by Alexia Purdy
Chapter Fifteen
Soap
I awoke with a start, surrounded by feet slamming on the ground and explosions rocking the warehouse. My first thought was that Benton had walked into their bomb orbs, and a panic overtook me as I tried to get to my feet, but the shortened ropes kept me on my knees. Struggling, I peered through the smoke surrounding the entrance to the warehouse and prayed I didn’t find my friend in a million tiny pieces.
Instead, I saw night elf bodies scattered on the floor, knocked out from the concussive force of the blasts. Cornelius ran toward the source of the explosions to find his friends sprawled on the floor, all still alive and breathing. This did nothing to comfort him, and he drew out an obsidian sword with a carved, wavy blade.
“Come to rescue the damsel in distress?” he called out.
I lifted my eyebrow at him, producing a frown in return. I wasn’t really a damsel and definitely wasn’t in much distress, but I was glad to see that Benton had seen through the trap and hadn’t gotten himself blown up.
“Yeah, Soap’s definitely a damsel, all right. Sorry, he’s not my type, and while I’m flattered, I don’t swing that way.” Benton held out his Empyrean blade, which was lit, with flames licking at its shiny surface without burning him at all. I always did get a kick out of that sword, and it never failed to impress me how easily it could reduce a person to a pile of ash.
Cornelius snickered. “You’ve come at last.” He didn’t look one bit surprised or upset that Benton had made it past the firebombs. They’d all been set off before he even walked into the room. I wondered how he’d known about them. He probably had all sorts of magic tricks up his sleeve, especially after training with Braelynn and other sorcerers at the Scren Palace. The guy never failed to impress, that was a definite.
I was almost a bit jealous. I had my own set of fey charms and tricks, but this human—this elemental—had a lot more magical abilities than I ever could have wished for. That didn’t mean he was stronger than me, it just meant that maybe he knew a bit more than I’d realized. Benton and Shade were more alike than I had thought.
“Well, you know me. I’ll be late to my own funeral, but I’ll go out fighting.” Benton smirked, waving his sword around and giving it a good spin. It was all for show, to intimidate the enemy, but I could see that the night elf was not impressed. These two had met before. I’d heard all about it from Benton already. It made me wonder what the whole point of the trap was if Cornelius hadn’t really expected to kill my friend.
“Hey,” I called out to Benton. “Can you help a guy out here?”
“Oh, sorry. Here.” He barely looked my way as he tossed a dagger in my direction. It slid across the floor, spinning. I snatched it up and began sawing away at the ropes constricting my wrists. Then I hacked at the ones on my ankles until I unraveled the twine and hopped to my feet, joining Benton.
The night elf didn’t even glance my way. I wasn’t the person he wanted to talk to so badly. It was Benton, and now that he was here, I was all but forgotten. Not that I minded. I just wished he’d get to it already.
“What do you want, Cornelius?” Benton asked.
“What do I want?” He laughed. “It’s not what I want but what you’ve taken from me yet again.”
Benton rolled his eyes as the night elf spoke. I had to admit, it was a bit alarming how calm he could be in situations like this. Most people would crumble under a dark elf’s glare. It made my spine tingle with chills, but not enough to make me turn and run.
“All right, then, just get on with it. What did I steal this time? Maybe I didn’t break it and can get it right back to you, if you’re lucky. Come on, get on with it.”
The night elf’s smile fell. He didn’t look happy, since Benton clearly couldn’t care less about what he wanted. I think he had hoped to jar Benton out of his calm demeanor, but he obviously didn’t know the guy. Benton wasn’t easily shaken; neither was I, for that matter. We’d seen too much crap to be surprised anymore. The Unseelie we’d hunted were not easy game. They were the most horrific, monstrous creatures we’d ever encountered, and Benton, being fully human, had never seen such beasts before in his life.
“It’s not a thing, idiot. I’m talking about the redhead. She’s rightfully mine now, and you need to give her back. Plus, I hope you haven’t gotten any closer to Braelynn. She’s most definitely mine. You can’t have them, and I will fight you to the death if you interrupt my binding spell again.”
