“Follow me!” said the girl, teasing him. Her voice sent a shiver down his spine, tickling instincts he hardly recognized.
Will looked around. “Where are you?”
“Over here!” she shouted, but when he looked, he only caught a flash of bright orange vanishing into the underbrush.
Leaping to follow, he crashed along at a reckless pace, trying to catch up to her, but she remained ahead, and always just out of sight. He continued the chase, his heart thundering in his chest, until he heard the sound of rushing water ahead. When he broke free of the trees, he saw a rocky river-bank, and the girl had stopped at the water’s edge.
No, not a girl, he thought. She was a woman, young no doubt, but in full possession of maturity. When she turned to look back at him, his breath caught in his throat.
Hair the color of flames cascaded down her back and over her shoulders, but it did nothing to hide the sight of her nakedness. She smiled at him with pearl-like teeth that seemed to sparkle in the autumn sun, distracting him for a moment from her small but pert breasts. “You’re alone,” she announced in a delighted tone, clapping her hands together.
Will had no response for that. He continued staring, drinking in the view. When she gestured for him to come closer, he took a step forward. Moments later he found himself just inches away from her, so close he could feel her breath. It smelled of mint and lavender.
Her eyes were an unnaturally bright viridian, but it was the pupils that were most startling, for they were slits, like those of a cat. “You’re not human,” he mumbled.
“But you are,” she responded, her lips curling into a smile. “Would you like to kiss me?”
Yes, yes I would, screamed his hormones, nearly drowning out his reason. Instead, he answered, “W—what?”
The strange woman pouted, then ran her hand down his chest, trailing her fingers across his stomach. “Are you afraid? My price is a small thing, though I can sense it growing as we speak.”
For a moment he could hear his grandfather’s angry voice, echoing in his memory. “Accept no debts! Think of this as part of your training.” He took a step back, away from the woman. “I have nothing to pay you.”
“Oh, but you do!” she returned, while her eyes silently devoured him. “What I want is something you would dearly love to give.”
Despite himself, Will asked, “What is it?”
“A fair exchange,” she said, her voice sly. Then she stepped closer and put one hand behind his neck and ran her fingers through his hair. “I will give you pleasure beyond measure, and all you need give me in exchange is your seed.” Lifting her chin, she leaned forward to bring her lips to his.
Will jerked, turning his head to one side before she could kiss him. “No.”
“But why?” she asked. “You have plenty. You can make hundreds of children when you return. I only need one.” Her hand stroked his thigh, moving upward until it reached…
Startled, Will stumbled backward and fell, landing heavily on the rocks. He felt something under his hand and discovered it was the axe. He had dropped it without realizing it. Will lifted it as the strange woman started to settle down on top of him.
She hissed, making a sound like an angry cat as her eyes fell on the hard metal of the axe-head. Leaping sideways, she was suddenly more than ten feet away. “You dare bring iron to this place, mageling?”
The candle flame swirled, reacting to the chaos of emotions within him—relief, fear, and no small amount of disappointment. “I came here by accident,” he managed to say.
The woman’s eyes shifted as quickly as her mood, going from anger to twinkling with amusement. “No one enters the fae realm by accident, manling.”
He could feel the truth in her words, and thinking back on it, he could remember the distinct moment he had chosen to step sideways, seeking to follow her voice. “I didn’t realize what I was doing,” he explained. “Now, I just want to leave.”
“I could show you the way,” she teased, “for a price.”
“No thanks,” said Will immediately, though deep down he couldn’t help but wonder if he really meant it.
The woman was walking back toward him, this time more slowly, making sure to stay on the side of him as far from the axe as possible. “What is your name, manling?”
“W—” he started to answer, then caught himself. “You expect my name for free?”
Her laughter tinkled in his ears. “Fair exchange then, my name for your own.”
That sounded fair, but he still hesitated. What if learning his name gave her some power over him? “What would you do with my name?” he asked.
“So cautious, so careful,” said the fae woman. “You would be worth knowing, if ever you escape the sun-drenched lands. Names exchanged are no sinister thing. A name can be used for finding and calling, just as with friends in your own world.”
Will’s eyes narrowed. “Are you saying you could summon me?”
Her answering smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “So dark are your thoughts. Are you a warlock, mageling?”
He shook his head. “No.” Not yet, anyway.
She moved closer and bent her head to his neck, inhaling. “You have no smell of wickedness. Very well. To answer your question, if I were to call your name you would hear it, wherever you might be. What you choose to do afterward is your own business, though you would be able to find the closest door to reach me if you chose to come.”
“And if I called your name?” he responded.
“The same.”
“Is there a price for calling?”
She whispered into his ear, sending shivers down his spine. “Only if one is set during the exchange. Would that please you?”
“That’s not necessary,” he stammered, finding it difficult to think with her so close.
“Then a simple exchange it is, are we agreed?” she asked.
Will nodded. The hand holding the axe handle was white-knuckled and beginning to ache.
“I am called Tailtiu,” she responded. “And you are?” She breathed her words into his ear before taking the lobe between her teeth.
“William Cartwright,” he blurted out, unable to help himself. Then her sharp teeth bit down on his tender ear, sending a tiny jolt of pain, and an even larger spasm of pleasure, through him.
Tailtiu pulled away, sighing. A single drop of blood on her lips. She reached up with one hand and wiped it away, then put her finger in her mouth to clean it. A purring sound rose from her throat and she licked her lips once more. “You taste good, mortal. So much potential…”
“That’s my blood,” said Will. “That wasn’t part of our exchange.”
Tailtiu pouted. “Then I am in your debt. What would you like in return? A kiss?” She looked hopeful.
Judging by his reaction to what she had just done, he doubted his reason would survive a kiss. For a moment, his mind pondered scenarios. Perhaps if she was tied and bound it would be safe. He shook his head to clear it. “Show me the way back.” He regretted the words as soon as he uttered them. He really wanted the kiss.
“So stubborn,” she replied. “Very well. Follow me.” Turning away, she started walking at a leisurely pace, her slim hips swaying hypnotically.