“We … would?”
Even the fabricated thoughts in her head were fading. I should know. I’ve been down this road when Lilith had me charmed. And like Alice, I too started to question the things Lilith made me do.
There was nothing else for me do, Alice was going to turn on me soon. I needed to keep using her until the time was up, or I burned down the tree that was controlling her. If only I had my fire talents available.
That’s when I realized I wouldn’t need it, as I looked to the still burning plant life back from where we left.
I might not be able to start new fires, but I could help spread the existing ones.
We ran back to the trees, well, I ran back, Alice kept stopping to question why she was helping me. When I arrived back, I grabbed a couple of branches snapped off the trees still not burned by the fires. I approached a nice bonfire of burning fae flowers, sticking the branches into it until it caught. We were ready to spread the flames. I handed Alice one of my burning sticks.
She just looked at me like I was insane.
Then she swatted it out from hand, with the look of pure rage on her frowning face. “We’ve have had enough of your trickery!” Alice yelled.
The charm faded. And here I thought I had another ten minutes with her. Now I had ten minutes to get this shit done. I grabbed one of my flaming sticks and ran, laughing internally at the realization that I was forced to seek a nonviolent way of dealing with someone that wanted me dead. Seriously, all I needed to do was poke her with the stick and that’d be it, she’d go up in flames and my pursuing plant vixen would be over.
By now all the fae in the park were alerted to my presence if the Dryad Alice had sent away returning to chase me was of any indication. Mandragoras sprouted from the flower bushes they grew from, and they too joined in the chase. Thank fuck they had no humans to turn into zombies.
I ran to the main tree, the living one that controlled Alice. I just needed to throw my fire stick into its branches and leaves above and let Mother Nature do the rest. Six vines popping out from the ground ahead forced me to stop. Another three grew out behind me, while the marching Dryad returned with spears and bows in their hands.
I was blocked from the tree, blocked from Alice approaching me from behind, and if I hesitated any longer, will be blocked from continuing to live when the vines pulled me apart. I made a sprint to the left and kept on running, my body was moving faster than my heart punching the inside of my chest.
“You can’t escape us!” Alice mockingly shouted. “This city will be ours! Demons will be purged from it!”
“I got the demon problem under control,” I shouted back, while my aimless flee continued. “I don’t need your fucking help!”
“You? Don’t make us laugh, you’ll just spawn more!” Alice retorted, the sound of her voice was behind me, meaning she was still chasing. “You can’t be trusted, queen of the demons!”
Being stuck as a Dryad sucked, like a lot. I can’t switch elements, only use earth elemental talents. Like stone skin.
I stopped when I approached the first set of trees and bushes I set on fire. I channeled nearly all of the limited Lux energy I had absorbed into hardening my flesh with stone skin. Then, I leaped into the fires of the bush.
The pain was brutal, but not lethal, not right away. Earth might be weak to fire, but stone skin kept me alive and made the pain, as bad as it was, manageable. I stood there watching the flames travel up my naked plant body, protected by solid rock. I didn’t pass out or break out sweating because of the heat. With every flicker of flames burning me, weakened my stone skin, and with it getting weakened, I was forced to channel more Lux energy into it, fortifying it.
Alice and her Dryad minions cornered me, all them looking at me confused as to why someone attuned to earth would leap into burning flames.
“What is she doing?” one of the Dryad asked.
“It’s a trick, it has to be,” Alice said. “Everyone, stay back!”
It was a trick all right. I was burning the Lux energy out of me, just like how I washed it out of me when I leaped into the lake. Thinking back to that experience gave me an idea, a way out of this fucked up mess, a way to gain access to the elements given my restrictions.
My body was covered in flames when I leaped out from the bush, the fires were burning away at my Dryad body, eating away the Lux energy I spent to keep my stone skin active. Alice and her Dryad laughed at me as I ran, all of them inching away as I neared. Nobody wanted to get burned, they all knew fire was their weakness, and mine too. Because they were too puzzled at my actions and fearful of tackling me, they weren’t very quick to realize I had made a flaming dash to the remaining living trees.
