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Chapter 12
"You know Duke," Audrey began after a few minutes of silence, "the one thing I haven't heard mention of is Helena and Jean."
"Oh hell no. What do I even say on that point?"
They had eased into a relaxed companionship on the Gull's patio, enjoying the sunshine of the spring.
"You could start with, 'Princess…' that's cute by the way," she laughed at his grimace. "No, really it is. And it totally fits her."
"Shut up."
Audrey snickered. "Man, all I ever ranked was 'blondie' or 'sweetheart.'"
Duke gave her a sideways glare. "You done yet?"
"Oh, for now. Really, I think we've both figured out by now that keeping secrets in a relationship is a bad idea."
"Yeah well, I'm not really sure how to lead into 'I have a daughter who will suck the life out of me if she's ever within arms' reach of me. Because I had a one night stand with a woman I'd never seen before and couldn't resist and…' Is she still up in the fuckin' light house?"
"Yeah, she is. I checked on her a couple of days after I got back. She only goes up there when Helena is likely to… you know."
"Is she… she okay?"
"Do you care?"
Duke shrugged. "It's not really her fault."
Audrey nodded. "You did a good job pretending like it didn't matter too much to you, Duke, but…"
He raised a hand to stay her.
"It's gonna come up some time. And Jennifer deserves to know."
"Neither one of us are ready."
"Some time, Duke. Some time."
"Yeah. I know."
"Should he know this shit ahead of time?" Manannan asked.
Macha didn't even look at him.
"Would I be able to bring her back? Would we live?"
"Do you require a guarantee?"
"You told me last night that one day my humanity would save more than Audrey, is that what you meant?"
"I thought you said you didn't see this coming Macha?" Manannan was insistent.
"I did not see William transferring his lechery onto Jennifer."
"Onto who?!" Nathan snapped.
"I thought he would just capture her to lure Maeve. Instead, he plans to try to use her to open multiple doors and, according to him, for his own personal pleasure. So, again Nathan, I remind you that Duke leapt into possible death to try to restore Audrey to you. Will you do as much for him?"
"Yeah. I will. I'll go in and get Jennifer, but if he has her, how will I get to them?"
"I will get you there. I will be able to follow her."
Nathan nodded. "Will you be able to get us out too?"
"You are very worried about that."
"What would be the point if we couldn't get out?"
"We will get out. All but William. Him, I will destroy."
"What about Audrey?"
"We will definitely need Jennifer then."
"Should he be able to go and tell the others this?"
Macha and Nathan both looked at him.
"I just think that if Duke gets so much of a whisper of this he'll not be lettin' Jennifer out of his sight."
"I did not take you for such a strategist, Manannan. You are right."
"So, if you make him forget all this, will his answer change?"
"If she what?" Nathan started to edge away.
"No, his answer will not change. It was a rhetorical question. I wanted him to admit it to himself." She was reaching into that cloak of feathers and Nathan turned to run but she was in front of him before he could take a second step and blew some kind of powder into his face. She caught him before he could drop to the ground and eased him down.
"That was nice of you not to let him fall."
She shot him an annoyed glance. "I am not, in fact, completely devoid of feeling."
"Oh, I fuckin' noticed that. So did the whole fuckin' forest."
Manannan knelt beside Stan and rubbed a palm over his head, healing the bump.
"I think I am beginning to see where the phrase 'swear like a sailor' originates."
"Look Macha, I can't approve of what you're setting up here. Duke isn't the only one you should worry about being furious with you. I don't think you can forewarn Maeve about this but I happen to think you should. And how do you know you can follow Jennifer and William?"
"I have power in Death. I will be able to follow her blood. DUKE will be able to follow her. And William will take her to the realm of the Dead because he has Arawn's old authority. He is foolish enough to think that Maeve will not be able to return there, despite all of her blood that was spilled, and he conveniently thinks that I hate her. Nathan's blood will open the door in the Lighthouse."
"Oh, you know about that one?"
"Naturally."
"But do you know that my army cannot go very far there?"
"Of course I do. We will only need you for the first rush. To hold them in place and draw as many into that place as possible. From there Maeve and I will be enough and, once Audrey crosses that threshold she will become Rhiannon again. Duke will be there and it will take only a little of Nathan's blood to open the door."
"So we take two Fae and a couple of Halflings into the Underworld and do what exactly?"
"Save the cheerleader, save the world?"
"You have got to be fuckin' kidding me."
"No. I am quite certain she was a cheerleader."
"Oh no, I figured that. I just didn't know you watched so much damn TV."
"I like human narrative. I like their hope."
"You know, you let this less icy, badass part of you get out much and you might jeopardize that whole unapproachable bitch thing you have going on."
"And then people would approach me. Do you know how little I would be able to accomplish then?"
"Are we just going to leave them here?"
"They will be fine." She sprinkled a little of the dust onto Stan.
"What is that shit?"
"Well, it certainly is not made of fecal matter. It is sand from the banks of the river Lethe."
"How much, exactly, are they going to forget?"
"They will not recall coming ashore."
"How do you keep so much in your wings?"
"That is one of my favorite secrets to keep."
"Did you happen to share it with Mary Poppins?"
She simply glared at him.
"Do you think we can reach Jennifer in time?"
