Fae Magic trilogy : (Alexandra Everest series)

by Jen Pretty

  FAE MAGIC

  Alexandra Everest Series

  book one

  JEN PRETTY

  But she is gone and you will never guess what is the worst part.

  —johnathan roy

  To my cool family and friends who accept me for all my wildness.

  Chapter one

  The clock on the wall kept ticking. It was the only sound besides the occasional shuffle of feet or squeak of a wheel on a bed as another patient was rolled to or from somewhere to someplace. All I could see was white. White walls, white ceiling and white sheets. As long as my eyes were open, I could see only white. It's when my eyes were closed that colour came through. Red. Red walls, red floor, red bodies.

  They say it is post-traumatic stress disorder, but I can’t close my eyes without seeing it over and over again.

  So, I don't close my eyes until the medication they give me forces me to surrender. They seem to think their drugs are better than the ones I procured for myself, but six months have passed, and I still see it.

  That clock though, it's terribly torturous for a place of healing.

  "How are we today?" It's the young nurse. She's always upbeat and peppy, probably because she can have coffee. I haven't had any in the two weeks I've been here, but I can smell it. Add that to the torture list.

  "I’m just dandy," I replied with all the sarcasm I can muster.

  "Great! Dr. Martin will be in to see you in an hour," she said as she bustled out with my breakfast tray.

  "I'll be here. Not like I have anywhere to go," I muttered. Time to get back to listening to my clock and staring at the white ceiling.

  Time passes differently since that day. Sometimes an hour feels like a week and sometimes it feels like a blink. Today must be a speedy day because in walked Dr. Martin as if he was just waiting outside my door for the nurse to leave.

  "Hello Alexandra, how are you feeling today?" Dr. Martin asked while reading my chart. Doc was tall and late 40's. He had dark hair, turning grey, and his dark eyes had crinkles at the edges that made him look like he was always smiling, which he was doing right now. Probably also drank coffee.

  "I'm great. Ready to go home," I said with a fake smile I was sure Doc couldn't see through.

  "How have you been sleeping?" He questioned, ignoring my statement.

  "Fine. I've been sleeping every night," I lied. How would he know the difference anyway?

  "You haven't been having nightmares?" he asked with just enough sarcasm to let me know he didn't believe me.

  "Only a few. Nothing I can't handle," I wasn't sure why I even wanted to leave since there wasn't anything I was missing outside of the hospital and laying in this bed was no different than laying on my couch but leaving seemed like a worthwhile goal.

  "Ok. Well, I don't have to keep you here any longer and if you feel ready to leave I think we can let you go home. Do you have someone who can pick you up?"

  "My friend Vanessa can come get me. She said I could stay with her for a while." Vanessa still feels guilty for not sticking around to make sure I didn't kill myself at the party two weeks ago. I said it was an accidental overdose, but no one believed me. Maybe it wasn't.

  "Alright. I should have your release papers ready in an hour," he said.

  "Thank you, Dr. Martin."

  He smiled and left the room. I was finally getting out of here. The next hour was not a fast one. Time was standing still. It only took 35 seconds to call Vanessa. It took 45 seconds to change my clothes. Two minutes to brush my hair and teeth. Ugh. 20 seconds to pack my things. That left me an eternity until V showed up and I was finally allowed out of my white walled room.

  As I got in the car, the smell of coffee hit me. Angels sang and danced as I picked up the paper cup V had brought me and took my first sip in two weeks. While I quietly communed with my best and oldest friend, coffee, my second-best friend, V, filled me in on all the latest gossip. A lot happens in two weeks in our little world.

  V and I grew up together in the high-rise condo. We went to the same private school and hung out with the same celeb kids. Gossip was a way of life as were the parties and clubs and yachts. Nothing changed until that day six months ago when my whole life unravelled. I mean the parties and clubs and yachts and friends were still the same, but my perfect life was left in tatters. I tried not to think about it when I was awake since I had no choice once I was asleep.

