War of the Fae
Book Four
New World Order
Elle Casey
Copyright 2012 Elle Casey
All rights reserved.
Copyright Notice
© 2012 Elle Casey, all rights reserved, worldwide. No part of this ebook may be reproduced or copied
without author permission. Please support artistic expression and help promote copyright protections
by buying a copy of this ebook at www.Amazon.com. The author thanks you deeply for your
understanding and support.
Acknowledgments
I have lots of people to thank for the final installment of the War of the Fae series. First, to my
editors, Beth G. and Margaret R. – you girls make me a better writer. I learn with each book. Thank
you so much for your dedication. I’d also like to thank my readers. Wow. You guys are just
fabulous! I love hearing from you on Facebook, by email, on my blog, on Shelfari, Goodreads,
Amazon’s forums, and on Twitter. Your supportive words are my drugs. I cannot possibly thank you
enough not only for your reading, but your community spirit. To the book bloggers out there who take
time to read and review indie books like mine, hats off to you. Thank you so much for putting my
work in front of your readers. To the bands who inspired my work with the fae, including Breaking
Benjamin, Muse, Lana Del Rey (ignore the haters, babe!), Gotye, Evanescence, The Civil Wars, and
Nine Inch Nails. I am very grateful to Amazon.com and especially its KDP program, which allows
indie authors like me to promote my work to the masses. I owe Amazon a lot and I’m proud to be a
part of the Amazon family. Thank you France for being a magical, inspiring place to write. Thank
you to Lady O and Sir Richard for lending me your Paris apartment to write, write, write. Something
about being surrounded by books and friends makes the process so much more enjoyable and fruitful.
To my momma who is always always supportive of me. To my husband and kids who put up with my
writer nonsense and still love me. To Hercules, the wonder poodle, who will sit and warm my feet for
hours as I write, watching my every move with love in his eyes. And to my friends who are still my
friends, even when I ignore them for days or weeks on end while I write. Super hugs to all of you!
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my grandmas, Jeanne and Grace. Two of the ass-kickin-ist ladies you’d ever
want to meet. They never fit the mold their families wanted to put them in and they always rebelled,
even if only just a little. Their spirits live in my characters, especially Jayne.
Chapter 1
The snarl coming from the power flux streaming through my body and out of my hands towards Ben
was nearly deafening. It’s as if a series of bombs were going off in the distance – in the spot where I
was aiming all of it. I heard a scream that could only have been Samantha getting Finn’s mindseye
arrow surprise. Happy birthday, bitch.
A roar that sounded like a wounded and angry orc on a magically amplified megaphone came next,
sending shivers up my spine. I worried that whatever it was would be coming for me any second.
Was it Ben? Or maybe one of the Dark Fae ogres that had been trying to kill the Light Fae elves lined
up to my left? – Elves I could no longer see or hear, but whose presence I could still sense in The
Green somewhere.
I didn’t let up and I didn’t let go. I cast a glance over at Finn standing next to me, who was having
a hard time withstanding the ferocious wind. “Get back inside!” I yelled.
Finn turned to go, but the storm blowing around us was too much. He bent over in an attempt to
battle it, but it was no use. He started to get pulled away from me, towards Ben. I felt Scrum bump
into me as he, too, was drawn away.
I started shouting in desperation and anger, unable to control the wild emotions that started
erupting from me to join the forces of nature battling around us. No one was going to take my friends
away from me, especially not Ben.
I kept up the flow but started simultaneously building a concentrated ball of power in my hands. It
seethed and swirled, my last-ditch effort to blow Ben to smithereens. If I could launch this thing at
him, I just knew something big would happen. I felt the ball’s perfectly smooth sides, pulsing with
energy. I gathered it in towards my chest and then, without hesitating or worrying about the
consequences, sent it blasting out toward the place where I thought Ben was standing.
The sound that hit my ear a split second later was not what I had imagined it would be. I hadn’t
been sure what to expect exactly, but this wasn’t it.
It’s as if I’d suddenly lost most of my hearing. The percussion of a distant explosion shook the
earth beneath my feet, but everything was muffled to my ear. I felt a flash of heat and immediately
lost my sense of space and time. Moments before, there were fae all around me, both Light and Dark,
and I was aware of the ground under me and my friends standing nearby in support, the sources of
power that fed the beam of destruction coming from my hands. Surely there must be some fallout
from the mindseye arrow that Finn had just launched at Samantha, aiming to kill; but I couldn’t sense
it. Any of it. I was lost in a kaleidoscope of greens and blues that made up the combined raw power
of the elements Earth and Water.
I was afraid to let The Green go. I was even more afraid to stop combining Water and Earth to
overwhelm my opponents. What if Ben was still there, waiting for me to lower my guard? What if
Samantha was poised to send another bolt of white lightning at Finn or Scrum? The Dark Fae would
be able to get into the Light Fae compound, my home; they would destroy my family – or turn them
over to the Dark Fae side, sealing all our fates.
