Call to Arms (War of the Fae: Book 2) (5 page)

We were interrupted by sounds coming from the hall behind us where we had just come from.
 
Jared appeared followed closely by Chase.
 
“Your room is right here.”

They stopped at the door next to mine.
 
I got a big grin on my face.
 
I was so happy that at least one of my friends was going to be close by.
 
Chase saw me and nodded in recognition.
 
I sighed.
 
I guess there probably weren’t going to be any late-night gossip sessions with this neighbor.
 
I wished Becky were there instead.
 
It’s not that I didn’t like Chase – it’s just that I didn’t really enjoy chatting with people who I know didn’t like talking back.
 
Still, he was a good guy to have around.
 
I wondered if he was being put by me because of what Dardennes said in the meeting – that I needed a daemon.
 
Hmmm ...

Céline and I stepped into my room to make space for the guys to get by – Jared was showing Chase where the guys’ bathroom was.
 
I was relieved to find that they did not have unisex bathrooms here.
 
I may be bold, but I prefer to keep my personal bathroom habits as private as possible, even in a dorm-type situation, which is what this felt like.

“You will find clothing that fits you in the drawers there.
 
There is a toothbrush and toothpaste, a brush, and other things you might need in the cabinet below the sink.”

I looked around the room.
 
It was sparse, like a prison cell
kinda
, but it had what I needed.
 
I went and sat on the bed.
 
Firm
.

“I suggest you not wander the halls your first night.
 
It’s easy to get lost here.
 
You will need all your rest for tomorrow.
 
Training will be ... difficult.”

“Thanks,” was all I could think to say.
 
Thanks for tricking me, nearly killing me, turning me into a mystery fae, and giving me a prison cell to sleep in.

“You are welcome.
 
See you tomorrow.
 
Someone will be here at five thirty to bring you to breakfast.
 
Please be ready.”

The door shut behind her.
 
Five-friggin-thirty
.
 
They had to be smokin’ some serious shit here to voluntarily get up that early.
 
I’m not sure I was going to be able to hang.
 
I flopped back on the bed, yawning, wondering how I was going to get up on time.
 
I looked over at the bedside table and saw an alarm clock.
 
Perfect.
 
Now I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep in ‘accidentally’.
 

I heard a noise out in the hall and then a few seconds later a knock at my door.

“Come in!”

The door opened and Chase stepped in.
 
He shut the door behind him and stood there.

This was a surprise.
 
I was almost expecting it to be Becky or Spike, or even Finn, before Chase.

“What’s up?”

He walked over and sat down on the bed near my feet.

He shrugged.
 
“Nothin’.”

I sat up, putting my back to the wall, pulling my knees to my chest.
 
“Well, there must be something up.
 
You’re not exactly the social butterfly type.”

He smiled.
 
“Just seeing how you’re doing, I guess.
 
This is kind of a lot to process.”

Phfft
.
 
“That would be the understatement of the year.”

Chase looked down at his hands.
 
“I know you miss Tony.”

A lump rose in my throat; all I could do was nod.

“I’m no substitute for him, but I wanted you to know I’m here.”
 
He sat for another couple seconds and then got up and started walking to the door.

I jumped up and went over to him, grabbing him in a hug.
 
I caught
him
as he was standing sideways, ready to leave the room, so he hugged me back with one arm, the other hand on the door handle.

“Thanks Chase.
 
It means a lot.”
 
I released him, stepping back, brushing my hands nervously on the back of my jeans.
 
“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at breakfast?
 
Five thirty?”

“Yep.”

He opened the door and went out, closing the door softly behind him.

I let out the breath I’d been unconsciously holding.
 
Wow.
 
That was weird
.
 
Chase was full of surprises.
 
Good ones, though.

I suddenly caught a whiff of myself.
 
Boy, did I ever need a shower.
 
I walked over and looked through the drawers and found jeans, long shirt-tunic thingies, underwear – not very sexy – thick socks and moccasins for shoes.
 
One of the shirts was long enough to use as pajamas.
 
There were towels in the bottom drawer.

I grabbed the towel, change of clothes, and shoes and snuck across the hall to the bathroom where I found the toilets and showers.
 
There was soap, shampoo, and conditioner in push-button containers attached to the walls inside the showers.
 
I’d have to search for a razor for my hairy legs some other time.
 

It took about an hour-long soaking before I felt like I’d finally cut through all the grime ... or most of it, at least.
 
I looked at my fingernails, but they still had black stuff under them.
 
I thought of all the times I’d dug my hands into the forest floor over the past couple days, communicating with The Green.
 
If I were going to be doing more of that, I was never going to have clean nails.
 
I wondered if they had fingernail polish in this joint.
 
At least then no one would see the grunginess.

I toweled off and slipped into my temporary pajamas and underwear.
 
The thick socks were soft and the moccasins fit perfectly.
 
I stepped soundlessly to the door, getting ready to open it and step out into the hallway, when I suddenly heard voices.
 
My hand froze in place as I waited for them to pass, but they stopped on the other side of the door.
 
I was about to announce my presence when I heard my name being spoken.
 
