Kaitlyn sat up straight, her eyes widening. “You’re. . .what?” she said in disbelief into her cell phone. She blinked, then snorted. “You’re kidding, right? I mean, who breaks up with somebody over the phone? That’s so. . .juvenile.”
She scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up, then began to pace. “I don’t understand. I thought everything was. . .going. . .” Her voice trailed off and she frowned as she came to a halt. “Oh. I see.”
She sighed and raked her fingers through her hair. “Wow. Well, that’s great. Hmm? Oh, no, you know, it’s okay. No problem. I’m fine, Davin. Don’t you worry your pretty little head over me.”
She closed her eyes against tears as he continued to ramble on about how sorry he was, but this was all just too freaky for him but hey, they’d always have memories of the good things, right? “Yeah, Davin, you’re totally right.” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “So, um, wow, look at the time! You know I just, um, I just remembered that I was supposed to, uh, meet my sister! For lunch!” She squeezed her eyes tightly shut as her voice cracked and a tear slipped down her cheek. “So, uh, I’ll. . .I’ll talk to you later.”
She lowered the cell phone from her ear and hit the button to end the call, then let the phone fall from her fingers as she sat down on the floor. She leaned her back against the bed and drew her knees up to her chest. Resting her forehead against her arms, she began to cry.
“You told him, didn’t you?”
She gasped, jerking her head up and then groaned as she recognized her sister, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. “Oh god, Madeline, can’t you, like, knock or something? Alert me to your presence before you just pop in?”
Madeline rolled her eyes as she crossed one leg over the other and then rested her elbow on her knee. She propped her chin up on her hand and gave her sister a contemplative look. “So, am I right?”
Kaitlyn sighed. “Yes.” she grumbled. She raked her fingers through her hair, then groaned and cradled her head in her hands. “How could I be stupid? I thought Davin was different, you know? I thought he could handle it.”
“Mmm, yes, well, few humans can.” Madeline said as she inspected her perfectly manicured nails.
“Dad did.” Kaitlyn said quietly.
Madeline snorted. “Oh yes, Dad took it really well. Completely embraced the magical world and then left Mom for a banshee. A banshee, for crying out loud!”
Kaitlyn groaned, shooting a glance over her shoulder at her sister. “Maddie, that was a horrible pun.”
Madeline smiled a little and shrugged her shoulders. “Besides who needs humans? There’s plenty of fairy boys to choose from.”
“Yeah, if you don’t mind them being egotistical and looking down their noses at you because you’re half human.” Kaitlyn grumbled.
“They’re not all like that.” Madeline protested.
“Oh, so just the ones I’ve met?” Kaitlyn said. “Great. I attract jerks.”
Madeline rolled her eyes. “You know, you can be really melodramatic sometimes.”
“No, just stating a fact.” Kaitlyn said. “Every fairy I’ve been even remotely attracted to has turned out to be a jerk.”
“So have most of the humans.” Madeline pointed out.
Kaitlyn groaned and rubbed her forehead. “Great, so I’m doomed to a life of spinsterhood.”
Madeline laughed lightly and slid down to sit beside her sister on the floor. “Your Prince Charming is out there somewhere, Kaity.” she said as she hugged her sister. “You two just haven’t found each other yet.”
“Well, I hope we find each other soon.” Kaitlyn grumbled.”
“Kaity, you’re only 110.” Madeline said. “You’re got plenty of time to find that special guy and settle down. I mean, c’mon, in human years, that’s. . .what. . .24?”
“22.” Kaitlyn said dryly.
“Yes, well, mental math has never been one of my strong points.” Madeline said, waving her hand dismissively. “The point is, silly, that you’re still young. Have fun! Enjoy life!”
Kaitlyn smiled. “Thanks Maddie.”
“For what?” Madeline asked.
“Making me feel better.” Kaitlyn responded as she hugged her sister. Then she glanced at her watch. “Oh shit, I’m late! I’ve got to open the shop!”
