whole thing. The space I'd taken my toadstool from hadn't filled in, so I knew it was the same ring occupying space in both worlds and not the Other Realm's version of the ring. Looking at them from this side though, they didn't appear to be brown with yellow spots, or brown with darker brown striping. They were orange with purple spots and yellow with pink stripes and many other combinations. Out of curiosity I bent over and picked a purple and gold striped one from a thick patch opposite the last one I picked. I popped it in my hip pack and continued to mosey through the forest. I hadn't gone another hundred yards when Trey joined me. He took up his spot on my shoulder and said, "You really shouldn't wander too far until you know more of this land."

"I figured I'd learn by playing tourist."

"I hope you didn't eat any of the toadstool you picked back by the ring."

Hmm...sexy and observant. "After what the last one I picked, did for Grandma's spells you think I'd be stupid enough to eat it without knowing what it would do to me."

"Just making sure. If you eat anything before we swear you into service as a Guardian you won't be able to return to your own world. It's one of the ways we make sure we're not overrun by humans. Unfortunately even if we want to, we can't reverse that particular spell."

"So you're saying don't do something stupid or I'll be worthless as a Guardian."

"Pretty much. But I didn't want it to sound that callous."

"What if I had eaten some of the one I picked from the otherside?"

He flew down and clung to my pouch lifting the flap and looking at the toadstool. "Were there any purple and gold toadstools on your side?"

I pursed my lips and shook my head.

"That's because the magic comes from our demesne. Outside our lands we cannot create rings and need to rely on portals like everyone else. The magic that creates them resides only in our soil."

I walked away from him, my eye attracted by a shiny object "How big are your lands."

He flew back to my shoulder. "We can fly for seven days to the north, before we end up in dwarf territory. Three days travel to the east brings you to the nymphs and the satyrs. West five days are the ogres and we're only half a day's travel from the unknown to the south."

"The unknown? You mean it's only half a day away and you don't know who lives there."

"Most of our boundaries are little more than lines on the ground. Like your maps. Many of them, but not all, follow natural features. The nymphs and satyrs visit often and we travel there as well. The dwarves have permission to tunnel under our demesne and we use the fruit from their trees and travel pretty much anywhere we want to go above ground. The border with the ogres is a river. We need a natural feature there because we laid a spell on the banks to keep the ogres out. To the south there has always been an impenetrable barrier along a ridge line. We can't fly through it and you wouldn't want to step off it. There is no way to climb down the cliff and so we ignore it. Several Guardians have attempted to find out what was over there. Those that returned were unsuccessful."

"Guardians? As in the position you want me to fill. What happened to the last one?"

The beet red color of his face didn't go with his look. "He quit."

"Nice to know that's an option before I get into it. So why did he quit?"

"His Majesty can be..." he stopped, glancing around then climbed up to whisper in my ear. "difficult."

I bent over the shiny object and he scrambled to keep his footing as I picked up a crystal. "Come back to my house with me?"

"It would be my pleasure."

I trusted him a bit more than Joli. So far I wasn't overly impressed with the hundreds lounging around the waterfall. A human had stepped into their midst and except for keeping score of the king's game, their interest had been about zero. At least Trey cared enough to warn me against eating anything. They invited me; you'd think there'd be more curiosity. Now that I had a handle on the situation, I needed to talk to him. I had a better idea what questions I wanted to ask. Like, what exactly did the king do to drive away the last Guardian? Trey was obviously not at liberty to speak here.

It was warmer than it had been on the other side of the waterfall. Sweat dripped down my forehead as I added the crystal to my pouch. I shooed him from my shoulder and he flew away while I peeled out of my sweater.

As soon as the sleeves were tied around my waist he was back. "You're hot for me, baby?" The words sounded awkward. How often had he watched TV to pick up a line like that?

It was said in a teasing tone I was sure had more to do with the removal of my sweater than anything else, so I returned his jest. "Oh yeah, sweetcakes. Six inch tall guys turn me on so much."

And that's when he did something I didn't expect. I gasped and jumped away from the man standing over me. He still had wings, pretty, sturdy, sexy wings. Not the boy I could take to the movies on Saturday night.

He chuckled at my reaction. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Yes you did." I laughed at his obvious lie.

"All right, so I was getting tired of the short guy cracks."

"Can you all do this?" I waved a hand at him.

"We're few and far between."

I gnawed my lower lip, considering the implications.

The silence went on far too long and he fidgeted uncomfortably. "Is this a problem?"

"Your father sent a male that was capable of changing to an average size human to my bedroom."

"He sent me to woo you to our demesne. You happened to be in your bedroom when I found you this morning."

"Woo."

"Coerce. Convince. To tell you of his offer."

"Where did you suppose I would be at 6:00 in the morning?"

"Time runs differently in the Realm. I did not realize it would be so early. I delivered his message and left, did I not?"

"As you promised."

"I wouldn't have returned either, except I saw Calum waiting in the barn and thought he might try some bone-headed move. I should have known you wouldn't need me to help you. Your aura flames. Of course you'd catch a yellow like him."

"So how did he last so long in your father's game?"

His laughter was deep and rich. "Out of sight, out of mind. He wasn't gaining prominence but he kept a wing in. If he'd stuck to his plan, he may have been in it at the end. He'd have been guaranteed a place in the court at least. I can't imagine what drove him to make such a foolish attempt. Now that he belongs to Joli, it's doubtful I'll get a straight answer out of him."

I continued walking. Glancing over my shoulder I found that since Trey had changed size, we had become the center of attention. He strolled beside me as I climbed a hill. At the summit I turned to look back at the waterfall and sat down to admire the view. Even though at least half of them were now fluttering around our heads there were enough fairies on the rocks to add splashes of colors to the natural rainbows. It might be worth accepting the job, just for the scenery. I'd done a lot of traveling and seen few places as lovely as that in front of me.

I leaned back on my hands and said, "So tell me what your father thinks he can do toward helping me find the creature that killed my parents."

He shifted uncomfortably and I wondered how much of a lie that had been. For all he knew, the thing could live in the land to the south where it seemed no fairy or Guardian was able to go. He brushed my hair behind my ear and said, "I'll have to let him present that to you."

My heart started thumping erratically as he leaned toward me. He stopped and scowled at the fairies surrounding us. They disappeared.

Like a deer in the headlights, I froze. When the others were gone he lowered his face to mine but only gently brushed my lips, then whispered in my ear. "Forgive the ruse but there are few things that would convince them to leave. They think if I court you, they will have their Guardian, and so they give me privacy. I will return to your house with you and answer any questions you have, but you must not ask me here."

I collected up my armor of sarcasm and humor. Forced the impression of calm, then leaned forward and kissed him. I wasn't exactly experienced but I mimicked a TV kiss. After a momentary hesitation, he jumped into the spirit of the game and kissed me back. When I came up for air I whispered in his ear. "So does this sort of thing usually work?"

Forehead pressed to mine, fingers running through my curls he said, "More often than not."

"And how many points do you get if you single-handedly convince me to come over to the dark-side."

He was so close I felt more than saw his smile. "It's hard to believe you've never dealt with fairies before."

"Your ruse would be more believable if I had a better self-image. A guy that looks like you, interested in a girl that looks like me." I stopped and sighed, raised my hand to the gold ring holding his hair back and fumbled the latch loose so the long dark silk, curtained around our faces. "It's just not realistic. I'm a bit lacking in the wing department for one thing."

"Wings aren't everything. Don't sell yourself short. If you were hideous to look at, which you're not, the beauty of your aura would still attract many."

"But not you?"

"I didn't say that. I could fall into those huge brown eyes, and your nose..."

"I know, it's cute." Small and slightly upturned. Most of my life I'd been told I was cute. Never beautiful.

"It's perfect," he said.

Damn, he was good at his job. "So why tell me it's all a ploy. Lonely girl lives on a farm with her Grandmother, rarely been kissed. Somebody as good-looking as you offers to sweep her off her feet. It probably would have worked. You could have been king."

His hand left my shoulder and wrapped around the back of my neck as he folded his wings around us and kissed me again. "Because it's his ploy. Not mine. I would not take advantage of one as innocent as you. Though I must thank you for playing along so very, very, well." He leaned back and placed a fingertip lightly on my nose, licking his lips, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

I got that 'his' was daddy dearest but Trey's words were battering at a lifetime of defenses. Only that nagging doubt that he was really good at his role kept me focused on the fact it was a game. "So how old are you?"

"Old enough to see how young you are."

"Wow. If you won't tell me, you must be over-the-hill. Your father's five-hundred something. So you could be what four-fifty."

"Oh so now I'm short and old. I see I just keep getting more attractive in your eyes." Confidence resounded in his laughter.

"You seem to have taken care of the short part of the problem. But I suppose four-hundred's a little old for a seventeen year old girl." Discussing him let me focus on reality again

"You said I was four-hundred, I didn't."

"So admit you're real age."

"First of all, we can't sire children until we're a hundred years old so I couldn't possibly be four hundred and fifty. Second, I'm actually one of father's younger children. However I still have about a hundred years on you."

"You're a hundred and seventeen?"

"A hundred and twenty."

"No wonder you have all the right words and moves."

Silence greeted this statement and I backed up so I could see his face. I wasn't quite sure what emotions I was seeing. The black eyes were, if possible, darker. The flush on his cheeks wasn't that of somebody playing a role. The hand behind my neck twitched and relaxed. He backed up and returned my curious examination.

"I've got to say, this has been one of the most..." I trailed off not quite sure how to describe the day thus far.

"Exciting? Perfect? Wonderful?" He sounded hopeful with every adjective offered and I began to question how experienced he was and whether or not my playing along with his father's ploy had been all that smart an idea.

I finally filled in the blank with "Interesting. Yes, I suppose interesting covers the day."

"You'll find, if you accept the Guardianship, you'll have many interesting days."

"So I get to hang out with you? What exactly is expected of a Guardian? What do we Guard against?"

"I can answer your first question. Unfortunately I have regular duties. I am not often anywhere near the king. Besides you'll only be here when they require your assistance. Other than that, you'll still live with your grandmother. As for the rest. All the points I just won would fade away as though they were drops of water in the sand, if I were to tell you that information. It is the duty of the king to retain a Guardian." He stared off at the different shades of purple perched high atop the waterfall. He leaned in close again and whispered, "Be wary. What he says is often not what he means."

"If you were me, would you accept what is offered?" I lifted my lips to his again as small dots of color flitted nearer.

He met me half-way, well aware of his relatives crowding in. "I would do it just for the chance to visit me." He leaned back and grinned. "But seriously...I have watched your life for three months now. You have much to learn as far as magic is concerned. Your Grandmother seems concerned with your well-being and wishes she knew how to develop your powers faster. This would offer you the opportunity to do so." He reached forward and once again tucked stray curls behind my ear. "Do you know why she wants you to learn so rapidly?"

Something about the tone of his voice made me examine his expression. Stress pulled his features taut. "I assumed it was because she wanted me to be able to protect myself if that creature ever came back."

"That is part of it." His hand slid down and cupped my chin. His thumb ran along my lips.

His hesitation filled me with dread. What did he know that I didn't? He wrapped both arms around me and spoke into my ear as he held me tight. "There is a taint on your Grandmother's spirit. She is dying."

My mind shut-down. For long moments I couldn't process his words and when I did, I pushed him away, beating at his chest with furious fists. The game was no longer fun. I turned away from him and ran down the hill throwing myself on the ground beside a small pond, sobbing, because deep down I knew his words were true, no matter how much I wanted them to be part of the game. When he approached me again, he was six inches tall. Maybe he thought me less likely to hit him if doing so might kill him. He landed in front of me and I closed my eyes so I couldn't see him.

That didn't shut out his words as he stripped away the hope I was clinging to. "I've heard her tell you she wouldn't always be here. I think she knows."

"She's said that since I've known her. It doesn't mean anything. I didn't mind playing games to win you points, but this is cruel."

"And I would never tell you such, if it were not true."

"We'll go to a doctor. She'll be fine."

"The taint is not something your doctors will find. She's a talented witch, perhaps she could help herself, but I suspect she's tried."

"She has friends. Tell me what's wrong with her."

He was suddenly large again. He shifted closer, lifting my head in his lap then just sat still, stroking my hair. "I am not certain, but the taint is rooted deep it has been there a long time."

Horror battered at my numb mind. "Like nine years?"

His lap was warm. It shifted as he shrugged his shoulders. "I cannot be so precise. Did something happen nine years ago?"

"It's been a little more than nine years since my parents died. I felt the creature inside the hospital when I was there. I always assumed it saw how badly injured I was and went away. Could Grandma have protected me? Taken whatever spell the thing meant to finish me off?"

"It is not unheard of that someone of close bloodlines can distract a spell from its intended target."

"Would she have done this intentionally or was she just in the line of fire?"

"She loves you very much."

"So you're saying she knew what she was doing?"

"Her blood is only one quarter yours. She would have worked hard to force the spell to accept her as its destination."

I buried my face in his knees and cried like I had not cried in over seven years. Not since I'd gotten over the trauma of losing my parents. Daylight waned as we remained in that position for some time. Him stroking my hair. Me crying, until there were no more tears to cry. The monster had claimed another of my family and I hadn't even realized it. A full moon rose overhead and I finally climbed back to my feet. "I do not wish to hear your father's offer. I may in the near future, but I can't process any more tonight."

"I rather expected this would be the case. He is the one who insisted you be told before he spoke to you."

We started back up the hill. The moon reflected off the cascading drops of water, sprinkling tiny yellow gems through the atmosphere. "So you got to do the dirty work."

"Some of this day's work has been most pleasant. If I could have spared you that truth, I would have, but if I had not told you, somebody else would have. Joli, most likely. How would you have liked to hear it coming from a giggling female? Life is all games to her."

"Will you lose points if I leave without speaking to him?" In spite of the fact that I was aware most of the day had been a ruse to gain points, I felt close to him. I didn't want him to lose because of my actions.

He smiled and squeezed the hand he was holding. "I told him it was unlikely you would hear him tonight. I will gain points for being correct."

"Do you do anything that doesn't serve as part of the competition?"

"Many of the competitors do not. They stay by his side begging to be allowed to kiss the ground at his feet if they think it will gain them a point. I do not care if I rule, as long as whoever wins doesn't think I will be subservient to them."

"And yet you're one of the few remaining contenders?"

"They're not down to what I'd call a few yet. Like Calum, if I keep my head down I am generally overlooked. Unlike Calum, if I wanted them, the reins of the demesne would be mine. Without trying, I am near the top of his contestants. He called upon me to win you to his cause; I did not beg him to send me. To the contrary three months ago when Joli first brought news of you, and he ordered me into your world to gather information, I did not wish to spend so much time in the human realm. Not until I saw you and thought you'd be an interesting challenge."

It was the second or third time he'd mentioned being there. Where had he hidden? It would certainly answer the question of how he got in my room if he'd simply been there when I closed the door. My cheeks burned. If he was in there when I went to sleep he'd watched me change into my pajamas. My god, in the summer, I slept in the nude if it was hot enough. I glanced at him under my lashes. He was staring at me and I was glad for the darkness that at least partially hid my burning cheeks.

He lifted a finger to my face. "I thought you realized it was a game. Indeed I thought you carried the game much further than I would have. Does my thinking of you as a challenge to be won disturb you so?"

"Not so much as wondering where you hid for nearly three months."

He laughed. "I was not there all the time. As for where I was, I was wherever you were most of the time. Sometimes I followed your grandmother as I tried to determine what was wrong with her. Sometimes I didn't feel it was worth my effort to keep up with you as you rode."

"Where did you spend the nights?" I spelled my difficulty out in plain words.

His laughter doubled. "I will not lie to you. I spent many evenings in the tree by your bed. Though I came after it was dark and left before it turned light. Else you wouldn't have surprised me with your science and your light."

"How did you get in?"

He waved a hand at his current size. "I waited until you slept and turned the knob."

Relief flooded my mind. "Then you didn't watch me change clothes and shower."

It was his turn to blush. "I accidentally got locked in the shower one night." He ran his hand down my side as though he were imagining the flesh underneath. "It was completely an accident, but not one I regretted."

"Being in the same room doesn't mean you have to look. That shifts it from accident, to on purpose."

He shrugged and failed in an effort to look contrite. "You humans have mirrors everywhere. I could not help but see."

I let him off the hook by dropping the subject. We hadn't even begun to cover whether or not he'd been there on those hottest of summer nights. We continued back to the portal in silence. No fairies remained on the waterfall and he walked through beside me. I wasn't ready for the bright sunlight that greeted me, for all he had warned me about the shift in time. Nella waited quietly. I noticed she wore a silver cord around her neck and her bridle was lying on the ground in the remains of a pile of grass. I was glad somebody had seen fit to care for her, though by the sun, what seemed like the longest day of my life had only been about two hours. I glanced at the shadows and the sun's position, or was it morning again.

Grandma was dying. I didn't doubt the truth of his words. Nor did I doubt that she knew it. I slid the bridle back on Nella and swung into the saddle.

Trey shrank and fluttered to my shoulder. "You still want me to go with you?"

I didn't want to be alone when I faced Grandma. I wasn't even sure what I was going to say to her. How do you tell somebody you know they're dying, and you know it's your fault? I doubt it was her plan for me to ever know that, but it angered me that she had given her own life for mine.

So many people relied on her for so much. Every one of her clients would be lost when she was gone. I would be lost when she was gone. The only one that counted on me for anything was her. And occasionally Gladys. I knew it was wrong to feel anger but I couldn't push it away and hide it like I did with most of my emotions. Maybe I'd give it a day or two to process before I confronted her about any of it. I nodded at him, not quite trusting my voice at the moment.

Half-way back we began chatting. I started to ask him about his father but he shushed me and said, "Later."

I sank into that place where magic became colors and found we were followed by a small swarm. So maybe the falls had not been as empty as I believed when we walked past. "How..."

"They waited by your horse. Trust me. I would know if they had been close enough to spy on us before."

I wished I had a butterfly net. I wondered how many contenders for the throne were back there. I did pick out Joli's lavender flame. At least I was pretty sure it was her. There were several others of similar coloration.

I turned Nella around and snarled, "Go back to your realm. You'll see me when I'm damn good and ready to come back there."

Suddenly we were enveloped by a cloud of whispering wings, colors brilliant against the noon sun. A ruby fairy on the outside of the cloud said, "Sheesh, you'd think they mated." As if that was the only reason anybody would want to be rid of a bunch of snooping fairies.

Even with that thought I couldn't stop the flames from licking at my cheeks. A feather-light touch, followed by a sharp burn, brushed my throat as Trey moved into the curve formed by my neck and shoulder.

No further words were spoken. With the exception of Joli and a small cluster of lavender fairies, the winged annoyances disappeared. I raised a hand to the front of my throat where the wing had brushed me. The sharp burn had faded to the sting of an insect bite.

Joli left her flock and landed on my right shoulder. "I don't know who you think you're fooling."

I didn't answer. The remark had obviously been directed at Trey. His hand wrapped in my hair and he pulled himself to his feet. I placed a hand underneath him. His balance seemed off. He leaned out and looked at Joli. "Will you just go away?"

What had he done? Too tired to spar with his sister?

She dove upon his weakness like a hunting falcon on a rabbit. "You're a fool. When I rule, you'll bow to me."

He slid back down my throat and I dropped my hand, no longer afraid he'd fall. I could scarcely hear his muttered reply. "If you rule, you'll need me too badly to insist on anything."

Joli stomped. "That'll be the day I need anything from the likes of you."

Her bare feet didn't hurt much as she stomped, but with Trey weary and barely able to fend for himself, I didn't feel like parrying her repartee. I switched the reins to my left hand and snatched her off my shoulder with the other. Wings fluttered in surprise. I had been careful not to crush them. I held her in front of my face and said, "I don't want you here. Go back and tell your daddy that if I choose not to return, it will be your fault." And then I flung her in the air, high enough that she'd right herself well before she hit the ground. I didn't really wish her ill, just gone. When we were alone I asked Trey, "What did you do?"

He didn't answer. He hung from the hair he'd wrapped himself in and I carefully extricated the tiny form from the unruly curls and placed his unconscious body in my hip pouch. I looked back the way we had come, wondering if it would be better to return. Surely, whatever he'd done, his own land would help him heal. We were closer to Grandma though. She may have some clue what the problem was. Even as I thought that, a guilty flash rippled through my mind. How could I ask her to do anything else for me?

We returned to the barn and I laid the pouch on the desk in the tack room to avoid jarring him as I worked.

I flew through unsaddling Nella and putting her away. Made sure she had the essentials then ran in the tack room where I skidded to a stop. He was climbing out of the pouch. Dark bruised circles shadowed his eyes.

I wanted to pick him up and shake him, but I settled for holding out my hand for him to step into. "What did you do?"
Chapter 4

The dark circles made the blush stand out even more. "They were going to talk anyway."

"About what?"

"What do you think? After this afternoon and then you demanding they go away. They were going to talk about us."

"That doesn't tell me what you did."

"If it's all the same, I'd rather wait till I'm stronger."

"I promise not to give you the treatment I gave Joli."

"What did you do to her?"

"Tossed her in the air. Sent her head over heels, and told her it'd be her fault if I decided not to return. So, you gonna tell me what you got me into?"

The crimson on his cheeks didn't become his bad-boy image at all. His words did though. "I claimed you."

"Claimed me?"

"You heard them. They were already accusing us of mating. It's not like there's another of them you could choose to mate with. By claiming you, they will not bother us until the new moon."

"A few days peace. At what cost?" I fingered the mark on my throat it was a fine raised line that turned back on itself. I was having a difficult time imagining what it looked like.

"No cost beyond the magic required."

"You passed out. Something that uses that much magic can't be without consequences."

He dug in my hip pack and dragged out the toadstool. This is the only reason I am conscious now. You brought a lot of the realm's magic with you. Any magic I expend in this world is not replenished until I go back to the realm." He flexed his arms and stretched as though the loss had been physical. Perhaps it was both. "If I marked you in the realm I would not have felt it. I did not think so many would follow or I would have done this before we left. I did not think you would care what they thought. My apologies if I was mistaken."

"As long as it's as you say, I have no problem with it. How did they all know so fast? They were behind us."

"The magic required has a distinctive flourish."

"I checked to make sure they were gone. I didn't see any magic."

"It's not visible. And you wouldn't smell it."

"So it's like a cat marking his territory." I tried to make my voice sound amused and not dumbstruck.

I failed. His cheeks which had only just lost their red color once again turned crimson. "It is our way. And it is only done for a serious commitment. Casual relationships are far more frequent."

"So how many times have you done this?"

"I am committed to you."

"Yes, but you say this is a farce, so how many have you been committed to before. In a hundred and twenty years there must have been a couple."

"My father is over five hundred years old and he has never committed to anyone. The only reason any of his children have the same mother is because multiple births are common among fairies."

"I'm trying to understand why you'd do this. We've only known each other a day. And after I netted a couple of them and stuck them in jars the rest would have left."

His jaw worked silently, shoulders shrugged. "I've lived, eaten, and breathed, little besides you for three months. I believed it would not bother you and it is easier on my cousins and siblings than allowing you to 'net' them. Not that I believe you incapable. Calum was not much of a challenge."

"Well it's too late to change anything now. Unless you can take it away as easily as you placed it there."

"Not even in the realm could I take it away. It's not meant to be used as I have done. "

I recalled all the other fairies I'd seen today. "I didn't see any other marks."

He paced across the desk, stepping around the leather and cleaning supplies I needed to get to. "There are a few. They do not last forever unless they are renewed."

"It's hardly fair that I can't return the favor." He took me seriously. He took everything way too seriously.

"If I could grow, you could."

"That would crimp your style a bit."

"I've studied you. Even if you chose another of your race, as your grandmother wishes, they would not know what this was." He fluttered to my shoulder and his finger traced the mark I had yet to see. "You have not studied me. I am not as free as my brethren. It would be a small sacrifice if you wish it."

"You're the expert. If you don't think the others'll see through the lie if you're not claimed, it's ok by me."

"They probably won't expect it since you're human."

Sitting in the chair I took up a sponge and some Leather-New and cleaned the sweat from Nella's bridle. Uncomfortable silence reigned as I finished the task.

He returned to my shoulder when I went in the house. The car was gone. That at least was a relief. I wouldn't have to face Grandma's questions right now.

We went up to my room and I sat in front of the computer. I asked him to come back with me because I had questions to ask. The events on the ride here chased them from my mind. Somehow in the course of a single day I had gone from chasing fairies with flyswatters or at least the threat of flyswatters to actually enjoying their company. Of course Trey wasn't the average fairy. His father couldn't be too stupid. He had selected the perfect messenger.

That was it. I looked down where Trey sat atop my monitor. "You were going to tell me about your father."

Trey spoke but he was too distant, his voice, too weary and quiet. I put him on my shoulder.

"Thank you," he said. "What would you know?"

"Let's start with my monster. Is there really anything he can do to help?"

"I doubt he can help you find it. He's already admitted to me that he doesn't know what it was. On the other hand, you aren't ready to go up against it now anyway. I can promise, working as a Guardian will improve your skills and make it more likely you will survive another meeting with it."

"And if I accept this position, I am free to quit at any time?"

"Not something he wants you to know. Since he won't tell you, I suppose I may. Yes. You may most certainly leave whenever you choose. But you must not renounce your position until you are on your side of the portal or you will be trapped with us. It all goes back to you being a human and eating our food. As a Guardian, the magic recognizes you as belonging. If you renounce it on our side, you revert to being simply a human who must not be allowed to tell their fellow humans what they stumbled into. The easiest way to assure that is to hold you in the realm."

I nodded thoughtfully. That made sense. "You say the magic recognizes Guardians as belonging?"

Silence. He stood and paced two steps to where my shoulder curved then back to my neck. "I don't know how to describe it. The precautions protecting the realm are not of our making. Nor are they the council's creations. The magic sets the rules."

"I get it." I didn't really, but his frustration at not being able to explain was clear. Unfortunately even that little white lie was difficult for me to pull off.

"No, you don't. You couldn't possibly. I've lived with it for a hundred and twenty years and I don't get it. Magic bends to our whims and yet there are things we cannot explain any better than to say 'the magic does it'."

"Seriously. I get it." And this time I meant it. It was rather like having a three-year-old ask you why the sky was blue? Or the grass was green. I'm sure there are scientific explanations involving chlorophyll and water and light refractions and all that, but it's easier to say 'it just is.' Or 'I don't know why'. Humans fall back on god more often than not. 'Because God made it that way.' A child understands that. They don't really care about chlorophyll so even if I could explain it to them they wouldn't comprehend. I guess 'Magic does it', is the Other Realms version of 'God made it that way.'

Trey was staring up at me. "Then explain it to me."

So I did. He laughed and nodded. "OK, you do get it. As well as any of the rest of us anyway. Better than many, I dare say."

Problem solved I was on to the next thought. "Has it happened to any ex-Guardians?"

"Several throughout the years."

"Nobody thinks to warn them before they quit."

"Not all of them welcome us on this side of the portal. To be caught telling you about it in the demesne would be to lose my wings."

"Which brings us back to your father."

He started pacing again which was inconvenient because he kept walking through and on my hair. I finally went and lay down on the bed pulling my hair to one side, so he had access to my ear and room to walk. He started hiking. It was obvious he was working up the nerve to say words he'd likely kept bottled inside longer than I'd been alive. He walked the length of the bed and then returned. When he was close enough to make himself heard, he said, "You can't repeat anything I tell you, ever."

"I'll swear on it if you'd like. Promise you my first-born child."

He cocked an eyebrow at me. "That's a bit extreme."

I laughed. "Fairytales. Just an expression. But seriously whatever will put your mind at ease."

"Your word will suffice."

"Then you have it. Whatever you tell me, will not pass my lips."

"My father is a thoughtless power-hungry infant. He's become worse in the last dozen years or so. I think he's losing his mind and is terrified of losing his crown. So he plays these games and pits us against each other and most of the others are happy to go along with him because it's good for a laugh. Or it is until his games get somebody killed. Or make us lose a Guardian. Or--"

"Whoa...slowdown. How many of you have been killed playing his games?"

"Of one-hundred-sixty-three children, ninety are still alive. Calum is one of the lucky ones. All too often, losing is fatal."

"And how many Guardians have died?" This one was very important to me.

"Of the last fifteen, four have quit in less than a year. Two of whom are still in the realm. Six lasted a year and a half. All but one of those had learned enough to know better than to quit within the realm. The last five made it a whole two years before he drove them away. He thinks it's funny to weaken the border curtain and call the Guardian to deal with the ogre incursion. Of course we don't have proof he weakened it on purpose, but it always seems to happen when he's bored. I spend most of my days on that border because it's been happening more often lately. Since I've been assigned to spying on you, there haven't been any border trespasses. Which makes me wonder if watching me is game enough for him, or if he lets the ogres cross more frequently when I'm there because he's trying to kill me."

Wow! No wonder he was on my side. "None of the others see what he's doing?"

"Many of them see it. Nobody will talk about it. He has spies everywhere. I should know I'm one of them."

"Ok you said the Guardians all quit. Some were trapped but if I understand you right none have actually died?"

"Not of the last fifteen. Go back one more. She died."

"From what?"

"Troll got her. I honestly don't think father had anything to do with that but it's hard to tell. She was over by the Nymphs' demesne and found a troll had wandered over to our lands. Nymphs don't tend to worry about them. They just hide inside their trees and the satyrs are nimble enough to stay out of reach, but we fear them. They think of us as finger food. Mel went to try to turn him back, but she was...unsuccessful. Thirty-two fairies died along with her so it's not like we weren't trying to help, it's just, some things are too large for us to deal with. That's why we started hiring Guardians. Not all the demesnes do."

"So 'Guardian' is not all fun and games and don't believe your father if he tries to convince me it is."

"I'm honestly not trying to discourage you from accepting the position. I think you'll do better than any I can remember father hiring. You're more gifted anyway. I just don't think you should accept the position without knowing all the facts."

"If I accept, who would teach me to use this magic everybody seems to think I have?"

"I will for one. As silly as she is, Joli is a good instructor as well. Others will involve themselves. Like I said, many see that father is losing his grasp on reality. They know we need you. They will help when and where they can. Just don't expect them to go too far out of their way for you."

"So it's up to me to figure out the right fairy and the right question to ask."

"Pretty much."

"And you won't be around much."

"Not if father figures out I only pretended to claim you."

Layers upon layers. "So you had more reason than fending off your brethren to do that."

The faintest pink blush colored his cheeks. "I didn't think it when I did it, but yes. I apologize if you feel used, but I have been on the ogre border for ten years. I'll use anything I can to stay away from there."

"I don't mind, as long as it wasn't your goal to use me. I don't even care if you want to keep up the pretense." There are worse things in life than kissing a hot guy. "I appreciate you being willing to tell me the truth."

"Unfortunately, they will know."

"How so?"

Now that he'd gotten the initial outburst over with, he stopped pacing and lay down in the curve of my throat. He traced the mark on my neck again. "Because the mark changes when the union is consummated."

Oh..umm..hmm...There was a limit to how far I'd take the charade. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility, but I was a seventeen year old virgin for a reason. Not only am I anti-social, Gladys tells me I'm a bit of a prude. And I'd only known him about eight hours.

He correctly interpreted my silence. "Don't worry. I do not expect you to lay with me so I can take a couple more weeks away from the border."

"Good then." My flesh was so hot it wouldn't have surprised me if I went up in flames. The bad thing was, I didn't know if I was that embarrassed by the turn of the discussion or if it was the flames of hell licking at me for the little voice inside my head saying "But he is really hot. Hotter than anything you're going to attract this side of the portal."

Moving on.

After we took a few moments to recover from that conversation we turned back to safer ground and the foibles of fairies. Long story short, the majority of fairies could not be expected to help me unless they were in immediate danger. Stay out of the king's games whenever possible and don't let their thoughtlessness annoy me, it wasn't personal.

I heard Grandma's car pull in but we stayed where we were. I'd had enough time to settle my mind concerning Grandma and her foolish sacrifice. I suppose she'd been looking at it as she was fifty-six years old and I was eight. No way to know at that point in time how little my life would amount to. Then again it could simply have been maternal instinct. That creature had just taken her son. It wasn't about to take any more family. She opened the front door and called for help with groceries.

I sat up and pulled my hair back in a scrunchie to keep it out of Trey's way. He flew up and rested against my neck, balancing without a problem as I took the steps downward, two at a time. Grandma didn't say anything about him and I wondered if he'd camouflaged himself again. I couldn't really see him in the crook of my neck, but I could feel him.

When the groceries were all inside, he hopped on the table while I helped her put them away. She not only overlooked him she almost squashed him a couple of times. Fortunately, fairies are pretty darn fast. A realization that made catching Calum all the more remarkable. I began to wonder if he'd been the sacrificial goat to lure me into their petty games. The downside of Trey telling me about fairies and fairy personalities, was, I spent more time wondering if he was too good to be true.

When we were done, Grandma sat down and asked, "How was your ride?"

"Eventful. From before I left the barn." Trey wandered over and sat down on the edge of the table, dangling his legs in front of my chest. I fought to control the burn spreading across my cheeks as I thought about where that put his face. Six inches tall or not, that wasn't cool and without clueing Grandma in that he was sitting there, I couldn't snatch him up and move him down to the end of the table. I did lean back so at least he wasn't right in my cleavage, what little cleavage there was.

I told Grandma about many of the things I'd learned but I neglected to mention sucking face with a fairy or anything else the least bit personal about me. When my words trickled down, she asked, "So do you think you'll do this?"

I gathered my nerve. Personal discussions weren't something either of us did well, but I needed to know. If she was going to die next month, I wasn't going to traipse off to the Other Realm and leave her by herself. I dove in head-first. "How much longer do you have?"

"Whatever are you talking about, Baby Girl?"

She only brought out 'Baby Girl' these days when she was put off her stride. "I'm talking about you taking a spell meant for me. How long until it kills you?"

Her cheeks lost their naturally rosy hue. She folded her hands in front of herself. "How did they know?"

"They didn't. Trey saw a deep rooted taint that was killing you. I put it together with events of the past. I've always wondered why she left me alive when she seemed so determined to kill me."

"A woman came to the hospital looking for you. At the time they only permitted family in to see you. You were so bad off, nobody expected you to live, but you were fighting with everything you had. I found her trying to bully her way past the receptionist and I could almost smell the evil in her. Glenda, the girl at the desk, waved me through and the woman arguing with her yelled about me being allowed. Glenda, sweetly informed her that I had proof I was family. I felt the magic build and I stopped before I opened your door. Didn't even think about what I was doing until I'd snatched her spell out of the air and taken it on myself. I never was sure what it was, but it infuriated her that I'd stopped it. Fortunately she looked as worn out by casting it, as I felt by turning it, I don't know if I could have blocked a second spell. She was bent over retching when I opened your door." Grandma stopped, slowly shaking her head. "Should have tried to finish it then. I asked after her when visiting hours were over. The doctors hurried her down to the emergency room. Seems she took off right after they sat her down. I had you moved. It took about two days for me to figure out how deadly the spell had been. I never wanted you to know."

I grimaced. "Then maybe you shouldn't have mentioned you wouldn't always be here for me, quite so often. You didn't answer my question though. How long do you have?"

"I don't know. It could be tomorrow. It could be another ten years. I have until I lose the fight. I've been eating the toadstool you brought one piece every three days or so and it seems to help. I don't suppose you could talk your new acquaintances into donating another one?"

Trey looked down at my hip pouch and without a second thought I placed the purple toadstool on the table.

She backed away from it. "I reckon that came from the Other Realm?"

"Yeah. It's the real deal. Fairy magic."

"I'll have to mince it a bit at a time. The energy's going to make me look sunburned."

Funny how some people are sensitive to certain things and others aren't. I wondered what would happen if Gladys or some other non-magical sat down near the toadstool. I could feel the power, but it certainly wasn't enough to make me back away.

"Now are you going to answer my question?"

I glanced down at Trey. He was more attentive than Grandma. "Yeah, I think maybe I'll try it."

Grandma stared at the spot on the table where I'd glanced. I half-expected her to close her eyes to look for magic but she didn't. I didn't know why she couldn't see him. She obviously believed. Apparently you needed their cooperation in the matter as well.

I was curious as to whether she could see the magic glow even if she couldn't see Trey but if he didn't want to be seen, who was I to give him away. He stood up and danced a little jig. I tried not to focus on him but it was hard to steer my eyes away from his exuberance.

Fortunately, Grandma got up and turned to the refrigerator to take out some cabbage she was going to cook for supper. Once her back was turned I smiled at Trey and he flew to my shoulder.

I was about to leave when she turned back around and said, "If you and your friend could just stay around long enough to dice the toadstool and seal it in a couple of jars I'd appreciate it."

Trey blanched. His eyes widened.

I told Grandma, "I don't mind dicing the toadstool for you, but what friend are you talking about."

"You're telling me there isn't a fairy sitting with you?"

She knew me too well. Couldn't lie to her. Didn't want to tell her the truth.

Apparently Trey knew me pretty well already too. He bolted off my shoulder and hovered in the air up near the lamp. I smiled. "No Grandma there isn't a fairy sitting with me."

"All right then, Tess," She handed me the silver athame and looked at me hard. But technically it hadn't been a lie. I guess the one advantage to being a very bad liar is, people tend to believe you if they think they can spot all your tells.

I diced the toadstool and out of boredom, separated it into piles of purple and gold while grandma chopped the cabbage and started it boiling. She handed me four small jars. and I divided the purple into three and put the gold into the fourth. She poured oil in one of the purple jars and water in another. The other two she vacuum-sealed. She started adding kielbasa and spices to the cabbage and Trey and I headed for fresh open air. I didn't mind eating cabbage. Actually kind of liked it. But the stench of it cooking was more than I could handle.

I went to the garden and started pulling weeds, Trey sat on vegetables capable of supporting him, his color had improved but he was still pale. As I tossed weeds to the side he asked, "How did she know I was there?"

"She didn't. I glanced at you and she guessed."

He closed his eyes and just breathed in the earthy scent of the corn he was currently standing on. "That's good then. There are no circumstances where it's permissible to be discovered by anyone the king hasn't sent us to visit."

"Would she be able to see your aura? She sees magic quite well."

"She would if I wasn't preventing her from trying."

"How do you do that?"

"A tiny redirection spell. Made her think she'd already done it."

"So you're really only safe if you see it coming."

"Yes. That's why we tend to stay in our demesne."

I finished the row I was weeding. He fluttered from corn to broccoli and I hoped Grandma didn't take it in her mind to look out the window and see me talking to him. I don't know if the fairy king could tell if he'd been seen or if only his guilt at the knowledge it happened would alert them but I really didn't want to find out. I walked through the rows of corn and picked the ripe ears. Rolled a couple of ripe tomatoes in the lower half of my sweater and walked back in the kitchen.

Trey stayed outside and I missed him. I found room in the refrigerator for the vegetables then went out to the barn.

"Dinner in half an hour," Grandma called as I was shutting the door.

"All right. Just gonna clean up the tack room a bit."

I swept the floor, lined up four iron bound gallon size canning jars on the edge of the desk, then cleaned saddles. While I busied my hands, I searched for Trey. I'd known him for less than a day and he already felt like he belonged in my world. Whichever world I chose to be in.

I was struggling to place a little-used saddle on a high rack when a hand reached above me and pushed it into place. I spun around and planted my face in his chest. He balanced the saddle, then wrapped his arms and wings around me. "Miss me?"

I fought the admission but it came out anyway. "Yes. How did you manage this?" I cast an admiring glance the length of him.

"Your grandmother's garden is steeped in earth magic. Being on the table as you cut the toadstool also helped return my magic. I'm not strong yet and I'm not sure I can hide from your grandmother, but I wanted to hold you again."

The wings were ungodly sensual. It was very unlike me to let myself fall so fast. Thus far in my life all the men, or more accurately boys, failed spectacularly to meet my expectations. If this was the act it was supposed to be, why did I enjoy it so much when he held me? Why did I miss him when he disappeared for half an hour? And why did I want to spread out horse blankets on the tack room floor and have my way with him. With little hesitation I wrapped my arms around his waist, pulled his hips against me, and raised my lips to his.

He kissed me like an actor in a soap, playing the part of the poor man who just won the interest of the heiress's daughter. This wasn't right. It wasn't according to script and as his right hand moved to my throat where his thumb could caress the mark he'd placed there, I became certain, it wasn't natural.

Breathlessly I broke away from him and raised my own hand to my throat. "What did you do to me?"

His voice was husky as he whispered, "I haven't done anything you haven't agreed to." His eyes were glazed and fear rose up inside me as his hand clutched the back of my t-shirt.

I backed into the saddle racks and squealed in pain as he pressed me into them. I didn't want to scream. Didn't want to bring Grandma running to see the mess I'd gotten myself into. His right hand held me as his left tossed horse blankets on the floor from the shelf over my head.

I dodged to the left, pushing the saddle off the rack behind me, the thin material of my five year old t-shirt ripped as I struggled to get free. He stepped forward and I tripped over his foot, crashing to the ground. Before he could land on top of me I rolled twice, coming up beside the small trash can containing the whips I never used on my horses. I gripped a dressage whip and slashed it across his face as he came toward me.

Wild eyes rolled in anger and with the palm of one hand pressed against his cheek he brought the other back in a fist and tried to punch me.

I reversed the whip and brought the handle down across parts he was all too anxious for me to get close to. He doubled over, dropping to the floor and in a split second I reviewed my options. Run to Grandma, possibly leading a deranged fairy to a dying woman, or deal with this myself. No way was I putting it on Grandma. While he was incapacitated, I heaved one of the jars onto the floor and snatched the iron bands out of the broken glass. I straddled his back and wrapped a band around his throat. Smoke rose where the metal touched and the threat of death returned sanity to his eyes. I wrapped another band in what was left of my t-shirt and slipped it on his wrist before removing the smoking metal from his neck. "Don't move." I growled at him.

He didn't, except to rock back and forth, one hand on his groin the other clasping the scorch marks on his neck. He looked as bewildered as I felt. His forehead was bleeding where the lash had caught him.

Amazingly, I wanted to pity him, but my good sense overrode my sympathy. I'd just come as close to being raped as I ever wanted to. "What the hell was that?"

A deep moan rose from his throat and he tried to rise.

I slid my size seven foot under his wing and pushed him back down. "Don't even think about getting up."

I didn't know what to do with him now. If he'd just have the grace to shrink I'd pop him in one of the other jars, tote him back to his realm and leave him there. But he wouldn't or couldn't; I didn't know which. My breathing came under control and the frenzy in my mind settled. He lay still, eyes tracking me like a predatory animal, breaking away occasionally to glance at the shirt wrapped iron on his wrist. First order of business, I needed a new shirt. I went to the ragbag and pulled out one even older than the one I'd had on. Sure it had a few holes in it but if it was in the bag instead of by the rack it had recently been through the wash. Covered all the parts he seemed so intent on anyway.

I wasn't completely unsympathetic. I went to the horses' first-aid kit, pulled out some furazone antibiotic cream, and smeared the bright yellow goop on his neck. The look in his eyes as I touched him brought the fear back to my heart. Should have gone with the spray-on.

I snapped a lead shank to the iron band and tied him to a saddle rack, then sat in the chair and stared at him. Now what? Supper would be ready shortly. Grandma rarely came out to the barn, but if I didn't go eat, she'd come looking. If I left, would he shrink and fly away or was the closeness of the iron preventing that? It wasn't like I could turn him into the cops as a rapist. I'd bought his whole act. How do you cover insanity like that? I took the second iron band and wrapped it around his leg on top of his pants. He didn't struggle as I squeezed it tight and snapped another lead rope to it. "I have to go eat or Grandma will come out here. I don't think either of us wants that."

He shook his head. The gleam was still in his eyes but he was getting it under control.

"Don't go anywhere while I'm gone." He looked at the bracelets and shook his head again.

I snuck past the kitchen and went upstairs to change and brush my hair. When I came back downstairs, dinner was on the table. Grandma was headed to the door.

"I'm here."

She spun around. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Sorry, I just had to run up to the bathroom and wash up. I've got a problem in the barn. I have to eat and get back out there." I hoped she'd assume the problem was a sick horse. I wasn't usually so vague about sick horses though.

"If I didn't know the only people you're talking to these days were six inches tall, I'd think you had a man hidden out there."

It wasn't a question so I didn't feel the need to try to lie in response. Besides he wasn't hidden. I'd tied him up in plain sight of anybody who walked in the tack room. We sat down and I hurried through my meal. When my bowl was empty I grabbed a can of root beer and headed out.

He was exactly where I'd left him. Stretched out between two racks, the iron still in place. When I walked through the door he lifted his head and sniffed the air, eyes rolling back in his head. "Stop it!" I ordered, my voice cracking.

He lowered his head, chest heaving.

"Forgive me, Tess." His voice was barely a whisper.

I picked up the longe whip and sat in the chair by the desk, cracking the whip once for effect. "I'll give you one chance to explain yourself. Make it good or I'll go find your sister to remove you. Then you'll be beholden to her."

"I...miscalculated."

"No shit. Did you think I was going to rollover and play the good little woman. If you've watched me for three months you should have known better than that."

Pain flashed across his face. "That's not what I meant. I've never..." He choked as he fought an animal look from his face.

I jumped in without giving him time to recover. "Right! Actions like those don't come from nowhere. I'm sorry I led you on but I thought it was a game."

"It was. I just... I...I never claimed anybody before. I didn't see how it could possibly make a difference as long as our intent was innocent. It's not something we talk about. Usually the parties involved are already in lust with each other and as far as I knew, the mark was nothing more than proclaiming that lust, or love, as the case may be, to the world. I never dreamed it would..."

I put a hand up to the mark and rubbed it. I'd felt the desire as well. I suspected he was telling the truth.

His eyes widened. He stopped speaking, bit his lower lip hard enough to bring blood, then started whimpering. "Mother Earth, don't."

Well there was a new expletive. I uncovered the mark.

He inhaled deeply, then relaxed into his bonds again. I laid the whip on the desk and leaned forward, "What do you suggest we do about this...miscalculation."

"Please..." the whimpering started again, "don't come any closer."

I pushed the chair back to the desk and strode down the barn aisle. When I returned, I carried a bucketful of water. Without asking his opinion on the success or failure of this tactic, I doused him with the fresh-from-the-well, contents, cursing as water splashed the saddle I'd knocked on the ground. "How does this work. What causes your reaction?"

He pounded his free fist into the floor. "If I knew that, do you think I'd be in this condition?"

