“I don’t know. Not intentionally. My mother, or the woman who pretended she was my mother, she did something. I cut my hand and she made sure that my blood fell on the ground.”
He raised his eyebrows, then started clicking on the laptop again. After a few minutes, he turned the laptop toward me. “According to these notes, this doctor trapped an ancient Fae. He says he was important, a leader, but he turned on his own kind. Maybe he was the one who trapped the others? He’s your father, isn’t he?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Then you could, potentially, be a new leader to the Fae.”
The pixie started jumping up and down at this.
“No, I’m not a leader. I’m not even full Fae.”
Alwyn turned to the pixie. “Who is the rightful leader? The Queen?”
The pixie shook his head.
“Nova?”
He nodded, dropping into a bow again.
“This is crazy. We’re taking the word of a Fae we trapped. It’s lying.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. What if it is true? Think what you could do with that kind of power.”
“I don’t want power, it isn’t true. I want you all to leave,” I said. I dropped onto the bunk and turned my back on them.
They’re wrong, it isn’t true. I’m just a freak halfling.
***
Alwyn
The Day After Doomsday
“Watch out for the guy with the gun!” I cried, right before he blew Player Two’s head off.
“Bad luck, man,” Player Three said over my headset. We were two hours into a campaign.
I used the distraction to grab a handful of chips to eat. My parents were out all day, so I didn’t have to worry about them hassling me for spending hours in the basement.
My phone buzzed. I glanced at the screen, it was my friend Trev trying to video chat. Why was he calling me? He lived in England, we were part of a hacktivist group.
“Guys, I need to take a call,” I said, removing my headset.
I answered to find Trev looking out of breath and sweaty. “Dude, why are you calling me?”
“Alwyn man, you have to see this footage I have.”
“I’m kind of busy right now. Can’t you email it to me?”
“No, this is serious! Did you see the report on the news about Stonehenge?”
“Oh yeah. An earthquake or something?”
“Yeah, but did you see what happened after?”
“You mean something crawling out of the hole? I’m pretty sure it’s a hoax.”
“No, it isn’t.” He moved back from the camera and held up another showing footage from Stonehenge. “You have to see this.”
He played the footage and I felt a chill run down my spine. “Is that real?”
“Yes, I swear. I shot this myself. They’re not human. I don’t know what they are, but this is real. The government has been trying to hide it in case people panic.”
From what I could see, they had good reason too. This was huge.
“Trev, listen to me. If this is real then you have to get it out somehow.”
“I plan to. But if this goes sideways, I don’t know what will happen. This might be the last message I send.”
I was sure he was being melodramatic, but he might have a point.
“Do what you can. Good luck, man.”
Switching off the game, I grabbed my laptop and started searching for any other information that was out there. If Trev was doing this, I would help him anyway I could.
Chapter 21
Rat left the room, but Alwyn stayed to continue reading. Every now and again he would read parts of it out.
“It says here that the Fae have the ability to tap into the natural world and use the magic that runs through it.”
“I don’t care. I don’t want to hear it. Please, leave me alone.”
“Look, Nova, I’m sorry for what happened to you. Some of the stuff in here, it’s disturbing to say the least. But you can’t keep denying what you are.”
“Why not? The Fae are evil, even I can’t deny that. You think Lydia isn’t telling the General all about me right now.”
“I don’t think she is. If she does, it will look bad for the rest of us. We’ll be implicated too for being with you.”
“See? I’m dangerous to be around.” I swung my legs over the side of the bed and sat up. “I swear I didn’t know about any of this until a few months ago. I was normal, I was heading for college, I had friends, a life.”
“I believe you. But trying to pretend to be something you’re not is going to tear you apart.”
“You talking from experience?”
He smiled. “Yeah, I am. You’re not Fae and you’re not human. You’re both. But more than that, you might be the only person who can help us turn the tide.”
“Sure, I’ll just ask if I can borrow a gun and go kill the Queen.”
“I’m being serious. There is a hierarchy. If your father was the leader, then you are the heir, not her.”
“You get all that from the notes?”
“Some. But before the internet went dark, I was part of a hacking group. It had members all over the world. The guy Lydia spoke about, his name was Trev, he was living in England. When they first escaped, there was chaos for a few days, before they started killing people. He managed to get close enough to live stream from Stonehenge. I’ve seen the Queen. She is one scary looking bitch. The other Fae were completely submissive to her.”
“Exactly, she has who knows how many minions. They are loyal to her, why would they follow anyone else, especially someone like me?”
“If you are the real heir, you could kill her. That would prove to the Fae that you were worthy.”
I shook my head. “Alwyn, I get that you want to find a solution to this mess, but that is not it.”
“Then what are you going to do? The Fae will eventually wipe us out. Can you really just sit by and let that happen?”
“Why don’t you go fight her then!” I snapped. It was fine for him, he wasn’t the one who would be in danger. Go up against the Queen? No way.
“I’m not a fighter, as we’ve established. You must have Fae abilities. Things you can do?”
