Prophylaxis - 28. Chapter 28

I woke up with a fae wrapped around me like I was his favorite teddy bear and a werewolf staring at me. Riley’s arms were tucked around me with his face buried in my chest, my arm falling asleep under his head. Even his legs were involved, one thrown across both of my own. If it had been nearly anyone but Riley it would have felt stifling, claustrophobic. Instead, my skin against his spread a calming effect through me. I wasn’t sure if I should attribute it to Riley being Riley or Riley’s fae-ness calling to my own. I was discovering my snuggly side.

“Hey,” I whispered to Guy, whose head was resting on the pillow next to mine, leaving us face to face. I hoped I didn’t have morning breath.

“Hey,” Guy responded, his voice just as soft.

I peeked around the dimly-lit room, trying not to move Riley and wake him.

“Where’s Takashi?” I asked.

“Looking for someone to teach you glamour. Somebody who won’t…” he couldn’t seem to figure out how to finish his thought.

“Be a complete pain in the ass, isn’t a rapey fucker, and won’t try to hurt us?” I offered.

“Something like that.”

“Maybe I should be flattered, but I’m about sick of the number of assholes trying to get in my pants whether I want them to or not. I think I’m alright looking. I clean up pretty good. But this is just ridiculous. It’s not like I’ve been dipping my dick in honey, or something,” I grumbled, sounding grouchy to keep myself from letting the fear that skittered across my skin show in my voice. I was starting to feel like I had a sign on my back that said ‘Fuck Me’ in big, bold letters. It made me want to become a hermit and hide in a fortress someplace in the middle of an unpopulated area. Or maybe I should find somewhere with just women. They were dramatically less inclined to force themselves on me and if they tried, I was pretty sure I was strong enough to stop them. Maybe.

I shook my head. I was going to get paranoid and depressed if I kept thinking about it.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you from that man that took you or the king. I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”

Guy’s pretty, hazel eyes dropped from my face. He looked utterly miserable. I wriggled an arm free from Riley’s grabby-hands and cupped Guy’s cheek.

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. It was them, not you. And me. I’ve been the one stupid enough to get myself into these situations.”

Guy’s eyes snapped back to mine.

“Stop that. I don’t care if you tied yourself up and delivered yourself to them with a bow around your neck.” There was a growl in his voice that startled me. My eyes were wide as I looked at him and his tone gentled. “Anyone who’s not a complete bastard doesn’t hurt others like that, doesn’t force them. No matter the situation. Even if the one they want is gorgeous, which you are. You don’t have to be a good person to avoid assaulting others. That they took advantage of you is on them, not you. Never you.”

I didn’t say anything, couldn’t, as he pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly, reaching up to stroke my cheek.

“I think you’ll have less trouble with grabby werewolves now. Your scent’s changed.”

I was pretty sure I just looked confused.

“It might have been different when I went and got you out of the car, but there was so much blood, I didn’t notice.” Guy’s hazel eyes were serious but caring. “We think that it’s got something to do with your glamour breaking. That there was something with the glamour that was screwing with your scent.”

“Do I, uh, smell bad now?”

“Oh, no.” Guy smiled, sweet and a bit wicked. “Your scent is perfect. Especially when mine is mixed up with yours. Painted on each other’s skin.”

I was saved from stammering something stupid by a kerfuffle at the door.

“You can’t just barge in there, Lady Eldfluga!”

That sounded like Zeru. What was he doing outside the door? He sounded exhausted.

“Oh, pish posh, you know Lord Cat was looking for me. I want to meet my student. And you aren’t willing to hurt me to stop me, so...” It was a light feminine voice. Not one I recognized.

“Fluga!”

The door cracked open. I sat up, tugging the sheet up to my chest like some ridiculous damsel shielding her modesty. I waited for the door to open further and admit the woman. Instead, it stayed several inches open for several long seconds before Zeru pushed his way inside.

“Alright, dammit. Where’d she go?” Zeru demanded, looking around.

Guy and I just blinked at him, but Riley, woken by the commotion, yawned and pointed at one heavily carved post of the bed.

“You mean her?”

