by Jamie Hawke
“Tell me,” I said.
Her mouth fell open, eyes looking horrified. “No.”
“I once stepped on a snail. Broke its shell and felt horrible.” I took her hand, squeezing it. “Now your turn.”
She chuckled, but shook her head. “No, I’m not playing that game. But… but you should know, I ran with a pack for a while.”
“Other werewolves?”
She laughed. “I’m not exactly a werewolf. I’m something more… but yeah. They looked up to me, and sure, I was under the influence of the shadow, but at times I have to admit, it wasn’t like I was fighting to break free. Fighting to say forget that, to go good.”
I nodded, knowing she was opening up, and that there wasn’t anything I could say that would make her past go away.
“We were tearing up this neighborhood, trying to teach them a lesson.” She breathed deep, eyes distant as she remembered it. “Then we get to this one house, almost a shack, really. And I’d just torn off the door, when I turned to see this little boy there, staring at me with wide eyes. Then his mom runs up, grabbing him, holding him tight… whimpering. She actually whimpered at the sight of me, frightened for the life of her little boy.”
“You… didn’t?”
She shook her head, to my relief. “I was their leader, or so I thought. When I refused to hurt that family? They all turned on me. The family got away, but I paid for it… took a beating that, if I couldn’t self-heal, would’ve likely left me dead.”
“That’s… horrible.”
“Now, here with you?” She hesitated, breathed, and then spoke real fast. “I don’t ever feel like I’ll have to worry about that again.”
I pulled her close and kissed her cheek. “You’re one of us. We won’t ever let anyone hurt you. Ever.”
“Nor I you,” she replied, letting an elongated fingernail grow into a claw that she ran down my leg, just enough for me to feel it without it actually hurting. A reminder that she was powerful in her own right.
“I wasn’t always perfect you know.”
She eyed me, then shook her head. “Yes, you were. Compared to what I’ve been, you’ve always been a perfect angel.”
Truth.
I kissed her, feeling the way her lips were rougher than Red’s, but in a way that made me feel an excitement for life, a sense of adventure. That kiss sent images through my mind of running through fields with her, chasing down prey and devouring it raw.
When she looked at me again, her eyes showed passion and affection. She stood, reaching for her clothes, and said, “Let’s go, join the others. It’s time we figured out what our next steps should be in this fight.”
We returned to the fire to find Elisa and her brothers were gone, I imagined walking the perimeter, catching up while also keeping watch. Nivian had her arms around Arthur’s waist, though he still glowed a light blue and looked like she’d slip right through him. He kissed her on the forehead and said, “Someday, my dear,” in a way that made me feel like I’d walked in on something.
I nudged Sharon and took a step back. Arthur must have sensed me though, because his head moved slightly, but he didn’t say anything.
I kept going, guiding Sharon back.
“What was that about?” Sharon asked when we stopped a few paces off.
“They seemed… seemed like they could use some alone time.”
She nodded, then looked at me. “You’re shivering?”
“Am I?” I truly hadn’t noticed.
“Come on.” She moved the red robe aside, eyes on mine, and moved in, then made me wrap the robe around both of us. It was like we were wrapped up in a large blanket, me completely nude in there, she less so, her hands roaming over me, moving to create friction.
I moaned, whispering, “Damn, that feels good.”
“Better?” she asked.
With a nod, I held her tight, slipping my hands into the back of her pants to grab her ass. She laughed, shaking it slightly for emphasis. For the longest time, we stood there, her head on my shoulder, our hands appreciating each other’s bodies. Finally, Arthur appeared, nodded, and motioned that we could go away if we wanted.
“Oh, no,” Sharon said, seeing this. She helped me keep the robe closed as she stepped away, grinning and motioning me to go on. “You two talk if you need to, I’ve taken more than my fair share of Jack, here. already.”
Arthur chuckled, surely getting the joke. “Thanks, Sharon. We’ll be along shortly.”
“Nivian?” I asked.
“The others returned,” Arthur explained. “She’s in good company.”
Arthur watched Sharon go, then turned to me. I was struck by his regal posture, the look of confidence in his eyes I wondered if I’d ever project like that.
“You’re a lucky man, you know that?” he said.
I laughed. “More than I deserve, for sure.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. What you’re putting yourself through, the risks and all that. While you could make a point that nobody deserves so many beautiful, amazing women—if anyone does, I’d say it’s you.” Before I could argue, he held up a hand. “And I’m not only saying that based on what you’ve done in the past, but what you’ll do in the future. You’re going to really have to push yourself going forward, but I see something in you, a burning fire behind those eyes. As long as you stay true, we have no worries.”
Taking a moment to process this, I nodded, then said, “Thank you.”
He nodded, gesturing me to walk, and we started off together. “All that said, it’s a good a time as any to tell you.”
“Yes?”
“Weird things are afoot,” Arthur said. “Sekhmet sent a message through Nivian, a vision of sorts, of what I can only describe as energy leaving this world, when it shouldn’t. Keep an eye open, and be wary.”
“I will,” I promised. It took me a moment, but I decided being open with him was necessary. “There was someone out there…”
“Someone?”
“A fairy. A queen.”
