by Holly Evans
“I didn’t mean to destroy the workshop, the wards.” His voice wavered.
“I’m sure everything can be replaced. Now tell me everything.”
He swallowed down further tears and said, “The witches are up to something big, and the artifact that Kadrix is hiding is much more valuable than he wants me to realise. You’re holding back your magic, which is so frustrating because you could do amazing things! If you’d open up, you could protect the city and really make a difference. I feel like Kadrix has pulled away as of late due to this witch thing, and there have been fae politics that he shuts me out of. Then there’s Raif; I want to help him with his shaman stuff, but I’ve been so busy here.”
He sighed. I hadn’t realised my attitude towards magic had been bothering him so much. I knew I’d been foolish; I’d been terrified that I was becoming one of them. Yet Quin was right, I should have been realising how much good I could do with it. The elf, on the other hand, had done wrong by Quin and would pay for causing him such distress.
Kadrix approached us slowly. His footsteps were light, but the glass still crunched beneath his feet. I tensed and ran my hands down my thighs to get my blades. Quin put his hand on my upper arm.
“I’ll handle this, Evie, you check on Lys,” he said softly.
I scowled at him, but gave a small nod. I’d be close enough to cut the elf open if I needed to.
Lysander had managed to find a sort of safe spot where there was no broken glass. He stood torn between glaring at Quin and looking deeply concerned. I made my way to him and ran my hand over his ribs and stomach, checking for injuries. The physical contact with him calmed and soothed us both. Quin’s little explosion had set my nerves on edge. I had no idea he could do that, and apparently he couldn’t control it. It was one thing to blow up the elf’s workshop, but what if he lost control out in public?
Lysander distracted me by pulling the glass out of my back. I frowned, but turned to allow him to continue; it wasn’t going to do any good staying there. Quin and Kadrix were talking in hushed tones. Kadrix refused to look at Quin’s face. Quin was talking as much with his hands as his words. His eyes were surrounded with deep creases, and his mouth was tighter than usual. My poor twin. Magical or not, he was my brother, and I’d go to the ends of the Earth for him.
I didn’t know if the workshop was salvageable. Books, or what remained of them, lay scattered about. Copper bowls were dented and torn, glass coated everything. Brightly coloured powders and liquids pooled between piles of paper and leather bindings. The wooden tables were still almost standing. One collapsed in a great heap just as I looked at it. A flutter of panic filled me as I wondered if perhaps I’d done that. I quickly realised that the leg had a large chunk missing out of it, and the top had bowed. It had simply been a matter of time.
Once Quin and Kadrix had both relaxed and Lysander and I had done what we could to help each other’s injuries, I asked, “Where has the magic gone? How long will it take to bring back?”
Kadrix spun around and looked me up and down as though seeing me for the first time.
“How do you know that, Evelyn?” he asked sharply.
I shrugged. “The bright colours have vanished.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Your ability to see magic is improving?”
I shrugged again. “It would seem so.”
He pursed his lips and glanced back at Quin, who ran his hand over the elf’s hip.
“It will take a night, possibly longer, to return the protections to as they were,” he said.
“You’d best get on that then,” I said with false cheer.
“Not tonight,” Quin said firmly.
Kadrix looked between us; my fingers reflexively ran down over my blades.
“You need to rest tonight. We will put everything straight first thing tomorrow,” Quin said.
There was no room for disagreement between his words.
Kadrix smiled and relaxed. He took Quin’s hands in his own and kissed across his knuckles.
“You are too good to me,” he said.
Quin smiled and kissed the elf tenderly.
“I know,” he said.
Lysander pulled me to him and nuzzled my neck.
“Do not fear, Evelyn, much progress was made here,” he said.
I ran my hands over his strong arms and said to Kadrix, “So… Quin’s magic.”
I wasn’t quite ready to let that subject drop.
Kadrix pursed his lips. “It is coming out in unexpected ways. However, we are working on it together. Tell me, Evelyn, how is your magic coming along? Have you burnt anything else?”
