“One of many.”

- A memory of the Old Ones.

***Carinthia***

***Sely***

“Come on, Sely. You can't be mad at him forever. Give him at least a day. He needs a chance before we launch a stupid rescue mission.”

I turn around and point at Tina. “He isn't here, so I haven't even started to get mad! And don't think that you'll be forgiven so easily! You helped him to escape! He wouldn't have been able to subdue me on his own.”

Tina rolls her eyes. “Oh, come on. Think about the child. Don't you realize that you are being just a tad bit irresponsible? I am protecting you from yourself and your child from you. Aren't you happy that you get a chance at being a mother? Most Old Ones never have children and despite the circumstances I am glad that my sister has two.”

I scowl. “Of course I am happy! It's just that I don't want to lose Magnus. Being a single Mom would suck after I finally found a guy who I love! If I could, I would stay with him inside this reality marble for at least a hundred years. The rest of the world can die.”

“She said the L-word,” Kath snickers. She is sitting with Cecilia, Fiacre and Annia at the table. They are eating supper in the garden. I on the other hand can’t eat anything while I have to worry about Magnus. I am not the type of girl who leans back and waits until she gets the message that her husband died in battle.

Hatlix is also there, but he is using a tablet to train his pronunciation. It's frightening how fast he is learning. Though, maybe I shouldn't be surprised. Cecilia is helping him a lot.

From Magnus's description I got the idea that Hatlix is some kind of caveman, but that's definitely not the case. His brain's language centre was damaged, but that doesn't mean that he is an idiot. He is a smart guy who was simply unable to express himself with words. He understands the language perfectly well.

Hatlix just has to get his tongue under control and there will be no problem.

Suddenly, I feel powerful magic at work. There is a loud 'crack' from the sky and I feel powerful magical interferences. Turning around, I watch in horror as a blue rift opens above the mansion.

Tina and Cecilia are at my side and pull me away from the phenomenon. “Is that another attack by the fae?”

Fiacre shakes her head. “Someone with access to our reality marble created a rudimentary doorway between us and somewhere else. The only one who is outside is Magnus. It has to be him.”

A figure tumbles out of the rift and starts falling. Normally, I would expect him to cast a spell to mitigate the impact of the fall, but the rift's interferences make that impossible. He hits the mansion's roof and bounces off. Sliding down the roof, he falls another ten metres onto the veranda's roof. Sliding off like a dead piece of meat. He falls the last three metres to the ground and lands in front of us. The rift closes and the magical interference stops.

I hear the others call out in surprise and a window in the mansion's upper floor opens. Tom looks outside. “What was that? Another attack?”

I wave Tom off and rush to Magnus's side. He is alive. Magnus groans and rolls onto his back. In his hands is the orb which Winter stole. My first impulse is to kick him for frightening me, but I decide to give in to the second impulse. I bend down and strangle Magnus. “Just how could you walk off into danger and leave me behind!?”

“I think you should let go. You are choking him,” Tina says. Her voice sounds more concerned than Magnus deserves. “He is turning red.”

I let go and allow Magnus to breathe.

He takes a few deep breaths and cups my hands in his. Then he places a kiss on each of them. “I am so sorry, but I didn't see any other way. There was no time to enchant two suits with invisibility and I had a hard time sneaking around as it was,” He babbles on, giving me various reasons why he had to go alone.

I squint my eyes at him. “Seems like you used the time to think about excuses. And look at yourself! You are hurt!”

He grins. “Just the fall. I didn't manage to aim the improvised doorway very well. And hey, I didn't break a rib this time! I think that I am getting better at avoiding injuries!”

“Oh, jeah?” I grumble and punch him. Not hard. Just hard enough to put a little strain on the rib which he always breaks. “That's for chaining me up!”

He wheezes and nods. “I think I deserved that. Though I liked you in chains.”

I don't comment on that last one and help him back to his feet. Then he tells us about his adventure and the situation in Fairy. As soon as he mentions the video, Annia runs off and returns with a big laptop. I call for the rest of the clan, so that everyone in our community can see what's happening in Fairy.

We hook the laptop to the camera and Annia starts skipping through the recorded information. Magnus already prepared us for the scene with what he calls a 'farm', but it's so much worse. And according to him, there must be countless more who are still being used as breeding chambers. Those poor people. Bile rises up in my throat when I imagine myself in their place.

Magnus didn't find any Old Ones, but that doesn't mean that they aren't there. I remember my own determination when Annia and I fled from the fae. I am sure that an Old One would rather fight to the death than be caught by the fae. So it's unlikely that there are that many Old Ones among those women. Maybe the fae are even keeping them in a separate area, given how rarely they catch us alive.

Leila raises her voice when the scene shows how Magnus tries to pull an elemental out of a tree. It's clear that he is outraged when he defiles her body to get to the foetus.

