Black Frost (16 page)

“I think the answer is that you don’t!” I
said, patting the rifle slung across my back.

He snorted and nodded his head in
agreement.

A sudden whirring filled the air and Pancho’s
second in command was back, hovering in front of Ashley, then
moving toward Greer. With an oddly formal gesture of his hands
Greer somehow
pulled
a cold blue orb from the puck’s chest.
Immediately the glowing ball of light began to pulse in time to a
female voice speaking Elfish that emitted from its center.

The puck flew back to his place by Pancho and
Ashley rewarded the tired flier with one of the last pieces of
cookie dough she had been holding in reserve.

“Neeve agrees to a meeting to discuss the
situation, she suggests the flat space outside of your local
education building,” Greer translated.

“The school sports fields?” I asked. He
started to nod but was interrupted by the second puck flying
in.

This one produced a greenish orb before
claiming his sugary reward from Ashley.

“Eirwen also agrees and suggests the same
place, although she specifies the field with the metal cages at
each end, far away from the amphitheater.”

‘That sounds like the soccer field and the
amphitheater would be the football field,” Dad said. “What about
terms of safety?”

“They both agree on their honor that Ian will
be safe,” Greer.

“And that means what to me?” Dad asked,
scornfully.

Greer looked offended. “Honor holds meaning
on my world, even if it has been lost here,” he said angrily.

“Listen,
I
believe you,” I said
hurriedly. “Let’s plan this out!”

Chapter 15

The princesses had both agreed to meet in
thirty minutes time. We were ready in fifteen, hoping to arrive a
few minutes early to scout. While we were getting prepped, Greer’s
animal partner, Coel arrived.

Our first warning was both Max and Charm
going crazy barking at the back edge of Dad’s property. There is a
little strip of trees separating his land from the guy behind him
and both dogs were focused on those trees.

“It’s Coel. You’ll want to maybe put them
inside so he doesn’t kill them,” Greer said in a matter of fact
tone.

Dad and I exchanged glances. Charm was no
pushover at sixty pounds and Max was a solid hundred pounds of
highly trained Doberman. Nonetheless, we corralled both canines and
got them inside with Ashley and my mother.

Greer nodded in approval then waved one hand
toward the trees. A pale bulk emerged, plodding toward us with a
rolling gait. Three feet high at its heavy shoulders, it was all
white except for a band of black across its face. Something about
that distinctive walk triggered a sense of recognition in me. I had
seen it’s like or close to it, before. It closed rapidly to twenty
feet or so, its black eyes focused on my father and I like prey.
The white fur was long and thick, the body heavily muscled, four
limbs each ending in long curved claws. Then it struck me…Coel
looked like a giant, white wolverine, one that weighted about three
hundred pounds. His five-gallon head was sweeping back and forth,
snuffling the ground, but his black eyes stayed locked on us.
Surprisingly quiet, he was almost at our feet before I heard him,
even then it was a soft snort, rather than any footfall or rustle
of the dead, frozen grass.

Greer was wearing a fond grin as the black
faced monster loomed in front of us. His thick back was as high as
a picnic table, his body about five feet long if you ignored the
bushy tail. A musky odor rolled off him, strong but not
overpowering.

“This is Coel – I raised him from a cub,”
Greer said, squatting in front of the beast. He waved me over, but
it took a second for my feet to get the instructions to move.
Hesitantly, I stepped toward Greer, who was ruffling the thick
white fur. The coal black masked swiveled up to stare at me as I
approached.

Have you ever stared into the eyes of a
predator? At the zoo, have you stopped and made direct eye contact
with any of the big cats, bears or wolves? Have you been privileged
enough to see a coyote, bobcat or mountain lion in the wild and
meet their gaze?

Suddenly, you realize that you’re not always
the top of the food chain, and in fact, maybe you never were. It’s
a shock to the psyche, the kind that spears straight through your
digestive tract to weaken your bowels.

