Battlelines: The Dark Fae Chronicles
Book 2
S. K. Gregory
Copyright © 2019 S. K. Gregory
All Rights Reserved
Chapter 1
If I never see water again, it will be too soon.
I lay my head on the rail of the boat, staring out at the endless ocean. We hadn’t even been at sea for that long, but I was sick of it already. The fact that I was sailing halfway across the world to take on a deadly Fae didn’t do anything to help my mood either.
A breeze blew up, sending my long red hair everywhere. I had given up trying to tame it, it’s not like hairspray was readily available anyway.
It was early September, summer was over. What should have been my last hurrah before college, was actually a cruel lesson in survival. It was the end of the world, or at least the end of how it used to be.
Feet pounded behind me and I turned to see Lydia run up to the rail and vomit over the side. Guess I’m not the only one sick of this boat.
I won’t deny it gave me some pleasure to see Lydia’s suffering after the way she behaved. It was thanks to her that everyone knew my deep dark secret. That I was a half Fae freak.
I avoided her and pretty much everyone, as much as possible. I couldn’t stand the staring and the snide comments.
You’d think they’d never seen a girl with wings before.
Well, wing stumps after Phillip cut them off.
Lydia wiped her mouth, glancing my way. Her dark hair was plastered to her neck and her face was pale. I glared at her until she looked away. These days, anger was all I had left for anyone.
“Hey, Nova, look at this,” an excited voice cried. I turned to see Rat running toward me. He was the only one I could stand. Just eleven years old, he had dark hair and huge blue eyes that could make anyone’s heart melt. He sort of adopted me as his big sister. I never had any siblings of my own and at least Rat didn’t treat me differently now that he knew the truth.
He held out a little brown mouse. I took a step back, I’m not a fan of rodents, but there are a lot more scary things in the world now.
“Cool, where did you find it?” I asked, trying to sound enthusiastic.
“Down in the engine room. I’m going to name him Pip. Like pipsqueak, get it?”
I smiled. “It suits him.”
He let the mouse run up his arm to his shoulder. “Your mom is looking for you,” he said.
“Okay, thanks.” He ran over to Lydia to show her the mouse. As I walked away, I heard her shriek. I couldn’t help it, I had to laugh. Serves her right.
Mom insisted on daily check ins with me. I missed the last two so I would have to show my face. I still hadn’t forgiven her for the lies. I doubted I ever would, but she knew the most about the Fae, so we were stuck together.
I found her in the lab, no surprise there. Alwyn was there too. He was working with a bunch of test tubes in the corner of the room. After joining us on the boat, he wanted to be useful. Tech was his area of expertise, but that was a thing of the past now. Now he interned for my mother. He was taking medical training and biology.
Mom wanted to run a bunch of tests on me in the beginning, but I wasn’t letting anyone touch me anymore. No more blood tests or examinations. I had enough of that with Phillip. Nightmares still plagued me from my time with him. I really hope the Fae ate him and his asshole assistant Lurch.
“Good morning, honey. Just give me a minute,” Mom said, checking something out in her microscope.
“Don’t call me that,” I muttered.
She ignored me, taking a sip from her coffee cup and yawning. She used to pull all nighters at home too.
“Was there a reason you wanted to see me?”
“Can you please drop the attitude? We have a long journey ahead of us, we should at least try to get along.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. It wasn’t like I was in a mood because she grounded me, it was because she lied to me my whole life.
“What did you want to see me about?” I said, forcing myself to sound civil.
“I want to check you over. Make sure that you are healthy.”
“I’m fine,” I said.
“What about your back?”
I had intermittent pain in my back, where the wing stumps were. I worried that I had an infection, even picked up some antibiotics on the road, but the pain was still there.
“I don’t need your help,” I said, stubbornness winning out over common sense. Alwyn sensed the tone and made a hasty exit. I’m sure he was sick of witnessing our arguments.
She gave me the Mom stare. “Just let me take a look. I promise not to touch you.”
Scowling, I turned my back to her so she could take a look.
“Well, they seem to have healed up okay. Any pain or itching?”
“Some pain.”
“All the time or…?”
“Just sometimes.”
“Could be phantom pain.”
I whirled to face her. “Are you saying I’m imagining it?”
“No, not at all. People who have lost a limb report feeling pain in the limb, even though it’s gone.”
“There’s nothing phantom about it. It comes from having a psycho saw them off!”
Mom held up her hands. “Okay, if you say its real, its real. Its not my area of expertise.”
“Fae freaks? You raised one for eighteen years, but you’re not an expert? I’m shocked, Mother. Usually only takes you a weekend to become an expert in anything. But then again, you never paid enough attention to me to learn anything.”
A wave of heat pulsed out of me, knocking her back and cracking the glass in her microscope.
I ran from the room. As I hurried down the corridor, I passed Enzo. He called my name, but I kept going. He was someone else I wanted to avoid.
Mom caught up to me on the deck. “Nova, please.”
