Return of the High Fae (Vegas Fae Story Book 1) (23 page)

"Indeed I did. However, I told you it was not our place
to interfere. I also mentioned a reckoning; and although I did not expect one
from you so soon, it appears that you have hastened events so a decision must
be made."

Oh, oh. Why did I have the feeling I was being manipulated
again? "So where are we going with this?" I asked.

"Only you can decide that, Robert," he said,
walking out of the bedroom. Then he stopped by the kitchen table, a pipe
appearing in his hand. Raising it to his lips, he blew a smoke ring and
continued. "Yes, it is possible to save her. But only the true High Fae of
the Dryad can ask that of me and you have not yet declared your title."

Following him into the kitchen, I walked over to the
refrigerator and grabbed a beer. Taking a drink, I watched as he blew smoke rings
for a moment. Siegfried and Diantha stood near the door to the bedroom, neither
one appearing to want to join in the conversation.

"So, to keep it simple, either I choose a Fae life or
she dies," I said, angrily. "So what do I have to do, go live in the
Fae world and play the good king, or what? I'm gonna be honest here, Bernd, I
just can't see myself hanging out at Fae night clubs and eating grapes. Not to
mention that I'm still pissed off that I had to learn this High Fae thing from
an outsider." I glanced over at Diantha. "No offense," I added.

His pipe came out of his mouth and he froze. "No, no,
you misunderstand," he said in a shocked tone. "For that I will
apologize, at least for not telling you the possibility after your success with
the scepter. While it is true that Maria and I believed it was possible that
you could be a High Fae, even I was not certain until now."

"As for the Lilin, I am not asking you to give up this
life. Robert, you must understand. I can guide you, but even I cannot violate
the terms of that accord. In this case, to take such action as necessary to
heal her wounds would break the terms set by Demeter. Only a High Fae and her
heir can properly release them from their bond."

I took another swig of my beer. Yep, it sure felt like I was
being manipulated. "Fine, so what happens if I say yes?"

"You have already declared yourself in battle. But if
you truly wish to release the Lilin from their oath, you must formally
acknowledge what you are and claim your birthright." His pipe disappeared
and he looked me right in the eyes. "Robert, I would never deceive
you."

Here it comes.

"Although you need not take the throne in your lands,
many will seek you out. You will be their Lord and you will be expected to aid
them if they are threatened."

"What about Cacilia? What is she going to do if I do
this?" I asked, already worrying about internal politics. "And what
about my kids?"

"Cacilia knows what she must do," he answered
simply. Whatever that meant.

Oh, what the hell. I'd already forged an alliance with
Meredith and the Nereid. Rushed or not, it seemed like I was already so far
into this that I wasn't getting out anytime soon.

"I suppose there's more," I said, cracking a
smile. There always was.

"Of course," he answered, taking my hands in his.
"And I will tell you as much as I am able, once you decide. Do not fear, I
will be by your side to guide you'" He let go of me and took a seat. Lucy
jumped up on the table next to him.

"But before you decide, there is one thing I must tell
you. Not everyone will be happy if you can free the Lilin from their oath. High
Fae and King you may have become, but the Fae and Lilin were foes for a very
long time before the Lilin were defeated. You will make enemies."

I thought about that for a minute, remembering Diantha had
said earlier. "Then I'd better work at making them my allies, since it
seems like I might need a few." I said as I stood up. "Let's do
this."

Bernd slid off the chair and Lucy jumped to the floor.

She looked up at me, her tail twitching. "So it
begins," I heard her say. Then she ran out into the backyard and was gone.

"So, what do I need to do?" I asked, as the Dwarf
walked toward Siegfried and Diantha.

"First we must wait for Lucinda to return with a
healer. Then we will travel to the Fae lands," he answered.

"The Fae lands? What about Delia? I'm not sure she can
last that long."

"Tell me in your own words what you plan to do."

What had he said? Oh yeah. "I acknowledge my, what'd
you call it? Heritage? Does that sound right? Then I claim my birthright as, oh
hell, King of the Faeries, or Dryads, whatever, right?" I answered,
feeling kind of silly.

"It will do." He turned back to Siegfried and
Diantha. "You have witnessed his declaration?" he asked them.

They both looked over at me and nodded.

"Speak out loud," Bernd ordered.

"I have witnessed it, Fader," Siegfried said,
looking back at the Dwarf.

"As have I," answered Diantha.

"Then I will do what I can for her. Come," he
said, motioning me into the bedroom.

He jumped on the bed and knelt beside her head. "Give
me your arm," he said.

