by D. Levesque
“None taken. Here,” he says and starts to get up, but then he stops and looks at Carmen.
“Go slow,” she says, her aim not wavering.
He nods to her and walks over to a side table, where he grabs a pitcher and pours a clear liquid into a glass. He walks back and passes it to me. I take it gratefully, and down the whole thing in three large gulps. Wiping my mouth, I nod and pass him back the glass.
“Still thirsty?” he asks, looking at me curiously.
“No. I’m good,” I tell him.
“At least he isn’t thirsty for blood.” Tallen looks around and finally points to a table across the room. “May I?”
“Again, slowly,” Carmen says suspiciously.
He walks across the room to a table that had been overturned and breaks off one of the legs easily, with no effort. I look at him in amazement. Jesus, he snapped that off like it was balsa wood! He comes back and offers the chair leg to me. I look at it and then I look at him, oddly.
“Break it in half.”
“What? I can’t break this! It’s over two inches thick!” I blurt out.
“Try it,” he says with a smile.
Sighing, I sit up, and with the wooden leg in my two hands, I try to bend it, knowing it’s useless. Maybe if I hit it against something, but that is as far as I get before the thing breaks easily in my hands as if it was made of balsa wood.
I look up at Tallen in shock. “How!”
“The Transformation. It seems something in you is stopping you from changing into a full Vampire. You got the strength, and I would say from watching you smack yourself in the face earlier, you got the speed.”
“Speed?” I ask him, looking up as I had been staring at the two pieces of the wooden leg while he spoke.
He throws something at me suddenly, and it’s coming at me extremely fast. But somehow, my hand lets go of one of the leg pieces, and I catch it. I stare at my hand in shock. It had come up so damn fast it was a blur even to my own eyes. I open it, and in my palm is a gold coin. Wait, that looks like the medallion he gave Parker. I look up at him questioningly.
“Technically, since I bit you, you are now part of my family,” he says with a shrug. “That is the royal seal. Keep it, and if you ever need help or if you ever meet up with another Vampire, here on Earth at least, they will know what it means.”
“So does that mean he isn’t human anymore?” Carmen says slowly, and I see that she has put away her rifle, but she still has it over her shoulder, ready to bring it forward if need be.
“Honestly? I am not sure. Maybe the fact that he had Magic as a human did something to him? How that vial worked, we have no clue. The history says that the Elven Mage who created it did it to give Magic to those folk who had low Magic, or no Magic except their innate abilities based on their race’s Magic. It was never really tested on a human. We just assumed it would not work because humans never had Magic. And Article 1 was a good reason not to attempt it. Now I wish we did have more of that elixir,” he says with a sigh of regret.
“Well, I know that Magus Targun wants to study me, just not in a lab environment like the Council would want.”
“Yes. The Council would want you over a table, strapped down, dissected and studied, even if it meant killing you,” Tallen says with a scowl. “I wonder what other powers you have.”
“What can Vampires do?” I ask him curiously.
“Well,” Tallen says, thinking about it. “We are faster and stronger than most humans, and even some Beasts. I am pretty strong as a Royal and the Count, but even Gordo would give me a good workout or a thrashing. We can bite people and subjugate them. Though, if someone is powerful in Magic, it protects them.” Right, I remember how William’s sister tried to bite me and got thrown across the room in the process. “Also, we can feel the emotions of people since we feed on them.”
“What about turning into a bat?” I ask him with a grin.
He looks at me for a second and then bursts out in laughter, slapping his leg. “No. Leave that to you humans. Gods, I love some of the movies you all come out with. Very entertaining. No, we cannot fly. Though, we can jump very high thanks to our speed and strength.”
“So, Count. Is that from Count Dracula?” I ask him, hoping I am not offending him.
“Ah, no. That is a story that you humans fabricated. We also don’t go with King and Queen. We have a Count and Countess. I am known as The Count. The ruler of the Vampires on Earth. On Vamir, they have their own Count.”
“What other powers do you have?” I ask him, curious now that I’m starting to feel better.
