Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 1, After the Fall (3 page)

 "Yeah," said Tim, sighing.  He flew up and let himself drop onto his bed from above, landing on his back with his hands folded behind his head.  "But I don't mind.  I'd rather be a dad and a husband than a bachelor."

"That's sweet," I said.

"Besides, all the boobs around here are too big anyway."

I was about to reply, but Abby beat me to it, coming through the entrance to the sunroom from the garden, saying, "Speaking of boobs, Tim, would you mind tracking your son down, please?  He's harassing the bees, and I'm never going to convince them to help us pollinate this garden if he keeps doing that."

Tim got up and bounced on the bed a few times before launching himself into the air with a fancy twist.  "A father's work is never done."  He flew away, out into the garden, yelling, "Wiiillyyyyyy!  Come to Paaapaaaa!"

It was the first time Abby and I had been alone since I'd met her earlier in the day, just after my binding ceremony with Ben.  I was nervous.  Her husband had been my roommate for months, and even though he was no bigger than the palm of my hand, we had a pretty close relationship for fae of two different races.  It made me feel weird that we'd lived together while he was married to her.

"Oh, that looks nice," said Abby flying over to check out the furniture in her little jungle, zipping around to view it from several angles.

"Do you want me to move any of it?" I asked.

"No, this will be just fine."  She looked at me and smiled.  "I hope you're okay with us sharing your space.  We can always go out into the garden if you'd prefer.  Pixie babies can be very noisy sometimes.  And nosey.  They're naturally very curious."

I shook my head quickly.  "No.  Not at all.  You guys can go wherever you want.  Shoot, I'm used to Tim sleeping just a few feet away and snoring like a sawmill, so this will seem far."  I smiled and then stopped, immediately feeling weird again.

We both stared at each other for a few moments before Abby finally broke the silence.

"I can see why Tim likes you so much."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes.  You're kind and thoughtful.  And Tim has always been drawn to those who are a little ... different."

"Different."  I wasn't sure if I was being complimented or insulted very politely.

Abby flew up in front of me.  "I didn't mean that in a bad way.  I meant it in a good way.  You are not like the other changelings or the humans I have known.  You're ... stronger, maybe.  More opinionated.  Like Tim, actually."

I couldn't fault her for her perception.  "Well, I've been called that before.  Maybe not kind and thoughtful, but yeah, definitely opinionated."

Abby flew down into her new bedroom, adjusting the quilt on top of the bed and fluffing the pillow I had thrown down.  "You've made it possible for Tim and me to live here in this compound with our son.  That would never have happened before you intervened in his captivity.  We will be forever grateful to you for that."  She looked up at me, her hands folded in front of her.  She was so pretty with her curly red hair and freckles.  I wished she were bigger so I could hug her without smashing her to bits.

"You would have accomplished that on your own, with your work in the Dark Fae clinic.  I guess you found the cure for pixelation, huh?  Chase seemed normal before he left."  He'd had a nasty run-in with Tim who threw some pixie dust on him and had him laughing and dancing like a lunatic until the Dark Fae healers were finally able to get him under control with their antidote.

"Yes, we finally did find the right formulation.  But you helped us overcome the prejudices and misconceptions between our race and the others.  Really, this is an important time in our history for us."

"I'm surprised more pixies aren't here now, if that's true," I said.

"Oh, there will be.  Believe me.  Word is spreading."

I tried to smile, but it probably wasn't quite coming across as that.  All I could think about were the accidental pixelations that were going to happen all over the place and what a mess it would be.

"I can see that disturbs you, and I can understand your reticence.  There's a reason we've been relegated to pixie colonies for thousands of years.  Some of our race have been perhaps a bit too ... enthusiastic about sharing their dust."

"No, I'm cool with it.  In theory."

"We will definitely have to put some rules in place.  It's been a long time since we fae have lived together like this."  She looked around her jungle and then flew up to gaze around the room.  "I can't tell you how long I've dreamed of it - living among other fae."  She lifted her hand up to her face and wiped away a tear, placing her fingers on her lips and keeping them there.