"I think that if we do not, then Jennifer will have to make her stand."
"I really don't think I can stand to deal with this right now."
Jennifer sat at the bar of the Gull, reading over the mail that Audrey had brought in while Duke made sure all of the glasses were in place and ready to go. Staff were beginning to wonder in and get ready to open for dinner.
"You okay, Sweetheart?"
"Ugh. I'll be fine. It's just… Hospital bills… And the money from the sale of Mom and Dad's house is almost gone so I'm going to have to withdraw from the trust fund and I really wanted to avoid that for as long as I could."
"You have a trust fund?"
"It's not exactly the 'buy a yacht and party in Ibiza' kind of trust fund, but yeah. Dad started it with an investment firm and when he was killed in the car accident, Mom put most of the payout money into that." Jennifer shrugged. "I tried to get her to use it when she had cancer but she didn't want to, and luckily they had good enough insurance for that. I sold the house. It was too weird trying to live there by myself." She looked up at him and while she was smiling, a sadness had settled around her.
"You miss them."
"Yeah, sure. They were great parents."
"Looks like they did a really good job with you. Including making sure you'd be taken care of."
"They were both kind of Type A personalities. Everything planned…"
"Did you, by chance, have a white picket fence?"
She laughed. "Yes, as a matter of fact, we did. And dark blue shutters on the windows and a red door and a porch swing and yes, my room did have a bay window with a window box seat."
He stared at her a moment, picturing her growing up in that idyllic setting. She smiled at him and he was glad she didn't ask him about his own childhood.
"You know if you need anything…"
"I actually don't. It's okay, Duke. I need to do this on my own. And I'm going to go ahead and step outside to call the investment firm, have them send up the paper work needed to start the funds withdrawal. Be back in a couple of minutes."
Jennifer sat at the table outside and used her phone to track down and call the investment firm her parents had used to set up her trust fund.
"Essex Investment Management, this is Roderick Buchanan speaking."
"Um. Rick?"
There was silence on the line a moment and then, "Jenny-Cat?"
"Just call me Jennifer."
"Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I was just surprised. I didn't think I'd ever hear your voice again."
"Likewise. I'm calling about my parents' account there. I mean, my account."
"Oh! Okay. Yeah. Hold on a second… Do you know the account number by any chance?"
"No. Can you find it through my name?"
"Sure. What do you need?"
"I just need to make a withdrawal and I think there's a form I need to fill out for that."
"Oh, sure. Just come on down to the office."
"I don't live in Boston any more, I need you to mail it."
"Do we have your new address?"
"I don't think so, but I've had my mail forwarded."
"Oh, that takes forever. Give me your new address and I'll send it direct."
Jennifer gave him her new address and was ready to hang up, feeling awkward, when Rick asked her another question.
"When did you move to Haven?"
"About a month ago."
"And you're living on a boat?"
"Yes."
"I never would have thought."
"When did you start working at Essex?"
"Just a couple of months ago. Still just handling tax stuff for the most part."
"Oh. Okay. Congratulations."
"So, why Haven?"
"Well, it turns out I was born here."
"Wow."
"And I met someone."
"Oh. That someone is the boat owner?"
"Yes."
"So it's serious then?"
She met that question with the icy silence it deserved.
"Sorry, it's just hard to imagine my little Cat living on a boat."
"Yeah. Still not a cat, Rick." Karen was bringing clean ash trays onto the tables and putting out drink menus and she gave Jennifer an odd look. All Jennifer could do was shrug helplessly and roll her eyes. Karen winked and went back in.
"Hey, Duke!"
He and Mike were laughing together while Mike was making a Margarita that was most likely for Jennifer so Karen was glad to send him out a little earlier. He looked her way.
"Your girlfriend is on the phone reminding some guy that she's not a cat. Bet she could really use that Margarita right now."
On the phone with Jennifer, Rick was trying to make amends. "I am really screwing this phone call up, aren't I? Jesus, Jen, I am so sorry. I swear I'm not usually a douche bag."
Jennifer relaxed a little and chuckled. "It's okay, Rick. It's been a long time though and I wasn't expecting you either."
"Right -"
Duke came out with Jennifer's Margarita. "Hey, Princess, you about done?" His voice was a little louder than necessary. "Mike made what he says is his best Margarita yet. I supervised and I have to agree, it's his best. It's not MY best, mind you, but still…"
"Is that him? Did he just call you Princess?!"
Jennifer felt like screaming. Instead she smiled a little too brightly in response to Duke's obvious ploy.
"Yeah, Rick. I need to go. Just take care of the paperwork will you?"
"I'll get the forms you need up to you kit - I mean, Jen. See you later."
"Yeah. Great. Bye!" She tapped the call off and set the phone back onto the table to accept the drink from Duke. "Oh my God. That call got weird. My ex boyfriend is working for that place now." She took a big drink. "Hey, this is great. You know, old men are supposed to be working in places like that. Not guys I dated in college."
"College boyfriend?"
She took another drink. "Don't even start. I'm actually glad you're here but it was super awkward for a few seconds." She raised up on her toes to give him a kiss. He smiled and kissed her back.