“The fairy queen, you mean?” Arthur considered this, then shook his head. “Impossible.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, she was banished from this world. Exiled. I don’t… no, there’s no way it was her. Find out more, would you?”
I nodded, following him.
“You know,” he guided me to an incline, which we ascended until we reached a point that allowed us to see over the trees to the south, “There was a time in life that, if I’d just turned away, not taken the leap, all of this could have turned out very differently.”
“How so?”
He stared out at the now dark sky, eyes piercing it as if seeing something beyond my ability to see. “I took the sword.”
“Excalibur?” I asked.
“That’s right. The sword that Merlin had cursed, knowing I was destined to be the one. The sword that turned me into what I became, that cursed me and my men to a life of the night.”
“But not anymore.”
“Not anymore.” He offered me a smile, then clasped my shoulder. “You’re making us all proud, my boy. Keep it up, and we’ll see victory.”
Warmth filled my chest, pride and a sense of duty. I wasn’t doing this for the pride of King Arthur, that was for sure. But it did help.
“I won’t’ let you down,” I replied, and we stood there like that, staring out at the night in silence, simply enjoying the moment.
53
As the sun rose over the Fae world, Arthur already had me up and heading back into the mists.
“You’ve grown strong, but it isn’t strong enough,” he insisted. “Keep at it, and as you gain prana, try thinking outside the box.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
He gave me a knowing smile. “I believe in you.”
I frowned at his cryptic answer, but stood tall at the thought that the legendary Arthur was giving me advice at all. That would never get old.
Soon I was
back in the mists, my clothes no longer damp, but my mood… not so optimistic. While I loved leveling up and getting stronger and knew it was important for the fight to come, one day in the mists had been more than enough. At least, enough for my patience.
Even so, I didn’t balk at my duty. If killing Shades was what it would take to grind, to get to that next level and be ready to fight, so be it. Plus, Arthur and the ladies had pumped me up.
Gathering my bearing in the mists was tough, but I did my best to head back in the direction I’d seen the fairy. Too bad the sword didn’t lead me in reverse. Stumbling along, trying to see, I found something else strange—dark shapes like Shades, only they would move away from me whenever I got close, and at one spot I swear I’d seen a ripple of light and then the Shades vanished.
It was entirely possible I had only imagined it happening, but they definitely seemed to be vanishing, not just running away. By mid-morning I was getting irritated, and by mid-day, bored. So it was that, when I finally came to a ledge and looked down at a group of Shades moving along below like a river of black, I didn’t wait to assess the situation. Sword held up with both hands, I leaped down upon them.
Old me wouldn’t have done that. Hell, me from even a few days ago probably wouldn’t have done it. But at this point I was looking for something to kill, and was just glad it happened to be Shades. A few of them noticed me and swung up, but their attacks didn’t reach me, I was too fast. Landing with a burst outward that pushed back the closest ones and sent a group attack through the first wave, I was up and slashing a moment later.
Prana floated over as I charged again, starting to get smart and putting the cliff face to my back, to prevent them from surrounding me. I blocked and my energy shield popped up, then I dismissed it and went back in at them with wild strikes, my Tempest tattoos glowing, pulling in the mists, giving me strength.
As I was fighting though, I started to realize what a badass I’d become. The idea that I needed a wall was silly, and in fact I wanted more around me so that when I cut down one group, another would be waiting behind me to get killed.
So I jumped and, to my surprise, found that my tempest ability when charged like that allowed me almost to run on the mists! It was crazy, using it like I had in games with a double jump. I could leap up, push off of the mists—as long as there was mist to push off from—and then redirect my trajectory. With that new understanding of my powers, I was able to move about this group quickly. Soon I had taken down all in my vicinity, and moved for more in the direction they were going.
Three of them appeared, larger than the rest, but with a few swings of my sword two were without heads, the third cut in half at the torso. He soon had his head in half as well, and I moved on.
Suddenly I froze.
Past them, in the direction the horde had been going, was what I could only assume was a portal. Clear as ever one moment, barely visible by the mists the next. It was black, rippling, like oil on the ocean, but vertical.
“What’s this…?” I started, looking around for answers. All I found was death and some straggling green balls of light moving into me.
Moving toward the portal, running now as it started to fade, I noticed something—a face, turning to look my way, eyes piercing, and then… it was gone.
Those eyes were familiar, but from where?
Now that the portal was gone, along with the Shade horde, I turned, first thinking it would be a good time to upgrade. Then again, with all this prana in me and remembering how being a Tempest meant I should be able to manipulate the mists, I decided to try an experiment. Arthur had said to think outside the box, so I focused on my inner self as he’d said, but tried seeing if there was a way to use the prana, instead of upgrading my stats, to increase my Tempest power. More than skills, I meant to physically shift the mists, move them out of my way, to be able to see what was going on.
I dug deep, imagining the flowing green energy and envisioning it as part of me. As my skin tingled and a warmth expanded in my chest, I saw myself as one with the prana, using it to affect my surroundings. When I opened my eyes, the sight caused me to catch my breath.
The mists were actually moving! Swirling out, sweeping past me in way that was so unnatural, it could have only been caused by an outside force.
