Touched by a Sprite

by E. A. Reynolds

  “They’re from Darth. Rather than being fey, they’re a demonic form of fairy.”

  Baylee blinked, not sure he understood. He didn’t know there were any other kinds of gnomes.

  “Come on, we need to disconnect these before it’s too late. You saw how they repelled you.”

  Baylee moved slowly, his gut telling him Kirkyn wouldn’t hurt him. His heart raced, even leapt at the chance of being so close to Kirkyn again while his head told him to make tracks and not look back.

  When he reached Kirkyn, Kirkyn took Baylee’s hand. “Don’t use any magick yet, okay?”

  “Okay.” His voice came out husky, but Kirkyn didn’t even seem to notice. He was more focused on the crystal in his left hand.

  “Put your hand over mine and let your energy flow through you into me. The crystal shouldn’t break. If it doesn’t, we’ll be able to use it to deactivate the others.”

  Baylee forgot about running and focused his energy on the gem in Kirkyn’s big hand. The stone flared red and then red-orange before turning purple.

  Kirkyn laughed, triumph clear in his voice. “We have a few more.”

  Once those stones were purple, Kirkyn put them in his pocket and picked up the black one on the counter. He walked around the room with it, making three passes before Baylee felt energy snap into place.

  It wasn’t dark or light, but it was powerful with a hint of waves and rocks.

  “What kind of stone is that?”

  “It’s a demon stone called skhorlk. Its main uses are for disrupting energy from the demon realms.”

  “What are you doing with it? Where did you get it?” Baylee wanted to know as much as he could in case he needed to use anything Kirkyn said for his own protection against Kirkyn.

  “It’s just one of the tools of my job, Baylee,” he murmured as he closed the distance between them. “You’ll get to know that as liaison for your people.”

  “What? I’m not. That’s an elder’s job.”

  “Your friend Blade decided you’d be good at it. I’m assuming your lack of an ego would be of more help than his own,” Kirkyn told him. “Let’s go see how the front is holding. Tomorrow, we can discuss long-term options for defeating Bancoo, but first I’ll need to know what’s so special about this place that he decided to make this his home.”

  Baylee gave him a puzzled look but allowed Kirkyn to take his elbow and lead him from the room. His touch made Baylee’s skin hot and his body ache in remembered passion.

  Kirkyn was a great lover with more stamina than Baylee knew what to do with. He’d also been kind and sweet, until Baylee learned what he was and tried to leave him.

  Hell, he hadn’t believed in demons before that night he’d seen Kirkyn take the form of a tall, blue-gray creature with electric blue eyes, who shot electricity.

  He shuddered, and Kirkyn gave him a look.

  “Are you okay?” His tone was gentle, almost caring.

  “Just—the guy I went out with today, is he a demon?”

  “One of Darth’s most prized warriors,” Kirkyn told him. “His job is to infiltrate and turn you, so you’ll help him when he’s ready to kill your family. Did you kiss? Have sex with him?”

  Baylee coughed. “No,” he said in an irritated tone. “Why? Are you jealous?”

  “Is there a reason I should be, Bay?” he asked in a soft tone that was a stroke over Baylee’s skin.

  “It’s Baylee, and I—we just met,” he snapped. “Why would you say that?”

  “That’s the point I was making,” Kirkyn said, his lips twitching in amusement. “I can tell you’re affected by me, and I would love nothing more than to get to know you, too. However, I suspect that will only be on a superficial level as we work together.”

  “That’s why,” Baylee agreed quickly, and Kirkyn laughed, sending chills down Baylee’s spine.

  * * * *

  Bancoo stared at the thin veil of energy that surrounded the lands he’d wanted for his base. After walking it two months ago, he’d known this was the best place to claim. The waterway would provide protection against supernatural intruders once he was finished poisoning it.

