Traitor (12 page)

The crazy thing was that I knew this was where Emily was from and where Ashlyn could be. Roslin stopped at the end of the massive hallway to grab a black jacket off a coat hanger. Weird. It wasn’t like it was cold out. I reached out to grab one as well, but she smacked my hand. “What?”

“Those aren’t for just anyone. They’re for the committee.”

“And you’re part of that little squad, I guess?”

“As a matter of fact, yes.”

I rolled my eyes and walked forward to the huge doors where Roslin now stood. She reached forward to push them forward, but all of a sudden a blue light covered her. She was pulled off the floor, then she went limp.

There was no time to think. I did the only thing that made sense. I leapt forward and grabbed her by the ankle, yanking her back down from the air. The only problem was, we didn’t hit the ground. Instead, the blue light engulfed me as well. Yelling out in shock, Roslin came out of her coma and looked down at me. She opened her mouth to say something, but then it hit.

A wave of pain like nothing I’d ever experienced in my life consumed me. It was like I’d just been hit by a freight train. It felt as if the life was being sucked straight out of me. My back bowed against my will, and my legs went rigid. I wanted to scream, but couldn’t even find the will to make it happen. Everything was on fire.

I forced my eyes to look toward Roslin for answers. She looked horrified, but was unable to say anything. I commanded myself to find my lungs, my throat, my will to yell for someone to make this unbearable agony end. Letting out a yell that tore my throat on its way out, it felt like I was going to break in half.

Out of nowhere, the pain stopped. We both dropped out of the air and crumpled to the ground. Roslin landed on top of me. I lay there, still reeling from the shock of the sudden onslaught. My lungs didn’t seem to know how to work properly anymore, and I gasped for air that wouldn’t come. I choked and spit up blood into my hand. Finally, I mustered the strength to push Roslin off me. She rolled to the side of me and I rounded on her when I finally figured out which end was up. “What the hell was
THAT
?”

Roslin swayed as she stood up, but her face shone clear with anger. “What in the blazes were you thinking?”

As I began to respond, a red head came through the now opened doors. “Actually, the question is, what in the world is a mortal doing in Adaire?”

Roslin stood as straight as possible, given that she still looked a little seasick. “Rebecca, this is Reese. I have chosen to give him immortality. He’s agreed to protect Ashlyn afterward, sothe immortality issue for her will no longer be a problem.”

There was no other word for it; Rebecca was
hot
. I mean, straight out of a pinup magazine type girl, bite your knuckle and stomp your feet hot. I blinked twice just to make sure she was really there. She noticed.

“Is there something on your mind, Reese?”

“What? Uh, no. Sorry.” I looked down to save myself future embarrassment. It wasn’t like I was going to hit on her. Just…dang. The football guys would love to see her.

Lesson one learned: don’t check out faeries. At least conspicuously, anyway. Roslin covered up the awkward silence that ensued. “As I was saying, Reese here would like to offer his services. Do you approve?”

I didn’t look up out of my own will. After Roslin asked the question, it was like some invisible string pulled my chin up. Like I was the marionette and someone else was pulling the strings. It was the weirdest thing. I was forced to look at Rebecca. This wasn’t normal.

Rebecca seemed to read my mind. “You’re stubborn for a mortal. I like it. Most men can’t look away for even a moment.” She chuckled as she dropped her outstretched hand that I hadn’t even noticed. All of a sudden, I could look down again.

Lesson two learned: don’t mess with the red head. Immediately my eyes were counting the cracks in the marble flooring to avoid any chance of ticking her off.

Roslin didn’t seem afraid of her at all. Instead, her voice seemed annoyed and impatient. Roslin was braver than I gave her credit for. “Rebecca, please? Time is of the essence.”

Rebecca seemed miffed. I heard her huff out of her nose, then she turned on her heel. Knowing her back was to me, I looked up and watched her walk into the room that had opened after Roslin and I fell to the ground. Inside were five of the most outrageous colored recliners I’d ever seen. Rebecca stopped in the middle of the room, but never turned to face us again. She used a hand to toss her fiery red hair off her shoulder. “You can do as you please with the boy. Just clean up after your mess.”

“I was hoping to have Reuben assist if possible? Just in case?” Roslin said quietly.

