Chapter Fourteen

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Billy woke slowly, opening his eyes just the tiniest bit to see where he was. He didn't remember much after the fight in the garden, and he had no clue if he'd hallucinated stepping through a whirlpool into another world. Cracking his eyelids open a little more, he saw a ceiling above him. It was white with wooden beams, like some sort of Tudor building style, but slightly different. He tried to sense more of what was around him.

He didn't hear anything threatening. It was quiet in the room, and he could hear birdsong somewhere in the distance, though it wasn't any bird call he recognized. In fact, the birdsong was the most beautiful he'd ever heard. A haunting melody with lilting notes and unearthly tones.

Something rustled nearby, and he opened his eyes a little wider, looking around him as best he could without revealing that he was awake. Then, he saw Amalie, sitting by his side. She moved slightly, and the luscious scent of her reached his nostrils, making his inner lion rejoice. She looked tired, he thought, and she had a little frown between her eyebrows that made him want to smooth it away with a kiss.

She looked otherwise all right, and he figured if she was here, then they were probably safe. He opened his eyes further and lifted his hand to cover hers.

"Billy," she gasped, a smile hovering around her lips as her gaze met his. "How do you feel?"

He thought about that for a second. "Did you get the plate number of the truck that ran over me?"

She grinned. "No, but we sent the Tauror back where it came from, and Healer Jonas…" she looked up at a gaunt fellow wearing flowing green robes like some kind of fairy tale wizard who came into view next to her, "…removed its poison from your wounds."

"Greetings," the tall man said, looking at Billy's side where he'd been gouged with professional appraisal. "The poison has been lifted from the wounds, but the gouges persist. I fear they will take a while to heal." He clucked his tongue and shook his head.

"Oh, a shift will probably take care of the worst of it," Billy said offhandedly. "Thank you for fixing me up, sir." Billy tried to rise, but Amalie pushed him back down.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, a bit of fearful outrage in her tone.

"Well, if I could just get my feet under me and go furry, the shift will help heal the wounds now that the poison is no longer preventing it," he said, trying to reason with her.

"I believe you should let him do as he wishes," Jonas intoned, watching all with an interested air. "Shapeshifters have their own ways, which even I do not know. It could be that he is correct, and all he needs is to commune with his other half."

"I like the way you put that," Billy said, sending the old fellow a jaunty grin and a wink as he levered himself upward all in one go. It was less painful that way. Like ripping off a bandage. Still, he was panting a bit by the time he got to his feet. "Excuse me," he said, glad the tall bed hid his lower half as he removed his trousers. The healer and Amalie remained on the other side while Billy got naked in preparation for his shift.

His side hurt like the dickens, so he didn't waste time. The moment he was ready, he called the shift and let his lion have free reign. Oh, man! That felt good.

His lion form was larger than any natural lion in the mortal realm, so he could still see over the height of the bed when he was in his fur. The healer looked fascinated. Amalie just looked worried. Billy walked around the end of the bed so she could see he was all right.

"May I examine your side?" the healer asked before approaching. Smart man.

Billy nodded his head, feeling the ruff of his mane shift luxuriously against his neck. He loved the feel of it, which was part of the reason he kept his hair long in human form. He liked that connection with his lion side, even when he walked on two feet instead of four.

Amalie moved forward and dropped to her knees, burying her face in his mane as she stroked his head. He thought he felt tears against his fur. Had he really been in such bad shape? He hadn't thought so, but maybe he had. That thing he'd been fighting had been pretty disgusting. And though the wounds themselves wouldn't have been all that hard to heal from, the fact that they'd been poisoned with magic set him back a bit. Maybe it had been serious, after all.

The healer moved to Billy's side. "If I may, I'm going to touch your skin and examine the places where the wounds were to monitor the level of healing."

Billy didn't move as he felt the man's light touch on his flank. Healer's hands. The man definitely had the touch. Billy hadn't really doubted it, since Amalie had brought him to this guy, but it was good to have verification.

After a moment, the healer straightened and moved to stand in front of Billy. Amalie let him go and moved back as well. The healer's green robes were ornately embroidered, Billy noticed now, with a leaf and vine motif around the hem, the collar and the sleeves. It was pretty, Billy thought, yet somehow not too feminine. It fit the old man who looked more ethereal than earthly.

Fey. It suddenly struck Billy that the healer had to be fey. He cocked his ear to the birds he could still hear singing in the distance outside. Those were no earthly birds. He could make only one conclusion. He had stepped through a vortex, and right into the fey realm.

Billy padded around to the other side of the high bed again and shifted. He put on his pants as quickly as possible and took a good look around.

