Night of the Fae (Ana Martin series)

by Lyneal Jenkins

  Still chortling, he leant over to give me the kiss I had been aiming for. ‘I don’t think I have ever met anyone who makes me laugh so much just by being them.’

  ‘Glad I can be of amusement. Now, back to the point of how do I control this glowing?’

  ‘You already use a similar technique to shield yourself from people’s emotions. It just involves a bit more concentration.’ He laughed as I raised my eyebrows. ‘Stop worrying, it’s easy.’

  ‘Easy for you,’ I muttered.

  Ignoring me, he continued, ‘Sit yourself comfortably as if you are going to meditate.’ Once I was ready, he resumed, ‘Relax until you can feel the energy flowing around your body.’

  I had done this many times during meditation in the past, but unlike previously where I had felt a tingling sensation, this time it was as if electricity vibrated throughout every atom in my body, giving the illusion that I could be shaken apart at any moment. The hairs on my arms stood on end, and the tint of my skin was quite a bit brighter.

  ‘This time, instead of imagining a shield around you, pull the Shi into your solar plexus and hold it there.’

  Although I dabbled in meditation and spiritualism, that was just gobbledygook to me and I raised my eyes to show I had no idea what he meant.

  He touched his hand to my stomach below my diaphragm. ‘Here.’

  I closed my eyes to concentrate and listened to his voice, the soft flow of his speech causing me to relax. As I drew the Shi into me, my stomach rolled as if I had been riding on a rollercoaster and I heaved.

  ‘It will pass,’ he reassured me.

  After a few moments it did and I cautiously opened my eyes. I held my hand up so as to view it better. The slight tinge that had been present for days had gone. Gabriel smiled at my delight for achieving it.

  ‘See, I knew you could do it.’

  ‘I can feel it sitting heavy on my stomach, is that normal?’ I shifted on the sofa, careful about setting the nausea off again.

  ‘For me, my whole body feels like it is compacted together, as for you…nothing about this situation is normal, but if I had to guess, I would say you will probably be fine.’

  I decided to put my control to the test, and shifted closer to Gabriel. He perceived my actions and bent forward; kissing me with such force my head started spinning. With my heart racing like I’d just ran ten miles, and my hands shaking, I checked out my skin, only to frown with disappointment when I saw that the affect hadn’t been permanent.

  Gabriel detected my dismay, and turned my face towards him to kiss me lightly. ‘You will get better as you practice. Anyway, I hope you wouldn’t kiss anyone else in such manner, causing such a break in concentration.’

  I laughed at such a ludicrous idea and nuzzled into his embrace. Maybe he was right and it wouldn’t be so hard after all, anyway it was only a slight glow. What real harm could come from it?

  Chapter 9

  Lexi and I relaxed on the porch, enjoying the sun and the scent of the newly planted flowers that lined the edges of the garden. The fire smoked nicely, and the steaks sizzled loudly, filling the garden with the mouth-watering aroma of cooking meat.

  I was in the process of turning the steaks over when a weird sensation came over me, as if something tickled the corner of my mind. The sky seemed to darken, as if a cloud had passed over the sun, causing my stomach to curl and my pulse to race. Even though there was no sign of a breeze or chill to the air, goosebumps spread across my skin, and a shiver travelled through my entire body.

  Seconds later I noticed a shadow by the gate. As Lexi’s voice faded into the background, my throat closed up, and my stomach dropped to my feet. It was them, the Fae. How the hell had they found me?

  They moved towards us with the same flowing walk they had used before. They weren’t the same ones I had met. Their features were still childlike, and their eyes shadowed with the same desire for harm, but these were two different males. I caught a shadow through the gate as if there were more, but if there were, they didn’t come into the garden.

  The fork slipped from my fingers, and loud spitting filled the air as the steak directly hit the flames, but I couldn’t move. Even though the main feeling from the Fae was only interest at this point, I could still feel the underlying tone of malice and evil. It crept across the garden towards me like a thick fog full of an infectious disease that I couldn’t avoid.

