Once Stiles had made it home, he threw himself face down on the bed with a long groan. Peter, he wanted Peter to tell him everything was okay.
“Stiles?” Okay now he was hallucinating Peter's voice. Well that was better than past hallucinations at least. “You're not hallucinating sweetheart.”
Stiles sat up slowly and looked around. It took him a moment to realise where the voice was coming from and he silently praised his spark for coming through for him. His new laptop was sat on the bedside table, open on a Skype window where Peter's concerned face was visible.
“Peter!”
“That's me. Are you alright?”
Stiles opened his mouth to speak, to spout some kind of empty reassurance but the sound caught in his throat and came out as a hitching sob. It broke down whatever control he had left, tears spilling over as he spluttered and choked, trying to bury the emotions.
“Sweetheart tell me what happened.” Peter's tone was soft but firm, an order not a request.
Stiles obeyed. He let out every fear from the day, every struggle. Amy and her strange lack of emotions, his concern for Sookie, worry that someone was possessed, his indecision about helping Lafayette and fear that he'd made the wrong choice, stress about getting too close and finally the terror of Derek and Isaac's visit. As he spoke Peter’s expression went from concern to full blown worry to barely suppressed anger.
When he finished, Peter took a moment to compose himself before speaking.
“If I had known… i’m so sorry I couldn’t warn you… did they see you?”
“No, i hid in a walk-in refrigerator and the other staff members bullied them out. But they would have smelled that I’d been there. They’ll try again or Scott will send someone else. Maybe he’ll send Mr Argent after me. Save him getting his hands dirty.”
“Christopher won’t lay a finger on you.”
“Really? After everything? After-”
“If the next word out of your mouth was going to be Alison, you can stop right there. He doesn’t blame you for what happened. The only people who do are Scott and Isaac and yourself. And i only care about the opinion of one of those people… but unfortunately he’s lacking perspective. Now, are you going to stay there or are you relocating?”
“I don’t want to relocate… i like it here. The people are nice. I have a roof over my head, I have work I enjoy…”
“Then you’re going to need to protect yourself.”
Stiles knew what Peter was doing. He was giving him tasks, things he could actually accomplish to prevent him from spiraling.
“Okay… mountain ash around the house to start with, early warning detection runes, runes to hide my scent and heartbeat. Anything else?”
“Make sure you put the early warning runes anywhere you might frequent, including your work. Are there any other supernaturals who can be relied upon in the area?”
“There’s the telepath, Sookie, but she doesn’t really know anything about the supernatural other than vampires. My boss, Sam, the shifter… he’d probably help me just cause he doesn’t like werewolves. Then there’s Eric…”
“The vampire?”
“Yeah. I met with him and the next day he offered me a job as sort of a spy slash researcher keeping him informed of what’s going on around here. I’ve not accepted, i was weighing my options.”
“If you work for him, he would be duty bound to protect you. Especially if you can get it in writing. Are those your only options?”
“Basically. There’s a few other vampires around but I either don’t know them or don’t trust them. A couple of people have maybe a hint of magic? But nothing concrete, i don’t think they’re even aware of it.”
“Invest in those you have, if you need to read people into the supernatural world more thoroughly, make sure they’re trustworthy and take your time with it.” Stiles nodded. “I’m going to try to make arrangements so i can visit you or possibly join you but before i can severe ties here, I need to locate an alpha.”
“I know. But will you be okay if you become an alpha with just me as your pack? I don’t want you to suffer because of me.”
“Our bond is strong enough. As a beta, probably not but as an alpha it will keep me stable for as long as I need it to.”
“If you’re sure…”
“I am.” He paused. “How are you feeling?”
“Better… you always know how to make me feel better.” Stiles’ voice was still a little wavering but stronger than it had been. He wiped away a few stray tears still staining his cheeks and took a deep breath. “Right. I’m going to go set up my barrier, get dressed and make a trip to see my new favourite vampire.”
“Best of luck. Let me know what happens. I want regular updates and if I don’t get them, you will not like the consequences.”
“Understood.”
“Good boy. I’ll keep my ears open and if I hear any whispers about you, I’ll tell you.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you later?”
“Always. Stay safe Red.”
“Love you too Peter.”
Peter never said it aloud but Stiles knew that was what he meant when he told him to stay safe. The ‘wolf smiled at him, a proper smile not his standard smirk or sneer, and disconnected the call.
Stiles took a deep breath and got up, grabbing a marker pen and the jar of mountain ash. Typically he would carve or burn runes but pen would do in a pinch. He circled the outside of the house, eyes closed as he trailed the ash along beside him.
