History of Fire Read online

  Chapter Fourteen Night of Elves

  Night of Elves

  September 18th, 1702

  Today I witnessed a horrendous act. A child from the nearby village was murdered in cold blood. When I went to investigate, for I was in town trading for items we needed, I discovered the true reason for the attack.

  I was told the girl was but in her fourth year and a vibrant, happy child. Her family had just come to the town after a long trip from an isolated area in the northern woods. They were accustomed to being alone for months in the wilderness. Since moving to this populated area, their daughter complained frequently of seeing monsters walking among the humans of the village.

  The day of the murder, the girl had been agitated and was then grabbed by a stranger, who then proceed to twist the poor girl’s neck violently. A nearby villager overheard the culprit screeching at the girl, saying she was forbidden to have “the sight” while spitting angry profanities before throwing her tiny body to the ground. The murderer vanished before anyone could give chase. The family is devastated, and my heart weeps for them.

  My fear these two worlds cannot coexist, that of human and that of faery, without such incidents occurring, is not unfounded and frightens us so.

  ~Brendan

  I was ready to get back to Faerie and tell Shade what we had discovered. In fact, the press and noise of the evening crowd on Fremont Street was over-stimulating my senses and making my head hurt as I shoved through the thick of it. I could sense Sary and Braelynn behind me, so I didn’t bother to check to see if they were following. My panicked rage blinded me as I zigzagged through the crowd, my temper near bursting. Nothing could relieve it, not until I made it back to Portland and made sure my family’s Pyren was safe.

  I came to a sudden stop as an eerie calm rushed over me, like a bubble had formed around my body. It was soothing, and it muffled the harsh noise of the crowd as it wove around me, not quite touching me. I sighed, closing my eyes and enjoying the silence in my head, my rage all but gone. I was being tampered with, I knew it. I’d have to give my thanks to Braelynn later. But at the moment, it was what I needed, so I pushed down the anger as the stillness filled me up.

  A hand on my shoulder pulled me back to the moment. I turned to find Sary peering at me with a sad concern in her eyes. “Ready to go?” she asked.

  I nodded. She slipped her hand through mine and tugged me along until I followed behind her. Braelynn stayed close behind us, and we wove easily through the crowd.

  A blast of audio from the Fremont Street Experience cracked through the magic, and Sary’s hand slipped past mine and let go as the crowd thickened. I lost sight of her as the mass of people swallowed her up. Swinging around, I found Braelynn had disappeared into a swaying cluster.

  The people were all looking up, watching the show now flashing across the massive arched screen above our heads. The crowd was tightly knit together, and I couldn’t find either of my companions. I made my way through the throng but still couldn’t find either one of the girls. Had they disappeared? How could they have left without me? The knot in my stomach told me this wasn’t right. Something was going on, and we had been separated on purpose. I kept my eyes open as I slipped through the crowd, scanning the sea of unfamiliar faces. Families on vacation laughed and ahhed while others leaned against the walls of the casino entrances, puffing on cigarettes. Vendors appeared to quit their usual bustle while everyone was distracted. Scantily-dressed working girls shimmied their way through the crowd, pickpocketing unsuspecting tourists and stuffing their spoils down their shirts.

  There was so much going on, I couldn’t focus. It was like having a hundred TVs blaring in my face and ears all at once.

  A movement of black caught my eye to the right. Was that Cornelius? I stopped and studied the crowd, searching for Braelynn’s ex. It was impossible to find anyone there, and I decided to keep on going. There would be no finding Sary or Braelynn while sitting still.

  Besides, it seemed he wanted me to follow him. If he wanted to confront me again, alone, he was doing a damn good job. I felt for my Empyrean blade. It was secure and waiting for some action.

  Another flash of black passed in my peripheral vision, and I turned to find an alleyway between buildings. It was narrow and led back to a secluded parking lot for an Italian restaurant on my left. Quietly, I stepped into it, keeping my eyes peeled as I pulled out my sword. The crowd behind me paid no attention as it lit up and flickered with soft, orange-yellow flames. It felt good to hold its warm and familiar grip.

