The buildings are all either concaved or rustic and worn. Compared to the Academy, everything else is outdated and revolting. People sit on the street with filth covering their faces and torn clothing hiding their bodies. Nobody looks pleased with how their lives have progressed, so I attempt to mimic their expressions. A person with adventure in their eyes demands attention in a crowd of people who have given up on their lives. I wonder if they are all human.
“I never got your names,” I say to the small group as we walk down the street. I need a distraction.
“I’m Domino Elvy,” the pixie introduces. Looking at her now, I realize that she is unusual for a fairy. She’s petite and childlike, but she is tall. Most pixies are tiny by nature. “I’m twelve,” she says as though it’s an accomplishment to be such a young age.
Nobody else speaks as we continue to walk through the street. I roll my eyes and look at Domino, who is strutting by my side happily. “I’m Snow Annesley and I’m nineteen as of today,” I introduce. She gasps.
“You’re a mermaid. I thought you were the shaman. That’s awesome. Mermaids are beautiful. I should have known,” Domino says with a happy squeal.
I grin and pat her back. “I’m Kole,” I hear from behind me. I turn and look at the vampire that has been following me closely since we left the academy. Kole is such a strong name for a strong person. “And I’m twenty.” I find it interesting that Kole is in my age range. Vampires live long lives, much like mermaids, so establishing a relationship with them isn’t exactly looked down upon. Unfortunately, they are commonly known for expressing intimacy only with their soulmates.
We continue down the street and the other two Elites remain silent. “We need to find all of these ingredients and I have no idea where to look,” I admit.
“Trolls are typically found in caves and there is only one cave near here. We can check it out,” Kole suggests.
And with such a trivial suggestion, we head in the direction of the mountains bordering the village. Kole leads the group and I follow close behind him. I am repeatedly drawn to the marking that peaks from above his torn, gray sweater. It calls for me to decipher it, but I push my yearning aside and settle for doing what needs to be done. We need to find the troll’s tooth. I notice Kole turning his hazel eyes in my direction every few seconds and try hard to ignore it.
As we near the woods, the few people who were inhabiting the streets disappear. Even the buildings are scarce. For the most part, there is only empty land near the woods. “We must be getting close,” I state absentmindedly.
“Clearly,” a rough looking man says from the back of the group. He wears an eyepatch over his left eye and scars mar the entire side of his face. Other than the scars, he has a baby face with hair only on his eyebrows.
“Are you planning to introduce yourself, shaman?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. I receive no response. We near the tree line and I put on a brave face, but I am secretly terrified. Trolls take vengeance in cruel, ingenious ways, so they are typically avoided by all other creatures, including humans.
When he doesn’t speak, Kole turns his head and grins sardonically. “That’s Keagan Degray,” Kole says.
“Damn it, Kole,” Keagan shouts angrily. I flinch and feel uncomfortable with my back to the man. They provide an excellent distraction for my soaring thoughts as we enter the lush forest and approach the mountainside.
“I know you don’t like to talk—unless it’s with your imaginary friends, of course. I’m just helping a friend out,” Kole says in a conniving way. I wonder whether they are friends or passive-aggressive enemies.
“Spirits,” Keagan corrects tersely.
“Guys…” Domino says in a panic. My attention snaps forward.
“Is this the cave you were talking about?” I ask Kole.
He nods. “Did the bones give it away?” He asks, referring to the variety of both animal and human bones overtaking the floor of the cave. They are noticeable from even here.
“What are the odds that those are his teeth?” Domino asks rhetorically. Without any warning, she jumps in the air and transforms into her fairy form. She is roughly six inches long with wings the same size, but she still looks like herself. Her wings are beating the air rapidly, much like a hummingbird’s.
I stare at the cave ahead of me. “Did we come up with a plan?” I ask. We are literally walking into the troll’s den empty handed.
“Get three of his teeth,” Keagan says sarcastically. I look into the dark, musty cave. I can’t see further than a few feet inside. Seeing through darkness is an essential mermaid skill, so once I’m inside, I will be able to navigate quickly. I can’t say the same for everyone else.
