Between the Realms (5 page)

"We must send the demons back to where they've come from."

"Tell me what to do."
 
I breathed in and out, calming the nerves that were threatening to override my peace.
 
I had to trust Ben to help me, even if I didn't know if I could trust him otherwise.

"Imagine our friends in your mind," he said.
 
"Keep them grounded.
 
And picture the darkness in those from the Underworld."
 
Ben's voice was hypnotic, calming me, making me feel as if I were falling into a trance.
 
It continued, almost soothing now.
 
"Send them back to where they belong.
 
They are not of this realm.
 
They have no place here with you and me.
 
Only those who are with us in spirit must be allowed to remain in the Here and Now."

I focused, visualizing my friends and Ben anchored to the ground with tree roots, like Maggie had taught me.
 
Not just the fae here were my mind's eye, but also those around the compound - elves and succubi and incubi, ogres and dwarves, gray elves and silver elves, witches.
 
And I pictured a dark cloud or aura surrounding all those who would do us harm.
 
They were marked with a darkness that matched the blight on their souls.
 
The elements turned with my visions into a giant hand, grasping the ones cloaked in black and throwing them into the maelstrom.

I was so intent on getting the images just right, I didn't realize at first when Ben's hands began to slip from mine.
 
The note of panic in his voice stood in stark contrast to his earlier, calming whispers.

"Jayne!" he yelled sharply, his fingers only barely touching mine now.

I was startled out of my trip into la-la land.
 
"What?!" I yelled, half-panicked and half-pissed.
 
How am I supposed to concentrate when he keeps yelling at me?

"You're getting pulled away!
 
What are you doing?!"

I grabbed for Ben's hands, only managing to get a hold of his fingertips, his palms having slipped from my grasp.
 
I couldn't see him anymore, the space around me just a blur of blues and greens.
 
As our contact lessened, so did the heat and wind from his elements.
 
The roar of Earth and Water once again filled my ears, making it difficult to hear him.

"Take ... hand ... lose ...," he yelled.

I could only catch pieces of what he was saying and it wasn't making any sense.
 
I let go of his right hand and used my now free hand to grip his other wrist, making it possible for me to more firmly seat my other hand in his left.

"I can't hear you, Ben!
 
What are you saying?!"

"You ... wrong ... back!"

His hand jerked out of mine with no warning, sending me flying backwards to the ground.
 
My elements cushioned my fall a bit, the shock to my backside not nearly as sharp as it should have been, but I was still stunned, now completely without Ben or his elements.
 
I got up onto my knees, shaking my head to get it cleared.
 
I knew I had to focus or something seriously bad was going to happen.
 
I could feel it in my bones.

Focus, Jayne.
 
Calm yourself.
 
Pull the elements back in.
 
Fight these demons with swords and dragonfire, not elements.
 
It's too risky.

I called The Green back into me, forcing it to leave through my feet.
 
It didn't go easily and seemed to almost have a mind of its own, needing to stay and whirl around in the forest.
 
It was like a wild animal that had been let loose and didn't want to be bound again just yet.
 
I ignored its nature and sent it back, along with Water.
 
Luckily, the ley line I had tapped made the work much easier.
 
It was like a deep chasm in the earth, like the Grand Canyon, only hidden below layers of forest floor.
 
It
 
swallowed the elements back up thirstily, leaving me once again alone.
 
Just Jayne.

When the colors of my surroundings came back into focus and the leaves and branches fell to the ground, I was able to survey my success - or the damage.
 
I wasn't sure which to call it, since I was alone now and couldn't tell if I'd sent anyone but myself anywhere.
 
The weather had turned gray, and the forest looked like a disease had moved through it while I was under the influence of the elements.

"Ben?" I called out softly.
 
"Dardennes? ... Anton?
 
Are you guys here?"

From behind a tree walked a demon, his leather-like hide glistening with black goo I knew to be blood.
 
He was coming towards me, so I grabbed my weapon, holding it out in front of me to discourage any funny business.
 
But he walked right past where I was standing, paying me no mind, disappearing into the trees at my back without a roar or even a growl.
 
I turned to watch him, my blood pressure going down only slightly when the danger had passed.
 
Even though there was no bloody demon coming after me now, I still felt like something was really, really wrong here.

"I guess I goofed something up," I said out loud to the empty space around me.
 
I tapped into the Earth element again, pulling some of The Green to me as a security blanket of sorts.

The moment it reached my chest, I flinched, sending it quickly away again.
 
It slithered down into the Earth and left me thankfully alone.
 
My heart was racing now, as my brain tried to compute what was happening.
 
Something was wrong with the energy here.
 
The Green felt like it was polluted.

"Oh,
fuck
.
 
What have I done now?"

I heard some sounds and spun around, trying to figure out where they were coming from.
 
A figure clothed in black came out of the trees to my left.
 
I turned to meet him head-on, holding Blackie out as a threat.

"Well, this is a bit of a surprise," he said.

"Spike!" I gasped out, relieved more than I could say to see and hear him in this dark place.
 
"Holy shit, what the hell is going on?" I asked, running to him and throwing my arms around his neck, careful to keep the dragon fang from touching him.

"That is a question I would like to have answered as well."

My blood froze.
 
I quickly pulled away from him, putting several steps between us.
 
"You're not Spike.
 
You're the demon."

"I thought we had already gone over this and come to some conclusions," he said, sighing.

"But ... but ... I thought ..."
 
I shook my head in confusion.

He raised an eyebrow at me.
 
