Sprite

No one thought that Adam’s rescue would be the end of it.

Neistah caught Valin’s arm as the other sprite moved past him after the quick briefing he and Jim had given on their return. Adam was safe, the threat of Avery was diverted for the time being, and the common people of Datro were on their side—more or less. “There’s trouble,” Neistah whispered, not trusting himself to subvocal communication. Norah had gone on ahead to see the new baby, and both Lara and Leane were entirely preoccupied with the mother and child, but even so, Neistah did not want to chance being overheard.

Valin stiffened at the perceived slight. He pivoted to face Neistah and frowned. “What is it?” he asked in kind. He had thought the two of them were beyond hiding their true feelings behind words, and he made sure Neistah caught that much, at least.

Neistah suppressed a wry grin. “Over there.” He indicated Leane’s pond. However, Neistah had no intention of swimming the afternoon away. He dove into the cool water and arrowed quickly across to the other side, waiting while Valin pulled himself out of the water to sit beside him on the grassy far side of the pond. In the distance he could just make out the edge of the bunkhouse behind and a little to the right of the main house. Pup had lost no time in organizing the remaining changelings, including Jim’s guards, sending patrols out with directions not to engage in hostile action unless provoked. They had discussed it on the way back—Pup would give the humans the benefit of the doubt and spread the word that the changelings in the forest bore no grudge against the good citizens of Datro, as long as they did nothing to harm either the changelings or the forest. It was a start.

Neistah flopped down onto his stomach in the soft grass and peered up at Valin through a veil of tangled hair. The older sprite glared back. ‘Well?’

“Speak out loud,” Neistah cautioned, sliding around to half sit up. “Rellan is back.”

“Rellan! How? The ways have been closed for centuries. Not since before the great cataclysm that nearly destroyed the mortal world has his kind been granted access. Where is he? What does he want?” Valin glanced around as if Rellan might be standing right behind him.

Neistah chuckled. His kind, Valin had said. As if they weren’t two sides of the same coin. He let his father read that thought, before clamping down on his amusement. This was serious. If the bright fae had access again to mortal lands, it would not bode well for the fragile humans who lived in it. Bright fae were not known for their compassion—or empathy. While Neistah and his kind might tease and torment mortals for fun, they were more apt to abandon them to their own devices when they were through. After all, what fun would this world be without mortals to trick and bedevil? The bright fae, however, did not agree. They would be just as happy if the mortal world were empty of humans altogether. It was why Anais, and other fae of the darker persuasion, held the lands that connected the two worlds. They maintained a fine balance, and the wild world of mortal men gave their swaths of faerie a certain spice that was utterly lacking in the beautiful, yet sterile world of the brighter fae.

“Anais did not do this,” Valin muttered, as if he had heard what Neistah was thinking. Possibly he did. Valin was much older, stronger, and brighter than Neistah, for all of his sprite blood mixed with a touch of human blood. He was, after all, half-brother to Rellan.

Neistah gave a snort of amusement. “I never said it was Anais.”

Valin jerked back as if struck. ‘Norah?’ he sent. He rose to his feet and backed away from Neistah and the pond. ‘I have to see Anais.’

Neistah stood also. “Speak out loud,” he reminded the older sprite. “If Anais relinquished her hold on the land, don’t you think she would have told us? Even Breyan knew nothing of it. No, I think that our little Norah has her own power, one that she raises unwittingly.” He cocked his head as he regarded his father quizzically. “Isn’t that what you and Anais had wanted all along? New blood to strengthen what has grown weak in us?”

Valin paced back in forth in agitation, inching closer and closer to where the meadow met the forest. He shook his head. “No, Anais must let go first, and if Anais has let go . . . . I must leave. I will return after I have spoken with Anais.” His eyes darkened. “And Breyan, too. Do not tell the others anything, especially Norah.” With that, Valin slipped into the forest.

Neistah sighed. Who had called whom to warn of the danger? If Neistah had been willing to involve Norah, he would not have bothered with this whole subterfuge of speaking out loud. Sometimes Valin could be obtuse. No, most of the time he was obtuse. Perhaps it came from his bright side where things were clearly black or white. ‘What am I supposed to tell Rellan should he return?’ he called after his father, tempting fate. Valin either did not ‘hear’ him, or he did not deign to answer.

Neistah dove into the pond and found a cool niche to rest in underwater. Nothing was as simple as it seemed. Rellan had never shunned Neistah. If Anais had chosen Rellan, he would have gladly accepted Neistah as his own, even knowing it was Valin who sired him. But Neistah had wanted nothing to do with the bright fae. He and Valin had that much in common. And Anais had chosen Valin, a sprite in form, although she had cared for both brothers. Like called to like in the end.