“What are you doin’?”
He opened his eyes to see Lisa and Colby watching him with interest.
“Magic,”
“That’s not magic, that’s a jar of dirt,” Lisa said, frowning
“It’s not dirt, it’s ash. And it’s magic,” Stiles told her.
“What kinda magic?”
“It’s like a fence. Keeps bad people from getting in.”
Lisa’s frown grew and she very deliberately stepped over the line.
“It didn’t stop me.”
“Are you a bad person? Did you want to try and hurt me?”
“No!”
“Well then, that’s why it let you in. Besides, it’s not finished.” He closed his eyes again and blocked out the whispers of the two children, methodically completing his circuit. He pushed as much belief as he could into the ash and heard a faint pop, like a sharp change in pressure had taken place. When he opened his eyes again, the line was seared into the dirt.
Whoops… may have overdone it a bit.
He turned to the kids who were both staring and he winked.
“Told you. Magic.”
Stiles went back inside and added the runes for elk and thorn to the base of each wall at the four points of the compass, brushing his spark over each one once it was complete. The final point was over his bed where he drew a slightly lopsided aegishjalmur. As he channeled his power into it, he felt a warm buzz descend around him.
His spark whispered to him, promising safety and comfort, and he couldn’t help the small smile that played across his lips.
Home.
Once he was satisfied that his house was safe, Stiles showered and changed into something a little less casual. If he was going to try and ally with the vampires, he needed to work out how to stay on their good sides. Eric seemed to already like him, at least enough to want to work with him. Pam would be a bit more difficult and, while she wasn’t his favourite person, he knew that he needed her support since she seemed to be Eric’s second in command. He had a plan of sorts to deal with her but in the meantime he would try and make an effort with his appearance since she had made remarks about it.
With his hair carefully mussed, black skinny jeans, a soft grey waistcoat and a hooded red leather jacket, he considered it a slightly upgraded version of his standard red hoodie look.
He drove to Shreveport, arriving a little before sundown, and decided to save time by appearing inside. A small part of him noted that there was no queue outside this time but he assumed it was just gearing up to be a quiet night for them.
Stiles seated himself at the bar, relishing in the quiet. He hummed softly, taking in the decor that was usually obscured by the mass of writhing bodies.
A shrill scream cut through the quiet, piercingly sharp. Stiles turned quickly to see a skinny blonde woman in a tube top and hot pants.
“Ow!” He rubbed his ears, gesturing with one hand for her to stop.
“Who are you?! How did you get in here?!”
“Relax, okay? I’m here to see Eric, not cause trouble.”
“He’s not here.”
“I know that. I’m alright waiting. Just pretend i’m not here.” He gave her his best friendly smile. She eyed him warily but apparently decided it was safer for her to leave him be. She probably figured if he wasn’t meant to be there, one of the vampires would take care of him.
As he sat, quietly observing, a few more humans drifted into the bar. He quickly recognised them as employees rather than customers, all dressed down and lacking the typical aesthetic he’d come to expect from guests. They looked stressed and nervous, making him wonder what exactly was going on.
Eventually the door opened and Pam swept inside. She wasn’t in her leather dominatrix gear, instead wearing a pale pink sweater and slacks. She paused mid step when she caught sight of Stiles sitting there.
“I see you haven’t taken my advice.”
“Unfortunately, I’m not great when it comes to shopping and fashion. I may require some assistance… y’know, if you’d be interested in using me as a life size dress up doll?”
“I’ll have to check my schedule,” she said, lips flickering into the smallest of smiles. “Eric had to run an errand but he should be back shortly. If you can wait in the office, I have a staff meeting to start.”
“Yes ma’am,” Stiles hopped off the stool and headed towards the back. He brushed past Longshadow on the way and tried to suppress his flinch as images filled his head. He considered telling the vampire what he’d seen but then he heard him complaining to Pam, arguing that he wasn’t allowed to bring a snack so why was Eric?
Asshole tax, he decided.
He made himself comfy in the office and got out his phone. There was a text from Sookie waiting for him.
Hey Stiles
I guess Sam or someone said something to the other staff at the bar and someone (three guesses who) told some other people that you're in town to hide from an ex? Just wanted to give you a heads up before your next shift and you heard people gossiping. Might actually help you though, people like you for standing up to those trashy vamps so if those guys come back they'll probably cover for you!
Sookie x
7:27pm
Well as cover stories went, that wasn't the worst one. Especially if it got people to try and steer off anyone who came looking for him. He would have preferred for things to stay quiet but he had enough experience with small towns to know that was usually a futile hope.
