Chapter Five
My lungs felt about ready to burst. As the vortex swirled around me, I was afraid I’d have to breath some of the pixie dust in.
But I finally felt it dissipate around me, and I sucked in a greedy breath as I free-fell through the air. Then it was knocked out of me as I slammed into a branch. I tried my best to hold on, but I fell and slammed into another branch. I didn’t even have the energy to try and hold on as I fell again, and this time landed solidly on the ground.
I hated using Winter pixie dust. While the stuff worked great for reversing or corrupting other Court’s magic, it wasn’t kind to the user unless they were a high-ranking Winter Fae. They pretty much monopolized the stuff. Which is why getting more of it was going to be a pain in my ass.
Of course, I’m thinking about all this to avoid thinking about the terrible pain I was currently in. Those tree branches really did a number on me, and as I laid on the cool forest floor, surrounded by moss, I did my best to assess the damage.
Okay, first, ow. Owowowowowow. Ow. My ribs. Not broken since I could still breathe, but definitely cracked. Arms and legs? Ow. Bruised, but in working order. Now, to try and sit up. Slowly.
I pulled myself up against the tree I smacked against during my fall. I looked over my body. No bad cuts, just a few scrapes with minimal bleeding. All in all? Not the worst landing I’ve ever had.
Now that I’ve confirmed I’m not dying, though my ribs would disagree, it was time to figure out where I was. A gentle breeze. Sunlight streaming through the leaves, and quiet forest rustles. Warm out here.
Yeah, I was in the Summer Court lands, but I didn’t land in the middle of any town or noble house, so, off to a good start. I just hoped I wasn’t too far away from my destination. Marquess Lillith of House Raine. She’d likely be closer to the palace, but not as close as the dukes. Somewhere in the upper midtown of the capital. I was probably in the Wylds, where the Summer Court lands just began. I didn’t have time to cross a whole forest to get there. Marilyn’s hours were ticking down as I sat here panting.
Hours. That’s right. I dug around in my purse and pulled out a watch. Good, still synced to human time. I wrapped it around my wrist. As long as I kept an eye on it, time shouldn’t speed up for me. Then, I pulled out an energy bar. I was hungry, and being hungry on the Otherside was a painful thing because you shouldn’t eat any food here. I remember the days after me and Kasten left the Winter Court lands. I quit Otherside food cold turkey, and I almost ended up starving. I would have to give Marilyn’s parents a few contacts to help her move past any addiction she might have developed.
I was stalling again. I needed to call Forth. But I hated dealing with him. But Marilyn. And money. Ugh.
I ruffled through my purse again and pulled out a small silver coin. It had no inscription, just a smile. I rubbed it between my fingers and murmured the password.
“To the mischievous, and the free. I beseech you to come help me. A price I’m willing to pay, for your help to show the way.”
With a smooth motion I flicked the coin onto the ground a few feet away. The ground fell away where in landed, and I watched with interest as it widened, revealing a gaping maw in the ground. Two long ears poked out of the hole, followed by black eyes, a twitchy nose, and a toothy grin that certainly didn’t belong on a rabbit.
“A bunny? Really?”
Forth looked offended. “I’ll have you know, I’m a hare!”
“What’s the difference?”
“Hopefully you’ll never have to find out. Now, where does my favorite human want to go today? To a healer perhaps?”
“I wish.” I sighed. “I need to get to the House of Raine.”
“Hmm. High-ranking Summer Fae. I can’t sneak you in if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I’m not suicidal. I just need you to get me there. Drop me off outside the front door.”
“That I can do, but what price are you willing to pay? Secrets? Memories?”
“I offer an experience.” I pulled out the massage pad I kept in my bag for this very purpose.
Forth feigned disinterest, but as I turned it on, and it began buzzing, I could see his eyes sparkle. “And what manner of human contraption have you brought me this time? I’ll have you know I’ve grown bored of the others you’ve brought me.
Yeah, yeah, Forth gets bored of everything quickly. That’s why he constantly needed new things.
“This is called a massage pad. It runs off of batteries. Of which I have a fresh batch for you, Included with payment of course. Go ahead, hop on.”
“Hmm.” Forth was soon on top of it, and he laid against the vibrating little pad. “I-i-i-it’s i-i-i-interesting. But I’m not sure it’s enough to cover the fare.”
I flipped on the heating element. Within a minute, Forth’s eyes became unfocused, completely blissed out. I flipped it off and he stared daggers at me.
I smirked. “Is that enough to cover the cost of payment?”
Forth looked away out of stubbornness, but eventually sighed. “Yes, it should cover the cost nicely. You always bring me the best things. Most Fae just bring me a book I’ve already read. But humans always make the best things, even if Fae hate them.”
I nodded in agreement. Most of the Fae out in the human world were young Fae looking to make a name for themselves. Older established Fae tended to stay in the Otherworld and rule over their own domains. Like forth said, they usually despised anything new from the human realm, like computers and screens and other recent human inventions.
In a way, it was almost a parody of the human world. The older generation berates the new for the new inventions, changes in fashion, and different culture that is the result of the inexorable march of time. Except with Fae, these changes over time can span the course of centuries. I once knew a Fae who insisted the U.S. was still owned by Great Britain, and that no silly human war could ever change that.
So, the Fae in the Otherworld never changed much. It was the same Fae in power over the course of centuries who insisted everything around them stay exactly the same as when they were young. And at the top of this food chain was the King or Queen of each court, who were as ancient and powerful as gods.
Hopefully, I wouldn’t run into any of them. Otherwise, I was legging back to the mortal realm, money be damned. No amount of money was worth dealing with them.
Forth managed to tear himself away from the heating pad. Then he started growing. And growing. Past the size of a dog, the size of a horse. Until he was staring eye level with me. Being faced with a hare about three times your size isn’t really pleasant. Less so when the ground rumbles and a tunnel equal to it’s size appears behind it.
Forth picked up the massage pad with his mouth. “Fowwow eee.” I took it as his way of saying it was time to go.
I followed Forth into the tunnel, and as we drew farther in the entrance closed up behind us. We were fully in Forth’s territory now, and his magic was busily bending the Otherworld to it’s whim, creating a new path that would lead to our destination.
I could see daylight picking around the edges of Forth, and soon I was shielding my eyes as he led me out, into an alley way that was clearly in Summer Court Territory.
I shimmied around Forth’s large girth and he nodded to an estate within sight of the mouth of the alley. Rather than try to spit out any more words, he simply nodded to me, then hopped back down the tunnel he created. It closed up behind him, meaning I would have to find a different escape.
I sat in the alley, and pulled out an energy bar from my bag. I munched on it as I checked the time. Nearly midnight, at least in the mortal world. Here, the sun beat down on the cobblestones, and I was thankful to be in the shade.
I finished off my energy bar with a bottle of water, and stuffed the trash back in my bag.
It was go time.
