While they chatted, I had tea and ate some of the really delicate finger sandwiches Barrowind had provided. I couldn’t believe he was capable of this detailed work, but then my experience within the different species kitchens was rather limited. Something, I decided, I’d need to remedy, somehow. Though why I wanted to see inside, say, a faeries kitchens was beyond me. I had been inside kitchens, just not with any purpose other than to magically mess with people. There was this king once … never mind, this isn’t the time.

When they finished catching up, I’d caught parts of the conversation, but ignored most of it, Barrowind looked at Faelix and then at me and motioned for Faelix to start.

“Barrowind and I have considered the situation from a lot of different angles and approaches,” he said. “Between us, Barrowind has been the one who talks to and interacts with most of the forest creatures.”

“Except the wolves and weres in the south,” Barrowind said.

“Right. They’re pretty nasty and were opposed to participating in any action for or against the barrier. Almost like they liked having the barrier up, except they didn’t. The barrier has forced their hunting and range movement to become seriously limited.”

“We’re guessing the weres are also maintaining wolf form for extended periods of time, less human than they were before the barrier went up,” Barrowind added.

“Are there others?” I asked.

“Other what?” Barrowind said.

“Types of weres,” I said. “Bears, foxes, kaninchen, the usual twos and fours.”

Faelix shook this head, “Not according to the faeries. Queen Maeve has been very clear on keeping track of which kinds and where they reside. Apparently, weres can become a big problem fast.”

“Except in the absence of blood eaters” I said.

“Of course. We don’t have any of those in the forest or the larger valley. If we do, they’ve been asleep for hundreds of years.”

“Which is possible,” Barrowind said, catching up to the conversation.

“Of course,” Faelix said. “I hadn’t considered the lack of an eater as a reason for the weres to remain so few.”

“It may not be,” I said. “They are predators and if there is limited food then the size of the packs also have to remain relevatively small as well. Though how they’re managing with an actual pack of wolves would be interesting to see.”

“Anyway,” Faelix said, clearing his throat, “the reason you’re here and not being watched over by a small army of faeries is because Barrowind and I have ideas that seem to be playing out regarding the forest, the barriers, and the sprites.”

“Yeah, I saw those around the mushroom,” I said.

“Exactly,” Barrowind said. “We believe the sprites are somehow tied not only to the blockage of magic, but also the existence of the barrier.”

I didn’t quite understand the connection, but I was willing to listen. Apparently, the only reason the council was able to get this far with someone was because I was both a part of the forest and apart from the forest. The trap that had been set was both useful in that it got rid of me for someone, but also in that it trapped me before the lock on magic had happened and I wasn’t affected by it in any obvious way.

Which may have also accounted for my ability to sense it as being nearby, but not necessarily something I could touch or use.

“What we believe needs to happen next,” Faelix said, “is to figure out the barrier.”

“Is it still there?” I asked.

“Oh yes,” Barrowind said. “Moment wasn’t lying when she told you Queen Maeve had sent scouts to check on the barrier. As of our entering my den, the barrier was still up and in place.”

“I think,” Faelix said, “that the barrier is more of a reaction than a proactive element.”

“Reaction to what?” I asked.

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“To the monsters and their machines,” he said.

“Really?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve never been outside of the faerie compounds and have never been allowed anywhere near the barriers so I haven’t seen them, been able to explore what makes them work, or even try to poke through them.”

“You keep using the plural,” I said.

“Oh, yes. Plural. It’s not a single barrier from what I can make out,” Faelix said. “Think of it more like the scales on a dragon ….”

“Dragons don’t have scales,” I said.

“Then the scales on a lizard. They aren’t one single piece of keratin, but lots of smaller bits overlapping each other to form the outer skin and protection.”

“Which means the barrier isn’t a single whatever, it’s a lot of the same element overlapping each other to create a barrier between us and the outside world,” I said.

“And it works both ways,” Faelix said.

“Except for air and water, somehow,” Barrowind said. “Those two natural elements are allowed through.”