"What?" I asked, not sure what he meant.

"If you really want to save her, she will need your
blood. Kneel down here," he pointed to a spot next to her head.
"Drape your arm over her neck. It will take me a moment to get her
ready."

"My blood?" I said, as I knelt and moved my arm
over her chest. "Is she really some kind of vampire? Siegfried said the
Lilin were the stuff behind the legend."

"Not exactly," he said as he opened her mouth and
began to manipulate her tongue. "But he is correct. The Vampire are only a
legend." He made it sound like vampeer. Then he pulled on something
underneath her tongue. As he massaged it, a needle like object, which reminded
me of a proboscis on an insect, started to emerge from the base.

"What is that?" I asked, as he grabbed my arm with
his other hand. We all watched as he inserted the object into my arm on the
inside of my elbow and pushed it closer to her mouth. "What the …?" I
said, flinching. I was expecting it to hurt, but there was no pain.

"Do not move," he said. "She is weak. Even
with your blood it will take a moment for her to ingest a sufficient
quantity."

"I thought you said she wasn't a vampire," I
replied, watching the bizarre transfusion.

Bernd shook his head. "She is not. But as Siegfried has
told you, even legends have to arise from somewhere. What did you think the
Lilin were?"

"I don't know," I replied. "I only know what
he told me."

He watched her face for a few minutes, then removed my arm
from her mouth. I watched as the proboscis slid back under her tongue.

"That should be sufficient," he said, jumping off
the bed.

I pulled back my arm and looked at it. There was very little
blood. There was the barest trace of what looked like a needle stick and even
that disappeared as I watched.

"I have done what I can. She must rest now. The Lilin
inside must heal itself so that she can recover. Diantha, stay with her for a
moment. If she starts to thrash, you must calm her."

Diantha nodded and sat down next to her.

"So what exactly are they, anyway? The Lilin, I
mean," I asked as I followed him back to the kitchen.

"I will tell you what you want to know, but first, let
me congratulate you for your actions tonight. I am very proud of you. Perhaps,
just perhaps, you have begun to mend some old wounds."

"I thought you said I was going to make enemies."

"That you will, but you will also make friends. Perhaps
even the alliances you spoke of."

I grabbed a few beers from the fridge. I handed one to
Siegfried, who had not said a word. I tossed one in to Diantha as well. Then we
sat down at the table.

"Ok, who am I forging alliances with?" I asked,
then took a deep drink.

"Why, between the High Fae and the others, of course.
Demon kind and the Lilin, not to mention the Elves. Much respect was lost for
the High Fae during the wars. And Bjartr is a powerful Elf in his own right,
although you may not have known it," he said, stroking his beard.
"Light Elves are not warriors. They are builders and lovers of all living
things. It must have been difficult for him to take up the sword. Nonetheless,
he may feel beholden to you after this. A very good start if I do say so
myself."

"What, did the High Fae piss everybody off?" I
asked, rather sarcastically.

"The more they fought one another the more the other
races were affected. Of course the Lilin are a different story, as I have
already explained."

"What's the deal about them being Demons? I'd like to
hear more about that," I added. "Even the Demon mentioned that they
were closer to his kind than ours."

"As would I," Siegfried commented, finally saying
something.

"As you wish," he answered. "There is still
some time before Lucinda returns." His pipe appeared again, as did a mug.
After taking a deep drink he began.

"Much has happened since this world was born. I will
tell you more of the tale of the Lilin. It is a long tale. I have told you some
of it, so I will be brief. When I am finished, you will understand more."

"First, you must know that the Earth we stand on is
only one part, or plane, of this world. Think of the various planes as layers.
One layer contains mortal kind, another, the Fae, and yet another is the home
of the Demons. Between these layers live others as well, such as the Light
Elves, and that place the High Fae once dwelt. All these layers intersect with
the plane we now stand on."

"Since the beginning of time many creatures have called
this plane home, but few can call this their natural home. One that can are the
Lilin. The mother of the Lilin was a mortal turned Demon named Lilith, who was
cursed by the true God for her disobedience. Her curse prevented her from
having living children. Instead, she spawned demon-like creatures, who could
not survive for long out of the womb. Lilith soon discovered, however, that by
blending her spawn with those of mortal men, that both could live, thus the
Lilin were able to survive."

"So you're saying she has some demon-like parasite in
her?" I asked, stopping him before he could continue.

