Samita rifled through her pouch, moving things with both hands, and finally coming up with an ACE bandage roll. She turned toward Haley and Haley stared at the roll.
“Are you going to have to set the bone, or will the bandage set it magically?”
Unrolling the bandage, Samita said, “The bandage will do it.”
Haley’s eyes darted down toward where the bone stuck out. “Good. I hope that means it won’t hurt.” Continue reading Faerieland: Part 24
Thanks to my helmet dimming the flash, I had time to notice something I’d missed while fighting Calvin–that Cindy had charged Vaughn and Sean.
“Had charged” being the operative term. Cindy shuddered as the lightning hit, and fell. Unfortunately, she got back up again, randomly reminding me of the song “Tubthumping.”
The song doesn’t have any lyrics about screaming and tearing people limb from limb, but that’s what appeared to be on her mind as she leapt toward Vaughn. Continue reading Faerieland: Part 23
The green eye blinked, and looked around the room. I held my breath, wondering if they’d see through the spell. It wasn’t a rational thought. Weird fleshy bits with eyes weren’t a faerie thing that I’d ever heard of.
I supposed though that that kind of thing would have fit comfortably with some of the weirder comics I’d seen—the ones that veered into horror.
And what was going on with them anyway? Where did they come from? One of the science labs? I thought harder. For all I knew one of the first years could separate into little bits of him or herself.
That was gross at best. Continue reading Faerieland: Part 22
I turned around, leaning to the right to peer around the shattered wall. Three figures were walking down the hall. They weren’t close by any means, but they were close enough. The suit pegged them as being three hundred feet away.
Samita had already turned to face the hall, looking out of the opening we’d made. She turned again—this time back toward us. “Everyone come close to me.”
Holding her staff in front of herself, she said a few words and the room around me seemed different—almost transparent. I say almost because I couldn’t see through anything, but I felt like I could. Everything seemed to shimmer—our clothes, hair, the lights (of course)—even the all black server rack, and the rock walls.
Amy’s armor shimmered, but that was given. Continue reading Faerieland: Part 21
“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
Samita pursed her lips. “In myths, mortals typically tricked the fae into leaving them alone. They also lost a lot.”
“Great.” I considered logging in to my computer for a moment before remembering that the compound was locked down. That meant no internet access. We’d have to rely on anything in Samita or Amy’s personal libraries, and whatever we remembered about the fae.
In my case that wasn’t much. Continue reading Faerieland: Part 17
My eyes lingered on the wound. “Anyone feel up to treating this? If it’s me it’s just going to be basic first aid, but Amy? Samita?”
Samita fumbled for her pouch. “I made a few rolls of bandages. They don’t heal wounds, but you don’t bleed while you’re wrapped up.”
Vaughn raised an eyebrow. “How’s that better than normal bandages?”
Samita looked up from sticking her arm inside the pouch up to the elbow and feeling around. “I didn’t explain it very well. It’s much better. While you’re wrapped up it’s as if you weren’t even hurt, and you can wear it long enough without changing the wrap that you heal.”
Nodding, Vaughn said, “You’re right. That’s lots better.” Continue reading Faerieland: Part 16
“If we’re going to fight people,” I said, “and especially if we’re going fight people we know, I want to go back to my lab and get my regular armor before we do anything else.”
Samita nodded. “That seems wise. With Amy’s wards up, it might even be a safe haven from the fae.”
“Let’s run with that,” Amy said. “But let’s not stick around too much longer. I don’t want to fight these guys twice if I don’t have to.”
I glanced around the room. Neither the goblins nor the troll appeared to be particularly active. The troll still snored. The goblins mostly lay on the floor. One of them whimpered. Continue reading Faerieland: Part 15