Jason almost sighed,tail twitching until she looked away. He tried to look a bit at the art but wasn't sure he could calm his nerves on his own.

They followed Leanansidhe down several long corridors carpeted in red and black velvet, past portraits whose eyes seemed to follow them as they walked by. Leanansidhe didn't stop talking, a mindless, bubbly stream, as she led them through her home, spouting names, places, and creatures nobody recognized. But they couldnt stop listening to the sound of her voice, even if all they heard was chipmunk chatter. In his peripheral vision, Puck caught glimpses of rooms through half-opened doors, drenched in shadow or strange, flickering lights. Sometimes, he thought the rooms looked weird, as if there were trees growing out of the floor, or schools of fish swimming through the air. But Leanansidhes voice cut through his curiosity.

They entered a vast dining hall, where a long table took up most of the left wall, surrounded by chairs of glass and wood. Candelabra floated down the length of the surface, hovering over a feast that could feed an army. Platters of meat and fish, raw fruits and vegetables, tiny cakes, candies, bottles of wine, and a huge roast pig with an apple in its mouth as the centerpiece. Except for the flickering candlelight, the room was pitch-black and they could hear things scurrying about, muttering in the darkness.

Leanansidhe breezed into the room, trailing smoke from her cigarette, and stood at the head of the table. "Come, darlings," she called, beckoning them with the back of her gloved hand. "You look famished. Sit. Eat. And please dont be so rude as to think the food glamoured or enchanted. What kind of a host do you think I am?" She sniffed, as though the very thought annoyed her, and looked away into the shadows. "Excuse me," she called, as Puck cautiously moved toward the table. "Minions? I have guests, and you are making me look impolite. I will not be pleased if my reputation is soured, darlings."

Jason was a little uncomfortable with the darkness and sounds,not that dark bothered him but that he knew those sounds came from things in the dark. He was...put a little at ease as she said not to judge the food to be glamoured or enchanted. The fruit was the thing that caught his eye,though he tried to ignore his body. He was a meat eating dragon,sure,same with all the breeds mixed into him. Let alone that he would use his own jaws to rip apart his opponent in a battle and only lick them to clean the blood from his jaws,but he didn't pleasure fully in meat really.

Movement in the shadows, muttering and low shuffles, as a group of little men edged into the light. Puck had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. They were redcaps, evil-eyed and shark-toothed, with their hats dipped in the blood of their victims, but they were also dressed in matching butler suits with pink bow ties. Sullen and scowling, they emerged from the darkness, glaring for all they were worth. Laugh and die, their eyes warned, but Puck couldn't help himself, and started cracking up. The redcaps glared at him like they were going to bite his head off.

One of them caught sight of Ironhorse and let out a piercing hiss that sent all of them scrambling back. "Iron!" he screeched, baring his jagged fangs. "Thats one of them stinking Iron faeries! Kill it! Kill it now!"

Ironhorse roared, and Puck's dagger flashed out, a devilish grin stretching his face at the thought of violence. The redcaps surged forward, snarling and gnashing their teeth, just as eager. One of them leaped onto the table, gathering his short legs under him to launch himself at them, fangs gleaming.

"That is enough!"

They froze. It was impossible not to. Even the redcap on the table locked up, then fell into a bowl of fruit salad.

Jason was shocked. He would have jumped in but he was shocked to the bone as the lady of the house said to stop,and he just did. Fatespeaker and Shade popped their heads out on either side of his hoodie pocket,glassy eyes wide.

Leanansidhe stood at the end of the table, glowering at them all. Her eyes glowed amber, her hair whipped away from her face, and the candelabra flames danced wildly. For a heart-stopping moment, she stood there, alien and terrifying. Then she sighed, smoothed back her hair and reached for her cigarette holder, taking a long drag. As she blew out the smoke, things returned to normal, including everyone's ability to move, but no one, least of all the redcaps, had any aggressive thoughts left.

