Authors: Theresa M. Jones
The first thing I noticed were Alec’s wings. They flew out behind him with a whoosh of air looking so much stronger than they did before.
Samael flew over the desk and landed right in front of Alec, but it didn’t faze him at all. He immediately attacked, hitting Samael in the throat with the side of his palm, causing the Nymph to double over and gag.
Samael reached across and tried to punch Alec in the face, but he blocked it. At the same time, Alec reached forward and punched Samael in the face.
The bouncer ran forward, and tried to hit Alec, but he turned around just in time to kick the bouncer in the chest, making him fly backward into the door he had just stood in front of.
I was still just sitting in the chair watching it happen, as Alec’s magic over me continued to hold me still in the chair, out of the way of the chaos. Not like I really could have helped much anyway.
Samael grabbed hold of Alec’s hair and pushed his head downward, in an attempt to knee him in the face. Alec blocked Samael’s knee just in time, and then pushed Samael back against the desk. Alec straddled his hips, and began to punch him again and again in the face.
I could hear the crunch of bones as his fist hit against Samael’s skull and it made me sick to my stomach. Nausea rolled through me. I’d never seen a fight in real life before. I had to force the vomit from spewing out of my mouth, as the gruesome scene invoked the memory of my parent’s bloody bodies. I wiped my sweaty palms across my jeans, because I didn’t know what else to do.
The bouncer came up behind Alec, but just before he could grab him, Alec whipped around, leveraging himself with one knee still on the desk and the other flying toward the bouncers face. The bouncer blocked the kick which left Alec falling forward, back on top of Samael still on the desk.
The bouncer grabbed Alec from behind, pulling him into a headlock, squishing his wings between his own back and the bouncer’s chest. Because the Nymph was so tall, Alec’s feet dangled a few feet off the ground. He struggled, but it was apparent he couldn’t do anything to break the lock.
I started to freak out. My stomach felt like it dropped and my hands were clammy. My heart beat was pounding feverishly. Thu-Thump. Thu-Thump. Hammering at my ribs, freaking out in this spasmatic rhythm.
Samael got up off the desk and stood in front of Alec, as if he had won. He stood up tall, almost gloating, despite the bruises forming on his face, and the blood spilling from his mouth.
Just before Samael could punch him, Alec threw his legs up over the bouncers head, and flipped over to where he was hanging behind the bouncer, on his back. Now the bouncer was in a headlock.
Stupidly, the only thing that popped into my head in that moment was how beautiful it looked to see him move like that. Again, he looked like he was dancing. Like this was all an expertly choreographed routine.
While keeping one arm locked around the bouncer’s neck, he placed the other hand, palm down on the side of the bouncer’s face. The same familiar mist, that I had grown accustomed to relating to his magic appeared and surrounded the bouncers head. He began to shake and tremor as if he was having a seizure.
Then he fell down, first to his knees, and then to his back, while Alec knelt down beside him, keeping his hand attached to the bouncer’s head. Samael tried to kick Alec, trying to get him away from the bouncer. But Alec blocked his kick.
When Samael tried again, Alec grabbed his foot, jumped up and flipped Samael over. He landed face down on the floor. Alec then telekinetically pushed the bouncer against the wall, so that he could face off with Samael uninterrupted.
They punched and kicked. Their fists went flying at each other. Sometimes they hit each other, sometimes they didn’t. It went back and forth. Back and forth. There was more blood than I had ever seen. And I knew that this fight, the first fight that I had ever actually witnessed, would be forever stamped into my brain, haunting my nightmares.
Just then, Samael pulled out a dagger. It looked like it was about one foot long, and it was obvious that it was a Fae Blade, the magical etchings glimmered in the candlelight.
Alec stopped and stepped back, wary. Since his blade had been removed, he was unarmed against this powerful weapon. As soon as he saw the dagger, his face showed his concern just as clearly as I felt it.
“Alright. This is ridiculous and it needs to stop now,” Samael shouted, spitting blood and saliva as he spoke.