Anger clutched the spinning threads of my mind and twisted them together. I walked up and leaned over him, snarling, "You almost raped me. You don't get to be angry if I ask questions. I liked you and I'm trying to figure out what the hell my options are besides twisting that iron back around your neck and putting you out of your misery."

That calmed him, some. It didn't stop the panting or the writhing but he stopped attacking my floor.

I went back to the medicine chest. I took out some Vetrolin, cut it with water and sponged myself down with it. I'd always found the aroma of the mild liniment pleasing. I was hoping it was enough to cover my natural scent. He was in no condition to recognize the fact, but it did seem scent was the strongest motivator operating. I took out a small jar of Vicks vapor rub. If it worked for Cora's stallion, it ought to work on a randy fairy. He flinched when I walked back in the door. Probably expecting another bucket of cold water. That had been more for my satisfaction than any real thought it would work.

The lack of panting as I approached him was a sign I was on the right track. I opened the little jar and pinched a fairly large amount of Vicks between thumb and index finger. Without warning him, and completely disobeying the label, I stuck my fingers up his nostrils just as far as they'd go. Yeah, gross, but better than being raped by a friend. Tears streamed down his cheeks. His free hand pushed me away, then started wiping at the copious amounts of snot flowing down his face. That was a very good sign. Getting smacked across the face didn't make him push me away earlier.

When he finally stopped clawing at his nose he laid his head on the floor and wept. I went back to the ragbag and selected a worn towel. With his bonds still in place I sat down near his head and wiped his face off. None of the violent reactions from earlier accompanied my close proximity. I cleaned the floor under his head and moved some of the horse blankets over beside him.

I unsnapped his wrist. He quivered--a motion that shook him to his wingtips--then sat up as ordered. I placed the blankets under him then held out the snap. With great reluctance he laid back down. He was a sorrowful sight. His wings were bedraggled from the water and the position he'd been laying in. His silky black hair was matted and damp, Dirt covered him. I could feel my anger weakening as he lay there. I snapped the lead back on his wrist, but undid his ankle, untied the knot to the wrist rope and led him to the chair. After tying the rope to a drawer handle I went to find a reasonably clean brush.

He was sitting exactly as I left him when I returned, looking like a sheep that knew it was about to become mutton. I carried another bucket of water which he stared at disinterestedly until I put it on the desk beside him, then he shied away from it. His left arm never moved and I wondered how much pain the wrapped iron was causing him. I undid the gold ring in his hair and ran Jax's stiff brush through it.

It took a couple minutes for him to believe I was just cleaning him up. When that fact finally sank in, he relaxed. Free of the spell's coercions and the fear of reprisal, he seemed to enjoy my ministrations. An easily submerged thought that this wasn't the smartest thing I could be doing, arose every time his eyes fell upon me and I waited while he fought himself under control. He wasn't the only one affected by the spell, but I guessed since I hadn't marked him I was having an easier time controlling the urges it brought upon me.

## Chapter 5

When Trey's hair was smooth and clean as it was going to get without washing, I put the gold ring back in it. I stood behind him a hand on each of his shoulders trying to decide what to do next when he leaned his head back on my ribs. "I'm sorry, Tess. I should know better than to use a spell I had no familiarity with. I understand if you still want to turn me over to Joli."

I shook my head though he couldn't see it from where he was sitting. "We all make mistakes and you took the worst end of this one."

"But I don't know how long this will last. I can't stay here bound in iron for the next two weeks. It'd kill me." He rubbed at the slick ring around his neck. "I thought you were going to kill me."

Leaning over him, I pulled open the desk drawer, a sadistic part of me enjoying the taut reaction of his body as I brushed against him. I pulled a knife out and stood back up. It was a pitiful excuse for a knife notched and pitted, barely able to cut baling twine. The important thing was the iron it was made from. "Why don't you shrink to avoid the iron?"

"Because it blocks my magic."

"So if I release you. You can become six inches tall again?"

"Yes. But I can't promise I will stay that size if this," he rubbed at his red nose, "wears off."

"We need to know more about the spell. If there's an end in sight I can bind your magic again once you're too small to hurt me. But if it won't stop, we need another plan."

"The only way I know of that is certain to abate the symptoms, is to give in to the spell's demands."

"How would you know that, if this was a simple miscalculation?"

"Because the rage didn't take hold of me until you escaped the bonds of magic."

Holy cow! That sounded too close to bonds of matrimony. Sorta made you reconsider the whole wedding ceremony thing. At least fairy bonds wore off. He had said they needed to be renewed. Didn't take a divorce lawyer anyway. The correlation swept me into a new line of thought. If the parallels tracked, unconsummated vows were subject to annulment. "You said this would give us until the new moon before the others would return."

He nodded.

"Then if you agree to be bound to normal fairy size for that time period I'm willing to wait and see if the spell will wear off."

"Bound how? No matter what size I am the iron will kill me."

So much for that idea.

He stretched his right hand forward and picked up the Vicks from the desk. "I don't have enough magic left to change size more than once. Without access to the toadstool I'm not likely to find enough magic to allow it without returning to the realm. If I agree to spend the nights in one of your jars, and the days within your sight, inhaling this...poison, would you agree that these are reasonable precautions?

If he stayed with me, he wouldn't have access to his magic. If he used the Vicks he might control the demand for consummation. I walked in front of him and stared him down, hoping I wasn't about to make the biggest mistake of my life. "OK. We'll try this but remember. I will be carrying this knife at all times." I waved the iron under his nose and he pulled back, wide-eyed.

I bent down to remove the band from his leg. The moment it was gone he raised the ankle to his knee and rubbed it. Lifting the pants leg he stared at the red mark there. That one at least would go away in time. I was afraid his neck was branded forever. With a lot more caution, I unsnapped the lead rope from his wrist and stretched the band apart, freeing him. He shrank, flew to my shoulder and perched there, but I could feel the tension in him. I just wasn't sure if it was caused by a fear of what he might do, or what I might do.

I picked up one of the jars and walked in the house. I hadn't noticed the approach of nighttime. Now I glanced down at the shadow cast by the light mounted on the electric pole halfway back to the house and wondered if anybody else would be able to see the depressed lump riding on my shoulder. Not being sure if his protection from scrying eyes was natural or a spell he had to maintain, I didn't stop in the living room where Grandma was watching TV for more than a second. She looked up as I stuck my head around the doorway. "I'm in from the barn. Going upstairs to get cleaned up and do some research on the computer. Did you need me to do anything tonight?"

She wrinkled her nose at the combined aromas of Vetrolin and Vicks. Lent authenticity to my problem in the barn anyway. "No, I'll probably head upstairs in a few minutes myself."

Upstairs I opened the jar and he flew into it. I carried him into the bathroom and covered the jar with a towel before taking a shower. When I was done I applied a jasmine body mist. Hoping the subtler scent would still help mask the natural odor of female. When I was dressed again, I drew him out of the jar and turned on the water in the sink.

He refused to come out of his pants but he drew off his shirt and washed, gingerly skirting the angry red mark on his neck and the blisters on his wrist. I dripped a tiny bit of shampoo into the sink and after removing the gold hair band he put a hand in it and scrubbed the furazone from his hair. Kinda made me wonder how often he'd watched me shower that he instantly knew what to do with shampoo.

When he was clean, he willingly placed more Vicks under his nostrils then flew back to my shoulder.

I logged into the computer and clicked the internet connection, waiting impatiently for dial-up to connect. He took up a seat on top of the monitor. I researched fairies and fairy mating magic but didn't find anything that seemed like it may have been written by a knowledgeable person. I guess I'd been hoping maybe a Guardian who had quit would have more insight. When I'd glanced over the slim search returns I shut the computer off and lay down on the bed with a book. He took up his position in the lamp, stretching out along one of the branches.

I couldn't concentrate on the book, but I lay there periodically flipping pages. He remained perfectly still. I could feel his eyes boring into me but I refused to look up and meet them. I didn't want to put him in the jar just yet. It was large as jars went but I had no way to know how long the air inside would last him. The seals on the glass lid were air tight. When I could no longer pretend to read, I opened the jar and placed him in it. It was still early. What if I suffocated him? I closed the lid and turned off the light, then rolled on my side, watching him. Moments later I clapped the light back on and found a couple crocheted squares waiting to become part of an afghan.

I slid them down beside him and he smiled up at me. "Thank you."

My head had barely hit the pillow when I sat back up. He needed a pillow. I looked over at him and discovered he'd already rolled one of the squares up and tucked it under his head. I lay back down. Before long I clapped the light back on and picked my book up again, opening the lid of the jar. He appeared completely comfortable and chose to remain in the jar. How many nights had he spent in my room? Knowing he was there was distracting, to say the least. I was afraid perhaps the spell was part of the reason I couldn't get my mind off him. Light off. Light on. I offered to cover the jar so I'd stop disturbing him but he rejected the offer. The green glowing numbers of my digital clock said it was 2:34 in the morning when the day finally caught up with me. Fairy or no fairy, my body demanded I shut my eyes and get some rest. I reached a hand up and closed the lid on the jar, but I left the seal unlatched so my mind wouldn't consume itself with worry about whether or not he had oxygen.

I was awake with the first rays of sunlight coming through the window. My back hurt as I stretched out and I remembered being shoved into the saddles. I rubbed the sore spots and lifted my pajama shirt to see if it was bruised. I twisted left and right but couldn't see it. Trey was awake and the remorse on his face told me it wasn't a pretty sight. That's all I needed to know. Long shirt so Grandma wouldn't see the bruises if I bent over or stretched upward in front of her. I chose loose jeans and a long sleeve shirt that almost resembled a tunic. A little too fancy for around the house and barn where I almost always wore t-shirts but maybe I'd go visit Gladys today.

I busied myself around the house until noon when I was reasonably sure Gladys would be out of bed. She still sounded sleepy when I called, but she was more than ready for a trip to the mall. It wasn't very often I suggested it and I was sure she'd be disappointed I wanted to run to some of the sporting goods stores and buy some camping supplies instead of stopping at all the clothing stores.

Taking her along I'd probably end up in clothing stores anyway, but for some reason I actually wanted company today. Like a lusty fairy wasn't sufficient to keep me occupied. He rode my shoulder and nobody gave me strange looks so I assumed his magic was sufficient to keep him hidden, even if he was nearly depleted. I bought a sleeping bag, canteen, even a small tent and a backpack, not being sure what would be practical in the Other Realm. It just didn't sound as though I'd be sitting around in a fairy hotel while fulfilling the job of Guardian and even with the speed bump I'd hit last night I was determined to accept the position.

After I was done, I allowed Gladys to drag me through the clothing stores. Gladys was better at picking clothes that, A: fit me, and B: flattered my body, than I was. A couple of choices I considered thoughtfully before rejecting them without trying them on. How was I supposed to try on clothes with a male fairy sitting on my shoulder? I didn't dare to let him out of my sight. Didn't want him flying back to the realm and replenishing his magic.

After I rejected her fifth offering Gladys put her hands on her hips and stood back to look at me. "What's wrong with you today, Tess?"

I was her walking talking Barbie doll and I wasn't cooperating. Maybe bringing her along was a mistake. "I just don't feel up to trying on clothes." Which was true. My back was in agony and aching more as I dragged the heavy camping equipment from store to store.

"What's the matter, bloated?"

"No." She was the one that suffered every PMS symptom ever heard of, not me. "I hurt my back in the barn last night."

Gladys flung her long brown hair over a shoulder and looked back at me. She was another one that knew I was a bad liar. "Well damn girl, we didn't have to go shopping. We can go buy some liniment and rub it on, or is it an open sore?"

Liniment sounded like a really good plan but with all the money I'd already spent, I told her, "Don't worry about it. I'll just use some of the horse stuff when I get home."

She walked behind me and raised my shirt up staring at the bruises. "What the hell'd you do?"

You don't back into a saddle rack with enough force to bruise your skin. At a loss I muttered, "Stupid damn males."

"What'd the horse do?"

She assumed I was talking about Jax. Male bashing was a pastime whenever Carl wasn't around, so she didn't have any trouble accepting my statement and applying it to the only male in my life she knew about.

I shook my head. "Nothing. I'll be fine."

"OK don't tell me about it then. But I'm going to find at least one thing you can try on."

"Fine." I groaned acceptance and she turned in the next store. It just happened to be Hot Topic. She pulled a dress off the rack that buttoned all the way up the front. It was made from a clingy black material and covered midway down my thighs. The sleeves were sheer and had a spiderweb pattern. It wasn't me, but it was fun. Halloween was approaching and she had pulled it off the sale rack. I went in the fitting room closing the door in Gladys' face.

"I was just going to help so you didn't have to twist so much."

"That's all right. I'll get it. Too small for two people to maneuver in here."

I pointed to the chair and Trey flew down to it. I spun my finger in a circle and he turned to face the wall. We'd been out a while, I really hoped his Vicks was holding up. I removed my shirt, managing to hold the groans of pain to a near silent moan. Not quiet enough to prevent Trey from looking around. He spun back as he saw me staring at him. I'd picked a bra that was anything but sexy this morning so I wasn't too worried about him seeing me. I left my jeans on until after I'd buttoned up the dress

As usual, Gladys selected the one dress from the rack that melded with my less than curvy curves to accentuate what little I did have, slender hips, a narrow waist and a 36B chest combined to give me a cowboy look. Not that there's anything wrong with the cowboy look. It just looked better on cowboys. The dress clung to the waist and flared slightly at the hips improving considerably on mother-nature. It was formed to raise my slight bust line into male attracting cleavage. I liked it.

I turned back from the mirror to find Trey's eyes fastened on me. He let out a quiet whistle and said, "You should buy that."

Gladys pounded on the door. "You dressed?"

I opened the door. Her reaction was almost the same as Trey's. It was less uncomfortable coming from somebody who wasn't five and a half feet away from raping you.

I glanced back in the mirror and saw a shimmer on the chair as he tried to change. "No!" I ordered

Gladys scratched her head, then said, "Ok. If you don't want it, that's fine. Don't bite my head off."

"I'm sorry. The dress is great and if I had more money I'd buy it, but I don't really see myself wearing it except to the Halloween bash."

Gladys looked even more confused as I stared at the chair in the dressing room. "You OK, Tess. You're acting a bit...strange, today."

"I'll be fine. Didn't get much sleep last night."

"You know what I always say. The solution to that is to sleep all day."

"We can't all be night-owls." I closed the door of the dressing room. The shimmer had stopped when I yelled at him. But the frenzy in his eyes told me this had been a very bad idea. Worse idea I realized, was probably putting the shirt and pants I'd been wearing all day next to him on the chair. I changed quickly and took the dress back out to the rack. Gladys snatched it up and paid for it. "Consider it a birthday present."

"My birthday isn't for six months."

"I know."

Trey clung to my shoulder, his fists wrapped in my hair, eyes closed, concentrating hard on something I hoped was the equivalent of an ogre and not me in my bra or even in that dress.

I made Gladys follow me into the drug store where I purchased a new jar of Vicks and a box of tampons. I didn't need them but it was less strange than just buying the Vicks. When we left the store I walked ahead of Gladys who was still window shopping and opened the little blue jar. Trey was so far gone he looked like he wanted to fight applying the rub but in the end he took a small amount on his finger and smeared it under his nose with only a minimal number of passersby watching me argue with myself. Oh well, I wasn't the strangest person in the mall.

Crisis averted, Gladys and I stopped in McDonalds for lunch. Trey flew down to the table and I left parts of my bun and some fries, lettuce and tomatoes lying within reach. Gladys was oblivious as she chatted away. It occurred to me that Gladys was my friend, largely because I wasn't needed to carry on a conversation.

Gladys made a couple more stops on the way home and it was early evening when we pulled in the drive. She wanted me to come out to Oleander's, the only club that didn't serve alcohol, and welcomed teenagers, but I begged off, using my back as an excuse. She went to the barn and waited while I fed the horses. I got her to massage my injury with Vetrolin. I could tell by Trey's expression he wanted to be the one doing that, but it was an impossibility for him in his current size. He stood by my ear, apologizing for the injury the entire time Gladys rubbed my back. When she was done, I pulled the shirt down and told her, "I don't want Grandma to know about this."

"Why not? It's not the first bruise one of your critters has given you."

"I just don't want her to worry." Besides, Grandma knew my barn well enough to recognize the bruise as the saddle rack which is inside the tack room and nowhere close to where I'd be handling horses.

Gladys took off to meet Carl, and I went in to find Grandma had supper ready. Knew I should have called her. I admitted to having stopped and eaten but I picked at supper anyway. When we were done cleaning up, I went in and watched TV. Trey was becoming a normal enough part of my existence I barely noticed him curl into the crook of my arm as I lay on the couch.

I didn't get much sleep that night either, a combination of the nagging pain in my back, and the nagging worry Trey would either suffocate or escape the semi-latched jar, kept me awake long enough to get a headache from being too tired. The rest of the night was spent tossing fretfully. The next four days were spent between the garden and the barn without incident. Trey always looked refreshed after we worked in the garden awhile. I never caught him trying to use magic though. The nights didn't improve. They got worse. The older the spell got, the stronger the pull on my mind and I found myself wondering if he couldn't possibly maybe just change size with what little energy he was absorbing from the garden. On the fifth night I found myself out of bed and half-way down the stairs before I realized I was headed for the kitchen and Grandma's stash of toadstool bits. We were never going to make it another week. I was all right as long as I was awake and active but the nights were one long wakeful wet dream. At breakfast, the morning after my aborted foray, Grandma said, "Heard you in the middle of the night. Couldn't sleep?"

I shook my head. "Ever since I decided to accept the position of Guardian I haven't been able to sleep."

"Do they plan to summon you with magic or will one of them show up here? How will you know they want you there?"

"Sometime after the new moon is all I really know."

She reached out and patted my hand. "That's almost a week away. You'll be frazzled by the time that rolls around. I'll cook you up a potion to help you sleep tonight. They may change their mind if you're so exhausted you can't channel any magic."

I wasn't normally into artificial means of sleeping but one of Grandma's potions was probably my best bet. "That sounds like a good idea. Do you need anything special for it?"

"No, I've got everything I need. Why don't you take a ride and relax."

This time Jax actually got to go for his ride. I did relax. Trey even relaxed. Away from the house he took to the air enthusiastically. I purposely avoided the waterfall but that didn't seem to deflate his exuberance. He came back to land on Jax's poll and he rode out the shaking head trying to dislodge him. When Jax gave up, I asked Trey, "Do you want to go home?" He looked precisely in the direction of the waterfall then shook his head. "There's no place I'd rather be right now. Besides, it wouldn't be safe. If I had the magic to transform, I don't know if I could stop myself from coming back to you. Your scent grows stronger every day."

"Not just my imagination then."

"Not unless we share imaginations."

"I hope whatever Grandma comes up with works. I've hardly slept in a week."

"I sleep well enough but my days are a fog."

We rode over a hill and I stopped at my second favorite picnic grounds on the farm. The stream that flowed from the waterfall crossed the property, flowing through a little valley overhung with ancient oak boughs. I dismounted and tied Jax to a smaller tree before digging the lunch Grandma packed me out of my saddlebags. Lots of fresh vegetables and fruits. Trey ate his share then flew up to rest on a tree branch. I didn't worry about him bolting for home anymore. I was the one who just offered to let him go. He turned me down.

"Remind me why you did this." I waved at the mark on my neck which I had finally stared at long enough to decide it looked like a feather.

"I wanted to have you alone. There are things I didn't want the rest to hear me present to you. Plus it's the only thing our research suggested might protect me from father's prying. It seemed an easy way to get rid of my brothers and sisters. "

"Easy. Huh. If nothing else I hope you've learned not to misuse magic. I'd say this spell has a very specific use and I think if I wanted to get laid it would probably be, like, the best experience ever. But it sure doesn't appreciate being invoked and rejected does it."

He grimaced. "A lesson I will never forget."

"What was it you wanted to tell me?"

"It doesn't seem important now."

Lunch done, I packed up the remains and we headed for home.

Grandma's potion worked wonders. I awoke the next morning refreshed, seeing the possibility of making it through the week with my virginity intact. Four more days slid by. I could tell it was getting worse for Trey. He spent more time in the jar than on my shoulder now. I hated it was affecting him so badly but my days were carefree. Of course I had other tasks to pass the time.

I was his task. Snare the Guardian, no matter what you have to do. I already didn't like King Ral. Who would pit his children against each other, often to the death? Who would demand his son use whatever means necessary to snare a new Guardian because the king was too inept to retain one for more than two years. I wondered if Trey had ever been set to this task before.

I asked him and he said no. His older brother Ralar, a ruby fairy, also capable of changing size, had been the previous bait. But the king had managed to get his son killed on a frivolous task, earning meaningless points. I was glad I'd been of a mind to cooperate, because Trey didn't seem particularly enthusiastic about helping his father. I sometimes wondered if he hadn't claimed me simply for the two weeks away from Ral that it would buy him.

Whatever the excuse, it had been a bad idea. I laughed at the thought that maybe if we hadn't been so busy fighting the magic, he might have gotten lucky. Three more days. I really hoped I was right. Could we possibly make it to the new moon and not be free of this spell? That would be the end of my expected career. I couldn't possibly perform as Guardian of the demesne when my mind was consumed with the care of only one fairy.

We spent the afternoon in the garden. When night came, I put him in the jar and showered. I was drying off before I realized I hadn't covered the jar. He sat on the bottom of the jar, eyes glazed. It had to have been the spell. I'd been meticulous until now and thanks to Grandma's potion I was rested. I had no excuse for forgetfulness. I carried the jar to the nightstand and picked up my nightly dose of potion. Since he was in such bad shape I slipped a thimble full into the jar. He drank it and as I watched, the glazed look of thwarted magic turned to closed eyes and gentle snores. I drank the rest of the potion and lay down. It was still early so I left the lid cracked, the iron latch dangling over the seal. Within moments of drinking the potion I fell asleep.

The clock said 2:20 when Grandma knocked on my door. "You all right, Tess?"

I snorted myself awake enough to answer, "Just knocked a glass over."

I rolled back over and found my lips locked in a breathless kiss. He sat on the edge of the bed leaning over me. The noise that had awoken Grandma and dragged me out of my drug induced coma had not been a glass, but the jar falling to the floor. How the hell had he accumulated enough magic to change size? I struggled briefly before deciding I was being completely irrational about losing my virginity. I wanted him as badly as he wanted me, and if the desire disappeared after the new moon, who really cared.

Wings stood silhouetted against the window. The sliver of moon gleaming more brightly than it should have, behind them. His hand rested on my chest, an uncertain weight leaning on me, asking permission and demanding all in the same touch. He held me through my brief struggle without losing control of himself and when I returned his kisses, he lowered his body next to mine. Assured that I was a willing participant, he released my mouth and leaned up on one elbow to stare down at me. The hand on my chest slid to the mark on my neck and he placed his lips near my ear. "Are you sure you want this?"

"There are few things I've ever been more certain of."

"You know a lot of it is the magic."

I turned my head to kiss him. "And the rest is the raging hormones of a seventeen-year old. But I can't imagine anybody else I'd rather be here with."

I glanced at the door. Grandma had just been out of bed and she heard every noise in the house after dark. He saw the look and said, "She will not hear us."

I arched my back to rub my breast against his arm and hoped he was right about Grandma because there was no going back from where we were now. "How..." I started to ask how this was all possible then decided I didn't really care.

He kissed me again and answered the unfinished question. "I believe your grandmother minced part of the toadstool in the potion she brewed for you. I slept less than an hour and have spent the rest of the night frenzied because I knew I could change and I couldn't get out. If it wasn't the potion, then the Magic of my demesne truly hates to lose."

I reached up to his face and ran a finger along the fine scar from the lash of the whip. "And how did you get out of the jar?"

"You told your grandmother the truth. I thought you awake enough to know what you were doing. You did knock the jar over. You didn't latch it tight."

I traced the line of his jaw and came to the wide band of scar tissue on his neck. "This could all have been avoided if you'd let me take my own time."

"I thought you understood that wasn't me."

"I do. But why was the magic in such a rush? I'm seventeen and barely been kissed."

He leaned forward and took my breath away. "We'll just have to fix that problem."

I pushed him back and stared at him, a troubling thought passing through my mind. "Will we still be friends after we do this, or will the Magic leave us barely more than acquaintances?"

The huskiness of his voice told me how much effort he was putting into restraint to satisfy my questions and ease my mind. "I am committed to you. The Magic should lessen the need once it wins, but the mark remains for many moons. Given the experience thus far, I would say it will not release us because we consummate the commitment."

"So only the Magic will keep you with me?"

"I watched you for three months. I knew you much better than you knew me when I claimed you. Maybe part of me thought that would be the only way I could convince you to stay with me. I cannot say what will happen when the Magic wears off, but I know I wanted this."

It was too much to think about. What was Magic induced? What wasn't?

He kissed me again and his hand moved underneath my shirt rubbing my back. Massaging the injury then moving around to my breast. Electricity tingled where his hand touched. His mouth, left my lips bereft, sliding down my throat. I started to undo the buttons of my shirt but one by one they popped open without any help from me. As they did, his tongue left a trail of moisture where my flesh was exposed to the night air. He reached my navel and I arched my back in ecstasy. I wrapped my fingers in his silken hair and pulled his mouth up to my breast. He lay on top of me and I could feel the hard shaft of his maleness. Fear momentarily distracted me from the ecstasy. Definitely bigger than a tampon. This couldn't possibly work.

Pleasure reassured me that somebody who was a hundred and twenty years old, surely knew what he was doing. He slid up my body to kiss my mouth again and my breasts ached for his touch. His hips pressed down on me and the clothing between us annoyed me. With that thought, I found I wasn't wearing any clothing. He drew back briefly to smile down at me, and I realized he too was completely naked and we hadn't had to go through the awkwardness of getting out of our clothes. He moved back down my chest, his mouth covering every bit of flesh, lingering as his tongue played with my nipples, and then he went below my navel and kept on going until I was shrieking with the pleasure he brought me, thrusting my cunt at his mouth as his tongue drove deeper. My hands clutched the sheets as the heat in my abdomen released in shuddering spasms.

He drew back and massaged me with his hand, the moisture of my release slick between us. His fingers repeated the joy of his tongue and only then did he slide back up and push his penis against that place he'd left in spasming delight. I tensed as he slowly entered me. He stopped when he came up against my hymen and looked down at me with wonder. He withdrew and entered just that far several times until I thought I would go mad with need. I wrapped my legs around his hips and the next time he thrust forward I pulled his hips forward raising my own to meet him, driving his penis deep within me, forcing him to break the thin barrier. The momentary pain I felt was lost to the pleasure as he fulfilled the need of a week and a half of magic induced lust, thrusting within me until he shuddered and moaned with his release. He sank down on top of me and we lay still, panting, sweating and sated.

He rolled to the side and I welcomed the cool air on my hot skin. His fingers trailed lightly down my arm raising goosebumps in their wake. He looked down at me, his smile slightly sad.

What had I done wrong? Was he going to tell me he had to leave now?

"I didn't know you meant you'd barely been kissed, literally."

"You didn't do anything I wasn't begging for. Nor anything I wouldn't want to do again." I reached up and kissed his ear, my tongue beginning tentative explorations seemingly of its own free will. "And again, and again..." I whispered.

"Had I known, we could have spent our time in the Realm. Now, you'll never see a unicorn."

"I don't need unicorns."

"But they are the most magical of all the creatures in the realm."

"Then it wasn't meant to be."

"Eldanon rules the council. If we had a virgin Guardian, he may even have deigned to visit our demesne."

"Would that honor have been worth delaying this, to you?"

He shook his head and lowered his mouth to my breast.

"Nor I." I moaned as my back arched, begging him to wrap his mouth around my breast not just toy with the nipple. I wrapped my hand around his flaccid penis and urged it back to rigidness.

The first rays of sunlight found us entwined in each other's arms, my head lay on his shoulder, his uppermost wing draped over us. I wanted to stay there all day, but sound-proofing the room wasn't going to be of much use if Grandma decided to pop her head in the door to make sure I was all right.

Trey's black eyes followed me as I stretched and slipped from under his wing. I glanced at the floor looking for my pajamas but they were nowhere to be found. That had been an interesting bit of magic. I walked around to the other side and Trey laughed. "I hope this doesn't mean you haven't got a clue what you did with our clothes."

"What I did with them?"

"Surprised me when it happened."

"I remember thinking that the material was really annoying just before they disappeared but if I did it, I don't know how."

"We probably ought to check the rest of the house before your grandmother wakes up. Wouldn't want her to find my clothes draped across the back of the couch.

While dressing in clean underwear, a pair of jeans, and a t-shirt, I became aware of how tender certain parts of me were. I hurried downstairs with a slightly stiff gait I'd need to work out before Grandma awoke.

I looked in all the obvious places and some of the not so obvious ones. They were nowhere to be found. At least if I couldn't find them, neither would Grandma. Not for any reason I could imagine would my subconscious mind have magicked them into Grandma's room so I didn't let that brief thought distract me. I went back in the room and shrugged. "They're not in the house. Do you think you can make some of my jeans fit you? I mean your clothes grow and shrink when you do, can you do it separate from your body."

"After last night, I think I could stop the sun in the sky. Let me try."

"What does last night have to do with it?"

"Love like that. It raises energy to new levels. Makes you capable of things you've never done before." He grinned, eyes twinkling. "Like stripping your man naked in the blink of an eye and doing mother earth knows what with his clothes."

"Grandma's forever complaining my magic is unfocused. I suppose one of these days I'll be able to leave them folded neatly on the chair." I didn't miss that he said love and not sex or lust but I refused to let my mind make much of it. Time would tell. I had several pairs of jeans bought from the boys' section in Wal-Mart and I dug one out for him along with a black t-shirt.

When he was done with them they fit him perfectly and along the way the blue denim had become black, The t-shirt didn't work. I hadn't taken wings into account. I went through my closet but every shirt I owned other than t-shirts had a definite feminine cut to them, none took wings into account. I looked at him and licked my lips. "Guess you'll just have to go shirtless."

It was cool outside most days so I wasn't too surprised when he said, "Or I could cut the shirt you gave me first."

I handed the shirt back to him after cutting it up to the shoulder blades. He slid into it then I stitched the cuts closed underneath the wings. "We'll have to cut it again to get you out of it."

"Maybe." He smiled wickedly. "Maybe my lover will just make it disappear again. Standing in front of me, clothed, his face became serious. "Unless you want my father to cut the wings from my back, nobody can ever know it was I who claimed your maidenhead."

"Somehow, I just don't see that coming up in conversation."

"You would be surprised what a fairy can trick you into revealing. If you are aware it will be a problem you are less likely to let it slip in unguarded conversation."

Not sure how literal to take him, I agreed with his request. I couldn't imagine him without his wings. If he lost them it wouldn't be my fault. I looked back at the blood stained sheets guiltily proclaiming to the world that a virgin had been sacrificed there last night. Together we stripped the sheets from the bed and I ran them and an armload of dirty clothes down to the washer. I almost laughed when I opened it. Sitting inside, waiting for somebody to turn on the machine were my pajamas and his clothes. I went ahead and washed them, making a mental note to pay attention to when they finished, so I could transfer them to the dryer and get them back upstairs without Grandma seeing them.

Trey joined me, darting down to ride my shoulder as he had the past week and a half. Unlike before, he curled next to my neck, remaining in contact with the mark he'd placed there. His motions were carefree and happy, not depressed and tense. I felt the same, but somehow I had to keep my feet on the ground long enough to convince Grandma, life was normal.

The wash finished and I put the clothes in the dryer. Then I took care of the horses, started breakfast, and had just started worrying about Grandma when she came downstairs. It was nearly eight o'clock. I couldn't remember a morning when she'd slept past six in the nine years I'd lived with her. I looked up from the pancakes I was making when she walked in. She didn't look out of sorts. I asked anyway. "Feeling OK?"

She looked at me, brow wrinkled, eyebrow arched. "I'm fine. I just...it felt...Magic was in use last night. In this house. I couldn't sleep. Was it you? After I spoke to you I came close to getting out of bed several times but there wasn't any noise and somehow it just seemed too much effort to get up and check for something when my waking senses told me there was nothing."

I stopped from glancing at Trey, wondering how many spells he'd kept up through the night.

It wasn't fair to Grandma to shut her out of what was going on in her own house. My sex-life wasn't something I was prepared to discuss. She wanted me to find a boyfriend so I wouldn't be alone if the curse she lived under caught up with her. I don't think what she had in mind was hopping into bed with the first fairy that came along. "You woke me last night after I knocked the glass over. I couldn't get back to sleep. I didn't want to wake you again, but yes I did some magic." Please let that be sufficient.

She rubbed her right elbow in an unconscious gesture I'd seen hundreds of times. She was thinking. Hard. "I felt you. But..." She crossed her arms. "Nobody else was with you?"

"The fairies sent someone."

The wrinkles smoothed out. "That would explain it. You'll be leaving soon then?"

"No Grandma. They said I'll still live here for the most part. The messenger really wasn't free to tell me much." An inspired part of me added. "The messenger will be in and out for the next couple of days. They apologize if this is inconvenient."

"I guess I've lived so long expecting an enemy, somebody else's magic in my home makes me nervous--but you must get on with your life, no matter what odd turns it seems to be taking."

And that's probably about as close to a blessing as I would get from Grandma on my affair with a fairy. I just couldn't imagine her understanding.

## Chapter 6

The next two days we spent making up for the time we'd spent fighting the spell. Five' o'clock in the morning after the new moon, Joli showed up at my bedroom window. I laughed at the look of dismay on her face when Trey opened the window with a towel wrapped around his waist. I laid in bed with the sheet pulled up just barely over my breasts. I didn't want any doubt in her mind that the claim Trey had marked me with was anything other than real.

She gawked. Flew over to the bed and felt the warmth of the sheets Trey had just left. "There is no way..."

She squawked when Trey lifted her out of his spot and sat down beside me. She wriggled from his grasp and flew up to his shoulder, eyes lighting with glee as they settled on his brand. "Iron scald. Really brother, how careless. Your lover not so eager?"

She hopped off his shoulder and landed on my stomach. "Why are you going along with this charade? To have done that you must have been unwilling. Is he controlling you?"

"He surprised me. I reacted..." I put my hand in his and smiled up at him then turned back to Joli, "shall we say, poorly. I got over it."

"What has he promised if you lie for him?"

"He didn't promise me anything, and I'm not lying for him. What could he possibly gain from this?"

"I'm not sure yet. But I will find out. Father laughed for days at how slick he plays. He acts like he'd prefer not to be in the game and then he claims you. Stealing away the opportunity from the rest of us to convince you to be our Guardian."

"If it's a game. It has been a most delightful one."

"And have you made your decision?"

"I've decided to have your brother? Anything more than that is not anything you need to know."

"Father sent me to tell Trey that if he wanted to keep his wings he'd stop wasting everybody's time and either return with our Guardian or give up his claim so you would listen to the rest of us."

I arched my eyebrows and examined the pristine skin of her throat. If she thought there was a chance that he could abdicate his position in the Magic or ignore it, she had another think coming. I wasn't sure if the pressure would ease off now that the honeymoon was over, but I know I wanted her to leave in the worst sort of way. "I assume you've never been claimed."

"That's neither here nor there. That was father's message."

I stretched my hand over to Trey's knee and ran my fingers up under his towel. I wasn't going to shock a fairy, Trey had told me too much of their mating habits. But he also told me the magic stepped in to prevent incestuous relationships by making the thought of parents and siblings and sons and daughters having sex, a less than titillating image. It was one of his rages against his people that they were so irresponsible the magic had to step in to prevent inbreeding. I had almost laughed when I told him it was probably more effective than the law.

Now I saw where this could work to my benefit. I rolled on my side, forcing Joli to take to the air, then half sat up letting the sheet drop to my waist as I buried my face against his chest and kissed him, working my way up to his neck while my hand stayed occupied under the towel. He laughed and said, "You're insatiable," and leaned down to kiss me. The flutter of tiny wings and fists, beating at the window preceded the sound of retching.

He looked away from me briefly and innocently asked, "Is there a problem sister?"

"Mother Earth take you and your chosen! Let me out of here."

I reluctantly let go of Trey and he stood up, adjusted the towel and walked over to open the window. I rolled over leaning on my left hand, and looked at her. She was pale and doubled over. Apparently "Magic" didn't do anything in half-measures. I said, "There is a message you can take to your father for me. Tell him we'll be out to discuss the Guardianship sometime today and if there's to be any chance of me accepting the position he'll stop threatening my chosen."

Trey slid the window up and said, "See why I love her."

Joli gave him a deep assessing look and darted out into the fresh air.

The moment she was gone he spun back around and dropped the towel. I was glad to see my effort had not been wasted in the trek to the window. He crawled back into the bed and said, "Claiming you is the smartest thing I've done in a hundred and twenty years. Even if it didn't work out quite like I'd planned." He lowered his head to my lap, nuzzling the sheet out of his way. Wings gently fluttered above us.

We stayed in bed that morning until Grandma knocked on my door. Over breakfast I told Grandma that my presence had been requested at the portal. I spent the morning finishing up odds and ends and making arrangements with Carla the closest neighbor's daughter who sometimes rode with me, to feed and exercise the horses as I would be away for an unknown amount of time.

When I had everything settled that I could think of, I told Grandma I'd see her soon, I never say good-bye, call it superstition. Picked up the sleeping bag and a weeks worth of nonperishable food jammed into the back-pack and started walking. Trey offered to bring Nella back if I wanted to ride but I wasn't in a hurry. As soon as we were out of sight of the house he grew larger and took the sleeping bag from me. he tried to take the food too but it really didn't weigh much and I wasn't going to start this by letting somebody else do the heavy lifting.

I knew when the camouflaged fairies joined us. Reckon I'd become more sensitive to fairy presences over the last two weeks. We weren't even half-way to the portal. I sank into the color world and saw Trey surrounded by dots of black. A silent honor guard to one their own or were they afraid he may need their assistance when his father got hold of him?

Oddly enough I found a particular color had taken up positions around me as well and I wondered what I would have in common with the rose colored fairies. Outside the bounds of the circles formed by these two escort groups, the colors swirled in dizzying patterns. I spotted Joli and nodded to her. In response, she darted to my shoulder and dropped the camouflage spell. "You're not going to molest my brother again are you?"

I grinned at Trey and said, "I might have if you folks hadn't shown up quite so soon."

Joli's tan faded a bit, nausea made her clutch her stomach.

I poked a finger at her. "Don't ask if you don't want to hear the answer."

"So what exactly did he do that made you collar him?"

Trey frowned at her and rubbed his neck. I reached over and stopped his hand from the unconscious gesture. I turned back to Joli and dredged up the best dominatrix imitation I could think of from TV. In a deep throaty voice I said, "We were playing a little rough." I ran my finger around the brand as sensually as I knew how, "I told him all he had to do was say stop."

I've never seen anybody literally turn green before. She was game though, I'll give her that.

When she had her stomach back under control she came back for more. "That's not what you said this morning."

"You don't get it do you? My business is not yours, and I will keep pounding on that image you left with this morning, just leave me alone."

Trey's smirk literally had her pulling her hair out. Silken strands of violet were scooped up by birds as they fluttered on the wind.

He picked me up off the ground and kissed me. I wrapped my legs around his hips and his wings curled around behind me concealing us. He grew hard as I clung to him and though he had assured me fairies thought nothing of a couple making love in the midst of hundreds of others that was pushing the limit of how far I, with my human sense of decency was willing to take the game. I'd been a virgin three days ago. I was a bit better at acting the part of the worldly experienced woman than actually being her. "I can't do this." I whispered in his ear.

"Nor would I ask you to. Sorry for the normal male reaction to holding his lover in such a way but be at ease, we are back to playing the game."

With his reassurance I threw myself into my role. My arms encircled his neck and my mouth sought his. Warmth grew in my abdomen and I wanted to be back at the farmhouse, in my bed, with him.

And that's where we ended up.

He looked down at me and laughed in delight. "You realize we're probably going to have to walk back there again unless you think you can just pop us back to where we were."

"I doubt it. I don't want to be back out there sparring with your sister. I really, really wanted to be back here in bed with you."

"Then maybe we should spend less time talking. It won't take them long to figure it out. Though I daresay quite a few of them are scratching their heads right now. This is so much better than what I was thinking of."

Without another word we stripped out of our clothes and took advantage of my wayward magic's gift.

We were dressing when the first tentative taps rattled the window. I glanced up to see two of his black companions outside not bothering to use the camouflage spell. Trey grinned at them and slid the window up as I pulled my t-shirt down. They flew in and landed on the nightstand. "It is true then, highness?"

He cocked an eyebrow at them. "That would really depend on what 'it' is."

"You are the Guardian's chosen."

Those words had a different meaning for him than they did for me. It wasn't anything more than Joli had said here in our presence this morning but he frowned, rubbed at his pointed ear and cast a nervous look my way. "So it would seem."

The taller of the two was grizzled. A scar ran down his right arm to the elbow. I was pretty sure fairies didn't grow facial hair but looking at him I got the distinct impression he needed a shave. He looked like a battle hardened soldier who'd been in the field several days. All he needed was an M-16. After a moments indecision and a glance at me he said, "That was not the plan, Sir."

Trey rubbed the brand. Drawing the other's attention to it. "Mother Earth! That's true as well then." If I had to guess, I'd say he hadn't been one of those with us earlier.

Trey didn't even notice when he touched his throat anymore, it took him a moment to realize what the soldier was talking about. When it dawned on him, a faint pink blush tinged his cheeks. "Yes, hmm... That would be when the plan began to slide off course."

I stood and paced to the window, lowering the blind. I turned around and said, "I think maybe we need to discuss some things. Introduce me to your friends."

Trey nodded to the one who'd been speaking. "Second-in command of the ogre defenses, Cern." He nodded to the younger silent fairy, "and my tactician, Flit."

Flit nodded acknowledgement, one wing waved forward, head bowed. "Commander."

"So what is it you forgot to tell me about?" I asked.

"Please don't be angry, Tess. The plan was to get rid of my siblings and spend the next two weeks begging you to help us secure our border. You know what went wrong with that plan."

Flit looked up at Trey. "It was a good plan, Sir."

"It would have been if you had taken all factors into account."

"What did I miss, Sir." The sullen tone informed me Flit's personal pride was stung. I guessed it was his plan.

"You failed to enter Magic into the formula."

"No sir. I did account for it. Outside the realm it should not have been strong enough to..."

"Add this to any future plans you come up with. The Magic behind some spells is not to be trifled with, no matter where you invoke it. I explained to Tess that I invoked the spell to get rid of my annoying family members. I hadn't yet mentioned the rest of our wishes when the magic took control of my life." His hand went to his throat. "She did not appreciate thinking I had lied to her."

"It didn't affect her?"

"After much thought I have decided that many factors worked into how we were affected. First and foremost she never claimed me so the Magic had to work twice as hard to affect her. It may have something to do with her being human as well. She figured out how to overcome the worst of the effects and we coexisted for a week but Magic wasn't done with us and I still wasn't able to think worth a damn. It kept getting stronger but she'd ordered me to change size and I had. We thought we were safe."

I was having my doubts as he narrated. It didn't sound like there was much to 'us' besides a magic spell. But I'd known that, so why was it bothering me now?

He continued. "We hoped if we made it to the new moon without giving in to Magic it would dissipate. The better I got to know her, the more I liked her. The more I liked her, the harder Magic tried. Three days ago it won. Losing a fight never felt so good." He was talking to them, but he was smiling at me. He sat down beside me and started running his fingers through my hair. I leaned my head back and turned my cheek into the palm of his hand.

"For the love of the Oak..." The grizzled veteran stomped back and forth on the night stand. "Sir! Your family will chance the fact you may still be occupied before long. I'm assuming you haven't found any time in the past three days to explain our wishes to her."

"Huh? Oh...no. I'm sorry Cern, I don't seem to be in control yet. Why don't you tell her?"

"Yes, Sir." Cern flew to my shoulder and battered at his commanding officers hand.

Trey looked down at him, mildly annoyed then sat back with his hands under his legs. "Sorry."

"You have our apologies for our miscalculations, Miss. I trust it has not been too great a hardship." The sarcasm in his voice probably had something to do with my foot rubbing Trey's leg.

I cocked my head sideways to look at him standing beside my ear. "Not at all."

"What his highness was supposed to do was present you with the problem we've been having on the ogre border and beg you for help."

"I assumed things of that sort would fall under the job description of Guardian."

"It used to. His Majesty has pulled the duty in the past dozen years. His official reason is because ogres are too much for the average Guardian to deal with. He blames the ogres for why we cannot keep a Guardian. His unofficial reason, twelve years ago Trey told a Guardian who had only a token talent that if he wanted to live, he'd find another line of work and the man quit. Ever since then we've had ogre detail and Guardians are not told of any incursions. We had hoped to make arrangements to contact you if we happened to need your help."

"You do know I don't have a great deal of skill."

"We wouldn't have undertaken this effort if His Highness hadn't seen a good deal of potential in you. I'm not even royalty and I can see your magic. Which probably doesn't mean much to you, but I don't have a great deal of talent. For me to see your magic, you must blaze like an inferno."

"That she does," Trey agreed with his second's assessment.

"So if we do this," I asked, "would it be with or without His Majesty's blessing?"

"Best if we present it to him first and go behind his back when he turns us down," Trey said.

"And you'll teach me what I need to know to be of any use to you at all?"

"That we would. Which is more than you're likely to get from most of the others," Cern continued.

"Except Joli," Trey said. "For all she's nosy and irritating and acts like she's only fifty years old she will do her best by you. Despite the competition we are friends. Taunting her as you have, she'll probably even like you. She'd probably welcome you as a sister if you'd stop making her nauseous." He laughed. His defense of his sister surprised me.

"It just seems the easiest way to stop her questions. And it's fun. Except I don't think Magic comprehends a joke. Every time I start, I don't seem to be able to stop."

"I like to think you can't stop because I'm just that good."

I wrapped my leg around his. "There is that."

Over on the nightstand Flit had his head in his hands. "We'll never even get them back to the demesne. How could I not have known this would happen?"

"I'm sorry, Miss," Cern apologized as he grabbed a half dozen auburn hairs and flew away fast enough to tug them from my head. Reflexively I reached out to swat him like any insect that caused me pain. I stopped before I finished the swing. The part of my mind not under a spell knew he was trying to force me to focus.

He flew to Trey's shoulder and said, "Your Highness. If I might be so bold as to suggest, would it not be easier to get on with business were your sizes incompatible."

Trey looked as annoyed with Cern as I was, but he nodded his head. Cern returned to the nightstand and Trey shimmered and shrank. He flew to my shoulder and walked over to sit with his back against my neck.