“They sleep through the day,” I recall, thinking back to my species classes. “If exposed to sunlight, they will petrify. They eat people, but they really enjoy children. They’re supposedly large and robust, but dim-witted. I guess we’ll just have to go inside and improvise,” I say with a shrug of my shoulder.
“Let’s go,” Kole says with a nod. I take the lead, knowing that I can see through the darkness much easier than the rest of the group. If the shifter were to change forms, he may be able to navigate equally as easily, but he hasn’t been at all helpful.
Bones crack under our feet and I silently hope the troll won’t hear us coming. It smells of must and rotting meat as we enter the depths of the cave. The walls are moist and the ceiling is dripping, so I take extra caution to avoid any falling droplets of water. Nothing significant lays in our path and I navigate around uprooted rocks and jagged cave walls. Domino sits on my shoulder, trusting me to be her means of transportation.
Domino illuminates the air around her, making it much easier for the Elites to follow. I jerk backward when I almost step on what looks to be a large rock. I fall into the chest of the person behind me and instantly know who I am touching. Kole wraps both arms around my waist and pulls me to the side of the rock before releasing me cautiously. I begin to walk and halt in my tracks. “What is it?” Domino asks, whispering directly into my ear.
I point to the rock—or what I previously assumed to be a rock. It extends across the cave and separates into four limbs and a midsection. The cave above our heads is over twenty feet tall. I suck in a deep breath when I realize what I am facing. The foot of the beast is clearly in a rock state, but its body is made of skin, bones, and blood. We are face-to-face, or rather face-to-foot, with the troll.
Chapter 5
The troll is snoring and I thankfully note that he is sound asleep. “Someone has to go pull those teeth quickly,” I whisper. The shifter shakes his head in refusal, which comes as no surprise, and Keagan takes a step backward. I look at Kole, praying that he won’t leave me alone.
“I’ll do it,” Kole whispers. “I’m stronger than all of you and can pull them out in less than a second.” I dislike that he plans to put himself at risk, but I agree with a nod.
Domino flies from my shoulder and lands on Kole’s, whispering something in his ear. His hazel eyes lighten and he shakes his head. She comes back and perches on my shoulder, not saying a word. Kole turns to the beast and I turn my attention to her. “What did you say?” I ask curiously. She pulls a sly grin onto her face and shakes her head.
My attention is entirely on Kole when something else becomes apparent beyond him. It looks like rope laying on top of the bone fragments. It piques my interest and I wonder why there would be rope lying beside a sleeping beast. It’s not like he needs a rope to capture his victims. It is the only human item, other than bones, in this cave. I allow my eyes to follow the rope across the cave floor and up the wall. And I finally come to the realization that there really shouldn’t be rope lying around.
“Kole, stop!” I shout. He takes one more step before stopping, but it’s too late. His weight triggers the rope mechanism and a metallic net surrounds him, lifting him from the ground effortlessly and dangling him above the troll’s head. The snoring stops and the troll sits up, looking around the
cave curiously.
“Visitors,” he moans before standing to his full height. His head doesn’t come close to the cave’s ceiling, but he has to be ten feet tall and five feet wide.
“We need a plan,” the shifter says from behind us. Domino flies from my shoulder and grabs a jagged rock from the ground before flying upward. She lands on the rope above Kole’s net, beyond the reach of the troll, and begins cutting.
“Oh, now he speaks,” I reply angrily. The troll looks at Kole and then back at us, ignoring him for the moment. “Hey, uh, Mr. Troll,” I shout up to him. He looks down at me as though I’m a speck of dust. “Can I ask a favor of you?” I ask kindly, hoping that he understands kindness.
“Are we friends, now?” He asks with an ounce of hope in his voice.
I cough into my hand, smelling his disgusting breath from a distance. “Of course. We can be friends,” I say to him. “But I need a favor.”
“I don’t have any friends. Nobody likes me,” he says solemnly, as though he doesn’t fully grasp what’s going on. My eyes veer to Domino, who is still cutting Kole’s rope. I need to buy her time.
