The Emerald Staff (6 page)

“I said, I’m glad Anna made that booking,”
Faedra bumbled. “The pub looks great; it’s full of character,
perfect for our party. I’ll go and get showered so I can change
into my costume. It’s perfect Faen, I love it.” She stepped over
and planted a kiss to his cheek before grabbing her bathrobe and
dashing out of the door towards the bathroom.

Faen did something he didn’t do very often,
as the door clicked shut behind her, he smiled, a very smug
smile.

An hour later Faedra had showered, put on her
makeup and styled her hair in what she hoped looked like a 1920’s
style from what she remembered seeing in the odd magazine over the
years. After putting on her stockings and flapper dress, she tucked
her hair under the cloche hat that fit her head like a glove.
Throwing the boa over her shoulders she slid her feet into the
Mary-Jane heels and the look was complete. She wandered over to her
full-length mirror and did a twirl.
Wow! I look like I’ve just
stepped off the cover of a vintage copy of Vogue.
She felt like
one of those silent movie film starlets.

She opened the door to let Faen in. She’d
never heard a dog gasp, wasn’t even quite sure if she’d imagined
it, but as soon as the door was closed behind him and he had
blurred into his fae form, she guessed that it hadn’t been her
imagination.

“You look… amazing,” he whispered, “the
1920’s suits you.”

“Thanks, I could say the same about you,
too.”

“Fae, are you ready? We really should be
getting a move on,” Henry called from the bottom of the stairs.

“Be down in a minute, Dad.”

Faen walked over to the window and eased
himself out. Faedra watched as he lowered himself with grace to the
ground and walked around to the front door.

The doorbell rang.

“Fae, Fredrick’s here,” her dad called up the
stairs again.

The young redhead took one last look in the
mirror and smiled. “Coming.”

Faedra greeted
Frederick
in a way that
she hoped didn’t look like she’d just seen him a minute ago up in
her room.

Her dad looked around, puzzled. “Where’s
Faen?”

“Up in my room,” Faedra dismissed. “You look
great, Dad,” she said, changing the subject. “Gomez suits you. I
guess Anna is going as Morticia?”

Henry blushed a little. “Thanks, darling,
and, yes, she is, we are meeting her there. Come on then, let’s get
going. We are picking Jocelyn up by the church, aren’t we?”

As they drove towards the city, lightning
crackled across the sky up ahead in the distance

“Looks like a storm is brewing; that’ll add a
nice touch to the festivities,” Henry remarked after a couple more
bolts of lightning spread their electrically charged fingers across
the night sky.

“I hope we make it inside before it hits. Do
you think it’s coming towards us?” Faedra commented. She was glad
her hair was securely fastened beneath her hat. She hadn’t yet got
enough of a handle on her power in an electrical storm. Her hair
had a tendency to try on the afro-look for size, and, as yet, she
hadn’t quite figured out how to control that aspect of it.

“It looks like it’s heading this way but we
should have enough time to make it there before the storm
does.”

Henry was right. The storm didn’t make it to
the city before they did, but only by a few minutes. A short while
after they wandered into the pub, the rain started and the thunder
rumbled overhead.

Faedra wondered if anyone else had turned up
yet and was not disappointed to be greeted by her uncle Leo and
Nicki, or should she say
Wednesday
and
Pugsley
.

“You guys look great,” Faedra said wrapping
her arms around them both in a hug. “Now all you need is
Lurch
and
Thing
to complete the family.”

“They’ll be here shortly,” Leo replied with a
smirk. “A couple of mates from work are doing the honors. And what
do we have here? Bonnie and Clyde, and a fairy.”

Faedra’s heart almost went to her mouth at
her uncle’s observation until she realized Jocelyn had purposely
turned off her glamour and had come as herself. It made Faedra
nervous, but it was Halloween, so who would question it? Hopefully,
no one.

“That’s one very convincing fairy costume,
Jocelyn. I love the wings.” Nicki said with admiration. Lifting her
hand to stroke one of Jocelyn’s wings. “Wow, they almost feel…
real.”

