Tangled

Unshift 221

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221 Ava The Fee Ward (1)

221 Ava: The Fae Ward (III)

A giant of a man fills the doorway, his broad shoulders nearly brushing the frame on either side. He's easily twice the size of any man I've ever seen, with pointed ears that stretch back into his salt-and-pepper hair. Despite the gray streaks, his face is unwrinkled, but his eyes-swirling from blue to black and back again-hold a wisdom that speaks of countless years.

"You're late," he bellows, his voice reverberating through the courtyard like a clap of thunder.

His larger-than-life presence fills the courtyard, very different from the Fae guards who led us here.

Marcus and Vanessa move to step between us, their stances protective, but the strange man roars at them. "Stand back, you flea-ridden mutts! Let me see my pupil!"

There's an excitement in his tone that belies the aggressive volume of his words, leaving me more confused than frightened. Selene slinks forward, her ears pressed back against her skull as she sniffs at the air to scent the new arrival.

"Your pupil?" I ask, my voice sounding small and uncertain even to my own ears. "Are you the one Sister Miriam told me about?"

The man throws his head back and laughs, the sound booming like a cannon shot. "Who am I? I'm the one who's graciously allowed you entry into the Fae Ward, girl. The one who's going to teach you to control that wild magic of yours before it consumes you whole."

All the Fae to this point have been elegant, their movements

221 Ave: The Fae Ward (1)

natural and flowing. Even the intimidating guards move with a grace that seems to come from deep within.

This man, this teacher of mine, is like a bear, with wide movements and a lumbering gait. Even so, his excitement shines through, making his sinister-seeming phone calls feel innocuous now in the light of his energy.

"You may call me Magister Orion," he says, his voice dropping to a more conversational volume. "And you, Ava Grey, have a great deal to learn. It took you too long to get here."

"A more friendly phone call might have helped." Trying to keep my words firm and even, I hold out my hand in greeting. "Hello, Magister Orion."

His massive head tilts, his eyes glittering down at me in the

shade of blue I've ever seen. "Was I not friendly? I warned you about your friend, and you interrogated

you disguise your voice

his face. "I, a respected wizard and Magister, disguise myself? Why would I

the giant Fae standing before

Of course I called her. The daft child has no business

tiny, tinny voice says from behind him, and we all step back, startled by a new addition to

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Ava The

behind us, sounding amused. "We call her little Tinker,

her mechanical wings glinting in the light. She's even shorter than Layla, with vibrant pink hair and sparkling lilac eyes that dance with mischief. As she smiles

little Fae titters and spins around, revealing a remote control in her hand. With a flick of her wrist, the wings flap open and closed, a whirring sound

since I saw that fabulous movie about the tiny Fae and the flying children. Of course, you humans butchered

how to respond. "This place is far more amazing

a cheap imitation of the Fae Realm, but it helps us feel more at

but Magister Orion clears his throat, drawing our attention back to him. "Shall we

have

step beside me, her head barely reaching my hip. "I should explain about the, mm, what's the word? Oh, ves. The phone

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Aw The Fae Ward

conspiratorially. "Magister Orion did it, but we used

words, but Sister Miriam says it

curious look on her face is almost rabid, her

some confusion. It takes

yours is

shifters could understand him?"

just brilliant? The Fae Ward functions with quite a bit magitech-ah, magical technology-but it doesn't always work the way

out of thin air, and she scrawls something on it. The letters are similar to the runes I saw within

and I curse myself silently for not bringing it here. I'm sure they

1. it.