"I'm sorry, Elisa," Fox Xanatos said, shaking her head. "I don't have a way to contact my mother."
"But she's been here to visit you and the kids," Elisa pointed out.
"Very unexpectedly, I assure you," David Xanatos said. "She just shows up whenever the mood strikes her."
"What about you, Owen?" Elisa asked the blonde haired majordomo somewhat desperately. "Can you channel Puck and contact someone on Avalon?"
"I'm afraid not," Owen answered in his usual monotone. "I am forbidden to use my magic outside of the training or protection of Alexander."
"This is for the protection of Alexander," Elisa shot back angrily. "I think these people are planning something, and it's not going to be pleasant."
"Unfortunately, we don't know anything for sure," Owen stated, pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. "I will keep a watchful eye out for anything suggesting danger, and the moment that something happens, I will be able to use Puck's abilities."
"Does Alexander know how to contact someone through a mirror?" Elisa asked, somewhat desperately.
"I'm afraid not," Owen said.
"Maybe it's time for Puck to train him," Fox said, finally seeing the direction that Elisa was going.
"Yes," Elisa said. "You can teach him how to call his grandmother."
A definite Puckish twinkle suddenly showed in Owen's eyes. "I think that can be arranged. I will go and gather what we will need, and I will meet you all in the grand hall shortly."
"Thank you," Elisa sighed. She rubbed at the headache that had been forming at her temples.
"In the meantime," Fox said, straightening from her position on the corner of her husband's large wooden desk, "I do believe that your son would like to see you before we continue with the night's activities."
Elisa nodded, and made her way to the clan's rooms near the top of Goliath's tower. In truth, all she really had to do was follow the laughter. She found Conner and Brenna playing with a very awake Liam.
Both Angela and Skyler were in the room, each keeping careful watch on the young ones.
"Elisa," Skyler called out. "The twins offered to help entertain Liam, and he is loving it." Skyler got to her feet and walked casually towards her employer. She lowered her voice in hopes of not alerting the children that something was wrong. "Are you alright?"
"I'm okay," Elisa assured her. "I just wanted to stop and check up on you both and make sure that you didn't need anything."
"Oh, we're fine," Skyler smiled. "The clan is an amazing group. They circled the wagons, and have been out on the parapets keeping watch since they all got here."
Elisa nodded. "I need to go find Goliath, and then speak with the rest of the clan. I hate to ask this, but would you be able to watch the twins for a little bit so that I can get Angela in on the group debriefing?"
Skyler nodded. "Don't worry about us," she smiled. "They're great fun, and enjoy helping take care of their... Uncle?"
Elisa laughed. "Uncle. I didn't think about that, but that's right. Liam is Angela's brother, and the twins' uncle."
"I hadn't thought of that," Angela said with a smile. "Our little family keeps getting bigger and bigger."
"That's not a bad thing," Skyler said. "Now, you ladies go take care of business. We'll be fine here."
"Thank you," Elisa said, giving the girl's shoulder a squeeze. "It's not always this crazy around here."
"Not crazy," Skyler assured her. "Interesting."
Elisa rolled her eyes and laughed. It was nice, having this moment of laughter before things were going to go sideways. Faeries and magic were two things that she had not had good experiences with in the past.
There was a first time for everything though…
Please let this be the first time…
Elisa had found Goliath easy enough, and from there, the rest of the clan. Together with David Xanatos, they met in the large great hall where they could all gather together to hear the news of the newest developments.
The clan was curious about what had happened to cause their patrols cut short, and Elisa spent several minutes trying to get the clan caught up to speed as well as her suspicions as to what the group of half fae were up to.
"And you think that they will come here?" Angela asked.
"I don't know," Elisa admitted. "They have somehow connected you guys as a threat to their goal. They want to draw you guys out and keep you busy so that they can get to their main objective."
"Which might be Alexander," Lexington stated.
"Or Fox," Elisa pointed out. "She is Titania's daughter, after all. Who knows what this group of people are after."
"True," Hudson said, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "But surely, if they knew this much, they would know that neither the boy nor his mother would be unprotected, even if we were away from the castle."
"They might not know about Puck," Elisa pointed out. "Besides, Oberon has declared you under his protection. None of the fae are allowed to touch you, and his word is law."
"Yeah, but how would they know that?" Brooklyn asked.
"If Titania and Oberon can communicate through mirrors," Goliath pondered, "Who is to say that they are the only ones?"
"You mean that someone else on Avalon is calling out?" Elisa asked, incredulous. "Who would dare to break Oberon's decree?"
"Would you not go against orders to see Liam if he were far away?" Goliath asked, quietly.
"Yes," Elisa answered with absolutely no hesitation at all. "Yes, I would."
"As would I," Goliath said.
"So it's a parent," Angela stated. "One of the parents reached out, told the kid everything, and then the kid rounded up others?"
"Looks like that," Elisa said. "I guess there was some kind of magical signal that went out, and called to the others to come here…" Elisa raised panicked eyes to Goliath's. "Oh, gods…"
Elisa turned on her heel and began walking quickly in the direction that she'd come. She had heard something like that not long ago.