I leaned back against the wall. Alwyn was the only one willing to talk to me, to listen to my side of things. I might as well tell him everything.
“I can burn stuff,” I said quietly.
“You’re a pyro?”
“No, I don’t set fires. I can burn things with my hands.”
“A pyrokinetic, not a pyromaniac. How hot are we talking?”
“I melted a pair of handcuffs.”
Alwyn’s eyes widened. “Okay, that is definitely hot. Surely you could just burn the Queen to ashes.”
“Yeah, she’ll let me walk right up to her. If her brother imprisoned her, I don’t see her being too pleased to see me.”
“I’m not saying it would be easy, but if the soldiers could help us…”
“No! You can’t tell them. They’ll kill me on the spot.”
“You don’t…”
The door opened and Rat came into the room. He gave us a nervous look.
“What’s up?” Alwyn asked.
“Um, Enzo wants to talk to Nova.”
I sat up. Was that a good thing? “Sure.”
Alwyn grabbed the laptop and left the room with it. “I’ll be right outside.”
Enzo stepped into the room, followed by Lydia.
“I don’t want her here,” I said.
She scowled at me. “Well tough because I’m staying.”
Enzo stayed near the door, hands in his pockets, face neutral. “So, you’re Fae,” he said.
“Half Fae. I wasn’t plotting against you guys. I swear that I am not dangerous.”
Lydia snorted. “Yeah, right,” she muttered.
“Does she really need to be here,” I said.
Lydia stepped up to me. “You are the one who needs to go. You should be thrown back out with your Fa
e pals.”
I could feel my hands heat up. I wanted nothing more than to melt her stupid face, but I restrained myself.
Alwyn put his head around the door. “Enzo, can I speak to you? There’s new information, information that could help us.”
Enzo stepped out into the hall, leaving me with Lydia.
“You really did a great job, you know?” she said. “When we first met you, you seemed like this innocent kid, trying to survive like the rest of us. Then you played your little game. Winning Rat over, coming between me and Enzo. You were playing the long game and I want to know why?”
“Yeah, you’re right, Lydia. I joined the group to break you and Enzo up from your imaginary relationship!”
She grabbed the front of my ruined hoodie. “What are the stumps? Some deformity? Is this even your real skin? Or are you wearing it so you can fit in.”
Her face was only inches from mine now.
“The stumps are from wings. Wings that sprouted suddenly while I was locked up by a mad man. Until he tied me to a table and cut them off, then left me for dead.”
Her right eye twitched. “More lies.”
“Lydia, get AWAY FROM ME!” I bellowed. The heat from my hands filled my entire body, it formed a wave of energy that erupted from me, throwing Lydia back into the door behind her and wrecking the room.
Lydia’s terrified face looked back at me, as she tried to crawl away from me.
I could kill her right now.
The door opened, Lydia scrambled away from it. Enzo and Alwyn came into the room. They saw the mess.
“What happened?” Enzo asked.
“She attacked me,” Lydia cried. “She has powers.”
My hands were balled into fists, my breathing heavy. Why couldn’t she just shut up?
“Nova?” Alwyn said. “Calm down. She isn’t worth it.”
Lydia glared at him, getting to her feet. “Lock her up.”
“Get out,” Enzo said.
I took a step toward the door, still shaking.
“Not you. Lydia,” Enzo said.
“What? Why me?” Lydia said, her voice taking on a whiny quality.
“We need to talk to Nova. Go wait in the mess hall, I’ll find you after.”
Lydia’s mouth opened and closed, but she slowly headed for the door. With one final glare at me, she left the room, slamming the door behind her.
“Tell me about this plan,” Enzo said.
Chapter 22
Alwyn laid it out for Enzo, about our conversation with the pixie and what he had found on the flash drive. The more he talked, the less convinced Enzo seemed to be. I couldn’t blame him. Although after my display with Lydia, I did wonder how much power I actually had.
Whatever I have, it still won’t be enough to go against a full Fae. And a Queen no less.
“Think of what she could do,” Alwyn said. “If they listened to her, she could change everything. No more humans would have to die.”
“That’s a big if,” Enzo said.
“He’s right,” I said.
Alwyn ignored me. “Centuries ago, the Fae did walk amongst the humans. They didn’t wipe us out back then, so her father must have kept them in check.”
“Are you saying we co-exist with the Fae?”
“For now. At least until we can figure out a way to lock them all up again.”
That got my attention. “You think we could?”
“Your father did. And if it was your blood that freed them, then it must have been his blood that locked them away. Like it or not, we need Nova. She might be our only chance at getting our world back.”
Enzo paced slowly back and forth by the table.
“The Queen, as far as we know, is in England. Even if we could get there, which is a big if, I’m sure she is heavily guarded.”
“Which is why we tell the General. He has the beacon, we could paralyse them, take out her guard and let Nova finish her off.”
“I said no about telling the General. He’ll kill me,” I said.
