Jacob is a photographer and artist. One day, as he is walking through the woods, he catches a glimpse of a fairy, a tiny, flying human-shaped creature. He knows no one will believe him, not even his lover Robert, so the following day Jacob ventures back into the woods whereupon he discovers more than he bargains for. An old oak lying across the rushing waters of a small river is the gateway to another world. Fairy Land is a place of wonders where he meets Kellen, a fairy soldier, Faena, a vain beauty, and King Utrin. Jacob is eager to return home to Robert, but the fairy king gives Jacob a task he must complete before they will show him the way back. He must break the energy barrier between Fairy Land and the Demon Realm for the fairy soldiers to pass through. In the realm of the Demons, Jacob meets Xavier, from whom he discovers what the fairies have been hiding from him -- time passes differently in these realms than on earth. Devastated, far away in both time and distance from his home and beloved Robert, what is the twist that returns the smile to Jacob’s face? The surprise that brings the joy back to his now miserable existence?

Changelings

The great oak had fallen across the river, its massive trunk suspended as if by magic just a few inches above the rushing waters. Logic would dictate it was the branches resting on the far bank that was keeping the tree out of the water, yet the only hint of branches were the thick stumps at the top of the trunk and fragmented bunches of oak leaves that hung suspended in the air surrounding the tree, detached and seemingly independent of the tree itself.


Jacob snapped a dozen photographs from different angles before using the tree roots to scramble up onto the trunk. From that angle the tree looked even more bizarre—a thick trunk which branched off at the top into nothing. It appeared as though a giant saw had come along and sheared off the top half of the tree.


Chapter 6