Page 47 of Make Me Bee-lieve

“W-Wait! U-Uh…” My knees wobble. “What did the honeybee's wife say to her husband when he came home with a bouquet of flowers?”

The yellowjackets slide to a stop and look at one another, blinking. One of them scratches his head, then asks, “What?”

I lower my hands a little and say, “I-I hate it when you bring work home, honey.”

They don’t laugh. In fact, they aren’t reacting at all. They’re simply … staring at me. So much time passes between the punchline that I start to wonder if I broke them.

Then the yellowjacket on the left plants his hand on his hip and says, “That doesn’t even make any sense.”

“Right?” The other one says, clacking his mandibles. “Don’t they impregnate the queen and die? How would he come home with flowers for her if he’s supposed to be dead?”

I need to use this moment to my advantage, somehow. “Hey, isn’t that the same for you guys? Don’t you die after fucking, too?”

The two yellowjackets stare at me. Hard. “Yes,” one says. “But you didn’t have to be so crude about it.”

The other cuts in, “The majordomo says that we won’t have to do that anymore. That we can live in this nice, cushy palace so long as we take care of a few pesky problems for her. Like you, for one thing.” He laughs.

So that’s how it is, huh?

“What does she get out of all of this?” I ask as I inch backward. My steps are so subtle they don’t even seem to notice I’m moving.

“The majordomo rules the hive, and then we, the men, will no longer be kicked out before winter! We won’t have to die in order for the colony to survive.” They both clack their mandibles together as they wobble on their skinny, fuzzy legs. Unlike Polina, these guys are all sharp angles and … ugly. Really ugly.

I lick my bottom lip and glance over my shoulder. Several more rows of hexagons to go before I’m back at the stairwell. I’ve to keep them talking somehow.

“That’s not what I heard,” I say. “Before you guys invaded, I overheard Majordomo Elza talking to Florian about her true master plan.”

This is a long shot, but if it works? Then I just might make it out of here alive. Luckily, these two don’t seem like the sharpest stingers in the hive.

They glance at one another and blink again. “Why should we believe you? You’re probably lying.”

I shake my head. “No. Don’t you know anything about humans? We can’t lie. It’s impossible.”

The two fae stop moving toward me. “Seriously?” the one on the left says. “Then what did she say?”

I hold my hands up again and shake my head. “I don’t want to tell you. It’s too awful.”

It seems they’re taking the bait, because they both look at one another again. Their antennae flick back and forth erratically, as do their wings. They must be having a silent conversation, one I’m not allowed to be included in. I can only hope it means they believe me.

The yellowjacket who I believe is the smarter of the pair turns back to me and says, “You will tell us or be skewered on our stingers, the majordomo’s plans be damned.”

I gulp. “Okay, okay. Look, just don’t shoot the messenger, all right?” I say as I rub the back of my neck, hoping to appear sheepish enough. This plan of mine better work, because I don’t doubt their threats.

“Puny human, we do not ‘shoot.’ We stab. Talk quickly. Our patience grows thin,” he says in a reedy voice.

“Majordomo Elza told Florian she plans on taking him as her king and getting rid of all of you once she’s crowned. She doesn’t want any other men in her hive, but she’s happy to use you,” I say. Please believe me, please believe me.

The one on the right lets loose a chirp of anger that makes my skin crawl, while the smarter of the two slams his fist into his palm. “I will end her. I will remove her head myself and place it upon a pike!”

“And then the hive will be ours!” the other screams. “No longer will we have to sleep in the dirt with the other bugs and vermin!”

“G-Good, that’s good,” I say, still holding my trembling hands up as I cower. This is pathetic of me, yes, but I’d love to see anyone react differently in the face of monstrosities like these. But if I want them to help me get rid of Majordomo Elza and Florian, I need to convince them I’m on their side. I pump my fist into the air. “Death to the majordomo! And long live the … er, yellowjacket … empire?”

“Kingdom,” the yellowjacket on the right corrects me. “But yes, the sentiment is appreciated.”

“Onward, my comrades!” the one of the left roars. We must inform our brothers and sisters of the bee fae’s treachery. And then we will mount our attack. She will be powerless to stop us!”

My knees buckle as they barrel past me, leaving me in their wake. They scramble up the stairs, not even glancing back to check if I’m following or not.

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