by J. C. Diem
“You’re a fortune teller?” Frank asked.
“What gave it away?” the gypsy said drolly, waving a hand at her outfit.
“I guess it couldn’t hurt,” the knight said, but he sounded doubtful.
Quilla left her seat and sat down on the bench next to Frank. She produced a deck of tarot cards from her pocket and rapidly shuffled them. The gypsy had made the cards herself and they were different from the usual deck. She got the knight to choose a few, then spread them out on the coffee table and read his fortune. “You’re definitely one of us,” she said.
“What does that mean?” Frank asked, frowning heavily.
“You’re tied to the events that are going to unfold in the future,” she replied, eyes going distant as she saw flashes of his life that hadn’t happened yet. “A legendary knight who always wins his battles is a dangerous being when pitted against his foes. You’ll help us when the time comes for us to perform our task. I don’t know what our mission is yet, but I know the fate of the Night Cursed will hang in the balance.”
Quilla slumped and Frank caught her before she could slide off the bench. “Are you okay?” he asked in concern.
“I’ll be fine,” my bestie replied, dredging up a weak smile for him. “It always takes it out of me when I delve deeply into people.”
“Do you have any idea what this mysterious task is?” Sir Francis asked when Quilla took her seat next to Steve again. The fireman wrapped his arm around her narrow shoulders and drew her to his side.
“Is it safe to talk?” I asked Chesi. I couldn’t feel anyone else nearby, but her senses were even sharper than mine. She checked the area, then nodded. “We think it has something to do with the Immortal Triumvirate,” I said, keeping my answer vague.
Frank’s gaze became shrewd and he nodded as if I’d confirmed something for him. “I get the sense that our leaders don’t exactly have our best interests at heart,” he said. “That demon targeted me deliberately and almost made me kill an uncursed fairy. If the holy folk hadn’t stepped in to question me, you would have tried to kill me tonight.”
“Wrath won’t kill anyone who doesn’t deserve it,” I reassured him. My staff pulsed once in agreement.
“Even if you refused to follow their orders to execute me, the Triumvirate could get someone else to use the staff on me,” he said. “Not that it would have worked, since I can’t lose a fight.”
“I’m the only one who can use Wrath,” I explained. “He’s infused with the soul of a grim reaper and he’s tied to me.”
Frank looked a bit shocked at that. “Is the staff sentient?” he asked.
Wrath pulsed once. “Yep,” I confirmed. “He communicates by flashing once for yes, twice for no and three times when he isn’t sure of the answer.”
“Does he think he can kill me?” the knight asked.
Wrath immediately pulsed once. “He can kill anything, whether it’s alive, dead or undead,” I said by rote.
“This is quite the paradox,” Lady Marigold said as she switched her gaze between Wrath and Frank.
“How so, my love?” Jasper asked.
“Pussy!” Gip muttered groggily, then cringed away when the blonde leaned forward to glower at him.
“Here we have a knight who can’t lose a fight,” Marigold said, gesturing daintily at Frank and choosing to ignore the parrot. “And here we have a weapon who can kill any type of creature.” She pointed at Wrath. “If you were to pit Wrath against Sir Francis, it would most likely result in a standoff with neither able to achieve their goal.”
“You’re not just a lovely face, darling,” the pirate said in admiration, then kissed her.
“Focus, you two!” Quilla said and rolled her eyes when their kiss didn’t stop.
Marigold’s face was flushed when she pulled away. “Sorry,” she said and straightened her hair. Jasper clearly wasn’t sorry at all, going by his cheeky grin.
“I wonder if the Immortal Triumvirate thought about the paradox when they ordered Xiara to execute Sir Francis?” Steve mused. “It would have been embarrassing for our leaders if they’d fought and they couldn’t kill each other.”
“I can die,” I reminded him. “But I can’t die permanently. If Frank killed me, I’d just come back again the next night.”
Travis tightened his grip on me at that thought. He hated it when I died. Fortunately, it was a rare occurrence. He usually managed to patch me up before things became that dire.
