Resistance (24 page)

Eir scowls but sounds embarrassed when he says,
“Sorry Fi…I didn't mean to jump on you."

"When was the last time you slept, Eir?” I ask,
studying his face. “You look beat."

He is saved from having to answer when Lumi pulls in
a ragged gasp and jerks upright; shrieking in shock when her hand
hits the iron bar of the cage. I hear Flint mutter, “Oh, here we
go…” under his breath and I jump to my feet; approaching the cage
slowly.

"Lumi, it's okay. You're safe. I promise." I turn to
Eir and whisper, “Could you go get her a glass of water, please?”
He nods and takes off, finally tearing his gaze from Lumi.

Lumi’s eyes shoot toward me, then ping to Flint still
reclining against the wall, then onto Eir as he bounds up the
stairs and she cowers back against the bed, careful not to touch
the iron of the cage. “What the hell is going on?” she asks. Her
voice is hoarse and she seems to be near tears. “Who are you
people?”

I look her in the eyes and try to project calm. "I'm
Fianna. You're in a human settlement, and no one here is going to
hurt you." I look to Flint to introduce himself.

Flint frowns at Lumi and I can tell he’s not happy
with seeing her in that cage. "I'm Flint. Previously associated
with the Autumn Courts."

Lumi is shaking and shrinks back a little. She looks
awful already. Her eyes are shadowed with dark circles and from the
sounds of it she’s having a hard time breathing. I know the iron is
getting to her and it makes me sick inside. “I presume you already
know my name, so what is it you want of me?" I can tell she’s
trying really hard to act like she isn’t scared. Pity squeezes my
heart and I hate that we’ve put her here.

Eir comes barreling back down the stairs with the
water, hands it over to me and I whisper to him, “Can you go tell
Sea it’s time to send Aodhan over please?” He nods but doesn’t
move.

I move slowly and try not to spook Lumi any further.
I don’t want her to accidentally rub against the iron of the cage
and get hurt. "Are you thirsty?" I ask as I carefully pass the
water through the bars.

I see her eyes widen a little when she sees Eir
towering behind me, and then she glances apprehensively at the
water. Flint nods to her that it's safe and she reaches forward
slowly; taking the glass from me murmuring a small, “Thank
you.”

Eir shakes his head like he’s coming out of a daze
and takes off up the stairs to talk to Seamus. I wait until I hear
the back door close behind him, then I pull the key for the cage
out of my pocket and turn back to Lumi. “Listen, I don’t want you
to get hurt, Lumi. If you can promise me that you won’t hurt anyone
who doesn’t try to hurt you, I can get you out of there and
upstairs into a suite where you’ll be more comfortable and we can
talk.”

Lumi hesitates, looking nervous, and nods. "I, um...I
won't hurt anyone who means me no harm, I promise." She winces when
she says ‘promise’ and looks between Flint and I, and I hate myself
for putting her in the damn cage to begin with. I nod; wanting her
out of there as quickly as possible.

I motion for Flint to stand back, and once I’m sure
he’s clear of the iron, I unlock the cage. I can’t wait to get
someone to destroy the damn thing. I hold my hand out to help Lumi
up. “I’m really sorry we put you in here, Lumi. I might be human
and able to break promises, but you can ask Flint — I am true to my
word. I will do everything in my power to be sure no one hurts you
while you’re here. Are you hungry? My brother made you a sandwich.”
I pause as I realize I’m rambling at the poor girl, but I can’t
seem to stop. “We can bring it upstairs with us. I hope you like
peanut butter.”

I hear Flint chuckle and look over to see him looking
at the floor, biting his lip. Lumi's eyes soften ever so slightly
and she nods; taking my hand and standing up. "Thank you." She
blinks. "That tall boy is your brother?" She studies my face,
probably seeing the similarities between our faces.