By the time Neistah emerged from the pond, dusk was falling, and most of Pup’s groupings had gone off to their assigned tasks. Light glowed from the kitchen, so Neistah made his way there. Only the housekeeper and a few of the changeling girls were there cleaning up. Neistah followed the sound of voices into the larger dining room. Pup sat with Jim, Jordy, Mack, Will, and some of the others, including Adam, who still wore only his ragged cut-off trousers.

“Where’s your friend?” Jim asked, glancing curiously behind Neistah.

It took Neistah a moment to realize Jim was talking about Breyan, not Valin. “He couldn’t stay.” Neistah exchanged a long look with Pup.

Jim, about to ask Neistah where the boy had gone, thought better of it and continued to eat his dinner in silence. What the sprites did or did not do was their own business. Jim was only grateful they had decided to aid him in getting back his son.

Neistah’s small grin at Jim’s thoughts disappeared as he remembered Avery was still a problem. It wouldn’t matter who held the land if there was no land left to hold. Avery hadn’t given up and he knew about the sprites now. When the glamour wore off, he would be back.

Lou brought in a tray with desserts which she set down on the long table in front of Jim. She started collecting the empty plates, using the same tray so she could carry them out to be washed. Adam and Jordy elbowed each other and snickered. Finally, Jordy got up to help her. He took the heavy tray out of her hands. “Let me get that,” he said gallantly, while Adam, who had been about to stand up, sat back down. Lou rolled her eyes at both boys, but she let Jordy help her.

“Did you hear?” Jordy was saying as they walked together back to the kitchen. “We can all go home now if we want to.”

Trust Jordy to simplify things, Neistah thought, as he reached for one of the peach cobblers Lou had set out. Jordy could always have gone home.

Lou froze in the doorway and turned stricken eyes on Jordy. She didn’t want to go home. Unlike Jordy and even some of the other changelings from the farmlands, Lou had grown up within the city. Her earliest memories were of the mutant dormitory near Factory 5. She didn’t remember her parents. If it hadn’t been for Mack, she probably would have died long ago. “Do I have to?” she whispered.

Adam pushed up from the table and came around to take her hand. “Of course not,” he said reassuringly, casting a smug look at Jordy. “This is my home. I’m not going back to that dirty city either!”

Oh, so that’s how it is! Neistah thought in amusement. Jordy, still awkwardly holding the tray full of dirty dishes, frowned as Adam led Lou past him into the kitchen. “I didn’t mean you had to go!” Jordy protested, following them. “I thought—if you want to—I could introduce you to my parents . . .”

Their voices were lost as the door swung shut behind them. The faces around the table were amused, too, though Pup had reservations concerning Jordy’s rather optimistic statement. None of the changelings would be rushing back to the farms just yet. When Adam and Jordy came back to the table, Pup had a proposition for them.

“How would you two like to go on a scouting trip to find Owen and Brom? You can tell them what the farmers we met said, and maybe investigate further by going to visit each of your farms.”

Both boys jumped up in excitement, their momentary rivalry forgotten. “Can we? Can we go right now?”

“Wait a minute.” Jim didn’t like the idea of two young boys, both normals, going off alone into the forest, especially after what had just happened to Adam.

“They’re Sprites now,” Neistah said quietly. Both boys had adopted the preferred dress of the changeling Sprites---short trousers and not much else, and Jordy had already begun to let his hair grow longer. “Changelings in spirit.”

Pup smiled. “I was thinking of going with them,” he said, “as long as Will is ready to take over things on this end? I know you have the new baby to consider now.”

“I barely even get to hold her, let alone take care of her!” Will chuckled. “The ladies have Roselle and Clarice well under control. I think I can keep an eye on things here.”

“Then it’s settled. We’ll leave in the morning to find Owen’s group.” Pup didn’t have to tell Neistah that he would also be checking on several of the outlying changeling villages, and spreading the word to be wary of Alan Avery. He would also be sure to relay word back to the Hanan enclave so that Jim and Miriam wouldn’t worry about their son. Pup stretched. “I think I’ll check on the stables,” he said, getting up from the table.

He wasn’t fooling anyone. Pup was going to find Norah and say his good-byes. She probably wouldn’t take it very well, having just let Breyan go, too. Neistah wondered if Pup had suggested this little scouting mission on purpose, to give Norah some time to reflect on who she really wanted. Foolish boy. Neistah would never have done that. But perhaps he misjudged the boy. Pup really was a good leader, and the best thing for Adam was to get right back out there and not dwell on his kidnapping.

Neistah had his own lady to find. Lara was waiting by the edge of Leane’s pond, and while it wasn’t an ideal location, the water was what they both preferred. It was dark enough that no one would see them, and even if it wasn’t, Neistah would still take his lady there. It had been too long already since they had been together. Leane had Roselle’s baby to occupy her and wouldn’t disturb them.

‘There you are,’ he sent, snaking an arm around her waist and stepping together with her into the black water. They sank down silently and let the waters close over their heads with barely a ripple. For the rest of the night, thoughts of Avery and the humans would have to wait. This night belonged to Neistah and Lara.