I panicked, thinking about freaking Abby out, then Tim out, and then the baby, too.  A mass of crying pixies couldn't possibly be good.  "Don't cry, Abby.  It's okay.  I'm ... uhhh ... happy too!  We're all just one big happy family here, right?  Don't worry about it.  Everything will work out fine with the other pixies coming."

Tim appeared from out in the garden, dragging his son along with him.  "What'd you say to her, Jayne?  Why is she crying?"

Abby waved him away and sniffed hard.  "I'm fine, I'm fine."

"I didn't say anything," I protested.  "She's getting all verklempt over living here, right, Abby?"

Abby nodded.  "Tim, honey, please.  Leave the poor girl alone.  I'm just so happy to be here.  I get this way sometimes, as you might recall."

Tim nodded, taking his wife in his arms.  "I know, babe.  I gotcha, ya big fat crybaby.  Rest your weary head on my wonderfully broad shoulders and forget all your troubles."

I snorted, knowing for a fact that Tim was paranoid about his shoulders being too narrow.  Thank goodness his wife was okay with being called a big fat whatever.  If he were my husband that would have earned him at least a gut punch.

He frowned at me over Abby's back.   "Don't you have somewhere to be, Jayne?"

"No.  I don't think so."

"Council meeting?  Before dinner?"

"What? 
I didn't hear anything about a meeting."

"Didn't I tell you?" he asked innocently.

"No, you neglected to mention that," I said, frowning at him.

"Oh.  My bad.  It's in five minutes."

"What?!" I yelled, looking around desperately for my cloak.  I shook my head clearing it, grabbing for the backpack at my feet.  I hadn't even unpacked yet.  I pulled the shimmering turquoise material out and threw it over my shoulders.  "Where's the meeting?"

"Oooooh, Poppy, look at the pretty dreeeesssss," said Willy, stumbling over in the air towards me, his eyes fixed on my shoulder, his hands outstretched.

"No, no, Baby Bee, leave Jayne alone," said his mother, flying over to intercept him.

He saw her coming and made an evasive maneuver to the side, intent on getting to me without her interference.  She almost had him, but then he farted, giving himself a little burst of power that sent him zooming out of her grasp.  He came right for me, clearly out of control, and bounced off the front of my chest.  It must have knocked him a little unconscious because he started to fall, and his wings weren't working.  I held out my cupped hands and caught him halfway to the ground.  

He landed on his back, his arms and legs spread wide, blinking his eyes a few times in stunned silence.

"Willy!" shrieked his mother, flying over to my hand.

"Whooooaaaaa, that was awwwwwesome," said Willy, grinning from ear-to-ear.  "I wanna do that again!"  He scrambled to get up, his tiny butt crack showing when his pants came down partway in the back.

"No, sir you are
not
going to do that again.  Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" asked Abby, landing in my palm and taking her son by the hand.  "Come with Momma.  We're going to go play in the roses.  Would you like to do that?  We can balance on the thorns."

Willy pouted.  "Wanna bounce off the lella-mental."

"You can't bounce off the elemental right now.  She's late for a meeting," I heard her say as they lifted up and flew away through the door to the garden.

Holy shit is this kid gonna be a handful or what
.  I was starting to question the idea of living with a family of pixies when Tim came up and landed on my shoulder.

"Good catch, there, Lellamental.  Saved my boy from a solid bounce, that's for sure.  Ready to go?"

"You're going to the meeting with me?"

"I'm gonna try."

"Doesn't Abby need you?"

"Nah.  We're takin' turns watching Willy.  It's her turn today.  Mine's tomorrow.  Or next week."

I laughed.  "Nice."

"Yeah.  Come on.  Seriously ... get me out of here," he whispered, "before they come back."

I shook my head as I walked out the door.  "You're gonna get yourself in some serious trouble if she ever hears you saying that."

"So what else is new."

"True.  So true," I said, closing the door behind me, stepping out into the hall at precisely the same moment as Ben.

CHAPTER FOUR

"READY FOR THE MEETING?" BEN asked, throwing his cloak over his shoulders.  Reds and blues shimmered inside the blackness of the material.  It reminded me of the sky outside our atmosphere - a picture taken of another galaxy, maybe.

"I guess.  How come you didn't mention it?"

