cities are lucky to have genuine Mexican food, but only in Seattle could you expect to find authentic Latino coffee.
Both drinks came in mugs with a devil face drawn in the foam. Jina's devil winked at her.
They walked to a quiet corner with a couch and colorful comfy chairs. Trey took the couch. Two cupids kissed on the wall behind him.
" So were you really stalking me?" he started.
" Stalking is a strong word. Looking for you, yes. I believe your story. That you see them."
" You do? Then why did you laugh?" Trey took a sip of his drink and winced from a burnt tongue.
" You keep saying that. Do you really think after listening to Kimberly without cracking a smile, that I would laugh at you?"
" I could swear..."
" It's possible you remember that happening. They can... make you see things that aren't really there. And Gretel - she was the girl sitting next to me - she thinks that goth girl was one of them."
" You mean a faerie?"
" Yes," Jina said, her voice as serious as she could make it.
" I couldn't tell..."
" She had her face covered, remember? Like this." Jina pulled her hair down over her eyes. "She could have been hiding anything."
" You really believe this shit."
" And you don't?" Jina said, fixing her hair. "You said you saw them. Look, a few years ago, back in Michigan, me and two friends were kidnapped by one of them. They can make you think you're..." Jina trailed off at the painful memory. "They can make you think anything."
" Kidnapped? They do that sort of thing?" Trey set his drink down and looked thoughtful.
Jina picked at the foam in her coffee. "Yeah." Suddenly the devil-face didn't seem so cute anymore. She poked out its winking eye.
" Sorry, I find it hard to believe."
" Why? Given all the weird things you've seen in your life? Faerie abduction stories used to be as common as alien abduction stories are today. Which is probably where that Tom guy got the idea that aliens and faeries are the same thing." Jina shrugged. "Who knows, maybe they are."
" What about Kimberly and Bluebelle?"
" She's... a silly girl." Jina leaned back and rested her chin on one hand. "There are no sparkly, pretty faeries or beautiful, pure-of-heart Rivendell elves. That group you went to, that's just a front. Those flyers attract all kinds of people. We're looking for those who have seen, and been hurt, by real fae. So we watch the front-group until we discover people like you, people who seem serious. People whose stories match what we know..."
She paused a moment to let it sink in, then continued. "Normally I wouldn't track you down like this, but... A guy like you is rare. You didn't seem like you were coming back."
" You're right. I wasn't planning to go back. So it's a front for what?" He picked his drink back up.
" For a real support group, just like the flyer promised. It's like an Al-Anon meeting, only instead of talking about our abusive alcoholic spouses, we talk about faeries. It's invite-only, so people like Tom and Kimberly don't show up. So no one laughs."
" All my life, I've been seeing these weird creatures." He motioned with his head at one of the cupids painted beside him. "At worst they've been harmless. And a few times, they've helped me out."
" What do you mean?" Jina asked.
" That pastor's wife? The one with the tail?" He smiled; Jina didn't. "She chased off some bullies after Sunday School. Most adults don't have the power to tame mean kids for long, but she did."
Jina cocked an eyebrow. "Really?" She'd never heard anyone say anything positive about a faerie before. Some of the old fairytales ended well, but not many, and those were just stories. "Maybe she did something terrible to the bullies."
" Not that I could tell. If anything, they seemed happier after she confronted them. Better adjusted. They weren't afraid of her."
Here was a man who'd spent his whole life watching them, and he wasn't afraid. Or traumatized. Jina had always suspected there may be benevolent fae, but no
Both drinks came in mugs with a devil face drawn in the foam. Jina's devil winked at her.
They walked to a quiet corner with a couch and colorful comfy chairs. Trey took the couch. Two cupids kissed on the wall behind him.
" So were you really stalking me?" he started.
" Stalking is a strong word. Looking for you, yes. I believe your story. That you see them."
" You do? Then why did you laugh?" Trey took a sip of his drink and winced from a burnt tongue.
" You keep saying that. Do you really think after listening to Kimberly without cracking a smile, that I would laugh at you?"
" I could swear..."
" It's possible you remember that happening. They can... make you see things that aren't really there. And Gretel - she was the girl sitting next to me - she thinks that goth girl was one of them."
" You mean a faerie?"
" Yes," Jina said, her voice as serious as she could make it.
" I couldn't tell..."
" She had her face covered, remember? Like this." Jina pulled her hair down over her eyes. "She could have been hiding anything."
" You really believe this shit."
" And you don't?" Jina said, fixing her hair. "You said you saw them. Look, a few years ago, back in Michigan, me and two friends were kidnapped by one of them. They can make you think you're..." Jina trailed off at the painful memory. "They can make you think anything."
" Kidnapped? They do that sort of thing?" Trey set his drink down and looked thoughtful.
Jina picked at the foam in her coffee. "Yeah." Suddenly the devil-face didn't seem so cute anymore. She poked out its winking eye.
" Sorry, I find it hard to believe."
" Why? Given all the weird things you've seen in your life? Faerie abduction stories used to be as common as alien abduction stories are today. Which is probably where that Tom guy got the idea that aliens and faeries are the same thing." Jina shrugged. "Who knows, maybe they are."
" What about Kimberly and Bluebelle?"
" She's... a silly girl." Jina leaned back and rested her chin on one hand. "There are no sparkly, pretty faeries or beautiful, pure-of-heart Rivendell elves. That group you went to, that's just a front. Those flyers attract all kinds of people. We're looking for those who have seen, and been hurt, by real fae. So we watch the front-group until we discover people like you, people who seem serious. People whose stories match what we know..."
She paused a moment to let it sink in, then continued. "Normally I wouldn't track you down like this, but... A guy like you is rare. You didn't seem like you were coming back."
" You're right. I wasn't planning to go back. So it's a front for what?" He picked his drink back up.
" For a real support group, just like the flyer promised. It's like an Al-Anon meeting, only instead of talking about our abusive alcoholic spouses, we talk about faeries. It's invite-only, so people like Tom and Kimberly don't show up. So no one laughs."
" All my life, I've been seeing these weird creatures." He motioned with his head at one of the cupids painted beside him. "At worst they've been harmless. And a few times, they've helped me out."
" What do you mean?" Jina asked.
" That pastor's wife? The one with the tail?" He smiled; Jina didn't. "She chased off some bullies after Sunday School. Most adults don't have the power to tame mean kids for long, but she did."
Jina cocked an eyebrow. "Really?" She'd never heard anyone say anything positive about a faerie before. Some of the old fairytales ended well, but not many, and those were just stories. "Maybe she did something terrible to the bullies."
" Not that I could tell. If anything, they seemed happier after she confronted them. Better adjusted. They weren't afraid of her."
Here was a man who'd spent his whole life watching them, and he wasn't afraid. Or traumatized. Jina had always suspected there may be benevolent fae, but no
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