  He’d be able to use it to irrigate the land and his crops. He liked the town and the lakes that ran through it far better than the initial site. He’d have to spend a little more time learning this town’s government, but it shouldn’t take long to replace all of the important officials with his own people.

  He didn’t really care about politics, but humans did, and they’d use their legal system to make trouble for them even after they fully converted this town and the two cities adjoining it into their new homes.

  “Once the humans are gone, this will be the perfect home,” his assistant, Noira, said from behind him. “Parker said the veil should come down easily.”

  “He has the crystals in place?”

  “Yes, and the gnomes will be here for the takeover around four in the morning. They can’t get here sooner. They’re working with your cousin at that club.”

  “It’s a shame he didn’t want to comply,” Bancoo drawled. Though it really didn’t matter. He’d never planned on allowing Drinzel to remain on in his present capacity. He wasn’t part of the royal family. The best he’d ever offer him was a post as a guard.

  “Are we sticking around?” Parker asked.

  “No. Tell them to pull back. I need a portal opened, so we can get more gnomes in.”

  “We’ll need to wait for a few days when the moon is dark,” she said. “I can do it here.”

  “This is where I want it done,” he told her. “Now, get the others, so we can go.” He headed for the car.

  Tonight would be the best time to end things here. They’d have two cities in this area under their control. That would allow him to bring over the third king, but he doubted Lenno would wait to bring the other demon over.

  The two were friends back home and the circumstances didn’t change that.

  However, Bancoo had no real objections because he wanted to complete the crossover as soon as possible. Darth would be dead in six human months, but that was only four months their time. Good demons were already dying from an infection they couldn’t pinpoint.

  It had begun a year ago and simply grown stronger.

  “Sir, do you want to leave someone to stand post?” Noira asked when she joined him at the truck.

  “No. Our presence here will alert that demon that we’re considering breaking the veil,” he said coldly, his mind on the agent who’d been hunting him.

  Bancoo had spent time looking around before fixating on this spot. How that demon had learned that was still a mystery to him.

  “We’ll get him this time,” Noira told him firmly.

  “I know,” he said. “But the best revenge will be securing this land. That’s all I care about.”

  * * * *

  “We saw them lurking around,” Blade told Kirkyn. “One of them got in before we got the veil in place, but we had to kill him.”

  “No matter,” Kirkyn said. “If they were lurking around, that means they’ll be back. They’ll attempt to smash through your veil, but without their little gems, it will be impossible.”

  “What gems?” Clarity asked with a note of concern. “We need to make sure they’ve all been found. A single stone might allow them access.”

  “What kind of stones, Gram?” Alisa asked.

  “Energy stones that allow them to infect a place with dark energy,” she explained. “Those demons corrupt good energy and make it turn against them with those stones.”

  “That’s more or less true,” Kirkyn said. “We’ve already found them all. It was easy with my equipment. We just need to retrieve them. The fact that your hotel is only operating one wing right now makes it easier for us to do.”

  “Then, let’s get to it,” Clarity said in a no-nonsense tone. “After that, you’ll tell me everything, demon. I will be especially interested to know why a demon wants to help us, even one from the Council.”


  “I’m here to catch bad guys and contain them, possibly kill them,” Kirkyn said. “Baylee, text them the plans of the building. The rest of the crystals are in the unoccupied sections.”

  “Most of them,” Baylee said. “There are two in the kitchen and one in the dining room.”

  “The ones on the grounds should have been destroyed by your energy,” Kirkyn told them. “We need to hurry, because if I was Bancoo, I’d be back with someone who can break through your wards by tomorrow night.”

  “No one can,” Clarity told him coldly. “Especially not a demon.”

  “Gnomes can,” Kirkyn told her.

  “Let’s get to work,” Clarity said firmly. “We’ll talk after and figure out a way to prevent this interloper from claiming a piece of our world.”

  They decided which sections each team would take and then set about finding the crystals. Kirkyn didn’t want them all destroyed but didn’t argue against Clarity’s orders to do just that.

