Scene 3 - Hunting Party

There was no talking in the car. Jack had asked a couple more questions early on, but was now silent. He had learned they were driving towards a farmhouse in the country. They should be safe there because Fae shouldn’t be able to cross the threshold. That was something Edward had forgotten. Fae couldn’t cross the thresholds of homes without the owner’s permission. But some Fae could force their way across weaker thresholds. They were kind of vague on what was a weak threshold. Jack had also learned that there was no sure way of knowing a Fairy past burning it with iron. They could hide perfectly as a human. 

Jack sat in the back seat of the old Cadillac, staring out the window watching the countryside pass. They had left the city behind hours ago. The farm was hours more away. 

“They make deals,” Jack said suddenly, “Sophia kept saying you were breaking a deal.”

“Yes,” Edward said, “I made a deal with both of the Queens. They cannot break it but I can. The only thing is that if you break a deal with a Fae, you give them power over you. They can demand almost anything of you and must comply. You temporarily lose your freewill.”

“Why can’t they break the deal?”

“Because Fae can’t lie,” Edward said, “If they say they are going to do something, they have to mean it. If they make something official, by making a deal, they must keep it.”

“So when Sophia said she would make you pay….”

“She meant it,” Edward said, “But don’t worry. I’ve pissed off Fae before and lived to tell about it.”

“What was the deal?”

“‘That I would not, nor encourage anyone in any way, to interfere with a Changeling’s decision to join a Court until one of the Courts had asked and the Changeling had not accepted’,” Edward quoted, “Of course, I’m sure the Queens thought they were getting more than they did. I just have to wait until they offer and then swoop in.”

“Like you did with me.”

“Right.”

“Why?”

“Why what?” Edward asked.

“Why would you make that deal even if you could get around it?” 

“They had something I needed,” Edward said. 

Jack noticed that Sarah was shaking her head. She obviously had disagreed with Edward’s decision and still did. 

“We need to stop for gas,” Sarah announced, “There’s a station up ahead.”

“Good, we can get some food too. I’m hungry,” Edward said.

Once again the car was filled with nothing but the sound of the road rolling under the car and the sound of the engine. They pulled into the gas station a few minutes later. 

“Come on,” Edward said to Jack, getting out of the car, “There’s nothing like some crappy gas station food to fill a hungry stomach.”

Jack followed Edward into the store as Sarah started to gas up the car. It was the usual gas station living off the traffic of a passing highway. Shelves of candy, chips, and other junk food. Assorted pop, energy drinks, juices, and beer filling coolers along the walls. The cashier sitting behind the counter glanced up from his magazine at the sound of the bells clanging as the door opened. Edward headed straight for the bathroom leaving Jack to wander through the rows of junk food. 

Jack had already picked up a Mountain Dew from one of the coolers and was browsing for some food when three men walked in announced by the clanging of the bell. The man behind the counter glanced up and nodded in Jack’s direction and then towards the bathrooms, stood up, and left the gas station. The bell clanged once more as he walked out leaving Jack alone with the three men. The center of the three men signaled the man on the left towards the bathrooms with a flick of his hand. Jack started to slowly back away from the two remaining men as he frantically pulled the gun Edward had given him out of its holster. The apparent leader of the men smiled at the sight of the gun.

“Now, now, Jack, is that anyway to great those that will be your family? It is your destiny to join us,” the man said with a smile as the other man approached Jack from the side, flanking him. The man’s teeth were those of a predator - sharp, intermeshing white needles meant for ripping into flesh.

“What have you done with Sarah?” Jack asked, his eyes flicking towards the door.

“I apologize,” the man said, “Here I am accusing you of bad manners and I have not even introduced myself. I am Thornburn, of the Unseelie Court, I am to be your commander. It is an honor to meet you.” The man gave Jack a flourishing bow, causing his red cape to flap as if in a breeze.

“Stop,” Jack said pointing the gun at the other man, “I’ll shoot.”

“In my experience,” Thornburn said, “Those that warn that they’ll shoot, don’t.”

Neither men stopped their slow approach. 

“I said stop.”

A single gunshot rang out from outside. Sarah. There must be more of them outside.

“Now why don’t you come with us?” Thornburn said behind his predatory smile, ignoring the gunshot.

They were only a few yards away from Jack now. 

“I told you to stop,” Jack said before he shot the third man at point blank range, center mass. Jack quickly brought the gun around to Thornburn but was too slow. Thornburn moved with inhuman speed and struck Jack’s wrist with the force of a forge hammer causing him to drop the gun. By this time, the third man had fallen to the floor. Upon impact, he shattered into ashes. Thornburn punched Jack hard just below the rib cage. Jack dropped to the ground with a thump, gasping for air and clutching his wrist.