“Don’t forget, Mom’s making dinner tonight.” Madeline said as her sister jumped to her feet and rushed around, getting dressed. “Her place at eight. Human form not required.”
Kaitlyn smiled as she ran a brush through her hair. “I’ll be there.”
“Fairy wings and all?” Madeline asked.
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes a little and chuckled. “Yes, fairy wings and all.”
Kaitlyn stood behind a locked display case that contained athames, scrying crystals and bejeweled wands, along with some of the more expensive jewelry she sold in her shop, I Gilgalad Bain. She appeared to be wiping down the glass, but really she was keeping her eye on a young teenaged girl near the back of the shop. There was something about the way the girl’s eyes kept darting around that made Kaitlyn suspect she was shoplifting or, at the very least, was thinking about shoplifting.
“Excuse me, miss?” a middle-aged woman said, drawing Kaitlyn’s attention away from the teenager.
“Yes, ma’am, how can I help you?” Kaitlyn asked.
“I’m looking for something to turn my ex-husband into a toad or something vile.” the woman said. “Do you have anything like that?”
Kaitlyn bit her lip to keep herself from laughing. “Ma’am, that’s not really what magic’s about. As tempting as something like that may be, it would be a blatant misuse of magic.”
“But it is possible, no?” the woman said.
“Well, yes, technically anything’s possible, but it’s not recommended, nor do I sell the material needed for the spell.” Kaitlyn responded.
The woman gave her a look, then said “Hmph. Well, thank you for your time.”
Kaitlyn stifled a laugh as the woman turned on her heel and stalked out of the shop. Kaitlyn turned her attention back to the teenager just in time to see her swipe an amethyst necklace off a display rack and shove it in her pocket. Kaitlyn shook her head and moved out from behind the counter just as the front door of the shop was thrown open and a voice bellowed out “Kaitlyn Geneva Blair, I need ta have a word wif yeh!” in an Irish lilt.
Kaitlyn recognized the voice and whirled to face the entrance where a tiny little man about four feet tall, wearing a black bowler hat and a dark green three-piece suit, stood, an angry expression on his face. “Oh, Seamus, not now!” she hissed.
“Aye, lassie, now!” Seamus said as he stepped into the shop.
“Seamus, really, I’m kind of. . .” Kaitlyn trailed off as she saw the teenager was heading toward the back entrance out of the shop. “Hey! Kid! Stop!” She started to run after the teen, only to find that her feet wouldn’t move. She stared down at them in surprise, then glared at Seamus. “Seamus! That girl just stole a necklace from me!”
“I’ll get yehr bloody necklace back for yeh; we need to talk.” Seamus snapped. “Now, lassie, sit down.” He tapped his cane twice against the floor. The door flew shut behind him and the shade pulled down over the glass.
Kaitlyn groaned and rolled her eyes as a chair appeared out of thin air. “Fine.” she growled as she reluctantly sat down. “Although you need to be a little more careful. Humans come into this shop all the time.”
“Och, they’ll just think I’m a midget.” Seamus said, waving his hand dismissively. “That’s not why I’m here.”
“Then why are you here?” Kaitlyn asked. “I’m trying to run a business.”
“What’s this dream study thing yeh’ve signed up for?” Seamus demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.
Kaitlyn groaned. “How did you find out about that? Did Maddie tell you? I’ll kill her.”
“Me sources aren’t important. Knowing more about this dream study is.” Seamus said. “What is it?”
“It’s just what it sounds like.” Kaitlyn snapped. “It’s a study of my dreams.”
“Who’s funding it? How did yeh hear about it? Are they goin’ ta be pokin’ around in yehr head?” Seamus demanded. “Does yehr mother know yeh’ve signed up?”
“No, my mother does not know. I’m a legal adult, in both fairy and human years. I didn’t think I had to ask her permission for every little detail of my life.” Kaitlyn said, rolling her eyes. “As for who’s funding it, it’s a bunch of different scientists from different areas in the country.”