I immediately clamped my mouth shut and listened as hard as I could.
 
The door was thick so the sounds were pretty muffled.

“ ... The changeling Jayne may or may not be the one we have been seeking.
 
Either way, we need to work on eliminating the ones we discussed.
 
We cannot go into this situation with them in place ...
”
 
The
voices faded out as the speakers started moving down the hall again.

One they’re seeking?
 
Seeking for what?
 
I didn’t recognize
who
the voices belonged to, but I could tell one was female and one was male.
 
The word ‘eliminating’ sounded threatening.
 
Did they mean changelings?
 
Fae?
 
Am I on their list of ones to eliminate?
 
My heart was pounding so loud, I was afraid they would hear it.
 
I prayed they would keep walking and not suddenly decide they had to pee or something.
 

Finally, after what seemed like ages, I could no longer hear their footsteps.
 
I opened the bathroom door silently, praying it wouldn’t squeak, peeking around the corner of the door that was now just slightly ajar.
 
Luckily it swung out without making a sound.
 
I tiptoed back to my room, going in swiftly and shutting the door as quickly and quietly as I could.
 
Hopefully whoever was down the hall working on their elimination plans hadn’t heard me.
 
I waited a few seconds to see if someone came back or if I heard voices, but the hallway remained silent.
 
My hammering heart slowly reached a normal rhythm again.
 
I wiped the sweat off my face with my damp towel and walked over to my bed, sitting down.

My hair was soaked, so I spent a few minutes trying to dry it with the towel, worrying the whole time about what I had overheard.
 
Were they planning to kill someone?
 
One of my friends, maybe?
 
Me?
 
Were they Dark Fae, working here as spies?
 

I finished toweling off my hair and used the brush to get the tangles out.
 
I laid the wet towel over the radiator on the wall next to the dresser and put a dry towel down on my pillow, planning to lie there and analyze and over-analyze the hell out of the conversation I had just overheard.
 

I must have drifted off because the next thing I knew, Chase and Becky were banging on my door, telling me we had to be at the breakfast hall in five minutes.

I opened the door and pulled Becky in with me.

“Chase, you gotta wait outside.”
 
I shut the door in his face without waiting for an answer.

“Uh-oh, somebody slept in.”

“Yeah, shush, help me find something to wear.”
 

I began hurriedly pulling the brush through my hair, wincing as it caught in the hundred or so knots that had appeared overnight.

Becky opened the drawers of my dresser.
 
“Ooh, cool stuff.
 
I have to wear the clothes of the sprites.”

For the first time I noticed what she was wearing.
 
It was a tunic, kind of like mine, but a bluish-greenish
color,
reminiscent of the water she was attached to as a water sprite.
 
It seemed to change color from blue to green as she moved around.
 
She wore tight stretchy pants underneath and moccasins like mine.

“Here, wear this.”
 
She pulled out one of my white tunics and a pair of jeans.
 
The tunic looked exactly like the one I already had on, just shorter.
 
I pulled my pajama top off and threw it on the bed, pulling the one she handed me over my head in three seconds flat.
 
I kicked off my moccasins and grabbed the jeans, pulling them on as fast as I could.
 
I was happy to see they fit perfectly.
 
How did they know what size I am?

I still had my socks on, so the moccasins went back on next.
 
They slipped comfortably onto my feet and closed with leather laces the same color as the boot part.
 
I put my hair up into a ponytail, quickly brushed my teeth, splashed a little water on my face for good measure, and I was ready to go.

“Five minutes.
 
You’re good.”

“No makeup makes it easier.
 
I wish I had some.
 
I feel naked without eyeliner and mascara.”

Becky smiled.
 
“You don’t need it to be pretty.
 
But I see some fae wearing it, so I’m sure you could get some if you wanted to.
 
Just ask.”

We went out into the hallway where Chase stood waiting for us.
 

“Who do I ask?”

“I’m not sure if it’s the same for you, but I have to ask Chip for stuff.
 
I leave him a note on my dresser.
 
He’s like the guy who gets everything for us that we need.
 
He’s a brownie.”

I shook my head, instantly picturing a human-sized piece of chewy chocolate cake walking around on two legs.
 

“What’s a brownie?
 
Because I’m pretty sure it’s not what I’m picturing right now, which is actually making me very hungry.”

“A brownie is a fae that does all kinds of stuff but mainly they clean, organize, and find stuff for you.
 
They can find anything, pretty much.
 
They’ll clean your room when you’re gone today.
 
You’re supposed to leave something out for them to take, on that silver tray on your dresser; otherwise, they’ll take something else ... something you don’t want them to take, or they’ll mess with you somehow.
 
My first day, I didn’t know I should leave them a token of my appreciation, and when I got back at the end of the day, all my right socks were gone.”

“I didn’t leave anything,” I said, feeling a little bad I was going to piss the brownie off on my first day.
 
I really didn’t want to do that, especially now that I knew he or she was going to clean up my room for me and be my gofer.
 
Yay!
 
A maid!
 
A gofer!
 
I’m practically a celebrity!