“Do any of you work here?”
Bhandi sniggered. “No way. Our job is about as far away as you can get from serving ice cream to kids.”
Joe shook his head as he glared after them. “I shouldn’t have to keep tellin’ you it ain’t ice cream.”
“Yeah, yeah.” The troll woman waved him off and stepped into the tiny room.
Yurik followed, and Tate waited for Ember and Cheyenne to enter before he stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind him. The lights flickered on to illuminate the stainless steel walls of the elevator to the magical marketplace under Richmond, Virginia.
Ember pressed her lips together and scanned the small, cramped space as they started to move down. “We just walked into an elevator.”
Bhandi snorted. “Good one.”
Tate shot her a frown and shook his head.
“What? She said, ‘We walked into an elevator.’ Oh.” The troll woman looked at Ember and grimaced. “That wasn’t a joke?”
“Uh, not really. The chair’s pretty new for me. Still adjusting to my word choice, I guess.” The fae’s smile was tight and a little uncomfortable.
Bhandi shook her head. “Man, I’m sorry. I thought that was on purpose.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Cheyenne leaned against the wall of the elevator and watched the whole thing play out, her eyebrows raised. Perfect ice-breaker right there.
“Half the shit that comes flying out of Bhandi’s mouth is just that.” Tate shrugged at Ember with a quick glance at the troll woman. “The other half is, like, only half-serious.”
“Yeah, okay.” Bhandi scowled at him. “I can be serious.”
“Not where we’re goin’.”
Yurik cleared his throat. “So. Ember. What made you decide to come with the halfling for your first time down here?”
The fae looked up at Cheyenne and chuckled. “She convinced me it would be worth my time, I guess.”
“You guess.” Tate nodded and slipped the thick black ring off his finger before shoving it into his pocket. “Have you seen Cheyenne fight somebody? ‘Cause that’s when she gets real convincing.”
“Right.” Cheyenne rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, I have.” Ember shrugged. “She didn’t have to fight me, though. It just took some stories about you guys, and I figured I’d come watch the show.”
“Oh!” Yurik put a hand to his mouth and stared at Bhandi. “Was that a burn from the new girl?”
Bhandi lifted her chin and glanced from Ember to Cheyenne and back again. “What stories?”
“All of them.”
The troll woman hung her head as Tate and Yurik burst out laughing. “A troll can’t make one mistake.”
“Yeah, right.” Yurik pulled off his ring, and his topknot faded into the yellow strip down the center of his head, his skin changing quickly from human-pale to washed-out-goblin-green in an instant. The bullring through his septum stayed where it was. “Like you’ve only ever made one mistake.”
“All right.” Bhandi glared at him. “Should we talk about all the shit you pulled at Rez 17 last year? ‘Cause I sure as shit could come up with some stories of my own.” The troll woman raised an eyebrow at Ember and slipped off her “mask,” sticking the black ring in her pocket. “I’ve got plenty of stories too. And I know you haven’t heard those.”
Tate sniffed at the air and leaned against the wall of the elevator as Bhandi’s auburn-haired illusion faded, revealing her purple skin and thick, braided scarlet hair that matched the color of her eyes. “Smells like fae in here.”
“Seriously?” Ember looked up at Cheyenne. “That’s three times in one day.”
The halfling smirked at her friend and slipped into her drow form to match everyone else’s magical appearance. “Guess I’m the only one who doesn’t pick up on it.”
“Wait, that’s you?” Tate grinned. “We get to show a real fucking fae around Peridosh for the first time. There’s a lot more to celebrate than I expected.”
Cheyenne nodded subtly at Ember, who didn’t miss a beat and stuck her hand into her jacket pocket to slip on the illusion-charm ring. With her other hand beside her thigh, Ember finished the trick by moving her fingers in a quick series of gestures. Cheyenne pressed her lips together.
She really thought that one through. No one’s gonna know she wasn’t wearing an illusion.
Ember’s light-brown hair deepened with a purple tint, the blonde highlights taking on the same violet color as her luminous, slightly larger eyes, and the fae glowed with internal pink light.
“No shit.” Bhandi pointed at Ember as she shot Yurik a surprised glance. “Did you know what she was?”
The muscular goblin shrugged.
“Man, I haven’t seen a fae in decades!” Clapping her hands, Bhandi nodded repeatedly. “This is just the kinda thing I needed today.”
Ember spread her arms. “Well, here I am.”
“Hell, yeah, here you are.” The troll woman folded her arms and briefly eyed the wheelchair. “How long are you stuck in that thing?”
“Dude.” Tate shot her another disgusted glance and shook his head. “Not the kinda question you ask someone you just met.”
“Hey, I’m just curious. I didn’t know fae rolled around with their own set of wheels.”
Yurik snorted. “Shoulda known your head would still be up your ass.”
“Hey, screw you!”
“No, it’s okay.” Ember lifted a hand, trying to stop the tense reactions before they got even worse. “It’s a lot better to be asked about it than have you pretend I’m on my feet like everyone else.”
“See?” Bhandi flipped Tate the bird. The troll man snorted and shook his head.
“Honestly, I have no idea how long I’m gonna be in this thing. It hasn’t even been a week.” Ember patted the armrests with another shrug. “But it’s proof that fae can get messed up just like anyone else.”
“Nah.” Yurik waved her off. “You’ll be outta that thing in no time. I heard fae are expert healers.”
Bhandi snorted. “Who told you that, huh? The same gremlin who tried to sell you a tonic for hair growth?”
“I have hair, man. Tate’s the bald one.”
“By choice.” Tate rubbed his bald, tattooed head, then gave it a sharp smack.
“Nice.” Bhandi reached out to do the same,