Lysander pulled me out towards the door before I could snap at the elf. Kadrix and Quin came with us back home. I was glad to have Quin there for the night so I had further chance to mend those bridges and keep an eye on that elf. They talked in hushed tones on the tram back home. Lysander nipped my ear when I tried to listen to them. I glared at him.
“Let them be, Evelyn,” he said with a smile.
I leant my head on his chest and enjoyed the peace of the moment as the tram took us home. Questions insisted on bubbling up in my mind; peaceful wasn’t something I could maintain for long. By the time we were safely in the privacy of the apartment, I couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Why did you layer so many protections around your workshop, Kadrix? What changed?”
Lysander wrapped his arms around my waist.
“What Evelyn means to say is, ‘we’re sorry about your workshop, Kadrix, but we’re retiring to bed now,” Lysander said.
“No, what I meant was, what the fuck are you up to, elf?” I said as Lysander carried me to our bedroom.
I woke up to the sound of wailing. After a few long moments with my head under both my and Lysander’s pillows, I realised it was actually Raif singing.
“Can you make him stop?” I asked Lysander
He laughed.
“He’s happy, he’s smitten with this girl,” he said.
I buried my head under the pillows.
“Can you tell him to celebrate quietly?” I asked.
The wailing was cut off by further wailing. Higher pitched, more aggressive wailing.
“Please don’t tell me that’s Kadrix joining in the celebrations,” I said.
The wailing became screaming in elvish. Quin began shouting at him in barely comprehensible English. Then everything fell silent.
“How do we feel about getting an alarm clock, because that one’s shit,” I said.
Lysander laughed, a short gruff noise that showed he wasn’t entirely listening to me. We climbed out of bed and went to see what the fuck the cacophony was all about.
“Is there a reason you were wailing and screaming at this god-forsaken hour?” I asked while looking for coffee.
“The artifact has been stolen,” Kadrix shouted while flailing his arms.
I stopped and slowly turned to face him.
“We thought it was well enough hidden,” Quin said.
I glared at the elf.
“And just what does this mean for us?” I growled.
Kadrix took a long deep breath, lifted his chin, and managed to look down his nose at me.
“It means very bad things, Evelyn. Very bad things, indeed,” he said.
“You’d better have more details than that,” I said.
He glanced at Quin, who gave him a hard glare. His shoulders slumped; the air went out of him.
“Do you recall my sending you to retrieve a recipe, Evelyn? When Quin was under the witches’ care?” he said softly.
“When Quin had been kidnapped by witches who wanted to drain his blood for a nefarious ritual you mean? Yes. I remember you having me kill numerous beasts to steal a recipe,” I said.
He went to wave his hand at me but thought better of it.
“The artifact is that recipe,” he said.
“And I’m assuming it’s not elven cupcakes,” I snapped.
He looked at Quin with l
arge pleading eyes. Quin put his arm around his shoulders.
“The recipe is a very old fae recipe. I had one half. Should the witches get hold of both halves, it will tell them how to forge new souls. They will be able to combine, for lack of a better term, two species in one body. The ‘abominations,’ as you call them, will be feasible rather than broken shells,” Kadrix said.
“Why the fuck did you make a recipe that would allow that?” I shouted.
He sighed softly. “It was not entirely intentional. We were exploring the nature of essence and that led to that research and understanding. We have kept it hidden for centuries.”
Quin kissed his temple before he took a step away and thrust his hands down into the pockets of his jeans, he hung his head low.
“I’m sorry, Kadrix, had I not have exploded last night this wouldn’t have happened,” he said. “This is my fault. I should have had better control. You devoted so much energy to those protections and I destroyed them in a moment of weakness,” Quin said, his eyes down.
“Of course it would’ve! Your workshop was lit up like a fucking neon sign, you were begging them to come and steal it!” I shouted.
Lysander handed me a cup of steaming coffee and wrapped his arm around my waist.
“I believe Kadrix understands the mistakes that were made, Evelyn,” Lysander said gently.
