Augur Ch. 06

A few moments later, she held up the screen, showing a few typed words:

She doesn't speak your language. I think I can talk to her. I will try.

I gave Cindy a quick thumbs up to indicate my assent, and she immediately began speaking to the redhead. None of her words made any more sense to me through the wax than the redhead's had, so I took advantage of this opportunity to check out the two humans we had come to save.

Both Abby and the teen were beginning to stir, so I took a few steps to close the distance, extending my hands and helping both of them to their feet. They both looked dazed, slowly looking around the field in confusion, but neither protested when I gently herded them away from the Sin Demon and the maybe-Sidhe. The two women were still speaking, Cindy beginning to be animated, while the woman nodded along.

By the time I had Abby and her son on the other side of the gate, they were both aware enough to start asking questions. Rather than answering them, I shooed them into the farmhouse to join Keith, giving the barest explanation I could manage.

"My name is Jack, I'm a friend of a friend of Keith's, he asked me to come help out. He's inside waiting, just go stay with him until I let you know it's safe. Don't worry, we'll take care of everything." I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure I was yelling a little, leaving the two a little wide eyed at my words.

I waited until the farmhouse door closed behind them to return to the field. The sheep were beginning to mill about the paddock, but they kept a wide berth around the two women, instead generally congregating near the same gate I was passing through. I actually had to shove my way past the beasts to rejoin Cindy, and in doing so discovered that touching recently sheared sheep wasn't nearly as pleasant as I had imagined it to be. The short wool they still wore was rougher than I expected, and had an oddly waxy texture that seemed to stick to my hand, distracting me a little as I joined the conversing pair.

Cindy spoke a few more words when I arrived, again none of them making sense through the wax. Then she turned to me, typed on my phone for a minute, before again holding up the screen for me.

She is mourning her exile from Faerie. Normally that would take her seven days of song, at which point she would die. Everyone here would die with her. I am convincing her to leave instead.

I nodded along as I read the message, doing my best to speak at a normal volume.

"Tell her that's not how we do things here. I'm sorry she was exiled, but she needs to follow our customs in this land, not hers."

I wasn't exactly confident in those words, but I knew that an elaborate murder-suicide was not an acceptible outcome here. Cindy gave me a silent nod of understanding, turned back to the woman, and the two spoke for a minute or two. Then the auburn haired woman turned to me and curseyed deeply. I hadn't paid much attention to her garb when I first saw her, dismissing it as a long dress, but up close I realized the garment was delicately embroidered dark green silk that belonged in a Renaissance Faire - or, I realized, an actual royal court, not a paddock of sheep. When her hands pulled the skirts to the side, they revealed panels that folded out, lighter green, with brilliant images of leaves and flowers in gold thread, a dazzling display that was entirely concealed again when the skirts fell from her fingers.

Cindy and the woman resumed speaking after her curtsey, leaving me to wonder if I should be bowing in response, but neither my demon nor the woman seemed to be put off by my standing there, so I allowed them to continue speaking without my input. Eventually, they seemed to reach some kind of accord. Cindy typed on my phone for a few seconds, holding it up to show a few simple words.

You can take the wax out now.

That brought a smile to my lips, and I pulled the wax from my ears, returning it to the ziploc bag I kept in my pocket with a sigh of relief. Even the return of the drone of cicadas was welcome in contrast to the odd echo of my own heartbeat with my ears plugged. Cindy's husky voice was oddly loud, and I realized she was lowering her pitch so she wouldn't be too loud after half an hour or so of near silence.

"Master, she is prepared to accompany us, and has agreed to restrain her Glamour until you permit her to use it. She understands that not only are the ways of the mortal realm different from those of Faerie, but also that it has been long since she herself visited, and the ways of humans have changed since last she encountered any."

I pulled a tissue from my pocket and used it to wipe my ears clean, nodding absently as I did so. "Great, great."

The two women began speaking again, but seeing no reason to wait, I turned and started navigating back through the sheep to let Keith and his family know that it was safe. Now that I could hear clearly, the sounds of the woman's language were irritatingly familiar. It was like my brain was telling me that I should be able to understand them, and syllables here and there were quite similar to English, but I ultimately couldn't make sense of anything they were saying.

The most irritating thing was, there was even a ritual in the book which I was pretty sure would help here, but I hadn't yet been able to perform it successfully. From Cindy's description, it should allow me to understand the language of any creature 'from this world or beyond', and be understood in turn. When I performed it, however, nothing happened. I tested it by eating at the local hole in the wall chinese restaurant down the street, but while Cindy could apparently understand the Mandarin they spoke in the back, it was as foreign to me as ever.

I hadn't practiced with that ritual extensively yet, since one of the steps involved drinking silver in a suspension. I know that there were some people who did that for its supposed health benefits, but I didn't want to wind up like that one dude who went viral on the internet when he turned blue. Occasional doses were probably fine, but silver is also expensive, so I hadn't gone wild yet.

