Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 1, After the Fall (9 page)

"You've been the beneficiary of that forgiveness, you know."

I picked up a pillow off the couch and threw it at his head.   "Shut up.  That's different."

He caught the pillow after it bounced off his face.  "Yeah, yeah, I know.  We're soulmates."

"Exactly.  So unconditional love and forgiveness is my right."

"But not so much for anyone else," he finished.

I smiled.  "Yes.  Now we're on the same page. 
Finally."

He tossed the pillow back onto the couch, out of my reach.  "Anyway, it's almost dinnertime and I'm starving."  He stood.  "Are you coming?"

"Hell to the yes.  I'm hungry too and no friggin way am I going into dinner with Ben."

Tony frowned at me.  "What's going on with you guys?  I thought after the ceremony that ... I don't know ... you'd find a way to at least be friends."

I moved towards the door, looking back to see if the pixies were coming.  Abby and Tim were floating above their jungle room, looking down at something.  I stood at the entrance, waiting for them to notice us leaving, answering Tony without looking at him.

"I can tolerate him.  That's about all I'll commit to right now."

"That's not very romantic-sounding," said Tony, stopping at my side.

"Yo, pixies!  Are you coming?!" I yelled.

Both of them waved their hands at me, like they were slapping me over and over in midair.

"I think their baby is sleeping," said Tony in a quiet voice near my ear, staring over at them with me.

"Oh, shit.  I hope I didn't wake him up.  He's a pain in the butt sometimes."

Tim came over to join us, blowing his wife a kiss on the way.  "Let's ride, feeps.  Willy's napping and Abby said to go."

"Feeps?" I asked.

"Yeah.  Fae-peeps.  Feeps."  He shook his head and rolled his eyes like I was the dumb one.

"Tim, how do you know all these slang words like
peeps?"
I asked.

"He knows peeps?" asked Tony.

"I heard it once in the forest.  Come on, before that kid wakes up."

I stifled a laugh.  "That kid is your
son
, goof."

"Yeah, whatever.  Come on.  There's a strawberry on that buffet that's got my name on it."

I looked at Tony.  "Yeah.  Tim has lots of secrets.  He's going to tell them all to me one day.  The first one I want to know is how much time he's actually spent with humans, because he knows way too much about our culture to be learning it from here."

"The mysteries never cease in the Green Forest," said Tony.

"You aren't kidding," I agreed, pulling the door to the room open, relieved that it moved so easily. 
I guess I still belong here
.

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE THREE OF US MADE our way down the hallway to the dining room.  Tony and I wore moccasins that made no noise on the stone floors, and I felt the need to speak in low tones so my voice wouldn't echo off the carved rock walls.

"Tim, you haven't told me your secret yet."

"What secret?"

"Stop messing around.  You said something in front of Ben, so I know you know something.  Have you been snooping around again?"

"First of all, I'm not sure I'm inclined to discuss any of my insider information with someone who thinks a pixie-toss is an enjoyable way to spend her free time.  And secondly, if I had a secret -and I'm not saying I do- I wouldn't want to be sharing it with your wrathe soulmate standing next to you.  He would tell all the rest of them, and then I'd lose my advantage.  Not that I have one.  I'm just saying ..."

I sighed.

"What's the matter?" asked Tony, his gaze following Tim's flight path out in front of us.

"He's being coy.  Don't worry ... I'll get it out of him."  After I heard whatever it was Tim thought he knew, I would decide whether Tony was on the need-to-know list.  I was pretty sure the advantage that Tim referred to was his super snooper setup.  He claimed to be very good with electronics and things that acted like electronics, such as witch-casted listening spells.  If he had somehow convinced a witch to cast for him, and was getting good intel from fae by listening in and spying, I might not necessarily want to clue anyone into that little nugget of information.  Having Tim as a friend and roommate was like having an extra set of tiny ears all over the fae compound; and I could use all the help I could get, trying to ferret out who was on my side and who might be trying to make my life more difficult - fae like Samantha, for instance.

We reached the dining hall and entered through a heavy wooden door, the noise from over a hundred fae gathered for a meal hitting us all at once.

"Wow.  There are a lot fae in here," said Tony, scanning the room.  "I kind of miss the days when it was just the Light Fae."

