We walked through some trees, weaving through them as if Alec knew exactly where to go. And I guess he did. He knew this area. I tried to reconcile the two Alecs. The one that I had known for the last two and a half weeks, who was short with speech, short tempered, constantly sighing and was cocky and impatient, with the Alec that Nona had talked about. The one who would defy all rules and fall in love with a Nymph.
I was so focused on trying to better understand this Fae who was helping me, that I hardly noticed the change of scenery.
I don’t know exactly what I was expecting to walk into, when walking into the middle of Central Village. But once I got there, I realized it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. Yet, at the same time it felt almost like Déjà vu, like it was a place I had seen before. The mixture of thoughts was very confusing.
The ground was all wooden, but it wasn’t like plank boards. It was like tree limbs that you might see coming up through the grass. There were ridges in the streets, as if the street was made of forty or fifty tree limbs all lying next to each other. Yet they were sanded down to be smooth.
All of the buildings were trees. And yet there was still an industrial feel in that they were tall buildings, like skyscrapers. Like tree skyscrapers. You couldn’t see the sky at all because there were so many leaves and branches above the buildings covering everything overhead. And every time you thought you might be able to see through the branches and leaves, up to the sky, even for just a minute, you only got to see more green.
There was no clearing that I had seen yet, not like in the little village. And yet there were alleyways and streets, just not paved in cement. Only paved in trees and leaves. It almost felt like I was walking through a giant tree, walking through the tree limbs, inside of the branches. Everything was wood and weeds and leaves.
There were no flowers in this part of Ardennes. No birds or animals scurrying around. It was all just wooden and brown. Brown everywhere. I thought, probably naively, that there would be an actual building somewhere, but there wasn’t. There wasn’t any cement anywhere.
After walking down an alleyway of sorts, we came to the back of another wooden building. Alec knocked twice on the door, paused, and knocked once more.
A Nymph opened the door. He was tall, as they all are, especially compared to me and Alec, and he was built. He had broad shoulders and muscles everywhere. He reminded me of a bouncer at a club or something.
“Name?”
Alec didn’t say his name though. He said, “Samael.”
“Samael?” The bouncer asked, as if he was surprised someone would come to this place asking for that man. He looked at Alec, as if sizing him up, and then he looked at me, but just briefly. I guess I didn’t look like anyone special.
“Yes,” Alec said. His voice sounded strong, so sure of himself.
“Hold on,” the bouncer said, and then shut the door in our faces.
“So, do you know anything about this Samael guy?” I asked Alec, while we were waiting. My hands had started to sweat as soon as the bouncer opened the door, and my heart beat picked up a few notches.
“Only that he has connections and is supposed to know things.” Then he turned and looked me right in my eyes, no longer facing the door. “Now, I need to tell you Lily, some things may go down here that you may not want to see. I don’t know if you have been around violence, but I sometimes need to find alternative ways of being persuasive.”
The implications were clear, and I didn’t hesitate in my response.
“That’s okay. If he can lead us to who we are looking for, then I can deal with it.” I cleared my throat and then said, “I will do whatever it takes.”
“Good,” he said simply, and nodded his head once.
The bouncer opened the door again and motioned for us to follow him. As soon as we entered, the bouncer pulled Alec to the side.
“No weapons in the presence of the Dux.” The bouncer’s voice was as deep as you would imagine, considering his massive size. They removed the blade from his side, but that was the only weapon they could find. I could tell Alec hesitated in letting it go, but what choice did he have? If he demanded to keep it, they would wonder why.
Then we turned and started walking. I followed behind Alec, who was one step behind the bouncer. I noticed while walking behind the tall Nymph, that his hair was long, like most of the others, and was braided down his back. At the very tip, it was green as if he had dyed the last four inches of it. Kinda gave me the urge to dye my hair some funky color.