  Something waited for me in the darkness. I watched the shadows as the last of the sunlight disappeared above me, over the rooftops and beyond the mountains. The stars were invisible due to the glare of the city’s artificial light, and peering up at the unfamiliar, blank sky, I felt a sudden longing for the view of the stars from home. There, they shone brightly above the woods. The city was a completely different monster.

  A noise brought me back to the darkened alleyway, and I concentrated on it. Nothing moved again, which made me believe it’d been just an alley cat or a rat. Still, I had a feeling I was being watched. The cold that emanated from the anonymous stare made the hair on my neck stand on end. I gripped the hilt of my sword in both hands, waiting for whatever would come my way. My knuckles turned white from the tension, and my heart began to race.

  A whoosh of air slammed into me as a figure pounced from above, landing on the hot asphalt in front of me. I lost my footing for a moment, but I caught myself and found out just who’d been messing with me.

  Cornelius stood firm, letting the faint light of a streetlamp pass over his features. He looked even paler than before, and his eyes shined like stars surrounded by black holes.

  “What do you want?” I called out, holding out the sword. I was going to make sure he wouldn’t surprise me again.

  Cornelius smirked, his dark elven eyes gleaming in the lights from the casinos behind me. They were all black but absorbed the twinkles of brightness like oil as he blinked amusingly at me.

  “You dared to claim my chosen. I challenge you for her hand,” he snarled. A flash of white teeth even brighter than his pale skin appeared, sharpened to points. Long locks of black hair hung over his eyes, and I could see his pointed ears sticking out from behind them. He was thin and not much taller than me. I wondered if he even had it in him to beat me. He could certainly try.

  Another shadow approached, a slightly shorter version of Cornelius, but he had more meat on his bones. The younger night elf smiled maliciously at me, looking crazier than his partner.

  “Ah, I would’ve brought a friend if I’d known this was a party.” I twirled my sword in a circle, letting the flames spew ashes as the fire flared out to show them I meant business.

  Cornelius pulled out his sword, one very similar to mine, but without flames. It had a silvery light curving down the blade in a slender river of glittery white power. I wondered what kind of blade it was, but didn’t have much time to think about it before he was lunging at me, sword swinging.

  I met his blade with mine, and sparks of magic flashed, blindingly bright in the darkness. We both swung again, and once more, our blades met. We continued this way for several seconds before his friend caught me on the side with a swift swipe to my legs. I crashed to the ground and rolled away as fast as I could, knowing they’d both be following me with their blades. Jumping onto my feet, I held my sword out as Cornelius again swung at me.

  “What the hell, man. I didn’t claim her.” I clenched my teeth together, shoving against his strength. For a lanky guy, he was a powerful foe.

  “Liar!” Cornelius backed up to swing his sword down again. The sparks burst out in a circle, lighting fire to a garbage can nearby. I spun away from it and found myself facing his partner.

  “What, are you his sidekick bitch or something?”

  “Ralis volunteered to help take you down.” Cornelius held back, obviously wanting to see how I handled his friend.

  “O
h so, you’re BFFs or something?” I couldn’t help myself. Ralis growled, though he looked confused at my question.

  “You’re dead, human.” The guy was really going to say that to me? ClichÉ, wasn’t it?

  I chuckled, catching my breath as I rolled back my shoulders. “Don’t be so confident. Being human has its benefits.” I reached into the pack strapped to my side. With a handy enchantment spell, it easily held a lot more than just clothes and weapons. I kept a nice supply of iron bolts and nails in it for rainy days. Summoning them, I grabbed a fistful and flung them at Ralis.

  The night elf advanced, dodging most of them before several hit him straight on the chest, face, and hands. He screeched as the satisfying hiss of the iron burning his flesh made me smirk. I didn’t have time to celebrate, for Cornelius decided to pick that moment to join in again with his sword. His hits were hard, and the sparks from our blades started burning my clothes as they landed on them. The ashes sizzled, and the smell of charred material made me sick. At least it wasn’t smoking my arm hair.

  “I told you. Whatever it is you think I did, you got it way wrong! She can see whomever she wants.” I shoved at our interlocked swords, finding we were pretty well matched. I cursed under my breath while my muscles burned with tension and fatigue started to set in.

