The Day Human Way

by B. Kristin McMichael

  Nessa turned to her uncle and nodded to him. She needed someone else to agree with her to drive home her point.

  “Yes, she is bonded to the day human,” Uncle Rolf admitted like he was defeated. He turned his back from Nessa as he hung his head.

  “And he’s got your father’s powers?” a random person asked.

  “Yes.” Was the only reply before Nessa noticed the healer was standing still, close to Liam and Lele, peering down at them. When her uncle turned back, he bumped into the healer, who stumbled and placed a hand on Lele.

  Maria moved quicker than Nessa expected from a day human as she threw water onto the sidhe at her feet. Where the healer had touched the young girl, more flames had erupted.

  “Take them back to Devin’s place,” Maria told Turner. “And no sidhes can touch them. I’m positive the spell will be activated by sidhe blood.”

  Whispers rose up around them as Turner moved and took the girl first in his arms. Maria stood beside Nessa, watching Liam as people talked more. Nessa heard them and was certain Maria could, but she didn’t flinch.

  Did you see that? The witch, the witch did that. She knew exactly what was going to happen. Who let a witch in our town? First a day human, then a lycan, now a witch. How can we trust the queen? She’s doing this to us. Look at the poor Kay boy. She did this to him. He will die because of her. The sidhe are fated to die. That’s why we have such an incompetent queen.

  Words kept floating around them, but Maria didn’t fail to keep everyone away from Liam. She was a witch on a mission. Turner returned after he took Lele away.

  “What are you doing?” Uncle Rolf asked Maria as Turner returned and took Liam.

  “I’m going to heal him,” Maria replied as if it were obvious.

  Nessa didn’t stay around with the people immobilized in their chairs.

  “Where are you going?” Rolf asked desperately.

  “Please stay here and keep everyone calm,” Nessa begged her uncle. She couldn’t leave Maria and Turner alone. As soon as word got out about Maria in the village, Nessa was sure there would be sidhe lining up to hunt the witch.

  Uncle Rolf nodded and bowed his head to her. His face said he was unhappy, but he didn’t disagree with her.

  “Ronan, go with Nessa. Keep her safe and keep me updated,” Rolf said.

  Ronan nodded to his father and followed behind as they walked back to Devin’s camp, Turner leading the way and carrying Liam as if he weighed nothing. Nessa didn’t turn back to see her uncle’s disappointed face. He’d been happy about the engagement, but he had to see how it wasn’t going to happen. Nessa would have to spend time later worrying about her uncle. Now she had to save Liam and Lele, and she sure hoped the witch could do just that.

  Cassie stopped again and turned back the way they came. Devin wasn’t sure if the young sidhe knew what she was doing as her steps seemed completely random, but for some reason he trusted her. Cassie wasn’t the type to pretend. He was pretty sure she felt something, he just wasn’t sure what.

  “The witch keeps moving,” Cassie explained as she paused again, searching for the right direction.

  ‘Devin, there’s still a spell on Liam. We’re taking him back to your place for Maria to fix him,’ Nessa told Devin in his mind. He could see the scene as it happened in the ballroom as she played back her images for him to see.

  ‘We’ll be right there,’ Devin replied, ready to go help any way he could.

  ‘No, don’t. Maria said we need to find the witch sidhe. He’s laying more traps, and the longer we take, the more people will get hurt. They tracked the witch to the outside walls before realizing a path went back in. They were confused if the sidhe was inside or outside the palace, because his path kept going in and out.’

  Devin nodded. They needed to find the witch sidhe. That much was true, but he felt like he needed to be there to protect them as Maria worked. The sidhe didn’t like outsiders, but they especially didn’t like witches.

  ‘Turner and Ronan can protect us,’ Nessa added, sensing his feeling across the bond that he forgot to cover up.

  ‘Call for me if there’s anything strange. Anything.’ Devin wanted to be sure that Nessa understood. She took priority for him.

  ‘We will. Now find that sidhe, and don’t forget to call for backup yourself.’

