Faytes of the Otherworld: Fayted

“Uh!” Dani sat straight up, her heart pounding. The dream she awoke from had been intense, but she couldn’t remember the plot.

She quickly looked about the tent, trying to get a foot hold in reality.

“Dani, what’s wrong?” Nissa slipped through the flap of the tent. She had been outside doing whatever it is a cat does.

“N—nothing. Weird dream.” Dani kicked the blankets off of her; she was blazing hot.

As soon as she moved, her stomach began to growl; this time the rumble seemed to reverberate all around them.

“Oh! That reminds me.” Nissa trotted back out of the tent and peeled the flap back. “A box came for you when I was out hunting.”

“Mail?” Dani arched a brow before inching forward towards the wooden crate. It was stuffed with another blanket, a very pretty blue and gold swirly print, with something folded inside.

“Is it safe to accept gifts from strangers?” Dani wondered out loud, folding back the blanket. Inside was another wooden box filled with all sorts of food. Strawberries, blackberries, raw carrots and snap peas, a hunk of cheese and some grapes, several pieces of dried deer meat and two bottles. One looked like water with slices of lemons and oranges in it while the other was a cloudy gold.

“Who sent this?” Dani was dazed. This was such a sweet gesture.

“Who do you think?” Nissa peered in the box and snagged a strawberry.

Evan. It had to be.

Dani bit at her lower lip as she thought about it before diving in and munching away on the fruit and cheese.

“This is fantastic. I haven’t had food that tasted this good since the first market we raided right after the smoke cleared.” Dani reached in for the murky bottle and popped the top. She sniffed it: definitely alcoholic.

“I think this is mead.” She took a swig, “Yup, definitely mead. Really good mead too.” She set the bottle down and went for the other.

“Should we tell them?” Dani blurted through bites of dried meat.

“About us?” Nissa wasn’t quite sure what she was asking.

“No. About the fact that they aren’t demons; they’re faery.” Dani gulped down half the bottle of water.

“You think that’s smart? You see how humans react. If they believe you and then see what you can do, they may not be very forgiving.” Nissa warned. “I mean, look what they named them; just silly. You even sounded funny saying it.”

“I know; they can’t help being ignorant on the situation. But if they know what they are, they can fight them better. The Rowan berries and iron are just a fluke that they happened to encounter. They may not continue to be so lucky.” Dani licked blackberry juice from her fingers and closed up the box.

“You like it here, don’t you?” Nissa came over to curl up on Dani’s pillow.

“I don’t know yet. What I do know is that was delicious and I now have to wee.” Dani stood, almost toppling Nissa from the pillow.

“Good luck with that.” Nissa settled herself again as Dani exited the tent.

(*)

“He said they were over—ah! Right here.” Dani had finally found the row of pit toilets and excused herself to one.

When finished, she hunted around for something to wash her hands with when she found an old water pump surrounded by some metal dishes and clean rags. She pumped the handle a few times before the water came spewing out into the bowl. Dani ran her hands through it and rubbed them together a few times before dipping them in the cool liquid again. She then began to wash the dirt and grime from her skin that had been accumulating for so long. Dani grabbed one of the soft rags and gently dried herself off before tossing it in a bin marked “dirty” and readied herself to head back to the tent.

She had just come around the platform in front of the giant Oak when she saw a figure perched atop it, a cigarette in hand. She recognized that silhouette…

“Evan?” Dani trod over quietly and stopped in front of him.

“Hey.” He smiled, a cigarette resting between his lips. He looked much better than he had earlier, cleaner. The whole day had been a blur, and besides noticing the strange color of his dark eyes, she hadn’t really paid attention to much else.

He had a much thicker build than Liam, but not as muscular as Pete and a decent bit taller. His rich auburn hair was a mess of thick waves that framed his smoldering eyes. The hints of red in his locks made his full lips look pink against a fair complexion. There was something oddly calming about his appearance, despite the uneasiness she had felt earlier.

