Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 1, After the Fall (29 page)

"You call killing an elemental losing your temper?" he asked.

"Yeah.  I'd call it that."  I looked up at him.  "Unless you have a better name for it."

Jared's mouth quirked up in the corner.  "I'd call it kicking some serious ass, if it were me."

I felt my mouth stretching up to match the look on his.  "You would?"

He put his hand out for me to take.  

I shook it hard.

"You don't need his help to do what you need to do, Jayne.  Believe in yourself.  I do."

My throat closed up with emotion.  I couldn't speak, so I just nodded.  I wasn't proud that I'd nearly killed Ben, but now I didn't feel quite so guilty that I had the power to do it.

"That's right, bitches!  And she's my roommate, so step aside!" yelled Tim, zooming around the room in circles, causing several of the onlookers to have to duck.

"I don't mean to be a wet blanket here, but I feel as though the voice of reason should weigh in," said Gregale.

"By all means," said Jared, gesturing for him to continue.

Gregale cleared his throat and then spoke.  "It appears to me that the demons who are trying to breach into our realm find their purposes plainly served by our two elementals fighting for power over the council's control.  I must wonder why anyone would feel the need to instigate such a struggle when we have such bigger issues to manage.  I was not privy to the council event that fostered this challenge, so perhaps one of you members could shed some light on it for me."

Aidan frowned.  "I guess it was pretty simple, from what I remember.  Maléna asserted the council's right to direct the activities of the elementals.  Ben rejected her claim, and she challenged him."

"Did it appear ... deliberate to you?" asked Gregale.

I was starting to get a little tickle of misgiving running up my spine.  Maléna had seemed a little over-excited about the idea of us knuckling under to what almost seemed like her rule at the time, and not necessarily the council's.

"I'm not sure.  What do you think, Jayne?  You were there."

My mouth dropped open before I was ready to speak, so I stood there like a dummy for a few seconds before I could collect my thoughts enough to put them in order.  "Uhhh ... I'm not sure.  She did seem kind of nutty about it.  Like, aggressive.  But I don't know if that's how she normally is or not."

"Normally, she's pretty level-headed, actually," said Aidan.  "At least when she's happy she is."

"What are you suggesting, Gregale?" asked Jared.

"I am not certain that this even rises to the level of suggestion; but might we consider that if you are kept busy fighting amongst yourselves on the council, you might be too preoccupied to notice other matters of import going on in the background."

"As in, Maléna's causing a distraction and letting the demons sneak in while we're turned the other way?" asked Tony.  "It would be a brilliant move, really," he said, respect lacing his words.  "The classic distractor technique.  I'd use it, if it were me."

"Oh, fuck-a-duck," I said, letting their words sink in.  "That would be ... I mean ... holy shit."  I couldn't put into words the feeling of betrayal that was flooding into my heart and brain.  I shouldn't have been surprised, being that it was Maléna; but part of me always wanted to believe that no matter what, we all had our best interests at heart.  And letting demons into our world could never be good for any of us, Light or Dark fae.

"I don't think you should jump to any conclusions," said Garrett.  "Anyone could have been recruited over to their side, given promises in exchange for aid.  And the traitor wouldn't necessarily be obvious about it or be an obvious choice."

Everyone in the room looked around at each other.  I know that I, for one, was wondering if there might be a traitor amongst us here in the room.

"Is he serious?" asked Scrum.

"Nah, he don't mean us," said Finn, punching him in the shoulder.  "We're the good guys."

"It could be
anyone
," said Shayla.  "He is right.  But you cannot run around your world accusing everyone and trusting no one.  That will help them reach their goals faster than any use of an agent of darkness."

"Agent of darkness?" asked Becky meekly, now practically whispering.  "Like a spy for the Devil?"

"In a manner of speaking," said Gregale.  "And so, based on the limited information we have before us today, at this moment in time, I would encourage those of you on the council to gather for an emergency meeting and sort this out."

"And do not hesitate," said Garrett.  "The end is coming.  The veil will fall and then all will be lost."