Images and snatches of memories flickered through my mind as I stood there frightened and
confused – my father telling me my personality was going to get me into trouble some day; Tony,
hugging me, telling me everything was going to get better after I’d failed a stupid history test; the
looks on Dardennes’ and Céline’s faces when I explained why I had selected Mother Nature as my
superhero of choice during my changeling interview. I had so gotten that one wrong. I wasn’t
superhero material. This proved it. In a moment of need, I had lost it – cracked.
I closed my eyes, trying to block out the visions, but everything stayed the same. I couldn’t tell
anymore what was real and what was imagined. My hearing issue made me want to reach up and rub
the sides of my head, but I was afraid to move my hands. All I needed to do was make this worse than
it already was – to send a rocket of power headed off in the wrong direction, frying the Light Fae elf
warriors who had come to protect our home, fighting side by side with me.
In the wake of the boom that issued from my exploding power ball, I heard the steady buzz of
white noise. A loud, fuzzy drone that wouldn’t go away. I still couldn’t see anything but the lights,
swirling and twisting around each other, and I wasn’t able to sense the presence of my friends either. I
felt lost. Alone. And, man, did it suck.
“Jayne!” came Tony’s voice, from off in the distance.
“Tony?” I asked, tentatively. Why is he here? Where is here? Am I still outside the gargoylesymbol door, standing near the edge of the forest that marked the home of the Ancient One? Or had I
sent us both into one of the Otherworlds?
“Jayne! You have to let it go! Stop now!”
“I can’t. I’m afraid,” I answered out into the colors swirling madly around me. My voice was
weak, lame-sounding, which only served to make me pissed off at myself.
“Jayne, it’s over! Come back to me! We can’t get near you with your power switch on like that!”
His voice was pleading now and he sounded scared.
The panic in my best friend’s voice worked like a magic spell, snapping me out of the weird place
I was stuck in. Tony needed me – I had to get back. And if he said it was over, it should be safe to
drop the stream of energy still flowing out of me and towards the forest where Ben had emerged
earlier. Tony would never lie to me.
At first, the power didn’t want to leave. I could feel its resistance, urging against its forced
retreat. I had to try and recall the technique that Valentine, the incubus, taught me, focusing on the
power and reining it in. I knew at least one of the entities that came up through my Earth Element, the
Ancient One, was there, reveling in the use of its essence above the ground. I pushed it back mentally,
forcefully reminding it who made the decisions around here – me. I’m the boss of all this messed up
shit. I may be a total screw up, but I’d decided long ago, if you’re gonna screw shit up, you might as
well own it. Meet me – Jayne – the girl who just couldn’t seem to get it right.
“Good, Jayne, good. Keep going,” pressed Tony, sounding a little less desperate.
“You’re doing it, Jayne, good job!” urged Scrum, way too cheerful-sounding for how crappy this
all felt.
“Take me over there! Put me on her shoulder!” yelled Tim’s tiny voice.
I should have known they wouldn’t be able to keep my stubborn pixie friend away for long. And
him being here meant Spike was here too, since he was the one put in charge of Tim when the shit had
so recently hit the fan.
I blinked my eyes hard a few times, trying to clear them of the greens and blues, but they wouldn’t
go back to normal. I turned my attention back to managing the flow of power and felt The Green now
completely under control, waiting for my final order to go back into the earth.
“Tony?”
“Yeah, Jayne?”
“Can I let The Green go now? Is it safe?”
I heard a heavy sigh. “Yeah. It’s safe.”
“Don’t worry, Jayne, I’ve got your back,” assured Scrum.
I didn’t know what Tony’s sigh was all about – Tony’s sighs usually carried a lot of meaning, but
without being able to see his face yet, I couldn’t guess what it was. He was a master at
communicating with sighs and eye rolls. I was missing at least half of the equation without my
eyesight.
I let The Green know that it could release Water and go back into the earth. I thanked it and tried
not to feel awful about the fact that I’d used its pure essential light and rejuvenating combination of
life forces to hurt another fae. We were at War, and it’s the Dark Fae who had brought it to our
doorstep. I refused to feel guilty about the consequences they had brought upon themselves.
The Water Element that I had finally learned how to bring into the mix felt different than The
Green. It was sparkly, energetic, bouncy. It reminded me of Becky, which instantly brought a lump of
sorrow into my heart. Please, please don’t let her be dead . The last time I’d seen her, she’d just
suffered a bolt of Samantha’s witch power to the chest to end up lying in the grass with a death stare
in her open, sightless eyes. But Becky had managed to teleport out of there somehow, so I was going
to hold onto a sliver of hope that she was still alive as long as reality would let me.
Water proved to be harder to rein in and send back from where I had drawn it than Earth. Part of
the problem was that it had come from many places. It felt a lot less concentrated and organized than
The Green. Using it and trying to control it was more like herding champagne bubbles or something.