“Thank you.” Dani broke the silence after the initial greeting. She tried not to look like a fool as she attempted to climb the stage that was at least a head taller than she. Evan noticed her struggling and reached out to pull her the rest of the way up.

“Was it good? The blackberries were perfect; almost too sweet. And that cheese.” Evan kicked his legs as he talked about their food.

“I haven’t had cheese in years. Always been my favourite.” Dani smiled into the darkness, thinking about her mother’s ploughman’s lunches she used to make. An assortment of meats, cheeses, fruits, and bread. Simple and delicious.

“What’s your story?” Evan asked, bursting Dani’s memory. He offered her a cigarette and she accepted.

“In all of this?” She asked.

He nodded.

“I was actually at the university library doing legal research. My mother had just passed away and they had put a lien on our house because we couldn’t pay all the hospital fees for her chemotherapy and radiation. Long story short, I was trying to figure out a way to get the lien removed and for the insurance company to actually pay like they were supposed to.” Dani was staring down at her feet as they dangled from the platform, completely lost in her own story.

“I had fallen asleep at one of the research tables when the room just starting shaking and slowly worked its way into steady tremors. People were panicking, thinking it was an earthquake. I stepped back from where the rumbling was at its worst and I’m glad I did: the whole floor broke open like a goddamn mole hill and these—things—just came pouring out of the ground. I watched one student get tossed aside like some ragdoll while others were just run through. I hid behind one of the bookshelves and waited it out.

They lingered for a while, sniffing about the books, looking for more people to kill. I had to play hide and seek with one before I was finally able to get out of there and make it home. Nissa was waiting for me, just as confused as I was. Little did I know that hours later I would be fighting for my very survival.”

Dani realized that she had been rambling and furrowed her brow in silence. She wrung her hands in her lap, telling herself that it was ok. She was excitable, nervous, and high strung; but within good reason.

As if Evan hadn’t even noticed how she’d carried on, he began, “I was with Pete in his flat. We had just gotten this new video game and had sat down to play. Plugged everything in, got the beer and crisps, put our headphones on and had just loaded the first waiting screen when we heard this loud BOOM.” Evan threw his hands up in mimic of the explosion. He was just as lost in the story as she had been.

“It took Pete a second to realize that it wasn’t part of the damn game and we ran to the window to see what happened. There was a fire in the street; it looked like a gas main had blown or something. People were running up the road in terror, away from the blaze. And then I just remember seeing these, I don’t know—they looked sort of like the Orcs from Warcraft.” Dani knew what Warcraft was; Evan wasn’t exactly wrong.

“They were chasing down some of the people in the street. One of them had this huge axe and he just—he just—”

Evan paused in his story and turned to Dani. Her face was stoic, but her brow was still knit. She knew the horror that he felt inside trying to retell what he saw. She knew how exhausting this all had been.

“Anyway, we tried to ready ourselves for an invasion. The cable was still working so we kept it on BBC. There were pastors and priests talking about the End Times— that no one was safe. The rapture had happened and there were so many sinners on Earth that almost no one went up; we were all doomed to rot on this planet with no saviour. Crazy evangelicals, but when you are faced with something of this magnitude that you don’t understand—words like that can cause panic.”

Evan took a deep breath before finishing his story.

“Eventually, some of them came knocking. Pete and I discovered that we were far more badass than we had initially thought and ended up holing ourselves up in the flat until we ran out of food and had to venture out. The city was vacant; absolutely no human life, at least on that end. We set out to the West Wood; figured it’d be safer out here, that people had been driven from the cities to find a safe haven. That’s how we found the Hedgerow.

Liam was here already with a few other people. He must have been here for a while because some farming had been set up, a few animals here and there; the cottage seemed to have been renovated too. Liam took us in and gave us a purpose in all of this. Discipline, strength, a future—and he’s only a few years older than I am.” Evan laughed; he sounded a bit distraught amidst his positive words.

