Traitor (11 page)

Roslin shrugged her shoulders indifferently and yanked the string on the lawnmower. She jumped back in shock when the mower growled to life. “I’ll never figure out why humans use such angry machines.” She laughed and turned her eyes back to me. “I’ve heard you mentioned protecting Ash once or twice. She made a few comments about it in passing.”

“Yeah, but she doesn’t want that. She loves Liam.”

“Loving and protecting are two different things. She may love Liam, but we all know he’s in too deep for the protecting part. That’s where I can offer you more. Maybe help your cause.”

This girl was like a used car salesman. She popped out of nowhere, scared me half to death and was trying to get me to sign on some invisible line without explaining what the heck I was getting into. “Why should I even listen to you?”

Roslin sighed and took my hand. “Because I can give you immortality and trust me, you want that.”

I didn’t have time to speak. All of a sudden it was like I was being flushed down a toilet. Dad was gonna be so mad when he saw the lawn wasn’t mowed.

***

When we finally stopped squeezing through whatever crazy faerie highway that this Roslin chick had just taken, I was facedown in the grass somewhere. It was a good thing the cereal was a no-go this morning. If it had been, there was no way it would have stayed down after the little adventure we’d just gone on. I rolled over and looked up into the blue sky above. Roslin suddenly filled my eyesight, grinning ear to ear. “You didn’t do half bad there, little buddy. You might be decent as an immortal.”

“What is all this talk about being immortal?”

Roslin laughed. “Well, would you like to be immortal?”

“Isn’t that like every sixteen year old’s dream?”

“True. But most don’t get it. You will. If you want it, that is.”

This was bizarre. It seemed too perfect. How had she even found me? “Why me? Why now? And how the heck did you know where to find me?”

Roslin was all giggles now. It was super irritating. She walked toward a small cottage that wasn’t far from where we were, but stopped when she realized I was still on the ground. “I picked you because I can pick one person a century. Ashlyn seems attached to you, even if you don’t believe it. I like Ashlyn a lot. She’s become my best friend, really.” Roslin smiled at the thought, as though she’d never had a best friend. “She has the opportunity to join us as an immortal if we can get past the pesky issue of a mortal being her Protector. I’ll give you immortality if you will protect her. You’ll live forever, Ashlyn has a Protector, and Liam won’t die when Ashlyn takes immortality. We all win.”

She skipped back to me, once again nearly yanking my arm out of its socket to pull me into a standing position. She dusted me off and took a little too long on my backside. She winked when she pulled away. “And I found you because Ashlyn told me all about you, including the fact that you lived across the street from her. Now if you don’t have any more questions, I’m sure Emily would love to say hello in a bit. By the way, don’t breathe a word of what I’ve just said to you. This is our little secret.”

Great. A little secret. As Roslin made to pull me toward the house, I managed to stop her for a moment. “Wait. If you’re gonna make me keep a secret about becoming immortal, you might as well just do it now and get it over with first. Memaw will smack the secret right out of me.”

Roslin shook her head, smiling. She seemed kind of patronizing. “You’re willing to become immortal without considering the consequences?”

“What are the consequences?”

“Well, if the committee doesn’t like the fact that I made you immortal, they could just off you right there. Usually they don’t care too much, though. The big problem is you’ll watch everyone around you die. You’ll never age to those in the know, just like Emily, but your family will see you grow older. Maybe you’ll have a gift when you become immortal. Who knows? You probably won’t be as exciting as Ashlyn or Emily, but I could teach you a few tricks along the way.”

I nodded. It didn’t seem that bad. Plus, I was all for asking for forgiveness over asking for permission. “Let’s do this.”

“The other issue is that Liam is going to pitch a fit.”

That didn’t seem like such a big deal to me, but there was a nagging question to be answered about the whole Liam issue. “Why aren’t you just giving him immortality? Wouldn’t that be easier?”

Roslin sighed. “Liam agreed to protect Ashlyn before he knew the repercussions of it. He’s what we faeries jokingly call ’semi-immortal’. He’s immortal as long as Ashlyn lives. When she dies, he’ll die. She’ll age with time as a normal mortal, but he won’t. In a normal situation, it would work. Ashlyn’s not exactly normal, though, and we want her to join us. Liam can’t accept immortality after accepting to protect her.”