I’d had champagne once at a cousin’s wedding reception; it had made me sneeze, all that sparkly stuff
getting away from me in my mouth and throat.
I had thought that when I had the two elements under control, everything would be back to normal,
but when Water finally left me, the only thing that was different was the fact that I could hear better
and I could put my arms down. I still couldn’t see anything other than the weird lights.
“Jayne?” asked Tony.
“Yeah?” I said, worried, not sounding like my normal self at all.
“Look at me.”
I heard whispering behind me. I couldn’t tell who was doing it or what they were saying.
I turned in the general direction of Tony’s voice, and tried not to wince at the gasp I heard from
him. “What the hell’s wrong, Tony? Why can’t I see you?”
“Jayne, your ... it’s ... your eyes. What do you see?”
“I see blues and greens, twisting all around, moving. What do you see?” I finished weakly, afraid I
was now blind and that one of my colossal fuck-ups had made it happen.
“They’re glowing turquoise, kinda like you just described, actually – not your normal hazel color.
You can’t see me?”
“No. Nothing at all, other than the swirls.” I closed my eyes and it was the same. I wondered how
long I could watch this stuff and not get nauseous. Hopefully it would become a non-issue very soon.
I felt his hand on my arm. “Come on. Let’s get you to the clinic.”
I resisted his pull. “Wait. Tell me what happened, first.”
I felt Tim’s weight on my shoulder as he joined me. “I’ll tell you what happened.”
“Go ahead, Tim. Tell me.”
“Tim,” started Tony, sternly, “I don’t think it’s a good idea right now ... ”
But Tim ignored him, in typical Tim style. “What happened is you blasted the you-know-what out
of those Dark Fae. Boo-yah! And the ones who were already dead on the ground? Gone. Poof!
Disappeared. Samantha? Gone, but not before she got a nice pricking from Finn’s arrow if I got the
story right – I didn’t get to see any of it firsthand, since someone saw fit to lock me away with a
hungry incubus during all the good parts.”
“What about the green elves? And Ben?” I asked, anxious for the response.
“Finn?” prompted Scrum, “She wants to know about Ben and the other green elves.”
I heard footsteps come up on my right. Finn touched my hand, his fingers warm and dry. “The
elves are fine. They’ve left for our forest campgrounds.” He cleared his throat. “They took Falco’s
body with them. I’m not sure about Ben. There was a lot of wind. He may have left with it.”
“Dammit!” I yelled. Falco, the sweetest green elf I knew, had fallen in battle, and the asshole I
held responsible had gotten away. “I wanted Ben dead!” Life was so unfair sometimes.
“Jayne, just relax,” said Tony, taking my elbow again. “I’m not so sure you want that on your
conscience. Let’s just go to the clinic and see what we can do about ... your eyes.”
I pulled my arm away from him again, calling out, “Scrum?”
“Yeah, right here,” I felt his arm brush up next to mine.
“Show me to the clinic.” I grabbed onto his elbow, refusing to let Tony help me. I was pissed he
was trying to make me feel guilty for wanting to protect my friends.
“Jayne, don’t be mad at me,” said Tony, sounding very tired.
We began walking towards what I assumed was the gargoyle door leading into the Light Fae
compound.
“I’m not mad. I’m just not in the mood for your ‘Ben’s a good guy’ speech.”
“That’s not what I was going to say. I just worry that ... ”
“Tony. Later, man,” came Spike’s voice from in front of me. “Let’s get her seeing again and then
we can worry about that stuff.”
The sounds of several feet walking through the meadow grasses whispered in my ears. No one said
a word as we made our way through the gargoyle door and down the hallway to the clinic. I couldn’t
help but wonder what had become of Ben, Samantha, Becky ... and my eyesight.
Chapter 2
“So what’s the scoop, doc? When am I going to be able to see again?” Staying flippant about my
problem was my way of having a positive attitude. The idea of being blind for the rest of my very
long fae life was more than just a little bit worrisome. I’d be a sitting duck for any Dark Fae that
came along, from pixie to dwarf to ogre, not to mention the fact that I’d be friggin blind. I liked
seeing the world around me way too much to lose that ability and stay sane.
The fae doctor who’d been examining me and discussing various theories with his colleagues
answered, “It appears as if you’ve suffered what we suspect is a temporary loss of vision brought on
by the power surges you manifested and sent through your body. Based on the information shared by
your friends, it seems as if your – er, non-traditional – means of controlling the power could be the
problem.”
“He means you suck at it,” translated Tim.
“Yeah, thanks, Tim. Noted.” I rolled my eyes and immediately heard a couple fae gasp in
response. One of them quietly apologized.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing,” said Tony, gently.
I knew from the tone of his voice he was lying. “Tim? What is it? I know you’ll tell me.”
