Darkness & Light (War of the Fae: Book 3) (42 page)

Heads were nodding all over the room.
 
The sprites in the assembly looked around in fear at all the other fae around them.
 
I wouldn’t be surprised if they all jumped ship and went to live out in the trees and lake until this was all over.
 
I think they were all part of the ‘lover not a fighter’ brand of fae.

“This meeting is now adjourned.
 
Please send your representatives to Tony and the gray elves for assignments.”

The noise level rose as people got up out of their seats and headed towards the door.
 
The gray elves were immediately surrounded by well-meaning fae, doing the council’s bidding.
 
I looked at the council table behind us and saw that Dardennes and Céline were both coming over.
 
Céline’s gaze in particular was very focused.

I took hold of the hand nearest to me.
 
Spike looked down at me warmly, the amber and red gently swirling in his eyes.
 
I hoped he understood this was not meant as a girlfriend thing – it was my need for reassurance.
 
Dardennes and Céline didn’t look mad, but they definitely looked
something
, and their intensity was freaking me out a little.
 

Tony had left us as soon as the meeting was over to join the gray elves
who
were gathered near the exit door, and a quick glance in his direction told me he was busy coordinating the training of various groups.
 
Everyone wanted to talk to him and he looked very businesslike.
 
I was so friggin’ proud of him in that moment, my heart wanted to burst.
 
My joy was short-lived, however, when I sensed the arrival of the two silver elves; I tore my eyes away from Tony to greet them.
 

“Jayne, thank you for coming here today and telling your story.
 
It could not have been easy for you,” said Céline, searching my eyes.

“You’re welcome.”

“I know you don’t feel like what you did was anything special, but it was.
 
You proved to all of us where your loyalties lie and the depth of your commitment to us.
 
This will not be forgotten.”

Her praise made me uncomfortable.
 
It’s not like I was a saint or anything.
 
If I was being honest with myself, I wasn’t sure that my refusal to give up secrets was a matter of commitment to the Light Fae, or my distaste for
Leck
himself and my stubborn nature refusing to give someone I don’t like something he wants.

“Ask her about
Maléna
,” said Tim.

I looked at Céline to see if she heard him.
 
All she did was raise her eyebrow a fraction of an inch, and then turn to Dardennes.
 
“Shall we go talk to the gray elves?
 
See what they have in store for the council members?”

“Yes.
 
Go ahead, I’ll be there momentarily.”

Céline nodded to all of us and walked away.
 
I watched her back, suspicious that she was obviously hiding something from us and that Dardennes knew exactly what it was.
 
I was now officially on a mission – to figure out
who
Maléna
was to Céline and if she was hiding that connection from me ... and why.

Dardennes spoke to me then.
 
“I want to echo Céline’s sentiments and let you know that all of the council members are grateful to you.
 
We understand that you suffered for your family here.
 
If there is anything you need, to aid in your recuperation, I hope you know that you may ask any of us.
 
We are all happy to help.”

“I have my friends,” I said, looking at each of them in turn, seeing their loyal smiles.
 
“That’s all I need right now for my, uh, recuperation.
 
But I do have some questions I’d like answered.”

“I would be delighted to answer them; however, right now I believe we all need to focus on our new training regimens and schedules.
 
Why don’t we agree to meet later in my office to go over your questions?
 
Would that be agreeable to you?”

He was being so formal, I couldn’t tell if he was messing with me and putting me off, or if he was just being polite.
 

I shrugged.
 
“I guess.”

“Splendid.
 
I will see you at dinner then.
 
Please bring your food to my office and we will eat together.”

“Can I bring anyone?”

“As you wish,” he said, smiling.
 
“And now, I will take my leave.
 
I believe the gray elves would like to speak with all of you.”
 
He bowed his head and turned to go, leaving us standing there.

“Well, I guess that’s that,” said Finn.
 
“You got yourself a date with the boss
t’night
.”

“I guess so,” I said absently, watching Dardennes walk away.
 
I squeezed Spike’s hand in a silent thank you and then pulled my hand away.
 
“You guys ready to do this thing?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” said Becky, for once not smiling.

“Buck up, little camper,” said Finn cheerfully. “Now you get to come shoot some arrows with ole Finn!”
 
He reached out and tweaked her ear.

“I don’t like shooting things,” she said, frowning despite his teasing.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Spike, “even if those wood arrows do make me a little nervous.”

“What’s with the wood arrows, anyway?” I asked.
 
“I remember that Valentine guy saying something about it when Finn shot him during our test.”

“Yeah, well, incubi have like an allergy to certain types of wood.”

“An allergy?” I asked, “What?
 
Do you, like, break out in hives or something if you get shot?
 
Because I notice it didn’t kill Valentine.”

“No, it’s more serious than hives.
 
You nail us in the heart and that can be the end of the Here and Now for us; then it’s off to the Otherworlds.
 
But if you miss the heart, we can usually recover from it.
 
We’re fast healers – a benefit of the fae blood, I guess.
 
I think most fae are ... fast healers, I mean.”

“What if we nail you in the leg or somethin’?” asked Finn.

“Nothing.
 
