by K. M. Shea
“I don’t know. Krad said they were being distracted.”
“He said that before he attacked you?”
“Before he chased me, yeah.”
Devin blinked. “Chased?”
“Yep. I took a swing at him with the cast-iron skillet Madeline bought me before I tried running. I probably could have evaded him if the sidewalks weren’t so slick. I’m going to write a letter to Oakdale City Council about that,” I scowled. “Anyway, because some people aren’t upright citizens and don’t salt their sidewalks, he was able to catch up with me and jumped me.”
“He what?”
“He jumped on my back. Which was cunning of the little brat. I would have torn a chunk of his hair out, but I couldn’t get the angle right.”
“Morgan, you are unbelievable,” Devin chuckled.
“Thanks,” I dryly said.
“To think you nearly evaded him—Krad Temero—because you judge him based on his appearance,” Devin shook his head.
“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be able to do that again,” I said shivering in spite of the warm mug I held in my hands.
I was caught off guard when Devin slid his fingers under my chin and made me look into his pale, yellow eyes. “How bad was the amplification magic?”
“A lot worse,” I admitted. “There’s no way I’ll be able to face him again like I did today,” I said, my voice shaking.
“You’re safe now,” Devin said, using his thumb to brush away the few teardrops that leaked from my eyes. “Krad will not hurt you here. He will not touch you as long as I am with you.”
My shoulders shook, and Devin bent over to hug me. I dropped my head onto his shoulder, closing my eyes in relief as the last bits of terror fled with Devin’s warmth.
“So, what next?” I asked.
“We’ll have to guard you better,” Devin said.
“I don’t get how he—how Krad—can be so hateful,” I said, drinking more tea when Devin released me.
“It’s likely that he’s been fed a steady diet of hatred and bigotry since he was born.”
“But what kind of person would do that?”
“It takes dark people to create the darkness that lives in Krad,” Devin said. “Also, Dökkàlfar are not known for their parenting skills.”
“How can you guard me against such evil?” I whispered.
“With love,” Devin said, leaning forward to kiss my forehead. “I’m sure Aysel will have new security measures. He and Hunter Weller seem to take Krad’s acts against you as personal affronts,” Devin dryly said.
“And you don’t?”
Devin cocked an eyebrow at me. “Your safety has nothing to do with my pride, and everything to do with my affection for you.”
I rolled my eyes. “If that’s true than you must worry over every female on the planet.”
“That was hurtful,” Devin said.
“It doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”
“Harpy,” Devin said. “To reassure myself that you are indeed safe, I’ll be staying with you for the rest of the day.”
“Devin.”
“This is not up for discussion.”
“Are you kidding? There’s no way this will fly with my parents.”
Devin smiled mischievously.
“Devin,” I repeated.
Devin retreated to screen. When he popped back into view, he was a black dog that was the size and shape of a German shepherd.
“Oh,” I said.
Devin jumped onto the open cushion next to me. He wagged his tail before he tried licking my face with his pink dog tongue.
“Not gonna fly, Devin,” I reminded him, pushing against his furry chest to hold him back.
Devin’s ears drooped before he popped past my defenses and gave me a great, slimy kiss on the cheek. He then turned around several times before settling into the cushion.
I patted him on the head. “Thanks for coming, Devin.”
Devin woofed and thumped his tail on the couch.
Devin placed his head on my thigh, radiating heat as I sipped my tea.
His silent but warm presence was a million times more soothing than the hot tea, and I was grateful he stayed with me.
10
I Receive More Bling
Saturday evening heralded the return of my fairy swat team. One of them actually knocked out Michael—my older brother who was home from college for the weekend—because he didn’t recognize him. Thankfully Michael woke up just fine after we dragged his carcass to his room. He thought he passed out in his room due to exhaustion.
Devin stayed with me until the evening, when the swat team was on duty. On Sunday I was banned from leaving the house, but on Monday the fairies informed me I was permitted to go to school and the MBRC.
“Great, so is Sink going to follow me inside school?” I asked the team leader—a surprisingly gruff and buff male fairy—as I fumbled with my car keys in the empty garage.
“Yes. You aren’t driving,” the fairy said.
“What? Of course I am. How else am I supposed to get to school?”
Outside a car honked its horn.
I popped my head out the side door and saw Hunter leaning against a sleek, black car. Two of his goblins were seated in the front seats, and I spotted at least two other black cars in strategic locations up and down the street.
I darted back into the garage.
“You can’t hide, Morgan. I saw you,” Hunter called.
I winced and picked up my backpack before locking the side door. I hadn’t talked to Hunter since Fran dropped the dating question on us. This ride could be awkward. “This is pointless,” I said. “I can drive myself.”
“I’m sure you can,” Hunter said with one of his falsified, harmless smiles. “But we need to discuss the new security measures.”
“The MBRC is going to have its own security implements,” I said as Hunter opened the car door for me.
“Yes, but they are working together with Weller Goblin Enterprises,” Hunter said, joining me in the leather upholstered car.