“I think that fae girl was grossed out by your glowy eyes going up into your head. But I could be
wrong on that. I can’t really see them from here.”
I turned so he could see me and rolled my eyes again.
“Eeegads, woman, stop that. You look like a fae-eating zombie ready to go on a rampage.”
“Oh. Sorry.” Great. Now I was grossing people out. “So what should I do?” I asked, turning to
face the spot where the doctor’s voice had most recently come from. “Do you have any eyedrops or
anything like that?”
“No. But we are going to consult with some of our witches to see if there are any spells that could
hasten the healing for you. We will send a message if we are successful.”
I held out my hand. “Scrum? You here?”
“Yep, right here.” He took my hand and put it in the crook of his elbow.
“Take me to bed or lose me forever.” Smiling at my own lame-ass Top Gun humor, I realized that
there is one positive side to being blind – I couldn’t see anyone’s reactions to what I said, so there
would be no guilty feelings if I made anyone flinch. Awesome.
Scrum cleared his throat nervously. “You mean to your room, right?”
“Yep. And if everyone’s not too tired, I’d like you all to come with us so we can discuss what
happened tonight.”
I heard affirmations of assent around me, able to pick out everyone’s voice but Tony’s.
“Tony? Are you in?”
“Yeah,” he sighed. “I’m in.”
I wasn’t going to beg him. If a guilt trip over my blindness got him there, then so be it. Besides,
he was the new training coordinator. He obviously needed to get his ass in gear if we were going to
have any hope of winning this war.
Just as we were leaving the exam room, Dardennes and Céline walked in. I could hear their voices
and they sounded stressed, which was very strange coming from them.
“Jayne, you’ve been injured,” said Dardennes, worry seeping into his voice.
“You could say that,” I responded, wryly. “I hear it’s temporary, though.”
“That is truly a relief and welcome news,” said Céline, taking one of my hands in hers and
squeezing it. “What happened? We have been fighting off attempts at entry in front of five separate
doors. Luckily we succeeded in driving them away. We heard that you and your friends did as well.
We cannot thank you enough for your efforts on behalf of the Light Fae.”
I gripped Scrum’s arm hard as I thought about Samantha shooting Becky and those Dark Fae elves
hitting Falco with that arrow, not sure that what we’d done qualified as a success. Scrum patted my
hand reassuringly.
“Could we talk about it tomorrow maybe? I’m pretty tired.” I totally wasn’t in the mood to
explain how much I’d messed shit up tonight, and waiting a day wasn’t going to change anything.
“Yes, of course,” said Dardennes. “We will be awake well into the night, so you’re welcome to
come join us after you’ve gotten something to eat, or even tomorrow, that would be fine as well.”
“Tomorrow sounds good to me.” I didn’t feel like eating. Thinking about Falco and Becky made
me too sad to even go into the dining hall.
“Tony? Will we see you with the gray elves tonight?”
“Yes, sir, after I’ve seen to Jayne.”
“Very good, then. Until later or tomorrow.”
We parted ways at the door. The rest of us went in the direction of the bedrooms, arriving at mine
after quite a bit of stumbling on my part, thanks to the uneven stone floors, which originally looked
pretty cool in their ancientness but now were the bane of my uninjured existence. One trip from the
clinic to my room had already resulted in one slightly twisted ankle and a wrenched arm from trying
to hold onto Scrum as I went down.
Once I was inside and seated at the head of the bed with my back against the wall, I began. “Okay,
guys. First, thanks for coming. I know you’re all super tired and would rather be in bed. Me too ...
only sleeping not sitting ... and with none of you here ... but I want to know some stuff, and without
eyes right now, I need more of your help than usual.”
“No need to explain, Jayne. We’re here for ya,” said Finn.
“Yep. No place I’d rather be right now,” said Spike. I could hear the smile in his voice.
“I don’t have a choice. I live here,” said Tim, sarcastically. I could tell, though, that he didn’t
mind.
I didn’t wait for the others to chime in, continuing in a more subdued tone, “Okay, so first of all, I
want to know about Becky and Falco. What’s going on with ... ?” I couldn’t finish because I was
having a lot of trouble forcing the tears to stay away. I told myself I had to be military-minded about
this, just for now – until everyone was gone and it was just Tim and me. But it was impossible to stay
impassive about two of the nicest fae to ever walk this earth. My brain kept torturing me, recalling
visions of their faces during their last moments in the Here and Now.
Finn cleared his throat, also clogged with emotion. “I don’t know about Becky, but I can tell you
that Falco didn’t ... make it. The arrow pierced his heart, and it was spelled. If it hadn’t been, he
might have been okay, but ... ”
“That’s dirty!” yelled Tim, clearly incensed, his voice much higher than normal, “The fae don’t
play dirty like that!”
“Says who?” I asked, my ears not believing what they were hearing. “I’ve never seen one of those
Dark Fae play fair yet.”