Benton started laughing uncontrollably, his shoulder’s shaking as he bent over, hysterical. He turned bright red and almost choked on his own spittle.
“You’ve got be kidding, right? That’s ridiculous. I already told you, Braelynn and I are most definitely not an item. But you need to get your head on straight about the redhead. She isn’t mine either, but neither of them belong to you, that’s for sure. I thought we’d figured the Braelynn thing out the last time we met. Really, have you forgotten already?”
The night elf drilled his searing eyes into Benton, unmoved.
“You know, Braelynn told me all about you. Oh, and by the way, we’re still just friends. She taught me a lot about the magical arts, but she would never be interested in a guy like me.” Benton tilted his head, amused, staring at the night elf. “Besides, she’s already given her heart away to someone, and he’s damned stupid if he didn’t know that and screwed it up. If I were him, I wouldn’t bother with such trivial things as rumors or speculations that she’s in love with someone else. I would be rushing to her side and begging to win her heart back in any way that I could.”
The night elf’s face darkened even further, but a hint of devastation snuck into it. I didn’t know the full story between these two, but I knew this guy had tried to kill Benton, and Zena had helped save him.
“You—you know nothing,” the night elf sneered. “If that’s true, then why did you two look so cozy together?”
Benton scoffed. “Because you’re imagining things. If Braelynn was remotely interested in me, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. There would be no question that I would be devoted to her, and you wouldn’t be able to touch her. But we’re not like that. She’s my friend and mentor, so you’re free to try to win her heart back, but I think you have bigger problems and way bigger fish to fry. You screwed up, man. I’d seriously be contemplating what I could do to fix the pile of shit I created, if I were you. And leave Zena alone.”
The night elf scowled as he approached Benton. I closed in too, ready to take him out with the dagger if I had to. Crossing my arms and flashing the blade, I gave the night elf a wide, toothy grin.
“The redhead is of no consequence to you,” he said.
“You’re draining her. Why?”
Cornelius tightened his lips, refusing to offer an explanation. I suspected Benton already knew why he was draining Zena, but I had my own theory too.
“You know he’s right,” I offered. “I wouldn’t be wasting my time with two useless guys, unless you’re into that kind of kink. You’re definitely not our type. If I were you, I’d be trying to locate Braelynn, wherever she may be, and start sucking up to her. Only then will you not need the human girl for draining energy. Only Braelynn can lift that energy drain curse she placed on you.”
I was having a grand old time torturing the night elf with my words, even though my wrists still hurt. But they were already healing, and I was feeling much better.
The night elf stared at us, hatred boiling beneath the surface like a volcano about to burst. I could tell he was undecided. His fury needed to vent, but the way out was now impossible. There was no longer a reason for us to be there, and he knew it. But would he try to overtake us regardless? Some of his comrades were staggering back to their feet; others were still woozy on their bottoms and shaking their heads, trying to make sense of things. The concussions they had gotten from the firebombs were probably going to take a few hours to shake off, even if they were faeries with remarkable healing abilities. Ev
en I, who had been nowhere near the firebombs, felt a little bit woozy from the explosions. I didn’t know how Benton had gotten through it unscathed. He was standing there perfectly untouched and as healthy as an ox. I had to give it to him. he was one tough son of a bitch. But that shouldn’t have come as any surprise to me. He was Shade’s brother, and even though they were only half siblings, they shared their mother, Jade’s, genes. And she was one scary woman.
She had been. I’d almost forgotten that she had died in the war. I shook the thought away as I watched Cornelius come to a decision.
“You can have that pathetic redhead,” he said. “She was just quick to regenerate her life force, faster than other puny little humans. About Braelynn… you have to help me win her back.”
Benton scoffed, and my mouth hung wide open. He was kidding, right? Help him? We’d rather drink a vat of hot oil than help a night elf.