  We finally arrived back at our building and walked past the doorman, Clive. He held the door for us and said, “Nice to see you back, Ms. Everest.”

  "Thanks, Clive, good to be back," I smiled, and meant it. I missed my bed, and even though I would be staying with V for a couple of days, being back in my building made me feel more like myself.

  As we made our way up on the elevator, we stopped by my condo to grab some comfortable clothes from my dresser and then headed up one more floor to Vanessa's place. She unlocked the door, and I walked in like I owned the room before flopping down on the couch.

  Vanessa's condo was almost the same as mine as far as floor plans go, but her sense of style far exceeded my own. We may have grown up in this building with our families, but we had each purchased our condos on our 18th birthdays. Mine was simple and clean with white walls and beige carpeting throughout, just as it was when I bought it. V, on the other hand, had hired a designer and her place looked like pictures out of a magazine. It was colourful and exuberant, just like Vanessa. She used to continually drop design tips and magazine articles on me, suggesting I redo my condo, but she hasn't done that in the last six months. She knows me well enough to know I won't do it now. My condo is doomed to remain basic and bland. Sorry condo.

  V's couch was comfortable, and with a few blankets and pillows, I could sleep here if I had to, though I was hoping I wouldn't sleep. I would have to take it easy and stick to coffee to keep me awake for now.

  "Chinese or Mexican?" V asked, holding up takeout menus. I didn't even realize we had skipped lunch and were nearing dinner time.

  "Whatever you like, you know I love both." And it was true; I ate just about anything that was put in front of me. If I didn't have to cook it, I'd certainly eat it.

  As she went off to order, I flipped on the TV. The news came on, and suddenly I was pulled back six months as images of police tape and flashing lights came through into the quiet of the room. Another grisly murder. Another family slaughtered. Of the nine families wiped out so far, I was the only survivor. I was asleep and was left undisturbed in my bed. That was my last night of uninterrupted sleep. The police had a lot of questions about that but since they were still asking me questions when the fourth family was killed they finally believed my story.

  "Why are you watching that? Let's check out a movie! How about a romantic comedy?" V grabbed the remote and started scrolling through the movies available before quickly starting one up. Previews began, and there was no more thought of dead families. Mine or otherwise.

  We ate our chicken guy ding and eggrolls and watched our movie and finally said goodnight as I tucked into the blankets and pillows V had left on the couch for me. I wasn't going to sleep though. I was sure I could stay up for at least four more hours. I would hang on as long as I could anyway.

  Red. Everywhere. The yacht was docked at the marina as we had been out late and decided to stay and sleep on the yacht instead of making the drive home. My mother and father and older sister and I had a beautiful family day on the water but when I woke up early the next morning something terrible had happened. I couldn't hear anything, but my mouth was open in a silent scream. My eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing. They were all gone. Barely recognizable. I was
frozen. And then it was like time snapped, and I could hear screaming. So much screaming.

  "Lex! Oh my god wake up!" V was shaking me. Shit. I sat up and opened my eyes. My chest was heaving, and my face was wet with tears I'd shed while sleeping.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, my voice hoarse. Guess we know who was screaming.

  “Holy shit, you just about woke the whole building.” She paused, looking uncomfortable. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  V was more of a fair-weather friend. "It's nothing new. Don't worry about it," I said letting her off the hook.

  “Ok. Listen I have to get going to work but why don’t you stay here today, and we can go out to the club tonight. Just us. The new DJ is amazing.”

  “Sure,” I said with a forced smile. “That sounds great.”

  “Ok. You know, Justin will probably be there too,” she said with a wink.

  “Ugh.” Justin was my on again, off again boyfriend. Mostly off again for the last six months, despite his efforts.

  “Oh, come on. He misses you. Asks about you all the time.”

  "I'll bet." He never really cared what girl was on his arm as long as she was blonde and pretty and wealthy, which was fine with me back when the world was shiny but, these days I didn't exactly sparkle.