Thornburn kicked the gun skittering across the tile floor. A look of anger passed across his face as he looked down upon the pile of ashes which had been his accomplice. But the rage was only visible for an instant on his face. It was quickly replaced with a look of cool control, control needed only by extremely dangerous people. “Perhaps I misjudged you, Mr. Donnelly. But no matter. You will come with me now. It is your fate. There is no use fighting it.”

“No,” Jack said as he slowly stood up from the floor, favoring the wrist Thornburn had struck. 

“What?” Thornburn spat, turning on Jack.

“You can’t make me,” Jack said, “I refuse.”

Two more gunshots sounded from outside the gas station. This time Thornburn glanced towards the door. “We shall meet again, Jack Donnelly,” he said before he glanced into a mirror which was part of a display for sunglasses and disappeared. 

Sarah burst into the gas station moments later, gun out, searching for targets. 

“They’re gone,” Jack said, holding his ribs where Thornburn had struck him. It felt like a battering ram had hit him. A bruise was already beginning to show on his wrist. 

But Sarah turned the gun on Jack and asked, “Who are you?”

Jack held up his hands and said, “Whoa, Sarah. It’s me, Jack.”

Sarah glanced down to the pile of ashes on the white tile before lowering the gun. She did not holster it. “Where’s Edward?” 

“He was in the bathroom,” Jack said.

Sarah nodded and headed for the bathroom, leaving Jack alone in the gas station. Jack heard the bathroom door bang open. “He’s not here.”

“One of them went back there before they came at me,” Jack said.

Walking back into the main area, Sarah asked, “Just one?”

Jack nodded. “Three of them came in, the cashier told them where we were and left. One of them went back towards Edward, the other two towards me.”

“Did they give you a name?”

“Thornburn,” Jack said, “The main guy said he was Thornburn. He left just before you came in.”

Sarah grimaced.

“What?” 

“Thornburn’s an especially vicious Fae,” Sarah said, “He’s only two generations removed from royalty. He’s powerful. If they sent him after you, that means you will be too. He will come again.”

“Great,” Jack said, “So they’re sending the heavy hitters after me and I won’t come into my powers for another seven days.”

“We need to get moving. Edward will have to take care of himself,” Sarah said, “Gather what you wish to take with you.”

Sarah and Jack quickly grabbed some food from the shelves and left the gas station behind. Jack noticed three piles of black ash on the pavement outside before getting into the car. 

“Edward’s more powerful than you, right?” Jack asked as Sarah restarted the engine.

“Yes.”

“Then how did one Fae…?” Jack trailing off. 

“I don’t know,” Sarah said, pulling out of the gas station, “It shouldn’t be possible. Did you hear anything from the bathroom?”

“No, nothing.”

“I’ve seen him fight a son of Paris to a draw,” Sarah said, “He wouldn’t have gone down without a fight.”

Silence filled the car once more but with one less passenger than before. They had traveled several miles in silence before Jack asked, “Something’s been bugging me. Why didn’t we just…mirror to the farm and avoid all of this?”

“Because Edward ran out of power getting to you as quickly as he could,” Sarah explained, “And I don’t have much range. That’s why I drove the car.”

“Oh,” Jack said, “So there are limits.”

“There are always limits,” Sarah said, “Sometimes the limits are just…really far off.”

“Could that be why Edward-”

“No,” Sarah said, “mirror traveling is different from fighting. He wouldn’t have been too tired to fight because of that.”

“But he didn’t fight,” Jack said.

“It would appear so.”

“Why would he do that?”

Jack was answered only with silence.

Jack must have dozed off in the car because he woke to the sound of gravel beneath the tires of the car. The car was coming to a stop in front of a farmhouse. A man opened the front door of the house with a long shot gun held easily by his side. He wore black clothing which Jack could only describe as fatigues, the kind that military types wore. Short blond hair was buzzed short on top of his head. But his most notable feature was a long jagged scar which ran across his right cheek. It looked like someone had pushed a big fishing hook through his cheek and out again, hooking it. Then proceeded to rip the hook out of his cheek, ripping a great gash out of his cheek. It was apparent he had not gone to a hospital afterward because of the ragged stitching which was evident on the ugly scar. The scarred man nodded a grim greeting to Sarah but did not leave the doorway. 

“Attractive fellow,” Jack said.

“You’re awake, good,” Sarah said brusquely, “Get inside.”

Jack obeyed silently, but the scarred man didn’t stand aside to let him in. The man looked back at Sarah, Sarah said as she had said it a hundred times before, “I am not of the Courts of Fae.” The man turned from Sarah to look at Jack and still he did not step aside. He looked as if expecting something from Jack. Sarah prompted, “You must say it as well.”