"Part of it has already fallen," said Tony.

All eyes turned to him.  "That's what was feeling so strange to me in there.  There was this piece of the Gray just ... missing.  Like it had fallen and created a door."

Gregale's face went white.  He lifted his trembling fingers to his mouth.  "Mother and Father, save us all," he whispered.

I had to cough hard to get my heart pumping again.

Jared grabbed my arm.  "Come with me, Jayne.  Aidan!  Let's go!"  He shoved past the couple of fae near the door and opened it up.  "Garrett and Shayla, please come with us."

Tim came buzzing over to land on my shoulder.  "Giddy-up, mule.  We've got a realm to save!"

"Don't we need our cloaks?"  I asked.

Jared stopped.  "Yes.  Run!  I'll meet you in the phi room."

Jared and Aidan wasted no time, running in the opposite direction.

I focused on a vision of my room so the door would appear and ran as fast as I could down the hall.

"If you guys wear those cloaks I'll be shut out!" yelled Tim in my ear as my feet slapped rapidly on the stone floor.

"I'm sorry!  Be we can't risk anyone listening in!"

I reached my bedroom door and yanked it open.

"Tim!" screeched Abby from their table.  "Get your sorry buns over here right this instant!"   

I ran past her and into my room, yanking the cloak off the back of my door and throwing it over my shoulders.  I could hear Tim whining in the other room.

"But I have to go save the realm, Abby!  I don't have time for this right now!"

"You don't have time for ... are you
kidding
me?!  This is our
son
, I'm talking about!"

"Yes, but ..."

"No buts!  You're not going anywhere until we find him!

"But Jayne needs me!" he roared in the toughest voice I've ever heard him use.

I hesitated at the door wondering if he was going with me.

"Jayne
needs you?  No, Tim! 
I
need you!  I.  Need.  You.  And so does your son.  You leave, and you will never come back to me again.  Do you hear me? 
Never!"

I stopped breathing for a second, hoping he'd make the right choice.  I sighed in relief when I heard his whipped puppy voice say, "Yes, dear.  I guess I'll just have to let the entire universe fall into the hands of demons so we can go play hide and seek in the garden with our wayward child."

"Thank you.  Now get out there and find him."

I ran out into the hallway, thinking about going right past Ben's door.  But I came to a skidding halt when I realized that he needed to be at the meeting too, much as I might like to avoid him right now.  I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

HE DIDN'T ANSWER.  I HAD no idea if he was even in, but I knew that we needed him at the council meeting and he'd just suffered a pretty bad injury.  If I let him sleep through this meeting, I knew there'd be no forgiveness for me.  I knocked again, louder this time. 
Come on, butthead, answer the damn door.

When no one responded, I decided to try going in.  I pushed on the handle, and it offered no resistance.  The door swung open, revealing the dark interior.  I craned my neck around trying to see the sitting room.  I couldn't get a view of all of it from where I was, but it was clear that Ben wasn't there.  I was just about to turn and leave when I spied the door on the other side of the room.

Of course if he's sick he's going to be in there, not out here drinking that green stuff, whatever it is.
  I sighed heavily, stepping into the room, reluctant to see him but knowing it was one of those must-do kind of things.

I walked across the floor, praying I wouldn't find him in bed with Samantha.  I couldn't figure out why it was that I found that idea so distasteful.  I didn't want him, and I sure didn't have any interest in her ... so why did I care about what they did? 
I don't care.  I don't.  Focus, Jayne.  Get Ben, and get the hell out of here.  Everyone's waiting.

I reached the door and tapped on it gently.  When I received no response, I turned the handle and pushed it open, taking a few steps into the room.  A lamp lit the space with a warm light, and the large bed that was up on a platform looked like it had recently been used; but there was no one in it now.

A sense of relief flooded my heart as I backed out of the room, pulling the door closed softly in front of me.  I was glad that I hadn't found him there.  Now no one could blame me if he wasn't at the meeting; I'd done everything I could.  I was just getting ready to turn around when the sounds of movement coming from behind me froze my breath in my lungs and my feet in their tracks. 
Busted!