There was an indignant squeak as a figure that had seemed to be carved into the wood popped forward and buzzed us like a dive-bomber. I ducked away from the black and brown blur, Guy growled, Riley cocked his head, and Zeru sighed. There was a strange tingle that seemed to be carried in the air to tickle down my spine. Suddenly, a petite woman with pale skin and eyes as black as coal was standing next to the bed, peering down at us. Her hair was robin’s egg blue and pulled back into a tight bun. As she turned to glance at Zeru, the gossamer layers of her dark blue dress seemed to play in an unfelt breeze. Where the wings had gone I had no clue.

“Which one is he, then?” she demanded of Zeru, then turned back to the bed. “Not you, wolf,” she said with a sniff and a nod to Guy. She put her hands on her hips. “So, is it the little one or the littler one?”

Riley laughed. I frowned. Guy growled.

“Hmm, must be you, little one.” She pointed a slender, manicured nail and booped my nose.

“The hell?” I was at least a head taller than her and I wasn’t some cute little kitten that people could run around booping willy-nilly.

I was shocked from my indignation when Guy hugged me close and rolled, tumbling us to the other side of the bed and placing himself protectively between me and the slender fae woman. Guy apparently found my booping even more unacceptable than I did. Good for him.

“Lady Eldfluga, please,” Zeru begged. “An appointment can be made for a proper audience.”

“And leave things sitting when we could be getting something done?” She made it sound like such a thing would be akin to pushing old ladies into the street.

“Lord Bakeneko wanted to speak to you first. There are special circumstances.” Zeru dragged a weary hand over his face.

“I can see that,” the woman said, eyebrows raised. “I’d heard the rumors but could hardly give them credence.” Her hands folded demurely in front of her, looking quite proper as she stared at me. “No matter. I am Lady Eldfluga. I guide the little sparrows that return to us and show them the way to becoming the falcons, hawks, and eagles they are meant to be.” Her lip curled slightly in a mischievous smile. “Though you appear more the rumpled kitten, at the moment.”

Great, I was a kitten. Now everyone would be booping me. The thought made my nose itch.

“Ah, Lady Eldfluga, I see you’ve found us. Earlier than anticipated,” I heard a familiar voice from the doorway, Takashi. He didn’t sound entirely pleased.

Thank goodness. Takashi never booped me. He spanked me, but never booped. Spankings were much more fun.

“I simply couldn’t wait when I heard about him. We can start immediately, of course. I have a few students, currently. However, they are all well-settled and I can be spared for a bit.” She clapped her hands, making me jump.

“Certainly,” Takashi purred, guiding Eldfluga to the door with a gentle hand on her elbow. As soon as she was through it, he let go, then blocked the opening with his body. “We’ll meet you in the Reultan Room. I’ve made sure we’ll have privacy. We’ll be there in one hour’s time. Until then, Lady Eldfluga.”

With that, he shut the door in her face and locked it. His amber eyes shifted to Zeru, who was rubbing a weary hand over his face.

“Why were you outside our door all night?”

“I’m the only guard for Mick.” The burgundy-eyed fae straightened, shaking off any sign of weariness. “There was no one to relieve me and I wasn’t given leave.” Zeru shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.

“Well, then I give you leave,” I said quickly, waving a hand. “Go take a long nap or something.”

“There’s no one to relieve me,” Zeru repeated, shrugging again.

“Then I relieve you?”

Zeru snorted. “You can’t guard yourself, cutie.”

Guy growled menacingly and tucked me to his side. Great. We’d, hopefully, gotten past my werewolf be so jealous with Takashi and Riley. Apparently, the goodwill didn’t stretch to Zeru.

“I’ll guard him,” Guy said. “You can go.”

Zeru rolled his ruby eyes. “I don’t know if you’re trained as a guard…”

“I am.” Wow, Guy sounded snippy.

Zeru continued as though Guy hadn’t said anything. “But even if you were, you’re not familiar with the Sidhe, especially the Unseelie. You also don’t know anything of our Hollow.” The blond fae lifted a hand to encompass Riley and Takashi. “That applies to both of you, as well. Only Takashi has been here before and that was many years ago and a Hollow is a changeable thing. Old paths are lost and new ones are walked.”

“I’ve seen guards sleep while they oversee their charges,” Takashi pointed out gently.

“They are either not worth their salt as guards or they’re sleeping in the same bed as the one they guard, likely with a bit of bare skin touching.”