"You thought what?
 
That you'd use your elements to separate the wheat from the chaff?
 
Well, surprise, surprise, my darling," he said bitterly.
 
"I believe you have just come to the realization that you are part of the
chaff
and not the precious
wheat
.
 
Welcome to my world."

He turned and began walking away from me.

"But wait!" I yelled desperately after him.
 
"Where am I?"
 
I was afraid I knew the answer to my question, but I needed to hear the words from someone other than my own conscience.

He didn't even turn to look at me.
 
He just shouted over his shoulder, "You're in the Underworld.
 
The place where you asked the elements to send all the bad fae ... am I right?"

CHAPTER SEVEN

HIS WORDS HIT ME LIKE a ton of bricks, sinking my heart down into the farthest depths of my chest.
 
Fuck, fuck, and double fuck.
 
Triple fuck!
 
I'm a bad guy?!
 
I sent
myself
to the Underworld?!

I fell to the ground, my body suddenly like a limp noodle, going numb at the idea that I'd essentially shot myself with my own gun.
 
"I have to be the dumbest, most inept elemental ever to walk the face of the earth," I said to no one in particular.
 
I sat there for what felt like a long time, unmoving, ruminating on my stupidity and wondering what I was going to do and how I might possibly find a way back.
 
I didn't even know if I would be
allowed
back.
 
It was probably fair to say that the elements weren't going to be all that crazy about resurrecting me.
 
That type of fiddling with the way of things sounded kind of against nature to me.
 
The awfulness of it made me cry.
 
For a while, the only thing I could hear was my own weeping, the pitiful sound waves easily swallowed up by the trees around me.

I don't know how much later it happened, but a buzzing slowly came to my ears, making me both hopeful and afraid.
 
My crying took a back seat to curiosity, and I turned to face the noise, quickly brushing my tears away.

"Well, that was one hell of a road trip, let me tell you," said Tim.
 
He landed on my shoulder.
 
"Good thing I'm awesomely awesome in the aerodynamics department.
 
A lesser pixie would have been squashed like a pancake against a tree for sure."
 
He walked across the back of my neck to reach my other shoulder.
 
"Hey ... where'd everybody go anyway?
 
This place is like a graveyard it's so quiet."
 
He leaned on the side of my head with his hand.
 
I could hear him biting his nails.

I couldn't think of what to say.
 
I just kept my head still so I wouldn't throw him to the ground.
 
The poor guy didn't even know what he'd really been put through or where he actually was.
 
The least I could do was be gentle right now.

"Hey, Lellamental ... I'm talking to you."
 
He stood back up and stepped over to my ear, grabbing it in his little hands and leaning in towards the opening.
 
"Yo, microphone check!
 
Check one!
 
Check two!
 
Check-a, check-a, boom-boom.
 
Can you hear me in there?"

I reached up to wave him away, forgetting about my plan to be gentle.
 
"I hear you.
 
But I'm afraid to answer your question."
 
The tears were threatening again.
 
I cleared my throat to try and keep it from closing up on me.

"Why?
 
It's not difficult.
 
Here, I'll get you started:
 
Tim, everyone is in Spain.
 
I used Ben's Wind to blow them all out of the country."
 
He snickered.
 
"That would be hilaire, wouldn't it?
 
Anton having to catch a plane back to France because you screwed up again?"
 
He flew up and hovered in front of my face.
 
"Heh, heh!
 
Can you picture it?
 
Anton trying to get on a plane dressed like a fae?
 
They'd think he was a nutter."
 
He was smiling like a loon, but the longer he looked at my face, the more his expression faded into concern.

"Yeah, sooooo ... Jayne.
 
What's the scoop, poop?
 
I mean, what'd you do with everyone, seriously?"
 
He studied my face.
 
"They're not in Spain, are they?"

I shook my head, my eyes filling with tears threatening to spill over.
 
I'd taken one of my best friends, a husband and father, and brought him with me into hell.
 
I had to be the worst roommate of all time.

"Uh ... okaaaay ... so what ... are they, like, in Ireland?
 
Because you know, that's not so bad.
 
At least they speak English there.
 
And they dress funny too sometimes.
 
I've got a friend there named Mandy.
 
Cute witch, actually."

I shook my head again, my voice coming out strained and weak.
 
"They're in the Green Forest."

Tim turned in a full circle, stopping when he was facing me again.
 
"Ummm, Jayne ... I'm not sure if your eyesight is failing you again, but
newsflash
, there's no one here but us."
 
He crossed his arms sassily, waiting for me to explain myself.

I added to his list of occupants.
 
"And Spike.
 
And a demon.
 
At least, that's all I've seen so far," I added.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah.
 
I just saw them."

Tim put his hands on his hips.
 
"I thought you sent all those bad boys back to the Underworld."

"I did."

Tim frowned.

I continued, cringing at little in anticipation of his response.
 
"I sent all the people who belonged in the Underworld
to
the Underworld."

Tim cleared his throat and then craned his neck out in a couple different directions, as if his collar was suddenly too tight.
 
He lost about a foot of altitude before he spoke again.

"Uhhh, come again, please?
 
Because I'm afraid my son's ear canal polly balls are causing me some hearing problems.
 
I could have sworn you just said something about sending all those who belonged in the Underworld
to the Underworld!"
 
He finished with a screech, reaching up to tug the hair on both sides of his head.
 
When he pulled his hands away, his hair was sticking straight out.
 
I didn't have the heart to tell him he'd ruined his hairdo.