He amused himself playing Angry Birds on his phone for a while, the game managing to distract him from the swirling mess of thoughts inside his head.
When he next looked up, he was startled by the sight of Eric watching him from the doorway. He was dressed far more casually than the last time Stiles had seen him, wearing a simple black tank top that exposed his pale muscular arms. The vampire smirked at the jolt of the boy's heart.
“Stiles. I hope I haven't kept you waiting?”
“If you had, it would be my fault for not warning you I was coming ahead of time.”
Eric came over to the couch Stiles was sitting on and seated himself, surprising the boy who had expected him to take the position of power at the desk.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”
“I was hoping you'd have time to discuss that job offer? If now isn't convenient, I can come back.”
I can, but I don't want to. The prospect of leaving without securing some form of protection from whatever Scott might try filled him with cold dread.
Eric's eyes narrowed slightly as he picked up on the fear Stiles was trying to mask but he didn't comment, merely gesturing for him to proceed.
“I would like to accept the offer but I have a few details I want to go over with you.”
“By all means,”
“If… if I work for you… would that afford me a degree of protection?”
“What is it you need protecting from?” Eric shifted closer, leaning in and lowering his voice. “What is it that inspires this fear in you?”
“The pack I was in…things didn't end well. Today two of the wolves came into the bar where I work looking for me. I can't let them find me, I can't let them take me back.”
Eric gave him an assessing look, before getting up and going over to the desk.
“Where is this pack based?”
“California. Beacon Hills.”
“They have an emissary? Or a liaison?”
“Erm, yeah but it’s kind of informal… or it was when I left. Alan Deaton, he’s the town vet.” Eric tapped a few keys on his phone, brow furrowed.
“What’s the alpha’s name?”
“Scott McCall.”
He continued to type, before dialing a number. He switched it to loudspeaker, standing rigid until it connected.
“Hello, Beacon Hills Veterinary Clinic. How can i help you?” At the sound of Scott’s voice, Stiles flinched.
“I would like to speak to Alan Deaton.”
“He’s a little busy at the moment, can I take a message?”
“Yes, tell him to remove his hand from whatever animal orifice it’s currently in and come to the phone.”
There was a moment of silence, and then the slightly muffled sound of Scott’s voice followed by the phone being handed over.
“Hello, this is Alan Deaton, who am I speaking to?”
“I am Eric Northman, the vampire sheriff of Louisiana Area 5.”
“Okay…” Deaton’s voice had suddenly become significantly more wary. “What can I do for you Sheriff?”
“It’s come to my attention that two wolves have entered my territory, uninvited. I believe they belong to a Mr Scott McCall?”
“Yes, two of the pack were planning a roadtrip and would have likely passed through the area.”
“It would be in everyone’s best interest for you not to lie to me. Just because I am asleep during the day, does not mean I am unaware of what goes on. They were hassling the staff at a local supernatural owned business. Apparently they were looking for someone.”
“I…yes… a former pack member went missing and we received word that he might have made his way to your town. They merely wanted to return him home. He presents a potential risk to himself and to others.”
“And you think I am incapable of handling risks in my territory myself?”
“No, we just-”
“Please inform Mr McCall that if his wolves have not left my territory by the next sunset, I will be sending two wolfskin rugs back in their place. Is that understood?”
“Yes.”
Eric ended the call and looked at Stiles, eyebrow raised. Stiles blinked.
“I didn’t expect that.”
“I don’t like loose ends running around.” Eric returned to the couch. “Anything else you might want to tell me?” Stiles considered for a moment.
“I can tell you you're going to need a new bartender.”
“And why's that?”
“Because your current one won't live to see the next sunset.”
“Technically he never would have.”
“You know what I mean. Live, die, unlive, whatever you want to call it. He'll be a blood splatter in the next 24 hours.”
“You can see the future? Or are you planning on killing him?”
“Ehh I can see bits of the future. Never that far ahead and never very detailed. If we were driving in a car, a proper seer would be like… a GPS. Can tell you where to go, which roads have traffic, how long it'll take. I'm more like a kid looking out the window and occasionally yelling when I see a landmark I recognise.”
“Hmm, interesting. Sookie and Bill are going to be coming by to help me with an issue, it seems it’s going to be an interesting visit.” The ghost of a smile played across his lips. “Now, what other details did you wish to discuss?”
“If I work for you, do i need to stop working at Merlotte's?"