“But I can protect her after accepting immortality? He won’t die when she accepts immortality that way?”

“It only works in that order. Immortality first, then an eternity of protecting should you so desire. Kinda steep if she doesn’t want you, right? But no, he won’t die if you vow to protect her after becoming immortal. Only immortals can relieve mortal Protectors of their curse.”

That was a little deep. Either way though, I’d have an eternity to bug the bejeezus out of Ash and travel the world as we saw fit. Seemed legit to me. I didn’t answer Roslin’s last question about how Ash would react. “Let’s do it. Ash can yell at me later.”

Roslin smiled. “All right then. She’s quite frightening now. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

W
ITH THAT, SHE
grabbed my hand once more and I felt the uncomfortable flushing feeling. My insides felt compressed beyond what they ever should. It made me queasy, but before I could get sick, it was over. I found myself facedown in the grass. Wherever we had landed, it was cloudy and a misty rain was coming down all around us.

The dreary skies made it clear we weren’t in Ohio anymore, or at least Fairborn. I pushed myself into a sitting position and started to scan the surrounding area. Roslin put the tip of her foot against my side and waggled it up and down impatiently. “Get up, you big oaf. We need to get to my portal.”

She was leaning against a massive headstone. Behind her were rows upon rows of monuments, some new and fresh with upturned dirt while others were molded and decrepit. One close to us was an angel with its eyes covered by a cloth and its wings bound together. The sculpture looked as though it were in pain, and I wondered why anyone would want such a depressing monument created in their memory. A massive building stood in the distance and I could just make out the steeple. Bells began to toll and crows cawed at the intrusion of sound. The earth was wet and the air smelled of worms that had come up to escape their waterlogged domains below. We were in a graveyard. Just the thought of it gave me the willies. “Where are we exactly?”

“Gatlinburg, Tennessee. My mortal home, for all intents and purposes.” Roslin smiled as she stretched, her back popping audibly a couple times. “You’re a lot to haul when we’re traveling. I’ll be glad when you can get around on your own.”

She walked off, heading into the trees nearby to the left of all the headstones. I followed her, not wanting to hang around in the cemetery. These places gave me the creeps.

I jogged to keep up, my muscles protesting with each stride. They still felt out of whack, and I probably looked like Gumby. She stopped to wait on me, her hands on her hips, all full of attitude like she was Miss Thing. “Are you going to keep up with me?”

She was never short on personality, but it was actually a lot of fun to be with her. It made things interesting, and it reminded me of the competitiveness that Ashlyn and I shared. I gave her a little bump with my shoulder. “I could beat you with one broken leg, you pink pansy.”

That was all it took. She grinned for a split second and took off into the forest. I heard a peal of laughter not far away as she disappeared behind a giant tree. Underbrush rustled in her wake as she took off. “Let’s see if you can catch me!”

Excellent. Athletics were where I excelled. I rocked back onto my heels, ignored my sore body, and exploded into the forest with everything I had.

Roslin hadn’t gotten enough of a head start to be completely out of sight, so it wasn’t hard to follow her. The pink mop on her head made her stick out in the sea of green like a little neon sign. I goaded her when I was ten feet behind. Taking a chance, I lunged forward and caught her shoulder. “You can’t outrun the Ohio record holder for bases stolen!”

You would have thought I scared her half to death. She stopped immediately, going from a pink blur to a statue in what seemed like a millisecond. I ran her over, taking her to the ground. She coughed and spit out the mud that caked her mouth. “Good Lord, Reese. I thought you said stolen bases, not tackles!”

I laughed, rolling off of her. “I hold the conference record for sacks in football, too. Played both offense and defense last year.”

She pulled herself into a sitting position on the muddy forest floor and curled her arms around her knees as she eyed me with intense curiosity. “What
are
you, Reese Williams?”

“Uh, a Skyhawk?”

“A what?”

“Well, I mean, that’s the high school’s mascot. Is that what you meant?”

Roslin laughed. “No, goofy. You’re way faster than any human I’ve ever met. I wonder if that’s your gift. Athletics?”