Jocelyn blushed a little at the compliment.
“Thank you, I think they are my best feature.”

Nicki gave her an odd look but shrugged it
off. Faedra cringed and linked arms with her young friend and
guided her towards the bar. “Let’s get you something to drink,
shall we?” She had a feeling it was going to be a long night, and
this might not be the only time that evening she would have to
deflect unusual comments from the young fae.

Within moments, the room started to fill with
all kinds of characters. A group who her dad introduced as his
co-workers were dressed as the full compliment from
Star
Wars
. Dracula made an appearance, as did Frankenstein’s monster
along with his bride. Faedra ran over to her two friends, Amy and
Zoë, who had come with their boyfriends and had all dressed as
pirates. Zoë’s boyfriend succeeded in doing a very good
impersonation of Johnny Depp from
Pirates of the Caribbean
.
Then
Lurch
and
Thing
turned up and joined forces with
the rest of the
Addams Family.
Although, there was one
person conspicuous by her absence but Henry assured Faedra she
would be there soon.

The DJ started playing music and several
people made their way to the dance floor. The rumble of thunder
could still be heard over the
Time Warp.
It sounded like the
storm was on top of them now and it added the perfect creepy feel
to the party that the fake Jack O’Lanterns could only dream of
creating.

A little while later, after Faen had swept
her around the dance floor a couple of times, Faedra was deep in
conversation with her group of friends. Amy and Zoë were telling
her what they’d been up to since she last saw them a few days ago.
Jocelyn was listening intently, just happy to be included in a
social gathering, and Faen stood at her side chatting away to her
friend’s partners.

“Henry, darling.” The smooth voice cut across
the room and carried above the music.

The velvet viciousness of it made Faedra’s
blood turn to ice. Even with her back to the owner, she knew
exactly to whom it belonged. She sucked in a sharp hiss, and all
the color drained from her face. Her eyes widened in sheer terror,
and she froze, as if in suspended animation. She had to hold down
her body’s instantaneous reaction to heave, as nausea came over her
in waves.

“Fae? You alright?” Amy asked after noticing
her friend’s sudden change in demeanor.

Faen and Jocelyn knew in an instant what the
matter was; the young Custodian was most certainly not all right.
Faedra’s glass slipped through her fingers. She had lost all
feeling in her hands. Faen caught the glass a split second before
it could hit the ground and shatter, potentially spraying them all
with Coke.

“Fae, what is it?” Zoë continued, concern on
her face.

Faedra was stock-still, her mind whirling.
What was
she
doing here? How did
she
know her father?
Oh, God, her father. At that thought, the shock and fear turned to
outright fury in a single heartbeat, the ice in her blood melted
and started to boil instead.
How dare she go anywhere near my
father.
The light bulb in the sconce beside her shattered and
sparks rained down on her friends.

Her friends flinched at the tiny explosion
and their eyes widened, a blue light reflected from them back at
her. Warm hands encompassed hers and curled her fingers closed. She
felt the warm breath in her ear from a whisper she could barely
comprehend.

“Not here, Faedra, not now.”

She looked up at the face of her Guardian,
searched his eyes and saw only compassion and concern there. He
still had his hands curled around hers, closing off the ability to
use the power she wanted to throw at full force across the
room.

Faen leaned in again, brushing his lips
against her ear so only she could hear. “There are too many people
who could get hurt.”

“Whoa, Faedra, where did you get those glowy
blue things? I want some.” Amy’s boyfriend blurted, snapping her
back to reality.

What was she thinking? She was standing in a
room filled to bursting with family and friends and she had almost
discharged her energy without even giving a second thought to the
carnage she could have caused. She turned to Amy’s boyfriend and
gave him a nervous smile.

“Uh, will you excuse us?” Faedra said,
grasping Faen by the arm and dragging him across the dance floor as
far away from the recently arrived party guest as possible.

“Well, it explains why she persuaded Dad to
hold the party here instead of at the house. She wouldn’t be able
to get past the wards.” The young redhead hissed as she dragged
Faen towards a darkened corner behind the DJ.

