Binding Curse: Dark Fae Hollow 4 (Dark Fae Hollows)

by T. F. Walsh

  In the city, faes were panicked and protested against protecting humans, but the truth was beyond terrifying. Humans got killed because they were easy pickings in the Outlands. This was genocide. I had to inform PPD, demand they listened.

  But what was Axel’s deal? Why did the vulsines want him? Or was I now incriminated too? The young child in the apartment said Axel and I were the keys. What did that mean?

  A quick look behind us revealed no lights of anyone following. But I wouldn’t put it past the vulsines to pursue.

  I shut my eyes and welcomed the balmy air on my face. Sleep tugged at me from all sides.

  After driving for what seemed like hours, Axel edged off the road and turned down a dirt track. A town came into view, just one street with about a dozen buildings. No trees. Darkness claimed everything.

  Axel parked behind the first house to our left… a two-story brick home with a flat roof.

  I stumbled off the bike, my thighs and butt aching. “Where are we?”

  Axel stretched his back, arms in the air. “A friend’s place. He’s out of town and left the alarm off.” He ambled to the veranda and pulled up a window, straining, but it didn’t budge. “Come on.”

  I kept checking the land stretching outward behind us as well and the road we’d just driven down.

  “We’re in,” he whispered as he climbed inside, fluttering curtains billowing around him.

  “About time.” I hurried after him. The wooden floorboards creaked in the main room empty of furniture.

  A faint light flashed, and Axel set a tea light candle on a table. He went around and shut all the blinds, then rushed upstairs.

  The kitchen was long and narrow with basic necessities of a counter and sink. Doing an inspection of the laundry room and bathroom in the back, I found them empty. I returned to the kitchen and plopped on a chair at the table, yawning.

  “House is all clean,” Axel said as he came down the stairs. “We’re alone.” He opened the pantry and retrieved a bottle of clear liquid and two glasses. Axel sat across from me and filled the tumblers. I expected to inhale the alcoholic smell of vodka, but none came. I drank the water in one gulp, rehydrating my dry mouth. Another glass later, and I slouched.

  “Are you sure we’re safe here?” I asked.

  “Can’t guarantee anything. As long as vulsines haven’t taken over a neighbor and spotted us, we should be fine.” After his third glass, he prepared sandwiches with what I guessed was canned meat, pickles, and chutney. “Hungry?”

  “Sure. Leave out the meat on mine.”

  He glanced up at my comment, arching a brow. “That’s right. Faes are vegetarians.”

  I had no energy to argue the semantics of why faes preferred not to consume meat, why we believed staying vegetarian brought us closer to nature. And most importantly, how eating animal foods weakened my electric charge. Food and sleep were all I cared about at that moment.

  Without a word between us, we dug into the meal. Two sandwiches later, the earlier lethargy was dissipated.

  Axel was back in the pantry, putting everything away but returned with a container of cookies, and I devoured three of the honeyed morsels. He fiddled with a pot of water on a battery-operated burner. “Coffee?”

  “Damn, yeah.” We’d been on the run for most of the night, fled from the PPD, fought vulsines, and even avoided getting ripped apart by a vlko. So much crap, but we still weren’t any closer to figuring out what the hell was going on and who or why anyone wanted Axel dead.

  If I hadn’t followed those faes into the woods, would Axel be dead now? Or would he have escaped? And what about me? Rescuing Axel might have been the only way to understand the chaos unfolding in Kutia Hollow.

  Axel’s life continued falling around him, but he kept rolling with the punches.

  He cleared his throat. “How did you know Stacy was a vulsine?” He approached with two cups and placed one in front of me, the nutty aroma of caffeine filling my senses. But after Axel’s question, the coffee wasn’t calming me in the slightest.

  He sat across from me, hands cupping his mug, studying me from behind hooded eyes. The split across his lip had closed up, but dried blood dotted his chin. I suspected my own injuries were a mess, too. “How did you zap those vulsines behind the apartment when you don’t have a Taser?”