“You scheming little…” Riley grumbled.

“I’d agree with Riley’s thoughts that Zeru is trying to finagle his way into Mick’s bed,” Takashi said with a sigh. “But he’s right. As I recall, the only time I saw a guard sleep while on duty, he or she was resting next to their charge with bodies touching. Sometimes it’s sexual touch, but more often it was innocent.”

Zeru grinned.

“The bed is big enough,” I pointed out. I hunched when Guy and Riley glared at me. “Good grief, I’m not suggesting he sleep naked on top of me…” I pointed at Zeru who looked like he had an inappropriate addition to make to the conversation. “Don’t even.” I looked back at the others. “He can sleep holding my hand or foot or something. He’s helping to look after me. I can’t just leave him to languish in the hall until he falls over. That wouldn’t be okay.”

“I hate to ruin a good thing, but I feel I have to tell you that you’re entirely within your rights to do just that.” Zeru’s smile lost a bit of its sparkle. “It takes a bit of time, but it does happen. Some forget about us. Others for their own amusement. It’s considered honorable to go through small trials like that.”

“That’s a small trial?” I said wryly. I’d been a poor dental student once upon a time. Hunger combined with sleep deprivation absolutely sucked. To have to stand guard through it all would be a giant load of suck.

“You’ve met our king, Mick. He’s an excellent king, but he has little mercy in him. The people of his court are much the same.” His smile was back to full strength with an extra bit of wicked thrown in. “We all have a touch of perversion in us. A little sadism here and there isn’t worth noting.”

“Fine.” I waved a hand in the air as though erasing his words. I didn’t want to hear more. “You’ll sleep close enough to me to be in touching distance. No hanky panky. No accidentally-on-purpose groping anyone. No teasing. Just sleep. Can you handle that?”

“I agree to your terms.” The flashy fae dropped into a low, sweeping bow. “You’re very kind.”

Both Guy and Riley looked like they were ready to argue. I shook my head and held my hands up.

“Enough. I’m not talking about it any more. I have to go see Lady Eld-something in less than an hour and I have a metric fuck-ton of things to learn so that I can go home.” My shoulders slumped as I let out a weary breath. “I want to go home.”

“Then let’s get ready, have a quick breakfast, and go see Lady Eldfluga,” Takashi said, stroking a thumb over my cheek.

I was glad when no one argued.

********

We ended up with time for a short nap for poor Zeru before we had to meet Lady Eldfluga. He held my wrist while I talked with the others until it was time to go. Zeru popped awake just as I was reaching out to shake his shoulder. He sat up and stretched. He looked much better. Zeru had eaten while I was in the shower and then taken a turn to clean up, himself. He’d done it with the door open. Zeru said he needed to listen for trouble. Riley thought it was probably something pervy. I figured it was most likely a bit of both.

We went to the Reultan Room, though calling it a room seemed misleading. We walked through hallways, some that seemed to be part of buildings and others more like cave tunnels. There were distracting things to see everywhere I looked. Little glowing flowers hanging from ceilings, beautiful carvings on every wood surface, plants growing everywhere. We passed a few fae and I tried not to goggle like some idiot tourist. The people seemed to come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Not like it was with humans, where there were limits to normal. You could expect two eyes, two arms and legs, hair on the head in a certain number of colors, and skintone in a range from pale to dark brown. The fae didn’t seem to have those kinds of constraints. Skin could be any color of the rainbow, it seemed. They also seemed to be pretty free in the number of limbs a person should reasonably have, since I saw what I thought was a male fae with two extra arms growing out of his back. There was a very large dog with green fur and ruby red eyes that had a look that said it was more intelligent and aware than what I’d find in the Iowa City Animal Shelter. The beings that lived in the Hollow were terrifying, beautiful, or terrifyingly beautiful. I was going to get whiplash from trying to see everything and everyone.

And surrounding all that was the hum of the Hollow herself. The walls and floor themselves were alive, which was both cool as hell and creepy as fuck. I was very glad she seemed to like me. I just hoped she didn’t try grabbing at me again. I noticed Takashi and Guy stayed within grabbing distance and kept an eye on where I was stepping. Such nice fellows, not wanting the ground to suck me up and eat me.

