by Ivy Clyde
Stepping inside the brightness of the small closet space, my gaze fell on the mirror over the sink. My lips parted at the sight reflected back at me. While my clothes were badly crumpled, my hair a mess, my face looked oddly radiant. There was a glow to it that I’d never seen before. Even my dull blue eyes sparkled like sapphires.
Using my fingers, I combed out some of the tangles. Even the texture of my hair seemed to have improved. My usually dry, brittle strands were silky to the touch now. A lustrous sheen had come over my blond tresses.
Pretty. The thought registered in my mind, surprising me so much, I stood before the mirror for another minute, ogling myself.
Over the past few years, I barely looked at the mirror. My mother’s curses always rang in my ears, making me hate my appearance. Other than basic hygiene, I didn’t care to do anything for my skin and hair. Other than a medicinal lip balm, I didn’t own a single stick of gloss. What was the point when all my effort was to avoid attracting any attention toward myself?
I took in a deep breath and splashed my face with cold water, hoping it would wash away my mom’s hate and revulsion from me. With every passing second, I was starting to believe Artemis more and more. If there was a place meant for someone like me, I’d go there. Mom could start her life all over again without anything tying her back. As for me, I’d do my best with the new life being offered to me.
Stepping out of the bathroom, I picked up the clothes Artemis left for me. The white cotton shirt was long-sleeved and puffed at the shoulders. A ruffle went from the neck down the chest of the blouse, adding a beautiful, flowing aspect to the shirt. This was the fanciest thing I’d worn in my life. Even the fabric was smooth, flowing, and amazingly soft against the skin. To add to my surprise, it fit me perfectly.
A high-waisted maroon skirt accompanied the shirt, flaring around my hips and ending a few inches over my knees. Next, I pulled on the knee-high white socks.
The last item of clothing was a stiff military-style Victorian jacket. The fabric was the same shade of maroon as the skirt with wide lapels. Ornate gold buttons in two columns decorated the front while three buttons embellished the cuffs.
My attire was complete after putting on a pair of black pump shoes. I had to go back into the bathroom to look in the mirror. The uniform of Belenus Court could be described as both regal and classy. It completely changed my appearance from a hobo teenage kid to a pretty young woman who walked among royalty.
While my appearance made me smile, anxiety nipped at my heart. I’d never worn anything that exposed the shape of my body so well. Don’t let it scare you, I told myself, trying to quell the old fear that something bad would happen if I allowed myself to dress well.
Taking a deep breath, I walked out of the tiny bathroom and went to open the door.
Artemis leaned against a wall. As soon as his gaze fell on me, he straightened up. A smile lit up his handsome features. “You’re starting to look more like your true self now.” His genuine sentiment eased some of my anxiety. With a glance at his watch, he added, “How about we get going? It’s better to get out of the Order’s hair as soon as possible.”
I gave a nod. “I am ready to go but what about my things?”
He paused, looking like he hadn’t taken this into account. “Do you have anything sentimental you wish to take with you?”
“Not really. Just that all my clothes are at home.”
“Ahh, that?” A relieved chuckle escaped him. “You will be provided with everything at the Court. Don’t worry about a thing. They will even pay you an allowance. Once you get a handle on your powers and learn about our ways, you would be able to secure a job as well.”
“Sounds good,” I said, wondering what kind of jobs people with magical abilities did for a living. I bottled up my questions and decided to ask him once we got away from the formidable men patrolling the corridors. “I guess we can go then.”
Artemis moved closer to me and wrapped a gentle arm around me. We walked down the hallway at a brisk pace and made our way to the front entrance of the school building.
Large black trucks were lined up along the sidewalk. The local sheriff’s department was keeping any cars or pedestrians from coming near the school area. It really looked like some secret government agency was hard at work. The only unbelievable fact was that I was the one responsible for this chaos. I was the one who literally blew up and took down six innocent young men.
The cold October air hit my face as we hurried toward a car. The thick jacket kept me warm though. Artemis opened the door to his car and gestured for me to get inside.
“The fae drive cars?” I asked when he settled down beside me. “What about broomsticks for transport?”
He chuckled. “It is important we blend well with things in the human world to avoid attracting any attention toward us. The Order doesn’t take it lightly if we cause any chaos. Once we go back to our domain, we can do things our way.” He started the car and drove away from the school.
Half an hour later, I realized we were headed toward downtown Lost Sanctum. The strangely named city was located between the borders of New York and New Jersey. While its neighboring districts were always on the news, Lost Sanctum was rarely ever mentioned. I wondered whether it was the work of the “Order” who kept all sightings and paranormal activities happening in the area out of the news.
Dark woods passed us by as the car speeded toward the main city center. Doubts crept into my mind but I decided to take a chance on Artemis. After all, who would spend so much effort into fooling a nobody like me?
Trust him until he tries to hurt you, I told myself. I stayed on my guard the whole time but Artemis’s gaze never drifted from the road ahead.
Soon, the car moved through the quiet, dark streets of Lost Sanctum.
In another ten minutes, we reached a well-lit busy street. The heavy boom of blasting music spread all around us. People were queued outside of nightclubs.
