Darkness & Light (War of the Fae: Book 3) (15 page)

I asked the vines of The Green to tie Chase to the tree so he couldn’t get away, and they dutifully complied.
 
He was trussed up like a captive, and he didn’t like it one bit.
 
He was sweating with the exertion of trying to escape while also letting loose bursts of laughter and shouts of glee.
 
His voice was starting to get hoarse.
 

I went over and knelt down next to him, being careful not to get too close.
 
I looked over my shoulder, saying, “You guys might want to back up.
 
I’m not exactly sure what’s going to happen.”

They each took five steps backward, saying nothing, just staring at Chase and me.

I looked at Chase, hating what I saw in his eyes and on his face.
 
It was like love, desperation, and confusion all mixed together – so not like him.
 
It’s as if there was an alien inhabiting my friend’s mind.

“Chase, babe, I’m gonna try to heal you with The Green.
 
I need you to sit still and just let it happen, okay?”

“Let’s just dance, okay?
 
Or sing!
 
We can sing together.
 
Come on, I’ll start.
 
Row, row, row your boat
... okay, Jayne, now you do a chorus and we’ll play off each other ...
row, row, row your boat
... ”

I sighed; it was no use trying to talk to him.
 
I got started, leaning towards the tree and placing my palms against its rough, brown bark so I could adjust my body against it before assuming the tree-hugging stance.
 
I found this was the best and purist way to commune with the life force that ran through this forest.
 
I could connect with The Green from pretty much anywhere, now that I’d learned how to use and control my powers in training with various other fae, but tree hugging was still the best way to go about using my power when I needed it to be at level ten.
 
There was just less effort required on my part and I could focus better on what I was doing – or trying to do.

I spread my arms out across the tree, my left arm lying over Chase’s chest.
 
His back was against the tree, so now we were all connected together.

A voice came through the din of Chase’s delirious singing and the hum of The Green.
 

“It’s not going to work!”

I recognized the voice of Maggie, now standing behind me.
 

“I’m going to try anyway.”

“Suit yourself.
 
I’m leaving.”

I disengaged myself from the tree, turning to face her.
 
“No!
 
Stay for a minute.
 
Let me just try this.”

She shrugged and stood still.
 
“Don’t take long.
 
I need my beauty sleep.
 
It’s past my bedtime.”

I turned back to business.
 
“Okay, Chase, here we go ... ”

I closed my eyes, blocking out the rusty chorus of
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
as best I could.

I sent out my request through this grand old tree that connected Chase and me to the energy linking all of the living and once living things in the Green Forest and then out beyond.
 
I asked for a healing to begin on my friend’s mind – to help him find the old Chase and get rid of this ... thing ... or whatever it was that possessed him.
 
I could feel the loving touch of The Green flowing through me and into Chase, but I had no idea if it was making any difference.
 
I just kept it up until I thought it was all I could do, and then I gently let The Green go, thanking it for whatever it had been able to do.
 
A sigh escaped my lips when I once again found myself empty of The Green’s loving force.

I pulled back from the tree and looked at Chase critically.
 
He was quiet, smiling.
 
That wasn’t exactly a good sign.
 
This was Chase after all, so the smile had me worried.

“Chase?
 
You okay?”

His eyes slowly opened and then his grin widened when he saw me.
 
“That was
awesome!
 
Do it again!
 
Please
?!
 
I feel so
energized
right now!”
 
He struggled with the vines, a confused look on his face.
 
“Why are these things on me?
 
Can you help me get them off?
 
I need to go dance.”

Frustrated tears rushed to my eyes as I jumped to my feet.
 
“Shit balls!”
I yelled at no one in particular.
 

“I told you it wouldn’t work,” grouched Maggie.
 
“Come over here, girl.”

I turned angrily, stalking over to her while I explained
,
“Tim did this to him.
 
It was an accident.
 
If I can’t fix this – if you can’t fix this – they’ll send Tim away to a leper-pixie colony and Chase to somewhere equally awful.
 
Maybe they’ll put him down or something, I don’t know.
 
I need both of them here.
 
And
normal
.
 
Tell me you can help,” I pleaded.

“Pixies are dangerous friends to have.”

“Yeah, well, it’s too late for that advice now.
 
I just need to know if you can make him better.”

She shrugged.
 
“He looks happy to me.
 
Maybe he doesn’t want to be better.”
 
She smiled shrewdly.

“Stop dicking around, you old bat.
 
You know no one chooses to be pixied or to stay that way.
 
He’s going to kill himself with this kind of happiness.”

She shrugged.
 
“I can think of worse ways to die.”

“Yeah,” I said menacingly, putting my hand on Blackie, “so can I.”

Maggie raised her eyebrow questioningly.
 
“Are you threatening me?”

“Not exactly,” I challenged back.
 
“I’m asking you to help me.
 
You’re either going to do it or not – but tell me now and stop fucking around.
 
I’m not in the mood.”

“Truth!”

“You’re damn straight it’s the truth.
 
So what’s the deal?
 
Can you help me?”

“Maybe.
 
Pixie curses are tricky business.
 
