I didn’t really know if Puck’s story left me less inclined to think that he was a amdman, immersed in his own private delusions, or more. To say it seemed outlandish was the understatement of the century, but he didn’t seem inclined to elaborate any further on his tale, falling silent and staring out at the stars ahead of us. If I wanted more answers, I was going to have to dig for them.
“So that human that Ivy ran away with…”
“Was your father, yes.”
“You never mentioned his name.”
There was a long silence. I got the distinct impression that this was a part of his story that he really didn’t want to discuss in any further detail, but he did answer me. “His name was Nahuel Chase.” For a moment, I thought that was the only answer I was going to get. “You really don’t look much like him, really. He was dark haired, dark eyed….I gathered he was of Native American descent. Your expressions, though, now those remind me of him. Like right now,” he rolled his eyes briefly. “The way you’re looking at me like I’ve gone off the deep end.”
That was probably true. I probably was looking at him like that. God knows I was thinking it. “If he was a human, how did he manage to find his way to your world? I thought you said the….whatever they’re called….fairies…”
“Fairies,” Puck corrected.
“That’s what I said.”
“No, you said fairies,” He was just teasing me now, I was sure, a thought that made my jaw clench. “It’s a subtle difference in—“
“I don’t care.” I snapped. “You said they closed up the portal behind them.”
“Yeah, well…” He hesitated. “Look, I really shouldn’t be telling you this. It’s sort of a big secret….as in my head could get chopped off if anybody were to find out I told you. But there’s still a portal from Faerie to Earth.”
“You don’t say.” I didn’t bother to try and erase the sarcasm from my tone. I had to wonder what kind of crazy explanation he was going to try and pass off on me to cover that little flaw in his story.
“Don’t get smart, kid. It looked like the portal closed behind us; for all I know, it just moved. It isn’t like there are tons of faeries around anymore for me to track down and ask, you know? But I think the faeries were a little reluctant to cut that last tie to Earth completely. You know what a wormhole is, don’t you?”
“Yeah…” Nobody could want to be a pilot without knowing what kind of dangers lurked in the unexplored reaches of space. “It’s like a portal between two points in the universe.”
“Or other universes,” Puck finished for me. “Although Faerie isn’t quite that far away. Anyway, there’s a wormhole directly over the
I stared at him for a good minute before I just turned my head to look out at the stars again. I wasn’t even going to tell him what I thought of that story. Not that I would have had the chance anyway, because my thoughts were almost immediately interrupted by the chirping of an incoming communication.
“What’s up, beautiful?”
Kiasis didn’t seem to return Puck’s easy familiarity. Then again, Puck seemed pretty familiar with just about everyone he met. “We are being followed,” she said shortly.
“What? My instruments aren’t showing anything at all. Are you sure?”
Even without being able to see her eyes, I could tell she was looking at him the way I did most of the time. “I would not have contacted you if I was in doubt.”
“Fine, fine…how do you know? Are my instruments off? Do I need to go all the way back to Voltaire colony and get a refund on all that work they just did?”
“Whoever is pursuing us, they are out of range of electronic detection. I can sense them. They are tracking us by means of magic.”
Puck frowned. “Well, aren’t you just the creepy little Jedi. So what do we do now…?”
One corner of her mouth turned down in a frown that I assumed was directed at the analogy. “I would recommend that the two of you board this ship, where it is safer, and leave yours in tow, in case there is….conflict.”
“But…” Puck looked faintly scandalized at that suggestion. “Leave my ship?”
“Your ship is not equipped to handle such conflict….as was proven earlier, mine is. I suppose you will have to choose between looking after your ship, and looking after your new charge.”
So she did realize I was there. I just apparently wasn’t worth speaking to.
Puck sighed. “Okay, fine, I guess. Moving into position now. I’ll signal you when we’re ready to board.” Kiasis didn’t respond verbally; she just nodded curtly and cut the transmission.
“Alright, princess,” Puck cautioned me, although I was too busy wincing at the new nickname to really listen too closely. “You’re going to feel a bit of a jerk.” He wasn’t kidding about that. A moment later the ship lurched so hard that I would have fallen right out of my seat without my safety harness on. “I swear, those two are like cockroaches. It’s hell getting rid of them.”
“Tengu and his brother…?”
“Who else?” He grumbled, tucking a bit of hair behind one pointed ear. “If they don’t quit dogging our tracks, we’re never going to get where we’re going.”
I frowned slightly. “Puck….where….are….we going?”
“Oh,” Puck grinned a bit as that stubborn lock of hair fell right back into his eyes. “I thought you wanted proof that my story was real.”
I frowned even further. I was really growing to hate his habit of never just answering a straight question. “Of course I do.”
“Well, princess, that’s why we’re going to take you to meet a gryphon.”
