245 - Ripples

Lexie managed to keep a straight face, even though internally she was totally shocked that he’d caught on to her so quickly and easily. 

“Whaaaat?” she said in a voice that sounded fake even to her own ears. “No.”

“You’re not adequate at lying,” the Ambassador pointed out. “Must be your Eldritch energy at work.”

Darn it, he was right.

Lexie had always been a good liar back in the day when she was mostly human, but being partially Eldritch destroyed her acting skills. She crossed her arms over her chest and said, “So? What now? Are you going to arrest me?”

Lexie sensed he was amused. “No.”

“Why not? You just caught me breaking the law.” She wasn't sure what the law said, but she assumed trying to infiltrate a Fae Embassy was probably at least a misdemeanor.

The Fae male held his hands behind his back and asked, “How is your father feeling?”

Lexie blinked at the unexpected pivot. “My Dad? What does he have to do with it?”

“I was simply curious as to his well-being.” 

Lexie narrowed her eyes. He was lying. Well, not lying per se, but he was being deceitful certainly. 

“Are you a Dark Fae or a Light Fae?” Lexie asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“No.” As far as Lexie knew, the only difference between Dark and Light Fae was that Light Fae tended to be more powerful and ‘purer’ while Dark Fae often had more mixed ancestry. As an Ambassador, he definitely had to have some Human in him, but that didn’t necessarily mean that his parents weren’t Light Fae. 

“Perhaps, I will answer when we know each other better,” the Ambassador said. “For now, let’s return to the dinner.”

“What’s behind this door?” Lexie asked, surreptitiously activating <Charades Champion>. “Is it a control room?”

The Ambassador's ear twittered. “I just caught you committing an interplanetary offense, and you still have the boldness to ask me that question.”

“Well, since you already caught me, I might as well." In for a penny, in for a pound.

“I don't know if I should be impressed by your bravery or amused by your stupidity. Using that card is a clever touch, though, but I will not answer any of your questions, so it is moot."

Lexie sighed. “Well, it was worth the short. How did you know what card I used? Magic or lucky guess?"

He didn't answer that question either. He just held out his hand, gesturing back down the hall.

Lexie reluctantly started walking. 

She was disconcerted when she heard him follow her and turned around to tell him, “It’s okay, you don’t have to follow me. Rest assured, I won't take any more detours.”

“Even if I believed you, I might as well go with you since we'll be having dinner together anyway.”

Lexie frowned. “Who invited you?”

“I do not need an invite. I’m the 'Luma' of this castle.”

“Really?” Luma was an official Fae title, and she’d heard Ryn use it before to describe the Old One in the dungeon.

A Luma essentially meant a Fae who had intimate knowledgeof a certain domain and had supreme dominion over it. They were also omniscient and omnipresent within that domain and could alter it at will.

Ryn had also gone on to explain a complex ritual needed to assign a Luma, but Lexie had blocked most of that out, since she wasn't interested in knowing at the time. All she recalled was that the bigger the domain, the more powerful the Fae had to be to become Luma.

“Are all the Earth ambassadors also Luma, or is it just you?" Lexie asked. "Do you guys take turns with it, or do you share the domain? Also, does that mean you can hear all our conversations? Does your jurisdiction extend outside the castle, to the whole island?"

His ear twitched again, this time in annoyance, Lexie thought. 

“You enjoy asking a lot of questions, don’t you?” he asked.

“I enjoy having them answered even more.”

The Ambassador shook his head but didn’t say anything else as they turned into the dining room to reunite with the group. 

Aiden was alarmed to find Lexie walking in with the Ambassador. He immediately shot up and walked over to take Lexie’s hand, dragging her behind his body. 

“What did you do to her?” he demanded of the creature who towered over him in every conceivable way. 

“Why are you accusing me?” The Ambassador raised an eyebrow, very human-like. “She’s the one who tortured me with ceaseless vexing questions. If you want to keep your daughter safe, Archmage, I suggest you do a little more introspection and teach her to stop sticking her nose into places where it doesn’t belong.”

I'll stick my nose anywhere I like, Lexie thought stubbornly.

Aiden sent Lexie a look, and she gave him a chagrined expression.

“I got lost,” she lied. 

The Ambassador didn’t correct her lie. Instead, he went to take a seat at the head of the long table, with both Ryn and her brother-cousin standing to bow for him.

The Ambassador gave Tate a cursory glance as his food was brought in, but didn’t say anything. Tate, however, was giving him a very suspicious look in return. 

As they all sat back down to continue the conversation and enjoy the second course, Lexie found herself bothered by her early conversation with the Ambassador.

Why didn’t he make a bigger deal about the fact that he’d caught her committing a crime? He could have used that opportunity to force her onto the Fae planet, or demand that she hand over the oathbreaker, but he’d done nothing of the sort.

In fact, he hadn’t done anything at all for weeks now, even leaving all the chips in Lexie's hand. Why? Was he waiting for something to happen? For Lexie to do something worse? Or for her to need him?

He met her gaze as he scooped his soup, and she recalled the question he’d asked about her father.

