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He straightens. “Is that a threat? What are you going to do? Hit me?”
Although humans are typically fragile beings, I get the feeling Bobby Wildwood could hold his own in a fight. I sense no fear from him as he prepares to take me on, his fists balled at his sides and his shoulders tense.
“I have no desire to come to blows with you, old man.” I sway back and raise my hands up in a placating way. “I’m here to tell you the facts, and if you don’t listen, you’re a damn fool.”
“What facts? That you’re just as insane as my grandfather was? Always ranting and raving about folklore and bargains.”
I smirk. “So he spoke of me, did he?”
Hesitating, Bobby’s eyes get distant as he recalls a memory. “He spoke of a man. Not a man—a monster. All the time, actually. When I was young, he used to talk about someone coming to take me. Gave me nightmares for years. His delusions were frightening, but it never happened, which proved him wrong. He got really bad in his last years. Sometimes he’d break down and cry about the bad faerie man. Never mentioned anyone by name, though.”
“That’s because I never told him my name, and at that time, I thought it would be another who would complete the transaction. I never expected to live long enough to collect the child, but here I am. Still existing.”
“We all thought he was senile,” Bobby goes on like he didn’t hear me. “But the truth of it is, he’d been sticking by that story his entire life. Grandpa Waylon tried not to have a family because of it. He actively avoided having children—caused my grandma all kinds of grief because he wouldn’t agree to having kids. But back then, there were only so many ways to prevent pregnancy. My father was an accident.”
“It was meant to be,” I say. “You can’t deny fate. Waylon was telling the truth about all of it, and now it’s time to pay up.”
Still in denial, Bobby shakes his head. “Prove it.” Lifting the side of my hat, I show him the pointy tip of my ear, but he scoffs. “Having oddly shaped ears proves nothing.”
“Then this will.” Summoning my power, I let the beginning of a vortex open behind me.
At first, it just resembles a mirage, and the air appears wet. Then it starts to swirl, and it’s like staring down at the middle of a hurricane from above.
Since I don’t actually want this vortex to take us anywhere, I don’t let it grow more than five feet wide, but the force starts to ruffle our clothing in the wind.
Bobby can feel the pull, and he grabs one of the wooden posts as he sends me a panicked glance. “What’s happening?”
“Proof,” I reply. “This is nothing. If I were to go full-force, you’d have no choice but to go with me.”
“Go with you where?”
“Wherever I choose. Traveling across realms and planes is my magical fae ability. I am a Gatekeeper, the first and only of my kind.” Shutting off my power, I slow the motion of the vortex until the air behind me is still. “Do you believe me now?”
Still grasping the post, he grimaces while his shoulders rise with his quick breathing and the pulse point at his neck is fluttering from his hammering heart. “Yeah, okay. Let’s say I do believe you. Not sure what you plan to do with me.” He barks out a humorless laugh. “I hope you’ve got a boat load of Bengay where we’re going. I’m way past my prime, my joints constantly pop, and I probably I need a knee replacement. But you can have me if you want me.”
“Not you,” I intone quietly.
I see the exact moment he gets my meaning—when the pieces of the mystery come together and he realizes what’s at stake. “Hannah? You’re saying what’s happening to Hannah is your doing?”
At his correct conclusion, I nod once.
“Well, undo it, Ellister,” Bobby commands, his voice getting louder.
“I can’t.”
“Take me instead. The deal was for two generations down the line. That’sme.” He stabs a finger at his chest.
“It doesn’t work like that. It skipped you.”
“Why?”
I can only come up with one conclusion. “You’re too old.”
“Why didn’t it happen when I was younger?”
Hesitating, I debate how much I should tell him. “During your childhood, I was… indisposed.”
“What does that mean?”