“Stay away from me before I hurt you,” I snapped. I was mad enough to do it, although I’m sure I would regret it afterwards.
She kept her distance. “Look, just tell me what you want from me.”
“What I want, you can’t give me.”
“Try me.”
“I want my life back. I want this nightmare to be over, so I can go home. To my real home at Roxy’s.”
Mom sighed. “We both know I can’t undo all this. But there might be something I can do.”
She headed to the other side of the ship. I lagged behind, curious.
She approached the General, our unofficial leader. He was a tall man, who looked intimidating in his uniform. They spoke in hushed whispers. I moved closer, trying to hear what they were saying. I heard the word poison mentioned.
What the hell is she up to?
The General became very red in the face. “You better be right about this.”
He stalked away.
“What was that about?”
Mom grinned. “We’re going home.”
***
Oberon
Many Years Ago…
“What is it, brother? Where does it lead?” Asteria asked, huddling close to me in the semi darkness.
The cave was cold and damp, but I loved exploring them and Asteria would often tag along. This cave seemed like any other on the outside. I didn’t expect to find much, especially not a shimmering doorway, leading to a different place.
The other side was distorted, but it was obvious that it led somewhere outside. I could make out the sun and green fields.
“I’m going in,” I said, taking a step forward.
“No, brother,” Asteria cried, clinging to my arm. “Please don’t leave me.”
Asteria, my little sister. We had many siblings, but we were always close. We shared the same red hair and we loved advent
ure, although Asteria was always more cautious.
“Then come with me. It will be an adventure,” I said, smiling at her.
She looked terrified as she shook her head.
“Well, I’m going in. Just for a minute, then I’ll come right back.”
She protested, but I stepped inside anyway. I wasn’t giving up an opportunity like this.
There was a strange tingling feeling on my skin as I passed through.
When I reached the other side, I gasped in awe. The land that lay before me was breath-taking. Green as far as the eye could see. It rivalled our lands in beauty, but I was certain this wasn’t part of them.
It’s another realm.
I have heard stories of other worlds, places where Fae didn’t even exist, was this one of them?
I wanted to explore, but I knew Asteria would be worried. As I turned to go back inside, I heard laughter.
Turning, I saw a small child toddling along in the grass, dressed in some kind of animal skin. It was strange looking. Rounded ears, milky colored skin. There was no hint of magic from it. It appeared to be alone. Perhaps it wandered away from its pack.
“What are you?” I whispered.
The child spotted me, his face changed, losing the smile and he began to wail.
Scared that it would draw others, I quickly ran back through the doorway.
Asteria hugged me tightly. “What did you see?”
“Another place. And there were…creatures there. Primitive, without magic.”
Asteria’s purple eyes widened. “No magic? How do they survive?”
“I don’t know. But I want to find out.”
Chapter 2
The General gathered us all together on deck to tell us about the new plan. There were maybe forty soldiers and crew on the boat, along with us civilians.
“As you know, we are due to stop and refuel in DC. The plan was to then continue on to the UK. Dr. O’Neill has just informed me that she was working on a Fae poison, one that targets Fae DNA. It is located at her home. In Michigan.”
Murmurs went up amongst the crew. “Do you know how far that is? In enemy territory?” one soldier said.
“Everywhere is enemy territory now. We have two beacons. One can be mounted on the truck. We will drive to the location, but we have thirty-six hours max. If we cannot reach the location, we will be turning back, is that clear?”
Poison? That’s what she was looking for? I pulled her aside when he finished talking. “Is it real? Or did you lie to the General?”
“Years ago, I was working on something, but I never finished it. He doesn’t have to know that. Now you can look for Roxy, although you won’t have much time.”
I wanted to grill her on the poison, on why she thought it was a good idea to keep it in the house when I was living there with her, but I kept my mouth shut. If it meant a shot at finding Roxy, no matter how remote, I was going to take it. I couldn’t believe Mom was siding with me on this. She must be desperate to make amends.
The General organized a team. He would be in charge, taking me, Mom, two soldiers called Travis and Duncan, and Enzo. The others would fuel up and wait for us.
As we were loading the truck, I saw Lydia heading our way. She shot me a wicked grin as she hopped onto the truck.
Stalker, I thought as she sat beside Enzo. He didn’t even glance her way. She must have convinced the General to take her too. She had made her feelings clear – Enzo was hers and I was to stay away from him. Except Enzo had no interest in her. She was making a fool out of herself and for what? He’s not even that good of a kisser.
Okay, I was fooling myself, but you couldn’t tell a lot from one kiss. Like how they would react when they learned you weren’t human. Enzo couldn’t get over his own prejudices. Yes, most of the Fae were deadly, but I proved myself. I wasn’t like them and he knew it. He still walked away. Let him. I don’t need him or anyone for that matter. Just Roxy.
It would be a long trip to Michigan, but it would be worth it, if I could find Roxy.
I had donned a black hoodie for the trip. Better to not give away what I was if we came up against any trouble. Or give anyone anything to stare at. Not that I was ashamed, but we needed to focus on the task at hand.
