Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 1, After the Fall (21 page)

"It's not cheating, Jayne.  You should know that.  Especially when you're partnership isn't exactly a love match."

"Listen, Spike ... no one is allowed to be bitter about this situation except me.  And maybe Ben.  We did it because we had to, not because we wanted to.  But that doesn't mean I'm free to just mess around with anyone, you know?  And it wouldn't be with you anyway."  Images of an angel and another fae flashed into my head, shocking me enough that I immediately brushed them out of my mind and continued with my scolding.  "I have to focus on other things and not my love life, okay?"

He put his hands up in surrender.  "Okay, okay, geez.  Shoot a guy down, why don't you.  Shit."

I punched him.  "Stop.  Seriously.  I need your friendship now so you need to quit getting weird on me."

He sighed, putting his arm over my shoulders.  "Come on, Jayne.  You know me.  Friends for life, man."  He put up his fist for a bump from mine, which I gave him.  "There.  Now tell your buddy Spike all your problems."  He glanced at the door.  "They're gonna be in there for a while, so you might as well."

I looked from the door to him, trying to gauge his reaction to their offer.  "You don't seem jealous or anything."

"Why would I be?"

"Well, because I guess I thought they were your girlfriends."

"Nah.  Incubi and succubi don't do the girlfriend-boyfriend thing.  We just hang out and have fun together."

"Well, how come you're always trying to convince me to be with you, then?"

He smiled.  "I'd make an exception for you."

"Shut up, I'm serious."

"So am I."  He lost his smile.

I dropped my face into my hands and spoke through my fingers.  "Stop now or leave.  I'm serious.  I cannot take the stress of your flirting."

I looked up two seconds later to berate him some more, but he was gone.  All I'd felt just before my hands came off my face was a little fluff of wind on my arms. 
Friggin incubus.
  I hated that they could run that fast.  I was like a turtle in comparison.

I'd thought Spike was over my numerous previous rejections, but seeing his reaction just now made me question that. 
Great.  All I need to add to my shit pile is a mooning incubus. 
I decided I was going to put Spike into a coma the next time I saw him, just because I could.  I smiled, imagining him floating around in The Green.  Maybe that would finally put him off flirting with me.

I heard footsteps in the hallway and turned to see Gregale making his way towards me, his tunic easily marking him as a member of the gray elf race - the group responsible for strategic planning and analysis of all manner of things.  Tony was unofficially a part of their group, even though he was a wrathe.

"Hello, Gregale.  Long time no see."

"Yes, Jayne," he said, stopping in front of me and giving me a half-bow.  "It has, indeed.  So very nice to see you again."

"Thanks for coming.   I have some questions I wanted to ask you about Tony."

"I suspected that was why you sent for me."

I tilted my head to the side.  "How come you didn't let Becky transport you here with her?"

His hand flew to his heart.  "Surely you did not expect that of me!  How urgent is this matter?"  He looked stricken.

I laughed, confused.  "It's important, but I wouldn't say urgent.  What's the big deal of teleporting with the water sprite?"

Gregale's hand slowly left his chest.  "I forget sometimes that you are so lacking in knowledge of our kind."

"I don't see how that's possible when I am constantly giving you reminders," I said dryly.

"Quite right, Jayne, quite right."

I raised my eyebrows at him, gesturing for him to get to the point.

"Ah, yes, well ... to answer your question, water sprites use their affinity to Water to travel through the humidity in the air.  The rest of us fae do not have such a connection.  We are essentially dragged through that element by the sprites when they do this accompanied teleportation, and believe me, it is not a pleasant experience.  And that's putting it lightly."

"Oh, shit.  What happens to the fae who isn't a sprite?"  I was wondering what Finn looked like right now.

"Well, I have heard that it is a bit like being drowned.  But since I have never experienced it myself, I cannot say for certain."

I laughed.

"What is so funny about being drowned?  I do not understand."

When I recovered a few seconds later, I said, "Nothing.  Just ... my friends goofing around.  Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about Tony.  You heard about his accident, I assume?"

"Yes, of course."  Gregale folded his hands in front of him.