  Of course, this conversation was inevitable, and I kicked myself for not jumping in and telling him first. Except, admitting the truth left me nauseated. We were both drowning in so much fucked up shit. He’d seen what happened with the tasering and the little girl with his own eyes, so if I brushed him off, I was the hypocrite. But my knees kept bouncing nonstop.

  I’d always dreamt of telling my friends about the real me. But my parents had drilled into me to never speak a word of it and avoid getting locked up in a council lab for experimentation.

  Axel and I were risking our lives for each other, so it made sense I told him the truth.

  “Well, funny thing,” I began and choked on my own words.

  Axel reached across the table and placed his hand over mine, filling me with a sense of calm. “Take a deep breath. I won’t judge you.” He pulled back.

  His words confused me at first because it sounded as if he already suspected I was special, and nobody wanted that word used to describe them. Especially by a hunk like Axel. But I embraced my power. Not sharing my secret with Axel earlier did not equate with embarrassment, only avoiding judgment.

  “When I was five, I accidentally electrocuted my pet rat. My parents said I must have been born with the innate ability to generate electricity.” I shrugged, unsure why I was selected when no one in my family possessed the skills. Humans didn’t have such abilities, so it couldn’t be from my binding.

  “My body buzzes with an energy that screams something is wrong whenever anyone is being deceptive. It’s hard to explain.”

  “Interesting. The most powerful aptness I’d heard of was a fae who could levitate small objects with his mind. Only a foot off the ground. He collapsed. But you”—he wiped a hand across his mouth—“are incredible. I’m surprised the council hasn’t locked you up to siphon your gift.” He laughed and took a drink of his coffee.

  I shifted in my seat because that wasn’t funny, but it had been dread I’d lived with my entire life. “They don’t know. In fact, no one does. Well, my sister, Nyx used to, but…” I paused, cursing myself for bringing up Nyx. Just saying her name out loud filled me with heartbreak. “And now you.” I sipped my coffee, anxious to change topics.

  Axel studied me with a tilted head. Oh yeah, he raised a brow, and his lips pinched. Wonderful, he wasn’t moving on from the topic of discussion.

  “Sometimes I feel like we live in Hell.” He lowered his gaze, staring into his brew.

  “Couldn’t agree more. Sorry about your friends and Stacy.”

  The bridge of his nose creased. “I’m hoping that since we left town, most of the vulsines will depart.”

  “Me, too.” Everything happened at lightning speed. No time to check on anyone when we ran for our lives. Waves of grief rattled through me for the humans and faes who’d lost their lives at the hands of vulsines.

  “My older brother and parents died when I was seventeen,” Axel began. “After they were gone, I promised to help as many people as possible. I left the gang I’d joined and tried to make up for not spending time with my family before I lost them. But my past kept catching up with me.” He seemed to curl into a ball in his seat and fell silent. Shadows were highlighted beneath his eyes.

  I imagined a young Axel alone in the world, terrified and grieving. That was me when my parents had died after a human band of vigilantes entered and attacked the city

  “I miss my family every day.” My words croaked, and in a strange way, it felt liberating to speak the words out loud.

  “Think we got the raw end of this deal by being left behind.” His attention was elsewhere, deep in thoughts. Did he remember the neighbors in his apartment, how
he couldn’t return to help those like Mrs. Joy, and the young girl, Stacy? Because they sure played on my mind.

  There was an innocence to Axel. He carried himself with confidence, jumped into fights, and was Mr. Hero, but behind the façade lay raw emotions. Maybe we had a lot more in common than I’d first thought.

  “Back in your apartment, how did Stacy recognize you?” I began. “Priest said vulsines didn’t retain their victims’ memories, just their appearance. But last time she saw you, she wouldn’t have been a vulsine.”

  He shrugged. “Who the hell knows. Maybe the bastards are communicating telepathically.”

  Sure, I could come up with a million reasons too, yet the hard facts were facing us. “You’re involved in this vulsine mess. I just don’t know how. And Stacy said we were both the key. What do you think she meant?”

