I knew better than anyone that she was far from fragile. She was a warrior. One of the first I’d met from the Land of Faerie.
“The past is the past, Benton.” She shifted so she could focus her gaze on me. Her large dark hazel irises shined under the shifting light of the fire, but the warm hue made her faery features appear highlighted and pixie-like. She held off on wearing glamour amongst her friends, but out in the open with humans, she had to wear it to shield the world from seeing her slightly larger eyes. “I don’t think about it anymore.”
“But you did…once. Think about it before, right?”
She sighed, closing her eyes and stuffing her head into her arms resting on her knees.
“Benton, I can’t do this. What more do you want? There’s nothing to say about those days.”
“Just tell me it wasn’t a waste of time.”
She opened her eyes, offering me a hardened stare which made me shift in my spot. Maybe she was right. Maybe I didn’t want to know the answers to some questions.
“Those were the best days of my life,” she whispered.
She jumped to her feet and made her way toward the sleeping area, already neatly laid out and arranged with her blanket, pillow and sleeping bag. She didn’t even pull off her boots when she yanked the blanket over her svelte body, facing away from the fire. It couldn’t be that warm around there, and I watched her for moments afterwards as she eventually curled up into a tight ball and her breathing slowed as she slept.
With the little magic restored to me since the earlier fight, I sent a faint, flickering spell of heat toward her, encasing the vicinity with a continual blow of warmer air. It wasn’t enough to alert her of a major change, but it was enough for her to uncurl her tightened position and calm into a deeper rest.
The frigid air of the night had the entire camp curled up in their beds. I turned toward Ciaran, who had apparently seen the whole spell I’d sent Isolde’s way. His stoic expression didn’t change, but he looked away from me to study the others in the group. He was on first watch and wouldn’t be resting anytime soon. He was going to let my interference slide, for the comfort of his weary leader.
Well, at least there was one thing we both agreed on.
I slid into my own sleeping sack for the night, weary with the day’s events heavy on my head and snaking across my sore muscles and skull. What Isolde said about our time in high school hurt more than it would if she had told me she hated our time together, and I’d been the worst boyfriend ever. Why I’d thought it would’ve been better to hear something else, I didn’t know. All I could say was that my heart never left those days either, and, as a result, we’d both destroyed each other for anyone else.
Chapter Seven
Isolde tossed a crackerjack puff at me, and it bounced off the corner of my mouth onto the rocky sand lying beneath us. We skipped school that day and were sitting at a tiny creek on the other side of the football stadium bleachers of our high school. Snacking on junk food as we laughed, she tried her best to toss one into my mouth.
She was a terrible shot.
“You’re feeding the ants more than me! I’ll starve before midnight!”
“You might turn into a pumpkin by then!”
“Or a frog.” I reached out to tickle her sides, making her squeal as she struggled to get away. Crackerjacks popcorn went everywhere, tossed into the air where it landed on the banks of the creek, floating away in the tiny current rushing over smoothed over rocks and boulders. It wasn’t a large stream, but it had enough force to soak one through and through if we happened to roll into it.
Which we just had.
“Ah!” I felt the cold rushing over my thighs and rolled to my stomach, groaning even more. Isolde had gotten off with just her bottoms getting wet, but she was already hopping up and down, waving her arms out while flexing her hands in and out.
“Geez, that’s cold! My pants are soaked!”
I sat in the creek and shook my head. I would’ve found this funny if I weren't sitting in the water that could freeze off vital parts. I shoved off and got to my feet, slushing through the creek until I was back on the bank with a pool of icy water pooling at my feet. My sneakers creaked as I squished toward Isolde and pressed my body right against hers.
“You think you’re soaked, huh?”
“Not fair! You’re getting me more drenched! I’m freezing!”
“Hehe!” I laughed at her halfhearted attempt to shove me off.
“Okay, okay…you owe me! Time to work, buddy!”