“Typically I wouldn’t want an employee working at another establishment, but I think it might be advantageous for you to remain there. Humans talk when they’re drunk.”
“What exactly are the parameters you want me to follow? Am I just keeping an ear out for anything and everything? Just specific topics?”
“I’d like you to note down anything related to vampires, the supernatural or the sale of vampire blood. If you hear anything else that you think might be relevant to me, include it. I may call on you to find specific information on an adhoc basis, you will receive additional compensation for these occasions. Do you work days or nights at the shifter’s bar?”
“Nights. But I also fill in day shift sometimes.”
“I would prefer if you could come to Fangtasia on occasion and listen in here as well.”
“I’ll sort something out with Sam. When do you want me to report my findings?”
“Any non-urgent matters, send via email weekly. I require you to come in at least once a month for an in person report. For more indepth topics I ask you to research, I will give you instructions on when.”
Stiles considered for a moment before nodding slowly. Eric seemed… reasonable. If incredibly intimidating. As long as he didn’t attempt to screw over the vampire, he would be okay.
“Okay. I’ll work for you.”
“Excellent. I’ll get the paperwork.” Eric rose, pausing as something caught his ear. “It appears my guests are arriving. Stay in here while I handle this matter.”
Olivia Atwater managed to effortlessly mix coziness with the consequences of messing with the fae and fantasy romance, and there is really nothing like it. Thought Bridgerton was missing stakes and faeries? Yeah, me too. You'll adore this trilogy, and to save you the trouble of searching Tumblr for all three reviews, I've rounded them up here!
Hey, hi, hello. There are SPOILERS below the cut. Be caught up or be cool with spoilers.
Long-Tailed Feelings and Regency Fairy Tales
Olivia Atwater's Half a Soul was an absolutely fascinating combination of everything I loved about Regency romance and all the best bits of fairy tales. There are no "candy floss fairies" here; the fae are threatening, dangerous, and genuinely terrifying if you land on the wrong side of them. Let's talk Dora and Elias.
Unquestionably, the best part of this book is the unconventional protagonists. For everyone who thought "Mr. Darcy was cool, but make him GRUMPIER," I give you Elias Wilder, the Lord Sorcier. Elias is rude, curt, and utterly fails to suffer fools for longer than 0.0001 milliseconds. Balance that against actual brilliance, a very deeply buried squishy center, and an infallible moral compass, and he is one of the more interesting, prickly, and weirdly endearing love interests I've seen in a while.
Opposite Elias is Theodora "Dora" Ettings, who had half her soul stolen by a fairy when she was a child. He'd have gotten her whole soul, except that her cousin stabbed the fairy with a pair of iron bird scissors that Dora subsequently wears around her neck. The very cool thing about Dora is that after half her soul is stolen away, she only feels, as she describes them, "long-tailed feelings." This causes her all sorts of grief socially, and her mother and aunt never truly accept Dora as she is. The incredible thing is that Dora herself DOES. She is given the opportunity to reunite the two halves of her soul in adulthood, and doesn't do it. So I am here for and love a protagonist who owns how awesome she is.
Elias and Dora are what I would call an unconventional pair, but that quote simply makes them more interesting to watch. I highly recommend this regency fantasy fairy tale romance, and I cannot wait to read the next two in this trilogy!
Oh You NEVER Introduce Yourself to Fae...
Miss Euphemia Reeves begins her fairy tale by making a cardinal mistake: she offers her full name to Juniper Jubilee, the Lord Blackthorn. And then Lord Blackthorn promptly appoints himself Effie's fairy godfather and is so damn enthusiastic and desperate to help that he becomes the single biggest obstacle to Effie fulfilling her fairy bargain. Let's talk Ten Thousand Stitches.
There are two major things I love about this book. First, I love that it does not frame anger as an inherently negative thing that needs to be gotten rid of or overcome; in point of fact, anger is what saves the day in this fairy tale. That actually gives Effie a real Sam Vimes vibe, truth be told, but we'll come back to that. Second, I actually loved how much of the book I spent yelling "HE LOVES YOU, OPEN YOUR EYES AND SEE IT" at Effie. Our girl is here for class solidarity and equitable treatment of servants, but wow can she not see true love when it's standing in front of her with puppy dog eyes.
Effie's two main plotlines are full on coming for the family she works for because they are abusing and exploiting their servants, and trying to get Benedict to fall in love with her. One of these goes significantly better than the other, because Effie turns out to be a magician whose magic works through embroidery. And this is where I want to really dig into how anger is handled in this novel.
