21 Changing The Terms

Fear. What did a fairy have to fear aside from discovery, the way all fae did?

Ash tried to figure that out by studying Ruby's face as she worked in the garden but wasn't having much luck. She didn't seem to notice he was staring either; continuing to prune as if she didn't have a care in the world.

He didn't understand her attitude. How could she simultaneously be carefree and fearful? What did she actually want? He should be more specific.

"I meant what do you plan to do after your wing heals and our deal is complete," Ash clarified.

"Oh," Ruby said disinterestedly. "I was thinking about going to Las Vegas. Could you pass me the bigger pair of shears? I don't think these ones are working so well anymore."

He did as she said with a frown on his face. He had heard of Las Vegas…wasn't it southeast from here? Supposedly there were some elves that had a financial stronghold out that way. They had always been moneygrubbers of the highest order.

"Why would you want to do that?"

The fairy shrugged. "I heard there's a group of fire fairies out there and wanted to see them in action. They're a big part of the entertainment culture in Vegas, you know. I also wanted to see if I could get rich quickly and buy myself some businesses that'll rake in the money for me so I don't have to put in any effort."

Ruby was thinking like an elf. Interesting. Most fae didn't hoard wealth for generations, preferring to keep themselves busy by working so they didn't lose their minds with nothing to do for decades.

Or so he had heard. His coven had spent any time they weren't gathering intelligence to pay for basic necessities working on researching new facets of blood magic. They were innovators at heart, not terribly unlike the girl in front of him appeared to be.

"What do you plan to do with all of that money?" Ash asked as he handed her the water bottle.

"I haven't really thought that far," Ruby admitted with a shrug. "I'm a runaway; I'm kind of taking things one day at a time. But I suppose I'd want to buy a place with a lot of land eventually. I could create any sort of landscape I want and live far enough away from humans that I could fly around without worrying about being seen.

"That could be my home base but I could travel any time I wanted. I think it would be fun to go to new places and see what they have to offer. But that's not really much of a plan, is it? More like a dream."

It was more of a plan than Ash had for his revenge. What she said about getting rich fast in Las Vegas…was it possible that he could do it too or was it exclusive to whatever strange power she had?

He tried to sound casual. "How would you earn money fast in Las Vegas?"

Ruby turned toward him and raised an eyebrow, one gloved hand on her hip. "You need to earn money fast?"

"…yes."

She seemed like she wanted to say something but couldn't find the right words. Her expression was a troubled one. When she did speak, Ash was nearly certain it wasn't what she was originally going to say.

"Not to pry…but does this have anything to do with what you talked about with Blair the other day?"

Ah. So she had caught onto that. Well, he had dragged the witch away by force. That would make anyone suspicious, let alone someone as clever as Ruby.

There was no real reason to lie to her. He didn't have to give any details about it. "Yes."

"I see."

Ruby returned to her pruning without another word for at least fifteen minutes. Ash thought the conversation was over. From the beginning, they both had the mutual understanding that they wouldn't get into each other's business.

Their deal was meant to be simple and temporary. He should have known trying to recruit her would be a hopeless endeavor.

He could always try to go to Las Vegas himself but he had no way to get there and had no idea what to do even if he could. This was the problem with suddenly becoming a coven of one in a world he had long stopped participating in actively.

The Mayhews had kept to themselves and away from humans for millennia. Back when they had to hunt for blood, they were seen as the enemy so there were always humans out to kill them.

Occasionally you would find a quack that was interested in humans and tried to live among them by drinking animal blood and hiding their true natures. If they were clever enough, they got away with it. If they weren't, they would end up the target of vampire hunters that were sometimes successful.

Ash cursed himself for not getting involved with the humans like everyone else had decades ago. He wouldn't be having this problem now if he had a bit of foresight!

"We could change the terms of the deal." Ruby spoke up so suddenly he whipped his head around to be sure he had heard her correctly.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to Las Vegas anyway. I could bring you with me and we could potentially try to get rich fast together before parting ways. But you would have to do something for me in return."

"Anything," Ash promised fervently. He had nothing left to lose.

"Don't promise what you can't deliver," she said lightly. "When I do buy my property, I want you to create a barrier for me. A full dome so I can keep other fairies out."

His face immediately fell. Why was she asking the impossible of him? He was no good at blood magic! If he had any one of his former coven members to help it would be simple but they were all gone.