"We're in faerie, aren't we?" he asked Amalie.

She nodded. "I brought you to my childhood home because I knew we could get help here. The thing that attacked you is well known here for its magical poison, but I don't think any mortal healers know the way of it. From what I understand, it's not an easy thing to overcome."

"It isn't," Jonas replied, nodding sagely. "You did the right thing, milady, coming here."

"What was it? Some sort of demon?" Billy asked, rubbing his neck as he remembered the fight.

"A Tauror from the second demonic realm," Amalie replied quietly. "Something that should never be summoned, though some foolish mages try."

"Mrs. Entwistle did more than try," Billy reminded her.

Amalie frowned. "She did, which is even more troubling than the fact that she hid her allegiance to evil for so long, and lived among the coven. Demon summoning is a whole other level of wicked, and few mages in the mortal realm can manage it on their own. I had no idea Mrs. E had that much power. Gran needs to know as soon as we go back."

"I will get you a shirt to wear," Healer Jonas inserted himself back into the conversation in his gentle way. "But first, may I see how the healing has progressed now that you are human again?"

"Certainly," Billy agreed, allowing the man to take a closer look at his side where the flesh was still a little pink, but the deep gouges were all but gone.

"Fascinating," Jonas pronounced as he stood from his examination and met Billy's gaze. "I have never had the good fortune to see such a thing before. In fact, you are the first shapeshifter I have ever treated."

"Thank you for your help, sir," Billy said, offering his hand to the man.

Jonas looked a little perplexed for a moment, but then returned the gesture, and they shook hands. Jonas smiled. "You are very welcome, Master Kinkaid. I'm happy to have learned something new and to have helped someone who is clearly very important to Lady Amalie. She is precious to all who live here, and I must thank you on their behalf for risking your life to aid her."

"It was my honor, sir," Billy replied quietly. "And my calling."

"Ah, I see. You are a protector." Jonas moved off to a cupboard and retrieved a simple white shirt that slipped on over the head and had somewhat blousy sleeves. He handed it to Billy, who took it with a wry expression. "This should fit. I keep quite a bit of spare clothing here in warrior sizes because they are my most frequent patients. They are always doing harm to themselves in the name of training. Of course, that's better than if it was because they'd been in actual battle, which does happen from time to time as well." Jonas frowned a bit as he moved off.

Billy shrugged into the big shirt, feeling a bit like an extra in a pirate movie, or maybe he was dressing the part of a medieval peasant. Come to think of it, he could wear this to any Renaissance Faire in the country and fit right in, he thought whimsically.

"Thank you, once again, for everything," Billy said, feeling that mere thanks were a bit inadequate. The man had probably saved Billy's life.

Jonas held up one hand and bowed his head slightly. Billy took that to mean that the healer acknowledged Billy's gratitude but had heard enough of it. Amalie saved him from making things awkward by coming around and taking his arm.

"Let's go inside and get something to eat. I need to see my parents, and then, we need to figure out where and when to send Gavin and where we should return as well," she said, leading him out of the room and into a cobblestoned courtyard. In front of him, he saw a stone wall, and then, he looked up.

"Holy shit," he murmured. "Your folks live in a castle?"

Amalie chuckled and tugged his arm to get him moving again. "It's worse, actually. My father is Lord of this castle."

He almost stopped short again. "You've got to be kidding me, right?"

"I'm afraid not. I grew up here but went to live with Gran a few years ago. My mother is human, and I wanted to experience life in the mortal realm for a while. I found I really liked it, except for all of Gran's pushing me to join the coven and learn mortal witchcraft. It's really just not my thing. I tried to tell her, but she either doesn't or—more likely—doesn't want to understand." Amalie sighed as she ushered him through a door in the side of the castle and they entered a long passageway. She seemed to know exactly where she was going, so he just followed along, marveling at the impossible architecture. "I think, Gran thinks, that if I commit to the human ways of magic, I'll want to stay permanently in the mortal realm, but it doesn't really work like that. My power is what it is. I'm half-fey. I have to play to my strengths. And whether or not I stay in the mortal realm has little to do with the kind of magic I use or study."

Amalie hadn't meant to be quite so adamant about the subject, but it was still a bit of a sore point with her. She walked down the corridors she knew so well, heading for her mother's favorite spot in the castle.

They entered the room, which was light and airy, filled with the dappled sunlight of a magical bower. As usual, Amalie's mother sat in her comfy chair by the window. Mr. Humblebee was in her lap, enjoying being stroked and fussed over by Amalie's mother. She looked up, a smile lighting her face when she saw Amalie.