“I can see in the dark, which is probably why your eyes were hurting from the light. They were not used to it. It will take time for your body and your mind to adjust. Even just with the powers I gave you, you will be very formidable. That duel was to test you, and you showed that your Magic is powerful. The way you came up with the idea to defeat me tells me you will be a very powerful ally or foe.”
“You know I will need to tell this to my M.A.G.I. bosses, right? That you bit him,” Carmen interrupts our discussion.
Tallen gets a sour look on his face. “Yes. Maybe you can tell Magus Targun and let him tell the Council?”
I look at Tallen with newfound respect. Damn, he is sneaky. By telling Targun, Carmen would be telling the Council, in a way. Then Magus Targun would be the one to decide how to tell the Council and the M.A.G.I. bosses.
Carmen doesn’t say anything at first. Finally, she sighs and says, “It would probably be for the best.”
Tallen reaches down to help me off the floor. I reach a hand up and he pulls me up quickly, and I have to catch myself before I slam into him.
“Now. Shall we discuss our next step for Gordo and your wife?”
“You know where they are?” Carmen asks him.
“I might. Which is why I had Parker go see the Fairy Queen. She has the most widespread spy network on Earth that is not digital. If anyone can find him, it’s her. Especially now that I told her that Gordo has been living on Earth. Come, let’s eat something until we hear from her. Otherwise, you will just be running around Earth letting him know that you are searching for him.”
With that, we head to one of the doors that leads upstairs, and we end up in a lavish dining room, with servers already setting out food. I look at the plate settings and see there are precisely three sets out. How did they know? I must show my confusion on my face because Tallen laughs.
“One advantage of having my subjects is I can talk to them telepathically through my connection with them. I had them set up dinner for three. Please, sit. Let’s enjoy dinner. Tell me about yourself, Kevin.”
And for the next hour, eating a meal that would do well in a five-star Michelin restaurant, I tell him a bit about me, but don’t give too many details. He doesn’t dig, but just lets me talk. Carmen interrupts me at times to ask me some questions. All in all, it’s an enjoyable meal. The fact that I was used to eating lavish dinners with Mike helped, as I don’t feel like I don’t know what to do with the little forks.
Chapter Twenty-Six
It seems we won’t have to wait long. Just as we’re finishing dessert, I hear a loud bang as if a door is exploding outward, followed by a loud female screech.
“Where is he!”
“We are in the dining room, Milta!” shouts Tallen, taking another bite of his cake.
Suddenly a tiny fairy flies into the room. She’s the same size as Mavin, but clearly female. She is beautiful, with long blond hair and multicolored wings that are flapping so fast they are a blur. As soon as she enters the room, she stops.
“Where is he, Tallen!” she hisses, and her face goes from beautiful to bestial.
“He isn’t here, Milta. Please sit. I am having someone bring you a small bowl of honey. I have guests. Please?” he says, pointing to an empty chair next to him. Tallen is sitting at the head of the table and I sitting next to him, with Carmen on my other side, as she was adamant about sitting
next to me.
Milta turns and stops dead in her tracks, looking at Carmen.
“Carmen!” she exclaims in joyous surprise. She flies across the room and slams herself into Carmen’s breast, and Carmen hugs her back carefully.
“Hey, Milta,” Carmen says with a cheerful smile.
“What are you doing here? And wait, who’s this?” Milta says, looking at me suspiciously. She sniffs, and then stiffens in Carmen’s arms. Suddenly she is out of Carmen’s embrace and is floating in front of my face. She looks angry, and her finger is pointing at me.
“You’re that human they are all talking about!” she hisses.
“Umm. Yes? Hi. Nice to meet you? I’m Kevin. I’m part of M.A.G.I.,”.,” I tell her, figuring maybe throwing that name around might protect me, even from this tiny Fairy.
“I heard there was a human who drank the last vial,” she says, looking at me suspiciously. What the fuck? Does everyone know about that damn last vial? Was it that important?
“Yeah, but it wasn’t like I asked for it,” I tell her with a shrug. “So now I am trying to make the best of it.”
