Chapter 6
Four women sat in a blue room surrounding a large round oak table. Dressed in everyday clothes as one would expect from a store owner, a physician, a High School principal and a Chemistry Teacher they all waited patiently for a girl half their age or more to pour tea then exit the room. A fifth woman entered took a seat then began sobbing into her hands.

“It’s all my fault Eshne, he’s dead because of me.” Diana cried.

“Hush Diana, you don’t know if Dan is dead or alive.” Abigail’s Aunt reached over and took Diana hand. “I’m sorry to say dear, but he knew the dangers in his line of work.”

“Yes maybe from bank robbers but not from one of the Unseen. I helped get him the job.” She put her head on the table. “How am going to face Liz?”

“Phyllis did a Seeing. Oddly enough she couldn’t find a thing.” Rachael Byrne, the principal of Skogshaven High, said sadly. A lack of a body was an all too common occurrence when it came to an unfortunate victim of the Unseen. “What was strange wasn’t that the Scrying didn’t work, but there was no trace at all.”

Francine Berg who taught Chemistry at the same High School looked around the table. She appeared anything but happy. “That black SUV reeked of magic. Dark too, there was a hint of something old an ancient evil. Eshne it terrified me. ”

“Charlie Kincade cornered me today. He brought Jacob in for his two-year-old checkup, dropped him off at the nurse’s station and burst into my office.” Doris Kreig one of the town’s pediatricians laughed. “Goddess, if I was twenty years younger.”

“Doris, please. I can’t say I am comfortable with asking the Kincade’s for help.” Eshne said trying to keep the discussion on topic.

“Sorry, Eshne.” Doris shrugged. “They like Dan, the two families are close. You know how the Kincade’s can be, start to threaten, or heaven forbid actually harm one of their own. He said that they went, and I will use their word ‘Hunting’ but came up empty. ”

Diana finally got herself under control. “I talked to Cindy. She said a huge black bird was stalking Dan before he disappeared. And now Morgan Rynders is missing as well.”

“Do you think the Rynders girl is involved with Dan’s disappearance?” Doris asked.

“No, I don’t think so. Abigail is beside herself with worry. Apparently, the two of them had some sort of argument. I know enough about my niece that she feels that she overreacted. Of course, she won’t tell me a thing.”

“I was wondering why Nikki was serving us tea instead of Abigail,” Rachael commented. “And she had such a bad time at the end of the school year. I’m sorry about that one Eshne.”

“It’s still not your fault Rachael. Does anyone else think what we are seeing is Court politics? The Sacred haven’t been this active since my grandmother’s time.”

“I’m afraid you’re right Eshne. The Summer and Winter Court are going at it right in the middle of town, and we are all caught up in it.” Francine said reaching over to hold Diana's hand.
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Consciousness wasn’t something I really desired. I felt safe in a warm and comfortable place and resented the fact that someone was trying to pull me away. Slowly the world began to focus. At least it wasn’t painful.

To my relief, the warm and comfortable feeling was still there. I remembered the fight, but it seemed so long ago. The thought of my wounds disturbed me somewhat. Opening my eyes, I expected to be in a hospital bed but instead found my head on the lap of a beautiful young girl.

“Good morning pumpkin, did you sleep well.”

Long chestnut hair framed a classically sculpted face. Her eyes were green like the forest but did not match her youth, they were ancient. The beautiful girl’s appearance seemed too perfect almost alien, but the look she gave me was full of warmth and concern. She helped me up to a sitting position.

“I feel that I know you.” The girl felt familiar like she was an old friend. She wore a green and brown dress, but I had this odd feeling that she would be just as comfortable without any clothes on. Soon other thoughts began to painfully intrude into my head, the skirmish, my wounds and my argument with Abigail.

“What happened, where am I?”

At first, I thought that I was sitting under ‘Father Oak’ it felt the same, but the land around me was different. Gone were the cars, the streets, and the buildings only the familiar feel of the forest remained.

“Relax Morgan. I will answer your questions if possible.” She took me by the hand. Surprisingly a look of childish mischief filled her face. I could feel a kinship with this girl but immediately knew she was trouble.

Her name was Sapphira, and after my battle with the ‘Host,’ she brought me here to heal. My wounds although not grievous needed time to mend properly. Realizing that I was in the realm of the Fae, I felt troubled. Stories of people returning decades after spending one night under a Fairy mound filled my head.

“How long have I been here?”

Sapphira smiled, “Very good Morgan you know that this is the Fae Realm although not as deep as you went when you met the Green Man. The answer to your question is difficult, time as you know works differently here. I will tell you that no more than four days have passed in the mortal world.”

Rebecca is so going to kill me. I stood up and looked around, the Fae Realm felt so real, so comforting more than the mortal realm as Sapphira called it. I placed my hand on ‘Father Oak’ and came to the sudden realization of the identity of Sapphira.

“Sapphira, are you perhaps a Dryad?”

She rose up clapping her hands in a very childish way. “Good for you Pumpkin, I am actually what you would call a Hamadryad.”

