Changeling
Part I
The Otherworld

The pipe music twisted through the air like smoke on the wind, silver and ethereal, but also spine-tingling eerie. Blaze shuddered, gritting his teeth against the sound. It was beautiful and, for that reason, it was awful.

"Keep moving," Blue said, nudging him hard in the back. "They'll notice if you stop."

He nodded surreptitiously and kept moving forwards, glad of the mask covering his face and the glamour surrounding him. They shielded his expression from the creatures around him, an expression which one would classify as murderous. He had never thought he'd find himself in the Otherworld; it was a place that most hunters tried to avoid entering. No one in their right mind would fight a Fae in their own domain. But unfortunately the Fae they were hunting was a notorious collector, and he had something that Blaze wanted back, very dearly.

"Can you see her anywhere?" Blue said, her low voice tickling the back of his neck.

Blaze slipped behind a column, pulling out a faded photo. His younger self, aged around two or three, his arms around a smaller child, a girl with short red curls and wide green eyes, staring at the camera in astonishment. "Not yet," he said softly. "She'd be around thirteen or fourteen now, red hair, green eyes."

"That means nothing," Blue replied. "You know how time passes here. She could still be a child, or she could be an old woman, or dead."

"Well, I'm just going to have to hope for the best, aren't I?" he snapped, still scanning the room. All he could see, however, were tall men and women in masks, wearing clothes which appeared to be formed out of swirling mist. He had to admit, their disguises were holding up much better than he had anticipated. When Blue had bought him to her source, he had been dubious to say the least.

"This is Cassandra," Blue had said, gesturing the girl who sat curled up at the base of a tree. She was so pale that her skin was almost blue, with wide silver hair and eyes that reflected the moon.

"Not my real name, of course," 'Cassandra' had said, staring up at him. "But giving our your real name is never wise. That's your first piece of advice."

Blaze had raised his eyebrows, turning to Blue. "Your source is Fae? How can we trust her?"

'Cassandra' had shrugged. "What you're doing will piss off the Seelie court. That's enough for me to help. Besides, I'm the only one who knows where your sister is…well, the only one who will tell you, anyway."

That had got his attention. And now, using the glamours that 'Cassandra' had provided, they had managed to blag their way through the Otherworld and into the dwellings of one of the Seelie Lords. Which, too be honest, was absolutely terrifying considering that the moment he tripped up, or the glamour failed, he would either be ripped apart for entertainment or kept as a pet and tortured until the end of his days. Just like Amelia.

He set his jaw and continued moving through the crowd, but he was surrounded by tall, graceful men and women and from what he could see, they were all Fae. He tried hard to search every face, but the room was too big and full of too many Fae. A feeling of despair began to creep over him. They only had the one night. What if she wasn't even here, what if she was locked up somewhere?

But Cassandra had sworn that she would be here…

He stopped for a moment to lean against a wall, gathering himself. He was just steeling himself to keep moving when Blue pinched his arm sharply. He looked up and saw a golden haired man seated on an intricately carved wooden throne, laughing at something a woman on his right said. When Blaze looked down, his heart nearly stopped. There, at the man's feet sat a girl with a mane of deep red hair. She looked around nine or ten, although that simply may have been because she was so thin. She seemed so delicate that Blaze was afraid for a moment that if anyone touched her she'd break, as if she was made of glass. Her pale limbs were like sticks and her cheekbones were far too prominent, her green eyes too wide in her face. Her eyes were what sickened him the most; they were empty, glazed, as if she'd long given up any form of hope.

The man on the throne jerked his hand suddenly, and the girl was pulled to her feet. It took Blaze a moment to see the fine gold chain attached to the collar around her neck. Red hot fury curdled in his stomach at the sight. She was little more than a pet to these sick bastards.

"Sing for us, little bird," the man on the throne said, waving a hand at her, and the girl immediately burst into song, filling the room with a high soprano.

"So that's why he has her," Blue said softly, as the girl continued to sing. "She's an instrument for his collection."

"His collection?" Blaze murmured out of the corner of his mouth.

"Fae love music," she whispered. "They'll often steal away musicians and force them to play for them. But some of them don't like giving them back. This Fae, Galanvis, he likes to keep them and have them play for him when he wishes. And it looks like your sister is his showpiece."

Blaze felt like he was going to be sick. When the song ended, the Fae, Galanvis, clapped his hands again.

"More!"

The girl began a new song, and another after that, and another after that. She sang for what must have been hours, until her voice grew croaky. When that happened, Galanvis handed her a goblet of something and ordered her to drink it. From that point she had one of these between each song, until she was smiling dazedly and swaying as she sang, her voice piercingly beautiful, but her eyes lost and confused as she spun drunkenly. The Fae seemed to find this particularly amusing and gathered around, laughing at her, pushing her this way and that as she flitted around, as far as her chain would permit her.

Blaze found himself clenching his hands into fists, resisting the urge to whip out his carefully concealed weapons and try and kill as many of them as he could before they took him down. But Blue, as if realising what was going through his mind, pinched his arm again and shot him a warning look.

