The Queen stood abruptly at Veris' words, and Drake and Drew were standing with her, with one other of her Inner Circle mates. Most were out looking for Nissa, however, so it was only Drake, Drew and Rigo to go with the Queen. "Mom," Tory shouted, just as Lissa was about to fold away with help from her two Falchani.
"You want to come?" Tory and Ry's mother looked as if she were about to take something—or someone—apart.
"Yes," Ry answered the question first. They were all folded away.
"Lissa, remember your pregnancy," Rigo cautioned as Lissa strode quickly toward Narissa's cottage. They'd folded directly inside Narissa's boundary—It couldn't hold the Queen or the Falchani back—they were too powerful.
"Narissa!" Lissa shouted. "Come out now before I turn your house into matchsticks!"
* * *
Toff jerked at the shout—it sounded very close. He'd been sitting at the table, having dinner with Narissa after cooking most of it for her.
"Well," Narissa wore a nasty smile, "that didn't take long, did it? Come on, boy." Narissa jerked Toff from his chair, had a knife held to his throat quickly and hauled him toward the door.
Toff was terrified—the protection jewel had turned black after it thwarted the attack from Gren and the others. Toff figured it was made to work once, but he couldn't bear to part with it—it was all he had of Nissa, though she most likely would never speak to him again after he'd run away like that. Now, someone he barely knew was threatening his life again. Narissa pushed the front door to her cottage open and forced Toff out in front of her, the knife still at his throat. Toff, terrified as he was, still was surprised by the people who stood outside, waiting.
* * *
Ry dug an elbow into Tory's ribs to keep him from calling out to Toff. Both boys recognized him, all right, and Ry was quickly piecing together just how Toff might have come to be inside Narissa's boundary.
"Narissa, harm that child and I'll kill you." Those were the Queen's words, and Tory and Ry both knew their mother wouldn't bluff about something like that.
"What are you going to do, Lissa?" Narissa sounded unhinged in Ry's estimation. Toff must have realized it too—his eyes were wild with fright as Narissa tightened her grip on him, bringing the knife just under his chin.
"Surely you know as well as anyone just what I might do," Lissa snarled. Drake and Drew flanked her, which meant that Narissa's eyes were on the Queen and the twin Falchani instead of Rigo. Narissa should have watched him, but Ry imagined this may have been the plan all along. Rigo could move as swiftly as any vampire and he was behind Narissa, had the knife in his hand and Narissa flung to the ground in the space of a heartbeat. Toff was left standing and holding his throat, which had the barest of bloody scrapes on it.
"Toff, honey, are you all right?" The Queen went straight to him.
Toff wanted to shrink away from her. "How—how do you know my name?" he muttered, still gripping his throat. Tory and Ry were beside their mother in two blinks, doing their best to check on Toff.
"Honey, I've known your name since you were tiny," Lissa murmured, holding a hand out to Toff. Toff was too afraid of her to take it.
"Mom won't hurt you," Tory tried to reassure Toff. Toff blinked at Tory and Ry before extending a shaking hand to the Queen. Her hand gripped his and he was pulled against her in a tight hug. She may have kissed him on the cheek, too, but Toff was too dazed to know for sure.
"Honey, I can't believe that Redbird and Corent haven't been camped out on my doorstep, wondering where you were," Lissa held Toff away from her and brushed hair back from his forehead. "And I have to say, I don't think I'm willing to let you go back unless you just can't stand to be parted from them."
"What?" Toff didn't understand any of this. "Where's Nissa?" He turned to Tory and Ry, who both hung their heads. They were just about to get in trouble with their mother.
"Nissa's missing, honey. Has been for several days, now. How do you know about her?" The Queen held Toff's face in her hands. Toff was surprised—the Queen's hands were gentle as she held him.
"Redbird always said you'd drink my blood," Toff blurted without thinking. That caused the Queen to go still.
"Did she?" Toff didn't realize how angry the Queen had become in less than a blink. "Well, let's go have a talk with your foster-mother."
Toff didn't know what happened. One moment he was outside Narissa's cottage, the next he was standing at the door to his home inside the Green Fae village. One of the tall men with a long black braid down his back was knocking on the door. Redbird answered with Corent right behind her.
"Would you care to tell my why Toff has been missing for six days now and you failed to report it?" The Queen was asking as nicely as she could under the circumstances. Ry and Tory stepped up to flank Toff, each holding onto an arm. Toff was glad they were there—he felt safer, somehow.
"But Toff has not been missing," Redbird insisted. "He has been here all along, hasn't he, Corent?" Redbird turned to look at her mate.
"Toff has been inside Narissa's boundary for the last six days; we just went to get him when we found out Narissa was threatening him," the Queen insisted, sounding quite angry.
"He has been here the entire time," Redbird said, "and now you show up with some trumped up lie, when Toff is supposed to be out gathering clay for Mother Fern."
"You say he's been here all along, and is out working right now?" The Queen's eyes narrowed at Redbird.
"But you have him right there," Redbird pointed at Toff.
"This Toff has been inside Narissa's boundary, trust me on this," Lissa stated. "Now, would you like to go with me and find the Toff you've been harboring, or will you stay here and cower while I go do it?"
"We'll come," Corent stepped around Redbird and out the door. Toff was transported again just as before, but the scene that greeted them at the old streambed had Corent shouting, Redbird screaming and Drake and Drew running.
* * *
Nissa wanted to grumble as she shoveled clay and then used her power to remove roots and bits of rock before dumping it in the canvas bag. More than once the sides of the canvas bag had collapsed inward, causing the clay to slide down the outside instead of dropping inside the bag as it should. Nissa was so busy concentrating on her work that she failed to notice the sounds of leaves rustling. She didn't miss Gren's taunt, however.