Heroines and Hellions: a Limited Edition Urban Fantasy Collection

by Margo Bond Collins

  “When you are!” He shouted back.

  “Will! Like with the harpies…NOW!”

  I let a whole host of tengus approach us, then attacked the first half as my ghost took care of the rest with his slime, gluing their wings together, making them fall into the lava. We were getting close. So close, that I could see Megan’s face through her cage’s bars. That was when Sharaku turned to us and spread his wings, ready to take off…

  “Turner, NOW!” I shouted with all the air I had left in my burning lungs.

  “MEGA DIAFZEIRO!” James roared, and a massive, jade-green explosion hit all the major tengus surrounding the fairy’s cage. James had vaporised against them the whole Buddha Jade statue he had in his satchel. A sort of chemical weapon boosted by magic, so to speak. It took a couple of seconds for the smoke to clear. Once it did, I could see that the way was tengu-free. All tengus, both flying and on the ground, had been wiped out by the jade explosion.

  The next second, I saw a flash of blue running from underneath a giant bean leaf, to Megan’s cage. Then water magically gushed from the stone floor underneath it and a huge, black climbing plant sprung from it, just as planned. The black plague had hungry, flexible branches and tiny black leaves that sparkled like polished little gems as they ravenously clung onto the dark barrier surrounding the cage, turning into sucking cups, feeding on its dark magic…

  “THE BLUEMINI MADE IT! GREAT! THAT WAS GREAT!” I congratulated James, as we jumped further down, eager to reach Megan. The plan was to back Blue up, while he picked the lock to free her. It wouldn’t be a big deal, would it?

  “That was outstanding, Mr Turner!” William piled it on, flying to us.

  “Thank you, thank you, but that was nothing!” He replied, faking modesty. “No autographs, though…SHIT!”

  “What? Why? FUCK!”

  An invisible gate had just opened among the crystal stalactites on the ceiling, pouring at least a hundred tengus into the cave. And unleashing them onto us.

  “GO TO MEGAN! WE’LL BACK YOU UP!” James shouted at Blue, his ring glowing with a blinding light. James and Will threw every spell they knew at the newcomers, to keep them busy while I sneaked under a leaf. A few more seconds and Blue should be able to free Megan, then she could help us, she was a wingless fairy, but still, a fairy, so very powerful. All I needed was to manage to get closer and back her and Blue up, to be sure nothing bad happened to them until she got released and…

  “The cage is jinxed from the inside,” Megan’s voice said in my head, preventing any other question. “The blue creature can’t pick the lock, he tried everything!”

  Why did things never ever go my way? Why? WHY? I was facing a meta-human and swarms of tengus in a haunted house turned into a dark cave to perform an even darker spell, but I wasn’t complaining, no. All I asked, was that a creature created from tears would pick a lock and release a fairy who might actually help me get out of there. But even that was asking too much, wasn’t it? Damn bad luck of mine!

  “Guys, the cage is jinxed. Will, I need one of your propeller spells!” I yelled.

  “WHAT?” James erupted, throwing spells right, left and centre.

  “Child, that’s suicidal! They’ll see you! More are coming and my barrier won’t resist much longer…” he continued, nodding at the wall of hard slime already filled with cracks produced by tengus’ weapons.

  “What are you two talking about?”

  “The iron of the cage is jinxed, Turner. The Bluemini cannot open it. There is a small chance that I can help, but I need to get there first, and it’s too far for me to jump, so I need a little boost…”

  “How? How can you help?” James panted, cutting a tengu in two with a spell.

  “Using the fairy language,” I slashed through two tengus at once. “Please trust me…you both…no choice…”

  “I can clear the way with an explosion, then His Grace and I can do our best to have your back…draw their attention to us …”

  “I cannot believe you are supporting her!” Will rebuffed him. “That is beyond dangerous, she will be killed before she reaches the cage …”

  “No, if our timing is right. And the cage is still unguarded, we don’t know for how long it will last, we must act fast. We’ll keep the tengus at bay, you be quick,” he gave me one of his mysterious looks. “Good luck. Ready when you are.”

  “All right,” I said, killing another tengu who was getting too close. “NOW!”