As I took a seat, the stumps brushed against the wall of the truck, causing pain to flare in them. I ignored it as best I could, concentrating on the journey ahead. We needed to be ready for anything.
The truck started up along with the beacon and I winced as the noise assaulted my ears. I stayed as far away from it on the boat, but here it was very close. At least it would prevent us from getting eaten.
Travis sat opposite me, he gave me a disgusted look and spat on the floor.
“If we get killed over this, it will be your fault,” he said, his brown eyes narrowed.
“That’s enough,” Mom snapped at him.
“I don’t need you to defend me,” I said to her.
“He has no right to speak to you like that,” she argued.
I rolled my eyes. This was going to be a long trip.
***
Before Doomsday
“I swear one of these days she’s not going to come back,” I said, as I carefully painted the nail on my big toe a bright green color.
“That’s child abandonment,” Roxy said. She was sprawled out on the floor, reading a magazine.
It was Saturday night and we were in her room. I was back at her house while Mom went off on another trip to God knows where. I might as well just move in, I thought.
“Like she cares. She probably wouldn’t even notice if I was gone,” I grumbled.
“Look on the bright side. Two more years and we will be on our way to college and you never have to see her again.”
“I never see her now.”
“You know most people would love to not see their parents. At least she isn’t hanging around, watching your every move.”
I grunted in reply, but the truth was I did want her around. I wanted her to complain when I came home late and get on my case about tidying my room. It beat being ignored and abandoned any day of the week.
“Urgh, I’m out of chips. Why don’t we take a walk to the 7-11?” Roxy asked.
“But I haven’t finished my nails,” I said.
“You can finish them later. I need chips!” Roxy roared the last word then laughed.
I laughed too and pulled my shoes on. No one stood in the way of Roxy and food. Not that it showed on her. She was two inches taller than me, with blonde hair and blue eyes. A new guy asked her out every week. She turned most of them down though. She had her eye on a football player. I’d be happy if anyone asked me out.
It was dark as we reached the store and it was starting to get cold. “Hurry up and grab your chips,” I said, eager to get back to the house. We could put on a movie and just chill for a while.
She lingered in the aisle, trying to decide while I grabbed some candy for myself. I couldn’t do without sugar and Mom never bought any when she went grocery shopping, so I had to get my own.
I chose some M&Ms and took them to the counter to pay. As the guy was ringing them up, someone came into the store.
“Hey!” the cashier yelled, making me jump. “You are barred. Get out!”
I turned to see a guy in a black coat. He was mid-twenties with fair hair. He flipped the cashier off and sloped out of the store.
“Damn shoplifters,” the cashier muttered.
Remind me never to shoplift. Not that I have the nerve.
He handed me my change, as Roxy finally brought her chips to the counter.
As we left the store, I noticed the fair-haired guy loitering near the dumpsters outside. He was watching us. A knot grew in my stomach, as I picked up the pace.
“Hey! Ladies, want to help a guy out?” he called.
I kept my head down, but Roxy turned to look at who was yelling. “Keep moving,” I muttered.
“Don’t ignore me!” he snapped.
H
e jogged toward us. I was ready to run, but Roxy stopped and faced him. “What the hell do you want?” she said.
“Now that’s not very nice,” he said, his eyes glinting in the streetlight.
“Neither is screaming at strangers,” Roxy shot back.
He turned his attention to me. “You look much nicer than your friend.” He reached out a hand toward my face.
A moment later, he was doubled over as Roxy kicked him in the balls.
“Run!” she said.
We took off, not stopping until we reached her house.
“I can’t…believe...you did that,” I panted, once we were safely inside.
“No one messes with us,” she grinned.
***
I remember being in awe of her that day. If it was Fae versus Roxy – I pitied the Fae.
Chapter 3
Staring out the back of the truck, I couldn’t believe how much everything had changed. The country looked like an after scene in a zombie movie. Except instead of zombies, it was Fae.
Cars were strewn across the roads, along with bodies. Most of them had been ripped apart, now only bones left. Buildings were trashed, weeds growing wild. It scared me that this was only a few months in. What would it look like a year from now? Ten? Then again, I might not be here to see it. Chances were the Queen would kill me. I couldn’t pretend it wasn’t a possibility.
Was Roxy out there? Surviving underground like I did? If I could survive, she definitely could. Her parents too.
The driver kept taking alternative routes when he came close to a blockade or one of the Fae territories which were protected by a force field.
I wonder if thirty-six hours will be enough.
I had a plan. When we reached the house, I would sneak away to Roxy’s house. She only lived five blocks away. I didn’t think she would be sitting there waiting, but there might be a clue to help me figure out where she went.
Or there’ll be a body.
I pushed that thought away. She was alive, I could feel it.
Resting my head, I closed my eyes. I hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep lately. I had to sleep on my side because of the stumps and I kept rolling onto my back and waking myself up.
Battlelines Page 1
