The Fox’s Tale

Lucas stuck his head out his front door and surveyed the area. “Shit. Tarquin and his blasted guards are headed this way along the route I hoped to take. Now our only option is through the town.”

He directed us out the door and we skulked from the shadows of one building to another. We crouched down in the front yard of an abandoned townhouse to count everyone and decide on our next steps. I squinted through the darkness and saw something that made my heart sink.

“Lucas….what’s that building in the court square?”

Lucas peered around the hedge we were hiding behind to confirm what I was talking about. “Oh, that’s the temple. Don’t worry, at this time of night Alastair has slunk off to whatever hole he calls home.”

“Doesn’t he live in the palace?” I asked.

“Your point?”

I huffed in annoyance. “Well, someone is in the temple. There’s a light on.”

Lucas double checked what I was seeing. “Lucifer’s teeth! What is that beetle doing scuttling around in there at this time of night?”

“Lucas, if he’s behind this….”

“We can’t let him know you’ve escaped here.” Lucas finished my thought for me.

The mead seemed to be kicking in as my teammates were snickering and snorting and loudly whispering things like “be quiet,” “no, you be quiet,” “nice boxers,” and “do you think I can put this on my college applications?”

“Um, Luc, I think I might have given them a little too much mead.” Quinn grabbed Chris by the back of his shirt and forced him to sit back down.

Lucas sighed. “There’s nothing for it, except to try the Midnight Gardens.”

“What are those?”

Lucas started herding the team towards an opulent house that was partially hidden by live oak trees. “Do you remember Lady Oleander from the Twelfth Night ball?”

“The Court Historian’s Other? The one who came to the ball wearing only her mask, pasties, and a thong?" I made a face. "How could I forget? I had to dance with her.”

Lucas glowered. “Those weren’t pasties; that’s where Plumeria marked her. The Midnight Gardens are a part of her estate. It will take us past the town and only a mile out of our way to the portal. If we’re lucky, the gates will be unlocked. She sometimes gardens at this time of night and we might be able to slip in unnoticed.”

He gestured with his head and I led the way under the spread of the trees to a silver gate in a black brick wall. Unfortunately the lady in question was coming out of it just as I stepped out of the cover of the trees.

“Lady Oleander,” I gasped. “Lovely to see you again. I apologize for the intrusion, but you see…” I trailed off as my teammates followed me out of the trees and stood ringed around me.

“What interesting company you keep, future Duke of Thorns.” She sauntered over to us and ran a finger across Lee’s bare chest. “Very interesting.” She cocked an eyebrow at me. “Am I correct in my conclusion that the Duchess of Thorns is unaware you’ve wandered into this realm with all of your friends?”

“You are, my lady. It was an accident and we’d like to get back without causing an incident.” Like hell was I confiding the truth to her.

“I see.” She smirked and continued to walk around examining the guys. “And by incident I assume you mean that you wish to avoid the attention of a certain High Cleric?” She stopped in front of Sam. “What’s your name, handsome?”

Sam opened his mouth, but Quinn yelped and pushed his way to him where he clamped a hand over Sam’s mouth before he could respond.

“No! Bad faerie! They’re Princess Ellery’s friends. No tricks.”

“Meridian, you’re no fun at all. I wouldn’t have kept him for long,” she pouted.

Quinn wagged a finger at her. “The poor Elfling doesn’t even know what’s going on. You’d eat him for breakfast and then what would we tell Princess Ellery?”

Sam’s eyes went wide with shock and Lady Oleander let out a trill of laughter. “Not literally, darling.” She turned her attention back to Quinn. “My Other and I would take such good care of him.”

“I know exactly what kind of care you and Plumeria would give him, Ola, and the answer is no.”

“Spoilsport. I never heard a complaint out of you.”

Quinn grinned. “I’m different Ola, you know that. Now stop.” He took his hand off of Sam’s mouth.

“I don’t think I’d mind,” said Sam as he ogled Lady Oleander. She was wearing a sheer dark purple dressing gown and nothing else.

“We are wasting valuable time.” Lucas burst out of the trees with a scowl.

“Oh, it’s you. I might have known that the Lord of Gloom had a hand in this.”

Lucas was about to retort when I intervened. “Please, Lady Oleander, may we take the shortcut through your estate to avoid the Court Square?”

Lady Oleander kept her eyes on Lucas. “You may, for a price.”

I winced, the team groaned, and Quinn said, “really?”

“You are going to stand there and extort the Crown Princess’s Other for passage? That’s low, even for you.” Lucas was disgusted.

“What’s the price for passage for all of us through your estate?” I asked, afraid of what she’d demand.

“A kiss.”

“A kiss?” This set me back on my heels. I hadn’t felt even a twinge of attraction towards another female since laying eyes on Ellery back at the end of September.

Despite her beauty the thought of kissing Lady Oleander turned my stomach. I knew what was at stake though so I hid my revulsion.

“Okay. Yeah, I’ll kiss you.”

“Not from you, sexy as you are.” She trained her eyes on Lucas.

“Me? You expect me to kiss you?” He curled his lip in disgust.

“One kiss from you or you all take your chances trying to avoid that obnoxious upstart.”

“Upstart?” Despite my worry and anxiety my ears perked up.

Lady Oleander sniffed. “Alastair’s family has only been around for a few centuries. I’m not even sure where they came from.”

“Who cares?” grumbled Grant. “We need to get out of here.” Matt was pacing beside him, his face pinched with worry.

Everyone turned to look at Lucas. He rolled his eyes. “Fine. But I do this only out of duty.”

Lady Oleander grinned in triumph as she slunk towards Lucas. With a huff of annoyance he took her into his arms and bent to kiss her. It began as a gentle press of the lips, but then Lucas put his hand behind her head and took the kiss deeper.

Lady Oleander made a whimpering noise, and it seemed to set Lucas off. He pulled her closer and ravished her mouth.

Everyone averted their eyes and after a substantial amount of time had passed filled with his growls and her moans Quinn cleared his throat.

“Um, Luc?”

Lucas let Lady Oleander go with so little warning and with such force that she staggered backwards.

“There. You’ve been kissed. Open the gates, Lady Oleander.”

She didn’t say anything; in fact she seemed incapable of speech. She did however produce a key which she held towards me. I reached to take it from her hand. “Thank you, Lady Oleander.” Before I could grasp it she moved it away.

“Lock any gate you go through, do not dally, and do not stray from the path. My garden is at its most alive at night, future Duke of Thorns.”

I snatched the key from her hand and led the way to the garden gate. The silver gate made my fingers tingle as I opened it and coaxed my teammates through. Then I slammed it behind us, making eye contact with Lady Oleander.

“You need to be more precise in your requests, future Duke of Thorns. Good luck to you and your friends. You’ll need it.” She turned and walked to her home, leaving me racking my brains to figure out what I had said wrong.