  “DIAFZEIRO!” James yelled, shooting a powerful explosion in the trajectory of the cage.

  “WILL!” I shouted, then took a deep breath and jumped with all the strength I had left in my legs. Immediately, I felt lifted and gently propelled towards my target, while James shot spells right, left and centre and my ghost backed him up, which did make it difficult for him to keep a straight trajectory …

  “WHOA! Will, left! LEEEEFT!”

  On the last second, the magic force pushing me turned slightly, preventing me from splattering against one of the cage’s iron bars.

  “DAMN!” I mumbled, as I landed very painfully on the cage’s ceiling. VERY PAINFULLY.

  “Megan, I’m here,” I started, feeling something snap inside my body which was, well, definitely not good. “I’ll get you out, I’ll get you all out…”

  “NIECE! ROBYN!” Uncle Terry shouted from the prison in front of the fairy’s. “You OK?”

  “Never felt better! Really, roar like a lion!” I replied. “Would be better if you hadn’t come here,” I continued to myself, kneeling onto the cage’s roof and grabbing the iron bars with both hands. “Damn old man…”

  “Do you always talk so much?” Megan asked, staring at me from below. She sounded more perplexed than scared.

  “Only when I’m depressed,” I replied. “Yes, the cage is jinxed,” I continued. “I can feel it too…but there’s something…” I closed my eyes and concentrated. The jinx was designed to contain fairy magic. It was so powerful, that it repelled most other magic too, so neither Will nor James could help…wait. I felt a shiver running down my spine and somehow knew: the jinx was designed to repel fairy magic from the inside. Fairies are a secluded population, so Okasan didn’t take any other fairy into account, figured no one would come to Megan’s rescue. Never figured on a supernatural freak with fairy magic up her sleeve…

  “Megan, I can break this spell,” I said, firmly holding onto the bars. “Once Blue opens the door, get out immediately and… back me up,” assuming I’m not already dead.

  I closed my eyes and concentrated, praying not to be hit by an errant bullet which would be awkward. My first impression was right: the jinx was designed to keep the fairy inside, the defences on the outside, were far weaker. Fairy magic could easily disrupt the magic fluxes around the jinx and break it. A fairy on the outside could break that spell by snapping her fingers. Only, I didn’t have a fairy on the outside, nor her fingers. All I had was me, a supernatural freak of some sort who could speak the fairy language for some reason and the fact that, sometimes, things happened when I said something in that particular language. Usually, in order for it to work, I needed to give a very specific order. And concentrate. A lot. Which, considering where I was and that I could be hit by a tengu axe or dagger any minute, wouldn’t be easy at all. Still, I had to try. So, I tightened my grip around the bars, letting the jinxed iron burn through my skin. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and concentrated. I waited for that shiver running down my spine, then I said: “Aetýne!” The bars shook for a moment, but that was it. The jinx was still there.

  “DAMN IT!” I hissed through my teeth. “Why isn’t it working?”

  “CHILD, BE QUICK!” William roared from above, while fiercely fighting dozens of tengus. “WE’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!”

  As if I didn’t know already!

  “Aetýne! Aetýne!” I repeated, desperate for it to work, but nothing! Problem was, I couldn’t concentrate properly and…

  22

  Sharaku<
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  “NIECE, LOOK OUT!” Terry suddenly shouted just before Sharaku’s katana could connect with my neck and chop my head off. I ducked just in time, as he landed on the cage’s roof, slashing his black blade at me with the clear intent of terminating my life.

  “We finally meet, whore!” He hissed, the moment we crossed swords. I couldn’t believe how strong he was, I barely managed to keep my balance under his blows.

  “Whore? I don’t even date!” I protested, cutting a caper to avoid his poisonous blade.

  Okay, so, I was standing on a cage the size of a small truck hanging at least fifteen feet from the ground, fighting an alpha tengu male with hypnotic wings. Which meant that I couldn’t look at him, while fighting. My only chance was to make him angry, so that he’d grow BIGGER. Good news was that things couldn’t get any worse, because, come on, how could they?!

