by Izzy Shows
I wanted to run. I had never wanted to run so much as I wanted to run right now.
"There are many names for me..." The words came out a hissed whisper, yet still they hurt my ears. "But you have spoken to the Fae. His name for me is Utakar." The way it said 'Utakar' sounded so dismissive, as if this wasn't a word fit for what it was. And maybe it wasn't.
Wait, hold on, rewind and let me digest that. This was the Utakar? This was...this was the creature? The unknown so dangerous that Kailan had run from it? It looked like something out of a bad horror movie, the kind where you laugh at it instead of being afraid. Hell, it had freaked me out, but it didn't live up to what I had been expecting.
"What do you call yourself?" I couldn't help but ask, couldn't keep the curiosity from coming out.
Its head tilted to the side, and I saw a glimmer pass through its hollow eyes. "You...are curious...this is good." And then it said its name, but for the life of me it was the most incomprehensible sound I had ever heard, there was no way I would ever be able to repeat it. "Your mortal tongue...would not do it justice. You have forgotten...how to speak my name, but soon...you will learn. You will...be taught. You will all....be taught."
A shudder ran down my spine at its words. That didn't sound good, not for me, and not for humanity.
"All right, listen, this has been fun, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut our little meeting short," I said, backing away again.
"Going...so soon?" It jerked forward, closing the distance I had put between us. "But...I have a proposal...for you."
I lifted my chain, narrowing my eyes as I stared down the creature. "What proposal?"
That damned curiosity again, it was going to get me into too much trouble. But I couldn't help myself.
"Give me...the Fae...and nothing will harm you. Nothing...for the rest...of your days. Give me the Fae, Blair."
My blood ran cold as I realised what had been right in front of me, though the horror of seeing this creature had stopped me from focusing on it. The creature had used my name.
My name. How did it know my name? Did it know my last name, could it call me?
Did it know my true name?
"How do you know my name?" Now, it was my turn to whisper, my words so soft as to barely be heard. Somehow, I didn't think the thing would have a hard time understanding me. I didn't think it used its ears to listen.
It craned its head to the side. "I know...many things. I could...share them...with you. Give me the Fae."
"Fuck off," I said, scowling at it. It wasn't going to answer my questions, well it could go to hell for all I cared. I wasn't trading Kailan, hadn't considered it for even a minute. Monsters didn't hold up their end of bargains, and even if they could, I wasn't the type of person to make a trade for anything. I was too stubborn for that.
And then the thing laughed at me, and if I had thought its voice was horrible, well...this was a thousand times worse. I resisted the urge to cover my ears with my hands, though Gods, I wanted to.
It jerked again, until it was inches away from me, reaching out with its human hand and caressing my cheek. My skin crawled, and I turned my head away, trying to escape that hand.
"You...do not stand a chance, little mage."
Well, fuck that. I jerked my head back to stare it dead in the eyes, ignoring the revulsion I felt when my skin made contact with its hand again. "Glacio," I said, my voice calm, even. Gods, it hurt, but I wasn't going to let this thing see me in pain. I kept a passive look on my face even as ice filled my veins, turning my insides to permafrost and freezing every nerve receptor in my body, until it appeared as frost on my cheek.
Encasing the Utakar's hand there, holding it hostage.
Its eyes widened and it jerked on its hand, but it did no good, I had it now.
"Fuck you," I said, pulling my right arm back and punching the Utakar in its nose at the same time as I released the ice spell, sending it sprawling into the ground. "You can take your proposals and your little intimidation tactics and shove them right back up your arse, ‘cause I ain't having it."
I turned and stomped back into my house, slamming the door behind me—though I immediately put the wards up without wasting a single second. I might have got one lucky punch in, but I wasn't going to kid myself into thinking that meant anything.
At least I could breathe now.
34
"What was that?"
I spun around, my heart still hammering in my chest, and saw Kailan sitting on the couch. Right where I left him. Of course.
There was no Utakar in the house, that was just crazy thinking.
"Um..." I paced from one side of the living room to the other and back again, keyed up now with energy that wasn't going to go anywhere. "That was, uh, that was the Utakar."
Kailan shot up straight from his previously slumped position, on red alert.
"What, it was here? And you're alive?"
I nodded, dragging a hand through my hair. "Yeah, it...it wanted you."
His face turned to stone as he nodded. "Of course it did."
"I suppose you were right about that whole 'locking onto a target' thing. It offered me a deal, you for safety for the rest of my life."
"A good deal."
"I told him to shove it."
He grinned then, visibly relaxing. Clearly, he had considered the possibility of me accepting the bargain and having to fight me for his life. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it," I said, shrugging. "Seriously, don't. Or else I'll feel awkward and then maybe I'll go back out there and take it up on that offer."
He raised his hands. "Fine, fine, mum's the word."
I kept up my pacing, chewing on a fingernail as I went, trying to figure out what I was going to do but unable to think through the buzzing in my head. I punched it. I punched an unknown monster from an unknown dimension.
It was in my backyard and I fucking punched it. Who the hell just punches things?
"I punched it," I said, because that was all I could think and therefore all I could contribute. "I punched the Utakar."