  "Alright, well, I'm out. See you at dinner time," V said as she grabbed her bag and headed for her corporate job at her daddy's firm.

  I had all day to sit and stare out the window. I was on sabbatical from my father's corporation. He started it when he was fresh out of college, and it grew overnight into a multimillion-dollar enterprise. It was run mostly by a board of directors, so I wasn't needed, but doing that was better than sitting around doing nothing. It also made me feel close to my father, and I know he would want me to carry on his life's work now that he was gone. I started working there fresh out of college, though my job was mostly just listening to other people talk. I wasn't exactly responsible for making big decisions.

  Staring out the window occupied me for most of the morning and when I checked the clock it was 11 and coffee was calling me. I got dressed and headed down to the lobby. Clive was there. I wondered if he slept at all.

  “Good morning, Ms. Everest,” Clive said with his usual smile

  “Good morning, Clive,” I said returning his smile.

  I exited the building and discovered it was suddenly winter. It wasn't snowing but felt like it could, so I hurried across the street and into my favourite coffee shop. The air was filled with the smell of strong caffeine and baked goods. "Thank God," I muttered under my breath.

  "Hey, Lex! Long-time no see! The usual?" Spencer owned the coffee shop, and as I was a loyal patron, he always remembered how I ordered my coffee. Extra sugar. Extra cream.

  "Thanks, Spence. Good to be back," I said, "Maybe vanilla dip doughnut too." I've got to keep my energy up.

  As I sat down with my cup of life and doughnut in my usual seat by the window, I noticed a man was watching me from across the shop. He was sitting at a table alone and as soon as I noticed him staring he looked down at the newspaper he had in front of him next to his coffee. I turned my attention to the window and let my mind wander for a while. It was nice to have the distractions again. Distraction was key. As I came back to myself, I could feel eyes on me and quickly looked up just as the man from across the shop looked away. I couldn't remember seeing him in here before today, but it was a big city. He was tall and dark and had a tattoo peeking out of the collar of his shirt. He looked like perhaps ex-army and mid 30's, but he didn't seem interested in more than looking at me and pretending not too. I didn't get any creepy vibes.

  I decided I was done with the coffee shop and headed back to the condo to pick out some clothes for the club tonight and check my email.

  When I got back to my apartment, I flipped on the lights and started up my laptop before I hopped in the shower, washing out my long blond hair then towelling off and brushing my teeth. I looked in the mirror and realized my green eyes seemed a bit dull, and my naturally pale complexion wasn't doing me any favours. As I dried my hair, I decided makeup wouldn't hurt. I don't usually bother with makeup, but since I was going out, it was worth the effort. When I was done in the bathroom, I went back to my office and opened my emails one by one and replied to any that were urgent. Mostly business proposals and meeting requests. We were thinking of branching out into new markets, but they could all wait till next week.

  Once I found some killer jeans and a loose slinky tank top to wear to the club, I went back to Vanessa's condo to wait for her to get home. It was barely three in the afternoon, but I zoned out staring at the wall, and the time flew by. I realized I'd been sitting for three hours so I got up and ordered dinner for V and I since she would be home any minute.

  “You won’t believe who I ran into today,” V said around a mouthful of pepperoni pizza “I was just walking down the street and bumped right into Hilary.”

  "Ugh, does she still have that crazy hairdo?" I mean really, her hair made her 5" taller, and she could put an eye out with it.

  "Yes," Vanessa laughed, "but she is engaged! She was gushing over this oil tycoon she met on vacation two months ago, and they're getting married in the spring."

  "Wow. Guess we won't be seeing Hilary at the club anymore," I said, not wholly disappointed. Hilary was always smiling and happy. I was sure it was an act. Nobody can be that cheerful all the time.

  "Doubt it. She seemed happy though," V said. Of course, she did.

  "That's nice," I said. It wasn't that I wasn't pleased for Hilary. She deserved happiness as much as anyone else. It just seemed everyone was moving on with their lives and I was frozen in time.