  “CHILD; THE TENGUS HAVE BROKEN MY BARRIER!” Will’s voice shot like a bullet in my brain. “They are all after Turner! Naraku is with them, the alpha and beta somehow survived the jade explosion…”

  “Go help him, Will, he can’t do it alone.”

  “But you…”

  “GO! I’ve got this!”

  “I’ll drink your blood, tonight, slut!”

  “Dude, that’s a little extreme,” I replied, back flipping to duck one of his blows and slashing back at him. “I get that you have issues, I met your wife!” I miraculously blocked his black blade with my green one. Gosh, he was fast! “But anger is never the answer. Try a good shrink, maybe…”

  “I’ll kill you slowly, then we’ll use your blood to free our mistress!”

  “Free her? From what, her excessive fat? Ever heard of vegan diet? Blood is so last year!”

  Free her from what? As far as we knew, she was doing a major demon’s biddings, right?

  “I’ll rip your heart out and throw it to the trolls!” He slashed at me, furious. And growing BIGGER. My plan was working! The Rain Man had told us that aggression and anger made the alpha tengus get bigger. Doing so sucked a lot of energy out of them, and quickly. If I managed to resist until he got weaker, maybe I might have a chance. Pity that, while he was so angry, he was even more lethal than usual!

  “Don’t look at his wings, don’t look…” I repeated to myself, while blocking a blow and back flipping to duck another. I landed back onto the cage’s top, slashed at his foot…and missed.

  “You’re right to be angry, your wife’s such a bitch! You need a divorce, ASAP. I know a good lawyer…” I jumped aside, pirouetted on the spot. “ …who could really…” and slashed my katana at his chest. “…help!”

  “Shut up, you scum!” He roared, beyond furious. And he grew. And grew. He was twice his original size and so were his wings. Which meant that it was even more difficult to fight without looking at them.

  And to avoid falling off the cage and breaking my neck. I was forced to fight trusting my instincts more than my eyes. I couldn’t last much longer. I needed help, but…

  “You have magic seeds in your right pocket,” Megan’s voice echoed in my head. You have the aureus flos, I feel its presence. It can defeat Sharaku. Blue creature can get out and produce water.

  “Not sure I can fish in my pocket and spread seeds around while fighting,” I replied, blocking a blow, then slashing at Sharaku as fast as I could. He ducked, as always, only this time…a little bit slower. Or was it my impression only?

  “Trust your instincts,” Megan replied, as if to answer my silent question. “Just observe…find the right moment. That’s your only hope of survival. And your friends’…”

  That word triggered something, deep inside me. My friends. I had just met James, still, he had followed me on this crazy mission, risking his neck for a total stranger. And then there was my uncle who God knew how he had managed to find me. The “how” wasn’t important, though, the “why” was. He had ended up there because he was looking for me. Because he was worried for me and, because of that, he could now die the most horrible death, just because he loved me. I couldn’t let that happen.

  “I’ll give my mistress your blood, but keep your soul for me!”

  “You do know how to flatter a girl!” I growled back, blocking another blow, then another. It was getting easier and easier. I was right, he was getting slower. He was furious but wasn’t growing anymore, he had reached his maximum growth. And was starting to wear out.

  “You know what? Maybe you don’t need a shrink, after all…I see you’ve done a lot of growing lately…” I yelled, slashing at him like crazy, doing my best to make him back off, if only a little. Only a little. It worked. He lost a few feet of ground.

  “DIE!” He shouted, outraged, fighting back. But he wasn’t as fast as before. Which gave me the three seconds I needed to fish into my pocket and back-flip while scattering its content in mid-air.

  Unfortunately, the complicated manoeuvre made me miscalculate the space. I landed on the border of the cage, lost my balance and fell off. I managed to grab the bars with one hand, while I still held my katana in the other.

  “Blue!” I yelled desperately, as Sharaku approached, his sword already raised.

  “Time to die, bitch! Your blood won’t be wasted!”

  His wings were really too big and close, so I closed my eyes. And prayed. The next second, I heard the noise of running water and then…something lifted me up.

  I opened my eyes. I was sitting on the leaf of what looked like a giant daisy. It was the size of a satellite antenna and, more importantly, it was all yellow and sparkly, just like solid gold. It was my golden flower, no doubt! A frustrated shriek cut the air. I looked down: Sharaku was still on the top of the cage, already spreading his wings to fly to me. Time to act.