Kailan tipped his head back and let out a roaring laugh, clapping his hands together. "You punched it? Seriously? Oh, that is fantastic. I wish I could have seen that. Will you do it again, when we fight it?"
I shrugged. "I punch a lot of things..."
"I cannot wait to tell Herne this story. The little mage from London punched the mighty Utakar. Ah, what songs we will sing, when this is all over."
I scowled at him. "Little mage?"
"You are focusing on the wrong aspect, Blair. We are going to sing of you!"
"Don't sing about me if you're just going to call me little," I said. "I am not little. I am taller than average!" I was a lot taller than most girls, though most guys still had me beat, so I wasn't used to being called little by any means.
"Ah, but that is not the point. It sounds so much better this way."
I rolled my eyes, slowing down my pacing as I came down from my adrenaline high. "OK. So. We've got a punched Utakar that's going to want revenge, I'm guessing. It's not just going to take this lying down. Which means we're no longer dealing with 'locked on one target,' which means me going out is just as dangerous as you. I'd say we've run out of time to do research and need to get a battle plan put together."
His eyes gleamed dangerously. "Excellent. I have been waiting for this moment."
I sat down in the chair across from the couch, leaning forward and placing my elbows on my knees. "Let's go over everything we know."
He scooted forward, though he didn't mirror my position.
"We know that it is a hunter of a magnitude we have not seen before, and that it has marked both of us," he said.
I closed my eyes, rubbing my fingers along the bridge of my nose. "Yes, thank you, I was hoping for a bit more than that. Perhaps I have some information, although I can't be entirely certain that it's true," I said, nervous now that I would be wrong. But it was the only thing that made sense, as crazy as
it was.
"What is it?" he said.
"What I've been working on, what I haven't told you about, is a string of werewolf attacks in London. Or, to correct myself, what appeared to be werewolf attacks."
He narrowed his eyes. "Where are you going with this? I don't see the relevance. I understand why you didn't want to share your case with me, but this sounds like the sort of thing you're equipped to handle."
I held up a hand. "It would be, normally, except that werewolves are not supposed to be around anymore. And I've just had it confirmed that it is not, in fact, a werewolf we are dealing with. I've already ruled out it being a shifter, so that's out. Which leaves one logical conclusion. The Utakar is the wolf that's been attacking. It's not that much of a stretch, considering the wolves that attacked us when we went to investigate the place you were attacked."
"The Utakar can shape shift," he said, looking down at the floor now. "What else can it do?"
"I don't know, but I have a feeling I can handle it," I said, starting to get excited. "When I was out the other day, I was attacked by what I thought at the time was a werewolf, and I fought it. I injured it, and it fled the scene. I think I could win."
He looked up at me then, suspicion and disbelief warring in his eyes. "Then why did you not do so now?"
Good question. "I may have panicked a little bit," I said, capturing my lip between my teeth and worrying at it. "It... I wasn't expecting what it looked like, what it sounded like. I didn't have any of my gear on me, and all I could think about was getting inside the house."
"You were attacked by the Utakar once before, it laid you out. I don't understand what was different this time."
"That was a mental attack," I said, though a frown had graced my features. He had a point there. "I don't know why it wouldn't have...oh...well, that does make sense. If it was trying to keep up the pretense that it was a werewolf, then it wouldn't have wanted to reveal itself with another mental attack. I'll just have to make sure my shields are doubly strong."
Kailan was quiet for several minutes, not quite meeting my eyes once more.
I could feel his doubt like it was a palpable thing, sitting in the room between us. He didn't think I could do it, but I had conviction. Didn't I always come out on top? This was my thing, unbeatable odds and all. This was exactly why he picked me, because I was the underdog that always came out on top. Well, I didn't know if you could count the fight with Lilith as 'coming out on top,' but I assumed he didn't know about that.
And I had almost killed her, would have if Mal hadn't intervened. That had to count for something.
I drew in a breath through my nose, exhaling from my mouth. "Look, I know it's risky, but at the end of the day, this is what you wanted. For me to step into the ring with big daddy and hopefully take him down, or for both of us to die and for the Utakar to be satisfied with that. That's all I'm suggesting we do, go into the ring."
He nodded his head. "I suppose I had thought we would be more prepared for this than we are," he said.
I could understand that. I would always wish that I was more prepared than I was, and as a mage—as someone who had the potential to be a Wizard—I knew that I should be better at being prepared. Magic wasn't good the way that I used it. I was a bruiser, I threw brute strength around more often than not, I didn't have the finesse that others did. Deacon had more of it in his pinky finger than me, but look where that got him. Brute strength had won out in the end on that fight, which was why I didn't see it as so much of a downside that I stuck to it.
"How are we going to do it?" Kailan finally looked up at me again, focusing his eyes on me once more. "We need a plan."
"That we do," I said. "I've only ever done the 'plan' thing once, and it didn't go so well for me, so forgive me if I don't put a lot of stock in it, but we'll make one all the same. I think we should call the Utakar out into the field here, either that or one of the campgrounds. Probably best to do it at night, less of a chance that anyone will be driving about to see what's going on. People don't generally come down this road, but all the same, I'd prefer to keep everything as contained as possible. And then...we fight it," I said, shrugging.