Cindy and the auburn haired woman were still speaking when I knocked at the door to the farmhouse. The door opened only a crack, and I could make out Keith's face in the darkness beyond, with the ominous shadow of the rifle he carried overhead. He peered over at the odd stranger, and then spoke quietly. "I appreciate what you did, Jack. I don't know what she was doing to Abby and Kyle, but I thank God they're home safe with me again. That said, I'd appreciate it even more if you could get her off my property."

I laughed quietly. "I'll do that, Keith. Next time you're talking to Sherry, say hi for me, let her know she's free to reach out again for my regular services. You too, actually. You may not have call for an Augury, but I recently learned a blessing for a good harvest. I don't know how much crop farming you do, but if you're interested, I'd be happy for your business."

The man narrowed his eyes for a minute, glanced heavenward, and said, "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that. Our preacher has some pretty fiery things to say about witches. But, uhhh..." He looked over at the woman, who towered over the Sin Demon she was speaking with, "But maybe it's worth the risk. You seem like the real deal. I may call."

Without waiting for a further reply, Keith closed the door in my face, and I heard the chain sliding into place on the other side. I shrugged, not particularly offended. Lots of people in the midwest had strong feelings about anything that sounded 'ungodly', and the farmer's reaction was one of the more gentle rebukes I'd received on the topic.

Rejoining the demon and Sidhe, I was surprised when I received another graceful curtsey. The two stopped speaking, and Cindy turned her attention on me, switching to English to ask, "Will you agree to take her from this place?"

I furrowed my brow, but nodded. "Sure, I can give her a lift. Keith wants her gone, so I'll count it as part of the services he paid for."

Cindy nodded curtly and turned back to the Fae woman, again speaking in that oddly familiar language. Again, the Sidhe dropped into a curtsey, spreading her skirts wide in courtly grace. This time, though, she did not straighten, instead keeping her head bowed low towards me and speaking words I did not understand at all in solemn and serious tones.

Cindy helpfully translated. "She thanks you from the bottom of her soul for your grace, and swears fealty to you as her Lord. For so long as you will have her service, she will obey you as her liege."

I blinked. Slowly. My eyes drifted between the still curtsying woman and the Sin Demon standing beside her. Neither moved, and after a moment it occurred to me that the tall redhead's muscle control must be impressive, for her to hold that pose unflinching for this long. I quickly turned back to Cindy and asked her, "Would you please... explain that for me?"

She responded easily, gesturing with one hand towards the sidhe. "Aubrette is in exile from Faerie. She must either find a new liege to serve, or wither away and become one with nature, that her essence can be reborn into a new High Sidhe in time. She was fully prepared to accept that fate until a new option presented itself. You arrived, wielding powerful demonic magics and offered her the grace of taking her in. She accepted your extremely kind offer, and now is waiting for you to grant her permission to rise and offer her the hospitality of your court. In exchange, for so long as you will have her, she is yours to do with as you will. Her magic is yours, you may offer her troth to form an alliance with another lord, or you could simply keep her as your concubine. You should definitely do that last one, I would enjoy that very much. Also, Master, you should tell her that she may rise and you should open the door of your car for her. I am not sure how well she will react with the iron in the vehicle if she has to handle the door herself. Nor do I believe she is familiar with this style of handle."

I reeled at Cindy's sudden speech. I managed to croak out a weak, "Rise," at the woman - Aubrette, apparently - who was still curtseying. Once Cindy translated the Sidhe smoothly stood to her full height, revealing that she was in fact a couple inches taller than me. The smile on her face was brilliant and hopeful, befitting someone who apparently received a reprieve from a death sentence.

I numbly walked to my car and opened the rear passenger door, gesturing for Aubrette to get in. A quick couple words from Cindy had the redhead sliding past me, her motions so graceful that even as she moved inches from my body, she avoided letting her skirts so much as touch me. I started to close the door, then stopped, opened it again, and turned my head to the Sin Demon to instruct, "Tell her that I'm going to put the seatbelt... The... uhh... the safety strap, on her. I'm not trying to... molest her or anything, I just need to ensure she's strapped in."

Cindy spoke as instructed, and I leaned in over Aubrette. She was seated stiffly, and I had to impose myself into her personal space to buckle her in. The Sidhe smelled of spring breezes and fresh strawberries. Literally. The scent she gave off, even after standing in a field full of sheep and mud for hours, was of sweet summer strawberries and spring flowers.

I had to adjust the strap of the seatbelt for her, and couldn't help but note that while the Sidhe's chest wasn't exactly enormous, it was considerably larger than my Sin Demon's. Some part of me - probably the part which had been romping with an aspect of Lust for the last several months - began idly wondering what it would look like to have them showing off their chests for me side by side. I did my best to chase that off and focus up, but the images lingered.

Once Aubrette was strapped into the seat, I carefully closed the door, then slid into the driver's seat. I checked to ensure Cindy was seated and seatbelted as well, then started the engine and headed down the Boyer farm driveway.

As I pulled onto the main road, I realized I never hit up Keith for gas money. Somehow, it didn't seem worthwhile to head back.