“You’re out of your mind. That’s all on you. You fucked it up with Braelynn, man. You fix it. Believe me when I say you have your work cut out for you. That’s the way of the world.” Benton shook his head in disbelief. I could hardly believe the night elf had the balls to ask us that.
Cornelius frowned, looking somewhat defeated now that his true intentions had come to light. “Fine. But if I find out that you’re lying to me or in any way misguiding me about Braelynn, I will find you. And next time there will be no silly bombs or taking of prisoners. It will be over before you even know what hit you. I promise you that.” His eyes burned with hatred, and the threat was quite real. I glanced at Benton, wondering if any of this was bothering him like it was me.
Benton smirked and parted his lips as though he had something else to say. He obviously wasn’t opposed to pissing the night elf off a bit more, but I was ready to hightail it out of there.
“Come on, Benton. Let’s get out of here.” I motioned toward the door. I had to get him moving before he changed his mind and burned the place down. “We live to fight another day, bro.”
Benton glanced my way and rolled his eyes. Sometimes he really showed his age. Despite everything he had seen and done, he was still just eighteen years old.
“Don’t worry,” he said to Cornelius. “We’ll be ready for you if you try to come after us again. And I’ll look forward to it.”
He spun around and started walking toward the exit with me on his heels, keeping his eyes on all the night elves as they watched us leave. Luckily, they didn’t dare defy their master and stayed on the sidelines with disdain burning in their eyes. They were loyal and subservient in every way, just like the Unseelie. It was sad to see such power wasted on such small minds.
Once we were outside and in the fresh night air, I grabbed Benton by the shoulder and gave him a little shake. “Hey, man, thanks for saving me. I could’ve gotten myself out, but I thought that this was a situation you needed to take care of yourself.”
Benton stopped walking but didn’t look my way. Instead, he peered up at the moon shining over the empty alleyways of the warehouse district surrounding Industrial and Highland Roads. We were still in Vegas, but there wasn’t as much traffic now that we were away from the casinos. Most of the nearby businesses were seedy topless bars, filled with less-than-savory characters getting off on watching young girls strip off their clothes. It was near enough the main Las Vegas Strip but far enough to keep the tourists from visiting in droves.
Maybe Benton wanted to relax and go into one of those bars. I guess I could keep him company. I never did mind seeing some eye candy, even though images of Shade always filled my mind whenever I thought about such things.
Yeah, there was always a horde of baggage when it came to women.
“I wish the problems I had would go away simply by begging for forgiveness,” Benton said. “The night elf has it a lot easier than most of us do. At least he now knows that the person he loves still loves him. He just has to make up for a lot of crap he’s done. No one to blame but himself. If only it was that simple for the rest of us.”
“Wouldn’t that be something?” I responded. I didn’t know if it was any help to say anything else right now. Benton was complicated. He was confidant while fighting the dark creatures of the world, but when it came to his own demons, he seemed utterly helpless.
He peered at the flashing neon lights of the clubs, letting the lights burn his retinas until he finally blinked and began marching away. I followed behind, knowing we were headed back to Zena’s place. It’d been hours since I had left them at her apartment, but I was sure she was there, waiting impatiently for him. There was an apparent connection between them, but I knew that Benton’s heart was guarded, and he wouldn’t open it easily. It meant that the love spell I had slipped Zena hadn’t really worked as well as I thought it would.
If either of them discovered my little treachery, I’d be toast. In the end, I decided, it had been worth it, especially now that I saw how quickly he was walking to get back to Zena.
Damned humans. Nothing ever worked right on them. It always had to be complicated and messed up, even with a simple love spell. Maybe Cornelius wasn’t the only one who needed to visit with Braelynn. I took a mental note to see her as soon as I could. I needed a more powerful potion of the love variety. It was the least I could do to help Benton along.
But watching him nibble at his fingernails as we approached Zena’s building, I doubted I’d need any kind of potion at all. He was already more invested in her than he realized.