It only hurts and pisses us off.”

“What about the neck?
 
What if I shoot you
right
in the artery in your neck?”
 
Finn nodded as if this should be enough.

“Nope.
 
We’re not big bleeders.”

“What about the eyeball?
 
Can I kill ya with an eyeball shot?”

“Geez, Finn!
 
Bloodthirsty much?” I asked.

He shrugged.
 
“I gotta know what can kill the enemy.
 
You said them Dark Fae got
incubusses
too.
 
I don’t want none o’ them Dark Fae
incubusses
to be
suckin
’ on my neck if I can help it.”

Spike rolled his eyes, “It’s
incubi
, not
incubusses
, you goofy redneck.”

“Listen, I’m proud of my heritage.
 
Call me whatever you want.
 
But when them incubi come outta the woodwork
durin
’ this war, I’m
gonna
shoot ‘em, dead center in the heart ... or the eyeball if you tell me the eyeball’s a kill shot.
 
If it’s just a ‘piss ‘em off shot’, well then, I’ll just stick with the heart.”

Tony came walking up in time to hear the tail end of the conversation.
 
“You see
,
this is the stuff I’ve been talking to the gray elves about.
 
We need to have these give-and-take sessions where we discuss race characteristics like weaknesses and strengths.
 
This will help us.”

“Yep, I agree,” said Finn.
 
“Now I know how to shoot to kill.”
 
He smiled evilly at Spike.

“Yeah.
 
And I know whose energy to suck out first,” said Spike, turning his blazing red eyes on Finn.

Finn had the brains to look a little disconcerted.
 
He smiled tremulously at Spike.
 
“Easy now, incubus.
 
You know I was only
messin
’ with ya.”

Spike just raised an eyebrow at him, saying nothing; the swirling red and black in his eyes said it all.
 
Even I was a little nervous at this point.
 
I’d seen Spike’s blazing speed before, and Finn’s quick draw was no match for it – and I’m pretty sure Finn had already done the calculations in his head too from the look on his face right now.

“Okay, boys, put your weapons away,” said Becky smiling, completely unafraid of Spike’s rising heat.
 
“So Tony, what are we supposed to be doing right now?”

“I have all your schedules, so if you guys want, I can give them to you now.”

“I don’t even know what time it is,” I said.
 
“How much training time do we have left today?”

“Well, we have to eat lunch soon, right?” asked Scrum, his stomach taking that moment to growl loudly, which caused all of us to giggle.
 
He patted his belly.
 
“Down, boy.
 
Don’t worry, I’m going to feed you soon.”

Becky kept giggling and couldn’t stop, her laughter turning to snorts as she gripped her stomach.
 
Finn watched her, shaking his head and patting her shoulder.

I realized that now that all the pressure was off of me, I was hungry too.
 
“Can we get lunch now?
 
I’m starving.”

“Yeah, come on,” said Tony.
 
“Let’s eat and I’ll tell you your schedules at the table.”

We all walked to the dining hall and I let Tim’s yammering away about his list of top ten fruits distract me from all the questions swirling around in my
head ...

“ ... I’m not sure which is better, grapes or blackberries.
 
Do you think they’ll have those on the buffet today?
 
On the one hand, blackberries are tangier, but they’re so much messier, especially if we’re comparing them to green grapes.
 
Those are easy.
 
But then again, messy.
 
You really can’t beat the apple
though ...
” and on and on it went, keeping me occupied with worry-blocking nonsense until I was actually sitting at the table watching Tim wrestle with one of those green grapes he likes so much.
 
I stabbed it for him with my fork to keep it from rolling away, and he sent me a look of gratitude, right before he started grappling with the skin, trying to strip it off so he could get to the pulp beneath.

“ ...
are
you listening Jayne?
 
This is important, you know.”

“Yeah, sorry, Tony.
 
I’m listening.
 
I have to be where?
 
With who?
 
When?”

He shook his head.
 
“I knew you weren’t listening.
 
You’re going with the green elves first.
 
Your job is to learn their hunting and tracking skills.”

I looked at him, confused.
 
“What?
 
I’m supposed to start carrying around a bow and arrows now?”

“No,” he said, frustrated, “you are
supposed
to figure out how to avoid the green elves and keep them from hitting you with arrows.”

The light bulb was going on.
 
“
Ooooh
, I see.
 
And what am I supposed to do for them?”

He smiled.
 
“I’m glad you asked.
 
Your job is to show them any vulnerabilities you may have noticed in ... uh ... others of your kind.”

I looked at him sternly, my eyes narrowed.
 
“You mean Ben, right?”

Tony’s face reddened.
 
“I guess, yeah.”

“So you want me to tell them how to get a kill shot on Ben?”
 
I don’t know why I said it like this – maybe I wanted to see how far Tony would take this strategy when it involved someone he knew.

“Yeah.”
 
His voice caught and he cleared it with a cough.
 
“Show them the kill shot.”

“Wow.” I was impressed and not so much in a good way.
 
“You’ve sure turned into a bloodthirsty bastard, haven’t you?”
 
I should have been happy that Tony had integrated so fully into our new life, but something about it bothered me.