Call to Arms (War of the Fae: Book 2) (2 page)

Dardennes stopped at one of the doors on the right, knocking on it three times.

The door opened and we entered.
 
Ivar, his right-hand muscle man, was already there standing guard in the doorway.

Inside was a sitting room of sorts.
 
There were oriental style carpets on the floors, tapestries on the walls, and formal, delicate looking furniture set up in various places to create small conversation areas.
 
At the far end of the room was a large, ornate writing desk with several old looking books and papers stacked on top.
 
There was also a scale of justice looking thing, a magnifying glass, and a few other odds and ends I couldn’t identify.
 
Light for the room was supplied by several lamps and some candles in sconces on the walls.

The walls were covered with bookshelves anywhere there wasn’t a tapestry hanging.
 
Most of the room was wood – what wasn’t, was stone.
 
It looked ancient.
 
There were no windows.
 
Seemed like the perfect place for secret meetings and changeling metamorphosis.

“Please take a seat.”
 
Dardennes gestured to a sitting area near the big desk, behind which he was now standing.
 
He took a large, wooden box from the top of the desk and brought it over to us.
 
He signaled to Ivar with a look, and Ivar appeared with a small table in his hands, which he positioned in front of Dardennes.

Dardennes carefully placed the box on the table, opening it up so it faced towards him.
 
The hinged top stood upright, keeping us from seeing what was inside.

“Let us begin with you, Finn.”

Dardennes reached into the box and pulled something out.
 
He walked over to Finn, stopping in front of him.
 
“Please stand.”

Finn stood up, wiping his hands off on the front of his jeans.
 
He was nervous.
 
I could see the sweat on his forehead and temples.

“As I mentioned before, there is no guarantee that you are truly fae, but if you are, this amulet will connect you to the magic and reveal your race to you.”
 
The fae species is made up of several races, including elves, sprites, dwarves, daemon, incubi, and lots of others, many of which I didn’t even know yet.

Dardennes took a metal cuff and put it on Finn’s wrist.

“Please sit.”

Dardennes returned to the box.
 
“Chase.
 
Please stand.”
 
He selected something from the box and went over to Chase.
 
He looped a necklace over Chase’s head, settling it on his chest.
 
“You may sit.”

Dardennes returned to the box again.
 
“Spike, please stand.”

He chose something from the box and came back to Spike, placing a ring on his middle finger.
 
“Please sit.”

He returned to the box one more time.
 
He looked in it for a long moment.
 
I wondered what I was going to get.
 
Necklace?
 
Bracelet?
 
Ring?
 

Dardennes got a weird look on his face.
 
“Ivar, bring me the other box.”

Ivar looked confused for a second, then a little bit surprised.
 
“The ... other box?”

“Yes, the
other
one.
 
Please.”

Ivar’s eyebrows lifted, but he went to do as he was told.
 
He dragged a ladder that was hooked to a railing attached to a bookcase, over to another bookcase on the opposite wall.
 
He climbed up nearly to the top to reach a shelf that was one row down from the ceiling.
 
He felt along an empty spot on the shelf, far back out of sight.
 
His hand came out with a small, wooden box in it.
 
He took a moment to wipe the dust off the top, sneezing as it blew back in his face.
 
He climbed down, walked across the room and handed it to Dardennes, sneezing once again.

“Thank you, Ivar.
 
Now, let’s see if this does the trick ...
”
 
He
opened up the box and then looked at me, smiling.
 
“Ah, yes.
 
I thought it might.”

“Jayne Sparks, please stand.”

Oh, so we’re on formal terms now.

I stood, waiting in front of my chair for Dardennes.

He reached into the box and pulled something out, but I couldn’t see what it was.
 
He walked over, stopping directly in front of me.
 
It was uncomfortable having him so close.
 
Part of me was in awe, and part of me wanted to punch him in the gut.
 
I had dreamed of it for days actually, when I was out in the forest being harassed or chased by commando dwarves, werewolves, sirens, and a crazy incubus.
 
Now probably wasn’t the time to do it though.
 
Maybe I’d get another chance later.
 

He reached down and took my hand, slipping a ring onto my middle finger.

He took a step back, staring me in the eye.
 
“Please sit down, Jayne.”

I sat down, examining the ring as I lowered myself back into the chair.
 
The ring was heavy and looked really old.
 
It was made up of a large, clear crystal in the shape of a pyramid, with the point facing up, and light gold, claw-like prongs holding it in the setting on four sides.
 
The band was tarnished silver.
 

Dardennes addressed our group.
 
“Everyone, please repeat after me:

I call to the fae blood
that courses
through my veins

I ask the fae magic to bring about the change

A fae I am

A changeling I will be

From this moment now

For all eternity.”

We repeated what he said, line by line.
 
When we finished, I felt a tingling sensation beginning on my finger where the ring was.
 