"Tell me about it," I agreed.  I nudged him in the shoulder, gesturing towards a table in the far corner.  "Look, there's Finn and Becky.  Let's go sit with them."

We walked through the mass of crowded tables and over to our changeling friends.  We'd been semi-homeless teenagers living in Miami together for a couple days before entering the fae-challenge that had been disguised as a physical fitness clinical trial thing.  Our dormant fae blood had been awakened after completing the nightmare test in the Green Forest, and now we were all in the same boat - trying to figure out the limits of the powers we had as members of our different races.

I walked up to the table and Becky jumped out of her seat to give me a warm hug.  I always felt like I was going to crush her tiny frame when we embraced.  "How's my favorite water sprite?" I asked over her shoulder.

"Excellent.  Better than excellent," she said, pulling away and shooting me one of her super-sized grins.  She was almost never without one.

I looked down and caught Finn's face going red.  I nudged him in the shoulder.  "What's up, green elf?  Been hanging out at the lake lately, maybe?"  His crush on Becky was finally out in the open, but he was never one to share much beyond that.

Finn stood up and grabbed me into a rough embrace.  "Hush, girl.  Just gimme a hug."

I squeezed him hard, winking at Becky behind him.  She blushed in response.  The two of them were perfect for each other.

Finn sat back down, ignoring Becky and me in favor of his dinner.

"What do you get when you cross a water sprite and a green elf?" asked Tim, snickering already at the answer I knew I was going to hear whether I liked it or not.

"I don't know.  Tell me," I said.

"A frog!"

I laughed a little, despite the fact that I didn't really get the joke.  Tim was enjoying himself too much to not appreciate it for that reason alone.

"You don't get it, do you?" he asked, dropping his smile.

"No, not really."

"Water sprite?  Green elf? ... Fishy-face girl, green guy hopping around the forest all the time trying to shoot the wings off flies?"

I nodded slowly.  "Yeah.  Okay, I get it."

"But you're not laughing."

"Technically, it's really not that funny."

"What's not that funny?" asked Becky.

"You don't want to know," I said, looking around our table.  "Where is everyone else?"

Finn spoke up as he tore a hunk of bread from his roll, poised to pop it into his mouth.  "Spike's with them succubus twins somewhere - I saw 'em earlier.  And Scrum's comin'.  He had a couple buddies practicin' their bear hug thing on Theresa and Felicia, and they got a little messed up.  They're at the clinic."  He threw the bread into his mouth from a few inches away and chewed slowly, just like he talked.

I raised my eyebrows at his comment.  I had tangled with the twin succubi before and knew they were tough as nails, even though they looked like a couple of model-gorgeous cheerleaders.  Anyone on the wrong end of their bad moods would be in serious trouble if he didn't know how to manage them.  They could suck the life out of a fae in a matter of minutes, and all their victim would do is gaze lovingly up at them and thank them for taking their life energy.  I know from personal experience that it wasn't the most unpleasant experience in the world.

"Are they okay?" asked Tony, pulling out a chair and sitting in it.

Finn talked around his food.  "Yeah, they'll be alright.  Just need a little R-n-R is all."  His eyes lighted on something on the other side of the room.  "There he is now.  You can ask him yourself."  Finn left off the conversation to stab a few vegetables on his plate and shove them in his mouth alongside the bread.

I shook my head at the amount of food he was able to eat at once.  He reminded me of Chase, which brought my attention over to the table of daemons that were sitting close by.  They were guardians of various important and somewhat vulnerable fae, like Chase had been for me during his temporary, undercover stay in our realm.  Scrum was my protector now that Chase was gone, but I hadn't seen him all day; I guess now I knew why.

"Let's get some food," Tony said, standing.  "Save our seats?" he asked Becky before receiving her nod and walking away.

I joined him at the buffet, taking a plate and putting fruit on it for Tim and a few meats and salad on it for me.  "So what's up with the training schedule?" I asked Tony, feeling as though I were talking to his back because he kept moving away from me.  "You're still in charge of setting that up for the changelings, right?"

"Yeah.  Everyone has their stuff ready to go.  They've been notified."

"Well, what's my schedule?  No one's told me."

Tony shrugged, suddenly looking very interested in the salad toppings.  "You're, ummm ... not on the regular schedule," he said, reaching for a pair of tongs to put some olives on his plate.