I lifted a brow, confused. “Work? I thought we skipped work today. I had an exam in Mrs. Michaels’ class you made me blow off today. What work?”
“Your magic.” She poked me in the sternum narrowing her eyes with a mischievous grin filling her face, eyelashes afluttering. “You need to practice it, so get to it. Warm us up, fire boy.”
I grinned and bowed my head. “Yes, my wicked faery princess.”
She frowned at the remark, but I pulled her tighter to my chest in hopes of erasing it from her face. It worked as she squealed from the frigid water dripping off me.
“Ready?” I asked.
Isolde nodded, leaning her cheek against my chest. She was a dainty little thing, but more fiery than a fireball. I placed my chin on top of her head gently and closed my eyes. Her body warmed mine and sent tiny sparks of pleasurable energy to my very core. It only helped me kick-start my blossoming magic, igniting the flicker of fire within until it burst into flame. It sent a comforting heat to the surface of my skin, steaming off the excess water and warming our bodies simultaneously.
“Mmm…” Isolde sighed happily as our clothes dried and the blue tint of our noses and fingertips morphed into a vibrant pink coloring.
Only the surrounding trees swaying in small gusts of wind and birds chirping under the afternoon sky accompanied us. Just the way I liked it. I could get used to holding this girl. She was powerful in a way I’d never known and it helped me focus my own energy. Until she had discovered me and begun to spend more and more time with me, the world had been an empty and lonely place for someone with my special talents. I thought I was the only one with magic, and I knew I couldn’t tell anyone else about it.
But I could tell her. She was as magical as a person came. She was fey. Which made her even more powerful than I was. At least for now.
Holding her, like this, was the only place I ever felt wanted, needed and loved by a girl. All the others were nothing like Isolde, and they would never do after being with her.
Chapter Eight
A jagged point stabbed me in the side and I flew to my feet before opening my eyes, holding my fists ready to smash a dude like the Hulk.
“What the F—…” I had my hands up, fireballs ignited in my hands and ready to launch.
Ciaran smirked, shaking his head with a challenge in his eyes as he kept walking.
“Time to get up, ladies!” he hollered out across the warehouse. Walking away with a walking stick in hand, he didn’t throw me another glance, confident I wouldn’t be incinerating him with fireballs this morning.
I blew out a frustrated breath as I snuffed out the flames, now in full force and grumbled under my breath before turning to stuff my belongings into my shrinking pack. The guy was asking to get singed and I would be more than happy to brand him next time he dared step one inch too close again. I was beyond childish games, but it never hurt to put someone in their place when they well deserved it.
I rubbed the sore spot on my rib he’d dug the walking stick into. Oh, it was on. I would certainly repay him some discomfort before the day was through. He could count on that.
“Breakfast?” Isolde handed me a cup of mash and moved on before I could protest to give several more tin cups full of the same stuff to the others.
“What’s this?” I threw her way, but she acted like she didn’t hear me. Frack, another of her comrades scooted close to me holding out a spoon.
“Here.”
I clutched it before leaning over to sniff the concoction. It smelled like eggs and bacon. It looked like puke.
“What the hell is this crap?”
Frack answered with a mouthful of food bits stuck in between his gapped teeth as he chewed and spoke at the same time. A spray of freckles across the bridge of his nose onto his cheeks and bright red hair made him look oddly cartoonish. His straggly underfed body only added to it.
“Try. It’s good!” He shoveled another mouthful into his mouth, chewing loudly before turning away to hand out more spoons to the ones waiting with cups. He pulled spoons out of his pocket and stuck it into my neighbor’s tin cup with his grubby fingers. Again he shoved his hand back in to grab another spoon.
I grimaced. The guy probably never washed his hands. I held the spoon up to my mouth and puffed out a fiery wave of heat to sanitize the metal. It hissed with the smoldering fire from my insides and quickly cooled off.
