by Jeff Hale
“First lesson of fighting. You only get to lose once!” he growled before pulling the blades upwards. I felt the blades slice through my very being. I screamed, and everything went red, then black.
I awoke, lying on the floor of Aerick’s room still. I felt weak, cold, and I could see the pool of my own blood spreading out from either side of me. I tried to drag myself through the door and found that I didn’t have the muscle control to do anything. I tried to scream, and couldn’t. The pain was excruciating. That was good. At least for now, I was still alive.
I idly thought about the possible damage done to my corset. I would probably have to replace it. Great. It had been hard enough to find this thing to begin with. Maybe I could repair it somehow. Doubtful. Those blades had done a lot of damage to me, probably had done more to the corset. I heard footsteps, and a pair of ragged black sneakers appeared in my field of vision. I feebly tried to look up. Dave knelt down next to me.
“She’s here! Get up here, Lucien! I don’t think she’s gonna live much longer!” He had a look of horror on his face and he seemed to be unsure as to what to do.
Lucien appeared and I had the sudden urge to laugh. I could see the Phoenix around him, flapping its wings idly, as if trying to create a constant breeze. His hair seemed to flow with that breeze.
“The bird is what makes your hair move,” I whispered hoarsely.
He just smiled at me and gently picked me up. He took me to a room downstairs and laid me on a very comfortable bed. He reached into a cabinet that was next to the bed and pulled out several vials. He poured each one into my mouth. I tried to cough them up but he forced me to swallow them; they smelled like sewage, and tasted far worse. After the last one was downed, I felt myself slipping into blackness.
I awoke again, this time in a much more comfortable bed. There was an older CD player on the nightstand and a book of CDs nearby. I could tell they were mine because they had my ‘VM’ stickers on them. I picked up the booklet and flipped through the CDs, settling on Type-O Negative and putting it in the player. Every movement hurt like hell. I looked down at myself. My corset had been stripped off of me and I was topless with the exception of the bandages that seemed to be holding me together. The injuries started at my stomach, and traveled all the way up to my shoulders. He had nearly sliced me into three separate parts.
I thought again about the attack. He hadn’t been himself, of that much I was sure. He wasn’t even the same person we had confronted at the Purity Movement building; he was far more gone. Something had completely snapped in him and I wasn’t even sure if he’d ever be the same. The idea of not being able to see Serena had driven him completely over the edge. Just like I had feared it would. A soft knock came at my door.
“Come in,” I said as loudly as I could. The door opened a crack and I was surprised to see Serena standing there. She was in a dark green house robe and slippers. Her hair was pulled back into a pair of loose ponytails.
“I heard ya were hurt, and could use some company,” she said softly.
“Sure,” I said, my voice still hoarse. I reached over, and turned down the CD player.
“I’m…” she began.
“Serena. I know.” I motioned for her to come in and sit on the bed. There was plenty of room, and I had no objections with a girl as pretty as her sitting close to me. She might be Aerick’s girl, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate her.
She came in tentatively, and sat on the bed. She had an aura of shyness about her that only made her more attractive and I had an easy time seeing what it was Aerick loved about her. Despite my wounds, part of me wanted to touch her, do more than touch her. I quelled those thoughts; they would hurt both her and me more than they would do any good. Besides, I would never hurt Aerick like that.
“I… I remember ya. Ya tried ta help me,” she said, her voice still quiet.
“Then you did see me?”
“Yes. You and Dave. Is it true?”
“Is what true?”
“Is Travis really Dave’s cousin?”
“Yeah. It’s true.”
“Wow. Small world.”
“Yeah.”
“So… uh how’d ya get hurt? They wouldn’t tell me, somethin’ about it being up ta ya ta tell me?”
“It was…” I almost lied to her, but decided against it. “Aerick attacked me. But he wasn’t himself. You seem to be feeling better, how long have I been out?”
“Oh. I’m so sorry. You’ve been out fer a couple of days now.” She looked down at the floor, then back to me. “I didn’t think he was capable of… that is, unless he thought ya were a threat ta him or me, or someone else he cares about.”