There was a fluttering of wings and nervous cooing from some nearby pigeons but there was never a reason to question the presence of pigeons around the Gull. Not even a dull grayish black colored one that flew away from the rest of the fluttering flock and alone toward the west.
"You going to hang around here?"
She nodded and hummed her affirmative around the drink again. "First, I'm going to run home and meet Maeve. You know she has a cell phone now?" He shook his head. "Now you do. She wants to meet me on the Rouge and show me the things she picked up yesterday." She took another drink, gulping the glass to a little less than half empty. "Oh man, can you keep this somehow? It's way too good to waste and I can't drink it all right now."
He took the glass from her. "I got it. Be careful."
"I will. I'll call you when I'm on my way back here, okay?"
"You still have that gun I gave you?"
"Ummm…"
"Jennifer…"
"I'm fine! I'm going straight to the Rouge and either Maeve or Macha will be there, or both. And really… who's going to try anything with either of them around?"
Maeve stepped onto the Rouge at about the same time Macha landed on the prow and shifted from a raven to her human form.
"We need to talk."
"Oh. I can tell right now this is going to suck. Can we make it fast? Jennifer is on her way here to see what I had brought over and then I think I'm going to try and do a human mother daughter shopping thing with her."
"Very well. With luck William will not abduct her and drag her to the underworld to use her power over thresholds and rape her while she's on her way, although Nathan has promised to rescue her. Also, we need to stop the frequent usage of our names as it is gathering attention. Interestingly enough, William does not recognize Jennifer as your daughter. In fact, I am certain that he still has no idea you were ever pregnant."
"You've been playing double agent with William?"
"I have been giving him the impression that I have."
"And he told you that he plans to rape Jennifer in the underworld? And you think I'm going to let this happen?"
"He plans to use her to open more doors."
"And raping her is a side hobby?" Maeve's eyes were beginning to redden. The wind picked up from the south and west and the clouds that were in the sky seemed to skitter away.
"You cannot have an emotional reaction to this. We will go after them. We will gain entry to the realm of the Formorians and utterly destroy them. We will destroy William. Rhiannon will, at last, be free and Suile Gaela will know herself. She will make her stand there, Maeve."
"I can't believe you expect me not to care about this. I know what your youth was like but we are Danaan. We protect our young."
"I expect you to care. I also expect you to remain calm and rational. She is a grown woman in every sense of the word."
Maeve took a couple of deep breaths and the wind eased down, her eyes returned to green.
"Holy shit, does Duke know?"
"He cannot know Maeve."
"Oh.. FUCK!"
"You need to be teaching her how to harness her Fae powers. There is no time to train her for fighting."
"Do you know when it's going to happen?"
"No. He will not wait long but I believe I have convinced him to wait until long enough to ease everyone into a false sense of security. I have to confess to having seen that he would take her down there, but not to him desiring her. Of course, I find that I maintain a perception of her as childlike and therefore not an object of desire."
"Despite telling me just seconds ago what a grown woman she is?"
"I can understand your dilemma."
"You really think she can make her stand down there?"
"I have already seen her do it. I just did not know what would precipitate it."
Maeve sighed heavily.
"You said Nathan agreed to going in after her?"
"Shortly before I sprinkled sand from the banks of the Lethe on him."
"Where is he now?"
"He and the other police officer who accompanied him will be waking shortly. They will most likely think they were hit by a falling branch."
"You were the one causing the weather phenomenon."
"Yes. As I said, I understand your dilemma where Suile Gaela's well being is concerned."
"I really want to go stab things now."
"In good time you will. And surely you have learned the value of delayed gratification."
"I never thought you would have the patience to dally with William in any form."
Macha's face betrayed a moment of surprise and wariness for just a fraction of a second too long. Long enough to arouse Maeve's suspicion.
"When Pwyll killed Pryderi I had lost my patience. If not for his tie to Rhiannon I would have destroyed him. I went back to Arianrhod. I saw the pieces and how they needed to be placed."
"You let me get taken."
"Yet I would never risk losing you."
Maeve sighed. "You know William well enough, Macha. Only Rhiannon could tell us more and well… she can't right now…. How much time do you think we have?"
"I believe we will be lucky to have the rest of the week. As he wants Jennifer he will seek out a way to isolate her. And I urge you again, Maeve, to be the Warrior Queen of the Danaan and not the mother of Suile Gaela. I need to get the Old Man's cloak and use it to cloud Duke's renewed power. It is to our advantage if William thinks that Duke is no longer Troubled."
"How are you going to do that?"
"It has been used before to only cloud or veil rather than to make invisible. In this case, I only need to get Duke to wear a piece of it over his heart."
"A piece of it? You're going to cut it?! Mac Lir is going to kill you."
Macha simply gave her a blank glare before responding. "It can be woven back on later."
Maeve inclined her head in consideration of this idea. "You also said something about our names?"
"The spirits are getting excited with the sounds and the whispers. William is not yet certain you are here but he will soon enough. I doubt that Bres would be able to contain himself if he knew that I was here."
"How does he not know?"
"That is curious. Treachery, however, is a constant trait shared between Arawn and Pwyll. Apparently arrogance and ignorance as well. William does not know about the Old Man's whistles."
"What? Really? Are you sure he's not playing you?"