Why had he asked about Aiden? Was it because of Aiden's broken Tilling band? Was he going to demand that Vacek fit her dad with a new one that took away his alchemy powers, too?

Lexie wasn’t about to let that happen. 

“So,” Aiden said, his voice pulling Lexie back into the conversation. He was talking to Ryn. “I hear the three of you will be leaving soon.”

“We are leaving tomorrow," Ryn said. "But the Ambassador is staying."

“Your human Chief of Balance already gave me the concessions for our help with the dungeon,” he said. “Seeing as he ended up not needing much help, I think I will stay and offer him assistance in another way to make up for it.”

“What are these concessions?” Lexie asked. Vacek had mentioned the thing about concessions once or twice, but he never said what they were.

“In order to rescue you from the dungeon, he promised that he would grant us more territory and we began negotiations on another potential Island. He also gave up some of his personal mineral rights, agreed to accept a slight increase in refugees, and gave us access to another entry point onto Earth.”

Aiden paused in surprise. "That was a lot of concessions.” 

“We were pleased with the deal.”

Lexie was annoyed at how smug he was, that he’d essentially scammed their species out of what they needed.  

“Is that why you guys didn’t bother helping us with the dungeon problem before?” she asked. “So he would ask you, and you could get concessions out of it?”

“That is an uncharitable view of things. The Human Oath stresses the importance of human sovereignty. The Early humans wanted it that way and wanted to be in charge of handling their own issues. We have allowed them that freedom. They can indeed ask us for help, but is it wrong for us to ask for something in return?"

"So the help can't just be free, with no strings attached?"

“Many in the galaxy ask the Fae for help when they can no longer solve their issues. If we simply gave it out to everyone without asking for anything back, there would be nothing left of us.”

That wasn’t exactly true, because according to everything Lexie had heard, the Fae had more than enough wealth and magic on their planet that they could afford to part with some of it, but they monopolized it so that they could make the rest of the galaxy do their bidding.

Lexie looked to Ryn, who was silent and looking down while stirring her soup.

“The Therianthropes asked for your help, too,” she said. “But you didn’t give it to them until it was too late. You waited for the Eldritch to wipe out most of their populations first so that you could swoop in and get all kinds of concessions for your aid. Right?”

Lexie felt the air in the room drop.

It wasn’t just the mood. It was like the atmosphere became thicker all of a sudden, darker. Angrier. 

The Ambassador didn't stop stirring his soup. He faced Lexie with an unblinking gaze.

“And how did you find this all out?” he asked. 

Lexie gave him a sarcastic smile. “Because I like to ask questions.”

The ambassador didn’t respond to her accusation, but the dinner ended soon after that.

Ryn hugged Lexie before she left and told her to visit her if she was ever on the Fae planet. 

“To be honest, the likelihood of me going there is slim to none,” Lexie told her. “It’s far more likely that we’ll meet on Earth or on some other third space.”

“Are you going back to the dungeon?”

“Maybe. Soon, I have to go to the Other. The longer I put it off, the more Pvilycht is in danger.” 

Ryn nodded. “Well, I hope we meet again in our lifetime. But if we do not, I will never forget you, Lexie Sparrowfoot, and I wish you fruitfulness in all your endeavors.”

“Same here, Ryn-Byul-Fo,” Lexie said with a smile, as she bid the other woman goodbye. She nevertheless slid her a card that would make contacting each other easier.

“Wow,” Tate said when they were back on the boat. “The Fae sure can talk. And the ambassador guy is sketchy as fu-heck.”

He switched the last word after Aiden cut him a scolding look.

“Yeah." Lexie’s mind was occupied by the control room again. The converter had to be there. She just didn't know how to get into it without the Ambassador's knowledge. Did he ever leave the Island? How far did the jurisdiction spread? Was he in charge of the other islands, too?

Maybe when she went with Xena to the other island, she would try again. That is, if the Ambassador didn't warn them in the meantime.

“What were you doing with him, Lexie?” Aiden asked.

“Nothing. He caught me snooping around.”

"Snooping for what?”

"The access point to the Fae system here on Earth. I assumed that I could use that to figure out how a converter would work for my living card."

Aiden's face tensed. "Lexie, why don't you just do it my way? I can create a pocket dimension where you can make cards, as I did for the <Out of Sight>.***"

"Yes, but you needed Naem for that. At least you needed a piece of him to make that card, and it still wasn't all that powerful. I'm looking for ways to create powerful cards without sacrificing my own pathways."

"Why?"

"Because I need to." 

"It's dangerous to try to steal from the Fae. I don't want you doing that."

You don’t want me doing anything at all," Lexie grumbled.

"Exactly. So stop.”

Lexie made a sound of frustration, but she didn’t say anything simply looked back at the ripples and waves slapping against the boat.

Tate glanced between both of them, sensing they were entering dangerously emotional territory.

To cut the silence, he inquired, "Does anyone know what we were actually eating? Especially for that third meal? It looked gritty and wet, but tasted crunchier and drier."