Finally, the party seemed to be drawing to a close, with many of the Fae choosing their partners for the night and heading off towards private rooms or simply fulfilling themselves on the ballroom floor, much to Blaze's discomfort and disgust.

As for Amelia, by this point she was swaying so much she could hardly stand, and her chain was handed off to a nearby servant as Galanvis took the woman from earlier by the arm and headed off in a different direction.

"This is it," Blue whispered. "Let's go."

-x-

Bird's head was spinning, but no worse than usual after a full moon. She collapsed into her nest, curling herself up tight and trying not to be sick. Her throat burned from the singing, but also from the fey-wine, and she longed for more and more of it to quench the unbearable thirst sweeping through her body. The first time her Master had feed her it, it had seemed like the most amazing thing in the world. It had made her feel bubbly and light, as if she was dancing on clouds, but now all of those feelings were tainted by the constant need for more. She groaned, rolling onto her side, keeping her eyes tightly closed. At least the Master was kinder than the one before. He had beat her all the time; now she was only beaten when she did something wrong. The Master had bought her from her last owner for a large sum, and he had told her when he was handed her chain that it was worth it.

"That fool didn't know what he had," he'd said, stroking her cheek lightly. "You are an instrument beyond compare. And he would beat you and hide you away from the courts? Ridiculous!"

He'd taken her back to his dwelling, and made sure she was bathed and well maintained. Her nest was soft, and her food was beyond compare, but she could hardly eat any of it with the fae-wine burning through her body each night.

She didn't like the wine anymore. It made her see things she'd rather not see, like her family ripped apart by the Winter Queen. She'd been sol d off with the rest of their possessions, and found herself passed from master to master until she'd ended up in her current position. There was a sudden noise and she jerked her head up, instantly regretting the sudden movement as nausea rolled through her body. She knelt up and peered through the gilded bars of her cage, and was able to make out two figures moving through the darkness. She felt her heart rise up into her throat and she curled her fingers tightly into her blankets. Was it her master? Had she sung off key? Hit a wrong note? She curled in on herself, although she knew it wouldn't protect her from the blows that were too come. There was a pause, during which she held her breath, and then the cage door opened. She fell onto her knees in front of her master, as was customary, but no blow came. When she looked up, she saw two Fae she didn't recognise, a man and a woman. Her eyes widened, and she shuffled backwards, but hit the edge of the cage.

"It's okay," the male said, his voice strangely gentle. "We're not going to hurt you. We're here to rescue you."

This was some kind of trap. Her master had obviously set it up to test her loyalty. She curled into a ball, wrapping her arms over her head, squeezing her eyes tightly shut.

"Do you understand me?" the male said, his voice now concerned. "Do you speak English?"

English? What was an English? She wanted to ask him, but she wasn't permitted to talk to those above her station, so she remained mute, keeping her eyes tightly shut.

"Just take her," the female said. "We can explain when we're out of here."

Something touched her arm, and she jerked, stifling a scream. When she looked up, the male was standing above her looking uncertain, his hand still outstretched. "Don't be scared," he said, still holding out his hand to her. "I'm a human too. I'm wearing a glamour right now, so that no one will realise. I'm your brother, and I'm here to take you home."

Her brother? She stared up at him in disbelief. This really was an elaborate trick. She hid her head in her arms again, squeezing her eyes tight shut.

The male sighed, and the next thing she knew she had been swept up into his arms. She was so shocked that she didn't even scream; she hadn't had this much physical contact from anyone in years, let alone from a stranger. She opened her mouth to make a sound, but her throat was too dry from the wine, her vocal chords too tired. The male turned, still with her in his arms, and headed towards the door of her cage.

"Blue, let's go."

"Hold on," the female insisted from where she was looking through the rest of the vault. "I still haven't found what I'm looking for."

"And what exactly is that?"

"It would probably look like leather, a large skein of it," she said, tossing aside gold and jewels s she searched. "It would be a brown-grey and soft…" she trailed off, looking up and seeing one of the wall hangings.

"Blue?" the male said, still holding a stunned Bird in his arms.

The woman slowly moved towards one of the wall hangings, gently running a hand along it. She gasped as if someone had just thrust a knife through her ribs. "No…"

"Blue what is it? We need to hurry!"

The woman let out a sob, but reached up and managed to pull the hanging down. She slid the support out of the straps and managed to roll the body of it up. "Let's go," she said in a harsh voice, before turning towards the exit.

