The Sprite
Part 11
Life
was tough enough without having to wake up in the dirty cheating hands of the fairyhunter himself, Neena thought as she refocused her
vision. Thank the gods he was sleeping himself, she thought. If
she was lucky, she could get up and flutter back home without waking him.
She looked around for a moment, making sure
there were no other hidden traps to worry about and was surprised to find none.
Was this another trick? Looking harder at him, she could still see remnants of
her own magic on him from when she'd zapped him. Maybe he was actually
unconscious from that. Well, it served him right, she decided. Shouldn't be trying to trick people.
A twang of guilt made her gently touch his
hand to see if he needed to be healed. She let her magic run through him
quickly and drew it back when it ran smoothly, finding no wounds or pains to
fix. He really was just asleep. She grinned and started to flutter up, only to
have his fingers steeple up around her waist, trapping her as fast as before,
but even tighter. His eyes were still closed, but his fingers probed slightly,
as if making sure they had the right sprite. A slight thrill mixed with fear
swept through her, causing her to struggle against the digits for a moment and
even yelp out when his thumb swept across her front. His eyes opened at the
sound and focused on her. She felt his fingers relax slightly, but not enough
to set her free. "Going so soon?" he asked.
"Just stretching a bit," she lied.
"Why, gonna miss me if I go?"
A fleeting look of embarrassment crossed his
face, but he replied smoothly. "No more than you must have missed me to
come looking for me."
She set her jaw, embarrassed for a moment
herself. "I came looking for your traps, not you."
"And I came looking for sprites to
trap, not you."
"Well, I'm what you got, so I guess
that's it. And for the record, you didn't trap me. I'm out of your stupid
crystal."
"Fine. And for the record, I've got you right now and I'm
LETTING you go, since you are of no apparent value to me…as yet." His
thumb stroked down her stomach and thighs gently, then
returned to hold her in place as her heart raced.
"And just what is THAT supposed to
mean?" she snapped.
He paused, eyeing her for a moment.
"Tell me how you got out of that crystal first and I might tell you."
She folded her arms stubbornly…she wasn't
falling for this again. "No more deals. Either tell me or get
zapped."
"I'd like to pretend that worries me."
"Yeah, but you can't because you KNOW
it worries you." She leveled a steady gaze at him and he returned it, then stroked her with his thumb again. "Cut it
out," she said trembling a little.
"Oh, so you DO get a little worried
yourself sometimes, huh?" He continued, and she grabbed his thumb, trying
to push it away halfheartedly as it ran down her sides and shoulders. She'd
been held in human hands before, but had never felt this strangely. She looked
away, abashed again, then finally looked back at him,
asking the question she hoped he had on his mind, too. "So, is this going
somewhere, or what?"
He looked thoughtfully at her for a long
time, then opened his fingers up, releasing her. "Probably not."
Instinct made her flutter up the minute she
felt the fingers relax. She watched him as she put his hands behind his head
and adjusted his back more comfortably against the nearest tree. Still wary,
she turned and landed on the same log she'd hidden behind to spy on him
earlier. "Probably not?" she echoed, curious despite herself.
He nodded. "Well, to go the direction
I'D like things to go, you'd have to be a little taller, little one. And since
that ain't happenin',
you're better off tripping back into the forest where you came from."
It was, strangely enough, the very response
Neena wanted. "Gimme my
amulet."
He smiled. "You give me my gem
first."
"After you give me
the amulet."
"And then you take off with both."
"Probably," she replied, holding
her hand out for it. He sat looking at her thoughtfully again, then laughed.
"Ya know
what? Take it. I've had enough excitement for one day." He pulled the
amulet out of his pocket and set it on the end of the log she was on. She
darted for it, scooping it up to put it on, just as he reached for her again…
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