Dani wasn’t sure what to say. There was far more to her journey than she had let on. His journey ended here at the Hedgerow; hers had a much darker history, something to be fearful of.

“I’m glad you found a safe place.” She finally blurted. Dani directed her attention to nothing in particular, trying to find the words to steer the conversation in another direction.

“I’m glad you have too.” That was not the response that she had expected.

She snapped her heads towards Evan, a strange look on her face.

He was surprised by her response and waited for her to say something.

“Thank you.” Dani’s eyes were slightly watery.

“Everyone deserves a safe haven, especially those that have had to battle this for so long.” He responded, a forlorn grin on his face.

Dani just nodded slowly. He was right. She did deserve to be safe and cared about, despite what she could be.

“You don’t look tired. Want me to show you around a bit?” Evan hopped down from the platform and offered his hand to her.

“In the dark?” Dani cocked her head in query.

“We can wait until tomorrow, but I figured I could give you the run-down of the complex so you know where everything is.” Evan still held his hand out for her to take. Instead, she jumped from the platform on her own and landed squarely next to him.

“Alright then, if you’ll follow me this way I will show you what it was like to live in the Mesozoic era.” Evan mimicked a museum tour guide as he ushered Dani down the side of the Oak opposite her tent.

She laughed. It made her think of how her mother used to take her to the Natural History Museum and act as mum, guide, and teacher when she was growing up.

“You really found that funny?” Evan had a wide grin spread across his face.

“It was funny. Really. My mother used to do something similar when I was a child and she would take me to the museum.” Dani’s lips turned up slightly in a smile.

Evan thought that smile was quite impish, rather adorable.

“Well, I aim to please.” He bowed slightly, “Oh, here we have the outdoor sinks or troughs as we call them, where you can wash up between actual bathing which I will show you where we do that tomorrow.” Evan pointed to a row of wooden troughs filled with cool water. Makeshift towel racks were positioned behind them and little shelves lined the bottom, stacked with an assortment of mirrors.

“Quaint,” Dani whispered. She meant it too.

“Over here is the mess hall, but you know that. Down that way to the east of Liam’s cottage is where the stables are and another route out of the commune.” Evan strolled casually through the darkened evening, though the moon shone bright overhead.

“Liam’s cottage, obviously, and down this side is where the bathing pool is. We hold festivals and celebrations here where the mess hall sits at certain times of the year. More food stalls and some craft booths then.” Evan rambled a bit before coming over to one of the hand crafted picnic tables and sat down.

“Over that way is all of us. The tents, the motor homes, the log cabins and the shacks—it looks like a refugee camp, but it’s home. We all grow our own food and keep our animals down on the west side too. There is also the seamstress’s cabin, infirmary, and the apothecary.” He finished and turned over his shoulder to look at Dani. She was bent over the bench, arms on the table and head hung low between her arms.

“Dani?” Evan spun himself around and came close to her face.

“I—mmm, maybe I didn’t eat enough.” Her voice came out slightly slurred.

“But I left you plenty of food, did you not really eat” Evan had hoped she had at least eaten most of it. She did say she liked the cheese.

“It was lovely.” She whispered, wiping sweat from her forehead. Her dark hair was damp, glistening in the moonlight.

“Dani, do I need to get the doctor?” Evan reached out and placed his hand on her face. Instantly she dropped to the ground in a heap, smacking her head upon the bench on the way down.

“You didn’t have to hit your head like that.” A wise voice emanated through Dani’s head. She was face down in the mossiest grass she had ever had the pleasure to touch. She rolled over on her back and just stared straight up. All she saw was a midnight blue sky smattered with a trillion stars.

“It wasn’t like I planned it,” Dani spoke, not even sure who she was talking to. Was it Evan?

“Can you right yourself?” The deep voice spoke a bit more softly this time.

“Possibly.” Dani breathed, her attention captured by the biggest porcelain moon she had ever seen.

“I know; it’s lovely. But I really need to speak with you; I don’t have much time.”