“No, that’s not true,” insisted Tim. “The fae have an innate sense of fair play. We fight, yes – but
we fight fair so the real, true winner comes to the fore. We don’t stoop to those kinds of tactics.”
“Well, apparently the Dark Fae do. So we need to step up our game.” I turned in Tony’s
direction. “What do you think, Tony? You’re the chess master, slash, training coordinator.”
There was a pause while Tony measured his words. “Well ... I haven’t been fae for long, so I can’t
speak about fair play from their perspective; but I can say that if we’re not willing to make hard
decisions, to spell arrows for example, then we will be at a distinct disadvantage. And Jayne affected
the green elves’ arrows with her power, so I don’t see how that’s any different.”
“But where does it stop?” asked Scrum, quietly.
“Where does what stop?” asked Tony.
“Well, how far are we willing to go? Spelled arrows is one thing – but I can think of worse. And
my grandma used to say, ‘you can’t un-ring a bell’. Seems like that could apply here.”
Wow. The voice of reason coming from old keg-o-beer-himself. I was beginning to think that all
of the daemons had secrets. First Jared, then Chase, now Scrum – hiding in the outward appearance of
a clumsy oaf, but inside another story altogether.
“You’re right, Scrum,” agreed Tony. “There are some lines that we shouldn’t cross. Torture is
one of them, in my opinion. We shouldn’t be doing things like that.”
“Tim says we are,” I said, without stopping to think about it first. As soon as it was out of my
mouth, I regretted saying it. Now they knew Tim was a snooper. But the bell was rung, I guess.
Come to think of it, I’d rung a lot of bells in my time that I’d wished I could un-ring. A lesson to
contemplate another time.
“No, we’re not,” said Tony, firmly. “The gray elves are very clear about that. We don’t use
torture, and I’m totally in agreement with them on that. We don’t need to do that to win.”
“Well, Tim says someone’s doing it here. He was outside a door when he heard someone inside
being hurt.”
“Tim, tell us what you know,” demanded Tony. I could tell from the tone of his voice he was
getting cranky. “Jayne, tell us what Tim was saying.”
“Who? Me?” said Tim. “Oh, I was just messing around. It’s nothing. Really.” He yawned overly
loudly.
I frowned in his direction. “Stop dicking around, Tim. I know you weren’t lying before.”
“I’m tired. I’m going to bed.” Fake snores, coming from over near my dresser where his bed was
stationed, reached my ears.
I rolled my eyes, earning only one gasp this time. Shit, I kept forgetting about the zombie eye
thing. “Sorry. Listen, Tim. We need to find out what’s really going on here. I don’t like all the
mystery and games. I’ve already completely trashed my eyes. Falco’s dead. Becky’s gone to who
knows where. I feel like we’re only working with half the information we need.” I decided a little
threatening was in order. “Come on. Cooperate. Or I’m gonna sic Maggie on you. Your wings will
be fully grown, in what? Four days? Less maybe?” I had to give him both barrels – otherwise he was
going to pixy around all night on this, and I was tired.
“You wouldn’t!” he squeaked.
“Maybe not. But I would move you to Scrum’s room. And put your stuff next to his pillow. So
spill it. Give us the goods or you’re outta here.”
“You’d do that? Make me sleep next to gnome-head?”
Tim was disgusted by Scrum’s belief that hair shouldn’t be washed with shampoo – or anything
else for that matter.
“Yes. Whatever it takes. So give it up. Who’s torturing who and where?”
Tim grumbled some more but then he started speaking. “It was in a hallway far from here. I
followed Dardennes there one day. I don’t know who it was he was torturing.”
“What?!” I said, shocked.
“What’d he say?” asked Finn.
“Who was it?” asked Spike. “Niles? I’ll bet it was Niles. He’s little, but he always looks like he
wants to hit someone. And he’s got that axe ... ”
“No. Tim said it was Dardennes who went into the room.”
“No way. I don’t believe it,” said Tony, firmly. “He wouldn’t. Tim, tell Jayne exactly what you
saw and heard. I’m sure there’s a misunderstanding somewhere.”
“I saw and heard what I just said. I flew down the hallway and followed Dardennes to a room
where someone was being held. After the door shut, I heard screaming from inside. It sounded like
torture to me. And I saw him go in there, so I don’t know who else it could have been doing the
torture.”
I repeated his story to the others, then added, “I know when I was kidnapped by the Dark Fae,
though, they had three people in the room at one point, and only one of them was actually doing the
torturing.”
“Yeah, but one of them was ordering it,” said Tim.
“Tim’s right. Only one was bringing the pain – but the others were telling him to do it. No one
was innocent in that room.”
“Well,” said Tony, matter of factly, “the only way we’re going to get to the bottom of this is to go
see for ourselves. Who’s going?”
“Right now?” asked Spike. “It’s pretty late, don’t you think? We already missed dinner.”