“I don’t think our leaders are fully aware of how different we are from our kin,” Quilla said. “They know Sir Francis is a legendary knight who can’t lose a fight, but they obviously think Xiara can defeat him. They don’t realize that their backstories are just as strong as each other’s. Sir Francis can’t lose, so Xiara can never defeat him even if Wrath can kill anything.”
“It is indeed a paradox,” Jasper said in a troubled tone.
“Let’s hope they don’t ever order me to fight Frank,” I said. “I don’t want to be put in the position of trying to kill a man who can’t be defeated.”
Chapter Forty-One
“HAS ANYONE HEARD ANYTHING more about the mysterious artifact that was brought into Nox?” I asked, since we were all gathered together.
“You mean the one that’s hidden in the elven woods?” Frank asked and we all looked at him in surprise.
“What do you know about it?” I asked.
“Just that it’s powerful and that it was put in a magical box to hide it,” he said with a shrug. “It’s somewhere in the elven woods, but I don’t know exactly where.”
“How did you hear about it?” Travis asked.
“One of the ladies I bedded a few months ago mentioned it,” Frank replied with a grin. “She heard it from a French maid who works for someone in the Fae District. They both would have forgotten all about it by now, but the memory stayed with me.”
“This is why we were destined to meet Sir Francis,” Quilla said in excitement. “The artifact must have something to do with our task.”
“What are we supposed to do now?” I asked. “We can’t sneak into the woods and search for it. Only elves and other fae creatures are allowed in the woods. The rest of us can’t even step foot inside it.” Strong magic kept us out, which was why there was never any crime in the elven woods.
“We know someone who is fae,” Lady Marigold said, looking at the invisible dragon that was draped around my shoulders.
Chesi shivered and huddled against me. She was clearly reluctant to search the woods for the box that contained the artifact.
“It’s too dangerous to send Chesi to look for the box,” I protested. “She stays out of the Fae District most of the time so they can’t sense her.”
“I’ve heard the elven woods are full of all sorts of uncursed fae creatures,” Frank told me. “She’d probably blend right in with them.”
I hated the thought of putting my friend in danger. None of us knew what would happen if she was discovered. With Inilvian locked away in her pink prison, the air elemental only had my friends and me for company. If Chesi was caught by the Immortal Triumvirate, they could lock her away and I’d never see her again.
Chesi sensed my dread and bumped her face against mine. I sensed her resolution, then she patted my cheek with her tiny paw and slid off my shoulders. I only saw a vague outline of her as she flew to the door. Proving she didn’t need anyone to open the door for her, she turned into air and oozed out through a crack.
“She’ll be fine, babe,” Travis said when fear clutched me. “She’s clever and resourceful.”
“Will Chesi come back safely?” I asked Quilla.
The seer looked past me, staring into the distance with a troubled look, then shook her head. “I can’t tell,” she said. “It’s hard to see the future of elemental creatures.”
“She’ll be back,” Marigold said confidently.
“We should head to Pirate Cove, my love,” Jasper said. “Everyone will be wondering where we are
.”
“They’ll assume you’ve been pleasuring your woman, Captain Shortbeard,” Steve said with a smirk. “That’s the excuse I always use when I’m late for work.” Quilla shot him a mock annoyed look, but snuggled against him. He was a hot fireman and he had a lot of female admirers whenever he had to tend to a fire. There were a few fire elementals in Nox and they kept escaping from their confinement. The damage was always repaired with magic, but it was annoying having to round them up each time they broke free.
“I told my nurses I had to make a house call,” Travis said. “I should be getting to the hospital.”
We all stood and headed for the door. I’d barely touched the wine Jasper had handed me. Being linked to the unholy trinity gave me some of their abilities, but it also gave me some of their weaknesses. Alcohol went straight to my head now and it was best to drink it in small quantities. The glass vanished along with all the other glasses and uneaten food now that our meeting was over.