"Quite certain. He originally guessed that Suile Gaela was a daughter of Danu. He has no idea who she really is. I had to remind him that she was at least part human. This is not the first time he has demonstrated Pwyll's stupidity. And Arawn did not really concern himself with information over much either you know. Always relying on his power, such as it was. But Pwyll was too easily convinced of my soft-hearted loneliness."
"Nope. No one but me really knows about what a sex fiend you actually are." Maeve blinked as something occurred to her. Her gaze sharpened in on Macha for a moment before she let it go. With Jennifer coming soon, now was not the time. "I figure it would fuck with your image. And I like your image, it's damn handy."
Macha twitched a smile. "I recall when you were little, before you came into your powers and after you came into your attitude. I was often your back up plan."
"I remember you triggering my powers and adding some on by stabbing me in the heart the same way you did Duke."
"I might have waited on that, or done it differently, if you had not picked that fight. Though I was obviously prepared."
"Duke didn't pick a fight with you."
"I have explained myself and will not repeat –." She caught Maeve's smirk. "Oh. I see. He was trifling with my niece and yet you had not challenged him… No, you would not worry about her so-called virtue."
"Wow. You kinda suck at banter."
"I am excellent at killing."
"You suck at archery though."
"Are you referring to my destruction of the trunk of the Alder tree?"
"Oh you found out about that."
"Lucky for you I am also good at inductive reasoning. William asked why I blew it up."
"Oh, when I did it, he was shrieking about me - or you - missing. I guess he decided you're not that bad after all."
"Hm. Well, my experience with weapons is limited. I do not need a weapon to – as they say – 'fuck shit up.'"
"I know. It's super bad ass of you and one of the reasons why I love you."
"Maybe you can give me one of those reasons." Jennifer was approaching the gang plank.
"She has been drinking," Macha murmured.
"Yeah, just enough," Maeve returned in a low voice. "Play nice and don't think I won't fuck your shit up if you don't."
"I concur that I owe her 'nice' at the least. But I will not be allowing her to stab me."
"Agreed. She'd likely set you on fire by accident."
"I hate being set on fire."
"Who do you think you're talking to?"
Jennifer was standing before Macha now. "Do you have any idea what you've really done to Duke?"
"I assume you mean his emotional state."
"He hates what this is doing to him."
"I know. However, I entrusted his heart, and all matters relating to it, to you. You will notice that it was YOUR hand I placed first upon his chest, YOUR blood I sent to mingle with his. Rhiannon's would have done just as well, if not better. But you are the one he is in love with and who loves him in return."
Jennifer's glance shifted to Maeve. "Does everyone know this?"
"Only everyone who knows you. Or anyone with eyes and ears, depending on their powers of perception. Is that a problem?"
"It could be. In some of Duke's business, I would be a vulnerability. I mean, I trust him to keep me safe and tell me what I need to know but…"
"You are not his vulnerability, child," Macha said. "You are or will be his strength."
"Macha," Maeve interjected, "that's not how humans tend to look at these things. Particularly human males."
Jennifer waved dismissively toward her. "Is that why you gave me this?" She indicated the line on her palm.
Macha reached out and took her hand, staring at the mark for a time. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft and hushed. "The light shone in the darkness, and the darkness could not overcome."
Jennifer shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Maeve, who had turned her head out toward the water. "Did you really just quote Gospel to me?"
Macha blinked and returned her gaze to Jennifer. "There are places in this Universe where the darkness can overcome, where all but the strongest of light seems to disappear into itself. One day, you may find yourself in such a place and should that happen you must not despair; you must make your stand. Even in that place you are not lost. He will find you."
Jennifer felt a chill race through her. "H-How would he find me?" She tried to pull her hand back away but Macha kept a firm grasp.
Macha smiled. "When you make your stand all the worlds will know it, and nothing in any of those worlds could stop him from getting to you. In your heart, you already know this."
"Maeve said he would always be able to find me, and that he would always know what I was feeling."
"It is not so precise. He can find you, that is true. He will know when you are afraid or in danger. He will know when you are safe and at ease. But he cannot read your mind."
"But how would he find me?"
"Faery godmothers have been urging the wisdom of following your heart for years."
"You never laugh outwardly, but you say some of the most awful, flippant things."
Macha sighed and still holding Jennifer's hand flattened the palm again. "I am old. Older than you could imagine or possibly believe. I lived eons surviving by my strength and my cunning and gaining more. There was little room for humanity to develop."
Jennifer felt her remaining anger begin to fade. "I-I'm sorry…"
"I desire no apology or pity. And you owe me neither. You will seldom see evidence of it but rest assured that I do have feeling. Believe that I am your ally, and trust that I and your birth mother will see you through this." She released Jennifer's hand. "Speaking of your birth mother, she has gifts for you and I believe she wishes to teach you some magic and then take you shopping because there is supposedly a tradition involving human mothers and daughters doing this."
Jennifer gaped at her for a moment and ran her hand through her hair nervously. "Gifts?"
"Would I be called your faery mother?" Maeve asked with a wink. Jennifer scowled. "I know, you had a mother. And she was a good one. I'm pretty sure I would suck at raising a child. Your mom did a great job." Maeve smiled at her. "Come on," she inclined her head toward the chartroom. "You have a dress, a tiara and a sword."