“I’m not going to be able to sleep if I don’t find out what’s going on in that room,” I said, standing
next to my bed. “Scrum? Could you please lead the way?” I held out my hand for his elbow.
“Jayne, I’m not so sure this is a good idea.”
“I know you don’t. You never do, party pooper. Let’s go.”
Never one to fight me too hard on anything, Scrum shuffled over and took my hand, putting it on
his arm. “I’ll go. But it’s under protest.”
“Fine,” I said, brushing his caution aside, “Who else is with me?”
I heard Tony’s voice off to my right. “Get Tim, Spike. We’re all going. Just in case.”
I smiled. My friends were sticking with me, even though I’d pretty much shown I wasn’t exactly
worthy of undying, unquestioning support. Please don’t let me screw this one up . I didn’t know how
much longer they’d stick around if I didn’t start getting some things right – all the way right, not just
partially, half-assed right.
We made our way down the hallway, walking a long distance that involved a lot of tripping on my
part before we reached the door that Tim identified as the likely candidate. The torture chamber.
“What do we do now?” whispered Spike.
“I don’t know. I hadn’t thought this far,” I whispered back.
“And you wonder why you’re not on the war strategy team,” snickered Tim.
I reached up quietly to flick him in the butt, but he moved out of range, grabbing onto my ponytail
and hanging from it. I gritted my teeth to keep my retort from flying out. This was no time for
games. There could a bleeding, angry Dark Fae behind this door.
“Give me some space, guys. I’m going to open it,” said Tony in his trying-to-be-brave voice.
Scrum stepped back, taking me with him. I heard something clank loudly and then maybe feet,
dragging across a stone floor with grit on it. The next thing I heard was the sound of the door creaking
open, some chains rattling, and then the collective gasps of my friends.
“What?!” I whisper-yelled. “Who is it? What is it?”
Nobody was answering me, so I spoke up in a normal tone of voice. “Who the hell is in there,
guys? Talk to me.”
“Jayne?”
The voice that came from inside the room nearly stopped my heart.
“Chase?”
Chapter 3
“Chase? Is that ... you?”
“Yes,” was the weak answer.
I dropped Scrum’s arm and rushed headlong into the room, not caring that I couldn’t see shit.
“Jayne! Stop!” yelled a chorus of voices.
The sound and urgency of it caused me to falter in mid-step. “Why? It’s Chase.”
“No, it’s not, Jayne,” said Spike, suddenly at my side, using his incubus speed to get to me first.
He gripped me by the shoulders and pulled me back towards the door. I heard Scrum now, making
that grunting sound that told me he was wrestling with someone who had put me in danger. It was
mixed with the sounds of clanking chains.
“What’s happening?” I asked weakly. I detested that tone in my voice, but I couldn’t help it. I
was at a complete loss. I hated not being able to see anything. I knew I’d heard Chase’s voice. It had
to be him sitting there. Why was Scrum putting him in the daemon squeeze?
“Oh, boy,” said Tim in a slightly breathless voice, hanging onto my hair a little tighter than usual.
“That explains it.”
“What explains what, Tim?”
“The torturing. Or the yelling anyway. It’s a buggane.”
“What the fuck is a buggane, and why does it have Chase’s voice?”
“What’s he saying?” asked Spike.
“He’s telling me what this thing is. What does it look like, Spike?”
“Well, it kinda looks like Chase, actually. Only ... hairier. And gross.”
“Tell her, Tim, so she can tell us,” said Tony, “What’s a ... buggane?”
Tim cleared his throat and then used his best documentary narrator voice to explain. “A buggane
is a low-fae creature in the Here and Now, usually a minor demon in the Underworld. While in the
Here and Now, the buggane likes to dwell in caves and other dark and dreary places, usually near lakes
and waterfalls. Buggane usually shun the company of other fae ... ,” he dropped the narrator voice and
continued, “ ... which makes me wonder what he’s doing in this room. He must have been snooping
around or something for Dardennes to have brought him here.”
I repeated what Tim had said as word-for-word as I could.
“Oh, and tell them that he eats human or fae flesh. And that he can take on the appearance and
voice of certain people or fae if he so desires.”
I shivered at the thought. “Tim says he can do some shape shifting stuff and he’s a cannibal.”
“No, that’s not what I said! You have to tell the story right. And use the flair voice that I’m
using. It’s way better that way.”
“Okay, so he’s not a shape-shifter. He just can look like and sound like another person or fae.”
Tim grumbled, “It’s better when I do it.”
“Well, get a bigger voice then,” I said testily. “I need to know what’s going on here, Tim, and I
can’t see shit, so stop messing around. I’m seriously running out of patience with you.”
“Jayne,” came the Chase voice, pleading from across the room, “Help me. I need to get out of
here. How can I protect you if I can’t be with you?”
I trembled at the sound, involuntarily backing away a step. “Holy shit, could that get any
creepier?”
