Page 5 of The Witch & the Grizzly

Just as he began to transform, the scenery around him turned crystalline and distorted. He couldn’t make sense of it. What? What was –

But the vision shattered, and the room returned to normal. That’s when he noticed Professor Z’Hana standing there, arms folded, glaring at him.

“What just –”

“He’s not harmed, I assure you,” Morgryn said to the professor. I put him in a brief stasis. It felt like a second to him, but a few hours have passed since he walked in here.”

“Professor Umber was looking for you,” Z’Hana said to Nathan. “He thought you’d forgotten your meeting. However, I see you did a little exploring, didn’t you?”

“I –” Nathan spluttered. “I was put in stasis?”

“For about four hours, yes,” Morgryn said with fiendish amusement. “I was just considering what else to do with you when Z’Hana arrived.”

Z’Hana now focused her glare on Morgryn. “You didn’t secure your meeting place too well, it seems.”

“I hitched a part of the fae realm to your castle. It’s not always so stable,” he replied smoothly. “It seems to have lured him to it. He has stronger than anticipated fae ancestry. It must be someone very recent in his family.”

“We think it’s the grandfather,” Z’hana said. “The grandmother had one child out of wedlock, father unknown. She had twins, but one of them died in infancy. The second one was his mother and produced him.”

“Yes. Most likely, the firstborn was the one who inherited the Gift. The ones who come after aren’t quite so lucky. But her firstborn, however…” Morgryn lifted one white eyebrow and addressed Nathan. “I wonder which of the courts can lay claim to you.”

“Did you really have to share my personal history with him?” Nathan asked the professor.

“He was curious. And we’d asked you all these questions when you attended the academy.”

“You’re sharing my information with an Unseelie Court member. Do you not find that a complete breach of protocol, given what the hell they’re doing in our world at the moment?”

“Nathan, it might surprise you, but he’s not actually one of the bad guys.” Z’Hana closed her eyes. “It doesn’t mean he’s not a bad guy – just not the bad guys we’re currently dealing with. And it turns out he is willing to help.”

“You realize he just stapled a part of the fae realm to this castle, right? That’s not helping. That’s making things worse.”

“I am ensuring that I don’t step foot fully into the mortal realm,” Morgryn said in a bored tone as if done with people being idiotic. “I will unstaple this place once our business is conducted. Until then, here I stay.”

This entire situation seemed utterly bizarre to Nathan. From what he’d heard, there’d been trouble brewing in the region recently, troubles that came in the form of Unseelie agents meddling more than they should in human affairs, making deals that went against the treaty they’d signed decades ago. They threatened the stability of the normal realm by flooding it with too much wild fae magic. He’d been sent to unravel enchantments and persuade any Unseelie he encountered to leave using his own brand of magic.

But that brand of magic wouldn’t work on something as powerful as this creature. Nathan sensed it. Whatever this Morgryn was, he was high up.

No one trusted the higher-ups.

Z’Hana’s dark eyes looked less than impressed. “You were supposed to meet with Umber before coming here,” she told Nathan. “Instead, you skipped the tutorial, and now you aren’t up to speed.”

Nathan gawked at her. “Wait a minute. The reason I was meeting with Umber was so he’d tell me about the Unseelie Court member in the tower?”

The professors must be enchanted. It was the only thing that made sense. This Unseelie had slithered into the academy and sucked the professors into its nefarious plans. He didn’t know if he could break such a strong enchantment, but he had to try.

“I can practically hear your thoughts shrieking,” Morgryn said, now propping his head on one hand, elbow stuck between scrolls on the desk. “They are not enchanted. You can sense the truth in my words, right?”

Well… there was a ring of truth to his words. Nathan’s fae magic had picked up that much.

“Are you usually this slow?” Morgryn asked.

“You did just put him in stasis,” Z’Hana pointed out. “Anyway, Umber will be here soon with one of the students you asked for.”

“Good. I hope they are among your more talented ones. Unlike this one, who just rides along with his Gift without fully understanding what it is.”

“I know how to use it perfectly well, thanks,” Nathan snapped. “If you’re going to stand there and insult me, can you save it for later if you’re actually here to help, that is, and not screwing us over like most amoral Unseelie do?”

Z’Hana gasped, but Morgryn smirked. “Ah, you have some bite, after all. As Z’Hana has regretfully informed me, we will need someone of your… power. It will be needed if you wish to end the deals once and for all.”

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