"Not exactly a parasite. Think of it, instead, as a symbiont.
It grants its companion long life and great strength, as well as other powers.
The host, in return, locates and supplies the blood that it needs to
survive," he answered. "You must remember that the first generations
of Lilin were spawned directly by Lilith. Subsequent generations are the result
of a mating of the symbionts, with the help of a willing, or unwilling, human
host."

"A willing host? What would cause someone to freely
accept such a creature?" I asked, getting goose bumps at the thought.

"A variety of reasons; perhaps most obvious is to
escape death. Were you offered such a choice on your deathbed, are you sure you
know how you would answer? Do not be so quick to judge," he replied.
"The end result of the union is, of course, a powerful being. Yes, the
Lilin are predators, but they seldom kill their victims in these times; and as
you yourself have witnessed, their feeding results in little pain."

"That's true," I said as I rubbed the spot on my
arm.

I had read some of the Lilith mythology. How her children,
the Lilin, supposedly waylaid travelers and drank their blood. There was, of
course, a lot more to the legend. But knowing what I just heard, and felt, I
could understand how the vampire legends had come to be.

Who knew why Delia had chosen such a path? Had she done so
willingly, to escape death, or had she been forced to become such a creature?
In the end, it didn't really matter. I had been close to her and seen no evil
there. To be truthful, after thinking about it, it didn't really change how I
felt about her at all.

"To continue," Bernd said, snapping me back to the
conversation at hand. "The first generation was much more bloodthirsty
than their children. True Demons they still were, as well as true predators.
When they came into contact with the Fae, they found that Fae blood gave them a
power hereto unseen from mere mortal blood. Fae blood can be like a narcotic to
a Lilin. In some cases, it caused fits of madness.

"Needless to say, the High Fae did not take kindly to
the Lilin feeding on their kind. Bloody battles followed, with the High Fae
hunting the Lilin to the brink of extinction. Eventually, the children of the
original Lilin were able to sue for peace and an agreement was made."

"I remember you mentioning something about Elves, but
why didn't they just wipe them out?" I asked, wondering what could have
caused them to back down.

"Well," he answered. "In truth, the High Fae
were more like true Gods in those times. Remember, it was not until the Fae
themselves were targeted that they began their war of genocide."

"But why did they stop?" I asked as I sat down.

"Each subsequent generation of Lilin became less
savage. Apparently the blending with mortals had that effect. So they did what
most mortals would do in such a situation," he said, once again pausing as
he stroked his beard. "They prayed to their gods and Demeter answered,
although, in truth, it was only after the Elves intervened. Even then, the Fae
were not kind"

"You're kidding," I said, not expecting the power
of prayer to be the answer. Without thinking, I rubbed the spot on my arm that
Delia had fed from. "Ok, so you just gave her my Fae blood. What's that
going to do to her?"

"That remains to be seen," he answered, sliding
off the chair. He walked into the bedroom. Siegfried and I followed. "Any
change?" he asked, looking up at Diantha.

"Her color is returning," she said, getting up
from the bed. "She still shows no other signs, my Lord."

Ok, fine. So everyone's a Lord these days, I thought, as
Bernd jumped on the bed and put his hands over her chest.

"Ahh, it stirs. I believe your blood is healing her.
She must rest," he said, getting off the bed.

"How long is it going to take?" I asked, bending
over her. They were right, there was color returning to her cheeks. I put my
hand on her head. It was cool. It had been so hot before.

"Who can say?" he answered. "As I told you,
Demon blades are deadly. In her condition, even Fae blood is not always a cure.
But as I have said, the Lilin appears to be healing her, and your blood is much
stronger than regular Fae. As soon as her Lilin recovers she will heal
quickly." Bernd turned to Diantha. "You need not watch her anymore.
The most dangerous time is when she first feeds. By now, she has accepted his
blood."

She nodded, then picked up the beer I had tossed her earlier
and handed it to me. "Thank you, my Lord," she said, leaning over and
kissing my cheek. Then she put her lips to my ear. "But I really do prefer
wine."

"I'll get you some," I replied. I couldn't help but
laugh. She was good. I couldn't tell if there had been a hint of jealousy in
her voice or just displeasure at having to watch over Delia as we talked.
Either way, she'd been careful not to do, or say, anything rash. She also, very
subtly, had made her point.

I went back to the kitchen and pulled a bottle of wine from
the rack. I opened it and poured her a glass. Bernd was still with Delia, but
she and Siegfried were at the table. Siegfried, I knew, was in awe of Bernd. I
wasn't sure if Diantha was afraid of him, or if he just made her uncomfortable.
I had just given Diantha the glass, when I heard a commotion in the backyard.
Apparently Lucy was back and she wasn't alone.