Rebecca stopped, but didn’t turn. “Reuben is out at the moment, so you’ll just have to be careful. You’ve done this before.” With that, she disappeared behind a crazy-colored recliner to only God knows where. A door slammed and echoed into the hallway where Roslin and I still stood.

My eyes darted to Roslin. “Wait, what? A mess? Are we talking a minor mess like cleanup on aisle four, or brains splattered against the wall mess?”

Roslin smiled her award-winning smile as she pushed me through the massive doors and into the room with the crazy recliners. “Don’t worry, love. I’ve done this one other time. Went perfect. Mostly.”

R
OSLIN PUSHED ME
over to the wild purple and orange chair and shoved me into it unceremoniously. She eyed me like a work of art, biting her lip and cocking her head to the side. For some reason it made my stomach drop out of my butt, since I figured something really messed was going to happen next. Roslin cracked her knuckles and started toward me, arms outstretched. “Alright, so this really isn’t as bad as what you’d think. It’s just the after-effects are kind of disorienting. So yeah, uh, just get ready.”

I prayed my voice wouldn’t crack like some pre-pubescent kid when I spoke. “You’re not helping your case, you know that, right?”

Roslin rolled her eyes. “Do you want to help Ashlyn or not?”

That put me in a more somber mood. “Do whatever you need to. Just don’t make me end up with two heads or anything crazy like that, okay? I doubt Ash would go for that, even if I was the last guy on earth.”

She giggled in spite of herself. “Just shut up and don’t move. If you make me laugh, I can’t guarantee anything.”

With that, she rubbed her hands together like she was starting a fire between them. After a couple seconds, blue light began to pour from the tips of her fingers and drip from between her hands. It was almost as though the light was its own entity; it began to wisp around her and then started to wend its way toward me. I backed away, pushing into the chair as far as possible.

“Don’t do that,” Roslin muttered to me. “I told you not to move. Just relax, it’s fine.”

“Easy for you to say,” I muttered. All the same, I relaxed. A little.

The swirling light began to wrap around my ankles and took on a firm grip. It felt as though the translucent light actually had weight to it. It swallowed my body up over my knees. That’s when I realized it wasn’t just heavy, but it was also wet.

I tried to lift my leg. No go. It was like being stuck in wet cement. Panicked, I looked to Roslin for answers. Nothing. Her eyes were closed tightly, and she still rubbing her hands together like it was the last thing she’d ever do. The light oozed its way to my chest. It felt like a ton of bricks had just been laid down on my ribcage. “Rozz, you feel like explaining this to me?” I sputtered.

No answer. I began to hyperventilate. The heavy, wet light hit my neck. That’s when I really started to panic. Grabbing the armrests under the weight of whatever it was that Roslin was wrapping me in, I tried to push off the chair. It was like I was super glued down. I yelled out in panic. “Rozz, what are you doing?!”

The light had stopped at my neck. I could barely breathe from the weight crushing down on my chest. Roslin walked forward, palms extended with the blue crap smeared all over her hands like wet paint. “Don’t panic. This is going to get uncomfortable. You need to stop moving; you’ll only make it harder on yourself.”

I gasped for air. “More than it already is?”

Roslin chuckled. “I’m glad that you still have your sarcasm while on the brink of suffocation. It gives me high hopes for after this. Now stop being stupid and listen to directions.”

I closed my eyes and pushed down the panic that welled within me. Roslin was right; I was being stupid. If she told me to sit still, then it was probably a good idea to do it. She hadn’t steered me wrong yet. With that in mind, I took the deepest breath I could and waited. “Let’s do this. Finish it.”

“You’re brave. I can’t wait to see you when you’re immortal.” She pressed her hands to either side of my face. The blue took over everything. My vision was blurry like I was under water, but I could still see through it as she pulled away, watching with bated breath.

Wish I had that breath.

The last bit of oxygen I had sucked in before being wrapped me in this blue cocoon burned inside my lungs. They screamed for fresh air, beckoned me to inhale. I couldn’t resist much longer. My muscles burned and begged to fight against the crushing weight, but I refused to ignore Roslin’s instructions. Stay still. She said she’d done this before. My brain screamed to move but I fought against the instinct.

Roslin was moving her mouth, but I couldn’t hear her. My heart beat wildly in my chest. Finally, the desire to breathe in got the best of me. I sucked in the wet substance through my nostrils.