"It's probably Lakh-Borryn," Aiden responded distractedly. "It's a popular Fae delicacy made of ground grain blended with a variety of insect parts, most popularly the heads of honey locusts and the hindquarters of corpse beetles."

"Locust brains and beetle butts?" Tate made a face.

"Essentially."

"Great." He pivoted. "I'm gonna wash the taste out with cheese puffs, so I don't throw myself off this boat."

***

Much later that night, Tate was having a terrible dream.

It started with visions of sentient beetles crying because he'd eaten their butts, and ended with him in Saint Juana’s prep.

Tate was asleep at his desk, but he kept hearing the whispers in his mind. He knew what it was.

Schizophrenia.

His mother had it. So did his grandfather.

The voices weren’t real. But they certainly sounded real. They told him they would drag him to hell and torture him for eternity. They told him his father would eventually beat him to death, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Death was coming for him, and he couldn't hide.

He'd tried to ignore the voices at first, but it was hard. Whenever he wasn't actively engaging his mind, they would bear down on him. Sometimes, he even saw things, brutal, grotesque things.

They would appear when he least expected them, scaring him out of his mind. They always said the same thing.

He was going to die.

He turned his face and opened his eyes, a random can of Coke blocking his vision. Beyond it, he saw a brown-haired girl walking away from him.

Lexie Evans.

She'd bought him the Coke. Why? What did she want from him?

Lexie was almost at her desk, but then suddenly she stopped and turned around.

There was a hole in her chest.

Blood dripped from it, out of her mouth.

A ghostly voice emerged and said, "You're going to die, Tate."

He bolted up, fear racing through him, his thoughts a chaotic jumble as his heart hammered against his sternum.

"I don't want to die," he mumbled to himself, terror and dread making him shake. "I don't want to die."

***. 

Lexie spent most of the night talking to Xena.

Apparently, she was still hung up on the Lexie's mother being an assassin thing. 

"Of course, your mom would be an assassin," she said. "Like it explains so much. Why you're so intense. Why you're a bloodthirsty pain in the butt. And why you almost assassinated Veronica at her own mother's dinner party."

"That's not what happened. Also, I feel like that story gets more violent every time you tell it."

"Eh, it was violent from the start. First time I realized, 'oh wow. She's kinda scary.' And that's when I knew we'd be friends."

Lexie chuckled and stared out at the moonlight.

"Did you ever find out about your birth mom, by the way?" Lexie just realized that she’d never asked Xena that. Xena had never volunteered it either.

“No," she said. "My dad’s apparently a mess who keeps getting in trouble, and he doesn’t even remember who she was."

“I’m sorry."

"It’s okay."

“Have you ever met the Ambassador Raz-Ro-Nan?” Lexie asked next.

“No, why?” 

“I had dinner with him today. He's a pompous ass.”

“Yeah. The Fae are like that by default,” she said. 

“I thought you liked them?”

“I dunno. I just think they’re the only ones capable of defeating the Eldritch–the bad ones–and it’s nice that they made Earth safe from them. But I don’t think I trust them all the way either, and holy crap, they can talk. They like to jabber on about nothing. They can’t lie, though, so at least you know they're being unbearable, honestly."

"Pure Eldritch can't lie either."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm apparently a terrible liar now, because of my Eldritchness. And for the pure ones, it's impossible. I don't know why."

"Huh... that's good, I guess." Xena didn't seem to know what to say next, but Lexie didn't mind. It was good enough that she was still there, and she was trying.

"I should hang up, right?" Lexie asked. "You shouldn't be up this late when you have school."

"Yeah, but why are you still up?"

“I’m trying to sleep, but I can’t.”

“Why can’t you?”

“It’s hard to explain.”

“Lots of things are hard to explain with you. I'm just surprised you called me. Mostly, you’ve been calling Dewie lately.”

“Yeah, I know." Lexie chewed her bottom lip. "I’m sorry about that, by the way. And I'm sorry for how I treated you before I left. I didn't mean to ignore you guys, things just...happened."

“Yeah, you were going through a lot," Xena said softly. "Things have been weird since our fight, huh?”

Lexie wanted to be honest. "Yes."

“Because of the Eldritch thing.”

"Probably."

"I'm trying my best to be cool with it, I swear."

"I know. And I appreciate it. But it still freaks you out. I can tell."

She sighs. "Yeah."

“We should see a couple's therapist."

“Like the ones Dewie’s parents go to?"

“Oh yeah. In fact, we should get their therapist's number. Anyone who can fix their issues can definitely deal with ours."

The girls laughed, and the weight eased, for just that moment.

Lexie let Xena get to sleep and tried to force herself to sleep too, if only to try to meet with Naem. But she only managed it for maybe a couple of hours before she heard a sound outside her door.

Aiden stood there with a grave expression.

“What is it?" Lexie sat up.

“We found Vulcan.”

AN: Hi all. So I forgot to add how the explanation for living cards tied into the creation of <Out of Sight, Out of Mind>, but I’ve gone back to edit it into Chapter 234. Marked by ***

Edit: Meant 236! Sorry!