-x-

Blaze had been so focused on getting into Galanvis' dwelling that he hadn't really considered how he was going to get out, especially carrying his favourite pet. He supposed that if he carried her right, he could easily hide her in a cloak or something of the like; his Fae disguise made him much taller and wider, so it could be possible. He glanced down at her as they crept through the corridors. She was still disturbingly quiet, her green eyes dazed and dreamy, probably an effect of the drink they'd been plying her with all night. It scared him how thin she was. He'd often heard stories of humans tasting fae food and finding that they could never eat human food again, that it simply turned to ashes in their mouth. The girl looked like she hadn't eaten in weeks, her collarbone jutting out alarmingly and her legs so thin that he was surprised she was able to stand. Her hair was a beautiful colour, but he noticed that it seemed brittle and thin from lack of nutrition. He would feed her up. Get her loads of good food and then spoil her with chocolate and sweet treats. Make sure that she was happy and healthy. She should be able to eat it. After all, she wasn't all human.

It had been a shock finding that out from Catherine. That one, she wasn't really his aunt. And two that she was a changeling child. Which was why the whole kidnapping of Amelia had happened in the first place. She had explained it to him as she cried into the tea he had made for her. That she was a fairy who had been deemed too weak at birth . That she had been left here in the place of a healthy human child when she was a baby, and had grown up believing herself human and that Blaze's mother was her sister. That she had eventually found out that she was Fae and refused to go home once she was deemed strong enough. That she had had an affair with Blaze's father and had a child with him; Blaze's half-sister. That the child had then been taken by the Fae as revenge. Catherine had spent the last fourteen years trying to get her daughter back. Blaze's father had been enlisted to help, but he never had. So finally, Catherine had done what Eoin couldn't; she had told Blaze the truth. He guessed he respected her for that, at least, even if her affair had helped drive his parents apart.

Of course, he had decided to go after Amelia. Catherine had urged him to let his father do it, or to wait until he was older, but his mind had been made up. Catherine had been distraught that she couldn't come with him, but the moment she returned to the Otherworld, she'd be trapped there, back under Fae jurisdiction. So he had intended to go alone. Of course, that hadn't happened. Blue had turned up as if from nowhere, telling him that she'd hear on the grapevine that he was looking for a changeling child. She had agreed to give him information on the condition that she went with him, and they retrieved something of hers that had been stolen by the same person that had his sister. And so, one way or another, they had ended up here.

"Blue, we need a cloak or something," he said, glancing over at her. "Something to hide her."

She nodded, and slipped into the main room quickly. She returned a minute or so later with a fine cloak, and she quickly wrapped it around his shoulders, closing the clasp at his throat.

"They were all sleeping. This is our chance to get out of here."

Blaze pulled the cloak closed at the front, hiding the half conscious girl in his arms. "Lead the way, Blue," he said, and Blue, after pulling on a cloak of her own and hiding her bundle, began to head down the corridor, towards the main entrance. The servants at the doors seemed surprised to see two guest leaving so soon, and shot questioning looks at them.

"Give our apologies to Lord Galavanis," Blue said in an authoratitive voice. "I'm afraid that business has called us elsewhere."

The servants nodded, and together Blaze and Blue headed through the doors and out into the night of the Otherworld.

"The door should still be open," Blue said in a low voice as they walked down the path away from the dwelling. "Time aligns at the full moon."

They exited his estate, and found themselves in the woods of the Otherworld. The expertly edged their way around brambles and trees with twisting branches, bushes bearing lurid berries, thorns dripping poison. The door was not far. Blaze could feel his heart beat slowing as they drew closer and closer. And then they heard the howl.

"Run!" Blue said, and Blaze realised that this was the first time he had seen the girl scared.

He could hear the baying of hounds at his back, and some deep, primal instinct kicked in. He had never run like this in his life. He ran with the fear of prey, like a deer with a wolf at its heels. Blue was just ahead of him, her cloak flying out behind her. His got caught on a branch and he let it slip over his head, leaving it behind. The girl in his arms was still only half conscious, for which he was eternally grateful. He could feel her small hand clutching at his sleeve, but he dared not take a moment to reassure her. Blue had stopped up ahead and turned around to wave him on. She'd found the door.

"Come on!" she screamed, and somehow he upped his speed, desperate to close the distance. Thirty meters….twenty meters…ten…

Blue grabbed his arm, just as something grabbed his leg. He screamed as needle teeth sank into his flesh. Colours flashed before his eyes, and then there was a thud, a high pitched squealing, and he was released, and Blue was pushing him through the door, and there was white light every where, and he was tumbling, falling…

He hit the grass and gasped for breath, his arms still around Amelia. He stared up at the full moon over head for a moment, his lungs heaving. A moment, later, Blue was beside him, cleaning an iron knife.

"We're safe," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "We're out of their domain. We've won, by law."

Blaze felt a sob rise in his chest and burst out through his mouth. He lay there for a little while, tears falling down his cheeks as Blue bound his leg. Her glamour was fading now, and she was turning from a tall, pale haired fae women into her normal black haired self. Her grey eyes looked at him with concern, and it occurred to him that somehow, despite the fact they had only seen each other as a means to an end, they had become friends.

"Let's get you back home," Blue said, and she reached out, taking Amelia from his arms. She took a moment to get her bearings, but she was able to lift the girl. Blaze managed to get to his feet, and, leaning on her as much as he could without unbalancing her, he limped his way back towards home.