Jelani wondered what was wrong.

After Astan left, Crispy settled down with a book pulled form one of the many boxes the youngers had carried, but Lane paced with a trapped tiger look in his eyes.

Lane had a computer at hand but wasn't using it. That was what finally tipped her off.

"So what's going on, Lane? It's not my birthday," Jelani was tired and would have lain down, except something in Lane's bearing wouldn't let her.

"It's what?" Lane turned confused eyes on her.

"Not my birthday." She gestured to the door. "Surprise party? Elli's too young. Astan's been ready to explode the last few days. So something's going on. Tell me." Nervous herself now, she walked over to the door of the baby's room and peeked in, seeing his little swaddled lump in the cradle the elder had sent. Relieved, she came back to Lane. "You told me I could ask you anything about this, starting with that video so many months ago. Didn't you?"

Lane shifted his bulk from one leg to the other, looking everywhere but at her. "Jelly Bean, maybe you best ask Astan about--"

Fury bubbled up in her quickly followed by fear. The evasion and lies made it worse. "I'm asking you. Tell me now."

"Jel, have you thought about moving into town? Get away from those old witches before something bad happens?" Lane's fat fingers twisted against each other as he fought for words. "You know, just to be safe."

"Something bad's going to happen? Is that what Astan thinks?" Alarmed, she went to the door of the baby's room again, looking at the small space where he lay.

"Now, I didn't say it was. I just said if."

"You said before," Crispy corrected.

Lane eyed him with a look like a baseball bat upside the head. "You know what? Never mind. Let's play cards. C'mon, Crisp, you'll play gin, right?"

Jelani hated being pandered to. Or handled. Or lied to most of all. Blood raced in her ears. "The hell with cards. Tell me of get out."

"Can't, Jelly Bean. I promised Astan--"

"To hell with Astan, too. Everyone in the world is conspiring behind my back and I can't stand it!" She snatched up her elven blanket from the papasan and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Get out. Now. I can't stand to have anyone here who isn't fully behind me. Not any more."

When they didn't move, she felt a rush of adrenaline shoot through her and overwhelm her so fast that she started shaking. Something bad was coming. Everyone was against her. Even Astan had bailed to go meet with the Circle. She was on her own.

"Get out!" Jelani ordered. "I swear I'll shoot you if I have to."

Lane snorted in disbelief. "Bull."

"You don't believe me? I have a gun, I do!"

Almost lighthearted with anxiety, Jelani went to a drawer in the kitchen area and opened it. She pulled out a small pistol and waved it at Lane to prove she really had it. She was not a liar. She meant what she said. She could be trusted. She had done her job as queen, she had been chosen to do even if others had tried to defeat her.

"I'm not screwing around here," Jelani said. "Get out. I don't want anyone near me who can't be honest."

Crispy, eyes wide, was halfway to the door. Once he saw the gun, he had turned pale as a ghost. "Come on, Lane."

Lance froze. He almost gasped for air, his eyes glued to the gun in Jelani's hand. "No, this is not all right. You can't blame this one on postpartum depression. It's crazy! Just crazy! Put that thing down. Mothers shouldn't have guns. Mothers shouldn't--" He pulled at his hair, his face looking years younger. "No guns! Just wait until Astan gets back."

She couldn't not stand it any longer. Why wouldn't he listen to her and get out? She pointed the gun at the ceiling and pulled the trigger. The shot echoed around the small room and made her ears ring. An acrid odor filled the space. All she could think was that she had to prove to Lane, to everyone, that she meant what she said.

"Get out!" she ordered.

Jelani pays a visit to Iris Pallaton in town and they meet at the coffee shop where Jelani used to work. Later, while hanging out with Lane and Crispy, Jelani finds herself not feeling well and throws up black vomit on the sidewalk. Lane, suspicious of the green tea that the Circle has been having Jelani drink, takes a sample of it to be analyzed. When he gets the results back, he informs Jelani that the tea is a very potent drink of herbs that will help guarantee that the drinker becomes pregnant. Jelani and Astan are appalled that the Circle would manipulate them this way and become infuriated with the Circle.

When Jelani becomes pregnant, the Circle is overjoyed, until they learn that Jelani drank coffee on her visit to the human city. That changes everything as the baby inside Jelani is not a girl and new heir to the throne, but a boy, which is not something the Circle wanted. As time progresses, Jelani becomes more and more secluded, rarely leaving her home as depression takes over. All of the good that she had done healing forest seems to be dying.

Meanwhile, deep in the forest far from the clan's home, Grigor Biren, one of Bartolomey's elves, is barely able to survive. Having all of his elven powers stripped from his by the Circle, he now wanders the forest in an emaciated state. He is found by Fontine, his former lover, and she helps him out, bringing him food, clothes, and shelter. Grigor is contacted by a voice in the flames of a fire who tells him that he can have the power of a mage. With this power, he begins to recruit elves that are not happy with their new queen. Grigor hatches a plan to steal Jelani's child just as soon as he is born.

The Elf Child is the second book in the Clan Elves of the Bitterroot series by Lyndi Alexander. The story revolves around elves living in the forests of Montana on the outskirts of the human world. The story takes place in modern times.

The Elf Child is the second book in a fantasy series by Lyndi Alexander and I had been waiting for it to be published. I liked the first book which led up to Jelani becoming the queen and was looking forward to seeing how she faired as their new ruler, having lived in the human world all her life. Well, I am sad to report that all is not well in the land of the elves. The Circle is frustrated with Jelani and her lack of knowledge of the way of life of the Elves of the Bitterroot. Jelani is not happy being bossed around and manipulated by the Circle. Other elves that were followers of Bartolomey are also unhappy having an outsider as a queen. In other words, the elves are not a smiling and singing joyful songs while they dance around a fire. Nope, they are a brooding bunch.

Lyndi Alexander does a fine job of telling the second story in this series. As the story progressed, I found myself confused by the direction of this book, though. As Jelani realizes that she has been manipulated by the Circle, she withdraws further and further into herself. I wanted her to to stand up to "the witches," as Lane refers to the Circle, and make them obey her. She is the queen, after all. She never really does this. Instead, her frustration comes to a boil at the end of the story and she takes it out on all of her friends.

Jelani is angry for the second half of the book, along with Astan, and this just got very old for me. I started to not like either of the main characters in the book because of this. I found myself looking forward to the chapters about Lane, not the ones about Jelani or Grigor. I am sure that maybe the lack of elven tea has made Jelani change, or something, and made her turn into a different person. I am sure that all of the reasons these strange things are happening will be revealed in The Elf Mage, but nothing in this book ever seemed to come to a close. Everything was left to be revealed in the final book. I found this to be disappointing.

Overall, The Elf Child is decent read, but could have been so much better. With nothing explained in the story, leaving everything for the final book, the reader is left with a sense of confusion and disquiet about the story and main characters. Do I even really care about what happens the Jelani because she turned into such a whiney, angry beast in this book? Sure, I guess, sort of. After all, I did like her in The Elf Queen. So, I can only hope that that all of the questions that are left hanging in this story will be answered in The Elf Mage. My one wish is that Jelani and Astan get an attitude adjustment in the third book.