“Why are we here?” I asked as Artemis stopped the car in one of the parking lanes.
“You will see. Come on.” He climbed out of the car and waited for me to get out.
I climbed out and watched a group of drunken women arguing with each other. Artemis didn’t pay any attention to them or his surroundings and walked toward a nightclub called Purple Lotus. I hurried after him, wondering why we were in such a place. Was I really being scammed?
Instead of walking into the nightclub, Artemis walked into the dark alley beside it. I felt hesitant about following him there. The narrow lane was full of garbage bins and smelled horrible. The sound of thudding music followed us here but otherwise, the place was completely deserted.
“It is this way,” said Artemis. I could only see his silhouette in the dark alley.
“What’s that way?”
“The gateway.”
I moved a few steps forward but kept a good distance from him. Artemis sighed exaggeratedly and started touching the grimy wall that formed part of the Purple Lotus. Just as I was starting to wonder whether he was crazy, a sudden green light flared out in the dark alleyway.
Moving closer, I saw strange symbols arranged in a large circle glowing on the wall that Artemis had just touched. Next moment, a wide hollow appeared in the wall before us.
“After you, my lady,” said Artemis, gesturing me toward the entrance.
My hands closed into tight fists as I took up his invitation. This was probably the moment when everything would be revealed. Artemis was either playing a huge joke on me or I’d finally step into the world where I belonged.
A noisy underground marketplace appeared before my eyes. There were stalls under colorful canopies selling a variety of ware, most of which I’d never seen before. Lanterns and tall torches burned to illuminate the vast cavernous area. Copper pots, large enough to fit a grown man, were hanging in the closest shop. Their surfaces shone so brightly I saw a distorted reflection of me and Artemis in them.
“What do you think?” asked Artemi
s as I stared wide-eyed at the people walking around the underground bazaar. There were ogre-like beings, beautiful slender fae women in flowing gowns as well as creatures that resembled trolls from children’s fantasy books.
“Do you believe in our world now, Miss Nelson?” asked Artemis.
I stared up at his grinning face. He was clearly enjoying the shock on my face.
“This is incredible,” I said. “What kind of fae are they?” I asked, pointing toward a pair of women in medieval-style blue gowns with long sleeves. Their long flaming-red hair was tied back in thick long braids but the thing that made them stand out in the crowd was the lustrous blue scales covering their faces.
“They are elves from a faction of the Fomorian clan,” said Artemis.
“Elves?”
“Well, yes,” he said with a suppressed chuckle. “You and I are elves too.”
“Wow,” I breathed.
“Come this way,” said Artemis. “We can spend hours in this Troll Bazaar but the most important thing to do right now is to get you to Belenus Court. It’s the only way I can assure your safety.” Gesturing toward one of the lanes, he began walking down the street filled with shops on both sides.
My gaze took in the colorful silks and scents of unknown exotic spices. The place reminded me of an ancient middle-eastern bazaar filled with the most bizarre and wonderful objects. I couldn’t help looking at the trolls who kept watch over most of the stalls. They were gigantic, most of them easily being over eight feet tall. Their skins looked like they were made of gray stone. Two white tusks protruded out of their mouths. Their eyes were like shiny black beetles. They should have scared me but seeing them acting so casually, made me feel comfortable being around them.
This is the world I belong to, I realized with a start. Of course, I’m not scared.
Just as I was about to say the same thing to Artemis, I found him gone. Panic gripped me immediately. Fuck! I’m lost! I was so occupied by the sights and sounds of the market, I had no idea where my feet were going.
“Are you looking for someone?” asked a stranger’s voice at my ear.
Turning around, I looked up at a young stranger. He was extremely handsome, wearing a loose white shirt and jeans. Unlike the creatures around me, he seemed to be someone from the world outside. If I’d met him on the street, I’d have thought he was some high-fashion model for Armani.
He grinned down at me, showing me his perfect white teeth. “You look like you need help.”
I took several deep breaths, trying to calm myself. At least, I would be able to talk to this guy which was a hundred times less daunting than approaching one of the troll shopkeepers.
“I got lost,” I said. “Can you help me find someone?”
“Sure. What does your companion look like?”
His warm smile put me at ease immediately. I quickly described Artemis to the man.
“A lumina fae? Are you one too?” he asked.
“I think so.”
“Oh good!” The man’s eyes gleamed scarlet for a moment but it could have been a glare from one of the torches that were burning in the brackets along the street. “I think I just saw him pass through. Let’s go this way.” He took my hand in a firm grip and started walking in a different direction.
I tried to relax but something about the stranger’s behavior was warning me to be careful. My intuition was the only thing that had saved me so far. I trusted it more than what my eyes showed me. Artemis hadn’t made me feel so threatened despite him spouting the most bizarre things. Then, what was about this guy?
I looked up at him but again, saw nothing but a beautiful, handsome man.
“Where exactly are we going?” I asked, taking in the deserted narrow alley he’d led me to.
“Almost there,” he said, coming to a halt.
I tried to take my hand out of his grip but his hold tightened. “Could you let go, please?”