Dani slowly sat upright and turned to face the one who spoke.

He was tall, over six feet, with a white beard and long salt and pepper hair. He wore a cloak made of the finest cobalt velvet and donned a strange conical hat. A staff was in his right hand, and the left was poised at his chin.

“Hello, Dear.” He smiled at her and the energy that radiated from it was palpable. It made her return the grin.

“By Gods, you look so much like your mother.” He beckoned for Dani to stand up and come closer.

“Do I?” She hadn’t really seen herself in a mirror lately.

“Very much so. I don’t want to keep you long; you may want to get that head looked at.” He reached out and touched the goose egg on her forehead.

“Ooo.” Dani winced, throwing her hand to her face.

“It will feel better soon. Quickly though. Like I said; I don’t have much time.” The old man repeated before leading Dani over to a fallen tree where he sat her down. Even though it was early August, lightning bugs flitted about with their pulsating glow.

“I need to tell you a bit about yourself.” He withdrew a leather book from the inside of his robes and licked his thumb, peeling back pages.

“What?” Dani felt like Alice down the rabbit hole.

“You see this right here?” The old man flipped the book around to show Dani the page. There was a sketch of a woman in graphite; a woman she recognized as her mother. She was young in the picture, at least five years younger than Dani was right then.

“Your mother, hand-picked out of thousands.” He rumbled, snapping the book shut, “We needed someone special; someone who could house the very elements that all life, the Earth, and stars are made of.”

“Who are you?” Dani had heard his words, but she was just a few steps behind.

“Never mind that; just listen. Your mother was a Seer, as I assume you are too. She could See everything; she was clairvoyant, she could talk to the dead, and she could see the Fae. She was perfect for housing a very perfect being.” The old man smiled once again.

Was he talking about her?

“Go on.” She urged, curious where the tale would take her.

“Your mother was chosen by the Fae. She was devoted to the Fae and all that they stood for; the first of the land. She made offerings, gave thanks, provided food and shelter, and most importantly gave her heart to them. Your mother would have done anything for us and she asked for a blessing one early Yule morning and we blessed her with a child.” He waited for all of it to sink in.

“Are you taking the piss? My mum is the Faery Virgin Mary?” Dani looked dumbstruck.

The man chuckled at her unintentional rhyme and just nodded his head.

“We imbued her with life. The Fae: made up of the Earth, of stardust and swirling winds, of blazing fires and rushing waters. We are the spirit of these grounds.” The old man waved his hands about, “And your mother always respected us as the First and mourned our uprooting. She was the right vessel to give birth to peace.”

“Will you quit talking in riddles? Say what you mean to say!” Dani’s head was swimming with the ambiguous words that poured from the man’s mouth.

“You are the perfect blend of mortal and faery, my dear. All the compassionate, loving, peace- filled essence of your mother and all the power and strength of the Fae. You are proof that human and fae can live side by side.” He smiled once again, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“No.” Dani shook her head hard. The ground seemed to lift up before her as if someone was peeling it from the very bones of the Earth. “This is a dream. I whacked my head and this is just some strange, dazed dream that my mind fabricated while I am unconscious.”

“You can tell yourself that, but it might just be easier to accept your fate.” The man reprimanded her.

“My Fate?”

“What happened?” Liam took Dani’s limp body from Evan’s hold and proceeded to bring her over to the sofa before she began to convulse in his arms.

“Shit.” Evan breathed, reaching out to graze her arm. “I don’t know. We were talking, I was showing her around, and next thing I know she’s looking rather ill and then she was out. Knocked her head on the bench on the way down.”

Evan’s nostrils were flared and his mouth was stretched into a pained expression as he watched Liam turn Dani’s head to the side and laid her on the ground so she wouldn’t choke.

“We haven’t had a chance to get her medical history; there’s a possibility that she is an epileptic.” Liam was trying to keep Dani from swallowing her tongue. Evan came round and sat above her, gently lifting her head into his lap so he could hold it straight. As abruptly as the seizure began, it stopped and Dani’s body went entirely limp. Her skin was sallow and her lips slightly blue as she lay motionless in Evan’s lap.