Skyler.
"What?" David Xanatos asked sharply. He knew the woman enough to know when something was horribly wrong.
"Skyler," Elisa yelled over her shoulder, not breaking her stride. "Skyler said that she'd felt like something was pulling her in this direction. It's why she came to Manhattan."
Skyler had said that she had felt pulled to the area, which was odd, being that she'd lived her whole life in Colorado and knew no one in New York. Manhattan was not an easy place to live in if you had no one you knew there.
Elisa heard the footfalls of the clan behind her, and still she kept walking. Finally at the door to the room where the kids were playing, Elisa burst through, knocking the door into the wall behind it with a loud enough sound to startle everyone in the room.
The twins jumped. Liam howled in fright.
Skyler threw herself in front of the children with a definite look of challenge on her face. The look faded as she saw who it was.
"Oh, Elisa. Sorry I…" She trailed off as the woman advanced into the room with a grim determination.
Elisa grabbed Skyler's arm and backed her into a corner of the room.
"I am going to ask you this only once, and if I am wrong, I will apologize for it," Elisa said bluntly. "What are you?"
"Wha.. What?" Skyler stammered, stunned.
"Are you human?" Elisa ground out.
"Of course," Skyler announced. "What else would I be?"
"Hold out your hand," Elisa demanded.
Skyler obediently held out her hand, only to flinch when the solid iron of Elisa's necklace landed in her palm.
"Ouch," Skyler yelped, pulling her hand away. "What was.."
"Iron," Elisa said grimly. "You're one of them."
"One of who?" Skyler demanded. "Elisa, I don't understand. I have an allergic reaction to Iron. I can't even take iron supplements, or I get sick."
"Iron," Goliath said, standing upright and tall next to his mate, "can not be tolerated, in any amount, by someone with Fae blood."
"Fae?" Skyler asked, desperately trying to understand. "As in, Faeries?"
"Yes," Elisa said softly. "You said that something pulled you this way, to New York. What was it?"
"I don't know," Skyler cried out. "A.. a feeling, I guess?"
"Guys," Brooklyn said, stepping up to stand near the small group. "I don't think Skyler knows anything about it."
"What?" Elisa said, glaring at Brooklyn. She was so caught up in her anger and frustrations, that the words didn't sink in right away.
"Elisa," Brooklyn said softly, gesturing to the young woman, "Look at her."
Elisa turned back to look at Skyler and for a moment the haze of fear that had come over her a few minutes ago cleared. Before her, she saw Skyler, the bright eyed innocent little thing who had met with Elisa at a coffee shop on the off chance of getting a job. The girl who had taken a cutting from a rosebush and carried it with her across the country.
The girl that the clan had taken under their wing as a new friend.
"Oh my god," Elisa released her grip on Skyler's arm immediately. "Skyler, I am so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."
"You were thinking I was going to hurt the kids, I get it," Skyler said, her head bowed. "I'll leave if you want me to."
"I don't think that will be necessary," A familiar voice said from the doorway.
David Xanatos, clad in his usual black businesslike attire, was standing in the doorway. With deceptive casualness, he leaned against the doorframe. "In fact, I think that Skyler could be of some use to us."
"What do you have in mind, Xanatos?" Elisa ground out.
"If she was feeling the pull to come here, then someone in that halfling group is sending out a call to others like themselves. What if our Miss Skyler were to go undercover for us. Keep an eye on the activities so that we can be prepared for what they are planning."
"If that would help you to believe me," Skyler sniffled, "I'll do whatever you want. I don't know what this is all about, but I swear to you," she looked into Elisa's face, "I have no reason to harm any of you."
Elisa felt a wave of relief so profound that it brought tears to her eyes. "I am so sorry, Skyler." She threw her arms around the young woman. "This whole 'being a mom' thing is new to me. I think someone may be coming here, to the castle, and may try to hurt everyone to get to the kids, and I just…"
"Freaked?" Lexington tossed in helpfully.
"Yeah," Elisa laughed as she swiped at the tears on her face. "I freaked."
"Miss Henricks," Xanatos said, gesturing towards the hall behind him, "Would you come with me please?"
Syler nodded, and quietly left the room.
Elisa hung her head, embarrassment coloring her face. "I really did it this time, didn't I?"
Goliath placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You were protecting our son from a potential threat," He said quietly. "I do not believe any of us hold that against you."
"Skyler might," Elisa said, sadly.
Angela had seated herself on the floor, next to the children, calming them from the excitement of the last few minutes. "Did you see how she was prepared to protect the children?" Angela pointed out. "She was prepared to fight anything that came through that door. She loves the kids, even after so short a time." Angela cuddled Brenna, the more emotional of her twins. "I think she will understand that you were upset."
"I hope so," Elisa said.
"Why don't you go find out what Xanatos has in mind for her?" Brooklyn suggested.
Elisa nodded. "That's not a bad idea," she admitted.
Goliath gave her shoulder a firm squeeze in support and Elisa turned toward the door.
Elisa joined the Xanatos' in David's office.
