As the group of humans and the wizard continued to walk to the meeting place with the alleged "good Fae", Bella and Ivy were telling their sisters, master, and the wizard what had transpired in the locked room. They all had unknowingly formed a protective circle around Leilani, but when Shadow noticed he didn't say anything, merely smiled to himself.
They continued to walk until Matthias stopped suddenly and turned to look at Bella.
"You said the Sprite was severely weakened by you grabbing his wings and pinching them tight?" Matthias asked the girl, determination in his eyes.
When Bella nodded and looked quizzically at him, Matthias nodded back, raised his arms and muttered a loud incantation. Four small cages appeared over their heads and they heard shrill shrieks as creatures appeared in them, sounding very shocked.
Instead of letting the cages drop to the floor the way he'd done with the Sprite's cage, he caused them to float down to the ground so he and the humans could get a better look at the creatures inside. The shocked sounds gave way to shrieks of anger, and the creatures were shouting in an unknown language.
"One little Sprite wouldn't be enough to thwart my counter spells and keep that damn door closed on us," Matthias said matter-of-factly. "The Sprite you encountered became weakened when you pinched his wings; we should've gotten through by that point. The Sprite had help, lots of it."
Three of the cages held more Sprites, two male and one female. One male was blonde haired, and the other was sandy haired, both naked except for their shorts made of grass and leaves. The female had long red hair and wore a grass/leaves bikini like the one the nymph had worn.
The fourth cage held a new kind of creature, one that looked like a Sprite without wings, but still floated inside the cage. They could tell it was male, and it was fully clothed in a shirt and pants made of grass and leaves.
"Meet the cousin to a Sprite, an imp," Matthias explained, looking at the imp and at the three Sprites. "The old magic perforating from them is almost staggering, no wonder it took so long for me to counter them."
"Let me out now, and I'll make your deaths quick and painless for locking me up in the first place," the imp hissed at Matthias, and tried to look at the wizard and humans menacingly.
"You dare threaten a wizard, you little bastard!" Matthias said, and the light in his eyes grew brighter and a soft glow formed around him.
The imp's attempt at bravado stopped instantly but he continued to glare at Matthias. The glow left Matthias' form, but his eyes continued to glow brightly.
"Can you keep them all caged, but transport them in with the other Sprite so they don't cause any more trouble?" Shadow asked the wizard so they could get moving again.
"Yes, a grand idea, this ground is supposed to be neutral anyway, so harm is not encouraged further than defense," Matthias agreed and raised his arms.
The four cages vanished with all four creatures still hissing and shouting in their native languages. Matthias looked apologetically at the humans.
"Fortunately, the cages will only be seen as an act of defense, but I must apologize to you all," Matthias said and sighed. "I gave you my word that no harm would come to any of you, and Ivy was almost attacked by a Sprite, and who knows what else those other creatures were intending to do to all of us? The king of the Sprites will hear of his subjects' antics on neutral ground and I will demand justice. I will also demand justice for your girl Leilani, though I don't know how she became the victim of a Sprite in the first place."
"I was manipulated by a girl I met a month ago into going on a blind date with the Sprite," Leilani explained with a shiver. "She seemed legit for the entire month so I thought the blind date couldn't hurt. God, I was fucking wrong! The bastard grabbed me, took me to where he lives, and had his way with me for what seemed like fucking forever!"
"Leilani, do you want Matthias to transport you home?" Shadow asked, covering the girl in a hug. "You've been through enough; he can take you home to rest and start healing."
"Master, I get that you trust Matthias, and that's whatever, but I don't trust Fae at the moment, him included, so I'd rather stay with you until you go," Leilani replied, and Shadow nodded in acknowledgement.
If Matthias was offended by Leilani's words, he didn't show it. He simply led the way around the corner of the hallway to the left and showed them an enormous door where the gathering was taking place on the other side.
They walked up to the enormous door, two doors split down the middle, and the doors opened immediately. Matthias led the way in, and they could hear the many conversations and light minstrel music as the gathering was underway.
The gathering was taking place in a type of banquet hall, one that seemed endless in sight. All manner of Fae creatures was there, some of them, one would only find in mythology books and fairy tales.
Though they were all mingling with other races by the plenty, the Fae of authority had their own areas of tables and decorations that fit the needs of the Fae they correlated with. Shadow, always the observer and profiler, was taking the scene in, trying to get all the details he could with his five senses.
The air smelled sweet, and the mixture of colors was not staggering but pleasing to the eyes. Shadow could sense the magic in the room, ancient and wise in places, and playful and serene in others. He could see that his ladies were taking in the scene as well, looks of wonder and fascination were evident on their faces.
For a moment the conversations and festivities stopped, and the Fae grew quiet as they peered at Matthias and the humans. Shadow could sense curiosity and see welcoming smiles come from the Fae closest to them. None of the Fae spoke, but they didn't seem threatening either.
"Welcome, humans, to our gathering," a female voice finally said to them, sounding thunderous as though she was talking via a microphone with sound speakers built in the walls where they couldn't see them. "Your wizard friend Matthias has told many of us much about you, human known as Shadow, and your lovely ladies. We thank you all for agreeing to meet with us as we gather in neutrality and peace."
Matthias bowed, though it was to acknowledge that he was mentioned by the female voice and motioned that the humans needn't bow along side him. Shadow simply smiled and nodded at the many Fae staring at them.
Finally, a woman who looked like she was in her thirties, but with an ancient aura to her, materialized in front of them. She had long blonde hair with red streaks tied back in a tight bun, and she wore a white gown with red trim.
Her eyes were without pupils like Matthias' and instead there was only white light. She radiated magic like a shield around her, and probably didn't even realize it. Matthias took one of her hands and kissed the back with both respect and admiration.
"I am Kaetaria, a female of Matthias' kind, and I've been elected spokeswoman between the Fae and your group," the woman said and nodded at the humans, first Shadow, then each of the ladies one by one.
"Pleased to meet you," Shadow replied with a smile. "This place looks amazing."
With Kaetaria now with Matthias and the humans, the festivities resumed, and the place became lively again. Kaetaria led them off to the side and began listing a few of the Fae males and females that held authority with their species and the humans should meet if they would honor the Fae in such a way.
The head of a coven of witches was there, along with a vampire queen who ruled over a portion of the lands that the vampires inhabited. An elven king and his queen would want to meet them, as well as some water Fae such as sirens and mer-people.