“They’re what?” I said as the car rolled down the street. As Aysel seemed to be my contact for security measures, I deeply doubted this. He was even less fond of Hunter than he was of me. “You’re joking.”
“The Pooka is acting as the go between, otherwise I don’t think we could do it,” Hunter said.
“Why are you doing this, Hunter?” I asked.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Hunter asked, his voice innocent.
“I was serious when I explained to Fran why we can’t date. It would never work out.”
“I do recall that conversation,” Hunter said.
“Then why?”
“Because I am Patroclus to your Achilles,” Hunter said.
“…What?”
“You said even if we don’t date we can still be more than plain friends, right?”
“Of course.”
“So twenty years from now when we’re married and have our separate lives, we’ll still be friends?”
“I am not babysitting your brats if that’s where you’re going.”
“Morgan.”
I fondly smiled at Hunter. “Yeah. We’ll still be friends.”
Hunter exhaled. “Excellent. Then yes, I’m helping you because we are friends. Great friends,” He said, his smile was more pleased than he had a reason for it to be.
I was quiet for a moment. “Why do I feel like I was just played?”
“What?”
“You are a little too relieved. I don’t get it. What’s your angle?”
“I have no angle.”
“You are made of angles.”
Hunter shrugged. “If you must know, all I want is unrestricted access to you. Friendships for goblins are rare. You’re more likely to see a dragon in downtown Chicago than find a goblin friend, so the relationship is marked for generations. I didn’t want to lose you,” he said, sounding slightly embarrassed.
I blinked. “That’s why you wa
nted to date me? Because you were afraid I would eventually cut you out of my life?”
“Maybe,” Hunter said.
“How long would you have played along with a romantic relationship?” I said, narrowing my eyes.
“I wasn’t sure. I was going to try to find some books about it. Friendship or not, my parents would kill me if I married a human. Nor would I want to, no offense,” Hunter said.
My jaw dropped. “What?”
“The idea of having to interact with all your family and friends makes my skin crawl,” Hunter said.
“Oh. My. Gosh. I no longer feel sorry for turning you down. In fact, I’m the one who has the right to feel hurt and angry. You were totally playing me!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Hunter said. “You were too skiddish to ever agree to go out with me, so the end result is the same.”
“Yes, it matters!” I said, glaring at my classmate and friend.
“You said we were going to be lifelong friends. I will hold you to that,” Hunter said, reaching for a briefcase. He chuckled when he opened it. “When I do marry, my wife is going to either hate or love you.”
“Love, I hope. I’ll be the only other female on the planet who will be able to criticize you for being so unromantic,” I said, utterly disgusted with myself.
“Perhaps. I’m glad we had this little talk,” Hunter said, removing a small box from the briefcase.
“Bully for you,” I grunted.
“Here are your new charmed jewelry pieces,” Hunter said, ignoring my disapproval and handing me the box.
“I’m glad to see old faithful is back,” I said, my lack of enthusiasm obvious when I spotted the obnoxiously large sapphire necklace.
“The MBRC does not comprehend human tact,” Hunter said. “Although the new pieces should be more to your liking.”
“A bracelet?” I asked, lifting up a black, braided bracelet that had a silver ID tag on it with my name. It looked like it was made out of hair—probably a unicorn’s mane or something—but it was surprisingly soft.
“It contains a protection charm,” Hunter said as I clipped the bracelet around my wrist.
“What does the ring do?” I asked, picking up a silver ring that had a topaz sticking out of it.
“That was cooked up by some of my people. It’s a goblin charm. If you throw it on the ground or a surface it produces a blinding light that lasts for thirty seconds, which should give you ample opportunity to flee or attack your opponent, depending on the situation,” Hunter said.
“And this is…?” I asked, picking up what appeared to be a single earring.
Hunter smiled widely. “That was selected by Aysel. It’s a truth spell earring.”
I clenched the earring—it was a sapphire stud that was unfortunately more suited for Asahi than for me—in my palm and gave Hunter a dreamy look.
“It’s single use,” Hunter was quick to say. “It only works once before it has to be spelled again, and it lasts about half an hour. The activation word is ‘Twit’.”
“Aysel would make it that word,” I grumbled
“I think he is hoping you will get more information out of Krad if you ever see him again.”
“Yeah, because I would totally risk my neck for intelligence gathering purposes.”
“You are quite the negative Nancy this morning.”
“Gee, I wonder why!”
“Can we continue? We have one more piece of jewelry to look at, and we’re almost to school,” Hunter said, glancing at a tinted window.
“This thing?” I asked, picking up a small black band—it looked like it was a pinky ring.
“That ‘thing’ costs nearly as much as a car—be careful with it,” Hunter said.
“Wow, people are going to think my fashion sense is dead,” I said, sliding the pinky ring on before taking out my earrings so I could put the sapphire stud in one ear.
“The ring is a freezing charm. If it hits someone they are frozen—in time and place—for twenty five minutes. It is rechargeable—it’s the material, not the spell, that cost a fortune—but you’ve only got one chance to use the charm. There is no activation word. You just throw it at the enemy.”
“What if I miss?” I asked.
