I didn’t see Earthmover at first, but then the picture moved. Earthmover sat on a bench off to the side of the crowd. Seemingly alone,  he stared off into space, or if not space, at least into the air above the residential area of the compound.

Haley gave me a sidelong glance. “That’s same bench where we…” Her sentence trailed off.

I gave the spot another look. She was right. I remembered that bench as being out of the way, and this one sat among the trees, slightly separate from the main area visually, but close enough to the edge that you could look out over the houses and lawns below.

Amy’s mouth slowly widened. “Wait. You didn’t have sex on that bench, did you?” Continue reading Faerieland: Part 28 →

Sean turned his head back toward Samita, frowning. “I know where their room is.”

Vaughn raised an eyebrow, and cocked his head backwards to see Sean’s face. “Sounds like you’ve got a story.”

Sean shook his head. “Yeah, a stupid story. You remember how we tried to keep that alien spaceship in the air while Nick and the others took out its engine?”

Vaughn snorted. “It’s hard to forget.”

“Yeah,” Sean said, taking a breath. “Well, lots of people got video of it, and it looks like the two of us are keeping it up, you know? We know it was mostly Izzy, but she was inside, so no one saw her. Anyway, I’ve been getting piles of attention from that. Like people are calling me and offering big money for me to form a super team.” Continue reading Faerieland: Part 27 →

“Okay,” I said, still not sure if I meant it. “Let’s do it.”

It made sense–sort of. Adam wanted to keep us out of the way, so getting in the way was probably the wisest choice–for some value of “wise.” If Adam were doing something in our or the compound’s best interest, we were about to mess it up.

But if that were true, it was his fault for not bothering to explain anything.

On the whole though, more evidence pointed in the direction of a conspiracy than against. Weirdo mind control growths didn’t exactly scream, “Hey, we’re the good guys!”

Well, not unless they made people do it for them.

It made me wonder if that was Hunter’s innovation or if his mom had been keeping that skill hidden all these years.

“Fuck, yeah. Let’s take them down,” Sean added, giving me a reason to feel less secure about my decision. Continue reading Faerieland: Part 26 →

“I can lift a few tons.” Haley gave a small shrug.

Amy tilted her head to the side–which seemed more noticeable in a helmet somehow. I think it must have been the way the short spikes on the top made her head appear longer. “I’ve never seen you lift anything.”

Haley stepped up to the wall. “I’m good at sneaking around, and I don’t wear much armor, so they don’t put me at the front of a fight.”

Amy stepped closer to Haley. “I wouldn’t either, but I didn’t know you were that strong. Mind if I help anyway?”

Haley shook her head. “Nick, are you ready?” Continue reading Faerieland: Part 20 →

We walked back to the lab without saying anything more. In books I’ve seen people described as “walking together in companionable silence.” I don’t think that this was it.  This was more, “I’ve accepted your apology, but I still don’t know what to say to you,” silence.

When we got back, I walked straight to the Rocket suit, and did what I probably should have done before I walked to the storage room. I stepped on top of the ceramic block, and activated it from the stealth suit. Continue reading Faerieland: Part 19 →

With a gait that was graceful and strong, but not quite human, Haley crossed the distance to the doorway, stopping next to the doorframe.

Amy’s wards made it appear that no one was in the room, but Haley had let the wall block their vision of her. She, in turn, didn’t try to look out the doorway. She closed her eyes, turned her nose slightly upward and sniffed.

At moments like that, I wished that Daniel were around. He’d be able to tell me what she’d smelled without risking asking her aloud.

I stood up. It was a risk, but if someone did walk through the doorway I wanted to be in the Rocket suit. Continue reading Faerieland: Part 18 →