“Right,” Faelix said. “Which implies that whatever has created or is making up the barrier is at least a little intelligent about what is needed to maintain some life within the forest.”

“Or they don’t care about water and air,” Barrowind said.

“That’s possible, as well,” Faelix said.

“Great,” I said. “But what do you want from me?”

“Oh, right,” Faelix said, shifting a little where he was perched. “You are one of maybe two creatures in this forest who can see and interpret what is happening. Though, to be honest, I’m not sure how attuned you are to other things beyond that which you’ve interfered with the most.”

Faelix had a point. While I was really familiar with a lot of creatures and humans and the variations on humanity and magical beings, I wasn’t always as interested in the lesser forces and powers that existed all around us. Like the sprites.

Sprites were a lot like the faerie, small and human-like, with wings, though sprites were also very closely aligned with the different natural elements like fire, water, air, earth, and so on. There were seven different types of sprites, each kind a different color, though seeing the color, as had been true at the giant mushroom, required a lot of the sprites to be in close proximity to each other.

If there was a hierarchical structure among sprites, I wasn’t aware of it. While I instinctively knew I could interact with sprites, I hadn’t yet found a reason to interact with them. Even now, I found myself reluctant to try. Some things were simply either not worth the effort or required too much to make it happen. Which was why Faelix was the one communicating with the sprites at the mushroom and in the crater and not me. Had he not been there, I would’ve found someone else to do it.

“Why do you think the sprites are involved?” I asked, looking directly at Faelix. While I did think Barrowind knew most of the answers to my questions, it was Faelix who, I was guessing, had come up with both the answers and the logic behind the answers. Getting him to talk about would open up more about how his mind worked and maybe give me some clues about who he really was and why male faerie were hidden away.

“The sprites are the only magical creatures that were in the forest, and are almost everywhere else in the world, who disappeared from the forest. Even the ones we could identify early on were soon gone. And we were watching them almost as closely as we were watching the weres and others,” he said.

“Sprites are maybe involved. There are two creatures in the forest who can see what’s happening at the border, I’m one of them. You’re the other one,” I said, still addressing Faelix.

“I never said that,” he said.

“You also somehow possess the ability to enter my private dimensional space, something no living or dead creature can or should be able to do, which implies, at least to me, that you are far more capable than everyone else, except maybe me.”

He smiled. ”Yes. I am the others one. You’re going to need my help when looking at the barrier to see what I’m talking about. It’s not easy and it’s not obvious,” he said.

“It never is,” I said. “What’s next?”

“You need to go to the border, but the council won’t allow you to do that,” Barrowind said.

“How could they stop me?”

“They probably couldn’t. Especially not after whatever it was you did to Moment and her people, but they will try,” he said.

Ticking off the list on my fingers, I said, “One, I have to get to the border. Two, I need Faelix there with me. Three, we need to figure out what the barrier is and why it lets air and water through but nothing else. And four, we have to do this without the council finding out.”

“Pretty much,” Faelix said. “We probably need to do it fast since I’m also pretty certain my mother will figure out how I got out of the faerie compound and where I am.”

“Plus, you have others who need to be included,” Barrowind said. “I may not be magical, and I’m not, but without Cuttings and Bal I believe you won’t be successful.”

“Me and Faelix I get,” I said. “He’s taken up residence, it seems, in my satchel. But the others. I may be good but I’m not certain I can handle everyone.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Barrowind said, “and follow me. I will let Bal and Cuttings know what they need to do.”

Barrowind got up from his chair and lumbered out of the room and down the hall. He entered one of the extra rooms, more large open spaces that were clearly comfortable and designed for long term habitation, before approaching a large armoire. Faelix had not returned to my satchel and dashed around to the back of the armoire before coming back and waiting for Barrowind to gently pulling it away from the wall.

“Follow the tunnel. It will come out somewhere safe. Head straight for the river and don’t double back. I can give you some time to get away, but Queen Maeve will be sending scouts out to find you and the others.”