Carriages appeared to take us where we wanted to go when we stepped outside. Sir Francis headed back to Tournament Town, while Jasper and Marigold headed to Pirate Cove. Steve and Quilla shared a carriage. It would stop in the business zone to drop the seer off before continuing on to Steve’s firehouse in the Shifter District. Travis and I shared a carriage to his hospital. For once, we didn’t tear each other’s clothes off and have quick, blissful sex. We were both too worried about Chesi to be in the mood for nookie.
Travis kissed me before disembarking from the carriage. The skeleton driver took off again and headed for the Fae District at my unspoken wish. I was so concerned about the air elemental that I’d decided to patrol the area near the elven woods.
The woods were to the northeast in the most prestigious area of the Fae District. Tall mountains where the dragons and other dangerous flying creatures lived were to the north near the boundary of Nox. Tournament Town and Fairytale Forest were far to the west. The residential area was large and sprawling. The suburbs varied wildly in the quality and sizes of the properties.
I avoided Lord Dallinar’s house, making sure I skirted around his neighborhood. He believed I’d died after he’d tried to make me his own personal assassin. He thought I didn’t remember him stripping me naked, tying me to his bed, then attempting to bend me to his will. Thanks to the link I had to the fairy, I’d resisted his magic. He’d thrown a tantrum when his ploy had failed and had blasted me out through the window of his tall tower. Chesi had caught me before I’d splattered to the ground. Even if I’d died as he’d intended, I still would have remembered the attack. Unlike the rest of the Night Cursed, I remembered almost everything that happened to me.
Leaving Lord Dallinar’s territory behind, I nonchalantly began patrolling the street across from where the elven woods began. Strong magic pulsed around the boundary of the dense grove. Fireflies winked on and off as they flitted amongst the trees. Fairy lights were strung up to light the paths. Some of the trees glowed with their own soft phosphorescent light.
Elves, fairies and other fae beings strolled along the paths. Fairies tended to be short, slender and inhumanly beautiful. Elves were similar, but they were taller and more muscular. Both species had pointed ears. Their hair, eyes and skin came in a variety of colors. Fairies had wings, but elves didn’t. Powerful fairies from the purest bloodlines could call on their wings at will. The rest of them had wings all the time.
Frank’s information that the elven woods was full of fae creatures turned out to be correct. I could feel them even from a distance. None of them were cursed. In fact, there were no Night Cursed creatures or beings in the woods at all as far as I could tell. It seemed our kind weren’t welcome there even if they were elves, fairies, fae monsters or creatures.
I patrolled the area for an hour or so, but I couldn’t pick Chesi out among the throng. It would bring unwanted attention to me if I lingered any longer, so I caught another carriage and headed to the Vampire District. Chesi could find me no matter where I was. I just had to be patient and cross my fingers that the little dragon would return to me safely.
Chapter Forty-Two
A COUPLE OF NIGHTS passed and a sick feeling grew in the pit of my stomach. Chesi hadn’t returned yet and I feared she’d been caught. I was patrolling the Shifter District when I ran into some unfriendly faces. The same teens that I’d had an altercation with months ago moved to intercept me. Instead of being annoyed, I was glad to have a distraction.
“Look who it is,” the young werewolf said as he swaggered towards me. “It’s Xiara Evora, the Guardian of Nox.” All five boys were holding wooden clubs. I could tell they had no training with their weapons just from the awkward way they held them.
“It’s lucky we ran into you,” one of the others said. I recognized him as the werebear who had threatened to make me wish I’d never been born the next time they saw me.
“Are you boys in some kind of trouble?” I asked, pretending I didn’t remember who they were.
“Yeah,” the first boy lied. He’d had his hair trimmed after I’d chopped his bangs off. His eyes were angry and he was glaring at me. “We saw some men attacking a helpless woman. We’ll take you to them so you can punish the guy.”
“Lead the way, gentlemen,” I replied, sweeping Wrath in a short arc of invitation.
The kid flinched away from the gray tendrils that emanated from the staff, then turned on his heel. “It’s this way,” he said with an audible smirk.