"Sorry, I thought you knew."  He led the way down the hall, turning back several times to look at me, as if urging me to come and walk by his side.

I gave up on the idea of staying away from him and joined him there, walking next to him as we chatted.  It felt weird to be striding down the hall looking like a couple, but I forced myself to stay with him, even when we came across other people who smiled knowingly at us.

"I'm never in the loop in this place," I complained.  "Even Tim knows more about what's going on than I do."

"That's because he spies on everyone all the time," said Ben.

"Hey!" protested Tim from my shoulder.  "I'm no spy!  I just happen to be in the right place at the right time.  Often."

"Tim doesn't appreciate the accusation," I said, smiling.

"It wasn't an accusation.  It was admiration.  He's very good at it."

I knew for a fact without even seeing Tim that he was preening right now.  I glanced at Ben out of the corner of my eye and saw him smiling.  He knew exactly what he was doing, flattering Tim like that. 
Why you sneaky little dog. 
I nudged him ever so slightly with my elbow, and he continued to smile, looking straight ahead.  I liked the idea of messing with Tim, tag-team style.  Maybe this wouldn't be so bad all the time, having to hang out with Ben.

"I am known in certain circles for being an expert in the area of surveillance.  True fact.  I don't mean to brag, but you know ... awesome is as awesome does."

"You're not going to be allowed in, you know that, right?" asked Ben.

"They won't even know I'm there," said Tim deviously, moving to hide in my hair.

"He says they won't even know he's there."

"Okay.  But don't say that I didn't warn you."

Tim stuck his head out.  "What?  Is there a spell?  There's a spell, isn't there?"

I translated for Tim again.  "He wants to know if there are spells on the meeting."

"Yep."

"Damn those witches!"

"Why'd you tell him?" I asked.  "That would have been fun to see him get zapped."

Tim climbed out of my hair and flew up in front of me.  "Sometimes I wonder whose side you're on, Jayne."  His hands were on his hips as he scolded me, and he once again reminded me of my father. 
So lame. 
I tried to snatch him out of the air, but he got away from me.

"Don't embarrass me in there!" he yelled as he disappeared down the hall.

I shook my head at his teasing talents.  He always knew exactly which buttons to press to get me going.  Now all I could think about was making a stupid mistake.

"Don't let him bother you," said Ben, reading my thoughts or facial expression somehow.

"He has a point.  I do screw shit up a lot."

"Well, that's normal for a changeling.  You'll get better over time."

"I need a manual."

"That's what you have me for," he said, stopping at a door and opening it for me.

"You're my manual?"

"I'm whatever you want me to be," he said, staring down at me, making me feel funny in my special places.

I quickly stepped into the room, hoping the breeze created by my fast walking towards a seat would cool my face off before I sat down.  All Ben had to do was say one little hardly suggestive thing and I was all embarrassed again.  I seriously needed to get a handle on myself.  I might be a virgin, but that didn't mean I was totally inept around guys.  Not normally, anyway.  But something about Ben made me feel like a fluttering idiot whenever we were alone.

I took a seat at the far end of the table, while Ben stopped to talk to several other fae who had beat us to the meeting.  They were Dark Fae I had only seen once at our binding ceremony, both witches.  My mind wandered to the one Dark Fae witch I did know - Samantha.  Supposedly, she and I shared the same grandmother, Maggie.  Actually, Maggie was more like a great grandmother times ten or something, she was so old and so many generations back.  I still wasn't sure that I believed that story, but Maggie was a real stickler for the truth.  I couldn't imagine her lying about it, as strange as it seemed.  The fact that Samantha had tried to kill me a couple times and seemed hell-bent on hating me made the idea of being related to her almost laughable.  I shouldn't have been surprised, though; my own parents hadn't seemed to like me much, either.

I refused to consider memories of my mom right then, because she'd died in such a horrible way, being tortured by a demon.  I didn't want to cry in front of all these people.  Surely, they'd revoke my cloak then.  Not that I'd mind, but I'm pretty sure it would be a huge disappointment to a lot of fae who were counting on me to be mature and do the right thing by them.  I sighed, thinking how light the cloak was when the mantle of responsibility it represented was so damn heavy.