“Och, scientists.” Seamus spat. “That’s dangerous, love, ‘specially yeh being half-fairy.”
“Would you relax? They’re not going to find out about that.” Kaitlyn said. “I’ll be asleep but still be aware of where I am and what I’m doing. It’s a trail run, basically, of a new form of entertainment. Kind of like Everquest or one of those other online games, except you go to sleep instead of going online.”
Seamus raised an eyebrow. “I see. . . And how did yeh find out about this?”
“Um. . .well. . .they kind of contacted me.” Kaitlyn said.
“What?!” Seamus yelled.
“Oh, stop!” Kaitlyn cried. “Don’t even start with the conspiracy theories! You know I’m addicted to MMORPGs. They probably just randomly selected a bunch of us players and approached us for this study. It’s no big deal!”
“Hmph.” Seamus grumbled. “I don’t know, lassie. I’d be watchin’ meself if I were yeh.”
“Ugh!” Kaitlyn cried. “What does it matter if they find out anyway? Maybe it’s time we got with the program and announced our presence to the world!”
“No, lassie, that’s a horrible idea!” Seamus cried, looking horrified. “Why, can yeh imagine what the humans would do?! I’ve already got enough of ‘em tryin’ to capture me as it is for me gold now. If we told the world that magical creatures exist. . .” He shuddered.
Kaitlyn sighed. “Whatever. I just think it’s stupid to stay in hiding.”
“Lass, the world’s jus’ no’ ready to know ‘bout us again.” Seamus said softly. “It may never be.”
“Yeah. . .” Kaitlyn said softly. She glanced up at a clock on the wall. “Damn. I need to get going. Mom’s making dinner.”
“Will yeh tell her about this dream study?” Seamus asked.
“No.” Kaitlyn said. “It’s really not a big deal, Seamus. Besides, she wouldn’t understand.” She grabbed her purse from behind the counter and slung it over her shoulder, then grabbed her keys. “C’mon. I’ll lock up behind you.”
“I still think yeh ought ta tell yehr mother. . .” Seamus grumbled.
"I can't believe you're goin through with this again, Kaity." Madeline hissed at her sister, who sat across the table from her, calmly stirring her mocha latte.
"Maddie, I have to." Kaitlyn said. "I don't know all of what's going on and it's not like I have much of a choice. This chip or whatevr is in my head. When I go to sleep, I'm automatically transported to this dream world."
"Then I'll get Mordoc to remove the fucking chip." Madeline snapped. "Or just use my magic."
"Maddie, sh!" Kaitlyn hissed, glancing around the cafe in a panic to see if anyone had overheard them. The cafe wasn't packed; only two other tables were occupied and both were on the opposite side of the room.
"Oh, please, no one was listening." Madeline hissed back. "I don't like this, Kaity. It's way too dangerous. that guy told you they wanted you because of your special touch."
"But how did he know?" Kaitlyn asked. "I mean, no one knows except our family and other magical creatures."
"Are you forgetting that you told Davin?" Madeline said.
"Yeah, but I told Dav-" Kaitlyn abruptly cut off, her eyes widening.
Madeline frowned. "What? Kaity, what's wrong?"
"The guy. . .that kidnapped Tristan. . ." Kaitlyn said softly. "He said his name was Davin."
"What?" Madeline said in disbelief. She rubbed her forehead, placing her elbow on the table. "Okay. . .how long has it been since you told him?"
"What, that I'm half. . ." Kaitlyn trailed off, cast another nervous glance at the other patrons -- who still weren't paying any attention to her and Madeline -- and leaned in close toward her sister. ". . .that I'm half fairy? I don't know. . . A week, maybe two?" She shrugged a little. "He just ran out of the house after I told him. Wouldn't return my calls for days. The other day, when he broke up with me, was the first time we'd talked in. . .yeah, almost two weeks."
