Six Guardians of the Underworld

Chapter 10

I frowned. "You know, you're sounding a lot like a dragon right now." Dragon-speak was seriously annoying, and he was totally nailing it.

"Ask your questions and I will seek to answer them."

I put my hands on my hips. "What the heck am I supposed to do? That's my question. I don't have any idea and neither does anybody else."

"Use the gifts you have been given to do the right thing."

I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. "Oh, that is so very helpful. Thank you so much for clearing that up. I don't know why I didn't think of that plan myself."

"You must trust your instincts. They are the conduit to your divine guidance."

"Are you serious?" He must have forgotten all those other times I followed my instincts and put myself and about a hundred other fae into hot water.

"What did he say?" Aiden asked.

"What did who say? Who is she talking to? Is she hearing voices?" This was from Niles. "It could be the Forsaken. Perhaps the tapestry is a portal into the Neverworld."

I glared over my shoulder and shushed him. "I'm trying to have a conversation here, do you mind?"

I turned back to Ben and his dragon buddies. "Could you please be more specific? I know you're not functioning on this human or fae plane anymore, but we kind of deal in more solid terms down here. I hope you haven't already forgotten that much about us."

"You are too absorbed by the details. That is not what should concern you right now. What is your purpose? What is your role? What matters most to any human or fae? Answer those questions and you shall have all the guidance you need."

"What matters most to people? I don't know… money? Power?" That seemed to be what most people I knew were always after.

"No. And you know better than that."

I didn't want to say the next option out loud because it sounded goofy, but it also felt the most right. "Love?"

"Well done. You are following your instincts already. Love is your overall mission. That is your goal."

I sighed, my shoulders hanging low. "So, what you're saying is, I am going to defeat evil by spreading love around the world. Excellent. Move over, Mother Teresa, here comes Mother Jayne. World peace is just around the corner."

"Your sense of humor will help. Don't lose it. Do not underestimate the stakes for which you are playing. This is not a game. The outcome will have far-reaching effects for fae and humans alike."

"Yeah, so I heard. So, what am I supposed to do now, since it involves everyone on the planet? Am I supposed to start recruiting humans into this deal too or what?"

"I cannot see the future, and I do not advise you trying to see it either, but I will tell you that all creatures on the earth are connected. All creatures great and small, loud and silent, seen and unseen, breathing or merely existing—they are all connected. I can see the connections now. You need to see these connections, too. You must take action in the interest of every creature as a whole community and not on behalf of any specific group."

He was talking about being fair and not thinking about what I wanted or what Dardennes wanted or what the President of China wanted. I had to make sure that whatever happened, every creature on earth could continue to survive and thrive on their own terms…be free to choose and to love and to be loved. I could kind of see his logic when he broke it down into something simple like he had. Fact is, the entire world would be a better place if we were all working toward the same goal. United in love, we could defeat any evil that came at us.

So, yeah. I nodded at that nutty golden dragon, letting him know that I was on board with his plan, even though it was the outer limits crazy kind. I could deal with this grand scheme, even though world peace wasn't a goal I felt confident I could accomplish; too many people would be impossible to convince for the entire world to work together toward one single purpose. But I could sure follow this basic principle to help get rid of those Forsaken dudes. All I had to do was unite the fae toward this one path—love your brother and all that—and I'd be on easy street. Good always triumphs over evil, right? It did in the movies, anyway.

Working with the earth element had made it clear to me how we are all connected and how every living thing is part of a single whole. I realized with his description, though, that I had always limited my connection to the trees and the fae, but the links weren't that limited in actuality. Every single thing roaming the planet, flying over it, or rooted into it was part of one big system, and if any part of that system collapsed, it would bring everything down with it eventually. As my mind started figuring this out, I realized that my thoughts about uniting the fae might actually be a little bit too limiting. Could this work without humans being involved? From the way the fae were always freaking out about the Forsaken and their power, I highly doubted it.

I moved in closer to the tapestry and lowered my voice so the rest of the Council wouldn't hear what I was going to say. "Hey, Ben…it looks like your big plan to integrate with the humans might work out after all."

