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"Did you want to see Lend?" I asked. He'd be relieved to see her, even if I wasn't.
"I am not here for my son. It is time to take your path. "
"You do mean the path back to the house, right? Because that's the only path I'm considering right now. " I bit my lip. Maybe I shouldn't mouth off to the elemental I kinda hoped was my future mother-in-law.
"Eyes like streams of melting snow," she said, and it was all I could do not to roll my melting snow eyes. "Cold with-"
"I know the prophecy," I said, holding up a hand to stop her. "I already did that. I let all those souls Vivian trapped go. Just like you told me to. "
Cresseda shook her head, droplets of water flying everywhere and turning to ice before they hit the ground with musical plinks. "That was not the end of your journey. You have more to do. "
I sighed, clenching my jaw. "What's that?"
Nona stepped forward. "You will send us all home. " She smiled gratefully at me, reaching out to take my hand in hers. I folded my arms tightly in front of my chest again and stepped back.
"So you guys want me to open a gate now, too? Is that why you're working with Reth? Did he make you do this?" I scanned the tree line but didn't see him anywhere. Didn't mean he wasn't around, though.
"It is because of the faeries we are all here. " Nona's voice was sad.
The three floating banshees drifted closer. They opened their mouths and spoke as one, their voices full of grief and the promise of death, mournful and tired and beautiful. They made me want to cry myself to sleep as they harmonized in chant.
"Greed and desire
Not peace, but fire
Coveting creation
Created damnation
Pulled alongside
A gate thrown too wide
Now our home calls
And darkness falls. "
I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on. "A for effort, ladies, but F for clarity. You do realize that your weird poem things never explain anything. "
Donna bounced forward. "I can explain! I can explain!"
"Be my guest. "
"The faeries didn't like where we were. They wanted more, so they opened a gate! Using all our energy! But it was too big and they couldn't control it, and we all got sucked through, straight here! It was scary, and cold. The faeries wanted to be able to create, because they couldn't before, but here they could. But being here is wrong, and it's killing all of us, slowly, changing us from what we should be. And pretty soon we won't be able to leave, ever! So now you can open up the gate and let everyone go back to where they should be!" She paused, then leaned forward conspiratorially and whispered, "But I like it here. It's more fun. "
"So, wait. You're all here because of the faeries?"
Kari and Donna nodded enthusiastically; everyone else nodded somberly.
"All the paranormals in the world, all the elementals, everything supernatural-you were never here to begin with?" That meant Lend wouldn't even exist if it weren't for the faeries. Then again, I wouldn't either. Dangit, maybe I did owe them, after all.
"No, child," Nona said. "We were victims of the faeries' pride and greed. "
"Victims? Sorry, but most of you don't seem very victimish to me. What about hags, and fossegrims, and redcaps, and all the other sharp-toothed nasties"-I looked pointedly at the dragon-"in your group? I don't feel very bad for anything that's spent all those centuries preying on innocent people. "
"It makes sense," Arianna said, her voice soft but thoughtful.
"What?"