Flit just moaned and Cern shook his head. "And perhaps we'd best take the horse. I'll see it gets back to the stable."

"And don't stop to talk to anyone on the way there," Flit added.

"First we have to get out of the house," I said.

"You made it last time," Cern noted.

"Exactly, and my grandmother watched me go."

Cern grinned, "Problem's already handled, Sir. Sent Bies to redirect her into a shopping trip."

"Good Man," Trey said. "I'm glad one of us is thinking."

Cern flew up to my unoccupied shoulder, "So what do you say, Miss."

"I would probably have agreed even if the plan had not gone so far astray. Now, could there be any doubt I would wish to assist my chosen?"

Flit stopped rocking and moaning. "Then...it worked. The plan worked."

Trey shook his head. "The plan was seriously flawed. It happened to come together in spite of your best efforts. Before you hand me a plan involving Magic again, I will expect you to know any tiny thing that may, in the remotest circumstance go wrong. Especially if you're going to put me in the middle of this plan."

"But I did research it, Sir," Flit argued.

"Obviously your research failed somewhere."

"I even spoke to a yellow who had agreed to claim a jade to incite jealousy in a ruby, Sir. He reported he had no problem walking away."

Trey's voice was pitched to carry an authoritative tone. "Then I recommend perhaps you expand your knowledge by looking into the capriciousness of Magic. This turned out well enough but do you honestly think she would help us if I had succeeded in raping her."

Flit paled. "Rape? It made you...."

"It made me try, Flit. I could not see reason when it first took hold of me. And as I said, it did not latch onto her as rapidly. Your lack of knowledge was very dangerous." I felt his elbow shift back and forth and knew he was rubbing at his neck. "I am glad she had the strength and ability to fight me. Were it not for her resourcefulness you would be looking for another position. I would be turned out to walk the world when father discovered she would not accept the Guardianship because of me. This was a very dangerous thing and a fortunate outcome does not decrease the guilt you should feel for your failure."

Flit bowed his head. The leading edges of both wings dipped downward. "Yes, Sir! I shall endeavor to improve my knowledge and skills, to be worthy of the trust you show in retaining me, Sir."

"See that you do. Now go help Bies get the horse ready."

I leaned forward, "I can get her out. It will only take a moment."

"Please, Miss. It is the least I can do. I endangered you and deserve to be flogged."

Trey put a hand behind himself and pressed a finger into my neck. Silently getting my attention. I stopped arguing. "Very well then. Don't bother with a saddle. It's just more for you to have to get off her when you return with her."

"As you wish, Miss" He bowed and darted out the window.

Cern looked up. "You were too easy on him, Sir."

Trey's wings tickled my neck as he shook his head. "I was too hard on him. If I didn't think he'd go off and ram his head against a tree if I let him off scot-free I would have. But he'd twist in his own guilt if I did that. He's not likely to learn much about Magic because the one thing I have learned from all this is that the only consistency it offers, is inconsistency."

A chill ran down my back when he said that. Did I really want to get involved in the Other Realm, where on a whim, Magic could do to me pretty much whatever it damn well felt like doing?

Cern stared at me. He was as observant as his commander. "Not to worry, Miss. Magic has certain rules it expects to be obeyed. Like the rule you've been using so effectively against her royal highness, Miss Joli. Other than that, it leaves you alone unless you do something foolish like provoke it."

"So you're saying by attempting to use it in a manner it didn't agree to, you folk and your plan provoked it."

"So it would seem, Miss."

"Then we really don't know what our feelings will be when Magic loses interest in us."

"I couldn't answer that, Miss."

"Nor apparently can we, I guess we take this one day at a time."

"They've had time to get the horse ready, shall we go?"

I stood up and headed downstairs...again. Hopefully we'd make it this time. jumping like that had been really cool, but like sending our clothes to the washing machine, it wasn't something I intended to do. It just happened and I hadn't been able to duplicate the clothes incident. Magic had answered my whim but I wasn't in control.

#

Nella was standing outside the front door. Rather than her bridle she wore a silver cord twined around her nose and over her ears. A single lead served as a rein. Nothing we hadn't done before. I leaped to her back and overbalanced, almost sliding off the other side from the magical assist I received. I turned around, ready to cuss Trey for helping when I didn't request it, and saw Joli laughing in the dogwood on the front lawn.

Trey frowned and flew toward her. She darted high into the sky a glimmer of fear on her face. He spun around, hovering, indecision clear when I laughed. "It's all right. I guess if we're keeping score I'm still ahead.

Joli flew back down but she wouldn't land on my shoulder as before. I was left wondering if she was afraid of Trey. "You're welcome to ride, Joli."

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather fly. But thank you for calling him off."

I resented that she made it sound like he was my guard dog. But anything I could come up with to say, sounded infantile in my own mind.

Trey flew back and landed on my shoulder. "Ignore her. She's just now realizing how thoroughly she lost."

"She looked afraid of you."

His deep rich laughter lightened my mood. "She knows you're untrained and she knows there's a lot I can do that she can't. I imagine she thinks I'm more powerful than she wants to trifle with since she believes I transported us back to the house."

"But you--"

"Didn't. Yeah, we know that. But she'll never believe that an untrained human could have."

"So she's scared because she thinks you're more powerful than her?"

"She's scared because she almost dumped my chosen on the ground and I am more powerful than her."

"I can fight my own battles."

"I know that. But as long as this spell holds, forgive me if I can't always stop myself from jumping to your protection. And honestly I was probably protecting her as well."

I scratched my head as we went through the gate in the backyard into the fields and turned toward the waterfall. His words troubled me until I asked, "Do you think I'd hurt her?"

"Not on purpose, but your magic is growing stronger. I've seen what you can do without trying, for an emotion no greater than lust. Imagine what you could do with anger."

"I didn't kill you a couple weeks back when I really was inclined to do so."

He winked and smiled. "Maybe you weren't as inclined as you believe. Though I confess even without using magic you did a fine job of making me wish you'd kill me and get it over with. Forgive me for what I'm about to say. You're a seventeen year old human No matter how wonderful you are, you're still young and subject to the unbalances of youth."

"Are you talking Magic or hormones?"

He rubbed his ear. "What is hormones?"

I laughed. "I'm sure there's a scientific explanation that neither of us would understand but basically hormones get blamed for all the stupid things teenagers do while our bodies are growing and changing."

"That's the one. A fairy nearing maturity sometimes becomes volatile. Emotions get out of control and magic mimics emotions before one learns restraint."

"So you think I might just incinerate her by accident if she ticks me off too much"

"She has pushed older fairies to the point they required every bit of control granted them by maturity to prevent a magic flare that would kill her."

I had the funny feeling he was talking about himself. "So my best magic so far has all been hormonal."

"If that makes sense to you, then yes."

"You'd think she'd be more careful if that is a possibility."

"As I said, she does not believe your magic is developed well enough to have done what you did earlier. She acknowledges your strength, but thinks you are too young to accomplish something like that. I can count the number of fairies that can transport themselves on one hand and I don't even need all my fingers." He stopped speaking and wrinkled his brow, thoughtful, undecided. Finally he said, "I do not wish to take credit for your magic but it may be best if we allow her to continue her belief. They will ask you what you know of magic. If you are half as smart as I believe you to be, you will let them think you ignorant."

"Why?"

"The more they think you can do, the more likely it is that father will summon monstrosities just to watch you battle them if he becomes bored."

"Has that happened before?"

"Not that we could prove."

"So you're saying I'll be entertainment."

"Not always. A Guardian is often truly needed, but it is not outside the realm of possibility. Even so, there is much we can teach you. You just can't let him bully you. I don't see you putting up with his tricks."

As we rode, my chest began to tingle. A tingle that grew into a full-fledged agonizing burn. I sagged on Nella's back and suddenly Trey was behind me supporting me.

Joli flew down from above. I must have looked bad because she looked concerned. "What is it, Miss Tess?" No teasing or joking or even laughter at my distress.

"It hurts."

"Where?"

I placed a finger between my breasts where it felt as though an anchor chain was tugging me along. About that time my head split in two. There probably would have been less pain involved if it had anyway. Darkness overwhelmed me as I succumbed to the pain, sagging bonelessly in Trey's arms.

## Chapter 7

When I came to, I was lying in a bed in a room whose walls appeared to be nothing more than dirt. The bed itself was soft, the comforter, black, and filled with down. Trey sat in a chair next to my head, alert the moment my eyes opened. Joli sat at my feet, she too leaned forward. An immense orange creature I'd have named a salamander if he'd been a hundred times smaller lay in the door of the room.

"Are you all right?" Worry lay heavy in Trey's voice.

I winced as I moved my head, trying to nod. The pressure still tugged at my chest but not with anywhere near the initial force. I raised my hand and felt my chest, fully expecting chain to be running from between my breasts to some as yet unknown place.

Moving my head slowly to avoid rattling the marbles they seemed to have replaced my brain with, I searched the room. "Where am I?"

The room was Spartan. A bed and a nightstand made of twisted tree limbs were the only furniture besides the chairs. From the polished look of the chairs, they didn't belong in the room. Hard to hang pictures on a wall made of dirt. Under the single window where it would get light and since there was no glass, possibly water, barely large enough I could identify its leaves, an ash tree grew. Out the window, immense fir trees reached to the sky. Joli leaned forward, smiling. "You're in the summer digs. Papa thought we should get you under cover and in a bed so we brought you here."

I looked at her as she smiled down at me and closed my eyes trying to force myself to wake up. This is what too many fairies in your life will get you. How peculiar that I would dream of Joli in such a way.

When I opened my eyes she was still there, still towering over me. I turned to Trey. "I thought you said those of your kind who could change sizes were few and far between."

"They are."

A smile lit Joli's face as she deduced my problem. Her most annoying giggles burst into the tiny room.

Trey ran a hand through my hair, smoothing it away from my face, careful not to tug on the knots he found there. "She didn't grow. You shrank."

"I..." There was too much pain in my head to follow a thought very far; this one was just too confusing.

"Shrank." Trey said again, finishing my sentence. "It's not some wayward wisp of magic or even a querulous bit of Magic. This spell was created by fairies for fairies and anybody they choose to have as guests. The summer digs are spelled to allow entrance to anybody we want here. And anybody who's allowed through the defenses shrinks to fit within the walls. You will grow again when you leave."

"That's a relief then."

"Anxious to get out of my brother's bed?" The smirk was back in Joli's voice. Somehow that was more comforting than any reassurance Trey might have offered, that I was and would continue to be, healthy and normal.

"Not at all, would you like another demonstration of how close we are."

"Don't you dare! He's foul for having told you how that would affect us."

"I didn't know how she would choose to use it. In fact..." He stopped and glanced at the salamander.

Joli's eye's narrowed. Mouth thinned. She looked back and forth between Trey and I as though she knew Trey had been about to say he had told me that before we'd become lovers. Finally her gaze settled on me. "You can't possibly be that good an actress."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Trey and I have been finishing each others sentences since before your grandmother was born. You haven't..." Her eyes went toward the salamander as well.

I wasn't sure what he was, but obviously it was a good idea not to say anything you didn't want known around him. I turned my gaze from the salamander to Joli. "I assure you, we have. If I felt better now I'd offer to give you a demonstration."

"Easy to offer to demonstrate when you know I couldn't possibly stay around to verify. The digs are pretty much empty this time of year, but I can find somebody who's not family."

I actually found myself liking Joli. "Contrary to the act I've put on for you, I do not intend to make love in front of anybody. So you're just going to have to take my word for it, we are lovers."

"No, I don't. Papa is rather furious with Trey right now. He's been ranting since we got you here. If you're not under Magic's influence, Trey will be spending the rest of his life on the ogre border."

"Furious?"

"That tug you felt just before you passed out...that was the council's summons. Since you weren't our Guardian we must notify the council that you responded to their summons."

I rubbed my chest still aware of the pull, surprised my t-shirt didn't pucker around the chain that was pulling through it. "I didn't answer their summons any more than I did yours. As a matter of fact, I suspect I'd still be lying wherever I happened to have fallen when they issued the summons, unless somebody rushed me to a hospital, if you and Trey hadn't brought me here."

Violet hair flying, Joli shook her head emphatically. "It doesn't matter how long it took you to recover. The first thing you'd have done was ride to the closest portal."

"They can't force me to do what they want. I don't belong to this realm."

Trey frowned at the salamander. "They can make an offer far more tempting than we can."

I stretched my hand to his knee, moving slowly to avoid pain. Forcing my lips to curve upward in what I suspect looked more like a grimace than the grin it was intended as, I said. "They can't offer me you, can they?"

The salamander moved out of the doorway and Trey grinned. "No, they can't."

Joli stomped her foot and flapped her wings, stirring the leaves on the little tree by the window.. "How do you get her to say these things?" She flounced down the hallway following in the wake of the salamander.

Trey held my hand and bent to kiss it. "The council can be persuasive if they think you're the one they're looking for."

"I'm untrained, surely there've got to be better candidates."

"Perhaps. Depending on what they're looking for they often prefer humans younger and less trained than you. With the strength of your magic, if you were ten years old maybe twelve, instead of seventeen I've no doubt they'd try to coerce you. A general summonsing like the one they sent out will draw every magic user down to the age of about eight."

I gawked at him. How could they just do that. Children wandering off without parents. At least I assumed the council wouldn't include parents in the invitation. "Don't they know there's something dangerous out there trying to kill children with potential to wield magic? I can't have been the only one that thing went after."

"If there were others, none survived to tell the story. Or, like you, didn't know who to tell that would believe them."

Too tired to lift my arm, I allowed it to rest in his lap. Both his hands wrapped around my fingers. Flat on my back I stared at the ceiling. "So all around the world, anybody with the slightest ability to use magic just passed out? When they awaken, they take off for the nearest portal and it doesn't matter where the portal is, whose property it's on? They don't have a choice but to obey the summons of your council? Are they at least conscious enough of their actions that they don't step in front of moving vehicles?"

He raised my hand. I could feel a smile as his lips brushed the knuckles. "Only the strongest pass out. For those, Magic keeps them safe until they recover their wits. For most, its no more than a feeling that you really should be somewhere, with a vague feeling of how far you're traveling and what to pack. Few portals are on privately owned land. So most traipse through one of your parks or discover an abandoned house. Very few open in large cities. A special room in the buildings humans stay at overnight when traveling."

"Hotels."

"Yes. Your superstitions work for us. Usually we use a room on the thirteenth floor and cast a spell over the floor to make humans forget it exists. Nobody thinks it unusual since you shun the number.

"What about the children?"

"None have remained lost more than a day or two. The pull is strong enough they come to us. If they are unsuited we return them unharmed, unable to remember where they went or what they did. Usually it doesn't even require magic."

"And if they are found suitable?"

Pressure increased on my hand and I glanced at him as a crimson stain brushed his cheeks. "It depends on the circumstance of the child. Orphans we keep. Abused and endangered children we keep. Oft times placing a thought in the parents head that they harmed the child and are responsible for his or her disappearance. If the child's situation was truly wretched and there are others in the household, sometimes we provide a simulacrum corpse so the abuser ends up in your dungeons where they can do no more harm.."

He placed my hand on the bed beside me and I was content to let it lie there. Wings rustled as he rose and began pacing the room.

"You haven't mentioned the regular kids from happy loving homes."

He turned on his heel and stomped twelve strides to the wall and turned again. Four more turns while I waited patiently. Arriving at a decision he said, "Those are handled on a case by case basis. If the child is delighted to learn he has magic--"

"And what child wouldn't be?" I muttered under my breath.

"He remains in the realm while he is trained."

"So he just disappears and the family grieves."

"Sometimes. Sometimes we leave behind a body for them to bury. Always we make sure the death appears as nothing more than a terrible accident." The blush wrapped around his neck.

"You know that's not right. A child of eight isn't old enough to stay home alone much less make a decision that will alter his life."

"Your world is changing. It has been some years since a general summons went out. The custom has stood for millennia. We only keep the child that best fills the needs of the realm, it's not like we spirit off dozens of children every year."

"What about small summonses like the one your people issued?"

He came back and stood at the foot of the bed. "Usually we are looking for people who require less training. You didn't feel the summons, I doubt an untrained child would. That's not to say it hasn't happened and we do get some abused children who have so little to hope for, they are open to the tiniest suggestion that they may have a purpose somewhere."

"Where do you keep these children?"

"We do nothing more than turn them over to the council."

"So you don't know?"

Trey shook his head and came around to sit beside me on the bed.

"Why do you suppose I didn't feel your summons?" I placed my hand on my chest. No question I felt the council's. Was still feeling the council's. I wondered if the ache would ever stop.

"Your power is capricious. You may not have felt it on the day you rode out here for your grandmother's toadstool but had we not shut it down you may have felt it the next day or the day following that."

"What exactly are you saying?"

He clapped his hands together above my chest and smiled down at me. "On." He clapped again, "Off."

I'm glad he thought it was funny. "So if I accept your position as Guardian, I could be battling, say...one of your ogres and find myself without magic? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Because it is no longer a problem. Your magic has been maturing rapidly since that first meeting almost four months ago. Most humans come into their talent sporadically. Some things solidify it faster than others. Your first meeting with Joli enhanced your natural talent since then it has been strengthening. I have not seen your spirit dim except when you use magic at all in the past three days."

"That's not a long time period to be sure it's not going to fade again."

"I worked a major spell on you, even if I didn't realize it. Giving Magic possession of your mind and body when we stopped fighting it, shored up your talent to a point I don't believe it will fall from again."

"The morning after we gave in to the spell you said love made you more powerful. Did you mean to say it that way. Is it love or sex."

His smile broke into laughter. "Have you listened to anything I've said about my people? If it was sex. The most vapid people in the demesne would be the strongest. Magic prevents inbreeding because my people are so wanton. Be assured it is not sex. I don't know what we have between us. Or what we'll have between us two months from now, but I can say, today I do love you and that makes me much stronger than I was."

"And when the spell wears off and we wake up to find we don't love each other?"

"If that were to happen I suspect my magic would go back to its former level."

"So mine could go back to waffling between there and not there?"

"No. Your magic has matured. I really can't explain how I know that, but I do. Perhaps you wouldn't be as powerful as you are now, but only by using all your personal energy could you ever fade again. If that were to happen, it would be only a matter of days until you would be restored."

"If your brothers and sisters figure this out, won't they just go out and work Magic to their advantage?"

His smile broadened. "They may try but you heard Flit. He researched this and his research turned up nothing that made us expect what happened. I think the Magic is aware of intent. And as I discovered, it doesn't care about the intent of a fairy. It does what it pleases."

My head was pounding, pulsing with the same throb I still felt in my chest. Contemplating Magic, and magic was too much. I closed my eyes and said, "I can't discuss this right now. Until they turn off the damn summons I can't discuss much of anything."

He sat on the bed beside me and I felt the silken touch of a wing on my arm. That was almost enough to make me forget about the pain. He laid down beside me and the pain dissipated as though the Magic of the spell overrode even the summons of the council. Mmmm...If I'd have known that earlier, we wouldn't have wasted so much time talking. I leaned closer and kissed him, rolling onto my side to press our bodies tight. A flap of his uppermost wing sent a breeze swirling through the room and the door slammed shut.

His arousal pressed firm against my belly, I thought he would ignore the knock on the door but after a lingering kiss, he pushed himself away. "Should have known closing the door would bring him."

He turned his back to me and his wings shook. I wasn't sure if he was stifling anger, or reinstating control of certain body parts.

He waited long enough the knock came again and I began to feel the pulse of the summons again. By the time Trey opened the door, I was miserable and he was calm.

A plum colored fairy entered, a circlet of gold rested on his brow. I don't know what I expected from a five-hundred-thirty-six-year-old fairy but this wasn't it. One would think that in that amount of time even the daftest of beings would learn to look wise and commanding. Nothing I'd been told about him led me to believe this. I guess it must be a human failing to expect wisdom in our elders. I'm aware there are a lot of humans who fail in this category but with Grandma as my example I suppose my expectations were a bit high.

He wore a rumpled plum-colored tunic and hosen over a well-rounded figure. Gossamer plum wings didn't appear sturdy enough to heft his bulk. Except where it sat lopsided across his forehead the circlet was hidden in bright fuchsia curls, more befitting a twelve year old boy than a king. Pale flesh stretched across baby-fat cheeks, his nose resembled the beak of a bird-of-prey. Full lips and light-lavender eyes combined to give him the appearance of a simpleton. From all I'd heard he was anything but. He didn't look cruel and sadistic.

Beside him stood a dwarf. Not that I'd ever seen dwarves before except in Snow White, and advertisements for the Lord Of The Rings movies, but he was solidly built. His shoulders were twice the width of the king's. His girth was nearly the same but there wasn't an ounce of fat on him anywhere. His hair was nearly the same auburn shade mine was and his beard extended past the stout rope belt that held up leather breeches tucked into knee-high leather boots. A coarse, brown, homespun shirt extended just to his waistline. Maybe I never woke up from the ride out here. He was way too stereotypical to be real, at least he wasn't wearing a pointed hat and carrying either a miner's pick or a battle-axe.

Trey bowed to the plump plum fairy. It almost made me gag to see him give honor to his father. The king did not acknowledge his son for long uncomfortable moments. I turned my gaze upon the dwarf and ignored the fairies' drama.

The dwarf walked past the king to where I lay and stared down at me. He placed one hand on my forehead and with a glance at Trey he put the other on my chest. His hand vibrated with the pulse of the summons, four words intoned in a deep guttural language and the throbbing stopped.

He reached up to my neck and touched the crossed feathers there.

Trey gave up waiting for his father to acknowledge him and launched himself across the room at the dwarf. The king raised a hand and Trey stiffened but only slowed momentarily. Still weak from the summons I tried to move away from dwarf but he pressed his palm against the mark and said "Hai..." My skin tingled and then burned. Before Trey arrived, the dwarf was flying across the room. Apparently Magic was having nothing to do with interference in that particular spell.

Trey watched the dwarf hit the far wall of the little room and sat down on the bed beside me, right hand gripping mine, left, tickling feather light at the mark on my throat tracing the edge around as though making certain it was complete and undamaged.

The dwarf picked himself up and brushed off the dirt that had fallen down on him from the wall. He shrugged his shoulders first one then the other as though making sure everything still moved, then grinned and said, "Had to try. Orders are orders. My fellow council members thought perhaps you should be free to make the choice without interference from the spell His Majesty's son placed on you."

The king couldn't settle on an emotion. Anger, glee, and uncertainty chased each other across the rounded face. I only wish I knew which applied to what event.

The dwarf stood at the foot of the bed, staring at Trey and I. His voice was still deep but the words he spoke were English. At least I assume they were since I could understand them. "I'm sure the council will send somebody to present their case anyway."

Putting an irritated tone in my voice I said, "Don't bother. This all started before the spell. Had you succeeded in removing the Magic you would find my choice remained the same. So sue me, I'm seventeen and he's hot."

Trey smiled down at me and squeezed my hand.

The dwarf glanced between us, shrewd dark eyes settling on the brand on Trey's neck. His tone was wry when he said, "It would seem you chose to mark him a little more permanently."

"Why does everybody automatically assume I did that?"

"Because it's iron scald. Nobody else he knows could have done it. Besides, young Joli was quite excited about it. Which is why I decided to remove the spell before he could protest."

One more red checkmark on Joli's page. "That worked out real well for you."

"I will include in my report that perhaps they will wish to wait the normal time span for one of these spells to wear off."

"I told you it won't make any difference."

He ran his fingers through the long beard tucking the end of it under the rope belt. "Then explain the scald to my satisfaction."

I didn't think he'd believe it but I gave it a shot anyway. "We were playing a little rough."

King Ral grunted like someone kicked him in the stomach and backed out of the room.

The dwarf walked around the bed and laid a finger on the brand. Trey held himself still but I could feel the effort. The wound had sealed over very quickly but the scar was still red and ragged. "Playing rough is bruises, maybe cuts, sometimes even broken limbs on you frail species. Playing rough is not bringing your lover so near death, the scythe was already swinging when you released him."

Note to self. If things don't work out with Trey, you don't want a dwarf next. I remained silent, my wits seemed to have fled in front of an inquisitor that looked past my bluffs. Once again I wished lies would come more readily to my tongue.

In the wake of a too long silence he spoke again. "I can't make you tell me the truth. Don't get me wrong, I believe you are lover's now. Young Trey shrugged off his father's compel, far too easily for you to be anything else. But these spells wear off and fairies..." He stopped and looked at Trey, lower lip held in his teeth making the short hairs of his beard stand out. With a shake of his head he finished it. "Fairies are fairies."

Trey's anger was palpable. His wings shook, face turned a dark brick red as he resisted the urge to strike out.

Before he could say a word I spoke up. "Council member sounds like an esteemed position. Perhaps if they're going to send you into the fairy demesne you should spend some time getting to know them. You paint with very broad strokes. I've met a couple of fairies I would trust with my life, who aren't under spells. I happen to know there's a lot more to Trey than there is to many of his people. He's been far too honest about the spell and what may or may not happen when it wears off. I suspect every race has good and bad traits, my own included, but tell me, which are you, a gem hoarding miner, or an axe wielding battle crazed warrior, because frankly what I know of dwarves you'd have to fit in one or the other category--"

He interrupted my tirade, "Point taken young lady. I will be here for at least the next two weeks awaiting other new arrivals. If young Trey has earned such a staunch defense not only from yourself, but from the Magic behind the spell, perhaps it would behoove me to get to know him better. I look forward to seeing you at dinner tonight." With a shake of his broad shaggy head he walked across the room. The king was standing on the other side of the door. He started to walk in but the dwarf spun him about and pushed him down the hallway. "I don't think you want to go in there, Your Majesty. Emotions are a bit high." The dwarf whose name I hadn't got, closed the door behind himself.

I stretched an arm up to Trey's neck and pulled him down beside me. "Now where were we?"

## Chapter 8

Trey and I were left alone after the visit by king and councilor. Nobody even knocked at the door. The occasional shadow flitted across the window but after my initial alarm at a possible audience Trey assured me they were his troops making sure nobody approached and I relaxed and enjoyed our solitude.

The sun started sinking before Trey bothered getting dressed. Between the dwarf's visit and extracurricular activity I was more than ready for supper, just not sure about meeting the family. Trey took my hand and led me down the hall. The fairies we passed side-stepped away from us and I wondered if I already had a reputation or if Joli had spread her fear of Trey. We were flanked by four black fairies and, to my consternation two rose colored fairies.

About the third time Trey saw me glance over my shoulder he said, "Relax. Somebody, and I can guess who, has set them on you to seek the truth of our relationship."

"She doesn't even believe a member of the realm's council?"

"It is doubtful Jaral shared his decision with her. Even my father is not informed of council decisions."

"Why does Joli persist in doubting our relationship?"

He rubbed at his neck. "Besides this?"

A gentle heat touched my cheeks. That had caused more than a few questions. Had I truly been close to killing Trey? "Yeah. Besides that. She's had ample proof. What could I possibly gain by lying? If she thinks we didn't get beyond that, why would she assume I'd lie for you?"

"It's..." He glanced around the hallway, stopped walking, leaned closer, and whispered, "It's the atmosphere we've been raised in. I got out of it twelve years ago when I was sent to border patrol. Joli still lives with the court. She looks for lies and ulterior motives in everything. She'd be more ready to believe the truth if we tried to hide it from her."

What a horrible place to live. I let my expression speak for me because I knew I couldn't possibly keep my voice in a whisper. He wrapped an arm around my waist and continued down the hall. I glanced at our escort again and asked, "So what's special about a rose fairy? Why does she think they can be sure where she can't?"

He rubbed at his ear, scratched his nose, cleared his throat, but said nothing. He did however turn a gorgeous shade of pink.

So I decided to take a stab at it. "Let me guess. Rose red, the color of love. Somehow they have magic that they can use to determine if love exists?"

"Sort of," he mumbled.

"It can't be as bad as all that. Tell me, cause you're making me nervous here."

"It has more to do with fertility than love. It's something that I should have considered. Would have considered if not for the magic..."

"So,,, what, they think I'm pregnant?" I never even considered the possibility. Even now that it was laid out in front of me I had my doubts if it was possible.

"It is not unusual when a couple chooses to claim each other, that at some point between full moon and new moon life is created."

"But we're not..."

"The same race? It would not be the first time such a thing has happened. Except for my wings we are not so very different."

My heart beat a little faster as I started counting days. The numbers I came up with didn't set my mind at ease. The fact that Magic seemed to want something from Trey and I didn't make me feel any better either. Food was beginning to lose its appeal. How could I be so stupid? I might have been a virgin, but I knew where babies came from and I knew what to do to prevent it. A child wasn't one of those things I was in a hurry to experience. "Do you think they already know?"

Trey looked at me and then over his shoulder at the roses. "One way to find out."

He beckoned one of them up to walk beside us. "What will you report to her highness?"

That was direct enough. The rose fluttered a hand around my stomach, her voice was high-pitched and quiet, "May I?"

Trey translated, "She wants to touch you."

I stopped walking again, "Whatever it takes."

He translated back to the rose. "You have permission."

She spread her fingers wide, and touched my abdomen. I could barely feel the pressure as she rubbed her hand in a circular motion. She turned to Trey with the downcast look of one purveying bad news. "I'm sorry your highness, there is no child."

My knees felt weak. Dodged that bullet. But I was going to have to do something about birth control if we were going to keep on the way we'd been doing. I peeked up at Trey. I expected a mimic of my relieved expression, not the thoughtful frown he wore. I wasn't sure what was going through his head so for once I managed to hold my tongue and not make a poorly timed joke. He wrapped his arm around my waist again and we continued on in silence to the dining hall.

The colors arrayed around the table looked like I'd ended up at the crayola factory after an explosion. It was dizzying to see so many of them in such close quarters.

I found myself seated next to Jaral on a dais beside the king. Trey held my hand and took a step away, about to descend to the next dais which held a long table with nearly a hundred fairies seated around it. Joli and Calum's presence clued me in that these were most likely Trey's brothers and sisters.

Jaral grabbed Trey's arm and pointed him to the seat on the other side of mine. "Any spell still strong enough to throw me across the room like a leaf in the wind is not yet ready to tolerate separation. Sit beside your lady, Highness."

Trey glanced at his sire then did as he was bade with a grateful look at Jaral, not only for his words but for the volume he spoke them at. Jaral was the only person present who could possibly overrule the king's wishes and apparently he didn't care a whole lot whether the king liked or disliked him.

Supper started off with Mushroom soup. It looked like beef broth but the taste was not one I was familiar with. Next came a dish with orange slivers arrayed around large chunks of a white, almost woody looking substance covered in a slightly sweet cream sauce. Wine was served with the second course The orange looked and tasted like grated carrots, the white tasted like walnuts. The sauce combined to make it palatable. At least until I realized I was the center of attention, at which point every bite began to taste like wood. I stopped eating and returned their stares. One by one their attention drifted back to their own plates. Trey squeezed my knee firmly, he gave me an encouraging smile.

Fine crystal bowls were set on the table in front of us, they contained pulpy orange yellow and red chunks all looking like they'd been dished up with a melon-baller and served with a large dose of sweet cream. The balls of fruit tasted like orange, strawberry, and pineapple. Nobody does strawberries with a melon-baller. And that's about the time it sank in that I'd just eaten more than my fill on maybe half a walnut, a grated slice of carrot, probably less than a teaspoon of mushroom and a teaspoonful of fruit. I wondered if I'd still be hungry if I left the summer digs. Carving up a pineapple must be something like butchering an eight-hundred-pound steer.

When we were through eating, King Ral turned to the three of us sitting on his left and said, "It would please us if you would attend us immediately following morning-star.

I nodded my head as if I had a clue when morning-star was or where he expected us to be.

Trey and Jaral said, "Yes, Majesty," and then everybody looked at the king, he stood and walked from the room. The moment his plum colored cloak swirled out the door, everybody at the lower table began to stampede out as a disorganized horde. The room emptied, leaving Joli sitting alone at the table below us. And a withered elderly fairy sitting to the right of Ral's throne.

I hadn't noticed the elder when we entered the room but he was so small and gray I could easily have overlooked him. Now that we were alone he looked over at Trey and said, "It's good to see you happy, Grandson."

Grandson...guess I'd figured if pops was five-hundred-thirty-six Gramps wouldn't be in the picture anymore. That's what I get for thinking.. His wings were ragged, it would truly surprise me if he was still able to fly. His hair was a dull, non-descript, gray he had not aged gracefully but if I looked that good at seven or eight hundred years old I don't figure I'll complain.

I almost missed Trey's response while contemplating the wizened little fairy. "It's good to be happy again, Grandsire."

"I had high hopes for you youngster, 'til your father turned out to be a newt."

Trey smiled at the insult to Ral and said, "I don't let him bother me. Unlike some in this room, I didn't have high aspirations to the crown anyway." He smiled at his sister.

She frowned, but the elder's gaze turned her way and she held her tongue.

"Dear little Joli. Fighting an uphill battle all the way and doing very well at it. Your elder brothers and sisters have fallen one by one and yet you struggle. Know who your friends are. There are family and friends who can and will help you. You need to learn to accept that they might. Not everybody is struggling to win your father's game."

"I'm not struggling to win his game, Grandsire. I'm struggling to win a position I can help my people from."

"They are the same thing." The elder contemplated Trey again, then turned back to Joli, "Forgive us, but I must talk to your brother and his chosen." Joli rose from her chair, face torn between mistrust and thoughtfulness.

When she was gone, the old fairy waved a hand and suddenly there weren't any outside noises. A chartreuse fairy walked up to the open doorway, bounced backward and sat on his rump, a startled look on his face. He waved at the king's father and pointed to the cups and plates scattered about the tables. The old fairy waved his hand again and the dishes disappeared. The chartreuse fairy smiled, nodded his head, and mouthed the words "Thank you, Sir." Though I wondered if they were as silent when he said them as they were in here.

The elder turned to Trey and I with a sad shake of his head. "You do know the spell you cast is only temporary?"

"Of course, Grandsire."

"And she knows?"

"Yes, Grandsire"

"Then it is good that you find happiness from it while it lasts." The old fairy paused while forcing a few asthmatic breaths from his chest. "The councilor who ate supper with us today wishes to ask you for assistance but your sire has forbidden it."

"Do you know what he wants?"

"I do not."

Trey looked between me and his grandfather. "Just me, or Tess as well?"

Thin shoulders shrugged under a ragged blue tunic. "Your father doesn't leave me alone with him for long. If your lady is going to accept the task of Guardian, perhaps you should let councilor Jaral show her the north country as he goes home."

"Father will not permit it."

The pale, rheumy blue eyes turned toward me. "If your chosen has half the spark she appears to have, she will arrange it. From all that I've heard, she handles your kin quite readily. Your sire needs her, not the other way around." He stopped and wheezed. "I hear a harpy has been attacking our folk on the northern border. 'sgood an introduction to her job as she's likely to get."

"We can try, Grandsire."

"Try hard, lad. It is the only course in which I see lasting happiness for you. By helping the council with this task, you will protect many in dire need."

I stared at the ancient fairy, biting my tongue. He was manipulating us as much as anybody else. His knowledge was pretty detailed for somebody who didn't know what the council wanted. Trey squeezed my hand, as though feeling my tension, he was begging me to hold my tongue.

"You know father, Grandsire. Does he know what the council wishes to talk to us about?"

"I don't think Jaral is that loose-lipped. Nor do I believe he holds any great love for your sire. Ral knows your help is wanted, but he told the council you'll be training the new Guardian on top of your other duties for the foreseeable future. Already lost one of his contestants to them. Not giving up a second." The elder succumbed to a coughing fit. When he could speak again, he said, "Now if you would be good enough to help me to my room, I'll leave the two of you alone."

Trey pulled his grandfather's chair away from the table and lifted him gently with an arm under his shoulders. I wasn't surprised to find Joli waiting in the hallway. Trey stopped when his grandfather did, but the old man didn't say anything. Just stood there while Joli approached me. "Do you mind if I walk you back to my brother's room?"

I looked at Trey and realized how right councilor Jaral had been. The thought of moving away from Trey brought anxiety, but I nodded and we went in the opposite direction from Trey and his grandfather.

Joli touched my arm and I realized she'd been talking. "I'm sorry. What was that?"

"I said I spoke to Alba, the Rose you allowed to check you earlier."

"We thought you would."

"Besides the obvious fact that she told me you were not carrying my brother's child she said your heart raced and you seemed stricken at the idea and relieved that you were not. More even than that cursed mark on your throat, that convinced me of the truth of Trey's claim."

"I'm so glad I could satisfy you." I made certain she wouldn't miss the sarcasm laced into that comment.

"I know you see us argue and poke at each other, but I love my brother. He does not take relationships lightly, which makes finding a mate difficult. You haven't been around long enough to know us, but it is rare that a relationship lasts longer than the two or three months that the claiming spell holds." She looked sideways at me as though I was supposed to be hearing more than she was saying. Apparently she decided I didn't get it because she continued on. "Usually those who decide to use the spell do so because they have found a partner who is compatible physically, not mentally. Trey's certainly never done it before, which is one of the reasons I had such a difficult time believing it was anything more than a good act."

I looked over my shoulder in the direction we had come. I was pretty sure I could turn around and find Trey, like a rubberband snapping back together after it had been stretched out.

"Tess!"

"I'm sorry."

"We all thought he cast the spell to drive us away?"

She paused, evidently expecting me to deny or confirm. When I didn't say anything she went on.

"When I found the two of you in bed, I couldn't believe he'd taken it that far. It's not something he'd normally do. Then when Alba told me he was disappointed you were not carrying his child, I began to worry for my brother."

"I wouldn't hurt Trey."

"But you don't want to carry his children, which will hurt him."

"Neither of us even knows what we'll think of each other after the spell wears off."

"He said that to you?"

"I'm having a hard time concentrating on your words right now. That intensity can't last. But whatever happens, I'm only seventeen and two weeks ago..."

"Yes?" She was on her toes listening now.

Trey's warning stopped me from telling her I'd never slept with anybody. "Two weeks ago I almost killed him when the Magic first took hold of him. How could anybody think that could turn around to I want to have your child, this quickly?"

Her voice pitched higher in disbelief. "Have you seen yourselves?"

"But it's all Magic. If the mark wears off my neck and I still feel the same way I'd love to stay with him but we just don't know. Even then, I'm too young to want to start bearing children."

"I thought you human women used children to trap mates."

I laughed. Guess fairies and dwarves aren't the only ones to get stereotyped. "I suppose some might. I'm not one of them though. I'm not saying I never want to have children, but it would be like you giving birth when you were only fifty years old."

Joli's jaw opened and closed several times before she said, "That's not even possible."

"Well OK how old are you now?"

"A hundred and thirty-two."

"And how many children do you have?"

"Tie myself down? Are you kidding?"

"My point exactly."

"Oh..." She floundered for a moment then continued on. "But if you'd tie yourself to one mate how much bigger a burden would a child be?"

"Do you want to get up in the middle of the night and feed one, change its diapers and walk with it when its colicky. My friend Gladys had me help her baby-sit for one night. That's when I decided, there was no way. Easy way to make money my ass."

"But that's what the greens are for. They're nurturing they live to take care of the community's children."

"So once again I ask you, why don't you have any children?"

"Ruin my figure." Lavender wings rustled as she shuddered. "There are some females who become so ungainly they can't fly for the three months it takes for one of them to grow inside you."

"Three months? Triple that for a human."

Violet eyes widened. Her mouth made a little o. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet. "I'm sorry I guess I didn't know what I was asking."

"That makes two of us. In fact I'm still not sure what you're asking."

"I love my brother. I want him to be happy."

I snorted laughter, and twisted the left side of mouth into a wry smile. "If not for you he may have gotten his child. This Magic is so strong I never gave a thought to the result of a sexual relationship but since you chose to remind me, I plan to take steps to prevent it."

"I was afraid that might be the case from what Alba told me of your reaction. Thus my need to attempt to intervene on Trey's behalf."

"You can't un-ring the bell. I suppose I really must thank you for the wake up call." I began to notice that the walk was taking about twice as long as it had to get to the dining hall. I began to look around and realized we were in an area I hadn't passed through before. Joli glanced over at me as I stopped walking.

"Is there a problem?"

"Where are you taking me?"

"Watching you, I'm sure Trey took Grandfather to his room and ran back to meet you. I wanted a few minutes alone with you."

"I've had enough of this conversation. I don't even know if our relationship is real or magic. It's definitely premature to be attempting to talk me into bearing his children. I think I'm going to go back to him now." I sank into that place where I could see the color of magic and searched for the band I felt tugging me. It was a beautiful silver ribbon and at the next turning I followed it left, Joli trailed along behind, most likely curious to see if I could get there on my own. Twice I backed up and turned down a hallway I passed, but only seven turns later I found Trey pacing the room. His wings snapped open then shut on every turn he made. When I stood in the doorway he didn't even look up, just veered from his course and wrapped his wings and arms around me.

Behind me I heard Joli mutter, "For the love of the oak" and gag. "I just ate supper. Please stop."

Trey took his mouth off mine long enough to say, "Then go away," and slam the door in her face.

When the slamming door stopped vibrating I heard Joli speak through it. "Think about what we talked of. It's a problem that needs addressing. I'll see you later."

I pushed Trey back long enough to say, "Later," to her, before letting him drag me to the bed.

Swept up in the moment, or the spell, whichever, we were on the bed and half undressed before Joli's words came back to haunt me. It took every ounce of will I possessed to push him back to arms length. "We need to talk."

The enthusiasm on his face was replaced by anger and I was reminded of the morning in the barn. Something in my face must have alerted him. He stretched gentle fingers out to run a hand down my cheek. "You have nothing to fear from me." He sighed and looked at the door. "What has she been on about now?"

For some bizarre reason the urge to cover for Joli arose. "It wasn't her. It was..." My cheeks burned.

He leaned closer and kissed my shoulder. "You can tell me anything. Do not be afraid."

"It's just...I couldn't help but notice...When the rose fairy informed you I wasn't... pregnant you looked thoughtful, almost sad." There I'd got it out. I held my breath waiting for his response.

"There's nothing for you to worry about."

"Then you don't want children?"

"I do. And I would be most happy if you were their mother, but under the circumstances it would hardly be fair to ask you to provide me with them. I watched your face as well, when Alba made her pronouncement. You are too young and a half human child is not likely to be one the greens could care for, even if you were of a mind to leave her with them. We don't even know if we'll be interested in being with each other two months from now. I would not have been upset if you had been with child, but since you're not, I think it best we keep it that way for now."

I kissed him then and snuggled closer to him. "Thank you for understanding."

His lips left mine and wandered to my breast.

I stopped him. "We can't do this. I'm not using birth control."

He smiled and kissed me again. "While we are in the fairy demesne you have no need to fear. I have cast a spell to make certain there will be no lasting effects from anything we do."

Doubt plagued me. Joli was right about his wishes. Would he lie to me? And even if he wasn't lying, what did Magic want from us? If for whatever reason it wanted a child would it override his spell? For the first time since we'd become lovers I found myself distracted and unable to completely let myself enjoy his attention.

Trey awoke early and left, but he returned before the Magic had time to set my nerves on edge. He walked in with my sleeping bag and everything I'd left Grandma's house with yesterday. Goddess, was it just yesterday. Rolled inside my sleeping bag were several changes of clothes and I thanked him for finding it for me.

"Thank Joli," he told me. "She had her crew bring it up here. I don't think the Magic would have let me get far enough away to go find it in the field."

"I know you aren't familiar with the spell you cast on us but does this seem normal to you. How many others do you know of that get pangs if they stray too far?"

He stopped me midway through dressing and cupped my face in his hands. "Beyond the new moon I have never heard of such a thing. Nor has Flit, and he studied the spell."

"What makes us so different then?"

His hands slid down my neck and around my shoulders as he pulled me up close to his chest. "I wish I could answer that question. I assumed since you were human it would be weaker. I wasn't even sure it would work at all. Maybe the Magic has plans for us." He wrapped me tighter and I laid my cheek on his chest. "Maybe we just really needed each other and the Magic wasn't letting us tell ourselves otherwise."

"Or maybe I just really ticked it off by fighting you at first, so it's making us pay now."

He leaned down and kissed the top of my head. "I prefer my reasoning. Until I had you in my life I didn't even realize how much I needed somebody."

"How can you be sure it's not just the Magic making you think that?" I wrapped my arms under his wings, their sensual touch on my lower arms making me reconsider my determination to get dressed. His heartbeat under my right ear quickened.

"I can't be sure," he said, "but I don't want to go on crediting Magic for being the only reason this feels so right. I could maybe stand not to have my mind rubbed raw if you aren't around for a brief time, but other than that I couldn't be happier. Grandsire had it right last night. I am happy and it has been a long time since I could say that."

"He also sounded like he didn't expect it to last."

"He is a very wise man but even he can't know what I feel in my heart. I refuse to believe this is all Magic."

"Don't forget hormones." I joked but I turned my face against his chest. My tongue sought out his nipple. If this was only Magic, I wasn't going to jump off in the middle of the ride. Fighting it had only gained us insanity. Running with it was exquisite. He bent to kiss my neck.

All too soon he declared we needed to get dressed if we were to meet the king at morning-star. I glanced out the window as I climbed out of bed for the second time that morning. Close as I could figure, morning-star must be something around ten o'clock.

I put on clean jeans and a t-shirt that had a buzzard perched on a branch and underneath the bird it read, "fifty-one percent sweetheart". The back read "forty-nine percent bitch. Don't push it." I felt it was appropriate for my first meeting with King Ral.

I didn't know if they read English or if they'd get it if they could, but I felt like I was going into battle and this was the best armor I could come up with. Trey surveyed me and the grin that twitched on his lips told me, he at least could read it.

Jaral was pacing in the hall when we opened the door. He too stood back and looked me over then grinned. "Too bad your father can't read," he said to Trey.

"My thoughts exactly."

Jaral walked beside Trey. "I'd like a moment of your time if you can spare it."

"My Grandsire mentioned it last night."

Jaral bent his shaggy head. "A great king. It's a shame he gave up the throne so early. He could have led your people into an enlightened era."

Trey looked over at the dwarf. "It's not exactly like he had a choice."

"What do you mean?"

"I figured the council would know. I'm sorry, then it's not something I can tell you."

Trey wrapped an arm around my waist and refused to acknowledge the dwarf's questioning glances. We walked down a flight of hard packed earthen stairs and on for three more right turns before traveling up two flights. Trey's right wing curled around me protectively as he knocked firmly on a tall oaken double door. The doors were intricately carved with flowers and trees. Around the outside, vines wove a tight pattern that looked like writing but the words were none I'd ever seen before. Guess I needed a course in fairy. Or maybe I was just seeing things that weren't there.