He stared at me, opening his mouth, and then shutting it. He tilted his head to the side, his brow furrowed. "That's it? That's your plan? Fight it?"
I pursed my lips, darting my eyes to one corner of the room before I looked at him again. "Do you have a better plan?"
"If I did, why would I be here? Can you not do something a little more...magical?"
I groaned, dropping my head into my hands. "Like what, Kailan? You may have noticed, but I'm not a trained Wizard. I don't know all the smoke and mirror techniques they teach you in Wizard school. I punch things."
He chuckled. "Yes, I did notice that. Fine, fine, you said yourself you did not put much stock in plans, and I suppose that is for the best. The best made plans...fall apart. How are we going to call it out then?"
I frowned. "That...I have no idea."
Now, it was his turn to groan. He shook his head, standing up. "I'm beginning to see why you don't make plans."
"In my defense, I'm usually busting up someone else's plan," I said, glaring at him. "And I usually have a partner who has more ideas than you."
Mal had been the mastermind behind the last plan, and as much as I didn't want to bring him into anything, I wished I had him here to lend his mind. He would know what to do, if only I had told him what was going on.
I was full of secrets this go around, but I couldn't seem to stop myself from keeping them. Mal had enough on his plate without me dumping the Utakar on it as well. It just wasn't any of his business.
"Wait!" I cried, jumping up the moment an idea came to me. "I've got it, oh! I've got it, Kailan, you're going to love this, it's perfect, it's fool proof." I did a little dance, happy to have finally made my mind to work for me.
"Well, what is it?" he said, lifting a brow as he took in my dance.
I scowled at him. "Don't look at me like that."
"Tell me what your idea is."
"We call it by name," I said gleefully.
The look on his face clearly communicated that he thought me the dumbest person on the planet. Well, that was just rude.
"We don't know its name, Blair," he said, slowly, as if he were talking to a child.
"You may not know it, but I do," I said, smirking. "It told me its name. It probably didn't think I'd be able to remember it, I know for a fact that it doesn't think I can pronounce it." I paused, the smile falling off my lips. "I may not be able to pronounce it."
He sighed. "Well, go on, try."
I snorted. "Are you kidding? No way, I'm not saying its name until we're good and ready to catch it, that's for damn sure."
"You have to say it three times in a row before it can be called," he said, again explaining to me as if I didn't already know this.
"I know that," I said, my hands balled into fists, barely restraining myself from growling at him. "But I'm not taking any chances. We don't know much about it, we don't know what it can do. I'm not saying its name until we've got everything in place."
"Fine," he said, sighing again. "We'll call it out tomorrow night, after we've both had a day to rest and prepare."
I grinned. Finally. A plan.
Sort of.
35
My phone rang just then, disrupting our planning moment, and really jarring me out of my head space. I stared at my phone on the coffee table as if it was an alien thing, needing to switch gears from monster hunter to normal girl. I snatched it up and pressed it to my ear.
"Sheach."
"I need you," Mal said, his voice urgent, desperate, like I'd never heard him before. Fear trickled down my spine, freezing me in place. What had happened?
"What's wrong?" I was already grabbing my harness, latching it around my thighs as best I could with one hand. "Where are you?"
I scooped my rings off the table and started sliding them on.
; "Lilith's gone."
"Fuck!"
This was worth panicking about. I snatched my wind chain off the table, slid it around my wrist, grabbed my keys, and waved a hand at Kailan before I bolted out the door.
"How quickly can you get there?"
"I'm almost in my car, as fast as traffic allows," I said.
"Hurry," he said, and hung up on me. I stashed my phone in my pocket and jumped into the car, praying that it would start without issue. I had car troubles too often for my own liking, and now was not the time for that.
Blessedly, the car started, and I peeled away from the kerb faster than I normally would have. I drove like Finn, if there was a comparison to be made, darting through traffic as fast as I possibly could. I didn't want a cop pulling me over, but I also didn't want to waste valuable time.
It was a hard trade off to make, I did as best I could.
Twenty minutes passed before I pulled into the parking lot of Mal's building—an amount of time that felt too long, but also shouldn't have been possible considering the distance between my house and his home. I'd broken a law or two, but who cared.
I leapt from the car and raced in, buzzing the lift. There wasn't time to mess with the stairs, no matter how much safer they would be for me. I was ready to tear down the ceiling and climb up by the time the lift finally arrived at the penthouse flat, but finally it did.
Mal was not waiting on the other side.
I hurried into his place and found him pacing in the living room, a glass of brandy in his shaking hand.
"Mal?" My voice was soft, tentative. I didn't know what I was dealing with just yet, and knew that I had to be careful. The littlest thing could set him off just now, and I didn't want to do that.
His head jerked, as if he'd just realised I was in the room, and he looked at me with wild eyes.
"She's gone," he said, and the way he said it felt like a punch to the gut. I walked over to him, my gait cautious, as if I were approaching a wild animal.
"We'll find her," I said, willing conviction into my voice. "You and I are going to find her, and everything is going to be OK."