Macha looked toward the Grey Gull and sighed. "Like I said. See them through it. In this case, see them to it first." She pulled out Manannan's cloak and put it on before shifting into a raven and flying to the Gull to talk to Duke. When she got there, she landed out of sight in front of Audrey's apartment and if anyone had been there to see they would have seen a beautiful blonde woman appear out of thin air and fold up a silvery looking cloth. As it was, customers were just beginning to arrive when she got downstairs and the bartender over poured one of the drinks as he stared at her walking in.
"Mike! Watch what you're doing!" Duke tossed the young man a bar rag and looked in the directing Mike had been staring. She gave him a view of the silver of her eyes so he would recognize her and watched his surprise as she approached the bar.
"You look nice."
"So I have been told. At least, when I look like this."
He frowned at her and glanced around to take in the reaction of others around them, making sure they hadn't heard.
"Well, what will you have?"
"I'll have a Dead Hand."
"Of course."
"We need to talk."
Duke made a face. "I'm pretty well all talked out today. Thanks though."
"This is important. It's about…" She gave a pointed stare and nod at his chest.
He sighed and handed her the drink. "Really, no thanks."
"It affects her safety, Duke." He narrowed his eyes on her. "Not in the way you think, though."
He glanced around the bar and saw that a table set in a darkened corner was available. "Come on." She followed him and took the seat across from him, noting that he chose the seat that would keep his back to the wall.
"What now?"
"Your Trouble. We need to make sure that William can't see it."
"And how do we do that?"
"A simple bit of cloth, in the pocket of your shirt, will obscure it."
"Okay, great. Magically, William won't be able to see that the Crocker Curse is back. How, exactly does this affect Jennifer's safety?"
"I realize you see it as a liability. But it is an asset that is better off kept hidden for now."
"Is William coming after Jennifer?"
"I am sorry, I meant Rhiannon's safety. Are you worried about Suile Gaela?"
He shook his head and looked away from her. Macha took a drink and waited a few seconds before beginning again.
"Did you know that Mac Lir's flute creates an excellent sound distortion? Even for Fae? Very hard to hear around it. Whistles do too." She glanced pointedly at his. "Although, I am not really Fae."
"Okay, what did you hear?"
"I heard your argument. After I heard you claim her as your own. I have been told that I do not know very much about human… feelings or customs… But you should know that, that sort of thing, is irrevocable in our world."
"Wait. What?!"
"I believe my youngest sister, Mary, told you that words have power. Actions certainly do as well. It was one thing for me to give the two of you a blood bond, to exchange words like that, just after… The only thing missing is a ring."
"Damn it." Duke shook his head.
"Are you telling me you had no plans of anything like permanency with my niece?"
"What? I don't…"
"Relax. I am teasing you now. The two of you are human enough that not even I can be certain how you will be affected. That blood bond had a purpose and it was not actually to entrap you into a marriage."
"Why did you do that to her?"
She took a drink to cover her smile. "I did that for the both of you. You will know when she is safe - or if she is in danger. Should she be in danger you will be able to find her. Likewise, she could find you. She can also calm you should you find yourself beyond your own control. Which could happen often, since you are apparently not going to use the Old Man's blood."
"What will it really do to me?"
"Exactly as I said. I may not always reveal information but I seldom lie outright. And I would not lie about that."
"But you would lie."
"Yes. Often for similar reasons you would. Mac's blood will act as a stabilizer. You really only have to think about it. He is part of this world. Old as I am, I cannot make that claim. You have no doubt experienced the volatility of my blood. His really will temper that. There is strength in your ability to maintain calm Duke. That is what it can do for you."
"But I have to put it in my vein?"
"I am aware of how that bothers you. If you like, I could do as I did last night."
"No thanks."
"I suspected you would not like that."
"So is Jennifer in danger or not?"
"Outside of our company Duke, when is she not in danger?"
He didn't like the sound of that. "Where is she now?"
"She is with Mary with whom she is safe. They are going shopping to honor a typical mother daughter relationship here in America I believe."
William clapped his hands together. "That could be excellent news," he told the golems. "Get to Boston and make sure that this Roderick is under my control. I want him up here yesterday."
"You really think he'll be useful?" The smaller one asked.
"Anyone that can cause a rift between Jennifer and Duke is useful. And if he's under my control he can bring her right to me. Make it seem like it's his idea to be up here…. Give him a little obsession crank."
"So, I get why there would be iron in the blade but why is it copper?"
"Copper is an excellent conductor of energy. In the hands of one of us it can heat up enough to cauterize the wound and minimize the amount of blood shed. Depending on the location of combat that can be very important."
"So this could be a flaming sword if you used it?"
"Well, they don't literally catch on fire but thinking of it those terms -it could be a flaming sword if YOU used it, Jennifer."
"I could do that?"
"Yes. You're my daughter and you're stronger than you know."
Jennifer frowned. "I don't feel that way most of the time."
"No. You wouldn't. Like most humans you measure strength through the body's ability. The Fae are creatures of will Jennifer."
"So when you move super fast or change into a bird…?"
"It's because I am capable of manifesting my will."
"That's how Troubles show up. Even though it's not really what those people want."