When I walked inside the building, my eyes were assaulted with colors that I hadn’t seen in what felt like ages. Everything was blue and red. Blue carpet, red ceiling. Blue lamps, red couches. Blue paintings, red walls. There were no browns and greens like outside.
I freaking loved it.
We went down a hallway, past several doors, and then down some stairs. I just kept following them, and stayed quiet, just as Alec was, because I didn’t want to mess anything up by saying the wrong thing. And despite my sweating hands, and my heartbeat which was increasing in speed with every step we took down, I kept my mouth shut.
At the end of the stairs was a door, and the bouncer turned around to face us.
“Stay here.” Again, Alec only nodded, so I did too, not like they were looking at me anyway.
After about five minutes, the door opened and the bouncer motioned for us to come in. Inside was what resembled a lobby. There was a single desk at the back, where a receptionist might sit. Two chairs in front of that desk, and a couch on the side. We sat on the couch and waited. Again I had to bite my tongue.
After another five minutes, that felt more like an hour, the lone door behind the desk opened. A Nymph walked out, that looked very similar to the bouncer. He was tall, tan and strong. Very strong. He even had the same facial features as the bouncer, which made me think they might be brothers. But his hair was short. Shorter than any of the Nymph I had seen so far. It was cropped, like how the men in the military wore theirs back in the Mortal Realm.
“Y’all lookin’ for me?” His accent was very thick, not like any of the other Nymph I had heard speak. He sounded almost like the cowboys from the southern United States.
“Yes sir. I have some questions I would like to ask you, if there is someplace private we can speak.”
“Well, it ain’t every day I have a Sylph Realm Guard show up at ma door.” Then he turned and walked through the door he had just come out of. Alec stood to follow him, so I did too.
The next room was like another office type room. There was another single desk in the back, with two chairs in front of it. There were no couches in this room though, but there were bookshelves on the walls, and several file cabinets. Also, the room was much darker than the lobby before it.
Samael went behind the desk and sat down, then motioned for us to sit at the chairs.
“What can I do for ya?” he asked Alec.
“We are looking for a group of Fae. Maybe four or five of them. They are mostly Nymph. With maybe one Pixie.”
Samael chuckled before saying, “There are many group of Fae. What do you know about ‘em? Anything specific?”
“They are skilled assassins. Very strong. Their magic is very deep. They have recently been to the Mortal Realm and back. They should have passed through here a few days ago. We followed their trail here.”
Recognition flared on the Nymph’s face. But then it turned to curiosity and suspicion. His left eyebrow rose and he pursed his lips. “And what are you looking for this group of Fae for?”
“We would like to speak with them.” Alec sounded so sure, so confident in his words. If he was afraid, he didn’t show it. But the guy behind the desk got scarier with each moment I was sitting in front of him.
As they talked, I studied him. His eyes were dark brown, so dark they were almost black. He had a scar above his left eye that curved and touched the corner of his nose. His shoulder, which was bare since he was wearing a tank, showed another scar,
one that I couldn’t identify. It was jagged and circular and looked crazy painful.
“I know of one group of assassins that came through here. There are five of ‘em. Three Nymph, one Pixie, one Sprite. They’re very deadly. They are called Mortem. I know that they came here from the Mortal Realm after a job.” Then he paused, as if he was considering what else to say. “Do you wish to hire them?”
I’m pretty sure my face was aghast at the thought. So much for a poker face. Thankfully, Samael was only looking at Alec, I was invisible to him. Still a baby, not even a novice. No threat.
I looked over at Alec, his face didn’t betray any of his thoughts or emotions, but I could see something simmering just below the surface of his eyes. I just didn’t know what exactly was causing the super crazy, evil-eye thing he had going on.
“I only wish to know where they went after leaving here.”
“What makes you think that they left?”
“You said they ‘passed through,’ so I would assume they are no longer here. Do you know where they went?”
“Maybe. But that don’t mean ima tell you where they went.”
