that room, all right. Gaelen had
smelled the fairy dust.
A shot of apprehension nailed him.
Where had it come from, though? Fairy dust was only produced by a
squooshed fairy. Had Lucas been stupid enough to unsquoosh in the
presence of two human women? One witness could be discounted; two
would be more likely to be believed.
"Well, Gaelen. How nice to see
you."
Gaelen froze and sighed. Of all
the...
"Hello, Linette." He turned and lowered
his gaze to meet the green eyes of Linette Duncan. "I hadn't
thought to run into you here. I thought you'd moved on."
"I had my residency to finish. My life
can't be arranged just to avoid an old lover."
Gaelen laughed at her attempt to wound
him.
"What do you want, Linette? I have
business to attend to."
"Yes, I know. Find him yet?"
"Who?" Gaelen asked.
"Don't be coy, Gaelen. Your brother,
the one who left poor Miss Tinker screaming and
hysterical."
Linette's eyes showed no sympathy for
"poor Miss Tinker." Not that Gaelen was surprised. After all,
pixies were more selfish and self-centered than fairies
were.
"What do you know about this? And what
concern is it of yours anyway?"
"The fate of the pixie realm is tied to
yours. If the fairies are discovered, how long do you think we'll
survive? And I enjoy my life in this world. My leadership has
ordered me to keep the girl here to capture Lucas."
Gaelen looked over her head at the
large lads behind her. Both wore the white of hospital orderlies,
but he recognized what they were immediately.
"That why you have two fairy
mercenaries patrolling the hallways?"
She smiled. "It takes a fairy to catch
a fairy." Her smile faded, replaced by a cold, steely stare. "Stay
out of my way, Gaelen. I won't let you botch this."
"Why would I try? I want to find Lucas
as much as anybody does. He's-" He bit his tongue. He'd almost told
Linette the truth about Lucas's wounds. The less information she
had, the better. "As far as staying out of the way, Linette, I'll
give you the same warning. The Council of One Hundred has given me
time to try to find Lucas and bring him and the girl to New Jersey.
We'll take care of the situation."
"The Pixie Confederacy isn't all that
sure of your ability to handle the situation, Gaelen. And since I
have my orders, yours are no concern of mine."
"I'm warning you, Linette."
"Save your warning for somebody who
needs it. Boys, take him."
Before Gaelen could react, the two
burly fairy mercenaries in Linette's employ grabbed Gaelen and
scooped him up, one arm and one leg each.
"To the roof," Linette
ordered.
"Linette, there's no need for this
pointless violence. You're not being objective."
She ignored him, leading the way to the
stairwell and up the remaining flights of stairs to the roof of the
hospital. Gaelen struggled, but the mercs were too strong for him
to escape. They carried him across the helipad on top of the
hospital, not stopping until they reached the edge of the
roof.
With a chill, he realized what she
planned.
"Now, Linette, you can't be serious.
Come on, honey, you know our relationship was going nowhere. It was
over. Can't you just be happy for-"
"You are the most arrogant man!" She
peeked over the edge. "Do you think I'd drop you to your death just
for breaking up with me? No, dear Gaelen. My only concern is the
survival of all our people." She smiled thinly. "Over you go." She
stepped back to give the mercs room to toss him over.
"Have a nice flight, laddie," one said,
his voice heavy with the accent of Cork.
Gaelen had always hated fairies from
Cork. Now he had a reason.
"Traitors," he muttered.
"That depends on your perspective,
boyo," the merc replied.
With a swing, the two brutes let Gaelen
fly out into empty space. He hung, suspended, between earth and sky
for just an instant. Then he felt gravity grab him.
Could he do it? He'd never heard of a
fairy squooshing in midair.
Better make up your mind, Gaelen. The
ground is getting closer all the time.
With a gasp, he drew a
smelled the fairy dust.
A shot of apprehension nailed him.
Where had it come from, though? Fairy dust was only produced by a
squooshed fairy. Had Lucas been stupid enough to unsquoosh in the
presence of two human women? One witness could be discounted; two
would be more likely to be believed.
"Well, Gaelen. How nice to see
you."
Gaelen froze and sighed. Of all
the...
"Hello, Linette." He turned and lowered
his gaze to meet the green eyes of Linette Duncan. "I hadn't
thought to run into you here. I thought you'd moved on."
"I had my residency to finish. My life
can't be arranged just to avoid an old lover."
Gaelen laughed at her attempt to wound
him.
"What do you want, Linette? I have
business to attend to."
"Yes, I know. Find him yet?"
"Who?" Gaelen asked.
"Don't be coy, Gaelen. Your brother,
the one who left poor Miss Tinker screaming and
hysterical."
Linette's eyes showed no sympathy for
"poor Miss Tinker." Not that Gaelen was surprised. After all,
pixies were more selfish and self-centered than fairies
were.
"What do you know about this? And what
concern is it of yours anyway?"
"The fate of the pixie realm is tied to
yours. If the fairies are discovered, how long do you think we'll
survive? And I enjoy my life in this world. My leadership has
ordered me to keep the girl here to capture Lucas."
Gaelen looked over her head at the
large lads behind her. Both wore the white of hospital orderlies,
but he recognized what they were immediately.
"That why you have two fairy
mercenaries patrolling the hallways?"
She smiled. "It takes a fairy to catch
a fairy." Her smile faded, replaced by a cold, steely stare. "Stay
out of my way, Gaelen. I won't let you botch this."
"Why would I try? I want to find Lucas
as much as anybody does. He's-" He bit his tongue. He'd almost told
Linette the truth about Lucas's wounds. The less information she
had, the better. "As far as staying out of the way, Linette, I'll
give you the same warning. The Council of One Hundred has given me
time to try to find Lucas and bring him and the girl to New Jersey.
We'll take care of the situation."
"The Pixie Confederacy isn't all that
sure of your ability to handle the situation, Gaelen. And since I
have my orders, yours are no concern of mine."
"I'm warning you, Linette."
"Save your warning for somebody who
needs it. Boys, take him."
Before Gaelen could react, the two
burly fairy mercenaries in Linette's employ grabbed Gaelen and
scooped him up, one arm and one leg each.
"To the roof," Linette
ordered.
"Linette, there's no need for this
pointless violence. You're not being objective."
She ignored him, leading the way to the
stairwell and up the remaining flights of stairs to the roof of the
hospital. Gaelen struggled, but the mercs were too strong for him
to escape. They carried him across the helipad on top of the
hospital, not stopping until they reached the edge of the
roof.
With a chill, he realized what she
planned.
"Now, Linette, you can't be serious.
Come on, honey, you know our relationship was going nowhere. It was
over. Can't you just be happy for-"
"You are the most arrogant man!" She
peeked over the edge. "Do you think I'd drop you to your death just
for breaking up with me? No, dear Gaelen. My only concern is the
survival of all our people." She smiled thinly. "Over you go." She
stepped back to give the mercs room to toss him over.
"Have a nice flight, laddie," one said,
his voice heavy with the accent of Cork.
Gaelen had always hated fairies from
Cork. Now he had a reason.
"Traitors," he muttered.
"That depends on your perspective,
boyo," the merc replied.
With a swing, the two brutes let Gaelen
fly out into empty space. He hung, suspended, between earth and sky
for just an instant. Then he felt gravity grab him.
Could he do it? He'd never heard of a
fairy squooshing in midair.
Better make up your mind, Gaelen. The
ground is getting closer all the time.
With a gasp, he drew a
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