I locked my questions away for a time when I wasn't quite so nervous. I went digging in my mind for my armor and found it sitting there waiting for me. Irony, sarcasm and commonsense, one of those had to work. If not, maybe I'd just bludgeon him with the fact that he invited me to the party. Trey squeezed my waist and looked down at me as the door opened. On the left, Jaral smiled confidently.

## Chapter 9

King Ral was settled in his throne, looking just as rumpled as he had the day before. A scepter was held loosely in his right hand, the salamander lay to the left of the throne, its head curving around to rest on Ral's foot.

No other fairies were in the room, Ral beckoned them in. The moment they had cleared the doorway it slammed shut behind us. Jaral raised an eyebrow. A silent rebuke to the fairy king. Trey went down on one knee in front of the throne. Jaral remained upright. He held my elbow, preventing me from joining Trey. Not that I'd had even the tiniest inclination to join him in obeisance. I understood the requirement that had Trey kneeling but that didn't make it any easier to watch. Ral wasn't my king, I damn sure wasn't bowing in front of him.

Ral's eyes went from me to Trey. Like yesterday, he took his time acknowledging his son. I swear the reason was to watch me build up a good bit of steam. Just before I lost the reins on my anger he bade his son rise. I stepped forward to stand beside my lover. Ice crusted over the pale plun eyes.

I suppose he thought I should have awaited permission to move. Without preamble I said, "Your son and some of your other children have informed me your demesne is need of a Guardian."

"That is true."

"They have suggested that I might be qualified to fill this position."

"Also true."

"I am interested, though nobody has as yet told me exactly what the job would entail. And before we even start discussing this, you must realize I have several stipulations to my accepting the position."

The king didn't look pleased. Probably not used to being shown anything less than complete respect and / or fear. A sideways glance at Jaral showed a smile on his face. Must make for a bad week for Ral to have two strangers in his midst who did not fall under his control, and did not seem to respect him. "I suppose these stipulations would have something to do with the commander of my border patrol?"

"They would, your Majesty." OK it didn't kill me to say it and I was willing to extend the effort to be polite.

"Let's hear them then."

"I need him near me."

"You want him near you."

"No Majesty. At this point in time, I need him near me. The spell he cast in the interest of your game has not let go of us. Nor do we have any idea when it will release us. Without him by my side I doubt I would survive the first task I was set to as a Guardian. And when or if the spell wears off I will still require his presence. He has promised to help me make use of the magic everybody claims I have in such abundance."

"What do you propose I do about the position he currently fills?"

"He has qualified soldiers in the field. I'm sure they can handle the task for the time being. And if something happens that absolutely requires his presence, we can deal with it together."

"He fills that position because he decided it was too dangerous for a Guardian. I won't have you anywhere near the ogre border."

I waited several moments then glanced over at Trey, turned my back on King Ral and walked toward the door.

"Wait."

I turned around, speaking from where I stood, two strides from the doorway. "My stipulations are not open for discussion."

I wanted to kiss Jaral when he said, "If you are not able to come to an agreement with His Majesty, the summons you felt yesterday is unfilled and I am of the firm belief you would work perfectly for the position."

"And what about Trey?"

"I'm certain the council can convince His Majesty, that cooperation would be in his best interest."

I hadn't thought it was possible for the king's pale flesh to get any paler, but he managed it. "Fine. Fine then. The boy stays with you till you tire of your play toy."

A light knock on the door interrupted the king's concession. He looked up irritably and screamed, "Enter!"

The door swung open to reveal a yellow fairy shaking in his pointy toed shoes. "S-Sorry, M-Majesty, but we've need of Councilor Jaral at the waterfall."

Jaral turned without waiting on the king's permission. The dwarf clasped a hand on the yellow fairy's shoulder. I heard him ask who had found their way but didn't hear the answer before the doors swung closed behind him.

Jaral's exit brought color back to the king's cheeks but he didn't try to renege on the agreement. "Come back." He beckoned me back to where I'd been before. "Stand with us that we might discuss the hazards of a Guardian's tasks."

I returned readily enough to Trey's side, but then I said, "If this is gong to be a lengthy discussion and it seems it must, I would prefer we all sit." I was quite proud that I restrained myself from pointing out the fact that he was already sitting.

"By all means, sit." He pointed to the lowest step of the dais.

I shook my head. He'd probably convince himself I'd sat at his feet, basking in his brilliance. "Chairs."

He waved his hand and two chairs appeared.

I sauntered to one of the chairs and sat down. The other chair had appeared a dozen feet away, Trey looked at the chair then looked at me. He attempted to pick it up but it wouldn't budge. He came over to stand behind me with his hands on the back of my chair. I stood, told him to sit and then curled myself into his lap. His arms went around my waist and in that moment the king didn't matter. When Trey leaned forward to kiss me, the other chair rocketed over to land gracelessly beside the one we were sitting in.

Without even acknowledging the hyperventilating fairy on the throne, I returned Trey's kisses before I stood, righted the chair, and sat next to Trey.

The king's face was burgundy, actually more flattering than his normal pale flesh. I feared I may have taken it a step too far, but he collected himself as we waited. When his skin tone had settled to a pale pink he said, "As you have obviously been told, we need a Guardian. We always have ogres encroaching on our territory eating our people demolishing our forests. They are the problem your lover," he gulped as he said the word but he did get it out, "has been handling for the past twelve years. He insisted they were too hazardous to allow a Guardian to deal with."

I knew Trey's version of the story so I let it slide. I needed to take a page from Grandma's book and pick my battles. This lie was not that important. I waited for him to continue.

"At the moment there is a harpy in the north at Teerala. The people are afraid to come out of their homes, and a possible dragon sighting at Slireen, in the east. Over the years many threats have wandered into our territories. We rely on a Guardian to remove them."

"You have magic. What makes a human necessary? Or any more capable of removing a threat for that matter?"

"Very few of us have strong magic."

I noted he included himself in that number.

"And most of the creatures that wander into our borders are sensitive to our magic. They select unprotected places and move to a new one the moment we send anybody who might be strong enough to banish them."

"Then keep chasing them until they leave."

"If only it were that simple. Unfortunately many of the monsters find us.. umm... well..."

Trey looked over with a grim smile that didn't touch his eyes. "What my sire is so eloquently trying to say is they find us tender and tasty. Our realm provides appetizers for many varieties of monsters. They don't tend to leave willingly."

"Precisely," the king agreed. "If we did not procreate so well," he paused to frown at his son, "our species would have been wiped from the realm a thousand years ago."

"And what advantage does a Guardian have over your own magic users?"

"The flavor of magic you use is foreign. The monsters can't sense you coming until you're close enough to strike. We do have methods of dealing with the monsters but if we never get close enough to employ them they are of little use."

"And in exchange for my service you will teach me these methods?"

"Yes of course."

"It was mentioned that you may be able to help me extract revenge on the creature that killed my parents?"

"Yes, well...I've asked around and nobody seems to know what it was. But we can train you so that should you find this monster, you will be strong enough to deal with it."

I looked over at Trey, lips pursed in thought. He had admitted as much to me already. But I didn't want the king to realize that. Slowly I turned back to the king and said, "That wasn't what I agreed to."

He held his hands out palms upward, a gesture of supplication and innocence. "I cannot be expected to patrol every word that comes out of my children's mouths. That is what he was told to offer."

Manipulative lying bastard. I smiled at him. "Learning the methods of ridding you of your monsters would fall into the category of training me to handle my own so you're not really offering me anything. Why should I take this job?"

"Is it so bad that our purposes coincide?"

"I suppose not. But as you are aware, my Grandmother is dying. If I accept your job, how would I provide for my day to day existence. It's not like I could hold a job. Somehow I doubt any fast-food restaurant, let alone a better job, would appreciate me calling in and saying, 'Look, can't make it today, dragons to fight.' I'll still need to buy food and pay electric and phone bills."

Ral actually smiled. "Dwarves have mining rights under our land, but there are plenty of what you humans consider precious gems lying on the surface. Many can be found near Slireen. If you choose to check out the dragon sighting, you can verify my words. For centuries, Guardians have collected their pay from our land."

I drummed my fingers on the arm of the chair and swung my gaze from the king to his son. "Is Slireen the only place they are available?"

The king answered hesitantly. "Of course not, but it is the largest deposit."

"Anything to the north?"

Ral sensed where I was heading and began shaking his head. "No...nothing near Teerala."

Trey earned a black look by saying, "Darisa isn't too far from the harpy sighting."

Ignoring the glares, I said, "Well then, the harpy seems to be a more immediate problem than a sighting of a dragon. Perhaps Trey and I will see what can be done about it. We can stop by Darisa after we deal with the harpy, and see what you're offering me." I inhaled deeply and fought to maintain my composure as I hoped Trey knew how to handle a harpy.

"No. No." Ral stared at me shaking his head to match his words. "I can't allow you to go after a monster unless you've already sworn the Guardian's oath. Besides I've already given you my seventy-third born son. Apparently you think he's worth something. Take the oath or I'll find another. I give you my word, the gems are there for the taking."

In other words, you're not going away where dwarves might sway you to the council's position or hire you for themselves. Not a problem, it wasn't other prospects for myself that had me looking north. Pain prodded at my mind. The king's lips quirked and I wondered if he was capable of reading my mind. I concentrated on keeping my thoughts to myself, sending his probes back at him as little daggers. Ral looked up, eyes wide. The salamander rolled on its back tail thrashing. The pet feeling its master's pain? Or something more?

Ral waited until the salamander calmed, then, in the most imperious voice I'd heard him use yet, said, "Swear the oath or leave. Just know that my son is still one of my citizens. You'll leave without him."

Still I hesitated, not wanting to appear eager.

The king half smiled, his face took on a crafty look as though he'd finally gotten the better of me. "Oh," he said, "Wait...you ate supper with us last night. Unless you swear an oath to become our Guardian, you can't leave."

His smug look made me want to argue further, tell him I could always find another demesne, but there wasn't any point. I wasn't leaving Trey behind for him to pummel once I was gone. I tried for humility as I bowed my head and said, "It would be a great honor to be the Guardian of the fairy demesne."

He chortled, rubbing his hands together. The doors swung open and three peach colored fairies entered the room. "Our witnesses." Each took a step forward then back as the king introduced them. "Chancellor Ori, Chancellor Orn, and Chancellor Ott."

I knew I would forever think of them as the three Os or oh, oh, oh...I refrained from laughing and nodded to each in turn. The O's flanked my chair and the one I think was introduced as Ott, placed a hand on my elbow. Trey remained seated, gripping the arms of his chair. His knuckles whitened as Ott touched me. The king noted everything in the room and his smile grew at Trey's effort to remain still. I shook off the O's hand and stepped in front of the throne where he indicated I should go.

Ral remained seated. The O tried to make me kneel but I remained on my feet. I glared at him daring him to try again. "I'll take your oath. But you're going to have to realize, I'm human, female and American, I'll kneel to no man." I looked up to see how King Ral accepted this and was met by a steady gaze. The O tried again and I raised a fist. He was quick. All I caught was the edge of a wing. It was enough to make him keep his distance. I spun back to Ral and amended my speech. "Or fairy."

His face turned purple now. Matched the rest of him anyway.

After several moments of silence he muttered, "None of the rest have been this difficult." He glared at his son as though it were his fault, then spun back to the O and waved him to the side.

"Do you swear to act as Guardian for the fairy demesne to the best of your ability?"

"I do."

"Will you answer Our summons when we have need of you?"

"As fast as humanly possible."

He frowned at my non-standard answer and drove on. "You will protect the demesne from trolls, dragons, harpies, goblins, and enemies of all sizes and types?"

Didn't seem to need an answer as it was covered by number one but he appeared to be waiting for a response. I examined it closely and glanced back at Trey. He nodded. I turned back and said, "I will, for the agreed upon terms." Purple did become him. If he wanted me to stick to the script he should have shown me the pages.

With a shake of his head he plowed on to his next line of the ceremony which didn't fit the occasion, but I guess he was a creature of habit. "Rise, Guardian of the demesne."

I nodded to him and turned back to Trey. "We'll be going now. Gems to collect, harpies to conquer...all that cr...stuff."

Trey wrapped an arm around my waist and we left without a backward glance. The expression on the faces of the two Os by the doorway as we passed them will forever be etched in my mind as a priceless memory. Their mouths and eyes both matched their nicknames. Both of them backed away as I approached.

## Chapter 10

We didn't wait for Jaral to return. Getting out of the digs seemed like a pretty good idea. We stopped in the room long enough to grab the pack, sleeping bag and some food, then Trey led the way out the front entrance. A jade fairy leaned on a toadstool under a fir tree, pike in hand. He was totally unconcerned with those of us exiting the summer digs and as I glanced around at the interlocking circle of firs I realized he probably wasn't concerned about anybody on the other side of the barrier either.

From my current perspective the trees were immense. I couldn't imagine seeing even a rabbit while this size. I suppose it was normal to the fairies but a rabbit the size of a horse would make me think twice about taking on the bigger things in the world. Guess the wings evened the score a little. I left the arched entrance of the summer digs and followed the walkway to the trees. Every step I took away from the digs brought the trees back into proportion. Even from my normal size, I decided the firs weren't natural. A chainsaw might be able to clear a path through them.

Trey flew ahead and waited for me just inside the ring of firs. The jade fairy came to attention. He placed his fist to his breastbone and bowed his head. "Sir."

"At ease, Kes." The jade relaxed. and Trey asked him, "Has councilor Jaral returned yet?"

"No, Sir."

"Good man. You're not sure what time of day we came through here."

"No, Sir."

"It's not important enough to get yourself in trouble, but if any of my brothers or sisters are looking for us, you know the drill."

"Yes, Sir. Have a good journey, Sir."

I waited on the path, once again looking down at the guard from the normal, human-fairy perspective. Trey returned the jade's fist to breastbone salute, then with a shimmer, once again stood taller than me. He took the pack, then turned around and stepped toward the firs. They parted like the red sea, ground-sweeping boughs dusted the path as they swung out of the way.

We walked through and they closed behind us. On the other side he took off with a ground covering stride heading more east than north. It didn't surprise me when the waterfall and its portal came into view less than twenty minutes later.

Jaral was there along with the yellow who'd come to get him, about a dozen fairies I didn't recognize and two solemn, red-eyed children.

They appeared to be about ten years old. Both of them had black hair. The girl was thin, almost anorexic looking, tiny mouth and nose but large brown eyes and thick brows, out of place on the gaunt face. The boy looked similar enough to be her twin. Given the hereditary nature of magic, that was more than likely the case. His cheeks were slightly fuller. Little more muscle on his arms but not much better off than his sister. The fairies were lined up on the rocks of the waterfall. Jaral was crouched down near the children. With his shape it didn't really make him look much smaller and the crying children looked terrified. They noticed us before Jaral did. The little girl darted around him and ran for us until she noticed Trey's wings. She tripped over herself backing away. I waved Trey back and he disappeared, reappearing on my shoulder. "Go sit with them." I told him and he joined the other fairies on the rocks of the waterfall. The girl untangled her legs and spun around to look at me. Still suspicious, she inched away as I held out a hand to her.

Jaral moved away from the boy and he came to stand beside his sister. "Who are you?" His little voice was defensive. He stretched a hand to help his sister up.

"My name's Tess. I'm new here too. But it's my farm just the other side of the waterfall. My Grandma's farm anyway." I looked for their aura's. They were surrounded by amber shot through with swirls of gold. Fairly strong from what I could tell. I sat down and beckoned them over. "Nobody here wants to hurt you."

"You were with that man with wings."

"He's my friend. And he's right over there now." I pointed to Trey.

"But he was big. How do we know you're not one of them?"

"Do I have wings?"

He stared hard at me as though trying to see through a disguise. A subtle hand movement and a slight shiver of energy passed over me. So he knew a little bit about what he could do. I pursed my lips and said, "Are you satisfied now?"

His eyes widened. "How..."

"I felt it. My Grandma and I have lived with magic all our lives. She's a bit better at it than I am, but I know a little bit about what's what."

The boy rubbed at his chest and I knew the pain he was feeling.

I nodded at him and asked, "Does that hurt?"

He nodded.

"If you let my friend," I pointed to Jaral, "touch you. He can stop it from hurting."

The girl looked at Jaral and started crying.

I patted my lap and she crab-stepped closer to me. The boy was more suspicious. The protector. "How can you be his friend and expect us to trust you?"

His words didn't slow down his sister's steady movement.

She poked at my knee and I resisted the urge to reach out and comfort her. Instead I spoke to her brother. "Didn't your mother ever read you fairytales? Snow white? He's a dwarf. He's here to help you. He took the pain away from me just yesterday."

"But...s-s-someone like him took Mama away."

Jaral's eyes widened but he was smart enough not to protest.

"What do you mean, took Mama away?"

The little girl was crawling in my lap.

"Mama knew he was coming. Said she could feel him nearby, locked us in the special room under the floor she made to...to" He paused in his narration to control his breathing, fighting back tears." Mama had magic. She said the room was so's nobody'd notice her workin' spells. She hung the herbs she used to stop anybody per--perc--perceivin' --that's the word she used-- perceivin' her magic and then she went back upstairs. All's I could see was through a tiny knothole in the ceilin' of the room but I seen one looked most like him." Sniffles got wiped on the bottom of his shirt as the boy talked. "'Cept he was, bigger..."

"Bigger? Bigger how? Taller? Heavier?"

The boy's cheeks took on a pink tinge. His hand moved and I thought he was going to rub at his chest where the summons was tugging at him. Instead he placed both hands above his breasts like a sailor talking about a well-endowed woman. "Bigger here. 'Cept he had a beard I'd a thought he was a she."

Jaral was running his hands through hair that already looked like he'd been pulling it out.

I wrapped my arm around the little girl in my lap and began humming the mockingbird lullaby, which was the only one I knew. She immediately yawned and rested her head on my chest. I never took my eyes off the boy and stopped humming long enough to ask, "What happened after he showed up?"

"I felt Mama cast. That just made him angry. He moved away from where I could see him. He yelled at her, wantin' to know where we were. She wouldn't tell him. Then Mama screamed and cast again. I felt really strong magic, then nothin' from neither of 'em. Mama never came to get us. We stayed in the room like Mama told us, stayed there for days. When we finally came out again we ran and ran and then we ended up here. Been runnin' most two weeks now." He stopped and yawned. His sister was fast asleep in my lap. I beckoned him over and he wedged himself in beside her.

I stopped humming to say, "You're safe now. I don't know who took your Mama away, but I guarantee Councilor Jaral is only here to help you." I could have just waited until he was asleep but I wanted his approval. "Is it OK if he helps you now. Takes away the pain in your chest? Do you have a head ache too?"

The boy nodded sleepy eyes, and with slow cautious movements, Jaral approached him. He brushed his huge fingers over the boys chest and forehead muttering the spell to break the summons and then he did the same for the girl without waking her. Some of the fear faded from the boys eyes as he rested his head on my shoulder and closed them. I kept humming and Jaral yawned, he shook his head side to side and said, "Best be turnin' that off before we're all asleep."

I looked at the waterfall. Every fairy but Trey was sound asleep and like Jaral he was yawning. I smiled apologetically at Jaral and stopped humming. "Sorry. Music is my focus and I didn't know what else to do."

"Don't worry about it lass. You did wonderful. Poor little ones. No wonder they were scared of me. I just...never mind, it's not your burden. I appreciate your help.

Trey yawned and shimmered and stood beside me, lifting the girl off my lap and laying her down in a patch of grass that seemed lusher and softer than all the grass around it.

Jaral moved the boy.

I stretched my legs, needles crept through my feet. By the waterfall the other fairies stretched and yawned. One or two of them wore puzzled frowns, others stared at me, eyes wide. The yellow who had come for Jaral flitted down and stood on my shoulder. "Thank you, Guardian."

"You're welcome."

"We've never had one arrive in such a state, let alone two at the same time. I was on duty here at the portal and the only thing I could think to do was fetch the Councilor and that only made it worse."

"It's over now.

"Whir."

"Whir?"

"Yes Miss. My name. It's an honor to greet you as Guardian."

I was stumped as to how to answer that. How did he know I was officially their Guardian? Did I stink? If it was a scent, then, like my flaming brilliant aura, it was invisible to me.

"Whir," Trey's voice snapped the yellow to attention.

Whir spun to face Trey, fist to breastbone. "Sir?"

"You have everything under control here?"

The yellow looked doubtfully at the children but he put a good face on it. "Yes, Sir."

"Very well then. We'll be heading north to see about a harpy then."

I stood and shook out my sleepy foot. I glanced at the children and asked Jaral, "Where will you take them?"

"Don't you worry about it, Miss. The council will care for them and look into their mother's disappearance."

"I was just thinking you might not want to take them to the digs. His Majesty's not likely to be in a good mood and I don't think they're ready to handle a purple tantrum."

"You're probably right about that, Miss. I notice the two of you didn't waste any time."

"Grandfather said you wanted to talk to me. I was hoping to catch you, but you've got your hands full. If you're still here when we get back, we'll talk."

"If I leave before I see you, I'll find you. I don't know how your grandfather knew since I didn't tell anyone. I wasn't even sure until yesterday that you were the one for the job, but he's right. It's important."

"Do you want to talk now?"

Jaral looked at the sleeping children and then at the fairies on the waterfall. "No. I've got to take care of these two and send a message to the council about their mother. You've got to escort your lady to her first job. Take care of her. I suspect three would be a crowd on your journey anyway. And I know I'll not talk you into leaving her side so there's no rush. I'll see you when you get back." He bent over and picked both children up at one time. Laying one over each shoulder he looked back at us. "Safe Journey," and started walking south.

Trey rubbed his ear and watched him go. "Wonder where he's taking them?"

"Why?"

"There's nothing south of here. I told you on your first visit here, there's a solid barrier to the south." He shrugged. "Maybe he knows a portal back to Honala."

Trey turned back to the yellow fairy. "Mind your duty. If anymore show up before Councilor Jaral returns, get Joli. She'll know what to do."

The yellow pulled himself up straight, clipped his wings together with an audible snap and said, "Yes, Sir." With a salute.

Trey returned the salute, picked the pack up from where he'd dropped it when he changed size and we turned north.

##

The fairies at the waterfall trailed us for a ways, when they fell away, turning back to the waterfall, we picked up a new set. Inquisitive fairies flew around our heads for brief stints the rest of the day, but they never stayed long, swapping colors every hour or so. Trey explained that many of his people were lacking an adventurous spirit and lived in the same area most of their lives. That was one of the things that made them so vulnerable to the monsters. We'd gotten a late start on the day what with morning-star being so late in the morning and then stopping at the waterfall. Trey kept looking north and I could feel his anxiety.

"You're worried about your people?"

"Yes. Feeling just a bit guilty too. If I hadn't delayed you from returning we could already have dealt with the problem."

"Don't even go there with the shoulda wouldas. We don't get to do it over. Maybe we could have prevented some deaths by being earlier. Or maybe I could have gone up there and my magic disappeared and I could be dead now and you still wouldn't have a Guardian. We'll never know which way was better."

"What you say makes sense."

Other than three black fairies who'd been with us since the start, there were only a few slightly different shades of green overhead. "Of course it makes sense. After my parents were killed, I blamed myself. I wasn't driving. I was eight years old. There wasn't a thing I could do about it, but it was all my fault. If that thing hadn't been trying to kill me, my parents might still be alive. A doctor overheard me telling Grandma it was my fault and they insisted I go to a shrink..." Trey started rubbing his ear so I amended. "A doctor who tries to heal the mind. I couldn't tell her that my parents were collateral damage so she assumed the usual survivor's guilt. Even without that bit of knowledge she did manage to make me see there wasn't anything I could have done differently. If nothing else, she taught me that the past is the past. I'm not a big fan of shrinks, if I told one about my life they'd have me locked away, but she did help me."

We walked in silence after that until I noticed that even the last three green fairies were gone and the blacks were clustered in close around us. Trey reached a hand up to one of the blacks, when he lowered his hand he was holding a sword. It glowed metallic blue until the fairy also handed him a sheath which he buckled in place and sheathed the sword.

The vibe I was getting off him made me wish I could pull a sword out of thin air too. Or better yet a gun. Not that I was good with either of them but it'd feel better than being defenseless. I listened closely as the silence struck me a bit late in the game. There was the occasional rustle of a small animal but not much else. Certainly no birds or large animals. My instinct said absence of large animals should be a welcome thing but since the blacks were acting spooked I was guessing it wasn't. "What's going on?" My voice seemed loud, even though I barely spoke above a whisper.

"This is one of the places that suffered for lack of a Guardian. A Gryphon moved in several months ago."

"Is there any reason to believe he's still here?"

"They're territorial. This one was young. The elders rarely kill off all their game because then they have to move. This one killed everybody living here, but nobody's been back since to see if he moved on or if he's just increased the size of the territory he hunts. Mysterious deaths still occur so it's possible he's biding his time hoping other fairies will repopulate." Trey raised his nose in the air and inhaled deeply.

I imitated him and gagged on the ammonia-meets-limburger-cheese, scent. "What the hell is that?"

"Spoor. They mark their territory strongly. If he left, it shouldn't smell so strong."

"So how do we fight it?"

"Stay out of it's claws and beak. Try to stick something sharp under it's left wing. They're fairly impervious to magic."

In other words, stand back and let us men-folk do the fighting. We walked on and eventually, even the sounds of the smaller animals in the leaves faded away. The trees grew denser as we traveled into a valley. I found myself humming Seeger's, Wood-Chopping Song, wishing the ax he used as percussion was in my hands. My magic had answered my wishes in the past, but it was not to be. Every time the blade bit into the log, keeping the rhythm of the folk song, I could hear it ringing in the woods around me. From the strange look Trey cast my way I began to wonder if it was my imagination or if somewhere in this woods a mysterious ax was beating out the tempo. Still thought it would be a much better idea if it would materialize in my hands.

A tree branch grasped at my hair as the animal trail we'd been following faded away to nothing and the underbrush crowded around us. The magic of the song grew around us, defeating the deafening silence. I was grateful for that, though truth be told, the steady chopping was almost as unnerving as the silence. I could stop it, but whether the gryphon was impervious to magic or not, I wasn't about to release the crackling blanket of energy building around me.

I concentrated on the path ahead of us and was cheered when my ax began hacking at underbrush. Not that I could see an ax but branches fell to the ground leaving a clear path. Trey was quick to take advantage of it and we followed my path to the bottom of the valley. A shallow stream twisted its way through rough terrain. Trey crossed without hesitation and I followed, wishing I had thought to pack more than one pair of shoes.

We started up the opposite slope of the valley when the most god-awful racket I ever heard erupted to our left. Far too close for my comfort.

## Chapter 11

I've heard mules before. A mix of two animals, some ended up sounding like a horse, some like a donkey and some a confused racket somewhere in between. I'd even heard one poor animal who whinnied first and then brayed every time he opened his mouth to speak. I always wondered if that poor mule was thought rude and long-winded by his fellow animals.

Unlike mules, the gryphon blended the voices of its component creatures into a fearsome sound. The pitch was that of an eagle but the volume was the roar of a lion. Probably a good thing there weren't any glass shops in the area.

I searched the woods to the left and saw the creature below the branches of an immense oak tree. Blue-gray wings mantled above its back. The carcass of a rabbit hung from the mouth which issued its challenge to us. The noise ceased and the creature snapped the rabbit in half and swallowed, allowing the other half to fall to the ground. I placed my back to the tree and looked around for anything I could use as a weapon. My ax wasn't really there. No matter how much underbrush it cut, the gryphon was impervious to magic.

I reached for my magic and realized my mistake. The spell in progress was taking all my energy. I'd used it up. It still existed because I hadn't discharged it, but when I used it, or grounded it out, I would be down for the count.

Now I saw how stupid I'd been, the pounding of the ax bit louder into my mind. The creature rocked back on its hindquarters. The density of the trees would make the wings useless but I figured the body of a lion could probably spring far enough to close the distance between us. Trey grabbed my hand and dragged me to a dense thicket of underbrush. He gestured and the briars moved back and I was shoved inside.

Before I could protest, the thicket closed around me, and Trey turned to the gryphon with the glowing blue sword held in front of him. Dammit I did not accept the job of Guardian to be treated like a damsel in distress at the first hint of danger. The three small black fairies darted in and 'round the creatures snapping beak. Distracting it, I realized, while Trey stashed me away. It turned and nipped at a fairy that had dared to get close to its back. A tiny pinprick of blood appeared on the blue-gray wing, The fairy started to fly, then dropped like a rock. The gryphon miscalculated and gnashed the air well-above where the fairy tumbled out of reach, then snapped his wings open and soared to the far side of the clearing.

The gryphon returned its gaze to Trey, who was the only one large enough to do any real damage. I gathered the blanket of energy and prepared to turn the ax loose on the briars trapping me when a better thought occurred. I held it tight, focused my concentration on the branches above the gryphon and set the magic to work. The gryphon swatted at a black body too small and fast for me to identify as a fairy but I knew it had to be. Trey ran across the clearing and sliced at the gryphon's throat without slowing down. He ruffled feathers but failed to do any serious damage as he rolled to the ground behind the nearest tree.

I started to call to Trey but decided distracting him at that moment wasn't the best plan. Another small fairy took its turn scoring a hit on the feathers of the throat but he didn't come away unscathed. The great beast's head flipped around. It had adjusted its tactics from snapping at air to following the black's downward escape.

I closed my eyes as the beak closed on a wing. Somehow when I opened them again, Trey was scooping his fallen soldier from the leaves and rolling away from the flashing beak and raking claws. Trey didn't slow down until the fallen man joined me in my prison. He was in bad shape, the wing was half torn from his body and bleeding bad. I tore a strip of t-shirt and bandaged it up as best I could while concentrating on the steady pounding of my ax. The gryphon leapt forward chasing Trey and I moved the ax to the next branch. The flaw in my plan was obvious.

I switched from overhead branches to the trunk of the largest tree in line with the gryphon's position, I held my breath, imagined an ax big enough for the giant who lived at the top of the beanstalk, and took a swing at the tree. The change in sound alerted Trey. He glanced up to see the branches wobbling and looked to where three strokes had nearly severed the trunk of the tree. The gryphon took advantage of his inattention and leapt again. Trey brought the sword up barely in time to fend off the snapping beak then dove behind my tree.

He raised a hand and a violent wind rushed through the woods, pushing the tree in the direction it needed to fall. One more chop from my ax and the tree smashed to the ground, pinning the gryphon beneath it. It squawked and shook it's head. I stared in amazement as it raised the tree, struggling out from underneath it. Fortunately Trey didn't stand back gawking. He dashed to where the gryphon fought its way out and without a moment's hesitation parted the branches as he had the briars and slid his blade under the blue-gray wing. The blade came away purple as red blood mixed with the magic glow of the sword. The gryphon roared again, ending with a rattle deep in its throat. It's legs folded underneath it and without the magic of its life sustaining it, the tree crushed it's ribs and snapped its back.

I turned my attention back to the fairy in my care and realized he was still losing blood. I started the Navaho healing chant, wrestling with my magic to turn it to this new use. It fought me. Weariness crept over me and Trey brushed my hand, trying to remove the black clad body from my grip. I shook my head. "I can fix this. I just need more energy."

He placed a hand between my shoulder blades and I felt a surge of power. "Take what you need."

I found my voice and the chant carried through the clearing. I bent over the fairy to make certain I wasn't trying to heal a corpse. When I noted the rise and fall of the small chest I turned him over and placed a fingertip on the nearly severed wing. I visualized the blood vessels, cauterized them in my mind as I chanted, then I pinched the flesh together and mentally stitched the wing in place. By the time I was done, I knew I was in for it, but I also knew the fairy would live. Maybe even fly again. That thought comforted me as I collapsed to the ground.

It was morning when I opened my eyes again. I glanced around, confused. We no longer lay in the prison of underbrush, in fact the forest had thinned considerably. But the gryphon's corpse lay thirty feet way still under the tree, except it had been hacked to pieces. Lizzy Borden on steroids couldn't have done that much damage and I suspected I had played the part of Liz. Trey snuggled up behind me, arm wrapped protectively around my waist. That reminded me, I had a bone to pick with him. The sleeping bag was underneath us and his wing lay against my arm. Resting on one of Trey's extra shirts was the injured fairy. I watched closely to be sure he still breathed. Id never tried healing anything that desperate before and I was amazed it had worked that well. I tried to wiggle out from under Trey's arm.

He tightened his grip. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I have to move."

"I wouldn't if I were you. Give yourself time to recover."

"I slept all night didn't I? Besides, it'd be a shame to soak the sleeping bag, which is gonna happen if I lay here much longer."

He uncurled his wing and relaxed his grip. "It's been two days. Stand up slowly."

I was glad I followed his advice. I didn't make it past getting to my hands and knees when nausea sent me reeling. I was glad my stomach was empty. After a round of dry heaves I managed to get to my feet and stumble a short distance from the sleeping bag. I chose to go behind the nearest big tree I could find. I managed to take care of business without peeing on myself and stumble back to the sleeping bag. "What's wrong with me?"

"You overreached. I shouldn't have helped you do it, but if there was any chance you could save Hef, I had to give you what you needed. I knew you'd survive, unfortunately draining oneself has unpleasant side-effects." His next words carried mild rebuke. "The rest of us almost died though."

"From?"

"From your original spell. You'd maintained that one a long time, put a lot in it and what you spent chopping that tree down didn't near use up the gathered energy. Before you start a new spell, you need to ground the old one. When you passed out, your ax went wild. Thinned the woods for as far as we can see. We all gathered around you hoping it wouldn't turn on its source."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. We'd all have died without you. Never apologize for saving someone's life."

From the t-shirt bed Hef said, "I especially owe you my life, Miss. I am yours to command. His Highness tells me I may be able to fly again."

Trey was running his fingers through his hair pulling dried leaves and knots from the long black strands, he looked uncertain. "I don't want you to think I'm telling you what to do, but I've sworn my men to secrecy. If I were you, I would not let my father know you can heal. It is a very rare gift. I hate to sound like I want you to let others suffer, but I fear if father knew, he'd injure his own people just to watch you heal them."

Indignation held my tongue. Rage wouldn't allow the words to spew from my mouth as I couldn't pick what to say first. I hyperventilated and finally asked, "Why do all the fairies put up with such an incompetent ruler? Is he that powerful?"

Trey held his lower lip between his teeth and remained silent. He stood and walked away. Hef stretched his wounded wing and struggled to a sitting position as I stared after Trey's retreating back. "He cannot tell you, Miss. His sire would know the moment they came in contact."

"So, do you know why Ral is king?"

"I do, Miss. And I'm no blood relation so I may tell you. It's why the commander left."

"If it's a family secret, and family can't talk about it, how did you come by the information?"

"His Majesty's sons and daughters can't talk about it. We often pull guard duty for the Commander's, grandsire. He is stronger than his son and quite free with information. Him being a seer and all, he doesn't hoard his knowledge."

"Wait, his grandfather's a seer?"

"Yes, Miss. A right powerful one too. Ral was determined to be king and some of the castes followed him. Unlike Ral, Jory, that's the Commander's, grandsire, didn't have hundreds of children. Like His Highness, Jory had one love and he didn't stray. I'm not judging His Majesty, because truth to tell, it's far more common among our people to be like him, than like, Jory. The unfortunate result was he, Jory, didn't have but about twenty children. Ral was the fourth son. Jory declared the kingship would go to his eldest son and less than a month later Lir died of a mysterious accident on a visit to the naiads with Ral. Jory was grief-stricken but declared the next in line would inherit. Ral and Jes went to gather berries in the northern woods. Jory had a vision of Ral killing his brother and sent four blacks to find them, but it was too late."

I didn't miss the little blurb about His Highness and one love, but I chose to let it pass as insufficient knowledge on the soldier's part. I didn't imagine every one of his men knew how the spell that tied us together had gone awry. "So, Jory knew Ral was a murderer and still he gave the throne to him?"

"It was that or watch every other one of his children die. He stepped down as king because he foresaw many bloody battles if he didn't. Jory was also granted a vision of one of Ral's children claiming the throne, casting out their sire and bringing major changes to the good, for our people."

I leaned back on my hands, staring at the sun overhead, through the bright green leaves. "How long has it been?"

"Ral's been in charge for two-hundred years."

"And in all that time this champion hasn't come forward?"

"Except for the deaths caused by the ogres and the other monsters that we haven't been able to keep a Guardian against, our lives have not been unbearable. Many of His Majesty's children are still quite young. One came into power that we all thought would be the end of Ral, but the council must have thought a bid for power would go poorly, they claimed they needed her and spirited her away, with Ral's blessing. Of course, he expected to get more from them in exchange for her. Raged about for weeks when they claimed they didn't owe him anything for allowing her to take up a position she wanted and was eligible for."

"So Ral doesn't know about the second vision? The one about one of his children dethroning him?"

"Of course he does, Miss. But if Jory knows who it will be, he's never told a living soul. That's why Ral started his games. The ones that play strong are always in danger of being stabbed in the back...or sent to the ogre border. The ones that don't, fall by the wayside and surrender to their betters. I figure being in that game will get even more deadly as it gets down to the last contenders. Unless someone is powerful enough to rule and has the backing of the people the end of the game will likely see Ral killing off his own sons and daughters like he killed his own brothers."

I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. Could Trey survive a murderous rampage by the fairy king? I hadn't seen Ral do anything powerful but if the populace was lazy and enjoying a good life under their king it could be hard to beat him. And just because I hadn't seen his magic, didn't mean it wasn't there. Trey had the loyalty of the soldiers and guards but I didn't know how large a portion of the population that was. Finally I asked, "And when he's eliminated anybody who might be powerful enough and those who have enough people supporting them, then what?"

"He'll either rule until he dies, or he'll turn the throne over to one of the weaker children so he can rule from afar."

I didn't understand what kept the players from just doing unto Ral, but I supposed there was a reason. I didn't bother to ask, talking had frazzled me to the point I was yawning again and sliding back down on the sleeping bag.

Hef wasn't quite ready to grant me peace. "One more thing I'm certain His Highness won't mind if I tell you. Ral communicates with Char, his salamander. If you don't want the king to know something, don't say it around the salamander. Though you'll find if you want the king to know something or to think he knows something Char works very well to pass false information."

I yawned again and murmured, "That's nice to know," as I lost the battle to keep my eyes open.

I didn't sleep the dreamless sleep of exhaustion. I awoke searching for spies and salamanders and gryphons with blue-gray wings.

I took a moment to orient myself. Trey was lying behind me again. Just a couple of days off the new moon it was still quite black at night. My stomach rumbled, but the scent of carrion wafting on the night breeze, killed my appetite. We needed to move on with first light. I snuggled deeper into Trey's arms and he nibbled on my neck. I hadn't realized he was awake. I purred like a contented cat as his hands wandered over my body under the concealing blanket of night.

## Chapter 12

The next morning started off gray and dreary. I found a large blue-gray flight feather as I was rolling the sleeping bag and I tucked it inside as a remembrance. We hurried to pack before other carnivores decided to investigate the stench of death. I grabbed a pull top can of peaches out of the sack and swallowed them down before the scent could turn my stomach again. The three black fairies watched in fascination and when I was done one of them flew down to investigate the can.

He placed a finger in the juice and licked it, a rapturous glow covering his face. "It's nectar."

"Well yeah. says it right there on the label."

"Humans steal the drink of gods?"

"Uhhh..no. Nectar is just fruit juice."

"Never have I tasted fruit this sweet."

I looked at the label sure enough sweetened heavy syrup. It's the only kind I like. "We process it. Add sugar." Trey was shaking his head but it was too late to shut up by the time I noticed him.

"Tell us about sugar," the black fairy said.

Sucking in a lungful of carrion scented air, I choked and said, "I'd rather get out of here now." I threw the rest of the food in the bag, handed the sleeping bag to Trey and after popping Hef up on my shoulder, started out across a landscape dotted with chopped trees and blue-gray feathers. I picked up two more of the larger flight feathers and turned to Trey, "Tell me about Gryphons."

"What do you want to know?"

"I know you said this one moved in here because you guys taste just like chicken, but it seems strange to me that he lived in a forest so dense he couldn't even spread his wings." I waved the feathers under Trey's nose. "Everything I've read about them, which admittedly comes from questionable sources, they live in the mountains and nest in aeries lined with gold."

Trey grinned. "Your sources aren't that far off. Much like dragons, they like glittery things, not necessarily just gold. They've been known to wander out of their mountains when game is scarce."

"How many have moved into your demesne in the past? I mean, I haven't even seen any mountains."

"There's a range that rises from the western shore of the north sea. It runs through the leprechauns' demesne, and ends east of the Nymphs demesne."

"I'm guessing that what you just said means they don't normally live very close."

"Right. This is the first one who stayed for more than a brief stop on the way to somewhere else, as far back as my grandsire remembers. Until we smelled the spoor the other day, I didn't think it would still be here."

"Could we have gone around the forest?"

"An extra day's hike to the east or west, and no guarantee he wouldn't find us skirting his lair."

I let the obvious fact, that we'd wasted much more time going through the middle, slide. Trey was right. We could have wasted a day walking and still ended up fighting the gryphon. In fact, being in the dense forest where he couldn't fly may be the only reason any of us were still alive. "But you didn't answer my question. What was he doing here? I imagine Leprechauns are just as tasty as fairies, if you like that sort of thing. Wouldn't you know if the Leprechaun population was decimated and all the game hunted from the mountains?"

Trey ran his fingers through his hair, taking a moment to consider. "Leprechauns live with the threat and tend to be tricky. I suspect they are difficult game to catch. Besides them, nobody except trolls and Weres live north of the mountains until you get to the selkies, kelpies and mer, in the sea. Goblins and harpies live in the mountains, I doubt any self-respecting creature would want to eat them. But there should be game animals. The mountains are filled with hunters and prey. That still doesn't answer your question. I guess I never thought about it. He was here. He was a threat." Trey's cheeks pinked up a bit. "We never considered why. It's not in our nature to think beyond the immediate."

From my observations, he was sharper than most of the other residents of the demesne. If he was admitting that to me, I understood even better why they needed a human as Guardian. Some of us consider the bigger picture. The gryphon was no more than a wild beast who had somehow ended up here. In my spare time it might be worth looking into why it was here. Councilor Jaral might even have the answers if he was still around when we returned.

Since the answer remained elusive, I turned my mind to the more immediate problem. "So tell me what I need to know about harpies."

"Do you want me to start from the beginning or should I assume you already know what they are"

"Start from the beginning. I've read multiple descriptions."

He pursed his lips and looked at the ground. "If any of those depicted them as creatures of grace and beauty, forget that now. A harpy is a filthy, foulmouthed, bird with the head and shoulders and chest of a woman. Their talons can slice a human's head off so you can imagine what they do to one of my people."

I withheld the slice and dice, cooking utensil infomercial that ran through my head. "So besides the talons what makes them deadly?"

Trey reached inside his tunic and handed me a wooden flute. It was absolutely lovely. Made from ebony, it wasn't pure black but was shot through with chocolate. Delicate floral designs had been lightly etched in its barrel.

I accepted it from him and he watched as I examined it. "It's lovely."

His eyes twinkled as he smiled happily.

I tested the scales on it and it gave out a clear tenor sound. "It's better than the one Grandma bought for me, but what does it have to do with harpies?"

"You said music is your focus. Unlike the gryphon, harpies are susceptible to magic. Besides, their voices can peel the bark off trees, some pleasant music to drown out their racket can't hurt."

"Where did you get it from?"

"I made it while we waited for you to recover."

"But this is ebony, a tropical wood."

He rubbed his ear, then scratched at an eyebrow. "I'm not sure what that means but if you mean it doesn't grow near your grandmother's farm that is probably true. Don't make the assumption that the land of the realm correlates to what you are familiar with in any way."

"It's warmer here, but still not what I call tropical."

He shook his head, a patient grin stretching his mouth. "It does not need to be. If somebody from the realm saw the tree and desired it, he would transplant it here. With magic he would make it grow, even if there was but a single week of summer." He stopped me from interrupting, running his fingers down my face. "We are fond of beautiful things. Our long lifespan allows us to spend years indulging our whims, creating what we wish. Once the first tree blossoms, magic is no longer needed to sustain it. The magic adapts the seeds and future generations survive on their own."

I felt somehow we were no longer talking about trees but I wasn't sure what he was trying to say so I blithely ignored it. "It must be wonderful to have that power."

He looked sad for a moment then returned to the issue of the recorder. "The fairy who planted the original seed of these trees you name ebony, lived in this wood. Like those who followed us to the edge he was a green. The females nurture children. The males nurture nature. He would be pleased to know his children created such a thing of beauty." A small scowl crossed Trey's face as he finished, "He would likely not be pleased at how many of them died under your ax."

I bent my head in shame. Grandma had taught me about the need for grounding spells instead of just releasing them. "I'm sorry."

"Don't blame your self. I knew you were inexperienced. I still chose to use you to help my man...

"For which I'm grateful." Hef chirped up from my shoulder,

Trey smiled at him. "I should have made you ground out the first spell. I'm afraid I don't always make the best decisions when you're around. If I'm to train you, that could be a very bad thing."

"Still a good decision to my way of thinking," Hef persisted.

"But I could have had her ground the spell and then save your life. She was so weak I let my concern for the two of you, make me forget a vital step."

"Remember what we talked about the other day. The past is the past. Let it be."

"That is a good way of looking at things but it is not always the best way. Perhaps you're right. Maybe shouldering blame is not beneficial to anybody but in this instance we need to not push it to the past. Both of us need to learn from it. The death caused by that spell is not a lesson I will soon forget."

I gestured to the thinned forest around us. "Death is a natural part of life. My magic only thinned the trees. A smart man would have his artisans gather bits of ebony to dry for projects. If the greens have enough magic to clean up this mess have them do so. I'm sorry, but they were trees, and this place is much less depressing without so many shadows. The gryphon is gone. They should be grateful for that at least. Now they can move back in and raise new trees."

Trey remained silent. Perhaps I overstepped my bounds; I didn't know the customs here. When would I learn to keep my big mouth shut? How had the conversation strayed so far from the beautiful wooden flute in my hand? As I debated the political correctness of backpedaling vs. silence, Trey started walking again.

He gestured over his shoulder and one of the two blacks behind us landed on his shoulder. He spoke to the gray-haired soldier quietly and he flitted off in the direction from which we'd come.

"Where's he going?" I asked when I could no longer stand the silence.

"To invite the greens back to what's left of their forest home. You were right about that at least. They need to know the gryphon is dead."