  Paralysed by fear, I watched as they glided up the two steps onto the porch. They started circling Lexi while she continued to speak, completely unaware that they were there. A strange strangled sound found me. It took a moment to realise that it was coming from me.

  As one of the males, his dark hair long to his shoulders, looked over at me, I found my voice.

  ‘Lexi, come here.’ My whisper came out in a high pitch that frightened me nearly as much as the sight of the Fae did. It was as if I had lost control of my body’s reactions.

  Lexi didn’t move. She just frowned, now aware that there was something wrong, but unable to perceive the real danger.

  ‘Please,’ I begged in a coarse whisper, hoping that if I kept the tone low, I wouldn’t startle them into a reaction.

  I had no idea how I was still stood motionless, when every cell in my body was screaming out for me to run. I briefly wondered if Lexi would understand the danger we were in even if she could see them. Their actions on their own were not particularly frightening, though when they opened their mouths, the sharpened teeth would be enough to spark fear in anyone. But it was their clear intentions that provoked the fight or flight syndrome in me, the knowledge that they would not only partake in evil deeds, but would get extreme pleasure of it.

  I had no idea how to get away and if by some miracle we managed to, I didn’t know where we would go to hide from the malevolent creatures. Gabriel hadn’t said when he was due back, and remembering the depth of his fear when he had spoken of them, I didn’t know what he could have done. I wished he was here anyway.

  ‘Please,’ I whispered, not sure if I directed it at Lexi or the Fae.

  Lexi walked towards me talking, but her words escaped me. All my concentration was taken up by watching the two males follow her with interest.

  When she reached me, I gripped her hand. ‘When I say go, run.’

  She stiffened, finally able to sense the depth of my fear, and warily scanned the garden, unable to see the threat just three feet in front of her. I edged towards the back door as the gate was blocked by their approach, dragging Lexi beside me.

  When we were but a few feet away from it, the panic finally bubbled over.

  ‘RUN!’ I screamed, crashing through the door, only distantly aware that Lexi smacked into the frame as I yanked her through it.

  As I dragged her through the lounge, I hoped that I had left the keys for the car on the kitchen side, making it possible to grab them on the way out, I wished I had asked more questions when Gabriel had spoken of the Fae, especially how to protect myself from them, and I prayed that we would make it to the car before they could catch us, while knowing that this was an impossibility as I had seen how fast they could move. I pleaded to God for a miracle as we would surely need one to get out of this.

  All these thoughts were stopped short when we reached the kitchen. Stood in the front doorway was a picture of true evil. The female who had confronted me in the park stood still and silent, a smile of wicked amusement of her face which only enhanced the maliciousness in her eyes.

  I came to an abrupt standstill, unable to breath with terror. Lexi crashed into me, propelling us into the kitchen side, forcing the trapped air from me in one uncontrolled exhale.

  Looking at the angelic appearance of the Fae, there was no way I could delude myself, begging wouldn’t work, though it would possibly increase her pleasure. Even though she was small and slight, I knew if I fought against her I would lose, as she oozed strength only slightly less than she did evil.

  It was the most surreal feeling, being afraid of som
ething so small, but I had no control over how my body and mind reacted. It was as if I were a child again, only this time I had found out that the boogieman under the bed was very real, and my parents weren’t around to save me.

  We were going to die. I couldn’t read minds, but I could sense intentions, and the Fae weren’t here to talk about the Shi within me. Gabriel’s words about how they used the negative thoughts within someone against them filtered through my mind. With the bipolar I was a lavish buffet to them. The dark thoughts I fought to keep buried were fuel they would use against me. Would I be the one in the morning paper having killed Lexi?

  I didn’t know why, as Gabriel had never really explained what the Fae wanted, but I knew that before they killed us, they would inflict terrible pain. I scanned the room looking for an exit or a weapon or anything that would help, unwilling and unable to just wait for the nightmare to run its course.