“We have to show this to the elders! The fae have to be wiped out! I know that the elders are saying that anyone who gets caught by the fae doesn't deserve to live. That it's natural selection. But that's not natural selection any more. Do we really want to be selected by those who can escape the fae? That's turning us into prey! They should be the ones who have to hide!”

The others grumble their consent and I have to admit that she has a point. It's clear that the fae are evil little bastards. We knew that from the beginning. Our whole race decided to lock the fae into a jar and then we forgot about its contents. Magnus was the first one who decided to take the lid off the jar and take a look inside.

I nod. “I think so too. They won't be able to close their eyes when we show this at the gathering tomorrow.”

Most of the older people in our community look sickened. Especially Hatlix who is being comforted by Cecilia. I bend over to Magnus. “Does Hatlix know someone who was taken by the fae?”

Magnus shakes his head. “I don't know, but I never learned how my grandmother died. Hatlix never talked about it. Maybe she was taken?”

I grimace and pull Magnus away from the crowd. They are now watching Winter's final moments. “Are you sure that we can't do anything for those people? What about Old Ones? We can heal from a lot.”

Magnus shrugs and gestures at the screen. “I am no doctor, but I know that I won't heal from having my inner organs replaced by a tree. The spell fused their bodies with the plant. It would be a matter of dissolving the magic and removing them at the same time. Most of them were so deep inside the tree that I am not even sure if their brain is intact. It sucks to say this, but I see no chance unless an elder knows some sort of ultimate regrowth spell. I am sure that such a handy spell would be widely known.”

I nod and we watch the end of the recording. “I think you went a little overboard with punishing Winter. Yes, he deserved worse, but turning him into a lich who creates zombies?”

Magnus shrugs. “I wanted to try out the spell and Winter was available. It is very similar to an enchantment. I copied it and added my own touch. I am not good with living things.” A wicked grin appears on his face. “Unless it's you.”

He embraces me and we kiss. I melt into his arms and hug him. At last, we part and I rest my head under his chin. “Just don't go alone into enemy territory. I almost went insane with fear when you left me alone.”

Magnus hums and ends the embrace. “So I am forgiven?”

I study his dirty and dishevelled outfit. “Not until you've had a bath and pleasured me.” This time it's me who smiles wickedly. “Preferably with your face between my legs.”

He raises an eyebrow, then he sweeps me off my feet and carries me to our private quarters.

Two hours later, we head to the living room in order to watch the human news. There are also some things which I want to talk about with Tina and Cecilia. We walk with linked arms. Magnus looks quite satisfied.

He pulls me closer. “That was the best punishment I've ever had. And now I want to use the time to talk with my grandfather. There are some things I want to ask him about the orb. He made the damn thing after all.”

I look up at Magnus. “He made the orb? Hatlix made the orb?”

Magnus nods. “He taught me enchanting. And now he can finally explain some things which were never quite clear to me. And I want to know if there are any Bathomeus who might be held in Fairy.”

It's understandable that he wants to know, but I don't think that he should have too much hope. “I am sorry to say it, but after seeing the video I wonder if any prisoners of the fae would rather be dead than alive. Especially if freedom means that they are eternally fused to a tree.”

He chews on his inner lip, mulling over the thought. After a few moments he relents. “You are right. It was a stupid thought. Better to assume the worst, then we can't be disappointed.”

We reach the living room and I open the door. At least I try to open it. “That's strange. I think it's stuck.” I try harder, but the door doesn't budge.

“Let me try.” Magnus reaches for the door and tries to open it. “I think there is some kind of spell on the door.” He jounces the doorknob and suddenly there is a click. The door swings open.

“Ah. Ah. Ah. Harder!”

Cecilia is on all fours on the living room's carpet. She is naked and her ample breasts jiggle back and forth with each of Hatlix's thrusts who kneels behind her. I notice that his body recovered quite nicely from his ordeal. They are in a real moment of passion and not aware of us.

I step forward and close the door. “Do we agree that we saw nothing?”

Magnus runs his fingers over his chin as if he has a goatee. “I am conflicted. One part of me wants to jump in there and question Hatlix about what he is doing with someone who doesn't even want to join the clan. The other part wants to congratulate him on the catch. Your mother has some nice-”

I glare at him.

“...jiggling mountains? Not that yours aren't at least as good. You are definitely her daughter. I think yours even grew since... Yeah, I'll shut up. We saw nothing.” He looks away.

That's when Tina turns around the corridor's corner. “Ah! There you are! That's good. I was searching for you. There are some things we have to talk about with everyone. Is my sister in the living room?”

I step in front of the door, barring Tina's path. “Yes, she is. With Hatlix.”

“They are indisposed,” Magnus adds helpfully.

Tina raises her eyebrows, surprised at my strange behaviour. She studies our expressions until the gears inside her head put meaning to our words. “Oh!”

I nod to confirm her suspicions.

“Ohohoho!”

Magnus grunts. “Stop that! It's childish.”