Anger smoldered. I tucked the flute inside the sleeping bag as we walked. "I was right about the rest of it as well. You act like the devastation of the trees is more damaging than the loss of your people's lives. How many were lost when the grypon moved in?"

"I do not know. Many. I'm sure some escaped but it is hard to convince a fairy to leave his or her home, unless they're members of the court. We of course travel often at father's whim."

"It is the normal way of a forest to grow old die and be reborn. How can you be angry that I see no problem in the natural order being restored?"

He wrapped an arm around my waist. "I'm not angry at you. We live in our own little world. We make of it what we will, but you are right, even without the gryphon that forest did not feel healthy. I don't believe any fairy ever considered death a necessary part of life."

"When we're through with the harpy, maybe we should go to my home. If any of them can read, I can buy a book or two on forestry. Help them keep the trees healthy."

"You are going to change my home as much as you have changed my life. But they are welcome changes."

Hef did a Tarzan swing on my hair to the opposite shoulder as Trey leaned down to put feeling into his words. "We should be going though. The greens will get over their anguish and maybe even listen to your commonsense once their shock is over. but it may be best if we get out before they can ask us what happened here. You lie no better than a fairy and I don't believe your sound reasoning will endear you to them until they see the young trees begin to grow.

I kissed him, then he stood up straight, holding fast to my hand. We lengthened our strides until I was nearly running through the trees. The black he'd sent behind us didn't rejoin us until we were well out the other side of the forest. Trey had slowed down once we were out of the trees or even with wings his man may not have caught up. The little fairy rode Trey's shoulder, fists buried in long black hair Holding fast while he heaved from the effort of catching up.

Trey gave him a couple minutes before asking, " Did they plan to move back in the forest?"

"Wanted proof the gryphon was dead."

"Did you show them?"

"One flew into the forest with me. When we arrived at the gryphon's corpse he looked a bit dazed, like a man who's just been slapped by an ogre. Seemed happy enough about the gryphon but it won't surprise me at all if he lodges a complaint about his trees."

"But do they plan to move back in?"

"Yes, Sir, I did rather get that feeling. Though he didn't stop weeping long enough to say so."

"Did he ask any questions?"

"Didn't give him the chance, Sir. Told him I needed to be getting back to you as one of our guard detail was injured by the gryphon. Right glad I did, or you'd have been in Teerala before I caught up."

We walked in silence after that, I couldn't talk, walk, and breathe at the same time. Not until after we'd stopped for lunch did Trey decide it was safe to slow down. As the afternoon passed, I asked again about harpies. "Will you be able to help me with the harpy?"

"Not magically. What father said is true. They can sense our magic. I will have to bind mine to even be beside you physically or she will just fly away."

"Ok. So what kills a harpy?"

"With magic there are plenty of ways, the trick will be finding one you can work with."

"What about without magic?" Using my spell to help kill the gryphon left me with a tainted feel. If I could avoid it, I'd prefer not to outright use it to kill.

"Pretty much any way you can die they can. Arrows, swords, big rocks, drowning...Swords is the least desirable method though. In order to kill something with a sword you have to be close to it. I've seen fairies pass out from inhaling the stench of a harpy."

"I don't have a bow..."

"Do you know how to shoot one? We could make one."

Heat crisped my cheeks. "Not exactly."

"How not exactly."

"The last time I picked up a bow I think the words, 'broad side of a barn', came out of my friend's mouth. Not that she even tried. I at least managed to pull the string back and release it."

"So you're saying, no bow?"

"Right. Nor do I really see myself doing a whole lot of damage to a winged creature with a couple of rocks either. And drowning her would mean getting closer to her than sword fighting."

With a laugh he said, "At least she'd be in the water."

"It's all well and good to plot her demise but is there any way we could convince her to just leave? Except that it kept us alive I'm not particularly proud of my part in killing the gryphon. He was just a wild animal doing what comes naturally."

Trey's eyes widened marginally as he turned them away from the rough path we were following to examine me. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yes. I've never been an animal rights activist or anything like that, but it just seems wrong to kill them if we can convince them to leave." Ok. So maybe it wasn't just sullying my magic I was concerned with. The gryphon's death left me feeling like an assassin. There just had to be a better way. I don't care if generations of Guardians did it one way. I was Guardian now, and I was going to try to change the rules.

Confusion flickered in his face, clearing away so quickly I wasn't even sure I saw it there. "You do know the harpy is an intelligent creature who is going to be trying to kill you?"

"Like I said, it's good to have a plan, in case she can't be convinced to just leave, but isn't there anything we can offer her to convince her our way is best?"

"You may be able to threaten her and force her to leave, but you will never convince her to give up willingly."

"Ok then, what about compel."

"Harpies aren't susceptible to compulsion." He paused before asking, "Do you know how to do a compulsion spell?" We were approaching a large cluster of boulders and Trey waved to the healthy and not exhausted black fairy still with us pointing skyward. He flew high above the boulders.

When Trey's attention turned back to me, I told him. "I was thinking you might know how to do a compulsion spell? I've heard of them but never used one."

"Very few can. I can teach you to defend against them but I can't tell you how to work one."

I sank into a light trance and checked the boulders for magic. I was reasonably certain there was nothing there, even as the fairy returned with an, "All clear" report.

Dusk was falling and Trey stopped us in the midst of the boulders and went to work setting up camp. There was a lot of dry grass, but not much wood to cook on. It was warm enough to not need a fire, and we didn't really have a whole lot of food that needed cooking I dug into the bag, glad the load was getting lighter but hesitant at the same time. I'm sure the fairies knew where to get food from if I ran out but I didn't want to rely on them to feed me. You never knew what was going to happen. I determined to spend the next day looking up, searching out fruit trees and such.

Trey walked a fifty foot circle around the boulders, pausing every ten feet or so. Half-way around he saw me watching and beckoned me over. "Do you know what I'm doing?"

I could feel the buzz of magic from the places he had stopped. Since it appeared he was circumscribing a circle I took a stab at it. "Setting wards?"

"Very good. And since I am supposed to be teaching you, now is as good a time as any."

He handed me a small piece of quartz. "Place it on the ground."

I saw he had drawn a line with a stick on his first trip around. I bent over and set the stone near his toes directly on the line.

"Now concentrate on the stone, reach for your magic, and send it into the stone."

I looked down at the stone and searched for the familiar tingle of magic. It wasn't there. I sank into a trance. I could see blue magic all around Trey. All the wards he'd already set cast a midnight-blue sheen, as did the circle he'd inscribed in the dirt. The three black guards had faint golden magic, but as always, emptiness surrounded me. I looked up at Trey in frustration.

He reached in his tunic and drew out the ebony flute. "Perhaps now would be a good time to try this."

"When did you...nevermind." I held out my hand and took it from him. I ran a couple of scales. Magic rose up around me but it was unfocused.

Trey held up a hand. "Ground it."

I did and the tingle faded. "What am I doing wrong?"

"When you put the children to sleep you chose a song that suited what you were trying to do. Can you think of any that suits this purpose?"

Raising power for protection. Yeah must know a dozen songs for that. Not.

"Think about it. Pick up your stone."

When I lifted it from in front of his toes he put another one down. "We have to keep moving or I'll have to start over."

I watched him place the ward. His magic lit up, limning his wings in a beautiful deep blue glimmer. He looked even more like an angel than normal. Part of my mind still working at the song came up with Angel's Watching Over Me. Not exactly a warding song but the intent was protection while sleeping. I waited until he finished placing his ward then put the ebony to my mouth and gently began playing. The magic gathered. It was more cohesive this time. I stopped playing and held up my stone. When Trey stopped again I placed it on the ground, and directed the golden energy I was holding into the stone. It flared and dulled.

Trey pulled out a stone, thrust mine to the side and redid the ward. "Try again. A little less power this time. These stones are impure. Pouring power into them burns them out."

We walked another ten feet and I put another stone down. I filled it with energy and looked at Trey.

He smiled, "Now send power from that stone back to the last."

I followed his instructions and my gold blended perfectly with his blue. We finished the last two stones and then retired to eat and sleep.

The moon was high overhead when I felt the first tugs at the wards.

## Chapter 13

The moment from tug, to realizing what I was feeling, was forever. My eyes popped open but I lay still trying to get a grasp on what was going on. Trey wasn't beside me and I didn't see him in the circle of boulders.

I glanced around, searching for trouble. Seeing none, I looked for magic. Still nothing out of place, but I noted Trey's blue glimmer in his natural size, perched atop the tallest boulder on the south side of the ring. I slipped into panties, bra, and t-shirt and joined him at the boulder, staring into the darkness as he was. "Company?"

"Not sure? I can't see anything. Might have been an animal. They tend to leave pretty quick if they brush a ward."

"How is it you're fully dressed and already out here and I'm struggling to keep my eyes opened? I didn't respond that slow."

Trey stared out into the dark again. "Your presence makes me question my animal theory. Whatever it was, probably tried coming through the first half of the wards where I did all of them. Nothing connecting to you. I've been out here awhile already. That you felt something says someone tried entering again from a different direction."

"Another animal?"

"Possibly, but that would be unusual."

I didn't think the question should be necessary but he didn't say anything else so I asked, "Why?"

"Why would it be unusual? Animals have a sense for magic. They tend to avoid wards. It's not that unusual for one to stumble across them in the night but two dim-witted creatures in the same night?" He shook his head.

I turned to examine the quadrant I helped with. No eyes glowed in the thin moonlight. No magic glowed either. I was staring straight at my wards when another tug brought my attention to the last one I laid. Nothing but shadows. Trey was already looking in the right direction and I realized my last stone was connected to his first. "How strong are your wards?"

"They're wards not a shield. And the quality of the quartz wasn't great if something takes a mind to force its way in, the wards will fail." He spun to look at another point. "I see better than you can, but whatever it is, it's well hidden."

I went to the sleeping area and got the flute. I climbed up to the boulder nearest Trey's position and said, "Tell me about shields."

He flew over and landed on my shoulder. "They take a lot of energy. You gather the magic. Walk a circle widdershins and use your mind to make the magic into a wall."

"No spells? Mystic gestures?"

"Not unless you want to. Fairies do not rely on gestures and words though some with weak magic find them useful."

I began playing the same song I'd used earlier and the magic responded like a child on Christmas morning, laughing, eager. It swirled at my feet and trailed after me as I walked inside the wards. I used the line of magic Trey inscribed earlier to keep myself on track and circled once around, trying to focus on position and music and what I intended the magic to do. The second time Trey took my arm and guided me around the circle and I let the music flow freely concentrating entirely on the wall I wanted to create. When I was through a golden glow surrounded us. A network of fine lines tied the top edges together forming a ceiling to my wall. It had occurred to me that some monsters, such as the one we'd been tasked with removing, could fly.

I'd have walked a third time around but Trey stopped me. "That's sufficient."

I turned and stared at him. "Sufficient! I'd like to see you do better."

"My point exactly. You've already made it solid. Anything more will leave you too tired to hold it together for very long at all."

"So you're telling me that I can't set it and forget it like the wards?"

"'Fraid not. You have to maintain a connection with it or it falls apart. Not saying you can't sleep, you just can't sever the magic from yourself. It will continue to drain you so you should use the minimum necessary. And I'm afraid perhaps you've already overdone it."

I was tired. With the shield in place I lay down and closed my eyes. They didn't stay closed long as Trey lay down beside me and whispered in my ear. "Watching you work magic makes me realize I'm the luckiest fairy in the demesne."

Somehow passing out didn't seem like the option I wanted to pick.

I felt one more hit to the ward and I knew by Trey's momentary lack of attention whatever it was hit his side twice. With the shield in place we didn't let it distract us from other pursuits.

We finally slept, but I was more tired in the morning than when I went to sleep. Trey taught me how to dismantle the shield and ground out it's energy. And we went in search of footprints. What we found were claw marks. I had visions of the harpies saving us days of walking, but Trey pointed out the pattern of claws and showed me how a harpy's foot would have a claw extending to the rear to provide balance. The prints were those of a large cat. And by large, I mean huge. I was kinda glad I'd erected the shield even if I was tired now. "Any chance this was just a wild animal?"

"One that hung around all night getting stung by wards? I doubt it."

"Then what?"

Trey licked his lip and glanced back the way we'd come. "A gryphon would leave prints like that. Or a Were. Some wild cats are used as couriers and spies, by those species that can control them."

Any of the others sounded like something either our magic or Trey's sword could deal with, but I did not want to run into another gryphon. Best guess, he wouldn't be happy about the death of his mate, parent, child, whatever relation was slung about the woods behind us in small chunks.

Trey sent the healthy guards aloft to search for our nighttime visitor but it was not to be found. His tracks headed off to the north. Torn between, glad he was neither around or headed farther into the fairy demesne, and fear he could be a problem tonight or the next night or in the middle of dealing with the harpy, we were silent as we ate and got underway. Throughout the day Trey stopped to pick up every stray bit of quartz we chanced across. When he had ten, each new stone brought an examination of his stash if the new one was clearer or of the same quality, but larger the poorer one was discarded. It made the journey slower, but I was in no condition for speedwalking anyway. I bent to the task of spying out new crystals.

As the day went on, my strength returned. Energy soaked into the soles of my feet from the earth. I was tempted to go barefoot to see if that would speed the process up but the stones Trey was collecting weren't the only ones around. The landscape became barren slopes of shale, flattening out again into rolling hills, peppered with shale deposits. As evening drew close a prickling on my back told me somebody was watching us. Trey surreptitiously began searching the surrounding terrain.

Annoyance accompanied my glare. "You don't have to hide the fact we've got company. I feel it too."

"I didn't want him to know we could sense him. I'd like to know what we're up against."

That made sense. "Sorry. It's just...Don't think I don't appreciate your instinct to keep me safe, but locking me in the briar patch like I was helpless...let's just say I wasn't thrilled with it."

"It wasn't because you were helpless. I've worked with these men for twelve years. They know the drill without being told, and they work well with each other. Putting you in the briars wasn't for your safety it was to keep you in one spot so we wouldn't be distracted wondering where you were. The only weapon you had was your magic and you did an admirable job of using it from behind the briars."

"Why do you have to make so much sense?"

He leaned down and kissed me. "Because the very last thing in the world that I want is for you to have a reason to send me away."

"Ok I can accept that I'm not one of your dance partners in a fight, but I'd like you to teach me."

"Swordsmanship?"

"And any moves that don't require wings."

"Swordsmanship I can teach. Everything else...The wings are part of me. Any move I make integrates them in some manner. Diving past the gryphon's beak, a wave of the wing gave me speed. When I rolled on the ground the wing takes part of the landing and gets me back on my feet quicker. I'm just not sure I can separate one motion from another to teach you effectively."

"Guess I'll have to take karate lessons."

Trey smiled. "That would be for the best. One of our previous Guardians spoke of his black belt. Never was sure what that was, but he was proud of it. Some of my company's tactics are winged adaptations of things he showed us."

Salem was a small town but there had to be somebody capable of teaching me self-defense. We stopped on top of a hill and setup camp for the night. After another cold meal, Trey borrowed Hef's sword and handed it to me.

We started slow with some basic footwork. When I was huffing and puffing he called it a night. Together we erected the wards. With the larger, purer stones Trey declared no need for a shield. I really hoped he had that much faith in the wards and not that he was trying to keep me from wearing myself out.

Only two touches to the wards that night. the second touch was near the largest stone I'd placed and the vibration when it hit brought me upright instantly. I searched the area quick enough to catch a pair of emerald eyes backing away, head shaking. The moon was bright enough to display the outline of the body. With relief I noted there were no wings or beak. I glanced over at Trey.

He wasn't sitting but his eyes were open, watching the shadow fade in the distance.

He met my gaze as I said, "Looks like just a cat. A big cat but nothing more."

Pinched lips and a slowly shaking head told me I was wrong.

"Then what? You saw it. Looked like a mountain lion."

"It was Were."

My turn to frown. "When you say Were you mean as in werewolves."

"Or, as in this case, werecat."

"So... what? Silver bullets?"

"Bullets won't work here."

Why do I try to joke? Every attempt had me stumbling over my own ignorance. "Magic?"

"Magic can bind a Were but it takes a silver arrow or blade to kill them. And of course there's always decapitation."

"Let's hope he's decided we're not that interesting. I'm fresh out of silver knives, we've already discussed my archery skills and I can't see either of us lopping that things head off."

I stared off into the shadows searching for movement, hoping there wouldn't be any.

"There's nothing we can do about it in the dark. Lay back down."

Trey's words were sensible but the thing had been huge. I didn't even think the fairy swords could hack through the neck if the creature laid still and begged to have it done.

I continued to stare off into the night.

Trey reached up to cup a breast. "If you're not going to sleep we may as well make better use of the time than staring into the dark."

I looked down at him and with a final glance after the Were, I responded to his suggestion.

With Trey as a distraction it was easy to push the werecat to the back of my mind. I trusted Trey when he said the three guards wouldn't watch if we made love in the open air but as we lay in each others arms, drifting back to sleep, I was glad of his covering wing. The hair on my neck stood on end, somebody watched from the shadows.

I wriggled back into my underwear and t-shirt just to cover the bases. Morning didn't reveal any waiting werecats. Not much of anything else for that matter. The previous day we picked up a couple of fairies but they'd remained behind in the small stands of trees we passed through. If some of them had been watching in the middle of the night they weren't here now. They seemed more like daylight creatures to me.

I slid into a clean pair of jeans.   
Trey stood up behind me as I closed the snap. "It came back in the middle of the night."   
"Thought so, but how can you be so sure it was the same. It didn't touch the wards."   
"It seems to have given up on getting through them."   
Trey looked like words were on the tip of his tongue but he held them in.   
"What?" I asked as he turned away with a grin.   
He looked up from rolling the sleeping bag. "You don't want to hear it."   
"Let me decide that. I told you I don't want to be treated like a hothouse flower."   
"No." There was finality in his tone as he turned away.   
"But..."   
"It has nothing to do with protecting you."   
"Then tell me."   
Trey tied the sleeping bag, stood up and accepted the food I dug out for him. "If I tell you, you have to promise you won't let it change your behavior."

"I promise."   
"No matter what I tell you you'll still make love to me under the stars?"   
"Try to stop me."   
"It's just...not all humans...in fact you've already voiced your opinion on..."   
"Spit it out. I got a fair idea where you're heading."   
"The Were, most likely, was contented to watch last night."   
"Watch? You and I having..."   
"He may watch all he wants. He will never touch you."   
"He." My voice squeaked a little as I thought about having a male audience. I hadn't even gotten around to considering the Were may wish to take it further than watching. "You know it's a he from the shadow we saw last night?"

"I know it's a he from the scent on the air this morning. A cat is a cat whether he's human part of the time or not, he has the instincts of a cat and he left his scent quite near here."

"Like a barn cat claiming his territory?"   
"Exactly. I'm guessing he thinks he's claiming you."   
"Not gonna happen."   
Trey's brow creased into deep furrows as he considered his own words. "I think this would be a really good time to teach you personal shields. You did a really good job shielding the area yesterday, let's see if we can narrow that down to something you can keep ready at all times."

"Sounds like a plan to me."   
We packed away the food and started walking. While we traveled he taught me about shields. I practiced throughout the day. Small attempts to place a shield around a piece of wood I held in my hand, small and concise to avoid wasting energy calling up a full body shield. I practiced erecting a shield only in front of my hand and all the way around. From time to time, Trey sent the blacks aloft to search for the Were, but if they ever reported seeing him I was left out of the loop.

We stopped for lunch and I leaned back against Trey and erected a shield around just the two of us.   
He leaned down and kissed the top of my head, hands caressing my arms. "You learn too quickly. It won't be long until I have nothing left to teach you."

"I'm sure there's plenty left you can teach me." I wrapped my hand under his leg and tugged him closer. If the Were, was watching, I wanted no doubt in his mind that I was spoken for, that our relationship was more than a way of passing the nights. Trey bent to kiss my neck but stopped at a cough from Hef, perched on a branch above us.

Hef's eyes rolled to the left and Trey and I glanced that way. Sitting in the open a half mile away, a huge tawny cat watched, tail twitching. Seeing him in the daylight, I decided I would far rather have him watch me, than test the wards all night. Hell if it kept him happy I'd give him the show of a lifetime as long as he kept his distance.

Trey stood, eyes fastened on the feline. he took a step away from me and bumped into the shields I erected. He glanced back at me and while I grounded them out, the tawny form disappeared down a hill. We collected up our belongings and got underway. "So tell me about the Were."

"What do you want to know?"

"Are they dangerous?"

"That depends. Each variety has its own quirks. Cats tend to be self-centered and self-pleasing in both their natural forms. If they take a dislike to you then yes they can be very dangerous."

"But this one doesn't seem bad."

"Then why did he repeatedly test our wards? Just because he doesn't seem bad doesn't mean his agenda is anywhere near favorable to us. Never make the mistake of thinking they're animals. Unlike the gryphon, who was a wild thing, a Were is an intelligent, thinking, being. You'd never drop a tree on a Were because he would see it coming. I'd be quite happy if he disappeared before we're dealing with the harpy and he sneaks up behind us."

"He seems to be quite a voyeur," I said, not quite sure how I felt about that.

"As long as watching is all he has in mind, I do not care."

"Should we try to talk to him?"

"Considering how fast he just took off, I'd say he's not interested in talking." Trey handed me the flute and said why don't you play us something to walk by?"

So was that a shut up and don't be interested in another male or what? On one hand, it was nice to know he cared enough to be jealous. On the other hand, if he thought I was going to go through life pretending other men didn't exist, our relationship might not last beyond the length of time it took for the spell to wear off.

I walked awhile holding the flute, not sure what would be a good walking song or if it mattered. It's not like he suggested I play something to speed us over the ground. I didn't even know if such a thing were possible. Sight of the cat inspired me and finally I launched into a version of Born Free, modified to make it a simpler piece to play while walking. The magic gathered and swirled around us, I wasn't sure what it would do, but it didn't take long to figure out who it would attract. The Were sat on a hill above us, directly in our path. I stopped playing and gathered the magic dispersing it, preparing to call the shield. The handsome animal just sat and watched. I hummed a couple lines of Angels Watching Over Me and gathered up the power, continuing to walk toward the Were.

Half-way up the hill I dropped to my knees clutching my head as a voice rang out between my ears. "Play the other song."

Trey had the attitude right. The cat wanted something and he wasn't asking politely. I put a hand on Trey's arm stopping him from drawing his sword. So far this was just a conversation. Albeit a loud conversation

"Why the hell should I?" I rasped out wondering if blood was dripping from my ears.

"I liked it." His voice wasn't quite so mind numbing this time.

Trey took my hands and helped me back to my feet. "Take some of the shield magic and make a small barrier in your mind. protect yourself against intrusion. I watched you do it to Char. I know you can."

"That wasn't a barrier. I sent his magic back at him. This isn't a probe. He's talking to me."

"Do what I say. If you can erect the barrier you have the option of keeping him out or making it thin to control his volume. Loud and brash is their style. If you intimidate somebody you don't have to fight them. What does he want?"

"He wants me to play the other song."

"What was the music you played."

"It's called Born Free and it's about a couple of lions raised in captivity and taught how to be wild and released in their natural habitat."

Trey turned a dark look my way. "I can see why he might take an interest. But did the music evoke cats?"

"Freedom." A wistful sigh from the hilltop, said there was more to it than cats.

I began to play the song again, but lovely as the music was I'd already used a fair amount of magic the first time and grounded it out in favor of the shield magic which I still held fast to. I lowered the flute and shook my head. "I'm sorry. I can't reach the magic now."

He paced the crown of the hill. Staring down at us, tail lashing, every turn, his head shifted to keep us in sight. "You will play tonight."

"I will try."

"You will succeed, or your lover will die."

And with that he tore off down the hill. The two blacks soared to the air at Trey's direction and watched the Were leave. They reported back that he was long gone.

## Chapter 14

The moment our wards were in place for the evening the werecat trotted out of the shadows. "Play." His tone was more plea than demand this time so without argument I played.

I focused my mind on the core thought of the piece and willed the Were to be free to live his own life. Golden sparks settled on him and sank into the tawny fur. Crimson magic flared to life and consumed the sparks, but as I continued to play, specks of gold clung to his hide. The crimson fought and faded, drowned out under a sea of gold.

The werecat sank to the ground, purring so loudly the air around us vibrated. "Thank you."

"I'm afraid whatever other magic was affecting you isn't gone, it's just been forced into the background for now."

"I am well aware of that. You've saved all our lives and I plan to make use of my freedom." He rose and loped away from our campsite.

Trey came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "You gave him what he wanted?"

"I guess..." I told him about the battle between crimson and gold magic. "What could he possibly have meant. He said I saved all our lives. Was he sent to kill us or did 'our' mean himself and some friends we haven't yet seen? Why would anybody send him to kill us. I've been a Guardian less than a week and people are sending assassins after me..."

Trey's arms tightened around my waist, his lips nibbled at my ear.

"Don't distract me. You think it's your father don't you?"

"No. If it was him, you wouldn't have been included in the assassination attempt. Besides, His Majesty's magic is violet, not crimson. I was just trying to keep you from worrying about something we may never know the answer to now that the Were is gone."

"Why would he include himself among the dead?"  
"I don't have all the answers. He didn't speak a word to me. Maybe he saw how powerful you were and didn't think he'd survive attacking us. Maybe whoever has him bound, ordered him to take his own life when he accomplished his task to avoid the possibility of capture and questioning."

We practiced with swords, ate supper and went to sleep. The image of the werecat watching from a distance flashed through my mind as I reached for Trey, but I decided he was long gone enjoying his freedom for however long it would last.

The next two days were cat free. The nights were blissfully uneventful.  
Midway through our seventh day out, the terrain sloped down toward a large river. Rough patches of barren stone stood out in the lush green valley. The water ran swift held captive by steep stone sides, bouncing over boulders. My footsteps slowed, I saw no way to cross it without considerable hazard to myself. It was nearing dark as we completed the journey down the valley. We made camp far enough away that the rushing water wouldn't deafen us to outside threats. When we were settled for the night I asked, "How do you propose I cross that?"

Trey rolled on his side and smiled. "You'll see. You'll get to the other side the same way I do and we'll be dry when we arrive."

I stared in the direction of the river. "I assumed you'd fly."  
"And leave you to face the hazard on your own? Do I really strike you like somebody who'd do that?"  
I kissed him in apology. It wasn't something he'd do and I should never have thought it. I pushed him on his back and made sure he realized I was sorry for maligning his character.

Trey slipped out from beside me early the next morning. He shimmered, shrank, and took flight, circling back to land on my shoulder. "I'll be right back. Eat breakfast and be ready to move when I return."

I watched him go and dug out a can of fruit cocktail. One of the black fairies had gone with Trey. Hef and the gray haired one stood on nearby rocks, watching me eat. Trey hadn't wanted me to talk about sugar and the way they watched me eat, my curiosity arose. Trey had always made sure they got plenty to eat but never anything sweet. He wasn't treating them any different than the standards he held himself to. The apples in my bag had seen better days but I took one and using my more-than-a-little-dull pocket knife I cut out the best parts and handed them each a slice.

They accepted the offering but it didn't stop them from drooling over my canned sweetened fruit. I emptied the can feeling guilty under their watchful eyes and determined I would never again bring sweetened fruit into the fairy demesne. Leaving the empty can on the rock where I'd eaten I walked to the river to take a look at what we were up against.

Once again I realized my mistake too late. Trey usually used magic to get rid of the trash. I didn't know if he made it disappear, or sent it to some fairy landfill or maybe he even knew how to send it to a human landfill. Simple fact was he was the one who got rid of the trash and I hadn't given a second thought to letting it wait for him. At most, there was half a swallow of juice in the bottom of the can. What I didn't consider was that half a swallow for me was like a liter for somebody who was six inches tall.

The older fairy stood back away from the can, but Hef had his head and shoulders stuck inside it. I yelled at him and he stood up, wobbled, and tried to run. Spreading his wings he took to the air for the first time since the gryphon snatched him out of it. His flight was unsteady. His right wing moved so rapidly I couldn't track the motion. The injured left struggled to keep up. He was flying away from me which told me he knew he was wrong, but the uneven motion of his wings brought him round in a wide circle. "Stop, Hef. I'm not mad. You're not in trouble I just don't know why your Commander didn't want you to have sugar."

The older fairy landed on my shoulder. "Dulls the mind, Miss. Takes away commonsense. We'll be needing to catch him."

"How do you propose I do that. It's not like I can fly."

"Best think of something. Headed for the river."

I watched Hef's erratic circular flight and realized the older fairy was right. The arc Hef was on would take him out over the water. I took off running and leaped through the air, bringing Hef down just shy of the river bank. Good thing he couldn't get any higher or I'd have missed.

I stood up and glared down at the small body clutched in my right hand. The way the right wing still buzzed at least I knew he was alive. It was like holding an extremely large bumblebee and when he nipped my fingers trying to get loose, I decided that was an apt comparison. It felt like I'd been hit with a ten inch stinger. I shook him and swapped hands but didn't let go.

A moment of remorse filled me when he stopped moving and newspaper articles about infants killed by shaking, swept through my head. I panicked and loosened my grip. The moment the pressure eased he darted from my hand, flying again. At least for the moment he was headed away from the water. I started to hum "Take Me Out To The ball Game". Striking out versus catching a fly ball, it would have to do. He'd learned the hazard of staying too low and struggled for altitude, flying well out of my range.

I ran back to the packs, rooted around for something I could use to snare him but came up with nothing better than a t-shirt, everything else was too lightweight to hold him or heavy enough to hurt him. I kept humming and did my best imitation of a big league pitcher sending the shirt soaring toward the flyaway-fairy. I grabbed the magic I'd built and tugged at the corners of the shirt, directing it above the fairy and dropping it on him. I ran to snatch Hef out of the air one more time as the shirt fouled his wings and brought him to the ground. Making sure I didn't smother him I wrapped him tightly and hoped Trey would return soon.

The other fairy stood on the rock next to the can, looking from Hef and me back to the can as though considering the consequences. I walked over, kicked the can on the ground and stomped it flat.

He flew to my shoulder. "Not to worry, Miss. The Commander would ground me if I left you alone."

The t-shirt giggled. "Sh'not alone."

We ignored Hef. I examined my finger and found blood dripping from where he'd bitten me.

The fairy on my shoulder said, "If you don't mind, Miss; would you heal that before the Commander gets back. If the Commander thinks the lad attacked you there's no telling what he'll do to him. Bad enough he was irresponsible enough to get in that condition, but I know he's been down since the gryphon got him."

I canted my head to see the fairy on my shoulder. "You could have stopped him."

"He's not from my squad. Would have fought me."

I got the gist of what he was saying. I looked at my finger more closely. Didn't really need healing but it couldn't hurt if it kept the peace. After all it was my fault for leaving the can where they could get at it. "I'm sorry. We've been traveling together for a week and I don't believe I caught your name."

"Name's Ler, Miss. Leader of First Squad."  
'Thank you. But do you really think it's worth healing something like this?"  
"As long as the Commander's under his own spell Miss, yes. I think it would be a very good idea. Hate to see all your work on the lad undone."

More giggling came from the t-shirt. "Flew. I flew, Miss Tess."  
"If you want to call that flying," I grumbled at him. I didn't want to believe Trey would hurt Hef, but perhaps it would be best to take the suggested course. As the squad leader had pointed out there was still magic involved in the relationship. Under my breath I began the singsong Navaho chant and concentrated on the tiny wound on my finger. In no time it was good as new, which was a good thing since no time is precisely what we had. I looked up from the minor healing and saw Trey, human sized and leading a pair of dwarves, enter the campsite. One dwarf resembled Jaral except his hair was brown instead of auburn. The other looked like the children's nightmare, Jaral with triple EEE's and I'm not talking foot size. They didn't look huge on that body but the beard kinda threw the whole thing out of whack for me. I haven't read that many fantasy books but I know there've been a few with female dwarves having beards. Wonder which ex-guardian wrote those.

Trey's eyes narrowed. He looked at Ler perched on my shoulder then stared around the campsite. "Is there a problem?"  
"Nothing we couldn't take care of." I hurried to his side distracting him from the blatant use of magic hanging over the campsite with a well placed kiss, before I showed him Hef. "You weren't here to do whatever you do with the trash and you never told me what the problem with sugar was, so I'm afraid I was careless. Hef got into it and started flitting about like a drunken bumblebee."

Trey stared down at his soldier who, thankfully, didn't giggle again. "He flew?"  
Trey surprised me by seizing on the only positive aspect of the morning's events.  
I kissed him again, then laughed. "One wing going like a bumblebee the other like a barn swallow. He got off the ground high enough I had to use magic to bring him down, but he could only fly circles."

"Still...that is wonderful news. As for the nectar, he'll pay dearly for that when he wakes up in the next day or two."  
The female dwarf cleared her throat. Trey jumped, reminded of his guests. "Yes. Sorry. Tess, this is Lorad, and her mate Daroln. They've agreed to give us passage under the river, for a price."

"What price?"  
Trey continued as though I hadn't spoken, "Lorad, this is my mate, and the new Guardian of the fairy demesne, Tess."  
He'd never said it like that before. My cheeks burned gently but I accepted the declaration with pride. Even if he was just covering formalities, it wasn't, this is my chosen, bound to me by a magic spell. "I'm honored to meet you," I said, then wondered if the occasion called for a curtsey or anything of the sort. Was that reserved for royalty or...

Lorad interrupted my pondering by stretching out a hand and saying, "The honor is ours, Guardian. As for price, we hadn't discussed that yet. His Highness has no need of our passageways. You are the one incurring the debt, so we decided to allow you to choose the payment. We had thought perhaps a debt of magic, the right to summon you in a time of need. But since we rarely venture into the human world and you apparently have brought food from your side of the portal, perhaps you would trade passage for the foodstuffs you still have."

I accepted her outstretched hand and looked down at Hef. "It doesn't affect you the same way it does fairies?"  
"Not at all. We find your cans a handy way of keeping food underground. It requires fewer trips to the surface."  
"It's not all cans. But it is all preserved." I looked at my food and then back at Hef, finally glancing up at Trey. "I've seen fruit trees but is there anything else to eat. I've tended gardens my whole life but haven't done the live-off-the-land thing."

"We will eat." He smiled his assurance at me. "It will be good for you to learn what is edible here and what is not."  
With one last look at Hef, I agreed. No more trouble from that quarter anyway.

Trey took Hef from me and placed him in the pack. "He'll be out half the day."

I handed my food over to Daroln and picked up the sleeping bag. When I stood, I noted Ler and the other fairy had disappeared. Trey and I followed the dwarves back in the direction they'd come from. "Where'd Ler go?"

Trey's voice shook as he said, "They'll meet us on the other side of the river."

"Is something wrong?"

"No, it is perfectly safe."

"Then why..."

"Am I shaking in my boots? Do not let it concern you. The tunnel is safe. None dig or build with the style, grace, and efficiency of the dwarves."

Lorad turned to look at him. "Many thanks for your compliments Highness, but we will take care of your mate if you wish to stay with your men."

"I will remain."

Daroln looked over his shoulder. "It's all you could do to get down the staircase to find us, Highness. We will not let anything happen to her." He looked again and stopped dead in front of me. I barely managed to avoid a collision as he spun and stretched a finger out to touch the feathers on my throat."

"Ahh...this looks new. Perhaps you should order him to go then, Miss." Anger burned in Trey's eyes as the dwarf continued, "His people don't do well underground."

I turned to Trey. A sharp twist of his head told me not to waste my breath before I spoke a word. "I would be more frightened knowing she was under all that earth and water and I could do nothing to help her if anything went wrong."

"But you have the summer digs..."

"A mound, kept open and light with lots of windows and no glass in them. My people are of the air. I know the tunnel is safe. I know I can trust the dwarves to get you to the other side but that wouldn't stop the instinct of generations from bringing on the worst possible accident scenarios while we were separated. I can do this."

Daroln and Lorad exchanged a frown but then they both shrugged and strode off to the northwest following the course of the river. Ten minutes later they stopped by a pile of immense boulders. Turning sideways they slid through a gap between two monoliths and descended a flight of stairs.

I held Trey's hand, dismayed at the quiver running through his body, growing stronger with every step we took downward. "You don't have to do this."

"I do." His face was pale, His knuckles wrapped around the hilt of his sword were white, as if his sword was going to help if there was a cave-in.

"I like caverns. I've gone in them before and come out safely. There's really no need."

A tremor started in his shoulders and worked its way through his body. He stumbled down the last stair onto the smooth surface of a cavern room. Crystals enhanced the torch light capturing it and tossing it amongst themselves to bring light into even the darkest corners. I placed my hip against Trey's and his anxiety eased a bit. Wrapping his arm around my waist I led him after the dwarves, who didn't even pause to allow me a moment to appreciate the beauty of the room and its crystals. An occasional glimmer of green and red made me wonder if emeralds and rubies shared wall space with the clear crystals.

The tunnel Lorad entered wasn't wide enough for the dwarves to travel side by side, but it was plenty wide enough for Trey and me. Torches were widely spaced and when the shadows between deepened, Trey's footsteps slowed until I was dragging him along. The tunnel sloped down, and down some more. Fairly steep, but these were no damp caverns and it was easy to keep my footing on the well-tended floors. The slope leveled out and then began to climb, at the foot of the staircase on the opposite bank of the river Lorad and Daroln wished us well. Then turned to travel back under the river, carrying my bag of food with them.

Trey didn't improve as we climbed. By the time sunshine struck us I was nearly carrying him. I eased him to the ground. Trey's eyes were open, the unblinking stare made me wonder if anybody was home. His skin was cool and pale. If anything, his trembling was worse. Glad, for the first time in my life, that Grandma had insisted on including a first aid course in my home schooling, I recognized the symptoms of shock. I placed the sleeping bag under his feet and turned his head to the side in case he vomited. I rubbed his legs and hands trying to increase circulation, but his breathing worried me. Shallow, rapid breaths, he wasn't getting enough oxygen, but he was breathing. Did mouth-to-mouth work if the patient was still breathing?

His lips started turning blue and I decided it couldn't hurt. Ler hovered in the tree above us. The other fairy was higher. I bent over Trey, tilted his head back and breathed into his mouth. After five breaths I waited to see his response. With relief I noted his natural breathing improved. The blue was already fading. I lay down beside him lending my body heat. His recovery was as rapid as the onset.

Life returned to his eyes and he turned his head to look up at me. "How did I get out here?"

Ler flew down from his branch and landed Trey's chest, his eyes were wide. "She kissed you, Highness."

Trey smiled. "And?"

"She brought you back to life."

I rolled my eyes. "That's not exactly right." I saw how the true love's kiss rumors got started. "You went into shock, and since I didn't want you to die I helped you breathe better. You weren't dead, I didn't bring you back."

Ler was shaking his head.

Trey looked from his man back to me. "But still...you saved my life."

"Yeah. And if you ever put yourself in danger because you think you'll worry about me again, I'll let you die next time."

Trey smiled, "I hope you're joking."

"Mostly. Did you know how bad that would effect you?"

"I knew it wouldn't be good."

"Well do me a favor, if there's any need to go underground again, just let me go alone. I'd rather you worried, than died."

He patted my hand. "You do care."

Humor. That was new. Maybe almost dying would turn out to be a good thing for him. He seemed to appreciate my bizarre twist on humor but I couldn't recall him ever coming up with it. He did seem to have learned from my sarcasm.

Ler and the other fairy gossiped high in the tree above our heads. I wondered how long the story that I had healed my prince with a kiss was going to last. How's that for turning the fairytales on their heads.

Trey seemed none the worse for wear. I marveled at his powers of recovery, when he stretched a hand up to me, I took it and hauled him to his feet. I wasn't positive but I think the kiss he gave me was more to hide weakness than lust brought on by surviving a near death experience. When he let me up for air, he still wobbled a bit but he could stand on his own.

He checked Hef's condition before placing him back in the pack. "Shall we get going. Harpy's to slay..."

"Or drive away," I interrupted.

"Yeah, and all that cr...stuff."

He smiled as I slapped his arm. "There's only enough room in this demesne for one of me. Don't go stealing my lines. And the only reason I didn't say crap was because your father is the king."

"So you're saying I should have just said crap."

"Me too as far as that goes," I agreed.

He wrapped an arm around my waist and we continued on our journey. "We all make mistakes. You'll know better next time."

"So how much farther to Teerala?"

"Anxious?"

"Yeah. Look, like I said, I don't want to kill her if it can be avoided but we never did decide on a plan of action."

"You'll want to have your shields ready when we find her. We haven't done much in the way of offensive magic. We can take another day here and practice or I can teach you while we travel. We'll be outside Teerala by evening."

Nerves ate at my gut as though we'd already found the harpy and she had torn me in two. "And then what?" I was in over my head and just now realizing it. I didn't want to kill. I had no idea how to get rid of her without killing her. We hadn't even touched on any magic other than defensive. Defense was nice but not going to get rid of a harpy.

Trey interrupted my musing with at least the start of a plan. "When we get closer I'll send Juni ahead to scout. Once we know exactly where the harpy is we can figure out the best way to get rid of her. Tess I want to hear you say that if it comes down to it you will kill this creature."

I shrugged, but tossed a nod of acceptance into it as well. "I'm not going to let her kill me, or you. Or any of the other residents of the demesne I've sworn to protect for that matter."

"Good, then I'll try to teach you illusion so that you might try to drive her away with images of her enemies. But I will first teach you to wield your power like flame. So if the illusions fail, you might still rid the land of her."

If Grandma could see me now. I wondered if the magic he was teaching me would be equally effective in my own realm. After this jaunt I needed to go see Grandma. First things first, I had to survive the next day or two. I should have known my absence would be noted.

I turned my attention back to where Trey waited patiently for me to focus. "Where'd you go?" he asked.

"Home. Hoping I survive to go see Grandma."

"Lesser Guardians have driven off and killed harpies."

"Then tell me what harpies are afraid of?"

"There's the obvious of course. Everybody with even a tiny bit of common sense is afraid of a dragon. There is the occasional good dragon but finding out if one is good or bad can prove to be hard if you wish to live. Unfortunately dragon's aren't easy to conjure. Especially since you've never seen one."

I pointed to a hilltop. "You said you were going to show me illusion. Show me a dragon. Right over there."

"It's not just the form. A dragon has too much...presence for lack of a better word. By the time you dredge up something that big, it's noticeable if the presence isn't there. Besides dragons, there's ogres, several of the Were species and valincha on the list of things harpies fear."

"What kind of Were? I wouldn't have any problem calling up a cat. I've actually seen one of those."

"Werewolves are better known for their ravening ways. I'm quite sure the cat was deadly and even more sure I didn't want to fight him but they are more reasoning than wolves."

"So tell me about these valincha?"

"We can't use them. There's a psychic component to their attack. The harpy would see through it quickly. How about we go with one I'm very familiar with." Trey gestured to the hilltop I'd pointed out and a huge green monstrosity took shape. It was bipedal. Roughly human shape if a human we're eight feet tall with coarse black hair and shoulders like a Thanksgiving parade balloon. It's eyes were yellow, and oversized pointed teeth jutted from the upper jaw. The Incredible Hulk on steroids. It wore some sort of hide as a loin cloth. Head raised, sniffing the breeze, it turned toward us, ambling down the hill. It stopped, completely unconcerned, to scratch its buttocks then wiped sweat from its brow with the same hand. Motionless except for the great shaggy head, it tested the wind again and looked straight at us. A club appeared in its hand and it raged toward us. Even knowing this was illusion my knees quivered, urging me to runaway. It didn't slow down as it approached and I hid behind Trey.

The ogre went up in a puff of flowers as it reached our side. Trey snatched a flower from the air and bowed over it, but then that too disappeared. His eyes were laughing as he spun to find me where I cowered.

"What the hell..."

"Ogre."

"And you fight those things?"

"We even win most of the time. Fortunately the words smart and ogre aren't usually found in the same sentence. They don't tend to notice the absence of presence in a dragon, and if you light that hair on fire they run in circles screaming and moaning."

"It doesn't kill them?"

"Unfortunately ogres are extremely difficult to kill. Neither magic or weapons can penetrate their hide. If you end up fighting one, the only vulnerable places are the joints, eyes, and ears. Fortunately they tend to be easy to herd back across the border and then we only need to mend the breach in the border spell."

"So how do I do that?"

Trey shook his head. "First offensive. Then illusion."

We started walking while Trey explained the different uses of magical energy as a weapon, concentrating on various methods of using fire.

By the end of the journey the little mage light I'd been able to call before could turn into a roaring ball of flame or I could form it into a spear and throw it javelin style if I wanted to cause a little less destruction. I went above and beyond what Trey was trying to teach me and even built my flame into a wall and sent it ahead of me scorching ten feet of prairie grass before Trey ordered me to quench it. Good thing. The spell left me drained, and I wasn't eager to have something so deadly get away from me again. It took effort to lift my head and meet Trey's eyes. "I need to stop."

"I imagine you do." His eyes were hard. "Why do you think I didn't try to teach you that?"

I shrugged too weary to argue. "I suppose I figured you had never tried it."

"I haven't tried it, but I've seen it done." His voice held a bit of awe so he wasn't all angry at my waste of energy from which I was going to need to recover.

Trey pointed ahead of us. The tops of trees could be seen over the next hill. "We're approaching Teerala. We will camp here, while Juni seeks the harpy. I will show you what I know of drawing energy from the earth itself. Perhaps you can replenish your own magic."

"Can't you just do what you did when I healed Hef. You said you had to bind your power anyway."

"I have to bind it because a harpy will feel it. Even if you are the vessel channeling it. It will remain fairy magic. That cannot work this time."

"Right. I forgot. Actually I didn't know half of what you just said but it makes sense. So about this earth energy."

He tossed the sleeping bag down and pointed beside it. "Sit."

He turned and gave orders to Juni. As soon as the fairy was out of sight over the next rise, he turned back to me, planting himself on the sleeping bag and leading me through a meditation exercise that would have made Buddha proud. When I came back to myself the sun was well down but I was refreshed and ready to learn illusion.

## Chapter 15

Trey bound his magic while we walked so there weren't any more demonstrations of ogres but by the time Juni returned I was doing reasonably well on my own. Trey offered suggestions like, yellower teeth. Longer, more unkempt fingernails and hair.

We had moved into the forest to wait and Juni now perched on a branch overhead.

The moment my ogre faded from view, Trey asked the scout, "Did you find her?"

"Yes, Sir. I've brought a couple of survivors as well, Sir."

"Good thinking. They can tell us what the bird's been up to"

A yellow fairy joined Juni from two trees over. Blonde hair hid her face as she picked at the bark of the tree, sending tiny shreds, floating on the breeze.