"And when were you approached to do this dream study thing?" Madeline asked, absentmindedly picking up her napkin and twisting one corner.
"I. . ." Kaitlyn frowned, briefly glancing down at the table before raising her eyes to meet her sister's. "Friday. A week ago."
Madeline frowned, continuing to twist her napkin. Kaitlyn stared at her for a few moments, then shook her head. "No." she said. "Okay, no way. I know exactly what you're thinking and that's crazy."
"Yeah?" Madeline said, leaning one arm on the table. "What am I thinking, little sister?"
"You're thinking that Davin had something to do with this." Kaitlyn said as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against her chair. "No way, it's impossible."
"Kaitlyn, you're half fey." Madeline said. "You know that nothing is impossible."
Kaitlyn adamantly shook her head. "This is impossible, Maddie. I saw him, okay? He was standing right there in front of me. I heard his voice. It wasn't Davin."
"How can you be sure?" Madeline asked. "Didn't you say that they controlled the scenarios? Picked out where you were going to be and designed the surroundings and all?"
"Yeah. . ." Kaitlyn said slowly. "At least, I think so. I guess so."
"So who's to say that Davin couldn't design himself a new body? Some kind of disguise to fool you?" Madeline said.
Kaitlyn frowned. "I guess there's only one way to find out." She stood up, a determined look in her eyes.
"Kaitlyn, no." Madeline said. "Don't do this. Please. Just walk away."
"I can't, Maddie!" Kaitlyn hissed. "I'm not the only one trapped in this. They're after Tristan too." After a moment, she added "And Jason and Jerosia. I can't just abandon them."
"You mean, you can't just abandon Tristan." Madeline said. "Kaity, you don't even know him."
"It doesn't matter." Kaitlyn said as she shook her head. "I can't explain it exactly. There's just. . .something about him. I'm. . .drawn to him."
Madeline sighed. "I just don't want to see you get hurt again."
Kaitlyn smiled softly. "I won't." she said. "Tristan's. . .different."
Madeline snorted. "You said the same thing about Davin." she pointed out.
Kaitlyn glared at her sister. "Okay, fine, he's not like Davin." she said. She sighed and leaned over, giving her sister a quick peck on the cheek. "I've got to go."
"Kaitlyn. . .be careful, okay?" Madeline said softly.
Kaitlyn nodded. "I will, I promise."
"Jeez, Kaitlyn, a little warning next time?" she grumbled as she closed her book and picked up the deck, which she saw was a deck of tarot cards.
"Why? You never give me warning before you just pop in." Kaitlyn said irritably as she flopped down onto the floor and leaned her elbows on the coffee table.
Madeline raised an eyebrow. "Who pissed in your cereal?" She held up the deck. "What's with these?"
"I need you to do a reading for me." Kaitlyn said.
"What? Kaity, are you nuts?" Madeline asked as she put her feet on the floor and leaned over toward her sister. "You know how to do these readings yourself."
"Just do it and don't ask questions, okay?" Kaitlyn snapped as she cleared the stacks of magazines off the coffee table and pushed her sister's laptop aside to create more space.
Madeline sighed and slid off the couch and onto the floor. "Fine." she said. She folded her legs up underneath her, then shook the cards out of their box, then shuffled the deck. Laying out nine cards in a cross shape, she gazed at them thoughtfully.
"Well, okay, you've got the Death card." she said. "No big deal. You pretty much know there's a change in your life, 'cause hey, you just broke up with the guy that you've been seeing for the last six months."
Kaitlyn waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, moving right along."
Madeline raised an eyebrow, but turned her attention back to the cards. "You're financially stable. Again, no big surprise. I Gilgalad Bain is a thriving little shop." She raised both eyebrows, looking at her sister, who was chewing on her thumbnail. "Well, this is interesting. . ."
"What?" Kaitlyn said anxiously. "What do you see?"