Vines ripped out through the ground, trying to bind me, they all burned in an instant. The pain grew worse as I allowed my body to burn. I ignored it, I had to make it to the tree, and give it a nice big hug while my stone skin kept me alive.
I made it to the tree at last. My body became the flaming stick I wanted to use as I held the tree’s trunk long enough to spread my flames into it. The process was repeated with the other living trees nearby, as I made a quick dash and flaming embrace with them. When the Dryad cornered me again, the last tree had been set on fire, and my stone skin crumbled. I ran out of Lux energy and my Umbral form returned, the greenness of my temporary Dryad form faded. Before the flames covering my body burned me, I ignited my Umbral and attuned to fire.
I stood naked, the fires of hell burning me, but not doing any damage. The Dryad with throwing spears took aim, ready to seek revenge for the trees I set on fire. Alice stood ahead of them, she was still under control of her tree, and it hadn’t been completely consumed by flames yet.
She had minutes left before the real Alice regained controlled and the Dryad around them returned to normal humans. And I had minutes left before the aura of Lux energy tried to kill me like it tried to earlier. Looking in the distance, I saw more living trees. Running up to burn them all wasn’t going to happen, I needed another way to end this. I needed another element that would spread faster than fire. Or, everyone here, taking in a lot of Umbral energy.
“Didn’t think that through did you, Araya?” Alice said, taunting me. “The Lux here will consume your vile soul.”
“Yeah, it is,” I groaned. “Wanna hook me up with some of your Lux stuff again?”
“Ha!”
The smug grin on her face said it all. She won. Well, if she won, I might as well congratulate her.
“Okay, you guys got me,” I said, putting my hands up in surrender. “Let me redeem myself.”
I attuned to water, and my flaming coat was replaced with a shimmer of frost, icicles, and water raining off my nude body. Oh, and my tattoos came back, now that the Dryad green skin had finally faded.
I got to my knees and looked up as a rainclouds appeared overhead, thanks to my water talents. A downpour of rain fell from the skies, drenching everything it touched, including the flames I created. Smiles and laughs were shared with the Dryad, even Alice, as much as she tried to resist it. Alice smiled when she saw her living tree had its flames put out.
There were no smiles on my face, the Lux energy in the air worked like the poison-like force it was, killing me just for being in contact with it.
“You’re aiding us?” Alice asked.
“Like I said, I’m finished,” I said, sounding all depressed. “You guys won, enjoy the victory.”
I assure you, this is all part of the plan, don’t you worry.
“We never suspected you of being so noble,” Alice said. “Thank you—”
Alice collapsed to the grass, her body twitched violently. She was joined by the Dryad with her, all of them crashing to the ground screaming in pain, twitching. The flowers ahead of me turned black, withered, and grew limp. The living trees weren’t so living anymore, their leaves turning into dust that washed away with the rain I created as did their tree bark a minute later. The Lux energy that worked to kill me, en
ded up working to annoy me, and then wasn’t there at all.
Alice pushed her body up, her twitching face looked at me. “What … did … you do?”
I pointed a finger up at the rainclouds. “My talents made the rain,” I said. “I’m not in fae mode anymore, this is Umbral rain. And all the plants are taking it in.”
The rainwater was like poison to them, like how the Lux energy in the air was like poison to me as with the lake I jumped into. The fae based trees, flowers, and plants that were changing Central Park drank the rainwater and poisoned themselves. With each plant dead, meant less Lux energy was released into the park as a byproduct.
Eventually, the barrier separating the park from the city evaporated, the real world was shown as a rainstorm that hovered exclusively over Central Park dumped a torrential downpour of rain.