The Reultan Room was beyond an ebony stone archway. When I stepped inside I drew in a breath as my feet made a soft shushing sound across the thick, ankle-high grass that covered the floor. It stretched out before us, looking so cool and soft I wanted to take off my boots and wriggle my toes in it. The space was huge, I couldn’t see any walls except the one behind us that held the archway. Above us was open sky, dotted with so many stars it seemed there was more light than darkness. The sky seemed off somehow, like it was real but closer than a true sky would be. As though, if I could reach high enough I could dip my fingers in the darkness between the stars and touch it. It wasn’t a painting on a ceiling, though. The stars twinkled and there was a depth in the light and shadow that told me it was a real sky, just strange. I frowned, noticing something else.

“Why are there two moons?”

“This isn’t the human’s sky,” Zeru said with a shrug, as though that explained everything.

I was about to ask what on earth that meant when Lady Eldfluga suddenly popped into existence in front of me, making me jump. My nerves were strung far too tight for this crap.

“Fuck, I just about had a coronary!” I yelped, clutching my chest as I leaned away from the fae woman.

“Lady Eldfluga,” Zeru said with a long-suffering sigh. “Must you always tease your new students?”

“I must,” she responded with a nod, circling me as she looked me over. “It helps me assess the needs of my students.” She winked at me when she was in front of me again. “Besides, it’s terrible amusing.”

She cocked her head, and something about the way she turned her head made a shiver go up my spine. It wasn’t a human gesture. It was more the movement of a bird or reptile, eyeing something they were thinking of eating. Yep, there went my heart again.

“Now, I was told that there is a bit of a rush to get you polished enough to be safe around the dull folk?” She noticed my confused look and added, “The humans.”

“Yes, he needs to have his glamour back and not likely to, well, implode,” Takashi explained, looking at me apologetically, though I certainly didn’t take offence. When my glamour had broken, it had done so with all the gentleness of a thrown Malotov cocktail. It made me wonder again if Lester was dead. Fuck, I hoped so. Maybe I should have taken more time to check. I shook the thought away. Nothing to be done about that now.

“I believe that shouldn’t be too difficult,” Eldfluga said, cutting into my thoughts.

“Really?” I said hopefully. I wanted to go the hell home.

“Of course,” she said with a wave of her hand. “We are fae. We don’t know magic, we are magic. And you, my dear, are Court Sidhe. The magic of glamour loves few creatures as it does the Sidhe. I’ll work with you today. It should come easily. You’ll be on your way home tomorrow.”

*********

I didn’t get home the next day, or the one after that. Apparently, I was lame at glamour, no matter how much Lady Eldfluga told me the magic was a natural part of me that I simply had to find. I meditated, concentrated, did odd little mental exercises that my extremely patient and overly chipper teacher gave me. I escaped her once to hide out with Zeru in Swartbek’s tank room, watching them play some sort of game that looked like chess but wasn’t. The pain thief was delighted to see me, if the waving tentacles and joyous vibes coming off him were any indication. Though, Swartbek was clearly saddened when Zeru told him that he wasn’t allowed to touch me even with the tip of a tentacle or Takashi would tear all his arms off and eat them. The many-limbed creature kept his appendages carefully away from me as they passed through the glass wall holding back the water and dripped as he moved his pieces on the board.

I didn’t get to see who won, Lady Eldfluga found me and swept me back to the room and Zeru, as my guard, had to come along. My break was over, back to giving myself a headache trying to make my silver hair turn plain old brown again. When we walked in, Guy let me know how unhappy he was that I’d snuck off with Zeru to hang out with the creature that had healed me but gotten overly gropey when he did it. I sighed and stood on tiptoes to kiss his stubbled cheek and apologized, which seemed to make him feel better. I didn’t promise I wouldn’t do it again, though.

“We need a different tactic. Perhaps you’re getting distracted by your clothing and it’s complicating things. Take everything off and we’ll try again,” Lady Eldfluga ordered with a wave of her hand.

I clutched my collar tight to my throat like she was planning on jumping me and tearing my clothes off like some villian in a romance novel.

“Mick is… modest,” Takashi offered, as I backed away from her.