“What the hell is she doing here, Faen?” she
asked as she peeked over Faen’s shoulder to make sure her father
was still okay. He was chatting with his Halloween
family
,
his face a picture of happiness. He had his hand nestled in the
small of the woman’s back, looking like it was quite at home there,
and Faedra thought she was going to be sick again. Her stomach was
not coping well with the vision unfolding in front of her.

“I am sure we will find out soon enough,”
Faen replied, looking no less disgusted than she herself did. “I
doubt she will try anything here, there are too many people and it
would bring her too much unwanted attention.”

“I want her dead, Faen. If she threatens my
dad, I’ll kill her myself, scene or no scene.” The bulb above her
flickered. Faen looked at it then took his charge’s face in his
hands.

“Faedra, you have to control your power, you
could do a lot of damage if you let it get away from you.” His eyes
held a strong look of concern. Faedra could feel the tingling
sensation of her energy crackling beneath his fingers and she saw
the nervousness on his face. She knew he could hardly blame her.
The anger that roiled off her in waves was more than justified, but
in the same token she could tell he was trying to figure out how to
keep this potentially deadly situation under control. There were
just too many people here who could get hurt, and she wasn’t one
hundred percent sure that she had the power to control the anger
held towards the person who had just joined the party. She had to
try.

Faedra held his gaze, her face feeling the
comfort and warmth from his hands. She felt at home there. The
crackling sensation beneath Faen’s palms ebbed away, and he blew
out a sigh of relief.

“It’s okay, Faen. I think I’ve got a handle
on it now.” Faedra whispered, not taking her eyes from her
Guardian’s. She took a couple of deep, calming breaths and closed
her eyes for a moment, trying to visualize dispersing her coiled up
energy throughout her body. It was working, until she opened her
eyes again to see her father approaching them with his new
girlfriend in tow.

“Oh, God. Faen they’re coming over. I don’t
think I can do this.” Faedra’s voice was a hushed shriek of
desperation. She watched her father jauntily lead the woman across
the room. She, in stark contrast to him, moved with the sleekness
of a panther stalking its prey. Her long black hair shone to
perfection with a slash of silver running through it, and not a
strand out of place. Her flowing slinky black dress clung to every
perfectly formed curve on her body, she made a perfect
Morticia
. This woman exuded grace and power, couldn’t her
father see how dangerous she was?

“Breathe, Faedra, you have to control your
power. I am right here with you.” Her Guardian reached down and
took hold of her hand, entwining his fingers with hers, and gave
them a reassuring squeeze.

“But… she killed my mother, and made me watch
countless times. How can I possibly be civil to her?”

Her father and his guest reached them before
Faen could answer. All he could do now was provide moral support;
his thumb brushed across his charge’s hand in an attempt to soothe
her.

Her father was beaming with joy as he
embarked on the introduction he had been eager to make all week
long. The woman by his side, the woman he had a loving arm around,
gave Faedra a sardonic smile as she leaned into her father’s
embrace.

“Faedra, I would like you to meet Anna,”
Henry announced with obvious pride in his voice.

Faedra couldn’t do it. It was taking every
ounce of self-control she possessed from flooring the woman right
there with all the energy she contained, and all the energy she
could draw from the environment around her. She just could not be
nice to this woman.

“We’ve met.” Faedra replied. Trying to mask
her fury behind a blank expression.

Henry looked a little deflated for a moment
but soon recovered.

“Hello,
Anna,
” Faedra almost spat the
words at her dad’s girlfriend.

“You two know each other?” Henry asked,
trying very hard to brush off the animosity he could feel from his
daughter.

“Let us just say that we have the same
interest in a certain book,” Anna replied, her sardonic smile
turning to one of pure innocence when she noticed Henry looking
between her and his daughter.

“Oh, is it one I would know?” Henry
asked.

“I don’t think so, Dad.”

“Ah, one of those girlie vampire books?”

Faedra raised her eyebrows at her father in
surprise, what would he know about girlie vampire books? But her
thought was quickly distracted.