When the last Lux tree died, the bodies of Alice and the fallen Dryad returned to normal. They pushed themselves up, climbing back to their feet a moment later, embarrassed at their nakedness, grateful they were still alive.
“That was slick,” Alice, now free of the Dryad, said to me.
She moved to me wrapping me in her arms with an embrace. Our wet naked bodies stood in the drenching rain behind a tree that was slowly turning into dust. The embrace broke when she coughed suddenly. She might have been free of the Dryad, but Alice was still a fae, just a different type.
“Let’s get you out of the rain,” I said to her. “Before the Umbral in it kills you.”
Epilogue
Central Park got the thumbs up for people to return to it from the FBI’s paranormal team. And the folks that got snatched up by the fae? They’ve all gone back to living their normal lives, trying to forget about the trauma they went through. The FBI took credit for everything in the end, even the rescue of the civilians. Yep, the same fae-possessed agents that were responsible for this got called the heroes. Nobody knew about the vigilante half succubus that risked her life more times than she’d like to get them out.
I’d protest about it and argue my side of the story, but members of the fae still had select agents within the FBI’s paranormal team possessed. I decided it was best not to get in their face about anything just yet, until I had more evidence stacked against them and the assurance they didn’t have other people high up in the government possessed. And with the cover-ups that’d been happening over the last year, I’m going to assume they do.
Emily and I took a stroll together, walking through Central Park, checking out people and tourists doing the same, enjoying the sights and sounds. We weren’t there for a casual afternoon stroll however, we were there to double check and make sure none of the strange fae flowers and trees survived. Yeah, the FBI did clear the park to be safe, but neither of us trusted them. Neither of us found any signs the fae had been there after two hours.
“Cat Sith are fae,” she said, breaking the silence that fell between us, then sighed. “Who’d a thunk it?”
“Not me.”
“Now I really need to get into Asmodeus’ head,” she said. “Vladimir … he didn’t just learn about the demon world from my father, the fae one too.”
“You think he’s still alive, don’t you? Your father?”
“Yeah, well, I hope so. He’s been around for centuries; maybe he’s got some say with the way fae operate? Maybe he can prevent a war.”
There were too many maybes and not enough for sures. I didn’t like the situation. There was more fae out there, and all we did was show them they needed bigger guns to fight me with all the fae killed recently … including Alice’s brother.
“Reika.” A woman’s voice called out to me in the distance.
I spun, locking my eyes on Alice waving to me. Speak of the devil, eh? Alice caught up with us, and the three of us walked past the hills where the final battle had taken place. I caught her gazing into that area of the park, almost mesmerized by it.
“Making sure that tree is dead, huh?” I asked Alice.
“Was hoping I’d see my brother show up,” Alice said, her voice sounding grim.
I grimaced. Alice’s brother Giovanni won’t be showing up anytime soon and only I knew why. “I’m … still searching,” I lied to her.
She nodded making a half smile. “Thank you.”
She believed me and so did Emily who gave a nod in confirmation. I felt like shit for knowing that.
“Not sure why he’d up and leave my place after we got him,” I said to her.
I was still sticking to that cover story about Giovanni’s current disappearance. Alice, her family, and Emily, they were all in the dark about my dark lustful half. All Alice and Emily knew was that we pulled him into our office from the club, using my return home portal, and then he ‘escaped’ when my guard was lowered.
“If … if worse comes to and he’s dead,” Alice said. “I want you to make sure that the person responsible suffers. Make them lose everything important to them.”
It was time for a subject change. I was no position to make myself pay and suffer for a mistake. Even though I probably did deserve it. “What will the fae do now?”
“I’ll speak with my parents about that,” she said. “They were nobles in the Lux before they came here to observe.”
We went our separate ways a moment later. Hopefully, Alice can get through to her family, and then through to the leaders of the fae, whoever they are. Alice and her folks should know by now humans aren’t the threat, neither is myself and Emily, even though we don’t side with the fae, that and Emily is half fae. That’s got to be worth something right?