She gave an unladylike snort and put her fists on her hips. “Silly human ideas muddling your head. Alright, I’ll go have my tea and you can strip off in privacy and give it a go.” She frowned. “Are you truly just modest or… I heard a rumor that you have scars. The court ladies were quite disappointed, ridiculous. You’ll never see a pixie or a troll turn down a good roll just because of some marks. The trolls find it quite the turn-on, or so I’ve heard. Never tried one of their kind before, couldn’t stomach it since they once enjoyed snacking on the little fae. Not that it’s allowed anymore, but you just never know.” She shook her head, the bun holding her hair completely immobile. “Silly court ladies ought to be happy for you to give them the old green gown, if you follow me. But my point is, if you have a part of you that you despise it could be blocking your glamour. You don’t have to adore yourself down to your pinky toes but you do have to acknowledge how you look in your true form before you can cover it up. You have to be able to see it in your mind, a complete map of yourself. Then you can change it, even cover those scars, if you choose to do so.” She nodded once. “I’m off to have my tea and then I’ll be back to check your progress. Strip off and find a mirror then go through the exercises again.”

With that, she was gone, shrinking down to pixie size and fluttering out the door. At that size she could use a teacup for a bathtub.

Everyone was silent in the room, watching me with careful eyes. I blew out a breath.

“Fuck it,” I muttered, yanked my shirt off over my head and flung it, stomping to the bathroom as I fought with the laces on my pants. A mental map. I could do that. It was stupid that I was having so much trouble. I’d look hard at everything and then fix it so I could go home. I needed to go back. The police wanted to talk to me and Guy. He was a suspect in my possible murder. I had to fix that. My family was all freaked out and everyone at work probably was, too.

I’d thought I’d have to use the mirror above the sink but there was a new addition to the bathroom when I went in. A huge mirror with an ornately carved frame took up half of the wall across from the big stone tub.

“Ah, it’s really pretty. I like the frame. Having a bigger mirror should help a lot,” I said, patting the wall gently. I was getting better at saying thank you without saying thank you. I felt the Hollow’s thrum of approval under my hand and I pulled it back quickly, not wanting to risk getting pulled into a wall again. I didn’t think I needed more bracelets. I had two wooden ones. Originally, one had been on my wrist and the other on my ankle, but the ankle one had snuck up to join the other wooden one on my wrist. They sat side by side on my arm, stuck together as though they were meant to be that way. The fancy anklet the Hollow had given me also seemed to like to wander when I wasn’t looking. I might find it on my left ankle or right, or it might be on one of my wrists. And though they seemed happy to move when they wanted to, I couldn’t get them off if I tried. They were stuck. I just hoped water wouldn’t ruin them from showering.

I swallowed hard and looked in the mirror. I started at my feet and went up. The metal and gemstone bracelet was around my left ankle, sparkling in the soft light. My skin was tan, darker than it had been. I realized it was close to that of my Mexican mother’s skintone, which made me smile. Up my legs, my dick was limp, not excited by the activity. My stomach was more toned, flat, with a soft indent for my belly button. My hands and arms were the same color as my legs. The wooden bracelets were hanging out on my right wrist, loose like a bangle, though I knew that was deceptive. It wouldn’t slip off no matter how hard I yanked. Shoulders were the same as before, just with darker skin. My facial features were the same shape, it was just eerie to see them with pale blue eyes like a Siamese cat and my regular haircut done in shiny silver instead of brown. I forced my eyes down. I looked at my scars. I stared until my eyes watered and my gut churned. Every line, every curve, I made myself see, hands clenched into fists.

Then I closed my eyes tight, seeing myself as I was with my silver hair and pointed ears, and imagined covering it all with paler skin, brown hair, darker eyes.

My skin tingled as the magic flowed over me, hiding my true form under its glamour. I opened my dark blue eyes and looked at myself. My boring brown hair was away from my face, held by small silver clips. My eyes looked startled as they darted around, checking. No pointed ears. I turned around and looked at my back. Yep, still too much junk in my trunk but it was the skintone I’d grown up with. I turned again and frowned at my chest. The scars were still there, but I wasn’t sure if I’d really tried to hide them. Maybe I would when I got the hang of it. I’d lived with them this long, I’d live with them a little longer.

I grinned fiercely into the mirror. I was going home.