  I put my hand on the golden trunk, concentrated, cleared my throat and said, in my most authoritative voice: “I own your seeds, Aureus Flos, I’m your master. So, I order you to turn ALL my enemies into gold, starting with the one approaching now.”

  Immediately, the giant flower contracted, and started pumping huge amounts of golden pollen into the air.

  “You can’t flee, whore!” Sharaku hissed, getting closer and closer. “I will…”

  I was ready to engage battle, but it wasn’t necessary, after all: the pollen reached him a few seconds before he landed on the flower. The tengu inhaled it.

  “What?” Then said something in Japanese, as his hypnotic wings turned stiff and yellow, closely followed by the rest of his demonic body. I believe he had a moment left of consciousness before he was turned into a solid gold statue which fell and crashed onto the cave’s floor, breaking into a thousand pieces of solid gold.

  I started descending back down, as fast as I could. The Aureus Flos’ leaves were thick and bouncy, but also rather slippery, so I had to be careful. While climbing down, I realised that not only had the golden daisy grown, but an entire artificial forest of magic plants was spreading throughout the cave. Since I hadn’t had the time to pick the Aureus Flos’ seed from among the ones in my pocket, I simply emptied it and hoped for the best. Unable to recognise the one seed himself, Blue had simply spread water on all of them, and now dozens of plants and trees were growing, incredibly fast: some were gigantic and luxurious, like the one I was on, others crawled and expanded on the ground and on the walls, as well as onto the other prisoners’ cages. The thick vegetation now provided an excellent coverage from view, but could also potentially pose a big threat since we didn’t really know what those plants’ properties and powers were.

  “Resist Megan! I’ll be right there!” I shouted while I landed onto the cage’s roof again.

  “Hold on, I’ve got this!” I said, slamming my hands on the iron bars once again. I was backed up by the plants, the Aureus Flos was doing its job with the rest of the tengus. I finally had time to concentrate properly. I closed my eyes, squeeze the bars and once again roared: “Aetýne!”

  The iron shook for a second, then was still. The jinx was gone. I heard the metallic s
ound of a heavy lock tumbling down, then a beam of fairy light shot through the open door, to kill the black plague blocking it. The next second, Megan was floating in front of me. She was even more beautiful than in my vision: her pale skin glowing with power, her forest green eyes filled with secrets I’d never know. Her silvery armour shone in the dim light of the cave, like a diamond in a pond of mud.

  “Thank you,” she said, this time in English. “Thank you for coming for me.”

  “I…you’re welcome,” I stuttered, wishing to ask her a thousand questions, but aware that there was no time for it.

  “Your friends are both alive,” she continued, reading my mind.

  “Where’s the bluemini?” I rushed, suddenly realising he wasn’t there.

  “He’s ran off the moment he opened the cage. He’s going to try to destroy Okasan’s barrier, as planned,” she replied. Very good. Maybe we still all had a chance to stop the meta-human and get out of there alive. “We don’t have much time. Let me boost the Aureus Flos for you,” she said, with a smile. She raised her hand, conjuring a gentle but steady wind that blew the golden pollen towards the beanstalk, where James and William were still fighting against tengus.

  “Child, all tengus are turning into gold statues, crashing down below.”

  “I know, Will, that was my doing. I’ve just released the fairy, can you and James…?”

  I hadn’t even finished the sentence, when both William and James appeared in front of me, safe and sound.

  “Miss Wise, are you all right?” James immediately asked me. “How did you do that? Turning tengus into gold? And what…oh my God, Is she?” he had just noticed Megan. and he couldn’t take his eyes off her. He looked battered and exhausted, still, his sole focus was Megan. I understood that she was the very first fairy he’d seen, but still…

  “NIECE! HELP!”

  Uncle Terry’s voice brutally interrupted my train of thought. We all turned in his direction. His cage was just a few yards away, hidden behind a giant orange bush and completely covered with a purple climbing plant that moved like a nest of snakes, trying to get through to my uncle and Daniel, who was lying unconscious on the floor.