Way back. The morning fae have been extracting the essence for generations—hundreds of years—and storing it, nurturing it, and we’re closer than ever before to recreating what we lost when the human world took over.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked. My words were clear and my consciousness had returned, but I was breathing hard and I was exhausted, bone-tired. I opened my eyes and stared at Frederica as I repeated my question. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“What have you been dreaming about?” she whispered, and gently opened my hands. I looked down.
A tooth.
Small, smooth and pure white, it was the most frightening thing I had ever seen. And it was moving—but no, that was my cupped hand, trembling.
“We just obtained it last night for the collection,” Frederica said. “If I was going to jolt your fae senses, it needed to be fresh, to have as much of its innocence intact as possible.”
They—the fae—just obtained it last night? Fresh. Innocence.
Collection.
“ Tooth faeries?” I shouted.
Frederica blinked.
“Oh, come on,” I said, dropping the tooth on the table and abruptly pulling away. “Come on . You had me there, okay? You had me, with your hypnotic hocus-pocus whatever, but now I’m supposed to believe I’m a tooth faerie?”
My hands were still shaking. Because honestly, she’d more than had me there. That—vision, or experience, was too much like a memory ingrained in my soul, and even now, I wanted to go back there.
Frederica sighed, appearing far more disappointed than intimidated by my outburst. “This is a first for me,” she said.
“You don’t say.”
“Because,” she continued, as if I hadn’t interrupted, “the rest of us, we knew who we were from the beginning. They might have chosen to take their part in our quest or not, but we’ve never had to tell a rational, intelligent fae adult who she is.”
“About that job offer,” I said then. “You’re not recruiting me to break into people’s houses in the middle of the night and take their kids’ teeth, are you?”
In the silence that followed, I received the answer I’d feared.
“O- kay , then,” I said. “I’m sorry to let you down, not to mention the rest of your winged buddies, but I think it’s time for me to leave now.”
“I agree. We’ll talk again when you’ve had a chance to think things over.”
“Um, no.” I picked up my duffel and stood.
“There’s someone I would like you to speak with further, if you don’t mind,” Frederica said, stirring her chai around twice before reaching into her pants pocket for a slightly bent card. I noticed her pants were diaphanous ivory linen, belted with a filmy pink scarf. Her clothes, her manner, were all faerie.
Okay, she probably could convince a stupid person into believing she was fae. But what kind of person could be convinced that they were born fae as well? Fae , for crying out loud. It was like some geek live-action roleplaying game gone way too far.
But even my own mind was failing in its effort to be indignant. I was there just now, while I was holding the tooth. I was there.
I’ll take her card , I thought. I’ll take it and get the hell out of here .
Frederica produced a pen from her little handbag and wrote something on the card. Then she held it up. “My number’s on the front of this card, as well as information about our local community gatherings. There are three every month, and you should come, Gemma. We get together to reconnect, to re-experience our history. You’ll be welcomed, and you’ll get to know your family.”
“I know my family.”
“Do you?” she asked, and the challenge was genuine but not unkind. “You won’t be alone. I guide this particular gathering and I’ll be there tonight. I know it will help you understand. But your mind won’t open to it until you hear all this, all that I’ve told you, from someone you trust.”
“How could you know who I
“What are you talking about?” I asked. My words were clear and my consciousness had returned, but I was breathing hard and I was exhausted, bone-tired. I opened my eyes and stared at Frederica as I repeated my question. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“What have you been dreaming about?” she whispered, and gently opened my hands. I looked down.
A tooth.
Small, smooth and pure white, it was the most frightening thing I had ever seen. And it was moving—but no, that was my cupped hand, trembling.
“We just obtained it last night for the collection,” Frederica said. “If I was going to jolt your fae senses, it needed to be fresh, to have as much of its innocence intact as possible.”
They—the fae—just obtained it last night? Fresh. Innocence.
Collection.
“ Tooth faeries?” I shouted.
Frederica blinked.
“Oh, come on,” I said, dropping the tooth on the table and abruptly pulling away. “Come on . You had me there, okay? You had me, with your hypnotic hocus-pocus whatever, but now I’m supposed to believe I’m a tooth faerie?”
My hands were still shaking. Because honestly, she’d more than had me there. That—vision, or experience, was too much like a memory ingrained in my soul, and even now, I wanted to go back there.
Frederica sighed, appearing far more disappointed than intimidated by my outburst. “This is a first for me,” she said.
“You don’t say.”
“Because,” she continued, as if I hadn’t interrupted, “the rest of us, we knew who we were from the beginning. They might have chosen to take their part in our quest or not, but we’ve never had to tell a rational, intelligent fae adult who she is.”
“About that job offer,” I said then. “You’re not recruiting me to break into people’s houses in the middle of the night and take their kids’ teeth, are you?”
In the silence that followed, I received the answer I’d feared.
“O- kay , then,” I said. “I’m sorry to let you down, not to mention the rest of your winged buddies, but I think it’s time for me to leave now.”
“I agree. We’ll talk again when you’ve had a chance to think things over.”
“Um, no.” I picked up my duffel and stood.
“There’s someone I would like you to speak with further, if you don’t mind,” Frederica said, stirring her chai around twice before reaching into her pants pocket for a slightly bent card. I noticed her pants were diaphanous ivory linen, belted with a filmy pink scarf. Her clothes, her manner, were all faerie.
Okay, she probably could convince a stupid person into believing she was fae. But what kind of person could be convinced that they were born fae as well? Fae , for crying out loud. It was like some geek live-action roleplaying game gone way too far.
But even my own mind was failing in its effort to be indignant. I was there just now, while I was holding the tooth. I was there.
I’ll take her card , I thought. I’ll take it and get the hell out of here .
Frederica produced a pen from her little handbag and wrote something on the card. Then she held it up. “My number’s on the front of this card, as well as information about our local community gatherings. There are three every month, and you should come, Gemma. We get together to reconnect, to re-experience our history. You’ll be welcomed, and you’ll get to know your family.”
“I know my family.”
“Do you?” she asked, and the challenge was genuine but not unkind. “You won’t be alone. I guide this particular gathering and I’ll be there tonight. I know it will help you understand. But your mind won’t open to it until you hear all this, all that I’ve told you, from someone you trust.”
“How could you know who I
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