Dark Moon Rising (Half Fae Hunter Book 1)

by J. C. Diem

  “It’s our job to make sure the portent of doom doesn’t come true,” I told him.

  “Why do you care what happens to the humans?” he asked with genuine curiosity. “You could easily walk away from this place and leave them to their fate.”

  “I’m not the sort of man who can turn his back on people in need,” I replied. “If I was a full Unseelie fairy, I wouldn’t care about their fate. My human side keeps me from being a heartless monster.”

  Rudy reappeared just in time to overhear us. “The Seelie blood that runs through your veins balances out the darkness as well,” he reminded me. “Seelie fae are pure of heart compared to their evil kin. They’re compelled to aid those in need. You get that from them.”

  “They can’t all be pure of heart, or some of them wouldn’t have split off and formed their own kingdom,” Leroy pointed out.

  “Envy can invade even the purest heart and twist it to evil,” Rudy mused, looking up at the moon. “The prince that coveted his parents’ power has gathered a following of likeminded fae. Their Court schemes constantly, seeking a way to usurp King Theodorlan and Queen Wysterial without plunging the fae realm into irreparable chaos.”

  We’d both seen a section of forest that had been turned into an evil swamp after the two courts had gone to war. The magic that kept the fae realm pristine had become twisted and dark after a battle had been waged there. Fairies were almost invincible, but enough power could kill them. There had been too many deaths on both the Seelie and Unseelie forces for the forest to ever be able to recover from it. Both courts had decided it was too dangerous to have another war, but they still fought whenever they came into contact with each other.

  After another cup of coffee, I turned in and tried to get some sleep. It was a useless endeavor. My mind kept throwing coming up with scenarios of what we would be encountering. It was impossible to predict the outcome of our battle when I hadn’t even seen these creatures for myself yet. Until I saw them in action, I wouldn’t know how they would respond to Pru’s spells and to our fighting techniques.

  Giving up on attempting to sleep just after dawn, I ambled into the kitchen to find Rudy was already up and had made coffee. I poured myself a cup and sat down at the table. “If it looks like we’re going to be overrun by the trolls, get the others to safety,” I told him quietly.

  “I’ll get us all to safety, lad,” my sidekick said firmly. “I’ll not leave you behind.”

  “You know I’m extremely hard to kill,” I reminded him. With the amount of fae blood I had running through my veins, I was far more durable than most supernatural species.

  “What are you going to do, boss honky?” Leroy asked, poking his head through the wall. “Fight them all yourself?”

  “You haven’t seen him in action, boyo,” Rudy said ruefully. “If Jake unleashes his Unseelie rage, you don’t want to be anywhere near him.”

  “What the hell is Unseelie rage?” the phantom queried, floating through the wall to join us.

  “It’s something I inherited from my father,” I explained. “I don’t remember much after I lose control. I imagine I go berserk like the Vikings of old used to.”

  “You do, lad,” Rudy agreed, shaking his head. “It’s a sight to behold to be sure.”

  “I’ve got to see this,” Leroy said in anticipation.

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” I said uneasily. I’d allowed myself to lose control while battling a bunch of monsters last winter. I’d earned the respect of our shifter allies, but the aftermath still haunted me. When the black haze descended, I wasn’t sure I would be able to differentiate between friend and foe. I was afraid I would kill anything that came within my reach. I never wanted to lose control like that again if I could help it.

  Waiting for a couple more hours, I called the Sheriff’s Department and asked to speak to Sheriff Callahan. I was put on hold for a few minutes before she came on the line. “What can I do for you, Mr. Everett?” she asked without preamble.

  “The trolls will be returning to Devil’s Peak tonight,” I warned her. “My crew and I have set traps for them and we’ve left a trail that they should follow back to our place. I thought I’d let you know the roads near the abandoned barn where the bodies were left will be extremely dangerous come nightfall. You might want to set up roadblocks until morning.”

  “How can you possibly know they’re on their way here?” she demanded.