A couple of days? Fuck. Hopefully Aerick hasn’t gone apeshit schizo while I was out.
“No reason for him to believe that,” I assured her. “We’re friends from high school. We almost dated.”
Serena’s emerald eyes narrowed on me, appraising me, then she shook her head and smiled slightly. “Not likely. You’re not his type.”
“Oh, why not?” I asked, suddenly offended. Why, I didn’t know, but I was.
“You’re brunette fer one. Fer two, you’re too tall. Got the boobs though, so I guess that’s a plus.” She shrugged delicately.
“So, what? You saying he prefers short blondes with a huge rack?” I asked, knowing exactly where this was going now.
“Um. Yeah. That’s exactly what I’m sayin’,” she said with that same crooked grin and faraway look in her eyes. “Doesn’t matter now. We can’t see each other fer a while. Not that I want him ta see me right now. I need some space fer a while, I think. He’d just smother me.” Her hand had somehow found its way onto my stomach while she was talking.
I looked down and looked back up at her.
“Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t…” She stopped mid-sentence. I could feel a tingling where her hand was, and an emerald green light spread from her hand and seemed to seep into my wounds. A look of complete surprise crossed her features as she stared at her hand.
Aetheric energy flowed through the light, warming my body and taking the pain away from my injuries. I gave her a shocked look, then focused on the source of her power. It came from somewhere other than mine, or Aerick’s, or even a sorcerer’s. It was different, yet still Aetheric in nature. It was the strangest thing I had ever encountered, and I had no explanation for it. Not even my Aetheric Theory studies could cover it. After a couple of minutes, my injuries were completely healed. I sat up in the bed and pulled the bandages away for closer inspection.
“Now, I enjoy the gentle touch of a girl as much as anyone… but that’s different,” I commented in amazement.
“I had no idea I could do that,” she said, staring at her hand in astonishment.
“What are you?” I asked incredulously.
“Human!” Serena protested, her eyes jumping to mine.
We didn’t have time to dwell on the strange occurrence as an explosion rocked the upstairs area of the club. I stood and grabbed a t-shirt that was folded at the foot of the bed and headed for the door. “Go back to your room. We’ll talk later,” I told her. I conjured my shield. No telling what the hell was going on now.
As I came out of the alcove at the top of the stairs, I could see one of the Cyclopes lying on the floor, blood pooling under him. Malachai was standing at the entrance to the club, blades crackling with Aetheric energy.
“Ah. I knew someone was here. Wasn’t expecting you, though, Lancelot. Oh well. Time to dance,” he said, grinning at me maliciously.
He began to move towards me and I suddenly had the feeling I was going to need that unique talent of Serena’s again before the day was through.
TWENTY-THREE
“I just happened to be in the neighborhood when I noticed Lucien leave the premises. So I have you all to myself,” Malachai gloated.
I stood there, hands part way up, palms out, to show that I didn’t have any weapons. I glanced around and noticed that the regular w
orkers had all disappeared. Only Dolf, Lucien’s ogre-gnome lieutenant, seemed to have stuck around, and I wasn’t sure if Malachai had noticed him or not. I found myself wondering where Dave had gone.
“Now’s a really bad time. Maybe you can come back in a few days to try and murder me?” I asked sarcastically, not really thinking he’d buy it.
“No. No, I think I’ll do it now. You know, while that overgrown flaming bird and your boyfriend aren’t around to protect you.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Oh, now, I thought you would have that figured out by now. You’re such a smart girl; I would think you’d know.”
“Well, I don’t, so enlighten me.”
“Gladly.” He rushed forward, the lightning blade leading the way. I knew this move, and had seen him execute it many times when I scryed him back when I was with Merlin. I had enough time to spin to my left, avoiding the lightning blade, and then do a side-roll to my right as the second, crystalline blade came down in a vertical slash.