I shrugged and smiled. “That’s all I’m good at for now, I guess. My mom says it’s a God-given talent. Maybe that’s all I’ll be good for throughout eternity. I wonder if the NFL would notice if I lasted for fifty years.”

Roslin just shook her head. “Come on, you dork. I’m taking you home with me.”

I put my hands on the back of my head and waved my hips in a circle. “Ow, ow!”

“Don’t you wish. Not like that!” All the same, Roslin smiled when she said it. I could see why Ash liked her. She was pretty cool.

We entered a clearing in the woods where a little log cabin sat. It looked like it had just grown there with the rest of the woods. The logs were old and weathered, but still held their red cedar look. Rose bushes sat on either side of the walkway up to the little front porch, where a bench made out of wood stood, ready to be sat on. Smoke curled in ringlets from the chimney on the roof as though someone knew we were coming and lit the fire for us in advance. It was pretty impressive, but wouldn’t tell Roslin that. She looked at me and smiled. “You like it?”

I shrugged. “It’s a house. I’m a guy. If there’s some food and a bed, it’s all good to me.”

She punched me. “Well I guess it’s all good, then.”

“It is pretty cool,” I admitted. I didn’t want to seem like a jerk, and Roslin seemed really nice. My eyes roved the surrounding area and then returned to Roslin, who stood waiting for me to continue. “So what are we doing here?”

“Going to make you immortal, of course.”

“At your house?”

Roslin laughed. “No, not exactly. We’re going to Adaire.”

She took my hand and we walked into the little tin tool shed sitting not far from the cabin. Bird feeders and wheelbarrows filled the little shed. She even had some power tools that lined the side wall on a peg board. Their cords were neatly coiled, but they had definitely been used lately. I’d have to ask her about her handiwork when we got a chance. It seemed like there were a lot of things about Roslin that I would like to get to know. She grinned and tugged at my hand. “Hold on tight, grasshopper. You’re getting an exception to cross over into Adaire since you’re becoming immortal. This isn’t going to be pleasant.”

I stopped her for just a second by waving my arms like an idiot trying to fly. “Wait, wait, wait. I have one question.”

“What’s that?”

“I’ve gotta mow the lawn, and I have football practice at four. Are we gonna be back in time for that?”

Her laugh told me that my question was stupid. Without even responding, she pulled me in for a tight hug and the flushing began. This time though, for a moment, it felt like I had hit a brick wall. I tried to get out of Roslin’s embrace, but suddenly her grip was tighter. It seemed like she was pulling my entire body through a straw. It hurt like hell this time, and my first instinct was to fight against it. I kicked and thrashed and tried to force my way out of the claustrophobia. Just when I thought I was going to suffocate, the feeling began to wane. As I came out the other end, it had to look like I was just a blob of goo. That’s what I felt like, anyway.

Roslin cheered like I’d won an Olympic gold medal. “Very nice, Reese! You’re still standing.”

I was standing? Sure didn’t feel like it. I felt my body sway, and a pair of hands clamped down onto my shoulders to keep me from tipping over.

A new voice emerged. “Roslin, you can’t be serious. You’re choosing this mortal for your grant this century?”

Shrugging out of the support, I turned toward the sound of the British accent. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

The guy laughed, seemingly bored. “I simply mean to suggest that Roslin’s tastes for the faerie race may be in question if you’re what she chose.”

“Antony, shut up. He’s promising. He’s also agreeing to protect Ashlyn after we grant him immortality.”

Antony’s eyebrows rose as he reevaluated me. I wasn’t sure I liked it. “I see. Well, don’t let me stop you. Rebecca is in the convening room.” With that, the guy disappeared.

“Do you always just up and disappear, or do you ever walk around like a normal person?”

Roslin shook her head. “Why would we? We’re not normal.” She winked and walked down the massive marble hallway, gesturing that I follow her.

The place was unreal. It put any famous celebrity’s house I’d seen on TV to shame. Marble pillars lined the hallway and ceiling to floor-length windows filled the areas between the pillars. Massive crystal chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceilings and were spaced every few feet apart. The rays of the sun pierced the clear windows and bounced off the crystal, throwing rainbows in every direction. A thin, brilliant blue rug ran the distance of the hallway and had golden tassels on the sides. All of it was over the top. I shook my head just to see if it would disappear.