“Then you’re screwed.”
“Can I just touch it against whoever is attacking me?”
“Yes, but the ring must be off your finger to activate.”
“Darn,” I said.
“It’s a last resort,” Hunter said as the car rolled up to our high school.
“Hopefully I won’t need it,” I said, sliding out of the car when the goblin in the seat directly in front of mine got out and opened the door for me. I thanked the goblin before I ran the short distance into the high school. The wind pulled on my jacket and totally ruined my hair. I was restoring order when Hunter joined me inside.
“So is this jewelry the only change to my security?” I asked.
“No. You have an additional three goblins tailing you. Harrison will be the only one to remain in close range. The others will be strategically positioned out of sight,” Hunter said.
“Is one of them a girl goblin? I haven’t seen any girl goblins besides your mother, sister, and Cinna’s wife,” I said.
“Two of them are females, and you haven’t seen any because female goblins are trained in the art of stealth.”
“Like ninjas?”
“Like assassins,” Hunter said, casually taking off his jacket in spite of my dropped-jaw reaction. “Sink is still with you. She’ll be your only guard during school. She is waiting for you at your locker.”
“That’s it?”
“Aysel Moonspell wants you to file an accident report, but yes. That’s it,” Hunter said. “I don’t think you get just how powerful your jewelry is.”
“Probably. Okay, I’m going to go find Fran—and Sink. Thanks, Hunter,” I said, starting down the hallway.
“Morgan.”
I turned around to face the young Chicago goblin king.
“Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For being my friend.”
I wanted to crack a joke about using Hunter for Cinna, his cookie elf chef, but Hunter’s eyes were too earnest. I found I could only nod. I was unable to look away until Hunter slid on a pair of sunglasses, shielding his remarkable eyes.
“Morgan, did you finish the math homework? There’s two problems I couldn’t solve,” Samantha, one of my long-time friends, said the second she walked through our school doors.
“Um, yeah,” I said, still knocked off my groove from my heart to heart with Hunter.
Hunter smiled mysteriously at us before he strode off.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I just totally ruin your conversation?” Samantha asked, her eyes wide.
“Nah, we were done talking,” I said. “And I couldn’t solve all the problems either. What ones did you get?”
“Alright Baobab, hit me. What’s going on today?” I asked, plopping down in my office chair.
“I am happy to report there is nothing on your schedule, Miss Fae,” Baobab said, tucking a strand of her earthy brown/green hued hair behind her ear. “No classes, no appointments, nothing.”
“Seriously? How?”
“The MBRC has canceled your advance placement class for the week. It will resume its normal schedule the following week, but the teaching department felt you needed the time to recover. Asahi and Kadri have taken over Introduction to the American Education System—including grading papers and assigning homework. Next week the teaching department wants you to touch base with them to see if they require your expertise.”
“Ahh yes, Asahi and Kadri,” I said, knitting my hands together and staring at the ceiling.
“Pardon?”
“Nothing. Even if I don’t have anything on my schedule, I have some things that need to be taken care of. Mainly those two and the dwarves.”
“I see,” Baobab said, although I could tell by the tone of her voice th
at no, she totally didn’t.
“I’ll try calling Kadri,” I said. “Class shouldn’t have started yet, and she’ll be thrilled to receive a phone call. She just got a cell phone for Christmas.”
“Of course, Miss Fae.”
I smiled wryly at my assistant before I looked for Kadri’s contact info in my phone. I found it and dialed her up.
“If you will excuse me, Miss Fae. There is a file I must walk down to the administration department,” Baobab said, bowing in my direction.
“Of course,” I said, switching my phone from one ear to the other.
Baobab was out of the office by the time Kadri picked up.
“Hello?” the high elf cautiously said.
“Hey, Kadri. It’s me, Morgan.”
“Morgan!” I could almost hear her light up. “How are you? Asahi and I were so worried after we heard about Saturday’s incident! The MBRC blocked all calls to you—they said we were going to overwhelm you.”
That certainly explained the lack of contact from my magical friends and students—excluding Devin and Hunter of course. I hadn’t seen any of them since Madeline, Frank, Sacmis, and Frey visited me right after I was given approval to go home.
“I’m doing okay,” I said. “This attack was much…worse. But hopefully it won’t happen again.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Baobab already told me that you and Asahi are doing everything for my intro class this week—including grading. That’s more than enough.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. Actually, Kadri, I was hoping I could help you.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Are you anywhere near Asahi at the moment?”
“No…”
“Good. I talked to him last week and reached this conclusion: If you want to marry him you’ll have to ask him yourself.”
“What?” Kadri said, more than a little stunned.
“He’s never going to ask you—and not because he doesn’t love you. It’s actually because of his love that he doesn’t ask.”
“I must confess, I don’t understand what you are saying.”
“Sorry, I’m going about this in a roundabout way. Asahi isn’t going to ask you to marry him because he’s afraid if you marry him you’ll be a target for bad guys, upset unions, and shady corporations. He says he’s the weak link of the family, and he’s pretty scared of what would happen to you if you guys got hitched.”