"I wanted to know why someone wasn't watching his back when he was in the Gray.  He got jumped in there, and I feel like he shouldn't have been left so vulnerable."

"You are quite right," said Gregale, his expression revealing nothing.

I sighed in frustration.  "Okay, so if I'm right, why did this happen?"  I wasn't entirely comfortable with acting like I deserved explanations.  I didn't like swinging my weight around as the Mother of the Fae or whatever it was they were calling me these days.  But this was my best friend and brother from another mother.  Someone had to answer for this, and if no one else was calling that someone out, I was going to.

Gregale cleared his throat.  "It is our understanding that another fae was with Tony at the time, but for one reason or another, was not able to assist him in his activities."

My mouth thinned into a line as I ran through the list of possible fae who might have been qualified and able to assist him in the Gray like that.

"Was it a gray elf?"

"No.  We cannot be fully present in the Gray like Tony can.  Like
any
wrathe can."  

Gregale didn't have to say anything else.  The look on his face said it all.

"The only other wrathe I know in this compound is Leck."

"Precisely."

"And so Leck was supposed to be with him, helping him, is that it?"

"Yes, I do believe that was the case."

I bit my lip. 
Is this my fault?

"What is wrong?  You look confused.  Perhaps I can enlighten you regarding what concerns you."

I took a big breath in and out, trying to make sense of everything.  But it was all too jumbled up with things I just didn't understand or even know the first thing about.

"I think what happened to Tony might be partially my fault," I admitted, feeling the heat of shame crawl up my face.

"What do you mean?" asked Gregale, no judgment or censure in his voice.  It made me feel even worse that he didn't instantly agree with me.

"Last night I compelled two people ... or creatures ... into my dream, and then I summoned another one who answered me and came on his own."

Gregale's mouth dropped open, and he stared at me for a few seconds.  Then he shook his head briefly and said, "Fascinating.  Truly ... I would love to hear about your experience."  He nodded his head quickly, encouraging me.

"Well, first I brought in a demon.  You know, the one that was at my mom's house."

"Yes, I have heard the story."

"And then I brought Leck in."

"Go on."

"And then I couldn't figure out what to do, so I summoned Ben to join me."

"And did he?"

"Yes."

"And what occurred in this dream of yours?  Give me every last detail; it could be important."  Gregale pressed his hands together and put his fingers to his lips as he concentrated on my face and words.

I thought back to last night, trying to get all of my facts straight in my head.  "Well, I was sleeping, of course.  And then all of a sudden Torrie was there.  But he was in Ben's body.  The only thing that was different was his voice - he still had Torrie's voice."

"What about his eyes?  Did you see his eyes?"

"They were Ben's for sure.  I remember being surprised about that."

"Okay, continue ..."

I related the entire conversation to Gregale and everything about the event I could remember.  It was difficult because I could feel that some of the details had already left my mind.  The memory was fuzzier than it had been just an hour ago.

Gregale nodded his head throughout my tale, asking a couple questions and never giving any clue as to how he felt about any of it until I was finally done.

"Well, this is beyond interesting for me.  I hope you do not mind that I intend to share all of the details with the other gray elves and perhaps the council as well.  We need to analyze this for all of its possible import."

"Do you have to?  I mean, share with everyone?  I appreciate you wanting to get to the bottom of it, but it's kind of humiliating that everyone was wearing a Ben-suit in there."  I looked down at the floor, not wanting to see the frown of disappointment I was sure would be on his face.

Gregale lifted my chin with his finger.  His expression held only pity.  "You are so young, elemental.  No one expects you to be perfect.  And even I, the most rational fae in this compound, do not expect you to fall in love with a boy just because it would be good for the world if you did."

"You don't?"

He shrugged.  "Certainly it would be convenient.  But that is one thing that none of the gray elves, nor anyone we know for that matter, has never been able to figure out."

"What's that?"

"The whims of love.  Only the Great Spirit knows the wherefores of that great mystery.  And we have come to the conclusion that if we solved
that
particular puzzle, there would no longer be a need for us to be here.  And so, we do not try too hard."  He smiled at me.