I turned my hand and looked down at the ring just as a beam of green light burst up and out of the crystal.
 
It hit me square in the eyes, momentarily blinding me.

The light didn’t hurt.
 
It reminded me of The Green – the power of the interconnected network of trees and green things in the forest, the fae and the shadows of the fae that were still there, that I could touch somehow when I was out there in the forest.
 
I smiled in memory of it all.
 
As much as the forest scared me with all the dangerous fae running around in it, I wanted to be back there.
 
I wanted to connect again.
 
For some reason, when I entered it the first time, I was able to communicate with the green and other living things in it, even though I was not yet a fae.
 
It was one place where I really felt like I belonged, and that was saying a lot.

The green light faded bit by bit until it was gone.
 
I sighed with pleasure and a little bit of melancholy.
 
Back to the real world.

I looked around at the guys, clasping my hands together.
 
“Well, that was fun.
 
Now what?”

Everyone was looking at me, saying nothing.

“Guys? ... Helloooo?”

They were all staring at me like I had sprouted horns.
 
Even Dardennes and his lackey Ivar.
 

I tried to resist the urge to feel the top of my head, but failed.
 
I cleared my throat and nervously reached up to touch my hair.
 
I hadn’t had a shower in several days now and I knew my hair looked like total crap.
 
Whatever makeup I’d had on when this whole thing started was either totally smudged or long gone.

I couldn’t take the silence anymore and burst out, “What the hell is wrong with you guys
?!
”

Dardennes was the first to recover.
 
“A-
hem
, Ivar?
 
I think we need to call a meeting.
 
Please see to it.”
 
He turned his attention to us, as Ivar left the room.
 
“So, everyone but Jayne, please give me back your amulets.”

The guys took their amulets off and slowly got up to hand them over, still stealing glances my way.

“I don’t feel anything,” said Spike.
 
“Did I have a glow like that around me?”

“You won’t, not right away ... and no, you did not have a glow, but that doesn’t mean anything.
 
The glow is not ... typical,” said Dardennes.
 
“We will introduce you to your race abilities shortly.
 
I am pleased to say that each of you has been confirmed as fae by your respective amulets.
 
I prefer you have the assistance of someone from your race to help you adjust, so I will take you to them momentarily.”

I looked down at my ring.
 
I’d never seen anything like it.
 
I wondered why it had glowed like that, since apparently glowing wasn’t a normal part of the program, but I was glad Dardennes didn’t want it back right away.
 
It was bigger than rings I normally wore, but it was friggin’ awesome.
 

“Each of you will begin to feel some changes within the hour.
 
We will now go to a meeting room where we will attempt to identify your races, although I have an idea I might already know – for most of you anyway.”
 
He glanced at me briefly, uncertainty written all over his face.

I gathered from everyone’s reaction and the ‘special meeting’ that my amulet didn’t quite produce the result they had expected.
 
I suppose for now I’ll be a big changeling mystery.
 
I hoped it was a good thing.
 
Ah, well
... I had no one to blame but myself.
 
I had wished to be
extraordinary
.
 
And my mother always told me to be careful what I wished
for ...

We followed Dardennes out of the sitting room and into the hallway.
 
He led us farther down the corridor, eventually arriving at another door where he again knocked three times to enter.
 
The door opened and all of us followed him in.
 

Inside the room there was a wide, long, wood table, with many people already seated around it.
 
Several more were standing behind the chairs that surrounded the table.
 
Some I recognized as fae I’d seen in the forest, others I didn’t know at all.

As soon as everyone saw Dardennes enter, the talking stopped and the fae took their seats.
 
There were four empty places at the far side of the table, next to Becky.
 
She was smiling and gesturing for us to join her.

Dardennes began speaking immediately.
 
“Dear Friends and members of the council, thank you for coming.
 
First, I want to introduce you to our newest changelings.
 
I believe we have their races sorted out, for the most part anyway, so I ask those of you with a new changeling here of your race, please see to it that they are taken care of after the meeting.
 
I expect you will get them settled in and prepared for their training, scheduled to begin tomorrow.
 
We have no time to waste.”

I noticed some heads nodding in agreement around the table.
 
Everyone looked very serious.
 
I looked at Becky to my left and she was all business too.
 
It was weird seeing her look that way.
 
I was used to seeing her with that silly smile perpetually plastered on her face.
 

“First, I’d like to introduce Spike.”
 
He nodded in our direction.
 
Spike stood up for a second, waving to the group.

“I believe Spike is a member of the incubus race.
 
Valentine, I expect you will see to Spike’s needs?”

Man, did I call that one, or did I call that one?
 
No way Spike was anything but a life-sucking incubus with that set of teeth and sexy smile of his.
 

The extremely effeminate incubus who had attacked Chase in the forest during our fae test, stood up.
 
He looked Spike up and down, giving him a big, toothy smile and a flirtatious wink.
 
“You better believe it, Anton.”