  “One of my people has a touch of clairvoyance. She saw a vision of them a few days ago.”

  “Why are you just telling me about this now?” Her tone was hard and suspicious.

  “Better late than never, Sheriff,” I said dryly. “I’m warning you just in case someone reports seeing fire on our property.”

  “I’ll have the Fire Department on standby,” she offered. “We have a couple of flamethrowers in our armory. I can be there with my deputies to back you up before these things arrive.”

  “I appreciate the offer, but it’s too dangerous,” I said as diplomatically as possible. “We’ve set up a bunch of nasty spells. If you or one of your people triggers them, they won’t survive it.”

  “You have a magic user in your team?” she asked in surprise.

  “Yeah. We’re confident we can take the trolls down. If we fail, I’ll try to notify you so you can evacuate the town.”

  “Will that really be necessary?” she asked in a low voice, trying not to be overheard by her people.

  “Darlin’, if these trolls are left unchecked, Devil’s Peak will become their playground.”

  She took a deep breath, then let it out. “I want to be in on this, Mr. Everett. I’ll be there before nightfall.”

  “With all due respect, ma’am, you don’t have the experience to deal with something of this nature.”

  “And you do?” she retorted, anger making her voice rise a bit. “You look all of twenty-five. I’ve got a good ten years on you, son.”

  “I’m a lot older than I look,” I told her dryly. It was obvious she wasn’t going to heed my warning. “Bring a flamethrower and be here an hour before sunset,” I instructed. “We need to get into position before the monsters show up, or we’ll all become their snacks.”

  “I’ll be there,” she vowed, then hung up.

  “So, I guess our team will be increased by one?” Harley said when I put my phone down. We were all sitting at the kitchen table. It was where we tended to gather when we were planning.

  “That woman is stubborn,” I complained.

  “It’s her job to protect this town,” Pru said. “What would you do if you were her?”

  “I’d insist on joining in, too,” I conceded and ran a hand through my hair, disheveling it even more. It had grown and needed another trim, but I hadn’t gotten around to it yet. “We’ll just have to hope she won’t set us all on fire with her flamethrower.”

  “She strikes me as a competent woman,” Harley said. “I don’t think she’ll be a liability.”

  It wasn’t like we had a choice. Cindy Callahan had invited herself to this party and it would take mind control to talk her out of it. In all honesty, I wasn’t about to turn down someone who could tip the odds in our favor. We still didn’t know exactly how many trolls would be coming. One more ally on our side could be the difference between success and utter failure.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  We spent the rest of the day preparing for our battle. Harley and I grabbed flamethrowers and spare fuel from the armory and Rudy teleported us to the center of the killing field. We were careful to stay within the three hundred yard, square shaped safe zone in the center. I used a can of white spray paint to refresh the boundary so it would stand out starkly once night fell.

  Harley placed spare flamethrowers and fuel at four separate points. Any of us could pick them up and turn them on the monsters when they arrived. We retreated to the armory and began bringing other weapons to the field. By late afternoon, we had enough gear gathered to take down a small a
rmy. Rudy wouldn’t be taking part in trying to kill our foes, but he would do what he could to aid us. Asha wasn’t a fighter, but she should be able to point a flamethrower and blast the trolls with flames. I’d shown both of the girls how to use them and they’d practiced a bit until they’d gotten the hang of it.

  “What’s going to happen when you order me to fight, boss honky?” Leroy asked when we gathered in the kitchen again.

  “You’ll manifest enough to be able to attack the trolls,” I replied. “Doing so will drain you of energy, but you’ll be drawing on my strength, so you won’t be in any danger of fading away.”

  “He’ll turn evil?” Asha asked nervously.

  “Yeah, honey. He’ll become pretty nasty and he’ll say horrible things, but he won’t hurt any of us, even if he threatens to.”

  “Why not?”

  “The binding spell won’t let him,” I reassured her. “He’ll only attack the things I order him to.”