  Kirkyn pocketed the two he found, not surprised they’d gone with the more powerful orange-red crystal. In this world, the stone fount of pure power telekinetic that the demons didn’t have.

  The reach was wide and destructive, and Bancoo and his buddies could link to the crystals via a master set of gems that were like a receiver and transmitter.

  The power could be used to kill them all through the force of will. That was just the first layer of danger the Darth demon presented.

  Bancoo carried mental viruses he could unleash on them making them sick. All the leaders had their own ability, and one of them was a telekinetic.

  That one would be as dangerous as Bancoo because he could crack the planet in half if he chose to. So, they had to prepare to fight at the portal to end this thing before it became a major risk to the entire planet.

  Chapter Five

  “Did you learn anything while you were alone with him?” Blade asked. “Like what his true motive is?”

  Baylee turned from the fridge in Blade and Alisa’s apartment with a pitcher of juice in hand. He gave Blade a tired smile. All he wanted was the bed but that clearly wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

  “Kirkyn didn’t say anything to me he hasn’t said to you guys,” Baylee replied. Kirkyn wasn’t deceptive, which was part of the reason he had been sloppy at first.

  “Did you get a sense he was waiting to drop the hammer on us once he’s gained our trust?”

  Baylee had to suppress a smile this time as he moved to the breakfast bar. Kirkyn didn’t know who he was. He had made a vague move, but nothing to tell him Kirkyn had figured out Baylee was his mate. That would be the only reason Kirkyn would do anything.

  “No.” He fought the revulsion that washed over him at the memory that forcefully intruded. Baylee swallowed tightly.

  Kirkyn had slaughtered three people who’d tried to protect him when Baylee had run the third time. He’d witnessed the start of the attack, but the outcome he’d seen on the news hours later in a cheap motel room in New York.

  “He seems like he’s on the up and up,” Clarity said, coming to join them. Her tone was quiet, and she gave Baylee a curious look as she watched him, making him uncomfortable.

  So, he looked away as he poured his juice in the glass he’d set on the bar.

  “You need to leave though, Alisa,” Clarity said, turning to look in the direction Alisa came from. She took Alisa’s hand when she came into Baylee’s view.

  “Why?” Alisa demanded. “You need us here.”

  “You carry our future, a possible genetic legacy like we’ve never known,” Clarity told her. “Your child is born of two parents with both human and sprite DNA. It could be a sprite who can live in both worlds and take our form.”

  “My grandmother said the same thing,” Blade said with a hint of a smile.

  “So, you’ll leave, and I’ll bring in a few others from the spring to help,” Clarity said. “I agree with your assessment, Blade, that we need a liaison to work with the demon. I’ll pair Azure with him.”

  “I think since Kirkyn’s already formed a bond of sorts with Baylee, we should leave things as they are,” Blade said. “The change might put him on edge.”

  Clarity frowned. “Matters not what he thinks. Azure is skilled in these matters, and Baylee is not.”

  As much as Baylee wanted to agree with her, he knew it was for his own safety, too. The less time they spent together, the less he had to worry about whether Kirkyn would notice something about him that would trigger a memory that would lead him to realize who he really was.

  “You’re right, Gram,” Baylee said and took a sip of juice. “Kirkyn seems adaptable. I don’t think he’ll have a problem with a change. He’s a professional.” He was that, or he had been when Baylee had known him.

  He’d never known quite what Kirkyn did for a living, but he’d assumed he worked for a private security firm.

  “I’m glad you agree,” Clarity commented. “I’ll introduce them tomorrow. Seems we might have a long road ahead of us. Darth is home to some of the most dangerous demons of the realm. A telekinetic, a telepath, a pestilence demon who can infect anything he wants to with his mind, an air demon, and a fire demon.”

  “Only three of them sound problematic,” Blade said.

  “They all are because they each command their own armies, armies they’ll be bringing with them.”