“Though you are Dux in this town, as a Realm Guard I have authority over you. You need to tell me what you know or face the wrath the King himself.” Alec’s voice was steel. I couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit of pride at standing next to him.
Samael’s laugh was wicked. There was no humor in it. It was maniacal and shot my fear through the roof.
“You think you can come into my place of business and threaten me?” He got up from his desk, just as the door behind us opened and the bouncer came through. He shut the door behind him and stood in front of it.
Alec stood from his chair. He didn’t crouch into our battle stance; instead he stood up tall and nodded only once. In an instant he pushed me back into the chair, and put his hand in front of him and made the chair scoot back. It was like he was telekinetically controlling the chair, just as he had frozen me back at my home.
“I never threaten,” Alec promised.
Chapter Twenty One
Fae Blade: A piece of steel, whether knife, dagger or sword, that is infused with Fae Magic. The most supreme and powerful of the Fae Blades is the Sovereign Blade, which has been infused with all Four Fae Magics. The blade gives the bearer extreme power.
The first thing I noticed were Alec’s wings. They flew out behind him with a whoosh of air looking so much stronger than they did before.
Samael flew over the desk and landed right in front of Alec, but it didn’t faze him at all. He immediately attacked, hitting Samael in the throat with the side of his palm, causing the Nymph to double over and gag.
Samael reached across and tried to punch Alec in the face, but he blocked it. At the same time, Alec reached forward and punched Samael in the face.
The bouncer ran forward, and tried to hit Alec, but he turned around just in time to kick the bouncer in the chest, making him fly backward into the door he had just stood in front of.
I was still just sitting in the chair watching it happen, as Alec’s magic over me continued to hold me still in the chair, out of the way of the chaos. Not like I really could have helped much anyway.
Samael grabbed hold of Alec’s hair and pushed his head downward, in an attempt to knee him in the face. Alec blocked Samael’s knee just in time, and then pushed Samael back against the desk. Alec straddled his hips, and began to punch him again and again in the face.
I could hear the crunch of bones as his fist hit against Samael’s skull and it made me sick to my stomach. Nausea rolled through me. I’d never seen a fight in real life before. I had to force the vomit from spewing out of my mouth, as the gruesome scene invoked the memory of my parent’s bloody bodies. I wiped my sweaty palms across my jeans, because I didn’t know what else to do.
The bouncer came up behind Alec, but just before he could grab him, Alec whipped around, leveraging himself with one knee still on the desk and the other flying toward the bouncers face. The bouncer blocked the kick which left Alec falling forward, back on top of Samael still on the desk.
The bouncer grabbed Alec from behind, pulling him into a headlock, squishing his wings between his own back and the bouncer’s chest. Because the Nymph was so tall, Alec’s feet dangled a few feet off the ground. He struggled, but it was apparent he couldn’t do anything to break the lock.
I started to freak out. My stomach felt like it dropped and my hands were clammy. My heart beat was pounding feverishly. Thu-Thump. Thu-Thump. Hammering at my ribs, freaking out in this spasmatic rhythm.
Samael got up off the desk and stood in front of Alec, as if he had won. He stood up tall, almost gloating, despite the bruises forming on his face, and the blood spilling from his mouth.
Just before Samael could punch him, Alec threw his legs up over the bouncers head, and flipped over to where he was hanging behind the bouncer, on his back. Now the bouncer was in a headlock.
Stupidly, the only thing that popped into my head in that moment was how beautiful it looked to see him move like that. Again, he looked like he was dancing. Like this was all an expertly choreographed routine.
While keeping one arm locked around the bouncer’s neck, he placed the other hand, palm down on the side of the bouncer’s face. The same familiar mist, that I had grown accustomed to relating to his magic appeared and surrounded the bouncers head. He began to shake and tremor as if he was having a seizure.
Then he fell down, first to his knees, and then to his back, while Alec knelt down beside him, keeping his hand attached to the bouncer’s head. Samael tried to kick Alec, trying to get him away from the bouncer. But Alec blocked his kick.
