Mina was supposed to meet Brody by his locker after school, and as soon as the bell rang she practically skipped down the hall toward him. But a rough hand on her elbow stopped her.

“What do you think you’re doing?” She turned and wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Jared on the other end of her elbow. “Let go of me.” She tried to shake him off but Jared squeezed tighter.

“Come with me and I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

“Why?” He was silent. “I can’t,” she said, happy to blow him off. “Brody’s giving me a ride home. Maybe later?” she asked, smiling.

It was the wrong thing to say to him, because his eyes darkened dangerously. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with here. I was going to help you, tell you information to help you stay alive, but it seems you’ve picked your model boyfriend over your life.” He dropped her elbow and strode away.

Mina waited ten seconds, thinking through her options, and then chased after Jared into the parking lot. He must have been expecting her because he was already astride a black motorbike. It was sleek, exciting and dangerous, just like Jared himself. She hesitated; was this really wise? He was holding out an extra helmet to her. “You knew I would come, didn’t you?” Mina accused angrily. “You could have at least let me tell Brody where I’m going so he doesn’t worry.”

Jared shook his head. “This is a one-time deal, expiring soon.” He jump-started the bike. “Like now.” Mina sighed and really wished she had a cell phone to text Brody that she wasn’t in danger.

But as soon as Jared peeled out of the parking lot and sped along the road, Mina had to rethink her last thought, gripping onto Jared’s waist so she wouldn’t fly off the bike. Maybe she was.

Chapter 16

Jared sped along the interstate and fifteen minutes later he was pulling up to Emerald Lake. He turned off the motorcycle and removed his helmet, laying it on the seat. Turning, he held out his hand for Mina’s helmet as well.

“What are we doing here?” Mina asked, pulling off her backpack.

“Practicing,” Jared answered.

“Practicing what?”

“How to stay alive.”

Mina thought he was joking, but one look at Jared’s set face and she knew that he wasn’t joking. “Okay. Why now?” she had to ask.

“Why not now? Do you have anything else planned?” Mina started to open her mouth but Jared cut her off. “I do, so it’s now or never.”

Annoyed, Mina followed Jared out to the water’s edge. He stopped by a tree and broke off a short branch from a maple tree. Jared closed his eyes and the stick began to glow.

Mina’s eyes opened wide and she stared in awe. She already figured out that he was Fae, but watching him mold and shape a branch with power was certainly impressive, and hauntingly beautiful. His eyes closed in concentration, it was almost as if he was communicating with the branch.

This was real magic, she realized, beautiful and pure. Mina smiled and looked at Jared. She didn’t see the annoying boy from school. She saw someone that was ethereal and glowing with power. The rush of it took her breath away, long enough for her to forget, for a moment, that she didn’t entirely trust him.

Mina’s smile only faded when she recognized the shape he was molding the branch into. It was a weapon, a wooden sword, much more dangerous looking than any of Charlie’s. The beautiful moment passed as Mina realized her mistake. She was miles from the nearest house, without a phone. She was with a strange boy who had powers and had just morphed a tree into a sword. Jared never told her exactly whose side he was on. Once the wooden blades stopped glowing, she snapped out of her reverie and took a step away from him.

Jared just looked at her, eyebrows raised, and handed her the sword.

“What’s this for?” she asked, worrying over the answer.

“It’s a weapon, dummy.”

“And what am I supposed to do with it?”

“You’re not really that dull, are you?”

Mina stuck out her tongue in response. She swung it around a few times while Jared began to concentrate on a second branch.

“So where do you live? Never Never Land?” she joked.

Jared opened one eye to address her, still concentrating on the branch. “Something like that.”

“Aren’t the Fae supposed to be my enemy?”

“Some of them are. Which is exactly why I brought you here.”

With the second sword completed, Jared took off his shoes and stepped toward the water’s edge, motioning for Mina to do the same.

“Not happening,” Mina felt her blood turn cold just looking at the water.

“It’s either shoes, or I wish away your clothes,” he threatened. Mina jumped out of her shoes so fast, she stubbed her big toe on a tree root and had to waddle out to the lake bed like a wounded duck.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch!” she mumbled, shifting from foot to foot. When she reached the water’s edge, she turned and stared at him, rolling her eyes impatiently. Jared motioned for her to step deeper into the water.

Next thing she knew, with no warning, Jared rushed Mina quickly stabbing at her with the sword. She jumped backward and barely missed being gutted by the blade. “What the heck!” she shouted. Jared turned again and swept his foot out, catching her behind the knee and she fell backward into the water. Cold liquid burned her lungs as she inhaled the water. Mina flailed her arms and got on her knees and crawled to the edge and began coughing.

“Why’d you do that!” she shouted.

“Relax, its only water,” he said. “You’re not letting your instincts guide you. Let go of your fear, and I’ll show you how to do what I just did.”

When she caught her breath, they started again. He taught her blocks, stabs, and even a few basic flipping moves. Obviously, most of the time he was flipping her into the water, and she came up looking like a drowned duck. Finally, Jared let Mina use a hip throw and throw him into the lake. Mina screamed and ran around in circles with her hands in the air, chanting her name and doing a victory dance.

Jared grinned and waded out of the water and over to their shoes. Carefully, he looked for dead and fallen tree limbs and made a fire on the beach, using a lighter. Mina felt a little disappointed that he couldn’t call up fire on the spot with magic. But she forgot all about her disappointment when the heat began to warm her soaked clothes.

Jared sat next to her and began what would be a very enlightening lesson. “Now there are various Fae tale creatures that you will most definitely come across. You’ve already met one of the wolves.”

“Don’t you mean fairy tale people, not creatures? What I saw was a man not a wolf.”

“Don’t let your eyes fool you. You only see what’s on this plane, not the next.”

“You mean there’s more than one?” she asked.

Jared rolled his eyes at her question. “Of course, there is more than one plane. For instance, there is the physical plane and spiritual plane. Where the physical and spiritual planes meet and the veil between the two is thinner, weaker and constantly moving exists the Fae plane. Never Never Land, as you say. This is where the Story itself resides and all of the Fae Tales originate. The two planes almost never converge, but when they do the merging of the spiritual and physical creates apexes, or gates, for the Fae to cross over. Over the years, hundreds of Fae have crossed over and have run amok among the human world.”