  Next thing I knew we were on our way to the club. It wasn't just any club; it was an exclusive club called Chilled. We liked to be able to let loose and not worry about tabloids snapping pictures of us. So, the chauffeur let us off at the front and reporters got their pictures of us looking glamorous and mostly wholesome, but then the chauffeurs picked us up at the back, out of sight. It was an excellent system as far as I was concerned.

  Friday night was always busy at Chilled. All the regulars were there, but I noticed some new faces too. The music was loud, and the drinks were flowing. V and I got some drinks and headed to our usual seats. The DJ started to play some of our favourite songs, so we hit the dance floor and danced for nearly an hour before coming up for air and refreshments. Just as we sat back down in our booth, I saw him out of the corner of my eye. It was the same man from the coffee shop. And he was watching me. Super weird. I tried to ignore him, but eventually gave up and looked at him.

  This time he didn't look away. His eyes were grey; I thought they were brown in the coffee shop, but now it was apparent they were steel grey. Weird. Before I could ponder that further, a large body blocked my view. I looked up to find Justin smiling down at me.

  “Hello,” he said with a cocky smile, “Haven’t seen you a long time, how have you been?”

  “Justin. I’m good,” I said trying to discourage his interest.

  "Great. Great. I just wanted to say hey. You know. Maybe we could catch up?" Justin asked, looking far too hopeful.

  “I don’t know, I’m pretty busy,” I said hoping he would just wander off.

  "Maybe next week then," he said, "I'll call you."

  “I’m pretty busy next week too.” He apparently wasn’t going to take the hint.

  “Sure. Sure. I’ll call you though.” He gave me a smarmy smile as he turned to gather the blonde from the table across the room. God

  “Wow, he’s a douche,” I said to V as I watched him go.

  "Ya, maybe," V replied, and we burst out laughing. No idea what I ever saw in him. I mean sure he's hot and wealthy, but it pretty much ends there.

  I looked across to where the coffee shop man had been sitting, but his table was empty. Forgetting all about him, V and I kept dancing till very late or maybe it was early before we called for our ride and headed home. I
decided to head back to my bed since I didn't want to scare V again with my nightmares.

  The next few days flew by. I don't know what I did but time was moving, and suddenly it was Tuesday afternoon and time came to a screeching halt. Tuesday. Afternoon. It was crawling towards evening when I finally decided I should hit the gym and start getting back in shape. Distraction = key.

  The condo had a full gym in it, but the gym I preferred was Snazzy’s gym across town. "Snazzy" himself was an ex-marine and a retired boxer. He took no shit from those young jocks that frequented his establishment but was always kind to me. He helped me through those awkward teenage years when I just needed an outlet for my teen angst. I don't remember the first time my father took me to meet Snazzy, but he has always been a part of my life and taught me everything I know about boxing. I had no interest in actual boxing, but as self-defense, it was sufficient to give me confidence in most situations, and there was nothing better than pounding the crap out of a punching bag. Some of the guys taught me a bit of kickboxing too, over the years.

  "Hey, Lex!" Snazzy called from the other side of the boxing ring where two large men were sparring.

  “S’up Snaz!” I called back before hitting the change room and switching into my work out gear. There were very few women who trained at Snazzy’s, but the women's change room was tidy and always had fresh towels.

  Snazzy’s gym was one of the oldest and largest in the area. It was a converted warehouse with a high ceiling and only a few windows at the front that looked out on the street. There were three boxing rings, a full weight lifting area with free weights and machines, speed bags and punching bags all around the perimeter and a small running track just beyond the punching bags.

  After I did some light jogging and quick stretching, I started in on one of the available speed bags to get warmed up. The rhythm and sound blocked out all other noise, and I lost myself in the activity. It seemed like only a minute or so before Snazzy tapped me out of my daze and I stopped the bag and turned to him. "You ready for the big bag?" he asked. Of course, he already knew the answer.