She looks at me for a good ten seconds without saying anything, and I can tell that she is judging me. Finally, she huffs and says, “I heard you were good to my son.”
“Your son?” I ask her, confused. “Oh, wait! Your son is Mavin?” I blurt out in surprise.
“Yes. He says that you let him stay in your human apartment and even gave him those damn Oreo cookies,” she says with a sigh. “That damn kid and his sweets. He didn’t even give me one when I saw him the other day. His own mother! Who is also the Queen!” she says, putting her hands up in the air with a wounded expression.
“Now what’s this about Gordo?” she says, turning to Tallen, which gives me a chance to have a better look at her. She is tiny, like her son, and is wearing a short dress covered in flowers. She doesn’t look like Tinkerbell, as I would have expected. Her hair is long and blond, and she has on a tiny crown made of flowers that match her dress.
“This young man,” Tallen points to me, “is here to save his wife, who has decided to chase after Gordo. His wife is Marrisa Lalouton.”
“Oh shit, Magus Targun’s daughter,” Milta says with a whistle.
“Precisely, but there’s more. It seems that Gordo has taken Sir William Tonlia as a hostage,” he tells her.
Milta puts her hands over her face and rubs it vigorously. “By the loving Tree. Seriously?” she says, removing her hands and staring at Tallen intently.
“Yes,” he says with a nod.
She turns back to me. “Wait, you said wife?”
I scowl. “Yeah, I had to marry her to become a citizen, or the council would have-”
She holds up her hand and stops me. “Or the Council would have made you a slave, and you would never have seen the light of day again.” She comes closer to me and sniffs again, and then looks at me oddly.
“There is something different about him. Not just Magic. I can smell that on him. And his humanity. But there is something else that is familiar, but not.”
“Yes,” Tallen says. “I bit him.”
“YOU WHAT?” she screams at him in shock.
“I bit him to give him more of an advantage. I feel he can help with my timetable. I decided to give him the full Transformation, though it didn’t go as expected,” Tallen says with a grimace.
Milta turns back and slowly flies around me, doing a full circle around my chair. She stops in front of me again, but this time she is closer. I can almost reach out and touch her, but I am sure that would be rude, so I abstain. Barely. She is just so damn cute!
She slowly floats closer until her face is almost touching my nose. She reaches a finger out and places it on my nose, making me look at her cross-eyed, and then she closes her eyes. A frown appears on her face, and then she opens them again.
“He has some powers, not just Magic, which, by the way, he is quite powerful in. He has strength and speed. There is something else, but I can’t touch it. Maybe it’s a power that has not bloomed yet,” she finishes, looking a bit uncomfortable.
“What about Gordo, Milta?” Tallen asks her.
Milta flies away and goes to the empty spot, landing on the table. One of the staff members who had been so quiet that I did not even hear or see them, had deposited a small clear glass with an amber liquid in it, on the table. Milta lifts it, smells it, and gets a smile on her face. She downs the glass quickly and smacks her lips.
“By the Gods, that is good. Your own garden?” she asks Tallen, who nods. “Now, as for Gordo,” Milta pronounces, placing the glass back down on the table. “I have sniffers out now. I should hear something soon. What’s the plan to get him?”
“I was hoping you had one,” Tallen tells her.
“Right,” she says, nodding. “You lost against Gordo the last time.”
“Yes, I did,” Tallen responds, seemingly annoyed at being reminded of that.
“Well, we know he is strong. He would need a powerful Magus to take him on. One who is fast and strong as well.”
“Well, Kevin here beat me in a duel in under a minute,” Tallen says.
Milta looks over at Tallen to see if he is joking, but when she sees that he isn’t laughing, she looks over at me. She nods slowly. “I figured something was different about you.”
“Question, hmm, your highness? I’m sorry, I’m not sure what I should call you. But don’t you hate me since I am human?”