I regained my ability to move and breathe while my brain quickly started formulating excuses for being in his bedroom.  I turned around quickly to explain.  "I was just ..."

I stopped in mid-sentence, as soon as I realized that the room was empty.  I'd been so sure Ben would be standing there, I didn't know what to think.  I frowned, still holding onto the door handle behind me, sure the noise hadn't been a figment of my imagination.  

"Umm ... hello?"

No response came.

I let go of the handle and stepped to the side, bending over to peek under the couch that was across the room, wondering if someone might be hiding underneath it.  But there were no legs there or other signs that someone was on the other side of the furniture.

My heart was hammering in my chest, making me feel like I was almost choking on the fear.  I reached down slowly and took the edges of my cloak, pulling it around me.  I had no idea if its magical properties would shield me from anything, but I wasn't taking any chances.  I pulled the Green up into me with the plan to power-shield myself until I was out of the room, but as soon as the cloak began to shimmer with its light, the sounds came again.  Only this time, I was facing them.  Yet still, I saw no one and nothing there.

"Who the hell is that?!" I yelled out into the empty space.  "I'm not kidding!  If you don't show yourself right now I'm going to blast your ass into the Underworld!"  The Green was humming in me now, answering my desperate call for protection.

"Tooooo laaate, sssss," came a voice.  It was part-voice, part-hiss and probably should have scared the shit out of me, but the note of sorrow it carried made it seem less frightening.  Either that, or I'd entered into another level of fear that no longer considered my mortality first before allowing my brain to be curious.

"Who is that?" I asked, moving farther into the room, one cautious step at a time.  I was getting close to the table with the green liquid on it.  

Is the green stuff talking to me?
  I got to the table and looked down, reaching out slowly to touch the decanter.

"Drink."  The voice made me jump.  My hand jerked back and went into my cloak, once more wrapping the material around me.

My eyes went left and right as my brain tried to figure out how a bottle could be talking to me.  I gave up trying to find the answer in the air around me and bent down, talking to the liquid.  "Are you talking to me?"

"Yessss," said the voice, but it wasn't coming from the bottle.  Now that I was eye-level with it, I realized it wasn't the thing demanding I have a buggane martini.

Phew.  That's a relief.  I thought I was going crazy for second there. 
I stood up straight again and spoke out into the room.  "Where are you?  I can't talk to you if I can't see you."

"You cannot sssseeee me until you drink," was the response.

The sparkling of the tapestry across the room caught my eye.  I frowned in confusion, staring at the dragons there.  I could have sworn they had been in different spots before.  

I walked over to it slowly, temporarily forgetting the invisible hissing creature that was somewhere in the air around me as I tried to conjure of the memory of the tapestry as I'd seen it before.  

"What the hell?" I whispered, now just four feet away from it.  I held out my finger, pointing at each dragon in turn.  "Black, silver, purple, red."  I knew that the purple one hadn't been on the right, when I was in here before, seeing Ben's room for the first time.  Purple is my favorite color, so I had noticed the purple creature right away as the first dragon on the left.

"You've moved," I said softly, getting closer to the tapestry, my hand held out to touch it.  It was mesmerizing the way it winked with hidden lights or sparkles, I couldn't tell which.

The hissing sounds came again, only louder, sounding like many voices instead of just one.  They reminded me of snakes but then again, not snakes.  There was a more human-like quality to the sound than I would have expected from  a hissing reptile.  

I shook my head to clear it.  Even to my own mind, it seemed completely nuts.    But I'd seen enough nutty things in the last few months that I really shouldn't have been questioning anything anymore.

My fingers were just inches away from the purple dragon, and now I could feel heat actually coming from it.  

It's alive!
I yelled in my head. 
I'm going to touch a live friggin dragon that lives in a tapestry, and I'm pretty sure I'm not even crazy!

My fingers made contact, expecting to feel a rough canvas or heavy cotton material.  But instead, they touched something smooth and hard, almost like metal.  It was warm, and it moved beneath my hand.