“No,” Laddin said firmly. “We’re all getting the people out, and then we’re looking around for the demon. No negotiations, no interactions with the fairies. We don’t have anything to bargain with, and they’re busy anyway.”
“They’re exploding firecrackers on top of people,” Bruce snapped. “People they’ve tied down with burning rope.”
“What?” Stratos snapped. “Where? All I see is smoke.”
Wiz squinted into the haze. “I can see it. Maybe. I don’t know.”
Laddin was beginning to understand. “These are fairies at work. Bruce sees them the best because he’s a werewolf because he ate fairy fruit.”
Wiz nodded. “Makes sense.”
“Whatever,” Bruce said as he moved forward.
Laddin rushed to keep pace with him while Stratos and Wiz followed. “No negotiating,” Laddin said firmly. “No promises, no engagement. Get in and get out.”
“And find that demon,” Wiz ordered.
“Yeah,” Bruce agreed. “In and out with the people. Find the demon. No problem.” It wasn’t going to be that easy, though. They all knew it, but that was the goal and maybe they’d get lucky. “And one more thing,” he muttered darkly. “Don’t worry. Be happy.”
It came out as a command, but it was enough to make the others smile. Not Laddin, though. He was too busy fighting the call of two moons. It had been bad enough on the drive over, when he felt everything stronger. Love, lust, hunger, desire—all of it was ramped up. But now with two moons in the sky, he was desperate to tear through everything for the sheer joy of moving, of eating, and most especially of hunting. His nose twitched, and damn if he didn’t smell something yummy. He didn’t know what it was. There were too many humans, too much fairy smoke, but it would be interesting to taste.
Bruce made it to the edge of the haze. Laddin did as well, putting his hand up to feel a kind of barrier tingling against his palm. It wasn’t strong enough to keep him out, but it was there.
“Right through here,” he said to the others. Then he stepped through to what should have been a parking lot before the third checkpoint. What he saw instead was an open field filled with fairy lights and—
Bang! Boom! Roar! Squeal! Noise!
He’d heard the booms before, but they were nothing compared to what happened the moment he stepped into the smoke. Sound overcame him—a rolling wave of deafening nonsense all going off at once. He dropped to his knees and covered his ears. Wiz, too, collapsed in on himself the moment he crossed the threshold. The only one who remained unaffected was Stratos. She stood there, her eyes going back and forth as she shook her head.
“I don’t see anything. It’s just gray to me. Wiz!”
Wiz held up his hand to keep her back. Laddin was recovering too, thanks to Bruce’s hand holding him strong. But it was Wiz who slowly stood up.
“We’re inside the barrier. I think it’s a fairy circle,” he shouted. “You can’t see anything?” he asked Stratos.
“No!”
He nodded as if that made sense. “You’re immune to fairies. They can’t hurt you, but then you can’t see them either.”
“Then let me go get the wounded.” She pointed at the nearest body. “There’s a man there.” She squinted. “It’s hard to see. Like I’m in a fog. But—”
“Go together!” Laddin said. He looked at Wiz. “She has to pull up the white ropes holding people down. They’ll burn you. If she’s immune to fairy magic, then she should do it.”
“I’ll guide her,” Wiz said.
“You go left. We’ll get the ones on the right,” Bruce said.
Wiz and Stratos nodded and headed for the man stretched out on the ground. Bruce and Laddin, however, didn’t get more than three steps before Erin Rodger-Dodger appeared in front of them.
“You have come, Windy Wolf! Take us to Fairyland now!”
“Fairyland! Fairyland! Fairyland!” Hundreds of dancing lights erupted into cheers. It was deafening. It was annoying. And it pissed off the wolf inside Laddin.
Meanwhile, Bruce straightened up to look at the pixie in confusion. “Isn’t this Fairyland?”
She fell backward, as if she’d been tackled. But her words came through clearly enough.
“This is Earth Fairyland. Not Fairy Fairyland.”
Oh hell. This was why they never negotiated with fairies—because their entire world made no sense at all. Bruce echoed the sentiment as he threw up his hands in disgust.
“I don’t know the difference,” he growled.
The entire field stilled. The chaotic fairy party went dead silent to stare at them. Which, as it turned out, was a good thing, because there was no interference as Wiz and Stratos carried two people out of the haze.
Erin Rodger-Dodger got to her feet. She dropped her hands to her knees and glared at them as if they were the enemy. Dozens of tiny glowing fairies hovered behind her. Oh shit, they were going to rush them.
“Wait!” Bruce called. “I want to help. Just explain. I thought you wanted to come here.”
“We made this place! Why would we want to come where we already are?”
Good point.
“Um… how? How did you make this place?”
She rolled her eyes. “From your thoughts.” When Bruce stared at her, she pointed at Laddin. “Think of something.”
Laddin didn’t have the wherewithal to think of anything specific. He was still battling the damned moon shining down on him, making him insane.
“He does not have enough power. Help him!” she ordered as she pointed at Bruce.
Bruce frowned. “How?”
“Give him your power!”
And finally Laddin understood. “You’re a battery, right? What if you can give your power—your energy—to me?”
Bruce blew out a breath but nodded. “Okay. But how?”
Might as well take a stab in the dark. “Hold hands?”
“And then imagine my current going into you,” Bruce finished, already grabbing hold of him. “Ready?”
“Yes.” Okay, that was a total lie. His wolf was straining and coiling inside him. His thoughts were on the moon above, not the fairies around them. He had to focus, but there wasn’t time as Bruce grabbed his hand.
It started out as a warm trickle of energy moving from