Alec still didn’t release his hold on me or the bouncer. The bouncer was still struggling against the wall, trying to stand or move at all. But I knew all too well that he couldn’t. At least I wasn’t frozen, like the bouncer was and like I had been back at my home. I was just pinned to the chair.
Then it hit me. I had my father’s sword in the abscondita attached to my belt. They hadn’t searched me, since I was still just a magicless baby.
Maybe I
could
help.
I reached inside and thought only of my father’s sword. Once I felt the cool cylindrical hilt, I mustered up every ounce of strength I had to pull the outrageously heavy thing out. I couldn’t pull the entire thing out. But I got most of it out, and that’s all I needed.
“Alec,” I shouted.
They all three turned to look at me, realizing for the first time that I was actually a person sitting here and not just a pretty doll Alec carried around.
I watched as his eyes flicked down only briefly. He effortlessly pulled the sword to him. The blade flickered in the dim firelight as it sailed across the room and into his hands. Alec lifted the blade and pointed it right at Samael’s throat.
Thankfully my sword was way longer than Samael’s blade, so Alec didn’t have to move even an inch closer to make it touch his throat.
“I agree. This ends now.” Alec’s voice was rough; the vein bulged in his forehead and neck, and his eyes glimmered dark green with fury. This was the scary Alec I had seen only a few times. “Now tell me, where did they go?”
“You think you can come in here and demand things from me?”
“Yes.” Then he pushed the blade forward just a little more. I knew, without a doubt, that with even the tiniest flicker of his wrist he could slash open the Nymph’s throat. The bouncer twitched helplessly off to the side, as he watched his boss threatened.
Before he spoke again, he gave Alec the worst glare ever. Worse than Nona’s glare when she asked if I was trustworthy. Worse even than my own mothers glare when she was disappointed in me.
“They left two days ago. Last I heard they were going to Muircadia.”
Alec nodded, as if to say
Thank You
.
“You think you can come in here, threaten me, and walk away without a scratch?” Samael growled.
“Nope.” And then Alec pointed to his lip, where there was a tiny drop of blood. “Now, I thank you for your time. I wish this could have gone differently, but as you weren’t forthcoming with your answers, we had to be more aggressive. We will leave now, and not return to bother you again. And you will not follow us.”
He looked first at Samael, and when he nodded, Alec looked back at the bouncer, who also nodded. I guess that meant they agreed. Geez, there were so many random customs these fairy people had.
“I would like my blade back,” he said to the bouncer. He looked first to Samael for permission, before scurrying out the door. Two minutes later, he returned with Alec’s weapon.
“Thank you gentlemen. Know that if you follow me, I will be back, and next time I will not spare your lives. I have fought and killed many men, and it would not pain me to do it again.”
Samael scowled, but they both nodded.
“Do you remember the way out?” At first I just stared at him, wondering why he would ask such a stupid question to these men. Until I realized he was talking to me.
“I think so.”
“Good. Go now. I will be right behind you.” I thought about arguing. I really didn’t want to leave him alone with those two men that would kill him easily if given the chance. But it was apparent he could handle himself. Even against two men who were taller and stronger than him. So I nodded.
As soon as I did, the hold over me was released. I tried to explain to him, without words, that he better follow me. If this was the last time I saw him, I would be so pissed at him. The jerk got under my skin, and I realized that I cared about him. I didn’t want to say all of that, so I hoped he could see it in my eyes.
I turned, and without a word to any of the men, I walked out of that room forever.
Walking through that door was one of the hardest things I had done. It felt wrong, leaving him behind. I knew that there was nothing else I could do, but it still felt wrong. Like a betrayal of trust.
I did it anyway.
I walked through the other door on the other side of the lobby. And I just kept going. I walked up the stairs, and through the red and blue room, and out that heavy, wooden door. I walked out in the alleyway that was paved in wood.
I entered the wooden, industrial Central Village of Ardennes.
All I could think about was how defenseless I was. How, as soon as we got back to Nona’s he would have to teach me more. No more of the standing still and pushing. I needed to know how to fight. If he hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything. I would have been defenseless. Bait to the sharks. Helpless.