A shape appeared, darkness in the mist with large, flapping wings, and it was almost upon me! I dove aside as the beast emerged from the mist. A massive lion, larger than the largest two I’d ever seen put together, with wings spread out.
And then it was gone again, into the mists.
I stared, confused. It wasn’t I that had caused the mists to move, but that winged lion. Frowning, sword out and at the ready in case it returned and attacked me, I prepared again, trying to focus on my core, on doing the unthinkable.
A roar, and the mists flew out from around me, that lion there, standing, wings folded. It closed its mouth and stared at me.
One hand out, other on the sword that I lowered just in case, I tried to look as nonthreatening as possible.
“Whoa there,” I said, no other words coming to mind.
It lingered, watching. The mists returned, moving between us, and then it was gone. At first I wasn’t sure whether to feel relief or some other emotion at the lion being gone, but figured I’d give the strange prana usage a break, for now. Instead, I increased my stats again, bringing my strength to three-hundred percent, my speed to two-hundred and ten, and threw some at my shield and other skills, giving them extra boosts in how powerful they were and how long they would last.
That night when I returned, as exhausted as I was, it didn’t matter. As Arthur pointed out, we weren’t here only for my training against the Shades and my upgrades, but to work on all aspects of my abilities. He cleared a circle and had me practice with Red for some swordplay.
Going up against Red was an entirely different experience than the Shades. For one, I couldn’t rely on my other skills so much, because then I knew she’d do the same. Her, with that cloak of hers? No thanks.
Then there was the fact that she was a genuine badass. Mrs. Little Red Riding Hood herself, who’d gone up against none other than the Big Bad Wolf—often times a different version of said wolf than the one leaning against a tree and watching us right now. She was the latest, though, and from what I’d recently learned, the first female. Good thing for me!
Red knew she was badass, and loved it. When I came at her and she flipped me onto my back, quickly straddling me and sticking her knife at my throat, her eyes betrayed the fact that she rarely had as much fun as in these moments.
“Hot,” I said, and she moved her hips against me slightly before getting up.
“Don’t rely on your size, especially not the size of your sword,” she winked, and I wasn’t sure how to take that. Had she just made a jibe at the size of my dick? Surely not.
Deciding to take it as playful instead of going the insecure man route, I laughed, and charged again. Only, this time I made an effort of taking her advice, faking right and going for a kick instead of the sword.
“Better,” she said, moving out of the way of the kick and swiping my leg aside. “Now don’t get cocky.”
“Dammit,” I grunted as she managed to get behind me, standing this time but still, blade to my throat.
“And don’t get frustrated,” Pucky shouted from the sidelines.
“You’ve seen how much I’ve been training,” I countered, annoyed that I was sounding annoyed, “I’ve been upgrading speed and strength like crazy, and still she gets me.”
“A few days,” Red said, scoffing, “compared to a lifetime?”
“But I’m supposed to be this grand protector, this—”
I lunged, catching her off guard, and pinning her to the ground with a quick kiss. She shoved me off, at first mad, then laughing.
“You scoundrel.”
“Hey,” I stood back, sword ready, “taking advantage of the moment.”
“Whatever it takes,” Elisa
said, nodding in approval.
“Try to get my sympathy again, see what happens,” Red said, brushing off her cloak.
“Lucky me, I don’t need sympathy.” I charged again, this time hoping that she’d think I would try a trick, and it worked. She dodged where she thought I’d fake strike and come in at, but instead I went straight for her, so that her cloak whipped in the wind and pulled her out of harm’s way.
Next, I spun fast and grabbed her by the waist—only to be flipped over and put in an arm bar, both of our weapons flying to the dirt nearby.
“Well, it was a good effort,” she admitted, helping me up.
Arthur was talking to Nivian and said he had to go, but directed us to keep training. Red took some time to show me more moves, some new blocks based on how fast and strong I was becoming.
By the time Arthur returned, we were breaking for food and water.
“Heard from Sekhmet?” I asked.
“Actually, yes.” He gathered us all around. “She’s reported seeing what should have been large communities, empty. Thinks they’re making a move on Earth.”
“That checks with what I’ve been seeing in the mists,” I said. “Portals, I think.”
He shook his head. “This doesn’t bode well for our return, but…” His eyes focused on me, intently. “Portals? And you saw some sort of fairy queen, you said?”
“That’s right.”
He ran a hand along his jaw, then frowned. “It’s possible…”
“She’s bringing them through?” Elisa offered.
“That’s what I was starting to wonder about, yes.”
“So we all go into the mists, seek her out,” Red offered. “Put a stop to this.”
“I think the fact that she’s shown herself to Jack means something,” Arthur replied. “He’ll go back again, tomorrow. But this time—really focus. You’re not going out there just to train, though you should get every opportunity you can. Your goal is to find her. Got it?”
I nodded.
He patted me on the back, indicated Sharon, and said, “Work with her on the Shadows, making sure you can keep it at bay when challenged, and then get some sleep. Back at it tomorrow and then… We’ve been experimenting with the lake and Nivian’s powers, making progress, and I think it’s almost time you all made a return to Earth.”
