Fairy War

Chapter 22

After selecting what we hoped would be the perfect team for the operation, we set out. Nightshade and Finarae were the twin leaders of the team, along with a mix of Sidhe, Pixies, and Ressik's kin, plus Selina and Niana. Mickey, Crystal, and I had insisted on coming along in case we ran into any humans we might be able to persuade to desert their posts. Nightshade had insisted we be given more formidable weaponry and more protective armour if we were heading into what was, effectively, a battlefield-in-waiting, and I had no problems with that whatsoever.

When we arrived we found the building surrounded by tanks, soldiers, and barbed wire as far as the eye could see, with guns pointing outwards in every direction. It was rather intimidating to say the least.

"We're lucky it's night-time," Nightshade muttered, louder perhaps than he meant to. "This is even more heavily defended than we'd initially thought. I assume we have a strategy that doesn't involve us all dying rather violent deaths?"

"Can you buy us some time?" one of Ressik's kin – a small, lightly-built female named Skystar – asked.

"We should have a trick or two up our sleeves," Selina replied. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

"I can create a portal into the fortress that will bypass most of their army," Skystar replied, "but I'll need time, and protection from any distractions. Simply put, we need to divert their attention to prevent them looking this way while the spell is cast."

"And how exactly do you suggest we do that?" Mickey asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I have an idea," Selina said, grinning slightly. "Niana, Crystal, come with me. Let's show the boys how to do this properly, shall we?"

"If you think we can help," Crystal said, sounding wary as she and Niana followed Selina.

We watched nervously from the side as Skystar started chanting, the girls winding their way towards a pair of young male soldiers who were standing slightly apart from the main group, guarding what appeared to be a stockpile of guns. At first the girls seemed to go unnoticed by the two soldiers, but then they suddenly found two guns pointed in their direction.

"Stop right there, trespassers!" the taller of the two men shouted. "If you don't want a bullet putting through your skull right this instant, you'd better give me a damn good reason for being here!"

"I mean you no harm," Selina said, stepping into the patch of light in front of them, her sudden change in appearance causing a gasp to ripple through our entire group; while her hair remained almost identical, where the young woman had been standing just moments before there was now a young man so handsome even I found myself attracted to him. As the only one she'd spoken to in the group about her secret, I realised what I was watching, and I felt a certain pride swell up inside me.

"A little birdie told me you guys were getting depressed being stuck here with no chance of having any fun, so I thought I'd help relieve your boredom. My friends could always help, of course," she added, beckoning Crystal and Niana forward.

"We'll go get the others," said the smaller man, a wicked grin on his face. "Although, frankly, you'd be more than enough for me, pretty boy."

"Selina, how did you know that'd work?" Crystal said once the soldiers had left, trying to avoid the enchanting pair of eyes watching her.

"Unlike his fairies, Feth'rael's human forces are easier to read than any book," Selina replied, smiling. "That particular 'man' is as straight as an arrow, but for some reason he has a fantasy about bedding an attractive younger guy. I just let him see what I wanted him to see."