And I kept thinking about how much I actually cared about the frustrating, confusing fae. How awesome it was to watch him fight, even though it was probably the scariest thing ever. I would never want to actually fight him.
I was aggravated and restless standing there waiting for him. I couldn’t just keep lingering there, I had to do something, keep moving, so I decided I would just go back to Nona’s and wait for him there.
Like an idiot, I didn’t pay attention to how we got there. I only followed Alec, always following. So I tried to retrace my steps, but nothing looked familiar. Everything looked the same. There were no differential landmarks. There were only trees and wooden buildings, and wooden streets and leaves up above.
I couldn’t find anything, or go anywhere. I felt like I was going in circles, and everything looked the same. I started getting really worried. It was just as I had feared, I was without him, without my guide, and I was helpless. Again. Always.
Eventually, I stopped turning onto different streets, and just stayed on the same one. It was the widest of all the streets, so I figured it had to lead somewhere.
I saw many other Nymph going about their business, and thought more than once about stopping to ask them for directions. But what would I say? Hey, do you know how to get to Nona’s? No. I didn’t even remember her name. So I just kept walking, trying to mind my own business and become invisible to everyone around me.
Finally I noticed something up ahead. It was the biggest tree I had ever seen. Bigger than all the giant Redwoods and Oaks that surrounded this place. It had to be fifty feet wide at least, and it was taller than all of the other trees. It’s limbs and leaves spread out over all of the other buildings, or trees, or whatever like a massive umbrella.
I started walking faster, because at least this was something different. As I got closer, I realized the tree was very different. Not only was it bigger and taller, it was shaped weird. It didn’t go straight up. It curved around and around into a twisting of trunks. It was like six different huge trees that were super close to each other, all intertwining above, growing together, forming one tree.
I kept going toward it, more out of fascination than anything else. It was beautiful. Stunning.
“Lily?” I turned at the sound of my name, surprised to hear it at all.
Kerr came jogging up to me. He wore brown shorts and an off white shirt and his hair was pulled back again, behind his neck like it had been yesterday. He looked concerned to see me. I wondered if Sylph weren’t allowed here. Or maybe baby Fae weren’t allowed. Who freakin knew?
“Hey, Kerr,” I said, trying to play it cool. “I got a little lost. You think you could take me back to your place?” I thought about batting my eyelashes and trying to flirt with him. But then I thought better of it. Considering his sister was beheaded for loving a Sylph, I didn’t even want to joke about flirting with him.
“Yeah. Of course I will. Where is Alec?”
“Umm. Well, he got a little busy. I’m really hoping he is back at your house waiting for me.”
He didn’t say anything as he motioned for me to walk with him. He was walking faster than he had been the other day. And considering how much longer his legs were than mine, I had to jog to keep up with him. He didn’t seem to care though. He was apparently in a pretty big hurry.
“Is Alec safe?” he asked me, as soon as we stepped inside his home.
“I hope he is here,” I told him again, and then turned to walk away and look for him.
“No. He is not here. I would be able to sense him.” Whatever. I ignored the statement and still tried to walk away to look for myself, but he pulled my arm and stopped me.
“Tell me now. Where is he?” He didn’t look angry, not exactly. It was more scared. Or worried. Concerned.
“I don’t know. The last time I saw him he was with some guy called Samael,” I answered, deciding to go with honesty. If Alec trusted these people, than I figured I should too. “They fought, and then Alec won. And he told me to leave and he would be right behind me. But then he wasn’t. So I just kept walking, and then I got lost. And then you found me.” Once I started, I couldn’t stop. “I’m actually really worried about him. Those guys teamed up against him. And even though he won, that doesn’t mean he actually got out. Oh man, I shouldn’t have left him. You should go help him.”
“Wait. Why did he go to see the Dux?”
“I don’t even know what that means!” I shouted, frustrated at my lack of knowledge. My lack of everything. “But we went there to ask him about some…people. The people we are looking for.”
