entire life in this lab, that's what she'd do.
" What's with the candle?" she asked. "Is it some kind of experiment?"
" The redcap kept bothering me so I gave it something to do."
Sandy stepped over to the apparatus and practiced what she had before, remembering what the redcap had looked like, and trying to believe it was real.
And there it was. It stood about a foot and half tall, pressing his hands against the glass, and trying, with a great deal of effort, to blow the candle out. Of course the glass prevented it, and all the iron and spells prevented his magic from escaping. As she approached, it turned toward her.
Sandy fought an urge to strangle it. The burn marks from the trap that still crisscrossed his face gave her some satisfaction.
" I'm pretty sure it can't escape; the candle distracts it from even trying," Hollis said. He wheeled closer.
" Maybe it thinks blowing out the candle will set it free." Sandy had some idea of how it might feel, struggling under false pretenses, if it had feelings, which of course it didn't. "The iron should be sufficient if it happens to get past the glass and wards."
Through their experiments on previous, now dead, fae spirits, they found that wrought iron worked best on faeries. Cast iron had some effect, and most types of steel didn't even leave a rash. At first they thought it has something to do with the iron content of the alloy, since wrought iron is 99.0-99.8% ferrous. However, when they tested mild steel, which has almost as much iron, it might as well have been plastic. Cast iron had the least iron content, and it made the faeries uncomfortable.
It didn't entirely make sense, but then, they were talking about faeries. Just when they thought they'd found some consistent pattern, the pattern would be broken.
Wrought iron was the hardest to find. None had been made since the reduced price of steel forced the closure of the last ironworks in 1973. So they bought up antique and scrap which Hollis simply reworked. The other large room in the basement served as Hollis's workshop for forging.
Sandy bent over and blew the candle out. Immediately the faerie looked up at her and snarled. The sight of its teeth made her finger throb beneath the bandaid. Its eyes made her remember Haun's eyes, how he had caressed her, the blue butterflies...
She held herself tightly and walked over to the hook where her lab coat hung. She slipped it on.
They'd been working on the concept of a glamour generator for months. They had ample supply of toradh, but that did them no good. They needed a faerie to make glamour, and glamour to make spells.
The jar rocked back and forth as the redcap slammed against the glass.
" It was quieter in here when the candle was lit," Hollis said, dangling a pen over its head. It scrabbled at the top of the jar trying to get at it.
" Obviously. It'll tire out."
" Where's Jina?" he asked.
" I wish I knew. Probably making out with a stranger or at one of her music things."
There was no end to the work that needed to be done. Sandy looked at her watch. Only one in the afternoon. It would be nice to just sit and relax, talk about whatever random subjects Jina happened to think of.
It was so taxing, having to be the one everyone looked to.
" Gretel is on her way down," Sandy said. "Hopefully her eyes can tell us if this thing is converting toradh. Speak of the devil."
Gretel moved slowly with a small bowl in her hands, filled completely to the top with milk. A bead of honey encircled the rim.
" Do not be so accusing of Jina," Gretel said as she walked slowly towards the cage, "She is out looking for the man from the meeting yesterday."
Ah, Sandy thought. How was I supposed to know?
Gretel answered in that invasive way she had of reading minds. "She left a note on the fridge. She works hard. You could, how does she say it, cut slack?"
" Right. Slack."
Gretel had reached the cage. "Can someone open this?" she asked.
Sandy unlatched the outer cage with the
" What's with the candle?" she asked. "Is it some kind of experiment?"
" The redcap kept bothering me so I gave it something to do."
Sandy stepped over to the apparatus and practiced what she had before, remembering what the redcap had looked like, and trying to believe it was real.
And there it was. It stood about a foot and half tall, pressing his hands against the glass, and trying, with a great deal of effort, to blow the candle out. Of course the glass prevented it, and all the iron and spells prevented his magic from escaping. As she approached, it turned toward her.
Sandy fought an urge to strangle it. The burn marks from the trap that still crisscrossed his face gave her some satisfaction.
" I'm pretty sure it can't escape; the candle distracts it from even trying," Hollis said. He wheeled closer.
" Maybe it thinks blowing out the candle will set it free." Sandy had some idea of how it might feel, struggling under false pretenses, if it had feelings, which of course it didn't. "The iron should be sufficient if it happens to get past the glass and wards."
Through their experiments on previous, now dead, fae spirits, they found that wrought iron worked best on faeries. Cast iron had some effect, and most types of steel didn't even leave a rash. At first they thought it has something to do with the iron content of the alloy, since wrought iron is 99.0-99.8% ferrous. However, when they tested mild steel, which has almost as much iron, it might as well have been plastic. Cast iron had the least iron content, and it made the faeries uncomfortable.
It didn't entirely make sense, but then, they were talking about faeries. Just when they thought they'd found some consistent pattern, the pattern would be broken.
Wrought iron was the hardest to find. None had been made since the reduced price of steel forced the closure of the last ironworks in 1973. So they bought up antique and scrap which Hollis simply reworked. The other large room in the basement served as Hollis's workshop for forging.
Sandy bent over and blew the candle out. Immediately the faerie looked up at her and snarled. The sight of its teeth made her finger throb beneath the bandaid. Its eyes made her remember Haun's eyes, how he had caressed her, the blue butterflies...
She held herself tightly and walked over to the hook where her lab coat hung. She slipped it on.
They'd been working on the concept of a glamour generator for months. They had ample supply of toradh, but that did them no good. They needed a faerie to make glamour, and glamour to make spells.
The jar rocked back and forth as the redcap slammed against the glass.
" It was quieter in here when the candle was lit," Hollis said, dangling a pen over its head. It scrabbled at the top of the jar trying to get at it.
" Obviously. It'll tire out."
" Where's Jina?" he asked.
" I wish I knew. Probably making out with a stranger or at one of her music things."
There was no end to the work that needed to be done. Sandy looked at her watch. Only one in the afternoon. It would be nice to just sit and relax, talk about whatever random subjects Jina happened to think of.
It was so taxing, having to be the one everyone looked to.
" Gretel is on her way down," Sandy said. "Hopefully her eyes can tell us if this thing is converting toradh. Speak of the devil."
Gretel moved slowly with a small bowl in her hands, filled completely to the top with milk. A bead of honey encircled the rim.
" Do not be so accusing of Jina," Gretel said as she walked slowly towards the cage, "She is out looking for the man from the meeting yesterday."
Ah, Sandy thought. How was I supposed to know?
Gretel answered in that invasive way she had of reading minds. "She left a note on the fridge. She works hard. You could, how does she say it, cut slack?"
" Right. Slack."
Gretel had reached the cage. "Can someone open this?" she asked.
Sandy unlatched the outer cage with the
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