“I’m Snow,” I say, taking a step in the troll’s direction. I’m risking a lot, but he seems lonely, and if I play my cards right, I may be able to get what I need from him. “What’s your name?”
“I don’t have a name,” he says. He bends down, getting closer to my face. I hold my breath, attempting to control my gag reflexes. “Snow is a pretty name. You are pretty. We are friends?” He asks again.
“Of course we are,” I lie. “But we can be best friends if you do me a favor,” I say. I look at Keagan and the shifter, who are standing many feet behind me in shock.
“Really?” He asks with a broad smile. His teeth are rotted and gums are blackened.
“Really,” I reply. “I need three of your teeth to help out my family. They are dying and your teeth will save them,” I say.
“I can help?” He asks in surprise. “I’ve never helped before.” Without hesitation, he reaches into his mouth and yanks out three of his front teeth. I grimace, realizing how painful such a thing must be. He wants friends so badly he would rip out his own teeth for someone. It’s sad to see such a lonely individual.
He isn’t scary. He’s simply lost and yearning for a friend. “Here you go,” he says, handing me the teeth with a toothless grin. He yanked out his front three teeth, so his smile is now lopsided and uneven. I reach for the three teeth in his filthy, dirt covered right hand and am disgusted to touch them. The roots of each of the teeth are bloody and the rest of them are black. I shove the teeth in my pocket, equally grateful and disgusted.
I hear the rope snap and Kole falls ten feet to the ground and lands with an oomph. He immediately begins separating the net from his limbs and freeing himself. The troll takes no notice of the man behind him. He turns his attention to Keagan and the shifter. “Will you be my friends, too?” the troll asks them. Keagan smiles falsely, evidently still terrified of the creature.
“Sure, buddy,” Keagan responds with a shaky voice. When the troll turns his attention to the shifter, he doesn’t say a word. I feel Domino land on my shoulder and hide behind my hair.
“What about you?” The troll asks the shifter. I look at Kole, who is standing behind the troll, unsure of how to get through.
The shifter stares at the troll with uncaring eyes and shakes his head. “I don’t like friends,” the shifter responds. I gasp and the troll stands to his full height.
“I eat people who aren’t my friends,” he says, reaching for the shifter. All the troll wanted was a friend, but the shifter couldn’t be civil for three seconds.
“Run!” I shout, standing my ground. If someone was able to drown Jasmine using her own body fluids, I might be able to do the same. The shifter and Keagan run while Domino flies off of my shoulder. I raise both of my arms and push all the power I can muster into the water inside his body. I pull at the fluid, attempting to force it into his lungs, but I can’t find enough power. I visualize the water perforating his lungs and fall backward, still using my remaining concentration on the troll.
“Friend?” He says sadly as his knees buckle. In my peripheral vision, I notice Kole running toward me, but I don’t break my concentration. I won’t kill him, but I need him to be incapacitated long enough for us to get away.
Kole lifts me in his arms and I feel the dizzying effects of exuding so much power. The troll is coughing harshly, so I drop both of my arms and release my hold on his body fluids. Kole carries me through the cave protectively, holding me close to his chest. “Friend? Where are you going?” He asks sadly. “Don’t take my friend away,” the troll shouts at Kole. I bury my face into Kole’s chest as he carries me into the sunlight. I look over his shoulder at the troll. It’s approaching us quickly.
“No,” I shout at the troll. He’s not going to be able to stop before hitting the sunlight and I widen my eyes. I push Kole away and attempt to stand on my own, but collapse. “Stop,” I cry, but my voice is far too quiet to be heard by the beast.
“Snow?” the troll shouts, rushing out of the cave and into the sun. He immediately begins turning to stone, staring at me in utter confusion. All the air flows from my lungs in devastation. Kole falls to one knee and wraps an arm around my back, but I pay him no attention. The troll has a permanent look of distress on his face as he becomes fully encased in stone.
I did this. I killed a lonely troll who wanted nothing more than a friend. What have I done?