Enzo stopped pacing and looked at me. “I don’t think he would. He’s open to any idea that would stop the Fae. I could get him to listen.”
“Really? You’ve known him how long? I’m not going to die here and I’m certainly not going back into a cage.”
If they tried to lock me away again, I would blast them like I did with Lydia.
“No one is going to lock you up, if you help us,” Alwyn said.
“You don’t know that. We don’t know anything about this General guy. He might not even be a General.”
“I assure you, I am.”
We all turned to find that the General had come into the room behind us. I backed away from him.
“Your friend Lydia tells me that there is something I should know?”
Probably ran straight to him. I’m going to kill her.
Alwyn glanced at me, then he spilled his guts, telling the General everything. I backed further up, thinking of the best exit strategy. I could get out of this room, but would I make it back to the gate without being shot? Would bullets kill me? I really didn’t want to find out.
The General turned to face me. “I knew there was something different about you. A half Fae. The scientists here on the base have been brainstorming new ideas, but none have considered this.”
“I’m not going into a cage,” I said.
This seemed to surprise the General. “I have no intention of locking you away. You haven’t shown me that you are dangerous in anyway. Yet.”
So, it was still an option.
He turned back to the boys and they started discussing strategies, like I wasn’t even there. There was talk of an assault team, of specialized weapons. I tried to interject, but I was ignored.
Frustrated, I slammed my hands down on the desk. “Hey!”
They turned to look at me. “I’m right here,” I growled.
The General glanced down at the desk. “Extraordinary.”
I looked down to find the desk melting beneath my hands. I quickly jerked them away, leaving two handprints in the metal.
Enzo took a step toward me.
“No, stay back. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“We can teach you how to fight,” the General said. “We can help you.”
“You’re just going to accept my help? Trust me?”
“You have more fans than you think. Including one of our doctors here.”
“What doctor?” I asked.
He radioed through to someone. “Send the doctor down.”
Oh God, what if it is Phillip? What if he’s still alive?
I couldn’t face him again. I needed to get out of here. When the General started talking to Enzo, I staggered toward the door, trying to escape. The door opened before I could and the last person I was expecting, appeared before me.
“Hello, Nova.”
Chapter 23
“Mom?” I whispered, certain I was hallucinating. She couldn’t be here.
“Nova. It’s good to see you again,” she said, smiling.
I took a faltering step toward her, then I pulled by arm back and punched her in the face. She stumbled back into the door, then sank to the ground looking stunned.
“You bitch! I hate you!” I screamed, lunging at her.
The General grabbed me and dragged me away from her. I threw my elbow at his face, catching him in the chin. He glared at me. “That’s enough!”
I pulled away from him, moving across the room and crossing my arms.
Mom got to her feet, a hand pressed to her cheek. “It’s okay, Alistair. Leave us alone. Please.”
The General didn’t look happy, but he did as she asked. Mom closed the door after him.
“That was stupid. Who is going to protect you now?” I said.
“Sit down, Nova.”
“I don’t think so,” I scoffed.
“Sit down!” she snapped.
Against my better judgement, I dropped onto a chair. Whatever she had t
o say, I didn’t want to hear it. Nothing was going to make things better.
She took a seat opposite me, looking nervous. I almost laughed at that, she had never acted nervous in her life.
“I was coming back for you,” she said finally.
“Yeah, right. You were going to rescue me from the psycho you left me with? Pull the other one.”
“I left because I didn’t have a choice. I was under contract, if I broke it...”
“Under contract? I was your daughter!” I yelled.
“If I broke the contract, Phillip would have terminated the experiment. Terminated you!”
I shook my head. “You can say what you like, can’t you? There’s no way to prove it.”
“There are files, videos. But I’m telling you the truth. I was supposed to go to Australia and work on a new project, but instead I came here looking for help. A doctor I used to work with, someone who could help me get you away from Phillip. Then the Fae rose and, well, you know what happened there.”
“I was your daughter, you could have just called the police.”
She stared at her hands. “Phillip made sure that he had custody. I wouldn’t have won against him. You were intellectual property.”
“Property? I’m a human being...mostly! You can’t own someone.”
“It’s complicated. I was just a monitor, no better than a nanny.”
“At least nannies show affection. You were a robot. I don’t know why I didn’t see through it all sooner.”
I got up and started pacing. “What about Stonehenge? That was you, wasn’t it?”
She actually looked ashamed. “Yes, but I swear I didn’t know what would happen. There was a prophecy about a Fae that was locked under the ground. I mistranslated the text. It was the Fae not a Fae. I thought that if I released one, then Phillip would focus his attention on it, and he wouldn’t be interested in you anymore.”
“Instead you have almost succeeded in wiping out the entire human race. Well done, Mother,” I sneered. “What would you have done if I hadn’t cut my hand? Stabbed me?”
“It was a prophecy. You would have cut yourself one way or another.”
“Don’t try and turn this on me. You took me there.”
“Yes, I did. Please try and understand. You have no idea how incredible you are, Nova. One of a kind.”
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