"Right, it's a corruption. Mostly because they have no experience or back ground in being able to control it. And they don't want it anyway."
"But I can control mine?"
"You're not just some random Fae's daughter, Jennifer. You are a member of the Royal House of the Danaan. We are among the oldest of the still existent tribes of what could be known as Fae or immortals still on Earth. We are the strongest. That is why we are the reigning dynasty."
Jennifer stared at her. "Where do we come from? Why are some tribes no longer in existence?"
"All of that is another story, and it won't really be yours. But just like human tribes and empires are here and gone… so are the Fae. Now, I want you to take a moment, and just like you visualize doors opening, I want you to go ahead and visualize fire, actually see the flame on the sword."
Jennifer closed her eyes to concentrate.
"No. Open your eyes. It will work better to keep your focus on the blade. Try again."
Jennifer stared at the sword, trying to visualize flames along the blade. After a couple of minutes her head started to hurt and nothing seemed to be happening.
"That's enough for now."
"But nothing happened."
"No? Feel the blade."
Jennifer did and was surprised to find it almost uncomfortably warm to the touch.
"Did you see it?"
"Yes."
"Good. That's enough for now. Come on, I'm supposed to meet Dwight at Valentino's for dinner. Then I want to go to the Gull and pretend to be drunk and hustle assholes at darts. Don't judge me."
"Where are we going?"
Maeve produced her AmEx Black card. "Shopping. You deserve a fun day and night and new clothes to go with it."
"You don't think I should wear my new dress and tiara?" Jennifer was joking. The dress was so hysterically stereotypical for a fairy tale princess it looked like Maeve had raided Disney.
The tiara was an impossible looking work of copper carefully tarnished to a green patina and then wrought to look like a fine fern greenery over gold twigs. Emeralds and peridot seemed to be threaded onto the copper wire strands for a glittering effect. What looked like rose buds were rubies and pink tourmaline that no human could have shaped and were interspersed with tiny forget-me-nots made of tanzanite and honey suckle that looked like mother of pearl. Pearls were woven randomly throughout. She'd been afraid to touch it at first, thinking that it looked like it would bend or dent easily but Maeve had demonstrated it's strength to her.
"Gofannon knows what he's doing," Maeve had told her. "As does Brighid."
"Who are they?"
"Gofannon is the great metal worker of the Danaan. And Brighid is a master craftswoman and… one of the Brighid. Which I know sounds ridiculous but she is. Sort of like your Aunt Morrigan is one of the Morrigan, or Morrigu, depending on who you ask. Don't worry about it. If you want to meet them some time it can be arranged. The point is, your tiara is solid."
"Well, I'm still not going to wear it around town. I've had enough of people thinking I'm nuts."
Maeve frowned at this but let it slide. "So then, let's go have some fun with new things."
Roderick Buchanan, known to his friends and most of his family as Rick, was preparing to close the office. He hadn't been able to get much more accomplished after the surprise phone call from Jennifer.
"The one that got away," he murmured to himself.
They'd kept it pretty hot and heavy through much of undergrad school at Emerson, but she had chosen to get her Master's in Journalism there despite his urging her to follow him to UMB where he got his own Master's. "Who needs a Master's in Journalism anyway?" he grumped to himself as he locked up the files he was working on. They had tried to stay in touch but the realities of life in and after college had caused it to fade out. One day she didn't return his email, then his phone call and none of his text messages. He'd moved on without ever finding anyone quite as adventurous as she was while being able to maintain an apparently permanent innocent charm; and she had very plainly moved on as well. To living with a guy who didn't even own an actual house but lived on a boat. He stared for a moment at the addressed envelope on his desk. He shook his head. He needed to forget her.
Before the thought could really finish itself the front door opened and the Carol the receptionist was firing off an instant message.
'Two seriously creepy guys just came in. Get up here pronto!'
She was probably ready to go home anyway and if they were as creepy as she claimed he'd let her go. She was efficient and nice enough but easily spooked.
When he got to the front he saw she was right. These two were creepy as hell. "Carol, it's almost closing, why don't you go ahead and take off?" She was down the back hallway by the time he finished his sentence her blue eyes beaming a thank you at him and he noticed she didn't bother to grab her jacket or her lunch out of the break room. He turned his attention to Heckle and Jeckle before him.
"Gentlemen, it is almost closing time, but if you're interested maybe I can get your contact information and ask you a few questions? We can help you plan your retirement, er, retirements on any budget." They looked like that budget might be a little low.
If the big guy could snarl more and look more scary he was certainly going for it. The little guy only sneered before answering.
"Oh, I don't think anyone in this room needs to worry about retiring."
Rick only had a moment to feel his own shock and repulsion to the sentence before the world appeared to go sideways and nothing in his brain seemed to be under his control anymore.
Jennifer had to hand it to Maeve. She made shopping an efficient hunt. She also refused to buy Jennifer anything approaching sensible. Jennifer could be fine with that if it wasn't for Macha's eerie ramblings from earlier casting a shadow over the afternoon. When she had tried to bring it up again, Maeve had dismissed it.
"Hang around my oldest sister enough and you'll notice that almost everything she says sounds like a doomsday prophecy. She's seen a lot of horrible things happen, even things from the future. And she tries to stop most of that future from happening."