Chapter 6
“Laithe,” the shifter says as we walk toward the town. I am leading and Kole is directly behind me.
“What?” I bark, still angry at his selfishness. I played my part in killing the troll, but the shifter is the reason the situation escalated.
“My name is Laithe,” he says with a brooding expression. Is it really necessary for him to act so rude?
“Kudos to you for sharing your name,” I respond, displaying a fair share of attitude. I speed up my pace, but he can keep up. Domino lands on my shoulder, likely unable to keep up on her own two feet.
“I’m sorry,” he admits. “I know it was my fault back there and you saved my ass.” I huff and try to ignore his apology, but I find it difficult.
“It’s not okay,” I respond stubbornly. I halt in my tracks and turn toward Laithe. Everyone else stops behind me. I poke my finger into his chest. “You are a horrible person,” I say, trying to remain angry. He hangs his head and doesn’t say a word. Wisps of blonde hair, almost the same shade as mine, hang over his eyes, which are currently vibrant green.
He has changed aspects of his appearance throughout the mission, so the eyes that were once brown are far different now. I wonder why he hasn’t held a solid appearance.
“I think you’re hurting his feelings, Snow,” Domino says in my ear. I sigh and look at her from the corner of my eye.
“Fine,” I say, looking anywhere but in his eyes. We are almost back in town, so I try to find the end of the tree line. “What you did was really crappy and you almost got us killed,” I chastise, “but we need your help to finish this assignment. Can you promise to be more civilized?” I ask. He hasn’t so much as tried to help the team and it angers me immensely.
“Swear,” he says, raising a hand in the air.
I sigh, knowing that it will be a mistake to trust the shifter. After all, I haven’t even seen his true appearance. I don’t say another word to Laithe. Keagan leads the group and Kole stays by my side, not saying a word. Domino shifts back into her human form and follows Keagan. The tree line ends a few feet ahead. I don’t know how to react to the storm clouds blowing in from the north. Water is soothing and I have always loved storms, but it will prove to be a problem. I can stop the storm before it even begins, but it would look suspicious.
The inhabitants of the town have surely been informed of our abilities. Humans want to know about “monsters” as though we aren’t just like them. It’s a sick fascination fo
r people who simply want us extinct. Most of them know what we are capable of doing and how to determine if one of us is in close proximity. Weather elements are surely monitored closely. If I influence the weather, they’ll know I’m here.
“Don’t worry,” Kole says from my left. “If you get wet, I will cover you.” I look over at him and smile gratefully. I can’t walk without legs, and a single drop of water will turn me into a legless mermaid.
“Why are you so keen on helping me?” I ask. He has been skulking around me protectively since I met him, and I would love to know the reason. Do we know each other?
He opens his mouth to respond, but closes it adamantly, thinking better of what he was planning to say. A strand of dark charcoal hair falls over one of his determined hazel eyes and I want to push it behind his ear. His face takes on a pensive expression and I squint my eyes in curiosity. “You saved our lives back there,” he says, but he clearly wants to say more.
I don’t want to think about the lonely troll or anything that had just happened, but I recall him saving me. “You carried me out, not the other way around,” I say for arguments sake. Honestly, we both contributed equally to the team’s survival.
“If it weren’t for your distraction, we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to get out,” he argues. I stare straight ahead, attempting to find another argument, but he is correct. I killed an innocent creature. What’s to say his life was worth less than ours? “Hey,” he says. “It’s not your fault that he died.” He wraps an arm around my shoulders comfortingly. His touch causes sparks to flow through my veins and I suck in a tendril of air.
We walk behind the rest of the group and I can’t help but overanalyze what is happening. Does Kole like me or does he feel gratitude toward my actions? His arm almost distracts me from the buildings surrounding the unpaved, gravel street. I’m temporarily distracted from the upcoming storm. When a drop of water lands mere inches from me, I concentrate on the rain and make sure it doesn’t come within inches of me. Unfortunately, the water manipulation I used on the troll weakened me, so it’s especially difficult to control the rain as it pounds the ground around me.
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