Fox and David were sitting behind the intimidating mahogany desk, while Skyler fidgeted in her chair facing them.
David had a large file in front of him, and he was very obviously scanning it slowly to make Syler nervous.
Elisa rolled her eyes. It was such an obvious move, and one she was familiar with as she'd used it herself with suspects in an interrogation room.
"Alright, Xanatos," Elisa said briskly, walking over to take the seat next to Skyler. She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder in support, then leaned forward towards the couple. "What's your plan?"
"First and foremost," David said, leaning back in his chair, "What do you remember about your parents?"
"I don't remember my father," Skyler admitted. "I have a vague memory of a tall man with dark hair, but that's about it." She shrugged. "For the majority of my life, it was just my mother and I."
"That's an odd thing," Xanatos admitted. "You have given me your mother's name, but there are no records of such a person. No work records, no driver's licenses, not even a birth record of anyone with the name of Stella Florence Henrick."
Skyler blinked at Xanatos in confusion. "That was her name, I swear it. It's on my birth certificate."
"Oh, I have a copy of it here," Xanatos said, gesturing to the file, "but it doesn't change the fact that it is the only form of record that I can find with that name on it.""Did she ever use a different name?" Elisa asked.
"I remember one time," Skyler said, slowly, "my aunts came to visit. One of them called her Phoebe, but I thought it was a joke pet name or something."
"Sisters?" Elisa prompted. "What were your aunts names?"
"Selene and Luna," Skyler said. "But they vanished about the time that my mom did. The social workers tried to find them when I was taken into foster care, but they never came to get me." Skyler shrugged casually to hide the fact that it had hurt deeply to have no one come forward to help her.
Elisa couldn't believe her ears. "Wait. Selene, Luna and Phoebe? Skyler, are you sure?"
"Yes," Skyler said, frowning. "Why?"
"Are you familiar with Shakespeare?" Xanatos asked.
"Just what I was forced to read in high school," Skyler admitted.
"In MacBeth," Xanatos continued, reclining back in his plush chair, "There were three witches who met with MacBeth in the woods."
"Double, double, toil and trouble," Elisa chanted sarcastically.
"Oh, okay," Skyler said, her face showing the puzzlement. "I kind of remember them now."
"They are some of Oberon's children," Elisa said. "Triplets. But I thought they were always together."
"All siblings fight," Xanatos said. "Even the close ones. I guess Phoebe wanted some time away."
"And had a child so close to the gathering," Elisa reminded him. "Luna would have seen that coming and put a stop to it."
"Unless," Xanatos mused, "There is an important reason for Skyler to be here."
"What?" Skyler asked. "What does Auntie Luna have to do with anything?"
"After we we encountered the triplets, or as their often referred to as the 'weird sisters', we did a lot of research," Elisa admitted.
"The three sisters are considered the personifications of Fury, Grace and Fate." Xanatos said. "With the gathering so close, Luna with her gift Fate, should have seen that they wouldn't have enough time to carry, birth and raise a child."
"Unless there's a reason that I am supposed to be here," Skyler said slowly.
"Maybe they saw this happening?" Fox suggested. "If these… What do we call them? Halflings?... If they are really going to be trouble, maybe Skyler is going to play a part in helping us to stop them."
Elisa felt horrible, but the thought went through her head that if Skyler wasn't there to help them, then she was there to help the halflings. If that were true, they had just invited the enemy into their house.
"I don't know what I can do," Skyler admitted. "I don't have any special abilities. I don't even know where they are."
"Do you still feel whatever you thought was calling you to the area?" Elisa asked.
"Not really," Skyler admitted. "It stopped as soon as I got to Manhattan. A few times I kind of had a feeling that I should go for a walk, turn this way and not that way kind of things, but I mostly ignored it. I'm new here, and I didn't want to get lost."
"So, it was like a hyper sensitive form of intuition," Fox concluded.
"I guess so," Skyler admitted. "Honestly, I've never felt anything like it."
"Have you felt anything like it recently?" Elisa asked.
"Yes," Skyler admitted, "It's been really insistant the last week or so, but I started working for you, and couldn't just walk out and try to find… whatever it is that is making me feel like this. I just thought it was new beginning jitters, since I just moved here."
"I get something similar," Elisa admitted. "People chalk it up to being a cop and having that kind of intuition."
Skyler looked at her then. "Have you been feeling it, too?"
"I'm restless," Elisa admitted. "And I have a bad feeling that something's happening, but I've been so tired lately with Liam's schedule that I just chalked it up to a lack of sleep." She frowned thoughtfully. "One of those Halfling kids said something, and it's been bothering me. If those with Fae blood are being gathered together somehow… Maybe it's not just the lack of sleep making me feel off."
"What do you mean?" David Xanatos asked, thoughtfully rubbing his chin.
"I mean, one of those half fae kids looked me in the eye and all but called me one of them." Elisa said.
"You have Fae ancestry?" Fox laughed, then paused a moment to think. "You know, it does make sense."
"What makes sense?" Goliath asked entering the office.
"That your wife," Fox gestured towards the detective, "Is part Fae."