It was up to Alice to get the word to her folks so they can get the rest of the fae in the Lux in line. They needed to stop beating the war drum and sending their people to possess members of the FBI and other government agencies and wage their war on Earth, right here in New York City.
On a good note, Alice was right about the payment for taking this case. The Russians weren’t a threat anymore. Kind of hard to be one, when you lose so many men and demons allied with you with one swift blow by the fae.
My phone beeped when I went to make my way back to my car. Pulling it out of my pocket, I saw Gabe’s name and a text message he sent. He wanted to meet up in private.
I met up with Gabe later that afternoon, when the orange sun had long started its slow dip behind the towers of New York. We met up at a cemetery and he guided me past the years old tombstones. He was silent the whole time. I couldn’t read him at all.
“Gabe,” I said to him. “You’re creeping me out, man.”
“Sorry,” he muttered, keeping his eyes forward on our walk. “Just trying to think of how to approach this.”
Gabe stopped at a grave, kneeling in front of it. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but I was thinking about what I’d be doing within the next ten minutes. Was Gabe here to betray me? Make me dig my own grave? No, that wasn’t his style. Gabe brought me here for something else, he wanted to confess something.
I saw he remained focused on the grave he kneeled at. I read the name of the departed sleeping below us. Claire Wilson.
“Someone you knew, I take it?” I said.
Gabe nodded, his eye was full of sorrow as he brushed his hand across the tombstone. “She was my wife.”
“That sucks.” Though, now I knew the full story of the woman in the pictures at his house when I was there last summer.
“She was killed trying to protect me on a mission,” Gabe said.
“Didn’t know she was in the military.”
“She wasn’t.” He stood up, placing his hands into his jacket’s pockets, with the sun setting behind us the air was starting to get cold. “We were tracking individuals with links to the Umbral.” Gabe faced me, he was making a grimace when he finally revealed. “She was … she was fae … And so am I.”
I couldn’t hear the wind blowing through the trees, or the cars in the street. The whole city went silent like someone hit the mute button on my life.
Gabe was a fa
e.
“You’re one of them …” I said, bracing myself, not knowing what would come next.
“My host was about to be killed in Iraq,” he said. “I took over his body, healed him, and gave him a second chance. My wife from the Lux joined me, possessing my host’s wife. We worked as scouts for the Lux alongside other fae that took hosts and came to New York.”
“Ah, so the truth at last,” I said, crossing my arms. “You’re a fucking fae.”
Gabe, over a year ago, when I didn’t know who I was and why I had these abilities, approached, and took a lot of interest in me. As the days went on, it was pretty clear he knew more about the paranormal world than anyone else, just kept his lips shut. He also had an enchanted pistol. And Henry, shit, he indirectly witnessed Gabe getting possessed by a fae and didn’t know any better. It all made sense now.
Gabe continued. “Had to keep a lid on things and make sure no other fae living in the city had to pay the price she did. That’s why I had all the secrets.”
“Why are you here?”
“A number of us were sent to here after learning someone on Earth found a way to bring back demonic possession,” he said. “The Lux and the Umbral are at war, Reika. The last thing we needed was demons controlling Earth and using its resources to attack us.”
“Pretty sure they aren’t many demons left after today.”
“There’s you.”
“I’m not on their side.”
“With your violent past, my superiors back in the Lux aren’t convinced. Throw in what you did at Central Park, and you’ve become public enemy number one to the fae. They will come after you again, as long as they think you’re responsible for bringing demons to the city—”
“I’m not!” I interjected, my voice was probably loud enough for the dead below us and the grim reaper to hear.
“You’re a byproduct of Schubert’s most ambitious experiment, the man responsible for soul contamination. You are in their eyes.”
“So where does all that leave us?”
“We need to find a way to stop all demons and fae from possessing the population,” Gabe said.
Deception of the Demon Girl Page 19