“No,” said Finn, matter of factly. “It damn sure couldn’t. He even looks kinda like Chase. He
ain’t no dead ringer, but he’s close enough to fool me for a second.”
I almost wished I could see this bastardized version of Chase, just because I missed him so much.
But I was probably better off only having the real Chase in my mind. No need to give my nightmares
any more material.
“So what’s the deal, do you think? Why is he here?” I asked to no one in particular.
“Who cares? Let’s get outta here,” said Finn, obviously anxious to go.
“I want to talk to him,” I said. I had no idea what information I could get from this creature, but I
needed to know how he got here, and why he was impersonating or indaemonating Chase.
“So, uh, buggane. Why are you here?”
“My name is not buggane. My name is Chase.”
“Your name is not Chase! Don’t say that! Chase is my friend and I don’t appreciate you taking
over his voice like that.”
“Well, he does,” was the sly reply.
“I doubt it,” I said angrily. “So tell me how you ended up here. You’re Dark Fae, right?”
“Yes, I am Dark Fae. I’m here because I was taken by a Light Fae silver elf.”
“Where were you when you were taken?” asked Tony.
“I was in the Green Forest.”
“Where in the Green Forest?” I asked, impatient with his evasive answers.
“Near the place I believe you call the Infinity Meadow.”
I had been there with Chase the day he was pixelated by Tim, just before I handed him over to the
Dark Fae healer who somehow ended up recruiting Chase over to their side – one of my more
spectacular screw-ups to date.
“What were you doing there?” asked Tony.
“Protecting Jayne from the orcs.”
His words made me momentarily speechless, especially since they were said in Chase’s voice and
I couldn’t see the bastardization of his face. Plus only a few fae knew I’d run into orcs out there.
“What?” said Spike, “that’s a bunch of bull. You’re pretending to be Chase and you eat ... people.
You were probably there to eat her.” Spike’s voice came directly at me then. “Jayne, don’t listen to
this ... monster thing. It’ll say anything to trick you, I’m sure of it.” He sounded disgusted. “Let’s
just leave.”
I held out my hand to stop him. Something about the buggane’s voice, maybe because it sounded
so much like Chase’s, I don’t know, but I had to hear his explanations. I hadn’t decided yet that he
was entirely full of it, especially because he knew about the orcs. And I had gotten away under pretty
bad odds – four of them against Tim and me. I should have bit the big one that day, but I didn’t. I had
written my escape off as proof of my amazing skills of enemy evasion, but now I wasn’t so sure.
“What do you mean, you were protecting me?”
“I was given that duty. The assignor didn’t tell me why, only that I must do it to pay my debt. I
have been unable to do this, so I have been in much pain.” He let out a howl that made all the hair on
the back of my neck and head stand up. A shiver passed through me, and I felt a corresponding one on
my shoulder as Tim reacted.
Tim said tremulously, “Holy pixie butts, is there anything more creepy than a buggane cry? No, I
think not.”
“Is that the sound you heard, Tim? When you thought someone was being tortured in here?” asked
Tony.
“Uh ... yeah. Maybe.”
“He says yes.”
“Okay, then, so maybe Dardennes wasn’t torturing anyone in here.”
“Maybe not,” conceded Tim. “But he still has a prisoner. And he’s been here for a while anyway.”
“Back on track guys,” I interrupted. “So, buggane, who was your assignor?”
“Chase of course. Your beloved daemon.”
“How is that possible? He’s been pixelated. He couldn’t have assigned you, or whatever.”
“Bugganes are liars,” said Tim, “don’t believe him.”
“I can smell you pixie,” the buggane said in a low, unnerving voice. “Don’t think hiding in her
hair will protect you from me.” He continued in a more Chase-like voice. “But I’m not in the mood
for pixie snacks today. Why don’t you tell her about fae who are pixelated? It seems to me she
doesn’t have all the facts.”
“Tim, what’s he talking about?” asked Tony. The war strategist in him had to be feeling at a
distinct disadvantage here, not knowing enough about pixelation. I know I was.
“Well ... I guess it’s possible Chase assigned him the task of looking out for Jayne.”
“How, Tim?” I turned to face where my friends were standing to pass on Tim’s words. “He says
it’s possible Chase told him to look out for me.”
Tim explained, “If Chase or someone who was with Chase had a debt to call in over this buggane,
he could have ordered the assignment to pay off the debt.”
“Even if he was pixied out of his mind and laughing his ass off? And what kind of debt? How
would Chase have that with a buggane? He’s just a changeling.”
“Even all pixied out, you know Chase was still worried about taking care of you – he told us that
when he rescued us. So, yes, he could have done it – he was with-it enough to stage our breakout. But
how a buggane could owe a debt to Chase? I have no idea. You’ll have to ask the buggane that one.”
“Okay, buggane,” I said, turning my sightless eyes toward the creature, “why did you owe a debt to
Chase? Or was it someone else you owed?”