“Why would I let you go, sweetheart?” he said, leaning down until his face was level with mine. “It’s a rare to treat to drink from a lumina fae. You’re such a clueless one that I’m thinking of making you my pet. How would you like that?” He caressed my cheek with his other hand. His eyes were glowing scarlet now. As his lips stretched in a broad smile, I noticed his protruding canines, glinting wickedly.
“What are you?”
He looked startled by the question before his face relaxed into another smile. “I love how innocent you are. I’m going to love having you.” He leaned in, letting his nose skim along the column of my throat. “You smell so good too,” he crooned.
“Get off!” I shouted, kicking him hard in the knees.
He gasped. His hold loosened enough for me to break through and run.
Just as I was about to run out of the alleyway, his body suddenly came to stand before me. Turning around, I looked at the distance I’d run and then back at him.
“Where are you running off to?” he asked, glaring at me with furious crimson eyes. “I thought we were getting along.”
“You tricked me. You said you could find Artemis.”
“I would have said anything to get a taste of your blood.”
“You’re really a vampire?” I asked, trying to wrap my mind around the fact that they were real too. Are werewolves real too? I wanted to ask.
“I prefer the term night-walker,” he said, straightening his back.
“I couldn’t care less.”
With a sudden move, he slammed me against the wall of a building.
“Oww!” The impact was so hard, it made my mind go blank for a moment. I screwed my eyes shut in pain as he loomed over me.
“Show me respect, you retarded elf.”
I stared up at the vampire, wondering how I could’ve let myself get fooled by his good looks. He was a monster underneath the beauty. Unlike the men who hunted me out of a compulsion they couldn’t suppress, he was doing it solely to quench his greed for my blood.
“That’s right,” he whispered. “Accept it.” His knee parted my legs forcefully as his body pinned me against the wall behind me. One of his hands captured my wrists, raising them over my head while the other kept a tight, almost painful grip on my waist.
“I don’t want this,” I said through a fear-choked throat. “Please let me go.”
“Sshh,” he said, leaning down to place his face against my heaving breasts. “Your heart is beating so hard, the blood will just rush into my mouth. Raising his head, he buried his face against my neck. A cold tongue touched my skin. I shuddered.
“Don’t do this to me,” I begged.
“Sshh.” I felt the tip of his sharp canines touch my skin.
I struggled to get out of his hold but his strength was too overpowering. Closing my eyes tightly, I tried to reach for the rage that had allowed me to burn those boys earlier tonight. If I could channel that power once more, I would have a chance to save myself.
“Hey, what are you doing?” the uncertainty in the vampire’s voice made me open my eyes. He stepped away from me immediately, looking down at his hands. The side of his face that had been in contact with my neck was burned off, turning the flawless white skin into an ugly blackish-red.
The white light that had radiated from my body earlier shone out now but its intensity was much lower than before. I was panting hard from the effort of clutching onto the rage that allowed me to call upon my magic but the radiance was starting to wane now.
“Stop it,” said the vampire in a grim tone. “You will kill yourself quicker this way.”
“No,” I said in a slurred voice.
“Let me drink from you. I’ll make sure not to kill you.”
“You’re not laying your filthy hands on me,” I grated through clenched teeth. The radiance of my light increased in intensity but I had to lean against the wall to support my body. My strength was quickly draining away, making my vision go hazy.
“Stop right now!” a different voice spoke out.
Panting hard, I looke
d toward the person who’d appeared at my side.
A young man was staring at me with a grim expression. He was extremely handsome, his face seeming to have been chiseled by a master craftsman. Long locks of raven-black hair framed his face. However, what attracted my attention to him was the uniform he wore. It was the same as mine with the emblem of the golden sun stitched on the breast pocket of his jacket.
His steel-gray eyes were like chips of ice as he turned his attention toward the vampire. “How dare you touch an elf?” he spoke in a deep icy tone.
The vampire’s fangs had retracted back in his mouth. He didn’t look like a predator anymore. “I…I…she wasn’t saying no!”
“I told you to stop!” I hissed, still gasping from the uneven beats of my heart.
“You know you can’t touch us,” said the stranger, taking a step toward him. “You know the consequences of touching one of my kind.”
The vampire shrank back. With a sudden move, he ran, his speed so extreme he was just a blur to my untrained eyes. However, he’d barely managed to get out of the alleyway when he suddenly paused. Next moment, he screamed like his body was on fire.
His entire body was glowing with a white-hot light. My gaze swung back to the figure in black. His entire focus was on the vampire. Awe washed over me as I realized what he was doing. Unlike me, he was in full control of his powers. He was burning the vampire with his magic.
My hands clapped over my ears as the vampire’s cries threatened to pierce my eardrums.
Within a minute, the vampire’s body turned into charred remains. I stared at the blackened mound, thinking back to the young men who’d faced a similar fate that night.
The kind of power inside me was deadly but it was of no use to me unless I knew how to harness it. If the stranger hadn’t appeared in time, I’d have killed myself trying to keep the vampire away from me. For the first time, I realized why Artemis was so keen to take me away to the castle of Belenus Court. I wasn’t ready to be on my own in a fae society yet.
“Aren’t you going to kneel and thank me?” asked the stranger, bringing my attention back to him.
“Sorry?”
