A Demand For Payment

Carefully, so as not to wake her troublesome charge, Fiona quietly slipped from the room. She could’ve used her powers to instantly transport herself to the fairy ring in his yard, but she tried to avoid using her powers when she was this close to one of her charges. Just like all the Fey, her magic left a trace; a trail that her brother, the Betrayer could follow. A trail that would lead him straight to her charge, if he was looking.

Fiona sighed. It really was past time to summon Morganna.

It sounded a lot easier than it was. The other fairy was in Avalon, where only the four Guardians had access, unless you were traveling with one of the four. That’s how Morganna had gotten there; she traveled with their mother, the Lady Igraine through the fairy ring that the mortals knew as Stonehenge. Fiona couldn't just call her sister, because if given a choice, Morganna wouldn’t come, and without a Guardian taking her there, Fee couldn't just pop into Avalon.

She stepped into the center of the ring of flowers that she’d made when her charge moved into the house. It was a simple magical procedure that would make the flowers grow in a circle. Humans didn’t realize the magic contained there, the places they could go through those portals, if they only had the power. Humans planted what they called fairy rings all the time, but a true fairy ring was a doorway to the secret places that He had made, and only the Fey could make a real one.

Fiona closed her eyes and pictured Tír na nÓg, the garden, in her head, along with the exact spot in the garden she needed to be. Time passed more slowly in Tír na nÓg than in the human realm. Days there were like years here, so she needed to pop in and right back out. Fiona needed a pear from the Tree of Life to summon Morganna; a piece of fruit that would be unable to exist outside the magical safety of the fairy ring.

She opened her eyes, and looked up at the tree. Its beauty always took her breath away. She glanced to her left where a few feet away the Tree of Knowledge stood with its beautiful red apples tempting her to have just one. Those apples were another fruit that would be unable to exist outside the fairy ring. She thought about how those apples were the very reason that His chosen ones had been tossed from the garden, thus giving the Fey their chance at redemption. Quickly, her mind back on her task, she picked a pear and popped back to the human realm.

Jon wasn't sure what had woken him. He just knew that he was awake. He lay in bed for several long minutes, staring at the ceiling. "Fuck it," he said, and got up. He pulled on sweat pants and wandered downstairs to the kitchen. He thought he saw something out the window, and went outside for a closer look. His heart seized in his chest when he saw the woman standing in his flower bed. She was young and lovely, and he had the nagging feeling he had seen her before. He watched in amazement as she disappeared from view then re-appeared, and he shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs from it. Surely, he was still dreaming.

From inside the circle, she took a bite of the pear then raised her hands above her head and called out in a loud clear voice.

By binding power of a favor owed,
I call upon the ancient code.
To stand before me in this sacred place,
this ring demands you show thy face.
I summon thee with charm and voice.
Don’t you wish you had a choice?

Quickly, she tossed the pear outside the ring and watched as it burst into flames, then abruptly died out; even its ashes gone.

*****

The pearl ring on Morganna's right index finger started to glow. A soft, white light emanated from the cool stone. "Shit," Morganna said under her breath. Through the centuries, she had made many jaunts to the human realm, and much to her mother's dismay, she picked up some of the colorful language used there. She smiled weakly at her mother, at least she wasn't as bad as Fee.

Morganna excused herself from the game she was about to win, and went outside to sit on her favorite bench. "Don't turn amber...please, don't turn amber," she prayed, looking at her ring. "Shit," she said again when the ring appeared to fill with a honey-brown smoke.

"Dammit, Fee," Morganna said, even as she was crossing the garden to the circle of flowers she and her younger sister had planted when they were very young. She passed a hand over herself, from head to knee, and a traveling cloak appeared; fastened at her throat with a golden clasp in the shape of a Celtic cross.

Sighing, she stood in the center of the ring of flowers and raised her arms. "My sister calls me," she began, and the stars swam before her eyes. She cleared her throat, and chanted the spell that would take her to her sister's side.

My Sister calls me, hence I go
So I command the wind to blow
And carry me where, I don't know
So I may pay the debt I owe

A soft wind blew, causing Morganna's waist-length dark curls to swirl around her shoulders. A blink of an eye later, and she was standing in the yard of a gorgeous, huge house, standing in a flower bed.

"Dammit, Fee," Morganna said again. "I was just about to take Mother's queen."

"Nice to see you too, Morganna," Fiona answered, using her sister's full name, knowing full well it bugged her.

"You know I like being called 'Anna'," Morganna sighed. She gathered her sister in her arms for a hug. "It is good to see you again, my sister. What is the payment you have decided upon?"

"I need your help," Fiona said. "Your payment is to assist me with my solemn task. You see, I have two whom I must guard and protect, and I find that it is getting quite difficult to do so by myself."

Morganna rolled her eyes. Fiona had told her all about her two humans. She knew all about their popularity and the publicity surrounding them. Several earth years ago, some of the scraps that Fee had to get them out of had made her cringe.

"I'm not a guardian," Morganna reminded her sister. "Well, not here anyway."

"You know full well that you owe me, Anna. That means you have to make the payment I specify." A pout marred Fiona's otherwise beautiful face. "Remember, I did save you from being recycled."

"I remember all too well," Morganna answered. Many centuries ago, when Morganna was accused of inflicting King Arthur’s mortal wounds, Fiona wove a clever spell that allowed her sister to escape back to Merlin’s caves unseen. The spell also tampered with the memories of the Grand Council, though Morganna didn’t know that part.

"Fine, I'll help, but the debt is paid after this."

"Of course," Fiona said. She held out her hand palm down, her own pearl ring catching the moonlight. Morganna put her hand over Fee's, palm up, so their rings were touching. They recited together: "A debt once owed 'tween sisters is paid in full” and a brilliant green light passed between their rings.

"Holy shit," Jon said, the sight before him finally getting the better of him.

Fiona and Morganna whirled around to look at the source of the voice. Morganna's eyes narrowed. "I don't want him," she said, pointing at Jon. "I'll take the tall one. And now you owe me," she finished smugly.

Fiona just looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"You let your charge see your magic!" Morganna said.

Fiona spun to face Jon. "Damn it, you were supposed to be asleep!"

Morganna's tinkling laughter filled the garden. "Obviously he is not, little sister. I wonder what the Elders would think of this news."

"You wouldn't," Fiona cried, her eyes wide on her older sister.

"Of course not," Morganna assured her, raising one shoulder in a graceful shrug, "but, now I believe a favor is owed in exchange for my silence."

"What the fuck is going on here?" Jon demanded, stomping several steps toward them.

Fiona gave Morganna a curt nod to let her know she acknowledged her debt, then stepped over the circle of flowers and walked slowly and lithely toward her charge. Her green eyes locked on his blue ones, bringing him to a halt. When she reached his side, he stood straight and tall, his muscles tensed. She stepped up and waved her hand across his face slowly, her fingers splayed. In his ear, with a sexy, husky voice, she whispered, "Go back to sleep, Jon. You are only dreaming."