Jack repeated, “Oh, I am not of the Courts of Fae.”

Only then did the silent man step aside and allow Jack and Sarah to enter the house. The front door opened into a small entryway. Jack stepped inside and was unsure of where to go next. There were two doors leading into the house out of the entryway. Sarah brushed by Jack and through one of the doors. Jack guessed he was supposed to follow her so he did. Sarah led him into the kitchen where there were two others sitting around a table, a man and a woman. The had been talking quietly, but stopped when Sarah and Jack entered the room. The man had short brown hair covered by a ratty baseball hat. He wore mud spattered coveralls over a grey T-shirt. His brown eyes flicked quickly from Sarah, to Jack, to the empty entryway behind them. 

“Where’s Edward?” the man asked.

“Not here,” Sarah said, “We had to stop for gas and the Unseelie attacked. We were separated and Edward….”

“And Edward what?” the woman prompted her emerald green eyes searching Sarah. Her raven black hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She wore similar black clothes as Sarah did but Jack thought she would be several inches taller than Sarah.

“Disappeared,” Sarah said, “They only sent one his way. There was no sign of a struggle. He was just gone.”

“Edward. Just gone,” the man said, “Without a fight?”

“I know, I’ve been trying to understand it, but I can’t think of a good explanation,” Sarah said.

“He’ll tell us what happened when he gets back,” the woman said confidently. Jack could see that the others did not share her confidence and perhaps the woman herself did not either.

“And they sent Thornburn,” Sarah said.

The man grunted and turned to Jack. “You must be more than you appear to be if Mab is sending Thornburn after you. She usually saves him for special projects.”

“I hope you and Scarface are more than you appear too because it seems that my life is in your hands,” Jack said evenly.

The man smiled, “Oh, I like him.”

“You must excuse my husband,” the woman said, “Tom has always been a little confrontational. My name is Emily. You must be Jack. A pleasure to meet you.” The woman smiled a brilliant smile and held out her hand to Jack.

“Nice to meet you too,” Jack said, “So you’re all….”

“Changelings?” Emily suggested, “No. Well, I’m not. But my husband Tom, Sarah, and Jonathan - or Scarface as you called him - are Changelings.”

“Just three?” Jack asked.

“Well and Edward of course,” Emily said.

“We were just sitting down to breakfast when you arrived,” Tom said, cutting off that line of conversation, “Would you two care to join us?”

Before Jack could respond, Scarface - or Jonathan as Emily had named him - walked into the kitchen and tossed a rifle to Tom and nodded towards the front of the house. Suddenly, everyone was in motion. Emily produced a handgun from somewhere and walked over to a window looking out towards the back. Sarah shoved Jack into one of the kitchen chairs and was commanded to stay there. Sarah, Jonathan, and Tom walked to the front of the house with guns at the ready.

The musician had decided it was best to approach the house from the front. The idea being it would seem less like an attack. Apparently that had not been true because before he was even close to the house there were three guns pointed at him. 

“Hold it right there!” shouted a man holding one of the aforementioned guns. He was standing in the doorway of the house. The other guns were aimed out two of the ground floor windows. 

“Take it easy,” the musician shouted, stopping and holding out his hands, palms out. “I mean you no harm.” 

“Yeah, right,” the man said from the doorway, “We’ll just have to disagree on what counts as harm. Right?”

“I’m not Fae if that’s what you’re worried about Changeling,” the musician said, “I’m human.”

“That doesn’t mean you don’t serve the Courts,” the man said. 

“Why don’t I come inside and I can explain it all to Jack Donnelly,” the musician suggested.

“How do you know that name?” one of the women called. The blond one. 

“I know a great many things which may surprise you,” the musician said, “Why don’t you let me come in and explain some of them?” The musician waited for a moment while the people inside the house talked among themselves. 

“Leave the case where you are and come up onto the porch,” the blond woman said. 

“It’s just a guitar,” the musician said.

“That’s great,” the woman called, “Leave the case where you are and come up onto the porch.”

The musician grumbled to himself but complied. He didn’t like leaving his guitar unattended, but he did it anyway. He walked up onto the porch with the guns tracking his every move. 

“Perfect,” the man standing in the doorway said, “If you make a move in the wrong direction you are going to have two bullets in your head before you can take a step. So I would recommend standing real still so there aren’t any misunderstandings. Is that understood?”

“Understood. There’s a small knife in my right pocket.”