Chapter Sixteen
Benton
I stretched out on the couch that was too short for anyone other than a small person to sleep on. The kink in my neck was going to bother me all day, I could already tell. Every single muscle hurt, and I was sure I wouldn’t be able to turn my neck to the left for at least a couple days. I doubted it was going to be a pleasant day due to the way my body felt at the moment. I was ready to roll over and just snore the hours away again.
The couch shuddered, and I peeked out one eye to find Zena peering down at me, holding out a steaming cup of coffee.
“There’s donuts on the table. You look like you need this way more than I do.”
“You’re an angel.” I sat up took the cup, inhaling the heavenly aroma of coffee. I wasn’t a huge fan of the stuff, but some days, it was all that could drag me out of bed. “Thanks.”
“Sorry about the lumpy couch. I’m saving up for a new one, and maybe a foldout or air mattress for guests.” Zena frowned at the worn sofa. It only deepened as she turned to look at Soap on a pile of blankets on the floor, knocked out cold and snoring softly.
“I think I need another job to get all the stuff I need.”
I swore the guy could sleep anywhere and not complain about bodily aches in the morning. I envied Soap for that ability. My body wasn’t so forgiving. Maybe I should hang out in Faerie more often. That way, I could age more slowly and heal quickly, like my siblings. I cringed at the thought. Personally, I’d rather grow old and die before living forever in a place like Faerie, but I had my family to think about. Sooner or later, I’d have to return there for good if I was to help Shade and my siblings. I wasn’t looking forward to it.
“Ah, Soap doesn’t mind,” I said. “He’s sleeps like a rock… even on rocks.” I rubbed the back of my head, running my fingers through the matted mess of hair on my head. “You don’t mind if I use your shower, do you?”
Zena shook her head but kept her eyes on me as I headed toward the bathroom. I knew she was still somewhat apprehensive about us, but it was to be expected. I’d wonder if she wasn’t.
After using her shower, I emerged to find her chatting quietly and eating donuts with Soap. He was waving his arms in the air as she laughed and almost choked on her breakfast.
“Oh, hey, bro. I was telling Zena about that one time with that one wizard? Hank? Whatever his name was. Remember how he thought we were murdering people and bagged up all those piles of ash thinking they were people, not Unseelie scum we’d just exterminated? What a charact
er. To think he was some sort of wizard. Total mind blow.”
“That’s amazing.” Zena’s eyes flashed with excitement. “I can’t believe half the stuff you guys have done. Who knew the world was in such a pit? This place could fall apart at any moment, but most people would be none the wiser until it hits them in the backside.” She dropped the last bite of her chocolate donut before downing the last of her coffee. “I’m so stuffed.”
“You can finish that!” Soap shook his head as he pointed to her plate. “Starving kids in China and all that.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll say the same thing I used to tell my mother. Send it to them.” She made a face and got to her feet. “What’s on the agenda for the day?” She focused on me, and I shrugged.
“I guess we should head back to see your mother at Aluse’s mountain catacombs. I’m not sure how much help you’re going to be for her brother, but there’s one more thing we have to do.”
“What’s that?”
I reached into my pack and plucked out the white feather, holding it up for Zena to study. She took it from my hand and ran her fingers over its smooth bristles, in awe.
“Wow. What sort of bird has a feather this big? It’s huge.”
“We’d like to find out. It’s similar to the Raven clan’s wings, but none of them have white feathers. We have reason to believe it belongs to what humans would call an angel.” I air-quoted the last word with my fingers, rolling my eyes at the idea. “But I don’t think they really exist.”
“So how would you explain the existence of this feather?”
“I don’t know. A huge white macaw? Who knows? It’s all so far-fetched that I’m ready to head home and just veg out. But Aluse’s brother Trey needs real help. He’s withering away, and Aluse thinks we can help stop or reverse it. Somehow, this feather has everything to do with what’s happening to him, but so far, we’ve been able to figure out nothing about it.” I thought back to the words of Willard the archivist. “Well, nothing coherent, anyway.”
