The Secret Sea - (Chaptered Version)

13*

Eve takes my hand and leads me outside. My eyes pop wide as I finally see my tormentors. A dozen stocky figures in navy blue cloaks surround the shack, slapping the walls with clawed hands. Each is no more than a couple of feet tall. They all turn toward me, their faces completely obscured by their hoods except for their glowing yellow eyes. They screech in excitement then bolt toward the brush at the edge of the yard, exposing their bushy tails.

"Holy shit," I murmur, feeling my legs shake. "What are they?"

"They're changelings," says Eve. "In the waning days of magick, the faerie folk were desperate to make a connection with humanity, thinking it may spare them from the coming age of science."

I tell myself I'm still asleep. The dreams continue to get more bizarre. "Faerie folk?"

"Yes. The faeries believed if they reared a human child to adulthood, it would fight to protect the realm of magick once fully grown. They raided the mortal realm late at night, kidnapping human babies from their cribs and leaving behind their own children in exchange. Sadly, faerie folk were often ill equipped to care for a mortal child, and most of these stolen children died. Conversely, the humans often discarded or burned the faerie children once realizing they were not their own."

A laugh erupts from my throat. "Stop...very creative. Nice."

Eve remains serious. "I'm not joking, Tim."

I shake my head. "Right. So, are these...things...slapping the side of my shed human or faerie?"

"It's complicated, but I'll get to that," says Eve with a sigh. "Not all of the faerie folk agreed with the kidnapping of humans. These outliers secretly summoned the last of their magick to conjure a breach between lay lines—invisible corridors of power that interlace the Earth. This breach took physical form as the Mên-an-Tol stones near Cornwall, England. Don't giggle."

"Come on, Cornwall is a funny name." My smile erodes. "Sorry, keep going." I'm enjoying this dream.

"Late night whispers brought families who were cursed with changeling children to the Mên-an-Tol stones. Slipping the changeling through the portal instantly returned the human child to its parents, but the process left the abandoned changeling irreparably damaged. Believing themselves to be human, the faerie children fought to escape the magickal realm, twisting their bodies and minds in the process. Redubbed changeling bastards, they were cast out to the physical plane and forced to haunt the night, foraging to survive."

"Harsh," I say.

"The Queen took pity on the bastards that live in the patch of forest near here. They are now her servants. They've been tasked with keeping watch on you, but they've grown a touch excitable. I suppose they're to blame for the escalation of recent events."

"Eve...what is your connection to this?" I ask.

"Want to meet them?" asks Eve, deflecting my query. She whistles, and I see yellow eyes popping through the foliage. "Come on out, meet the courier. He's nice."

I hear some high-pitched murmuring, before the creatures start emerging from the tree line with awkward, shuffling hops. Soon I'm surrounded. "High energy, aren't they?" I manage, fighting back my fear.

"Take off your hoods," says Eve with a smile.

The things stop hopping and go still. They peel back their hoods, revealing...raccoons.

"Wait...what? They're all raccoons!"

"No, they're changeling bastards," corrects Eve.

"I know a raccoon when I see one."

Eve groans. "The things you call raccoons are orphaned faeries stripped of their magick. These few before you still cling to what's left of theirs."

"Do all faeries look like raccoons?" I ask. The raccoons are grinning at me with sharp teeth, waddling closer. One hops in Eve's arms and she strokes its head. It coos with pleasure.

"No, these were deformed and twisted by their attempts to return to the material plane...but, I suppose they're still kind of cute."

"Ow!" I yelp. The raccoons crowd my legs and paw at me with their tiny claws as they whisper their weird song.

"Enough," says Eve, snapping her fingers. The changeling bastards bolt away, taking refuge in the trees.

I shake my body and shiver. "I can't believe I've been afraid of raccoons this entire time."

Eve shrugs. "Get ready, you haven't seen anything yet."