Darkness & Light (War of the Fae: Book 3) (36 page)

“What do you think they’re doing?” whispered Tim.

“I have no idea.
 
But it’s creeping me out – the silence.”

“Me too.”

We moved closer together, away from the door, sitting down on the bathroom floor next to each other.
 

“If things go badly for us here, I just want you to know how much it has meant for me to be your friend,” said Tim, looking down at his tiny hands.

“Same here, Tim.
 
But we’re getting out of this.
 
Alive.
 
Our friends are going to come.”

“Were you able to contact them?”

“No.
 
But I’m going to try again in a minute.
 
I’m just a little afraid of taking my concentration off the big power bubble I put up around the bathroom.”

Tim look around and up at the ceiling.
 
“We’re in a bubble right now?”

I shrugged.
 
“That’s what I call it.
 
I imagine a giant bubble of power made out of The Green and it just goes there.”

Tim smiled.
 
“I feel better already.”
 
He looked at the bathroom door, yelling happily, his tiny middle finger held out in front of him, “Screw you, Dark Fae!
 
You’ve been bubble shunned!”
 

The smile immediately left both our faces when we heard the answering wind.
 
My mouth dropped open and all of the blood drained from Tim’s face at the same time.
 
Maléna
was back, and she was doing something inside the wind, just outside the door.

The howl of Maléna’s tempest was getting louder and louder.
 
I’m not sure if it sounded like a total level-five storm to me because I was hearing things more acutely, or if she was really brewing up something that powerful for us.
 
I could see the door to the bathroom shaking from the force, but inside our power bubble, we didn’t feel anything.
 
The wind didn’t touch
us or anything nearby
.
 
It’s as if the bathroom was in the eye of her hurricane.

The Green hummed continuously, neither fading nor wavering in its strength.
 
The winds outside the door were wailing, making Tim and me very nervous.
 
He climbed up my sleeve and sat on my shoulder, clutching a fistful of my hair, just in case.
 
It wouldn’t take much of a breeze to send him into the wall.

“How long can you hold her off?” Tim asked.

“I don’t know.
 
Forever?
 
It’s not like keeping it up is tiring me out or anything.
 
I can feel the shield, and it seems strong.”
 
I didn’t want to tell him my theories or fears out loud, but I had a sneaking suspicion these Dark Fae were using the wrong weapon against me.
  
Maybe I was totally out in the weeds, but it seemed like the only way to fight an elemental was to use the other elements.
 
I think Samantha and Maggie had gotten to me before by coming at me right through the power I was using – and having the ley line there to help.
 
It’s possible I was wrong; but if I wasn’t, I hoped like hell Ben didn’t figure it out.
 
Apparently
Maléna
could control the wind to some degree – but not like Ben could.
 
I’d been calling him a Dark Fae demon all along, but that’s not what he was.
 
I knew that now.
 
He was an elemental like me.

I remembered that one night when Ben came riding into Tony’s room
on
the wind.
 
It was a totally different sensation than the one
Maléna
was creating here.
 
She could control some wind by traveling in it, but the element Wind did Ben’s bidding – the way Earth did mine through The Green.
 
None of the other fae could do that.
 
This I knew from what Dardennes had said, and because when I was in my Element, doing what I do, I knew I was alone there.
 
I was aware of the other fae and creatures
who
were connected in through their own unique abilities, but none of them controlled the Element itself.

“So how do you see us getting out of this?” asked Tim, interrupting my thoughts.

“That’s a great question.
 
I guess I imagine being rescued.
 
I can use The Green to shield us, but I still can’t get out of this spelled compound.
 
Unless someone comes to get us, how can we possibly escape?”

“We could take a hostage.”

I laughed humorlessly.
 
“With what?
 
My scary
breath
?
 
No, wait ... I’ll tell you what – I’ll grab that wood sprite next time he comes near the door and you can fart in his face.
 
That’ll put him under your spell and then you can order him to show us the way out.”

Tim pulled my hair.
 
“Very funny.
 
I had a more
realistic
plan, like having Chase come get us, but if you’re going to be a comedian ... ”

“Chase?
 
As in the recently pixelated Chase?”

“Yeah.
 
Maybe they’ve fixed him.
 
He’s here somewhere, right?
 
They must not know about him or they would have already used him against you.
 
Maybe that Goose guy can help too.
 
He didn’t seem so Dark Fae-
ish
to me.”

The way he said that sounded funny.
 
I twisted my head to try and get a look at him, but he hid behind my hair.
 
“How many Dark Fae do you know, anyway?”
 

He didn’t answer right away.

“Tim
... ?
” I warned.

“A few, okay.
 
I know a few.
 
Some better than others.”

“Who exactly do you know, and how well?
 
And don’t play games with me.
 
We need to explore every option.”

Tim sighed heavily, right by my left ear, making me get goose bumps all down my arm and leg on my left side.
 
