Everything blurred around her as she danced: the world seeming to fade away to nothing but this meadow and the dancers, their laughter and words blending in with the music. The lights of the city beyond the car window blended in as well, melting into the moonlight and the dancing figures.
Kayla came back to herself with a start. The dancers faded away, to be replaced with the smooth leather seats and dark interior of a BMW convertible. The dark-haired woman with the pointed ears—Shari?—was in the driver's seat next to her, watching Kayla with a small smile.
"Almost there," Shari said. "Are you awake now?"
"Where?" Kayla tried to say, but her voice wasn't working right. She felt like she was still dancing, whirling and spinning in the patterns of the dance, with everything moving around her.
"I thought so," the woman said. "That's good . . . you'll need to be awake. Nataniel wants to talk with you."
Nataniel? Kayla wanted to ask, but decided against it. None of this made any sense. One minute she'd been asleep at the house, now she was halfway across the city in a car with the weirdest lady she'd ever seen, with no memory of how she'd gotten there.
I have to get out of here!
She casually moved her hand to the door handle, ready to shove the door open and jump. The car wasn't going too fast; she could roll out and probably be okay, nothing worse than bruises. Kayla tensed to shove the door, then felt her hand lift from the handle, drifting back to her lap of its own accord. She looked over at the odd woman in shock.
Shari smiled.
Kayla clenched her hands into fists, trying to keep from shaking. It was all too weird, too much for her to understand. She thought about hitting the woman or grabbing for the hand brake to stop the car . . . her hands froze in place, she couldn't feel them anymore, couldn't even wiggle her fingers. "Just another few minutes, girl," Shari said without looking at her. "Sit there quietly, we'll be there soon."<T>
How can I sit here quietly when you're screwing with my brain? Kayla wanted to scream at her, but her voice wasn't working any better than her hands. She sat quietly in the passenger seat of the car, because she didn't have any choice in the matter.
She could still turn her head, though, so she looked out the window. They were driving down a residential street near the ocean; she could see the wide expanse of white beach beyond the houses.
Shari brought the car to a stop in front of a two-story house. "It's just a few stairs up to the door. You can walk, can't you?"
For an answer, Kayla felt her legs straighten and her hand push open the car door. She followed Shari up the steps and through the front door of the house, into the darkened hallway and back to an open patio door. Someone was outside, standing in the shadows on the deck, looking out at the bright moon on the blackness of the ocean.
"I've brought her, my lord," Shari said, and Kayla was surprised to hear the respectful tone in her voice.
The man turned. He was tall, with pointed ears and short pale blond hair, wearing a long robe that looked Japanese . . . and he has blue eyes, those same catlike blue eyes that she has. And those slitted eyes are looking at me like a piece of dead meat, Kayla thought. Even Shari looks friendlier than this guy. Kayla wished she could run, just get anywhere away from these two, run away as fast as she could. . . .
With a start, she felt her legs unlock, and fell backwards into a deck chair with a thump.
"Sit down, girl," Shari said unnecessarily.
"So, this is the new human mage," the man said quietly, walking closer. "She doesn't look like much, Shari."
"There's no way to know what she can do," Shari said.
Kayla felt like a bug under a microscope, with the two strange people staring down at her. "Who are you, and what are you?" she asked, as calmly as she could. "And why can't other people see what you are?"
The man nodded. "Good questions. I suppose I'll answer them." He pulled another deck chair closer and relaxed into it. "I am Nate Shea. Sharanya, you've met. To answer your second question: we are elven, the faerie folk." He smiled as Kayla sat up straighter, staring at him. "Yes, all the old legends are true. The elf-folk who live under the hill, dancing in the faerie ring in the moonlight . . . all quite true. When times became difficult, many centuries ago, we left the Old Country and came to America."
His voice tightened. "I was a lord of our Court, a Prince. But many years ago, I was banished from our court because of my . . . ambitions. I came to the human world to begin again, with my faithful Sharanya and other followers at my side." Kayla saw Shari's mouth twist at those last words, looking down at her hands. Not so faithful as all of that, Kayla thought. This guy's not so smart. Can't he see that Shari hates him?