“It was me who fucked up, Evie. Not Kadrix. Kadrix did everything he could to protect that recipe,” Quin said.
“He could have destroyed the recipe! He could have left it in the fae plane!” I shouted.
Lysander nipped the tip of my ear.
“Enough, Evelyn,” he whispered.
Kadrix stroked Quin’s cheek with the back of his hand.
“You can’t always be strong, Quin,” Kadrix said softly.
Quin frowned and looked up into Kadrix’s face. “I’m sorry, Kadrix.”
Kadrix brushed his lips over Quin’s, “Don’t focus on what you can’t change. We’ll fix this together,” the elf said.
Quin shuffled forward; Kadrix wrapped his arms around him and stroked down his back. I hated seeing my twin like that. Of course it could be argued it was his fault, but he clearly didn’t do it on purpose. He had no more control over that ability than I did mine to see magic. That in itself was terrifying, but also a consideration for another time.
The entire thing was so very fae. I slumped down on the sofa. It wasn’t a fae thing at all, not really. Humans would have done the same thing. I smiled to myself; truth be told, humans wouldn’t have been able to resist experimenting and making hybrids. At least the fae hadn’t done that. To the best of my knowledge, at least.
“What now?” Raif asked.
Kadrix had curled up with Quin in an armchair; they somehow managed to fit together something like a yin-yang symbol.
“The recipe has a tracking sigil on it. A number of fae will be aware that it has been activated. They will contact me when the location has been found,” Kadrix said.
“And then you’ll kick some ass?” Raif said with a grin.
Kadrix’s mouth twitched into some semblance of a smile.
“Yes. I need to assess the damage done to the workshop first,” he said.
Quin looked down and away. Kadrix kissed his forehead.
“Fear not, you’ll find some way to pay me back for the damages,” he said matter of factly.
I held my hands up. “Do not give me details on that payment scheme.”
Quin laughed at me. Raif blushed a little when he understood.
He blushed even more when he said, “I’m going for breakfast with Iona. I’ll catch you guys later.”
“I assume you’ll be helping us tidy up the workshop,” Kadrix said.
I raised an eyebrow at him.
“And what will you be giving us in return?” I said.
“Is keeping the city safe not enough?” he asked.
I sniffed.
“Last I heard you fucked up and allowed a recipe that will give the witches power to stick two souls in one body. I don’t believe that’ll make the city safer, do you?” I said.
His face darkened.
“We’ll grab breakfast on the way over there,” Quin said.
“Won’t the fae be there?” I said.
I really didn’t want to devote my day to sweeping and cataloguing.
“The fae are not one group, Evelyn,” Kadrix said with a sigh.
“They didn’t give me their names before they dumped powder on my head,” I retorted.
Quin stifled a laugh.
“No. They will be elsewhere trying to track the sigil,” Kadrix said.
“What would you like us to do?” Lysander asked.
I elbowed him in the ribs for encouraging the elf.
“Don’t we need to do something with Bryn and Elise?” I asked Lysander hopefully.
He gave a small shrug. “Not that I can recall.”
“Get some suitable clothes on, Evelyn. That,” the elf gestured at me from head to foot, “will not do,” Kadrix said.
The very tips of Kadrix’s hair began to singe. Lysander laughed before he said, “Now, now, Evelyn.”
I smirked, feeling rather good about myself. Kadrix patted at his hair with a mix of alarm and fury. The morning was looking up.
The moon goddess was on my side. Kadrix got the call that his fae friends had gotten a location on the sigil just as I pulled on my leather jacket. He had told Lysander it was best if he remained behind, so as not to upset the other fae. Apparently someone had been whispering in their ears, telling them my hound was not safe. Lysander had been quite calm about it. I’d singed more of the elf’s hair. Azfin pulled up in front of our building with a squealing of tyres just as we stepped out into the grey, misty morning. He honked his horn and swore at us as we jogged over to his large SUV. I cursed him and slowed my pace purely to piss him off. We were already jogging, what more did he want?