When Samael tried again, Alec grabbed his foot, jumped up and flipped Samael over. He landed face down on the floor. Alec then telekinetically pushed the bouncer against the wall, so that he could face off with Samael uninterrupted.
They punched and kicked. Their fists went flying at each other. Sometimes they hit each other, sometimes they didn’t. It went back and forth. Back and forth. There was more blood than I had ever seen. And I knew that this fight, the first fight that I had ever actually witnessed, would be forever stamped into my brain, haunting my nightmares.
Just then, Samael pulled out a dagger. It looked like it was about one foot long, and it was obvious that it was a Fae Blade, the magical etchings glimmered in the candlelight.
Alec stopped and stepped back, wary. Since his blade had been removed, he was unarmed against this powerful weapon. As soon as he saw the dagger, his face showed his concern just as clearly as I felt it.
“Alright. This is ridiculous and it needs to stop now,” Samael shouted, spitting blood and saliva as he spoke.
Alec still didn’t release his hold on me or the bouncer. The bouncer was still struggling against the wall, trying to stand or move at all. But I knew all too well that he couldn’t. At least I wasn’t frozen, like the bouncer was and like I had been back at my home. I was just pinned to the chair.
Then it hit me. I had my father’s sword in the abscondita attached to my belt. They hadn’t searched me, since I was still just a magicless baby.
Maybe I could help.
I reached inside and thought only of my father’s sword. Once I felt the cool cylindrical hilt, I mustered up every ounce of strength I had to pull the outrageously heavy thing out. I couldn’t pull the entire thing out. But I got most of it out, and that’s all I needed.
“Alec,” I shouted.
They all three turned to look at me, realizing for the first time that I was actually a person sitting here and not just a pretty doll Alec carried around.
I watched as his eyes flicked down only briefly. He effortlessly pulled the sword to him. The blade flickered in the dim firelight as it sailed across the room and into his hands. Alec lifted the blade and pointed it right at Samael’s throat.
Thankfully my sword was way longer than Samael’s blade, so Alec didn’t have to move even an inch closer to make i
t touch his throat.
“I agree. This ends now.” Alec’s voice was rough; the vein bulged in his forehead and neck, and his eyes glimmered dark green with fury. This was the scary Alec I had seen only a few times. “Now tell me, where did they go?”
“You think you can come in here and demand things from me?”
“Yes.” Then he pushed the blade forward just a little more. I knew, without a doubt, that with even the tiniest flicker of his wrist he could slash open the Nymph’s throat. The bouncer twitched helplessly off to the side, as he watched his boss threatened.
Before he spoke again, he gave Alec the worst glare ever. Worse than Nona’s glare when she asked if I was trustworthy. Worse even than my own mothers glare when she was disappointed in me.
“They left two days ago. Last I heard they were going to Muircadia.”
Alec nodded, as if to say Thank You.
“You think you can come in here, threaten me, and walk away without a scratch?” Samael growled.
“Nope.” And then Alec pointed to his lip, where there was a tiny drop of blood. “Now, I thank you for your time. I wish this could have gone differently, but as you weren’t forthcoming with your answers, we had to be more aggressive. We will leave now, and not return to bother you again. And you will not follow us.”
He looked first at Samael, and when he nodded, Alec looked back at the bouncer, who also nodded. I guess that meant they agreed. Geez, there were so many random customs these fairy people had.
“I would like my blade back,” he said to the bouncer. He looked first to Samael for permission, before scurrying out the door. Two minutes later, he returned with Alec’s weapon.
“Thank you gentlemen. Know that if you follow me, I will be back, and next time I will not spare your lives. I have fought and killed many men, and it would not pain me to do it again.”
Samael scowled, but they both nodded.
“Do you remember the way out?” At first I just stared at him, wondering why he would ask such a stupid question to these men. Until I realized he was talking to me.
Enchanted Revenge Page 13