  “Just like a good little puppet,” the phantom said unhappily.

  “You don’t have to take part in this battle,” Rudy pointed out churlishly. “You can stay here in the house, all safe and sound while the rest of us take down the beasties.”

  “No way,” Leroy shot back, shaking his head. “I’m not going to pansy out. I’m looking forward to tearing these trolls a new one.”

  “What are you complaining about then?” Pru asked in annoyance.

  “I don’t like not having a choice, Mamma.”

  “We just gave you a choice and you chose to help us,” Harley said in exasperation.

  “You don’t get it, young honky,” Leroy said. “I’m chained like a slave. I can’t act unless I’m ordered to by my leash holder. I don’t have freedom like the rest of you do.”

  He had a point and I couldn’t really blame him for how he felt. “I might have a solution,” I said, gaining the spirit’s attention. “Whenever we’re attacked by enemies, you can decide whether to turn into a poltergeist and assist us in battle or not. As long as you don’t try to harm any of us or any allies we might have, you’re free to act as you will against our foes.”

  “That’s pretty broad, Jake,” Pru said as glee danced in Leroy’s dark eyes.

  “It’ll work, Mamma,” the ghost said. “I can accept those conditions.”

  “Good. Now I won’t have to direct you when we’re in the thick of things,” I said, hoping I hadn’t just made a huge mistake. He’d never been in a fight with supernatural beings before. Not even his previous shady history with a mob boss in Chicago could compare to what would soon be unfolding here.

  Hearing a vehicle approaching, I ambled into the hall and made my way to the front door. Sheriff Callahan parked her cruiser near the barn, then climbed out. Instead of her uniform, she wore jeans, a t-shirt and a bullet proof vest. Her hair was up in a ponytail, which made her look five years younger. She opened the trunk and hefted a heavy backpack over her shoulder, then reached inside again and pulled a flamethrower out.

  “The trolls have arrived at their lair,” Asha reported quietly from behind me. I turned to face her and saw that she’d gone pale. “They’re so angry that they’re laying waste to the trees closest to their cave. They’re being torn completely out of the ground.” Grief flashed through her strange eyes that her newly found friends were being harmed. Like the sheriff, she’d put her hair up rather than leaving it flowing down to her waist.

  “I’m sorry, darlin’,” I said and put a hand on her shoulder.

  Her eyes went distant as she listened again. “They’ve got your scent,” she said. “They’re following the trail you left.”

  Hearing Cindy slam the trunk shut, I nodded my thanks for the update, then turned to the sheriff. She held her flamethrower competently and she had a machete strapped to her right thigh. It matched the pair I’d strapped to both of my legs. Harley, Pru and Asha each had a machete of their own. We were all armed to behead our foes and we were as prepared as we were going to get. “Sheriff,” I said in greeting when she reached us. “Thanks for coming.”

  She nodded in return and swept her gaze over my team. Rudy had vanished and Leroy was invisible to her. “Is this it?” she asked.

  “We might be few in number, but Pru’s spells will swing things in our favor,” I told her.

  “You’re a witch?” Cindy said to Pru.

  “Yes,” Pru replied briskly. “You’re not going to arrest any of us after this, are you?” It wasn’t illegal to use magic, but the folks around here weren’t friendly towards people who were different to them.

  “If we live through this, I’ll think about giving you all medals of bravery,” the sheriff said dryly.

  “They’re moving fast,” Asha whispered, nudging me in the back. “We need to get to the killing field.”

  “All right, people,” I said to my team. “You all know what to do. Stay inside the white square and don’t leave it at any cost. If you do, you’ll probably step on one of Pru’s spells. Nothing will save you from death if you make that mistake.”

  “What exactly are these spells going to do?” Cindy asked nervously as we began to walk around the house towards the field at the back. I made sure to swing wide enough that the trolls wouldn’t pick up on our scent and veer away from our trap.

