The light continues to shine and I ignore the scrapes of the tree branches along my skin. One foot in front of the other until suddenly I am in a clearing. The sun is shining through a hole in the tree canopy and there’s a small circle of mushrooms. Faery Circle.
I hurry over, stepping carefully into the center of the circle and the entire forest grows silent. Warmth starts in my feet and rises through my body until I am blanketed in a softly glowing, golden light. Weird but ok.
“Do you seek assistance, Daughter of Summer?” a voice asks. I almost pee myself. I’m still getting used to the whole man-animal thing, so disembodied voices in the forest are a bit freaky.
“Um, yes. The Wolves have my friends and I think they mean to harm us all. Or force me to be their mate.” I stutter a bit, not used to speaking to strange forest voices.
The forest voice seems displeased with my answer.
“You were chosen by Fate, surely they will honor your position?” it asks.
“Um, well, considering the fact they refer to me only as ‘the bitch’ and are really mean? Probably not.”
I can sense something sinister underneath the glowing light and I wonder if I am talking to the wrong Fae. That would happen. Trust me to find a Faery Circle and have it be the wrong side.
The forest voice laughs and I wonder if I have accidentally spoken the quiet part out loud.
“There is no right or wrong side to Faery, Daughter of Summer. For one cannot exist without the other. We are two sides of the same coin. You have nothing to fear from me.”
Right. So definitely not Summer then. Summer would just admit it.
I am trapped in an Unseelie Faery Circle. Lovely. I peer down at the mushrooms to see if I can tell the difference but they look the same as any other mushrooms I’ve seen in the forest.
The howls of the wolves sound again, and they seem closer.
“I don’t want to go with them,” I whisper fervently, eyeing the treeline to see if I can spy any glowing eyes or other indicators of trouble.
“Perhaps it is your destiny?” the voice asks.
I’m getting pretty annoyed with the voice. It’s like being held prisoner by a sinister fortune cookie.
“I don’t mean to be rude,” I begin tightly, “but could you maybe be slightly more helpful? Those wolves aren’t going to wait for me. They will just yank me out of this circle and drag my ass back to their lair.”
Forest voice laughs again and it creeps me out.
“What do I call you, anyway?” I ask, trying to be brave.
There is blissful silence for a moment. “No human has ever asked my name, Daughter of Summer. You may call me... Bill.”
I choke. That is... unexpected.
“Ok... Bill. Call me Ronnie?” I call out, trying to keep a straight face. What kind of weird forest voice is named Bill? Does he have a friend named Bob? A cousin named Jane perhaps? This is all too weird.
The howling is very close now and anxiety fills my bones, pulling me away from the strange little fantasyland my brain goes to.
“If I were to make it so the wolves weren’t a problem for you anymore, what would that be worth to you, Ronnie?” Forest-voice-who-wants-to-be-called-Bill asks
I don’t know much about the Fae, but even I can tell that’s a loaded question if there ever was one. I try to remember the rules about favors and gifts and what-have-you. The howling distracts me.
“I would say it would be worth quite a lot, Bill,” I grit out, listening to the snarling of the wolves. They have to be close. They are going to see me any minute now.
“Hmm,” Bill seems thoughtful. “The price of your freedom is a favor to be redeemed someday in the future.”
I laugh. “Yeah, no, mystery-man. I don’t know much about the Fae, but even I know that’s a really, really, bad idea.”
Bill chuckles.
“But I am not of the Fae, Ronnie. I am of the Forest. Will you grant me your favor, or will I leave you to the wolves? The choice is yours.”
“What do you mean, you aren’t Fae?!” I look at the Faery Circle I am standing in and the golden light suddenly vanishes back into my ring. Huh. That’s weird.
“Wait, you mean to tell me this isn’t a Faery circle?!” I shake my finger out at the woods and the deep, rich, rumbling laugh sounds again.
“‘Tis just a circle of mushrooms, it’s true.” Bill’s voice echoes out and the birds all take flight.
“Is Bill even your real name? Who are you? What are you?” I ask, whirling around in place, looking for incriminating evidence.
“I see her! Bring that bitch home!” I hear the call of the wolves and I know I am out of time.
“Fine! Fine, Bill. You get your favor. But on the condition that, if I can’t, or don’t, want to do what you ask, we can try a second favor.”
“Time to go home, Ronnie. Your Pod awaits.”
Black flames swirl in a circle and a jagged portal opens directly to my right. I don’t want to go into it, but I don’t have any other choice. Everything smells weird, like sulfur, woodsmoke, and stale tobacco.
“Are you a demon, Bill?” I yell out, vanishing into the portal.
He just laughs.
Like a demon would.
When I look down again, I am standing in the middle of the Clubhouse yard.
A small pop of black smoke encircles my pinky and when it fades, I see that I have acquired yet another piece of jewelry. It’s a very thick band made of shiny black metal. In the very center is a single black diamond.
“Thanks, Bill. I was running out of mystical jewelry.” I sigh, looking around the empty yard for my guys. A deep chuckle sounds on the wind. I just wave my middle finger to the sky in exasperation.
The bikes are all gone.