“Like in the Greek stories, so your tree is ‘Father Oak.’” I knew that Hamadryads were different from normal Dryads. Moreover, what is with that Pumpkin thing? I looked up at the large Oak tree and explained. “I always felt ‘Father Oak was a guardian of the park.“

“Correct, I am the Guardian or GateKeeper to this entrance into the Fae Realm. I try to keep mortals out of trouble and when possible keep others from doing harm.”

“Like the Host. Who and what are they and why were they trying to capture me? Was it because I interfered with that goat girl killing those guys last week?”

“Goat Girl? Ah yes that Baobhan Sith whose feeding you so rudely interrupted.” She giggled. Sapphira looked at me for a moment as if having an internal debate. “They are members of the Unseelie Court.”

The world spun around for a moment. “I see, of course, but why me, I can’t be that important. I mean I think I have this enchantment on me...”
“A glamour and an enchantment actually Pumpkin, pesky ones at that, I believe your mother was so concerned that you would be harmed she used too much of her strength. I have been trying to ease its removal since you first sat in front of my tree” Sapphira walked over to me and brushed my hair out of my eyes. “I’m sorry if I caused you problems, it was quite the mess.”

A stood there in silence. It was a lot to take in. The implications were enormous and a little hard to believe. Still why else would someone like me be able to wander the forest and see what I have seen? “But why would my real mom cast a spell on me?”

Sapphira held my hands for a moment. I could feel her warmth and compassion. “I heard rumors from inside the Seelie Court that a child would be sent into the mortal world as an Arbitrator. An Arbitrator for the Fae understands the mortal world but can act on behalf of the Fae Realm.”

“Does that make me some sort of changeling?” I actually did not like the thought that some poor innocent child taken from their parents now worked for the Fae.

“I don’t think so. I mean you don’t look like a troll child.” Sapphira said then laughed at the look of confusion on my face. She began to explain that there were several different types of changelings. “No, mortal children are not switched with an Arbitrator, they are of the blood. They are supposed to be guided by those who are familiar with both worlds.”

“So what happened to me? What do you mean of the blood?”

Sapphira shrugged, “I don’t know. Arbitrators are always from the royal line. I heard a princess suddenly disappeared.”

“Princess! What do you mean by a princess? I’m a boy.” I started to panic.

“Only until the glamour and the enchantment wears off which should be pretty soon, you being in the Fae Realm for this length of time has seen to that.”

I laughed, becoming a little giddy. “So, that would mean I am some sort of...what...fairy princess?”

Sapphira gave a little evil grin. She was having way too much fun at my expense. “Well the Aes Sá¬dhe don’t exactly find that term complementary, but yes that sounds about right.”

“Oh well, it now all makes perfect sense.” I believe that was the point where I believe I passed out.

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A red minivan drove down Main Street but turned before it could get near the public library. If anyone looked, they would find a haggard-looking Walter Marvin being driven by an ugly man wearing a red cap.

Behind the driver’s sat a girl in a green hoody, in her hands a large sketchpad. The more military minded individuals would immediately notice that the drawings and notations covered information about the town. As if, the three of them were doing a reconnaissance of the town.

“Stay away from the forest if you can.” Eághan pointed to one of the side streets they had been approaching. “Make a left here and take it to the hospital.”

Sile paid no attention to either of the men up front. She sat with her eyes closed singing quietly, a song that would damage a mortals hearing. As she sang, the pencil in her hands would suddenly dart forward make a mark on the pad then drop back down.

“Eá²ghan, it’s time again,” Sile commented, placed the pad on the seat next to her.

The van came to a stop, in a secluded parking lot of an old food warehouse. Eághan went around the back opened the hatch and uncovered the unconscious and tied up form of Deputy Sherriff Dan Summers. Grabbing his face, the Draugr began to bring their lips together. The Deputy suddenly came awake, but before he could scream, Eághan took a deep breath.

Dan struggled for a moment then stopped. His skin began to turn white.

“Eághan stop.” Sile came behind him. “If you want to kill this mortal fine, but if you don’t give him time to recuperate we will need to find another.”

The Draugr’s arm whipped around catching Sile by the throat and pulled her off her feet. “Child if I thought.” He dropped the Baobhan Sith to the ground then closed the trunk. “You are correct Sile let us continue. I might not need to do that again. You may dance with him if you wish when we get back to the house.”

An old army axiom states that no plan survives contact with the enemy or in this case a pizza delivery vehicle. Michael Moody dozed in his car, trying to stay awake. With the stereo volume up and the windows opened, Miki, as his friends called him, struggled to keep his eyes opened. Up all night playing the latest Call of Duty he was surprised to see the sunrise. Deciding that sleep would wait he drove into work to help make the dough. That was a mistake.

With the dinner rush finished Miki decided to stop for the night, he had just dropped off his last pizza when sleep finally caught up with him. He was out only a moment but enough to run a stop sign and slam into the side of a red Minivan. As luck would have it, the airbag kept him from harm but didn’t do a thing for his car. Delivering pizza was going to be a problem.

Climbing out of the car, he reached for his phone. Even with his lack of common sense, Miki was a responsible seventeen-year-old and immediately dialed 911 and reported the accident.

Rushing to the van, he hoped no one was hurt. To his surprise, the young pizza delivery driver found that the Minivan was empty.

When the police arrived minutes later, they found unconscious but still very much alive Deputy Sherriff Dan Summers.