“My name is not buggane. It’s Chase.”
“No it’s not!” I yelled, losing the edge to my voice as it started to tip into teary-sounding
territory. “You are not my Chase. What’s your real name?”
“While I am assigned, it’s Chase; however, I can see it’s upsetting you to see me in this way, so I
will tell you my real name. You did ask me for it, after all.” He paused for a moment, a wet sound
coming from the general direction of its face, causing me to think it was probably licking its
disgusting lips. “You can speak it aloud if you wish. My name is Gorm.” He chuckled low and deep.
“Go ahead ... say it.”
“Your name is G... ”
“NO!” yelled Tim. “Don’t say it! Whatever you do, do not say his real name.”
I leaped in fright at the sound that erupted from where Gorm sat chained. He had started howling
again, and the sound mixed with the clanking chains made me feel like vomiting in anxiety because it
wasn’t just unintelligible sounds this time, it was angry words spoken with absolute viciousness.
“Eeeaaaat yoouuu! Piiiiiixiiiieeee! Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!”
I backed up until I was in the doorway, surrounded by my friends. I swallowed hard, barely getting
the words out, “What did I almost just do?”
Tim’s voice was shaking as he answered, “You were four letters away from becoming a buggane
meal along with all of your friends here. Me included. Can we please go now? I think I might have
peed a little. I need to go change my pants.”
Great. Pixie pee in my hair. Could this day possibly get any worse? No, I don’t think so. Right
now, I was more afraid than I’d ever been of anything in my life, unsure if it was Gorm himself
causing me to feel this way or the fact that I couldn’t see any of the horror I could hear and otherwise
sense. But I had to know more. I took a deep-shuddering breath and continued.
“Chase-monster ... I need you to answer one more question for me. No ... wait ... two more
questions.”
All I heard was heavy, growly and gurgling breathing in return, which I decided to take as a
positive sign.
“First, what debt did you owe to Chase?” I battled to keep my voice steady, “And second, why are
you screaming in here like this? Are they torturing you?”
“I will answer your questions, fae girl, because I will consider my debt paid to Chase once I am
freed and report back to him that you are still alive, in spite of the Light Fae having locked me away
during my assignment.” He took a rattling breath. “I owed a debt to Chase because he and I served
together in the Overworld, and when I fell, he made sure I only fell this far – to the Here and Now –
and not all the way to the Underworld where I was intended.” He paused to take another grosssounding breath and then continued, “And as for your second question, I scream because until my
assignment is complete, I live to serve you, and I have been kept from my assignment. It is painful
for me. Also ... I am quite hungry.”
I was too stunned to speak, but Tim wasn’t. “It’s probably a lot less painful for you in here than it
was in the past for one of your unsuspecting dinner guests!”
Gorm answered slowly, his words dragging out, one at a time, “I can hear you, pixie. I can smell
you ... and I can hear you.”
The thought of this thing, smelling and hearing Tim or me or any of us, was creeping me out. I
could only imagine what it was doing to Tim, still partially wingless and as helpless as a baby. He
was probably peeing some more. I was going to have to change my shirt for sure. I wondered if pixie
pee left permanent stains.
Gorm continued, “Consider, as you scorn me, that I do not choose to be the fae I am. I do what is
in my nature, just as you do. Just as you did with Chase, pixie. And you cannot stop nature ... isn’t
that right, Jayne?” And then he started laughing maniacally, like a deranged killer locked up in a
nuthouse.
“Okay, that’s enough for me.” I’d reached creeped-out overload. “I’m ready to go ... Scrum?”
He said nothing, but I heard heavy feet stepping toward me and then felt his dry hand take mine
and put it on his arm.
As I walked out the door, I turned my head back towards Gorm. “When I get my Chase back, I’ll
have him release you.”
“That may be a very long time,” said Gorm.
“Not if I can help it,” I said, angrily. There was some serious next-level shit going on here that I
planned to get to the bottom of – as soon as I had a damn shower and at least six hours of sleep.
We all walked carefully out of the room, Spike securing the door behind us and double-checking
the lock. I could hear the agitated clanking of Gorm’s chains as I walked away, heading towards my
bedroom. I tried not to shiver in fear, but it was impossible. Now I knew where the term ‘boogie
man’ had come from.
We all walked back to my room and then everyone said their goodbyes before leaving.
Tony stood in my doorway, the last one to go. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “Thanks, Tones. I’m just gonna go to sleep. Screw the shower. I’ll do it
tomorrow.”
“See you at breakfast?”
“Yeah.” I heard Tony’s footsteps as he moved closer to me. I waited and soon felt myself drawn
into a warm, comforting hug. I squeezed him back hard. “Thanks. I needed that.”
Tony laughed softly. “It wasn’t for you. It was for me.”
“Wimp.”
“Toughie.”
“Stop. You’re making me blush.”