  The worry from Nessa poured through the bond. She was confident that he would succeed, but she was worried anyway. He had caught a small glimpse of her mind to know that she saw Liam and his bonded with matching burns. The reality of the bond was right there for her to see, but she was completely worried about his well-being and not her own.

  “Um, they moved again,” Cassie told Devin, tapping his arm to get his attention.

  Devin turned from wanting to run back to the outcast camp to the direction Cassie pointed—the other way. Devin nodded and started walking again. The witch sidhe had them moving in circles, but at least Cassie still had a trace on them.

  Devin followed behind Cassie as she stopped every few feet and checked again. They had been moving for several steps in one direction. Devin waited to see when that would change. Cassie paused. Then she scrunched up her face and shrugged.

  “I’m not sure, but I think they stopped moving,” Cassie replied, taking two more steps before she stopped again.

  They were slowly running out of village at the rate they were going. Devin was thankful that the inhabitants had done as he asked and hid inside as soon as the magic hit Liam. They might not have liked the royals, but they would follow his orders. It made it much easier to track the sidhe without extra sidhe in the way.

  Devin followed as Cassie slowly made her way to the end of the street. She paused one last time and Devin waited to be told that they would have to go into the woods. He really didn’t want to chase the sidhe in there, and more so he didn’t want to have to explain tree traveling to Cassie. He gazed into the dark trees and waited. Cassie didn’t move.

  “The magic sidhe is in there.” Cassie pointed at the hidden barn.

  Devin didn’t like what he saw. They were standing outside Old Man Winters’ barn, and the witch sidhe was within the walls. Devin had to hope the old man wasn’t involved, but so far he did know way more than Devin expected at every turn. Winters had been very connected to all that went on in the village. He had attributed the old man’s knowledge to age, but it could have been from being a witch.

  Cassie watched Devin and waited. She was certain there was a witch within those walls, but she wasn’t going to do anything without Devin and a plan.

  “Do you know how to fight using your witch powers?” Devin asked. He really didn’t want it to come down to that, but he didn’t want to take her in if she knew nothing.

  “Kind of,” Cassie replied. That wasn’t very reassuring for Devin. “I know how to defend myself.”

  Devin nodded. That would have to do. He didn’t have time to call Maria and Turner into the fight before they had healed Liam. The witch sidhe had already moved around too much as it was. They needed to act, and act quickly. He looked at Cassie one more time. She had a barrier around her to protect her from sidhe magic. She had a spell to keep her from being killed by witch magic. Hopefully, that would be enough.

  “Ready?” Devin asked as he moved closer to the doorway. Cassie nodded.

  Devin turned back and took a deep breath. It was now or never. Time to see how sidhe magic compared to witch magic. Devin pushed open the door, ready to attack. He stopped in his tracks at the sight before him. Uncle Rolf had a sword at Old Man Winter’s throat, and the old man had one at Nessa’s uncle’s throat. They were locked in a duel that neither could move. Magic was everywhere. Devin hadn’t expected to find more than one person in the barn.

  “Which one is the witch?” Devin asked Cassie while keeping his body in front of her as a shield.

  Cassie peered over his shoulder and then back to Devin.

  “I can’t tell. They both have magic all over them,” Cassie replied.
“One of them or both of them. I don’t know.”

  Devin glanced between the two older men. What was he supposed to do now? Which one was the witch they were looking for? How could he tell? He trusted the two men in front of him. How was he supposed to pick one?

  CHAPTER 11

  Devin looked from man to man. Rolf was Nessa’s uncle and the first person that made Devin actually feel safe in the sidhe village. He didn’t seem to mind Devin being a day human, and also seemed to support him in his effort to keep Nessa safe. Earlier was the first time Devin had ever heard Rolf not support him, but that still didn’t make him doubt Nessa’s uncle. He was only looking out for Nessa, and knew that the sidhe wouldn’t support Devin because he wasn’t truly one of them. Nessa had the fake chance to marry a true sidhe, and that was understandable. It was hard to see Rolf as the witch sidhe that had been trying to get him killed. And then there was Old Man Winters, the first common sidhe that accepted him in the village. The old man always had answers, even when Devin wasn’t asking a question. He didn’t seem to mind in the least that Devin was a day human, and somehow he already knew that Devin was Nessa’s day human without being told. Even knowing all of that, the old man didn’t change how he treated Devin. They were both good men, and two men that Devin completely trusted. How was he supposed to pick one as the witch? Was there a way to test them?