The back of the SUV was a little cramped with an elf and two Sidhe already there. We squeezed in with me almost in a Sidhe’s lap and Kadrix practically in Quin’s lap. No one said a word. I hung onto the door handle for dear life. Azfin’s driving was as reckless as I’d come to expect from him. The elf idly spun his short silver knife as though he were sitting in his living room with nothing better to do with his time. I was slammed into the door for the second time in twenty seconds as Azfin put the vehicle up on two wheels. Again.
I landed in one of the Sidhe’s laps when the vehicle came to a sudden stop. We all piled out in front of what appeared to be an old bunker. It was a concrete box covered in graffiti just off a back road on the far edge of the city. Scrubby trees sprouted around it, and sharp grasses grew up around the grey walls. We circled around it. The fae ignored me for the most part. The three Sidhe stood back near the SUV weaving tendrils of magic between their hands, while Kadrix and the elf ran their hands over the concrete. I looked at the magic in its technicolour glory and wondered what it meant.
The entire concrete block was covered in multi-coloured strands, with a soft lilac mist shrouding the lower half of the building. It was quite a spectacle. I stood in front of the thick metal door, with large rusted rivets around the outer edge of it.
I tilted my head trying to figure the magic out while the elves continued muttering under their breath and running their hands over the concrete.
“Why are the lemon-yellow strands chained, while the heather-grey ones are more like steel cables?” I asked them.
Kadrix frowned and looked at me.
“Do you mean the magic, Evelyn?” he asked.
I rolled my eyes; what else could I possibly have meant?
“Yes, Kadrix,” I replied.
“Tell us what you see, child,” the other elf said.
“I am not a child,” I snapped back.
“There is a lot at risk here, Evelyn,” Azfin warned me.
“And you introduced that risk,” I growled back.
“Evelyn, please,”
Kadrix said.
“Evie, this could help us,” Quin backed him up.
“There’s a thin lilac mist around the lower half of the building that’s clinging to the walls. Then there are lemon-yellow chains that run around the doorway and across it diagonally. The heather-grey threads are thick, about an inch. They circle around the entire building much like a boa constrictor. The neon-pink ribbons are wide, but seem to be fragile. They’re almost translucent and criss-cross from corner to corner on the front of the building,” I said.
The new elf, with his silvery blond hair, narrowed his eyes at me.
“I was informed that you were just a human. A hunter,” he said.
“And I wasn’t told anything about you. Kadrix clearly missed out on telling me how delightfully charming you are,” I said.
Quin held up his hands to stop anyone from speaking further.
“What does that magic mean?” he asked everyone.
Kadrix said, “Well, the chain sounds like a locking mechanism, much like one of your bike locks. The mist could be an all-purpose security measure, something to stop us from knocking the walls down. The grey coils may be a problem, though. They feel as though they will multiply if we do the wrong thing.”
I held my tongue. The five fae passed a look between them before they stood at the five pentacle points around the building. Quin glanced to Kadrix, the elf gave a small nod and a smile to Quin, who took his place next to the elf.
“You will be the battery, Quin,” Kadrix said.
I stood over near the SUV. I felt like a spare wheel. I assumed I was the muscle, although there were clearly no witches there. The air began humming as the fae began whispering and waving their hands. The grey coils took on an orange hue and began to thin, but the mist formed coppery shards within it. I watched as the shards solidified and began to turn outwards.
“Stop!” I shouted.
It was too late. The shards quickly became physical and flew out at the various fae. Fortunately, they had heard me shout and hit the ground. The shards sliced open Azfin’s arm and slashed the silver-haired elf’s cheek, but there were no serious injuries. I watched as the grey coils doubled in size and number. The fae each stood and muttered something to themselves before they began again. This time, the coils shimmered a pale blue and mist formed thin spikes of lightning. Once again, I shouted, and they hit the ground before any of them was hurt. The coils doubled in size and number again. The building was almost entirely hidden beneath them.