As someone who was femme socialized in the 90s and early 00s, I definitely got the "anger and noise are not feminine, don't do that" and "anger is an inherently bad emotion." (To clarify: I did not get this from my parents, they were great. I got this from the REST of society.) Now as a grown-ass adult woman with some serious social justice and disability justice axes to grind, I have exactly zero time for moralizing about emotions. They exist, its on us to deal. And Effie's anger is characterized in terms like "bright" and "sharp" and "shining," which is a really lovely change from the deep black cesspool characterization that we usually see.
Atwater understands that anger can be motivating, can be the part of you that KNOWS you have more value than you are being treated with, and that cares deeply for you and the people around you. And Effie can imbue her embroidery with anger that motivates people to keep going, to change things for the better. This is anger that inspires. It's a complex, nuanced, adult living in a capitalist hellscape exploration of anger and its place. And y'all...I am here for it. I love how this is handled in the book.
If I'm being honest, the romance was my least favorite part of this book, because Effie inspiring the servants to basically informally unionize and fight for better lives for all of them is just so, so good, and feels so topical and relevant. And also, Effie just GETS this process, especially once its pointed out to her that she can work her anger magic intentionally. She is nowhere near this good at matters of the heart.
Overall, this was a very fun read, and honestly as a regency fairy tale, I think it hits strong.
Fairy Tales of Love and Death
In the afterword to this book, Olivia Atwater says:
"I am not fond of death. I feel strange that I even have to write those words, but apparently I do. For some reason, we are surrounded by stories which romanticise death, and which imply that people who refuse to accept death are doing the world some sort of moral disservice. Obviously I do not think that accepting death is a virtue."
Someday I need to inject this quote into the brains of every doctor, nurse, CDC director, and world leader who had any say whatsoever in public health policy in the year of our lord 2023. Not to mention literally everyone who has ever thought that disabled or chronically ill people are better off dead. Because that romanticization exists, and somehow it got tied up in a really ugly way with ableism.
And then with her whole chest, Atwater told a story in which not only does almost nobody die, but at least one person is resurrected. Let's talk Longshadow.
*Spoilers abound below the break, so be warned!*
Fairy tales have an actively weird relationship with love and death. By courting one, you're often courting the other in fairy tale settings, and Miss Abigail Wilder ends up doing that QUITE LITERALLY. When Mercy Midnight gets caught in the bedroom of a girl who died suspiciously by the Lord Sorcier's beloved adopted daughter, our girls get right down to the business of falling in love while trying to solve a fae-based murder mystery.
There are so many beautiful little moments in Abigail and Mercy's relationship. Abigail realizing she is falling in love. Mercy dressing Abigail in midnight. Abigail speaking in support of Mercy to Other Mum. Hugs. Little touches. The desire for mutual belonging. The really lovely little motif of imagination, and Mercy actively making choices to revive Abigail's neglected imagination. Everything about this relationship is warm and soft and trusting...even once it's revealed that Mercy actually is Lord Longshadow, and is herself a sluarch.
Sluarch is the term Atwater uses in this story rather than psychopomp (creatures who guide the souls of the deceased to the afterlife; there are versions of these in every religion and culture), and they are tied into raven imagery, but they are themselves fairies, so all the usual rules apply. The sluarchs we meet are all just brimming with personality, and honestly they are just as wonderful as Lady Hollowvale and Mr. Jubilee, in their own ways.
What I think I loved best and what touched me most about this book, though, is how it addresses agency in death--both at the actual point of and for ghosts. And what this book screams to the skies with its whole chest is that people and ghosts have autonomy where death is concerned. Sluarchs do not judge, they do not coerce. They are hands to hold while you make your choice, and after you have made a choice, if you choose to go into the afterlife with them. Even Lord Longshadow, Mercy herself, has to learn that agency and autonomy are the most important things where death is concerned, not some arbitrary idea of what is "right" or "correct."
abigail rlly looked at her mother loving her father and said “i, too, want a dense, temperamental, anti-elitist fae-touched magician who has never had an elocution class in their life to spend all my days with”
A new leader she was not deputy before becoming leader, the previous leader Beetlestar and his deputy Lightcloud where killed by the Hollows, to “liberate” Silent clan. She was chosen by their current medicine cat Blacktears
She's naive but loyal and smart. She cares for her clan's wellbeing above all, and is a staunch believer in all the clans' welfare, that there should always be four functioning clans otherwise they will lose what makes them clan cats. She and Magpiestar have been close friends since they apprenticed. She needs to learn to speak up for herself and trust in her own judgment will she?