“Is she breathing?” Evan instantly looked panicked and put his hand near her mouth. He waited a second before answering himself, “She’s not breathing, Liam.”

“Yes, your fate. But never mind that now. This was a bad way to contact you. I wasn’t sure it was going to work at all, but it did. Granted, you’re more or less dying at the moment.” The old man smirked a little sheepishly.

“I’m dying?” Dani was instantly alarmed and began to back away from the old man.

“Yes and no. You are in a weird state; it was the only way I could contact you initially. Your soul is in a sort of limbo and if it stays there too long the body begins to shut down; nothing is running it.” He explained.

“Put me back then!” Dani’s eyes were wide with fear as she screeched. She wasn’t going to die like this. Not now.

“That’s the biggest problem with this spell; I can’t.” He dropped his hands to his sides.

“You fucking can’t? You can’t put me back in my bloody body? So, you called me here to tell me about how important I am or some sort of rubbish only to have me DIE?” Dani could feel her body heating up, her head flooding with panic.

“You have to want to leave. I can only bring you here, but you make the choice to go back or not.” He pointed behind her. There stood an old castle door, framed in stone and made of sturdy oak wood in the middle of the forest.

“That’s the way out?” Dani turned back to the old man.

“It could be.” He was still being cryptic and it was really starting to grate on her nerves. “But you’re not sure you want to go. Scared you may be, but the thought of leaving all of that chaos behind is calming.”

He could see right through her. Yes, there was a part of her that just wanted to peacefully move on and never look back. She had been through so much, lost more than she could have imagined, and had been struggling for the last seven years in a world that was trying to kill her. She could easily slip away in whatever state this was that she was in and not even care.

“Dani.” A voice rang out around her and her eyes darted about, trying to find the source.

“Dani, wake up.” Something warm moved through her. It caused her to take in a sharp breath.

“Come on, Dani.” The voice again and another ghost like sensation through her body. Dani heaved a heavy lungful again.

“What’s happening?” She crouched on the ground, feeling her lungs fill up with rushing air.

“Now’s the time. Make a decision: Here,” The old man pointed down at the mossy ground, “Or there.” He pointed to the door.

“Please, Dani. Wake up.” The voice whispered in her ear, startling her. Instantly she was tugged backward through the open castle door.

“One, two, three.” Evan counted compressions before bringing his lips to Dani’s for the third time. “Please, Dani. Wake up.” He whispered before placing his lips to hers once more, giving her the breath of life.

Dani sucked in a huge breath of air and immediately tried to sit up. The room promptly began to spin and as she fell back, but Evan caught her.

“Oh, my head.” She reached up and touched the knot on her forehead. It was not as bulbous as it had been in her dream, but it stung none the less.

“You took quite a spill.” Evan removed a few damp locks away from her face.

She looked up to see Liam hovering above her, his arms crossed and a calculating look on his face.

“Tell me something, Dani—” He began, eyeing her, “Do you know more about this whole Apocalypse thing than you are letting on?”

“Excuse me?” Dani’s head was a little foggy, but she thought she had heard him correctly.

“I saw you out there earlier, fighting the Moss Slinger and then battling the Gnashers with Evan; I watched how deliberate you were. You know their weaknesses.” Liam offered an explanation.

“I’ve killed a lot of them.” Dani shot back in her defense.

“So have we all, but I noticed a little something.” Liam turned to the table and came back holding her rucksack. He began pulling things from inside.

“Red berries, iron nails, knotted cord, bells. Strange things for a girl to be carrying around in all of this; some sort of weaponry perhaps?” Liam cocked his head to the side and narrowed his gaze at Dani.

Had she been caught? Had Liam seen her little crystal sword dance with the fae and was now asking all sorts of questions?

