Kayla’s new allies could appear at any time, and probably it would be sooner rather than later. Kayla had sent text messages, but it wasn’t at all clear whether messages could get back to her, or how the relative timing might work.
So Des stationed herself by the Gate.
She didn’t mind waiting, no matter how long it took. The thick green groundcover was tolerably comfortable. Callie had done wonders for her tail and the homemade ointment had further helped, leaving the pain greatly muted. She wasn’t even hungry, thanks to the pork JC had so thoughtfully claimed for her, even though she’d been working at it in small amounts.
It felt very odd, that by far the majority of the faelings on the island had no idea how close they'd come to death, nor the massive changes in the island's power imbalance. She wished she had any idea what was going to happen now, but there was currently nothing she could do about that, so she let herself drowse and trusted her ears and nose to let her know if any faelings approached. Still, she cracked one eye open now and then to keep an eye on the Gate.
It wasn't all that dramatic when something finally happened. The space within the arch shimmered faintly, and the cliff face immediately behind it started to look thin, like turning down the opacity on a slider, allowing a view of Kayla's familiar living room on the other side. Not that much of it was visible, with four people waiting to step through.
One was the slender young woman in androgynous earth-toned clothes, wearing a lot of jewellery, that they'd met briefly. Des had been the only one available to pass on the message to her that there was more than there seemed going on here, although she’d been apprehensive about her ability to communicate clearly; the young woman had been unexpectedly good at understanding her, and very focused on the immediate without getting distracted. Riley, Kayla said her name was.
There was a man all in black, and one all in brown and muted blue, both rather nondescript in a way that made Des feel vaguely uneasy.
There was a woman who looked to be perhaps in her early fifties, but very well-kept, her greying blonde hair in a short flattering cut, and the dressy dusty-rose slacks and short-sleeved white blouse and tied silk scarf she wore screamed expensive quality; she wore jewellery too, but only a minimal amount, and Des wasn't at all sure those weren't real little diamonds set in the gold. Something about her felt... different, in a way Des couldn’t immediately identify. Over one shoulder she had the padded strap of a large red nylon bag with a lot of black zippers and some white reflective strips; the words MEDICAL SUPPLIES had been written on top in block capitals with black magic marker. It looked bulky and heavy but she showed no sign of being bothered by the weight.
Once all were through, the arch simply returned to normal.
Des stretched, yawned, and got up.
“Oh, hi,” Riley said, with a smile. “I take it Kayla’s busy?”
Des nodded. Actually, she wasn’t sure what Kayla was doing and hadn’t bothered to ask, but that didn’t really matter. “Is safe.”
“All she told me was that the bad guys have been overthrown and it’s worse than just the seven of you.”
“Yes.” She regarded them curiously, wondering why the man all in black was looking at her with such intensity, then shrugged mentally. “Come?”
“Des,” the man in black said, and he sounded amused. “Feline. Even I’m not surprised by that, Jace talks about your cats and how strong your bond to them is. Lead on.”
Des tilted her head to one side, ears flicking, then turned around and started back towards the fountain and house. When she glanced behind her, all four were following her.
*Ali? Kayla’s allies just got here. I’ll bring them to the fountain.*
*I’ll pass that on. How many?*
*Four. The one who was here before, two men I think might be wizards but one recognized me and knows Jace, and a woman I get sort of subtle weird vibes from.*
*Hm. Going to not try to guess without further info. Stay safe.*
*Always.*
“You’re right,” the man in brown and blue said to Riley. “There are traces remaining of alarms and traps around the Gate, but they’ve been disabled somehow.”
Des didn’t see any reason to mention the night she and Erica had escorted JC here so the house fae could make certain that there’d be no unpleasant surprises. They’d figured anyone coming through without permission from Isabel and the wizards was more likely to be on their side.
As they passed a bank of beans trained to climb a trellis, Des saw leaves tremble more than they should in the gentle breeze; she looked in that direction, flattened her ears, and hissed warningly.
A green fae she didn’t recognize ducked into sight just long enough to make a rude hand gesture at her, then darted away.
Word would start to spread quickly among the green fae at least, of unknown humans on the island.
“Fae?” Riley said uncertainly.
“Fae, faeling,” the other woman said. “I didn’t get a clear impression.”
“Des?” the man in black said questioningly. “Hostile?”
Des glanced back. “You’re human. Been tol’ we’re less. Many no’ remember before here. Human means enemy for some.”
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“That’s not something I wanted to hear,” Riley sighed.
“For the record,” the unfamiliar woman said, “I am not human. My grandmother is full fae.”
“Grew up knowing,” Des said.
“Yes, I did. But having sleeping fae blood wake up should not be as traumatic as all this.”
“You have no clue,” Des muttered to herself, but shrugged and kept walking.
Fortunately, it wasn’t all that far to the fountain.
Callie was on the edge of the fountain, dangling her feet in the water; Theo had her arms crossed on the stone, close enough to talk comfortably. Sly lounged in the artificial sunlight, and Des knew the broad stone ledge absorbed and radiated gentle heat. At the opposite side of the fountain, which was more than far enough away for a sense of privacy, Dulce was sitting on the fountain’s edge with Paz and Orfeo, her tail flukes swishing in the water absently, and it looked like all three were enjoying cookies.
The wisps had made a silk hammock in one of the larger trees, and one wisp was in it, probably the one that had been badly injured; the rest of them, including Suzi, were perched on branches, each with a dish and a spoon. Erica and Alison were relaxing on the ground below them; Alison had a bowl of what was probably the granola mix Isabel had started giving her as a core part of her diet, and Erica was eating an apple—despite her photosynthesis, she couldn’t live on that alone, and still needed at least some food.