“Yes, the giant is my brother. Crazy, right? Most of
the men in my family are tall as trees, though. I’m the odd one.”
Yes, I’m rambling again. What is it about the Fae that brings out
this insane need to babble in me? “Anyway, let’s get you settled in
and we’ll talk. Are you strong enough to walk? I can’t imagine this
iron is easy to handle.”

Flint shakes his head and grins. Lumi looks between
he and I and smiles tiredly to herself. I decide not to over
analyze it; I’m exhausted. "I'm the shortest in my family, as
well," Lumi says, and then blushes and looks shocked at herself for
revealing something so personal. "Um, I think I'm alright. Just
need to...get out of this room, I think."

I keep a hand on her elbow, just in case she’s
feeling weak, and lead her up the stairs into the kitchen. As we
pass through the hallway I gesture to each room and tell her who
sleeps where, and we continue on up the stairs to the second floor.
I decided to put her in the suite across from my father’s office,
thinking she’d be safer off the ground floor. “Okay, so this will
be your room. If you ever need anything, you can let the guard know
and we’ll take care of it for you. I picked up some clothes and
things for you. They’re in the dresser — just let me know if
anything doesn’t fit.” I open the door and motion her forward,
handing her the sandwich Eir made for her. “Do you need a nap or
anything? Or would you like to talk now? I can’t imagine this is
easy for you…” I trail off, feeling guilty.

Lumi takes a seat on the queen-sized bed under the
window and looks at the giant sandwich; ripping off a tiny piece as
Flint leans in the doorway behind me. "I can talk." She pauses. "If
I may ask... Why am I here?" She glances up, looking lost. "You're
being so kind… I'm confused."

I settle on the edge of the bed and motion for Flint
to come in and close the door. "I would be too, in your situation.
You're here,” I sigh, then push on. "Well, you're here because we
need help. My parents were killed by your father's people. They
were looking for information they thought he had — information that
would help humanity take back their freedom.” I pause as Flint
closes the door and sits in the armchair by the dresser. “I know
this isn't your fight and we've taken you away from your home, but
I brought you here to see if you might want to help us. And nothing
bad will happen to you if you say no, just so you know."

Her eyes darken. "My father had your parents
killed?"

I pull in a breath and try to ignore the pain that
lances through my heart at the thought of my parents. "That was the
information we were given."

Lumi takes a shaky breath, shakes her head, looks
pissed, mutters something that sounds like "soulless old
bastard..." and then meets my eyes. "I'm terribly sorry...I had no
idea." After a moment she looks confused again. "What help could I
possibly provide?"

"It's not your fault, but thank you." I take a
breath. "Honestly, we weren't sure if you knew anything about how
to close the faery gates for good? That's the information my
parents were looking for."

"I don't know much." She frowns like she's
embarrassed. "I've only heard bits and pieces from my brother.” She
seems to be considering saying something. “…Well…but that would
make no sense."

Flint lifts a brow and speaks up for the first time
since he introduced himself. "Nothing makes sense right now. What
is it?"

She looks at Flint and pauses. "Khan — my brother —
thinks my father has no idea what he's doing. He’s determined the
answers lie within the rebellion." She looks pointedly at me. "I
assume that would be you all, wouldn't it?"

“That would be us, yes. I wonder…” I trail off and
start tapping my fingers on my bottom lip as I wonder about the
possibilities.

Lumi frowns. "He mentioned something about a journal,
too. He seems to think there are instructions somewhere."

Flint glances at me, looking completely lost. "Any
ideas?"

"Oh my God, could it really be in one of Gran's old
journals?" I wonder out loud. I look between Flint and Lumi and
take a deep breath; deciding to trust them both with one of my
family’s secrets. "I have to share something...and it's not
something we tell a lot of people. My Gran — my dad's mother — she
was a Seer. She kept journals her whole life. I’ve actually been
trying to find them for a while now. I wonder if— I mean...that
seems like too large a coincidence, don't you think?"