That’s when I passed out.

***

I woke up with Roslin, Rebecca, and Antony peering over me. They were the only specks of color in the otherwise surgically clean and pristine white room. Rays of sunlight poured through the windows and its silky white curtains, and even the furniture was painted white. When faeries went with a motif, they seemed to really stick to it.

Rebecca smiled, and her bright red hair was made all the more radiant when illuminated by the sun. She looked amused by the sight of me. “See, Roslin, you didn’t kill him.”

“It was close. I thought he’d suck in all the magic I’d used.”

Antony snorted. “You’ve got some good stuff, Rozz. Don’t sell yourself short.”

Roslin punched Antony, then shoved him away like a sister would to a little brother. Her movements made the bed slosh, and that’s when I realized it was a waterbed. The duvet was – surprise, surprise – pure white and as light as a puff of cloud. It didn’t feel like there was anything covering me. Roslin adjusted the duvet and folded down the edge to rest at my bare shoulders. “Get out of here, Antony. Reese doesn’t need to see you the minute he opens his eyes.”

“Too late,” I mumbled weakly. “I’m scarred for life.”

“Or eternity,” Rebecca murmured. “Roslin, I hope he turns out to be what you wanted. I need to go find Reuben now.”

“I thought you said he was out?”

Rebecca waited a moment before speaking and nodded. “Precisely why I need to go find him. The crazy faery is always gallivanting around the human world, stirring up trouble with the Changelings when he can. Not that I can blame him, but all the same…” she drifted out of the bedroom like a trail of smoke. She never finished her sentence.

There was silence for a moment before Roslin leaned over once more. “So, how do you feel?”

“Sore.”

“Well, good. That’s better than the last one I tried to change. Reuben had to step in to make sure he’d turn out okay.”

I laughed weakly. The laugh caused me to cough like some chain smoker of thirty years. “What’d you do to the last one?”

Roslin blushed as she helped me get into a sitting position. She fluffed a pillow and put it behind my back. “Well, you know that two heads thing you mentioned?”

My eyes widened. “Don’t tell me you seriously did that?”

“No, but I shrunk his. Took Reuben three days to figure out how to make it go back to normal.”

I shook my head, just glad to know it was still the same size it had always been. Roslin lifted my arm and examined it, then put the back of her hand to my forehead to check my temperature. She smiled as she withdrew her hand. “Feel like walking? We’ll start with baby steps. Transitioning to a Glastig can be disorienting sometimes.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “Personally, I vomited for the whole day after coming to. It was awful.”

“It doesn’t feel like I have to puke,” I said tentatively, hoping I hadn’t just jinxed myself. I pushed myself off the bed and landed on the floor like a cat. It was silent, like nothing had happened at all. I glanced at Roslin. “Is that normal?”

She grinned. “I wondered if your athleticism would pay off. We’re all faster and quieter than humans, but I think you brought your athleticism with you. I’ll be curious to see you in action.”

I flexed my arms and stretched my back. I felt the same, but apparently I wasn’t. There was a floor length mirror in the corner. I turned and looked into it. My muscles were more pronounced. I looked stronger, leaner. Inside, I didn’t feel any different, but the outside seemed to differ. Without thinking, I flexed in the mirror to watch my biceps roll like corded steel. That was nice. I turned to Roslin. “So after whatever you did, I’m immortal? It only took what, ten minutes?”

Roslin laughed. “Try two days. You passed out for most of it. Don’t worry; we didn’t chop you up or anything. It’s more on our end, giving up a piece of us to make the new person immortal, give them our faerie abilities. You’ll have my abilities as well as your own. Kind of the faery way of creating stronger faeries for the future.”

I nodded. “Right on. So I can make someone immortal, then?”

Roslin smiled. “You get one a century. Make it worthwhile. The first thing you’ll want to do, though, is get back home and mow the lawn your dad was on you about. We don’t need you grounded. Afterward, meet me in Ireland. I’ll take care of your football practice issue as well as the fact that your family thinks you’ve gone missing. We need to reintroduce you to Emily and Ashlyn.”

“Are you serious? How are you going to get me out of the trouble I’m no doubt in at home? And how do you propose I get to Ireland if I’m not grounded and locked in my room until I turn eighteen?”