“For you, Milta will do. You are a friend of my son, which is rare, as he does not make many friends. And I should hate you. But I am the Queen of the Fairies on Earth, not Lotri. Those who fled to that world, I am sure would hate you and kill you on sight. I am of the same mindset as Tallen here. It’s about time we try to co-exist with humans. I don’t mean today, but soon. And I don’t mean to let all humans know about us. Humans have many things we find helpful that we can use. And we also have things that humans can use. Such as healing arts that would help many. Even this thing you call cancer is something we can heal, not by using Magic, but with plants. But the issue is, you are all killing those plants faster than we can replace them. So no, I do not hate you. I do hate some humans. I do not hate all humans just because they are human.”
“What about the work of M.A.G.I. on Earth, Milta?” Carmen asks her softly.
“Yes,” Milta says, her mouth tightening in anger. “We still need the help of M.A.G.I. on Earth. We have many who still break the laws.”
“So is M.A.G.I. more active on Earth?” I ask around.
“Yes. Think of Earth like the Wild West, as your stories would call it. Most of the other planets are more structured for the Magic folk, but Earth is still wild. Even I, who am Queen here, would be considered a backwater Queen on those worlds. So those Magic folks who want to break the law come here and do it, causing issues for us Magic folks who live here with the humans,” she says. There is anger and bitterness in her voice.
“Milta,” Carmen says, holding her hands out. Milta flies over and accepts the embrace from Carmen. “I am sorry that’s happening. Kevin and Marrisa Lalouton have been assigned to Earth. Hopefully with them here, that will change.”
Milta looks at Carmen with hopeful eyes. “Seriously?” She looks over at me for confirmation and I nod to her.
“Interesting. It will be nice to have someone who will work for our safety, not the betterment of the Council.”
“What do you mean?” I ask her.
“Most who are assigned to Earth are from the other worlds, and while they do come here and arrest those who cause issues, they mostly cause more damage in the long run. The whole point of M.A.G.I. is to uphold the law, but also to make sure humans don’t find out about us. We spend more time doing damage control from them doing their work than they do helping us,” she says with a sigh. “Carmen was doing great on Earth, but she got moved to a desk job on Vraka because she would get into Council’s faces and cause problems.”
“
You’re on desk duty?” I ask Carmen, looking at her.
“Yes,” she says with a scowl. “I apparently pissed off too many people, so they assigned me to a desk job. That was why I was there when I heard you speaking to Bower.”
“So, are you supposed to be here with me? I mean, are you allowed?”
“Yes, in this instance it’s considered an emergency,” she says evasively. Deciding that there’s no use asking more questions since I don’t want her to get into more trouble, I nod. Honestly, she has been fun to be around, so I’m glad she’s here. Then again, compared to Marrisa, who is nothing but a pain in the ass and treats me like shit, I would even take Mavin at this point.
Suddenly Milta’s head snaps towards the doorway. In flies a small female Fairy with spiked black hair and a nose ring. She quickly flies to Milta and whispers into her ear, and Milta grins at her.
“You are sure?” she asks the Fairy, who nods quickly, her dark spiked hair falling into her eyes with her movements.
“Thank you, Jilta. Good job,” she tells the Fairy, who grins and flies off, heading out of the room.
“You found him?” Tallen asks her, hope in his voice.
“Oh yes. We found him. Not just him, but Marrisa and Sir Tonlia as well. Though, there is one issue,” Milta says reluctantly.
“What?” Carmen asks her.
“Gordo is with the Trolls,” she says, sounding unhappy.
“Oh fuck,” Tallen and Carmen say at the same time.
I look at all three. Did they just say Trolls? As in actual Trolls?”
“Are Trolls bad?” I ask. For some reason, I have no information in my head about Trolls except how they look. Big and ugly.
“Yeah,” Carmen says, with a scowl of annoyance. “If Gordo is with the Trolls, we have a huge issue. Magic does not work against them. How in the bloody hell did he get in with them?”
“Gordo is strong,” Tallen says with a sigh. “I guess we know just how strong now.”
“But against a Troll?” Carmen says incredulously.
“Apparently so,” Milta says with a sigh. “He is one of the Troll King’s men.”