  “A little help here,” Rolf called to Devin.

  Devin looked at him but didn’t move. “Are you sure you can’t tell?” he asked Cassie without taking his eyes off the two men. Neither moved.

  “No. There’s magic here and lots of it, but I can’t figure out who it came from. It’s as if they both rolled around in it. I really can’t tell,” Cassie replied.

  “Would Maria be able to?” Devin asked. He needed some sort of help. He couldn’t tell which on it was.

  “No. I don’t think any witch could. Both of them are too covered in magic.”

  Cassie still looked confused. Devin took a step forward, but she stopped him.

  “If they look like they rolled around in magic, maybe we shouldn’t get too close for the moment. There could be spells all over. Let me see what I can sense first.”

  Cassie had a really good point. They didn’t know what had transpired, or why they were both covered in spells. They needed to be careful. Devin knew a bit about witch magic, but not enough to want to test his reflexes and own ability to counter it.

  “Come on, child. Hurry up and help me,” Rolf said to Devin. “We can’t let this man get any closer to hurting Nessa. We have no clue what he might do next.”

  Devin still didn’t move. He stared at Old Man Winters’ face—the wrinkled old man hadn’t moved a muscle since they had entered. He held still like stone and didn’t seem winded. How strong was he? If Devin had to guess, he would have thought it wasn’t possible that the old man could even come close to dueling with Rolf, but from the looks of it, that was exactly what had happened. He might have been old, but Winters was a force to fight with.

  “Stay here,” Devin told Cassie as he moved in a wide circle around the two men.

  In the faint nighttime light, Devin was beginning to see the outline of magic from the witches they were looking for. He had been in the sidhe village long enough to not have to open his senses to the night human world outside the sidhe. He needed to clear his head, and in doing so open his mind. The powdery-looking magic was poofed over each man like they had been hit with old fashioned powder puffs. The fine, chalky residue was all over the barn. Devin took a careful step and continued to move around the men.

  Old Man Winters had a short blade, but with it effectively pointed at Rolf’s chest so that Nessa’s uncle couldn’t move. On the other hand, Rolf had a blade that was longer than his own arm. He held the blade steady at the old man’s neck. Their empty second hands were locked together palm to palm.

  “What in the world are you waiting for?” Rolf asked Devin.

  Rolf was getting impatient, but it wasn’t going to rush Devin. Devin had to be sure of which was the witch. If he made a wrong choice, it could end badly.

  Devin wasn’t sure himself. Something inside him told him to slow down and not act rashly. He had never ignored that warning, and he wasn’t about to start now, especially since he was facing the witch sidhe that had tried to kill several people. Devin took another slow step and studied the men. There was nothing to be told from them. Unfortunately, he wasn’t any closer to knowing who the witch sidhe was.

  Devin made his way back to Cassie, who was standing back far enough to have a straight shot out of the barn if the fighting began again. Devin didn’t blame her for wanting to run. He didn’t want to be stuck between two men dueling. He wasn’t even sure that sidhe magic could compete with witch magic. Devin had hoped that with being able to control all sidhe magic that he would stand a chance against the witch sidhe. He hadn’t trained as extensively with the sidhe magic, but he was still the day human that night humans feared. He hoped that would be enough.

  “One of you is the witch,” he stated while he continued to look at them. “Explain to me what happened here.” Devin was buying time to figure it out. He still had no clue which one was which.

  “As soon as Liam was brought to safety, I decided to try to help you with searching for the witch. I saw this old man stalking about the village after you told everyone to stay inside, so I knew he was suspicious. I followed him back here where he lured me in and attacked me with his spells,” Rolf quickly said so that his explanation was first.

