Twist of Fae Read Online Free PDF Page B

me go. I have important things to do!"
he shouted.
    "Just answer the questions."
    We bantered about for a minute before he finally relented.
    "You're not going to free me, are you?" he asked,
stating the obvious.
    "No," I replied. "And I'm getting tired of your
bullshit. Now, either tell me what you're up to or I turn you over to the
Garden Faeries. Your choice."
    "He's going to be so angry with me," the Imp
admitted with a sigh.
    "Who's going to be so angry with you?" I asked, my
curiosity piqued.
    "Bernd, who else?" he said after a moment. "I
seek Bernd of the Svartálfar. I was to meet him here two days ago but he did
not seek me out. Now, will you please let me go?"
    Bernd? I hadn’t expected that as a response. Bernd was a
Dwarf. He'd been my mentor as well as my grandmother's but I hadn’t seen him in
a week. He'd left after I'd freed the Lilin. Off to see what the result would
be he'd said. I suddenly remembered that the Imp had been afraid for someone.
Could it be Bernd?
    "Ugh, just a friend of the Dwarf," Fiora said with
a look of disgust. Then, as if he was of no longer of interest to her she waved
to the others and they flew away, leaving Charlie and me alone with him. Garden
Faeries, go figure.
    "Why are you looking for Bernd?" I asked, now
somewhat concerned, but still cautious. "For that matter, why should I
believe you? You were sneaking about, after all."
    "Oh for the love of…" he sputtered. "Faeries!"
Then he struggled for a moment before continuing. "Fine! He told me to
tell you that you have your grandmother's eyes. Satisfied? Now get me the hell out
of this feckin' ball of crap!"
    My grandmother's eyes? Only other Fae had made that comment
and all of them had known Bernd. Since I had felt no malice towards me, I
decided to trust him, at least for the moment. It's not like he could leave.
No, the wards were attuned to me and nothing could get in or out unless I let
them. Just to be cautious, I told Charlie to go find Lucinda. Lucinda was my cat
and basically my liaison with the Dwarf. She'd know if he was an associate of
Bernd. At least I hoped she would.
    He was struggling against the silk again and I had to laugh at
his expression when I pulled out my pocket knife. Then, with his eyes watching
every movement of the blade, I began to cut through the silk. When it was off,
he jumped up and began pulling the left over silk from his body. I looked him
over. He was small, no taller than a foot or so. His body was red, as was his
face, albeit a lighter shade. He was dressed only in a pair of mottled brown
pants that were cut just below the knees. His wings were bat like, unlike the other
Faeries, and he turned to watch as they unfurled from his body.
    "Now, do you want to tell me what's ..." I started
to say before he began bawling again.
    "What did I just say? Just look at that wing," he
yelled, pointing back at the tip of one. "Bent! I knew that would happen! Bloody
Faeries. Couldn’t just ask nicely. Oh, no! Had to tie me up right proper,
didn’t they? Just fabulous! I'll be flying in circles for a week."
    I let him go on like that for a minute or so before I
cleared my throat to get his attention.
    "If you're done, do you mind telling me who you are?"
I finally asked, his gaze settling back at me.
    "Oh, right. Sorry about that. Just a bit excited I
am," he said after brushing off more remnants of silk with his hands. He
paused for a moment. "Would you have something to drink around? I'm a bit
parched, I am."
    "There's some beer in the fridge," I answered.
    "Beer. Hmm," he replied. Then he held out his hand
and pinched his thumb and forefinger together. "Would you have something
just a wee bit stronger?"
    "Follow me," I said as I walked back to the house
and through the back door into the kitchen. I looked back to see the diminutive
Imp attempting to fly straight, but the bent wing gave him a list. When he
reached the door he landed and continued to follow on foot before jumping up
onto one of the