I came up quickly, and on my way up I saw Serena standing in the alcove, watching fearfully. I couldn’t risk him noticing Serena. I did the only thing I could do. My whip formed in an instant, and I lashed out at Malachai, causing him to do a quick jump backwards.
“Whoa, now where did that thing come from? Lancelot. Old friend. You’ve been holding out on me.”
“The name’s Valencia,” I said, standing with my arm in front of me in a defensive vertical line, the whip held so that the length of it hung down my forearm. I could block anything he came at me with this way, easily swinging the whip to either side to deflect or parry any incoming attacks. It was a rudimentary defense at best, and someone with as much fighting ability as Malachai would easily find a way through it.
“Meh. Whatever.” He strode forward carefully, crouched in a stance of his own, his lightning blade out in front, angled down, the other arm held up behind him, the blade poised much like a scorpion’s tail. He took a quick step to my right, and then lunged to the left, the feint obvious. Too obvious, at least it would have been to anyone else. I swung the whip to the left, moving to the right to avoid the blow. What I hadn’t counted on was the crystal blade coming in a diagonal across from my left to my right, and I stepped directly into the blow. The blade cut into my abdomen, right below my breast.
I felt the blade scrape across my ribs and I screamed, and in pure desperation I grabbed his arm and wrapped my whip around it. He looked at me in astonishment as that portion of his arm ceased to exist. His hand removed from his body, he stumbled backwards, his other blade disappearing as he cradled the stump he had just pulled away. I grabbed his hand, which was still wrapped around the hilt of the sword that was inside my body, and pulled the blade out the way it had gone in, screaming in agony the entire time.
Out of breath and in severe pain, I tried to stand, but found I couldn’t in much more than a stooped posture. One hand holding my wound, the other still holding the whip, I sent a half-hearted lash towards Malachai, who stumbled backwards.
Right into Aerick, who had somehow escaped his room. Again. Malachai turned in surprise and shrank back from Aerick, who had both his blades conjured, and was more than ready for a fight, especially given his mood and mental instability of late.
“Brother! Now you wouldn’t attack me while I was unarmed, would you? Wouldn’t you rather do the honorable thing and fight me on even ground?” Malachai begged.
Aerick said nothing before stepping forward, ready to attack. His eyes were empty of anything that would even remotely lead me to believe he was he was himself. Malachai must have seen it too.
“Brother? I… she needs to die. Surely you see that? If she dies, I can pull her dragon soul out and question it. Surely Lancelot himself knows the location of our father’s sword! With that blade we could rule over this world!”
Aerick cocked his head to the side, like he was curious about something, then nodded and turned towards me. I was in no condition to fight Aerick at this point. I dismissed my whip and fell to my knees, accepting my fate.
“Ricky! No!” Serena screamed from behind me.
Aerick’s eyes moved to her and I thought I saw a flicker of something familiar in them. “Serena,” he whispered so softly that I was pretty sure I was the only one that heard it.
“Enough!” a powerful voice rang out across the room.
I looked past Aerick and saw Lucien. He grabbed Malachai by the shoulder and pushed him to his knees. Malachai crumpled and fell to the floor, motionless, and Lucien moved towards Aerick.
Aerick was already striding to Serena. She shrank back, seeming much smaller than she already was, and tears formed in her eyes. When Aerick reached the alcove, she dropped to the floor, sobbing and turning her back to him.
“Serena. It’s okay. I’m here now. I can… we can…” Aerick seemed unsure of what he should say. He reached for her, but she cringed away.
“Go away. I cain’t… I cain’t do this right now. Jus’ leave me alone,” Serena wept.
“I can’t. I love you, Serena. I need to know that you’re okay.”
“If ya love me, then leave me alone. I… jus’…. I’m not okay. I’m not sure I evah will be. Jus’ go away.”
Aerick reached out again and tried to take her in his arms, tried to hug her, and she screamed a single wailing note as soon as he touched her. He pulled her into his arms, rocking her back and forth, murmuring soothing reassurances. I could barely move, but I staggered to my feet and tried to walk over to them. I made it two steps before the pain dropped me to the floor again. Aerick didn’t realize he was causing more harm than good. I glanced up, breathing heavily, and saw Kat slowly approaching Aerick.