  Devin nodded and moved slightly so that he was directly behind Rolf, and Old Man Winters didn’t have to move his head to see and talk to Devin.

  “That was a nice story, but nothing in it was true. I never left my house. I was here all along. When I saw this noble come hide in my barn, I decided to confront him. He attacked me with spells, and I just fought back.”

  His gray-blue eyes never left Rolf, even as he explained. He was more focused on Rolf than anything, which struck Devin as odd. Was he not worried about Devin because he was telling the truth, or because he didn’t expect him to interfere with the fight?

  They were still stuck in their standstill. Old Man Winters was having a hard time keeping his hold on the younger Rolf. Devin moved back beside Cassie. She put up her hand to muffle her words as they both stood and continued to stare at the two older men locked in their stalemate.

  “Both stories sound plausible, but how can you tell which is the witch?” Cassie asked. She didn’t have a clue as to which one was it, either.

  “If you help me out and take our hands apart, I will prove to you it’s the old man,” Rolf said to Cassie’s assessment.

  “And when they do that, you will just attack them with your magic. Whatever you do, don’t peel our hands apart. My hand is the only thing keeping spells from flying around the room right now,” Old Man Winters grunted out.

  Devin raised his eyebrows at Cassie to see if that could be true.

  “Some magic users do it with their hands. They both could be right. If the younger man is the one, when you take their hands apart you’ll see the magic. If the old man is right, then when you take their hands apart the other guy will start blasting us. While it might tell us who it is, I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Cassie still stared at the two men as if she was trying to see which to trust.

  That was the problem. Devin trusted both of them, but one had to be lying.

  “How do you know who’s telling the truth?” Cassie asked the exact question to the problem.

  He really didn’t want to get Keaton involved in it. While his power to see the truth was great to use, Devin knew that Keaton wasn’t a fighter, he was a charmer. There was no way to charm either of the men that were staring daggers at each other now. Yet he didn’t have much of a choice.

  “I suppose I’ll bring in Keaton,” Devin replied.

  Both men faltered at Devin’s words. He noticed the opportunity to jump in at the same time tha
t Ronan burst through the door. Ronan aimed his bow at the old man to save his father, but Old Man Winters raised his hand, and the arrow veered away with a puff of dust. That was their answer. Devin’s heart broke to see the old man wielding magic that wasn’t from the sidhe.

  Nessa sat as patiently as she could on the couch in Devin’s house. It wasn’t that the piece of furniture was uncomfortable, but something bugged her. He had said they were trailing the sidhe, and she was to stay put in the outcast camp, but she hadn’t heard anything from him. It would have been fine if he hadn’t closed everything off to her. She couldn’t even feel an ounce of emotion from him.

  Nessa stood and went over to where Maria was working. She had forced Turner to help, and he sat pulverizing herbs with a stone pestle. He didn’t even look out of place, nor did he ever, and Nessa envied that about Turner.

  Maria mixed in a few more ingredients and then placed the goop on Liam’s face. The skin started to knit back together before another fire started on Lele’s face. Turner doused the girl with the water at the table, and the wounds spread back to Liam’s head, but no longer healed his face.

  Maria rubbed her head in frustration. It was her second attempt. She had tried a salve on Lele only to have Liam burn more, and now it was the same in reverse. How was she going to fix them when one thing made the other worse?

  Nessa paced back over to the couch. Devin was still silent. She hated how it felt. Not that it was fun to have everything that crossed her mind accessible to Devin; it had been that way long enough for it to seem like something was broken without him there. Nessa wished she was strong enough to force her way into his mind to know what was going on. At the moment, she felt useless. She couldn’t help Maria, who was certainly stuck without finding a way to heal Liam. Within the outcast camp, she wasn’t able to help find the witch sidhe. And by now her uncle was back calming all her people, which was a job she should have been doing. Everything was a mess, and there was nothing she could do.