Three of the boys moved ahead of me, but the other two brought up the rear. Wrath pulsed in warning, but I already knew they were leading me to an ambush. They thought the odds were in their favor, since they were five against one. If they’d been adults, I would have been worried. Since they were just teens, I was confident I would win.
Just as I’d figured, the boys led me to an alley with a dead end. It was in an industrial area where Night Cursed beings worked. They’d chosen well. Anyone who might witness our battle would forget about it by tomorrow night.
“I don’t see any men attacking a helpless woman,” I said, making a show of looking around. My brooch knew what was coming and transformed into a shield.
“This is for what you did to Yancy’s hair, you Night Cursed pig!” the werebear said. I spun around and blocked his clumsy blow with my shield.
Yancy, who I guessed was the boy whose hair I’d cut, leaped at me next. Since it had worked so well the first time, I kicked him in the balls again. This time, I kicked him even harder. He folded over, gagging and clasping his bruised manhood.
The other four boys went into a frenzy. Wrath couldn’t kill them, but he wasn’t about to let them win this battle. I let him do his thing and he spun, twirled and lashed out in my hands. Within a couple of minutes, all five teens were lying on the ground, bruised and breathless. Resting Wrath over my left shoulder, I drew my silver blade.
“You wouldn’t dare use silver against us!” the burly werebear who was Yancy’s best buddy declared.
“What’s your name, turd?” I asked.
“It’s Henry,” he muttered defiantly. “Not that you’ll remember it, scum.”
“Henry and Yancy?” I repeated, but I didn’t bother to ask what the other boys’ names were. They were just sycophants who would have been too afraid to attack me without someone to lead them. “You kids look like you should be in a boyband,” I said with a sneer. They all wore baggy jeans, the same type of t-shirts and sneakers. Their hair was too long and shaggy. “Why did you attack me? What have I ever done to you?”
“You cut my hair off,” Yancy said sullenly.
“Why would I do that?” I asked innocently.
“Because you’re Night Cursed, so you’re as stupid as a zombie,” Henry spat.
“You really hate my kind, don’t you?” I said. “Is there a reason for this hatred, or are you just a bunch of annoying little shits who need to be spanked by an adult?”
“The Night Cursed are freaks!” Yancy said. “My father says none of you shou
ld even exist. If he had his way, you’d all be wiped out!”
I’d made the mistake of telling them that Nox wouldn’t even be here if the Night Cursed hadn’t been created. I wasn’t even sure what that meant anymore. My memories had become faded and jumbled when it came to the creation of the City of Night. “So, you’ve decided to gang up on Night Cursed women and bash them to death with wooden clubs?” I asked.
“Just you, so far,” Henry said, glaring at me spitefully. “But that’s not a bad idea,” he mused. “Maybe we can drive the Night Cursed scum away from our District if we start raping and killing their women.”
Rage at the threat to my kind had me pressing my silver blade up against his throat. Henry’s hazel eyes widened in fear and he cringed away from me. “If I hear about any of you turds attacking anyone, whether they’re male or female, I’ll drag your sorry asses to the Immortal Triumvirate and demand an immediate trial,” I snarled into his face. “The Night Cursed don’t deserve to be punished just because your daddies don’t like us. Nox is our city, too, and we have the same rights that you do.”
“You won’t even remember this,” Yancy blustered. “We can do whatever we want to your kind and we’ll get away with it.”
“You don’t know much, boy,” I said coldly and stood so I was looming over them. “The Night Cursed do remember some things. We remember it when bad things happen. The memories linger with us long enough for rumors to spread. The rumors always get back to me. If it happens often enough, I’ll remember your names and I won’t forget them.” That rumor had spread after I’d warned Crowmon that it meant death for me to remember the names of my enemies. So far, it had proven to be useful. I could almost smell the surge of fear that came from the boys. I pointed my silver sword at them one by one and they gulped and flinched from my anger. “I’m the Guardian of Nox and I will exact justice if you harm others. The Immortal Triumvirate might not let me kill you, but I can make you wish you’d never been born.”
