Darkness & Light (War of the Fae: Book 3) (50 page)

Spike grabbed my hand and pulled me to him.
 
I landed smooshed up against his chest.

Céline spoke up, “Well, if I’m not needed here, I’m going to head to dinner.
 
I believe, Jayne, that you will be joining Anton in his office?
 
Will I see you there?”

I nodded my head, unable to speak now that I was breathing in Spike’s scent and he was staring down into my eyes with a sexy smile on his face.
 
I could see his teeth glistening out from behind his lips.
 

Valentine broke into my getting too warm daze, saying, “Okay, babies, I can see that you don’t need me anymore.
 
I’ll leave you to your star-crossed love.
 
Toodles
.”

I shook my head to get it out of Spike-land for a second, looking at Valentine’s retreating form.
 
“Thanks, Valentine.
 
I appreciate your help.”

“Oh, it was nothing.
 
You did well.
 
I think you would have been an absolutely
divine
succubus.
 
So much control ...
 
tsk, tsk ... ” and then he was gone, the door shutting behind him.

“So guys.
 
Time for dinner, right?” said Becky, injecting a bunch of fake cheer into her voice.

“Yeah!” agreed Tim.
 
“Time for dinner, not for swapping spit!”

I turned and frowned at him.
 
“One more thing, Tim.
 
Just say one more thing.”

He stuck his tongue out at me and then sat down on his bed, putting his moccasins back on.
 
“I’m hungry.
 
Am I allowed to say that?
 
Or are you going to bubble-
ize
me again?”

I rolled my eyes and took a deep, calming breath.

Spike was grinning at Tim and me.
 
“What’d he say?”

“He’s hungry.
 
And he gets cranky when he’s hungry.”
 
I looked over at Tim as I finished.
 
“ ...
so
I’m not going to flick him in the ass like he deserves.”

I was rewarded with a pixie fart.

I pushed Spike away, now totally not in the mood for romance.
 
“Thanks for everything, Spike.”

He reached out to grab me back.
 
“How about a kiss for ... success.”

I looked at him like he was crazy.
 
“Uh, no.
 
For some reason – thank you Tim – I’m not really in the mood.”

Spike frowned at me playfully.

“Maybe later.”

His smile came back.

Becky grabbed my hand.
 
“Come on, lover girl, let’s go.”

“Wait a sec.”
 
I pulled her with me towards the dresser.
 
“Hop on, Tim.
 
The dinner train is leaving.”

He jumped up from his bed and ran over to get on my shoulder, grabbing a handful of hair a little too hard.

“I’ll do it, Tim.”

“Fine.”
 
His hold loosened.

“And don’t even think about what you’re thinking about, or you’re gonna be riding the shoe.”
 
I’d never actually made him do that before, but tonight I totally would.
 
One more pixie toot and it
was
all over for him.

“
TThhhpppt
.
 
Maybe you should do a little lovey, sucky, woo-woo with Spike.
 
It might cheer you up.”

I didn’t dignify his suggestion with a response, possibly because a part of me agreed.
 
But right now I couldn’t trust myself to handle it well and I didn’t even know if it was safe for Spike anymore.
 
Who knows?
 
I could accidentally put him in a bubble and then not be able to get him out.
 
He’d die of starvation in there.

I tried not to think about it anymore as we all headed out the door to get some food to take with us to Dardennes’ office.

By the time I had my plate of food and had arrived at Dardennes’ office, the room was full of my friends.
 
Finn was sitting next to Becky on a small couch.
 
Dardennes and Céline were at his desk together.
 
Spike and Scrum were standing while eating from plates on a small table – Scrum’s was full of wiggling meats and other gross things, Spike’s nearly empty.
 
Tony waved a bread roll at me from a single chair positioned across from Becky and Finn.

“Hi, uh, sorry we’re late.
 
It’s Tim’s fault.”

“Hey!” he yelled in my ear, but I ignored him.
 
A little revenge is just what the doctor ordered to cheer me up, and I had no problem with self-medicating.

“Not at all,” said Dardennes, a smile in his voice.
 
“We were just chatting.
 
I suggest that we get started now though, and all of you should feel free to eat as we talk.
 
I know you have been working hard and you need to make sure you have the necessary energy for your continued training.”

I didn’t see any sense in beating around the bush, so I took a seat next to Tony and immediately started asking questions.
 

“First, I’d like to know what Céline’s connection is to
Maléna
.”
 
I looked down at my plate, acting like I was interested in my food.
 
I didn’t want her to think I was challenging her or anything, but I was more than just a little curious.

“Céline?” said Dardennes.
 
“I will leave this one to you, dear.”

Céline cleared her throat.
 
“A-
hem
.
 
Well.
 
Maléna
?
 
She is ... my sister.”

I looked up at her, saying, “I
knew
it.
 
I totally nailed that one.
 
Are you
guys
twins?
 
Because you sure look like it.”

Her mouth turned up slightly at the corner, but it looked more like a grimace than a smile.
 
“No.
 
We are not twins.
 
She is younger than I.”

“So why is she ... ” started Becky, but then she stopped, her face turning red.

I looked at Becky, seeing that she wasn’t going to finish.
 
“I think what Becky wants to know, is how is it that Maléna’s Dark Fae and you’re Light Fae?”