“Shit,” he cursed, and then he turned away from me and started pacing.
Just then the door opened and Alec stepped through. He looked angry, but his wings were hidden again which meant there probably wasn’t any danger around. When he saw me, his eyes popped out of his skull and his mouth dropped.
“You’re here?” He almost whispered the words, the shock in his tone completely matching his face. He started walking toward me, but Kerr stepped in front of him and hugged him. Alec hugged him back, after his initial shock, as if he hadn’t even seen Kerr standing there, right in front of him.
“What the hell were you thinking? You fought the freaking Dux?” Kerr had pulled back and was looking at Alec, demanding answers.
“It had to be done. But it ended well.”
“Did they follow you here?”
“No. I didn’t come here first. I was looking for that one,” then he pointed at me before continuing. “So even if someone had followed me, which I didn’t sense, I would have lost them long ago.”
“Good,” he said. Then sighed and said again, “good.”
Alec patted him on the shoulder, and then walked passed him to me. He looked me from top to bottom and then back up again. Had it been any other man, I would have been offended, but I knew Alec wasn’t checking me out
that
way.
Thinking about that, I realized I wouldn’t have even minded if he
had
been checking me out that way.
“You look fine,” he said to me. “No scratches. I was worried you wouldn’t find your way back.”
“Kerr found me and brought me back,” I said, and then to Kerr, “Thank you.” He nodded back at me. The whole nodding thing was big with these Fae.
Alec also turned and said, “Thank you,” to Kerr before turning back to face me. “Well, I’m glad to know you’re okay.”
“Wait,” I told him, as he started to turn away from me. “You’re hurt.” I tried to wipe the blood from his lip, but since it had dried, it really didn’t wipe off well at all.
He looked down at me, his eyes the deepest green I had ever seen them. He placed his hand on my arm and pushed it from his face. He wasn’t rough and he moved slowly as he pushed my hand away, but it still made me feel like an idiot for doing that, and so totally awkward. I didn’t fight him on it. Instead, I just dropped my hand to my side.
“I’ll be right back,” he told me, then turned and walked down the hall. I heard a door shut. I took a deep breath and glanced over at Kerr. He had been watching Alec walk away, but just as I looked at him, he looked back at me.
Then he turned and walked out, and I was left standing there alone.
I went to the back to find Alec. Maybe he didn’t need my help, but maybe he did. I mean, I knew he didn’t need my help, not really, but I still wanted to be there. And maybe I needed him. Again.
But when I walked back there, I realized he had to be in the bathroom, and I wasn’t so desperate I had to follow him there. Instead I went to the bed and fell into it, thinking I could rest as I waited for him.
“Lily?” I opened my eyes to find him peering down at me again. “I thought about not waking you, but I figured you would want to talk. Plus, I don’t even know when you ate last.” At the idea of food, my stomach grumbled, which made him smile.
“I fell asleep?” I asked, though it was a stupid question. It just hadn’t felt like it. I felt like I only blinked and then he was there.
“Yeah. Come with me. I’ll get you something to eat.”
After rummaging around in the kitchen, he grabbed a big bowl that he filled to the brim with something and walked outside. I followed behind him, and sat directly in front of him on the ground just behind Kerr’s home. It was the same place we had practiced the night before, though it felt like so long ago.
“You know, at one point today I thought we were going to die.” Admitting my fear to him was easier than I thought it would be.
“I’m not that easy to kill. And I doubt he would have killed us anyway. He attacked me, which is punishable by banishment. I only defended myself. The real question is why he felt the urge to fight me.”
He reached out his hand and grabbed mine. I cupped them together, as he wanted, and he poured some stuff from the bowl into them. It looked like an assortment of seeds and nuts, with some random red and green things that reminded me of dried fruit. Nymph Trail Mix. The thought made me smile and long for home at the same time.
“It’s Lentinos. Basically just a bunch of seeds from a bunch of different plants. It’s good and it’ll fill you up quickly.” I nodded as I started to eat. He was right, it was good.
“So, I think we should talk,” we said, at the exact same time.