"What news can you give us of the harpy?" Trey asked.

"None good, Highness." She peeled another strip of gray bark. "She is fat and happy at great cost to our cloud."

"How many survive?"

"A century, Highness. One hundred out of the three centuries our cloud was comprised of."

"Then you have fared better than those who had a gryphon move in on them at Midlal Wood."

Insensitive brute. So what if two hundred of your people died these other folk lost more. What kind of a ruler would he make if he survived to become king?

The yellow fairy proved me wrong by taking an immense interest in the gryphon and the demise of the greens. It brought her out of her bark-picking funk anyway, and when Trey told her about the gryphon's demise she perked up considerably. She launched herself off the branch and fluttered down in front of me. "Welcome Guardian. We are grateful for your arrival. I will assist in anyway possible."

A ruby fairy fluttered down to join her, his gaze chased between the yellow and the surrounding area. His fist was knotted around the hilt of his sword. A teal fairy joined Juni and Ler on the branch, he too firmly gripped his sword. He swayed like a punch-drunk fighter as his gaze darted about the countryside.

"You're in charge here?" I asked taking my cue from the nervous guards.

"Since Elder Jala was eaten a week ago, I am in charge. A position I abdicate in favor of His Highness."

It amazed me that they could speak so placidly about members of their community being eaten. I guess if you grew up accepting that things like that happened; you lost the need to rail at the injustice of the world.

Trey started to speak but I squeezed his hand. "I'm afraid you'll have to keep your position as leader for now. Trey won't be staying."

"But someone must. Neither I nor any of the remaining members of the cloud carry a drop of royal blood."

"I will cure the harpy problem and then you should be able to do as you've been doing until we can send somebody to take over."

The ruby shook his head. "He must stay."

"You would contradict your king?"

Already wide and darting eyes shifted about twice as fast. His wings buzzed as he hovered in place behind the yellow. Adams-apple bobbed as he gulped and swallowed. "His Majesty is not here?"

"No but his son is here to show me around. He has been ordered to maintain the ogre border."

The yellow's eyes had latched onto the crossed feather mark on my neck. Anger tinged her voice. "And will you then spend your days fighting ogres as well?"

The ruby settled his nerves and looked at his acting ruler. "Mother!"

She cast an annoyed glance his way. "Look at them. Star-crossed. I'm amazed they made it here at all."

I wanted to swat her. We were here to help them. "That's none of your concern," I told her. "We are here, and we do intend to help you and rather than insisting Trey stay here, you should be grateful to him. If not for him, I doubt I'd have seen enough worth saving in your people to make me accept the position of Guardian."

Her tone was snide when she said, "Then you'll be gone as soon as the magic wears off."

"That is yet to be seen. But I'm here now. Do you need help with your harpy problem or not?"

Her tone humbled a bit. "Yes Guardian. You would earn our gratitude if you could rid us of that threat."

Amazing. I wondered if her mercurial shifts in attitude were normal or if the pressure of ruling was getting to her. "Then what can you tell us about her?" The ruby looked like he was tiring. The yellow was burning magic to make staying aloft easier. I held a hand out to the ruby. With a glance at his mother he landed on it and I placed him on my shoulder. "I've been told the harpy can sense fairy magic. Are you strong enough she stays away or do you spend your days hiding?"

"The magic is not mine. It belongs to the royal who rules the cloud. In times like this, it consents to allow me to use it in limited means. It's not enough to attract the harpy's attention. Not enough to send her into hiding either. First thing that...that...creature did, was hunt down anybody with power." The yellow fluttered to Trey's shoulder, magic or no magic it was hard to fly with sobs contorting your body.

"I'm guessing some of those were family and friends?"

"Fourteen of my children and three of their fathers. Too many friends to count."

"After those with magic were gone what did she do?"

The yellow sat down and put her face between her knees, shoulders heaving.

The ruby said, "The monstrosity built a nest in the tallest sycamore she could find. Our forest is lush with game and fruit. She flies about spewing her filth, eating our food and if she sees any of us, she eats us as well. This is the first time I've ventured from the tree in a moon."

"Doesn't your ability to camouflage yourselves make it easy to hide?"

The yellow looked up, with a sullen snarl she said, "It's obvious you've only been around the royals so far. That's not a talent all of us have."

"You're right of course. I imagine most new Guardians don't meet the populace in their first week on the job. We left the moment I was sworn in as Guardian, and we were told about your troubles. There really wasn't much more we could do."

"You mean after you spent a moon swooning in lust with your fairy prince."

Keeping my temper under control was only achieved through the use of will power accompanied by a bit of something by Jimmy Buffet, relaxing and summery. When I'd reined in my gut reaction to tell her to take a long walk off a short pier in somewhat less pleasant words, I said, "Look, I know your people have been through a lot in the last two weeks or so, but I'm here to try to help you. I wasn't exactly jumping at the opportunity when it was first offered to me and Prince Trey has put himself in danger to convince me to become your Guardian." I leaned over and kissed Trey, almost forgetting the fairies as immediate proximity put me back under control of the spell. Wrenching myself away from him, I said, "Don't think I wouldn't prefer to still be in my house, making love to my chosen, morning, noon, and night. You can stop sniping at us now, or we can leave. There are rumored sightings of a dragon near the nymph border."

The ruby's face matched his wings and hair. The yellow's mouth hung open.

Above us in the trees the teal fairy said, "Perhaps, Mother, we should consider ourselves fortunate the Guardian has arrived. Up here I can feel the Magic of the spell. I don't understand it but I could feel it." He directed his next words to Trey. "How long has it been Highness?"

Trey grinned at me then turned back to the teal. "Nearly two moons. I think perhaps my chosen has some nymph in her background."

The ruby twitched on my shoulder. "Two moons. How is it possible?" He turned and touched the crossed feather mark on my throat. "This still looks fresh as though you should still be alone."

"Look," I said trying to keep the snarl out of my voice since I really had started it. They were easy to derail. "We can't explain it. My point was, that I don't owe you anything and you owe him plenty. Now can we get back to the harpy?"

"What more do you require?" The ruby asked.

"Does she leave her nest for anything but hunting?"

The ruby scratched behind an ear. "It really is peculiar, actually. The last several days she's spent very little time in her nest. Flies off in the morning, returns at noon, usually with something to eat, then she flies away again, not to return until dark."

Trey rubbed his ear. "Everyday?"

"Yes, Sir.".

"Just the last several days?" Trey's confusion was plain on his face? If he didn't understand the behavior, it must be unusual.

"Yes Sir, but not until after she killed our magic users."

"What direction does she fly?"

"Northeast. Toward the dwarves' demesne."

"So, a week after she arrived this behavior started?"

The ruby glanced up at the teal. "Two days beyond new moon?"

"That is correct." the teal confirmed

Trey exchanged a glance with Ler, but whatever was on his mind he did not say anything.

"You said you haven't been able to leave your home since she moved in. How do you know this?" I asked.

The yellow answered, "The tallest sycamore in the forest is less than one-hundred wing strokes from the hollow oak that is cloud-home."

"Anything else you can tell us," Trey asked the three of them.

"Sorry Highness, Guardian. There is not much more to tell," the ruby said.

"Very well then," Trey told them, "return to your cloud-home and remain there until we let you know it is safe."

When they were gone, Trey said, "Does anything about what they said strike you as strange?"

I shook my head, "I don't exactly know enough about harpies to find their words odd."

"Harpies don't set up a nest and then leave it all day. Most harpies only leave the nest to hunt. And if she's bringing a kill to the nest at noon, what is she doing all day?"

Juni and Ler joined us. But it was Hef from within the pack who said, "She's hunting other game, Sir."

Trey took him out. "And what would she be hunting?"

Hef's face turned green. His hands flew to his head and he fluttered to the ground to throw-up. It spoke well of his training that when he was through, he spun around and said, "She's hunting humans, Sir."

My heart jumped at his matter-of-fact statement.

Trey's thinned lips and narrowed eyes held no denial of the statement. "Glad to know you still know your job. What brings you to that conclusion?"

"The day she started hunting, Sir. The day after the council's summons went out. The day Miss Tess arrived."

"Very good, soldier."

Hung-over he had caught that and I hadn't. Was I cut out for this job?

Ever sensitive to what I was thinking, Trey said. "Hef is a scout. It's his duty to notice these things."

"OK, so does that make a difference in how we handle her?"

"Most definitely. If there's an unwatched portal in dwarven territory, we need to find out where it is. We need to know if she's trapped any humans and we need to know what she's up to."

"So you don't think she's hunting them for the thrill of the kill or anything like that?"

Trey wrapped an arm around my waist. "If it's thrill she's after, she'd take herself through the portal into your world and terrify or kill, many, not sit around waiting for them to come to her."

"Then she's after magic users?" I asked, feeling like the slow kid on the block.

"So it would seem. But harpies have little magical talent beyond their voices and vocabulary. They couldn't use another's magic so I don't know what possible reason she could have for doing this."

I shivered so hard my knees trembled as I was reminded of when somebody went after me because I was a magic user. I hoped Trey was right that the harpy's employer was at least collecting live specimens.

We decided to wait until morning to try to follow the harpy to her destination. We also decided to forego magical training to avoid being noticed by our target. Supper was apples and some bulbous blue roots Trey called Callorit. We'd dug them from under a three foot tall plant with broad purple leaves. He said they were good for people using a lot of magic. Their flavor was rich. Cooked, mashed, and smothered in butter I rather imagined they'd put weight on anybody. For the first time since I entered the fairy demesne, dinner was satisfying, and that without the butter, cooking, or even spices. Trey explained that magic use exhausted the natural energy of a body so if I used my magic on a regular basis I was going to need to replenish more often. I'd never had a weight problem, but when Trey mentioned the need for extra food I was forced to take stock and realized I probably had dropped ten pounds in the past week.

After eating, we turned in early.

Everything we needed to discuss about the harpy had already been discussed. My nerves were on blade's edge, and Trey humored my need for distraction.

Didn't take much convincing, a breast pushed into his arm and my lips on his neck and the harpy no longer preyed on my thoughts. Morning came too soon. Trey and I rolled out of bed before sunup having gotten no sleep at all.

Trey stuffed Callorit in the pack after handing me a couple. I gnawed on one for breakfast as we followed Juni back toward the cloud home. The light of the early morning moon left something to be desired, but with Trey's arm around me we negotiated the terrain with only a few incidents and the one time I tripped, Trey prevented me from hitting the ground. I'd never realized how much better than me he saw in the dark. Or perhaps he was just a bit more agile.

We stopped at the last rise of ground and lay down. Juni pointed out the immense oak of cloud home. Nearby, a sycamore towered over the oak. Its dense foliage hid anything that might have been located in the branches but we sat and waited. With the first rays of sunlight, a breeze stirred the highest branches.

First one mud-brown wing-tip and then a second, stretched above the uppermost leaves. She was too far away to see with any clarity but as the wings spread, each one seemed about seven feet long. They stretched, then fell and stretched again beating downward to add their breeze to the shifting sway of the branches. A blonde head lifted above the leaves on the next stroke. At least I assumed the snarl on the back of her head was blonde at one point in time. It was dirty blonde but if appropriately said, more dirty than blonde. The take-off was ungainly, slow. The next wing stroke lifted her above the branches and she circled once, displaying ponderous breasts, swaying with every strengthening beat of her wings.

After she completed her circle she lifted higher into the air, caught a thermal and streaked off toward the northwest. I looked at Trey and asked, "How can we possibly keep up with her."

"My wings can't move my mass in this size. Even if I were small, I couldn't match that speed. Which is why I sent Ler to her nest last night to pluck one of her hairs. Ler looked nauseous but he floated down and passed a single oily blonde hair to Trey. When he released his grip, color returned to his face. Trey wrapped it in a piece of the shirt Hef had been trapped in and handed it to me. "Concentrate on the hair and then search for another like it. Let me guide you. We know which direction she went. You concentrate on the hair and I'll make sure you don't break a leg."

I looked down at the t-shirt. The song that came to mind wasn't exactly right, in fact it had nothing to do with the blonde hair and those double D's were unmistakably female, but Foreigner's Dirty White Boy came to mind. Why did she have huge boobs. Flying would have been less ugly if she was petite or even, forgive the pun, bird-breasted. Oh well...I was learning to go with my gut, and my gut said, Dirty White Boy.

I closed my eyes and started humming, lending my voice to the chorus and felt the magic build. Listening to Trey's instructions I sent the magic to touch the hair then sent it out in front of us, searching for something sympathetic to it. I failed.

Trey's hand was under my elbow, guiding me down a steep slope. The scent of mint curled up from under my feet. I opened my eyes and shook my head. Trey squeezed a little and said, "Try again, concentrate. Trust me, give me control of your body. If you don't have complete concentration, you'll fail."

I tried. I tried hard. And I failed again.

We'd left behind the carpet of mint and were now crunching our way over last years fallen leaves. I was briefly distracted by the thought that it should have been freshly crunchy leaves. In my world we were approaching Halloween.

Trey brought us to a halt and I said, "Can I try while we're still?"

He spun me around and showed me the distant landscape. "It takes too long. We've traveled miles and have more than a few to travel yet. We entered the dwarves demesne half an hour ago." He wrapped his arms and wings around me and held me tight. "You trust me in the middle of the night." He leaned down and kissed me. "Trust me now. Please. I know you can do this." Ler and Juni rode his shoulders. Hef poked his head out of a pocket. It hardly seemed fair to give him the burden of all four of us. His expression was so earnest, there wasn't anything to do but try again.

I'd had no idea of the time lapse. I returned his kiss, almost losing myself in the touch of his lips. I leaned on him, not content with the closeness of his fingers wrapped on my elbow. I sank into a trance for the third time this morning and after a moment of remembering the previous evening, concentrating on how much I did trust him I went in search of the quarry again. After what seemed like only moments a muddy smudge appeared on the horizon. I knew it was the harpy and I shook myself out of the trance just enough to lift my arm and point. I focused on the smudge and felt an ease in the tension of Trey's arm as he allowed me to guide. I responded when he tugged, my subconscious mind aware of the fact he was pulling me away from trees, stones, and other hazards.

On the level of consciousness I was viewing the world I could put a dot on a map for every magical being or artifact ahead of us. The landscaping of the ethereal realm of colors where I'd spent the morning searching for the harpy shifted and swirled in what I came to recognize as the passing of other magic users but some items remained unmoving. I couldn't be sure what any of them were. I assumed if they were moving, they were alive and if they weren't, they were an artifact. I noted two artifacts in close proximity to the harpy's position.

Eventually the smudge moved toward us. I recalled the ruby's words about her eating lunch at the nest. I released the spell and searched quickly for cover. A rocky outcropping was the best we could find. We'd long since moved out of forested territory. The hills had grown to what could almost be called mountains, not the Rockies but maybe the Georgia end of the Appalachians. We ate lunch while we waited for her to pass us by. The callorit filled a ravenous hole in my gut.

We'd finished eating and the black fairies were getting impatient before the harpy passed overhead. Once she was gone we started walking again. Even without her presence, I could close my eyes and lock in on the position she had occupied. The artifacts were still there. Still visible. A rainbow swirl of colors gleamed brilliantly. Some slight distance away, small pink and green dots glimmered weakly. Beside the rainbow, a glimmer of gold, with piercings of crimson, stalked back and forth.

## Chapter 16

I walked freely now, checking occasionally to the front to make certain we were still on track and watching behind for the harpy's return. We saw her coming long before she arrived and found cover. I don't know if she was flying lower or if the wind was traveling differently but I gagged from the stench. The small black fairies flew higher and settled on boulders, faces pale, wings fluttering in slow motion. A motion I believe they kept up in a useless attempt to circulate the air. Trey's wings had a bit more effect. When I could breathe again I asked, "Don't they ever bathe?" As we walked in her trail.

"No. And they abandon their nests for caves if it starts to rain."

"My gawd, if you got two of them together they'd clear an area a mile around."

"Fortunately they rarely gather. They don't tend to like anybody. Not even anyone from their own species. Sometimes two of them will get together, but more than that and their foul tongues scorch their own feathers."

"You mean that literally don't you?"

"If you're asking if I mean they actually scorch feathers, then yes. You must hear it to believe it. Of course if you hear it, it's quite likely you'll never hear anything again. I only heard the first exchange of an argument from a good distance, and though I flew away as quickly as possible it was two days until I heard another sound. When I could no longer hear them I turned to watch. One was flying off with her tail feathers burning."

"But you didn't see it happen?" Disbelief plagued me.

"No," he admitted "But the air heated enough that the thermals pushed me faster. I have no reason to believe it was otherwise."

That put a whole new spin to the phrase 'blistering ones tail'. "I suppose I'll have ample opportunity to familiarize myself with the finer points of care and feeding of the pet harpy."

Trey's eyes widened, his face took on a slightly greenish tint. "Pet!"

"Just a joke. Take it easy."

At that moment Juni returned from scouting ahead. He was flying faster than I'd ever seen a fairy go. He landed on Trey's shoulder and panted, trying to catch his breath. He glanced over at me and whispered in Trey's ear.

I wasn't sure at first if he whispered because he was still winded or because he didn't want me to hear what he had to say. Trey's response told me what the fairy thought of my staying power. "She's your Guardian. Have faith. We can't keep her from seeing bad things if we want her to be able to do her job."

Juni twisted back and forth, caught between a rock and a hard place. Glancing at me, then his Commander. Finally with a shrug he said, "Bones."

"I'm not interested in guessing. What exactly does that mean?"

"There's bones ahead, Miss. Not pretty white bones. Still have flesh and hair."

"Human? Fairy? What?"

Juni gave me an odd look then said. "Not sure. Not an animal. Two footed, wearing clothes, boots."

"Do you think the harpy killed him?"

"Kill looks older."

"Wild animal?"

"No."

Rather than play twenty questions I started walking. Juni remained on Trey's shoulder giving directions. We entered a boulder field and began winding our way through. After ten minutes the boulders were omnipresent. Not even a blade of grass jutted from the crevasses. Walking became a chore and I wondered if there would have been an easier way around this area had the fairy not seen the remains and aroused my curiosity. If they were human, how had they gotten here? Trey didn't sound like there was supposed to be a portal here. If the remains were older than the harpy had been in residence, assuming somebody opened the portal to allow the harpy to hunt, who was it? Somebody else's Guardian? Perhaps one of those that had quit while on the wrong side of the portal? We were in the dwarves demesne so it seemed reasonable that it would be a dwarf. I looked around at the complete absence of life around us. Then again...

"Where are the dwarves?" I asked Trey.

"They have a few cities carved into mountainsides farther north but most of them are under our feet."

"So nobody uses the land here?"

Trey glanced around us, amusement twinkling in his eyes. "What would they do? Grow more rocks?"

"I take it the realm isn't exactly overcrowded?"

The twinkle disappeared. "The realm lives in balance." The emphasis he placed on balance made me wonder what was so important. He stood waiting for me to respond.

Obviously I wasn't getting it. "You might as well just tell me."

"Why do you think it is important that you realize that everything is balanced? We've already seen several examples of balance at work."

He sounded like Yoda. I thought about the trip up here to dwarf country. Nothing screamed balance to me.

"Start with the gryphon. You wondered why he was there. I cannot tell you why he wandered from his mountain aerie but the end result was balance."

"Explain."

"As you noted the trees were dense. The greens kept every one of them alive. None of their trees ever perished through natural causes, it was not healthy for the forest, the gryphon moved in and the greens either died or moved. The trees would slowly have returned to a healthy state as long as the gryphon lived there. You just sped the process along."

I considered his words for several moments before deciding maybe he had a point. "You said there were several examples."

"Your friend, the werecat is another prime example. I'm just not sure which side of the scales he weighs in on."

"Let me guess, werecats are usually bad. He was good but under a binding and ordered to do something bad. So the binding cancelled out the fact that he went against the werecat's nature."

"Not quite that simple. Werecats are usually bad. This one seemed to not be interested in killing us, but was that because under the binding he's good, or because he resents the person who bound him and doesn't want to do his bidding. I told you, their nature is normally vain and self-centered, so was he trying to help us or himself." Trey laughed. "No, my love. You were sent to balance the werecat. You are powerful enough you could release him from his bindings, and most likely powerful enough that the slightest inclination to go against his owner was magnified to the point he sought you for help, rather than take you on in battle."

"I didn't release him."

"But he left. He's no longer a threat."

"So you're saying you have no underlying opinions on whether he was basically good or bad?"

"Opinions, sure. Everybody has opinions, but I can't answer the question and swear that I am right."

He was giving me a headache. If the Were was good, then I balanced the binding. If the Were was bad, I balanced him... who cares as long as he's gone. I thought briefly about the magical creature stalking near the rainbow artifact on the ethereal plain. Maybe I should be interested in exactly what drove the big cat. "Let's drop him for the moment. Next example."

"The yellow fairy. Only faeries with royal blood can wield the Magic of a cloud leader, and yet when the royals were all killed the Magic bent to allow her access."

I hadn't paid too much attention when the yellow mentioned this phenomenon but I sat up and listened now. "This magic, all royals have it, or only those in charge of a cloud?"

"Or a kingdom." Trey read right to the heart of my point. "Yes, my father is granted powerful magic, above and beyond what he normally holds, by the throne."

"Where does it come from?"

"As long as his subjects follow him, the magic is his."

"So it comes from everybody who is not of royal blood?"

"I suppose you could look at it that way."

"So the members of the cloud voted her in?"

Trey began rubbing his ear. He could understand balancing magic but not voting someone into office.

I continued while he reached for the concept of voting. "But the magic isn't meant to be wielded by someone not of the blood so it's too strong. Her temperament swings were brought on by instability of the magic."

"That seems reasonable to say," he agreed with me.

"So maybe if half her subjects didn't vote for her, the magic would only be half as strong and her mind wouldn't fracture so badly."

He was nodding thoughtfully "That's a possibility. If we survive the next couple of days we might suggest to her on the way back that she convince her subjects to appoint somebody to share the duty until another royal can be located."

"It can't hurt." Those were anti-prophetic words.

I twisted my ankle as I clambered over yet another boulder. It hurt like hell and drew a few choice words from the lower depth of my vocabulary. Trey was kneeling and taking my shoe off almost before I hit the ground. He drew a piece of linen out of a pocket and began wrapping it tightly around the sprain. His hands were magic, soothing and cooling where they touched. Carrying the balance thing a step further he was the good to his sire's wickedness. While he worked, I asked, "If it's all balance, what happens when one of the races usually acknowledged as good has a member that goes bad?" In view of all that I'd learned about His Majesty's ability to read his children, I didn't want to say who I was specifically referring to.

Whether he understood where I was going or not Trey said, "If a werecat became thoughtful and kind to others, one of a good race would probably end up destructive and evil. It's even been known to happen that an ogre can turn good."

It was the first time since I'd known him that he'd said anything about ogres without hate in his voice. I steered away from the subject. "So pretty much yin and yang. That still doesn't tell me why all this land is left unused."

"It does. If a dwarf is born, another dies. The realm does not have overcrowding because balance is maintained.

"How can your father have so many children then?"

"That would be the positive aspect of being the favorite food of so many monstrosities."

I found the whole balance thing a bit unlikely but it would explain some of the oddities, like the fact that we'd walked all day, and the only thing we 'd seen besides rabbits and deer was the harpy. I wondered how far under our feet the dwarves tunnels were. Salem was a small town and Grandma and I lived a good distance outside the urban boundary, but I still couldn't walk all day without seeing another person.

Trey finished wrapping my ankle and tried to slide the shoe back on my foot. I reached down and pulled the laces of my sneaker as loose as they'd go. After wedging foot and linen back into the shoe I looked at the boulders we had yet to cross and double-knotted the shoe snug so I wouldn't lose it as I climbed. Moments later, with Trey supporting a good part of my weight we were moving forward again.

Progress was slow. Trey worried we wouldn't make it beyond the boulder field before nightfall. I worried we wouldn't make it before the harpy went home for the night, we had entered an area where the boulders were large enough to be obstacles but not large enough to provide cover from overhead.

About the fifth time I jounced my ankle dragging it over a rock, I screamed. Shocks of pain ran up my leg and my toes went numb.

Trey's eyes were wide with concern. "We can stop."

I glanced up at the setting sun and shook my head, lips pressed tight, holding in a groan. I exhaled slowly through my nose and when the moment of agony passed I said, "We need to get hidden."

Juni looked up. "Bones are hidden."

"How far?" Trey looked doubtful.

"Not far, highness. We'd have been there already had the Guardian remained uninjured." Juni stopped talking but he paced Trey's shoulder as though working up the courage to speak again.

We waited, but finally Trey said, "You have something else to say?"

"It's just...Sir, she healed young Hef right enough. Why doesn't she just fix herself?"

Trey arched his eyebrows, gazing at me.

I frowned, it was a good suggestion but the intricacy was beyond me. "I don't think it's broken. just twisted and inflamed. Stopping bleeding is easy. Putting bits back together, is more work but still pretty basic. I'm not sure I could remove the strain and swelling from the tissues. I saved Hef's life but I'm sure he was still in pain." I wrapped my arm more firmly around Trey and hobbled onward. "Besides, if I attempted such fine work I'd probably pass out for a day or two and we'd waste even more time."

Juni flew ahead and returned shortly.

Trees began to appear on the horizon. But a glance toward the Harpy's perch showed the brown smudge becoming restless, wings stretching. We weren't going to make the trees before she gave up her vigil for the day. I grimaced and limped faster. Juni flew ahead again as I kept tabs on our quarry. He didn't go far. The rock he landed on wasn't any larger then the rest of those nearby. But, at some uncertain distance ahead of us the harpy took flight, he waved us on.

It was a good thing we'd eaten little besides callorit today or I wouldn't have been able to stop myself from vomiting. The stench of decaying flesh overwhelmed the area. I forced myself to look at it once I'd settled my roiling stomach. Juni was right it was largely bones with just enough meat and skin to make it a gruesome find. Tufts of long black hair stuck to the skin shriveled around the skull. The remains of a beard said male...unless it was a dwarf. But I decided the ribs weren't sprung wide enough to belong to a dwarf. He wore blue jeans and leather hiking boots which to me fairly clearly said human. At least I had a hard time envisioning a resident of the realm wearing Levis.

I couldn't tell much beyond black hair and well-tanned skin. The button down shirt had several slashes through it and a gaping hole where his heart should have been. I imagined harpy claws but Trey pointed out the distance separating them. The hilt of a knife protruded from his groin as though a casual thrust had planted it after removing the heart. How angry did you have to make a woman to get her to cut out your heart and stab you in the genitals? What was this man's offense?

"What do you suppose he was doing here?" I asked.

"Besides running? I'm certain I don't know," Trey responded, although I hadn't actually expected an answer to my question.

Juni was right, there was sufficient space to hide under the corpse's boulder. It appeared the man had been camped out here for several days before meeting his end. He had excavated a good bit under the nearest boulders in such a way they hadn't collapsed on top of him. There would be enough room for Trey and I to hide there.

Trey reached for the corpse.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I thought I'd get rid of our pleasant smelling friend."

"Leave him. I can do this if you can. I'm sure the harpy knows he's here. If we move him she'll start looking for us." I squeezed into the crevice, feeling the immense weight of the precariously perched stone at my back and Trey's soft warmth at my front. His wings were wrapped around himself in hopes that the black would provide camouflage. The three small fairies squeezed in around us. I'm not too proud to admit I was very glad I could stick my nose in Trey's shoulder and inhale his earthy fragrance pretending there wasn't a decomposing human body less then five feet from us.

Trey pressed me tightly into the stone and beyond all reason, the Magic of the spell had me desiring sex, decomposing body, oncoming harpy and sprained ankle be damned, all I wanted was to be naked with our positions reversed. I could barely move but when the tiniest shift of my shoulders, rubbed my breasts against Trey's back, the sharp inhalation and tension in his body told me he wasn't faring any better.

Why was the spell still so strong? Sooner or later it was going to distract us when we couldn't afford distraction...like now. Any motion on this desolate stretch of boulders was sure to attract the harpy's attention.

I couldn't see past Trey's shoulders and wings. A glance at the body would probably go a long way to cooling my spell induced lust. At least I hoped it was spell induced. I wouldn't lose control this badly to plain old hormones, would I?

I almost welcomed the stench of the harpy invading even the tight places I was concealed in. Stinging nostrils and watering eyes managed to distract me from Trey's nearness.

In the ethereal world of magic colors, the boulders didn't exist. Trey's soothing blue energy existed and the harpy's brown smudge existed, and in front of me an orange glow suffused the area around the corpse. He had been a magic user.

When the harpy was gone I pushed on Trey's back and said, "We can get up now." He seemed as reluctant to move, as I was to have him move. A deep breath sent spasms through my chest and I pushed at him, frantically trying to get out where open spaces would dispel the stench of the harpy's passing faster.

The three guards were already sitting atop the rocks when I hauled myself upright. The body was still there. Still a mystery. "He was a magic user."

Trey stared at the body. "He's been dead too long. How can you tell?"

"Either he was very powerful or he hasn't been dead as long as it seems."

Trey rubbed his ear. "What are you seeing?"

"He's surrounded by orange energy."

"Orange?" Trey's lips thinned. He went closer to the body.

I watched on two levels and when he was close enough to touch the orange energy it flared. Too fast for thought to translate to warning it wrapped itself around Trey's wrist. Startled, his wings flapped as he snatched the arm to his chest the magic traveled rapidly, twining about his chest. Laughter floated up from the corpse. Animation returned to the jaw, the voice was feminine. "You're mine."

I stared in horror as the energy left the corpse and surrounded Trey. I couldn't process what was happening, but the voice, more so than the words, galvanized me, for a moment I was eight years old and being told I had to die. I struggled against the rising flood of emotion as I searched for a song that would help Trey. The magic was obviously a binding of some sort, he might not be a cat but maybe if I played it before the binding set, Born Free would work for Trey better than it worked for the cat. I lifted the ebony flute to my lips and played, forcing my mind on the notes, away from the voice threatening me from the corpse's long dead mouth. Before I finished the first chorus, the orange was losing the battle to take over Trey. When he unwrapped his own energy and joined the battle he managed to ground the spell, whipping it away from himself with a gust brought by flapping his wings.

I stopped playing and my ears were assaulted by angry screeching. Jaw flapping as the remaining flesh was flayed away, she screamed, "He's mine."

I screeched back, "No, he's not, you bitch. You've taken everything from me you're going to. Show yourself." Years of anger rose to the surface, overwhelming fear and reason. Anger at the creature who had stolen my parents, tried to kill me, and would eventually take my grandmother as well.

The skull turned to face me. Empty eye sockets glared and it almost seemed I could see the slanted black pupils I remembered in my nightmares. "Do I know you?"

"You tried to kill me." Insanity edged my voice, but it was the madness of rage. If she was physically here I'd have attacked her with my bare hands. My sanity hadn't completely slipped, the magic I could feel building, burned in my chest, seared my eyes and ached for release. But the target was not here. Trey backed away from me. I had no idea where Hef and companions were, I hoped they were far away.

The voice laughed again. "If I had tried to kill you, you'd be dead."

I heard Trey whispering, "Ground it."

But when I glanced at him sidelong, not daring to take my eyes from the animated corpse he didn't look like he was whispering. His shouts came from a great distance. He struggled like a man trying to swim against a current to come towards me and was flung back against the boulder by my magic. His head smashed against the stone and he sagged to the ground. Remorse and fear overcame wrath. Sanity returned.

Laughter rose yet again from the skull. The voice said, "They are rather fragile things aren't they. I always found fairies broke too easily to be much fun...They are tasty though..."

I took the energy I had built and directed it toward the corpse. When I was through, there was not enough left of the body to even recognize that there had once been bones there. The dust left behind was buried in a hole three feet deep.

Magic spent, I rushed toward Trey. Ler was already hovering in front of him, a hand pressed to his chest. Hef walked to his head and lifted an eyelid. I was surprised by the midnight-blue glow seeping from behind it. It seemed to ease their concern but they weren't talking to me. I looked around for Juni but didn't see him.

I didn't care if they were angry at me, I walked past Ler and Hef and squatted by Trey's head. Blood matted his hair. I grabbed a flask of water and washed the blood away. Then took the remainder of the linen Trey had wrapped my ankle with and bandaged his head. Then I leaned over and kissed him before sliding under him and placing his head in my lap, not at all sure what to do next. I sat like that stroking his hair while the sun sank beyond the trees which were barely visible on the horizon. Ler flew away and I looked again for Juni. Hef glared at me and I sat in misery, well aware I deserved his anger.

It was with some relief I noted Ler's return with Juni in tow. At least I hadn't killed the black fairy. He was battered, the lower parts of his wings in tatters. My magic was exhausted. Wasted in anger against somebody who hadn't even been here. I had to try though. Too weary to lift my head from where it leaned against the boulder I started chanting. I dug the last shreds of my energy from where they hid and poured my heart into the desire for Trey to get better.

Hef stopped glaring and planted a hand on Trey. I watched in amazement as the fairy pulled magic from Trey and shunted it to me. With the borrowed energy the healing grew. I sent it out, searching for the unseen injuries inside Trey's head. Relief flooded through me when his eyes fluttered open. Anxiety gone, weariness rushed up to claim me.

My eyelids were too heavy to keep open, but Ler landed on my shoulder, yelling in my ear. "Fight it, Miss. We have too keep moving. If you pass out here, we'll still be in the open when the harpy returns tomorrow." How could somebody so small, sound so much like a drill sergeant?

Hef was still touching me and I felt another burst of energy. I slid my back up the rock struggling to my feet. Trey's eyes were still open but he hadn't moved. I was afraid Hef had taken too much energy from him. As I examined him, he shimmered. I reached down, picked him up and placed him in a pocket. Hef fluttered his unsteady flight to my shoulder. Ler and Juni flew ahead. Juni's flight was much stronger than I had imagined it would be with his wings in tatters, when I had the strength I'd have to try to do something about that.

I forced myself to stride forward as fast as possible, remembering after about ten steps that my ankle should be in agony. Apparently I'd healed that as well as Trey. Rather than risk losing time by injuring myself again I stopped when darkness made the journey too hazardous. I closed my eyes briefly, trusting to Ler's verbal prowess to awaken me when the moon was up high enough to see by. Sleeping on the rocks was not my idea of comfort and when Ler's stentorian voice ringing in my ear, forced me awake, I found movement difficult. The stones had leeched my body warmth and left me stiff.

Trey climbed out of my pocket and changed back to human size. He handed me some callorit as though I hadn't nearly killed him and we started walking, two tiny black forms flitting overhead, Hef on my shoulder. "Are you sure you're ready to move?" Trey asked.

"It's not like I'm going to get any more sleep. I'll never again say a mattress feels like a rock. Ler's right. I'd like to get to the treeline before the harpy flies over in the morning." Without another word we started toward the trees.

The first rays of sunshine found us curled up amongst the roots of old growth elms and hickories. With the sleeping bag and a pile of semi decayed dry leaves underneath us it felt like sleeping on air. Funny how all things are comparative. Until last night I hadn't thought sleeping on the ground the epitome of comfort.

We waited for the harpy, anticipating the worst. If my enemy was the person who sent the harpy would she know we were here? Even if there was no communication between them, the missing corpse would make the harpy wary.

## Chapter 17

Unlike earlier flyovers, the harpy wasn't gliding on thermals. She flew just above the canopy, wings beating rhythmically as she banked to the right circling back toward the boulder field.

Sheer luck put her first pass to the north of our position. Ler, Juni and Hef were pounding on us, yelling in our ears but being drained of magic it took the stench of harpy to awaken me and Trey.

She circled back around from the edge of the boulder field and we crowded under the densest tree cover we could find.

A harsh caw rang out over the treetops. The caw was followed by a raucous cry, "Where are you, you filthy land-bound bitch."

If that wasn't the pot calling the kettle black. I confess it had been several days since my last bath I'd been sweating and sleeping outside for more than a week but still, when she yelled, "I smell you," I almost gave away our position by responding. It's simply not possible for a creature that smells that bad to have a functioning nose.

The harpy cackled. "The Mistress will not be pleased, you ruined her trap. She'll snack on your heart, and feed your brains to the goblins!"

Bite your tongue Tess. Just bite your tongue. Neither Trey or I were ready for a magical battle. If we could delay until evening we'd stand a much better chance.

"Psst..." Trey waited until I was looking at him before laying his hand on me and giving me what little energy he had. He pointed to a distant tree. "Ogre."

It only took a moment to figure out what he wanted. Under that tree an ogre peered up at the harpy. Trey grinned and mouthed, "Nice.'

The harpy cawed again, and screamed obscenities I'd never heard before. My ogre ambled out of concealment and looked up at the harpy, all the while scratching his buttocks as though bored. I wished I had volume control. A good roar right now would be a good thing. I placed a boulder on the ground in front of the ogre, then bent him over to pick it up. Trey shook his head at me as I pulled the ogre's arm backward, preparing to lob the illusory boulder toward the harpy. I obeyed the cue and just had the ogre toss it back and forth from hand to hand while tracking the harpy's flight. She flew closer and I again pulled the arm back in a menacing gesture. Wings beat the air, back stroking and turning to the north. She cawed and screeched, "You can't hide behind your friends forever you muck encrusted worms! There's nowhere you can run. I think maybe I'll have you for lunch."

When the stench of the harpy cleared we continued the journey.

"Why'd you stop me from tossing the rock at her?" I asked Trey.

"It is possible to maintain two illusions or even a dozen illusions but you have to keep your attention on them to hold them together. It wouldn't have been good if the rock had faded to nothing before it even got close to her, or worse, you concentrated on the rock and lost the ogre. Neither of us had the power to maintain even that one illusion very long at all."

"She believed the ogre. Unfortunately it appears she thinks he's our friend, not that he's the one that disturbed the corpse."

A shudder ran through Trey's body, "As if I'd ever befriend an ogre, but it worked for now."

"Why do you suppose she sleeps so far away from whatever she's spending her days doing?" I asked Trey.

"I couldn't say for certain. I don't think any fairy ever wondered why a harpy did anything before. Whatever the reason, the victims do their best to convince her to move on, and when she's gone, they celebrate. Only Guardians worry about why. What are you thinking?"

"I don't know. Right now it's just little bits that don't add up. The werecat is waiting at the portal. At least I'm pretty sure it's him. He appears when the harpy leaves and he disappears when she returns. I thought maybe they were working together but that doesn't add up either. If she's afraid of the Were, it would make sense that she lives so far away. But he runs from her. There's always the 'enjoys her hors d'oeuvres' theory but it seems like a lot of extra flying for finger food. I'm certain this forest we're in has wild game she could eat."

Trey considered my words for a long time before saying. "Perhaps she has more than one task. It's possible attacking the cloud home was intended to draw out our new Guardian while she's still young, and easily removed, captured, or subverted."

I stopped my head from nodding with each new point he mentioned. I wasn't yet ready to declare myself superchick, righter of wrongs, keeper of peace and freedom everywhere, but everybody seemed to believe I had the potential. The only problem with the theory was how would the harpy, or the person the harpy took orders from have known who I was? "Why do you suppose she's so certain we're here?"

Trey shrugged. "She told you. She can smell us. And of course there might not be much of my magic at the moment but it is unbound, she would have felt that."

"But she called me land-bound. If it was you she noticed, she would have invited you up to be lunch. And you've got to be kidding that she can smell anything, right?"

"No. She's just a bit different than the rest of the world. If you were in a room full of flowers you could smell the steaming pile a hound would leave behind. To a harpy, you and I are the piles, she is the rose."

I checked the rainbow's location. The Were was just leaving. I noted an alarming quantity of crimson magic showing through his golden overcoat. We couldn't rely on him being a friendly if we needed help. I searched for the nearby artifact. Pink intertwined with dark green, still unmoving although seemingly in a slightly different location. I hadn't noticed the Were or the harpy go near it, but somehow it had shifted. Of course I hadn't spent the entire night or day keeping my eye on the area. It would merit checking out if the tree cover allowed, maybe even before we challenged the harpy. If it was something she could use against us, we needed to know about it beforehand.

Trey agreed with my plan to examine the motionless source of magic energy. We trudged through the forest, each of us weary beyond measure by the depletion of our magic. As time passed energy returned but it was still weak by the time we were within scent of the harpy. Spruce trees, intermingled with cedar lined a ridge in front of us and after examining them closely for magical traps we crawled underneath the lowest branches and sat down to rest and await the return of our strength. I hoped the scent of the trees would hide us from the harpy's nose and since we made it through her lunch time departure without incident, I assumed it worked.

The Were returned only moments after she left, appearing as though from nowhere on the magical landscape below. His nostrils had to be at least as good as the harpy's so we remained where we were, out of sight and scent. By the time the harpy returned, my energy levels had risen enough the anticipation of a magical confrontation didn't leave me in dread. Trey was still wan, but he had completely drained himself for the effort of the ogre.

The Were didn't leave immediately upon the harpy's arrival they stood a slight distance apart and when the harpy moved closer, the Were circled, keeping his distance. Did he know we were here? Why else would he change his habits?

I wished I could hear as well as see, but their words, if any were spoken, remained hidden. Less than thirty seconds later, the form of the Were stretched upright and vanished. The harpy flew to a tree branch and settled in, waiting for the next hapless respondent to the council's summons. "How long does the council leave the summons in place?" I whispered to Trey.

"Usually two moons. Most who would respond will do so in the first couple of days. But some travel a great distance. With the time difference between our realms it's probably four moons on the side you come from."

"So two to one? I've been here two, two and a half weeks?"

"I said probably. Time differential varies from one portal to the next."

I'd only been trying to figure out how long the harpy would be at her post and kinda wondering if she'd leave without our intervention after the fact, but if what he said was right, I was about to miss Halloween and Gladys would not be happy about being abandoned after she'd bought that dress and all. His words troubled me. "So if I stay here too long, all the people I know will grow old and die before me ?"

He shook his head. "That would happen anyway. Our Guardian is granted longevity. You age slower in the realm. Nobody was supposed to tell you, but I no longer care if father finds I disobeyed him. If the council were to offer you the position they are searching to fill, you would do well to accept it. It would extend your life indefinitely."

"And leave you to your father's whims. Nothing doing."

He leaned over and kissed me, his eyes glimmered with passion. "We'll have to wait and discover what Jaral wanted to speak with me about."

The three black fairies seemed agitated by his words and I couldn't blame them, faced with the possibility of losing their Guardian and their Commander. "There's no point in discussing it until we know the council's intentions, as you said, I'm too old for their needs."

"Not their needs, just..."

I clamped a hand on his mouth. The smudge of brown was moving from it's high perch. The rainbow swirl of the portal brightened and coalesced around a small blue point of magical energy. It stepped through, appeared and disappeared, then returned screaming loud enough we could hear her from where we hid.

Instinct told me to help, but Trey's grip was like a band of steel as he held me in place. "Put the ogre back out there. Give the harpy something to think about. I doubt she's wasting all her time sitting here day after day just to kill them. In fact we'd do well to see where she's taking them. If any others already arrived they'll need rescuing."

He was right. I wished I had a little more of his calm reasoning. Maybe that was the difference between seventeen and a hundred and twenty years old. I started humming Monster Mash, even though illusions came readily enough without music. It couldn't hurt to make the ogre all that he could be when he was called to duty. The speck of deep blue magic ran from the portal and the harpy followed overhead. Her raucous voice reached us. The words she screeched, burned my ears. I hoped the small amount of energy just indicated a weak adult not a child just coming into magic. Some things a child should never hear. The blue dot flew over the ground coming straight towards us. The brown smudge followed. There was little doubt in my mind the harpy could have caught the human in moments if she chose to. She was enjoying the chase, relishing the screams of fear.

I conjured the ogre and sent him lumbering out of our evergreens toward the blue dot, noting with some surprise that the music had lent him at least some substance as branches bent and broke in his path. The dot crested the hill and I could see a young woman running toward us...until she got an eyeful of my monster anyway. She stopped, frozen stiff with fear, then turned to race along the crest of the hill, heading away from harpy and ogre both. The harpy saw the ogre and the volume of her threats and obscenities doubled. The young woman glanced over her shoulder, steps faltering as the ogre planted himself in a confrontational manner in the harpy's path. The harpy came at the ogre, claws extended, I raised the ogre's ham-sized fist in the air and swung it at her hoping the monster still had substance that far away from me.

The harpy tumbled through the air, beside me Trey's jaw hung open. Finally he snapped his mouth closed and said, "Roar."

I threw the ogre's head backward and opened his jaws. Beside me, Trey put his hands around his mouth and roared, only it emitted from my ogre.

The harpy circled, far more cautious than she had been. The young woman turned from our distraction and stumbled toward the thicker trees.

The harpy attacked the ogre pulling up short as I swung a fist at her again. I could feel my energy draining away, like water into sand. We needed to end this confrontation. Beside me, Trey conjured a ball of flame and heaved it toward the harpy singeing her wings. An ogre in the field and unseen enemies in the trees, the harpy retreated to the portal, screeching about ogre's and fairies working together and what their children would look like.

She had a vivid imagination.

Ler's voice in my ear and Juni's shrill war cry were the only things that saved me as the werecat leaped at us from behind. I cursed myself for a fool for forgetting about him while fighting the harpy. Lips pulled back in a snarl he leaped overhead as Ler's words brought an instant response from my racing nervous system. I rolled when I hit the ground and came up holding the sword Trey had given me for practice. I still wasn't good but it was better than rolling over and playing dead. My ogre was gone and I brought my magic up in a shield which had the unfortunate side-effect of protecting him as well as us. The harpy returned with a vengeance and Trey turned his attention back to her as she raced after her prey. His next fireball tore her wing from her side and she plummeted to earth. So much for live and let live. It had quickly fallen to kill or be killed.

The Were leaped at us, a foreleg hanging over my shield. Trey's fireball had shown the gap in my defenses. My fireball sent him tumbling to the ground, but the temperature inside the shield grew intense. I dropped the magical protection to dissipate the heat. The Were rolled and sprang to the side and we stood back, staring at each other.

"I could kill you," he growled in my head.

"You can try," I growled back, my tone as surly as his.

He glanced at the harpy, who was still alive and rising to her feet, single-mindedly dragging herself in pursuit of the young woman.

"I have other prey to hunt." He dashed away from us heading in the direction the woman had gone. I sent a javelin of energy after him, catching him in the flank, sending him head over heels. He lay on the ground quivering a moment, then struggled back to his feet and turned toward us with a roar. The voice in my head was raised in anger. "Don't make me kill you."

"You haven't been doing a very good job of it so far."

"I haven't been trying, so far. If we fail to capture the girl, the Mistress will make my life miserable."