Coel’s gaze was direct, unworried and
confident, and perhaps a bit hungry as well. I stopped and squatted
next to Greer, keeping the thin elf between me and the
loveseat-sized carnivore. Coel had found the spot where Mom’s pot
roast had met its demise, tiny shreds of fat and meat the only
evidence. He licked the ground in a few choice places than lifted
his head to regard me like maybe I would be next. Greer laughed to
himself.

“He’s a wolverine,” I said, nervously.

“I am not familiar with that word, but his
ancestors once roamed this world. His species is one of a handful
that was able to find their way to Fairie and thrive there. Of
course, he is much changed from the ancestor species.”

“Hey Dad, wanna meet Coel?” I asked.

My father had one hand on his gun and now he
raised his left palm out toward us. “No thanks, I’m good!”

“He looks pretty hungry,” I noted.

“Coel is always ready for a meal, but he
found a deer carcass by the road on his way here. It had apparently
been struck by a vehicle.”

“Ah, roadkill…good stuff,” I said.

Greer looked at me sideways, a slight grin in
place. Then he grabbed the big toothy head in both palms and
swiveled it to make direct eye-to-eye contact. After a moment of
staring he let go and stood up.

“He will head over now, to scout the meeting
site,” Greer said. “You may bring weapons but only
you
may
come. Everyone else must stay here. We leave shortly.”

We all spun around at the sound of the back
door slamming open, me just in time to catch my sobbing daughter.
Both Dad and I spun back to the giant white wolverine to see how he
was going to react, my father almost drawing his .45 while my hand
sought the grip of my Sig-Sauer. Oddly, the ghostly monster sniffed
the air in Ashley’s direction, shuffled from side to side in
obvious anxiety, then backed up four or five feet. Satisfied, if
somewhat puzzled by Coel’s behavior, I looked back at my
daughter.

“Ash, what’s the matter?” I asked. My mother
appeared in the open door way, her expression dismayed at losing
Ashley out the door. Mom heard my question and gave me look that
said ‘what do you think is wrong, dummy?’

A tear-streaked face looked up at me and I
read her fear. As much as I was worried about losing her to the
interplanetary fairies, she was worried that I wasn’t coming
back.

“Sweetheart, I’ll be fine! Right Greer? You
said I had safe conduct for this meeting, right?”

Greer looked perplexed, completely unable to
fathom Ashley’s behavior.

“Yes…yes, Ashley, your Father’s safety is
guaranteed by the laws of my people. Neither Eirwen or Neeve will
hurt or detain him,” he said, his tone odd. Wiping her tears on my
shirt, Ash turned her head to look at him. “You promise?”

Puzzled, he nonetheless nodded. “On my
honor!”

Her sadness suddenly flashed to anger. “You
better take care of my daddy!” she shouted at him, stepping forward
and jabbing her finger in his direction furiously.

The confused elf stepped back, the toothy
monster behind him flattening itself to the ground as a sudden cold
wind blew from behind us and ruffled Coel’s fur and Ashley’s
hair.

“See! The princesses have agreed to a
peaceful meeting. But honey, I have to go, to negotiate
your
safety. But I’ll be back in short order, ‘kay?” I told her.

She bit her lip and then ducked back into my
arms, burying her face in my sweatshirt. I patted her back and
hugged her tight while my heart wound tight in my chest.

Ashley hadn’t called me daddy in years, not
since her mother had been killed. I had been so worried about her
safety I had forgotten that she would worry about mine. Greer was
completely confused, but my Father’s eyes told me he understood
completely and I had a sudden eureka moment. My father must have
felt the same way I was feeling now, all those years he headed off
to face drug dealers and gangs.

I held her tight for a moment more, then
kissed the top of her head and moved her into the protective shadow
of her grandfather. Mom rushed over to gather Ashley in her embrace
and I backed toward the car. Greer moved with me, his animal
partner loping into the night in the direction of the school.

As I pulled out, I noticed the pixy-like
pucks darting around my parents house and it struck me that I had
completely ignored them for the last fifteen minutes or so. Amazing
what you can become used to.