She hadn't seen her folks in a longer time than usual, which was part of her experiment in striking out on her own. She'd just wanted to experience life as a normal human for a little while. Of course, that was over now.

Amalie was glad she'd taken the chance while she still could, to live simply in the mortal world. Things were changing rapidly, and she figured she would have a role to play in the future battles with Elspeth's followers. After all, her father had taught her that Elspeth had always liked playing around with portal magic, using the power of her followers and her own evil machinations to fuel her forays into dark realms. As Portal Masters, Amalie and her father had a keen interest in stopping such evil deeds and sending whatever Elspeth and her followers might summon, back to where it belonged.

Amalie rushed over and bent to give her mother a hug. Mr. Humblebee bounded down from her mother's lap and sauntered off with his tail in the air. Amalie assumed he'd visit the kitchens next to get something to eat. Her cat always made the rounds of the castle whenever they visited.

She clung to her mother for a long time, but when Amalie finally moved back, she saw that her mother hadn't missed the fact that Amalie wasn't alone. Her mother's gaze went straight to Billy, and speculation filled those kind, shrewd eyes.

"And who's this?" her mother asked, her tone filled with intrigue.

"I'm sure Dad told you already," Amalie said, rolling her eyes at her mother's prevarication, but it was all in good fun. "Mom, this is Billy Kinkaid. Billy, this is my mother, who went by the name of Millie Talridge when she was in the mortal realm, but here she's known as Lady Melisandre Aclodonne."

"But you can call me Millie," her mother added, holding out her hand to Billy.

He came forward and shook hands with her mother, smiling that charming smile of his. "Pleasure to meet you, Millie. And if you don't mind the rhyme, please call me Billy." He winked as he grinned and that was it. Amalie could see her mother was completely charmed by the genuine laugh that erupted. Even Amalie had to smile.

"Thank you for helping my daughter, Billy," Lady Aclodonne said a moment later. "My husband told me the tale of your brave actions. I'm just sorry you were so injured in the line of your duties. Of course, if that's what it takes to get my daughter to visit…" She shot Amalie an exasperated look. "Then, I must thank you again for achieving that as well."

Billy looked pained, and not from his recent injuries. "To be honest, ma'am, I foolishly allowed myself to be distracted and if not for the timely intervention of another lion, things might not have turned out so well."

He looked so annoyed with himself, Amalie wanted to reach out to him, but not in front of her mother's keen gaze. She wanted to keep her relationship with Billy to herself for a little longer.

"If anything, you should all be chastising me for taking my eye off the ball," Billy finished, sounding really mad at himself.

"Did you learn from this experience?" Lady Aclodonne asked after a moment of silence in the sunny bower.

"Yes, ma'am. I believe I have," Billy replied at once.

"Then, we need never speak of it again," the lady decreed. "Still, you have my thanks, whether or not you think you deserve them. While I have every confidence in my daughter, it's always better to have company on the road of life."

Billy seemed unsure what to say to that, so he just nodded. Amalie was nonplussed as well.

"Take me, for example," her mother went on, apparently not finished with them yet. Amalie dreaded what might come next. "In the mortal realm, I was confined to a wheelchair after a car wreck when I was little. In fact, I spent most of my life in that chair, and felt pretty down on myself about it, despite my other gifts. But when I met Amalie's father, suddenly none of that mattered. And, in fact, in this realm, I can do a lot more for myself than I could back where I was born. With the support of the magic that is part of every molecule of this place, and Healer Janus's excellent work over a long period of time, I have hope that one day, I will be able to walk in the mortal realm, as well as here. Right now, my hope outraces my stamina, but I can walk for short periods, which is a true miracle to me."

Her mother rose with some difficulty, and Amalie went to take her by the arm to help support her. It really was a miracle that her mother was able to walk at all. It had taken years—all of Amalie's life and then some—to get to this point, and there was still a ways to go. Sometimes, magic couldn't fix everything in the blink of an eye. Sometimes, it took work and perseverance.

Amalie gave her mother the fey version of a walker. Beautiful and functional at the same time, of course. The walking frame had scrollwork and a tracery of vines and flowers on each of the four legs of the device. The wheels made no sound as her mother walked up to Billy and just stood there for a moment.

"You really are that tall," she marveled, looking up at him as he jerked in amused surprise. "I was wondering if you appeared like a giant because I was sitting, but I see you really are that huge."

"Uh… Thanks? I think," Billy replied, bemused.

"Now, if you don't mind making slow progress, we should go to the family room, and we can share a meal and discuss everything that's happened to this point." Lady Aclodonne looked at her daughter. "Your father said he'd be waiting for us with the latest reports from his scouts."