But it’s not for me to help your friend.
 
You need the healers in the Light Fae compound.”

“Why?
 
Why can’t you do it?”

“You need an antidote made in a lab.
 
It’s new magic – not my specialty.
 
You get the blood of Tim, the pixie who cursed him, and use it to make the reversal spell.
 
I know the basics but not the actual process.
 
You need a younger witch and an older witch, working together.”

“Will it work?
 
Will it make Chase ... normal again?”

“I don’t know.
 
Maybe.
 
Maybe not.”

I threw up my hands in frustration.
 
“You’re pretty much being no help at all here!
 
I can’t bring him back to the compound.
 
They’ll get rid of Tim for sure.
 
I need you to fix him out here where they won’t see.”

Maggie started to walk away.

“Where are you going?” I yelled shrilly.

“To bed.”

“But I need your help!”

“I helped you as much as I could.
 
Now I’m going to bed.”

“
Arrrrggghhh
!!”
 
I screamed, wanting to tear my hair out.
 

Becky walked up to me, tentatively.
 
“So ... what do you want us to do?
 
Do you want to bring Chase back to the compound?”
 
She rested her hand on my arm, its cool presence calming me a fraction.

Finn stepped up too.
 
“Sounds like that’s the only solution.”

“It can’t be,” I said, nearly weeping with frustration, “I just got Tony back.
 
Now I’m
gonna
lose Tim?
 
No,” I shook my head, “it’s just too much.
 
He’s injured.
 
I can’t let that happen.”

“Yeah,” said Becky, her eyes going over to Chase, “but you can’t leave Chase out here, and there are no other options.
 
He’s too loud to hide.
 
And how are you going to feed him?
 
He eats like a horse.”

Everything she was saying made sense, but I couldn’t decide what to do.
 
I really, really didn’t want Tim to be punished for this.
 
It wasn’t fair.
 
And I knew that expecting the council to be completely unbiased wasn’t realistic.
 
They were racist pixie haters, every last one of them.

“Maybe I could be of assistance.”

The voice came out of nowhere.
 
I grabbed Blackie, pulling it out of the sheath on my leg.
 
Finn’s bow flew off his shoulder and into his hands, an arrow already notched.
 
He was so friggin’ fast on the draw I hadn’t even seen him move.
 
If I wasn’t so freaked out about a possible sneak attack I would have been seriously impressed.
 
Becky pulled a disappearing act, teleporting away to I have no idea where.
 
Man, was I jealous of that skill.

“Who’s there
?!
” shouted Finn.

“My name is Gustav, but my friends call me Goose.
 
And I am here in front of you, but I do not particularly like being shot or burned, so until you put your weapons down, I will stay in the Gray, thank you.”

He had a light accent.
 
It sounded German or something.

I looked at Finn and he shrugged at me.
 
Neither of us put our weapons down.

“Do we know you?” I asked.
 
I was stalling, searching my memory for a gray elf named Goose.
 
I didn’t know many of them, but Gregale had mentioned a few.
 
I didn’t recall a Gustav or a Goose.

“No.
 
That is not likely,” he said, a smile in his voice.
 
He certainly didn’t seem threatening, other than being invisible.

“Do you live at the compound?” asked Finn.
 

“No.
 
I live out here in the forest.
 
And in the Gray.”

“What the hell’s he talkin’ about,
livin
’ in the Gray?” whispered Finn to me.

I leaned towards his ear and told him what I know.
 
“It’s the space between this world and the Otherworlds – where the spirits live sometimes.
 
I’m not exactly sure.
 
Gregale took me there once to go visit Tony using astral projection.
 
Gray elves can go there.”

“Ah,” said Finn, acting like everything I had just said made perfect sense, which it didn’t.
 
But it was the best I could do.
 
The Gray was kind of a mystery to me too.

“If we put down our weapons, you have to promise not to hurt us,” I said, trying to sound confident and not scared, conveniently ignoring the fact that anyone who wanted to harm us would have no problem lying to us about his intentions.

“If I wanted to hurt you, I could have already done that five times over.
 
You are not the quietest fae in this forest, believe me.”
 
He had a point there.

“Yeah, well, we have a sick friend.”

“I can see that.
 
And as I’ve said – I may be able to help you with his little affliction.
 
A pixilation problem, I’m guessing?”

Dammit
.
 
Now the whole compound was going to find out.

I lowered my weapon, reaching out and pushing on Finn’s arm so he would put down his bow.
 

“Fine.
 
Our weapons are down.
 
Show yourself.”

A shimmering began a few feet in front of us.
 
First the form was just a gray outline.
 
Then it became more solid.
 
Standing there, wearing a blackish gray tunic, was a skinny guy with a sharp nose and high cheekbones.
 
He had blond hair like Chase but gray eyes like some I’d seen recently.
 
Whose eyes looked like that?
 
I couldn’t put my finger on it and then he started speaking so I instantly forgot what I was trying to remember.

“I am part of a group of witches and other fae who have recently found some success in treating pixilation.
 
Perhaps your friend would be willing to come to our facility and participate in our latest study.”