One more sniff of the mystery concoction before stuffing the spoon into it to mix it up good. A spoonful of it held up midair, I licked my lips studying the goop. It may have not been pretty, but it smelled good and got kudos from Frack. Couldn’t be all bad, right? I hoped not. I was starving. Wielding fire sucked up a good bit of calories, and I was always hungry. Keeping me fed was hard work in itself.
I took the bite, pleasantly surprised to find it was an omelet like mixture: eggs, bacon, ham, cheese, peas, spinach, onions, carrots, tomatoes a mystery mix of beans and zucchini. I practically inhaled the cupful and frowned when there was no more. At least this group had some good food on them. I had run out of good stuff a few days ago. I would either have to hit up a grocery store or go hunting pretty darn soon to replenish my stock. Not one of my favorite tasks.
“Done?” Analie, the kidnapped girl, held out a bucket for me to dump my used cup and spoon into. I peered in to find it full of licked clean utensils. Tossing mine in, she gave me a shy smile, peering up at me with bright yellow irises, hiding much of her face under dirty, stringy blonde long hair.
“Thanks.” I winked.
She turned bright red as she hurried along to gather more dishes. I was sure she had to be in her mid-teens, but it was really hard to tell how old a faery was; even the younger looking ones could be hundreds of years old.
I didn’t think any of this pack were past twenty years. Their maturity level and lack of fighting skills were more than obvious. They had just a few who kept the order and watched over this camp. Most were too frail to fight in any kind of efficient manner.
It made me feel for them. They were like street kids I’d seen back in Mexico tracking an unsavory bunch of Unseelie across the border. That had been a dusty trip indeed. The street beggars and kids made me want to turn all the rocks I found into coins of gold. But tricks didn’t replace money. These charms of glamor only lasted so long before converting back to their previous state of existence.
How this group survived out here with Unseelie hunters out to snatch them eluded me. I was pretty sure the hunters had some sort of faery kid smuggling business going on. Usually, humans had to worry about getting kidnapped by the Unseelie faeries and forced into slavery to the fey. Not here though. This particular trafficking ring I’d tracked smuggled weak powered faeries to enslave back in the Land of Faerie.
But why? That was the question. Maybe they were easier targets after all.
“Isolde?” I approached her as she was clearing up some items from the breakfast area. She turned out to be some sort of den mother to the group from what I could see. She probably took it hard seeing any of her group snatched. I didn’t want her to go through that again. They needed help and I intended to help them. Especially since they helped me after I was blatantly attacked.
Besides, I had to find out what kind of magic they’d used on me. I’d never felt such blatant abuse of power in my entire career of hunting Unseelie. If more faeries got hold of such power, the power to disable other magical beings, the mercenaries of the Summer Seelie Court, like me, were going to have a hell of a time capturing anymore Unseelie escapees.
Not going to happen.
“Isolde?” Was she still avoiding me? Geez, this woman could hold a grudge.
“Yes?” She huffed out a breath and frowned at me. I guess she hated to be interrupted. Some things never changed.
“These hunters, you know, who kidnapped Analie…who were they? They have an impressive weapon in their hands.”
She blew at a strand of hair escaping her ponytail. It fluttered up before settling right back onto her face. This time, she swatted at it before finally tucking it behind her pointed ears. Yes, she had some elven blood in her and her larger eyes and pointy ears were a result of it. In school, she glamoured them to appear normal. Now, amongst friends, she had no need to cover them up.
“I don’t know. But I intend to find out. I’ve heard from other street groups about several disappearances lately, and I believe this group we ran into last night is behind it all.”
“Can I help?”
Her shoulders slumped and she dropped the bag of items she had been stuffing. It looked like a large sack and I wondered how they managed to carry such a bulky item around. Maybe it shrunk down in size. That was the only thing I could figure.
“Why, Benton? This isn’t your fight. Go home…What are you doing out here anyway? Aren’t you far from home?”