"Well?" she finally said, looking to the redcaps as if nothing had happened. "What are you minions standing about for? My seat isnt going to move itself."

The largest redcap, a burly fellow with a bone fishhook through his nose, shook himself and crept forward, pulling Leanansidhe's chair away from the table. The others followed suit, looking like they'd rather beat them to death with their own arms, but wordlessly drew out everyone's chairs. The one attending Ironhorse growled and bared his teeth at the Iron faery, then darted away as quickly as he could.

"I apologize for the minions," Leanansidhe said when they were all seated. She touched her fingers to her temple, as if she had a headache. "It's so hard to find good help these days, darlings. You have no idea."

"I thought I recognized them," Puck said, casually reaching for a pear near the center of the table. "Isn't the leader Razor Dan, or something like that? Caused a bit of a stir during the Goblin Wars, when they tried selling information to both sides?"

"Nasty business, darling." Leanansidhe snapped her fingers twice, and a brownie melted out of the darkness with a wine flute and a bottle, scrambling onto a stool to fill her glass. "Everyone knows you don't cheat the goblin tribes if you know whats good for you. Like poking a stick down an ant nest." She sipped the wine the brownie poured her and sighed. "They came to me for asylum, after making every goblin tribe in the wyldwood mad, so I put them to work. Thats the rule here, darling. You stay, you work."

"While youre here," Leanansidhe continued, smiling as they ate, "you leave all personal vendettas behind. Thats my other rule. I can easily deny them sanctuary, and then where will they be? Back in the mortal realm, dying slowly or fighting it out with the Iron fey who are gradually infesting every town and city in the world. No offense, darling," she added, smiling at Ironhorse, implying the exact opposite. Staring blindly at the table, Ironhorse didnt respond. He wasnt eating anything, and Puck figured he either didnt want to be indebted to Leanansidhe, or he didnt eat regular food. Thankfully, Leanansidhe didnt seem to notice.

"Most choose not to take the risk," she went on, stabbing her cigarette holder in the direction the redcaps had fled. "Take the minions, for example. Every so often, one will poke his nose back in the mortal realm, get it hacked off by some goblin mercenary, and come crawling back to me. Exiles, half-breeds and outcasts alike. Im their only safe haven between the Nevernever and the mortal world."

"Which begs the question," Puck asked, almost too casually. "Where are we, anyway?"

"Ah, pet." Leanansidhe smiled at him, but it was a frightening thing, cold and vicious. "I was wondering when you would ask that. And if you think you should run and tattle on me to your masters, dont bother. Ive done nothing wrong. I havent broken my exile. This is my realm, yes, but Titania can relax. It doesnt intrude upon hers in any way."

"Okay, totally not the question I asked." Puck paused with an apple in hand, raising an eyebrow. "And I think Im even more alarmed now. Where are we, Lea?"

Jason,swallowing of course as he had been taught,paused and looked to her as Shade came up and nibbled at the apple a bit. He let him,stroking his mini spikes on his back. Soon his sister joined him in enjoying some apple skin,no it wouldn't hurt nor help them. They nibbled silently,their tiny icey talons on Jason's hand to hold themselves up as they ate.

"The Between, darling." Leanansidhe leaned back, sipping her wine. "The veil between the Nevernever and the mortal realm. Surely youve realized that by now."

Both Pucks eyebrows shot up into his hair. "The Between? The Between is full of nothing, or so I was led to believe. Those who get stuck Between usually go insane in very short order."

"Yes, Ill admit, it was difficult to work with at first." Leanansidhe waved her hand airily. "But, enough about me, darlings. Lets talk about you." She took a drag on her cigarette and blew a smoky fish over the table. "Why were you tromping around the Briars when my streetrats found you? I thought you were looking for the Scepter of the Seasons, and you certainly wont find it down there, darlings. Unless you think Bellatorallix is sitting on it."