"So, what you're saying is, if I don't fall in love with Ben and have his children, no one's going to hate me?"

He shrugged.  "I cannot speak for the other fae, but as for the gray elves, I would say no.  But we do hope that you will continue to act as his life partner and do what you can to heal the rift between our people and move towards peace for all our sakes."

My tentative smile disappeared.  "No pressure, eh?"

He patted my shoulder.  "Only that which you accept and put on yourself."

"So what's the deal then, Gregale?  What's up with this dream of mine and the compelling and summoning crap?  I didn't do it on purpose, and I don't particularly want to do it again."

"Well, I will have to discuss this with the others, but I can tell you now that this power you have to compel these creatures is quite unknown in our circles.  I will have to consult the records to see if there is a mention of it in the past.  The fact that they all appeared as Ben, right down to the eyes is disturbing.  You have heard they are the windows to the soul, I assume.  But we shall do our best to determine the cause or effect, as it were."

"Do you think it matters that Tony was walking the Gray at the same time?"

Gregale nodded slowly, staring off into space.  "Perhaps.  It is an interesting hypothesis.  You are both very strongly connected.  His empath skills are definitely enhanced where you are concerned.  I will put that question to the group and see what the others think."

"Okay, and what about the Leck thing?  Do you think he sabotaged Tony or that maybe I screwed things up by bringing Leck in?"

"Another astute question," said Gregale, smiling proudly at me.  "I should like to have you as a guest speaker at one of our meetings someday." His eyes took on a faraway look, a grin spreading across his face and lighting it up.  "Oh, the lively debates
that
would engender!"  He looked at me, now back in the present.  "Perhaps when all of the current confusion is cleared up, we could look forward to this?"

"Perhaps," I said, not sure I wanted to be standing in front of a roomful of superbrains who would probably make me feel like a complete imbecile inside of five minutes.

"I will share the wonderful news.  And now, I bid you goodbye.  I must return to the meeting I left when I was summoned here by your water sprite friend."  He bowed once more and turned to leave.

"Wait!  But what about Tony?"

"Where is he now?" asked Gregale, hesitating, looking back at me.

"In his room.  With the succubi girls."

Gregale grinned.  "There is nothing for me to do.  He is in good hands.  Goodbye, Jayne!"  He strode down the hall, quickly moving out of sight.

"Dammit," I said, out into the hall.  "What am I supposed to do now?"

"Wanna play spiker nakies?" came a little voice from over my shoulder.

I jumped about a foot in the air, grabbing my chest when I landed.  "Shit on a friggin
stick
, Willy!  You almost gave me another heart attack!"  I turned to face him.  He was bouncing around in the air near my face.  "You really need to stop sneaking up on me."

"But I like to 'neak up," he said, pouting, looking like he was going to cry.

I held out my hand for him to sit in.  "Feel like going for a walk with me?" I asked, trying to cheer him up.  I seriously did not like making babies pout.

"Yes!" he said, flying down to my hand and jumping up and down on it.  "Take a walk!  Take a walk and shit on a
stick!"

I laughed.  "Do not tell your mom that word."

"Stick, stick, stick!" he said, grinning up at me.

I put my finger to my lips.  "Shhhhh.  Stick is a baaaaad word."

Willy jumped up off my hand and flew out in front of me as I walked down the hallway.  "Stick, stick, sticky, stick.  I love stick, sticky, stick!"

I felt proud of myself. 
I may be a totally inept elemental, but I'm great with kids.

"Shit on a stick.  Sticky stick.  Shitty sticky sticky shit!" came the little voice in front of me.

Or not
.  

I sighed, imagining the Infinity Meadow in my mind so the door to it would appear for me. 
Time to go talk to some more creatures from the Otherworlds.

CHAPTER TWENTY

I REACHED THE MEADOW AND sat under my mother's tree, even though it was much colder there, being out of the sun in the deep shade.  I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my chin on them, wrapping my arms around my legs.  Willy buzzed around my head for a while and then disappeared into the last of the flowers that were still hanging in there.  I quickly lost sight of him.