"Most of it?"
Maeve shrugged. "You read Oedipus Rex, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, when Jocasta and Laius tried to avoid their prophecy, what happened?"
"It came true anyway."
"Exactly. Sometimes by trying to avoid our fates we cause the event to happen. Some shit really is inevitable. Like this red dress on you. And those heels over there to match." She indicated a flapper inspired dress in red with fringe over hanging sequins attached to a sheer red silk underneath. Thankfully there was a sewn-in slip for the sake of decency. Also thankfully, there was a matching red underwear set with a bra that had removable straps.
Maeve didn't buy anything and considering how friendly the staff was toward her Jennifer felt safe in assuming it was because she'd already made a gainful visit. The clerk actually shot Jennifer a glance that was an amusing mix of confusion, peevishness and envy when checking out for her three new outfits with matching everything.
"Is that all?!" It was more an exclamation than a question. Jennifer blinked and stared at the girl a moment before looking back to Maeve. It didn't seem like a paltry amount to her.
Maeve schooled the cashier with an icy glare as she handed her the card and Jennifer noted that it read 'Marianne Dane.' "For now, anyway," and that ice crept into her voice. There was an immediate change in the girl's demeanor.
"Right. Well. Thank you SO much for coming back. REALLY hope we see you again soon." She smiled brightly this time at Jennifer. "You too!"
Jennifer barely contained her laughter as they returned to Maeve's car - a vehicle Jennifer still hadn't got over being able to drive.
"Wow. I don't know that I've ever seen someone switch the way they treated me so fast."
Maeve studied her a moment. "I think, soon enough, that won't be an issue for you."
"What do you mean?"
"It's hard to explain. Once you come into yourself; who you really are, I'm betting you'll find that people who mistakenly had the tendency to start off with showing you disrespect won't have that margin of error."
"Why? Am I supposed to be lighting them on fire?"
"Well, if you want to, I guess you could." Maeve winked at her. "Mostly, I think you'll notice that having your power is secondary to simply having power."
Jennifer considered this for a moment. "I always wondered who I was, really."
"Mostly, that really is a series of choice you make. But there are the pieces of yourself you can never change. You were born with some inherent magic. That, as you have learned, carries a pretty big responsibility. You'll make choices that will define who you are for the rest of your life. But your advantage should always be the subtext of every interaction."
"That doesn't seem fair."
"Most things aren't."
"Well, as much as I appreciate this stuff, I'm not going to wear it tonight." She sent Duke a text to let him know she was on her way back to the Rouge before putting the Masarati in gear.
"Why not?"
"They're beautiful and I want it to be for a special occasion."
"Fair enough. I'm not intending to nag when I say that any occasion can be rendered special."
"I know."
"You're worried about Duke's reaction."
"Maybe?"
Maeve sighed. "Don't build your life around him." Jennifer stared at her, surprised to hear her own words from just the other day echoed back to her. "It's not healthy for either of you."
"I know. It's just that so much is constantly happening. I wanted to get a place of my own. I still want to. But I don't want him to think I'm leaving or rejecting him - especially now."
"That's building your life around him. And even under current circumstances, not healthy. I noticed your bruising is gone. It was smart to work with Audrey to get rid of it."
"I didn't really mean to. She asked me about it and I told her… I really don't want to go over it again… Anyway, she sort of grabbed me and hugged me."
"Way to go Audrey then. I understand not wanting to talk about it. And you didn't seem to have as much problem with it as Duke."
"Exactly what could you hear?"
"Mac played the flute while you two were…. You know. It distorts sound and so reduces or eliminates eavesdropping." Maeve seemed to consider her next words. "But we heard enough to know how worried he is about being unable to control himself."
"That vial of Manannan's blood -"
"We need to go back to not using our real names. I'll explain later."
"Well, that vial… what will it actually do to Duke?"
"I'm not as knowledgeable about it as my sister, but she wouldn't lie to Duke about that."
"Does she actually care about him?"
"Yes."
"Even though she apparently got pregnant and had a baby as some sort of Trouble fighting strategy? And a particularly vicious one at that?"
"Again, I have to point out her lack of humanity."
"Again, I have to point out that isn't an excuse."
Maeve chuckled. "No. I guess not. But it's how it is. And that strategic pregnancy of hers eventually led to Duke's birth. So, you know, works out well for you." Jennifer pulled the car up to the pier near the Rouge. "Do you want a ride to the Gull?"
"Isn't that out of your way?"
"Only a little."
"Are you siding with Duke in the smother me with protection argument?"
"We both want you safe. Have you been arguing about it?"
"Kind of. Yes. We had a big fight about it yesterday morning."
"Well, he's right. You can open inter-dimensional doors. I've already used that twice. Do you think I'm the only one? Not to mention the possibility of assassination - the biggest reason we need to stop using my name. As well as your scary aunt… Martha."
"Martha? Mary and Martha?"
"Works for me. We'll call the Old Man just that. Or Mac. Just to be on the safe side."
"Why?"
"Words and sounds actually do carry power and meaning. The spirits of the world are getting… excited. Martha and I are, shall we say, notorious. And that's saying the least. William is dangerous enough to you. And while I could protect you from any Fae who made a move to kill you, the very fact that I am here could lead them to you."