The past had a way of washing over the future with every bit a bite as it has always had.
“Whoa, I’m just saying. I can help. I’m an excellent tracker. You know I can fight. Maybe my elemental fire skills can help when it comes to taking these assholes down.”
“We don’t need your help. You’re human.”
I pressed my lips tight. “That never bothered you before. It was what drew you to me in the first place, remember?”
Isolde looked away, staring hard at the dusty floorboards creaking beneath us. The amount of dust flying around this area was bound to arrest our lungs sooner or later. I needed some fresh air soon, or I’d suffocate from asbestos exposure or something. A human ailment that I was pretty sure wasn’t a concern to faeries.
“What do you want?” Her eyes shined, glistening tears fighting to break the surface. My heart cracked. I swore I heard it.
“I still remember the way things were between us. Why are you so angry?”
She shook her head, but couldn’t bring her eyes to look at me.
“Things change. You disappeared. Things went wrong and my family had to leave Portland. We were scattered during the war. Held up in places like this.” She waved her hand around. “I remember lots of things. I don’t remember you being there…when I needed you most.”
Her voice cracked and she spun on her feet, ready to march off.
“Wait. I fought in that war.” I divulged. “I helped repair the Wards of Faerie. My sister is Queen of the Seelie realm and she brought the Unseelie to their knees. She almost died. My mother died in the war against the Sluagh armies. You weren’t the only one who lost more than family in the war. I was there. On the frontlines. I fought with my sister to save your realm. Tell me I did it for nothing? I did it for those I loved. All of them.”
She froze in her hesitant steps but didn’t turn back. I knew my words hit her hard and probably shocked her most of all. There was so much she didn’t know about the time I lived without her. When I’d come back home to Oregon, when it was all over, she was long gone. How to regain all I’d lost back then? I hadn’t even tried, that much I admit. But it wasn’t a good reason to not fix things now, was it?
“I’m sorry, Benton. I didn’t know all that. I haven’t returned to Faerie in a long time. We just survive here, for now. My family are all dead. The war…it’s not something anyone discusses. It stole so many things from all of us. We just get by. A day at a time.”
“That’s barely living.”
She laughed, but her face was dead serious when she peered over her shoulder to find me, tears streaking her face as th
ey fell silently down onto her clothes.
“And you’re living the life, alright.” She marched off after that, barking out directions at the others to get moving. They were leaving this side of town in hopes of avoiding the hunters. They would be leaving the city if able to secure train tickets.
Great. Stubborn as a stone. Always avoiding the bigger issues and running. She was right. Nothing ever changed.
I sighed, strapping my sword sheath to my back and cracking my neck bones. I was ready to follow them until the hunters went down. If there was something I was good at, it was kicking Unseelie ass all over the place.
It was on.
Chapter Nine
“Psst…” Isolde motioned at me with one finger in the direction of some voices before placing it to her lips. I acknowledged her caution and listened harder. They were near. The very Unseelie we were seeking. Without their bounty of the barely-fey kids, they wouldn’t be heading home anytime soon. It was worse than trying to arrive back to their kingdom without the prize they promised. More kids, human or fey, or both to enslave in the land of the Unseelie faeries. So here they were, hoping to run into another copse of potential victims.
Little did they know the tables had turned and we were surrounding them right now, planting booby-traps in the perimeter of their hideout and readying for an all-out battle to decimate them. They’d never return to Faerie with any prisoners. They’d be lucky if they returned at all. Especially with me on the team.
She motioned us to move on and as I stepped from my hiding place, a figure knocked me to the side. It wasn’t pleasant or friendly, but I could already tell it wasn’t one of the Unseelie.
“Watch your step, Elemental.” Ciaran hissed as he sped on by, rushing on, light on his feet, bow in hand with arrows drawn and nocked. He didn’t wait for me to respond as he rounded the corner of the building to head up to the roof, disappearing from sight.