I looked over at Becky and she nodded at me, her face still flaming.

“We used to both be Light Fae.
 
Then she ... met someone.
 
A Dark Fae silver elf.
 
She fell in love and then ... she left.
 
She joined him and the Dark Fae.”

“Bummer,” said Scrum, half-chewed food showing in his mouth.

“Yes,” agreed Céline, clearing her throat again.
 
“Bummer, as you say.”

“Who was the guy?” asked Spike, a sly look on his face as he stared at Dardennes.

Céline looked at Dardennes.
 
“Anton?
 
I believe this one is for you.”
 
She looked down at the table, but not before I saw the sadness in her eyes.

Dardennes didn’t answer right away.
 
He sighed, staring off into space for a moment.
 
Then he looked at us, one at a time.
 
When he looked at me, he answered, “The Dark Fae silver elf who she fell in love with ... was me.”

The responses erupted around the room.

“What
?!
” I said, shocked out of my gourd, even though a little piece of me wasn’t that surprised.

“How could that
... ?
” asked Tony, confused.

“
Whoopsy
,” said Becky, shrugging her shoulders.

Spike just smiled, all crafty like.
 
He must have already had it all figured out.
 
He and Valentine were the gossips of the compound.
 
I made a mental note to talk to him about it later – find out what else they knew.

Finn just looked at his food, chewing and not making eye contact with anyone.

Since everyone seemed too uncomfortable to continue, I decided to take charge of the interrogation.
 
“So, she was a Light Fae, fell in love with you, joined the Dark Fae, and then what?
 
You left her there and came here?”
 
Man, that sounded totally cold-hearted.
 
I looked at Dardennes’ face, but he didn’t seem angry – more like resigned or something.

“Essentially, yes.
 
But there is much more to it than that.”

“Much more, like what?” I pressed.

“The Dark Fae council ordered me to do something that I would not agree to do.
 
I was found in dereliction of my duties to the Dark Fae and asked to leave.”

“What was it that you refused to do?” asked Finn, now looking as if he was paying closer attention to the conversation.

“I was told to kidnap Céline and bring her to them.”

“Whoa.
 
Bad soap opera drama – pitting lover against lover and lover’s sister,” said Spike.

I shook my head at him.
 
Sometimes he scared me with his Valentine-ness.

“Why didn’t
Maléna
come here with you?
 
I mean, her sister’s here,” said Tony who had completely abandoned the pretense of eating, all of his attention now focused on the conversation.

“We were together as Dark Fae for many years.
 
But there were ... other Dark Fae who had different fundamental beliefs than I, and after many years, I realized that I could not continue to support their mission I so strongly disapproved of.
 
Taking Céline was, as they say, the last straw.”

“But
Maléna
didn’t feel that way?”

“No.
 
She did not.
 
And she had ... other reasons to stay.”

It sounded like my parents’ marriage – stressful and unhappy.
 
I wondered if fae could get divorced.
 

Céline jumped in.
 
“My sister is a very headstrong and brutal person.
 
She believes very firmly in the superiority of the fae as a species and believes that our position should be asserted over the human species for the good of all fae, regardless of what methods are used.
 
She justified her actions through any methods possible.
 
Neither she nor ... her compatriots ... can see how their philosophy will actually hurt all fae.”

Finn jumped in again.
 
“I guess I ain’t exactly crystal clear on the differences between us an’ them.
 
All I ever get is they’re the bad guys, we’re the good guys, now go get ready for battle.”
 
He paused, looking at all of us changelings.
 
“You know, this reminds me of civics class in the sixth grade.
 
You know?
 
When we studied the Civil War
an’
all? There were families torn apart then – some brothers
fightin
’ for the South, some for the North.
 
All because of their philosophical differences an’ all.”

“Finn’s right,” said Tony.
 
“I think I understand what the different philosophies are from my work with the gray elves, but I wouldn’t mind an official explanation from you, Mr. Dardennes, about what they actually are.”

Dardennes smiled at us patiently.
 
“I think perhaps that this clarification is long overdue.
 
I know it was mentioned to some degree when you were first offered the opportunity to make the change.
 
But so many things have happened in your lives since, and it has all been a bit overwhelming.
 
I would be happy to explain in more detail.”
 
He looked at Céline.
 
“Feel free to add to my discourse at any time.”

Céline nodded her head.

Dardennes turned to face us.
 
“As a former member of the Dark Fae, and follower of their creed, I can explain it to you thusly: the Dark Fae believe that fae are a superior species.
 
They have supernatural abilities, are connected to the magic of the universe, and have intimate relationships with the elements – some can even walk between our world of the Here and Now and the Otherworlds.” He paused to look at Tony and then continued, “Humans do not have any of these talents, cannot do any of these things.
 
So, in addition to this natural sense of superiority, the fae have needs that can, or in some cases must, be met by the humans.
 
These needs include the need for sustenance – for example, the incubi and
succubi
use human sexual and life energy to feed themselves – and also the need for their resources.
 
There are many fae in the world, but even more humans.
 
We depend on them for their manufacturing, banking, farming – as many of us eat foods that are not human – and even their artistic expression.
 
Some fae thrive in more creative environments.
 
Humans can help them to stay grounded and stable.”