"Oh, yeah?" I said.  "What am I supposed to do everyday, then?"

"Go to council meetings, train ..."  The rest of what he said disappeared over his shoulder as he turned and moved quickly down the buffet line.

"I missed that last part.  What'd you say?  I'm supposed to train?  Where?  With who?"

Tony cleared his throat and didn't turn to look at me when he answered.  "With Ben.  You're scheduled to train with Ben, wherever he thinks is appropriate."

"For how long?" I asked, the slow burn of anger starting in my gut.

"Indefinitely," said Tony, his head dropping a little.

"And whose idea was this?" I was getting more upset by the minute.  I knew Ben could help me, but I felt like I was continually having him shoved down my throat; and I didn't appreciate that one bit, especially when he'd so recently been overbearing and arrogant enough to make me want to slap him.

"The combined councils are responsible," Tony said, turning to face me finally.  "I'm sorry, Jayne.  I know it bothers you, but there's nothing I can do, nor would I want to.  He's the only one who can help you learn how to control your elements, and he can protect you when you're not in the compound.  It frees up at least one daemon to do other things."

I sighed heavily in defeat, knowing being angry at Tony or the world wasn't going to change anything.  This was my new life, suck as it might.  It wasn't his fault I'd gone and gotten myself tied to a turd.  "I'm not mad at you.  Or the council.  I'm mad at ... fate, I guess."  I shuffled away from the buffet and back to the table, any spring I might have had to my step gone.  I felt like a deflated balloon, and all I wanted to do was go take a long nap and never get up.

Tim came over and sat on my shoulder.  "Why the frown, clown?  What's got you down?"

I sat in my seat, quietly eating my bland food for a few seconds before responding.  "I guess I'm training with Ben, the arrogant assbag, for the rest of all eternity.  What are
you
guys doing tomorrow?" I asked my friends, trying not to sound bitter but probably not succeeding.

No one said anything, but I noticed all of their gazes went to a spot above my head and behind me.

My face flushed as I realized what was going on.  "He's behind me, isn't he?" I asked Becky quietly.

She nodded her head silently, still looking up at him.

"Hello, Ben," I said, not even turning to acknowledge him. 
You arrogant assbag.

"Hello, Jayne.  I came to get you."

I put my fork down and lifted my head, frowning but still not turning to look at him.  "I just sat down and started eating."

"Good.  We can eat our meal together, then."

I turned to face him, my torso twisted halfway around.  "I'm fine here, actually.  But thanks." 
Arrogant assbag a-hole.

Tony kicked me under the table, probably vibing my feelings again like he did when I least wanted him to. 
Stupid empath ... go away!

Ben lifted an eyebrow at me and then purposefully looked over at a table in the front of the room.  "You are expected to share your meals with me over there."

I followed his gaze to find a table set only for two, off by itself, noticeably separate from all the others.

"Mmmm, no thanks."  I turned back around and began eating again.

In my peripheral vision, I could see Becky's eyes bugging out, and Finn was shifting around in his seat uncomfortably.  I kicked them both under the table.

Tony cleared his throat before saying, "Jayne, why don't you go sit there?  We'll come join you after we're finished."

My anger started to boil up, threatening to spill over.  I slammed my fork down next to my plate.  "Why don't
you
go sit over there, Tony, since you and Ben are such good buddies now."  I glared at him, throwing my emotions at him silently but as strongly as I could.

He flinched, and then looked up at Ben.  "Why don't you join us over here, Ben?" he suggested.

"There's no more room here," I growled, staring at the table now, methodically chewing a now tasteless hunk of meat.

"Jayne," said Becky softly, "be nice.  He can sit here.  We can make room."

"Here," I said, jumping up and pushing my seat back with my legs, letting my napkin drop to the floor.  "I'll make it easy for you."  I stepped away from the table, gesturing towards my empty chair.  "Have my spot.  I've lost my appetite anyway."  I took at look at all of their shocked expressions and then stormed out of the room before anyone had a chance to respond.  I'd had enough of everyone pandering to Ben and his bossiness and wanted nothing but to get the hell away from all of them. 
Friggin traitors. 
It made me feel just a tad bit connected to Maléna, fighting Ben's assumed authority like this, and that did nothing to make me feel better.