Read Online By the Magic of Starlight (The Forbidden Realm) by Serena Gilley - Free Book Online

to do with him.”
    “I know, I know. Now get out of here. If any of my people see me out here talking to fairies, I’ll be the butt of their jokes for the rest of my life.”
    “Make sure you contact us if you pick up any intruders.”
    “Like I didn’t just do that?” Baylor practically growled at them. “My sensors worked just fine. He appeared, he was here, but now he’s gone. You should be, too.”
    “Very well. But we’ll keep an eye on you, Baylor. Don’t make us regret bringing you in on this project.”
    “I already do.”
    The fairies didn’t bother to respond. Or maybe they hadn’t heard him as distinctly as Raea had. They tossed out some more dust and were gone once again. Baylor remained, though, so Raea still couldn’t relax.
    In the empty quietness the human waved his device around again, shaking his head in frustration at whatever information it was giving him. Whatever that equipment did, it was not helping him locate them now and she was grateful for that. At last he flipped a switch on it and the little red light turned off. He shook his head.
    “Wherever you are, Kyne, you’d better make sure they don’t find you.”
    Glancing around once more, he pushed his way back through the underbrush and left the area. Raea watched the beam from his light as it filtered through the leaves, his footsteps crunching away until they could barely be heard. She waited just a few more moments before stating the obvious.
    “He knows your name.”
    “Yes. He does.”
    “Do you know him?”
    “I do.”
    She wasn’t going to let him leave it at that, even though it was pretty clear he had no intention of saying more on the subject. “Well?”
    “Well, what?”
    “Who is he?”
    “His name’s Baylor.”
    “I know that. I have ears. But how do you know him? Who is he?”
    Kyne let go of her hand and sighed loudly. The leaf on the branch nearest him fluttered. She was just about to swing her arm out to smack him and force him to answer her question but finally he spoke. She was totally unprepared for his reply.
    “He’s my father.”
    *     *     *
    Kyne was having a hard time taking it all in. Wain—a Council Assistant, no less—was in league with a human? And not just any human—he was working with Baylor. Of all the wicked, evil humans out there, Wain had somehow linked up with his father! No wonder things here felt so wrong to him. Things were wrong. Very wrong.
    And he was going to figure out why.
    “Go back to the gathering place, Raea. Don’t let anyone know you were with me.”
    “What are you going to do?”
    “Get to the bottom of this.”
    “On your own?”
    “Yes. Go home.”
    “No! Everyone’s after you, Kyne. You can’t stay here. Come with me.”
    “And go where? Whatever is going on here, the council is in on it. I can’t go back there, but you can. And you should. Go now.”
    “No. We are in this together. I can help you.”
    “You can distract me, and I don’t need that.”
    “I’ve got dust and you don’t. I can help you, Kyne. Like it or not, you know you need my help.”
    “I don’t want you involved in this. Whatever Baylor was talking about, there’s something here that disrupts us, that damages us. You can’t stay here, Raea.”
    “Then neither can you. We were both affected, Kyne.”
    “Wain said the Sizing Dust offered some kind of protection. Maybe the dust you used for invisibility does the same thing. Maybe that’s why we were able to get out of the way.”
    “In that case, according to your father, we’ve got only a few minutes left before it wears off.”
    “Then I suppose if you’re not going to use the time to fly away from here, we ought to get busy snooping around.”
    “I’m glad you see reason.”
    “Yes, but I’d much rather be able to see you.”
    “Now don’t get started on that again. We need to keep focused on what’s important.”
    He was tempted to tell her that stripping off her flimsy fairy clothes and