  Ralis recovered and jumped onto my back, wrapping his meaty arms in a chokehold that made me drop my sword to frantically grasp at his arms. His weight pulled on my equilibrium and sent us flying backward against a wall.

  I stepped forward and slammed him back into the bricks of the wall. My airway was cinched close, and the movement only made him tighten his grip. He didn’t let me go. I could feel the blood rushing to my face as I tried again to slam him back into the wall with even more force, but he still didn’t let go.

  “I don’t care if you’re not claiming her. I’m still going to kill you.” Cornelius approached us, a venomous grin pasted on his face. I wanted to wipe it off with an iron bat and shatter those disgusting teeth. “I’m going to enjoy this, Benton.”

  How did he know my name?

  He put his sword away and pulled out a smaller, shiny blade. Its intricate handle and embedded stones told me it was an eleven-made dagger, lacking any kind of iron. They were sharp and could kill with one stab in the right spot. I had to get out of Ralis’s grip if this was going to go my way.

  “Hey!”

  Cornelius turned to look toward a voice ringing out from beside us. I took the moment to kick him back and shove Ralis against the wall one more time before I managed to whisper a summons for an iron dagger from my belt. It appeared in my fingers, and I jabbed it back toward Ralis’s torso. His immediate release of my neck and subsequent screech as I stumbled forward told me I’d hit him right where I wanted to. Cornelius was back on his feet and flicking his eyes between me and whoever had interrupted our struggle. His eyes widened, his frown deepening as he stared at Ralis, who was still behind me and moaning.

  “This isn’t over,” Cornelius snapped. He ran into the darkness of the shadows and disappeared.

  I pivoted to grab Ralis before he could disappear, but I didn’t have to do much. He was already on his knees, struggling to pull the dagger out of his side as it burned and melted into his flesh. His fingers sizzled, and he let go of the dagger in a futile attempt to yank it out. The pain overtook him, and he crumbled to the ground, his body convulsing while a foamy froth poured from his mouth.

  “Hey! You left your friend!” I yelled out into the empty space where Cornelius had disappeared. I cursed and peered back down at Ralis, now deathly still. “Some pal you got there.” I reached down to yank the iron dagger out of his guts. I hoped he was dead. If not, I had to finish him off. Great.

  A shuffle made me turn back around to find the girl who’d helped me out with her diversion. It was her, Miss Burgundy Redhead, the one who could see through our glamour. She had apparently followed us all the way from Chicago.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked. She wrung her hands, and her mouth sat agape. She sputtered as she tried to speak, but nothing comes out of her pretty mouth. I had to admit that even in the dim light, she was beautiful. Her reddish brown hair reminded me of Sary’s, but it was darker, thicker and not as long. Her skin wasn’t as pale either, as though she had spent some time in the sun. Dark green hazel eyes revealed an undertone of brown, and they gleamed under the one lamp reflecting off them from the parking lot. I was so stunned by her sudden appearance that I didn’t realize what was going on behind me until I watched her pretty face morph into utter horror.

  “Look out …!”

  Luckily, I felt him coming, and I flipped the iron blade in my hand around to swing backward. I hit Ralis right in the chest, so close to the heart, I was sure I’d hit something vital. He stopped mid-swing with a dagger he must have pulled from a hidden spot on his person. His breath came out strained, hissing like an emptying balloon as his eyes rolled backward. His body toppled to the ground in a resounding thud while his black blood began to seep out of the wound in a spreading, oily slick.

  “Oh my god! Oh, crap … you killed him! You … you …” The girl was in an all-out panic and began to nervously twitch in place before she ran toward the trash can, still smoldering with smoke, and puked her little guts into it.

  “Nice,” I muttered, peering down at Ralis. Well, at least I wouldn’t have to worry about that guy anymore. I poked at his side with my shoe. He was definitely dead. This freed me up to peer around for my Empyrean blade. I found it a couple feet from the girl, who was now on the ground, her head between her knees as she hyperventilated.