The man lowered his gun and stepped out onto the porch and gave the musician a quick but thorough pat down. He quickly found the knife, flicked it open, closed it and pocketed it. The man pulled out the musician's wallet, glanced through it, and tossed it on the ground. Finding nothing else, the man stood up and asked, “Who are you? You’ve got two driver’s licenses and four credit cards and none of the names match.”

“You can call me Eric. Nice to meet you. What’s your name?” Eric offered his hand, but the man ignored it.

“How did you find us?” 

“I didn’t find you, in fact I have no idea who you are,” Eric said, “I’m looking for a Changeling named Jack Donnelly.”

“Fine, smart ass, why do you think this Jack Donnelly is here?”

Eric smiled and said, “I know he’s here. Let's say a little birdie told me so.”

“A little birdie,” the man repeated, “Does this little birdie have a name?”

“I like to call him Tweety Bird.”

“He’s not going to tell you anything, Tom,” the woman said from her window as she lowered her gun, “Why don’t you let him inside so we can talk properly?”

“Fine,” Tom said opening the door for Eric to go inside.

“Fantastic,” Eric said, “Can I go get my guitar before I come in? I don’t like to leave it alone.”

“Jonathan, go get his case,” the woman said to the other man.

Eric was ushered into the house and to the kitchen where a young man sat at the wooden kitchen table. Another woman stood by a window holding a small handgun. 

“Wow, you guys must belong to the NRA,” Eric said.

“Sit,” Tom said pointing to a chair at the table. 

Eric very purposefully sat down in a different chair and said to the young man, “You must be Jack.”

“Hi,” the young man said, “And you are?”

“My name is Eric. I’m guessing these people must be keeping you prisoner.”

“What? No,” Jack said, “They’re keeping me safe.”

“Right,” Eric said, “That’s why they all have guns and you don’t.”

“I had one….”

“But that was before you got here,” Eric said.

“Enough,” Tom said, “We’re not holding him prisoner. He can leave anytime he wants.”

“Great,” Eric said, “How about now?”

“I don’t want to leave,” Jack said.

“Fair enough,” Eric said, “They’ve given you a reason to trust them and I haven’t.”

“Yes,” Jack agreed.

“Now why don’t you tell us who you are and what you’re doing here?” Tom asked.

“Like I said before, my name is Eric, I’m human,” Eric said, “I’m here to make sure that neither Court gets their hands on Jack.”

“Why?” Sarah asked, “What’s in it to you?”

“I have my reasons,” Eric evaded, “As you have yours. Now, I’ve been trying to figure out who’s in charge here and I’ve got no clue. It’s obviously not Jack or my fellow human over there. I’m pretty sure it’s not mister silent with that beautiful scar. So that leaves the two of you. Which one is it?”

Sarah and Tom looked at each other, but neither responded.

“Oh, that’s how it is,” Eric said, “I see. The boss isn’t here. I’ve been talking to the wrong people. So where is he?”

“Not here,” Sarah answered a little too quickly.

“Missing. Interesting,” Eric said and sniffed the air like a dog scenting the breeze, “I smell Unseelie ashes on you two. Did they try to grab him on the way here then?”

“You what?” Jack asked.

“I smell Unseelie ashes on you,” Eric said, “They have a rather distinctive smell if you know what they smell like. But never mind that, how did they take the boss?”

“We don’t know,” Jack answered. Both Sarah and Tom shot him glances which screamed don’t say another word.

“You. Don’t. Know,” Eric stated carefully.

“We were separated when the Unseelies attacked,” Sarah explained, “One of them went after Edward, but they were both gone when the attack was over. There was no sign of a struggle.”

Tom was looking at Sarah as if he wanted her to stop talking, but Sarah was looking back as if to say the cat’s already out of the bag.

“Interesting,” Eric said, “I’m guessing this Edward isn’t someone who would be easily overpowered or else he wouldn’t be your leader.”

“No, I once saw him put up a fight against a son of Paris,” Sarah said, “One Fae should have been no problem.”

“A son of Paris?” Eric asked incredulous, “And he survived?” 

Sarah nodded.

“And he’s another Changeling as well?”

Sarah nodded again.

“Impressive,” Eric said thoughtfully.

BEGIN TO PLAY CARDS, character development, Jonathan especially

Soon after, they retired for the night, leaving Jonathan on guard. There had been talk of what to do with Eric, but in the end they decided to let him stay. Except they wouldn’t have let him go either. Perhaps ‘let’ is the wrong word. 

Emily and Tom, Sarah, and Jack slept in rooms upstairs, but Eric had to sleep on the couch downstairs. There was an empty room, Edward’s room, and he would be back soon. Or at least the other Changelings hoped that was the case.

Continue With Scene 4 - Cave