"So why don't you guys teach me how to defend myself?!"
"Do you really think you could be trained to match the speed and strength of an attacking Fae? And William has already demonstrated the power he could wield over you."
"Then what was the point of giving me a sword or even pretending to teach me how to fight?"
"To empower you. It's true enough that I could eventually teach you to use their strength and speed against them, for now, I think the best way to do that would be to teach you to hone your magical skills. You have mastery over fire. And that is a powerful weapon. Not to mention being able to shove your enemy through a door into another dimension."
"I could do that too?"
Maeve smiled. "Why not? Come on. Even if you're going to refuse to look fabulous tonight, you should go ahead and change. Have fun tonight. Martha and I will have it covered in town and Mac will have it from the sea. Dwight and I got the iochshlainte lile into the water supply and nothing will happen. At least not tonight."
Audrey perched on the counter top and looked out the window. In the fading light of the day the world was taking on a golden, rosy glow. She considered the memories that had never been hers and the memories she couldn't remember. It seemed like forever though that she had wanted to know who she really was and where she come from. And beyond knowing that, she wanted to be at peace with herself. It occurred to her that without meaning to, she had put her life on hold and had been waiting to live. Until she came here. Until she met Nathan and Duke, and so many others. And even then, when she had begun to pick up the pieces of who she was, she had started to hold her breath as dread and fear had pervaded her life. Now, after everything that had happened, she was beginning to feel as though bindings on her chest were coming loose. And it felt as though for the first time since she could remember - she smiled wryly as she admitted to herself that she was using the term remember loosely - she didn't feel like she had to try and take on everything herself. She took a drink of coffee and hopped off the counter to get dressed. She was going downstairs to hang out with Maeve and Jennifer. Macha was apparently going to join them as well as Dwight. Nathan walked in the door, dressed for the evening out. Tomorrow, she would use the healing lily spores to cure the Troubles that William had caused and try to reduce the power of the ones he had super charged.
"We really doing this?" He asked as she pulled her shirt over her head.
"I guess so. You up for it?"
Nathan just shrugged in response. "Seems weird right now"
"Yeah, I was just thinking I'm not really used to down time. And for lots of reasons I really don't remember the last time I could just relax."
Nathan smiled at her. "You feel like you can now?"
"Sort of. How I feel about my sisters is complicated still but I DO feel like I can relax a little and at least share the burden."
"You feel like you were carrying it on your own before?"
"I feel like I've been very worried about you the last few weeks. About what you went through when I was missing, when Duke was missing. About what you went through before the barn."
Nathan took her in his arms and he felt as solid as she had ever needed him to be. "That's all over now," he assured her. "And we'll get through what's coming. All of us." He bent to kiss her on the top of her head.
Duke was standing on the deck of the Gull chatting with customers when he heard the sound of a Masarati drive up. He turned to find a really pleased with herself Jennifer at the wheel.
"Are you kidding me?" He asked as he met them in the parking lot. "You let her drive? What happened to you keeping your agreement not to let anyone else drive it?" He was more amused than annoyed.
Jennifer smiled delightedly. "I talked her into it."
"Yeah, she did the most amusing little dance that consisted of prancing in place while saying 'please oh please oh please' until I thought my ears were going to bleed." Maeve got out of the passenger's seat and walked around. "Extremely effective. I'll have to try it the next time I'm interrogating a suspected spy."
"I have no regrets." Jennifer announced as she tossed her the keys.
Maeve winked. "See you in a couple of hours."
"Where's she going?"
"She and Dwight have a date! Can you believe it?"
"A date?"
"They're eating dinner at Valentino's before coming here. And that dress qualified as Mary's DAY wear. And yes. We're back to using not their real names."
"I heard. Martha is here. And, you look beautiful, by the way."
She beamed up at him. "Thank you."
He reached to pull a light blue cap sleeve from her shoulder to discover a bra strap a shade or two lighter.
"Hey!" She slapped playfully at his hand and adjusted the sleeve of the dress.
"Just checking." He took her hand in his and their fingers entwined as they fell into step together.
"You're incorrigible."
"You like it."
"Hmm. I love it."
He said nothing but smiled warmly at her as they walked into the Gull.
Dwight very sincerely hoped that his eyes were not popping out of his head, and that, if they were, nothing else was popping obviously. Maeve looked as spectacular as he knew he might expect but had out done herself. Black made every color she was made of glow bright. From her green eyes to her dark copper hair and burnished skin. That it was ankle length didn't seem to matter since it clung to her curves and there were diamond cut outs up one side. As she approached the table and he stood to greet her, he noticed that once again in her high heels she stood a little taller than he did.
"You look amazing," he told her.
She smiled brightly. "Thank you. You look very handsome." She leaned to kiss him on the cheek and he hoped that he wasn't blushing as brightly as he thought. He pulled the chair out for her. Glancing around he could tell that tomorrow the whole town would be abuzz about him and his dinner companion.
"Do people always gawk at you when you're on a date?" She asked over her menu.
"Date?"
"This is a date, right?"
"Uh…"
"Because if you think the dress is nice, wait 'til you see what I'm wearing under it. And let me assure you that it's not comfortable."
Dwight was now exceedingly glad to be sitting down.