  “Hey, you all right?” She didn’t answer me but began to rock back and forth, gripping her knees to her chest. “Hey!” I took her chin into my hand, making her focus on me while I waved the other hand in front of her face.

  “Slow your breathing down, you’ll pass out. What’s your name, girl?”

  She stared at me. Those brilliant, multi-colored jewels for eyes made me want to hold her closer and comfort her until the shock wore off. I shook off the desire oozing through me and waited for her answer. A sheen of sweat across her brow accentuated how much paler she was than a moment ago. I hoped she didn’t pass out. Either way, I was going to have to mind wipe her for all she’d seen, to protect her. If only she hadn’t followed us. It was too soon, and I didn’t have the time to put into protecting her from herself just yet. It was beyond frustrating.

  I pushed the long locks of soft hair from her face and let her peer at me as she visibly came back to herself.

  “Well? What’s your name, miss?”

  “M—my name? Uh … Zena. It’s Zena.”

  I smiled, and nodded. “Hi, Zena, I’m Benton.”

  She bobbed her head up and down, but still appeared petrified. I got to my feet and offered her a hand. She took it, standing slowly as color poured back into her cheeks. Good. I didn’t feel like taking her to a hospital.

  “What kind of a name is Benton?” she asked.

  I wrinkled my nose and pushed my shirt back into place since it was hanging even more tattered now. Glancing at the girl, I pondered what to do next. “What kind of a name is Zena?”

  “My mom, she’s into that new age stuff, you know. She’s weird like that.”

  “Yeah, well, we all got our family quirks.”

  I peeked over my shoulder. I could feel her eyes growing wider as she watched me walk over to Ralis and begin to mutter a few words over the dead elf’s corpse, holding out my Empyrean blade in case he decided to reanimate before I was done. Hey, it happened once in a while, so I had to be cautious and make sure they were completely dead. A blast of wind hit us, and his body exploded into a pile of ash, dissipating into the wind in a flurry of flakes.

  Zena gasped behind me, and I reluctantly got ready for the barrage of questions she was sure to ask as I replaced my sword on my back.

  “What did you do?”

  “Its funeral.” I wiped the ashes from my
face. Corpse dust. Nothing grossed me out anymore.

  “But... how? Did you use … magic?”

  My patience was gone, and I stood up to meet her eye to eye. She was cute, I had to admit. Pretty in a vulnerable sort of way. I just didn’t know about those bold eyes which were still filled with terror and edged in a more dangerous curiosity.

  “How do you know about magic?” She dared to step closer. I had to give her kudos for doing so. I must’ve looked like one scary beast.

  I shook my head, realizing this had already gone too far. “Doesn’t matter. Go home, Zena.”

  “No! I won’t leave until you tell me what happened and what you did to that … that thing! What is it? One minute it was following me, the next I’m here and it’s about to kill you, but you scared off his friend and pulverized him into a pile of specks! What the hell is going on?”

  She was shaking so hard, I thought I might have to catch her before she collapsed right there in front of me. Why the heck were Cornelius and Ralis following her? That fact alone made me frown. Maybe she’d been discovered for having the sight. Maybe it was that magical artifact around her neck. The necklace glimmered under the street lamps.

  Hmm.

  Reaching out, I touched her forehead with one finger. “Calm down,” I spoke, sending a thread of power deep into her mind. Instantly, her body stilled and her widened eyes drooped into a dreamy gaze.

  “Where am I?” she asked. Her entire demeanor seemed nonchalant, as if standing in a garbage-filled alley way next to an elemental warlock was commonplace. Yet, she continued to peer around, still curious. Darn.

  “You’re nowhere. Don’t come back here, you hear? It’s time to go home.” I picked up her fallen purse, slapped it into her arms and turned, marching away in disgust for making such a ruckus and involving an innocent human girl in the mess. I was going to have to be more vigilant while hunting down and fighting rogue Unseelie faeries and these psychotic night elves, which were now mucking up the streets of Las Vegas, too, since the wards had been breached. I’d already had to mind wipe at least three non-magics since I started this mission, and it hadn’t been any fun. I was all about fun, and killing unauthorized Unseelies in the mortal world kept me quite busy enough as it was.