“They aren’t demons.” Dani blurted, fire in her eyes. She wasn’t going to let herself get trapped. She was going to be honest and if they didn’t like it, she would take Nissa and leave.

“We were beginning to assume that much; at least a few of us were.” Liam pulled a chair out from the table and sat down. Dani wasn’t sure if she wanted to get into all the details tonight, but Liam wasn’t going to take a rain check.

“What are they?” Evan had scooted around on the floor to get a better look at Dani while she spoke.

Her eyes darted from Liam to Evan and back again. If she spoke what they really were, she’d be looked at like a lunatic—but maybe she already was.

“Fae.” Dani almost whispered. She felt a bit hot as her face started to fill up with color.

“Excuse me—what?” Liam looked at her oddly, his mouth slightly agape.

“Fae.” She spoke a little louder, “Faeries. Tinker Bell, the Fairy Godmother, Morgan Le Fay, Thumbelina— Fae.” Dani tried to drive her point home with pop culture references; they weren’t entirely accurate, but they seemed to get the message across.

“None of those things look like Tinker Bell.” Liam threw his head back and laughed long and hard.

Evan tried clearing his throat to interrupt him, but it didn’t work.

“That’s because Tinker Bell is fiction.” Dani got up from the floor, still with a little bit of vertigo. She heaved an exasperated sigh and turned to face Liam.

He made a weird hiccupping sound and abruptly ended his laughing.

“Oh?” Liam didn’t have much else to say.

“If you would be so kind as to hand me my rucksack, I can show you.” Dani held her hand out and Liam, ashamed, handed her bag over.

She scooped the rest of her ammo into the bag before producing an old worn sketch book.

“Here,” She flipped it open to a page and shoved the book at Liam, “I’ve sketched most of them. At least the ones I’ve seen.”

“While I admire your fine artistic abilities, all this really proves is you have a good eye for detail. Anyone who can draw well could probably sketch these creatures.” Liam attempted to prove her wrong. Drawing them substantiated nothing.

“They’re dated.” Dani was pacing but stopped long enough to tap the open page.

Liam hunted for the signature. There, on the bottom right corner of all the sketches on that page, was her signature and a date: 02/10/98.

Liam’s gaze shot up to meet hers.

“I was twelve. I had seen them dozens of times before I felt I knew them well enough to sketch them.” Dani flipped a few pages and then tapped the book again. Liam looked down to see what they called Moss Slingers were actually Marsh Trolls. On the opposite pager were the Gnashers, all of the grotesque details sketched and smudged and sketched back over. They were actually goblins, and according to the book they were very, very nasty.

“You’re not kidding.” Liam just shook his head and thumbed through a few more pages. Sylphs, gnomes, pixies, the Bean Sidhe. Some of them he recognized, while others were new to him.

“Not kidding in the slightest.” Dani took the book from Liam’s hands and switched it over to Evan so he could see. He skimmed through pages, awestruck at the number of creatures that adorned them.

“And that isn’t even all of them. What I know, I know from experience. I’ve seen them, even interacted with some. I never really read about them in books when I was growing up; I didn’t feel that I needed to because I knew them.” Dani came back, took the book from Evan, and snapped it closed before placing it back in her rucksack.

The men were entirely speechless. Not that demons weren’t as far-fetched, but this was borderline ridiculous—yet it seemed to be true.

“And on that note, I bid you good men adieu.” Dani began to bow out when an intense wave of dizziness hit her and her knees buckled.

“No, no, no. I don’t think so.” Liam rushed over and scooped her up under the arms.

“I just want to sleep.” Dani squinted into the room dimly lit by candlelight.

“That may be a bad idea.” Liam helped guide her over to his bed and propped her up.

“You could have just set me on the sofa.” Dani’s head was slightly swaying side to side.

“This way you are more comfortable.” Liam fluffed a pillow behind her, “There is a possibility that you may have a slight concussion. We need to keep you awake for a bit.”

