The Fox’s Tale

“Goblins! On Seelie land! On my land! Of all the gods damn nerve,” he fumed.

“Papa, calm down. Ethan and Elliott are on it.” Ellery tried to placate her grandfather but to no avail.

“Calm down? Not this time. No way.”

“This time?” I asked. “Would someone mind explaining what is going on?”

“You and Jojo have the same scar behind your right ears. Or had. Yours is bleeding away.” Ellery picked up my hand and gave it a squeeze.

“And Goblins put them there? Why?”

“Our best guess? To try and do to Ellery what was done to Rowan.” Mary patted Jones on the shoulder.

“I will kill them all,” Jones growled.

“You need to calm down, too.” Ellery took his hand in her free one. “It’s going to be okay.”

“What does this thing have to do with that?” I asked, gesturing to my ear.

“Everything.” Jones sighed. “Something drew me to that party. I didn’t normally go to those things, but I had to go that night. Years later when I experienced that same pull again it took me to Sabrina.

“We recognized each other for who we were the minute we laid eyes on each other. We came to the realization that Rowan and I had to have been intended for one another, but something muddled our minds from recognizing that. Just as Xander had trouble recognizing Elly.”

Coach Murphy coughed. “I believe my father advised you to bring Xander and his family under your protection the minute Ellery gave us enough information to positively identify him, which she did a whole year before this incident happened.”

Trey closed his eyes and exhaled sharply before speaking. “Yes, William, he did and we did the best we could in that regard so that we didn’t upset his life.”

“No, instead you let Ellery be upset.” We turned at the sound of another voice.

“Fitz, I don’t believe you were asked to join us.” Trey shook his head at his youngest son as he came through the office door.

“No Dad, I wasn’t asked, but I’ve had enough. Can we all just please acknowledge that Ellery is Jones’s daughter and be done with it? Besides, don’t you think you ought to have someone consulting on this that has experience with supernatural and magical injuries?” Fitz came over and looked first behind my ear and then Jones’s.

“Ugh. That’s goblin handiwork, but not the typical scratches they use for stealing powers.”

Ellery leaned in and explained. “Goblins have very little magic of their own and thus steal some wherever they can. They used to eat their victims but Mathair Mhor’s grandfather put a stop to that.”

Jones scowled at Fitz. “How did you figure it out?”

Fitz snorted. “Gee, I don’t know, maybe because I’m not an idiot. You’ve always been extra around Elly. At first I chalked it up to the fact that she’s the baby and only girl, but as we grew up I knew there was something else behind it.

“You called her every night from college to tell her goodnight, Jones. That’s not something a big brother does. For a while I considered that you were grooming her-”

“The fuck you say!”

Fitz ignored his brother and continued “and I was fully prepared to kill you, but then Sabrina had Quint and I saw how you were with him and I put two and two together.” Fitz shrugged. “Besides, the older she gets the more she acts like you.”

He looked pointedly at Ellery and Jones who were sitting in the exact same pose. “But back to the issue at hand. These aren’t the usual scars left behind. I agree with Jones that they have to have been placed there with deliberate intent to prevent the recognition of their Other.”

“Is that why Alexander’s is disappearing? Because he recognized me despite the spell?”

“That would be my best guess, yes.” Fitz settled himself on the edge of his father’s desk. “It explains a lot.”

“It explains even more than you realize. Alexander almost marked me on our first morning in the Suite.”

“He did what?” All the men in the room jumped to their feet and Mary gasped. Ellery threw herself onto my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck.

“I said almost! He stopped himself and it was like he was coming out of a trance. Now sit down all of you before I make you sit.”

I cringed. “Elly, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be sitting in my lap right now.”

“Until I stop sensing the desire to punch you from them I’m staying right here.”

Fitz sat down first, then Coach Murphy, followed by Trey. Jones continued to stand, fuming.

“You too, Jojo.”

“Elderflower…”

“Don’t call me that. It isn’t my name and I have never liked it.”

“Stop being difficult.”

“Stop being an ass.”

Jones and Ellery stared at each other, neither giving an inch.

Fitz leaned towards me. “You can tell right? Even if she hadn’t told you?” he whispered. He sat back up. “Let it go Jones. They spent four months in there, if he was going to mark her it would have already happened.”

“Four months?” asked Jones.

“Holy shit!” exclaimed Coach Murphy.

“Damn, I’m impressed,” said Mary.

“I would prefer for this to not be discussed in my presence.” Trey stood up. “Mary, William, let’s go see what Ethan has discovered.” They left and Fitz hopped off the desk.

“I’ll be on my way as well. I’d like some more coffee cake.” He also made himself scarce.

Jones crossed his arms. “I would like to speak to Alexander alone.”

“I refuse your request. Not while you are still feeling the emotions you’re feeling.”

“This isn’t a game, Ellery. It’s your life, safety, and future.”

“I have never had the luxury of getting to play games, unlike some.” Ellery’s voice was full of defiance.

“Do not take that tone of voice with me, young lady.”

“And what tone might that be, your highness?”

“Damn it, Ellery…” Jones rubbed his forehead in defeat. “Please just let me talk to him.”

She eased herself off of my lap, but didn’t move out of my way so I could stand. “If I feel even a twinge of fear or pain from him you won’t sleep for a week. Are we clear?”

“And if there’s more than a twinge?” He pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the top of her head. He spoke into her hair. “Your threats don’t scare me, my precious jewel.” She hugged him back, then stepped aside.

“I mean it, Jojo. No sleep for a week,” she admonished as left the study, shutting the door behind her.