The energy I sent at him would have taken an elephant down and he shrugged it off as though I'd sent him a love-tap. Maybe he was as strong as he seemed to think, but I wasn't going to let him capture his target either. I shook my head, throwing off thoughts of taking pity on the unwilling participant. I sent a second spear toward him. Quick as I was, he was quicker, he dodged the magic. Trey concentrated on the space between his hands as he held one above the other. The glow that coalesced there was more brilliant than anything I'd ever seen him create. He twisted his hands and pulled them apart, adding a throwing motion to the expanding ball of fire. It soared toward the were and caught him mid-stride as he attempted to twist out of the way. His hair caught on fire but the flames died. That's when I remembered Trey's words about the only two ways to kill a were. Silver and decapitation.

Silver was in short supply and I had the feeling getting close enough to even try to decapitate the beast, would end in my death, not his. Fear ran icy fingers down my spine as I considered for the first time we might not win. As the flames damped down, the Were turned and stalked toward us. Trey was preparing another fireball, it was useless but I didn't have a better plan.

Except it wasn't useless. This one sailed toward the harpy who was not impervious to flame. She went down this time, and stayed down, writhing as flame consumed feathers and flesh alike. The cat was stalking toward us and I did the only thing I could think of doing. I snatched the flute from the pack and played the full concert version of Born-Free.

He stopped moving and sat down, tail lashing from side to side as crimson magic skittered across his hide fighting for domination of my gold, once again losing, but with the energy I'd expended already, the battle for the Were's free-will dragged on. He took a step toward us then sat back down, another step and he twisted his face in a silent snarl. Finally he fell to the ground, sides heaving. The binding magic strengthened and once again he was half-dragged to his feet. Trey was exhausted he had nothing I could borrow. Half an hour I played, neither winning nor losing when help arrived from an unexpected quarter.

Behind us in the trees the chorus of Born-Free rose in a sweet soprano voice with near perfect pitch. Blue magic coalesced around me and I wove it with my gold, adding it to the spell. By the end of the chorus, the Were sat up, relief etched on his face. "Well done, Guardian," he said. "I suggest, however you take her and the others through the portal and get away from here as fast as you can. The Mistress is not pleased with me."

He turned and ran, looking like little more than a tawny streak before I could ask where the others he mentioned were hidden.

When he was gone, the young woman stepped hesitantly from behind a tree. "Thank you," she said. She was trembling so hard, I marveled at how well she'd managed to sing.

I went over and placed my hand on her shoulder. She stared at Trey and the three small fairies but she didn't shy away when Juni flew down to investigate. Her gaze jumped from the fairies, to the smoldering remains of the harpy, then back to where the first skirmish had been fought. "Where's the...what happened to the...the big green thing.

"Ogre," I offered. "He was mine. I made him up and he went away when my attention drifted. And it's I who should be thanking you. I bit off more than I could chew. If you hadn't started singing I would have lost that battle."

She looked at Trey then stared off in the direction the Were had disappeared in. "It...he..." confusion was plain across her face. "I think the cat ordered me to. I didn't know why, but he was insistent."

"It's complicated and I'm not sure I understand his motives, but much of my magic comes from music and if you hadn't joined in when you did...I was done. Trey was done. We didn't have anything left." I directed my next words to Trey. ""The Were said the harpy had others and we needed to take them back through the portal, but he didn't tell me where they were."

Trey ran his hand through his hair as he considered the surrounding terrain. He walked out of the trees and stood on the ridge. Everything sloped down from here. occasional stands of trees and rocks interrupted the gentle gradient but nothing presented itself as an obvious holding place. "What about the artifact you see?"

"We were going to check that out before taking on the harpy weren't we?" I'd used enough energy that even the simple task of searching out magic, made the inside of my eyes itch. I needed time to rest, but I wasn't going to get that just yet. I zeroed in on the magic and started walking in that direction.

Behind us, the young woman, who was actually my age, except that I was feeling ancient at the moment, stumbled in our wake. "I'm Lisa," she offered.

I turned to look at her. She was dressed in a blue gown and dangled the remains of a mask from her left hand, somehow having maintained a grip on it throughout. "Tess," I said, then nodded at each of my companions in turn and introduced them.

"I don't suppose you can tell me what has happened to me?"

"I can, but let's wait until I find the others so I only have to explain once."

She nodded her head, but kept talking, "One minute I was at a Halloween party my father's company was throwing at the Sheraton. The next I was getting off the elevator on the thirteenth floor and that...lion?" I didn't correct her. "Chased me through a shimmering curtain. I tried to back up when that thing, she hefted a thumb toward the ashes, "showed up, but the lion was right behind me. The rest you know."

I nodded, only half paying attention to her words through my weariness and the need to keep going until we located the other victims. "What city was the Sheraton in?"

She looked at me a little oddly but answered my question. "San Antonio."

"Damn it," I muttered.

"What's the matter," she asked.

"I was supposed to do Halloween with my friend in Kentucky. I'll never get there in time if you came from a Halloween party."

"The party was today, Friday night, it's still two days until Halloween."

"Yeah but I don't have money to rent a car or fly or anything like that, and it took us more than a week to walk here."

"After what you did for me, I think Daddy can buy a couple of plane tickets. All I have to tell him is, you saved my life. I doubt he'll believe what really happened."

I grinned at her. "That would be great." I didn't even feel guilty about accepting. She had said that her father's company was throwing a party in the Sheraton. She didn't scream rich bitch to me, but if Daddy could rent a ball room at the Sheraton he could afford a couple of plane tickets.

"We'll only need one," Trey said.

I stared at him in shock I'd never even considered he wouldn't want to go with me.

He reached over and pushed my jaw closed. "Don't worry, my love. You can't get rid of me that easily. You're just going to have to carry me." He flapped his wings. It's not like I can travel in your world without being noticed."

"You can for the next couple of days," Lisa said. "Everybody wears costumes around Halloween."

"The airlines might be a problem when he can't take the wings off, " I said. "But you're right, we can travel as we are." I stopped talking and searched down the slope for the artifact. A slight rise in the ground was the only concealment and the pink and green lay behind it.

## Chapter 18

Ler went skyward at a nod from Trey. He flew high enough to nearly be invisible from the ground. Whatever was over the rise was far enough in the open he didn't fly forward to discover what it was. Instead he settled back down to Trey's shoulder. "Human's," he reported. "Appear to be sleeping."

"Spelled," I said. "That would explain why I thought them an artifact."

"How could you know they were there?" Lisa asked.

"I didn't. I knew something magic was there." I nodded toward the smoldering pile of harpy up the hill. "They've been sitting at the portal ever since the realm's council felt the need to send out a general summons to human magic users. I examined this area more than a day ago. looking for evidence that she'd caught anyone. They didn't move. So even though I could see their magic, I assumed they were an artifact."

"Why didn't you send the fairies up to check earlier?"

Trey shook his head, his eyes were hard. "It's not enough we arrived in time to save you? We've been journeying for more than half a moon to get here, we've faced death on several occasions and you're going to complain that we weren't fast enough?" His voice grew raspy, as his anger rose.

I laid a hand on his shoulder. "That's not what she said. She probably doesn't even know I could see the magic from as far away as we were. Hell, I didn't know I could see the magic from as far away as we were. I've never tried tracking on the magical plane using a hair like that. Her talent is more along the lines of Calum's than either of ours."

The creases that had appeared on Lisa's perfect white brow, faded as Trey relaxed. When I mentioned her talent they reappeared, furrowed even deeper. "Wait...you said my talent? You mean magic?" She turned to Trey with an earnest look in her eye. "And before I get too far off track, I want to apologize if you misunderstood. Tess is right I didn't...still don't, understand exactly what happened here or your roles in it. I am grateful for my life and I didn't intend to imply any insult."

Trey's arm wrapped around my waist. He held me for a moment then said, "I'm too tired to be reasonable. I know you're right about her, but I'm going to take my men and examine the sleepers."

I kissed him and said, "Just use caution. There's no telling what kind of spells she's bound them with. We wouldn't want a repeat of what happened with the corpse."

He smiled at me and rubbed the back of his head where a small patch of hair was just beginning to grow out. "No." he said. "Having your lover nearly kill you once a week is probably enough."

I swatted at him as he turned to leave. "I saved you from a fate worse than death first, and then I made it better."

The dark circles under his eyes told me how exhausted he was. Still, he winked back at me and said, "And you do have a way of making it all better."

Trey was halfway to the rise in the ground before Lisa found her voice again. Considering her new found knowledge about her magic, her first words were not what I expected. "Does he have any brothers at home?"

I laughed out loud. "Only about ninety still alive. Actually that's total siblings. I'm not sure how many are brothers, and how many are sisters. The sad news is, not many of them have the magic to make themselves any taller than their natural height."

"Well if you ever get tired of him, remember me."

My hand went instinctively to the crossed feathers branded on my throat. It was strange to talk to somebody who didn't know what they signified. Didn't know that they could fade away and leave me with no emotional feeling toward Trey at all. I returned her friendly smile and said, "Not in this lifetime."

"Thought I'd try. How do you snag somebody like that anyway?"

I don't believe she meant her words to be anymore than what they were, an appreciation of Trey. But it was hard for me not to hear, 'when there's nothing really hot about you.'

"Are you all right? I didn't mean any offense by that. "

Lisa was apologizing and I'm not sure there was even any reason for her to do so. Guess I didn't hide my thoughts very well. "Look, we're tired. It's been a long trek and we're exhausted magically. There's no need to apologize. I just know I'm not gorgeous enough to catch a guy like him and to tell the truth, his father set the whole thing up in the first place. Used his son to convince me to become the Guardian of the fairy realm. It quickly went a lot further than his sire intended and we're not real sure where it's going, so besides being tired, I'm probably a bit oversensitive and insecure."

"I don't know...when I first laid eyes on you, you looked like a goddess. Standing in a golden halo playing that beautiful flute. Like there wasn't several hundred pounds of wildcat trying to kill you."

"You saw the shield?"

"If that's what the gold surrounding you was, yes."

"If you needed proof of your own talent, that's it. Seeing magic is one of the most basic skills but even to do basic you have to have some ability. Besides, I couldn't have used something you didn't have."

My eyes drifted toward Trey. He stood atop the rise in ground. I watched for magic, but none swirled up to attack.

"So how long have you been doing this?" Lisa's words drew my attention back to her.

"Hmm...Guardian or magic?"

"Both." Lisa looked confused as though one certainly had to be tied to the other.

"I've been a Guardian for a week and a half. I've known fairies were real for about four months now. And I've been with Trey for almost a month. I've been doing magic since I was eight, but I've only just started to master it."

I started walking toward Trey who was standing on top of the rise, beckoning to me. Lisa followed, asking questions about magic and the realm. Finally I said, "I'm sorry, but I really need to help Trey right now. I'll be glad to answer all your questions. I'm sure you have a million. But they'll wait until we're back through the portal. You're taking this much better than I would have expected."

"Don't worry. Just because I'm not allowing them be heard, doesn't mean there aren't voices in my head telling me, I've fallen and struck my head. When did you accept that it was real?"

I clamped my lips shut. There was a limit to what a complete stranger needed to know about me and in my current mental condition, if I opened my mouth I'd probably be pouring out the whole sad story of my parent's death.

She looked at me sidelong as she lengthened her stride to keep up. "Sorry, this is me minding my own business."

I stood beside Trey, looking down on a heavyset blonde girl who looked to be about twelve years old, and a good-looking young man with dark hair, probably in the same age bracket as Lisa and me. I examined them for residual magic and found only a faint trace of red, hidden in the girl's pink energy twined about the both of them. "Have you tried waking them up?" I asked.

"Thought about waiting for you," Trey said, "but I couldn't see any magic so I shook them. Short of 'love's first kiss', I'm not sure what to do."

Wake-Up Little Susie came to mind but I had no magic for the music to control. I glanced around our little group. "We seem to be fresh out of available true loves." With a sigh I bent over and tugged on the girls arm. Trey helped me put her on my shoulder and watched as I staggered off in the general direction of the portal before lifting the young man.

"What are you going to do with them?" Lisa asked. She leaned over beside me and got a shoulder under the girl, lifting some of the weight off of me. It was awkward but it beat the crap out of carrying her alone.

"First things first," I told her, "We have to get them back through the portal before the Were's mistress reclaims him. The farther from the portal, the better, but I don't think I can carry her far."

"I'm in a suite on the top floor. If we get them there, we call the hospital; let somebody else deal with them. You two go to your party. I'll have daddy buy round-trip tickets and when you have your magic back, you can come wake them up. It'll be a miracle."

I grinned at her enthusiasm before throwing cold water on her plans. "How do you plan to explain their appearance in your room?"

She thought about it for a moment. Or maybe she just remained silent due to effort. Her breathing was getting as ragged as mine. "We found them in the elevator, passed out cold."

I started having to concentrate on placing one foot in front of the other. I looked up from the ground and was gratified to see the portal shimmering in front of me.

Her plan was as good as any I could come up with, though being a CSI fan I wondered if there were security cameras in the elevators. Of course since technically the thirteenth floor didn't exist would security cameras be able to see us get on there. I was willing to take a chance. I didn't have long at all until I would be as passed out as cold as the two bespelled sleepers. Determination drove me. Determination and the sincere hope that I could sleep on a mattress and take a shower before the night was through. "How are you going to explain your absence to your parents?"

"I left the party early because I had something of a headache and my chest was burning. They know I'm not feeling well."

"Trey!" I called over my shoulder.

"Right behind you. When the council shuts the summons down, it will go away. But I'm thinking from your house we can contact Jaral and maybe he can send somebody to wake these two up and release them all from the summons. Somebody will have to shut the portal down anyway."

"What's that mean?" Lisa asked.

"What you're feeling is a response to the magic that pulled you into the realm in the first place. Somebody besides us will have to turn it off. So what it means is, we really only need one way tickets."

We stumbled through the portal and I collapsed on a bed. I guess I'd been expecting a wide open expanse, like those under-construction floors the cops always chased the bad guys through, or where the dead bodies were found. Maybe even something like the laundry floor in the final scene of The Fugitive. What I wasn't expecting was a beautiful room with everything looking like it was waiting for a guest. There wasn't even the thick layer of dust I would have expected had the room been built filled with furniture and forgotten under a spell. If I didn't figure the werecat would probably be returning for us, I'd sleep right here. Trey stepped through behind us and we carried the sleepers out the door and down to the elevator.

The door opened the moment Lisa pushed the button. Icicles tickled my spine as I stepped into the waiting car. The girl slid down my shoulder to the floor of the car, Trey and the young man he was carrying joined her. The three small fairies fluttered around his face and chest. I was too tired to be anything more than mildly curious at his suddenly worsened condition.

Lisa pushed the buttons and the elevator began to rise. With relief, I noted she didn't appear alarmed about anything on the floor it stopped on. She stepped off the elevator and went to her room.

When she was gone, Trey shrank to his natural size and closed his eyes. I gently scooped him up and placed him in a pocket, looking to Ler for an answer to the problem.

"He doesn't have enough strength for the magic the changing spell uses. He'll be good as new in a day or two. Neither of you should be able to move, Miss."

"My body agrees with you, Ler. But my mind says I need to get home. It also says I need to get as far from here as I can, before we have company."

Lisa came out the door of her room with a cell phone to her ear, her tone was that of a slightly hysterical teen-ager. "I just came out the door and there were two kids in the elevator. They're breathing but I can't wake them up."

After a brief pause, in which I assumed she was being questioned she said, "No. No blood. I don't even see any injuries. That's right I'm on the top floor of the Sheraton." Another pause. "Yes, please hurry. I'll notify the front desk and hold the car here."

Trey would have appreciated her show. She was good. She flipped the phone closed then opened it again. In tears she explained what was going on to Daddy. When she flipped the phone closed again she dragged me into her room. "Not to be impolite, but before my parents get here, you need a shower. I should be able to dig up some clothes for you to wear. You're more Mother's size, but Mother would be sure to recognize anything I borrowed of hers. I don't exactly have a huge variety with me. We're only staying for the weekend, but I should be able to come up with something. Towels are in the bathroom. I'm going to call the front desk and stay with the sleepers so take your time. When you're ready I'll introduce you to my parents. Daddy'll buy the ticket no problem but he'll insist on meeting you. Probably Mother as well."

After placing Trey on a pillow, I started stripping out of my clothes before she finished closing the door. I stood under the shower letting the warmth lull me to sleep. Ler's drill sergeant voice popped my eyes wide open and I washed my hair, scrubbed my skin and when I was dry I wrapped a huge, luxurious, towel around myself before passing out on top of the bedcovers.

A commotion in the hall brought me out of my stupor but I was fairly sure I knew what it was. I found Lisa had come in at some point and draped a dress across the chair pulled up next to the bed. I arose and slid into it, then sat in a chair to wait. When the bulk of the noise died down, Lisa stepped through the door, followed closely by a tall man with salt and pepper hair, an aristocratic nose, generous lips and silver-gray eyes. A man with the appearance of being accustomed to holding the reins of power. A man who glowed silver, like the full moon.

All I could do was stare at him. He returned the favor. The tiny bit of sleep I'd gotten couldn't have brought my magic back enough to be seen by somebody who wasn't looking for it, so I could only assume he was aware that he was strongly gifted magically.

Lisa misinterpreted the problem. "I'm sorry, Tess. Daddy was anxious to meet you after I told him how you saved my life. I didn't even think you might not have gotten dressed."

"It's fine. I couldn't have slept through that racket with the paramedics and the police and all out there."

"Turns out those two kids in the elevator were both reported missing. Police have already contacted their parents but the paramedics don't seem to know what's wrong with them."

Lisa's father stepped past her into the room and came over to stare down at me. His attention drifted to the bed and I saw him staring directly at Trey whose royal camouflage had him perfectly hidden in the white of the pillow case, unless you were looking for the candle of magic energy, which was more an ember than a flame right now. The man took a step toward Trey and I pushed my way between them. "Just leave him alone, Sir." I'd been through too much in the past days to keep the bleeding edge of the knife out of my tone.

I felt my magic swell as I panicked for my lover. Love strengthens power, I remembered Trey's words, I hadn't figured it could restore what wasn't there. Lisa's father obviously saw what I could feel. He backed halfway across the floor. "Take it easy, Miss. I don't mean either of ye any harm."

A slight Irish accent leant allure to his voice and I cynically wondered if he was imitating the Lucky Charms leprechaun. He glanced down at the pile of clothes I'd stepped out of, still lying at the foot of the bed. The jeans could almost walk by themselves. The t-shirt had seen better days. The toes of my old sneakers stuck out from under the mess. I could almost see the stink lines roiling off the heap. "The kids your work?"

"Your daughter helped us put them in the elevator. I haven't met the one responsible for putting them to sleep." At least not in the last nine years, I amended n my head.

Lisa stood behind her father with a look of confusion on her face for the first time since I'd met her. Sometimes it was easier to accept the totally strange and unknown, than to see the familiar change before your eyes. "Daddy?"

"It's all right, sweetheart."

"I'm not sure what's going on Daddy, but she did save my life."

"From?" He asked, never taking his eyes off me.

"I honestly don't know what, Daddy."

"Harpy and a werecat," I said.

"And how did my daughter end up over there."

"General council summons."

He glanced at his daughter. I saw him check her for magic ability. "Damn," he muttered as he turned back toward me. "I watched close until she was fifteen. Figured if it hadn't come up by then, it would never be a problem. If the council issued a summons why wasn't somebody watching this portal?"

"It isn't one of theirs. We traveled north to move the harpy out of our demesne, and when we arrived at the cloud she'd been decimating they told us about some strange things she'd been doing. We decided to investigate why she was out of her nest all day. Turns out she and a friend were collecting humans."

"She's dead?"

I nodded, yawning. Lisa sat on a chair by the door, face pale, eyes closed; head leaned back against the wall. Trey slept on. Ler, Hef, and Juni, had disappeared while I showered. I assumed they were in the room but I wasn't sure where.

The man stared for a moment, then looked at Trey. "You and a fairy killed a harpy and a Were?"

I yawned again. "Didn't say the Were was dead." I pointed to Trey. "He killed the harpy. Your daughter and I temporarily freed the Were from a binding and he left the moment he was no longer under compulsion. I did that once before while we were traveling and it didn't last too long so we brought those other two here, where doctors could keep them hydrated and nourished until I could regain enough strength to try waking them up."

"And in the meantime you wanted to go where?"

"Home. My grandmother's sick and my friend will never forgive me if I'm not there to wear the dress she bought me for the Halloween party."

"Your grandmother knows where you've been?"

"She started me on this path. She's never visited the realm but she's the best witch in Kentucky. Helped me heal my own spine when I was only eight years old."

"She's a healer, but she's sick?"

"I'm a healer, and her sickness is caused by an old spell."

Curiosity stared at me through silver eyes but I'd said all I was going to about that. "The company plane can take you home as soon as we get clearance. Would you like me to arrange for a car on the other end?"

"No. That's all right, I'm sure my friend will pick me up, if for no other reason than being able to grill me all the way home."

"Your friend knows about the realm?"

I grinned, imagining Gladys in the realm. "No, I was rather preoccupied before I left." My cheeks burned remembering that preoccupation. "I didn't even tell her I was leaving, which is why she'll be grilling me."

"Do you need a phone?"

"That'd be great."

"Feel free to call your grandmother too. She might want to know you're coming home."

I thought about it then shook my head. "She'll be expecting me. May even have Gladys on her way to the airport." He hadn't told me a thing about himself I didn't want to leave Grandma's phone number on his cell.

He reached in a coat pocket and pulled out his phone. After a brief conversation with somebody he handed it to me and said, "The plane will be ready before we can get to the Houston airport. Wake-up your friend and let's go.

I dialed Gladys's number.

She picked up on the second ring, "Hello?" Her tone was suspicious, she despised telemarketers as much as the next person and a phone call from an unknown number was likely to be just that.

"Gladys, it's Tess."

"Where the hell are you? Thought you ditched me for the party."

"You have no idea what I'm going through to get back there for that. Meet me at the airport?" We made arrangements then I handed Lisa's father his phone.

Under the silver man's watchful gaze, I gently picked Trey up, cradling him in the palm of my hand. I moved slowly so the camouflage barely failed. "I don't suppose you have a coat you wouldn't mind parting with? Preferably with big pockets," I said to Lisa.

She shook her head. "It's San Antonio. Coats aren't something I packed."

Her father removed his suit coat and draped it on my shoulders watching closely while I slipped Trey in a pocket. "From the size, I figure he's a fairy, but I never saw one of them before. Never heard tell they could camouflage like that."

"Not all of them can. Do you mind telling me what your connection to the realm was?"

His cheeks flushed light pink. "I'm sorry. Where are my manners? Darien O'Connor, former Guardian of the leprechauns."

"Why'd you quit?"

"Met a girl. Started a family. The council frowns on others in the realm except for duly assigned positions. So even if I'd convinced her I wasn't crazy, I'm not sure she'd have been welcome since she's one hundred percent unmagical. My daughter tells me your name is Tess?"

"I'm honored by the gift of your name, Sir, but you'll have to forgive me if I don't return the respect. Nothing personal, but I have some pretty strong enemies."

He bowed his head, lips pursed. "Things have changed then. Or maybe it's just your location. The leprechauns were always simple folk with simple problems."

"Seems like most fairy problems involve large creatures that think they're tasty. My enemies predate my introduction to the realm."

Lisa tugged at her father's coat as he stood beside the door. "What's going on Daddy? What does all this mean?"

"We'll talk in the car, sweetheart."

While Lisa distracted him I glanced around the room, looking for the three missing fairies. They were perched on the molding above the closet. I pulled open a coat pocket and they flew in. It was a tight squeeze, but they fit. I followed Lisa and her father out to the elevators, unable to stop one yawn from running into the next. "Excuse me," I said, when Darien caught me at it. "I really need to pass out for about two days. If I get soundly to sleep on the flight I'm not sure I'll wake up at the other end."

"Do you want one of us to go with you?" Darien asked.

I almost told him no, thinking Ler could probably manage, but I saw Lisa's hopeful look and decided, 'Why not?'

We stopped on the third floor and Darien held a brief conversation with his wife, who was dressed like a medieval queen, and then we went down to a waiting car. Once seated, I allowed my eyelids to drift closed, as much to curtail my part in the conversation as the complete and utter need for rest. Next thing I knew I was half-lifted to my feet and dragged to a waiting plane. Lisa took up a seat across from me and waved good-bye to her father. I noted that somewhere along the way we must have stopped so she could buy a coat but with yet another yawn I said, "I hope you don't want to talk, because honestly I need sleep."

"No," she said, "Daddy explained quite a bit in the car. Made sure I realized I was going to be bored for the next several hours." She held up a book with a hunky, half-naked man wrapped around a mostly naked woman on the cover. "I'm good."

I was asleep before the plane took off.

My name floated to my ears from a long way off. I struggled to shake off the muzziness of sleep as Lisa shook my shoulder. Ler's voice echoing in my ear canal brought me fully awake.

Lisa was looking at him shaking her head, " Guess you didn't need me."

"You looked like you wanted to come." We were still in the air but descending.

"Yeah, I was hoping I could go to your party with you?" She waved a hand at the blue dress she was wearing. This is Daddy's idea of what to wear at a Halloween party. Few of the employees force their teenage children to come, so getting chased by a harpy and a big cat, really was the highlight of the party."

Ler climbed down and joined Hef and Juni on a seat with a scarf close by for cover.

I'd taken great pains to keep my home secret. Lisa and Darien certainly seemed trustworthy, but it was difficult to overcome my naturally suspicious nature. There was always another motive. "If Gladys doesn't mind you staying with her, that'd be fine. I'm afraid with Grandma sick, I really don't want company at our house."

"You said something about getting someone to remove this spell that keeps tugging on me.?"

"Yeah. If he's still there I suppose Jaral could help you as well as whoever he would have sent to San Antonio. At the earliest that will be tomorrow though." I looked outside at the sky. "Or maybe tonight."

"Be great if we could get it done before I was trying to have fun."

The plane's wheels touched down and I closed my eyes. I really didn't mind being in the air, it was taking off and landing I wasn't fond of.

"We'll see. I'm afraid I've lost track of time. That is morning and not evening out there, right?"

"Right."

"Oh dear god, I asked Gladys to be at the airport before ten in the morning? We'll be lucky if we don't end up waiting until noon." The plane safely landed and I stood, stretching stiff muscles. The black fairies flew to their pocket and I checked Trey. He was yawning, rubbing sleep from his eyes when I looked in on him.

He smiled up at me and climbed to the edge of the pocket to peer out. "I'm guessing everything went all right with Lisa's sire?"

"You could say that," I told him and started filling him in on what he missed. "We're now back home and likely to be waiting for Gladys to pick us up."

"He knows your friends?" Lisa asked.

"Friend. I really only have one. And yes he went shopping with us once. Not that she knew it." Trey climbed up to my shoulder and camouflaged himself. Ler quickly claimed the empty pocket for himself.

"You have two friends now." Lisa said. "At least I hope you'll count me as a friend, even if San Antonio is a bit far away."

I smiled. "Too bad they'll be closing that portal. I could visit now and then."

"They might close it, might not," Trey said. "It's more important they know of its whereabouts than that they shut it down. That will be their decision though."

The plane stopped moving and a man from the cockpit joined us. "Will we be waiting, Miss?" He asked Lisa.

She dug in her pocket and handed him a credit card. "Get yourselves rooms. I'll be going back tomorrow."

"Certainly, Miss." He opened the door to a set of mobile stairs and we walked out.

With some shock I saw Gladys by the terminal, waiting on us.

We walked toward her and she called out, "Don't look so surprised. I left as soon as I talked to you and slept in my car. The noise of the planes taking off actually woke me up earlier."

I introduced Lisa and told Gladys the plan. Gladys was always glad of extra bodies at parties so she had no problem with her attending. I asked if it would be all right if Lisa stayed with her, carefully explaining that I didn't think Grandma needed company since she'd been sick.

The look that passed over Gladys's face chilled me before her words. "Tess...I tried calling your Grandma last night and didn't get any answer. Drove out there, but nobody answered the door. Car was gone so I didn't worry about it, I know you guys usually leave town this time of year, but I didn't know she was sick. " She handed me her cell phone, "Why don't you call her?"

My voice answered the phone and I hung up, fuming at my cheerful message. Forgetting caution about Lisa, I said, "Let's go." Would Grandma have gone to Massachusetts without me? Not exactly like she could reach me to let me know what's going on.

"Can we do a drive through at least?" Lisa asked.

My stomach rumbled and I nodded agreement. Fear gnawed at me. How could I have left Grandma alone when I knew she was dying?

## Chapter 19

I stopped trying to convince Gladys to speed after she firmly told me there wasn't likely to be anything I could do that would make it worth her losing her license. My nerves were on edge, my mind focused on Grandma. I wasn't pleasant company. Lisa sat in the back seat. Gladys attempted to start up a conversation a couple of times, but when she asked how Lisa and I knew each other, Lisa shut down too. I suspect her world was still reeling as well.

The silence in the vehicle was palpable. I think we were all equally relieved when we turned into my driveway. I wondered if Lisa was regretting her decision to stay. The walk from the driveway had never seemed so long. Nothing was missing or out of place as I stood in the front door, unwilling to take the next step. Trey whispered encouragement from my shoulder. "You said the two of you traveled a lot. Maybe she just got tired of being here alone."

A car pulled in the driveway and parked behind Gladys. I watched as Carla, the girl who'd been taking care of the horses jumped out of the car. "Tess." Her voice was enthusiastic. She didn't sound like anything was wrong. "I didn't know you were coming back today."

Returning her enthusiasm was impossible. "How long has my grandmother been gone?" Between still needing sleep and worry for Grandma I was abrupt. I regretted it as her smile faltered. "I'm sorry. She didn't contact me to let me know she'd be gone. I've been worried since Gladys told me she couldn't get hold of her."

Carla came up the walk and pushed past me at the door. "She said she left a note for you on the table. Said it was traveling time and she was off to Massachusetts."

My racing heart slowed. Of course. It was traveling time. Grandma almost always did Halloween with the coven. I followed Carla in the house and picked up a three page letter off the table. "I guess I have been sorta out of reach. I'm sorry, Carla. Didn't mean to jump on you. I'm just tired."

"In that case, I'll go ahead and feed the horses since I'm here. Unless you want to?"

"No that's fine. I assume everybody's doing well?"

"Right as rain. I took Jax out for a ride the other day. He's an angel. Likes to go. I was going to take Nella out today but since you're home I reckon you'll want to exercise her."

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I will. That sounds like a brilliant idea."

Gladys knocked on the open door and I yelled for her and Lisa to come in.

Lisa's eyebrows arched, asking the question neither of them wanted to voice, probably for fear of setting me off again.

"It's all right," I told them. "She made her annual pilgrimage to Salem, Mass. She hates doing Halloween around here."

"How long's she going to be gone?" Gladys asked.

I scanned the letter and said, "Sounds like she's planning a long stay." I didn't tell her that it sounded like she thought I'd be too busy to take care of her if she should take a turn for the worse. In fact the letter made it sound like maybe she wasn't planning to return. As long as she was alive and well, I could deal with her absence without stressing out my friends any further. "Since she's not here, I guess you might as well stay here Lisa. Unless you're ready to abandon me as a psycho."

"I'll get my bags."

She left the Sheraton with her purse and not much else. She had gotten off the plane with bags. Multiple. I had missed a lot of shopping while sleeping in her father's Cadillac. Gladys went out to help her carry them in.

They set them by the steps and Gladys looked at me. "You don't have any?"

"No I left all my stuff back in Texas. I'll be going back before long and I have the rest of my stuff here."

"Then you're not staying?" Carla asked.

"I'll be in and out. I'm hoping I can keep you on semi-permanent retainer to take care of the horses."

"Yeah, sure. You know where I live. Just let me know when you're heading out of town again. And on that note, I'll go ahead and get them fed. Give them some time to digest before you go riding."

"Thanks," I said to her back as she walked through the doorway.

I asked Gladys, "You gonna stay here 'til the party?"

"I told Carl I'd meet him for lunch. He was a bit miffed I canceled a date to the movies when you called. I'll stop back this afternoon, after you've gotten some sleep and aren't so grouchy."

"It's your fault. Shouldn't have even told me Grandma was missing."

"Better you worry and it's nothing than I let you ride home thinking life is good and she's lying on the floor when you open the door."

"As usual, you're right. I'm just sorry you guys had to put up with me all the way here."

Gladys waved to Lisa and followed Carla out the door. When we were alone, Ler, Hef and Juni, climbed out of my pockets and flew to the tabletop. They looked up at Trey expectantly.

"Return to the digs," he told Ler. "See if Councilor Jaral is still there. If he is, tell him we have need of him and we'd appreciate it if he could meet us on this side of the waterfall. Try to avoid my father. The longer I have before he realizes we're back, the happier it will make me. Hef, I need you to report to Cern, tell him I need reports on the border and have him put you on light duty. Do you think you can make the flight there?"

"Yes, Sir." Hef took off from the table and flew around the room once. "Miss Tess does good work, Sir."

"That she does," he agreed. "Remember, nobody's to know about that."

"Absolutely, Sir.

Trey turned to Juni, "Find Joli. Invite her to join us here. Warn her to give us a couple of hours though, we need...sleep."

Juni grinned but his, "Yes, Sir," was just as professional as Hef's had been.

"Same orders as Ler's. Avoid His Majesty at all costs."

Juni and Hef took to the air and out the door that Lisa jumped to open for them. Ler waited until it was closed again, "What if I can't find the Councilor?"

"The summons is still operating. If he's not around when you get there it'll be because he's dealing with somebody who responded. Wait for him. If for any reason he is not expected to return, take the swiftest route you know to Honala. The council needs to know about the portal."

"Yes, Sir." Ler thumped fist to breastbone and followed after Hef and Juni.

When they were gone, I set Lisa up with the TV, showed her where my books were, and told her she was welcome to go see the horses. "I'm afraid until I get more sleep, I'm not going to be much of a hostess. Make yourself at home, I'm going to shower again and sleep for a few more hours."

"I'm an only child," she told me. "I'm used to occupying myself. Go rest and..." her eyes slid to Trey, "whatever. I'll be fine.

In my room, I picked up the phone and called Aunt June.

"Hello?" Her familiar calm voice soothed the ragged edges of my concern. She wasn't really my aunt, but I'd been adopted by the entire coven when I lost my parents. They were all aunts except for Joseph of course, who was an uncle.

"Auntie. This is Tess. Just wondering if my Grandma was staying with you this year?"   
"Yes she is sweetie. Hold on, I'll get her." There was a moment of muffled speaking as she sent somebody off to find Grandma, then she spoke into the phone again. "We're sorry we won't get to see you this year, but your grandmother has been telling us you're into new experiences and bound to be learning a lot."

Sounded like a fishing expedition. Much as Grandma liked the coven members I couldn't see her telling them I was off roaming with fairies. "That's right, found a couple of new friends online. We're experimenting with different ways to raise energy and trying to write our own spells." It was plausible, it was also what June would expect of a seventeen year old since she had a granddaughter my age who spent a lot of time on the internet. "I'll miss the All Hallows Eve festivities but I promised one of my friends I'd go to a party with her here, and Grandma seemed to think I needed to do things with my friends a little more."

"I can certainly understand that, sweetie. You stuck it out with us old fogies longer than any of the rest of your generation. Here's your grandmother, you have a good holiday. We'll remember you at circle."

I was glad when Grandma got on the line. My stories were close enough to the truth I got away with telling them, but I couldn't have kept up the falsehoods much longer. After Grandma and I exchanged enthusiastic greetings I said, "I've got so much to tell you, but I don't want to talk on the phone." June's house was full of phone extensions and the woman was nosy. "Your note says you plan on staying though."

"That's right, but you're welcome to visit. Plane fare's not a problem if you have a couple days."

"I promised Gladys we'd do the party tonight and I think she has something planned for the thirty first, but we'll see what's going on after that. I'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants right now. The new job has been pretty exciting but you never know when something's going to come up that takes my special talent."

"Well just let me know if you can make it. I'm sure June has room for one more." Grandma paused as though offering June time to speak up and offer my old room, but if June was listening she chose to remain silent. She must really have been curious because she didn't usually bother to hide the fact she was listening, often joining the conversation.

"Well I was mostly calling to make sure you got up there OK. Was a bit worried when I got home and you weren't here after that last conversation we had." I hesitated, not sure how much June knew or didn't know about Grandma's condition. June was a savvy, talented witch. It wouldn't surprise me if Grandma had consulted with her early in her battle against the spell. Finally I said, "You'll let me know if anything's wrong, right?"

"I'll leave a message if you're not there. For now, I'm fine, you have a good time with your friend."

"Friends." I corrected. "Met a girl in Texas, her father flew me home in his private jet."   
I could hear the frustration and curiosity in Grandma's voice as she cautiously said, "A girl?"   
Being smarter than the average chicken I could read between the lines. Girl or fairy? "Lisa. Her father owns a...come to think of it, I'm not sure what kind of company he owns, but I ended up in San Antonio and he flew me home, she came along and we're all going out together tonight."

"That's wonderful then, sweetheart. You have a good time and come on up when you have a moment."

"I will. I'm going to go get some sleep now so I stand a chance of keeping up with Gladys tonight. I'll talk to you later."

"Love you," she said and hung up the phone. My aversion to saying good-bye was inherited.

Trey stood behind me, all six feet two inches of him and his hands on my shoulders were wonderful. He'd showered while I talked to Grandma and the moment I hung up the phone he wrapped his arms around me, coaxing me--not that I took much coaxing-- out of the chair and my clothes. His wings were dry and silken as they wrapped around me, contrasting with the damp strands of hair cascading over his shoulder, sticking to my arms and chest as he pulled me close. I leaned my naked body against his and suddenly sleep was a good long ways off, and somehow that no longer seemed to matter.

Joli woke us up, tapping on the window. Trey grabbed the comforter and wrapped himself in it as he let her in. I sat up and started dressing, feeling better than I had in nearly two weeks or four weeks depending on whose time I went by. Probably shouldn't start that. Drive myself crazy trying to figure out how old I really was a year from now.

Joli sat in the ceramic tree lamp and waited while Trey and I dressed. The moment we were decent she was down to business. "You sent for me?"

"I need your help."

"Sending my baby brother to order me here wasn't a good way to ask?"

I did a double-take, we'd been traveling and fighting together for almost two weeks and I hadn't figured out Juni was a relative. Trey grinned as he watched my face, "He's her half-brother, not mine. They have the same mother."

"Be that as it may, you know he irritates me."

I couldn't believe she was talking about quiet, efficient Juni.

"He also knows all your haunts and how to find you without making father aware of his presence."

"Do you have any idea how tiring it is, listening to him sing your praises?"

Trey laughed, "He's a good man. So how is father?"

"Furious that he hasn't heard from you. Apparently if anything remains of the Teerala cloud-home there aren't any royals so he has no way to know if you even arrived there, much less if the Guardian accomplished the task."

"He hasn't tried to contact me."

"Oh, he has...why do you think he's furious. First he worried you were dead, then he became certain you had figured out how to block him..."

"He was worried that I might have died." Trey burst into laughter. "Tell me another one why don't you?"

"Ok, I was worried you might be dead. He was worried she might be, or that she was wandering the realm unescorted and would find somebody other than fairies to offer her services to. What with you being dead and all. See you are a valuable commodity at the moment. I understand there hasn't been so much as a threat of an ogre incursion since you left."

Trey sobered, "That's interesting."

"What's more interesting is how you've managed to block father."

"I wish I knew. I wasn't aware that I was."

Disappointment flooded Joli's face. "I suppose it has something to do with her, then. Not something the rest of us can make use of."

"When did he first let you know he was out of contact?"

"He was ranting before you'd been gone three days so it could have been anytime before that."

Trey nodded his head, hands unconsciously rubbing my leg. "When I gave you my magic, against the gryphon."

Joli leaned out, face pale and tugged on his hair. "You sent for me. Please stop." The moment Trey's hand stopped moving she was back to business. "So you shared magic. That's the only thing unusual?"

"We killed a gryphon," I said. "I found that a bit unusual."

"Yes, but not likely to interrupt father's ties."

"Why did you share magic?"

Trey stared at me and closed his eyes giving just the tiniest shake of his head. Then said, "She was exhausted and we still had things to do."

"Things you couldn't do, brother? You're nearly as strong as she is."

"But we all have our own special talents. As you know, Gryphon's are impervious to magic. Tess brought down a good part of the forest battering the thing with trees before I could slay it."

"Fine, don't tell me. Is it possible you absorbed some of her magic in a backlash, changing your energy just enough he can't find you?"

"Anything's possible. Like I said, I didn't know it happened. It's even possible Magic has stepped in and fundamentally changed both of us." He reached a hand out and lifted my chin. "Have you ever seen a mark this old that looked like it was placed yesterday?"

Joli seemed to consider his words. "No, I haven't. I was wondering if you'd already felt the need to reclaim her. But then the moon hasn't been right has it?"

"I'm afraid I'm not going to be very helpful and in your case it's not that I don't want to be."

"If it had been longer I'd have thought maybe some magic bled over the first time I tried to free the werecat, or even when I fought off the binding trap on the corpse but that early..." I stopped speaking and just shook my head in agreement with Trey's assessment. There hadn't been anything remarkable accept sharing energy. And of course the healing spell Trey didn't want me to speak about."

"Sounds like an interesting trip. Tell me."

Trey shook his head, "We have places to go. We'll tell you the whole story when we return to the realm. Right now I wanted to see you because Teerala needs a ruler. I was thinking if you're tired of Calum dogging your every step you might consider sending him up there. There's a yellow female in charge at the moment and she has access to the magic but it's not a good situation. One century remains and the harpy is gone, but she took almost all their magic users. If you wanted to send a few more of our siblings it would probably be a good thing."

"You know father is going to know you're here the moment he sees me."

"Unfortunately, yes I am aware of that..." Trey stopped speaking at a light tap on the window. He went over and opened the window for Ler, then continued as though he hadn't been interrupted. "But if she doesn't get help soon we'll lose the yellow and if nobody else volunteers to rule, we could lose the whole cloud."

"I'll deal with it. Thank you for your trust. Do you mind if I take credit in the game."

"No. We both know I'll never survive to rule. I'm thinking I may just throw my support behind you."

"Don't do me any favors. That would just put my wings under the axe. But I don't mind silent support. Especially since he can't read you."

"Know that you have it, and bury that thought deep. Just give us a couple of hours and we won't be here anymore if he decides to come look."

"You know he'll summon her."

Laughter filled the room again, "You weren't there when he swore her in as Guardian. She said she'd answer his summons as fast as humanly possible. Besides we're just going to a party this evening and then we'll probably come in."

Joli's eyebrows rose, "You're going to a party. A human party?"

"The way I understand it they all wear costumes."

Ler cleared his throat as he paced the length of the nightstand. "Sorry to interrupt, Sir, but Councilor Jaral will be here shortly. Said he'd done enough waiting by the waterfall. Was right there when I went through the portal. Told him about Miss Lisa, said he'd come remove the summons on her. Wasn't far behind me."

"He's coming to the house?"

"Told him it was just us, he seemed to enjoy having a reason to leave."

"I'll just be heading back to get Calum started on his way. I'll try to avoid Father for the next couple of hours but I can't offer any promises."

Trey put his finger under her feet as they dangled from the ceramic branch. "I have faith in you, Joli." He opened the window and she flitted off.

Half-way down the stairs a thunderous rapping at the door caused my feet to fly the rest of the way before Jaral knocked the door from its hinges. Lisa was on her feet with the appearance of having just been awakened. Confusion flooded her eyes as she looked around trying to figure out where she was.

I opened the door and Jaral wedged his broad form inside.   
Lisa had made it to the hallway and she gawped now in open mouthed surprise, backing up as Jaral made a straight line toward her.

"Relax and I'll have it off of you, Miss," he rumbled in his voice which reminded me of our journey under the river.

"It's all right Lisa. He's here to help," I reassured her.

She stopped her backward flight and remained still while Jaral removed the tug of the council's summons.

Relief flooded her eyes and she smiled, "Sorry for the reaction. I've never seen a dwarf before. At least I'm assuming you're a dwarf and I just woke up..."

"It's all right, Miss. I may have been a bit abrupt." Jaral joined the apology fest. "These two sent word they needed me and while I left happily, I can't leave the portal for long. It'd be tough if a youngster arrived with no one to greet 'im.

"I'm aware of that fact." Lisa smiled. "So please don't let me keep you."

Jaral turned curious eyes toward me and Trey. "I'm sure you have a tale to tell but give me the short version. What is it you need from the council?"

"It's not what you can do for us but what we have done for you," Trey said.   
We sat down and detailed the location of the unwatched portal and Jaral left to send a runner to the realm's council. He also assured us someone would take care of the two in the hospital.

He had no sooner left, than Gladys pulled in the driveway. She got out carrying a black pair of combat boots and a pointed hat. I knew the boots would be just my size. "I guess this means I'm gonna be a witch?"

"Your dress has spiders on it, what else were you planning on." Gladys asked as she walked in the door.

"Been kinda busy, hadn't really done much planning at all."

"You have a choice," she stopped and pulled a black wig out of the hat, "You can wear this or I can tease your..." Gladys stopped cold. "Who...Where...How have you been keeping him a secret?" She was staring over my shoulder to where Trey sat at the kitchen table with Lisa. "Or is he with her?"

"No Gladys, this is Trey. I met him shortly before I left home a month ago."

Trey stood with the unnatural grace of his people, strode in front of Gladys and bowed to her. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Gladys's mouth opened in a little O, hands went out to touch his wings.

Trey snapped them tight behind himself and stood upright.

"That's a really great costume," Gladys said. "How do they work?"

"Just keep your hands off my boyfriend or I'll tell Carl," I intervened, hoping she'd just forget about the wings. "Now you were saying about my hair?" Trey stepped back beside me and wrapped an arm around my waist. His arm felt like an iron band. Wings fluttered nervously. I turned and kissed him, whispering in his ear, "It'll be fine. Just wait with Lisa."

He retreated to his seat. As he turned away, Gladys's hand once again stretched toward the silken wings but he moved too fast for her to touch them.

"And here I called Dave to see if he and his brother wanted to double-date my two unescorted female friends."

"I was too tired to think straight this morning or I'd have told you I didn't need a date. I hope Dave didn't agree."

"He did, but his brother already had a commitment, so I guess it all worked out for the best, unless she has a boyfriend hidden away somewhere." Gladys said, nodding toward Lisa

Lisa shook her head. "As long as your friend is reasonably normal, it'll be fun."   
Gladys pulled a chair out and sat down beside Lisa. "So how did you two meet?" She spoke to Lisa, but her eyes betrayed where her curiosity lay.