  After finishing his coffee, he set the cup in the sink. “If I suspected anything, I’d be following the lead already.” Axel turned, hands gripping the counter behind him. He gave me a dark look, drowning in resentment and sorrow. “I’d lure the enemy here and ambush them.” His words were short and clipped. “We’re in a fucked situation, and this is my last safe house.” He sighed and left the small kitchen. His footsteps stomped upstairs.

  I remained alone with silence. My stomach churned with unease, the kind that came with feeling cornered.

  Considering I’d come up empty with discovering more about vulsines, maybe we ought to return to the city and investigate the PPD. Find connections, any new clues. Waltzing into the precinct was out of the question and talking with Santasha would be foolish because everyone at PPD knew we were buddies. Same with my other friends at the office, and I couldn’t bring myself to drag them into my troubles.

  I gulped the last traces of coffee, well aware of who I had to visit in the city. I loathed the idea and cringed. My ex was an inspector with PPD. He owed me after being a royal ass. I exhaled loudly. How was I meant to ask for his help when all I wanted was to smash my fist into his nose for cheating on me with his colleague? Princess Kutia, give me strength.

  Chapter 16

  The morning breeze carried a chill, nipping at my flesh. We’d woken up during sunrise and made our way toward the city on the motorbike. Now, Axel and I hid in the shadow of Sky Rock, studying the city from a distance.

  “You sure about this?” he asked from right behind me.

  I inhaled the clean smell of the soap he’d used that morning, the cologne. Yet, his natural muskiness left me giddy. It shouldn’t, but hell, the guy was a walking sex magnet.

  “Do you have to stand so close?” I lowered the binoculars I’d borrowed from the vacant house and glanced over my shoulder, our faces inches apart, his icy blue eyes radiating mischief.

  He smirked in a way that said he loved being in my personal space. Any other place and time, I’d be all over him, but he was pushing my buttons. Last night he’d vanished upstairs and crashed. I went into another room and did the same. Was he now feeling guilty for walking out on our conversation, or was he a morning person? Even after several cups of coffee, sleep still clung to my brain.

  “Luna, hate to burst your bubble, but we aren’t entering the city through those gates,” he said.

  I surveyed the west entrance. Two guards out front. I knew them; both were assholes. A third stood in the tower. They’d arrest me in a second flat.

  “Now that we’ve done this your way,” he said. “Can we try mine?”

  The arrogance in Axel’s voice bugged me, just as a swarm of ants might if they crawled all over my body. Arguing was futile since he had a point, so I nodded.

  We retreated behind Sky Rock and headed toward the woodland. The location brought back memories of where I’d first found Axel getting beaten by the vulsines… the moment my world had changed forever.

  “So you going to share your plan with me?” I asked, scanning the forest for any sign of life, but we were alone. The sun had barely risen over the horizon.

  “When you tell me who this detective is. Do you trust him?”

  I huffed. “Told you before. And we need intelligence from PPD and the council, and my connection owes me a favor.” Not sure my ex would agree, but after I had caught him cheating, he was relentless in trying to patch up what was left of our relationship. His guilt would guide him to help me. At least I hoped so because we’d broken up more than six months ago but hadn’t spoken a word since.

  Axel stopped near a huge pine and kicked debris aside. “Well, they better be worth us risking prison.” He bent over and lifted a trapdoor.

  “There are tunnels heading into the city?” Why was I surprised?

  “Hurry.” Axel surveyed the woods.

  I scrambled down the ladder into darkness and pulled out the flashlight, throwing the beam across three tunnels. Okay, I’d get lost if I was on my own.

  Axel landed with a thud. He switched on his light. “This time don’t speak to anyone.”

  Before I could respond, he marched into the third tunnel. His illumination guided the way. The farther we traveled, the more I turned into a sweat hog. We were in a death trap. On the bright side, we hadn’t bumped into a single soul.

  Half an hour later, I swam in perspiration. We entered a cavern, ten feet wide and just as tall. A wooden plank hung on a wall with the words, City, painted in green.