  “They’ll overrun the planet,” Blade said softly. “There won’t be a safe place on this earth for any of us.”

  “No, there won’t,” Clarity agreed emphatically. “The fey will survive, but no humans will. We can retreat to our world until the waters are safe for us to inhabit and clean, but it will take a long time before they are capable of sustaining human life.”

  “What about the other demons?” Baylee asked.

  “The pure ones will survive, but there is no way of knowing which of them are pure anymore,” Clarity replied. “This is sort of an alliance, and one that we as sprites need in order to protect the world from those rogue demons.”

  * * * *

  Kirkyn strolled along the perimeter of the hotel with Astarte at his side. He was glad he’d convinced Clarity to evacuate the hotel. It was better no humans were around for the fight that would come.

  “Wayfaire has agreed to form a front to deal with the demons hanging around Bossier, but it wasn’t hard to convince him. He and Trinity feared for their mates.”

  He grunted though he wasn’t surprised.

  “The shadow spade will be as dangerous as you. Lucky his people are all loyal, because there is one or two among Bancoo’s people who can twist loyalties.”

  A demon who already had an ingrained loyalty to a leader was an asset, because that loyalty had been born of true and abiding respect and love for the master demon. They would die for him and his mate. They’d fight any battle under his orders.

  “That’s good,” he said.

  “And he’s sending a team here in the morning, but he wants Baraq to remain with him as liaison.”

  “That’s not a big deal,” Kirkyn said. Baraq was loyal to him, and there would be no question of rank here. He was as dominant as Wayfaire, but Kirkyn had no desire to overthrow the other demon.

  “What about the sprites?”

  “The elder said she would have teams here by then, as well. With the hotel empty there will be enough room for us all, as well as for us to stage our first battle.”

  “Where?” Astarte asked.

  “Not here,” he said. “Have you come up with anything new on this place?”

  “The seer, Star, said nothing more than it’s a place of hidden power. It’s not human strength that will save it or preserve it, but something other.”

  “Could you be any less cryptic?” he teased.

  “That’s what she said,” Astarte replied, bumping his shoulder with hers as they stared out at the expanse of trees drenched in the pale glimmer of light from the solar spikes in the ground.

  The l
ight surrounded the trees giving them an eerie appearance of creatures in shadow with long arms and crooked fingers waiting to attack the unsuspecting.

  “And you didn’t ask her to explain?”

  She chuckled. “Star said the place should have an alcove someplace between the water and land. An underground cave that was carved by a flood, centuries ago. The place was once inhabited by sprites who worked with wood sprites. The sprites were friendly with demons and produced offspring with them.”

  “What kind of demons?”

  “Our kind,” Astarte said. “The species of mixed breeds that manned this area are long gone, though I’m sure one or two of them are still alive.”

  “What killed them?” Kirkyn asked.

  “Believe it or not, war with demons from Kenova.”

  “Not a surprise,” he said softly. That was the biggest demon realm. He had come from there himself.

  The masters there had gone through more than one phase of attempting to hunt and cleanse this realm of incubi and succubae from their world. They hated that the most lowly of their kind had not only survived, but some had created something new.

  The gray spade shadows weren’t considered a new genetic specimen in and of itself, but those of them who’d managed to mate with other demon breeds, warriors who’d come here with the intention of killing, had changed the genetics of some incubi and succubae bloodlines, including his own.

  “The land then fell into water fey hands, and they’ve watched over it along with the wood sprites,” Astarte said.

  “Is that the entire area or just this one?”

  “This entire area that he wants to claim was once in the care of our kind from Kenova. It could survive. Our people had to have managed to live off this land somehow.”

  “Yes,” Kirkyn agreed. There were rumors that demons had grown crops and kept livestock for trading with humans. They’d also grown food for their own consumption that wasn’t shared with humans.

  So, their energy was in this land. He just had to figure out how to combine it with sprites to prevent the poisoning. He was immune to it just like all Kenova demons.