Who would have expected such a peaceful, casual scene even a day ago? Even if it was a temporary situation until plans could be made for the future, for the moment it gave them and a few allies a chance to catch their collective breaths.
The new arrivals certainly drew attention, though not immediate hostility.
*Jace and Kay are coming,* Alison told Des. *They were making sure the binder of research is hidden.*
“Careful of the wisps in the tree,” the well-dressed woman said. “I count five, and that’s more than any protection can handle.”
“Thanks,” Riley said. “Kayla?”
“Will come,” Des said.
Sure enough, Kayla and JC strode quickly into sight from the direction of the house. Callie said something to Theo, drew her bare feet up out of the water, got up, and hopped lightly down to follow.
“Heya,” Kayla greeted them. “The Gate opening is pretty unmistakable, I bet I’d feel it anywhere on this island. One fugitive aside, it's all over except picking up the pieces. Which is going to be an enormous job on its own. Riley, you met my friends Des and JC, right?” She gestured to Des, then to JC beside her.
“Yes, of course,” Riley said. “Although there wasn't really time for introductions.”
“This is Callie,” Kayla added, as the feathered woman caught up. “The local nurse and then some.”
Riley flashed Callie a smile and a nod of acknowledgement; the others did much the same. The well-dressed woman set the medical supplies bag on the ground; Des saw Callie’s gaze track it.
“I have many, many questions.” Riley gave Kayla a stern look. “That text message was a bit maddening, and if I'd known I was leaving you in immediate danger, I wouldn't have left without you.”
“You wouldn't have gotten her out of here,” the man in black said. Once again, he sounded rather amused. “Not once she knew her friends were here.”
“I'm a big girl,” Kayla said. “My choice to make, eh? Besides, friends. They weren't about to let me be in any danger. They had the whole thing worked out perfectly, they were just waiting for someone friendly to get here who could take this.” She tapped the gold cuff. “Back to introductions in the other direction. Guys, that's Riley,” she gestured to the young woman, “that's Arctos,” the man in brown and blue, “that's Xeno... except, y'know, Phrixos buggered off, so maybe you can just go back to being Niko?”
Riley's eyebrows rose, and she looked from Kayla to Xeno.
“Niko?” JC echoed.
Des felt her ears flick back and then forward again, reflecting her own surprise. Niko who had the odd bookshop and was JC's friend, who was bad with computers but humbly acknowledged that and was diligent about following Des' instructions, had asked JC questions after the barbecue that made it pretty clear he knew more than he'd let on. But didn't that make Niko the low-level local wizard Kayla had told them about?
It probably didn't matter whether wizards and mediums made them nervous, since Riley was a medium, Niko was apparently a wizard, and from what Kayla had said, Arctos was a very powerful wizard. Being rescued by wizards and medium after being kidnapped and threatened by wizards and medium wasn't entirely comfortable but made some logical sense.
The man in black laughed, and swept her a bow, taking care that the black backpack over one shoulder didn't fall. “You're impossible, Kayla. And I mean that in the most complimentary way. It takes me a bit more time and effort to change than it does more powerful types,” he tilted his head in Arctos' direction. “And I imagine we have more important things to do. But yes, you're quite right.” He met JC's gaze steadily. “I have old history with Phrixos. When I found out it was him, I was afraid he might hurt you if he realized that you matter so much to me. So I switched to a different identity.”
“I matter?” JC sounded completely taken aback, and Des picked up on a powerful ripple of utter astonishment that made her want to cuff her old friend hard. Without claws, of course. Just to try to knock some sense into her.
Niko rolled his eyes, and in that instant Des lost any doubt that it really was Niko. “Of course you matter, idiot. Obviously we need to have a talk. Anyway. You're a damned striking pair. The rest too?” He looked past Kayla at the scattered faelings, though clearly there were far more present than their seven.
“All unique,” Kayla said. “All crazy-cool and downright gorgeous. Not one that could walk down the street safely. And I don’t mean just our seven.” That made Des smile, and she thought JC was amused. Callie glanced at her, raised her eyebrows, and sighed, with a brief roll of her eyes, but she smiled as well. Kayla, despite her initial understandable reactions to their respective changes, just wasn't fazed at all. Theo had been more right than even she had expected, in her absolute and unwavering faith in Kayla. “Sorry, you are...?” she said to the fourth member of the party, the other woman, who waited with no indication of impatience.
“This is Nora,” Riley said. “She's an old friend.”
“I'm also a quarter fae,” Nora said for herself. “And a practising family doctor. I'm here more or less on behalf of the fae, since this appears not to have been a single incident, so there are no accusations of wizards or mediums making unilateral decisions. I may also be able to offer some help in minimizing the consequences.”
“Being fae no' ba',” Des said. “Maybe even goo'. Being yoink' here an scare' an' all, tha' ba'. Very ba' people, no more hur', tha' goo'.”
“It is complicated,” Nora said sympathetically. “Fae blood being woken up is often confusing and requires time to learn, but most of the time, it's quite possible to find ways to accommodate that and continue with life. Usually some changes are necessary but they aren’t automatically for the worse. You have as many advantages as disadvantages, no matter how it might seem at some moments. It should not be, well, what you've been through.”
“For the time being,” Riley said, “what’s the immediate situation? Because this was very obviously much worse than just a one-off kidnapping.”
Callie’s smile vanished.