  “Most of them will cause a contained explosion of fire,” Pru replied. “Others will spray acid. Some are designed to chop and maim. A few will freeze their targets into immobility for a short time. They’re all designed to take down monsters. I shudder to think what they would do to us humans.”

  Cindy was pale, but she was also determined to do her part. She’d vowed to protect the inhabitants of her town and she was putting herself at severe risk to do her job. “This isn’t the first time you’ve had supernatural creatures in Devil’s Peak, is it?” I asked.

  “No,” she replied. “Last winter, a pack of small, flesh eating things took up residence in our sewers. They snatched a bunch of pets and other animals and I knew it was only a matter of time before they moved on to eating humans.”

  “What were they?” Harley asked.

  “I have no idea,” she replied with a shrug.

  “They sound like ghouls, or their smaller cousins that were cropping up a while back,” I said. “I take it you and your deputies took care of them?”

  “We followed the trail of animal bones to a central location in the sewers. We found the creatures all sleeping together in a pile like puppies.” She wrinkled her nose at the memory. “I’m guessing they were nocturnal, because they didn’t even stir until after we opened fire on them.”

  “They were definitely ghouls of some sort,” I confirmed. “They’re classed as undead and operate at night. You were lucky they can be killed with bullets.”

  “It took a lot of ammo to cut them down and we quickly realized we had to use headshots,” she said. “One of my deputies was bitten pretty badly, but she recovered, thankfully. She has a hell of a scar as a battle trophy.”

  If any of the trolls got close enough to engage with us, we wouldn’t survive to tell the tale. We would be torn limb from limb, from what Asha had told us. They were strong enough to uproot trees, which meant they were even more dangerous than I’d anticipated.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  “How long will it take the trolls to get here?” Harley asked Asha in a low voice so it wouldn’t carry to the sheriff.

  “About an hour,” she replied just as quietly. “They’re not deviating from your trail and they’re able to move a lot faster than we can.” Leroy had floated off into the woods to keep watch. He would return to warn us when our foes arrived.

  When we drew closer to the edge of the spells, I took the lead. “Follow in my footsteps,” I instructed, for Cindy’s benefit rather than everyone else’s. They already knew the drill.

  The sheriff was right on my heels as I wended my way between the blue circles of death. Up this close, I could feel their intent and could differentiate between the diffe
rent types of enchantments. I knew what each one would do and just how dangerous they would be to my team.

  When we all crossed over the white line that marked the boundary of the safe zone, I gathered everyone in close to me. “The trolls will be coming from that direction,” I said, pointing at the trees to our north. That was where our trail would lead them. “They’ll probably come straight for us until they hit the first spells. After that, it’ll be chaos.”

  “What’s your plan?” Sheriff Callahan asked, gripping her flamethrower tightly.

  “Stay in the safe zone,” I replied, pointing at the white lines. “Blast any trolls that get within range of your flamethrower. I’ll have to leave the safe area to finish off the ones that are injured before they can regenerate. I’d appreciate it if none of you set me on fire.”

  “Won’t that be highly dangerous?” she asked in confusion. “How did you guide us through the spells, anyway?”

  “I can see them,” I replied truthfully. “I’ll be able to avoid the traps while I behead the injured trolls. I’ll be relying on the rest of you to keep the other creatures away from me while I’m busy.”

  “This is insane,” the sheriff muttered. “Who came up with this plan?”

  “We all did, ma’am,” Harley told her. “It’s our best chance of taking them down without all dying in the process.”

  “You’re just one man,” she said to me. “What makes you think you can go toe to toe with these things?”

  “They’re almost here,” Asha whispered, eyes wide and fearful as she stared at the trees to the north.

  “I’ll tell you once this is over,” I said to Cindy.

  Darkness was rapidly descending and the moon was rising higher by the second. To me, it looked like it had a dense black film over it.

  Leroy appeared in our midst, eyes bulging with fright. “These things are huge and there’s a lot more than just twenty of them,” he warned us. “You’re all going to end up as troll snacks if they breach your spells.”