  “Do all humans illegally enter the city?” It explained why boxes of supplies often went missing or why some weeks we seemed to have more people accepting handouts than we’d counted.

  Axel halted. A guy was sprawled on the ground in front of us… unmoving. Axel stepped over him and was already adding distance from me. I bent over the man and felt the side of his neck. Nothing. The dry blood around his mouth told me he’d been there for a few hours at least. Was it gang or a vulsine activity?

  Jumping over the dead man, I ran after Axel, not ready to lose him again. Sure, Axel wanted to find out what was going on, but I wasn’t one hundred percent convinced he wouldn’t ditch me once he got an answer. If we discovered how to stop the vulsines, he could be on his way. Then why did something in my chest tighten at the thought? Crazy. I barely knew the guy, but he’d been growing on me from the start, complete with his arrogance.

  My light landed on his figure, power-walking. Once he saw me approach, he waved for me to hurry and broke into a sprint. We were off. Knowing he panicked enough to run left me uneasy.

  The faint trickle of voices resonated behind me, and I paused to listen. Yeah, two people spoke.

  Axel checked over his shoulder at me, and I flicked my hand for him to keep moving. He didn’t hesitate. I ran, my boots hitting the compacted soil, sweat rolling down the sides of my face. A full ten minutes later, I gasped for air, not from exhaustion, but the lack of oxygen. These underground passages weren’t designed for marathons.

  Axel stopped near a ladder secured to the wall. He climbed up and paused at the top, listening.

  The voices escalated. Could it be criminals who hated fae? Worse yet, vulsines?

  I rushed up behind Axel. He wasn’t budging.

  “We wait,” he whispered.

  “Why? Someone’s coming.”

  His brow knotted into a mess. He pushed the trap door ajar once again and looked down at me. “Follow my lead.”

  We entered a dark enclosure reeking of stale air and mildew.

  Axel scurried toward a corner shrouded in shadows, vanishing from sight. I pressed up against him in the darkness, my body burning up.

  He leaned closer and whispered, “We have company in the other room. Wait for them to leave.”

  My mind spun. Whoever was in the tunnel would emerge any second.

  A thud came from the wall, coupled with the dull thump of punches. My muscles tensed. I didn’t sit back while people hurt others. What if a person was in trouble?

  I emerged from our hiding spot, but before I could get traction, Axel had his arm across my stomach, forcing me back.

  The trap door ope
ned. My heart plummeted, and my sheer instincts took over.

  I grabbed Axel’s wrist and drew him into the next room. With my knife poised, I whirled to face the strangers. Except we were alone. I rushed toward the front door and opened it a smidgen. Outside, three humans lurched away and out of sight down a muddy street. No sign of fae markings on their necks. One limped. I rushed outside, Axel behind me.

  Dilapidated houses barely stood upright across from us. We were in the slums, a part of the outer sector directly behind Kutia Park.

  We ran down the street. I was well aware PPD didn’t patrol the area, but criminals might.

  A voice came from behind us, and I whirled to face a middle-aged man and woman who held a child in her arms.

  My head buzzed. Why were they sneaking around in the tunnels with a kid? My curiosity got the better of me, except Axel blocked me and nodded at the couple. “We won’t cause you any harm,” he said.

  “Thank you,” the man said. He and his family hurried past. The child, who had to be five or six, stared over his mother’s shoulder, smiling. I waved.

  Once they left, Axel said, “You don’t need to confront everything with aggression.”

  “You can’t talk. I wanted to understand why they’re risking their lives in the tunnels. They’d be welcomed through the front gates.”

  Axel released a huge sigh. “Things are not that simple. Gangs watch the entrances, and humans who use them are labeled betrayers. Their life is made hell for siding with the faes. By using the tunnels, it shows they’re loyal to their own kind. Many families don’t even have food for the children so have no choice but to come to the city to feed them and get medicine.”

  “That’s absurd. If they get caught trespassing, they’ll get arrested. They risk being imprisoned.”

  “Better than having a family member killed by a gang. There are no laws in the Outlands, and everyone does what they can to survive. Anyway, let’s move.”