Chapter 13

The next morning Tom awoke, wondering what the hell was going on. Looking around, his room was crowded with a mixture of brownies, pixies, sprites, and half of the council. Huh? Most were asleep. That didn’t bother him as much as the fact that they were in his house to start with. Stirring with a slight groan, a multitude rushed to his bed.

“Okay, just a question. Frilly, why are all of these people here?” Tom asked.

Giggling, Frilly told him, “They ALL heard that you were badly hurt and rushed to help you. It appears they owe you,” this last was in hushed tones.

Three beings stepped forward: the brownie from the day before, a pixie that looked a lot like the one that had rushed forward when he healed the brownie, and the sprite that had brought his daughter. All three bowed in front of Tom. “I want to introduce you to Futhra, the head of the brownies; Yong, the leader of the sprites; and this is Queen Adalar of the pixies,” each bowed, causing Tom to bow back to them, bringing many gasps and smiles from the crowd in the room. “They are paying you back for what you have done so far.”

Tom looked surprised. “For what I’ve done? I haven’t really done anything. Well ... not to me, I don’t feel I’ve done anything that warrants this support at all.”

“Tom,” Frilly started, “no one can heal the mind. You are the first that I have ever heard of. I am, as you know, 3500 years old.”

Tom just shook his head. To him, all these things he’d done were simple things. “You act as if everything I did was hard or impossible. They were simple, that’s all.”

“Tom, sir, you just have to accept that you are special. You’ve brought many of the races together. Many are ready to follow you, something unheard of ever.”

Tom just looked at her in shock. He knew he was a better person than his wife had said, but he never thought of himself as special. As if the bitch ever thought anything other than that about him.

Tom got up out of bed, a slight throbbing in his side. Slowly getting up, he held his side. Many in the room rushed to heal that part as quickly as possible. While he stood there, another plan began to form in his mind. He’d need to discuss it with as many magical and mythical beings as he could. This plan, he thought, might bring him closer to getting Malamon. Sighing, there were many dangers, and he didn’t want to put anyone in more danger than they were now. Malamon was still looking for energy and magic, so they were at greater risk. Tom just hoped this plan might be the last. He was starting to get tired of this megalomaniac Malamon. Too many people have died.

Motioning each forward, Tom whispered to each that he needed to talk to them alone after all the others had gone. Thanking the many that were there, they started leaving while Tom gathered the three at his table. Outlining the plan, the three listened most intently until he finished. When he asked if they had questions, they were a little shocked that he was able to change the plan if they had concerns.

“I am not deaf to your suggestions. If we are to stop Malamon, then we must band together to stop him,” Tom said, surprised when, at first, they didn’t say anything, prompting Tom to prod them to open up.