  I thought of screaming, but although I had neighbours, the nearest was about fifty meters away, too far to be heard. I did get passers-by, but the chance of that happening right now was minimal, and the energy required would be best saved for if an opportunity presented itself. Anyway, I couldn’t drag someone else into this.

  The two males had blocked the way back, the shorter haired blonde one, leaning against the frame as if this was a usual days activities’ for him.

  Lexi tugged on my hand. ‘What the hell, Ana? Let me go, you’re hurting me.’

  I couldn’t release my grip. The terror had frozen me. I could only briefly look into her eyes, trying to convey my sorrow for bringing this upon her.

  The realisation that I had doomed my best friend allowed me to finally break my paralytic grip and I pulled her to my side, while keeping my eyes firmly fixed on the female.

  ‘I’m so sorry Lexi,’ I whispered, the grief causing my voice to break. If I had been on my own I may have tried drastic measures such as hurling myself through the window, but with Lexi unable to see them, I wouldn’t be able to get her to commit to such actions. The weight of my responsibility for her turned my legs to concrete and welded my feet to the floor.

  My spritely friend opened her mouth to speak, but was wrenched backward, the long haired male gripping her hair. As she fell to the floor a look of first pain, confusion and then panic across her face now that the Fae were suddenly visible to her. She let out a scream so loud, that I instinctively covered my ears against it.

  Anger flood through me, it didn’t diminish the fear rather it was fuelled by it. ‘LET HER GO!’ I jumped forward in the hope of pulling her free, willing to fight the Fae if that’s what it took.

  The short haired Fae in the doorway moved quickly, gripping me from behind. Before I could get a firm grasp on Lexi’s leg, he pulled me back as I yelled and kicked. He was so much stronger than his small frame portrayed and I didn’t have a chance.

  ‘Let her go!’ I shouted again, this time to the female as she seemed to be in charge. She just smiled whimsically, as if she held some secret that she wasn’t willing to share.

  Unable to move, the strength brought on by my anger drained from me. I would never see Gabriel again. Would he ever know what had happened to me or would he have to suffer the death of another that he loved, this time without knowing why. And he did love me. I knew that without a shadow of a doubt. I tried to conjure up his face in my mind in the hope it would give me the strength endure whatever was in store for me.

  ‘It’s me you want, please let her go,’ I begged, raising my voice over the wilting cries emitting from Lexi.

  The female nodded her head in the direction of the male holding my friend. Lexi’s crying abruptly stopped, though she was still going through the motions. Her mouth was open wide, as if she was screaming, but there was only the sound of her laboured breath being forced through her nostrils, and a look of wide eyed terror as she scratched at her neck. The long haired Fae hauled her onto her feet, and threw her into the wall, pinning her by her throat as she struggled against him.

  As I lunged towards them, the Fae holding me sprang onto my back and wrapped his arm around my neck, squeezing until my vision swum, and my legs went from under me. I collapsed sideways onto my stomach and he released enough pressure to allow me to breath. With a knee on my back, he gripped my hair, turning my head so that I couldn’t miss what was being done.

  The tears flooding my face, I could only watch as Lexi silently struggled against her attacker. The Fae sank his fingers into her stomach, as if her clothes and flesh were nothing more than soft butter. I couldn’t tear my eyes away as he moved his hand around, as if he was rummaging through a draw filled with junk, looking for that lost and badly needed item. The blood flowed freely from her, the amount so great, it soaked her clothes in seconds before splashing onto the tiled floor.

  Abruptly, her body relaxed, hanging limply against the wall as her eyes glazed over. She was still alive as her chest rose and fell, but it was as if her mind had left to escape the trauma of what was happening to her.

  ‘Feeble human minds,’ the female Fae said with disgust as her companion withdrew his hand from Lexi’s stomach. At the sound of her grating voice, my captor pulled me up so that I was standing. ‘She won’t be much use to me now.’ She held a silver sphere in one hand and an inscribed dagger in the other. ‘But at least we have quiet.’

  She beckoned for me to be brought towards her.