“Aerick. Rick. You need to come with me. You’re hurting her,” Kat said softly, putting her hand on Aerick’s back.
“No. I’m not. She needs me. Now more than she ever did,” he said stubbornly, refusing to let go of Serena. The smaller girl was whimpering, her body lax in his arms.
“No. Rick, she needs space. You’re breaking her. Come with me. We can talk.”
“No. She needs me.”
“Do you want her to hurt?” Kat knelt down next to him, her eyes meeting his.
“No. I don’t. That’s why I have to stay here.”
“That’s why you have to let her be. Like she asked. You’re hurting her more by being here, and even more just by touching her. She still hasn’t healed. She needs time. So do you. Come with me. Please?” She leaned in closer to him. “For me, and if not for me, then for her?” she seemed to purr into his ear.
I felt that lust flash from her for just an instant. An instant that was just enough to get Aerick’s attention, and mine. It was a brief respite from the pain which came rushing back all too soon. Between her words and her use of her lust ability, she managed to get Aerick to let Serena go and stand up. Serena crawled away from him, her whimpers ceasing, before curling into a ball and rocking herself. Aerick’s eyes were numb as Kat led him back to the alcove and upstairs. I tried to pull myself across to the floor to Serena, not making it very far, and then Lucien was next to me, offering me a hand, and I rose painfully to my feet.
“Malachai is in my custody now. I have four strong fae guards escorting him to an iron cell. The key I gave you earlier will work in it too. He’s not going anywhere,” he said as he helped me walk over to Serena. “Hopefully, Aerick will see now that they need to be apart. At least temporarily. Stay with her, see if you can talk her down a bit. I doubt a male of any stripe would be able to at this point. While you do that, I’ll scrounge up some healing tonics, see if we can’t get you patched up.”
Wonderful. More sewage smoothies. Why can’t you just heal me like you did earlier? But I didn’t say it out loud. Lucien had reasons for everything. I just nodded and knelt down next to Serena. “It’s okay, Serena. He’s gone. You’re safe.”
“He… he’s gone…?” she asked brokenly. “He can’t see me anymore?”
“No. He can’t see you anymore.”
“And he can’t touch me again?”
“No. Let’s get you back to your room, okay?” I took her arm, very gently and helped her stand, sucking in air as pain stung me from the new injuries. Very carefully, I walked down the stairs with her, then led her to her room.
When I opened the door to her room, I thought I had stepped onto the set of The Last Unicorn or Legend. The carpet seemed to be made of a soft moss and it emitted a nice, subtle lilac scent as we walked on it. The walls seemed to be the trunks of various trees and the ceiling the canopy. In the walls, here and there I could see unicorns frolicking in a meadow or open glade.
Her bed was a four poster, much like mine and Aerick’s, and had dark-blue bedding. The wood was a deep, rich, red-brown color. Otherwise her room was identical to mine, complete with armoire, dresser and nightstand. On the nightstand was a picture frame with Aerick’s picture in it. I picked it up and looked at it. He was younger in the picture, maybe thirteen or fourteen.
“I’d give anythin’ ta go back ta when that picture was taken,” Serena said softly, sitting on the bed. “Things were… simpler. Easier. Back then, we were jus’ kids, we had our whole lives ahead of us. We jus’ hung out at the playground and the forest behind it makin’ plans fer the future, playin’ our stupid little pretend games. I’d give anythin’ ta go back ta that.” She took the picture and stared at it intently, like she was willing her wish to come true.
“You’ll get through this. So will he. You’ll be together again,” I said, putting my hand on her shoulder and sitting next to her.
She smiled at me and shook her head. “But we’ll always have this hangin’ over our heads. It will have happened, and we’ll both remember it. We’ll both remember that another man touched me, violated me. Ricky watched. I know he did. He was forced ta watch… then I had ta watch him be tortured.”