Flint frowns. "Maybe she saw something and that's
exactly why you're one of the few humans without branding on you."
Lumi flushes at the words and tugs her sleeve a little lower on her
hand, dropping my gaze silently and looking at her wrist.

I look at Flint and bite my lip. “Gran told me she
had a dream vision that told her what to do to make sure there was
hope for humanity. But she wouldn’t ever tell me about it, and she
got really upset if I pressed her. If there are instructions
floating around on how to close the Fae gates, I have a feeling
they’re here somewhere.”

"Possibly. Would she leave them in the library,
maybe?"

Lumi interjects, frowning. "This is a very powerful
thing you're dealing with. If she was a smart woman, she would've
hid them so they didn't fall into the wrong hands."

I stand and start to pace, fingers tapping again.
“I’ve been looking in the closet in the library, but so far I
haven’t found any of her journals. Once I finished in there, I was
going to start looking in her old room. We haven’t really gone in
there since she passed away.” The thought of going in there makes
my heart hurt.

As Flint catches my eye I see understanding dawn
there, and he nods. "Would you like help?" Lumi blinks at his
question.

I smile at him; so grateful that he’s here and
willing to help me with the nonstop craziness that my life has
become. “I would like your help very much.”

Lumi grins at us. "You are such a cute couple...but
I'm sure you get that all the time." I stop pacing and look over to
Flint, whose eyes are huge, and he is actually blushing when he
glances back at me.

“Oh, um...we're not...that is...we're just
friends..." I stammer, feeling my face heat.

Lumi gets a very understanding look on her face
suddenly and raises a brow; slowly looking between the two of us.
"Oh. Very sorry, my mistake.” The way she says it suggests she
doesn’t believe me and I choke and look down.

Flint coughs and looks at the floor; combing his
fingers through his hair. "It's, erm, it's quite alright."

I avoid looking in Flint’s direction because I know
my face is still flaming. "Yes, of course it's all right. Now what
were we talking about?"

Flint immediately volunteers, “Journals—" He coughs
again when his voice breaks. “Y-your grandmother’s journals."

Lumi looks at Flint and shakes her head, looking
amused. I grab onto Flint’s reminder. “Oh yes! That's right…
journals. I think we should make finding them a priority,” I
say.

Flint and Lumi both nod, agreeing with me and then
Lumi says, "I believe that would be best."

I look at both of them and nod back. “Okay. So we’ll
find Gran’s journals and see what they tell us.” I finally feel
like I might be on the right track. Maybe bringing Lumi here was a
good idea.

Chapter 17—Lumi

July 2102

It is late afternoon when a tentative knock tears me
from my dreamless slumber. I snap into a sitting position and groan
when the sun glaring inside my room temporarily blinds me. I look
around the room and realize with equal amounts of relief and
concern that being kidnapped by a rebellion of humans wasn’t all
some very detailed dream. I stumble out of bed and to the window,
yanking the curtains closed rather harshly before huffing out,
“Come on in!” to whomever is outside my door.

The door slowly swings open as I take a flying leap
back into the coziness that is the bed, and I’m met with the shy
blue eyes of Fi’s brother. I blush at my recent show of insanity
and sit up; offering him an embarrassed smile as I try and
straighten my surely disastrous hair. “Hello.”

“Hi there,” he says. He’s holding a tray with two
mugs and what looks like a plate of cookies. “Can I come in?”

“Of course,” I answer immediately, patting the bed.
It is his house. I can’t imagine why he’s asking me if he can come
in. He stands there for a minute so I smile at him. Even with his
size I find I’m not afraid of him like I am of that other
red-haired boy. His blue eyes reveal an innocence I haven’t seen in
far too long and I instantly want to know him better. So instead of
worrying that I have to say the right things or I’ll get killed or
kicked out (because God only knows I better not walk back into my
house after having been missing for at least two days), I decide
I’ll just talk to this one openly.