I reached up and grabbed him, holding him out in front of me.
 
I bent my legs up so that he could stand on my knee and be at eye level with me.

“Spill it, Tim.
 
I know you have secrets.
 
It’s time to share.”

“Fine.”
 
He sat down on my knee with his legs folded.
 
“I might have a ...
 
mumblemumblemumble
...
”
 
The
rest of his sentence faded out so low I couldn’t hear it.

“Say that again?
 
And at a volume that someone other than a dog could hear, please?”

“I
said
that I
might
have a
wife
flying around in here somewhere.”

I almost sent him flying across the room without the use of wings when I heard that little priceless nugget.
 

“You
what
?!
”

Tim just folded his arms across his chest, saying nothing.

“And why are you just now telling me this?
 
Don’t you think it might have been important to share that fact before?”

“Why?
 
It’s not like she would do anything to help us.
 
She’s Dark Fae!”

“Was she Dark Fae when you married her?”

“No.
 
She changed sides.”

I looked at him in shock.
 
“Tim, that’s terrible.”

“Tell me about it.”

I looked at him in mock pity, still not very happy that he’d kept this from me.
 
“Was it your gas problem?”

Tim threw his hands up.
 
“I can’t believe you’d joke around at a time like this!”

I slapped both hands down on the stone floor.
 
“Well, I can’t believe you’d hide this from me!”

We both sat there, staring each other down.
 

“Give it up, Tim.
 
You know I’m gonna win this.”

“No, you won’t.
 
I can stare until a
fae’s
eyeballs fall out.”

“All I have to do is lean in and blow my gnarly breath on you and it’s gonna be all over.”

Tim held up his hands.
 
“Okay, okay, I surrender.
 
Keep your
vom
breath to yourself, woman.
 
You win.”

“So, tell me what happened, because I know she didn’t leave you for another pixie.
 
You’re too hot for that.”

“I know, right?”
 
Tim shook his head.
 
“That she-pixie was nuts.
 
She never had it better than when she was with me.
 
Her name is Abby.
 
I rubbed her feet, stroked her wings, made her breakfast every day ...
”
 
he
sighed.
 
“And then one day she was gone.
 
Poof.
 
A couple weeks later I found her at Maggie’s.
 
Maggie had taken Abby from the forest –
who
knows what the heck she was doing out there, she never told me.
 
Maggie was using her wings in one of her brews – some sort of deal they’d made.
 
I stayed with her, giving up my wings in exchange for Abby’s release.
 
After Abbey’s wings grew back, she left, promising to come back and get me when mine were grown in again.
 
I waited an extra three days for her to come – and let me tell you, being at Maggie’s with wings?
 
Scary
.
 
She’s always eyeing you, waving that wooden spoon around.
 
I was sure one day she was just going to knock me over the head and take my wings all over again.”

“So what happened next?
 
Did Abby come back?”

“No.
 
She never showed, so I left.
 
Then I flew around everywhere looking for her.
 
Eventually I met up with some other small fae and they told me where she was.
 
About two months later I saw her in the forest.
 
She apologized but told me she was staying.
 
She tried to get me to go too, but I told her
no way
.
 
This pixie is no Dark Fae.”

“Wow.
 
That totally sucks.”
 
I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Yeah.
 
She dumped me after seventy-five years of wedded bliss.”

I nearly choked.
 
“Seventy-five years?
 
Holy bat balls, Tim.
 
That’s a long time.”

“Not really.
 
Not for fae folk.”

“It is in my book.
 
Did she ever tell you why she went over?”

“She tried, but I refused to listen.
 
It’s all a bunch of propaganda anyway.”

“Alright, so I guess we scratch her off the list of possible helpers.”

“Yeah.
 
Way off the list.
 
If she tried to help I’d refuse to go with her.”

“Well, let’s not get crazy.
 
If she offers, we’re taking her up on it.
 
Then we’ll tell her what a ho-bag she is for leaving you.”

Tim smiled at me.
 
“Okay.
 
Deal.
 
But run really fast after you say it.
 
She’ll pixie you for sure if you call her a ho-bag.”

“Oh, yeah.
 
I forgot about that part – the
pixelation
stuff.”

“Do you hear that?” asked Tim, his head cocked.

“Hear what?”

“Nothing.
 
That’s my point.
 
That howling wind is gone.”

I listened, and sure enough, he was right.
 
It was silent outside the door.

I put Tim on my shoulder and then stood, walking cautiously over to the door and putting my ear to it, listening for any sounds coming from the hallway.
 
There was nothing, and no heat either.
 
I got down on my hands and knees and lowered my eyes to the floor, trying to see under the door.
 
There wasn’t enough of a crack to be able to tell if there were any feet there.
 
I stood back up.
 

“Is anyone there?” I called out.
 
I wasn’t sure if anyone would actually answer, but figured it was worth asking.