"Whatever plan I may have had while living as a fae in the Here and Now is no longer relevant."

"Yeah, well, it kinda seems like nothing we were working toward before is relevant anymore. Like it was all just a big waste of time." We had spent so many months fighting the Dark Fae, only to integrate with them after. And then we were fighting demons and yet the Forsaken were on their way anyway, and they were supposedly worse. What was the point of all of it? It had felt like we were doing great and important things at the time, but now it looked like all we'd been doing was running around in circles chasing our tails. The real challenge lay beyond our borders. It lay beyond our realm. It was inside our hearts and inside the hearts of every living creature on this planet.

"Every step you take

places you farther down the path you are meant to travel," the golden dragon said. "You can't get to the end without finishing the beginning and the middle. No time is wasted. No lesson is ever useless. You live and you learn. Take all of the things you've learned and put them into practice. You are the Mother and the Father of the Fae now. Pull the fae into your heart and give them all of your love. Give them all of you, as I gave myself to you."

I started to cry when I realized that Ben, with his sacrifice, had become my own personal Jesus, something I had mocked before. He had literally given his life for mine so that I could go out into the world and do great things. He was asking so much of me, and I wanted to do what he wanted me to do, but I just didn't know if I could. Hell, I could barely even pass math class. "I will try."

"Don't try. Do. You are capable. You are worthy. And even though you are not perfect, you are plenty good enough. You have a big heart. You love fiercely. You are loyal to the power of good. You shun the power of evil at every turn. You are going to be tested, but if you remember what is important, you will succeed because you are strong." After he delivered this amazingly powerful and scary-as-s**t soliloquy, he faded out to nothingness, swallowed up by the threads of the tapestry. The purple dragon disappeared shortly thereafter.

I nodded and turned around when I got the sense that Ben was no longer with me, having taken his wise and all-knowing mojo with him off into Everywhere-and-Nowhere-Land. I faced the Council, focusing on Tim who had been sitting on the back of my chair but who now stood to face me. His shimmering cloak waved behind his legs as he adopted his superhero stance, his hands on his hips and his chin in the air.

Several Council members looked at each other and nodded. They seemed very impressed. I took that to mean I'd gotten that part right, at least.

"I guess he gave the ultimate sacrifice and did it for all the right reasons, so he got a promotion or something. Anyway, he says that I don't need to worry about the details of the plan to defeat the Forsaken, so I'm going to leave that up to you guys. I have other things I need to do to help get ready for this big event or whatever." I said that with what sounded like full confidence, knowing all the while that I had no clue what I was actually going to do. I just felt this immediate need to talk to my friends.

"I have to go talk to some fae who aren't in this room, which I can go do while you guys put together some ideas and plans of action. We can meet again after I've had about twenty-four hours of sleep and at least three meals." I paused, not sure whether I should tell them my next bit of news, but deciding quickly that it was probably relevant since they were the plan-makers. "And by the way, I don't know how this is going to figure into the whole thing, but I'm pregnant with twins. So, yeah. I'll talk to you feeps later."

I signaled for Tim to follow me and walked out the door, ignoring the chorus of surprised and freaked-out voices that rose behind me. The old Jayne would have worried what they were thinking and would have become angry about them calling out for me and telling me to get back there immediately, but the new Jayne didn't have time to worry about the little stuff like making sure fae liked me, treated me the way I wanted to be treated, and approved of what I was doing. I had a big-picture situation to deal with for sure, and the Council members were going to be key to fixing the horrible situation facing us, yes.

But before I could move forward with any plan, I needed to be able to see what that big picture was. My friends would help me put it together, and the most important ones, Tony and Spike, had to be there for that process. I was going to eat, sleep, and then somehow find my way into the Gray so I could get those dudes out of there and back with me where they belonged.

CHAPTER EIGHT

"SO, WHAT'S THE plan?" Tim asked. He was flying next to me as I strode down the hallway toward the dining room.

"I have to get something to eat. Then I need to sleep for just a little bit, and then I'll find Brad and get started on rescuing Tony and Spike."