For his part, Trey kept his distance.

"My father owns "Magic Dust", a computer software company in San Antonio. I met Tess online and begged Daddy to give her a job. She's really good at slaying the bugs in the programs."

I couldn't help but smile at Lisa's fabrication. It was a long way from the truth but it was plausible. Gladys didn't know what I did online and she knew I spent a reasonable amount of time there.

Gladys considered it for a moment then said, "That's cool. I need to spend more time online. Looks like I'm gonna be flipping burgers for a living." She turned to me, and said, "I don't even know you anymore." The accusation in her voice stung, more so because I knew there'd be more secrets I'd be keeping from her

"Don't blame her," Lisa sprang to my defense. "Daddy agreed, but he needed somebody immediately, new product coming out, so he bought tickets and had her on the plane the same day we started discussing it."

That didn't sound plausible to me, but apparently it was good enough for Gladys, especially as her attention was elsewhere. "And what about this secret." She almost backed down when she saw the tension in Trey's face. I pulled my chair close beside him and placed my hand in his lap. He clung to it. "Like I said, I met him a bit before I left but I didn't want to subject either of us to twenty questions so I didn't say anything until I was sure he'd be around a bit."

"More like a hundred and twenty questions, starting with, how have I not seen him around this boring little burg before, and ending with how do those wings work."

"He's new in town and the wings are real." I new Gladys well enough to know the easiest way to deflect her, but Trey's eyes widened. I squeezed his hand, hoping he'd take a hint and stay silent.

He did.

Lisa laughed though. She turned to Gladys and said, "You should have seen the contortions they went through getting the harness on him, can't say I'm surprised he doesn't want you to touch them. Aren't they just incredibly lifelike? Daddy designed them."

Easy as that, Gladys's attention was back on Lisa. "Your father must be an amazing man."

"More amazing than even I knew. Tess brings out some surprising qualities in people." I was really beginning to like Lisa. Besides the fact that she was the only one of the three of us who could lie worth a damn, she seemed to automatically come up with the right thing at the right time. Even Trey graced her with a brilliant smile.

"I'll agree with that statement," Gladys said.

"Except for Carl," I put in just to keep the Tess-love-fest to a minimum and divert Gladys still further. "He seems to think I'm weird."

Gladys remained silent, so I prodded. "Where is he anyway?"

"Said he'd meet us there with Dave. And it's not that he doesn't like you Tess, it's just you have a strange way of looking at things sometimes. And sometimes strange things happen when you're around. I think you make him nervous."

"So were you going to do my hair or is natural unruliness sufficient, because I'm not going to wear that thing," I said, pointing to the black wig.

"OK, let's get this done. Why don't you go get the dress on and I'll do the make-up and hair."

Trey followed me up the stairs, his hands wandered as he helped me into the dress. He did the buttons up the front, lips leaving gentle kisses on my flesh before each button closed. I pulled on the spider web stockings and combat boots and he stood back and smiled.

"I like that dress, but it would have been fun if you had used illusion to make yourself look like my match."

"I didn't know I could do that."

His hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me back to his chest. "It is more difficult than creating things like the ogre but it is not impossible. I know you could do it."

"We'll make that lesson number one for tomorrow. For tonight, I'm a witch."

"And a lovely witch at that."

I shrugged, enjoying the feel of his muscles. "Gladys wants to do makeup, just don't argue with her, whatever she does."

"You think she will make you less than lovely?"

"I'm not sure what she has in mind. We humans tend to think of witches as having big warty noses, big bushy eyebrows, and hideous wrinkled skin."

"You are mistaken then. You describe a hag."

"So what is a witch in the realm?"

"Witches are crossbreeds. They usually have a lot of human blood, and they are able to do magic."

"So am I a witch according to realm specifications?"

"You are a Guardian!" His strident tones left no doubt there was a difference. I half expected Gladys to burst through the door. I shushed him and he continued. "Witches tend toward evil, no matter how beautiful they are. The power sways them. Nor are you a crossbreed. No matter how nymph-like you seem."

"Well in my world, I'm a witch, my grandmother's a witch, and we come from a long line of witches, so the costume is fitting, even if Gladys has no idea. And when we get back, I'm going to wear you out for the nymph comment."

"I'll hold you to that." He kissed the top of my head.

I didn't want to move, but it wouldn't take long for Gladys to get antsy. I pushed myself upright and held tight to his hand, dragging him along, we went down to let Gladys do her worst.

Gladys arched an eyebrow at us as we came down the stairs. "I take it you've given up on that whole virgin thing."

"I was only waiting for the right man."

A tiny gasp from behind Gladys by the sink had me instantly looking for magical intruders. I found Joli.

Gladys glanced around.

I made eye contact with Lisa and she cleared her throat. "Sorry. Did you say virgin?"

Gladys laughed. "I figured she was going to be the last virgin bride."

I could feel the heat in my cheeks.

I sauntered to the sink and turned on the water, rinsing off a plate Lisa had used earlier. Joli was edging away but she couldn't go far without revealing herself to Gladys. I grabbed a towel, dried the dish then threw the towel at Joli. She was quick but I had taken her attempt to escape into account when I threw. She ran into the towel. I picked her up and told Gladys, "I'll be right back. Just gonna throw this in the washing machine and give you a minute to finish discussing my sex life."

Trey followed me out of the kitchen. The washer and dryer were at the back of the house. I closed the door to the room and opened the towel. Joli was rumpled and pissed off. She immediately went on the attack. "Father will be even more furious with you when he learns about this."

Trey looked up at the ceiling, reining in his own anger. Temper collected he stared at Joli. "What are you still doing here?"

"You called me. I didn't come alone, in fact Calum was with me so I sent him off to pick the magic users he wants to take with him, and came back to go to a party with my brother. It sounded like fun."

"And you just have to run back and tell father what you heard."

"No but he'll get it from me anyway. Small things I can bury, but something like that...Did you know when you chose her?"

"Of course not. You think I don't know the value of a virgin Guardian. She could have had help from every unicorn in the realm. By the time I discovered it, there was no turning back. If I had it to do over, I'm not sure I'd change anything."

I leaned my cheek on his shoulder and said, "I know I wouldn't. Except maybe I wouldn't have branded you." My fingers slid up to the scar which had proven resistant to being healed.

Trey kissed my hair, then said to Joli. "Promise me you'll at least try to keep it from him."

Joli looked on the verge of tears. "I can try. But honestly I didn't give myself away because of what was said. I made noise because I regretted being there to hear it."

Trey shrugged. "Furious or more furious. Father never planned to let me anywhere near the crown. As long as Tess is by my side, I should be safe."

"I hope you're right, brother."

"Let's get out there before they decide we're back here having sex and I have to listen to them discussing it again."

"Can I go to the party?" Joli's voice carried a wistful note.

"Absolutely," I grinned down at her. "I have the perfect place for you to ride." Trey stuck her in a pocket and I went out to let Gladys have at it with combs and hairbrushes and makeup. I ended up looking more Goth than witch, for which I was grateful, But my hair she teased and sprayed until parts of it stood upright. She wedged the hat on my head and pinned it to my hair. I held my hand out to Trey and he carefully took Joli from his pocket and I perched her on the brim of the hat.

"Do you want me to pin her in place?" Gladys asked.

"That's all right, she has velcro on her feet." It was a felt hat, I hoped velcro stuck to felt. If it didn't, Gladys didn't know it either.

She turned away and looked at Lisa. "So what are you going to be?"

Lisa dug through her bags and came up with a vampire costume. "It was a bit late in the season. All the good ones were taken."

Trey looked at the false fangs and the cloak and said, "You know there aren't really any vampires."

"I suspect there are a lot of things I don't know, but I don't think I ever actually believed in them," Lisa said

Gladys laughed, "And I suppose you're going to tell me fairies and witches are real."

Trey blushed a light shade of pink. He was getting entirely too comfortable around humans.

Lisa went off to change and I asked Gladys, "What about you?"

"Carl and I are going as pirates." She picked up the bag she'd brought in with her and headed toward the stairs. "Mind if I use your room to change?"

"Go ahead."

When she was gone Joli said, "She likes to be in control."

"Fine by me," I told her. "We like a lot of the same things, and I know her well enough to steer her around things."

"Like my wings?" Trey asked. "I can't believe you told her they were real."

"You don't know Gladys. If I told her they were nothing special she'd have to investigate. By telling her they were real she looks like a ninny if she investigates when they turn out to be fake because in the back of her head she knows they can't be real. Lisa just crowned it with her story I doubt we'll hear another word about them."

Trey was just shaking his head. "No wonder His Majesty doesn't stand a chance against you. Your logic is twisted and devious."

"She does the family proud." Joli said from my hat. "You two should consider having a child..."

"We've been through this. It's not your place."

"Just remember, his magic won't stop it from happening outside the realm here."

Why did she have to remind me? I wasn't going to let it bother me tonight but first stop in the morning would have to be Planned Parenthood. I'd never dealt with getting birth control before. No time like the present. I was rather amazed Gladys hadn't felt the need to mention it. As for this afternoon it was too late to worry about it now.

Lisa was back first. She was one of the sexiest vampires I'd ever seen. The blonde hair just didn't look right with the dark cape and the Goth make up she applied. Drops of lipstick blood dripped down her chin. I handed her the black wig and she put it on. With her fair coloration it combined to make her look just right, like death warmed over.

She looked over at me and said, "Nice hatpin. Who is she?"

"Trey's sister, Joli."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lisa."

"Pleasure's mine. So will you be visiting the realm?"

Lisa shook her head. "Once was enough for me. If not for these two, I think I'd have been a permanent unwilling resident."

Gladys came downstairs. She was wearing leather pants, and a scarlet bustier. A red bandana tied round her neck and a three corner hat. Too much, too red, lipstick and knee high black suede boots with three inch heels. If the bustier was any tighter she'd come out of it.

"I thought pirates all had to wear pirate shirts," I said. "Big puffy sleeves and all that."

"I'm a pirate wench and my pirate thinks this look is better."

The sun had set as we prepared. "I reckon we should hit the road. But first I have to go see the kids."

Only Gladys failed to look at me like I'd just grown a pair of horns on top of my head. Of course, Gladys knew who I was talking about. "I need to put them in and feed them before we go."

"Oh." Lisa's hand fluttered to her throat in a nervous little gesture. "You're talking about the horses."

"Who else? Come on, we were all in the same room for the virgin conversation weren't we?"

"There are some..." Trey actually stopped and looked at Gladys before he finished that thought.

"I'll be right back in. I'm taking my fairy prince with me to help. Won't be a minute."

With some distance between us and the house I said, "You have got to finish that thought."

He laughed. "I was just going to mention that there are some nymphs who are perpetual virgins."

"A nymph...who never has sex?"

"No, a nymph who through sex and child birth and whatever, have maidenheads that grow back."

"Ok, now that is just bizarre. Sounds like the answer to some male fantasy."

"You are quite possibly right. Some of the species in the realm began as group constructs. Take the knights for instance. They started life as play toys for elves. I think they thought it was a funny way to feed the dragons. 'Halt beast', and charge into a dragon's den. How stupid can you be. But over time, some of them evolved. Started to think on their own. Started to outsmart the dragons. You probably know them as White Knights. Still some things are hard-wired into them. Rescue the damsel in distress, slay the dragon. Sometimes they can leave a dragon behind if it's the smart thing to do, but they always have to rescue the damsel."

"Wow. So nymphs originated as the play toy of?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say satyrs. They are a very old species. If they did start that way, they have long since overcome humble beginnings. They rule their lands."

"And what happens to your balance when an existing species decides to create a new species."

"The realm expands." He said it as though it should have been obvious. "Their numbers grow to a point that the Magic deems a healthy population and remains at that level."

We arrived at the barn and I whistled for Nella. She came running, Jax right on her heels. I'd spent a lot of time and carrots teaching her that trick. I put grain in their stalls and swung the doors wide before opening the one on the end of the barn to let them out of their pasture. Trey tossed some hay into each stall and filled water buckets as I checked the fridge in the tack room for carrots. There were two wilted stumpy little things left. I threw them out and put carrots on the list of things to do tomorrow. I resorted to boxed apple treats. Had to do something to buy my way back into their good graces.

Nella looked up from her grain long enough to take the treat from my hand. Jax snubbed me and continued eating his grain. I dropped it in his box and we went back to where Gladys and Lisa were waiting by the car.

The party was at the YMCA. We met Carl in front of the haunted house at the fire station next door to the Y.. After introductions were made, we paid to enter and wound through dark corridors with bed sheet ghosts hanging from corners and zombies stumbling into us, spiderwebs dangled across the path, along with other, supposed to be scary things. If you just hunted down a harpy and a werecat, not much of this stuff was scary.

Trey found it amusing. I heard one startled shriek from Joli when a vampire swung down from overhead and glided at us before soaring into the air to be reset for the next group. There was too much chaos for anybody to notice her, except Trey, who was laughing. The firehouse was on the outskirts of town and a cornfield grew right up to the back wall. When we made it through the haunted house we were escorted out back and set upon one of four different paths through the cornfield. Plenty of people had been through before us. Plenty of people had taken wrong turns it wasn't as simple as just following those who'd gone before.

We were in the cornfield for nearly half an hour stumbling around in the poor lighting when the hairs rose on the back of my neck. I glanced at Trey to see if he heard it too. His eyes were darting around searching in the dark for the source of the purr. It was either a cat with a dozen kittens all purring in unison or one very large cat. We'd been getting separated since we entered the cornfield so Gladys, Carl, David, and Lisa, didn't even look back as we dropped farther behind.

"Purring is happy, contented. Is it the same for Weres as for housecats," I asked Trey.

"I wouldn't know. Our race doesn't tend to like cats of any size."

Another group was fumbling their way through the corn, ten feet away from us. The paths converged ahead. "Can you see him?" I whispered to Trey.

In spite of having much better night vision than I, he shook his head. The purring grew louder. "Check for his magic. Check for any magic. Just because we've been running into the same one, don't make the mistake of thinking he's the only one there is."

We passed the spot where the paths joined and a man stepped out behind us just as we passed it. I hadn't even seen him, and he was large enough I couldn't imagine having missed him even in the dark. I immediately searched him for magic and found him still bound tight in my golden embrace. Swirls of Lisa's blue magic, shot through the gold, no red was showing. He fell in step beside me. Trey's glare said he was perfectly aware of who this was and Joli had darted skyward the moment he appeared.

He was dressed in leather pants that fit tighter than Gladys's. A light coat of chainmail and nothing else covered a brawny chest. Tawny hair fell to his waist as he leaned over and purred, "Yes, m'lady, you hear contentment."

"Why are you here?"

"The Mistress wishes to know more about you."

"You're free of your Mistress for the moment."

A deep throaty chuckle floated over the cornfield. "I, wished to know more about you."

Gladys turned around searching for the source of the laugh and noticed how far ahead she'd gotten. "Are you coming Tess?"

"Be right there. Just stumbled into somebody I know."

"Well bring him up here."

The Were's chain covered chest and bare feet would raise questions on a cool fall evening. I didn't really want to introduce him to Gladys. Trey's displeasure was evident, even in the dark. "He's with some people, maybe we'll see him at the party." I turned to the Were and whispered, "You need to go."

"I spared your lives lady. Is it too much to ask that I be permitted to keep you company."

"You spared our lives to spite your Mistress. We owe you nothing. Besides, there's nothing that says you would have won if we were fighting to the death."

"I had to invite your lovely friend to help you, just to allow me the freedom to spare your life. What makes you think you could possibly have won?"

"Leave," Trey hissed. "Leave now or I'll teach her how to stitch a prison. You think you were bound before..."

The Were growled. An ugly sound deep in his throat.

"Are you coming?" Gladys called.

I looked up to see her walking back toward us. I turned back to the Were in time to see a tawny tail slink off the path. The leather and chain mail lay at my feet. No wonder he didn't wear much in the way of clothes. I kicked them to the side of the path where they wouldn't get trampled on and hurried to stop Gladys from coming all the way back.

"Where's your friend?" She asked.

"Acquaintance," I said. "Not sure I'd call him a friend. Lisa met him once."

"Whatever, where'd he go?"

I pointed through the cornfield. "He'll probably be wandering around in here all night. Said he had to catch up with his friends."

Lisa gave me a puzzled look. "I didn't think we'd have any friends in common here. When did I meet him?"

"Just before you introduced me to your father. Remember the impromptu concert? You sang while I played the flute."

"The..," she stuttered to a stop, gulped then said, "The bossy one."

"Yeah, that one." I hoped my tone conveyed disgruntlement. I was curious as to what his game was. I felt a brush against my mind, far more polite than the first time he'd spoken to me. Or perhaps I was stronger; better able to keep him out. I acknowledged his presence and asked him what he wanted, all he said was, "I'll be near, Lady."
Chapter 20

When Gladys decided she really wasn't going to meet the other man in my life she turned around and started back in the other direction. The moment her back was turned, Joli settled back on my hat brim. "You really need to be more careful who you associate with, Tess."

I spoke quietly and leaned on Trey to make Gladys think I was speaking to him. "It's not like I knew he was around. I have no idea how he got here so fast. We left him at the portal in Texas, just yesterday. He'd have to have taken a plane like we did and he didn't get on a plane dressed like that."

"He may know other portals," Trey said. "Or he may have dressed for a costume party, like the rest of you."

The Were hadn't gone far at all. "I do not care for your planes."

"Does that mean you traveled through portals?"

"With all of them being watched by the council? How do you think I came to know I do not like your planes?"

"Tess?" Trey looked down at me.

Obviously I wasn't very good at holding two conversations at one time.

Trey's arm held me tight. "Don't worry about him."

"I wasn't."

Nothing more was said about, or by, the Were. We stumbled through the cornfield for at least another half hour before Gladys began to tire of the game. We had our flag so we could summon rescue and Gladys held it high. In the meantime I ducked farther back and sent Joli up for an aerial view. She returned and I managed to talk Gladys into trying just a bit longer. In five minutes we left the corn behind.

Lisa and Dave seemed to be getting along well. I'd met Dave the one year that Grandma and I had been home long enough that Grandma enrolled me in public school, to socialize me. He had been one of the few people I'd been able to talk to, easy-going and friendly. At least Gladys had remembered that before trying to set me up on a blind date. I did like Gladys, she was thoughtful that way, but I was beginning to have a problem seeing my worlds coexist. Werecats in the cornfield. Fairies all around. What would happen if I ever dragged an enemy into my world?

## Chapter 21

The basketball court at the Y was decorated in paper haystacks with scarecrows lounging in chairs and ghosts in the corners, immense spiders climbed fake webs and Frankenstein was painted on the door in watercolors. He took a hit at some point in the night when somebody spilled punch. Trey looked out of place on the dance floor. He was grace and elegance where the other dancers were teenagers gyrating to the beat. Not that Trey couldn't stay with the music he just looked very different from the kids of my age group. I couldn't even begin to say how he made dancing to that music look graceful but he did and I was proud to be his. Slow dances ended far too fast for my liking, we moved as though we'd been together forever.

When a brawny man in leather pants and chain-mail walked past the punch splattered Frankenstein I couldn't help but stare. I wasn't alone either. Every teenage girl in the gym melted when the predator walked among them. The music blared on, oblivious to the absence of female dancers. .My reaction was more disbelief that he would show himself here, than being impressed with his sculpted chest, huge biceps and slender hips, unfortunately I wasn't immune to the smoldering green eyes. Joli shrieked and Trey's hand darted toward my head snatching his sister before she could fly.

Trey's wings fluttered in agitation and several of the closer people, including Gladys and Carl looked at him oddly. Trey clutched my hand and pulled me closer. One of the chaperones moved to intercept the Werecat. His tawny head turned toward us. He spoke to the chaperone and she joined the teenage girls in a giggling puddle. He left her there, staring after him wistfully and walked over to us.

Trey handed me Joli and stepped forward."

"I changed my mind," the Were said, just barely loud enough for those of us standing nearby to hear above the music. "If you have not yet taught her how to stitch a prison, she will not even have the needle and thread to do so. No matter how quickly she might learn, the threat is idle."

Gladys was staring at him. I wasn't sure if she hung on his every word because of the strange things he was saying, or if she was trapped by his, goddess forgive my cliche, rugged good-looks.

"I have done things in the past few days I have not been able to do in the last thirty years. You may not tell me I must stop."

I stayed behind Trey shielding Joli from seeing the Were. "Then what is it you want?"

"Right now, I want a beautiful woman to dance with me. I want to know all there is to know about my benefactress."

"I'm with Trey. And as far as you knowing anything about me, I'd rather you didn't. We both know the gold will fade, and then your Mistress will know everything about me too." I glanced over at Gladys, she was too struck to even listen to my words.

"One dance."

"Then you'll leave?"

"Then I'll tell you why I came, and you can decide if you want me to leave."

"If there's another reason, why not tell us now?"

The Were purred, a deep rumble, half-laughter, half-contentment. "Because if I told you now, I would not get to watch your friend's face turn livid as I walked away with you."

"So it's all a game to you?"

"I did not say that. I take my little victories while I can."

I slipped Joli into Trey's hand, then I kissed him. "Don't worry, he can't hurt me in front of all these people."

"Why would I hesitate?" The Were asked. "I do not care what humans think of me. This form would disappear before their eyes and they would wonder if they had seen what they all thought they saw. If I wished you harm, I could have harmed you a hundred times over tonight. Please, m'lady, allow your humble servant a dance."

Humble. Yeah, right. I held out my hand to him and allowed myself to be dragged out on the dance floor. The song they were playing was fast but the Were was energetic and his enthusiasm was contagious. I was not a skilled dancer and staying with the music while speaking took a bit of effort but since he had dragged me on the floor under the pretext of needing to tell me something, I asked him, "What was so important you needed to tell me about it tonight?"

"Just wait, m'lady, the next song will be slow."

I wasn't sure how he knew that, or if he intended to use magic to make it so, but I waited. The band was decent and I felt an energy in their music. The Were was making me nervous, I began to gather energy to myself. Not sure if I could keep my body moving while concentrating on speaking in my head, I resisted the urge to respond to him.

"I love it when you glow like that. It's sure to make your mate jealous."

Everything he said to me was double bladed. A compliment wrapped in barbs. I glimpsed Trey with Lisa and David near the wall. Gladys and Carl weren't there so I started watching the floor, wondering if I could trade him off with Gladys. I knew she'd be willing, Carl on the other hand...

The music ground to a halt and as predicted, a slow song was picked up. Many of the couples left the floor but the Werecat's hand held me immobile until the exodus was over then he leaned into me and his body moved to the music every bit as gracefully as Trey's. I struggled to push him back to a safe distance. Pushing against his arms was akin to pushing on bands of steel. They didn't give. Others were watching him and by proximity, me. I forced myself to relax and allowed him to lead me around the floor. The flashing overhead lights dimmed to near darkness and I found myself looking at the chaperones, who were strangely still. He lifted his cheek from beside mine and stared down into my eyes. He Lowered his lips to mine and for a breathless moment I returned the kiss before remembering this was not what I wanted. A flood of heat washed my cheeks as I turned my head. He followed my motion and fear clawed its way to the surface.

His arms tightened and I called up my personal shield, insinuating it between us wherever our bodies were not already touching. Unbalanced, he lifted his mouth away from mine and looked down where his legs brushed up against the shield, impatience crossed his face. "You want this as much as I do."

Glancing pointedly at Trey I told him, "I have what I want."

"That old spell isn't tired yet?"

"Did you ever stop to think maybe it's more than a spell?"

"If you care for him so much, why are you out here dancing with me?"

He tried to lean down to kiss me again but I had taken advantage of him lifting his head and wrapped the shield between us. Our feet still moved with the music as I told him. "I'm dancing with you because you seemed to think you knew something I should know. and wouldn't tell me unless I danced with you."

"You seemed to enjoy my kiss well enough."

"I forgot myself for a moment."

"I could make you forget yourself for hours on end, if you'd only let me."

Responding to his comments only seemed to embolden him. Boldness was not something he needed more of. I removed familiarity from my voice and asked aloud, "Is there a point to all this?"

My words drew grins from some of the closer dancers and I realized how loudly I'd spoken. A tall, slender, handsome, male chaperone wove his way across the dance floor towards us. The Were stood up straight, looked at the man, and hissed, spinning us away from the newcomer. Even wearing the form of a man it seemed the hair rose on his arched back. The sensation made me reexamine the chaperone. The man followed us and reached a hand to my arm but found my shield firmly wrapped in place. He grinned as his hand settled a half inch from my flesh.

"Is this..." He stopped and examined the Were. "Is this creature bothering you, Miss."

A hunter-green shimmer of magic arose from the man.

The Were stood back half a pace, looking at me expectantly, waiting to see what I would say, now that help was at hand. Taking advantage of the distance I wedged the shield between us before turning to smile at the man. "Thank you. I have this under control now."

The Were's scowl lightened as he leaned back as close as my shield would allow him. "You heard her," he growled. "Now go away, elf."

The man bowed low. As if the Werecat hadn't attracted enough attention just by being himself, now I had another handsome male bowing to me in an archaic manner. Pretty much everybody was staring now. I looked at the man again; I couldn't see anything that made him an elf.

"At least your mate has the courage to show himself for what he is." The Were said next to my ear.

The stranger stood from his bow and said, "Forgive my intrusion, Miss."

"Perfectly all right. It was timely."

The Were's arms encircled my waist, but they couldn't move. My shield held him in place. Short of picking me up and running, there wasn't much he could do now. As the chaperone moved off, the Were leaned on my shield, testing how close he could still get. The song ended, but he remained leaning against me, purring. "The feel of your magic is more intoxicating than your scent."

"Then you shouldn't need to be here, since you're wrapped in it."

"I cannot help but realize my Mistress will reclaim me. Knowing I will be half-flayed for my disobedience stops me from enjoying it. If I could but talk you into staying with me, I would never have to fear her again."

"So all this is purely selfish?"

"Not purely. I came to warn you that my Mistress is sending something against you."

"Not very definitive. I've rather been expecting something since I discovered the fairies. I thought you were it."

He bowed his head down to where his forehead was a scant inch from mine. "I was. I'm afraid my Mistress thinks I'm a failure."

"That's all you know? She's sending someone?"

He slowly led me back to where Trey stood. "I just thought you should know. Whoever it will be, your demesne is in danger. She may not attack here. Especially if you have elves watching you, but I guarantee she will attack your demesne. Perhaps King Ral will dismiss you as Guardian. His people are vulnerable enough without their Guardian bringing more hazards on them."

I shook my head. "This is your big news?"

"No, I was expecting it to happen here, but the elf is either not alone or is a talented warden. She will not risk drawing attention to herself tonight. I am sorry you may lose your job."

"Not to worry. I doubt that will happen. The way I understand it, King Ral will be selling tickets."

"What are tickets?"

"Nevermind." We were approaching Trey. "I just meant that he doesn't concern himself beyond what might make him look bad. Losing a Guardian would be worse for him than having his people killed."

"I had heard that about him. I didn't think his people would accept that attitude. You may have noticed, fairies don't particularly care for my kind. I don't know much about them. I wish I could have done better for you. If I could only win free of the binding..."

"Don't trouble yourself. And as Guardian to the fairy demesne. I'm going to have to ask you to stay away from my charges."

"Yourself and your lover as well, I suppose." His voice sounded bitter.

I nodded.

"If you tire of his company..."

"You will be back with your Mistress by then, if it ever happens."

"You won't even consider..."

"No."

"If I survive your magic's release. She may use me against you."

"I doubt she'll do that. Between your temperament and my magic we have stood against her binding. Would she risk losing you?"

"If she cannot control me, she has no need for me. Do not trouble yourself for my fate, Miss. I brought captivity on myself, I will have to win my freedom the same way."

"So all that on the dance floor, was a scam to convince me to help you keep your freedom."

"Yes, Miss. I apologize for my actions. I have never found a human female I could not sway."

"And the threat from your Mistress?"

"Is very real, Miss. I suggest you find the warden and ask him to escort you home this evening."

"You won't come?"

"I can feel your protection fading. I will find a more willing female and take advantage of my last night of freedom. If I do not see you again, it has been a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Five feet from Trey, the Were bowed low and backed away. "Ask the warden. Do not be proud. Whoever she sends, it will not be somebody you can sway. You will need help."

He turned and left. The teenagers and his charmed chaperone watched him leave. As he passed through the doorway the lighting returned to normal and the girls all turned back to their friends. The chaperone's cheeks flushed bright red, and she glanced around to see if anybody was watching her. Then she edged toward the door. I wondered if she was running away hoping nobody noticed her girlish, giggling and sighing, or if the Were had beckoned her away, to be part of his entertainment for the night.

Whichever. Didn't matter to me. So why did I feel the need to tell myself it didn't matter.

I smiled up at Trey and he wrapped his arms and wings around me protectively. In their shelter he leaned down and kissed me, replacing the musky scent of the Were with his earthy fragrance.

Gladys looked out of sorts. Confused. She was clutching Carl tight to her side as though not sure she could keep him if she turned him loose. "What the hell is going on Tess?"

"What do you mean?"

"How many guys are going to throw themselves at you tonight? That one must have been at least ten years older than you."

If only she knew. "He was a friend."

"And the tall guy that looked like he was going to defend your honor?"

"Just a chaperone as far as I know."

"Since when does a chaperone interfere and then bow himself out? Who the hell bows anymore? And if the kiss that guy gave you was from a friend, I need friends like that? He was smokin' Tess."

"Yeah, and he knows it. I don't need a guy who thinks it's funny to prove to the world he can have his pick." I leaned back into Trey's chest and said, "I have a guy who could have his pick and he chose me. That guy was just trying to annoy Trey."

"And doing a damn fine job of it. Why did you even go off with him?"

"He said he had a message from Grandma and asked me to dance. Turned out his message was that he knew how to push Trey's buttons. Nothing new. Like I told the chaperone, I had it under control. Now can we just drop it?"

For once I was glad Carl was around, he told Gladys, "Dance with me, before I think you want Tess to call that guy back here," and dragged her back out on the dance floor where life went on without us."

No sooner had they left, than the elf showed back up. "I know you're a new Guardian, Miss Tess, but I recommend you leave that sort alone."

Trey's arms tightened. "Who, by the oak, are you?"

"He's an elf." I told him. "The cat seemed to think maybe a warden."

The elf's eyes darted around, checking to see if anybody heard me. "Do nolt say that so loudly." His voice was little more than a whisper.

"I don't get the big damn deal. Nobody's going to look at you anymore than they have at Trey." I looked around the room. Lord Of The Rings was popular as ever, more so since the movie came out, I knew I'd find at least one or two elves. I pointed to one of the better looking costumes. "There. There's an elf right there."

"That is not an elf." His arms crossed over his chest as he denied that the costumed teenager could possibly be an elf.

"Which is precisely what they would say about you. On this night in my land you can be whoever you want. Even yourself."

"Do you expect trouble from the Were?"

I looked at the door he'd gone out. Frankenstein was much the worse for wear now. Slowly I shook my head. "I don't think he'll be trouble, but he recommended I invite you to escort us home. He definitely thought trouble was headed our way. So are you a warden or are there other's around here?"

He looked at Trey, "You told her about wardens?"

Trey shook his head. "It didn't come up yet. We've been a bit occupied since she accepted the position."

"My name is Ruslik, and the cat guessed correctly, I am a warden." The elf's hand extended slowly toward my head and I let him reach out and lift my chin. His finger stretched down to touch the feather mark on my neck. "I suppose you have been busy. Gaining a Guardian by these methods is frowned upon."

"When I marked her, my intent was only to make my relatives go away," Trey said defensively.

Joli stomped on the brim of my hat. "I knew it."

"Calm yourself, sister. My intent has long ago fallen by the way." Trey didn't look up as he spoke to Joli. Maintaining eye contact with the warden he continued. "Councilor Jaral has already tried to remove the mark. The effort threw him across the room."

"How long ago was that?"

"A moon in the demesne."

The elf's eyes widened. "Were you in the realm when you marked her?"

"No. We were being pursued by my sisters and brothers back to her farm, each one determined to gain points in our sire's game. I did it to give her room to breathe. Outside the realm it should have been weak. We've been over this time and again, it makes no sense but it's not going away, and once we decided life could be worse, we haven't let it bother us."

The elf's finger tipped my head up again. Then touched Trey's brand. "Scald?"

Trey nodded. "She didn't take to the idea as quickly as Magic seemed to think she should."

The elf nodded to himself. "Very well, if Councilor Jaral knows all of this, it is not my concern. The Were is my concern, predators are not permitted through the portals. Tell me what you know of him."

We told him how we'd met the Werecat and how he'd asked for help against the woman who kept him bound. After telling him how the Were followed us back here and that Jaral was taking action against the portal, he became thoughtful. "I'll have to alert the nearest Guardians. When the binding comes back into effect he's going to have to return and he may be willing to kill to get there, depending on how irate his controller is." He pulled a cell phone out of his breast pocket and said, "I need to find someplace quiet. Don't leave before I get back."

After he left, I busted out laughing.

Trey waited until my laughter subsided before asking, "What?"

"I dunno. I guess the whole elf mystique just came crashing down when he pulled a cell phone out of his pocket."

Trey smiled. "Know many elves then? If not for your furry friend, you wouldn't have known he was an elf. Are you certain that was a phone?"

"No, but it makes sense. When in Rome; and all that."

"Besides, the fact that elves carry more personal magic into your world, doesn't mean it's limitless. They can't use the energy of your world. There was a time we all could. There has always been less here but when I was young, the wardens could use it."

That started me wondering, but even with the continuing thumping beat, I wasn't going to start quizzing Trey on magic 101 in the middle of a gym full of humans.

Monster Mash started playing and Trey pulled me out on the dance floor with a smile and a whispered warning. "Now would probably not be a good time to bring an ogre to life.

The evening ended by midnight and we trooped back out to the car. I sighed in happy relief, the evening had, after all, been relatively peaceful. David was still trying to get Lisa's phone number when we left. She turned him down cold, telling him she'd had a great time but she wasn't into long distance relationships.

I was glad. Not because I didn't like him but because Lisa belonged in my other life and I needed to keep the boundaries between them solid.

Carl had driven here, and it was easy to suggest to Gladys that she let Lisa drive me and Trey to Grandma's house and we'd return her car in the morning. When she was gone, the elf stepped out of the shadows and came toward the car. We introduced him to Lisa and he sat in the passenger seat next to her. Trey and I sat in the back seat staring out the windows. I just hoped that if someone was going to come after us I wouldn't end up owing Gladys a new car.

There were quite a few other cars on the road. Not the norm for this time of night in Small-Town Kentucky, but I don't reckon our party was the only one ending at midnight. Lisa drove carefully, so when the immense shape landed on the road she was able to avoid it. It reached out toward the car and Lisa hit reverse and floored it. A werecat appeared on the road behind us and not knowing if he was friend or foe, Lisa slammed on the brakes before she could clobber it. They had chosen the stretch of road well. Far enough outside town, traffic had finally thinned and the sides dropped off fairly steep.

The werecat leaped at the car and the elf slid out the car door and pulled a bow from under the cover of his illusion. He nocked an arrow and fired it at the Were. Lisa dove from the car as the monster in front of us bellowed fury and charged the vehicle. Trey and I slid out the same side of the car as Lisa and I wrapped a shield around the three of us. Joli darted for the sky.

The elf stood fast while the Were charged him, pulling three arrows from his quiver and dropping two in favor of the one with the gleaming silver tip. I didn't have time to notice if the elf was successful or not, the creature in front of the car roared it's anger at my shields and pounded on them. I softened the shield and his blow struck it and bounced. Clearly not what he was expecting. Trey was constructing a fireball like the one that had killed the harpy. He hurled it out the top of the shield, at the creature. Unlike those others, this one clung like napalm and burned with a blue flame. I wasn't sure what kind of creature I was looking at, but I remembered Trey's recommendations for killing ogres. I prepared a javelin of flame and hurled it with magic guided accuracy toward the creatures face. Already beating at the flame on its chest, it didn't see my magic coming.

The javelin entered the creature's eye and the monster was thrown backward. The entire length of the javelin entered the skull and the roar of anger from the pebble skinned creature, was only the first of many horrendous noises. The magic sizzled and the smell of roasting flesh arose. Popping, like the sound of overcooking something in a microwave preceded a wail of pain more frightening than the anger had been. The creature was clawing at its eyes, successfully digging one out of its socket. The popping became louder and Trey suggested, "Close the shield over top of us."

It wasn't hard to follow his thought and I hastened to do what he asked. We huddled down beside the car and Trey wrapped his wings around Lisa and me protecting us from seeing what was about to happen. The concussion of exploding charbroiled monster rocked the car behind us and I poured energy into the shield, not knowing if it would be strong enough to protect us if the car landed on us. When particles stopped raining down around us I slowly stood and looked around. The Were was down in the road with the elf standing over him. I thinned the shield but didn't drop it completely, not certain if these two were the only threat.

The Were had shifted into human form. Relief flooded over me when I saw it was not the same Were we had dealt with until now. this one had black hair. His build was more slender than the one I'd come to think of as mine. Trey tried to make me turn away as the elf drew a sword from his hip and beheaded the already dead man lying in the road. Lisa squealed and turned her face into Trey's shoulder. The elf bent and cut the arrow from the Were's chest. With the arrow wiped clean and back in the quiver the elf wrapped a hand in the black hair and tossed the head over the embankment, the body quickly followed it.

He turned back to us with a grim look on his face and I had the feeling the expression had more to do with my butchery than his. "What, by the oak, did you do to the troll?"

"Ummm....well...not exactly sure. Is that what that was? Cooked him. I think."

The elf looked toward the front of the car where the troll had been standing. A pair of sharply clawed size twenty feet remained in the roadway. Bits of toasted flesh spread out from the feet to cover Gladys's car, and most of the roadway in a twenty foot circle. The elf looked at the mess and his face twitched. The grim look faded as he struggled to keep from laughing. When he could no longer contain it, he said, "Not to criticize your cooking skills but I believe he may be a tad overdone." Laughter floated on the air. He waved a hand at the mess and a breeze pushed part of it over the embankment. Trey knocked on the shield I was still holding and I dropped it. He waved his wings and gestured toward the road and more troll bits flew down the slope.

When the mess was gone, the elf pushed something in my hand and I looked down to see one of the five inch long claws from the troll's foot. It was already cleaned and strung on a leather cord and he laughed as he gave it to me. "None of your friends will have one of those. You are a rare talent, Miss Tess, and it has been my honor to meet you."

He drew the cell phone out of his pocket and turned on the GPS unit. Then he called somebody and gave them coordinates, arranging to get the mess cleaned up before daylight. The rest of the ride back to the farm was quiet. He checked the house before allowing us to enter, then he stood on the front stoop and whistled. A silver horse appeared. It was long and lean, ethereal. A horse, but not quite a horse. The elf swung lightly into the saddle, waved good-bye and galloped away.

Lisa had been quiet since the troll incident, but as the elf rode away she said, "This has been a most unique couple of days, but I'm sorry Tess, if you decide to visit me in Texas, I'm going to have to ask you not to do any cooking. And he's," she jutted her chin at Trey, "The only friend you're allowed to bring."

## Chapter 22

I put Lisa in Grandma's room for the night and Trey and I retired to ours. Joli declared she was going to sleep in the barn and flitted out the window we opened for her.

The magic we expended fighting the troll had been minimal and the attack left me too keyed up to sleep. Not like I didn't have better plans anyway.

I woke up early and started thumbing through the phone book for Planned Parenthood as Trey did his best to distract me. I called the number only to discover that it was Sunday and they were closed, call back Monday after 8:30 AM.

Lisa went downstairs so we dressed and followed after. She was already rooting around in the kitchen when we got there so I dug out a frying pan and went to rummage through closets and the freezer. She diced potatoes and onions and I found eggs and some frozen bacon. I put it in the microwave to thaw and she shooed me away.

I went out to feed the horses, leaving Lisa to bang around the kitchen finishing breakfast. Joli was still there, hanging out on Nella's stall door. Trey helped me feed and Joli flittered along overhead making comments about such a domestic scene. I wanted to snap at her to just go home, but I wasn't ready for King Ral to know we were back. I definitely wasn't ready for him to find out about my inability to call on unicorns for assistance. Not that he could have stopped me if he'd wanted to, I just didn't want trouble for Trey.

We finished up and Joli followed us back in the house. Fortunately she chose to talk to Lisa which kept them both occupied. After breakfast I dug out buckets and soap and we all went outside to clean Gladys's car which looked like somebody's barbecue grill exploded on it. Some places the broiled blackened flesh had discolored the paint and the tough pebbly hide had scratched it. Could have been worse. At least there weren't any dents and the windows were intact. We scrubbed and buffed until it was as good as elbow grease could make it, then I examined the worst of the discoloration again.

Joli landed on the hood of the car as I was looking at one particularly bad spot. The metal of the hood was deeply scored half way across.

She took my hand and placed it at one end of the deep scratch. "Call up heat. Just in your fingertips."

The energy leapt to do my bidding. That was a strange and unusual sensation.

"Now," Joli said. "Release it into the scratch, make it white hot. Smelting hot. But keep it fine or we're going to have a bigger mess than we started with."

Under Joli's direction the scratch disappeared leaving behind smooth bare metal. The one on the fender was harder, the plastic wanted to melt and it took several tries before I got it right. Structurally the car looked better but the heat had caused even more discoloration. Under Joli's direction I liquefied the paint and spread it slightly thinner in an even coat of the car. It looked better when we finished than it had when we left the party.

"That is so cool," I told Joli. "Thanks for your help."

She giggled. "I may not be able to take on an ogre or a harpy but I know some of the finer points of magic. I'd be glad to help you learn some of them when my brother's through teaching you."

Trey grinned at us, "Which is to say, she does a lot of harmless artwork around our sire so he doesn't think she's the one who's going to steal his crown. Still, the control she just showed you is a good thing to know."

Not to be outdone as my magic instructor, Trey taught me how to cast an illusion to make myself appear different than I am. He demonstrated on himself, starting with small things like change of hair-color and ending with making his wings disappear. I was reminded of how the elf had pulled his bow out of seeming nowhere the night before.

As I watched Trey's wings disappear, I wrapped my arms around his hips and pulled him close. Their silken touch on my skin heated my blood, even if I couldn't see them. "I didn't realize you could do that."

"We always use camouflage. I never thought about this. Now that I have, I can see so many uses for it. Like living here with you when you're not in the realm... If you'll have me?"

"Do I really need to respond to that? If you can't stay here, I'll have to spend my days in the realm just to be with you. It'll make taking care of the horses easier if we stay here."

He kissed me and Joli and Lisa both sighed and turned away.

He released the spell and his wings reappeared.

I looked over at Lisa and asked, "Do you ride?"

"I've done a little showing. If you're inviting me, I'd love to go. Rarely been outside an arena though."

"Come on, I'll show you the farm."

Trey shrank and rode on my shoulder while Joli stayed with Lisa. I carefully avoided the corner of the farm that contained the portal. Not because of Lisa's presence, but because I knew somebody would be on guard there. We rode most of the morning, just as we were returning, Lisa's cell phone rang. From Lisa's end of the conversation, it seemed Daddy wanted his plane back. Lisa promised we were on our way to the airport just as soon as we put the horses away.

When she hung up, I called Gladys to see if she was willing to make the trip again. She agreed readily and I suspected I was going to have to listen to a rehash of the dance. Gladys was a beautiful woman, it probably stung her a bit that I had a cuter guy than she did. Then for me to be picked to dance by the guy who walked in and made everybody's head turn...probably more than she could understand. I'd always been the one in the background. The girl who didn't have any friends much less drop-dead-gorgeous male friends.

With everything settled, we went back in the house and Lisa packed up her bags and we toted them to the car.   

#

Gladys was excited to see Trey. He and I sat in the back seat and tried to be polite as she grilled us about where he lived and how we met, and the rest of her hundred and twenty questions she expected answers to and neither of us could give. We sat back and answered the ones we could truthfully, and shrugged at the ones we couldn't. One of us being a notoriously bad liar and the other completely unable to lie made for a lot of shrugging. Fortunately for my friendship with Gladys and our sanity, Lisa proved to be quite imaginative and rather adept at spinning a tale. Gladys asked about Trey's wings and Lisa jumped in to inform her they were in one of her bags and headed back to San Antonio. They'd only been on loan.

When Lisa got on the plane, I wasn't sure if I'd ever see her again, but since I supposedly worked for her father's software company, I said, "It's been fun. Hope to see you soon, in Texas."

She threw her arms around my shoulders. "It's been interesting. I'm sure Daddy'll have more work soon."

And she was gone. I sat in front with Gladys for the return trip, but Trey sat on my side of the car and I turned sideways to keep my hand on the back of the seat near him. Blessedly, Gladys seemed to have come to the conclusion that without Lisa she wasn't going to get any more answers. She turned instead to the werecat or in her words 'the super-hunky guy who crashed the party last night'. I could honestly answer most of those questions, unfortunately not as thoroughly as Gladys might desire. Simple fact was I really didn't know where he came from or where he lived or what he was really after last night.

"You must be one of the most secure guys I know not to have jumped in when he kissed Tess," she said to Trey.

He grabbed my hand and kissed it before turning to respond. "The thought crossed my mind, but what Tess and I have is deeper than a kiss on the dance floor. She has never played the damsel in distress. Only took me trying to protect her against her wishes a couple of times, before I figured out that wasn't the way to my lady's heart."

"What would Carl think of your interest in this man, Gladys?" I asked her. "I've run into him several times and don't even know his name. You sound like you want a complete dossier."

And that was pretty much the end of that subject. If she thought it was odd that Trey referred to me as his lady, or any of the other out of date turns-of-phrase he used in conversation she didn't mention it. It was a relief when she dropped us off in front of my house then left, saying she had to meet Carl for supper. Joli was nowhere to be found so we went in and made supper. Then headed upstairs.

Gladys had said she wanted me to do something with her tonight but since she didn't mention it today, I came to the conclusion that it either involved setting me up with somebody or she was out of sorts because I couldn't satisfy her curiosity about the men in my life. She'd come back around. In the meantime, I had better things to do. It felt great to lay down in bed and not have anything to do but stay there. It seemed like a very long time since our fortnight honey moon that we had managed to twiddle down to three days before taking advantage of. Even then, there was always Grandma somewhere in the background.

I pulled my shirt over my head at the bottom of the stairs and by the time we were at the bedroom door we were naked and he was carrying me. He laid me down on the bed and stretched out beside me and except to eat and feed the horses, that's where we stayed for the next week and a half.