  ‘What do you want Fae?’ I spat with bitterness. Although the fear within was still strong, I no longer cared. Seeing the pain and then deadness in Lexi’s eyes had ripped something inside my mind and my heart. She couldn’t cause me anymore pain than she already had.

  ‘Not you.’ Her laugh was as a snarling dog, preparing to attack. She swung herself up onto the kitchen side. Sitting with the sphere in her lap, she spun the tip of the blade on top of it. ‘I just want one little thing from you and then….well, I have no need for you, so you can both go.’

  ‘What?’ I asked flatly, able to detect the lie behind her words.

  ‘Ohh, I’d like to know…’ she said lazily, watching the dagger spin. She turned back to meet my eyes, and smiled. ‘Where is the Siis?’

  Dread filled my heart as I stared at her. Of course this was about Gabriel. How could I have I missed it?

  ‘I told you before, I don’t know what you mean.’

  ‘Oh I think you do.’ She slid gracefully off the side and moved quickly, to stand inches from me. ‘Do you want to know how I know you’re lying? Not only do you carry their life light inside of you.’ She touched the tip of the knife to my stomach. ‘You also knew to call me Fae, and only a Siis would know to call me that.’

  It was hopeless. I couldn’t watch my friend die and I couldn’t tell them about the man who was not only my love, but my destiny.

  She watched me closely for a few moments before turning to the male holding Lexi. ‘Continue.’

  ‘No.’ I hung my head with the shame for the betrayal I was about to commit. ‘I will tell you. Just don’t hurt her again…please.’

  If it had been me they were torturing I would have gladly suffered it to keep Gabriel safe, but not Lexi. I couldn’t make that choice when it was her who would suffer the penalty. She smiled in satisfaction and held up her hand to halt her companion.

  Everything happened very quickly.

  The door flew open and Gabriel charged into the kitchen, wind and the petals from the blossom tree outside following in his wake. In my terror I hadn’t sensed his approach.

  Lexi was dragged across the room towards him by an invisible force, the Fae still gripping her throat and snarling as his legs flailed behind him. At the same time the female moved fast. She spun me around so that I was in front of her acting as a shield, while moving the dagger up, so that the flat edge lay across the side of my neck, in line with my jaw.

  Lexi’s catatonic body stopped at Gabriel’s feet in a crumpled heap. He swung down and circled the childlike neck of the Fae in his hand. Yanking him with such a force t
hat the Fae lost his grip, he heaved him up and dangled him out beside him. His face was full of icy rage, his eyes glinting like the steel of a blade.

  ‘Let her go Fae.’ The words spat from him like fire. As he spoke, I became aware that at least two other Fae had joined us and were stood in the doorway to the lounge.

  The hanging Fae’s eyes bulged with fear, and I could feel it radiate from the other male beside me, but the female seemed unconcerned, as if she had expected nothing less to happen.

  ‘I don’t think so Siis,’ she said. ‘There is something I want from you first and I think you will not fight us, considering what I hold for ransom.’

  Gabriel stared intently at the dagger and although I could feel a slight tingling along where the blade touched my skin, nothing happened.

  The female laughed harshly, making my skin crawl. ‘Do you think that I would use a normal dagger Siis?’

  Gabriel’s lips pulled up over his teeth and his eyes narrowed even further, so they were barely more than slits. ‘What do you want?’ he hissed.

  ‘Your life force.’ She smiled with raised eyebrows, as if she had just asked him for something as simple as a cup of sugar, and even though she expected him to refuse, she thought it was most unkind of him. ‘Your Shi will be most appreciated in strengthening us in order to create more Fae.’

  I had thought that I was already more terrified than possible, but her words brought to mind images of my nieces whom I loved more than life itself. I could see what was happening in front of me clearly, but the image of the Fae creeping into the girl’s room in the deep darkness of night was playing out so sharply, that I could almost believe that I was there. The sound of their whimpered cries as they were taken so real, that I convinced myself that it wouldn’t just be some poor unknown child the Fae would take, but that they would purposely set out to track down the ones I loved as it would add to their fun.