"You know Brad already tried that, and it didn't work out so well."

"Yes, I know, but I can't let that stop me. I'm not leaving them in there, and we're running out of time." I could feel it in my bones. Maybe it was just my imagination, but ever since I talked to the Ben-dragon, I could feel this weird vibration in the air. I'd halfway convinced myself it was the Forsaken announcing their arrival. Let's just say it wasn't a good vibe.

"Okay, I'm on board," Tim said. "But I'm going to need to talk to Abby about it before we take off."

"You're not coming."

"What do you mean, I'm not coming? Of course I'm coming. I thought we were already clear on this: where you go I go. We're a team, like Bonnie and Clyde…Superman and Wonder Woman…Batman and Robin."

"First of all, Bonnie and Clyde were serial killers. And I don't think Superman and Wonder Woman ever hooked up as a team. And by the way, which one are you? Batman or Robin?"

"I can't believe you have to ask that. I look terrible in red, you know that. Red is for fire sprites and cube-eyes. Ugh."

"Of course you're Batman." I rolled my eyes. Having Tim with me could either be a blessing or a curse, so I wasn't convinced it was a good idea for him to participate in this particular rescue. "We'll see when the time comes. I don't want you going in there and getting recruited over to Team Void like you almost did last time."

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about." He sniffed and looked away when I tried to give him the eye.

"Oh, really? You don't remember talking to a troll and agreeing to help him jump me and take me out?"

"That did not happen."

"Okay, so you don't remember getting shoved down into my b*a either, I suppose?"

"Now that I remember. That I will never forget. I'm still scarred. Scarred for life." He had the nerve to shudder.

"My boobs aren't that bad."

"Girl, your boobs are sweaty, and that's not all, either."

We were almost to our destination, the dining room less than a minute away. "Whatever. Let's talk to Brad and find out what he knows. But before we do that, I need to make sure I have a clear head. I'm exhausted and I'm starving."

"That's the pregnancy talking. Those little suckers are going to drain your energy like you wouldn't believe."

My hand went to my belly involuntarily. I rubbed it a little, wondering what was going on in there. "Maybe I should go see a doctor."

"It probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Prenatal care is very important."

I snorted. "What do you know about prenatal care?"

"Are you kidding me? I have a son, or have you forgotten?"

"Yeah, but you weren't around for the pregnancy or the birth."

"Hey! Don't sass me. That's not the point. The point is that I know what I'm talking about, and you should go see a doctor because I said so." He sounded so much like a father it was ridiculous, but I didn't hate that he was playing that role. He did a much better job at it than my real one ever did.

"I will, I promise. Food and sleep first, though." We arrived at the dining room, and I pushed open the door. I had expected us to be alone in there because it wasn't time for a meal to be served yet, but there was a table full of changelings, and although there were several I'd never met before, there were a few I recognized. I went right over to them, and Becky was the first to jump up.

"Jayne! Oh my god! I'm so happy to see you."

I put my arms around her waist as she threw hers over my shoulders and squeezed me tight. She had to stand on tiptoe to reach me. I hadn't noticed when I'd embraced her earlier how thin she'd become.

"Have you lost weight?" I frowned at her as she pulled away. She definitely looked thinner. She was practically skin and bones.

"Yeah, a little. It was a big adjustment coming back. You know how it is." She waved me off, but I looked at Finn and he was slowly shaking his head. He looked worried. I knew from Becky's silly excuse that she wasn't going to say anything there in front of any of those other fae, so I let it go temporarily. Later, when we were alone, I'd get more information.

"Finn, how are you doing?"

He stood and bowed at the waist with his fist on his chest. "Fine and dandy, Mother. How 'bout you? How're you holdin' up?"

"I'd be a whole lot better if you'd stop that bowing stuff and get to the hugging part."

He grinned big and pulled me into an embrace. He smelled like the forest and sweat—in other words, perfectly Finn. It was ever so comforting.

"You do give the best hugs," he said over my shoulder.

"Hey! I thought I gave the best hugs," Becky said, pouting.

"You do, babe. You give the best romantic hugs. She gives the best Mother hugs."