***

My heart was in my throat as I drove the
familiar roads that would bring us to the school complex. My chest
felt hollow and I was more alone than I have ever been in my life.
Beside me, Greer was tapping his fingers on his leg, looking out
the window of the Toyota in obvious thought about something. After
a moment he spoke.

“Your daughter was very upset,” he noted. I
glanced at him sideways, wondering if I had gotten stuck with the
slowest elf on the block.

“Well yeah! She lost her mother two years
ago, now aliens from another planet want to abduct her and her only
surviving parent is leaving to face them. She’s scared as
hell!”

“But she, herself, is not facing the danger?”
he asked, confused.

“She’s not scared for herself, she’s scared
for me and of losing me, which I guess is being scared for herself,
in a way,” I said. “Haven’t you ever been afraid for your sister or
your mother?”

He turned my way, glacier blue eyes gleaming
and shook his head. “No. We are different. Apparently much more
different than I thought,” he said with a note of wonder. “Your
people have always been more closely tied to each other than mine.
We don’t have those same feelings of protectiveness that you do. We
are more….independent. Each plots their own life’s path. Sometimes
there is mutual support, but sometimes we conflict.”

“Well, that certainly happens to us as well.
But it usually occurs among truly dysfunctional families, ones that
are so screwed up that there is little love. But among most normal
families, members will fight and die to protect each other,” I
said, glancing sideways at him.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

“Are you telling me that your mother, the
Queen, wouldn’t put herself in danger to save you?” I asked.

He shook his head. “That’s not our way –
that’s just not how we are. Mother is fond of me and Neeve, but not
to the point of self sacrifice. What of your parents?” he
asked.

“What of them? Both would do whatever they
had to for Ashley or myself. If you doubt me, just try and break
into that house back there. My old man would waste you in a New
York second!”

He sat back, clearly troubled.

“Oh, before I forget. If you hold steel in
your hand, either hand, while facing the Heirs, it should prevent
their glamour from effecting you. Eirwen is particularly tricky
with illusion. They will try to sway you, distract you and avoid
telling you what you want to know.”

“What about lying? The legends all say that
the Fey, or whatever your people are, cannot lie. Is that
true?”

“It is more that we do not lie, not that we
can’t. We may not have the closeness that
your
people have,
but we have more honor. Only the lowest
toodar
would ever
lie,
but
, that doesn’t mean we can’t find ways to avoid
telling you what you want to know. You must be very careful in how
you phrase questions, you mustn’t lie yourself, and you must never,
never thank one of us!”

“Why not?” I asked, even as I remembered
hearing some legend that you should never thank the Fey.

“Because it is an admission of debt, and my
people will
always
capitalize on a debt, and it will never
be to your benefit.”

We were pulling into the school complex at
this point and I turned my attention to our surroundings. In Groton
Falls, the high school and middle schools are combined into one
sprawling complex. The athletic fields are mainly located behind
the buildings, so I turned down the side access road and followed
it to the parking lot.

“What do I expect? From your sister and
cousin?” I asked, suddenly aware that I’d never really formulated a
plan. Busy night, I guess.

“Hmm, winter is in ascendance and summer is
waning so that’ll be important,” he said thoughtfully.

“Ahh, what?” I asked.

“Our Courts are tied to the two seasons we
represent, spiritually and actually. Our world has the same seasons
as this one and our nations reflect that. The White or Winter Court
occupies the Northern hemisphere of the planet, Summer occupies the
tropical middle latitudes, there is nothing at the Southern pole
but ice, which mother chooses not to rule. As the seasons change so
do the powers of the respective courts. As winter approaches here,
so it does on Fairie, and my mother’s power grows. As spring begins
to change to summer, my aunt’s power takes a greater role. The
winter solstice marks the height of Morrigan’s power, the summer
solstice, the height of Zinnia’s.”

“So you’re saying your sister will have
greater power at this meeting?” I asked, extremely confused.

“Yes, something like that. Eirwen will be
much less comfortable than Neeve, both temperature wise and also
Gift wise. She will be less likely to take chances or start
something. Neeve on the other hand may feel confident in pushing
things,” he said.