“You know that’s not really true. They only advised that because CT scanning wasn’t widely available and you had to watch for drowsiness due to pressure in the brain.” Evan rambled as Liam tried to make Dani comfortable.

“Well, we don’t have a CT scanner now do we?” Liam smartly responded, ignoring him.

“Brain bleeding only occurs in about .1% of those with head injuries.” He rebutted and Liam just held his finger to his lips. Evan figured that Dani didn’t want to stay and try to make more excuses, but Liam kept on contending.

“I just don’t want her to panic—” Evan trailed off… Dani was asleep.

“So much for keeping her awake.”

“You read too much, you know that? You were the one that said she’d be fine.” Liam challenged Evan, but he decided to drop the subject. They were all worn out and needed to rest.

“Go on home, Evan. Anessa is probably waiting on you.” Liam nodded towards the door.

Evan opened his mouth to say something.

“She’ll be safe here,” Liam responded.

He didn’t even have to ask.

“See you at breakfast.” Evan bid farewell reluctantly and shut the door behind him.

(*)

Dani groggily opened her eyes to darkness. She felt around herself, but didn’t recognize anything. Where the hell was she?

She swung her legs off the bed; when was the last time she had slept in a bed?

Dani fumbled around in the dim light of the room for a moment before her eyes adjusted and she side-stepped the dividing curtain. The embers of a fire burned low in the fireplace and she could see that Liam was asleep in a high-backed chair. She was in his cottage, that much she remembered now. Stealthily she crept across the kitchen and silently slipped out the front door.

(*)

“Where have you been?” Nissa stretched on her bed as Dani crouched through the tent flap.

“Getting a concussion, sleeping in Liam’s bed; the usual.” Dani rubbed at the bump on her head; it was indeed getting smaller, but it was still just as sore.

“Gods, Dani! You look like a budding unicorn.” Nissa crept over and began poking at the knot on her forehead.

“Ouch! I ended up letting Evan show me around and long story short I—I went somewhere.” Dani lifted her hand to her head and poked at the bump a bit more.

“Where the hell did you go?” Nissa exclaimed, thinking that she must have hit her head hard.

“I don’t know what happened. I was talking with Evan and then all of a sudden I wasn’t. I was somewhere else, Niss. Like a different plane of existence, a different realm. There was this man and—” Dani delved into the story about the wizardly gentleman and what he had told her about who she really was.

“Does that make you fae?” Nissa was in awe.

“I don’t know. But what does that make you?” A light bulb went off in Dani’s head. She had a talking cat; that’s not the usual. She had never really given it much thought, actually. Nissa had come into her life when she needed her the most, not long before her mother started to get sick.

“Oh, Dani.” Nissa sighed, “I was wondering if you’d ever ask.” The cat came over and curled up in her lap.

“With the way I grew up—that sort of thing was kind of commonplace. I had so much going on; I never stopped to think about it.” Dani shrugged, scratching the fur between Nissa’s ears.

“I am—I am fae.” Nissa’s pupils were fully dilated as she spoke.

“A faery cat?” Dani kind of scrunched up her face and looked down at Nissa.

“Not exactly.” Nissa turned her gaze away from her friend.

“Are you just a glamour?” Dani couldn’t figure it out.

“No, an Imp. We can shapeshift.” Nissa’s lips peeled back to reveal the points of her canines. She seemed disgusted with herself.

“Imps—like a witch’s familiar?” Dani knew a bit about them, but only from a story book her mother had given her. An Imp was one fae she had never seen in person.

“Makes sense, doesn’t it?” Nissa yawned and stretched in Dani’s lap.

“So, what do you look like then?” Dani was curious, pinching at the tips of Nissa’s ears.

“Not entirely unlike you. One day I’ll show you, but now is not a good time.” Nissa purred, rolling on to her side.

“Understandable. Bed now.” Dani didn’t want to talk any more. She was still fraught over her revelation earlier and the ensuing questioning by Liam. She hoped that tomorrow would bring less stress.