"A guy." Madeline said. "Kinda tall, with dark hair. Mysterious eyes. He's got a secret. You've just met him or will meet him soon, but he'll play a big role in your life."
Kaitlyn groaned and cradled her head in her hands. "What else?"
Madeline peered thoughtfully at the cards, rubbing her chin. "A move. Possibly to the Midwest? Ooh, and a child, a boy. I also see somebody with. . .pink feathers?"
Kaitlyn blinked. "Eh?" She leaned over, peering at the cards. "What? I didn't see that. . ."
"Which part? The kids or the feathers?" Madeline asked.
Kaitlyn glared at her sister. "The feathers." She sat back, leaning on her hands.
"Okay, so why'd you want me to do a reading if you already knew what I was going to tell you?" Madeline said, rolling her eyes.
Kaitlyn sighed. "Because I wanted to see if you'd come up with the same things as me. I did three separate readings, all with the same results."
"Kaity, you know this stuff isn't set in stone." Madeline said as she reshuffled the cards and slid them back into their box. "I mean, honestly, I've never had any of the predictions come true. So why worry about it?"
Kaitlyn sighed again and rested her head on her arms on the coffee table. "I don't know. . . I guess I'm kinda freaking out 'cause of Tristan."
"Wait, what does Tristan. . ." Madeline traled off, her eyebrows lifting. "Wait. . .is he the dark-haired guy?"
"Yeah, I think so." Kaitlyn said. "I mean, I don't know anybody else that lives in the Midwest, but jeez, Madeline."
"Like I said, this stuff isn't set in stone." Madeline said. "You're just supposed to use it as a guide." She climbed back up onto the couch and grabbed her book. "Besides, you haven't even met Tristan face-to-face. Sure, he looks hot in the dream world, but how do you know that's what he really looks like? Mayve you guys wouldn't even like each other."
"I guess." Kaitlyn said, sighing. She slid her sister's laptop across the coffee table, then opened the web browser.
"What are you doing?" Madeline asked as she opened her book to the page she'd been last reading.
"Seeing what I can find out about Tristan." Kaitlyn answered.
Madeline snickered. "What, you didn't think to ask him for his phone number so you could just call him up and quiz him about his life?"
Kaitlyn glared at her sister. "You know, we were kind of occupied with more important things."
"Well, maybe you should think about doing that next time." Madline said. "I mean, if you're going to insist on continuing this stupid dream study, you can at least get something out of it. Scoring a hot guy definitely counts as a bonus."
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'll definitely put that at the top of my list of things to do." she muttered.
"Good 'cause you need to get over Davin." Madeline said, turning her attention to her book.
Kaitlyn snorted. "I'm over him." she said, her attention on the laptop screen.
Madeline snorted, but didn't comment. "Find anything yet?" she asked.
"No, just his journal." Kaitlyn said, sighing.
"So leave him a comment: 'Hey cutie. Show me yours, I'll show you mine.'" Madeline said.
"Madeline!" Kaitlyn gaped at her sister.
"What?!" Madeline said, smiling sweetly.
Kaitlyn groaned and shook her head. "That was so uncalled for. I am not interested in just his sex!"
"Ah, but you are interested in his sex." Madeline said, grinning.
"Maybe. . .a little." Kaitlyn said slowly. "But I'm not looking for a piece of ass. It's. . .something more."
"So make a move." Madelin said, rolling her eyes.
"I just met him, Maddie!" Kaitlyn insisted. "Well. . .sort of. And, anyway, aren't you the same woman who was bitching because I'm attracted to a man I've never met?"
Madeline shrugged, smiling. "Yes, well, I've changed my mind. Woman's perogative."
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. "Whatever." she muttered, returning to her search.
Madeline was curled up on her couch, reading a book, when her sister suddenly poofed into the room in a cloud of purple smoke and tossed a deck of cards into her lap. Startled, Madeline let out a little shriek, which scared her cat that had been sleeping on the back of the couch. The cat hissed and jumped off the couch, scampering away.
