Destroying the Fallen

by Rebecca Bosevski

  “Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?” she asked, her eyes immediately beginning to well.

  “This power, Ava, I didn’t know if it was safe. I wanted to.”

  “You are coming back, aren’t you?”

  “Ava, of course I am,” I said, wishing I could close the distance between us and pull her in for a hug.

  “Here,” I said, bringing my hands up to the back of my neck to unclasp my necklace.

  “No, Mum, it is protecting you.”

  “I need you to be protected more than me now,” I said as the clasp opened and the necklace was free from me. The moment it was off my neck the air shifted.

  “I want Traflier to take this power. If there is a chance Parabellum would stop that, I can’t risk wearing it.”

  I motioned for her to turn around, and, careful not to touch her, I clasped the necklace closed around her. “Besides, it looks better on you,” I said as she turned back to me, the necklace sitting against her top.

  “Wow,” she said, touching the pendant.

  “What?”

  “I can feel it.”

  “What can you feel?”

  “It’s like... I don’t know. I feel normal I guess. Like before everything went...”

  “Ava I should have given you this a long time ago. Maybe if I had...”

  “Mum, don’t.”

  I really wished I could hug her.

  “I love you, Mum,” she said, gripping Parabellum in her hand, a tear rolling down her cheek.

  “I love you more,” I said, then blew her a kiss and headed for the throne room. I didn’t dare turn around for fear I would lose my resolve and pull her in for a hug.

  King Blake and Sien had found a way to bring a gateway to the Elf Kingdom. We would use it to get us to the plains. It shouldn’t take long for him to realize we were there. The convergence of so many magical creatures in one place should act like a giant beacon calling him in. When I arrived in the throne room, everyone was waiting. Jax front of the pack, elf sword in hand. Beside him stood the unicorn king, and my father. A rush of heat ran though me. My heart rate began to soar and the room took on the pink tinge it had before. I clenched my fists together, digging my nails into the palms of my hand but the pink hew didn’t progress, the room didn’t slow.

  “Des, are you ready?” Jax asked as I came to stand with him. “Holy cow, what happened to your eyes?”

  “What?” I asked, still keeping my hands firmly clenched.

  “They are blood red, Des, what happened? Is this the power, will you be able to control it?”

  I nodded. “I don’t know for how long though, so let’s get this show on the road.”

  King Blake stepped forwards with Sien and together, they created a cast that sent a ripple of golden magic up from the floor to the ceiling like a wall of glitter. It shimmered then fell and before us was a gateway, not unlike the one in Sayeesies. The black onyx gleamed in the candle light of the throne room.

  I stepped forwards, and raised my hand, holding it up to the solid stone. I pictured the gateway in the isolated farmland. The stone turned to liquid metal. The gateway was open.

  This is it.

  17

  I STEPPED THROUGH AND immediately knew I had picked the right place. The plains were vast and vacant. Perfect for a power trap for a sociopathic fairy.

  The unicorns followed me through and a few moments later a wooden door materialized in the rock wall of the mountain. Dion was the first dwarf through.

  “Good to see you again, Desmoree. I hope you don’t mind, but I brought some friends.”

  I smiled down at him as he stepped aside and four more dwarves stepped through.

  “This is Lore, Cia, Fron, and Gaize,” Dion said as each of them gave me a slight nod as they passed.

  “Thank you for coming. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, so please, if it gets too much, leave any way that you can.”

  The mountain wasn’t as big as the scroll had let on, or it’s once enormous peaks had succumb to time.

  A gust of the most delicious air wafted across my face and my heart began to race. My vision went a pink hew.

  You can feel them. Taste them. You want them, go on, go get them.

  “No. Not yet. Come on, Des, control this,” I whispered to myself.

  “Where do you want me?” Sien asked, pulling me from my lustful thoughts as she dragged a basket of some odd bulbous fruits behind her.

  “What are those for?”

  “Umm, you asked for a distraction, and I thought of a good one. It should really tick him off too.”

  I laughed. “Okay, so fill me in.”

  “I have a glamor we will use to make him think you are controlling the humans with your new power.”

  “Seriously?”

  “These fruits will act kind of like projectors. Look, I’ll show you.”

  She started throwing the fruits out in all directions. Once there were none left in the basket she brought around her waist a small bag. She pulled from it three stones and sat them in a triangle on the ground in front of her. Then with a few words from her, and some fancy hand swirls above them, the stones started to smoke. Red, green, and purple smoke twisted up from the middle of the triangle and turned a murky brown, before shooting out to the fruits scattered across the red soil.

  Then the fruits weren’t fruits at all. They were people. Regular looking people. Wearing regular looking clothes—shorts, polo shirts, basic tee’s...

  “How do I control them?” I asked, and they all turned to look at me.

  Fuck, that’s creepy.

  “The cast is already made with you in control. Just think or say what you want them to do and they will do it.”

  “And if Traflier grabs one of them or looks at them too closely, what will he see? What will he feel?”

  “It’s a perfect projection of real people in a town a few hours away. He will grab them, he will see them as they are. Human. Des, this will work.”

  “Okay, stay out of sight, I don’t want him getting to you or your magic.”

  Sien nodded and moved away just as the first dragon landed.

  Drendor.

  “Desmoree, your trap is set, he’s coming.”

  My heart raced and my vision went that familiar pink hew.

  No, not now, not yet!

  “Desmoree, are you okay... your eyes?” Drendor asked, the other dragons landing and stepping back the second they saw my eyes too.

  I took a breath and tried to focus on the fake humans littered around. They needed something to do. They don’t look normal just standing around here. But if I’m supposed to be controlling them, I guess they don’t need to do anything. Still, better to move them together right?

  “Desmoree?” Drendor called again.

  “Oh, right. Umm, hi. Thanks for coming, I know I look a bit different, but it’s okay as long as I don’t get worked up. Not yet anyway.”

  “What happens when you get worked up?”

  I looked directly at Drendor and my vision went from the soft pink hew to crystal clear. “Just let your dragons know if my eyes go red, they get away from me. I don’t know how to control this.”

  Drendor nodded and moved away to talk with his kind. The thick red magic churned inside me. It still tried to get to my power, to infect it. But the magic held it at bay. When I moved the human projections closer to stand in front of the mountain I felt the first rush of energy. It was strong, a queasiness followed by a hot rage.

  The rage brought the pink vision again. This time it wouldn’t fade away. The human projections held the emotion of their counterparts and their emotions were sending blasts of energy to the raging thick red power inside.

  They are so sad. But they love so much too. The rage, the passion, I want it. I need it. All of it. I could drink it all in. I could drink them all down and take all of that inside me.

  My vision went red. Brilliant red. I moved forward as the others around me slowed. Just like in the cor
ridors of the elf palace. I grabbed hold of a twenty something female human projection. She reeked of fear and sadness. I grabbed her by her shoulders and she felt solid, real. As I pushed her head to the side and leaned in close, I could smell her blood. The red magic thickened and swelled outward no longer interested in my power, it wanted hers. It wanted the human. Something pressed against my lower lip, something sharp. I wanted the human’s blood. It called me to it. Called me to take it. Begged me. And as I pulled the girl’s neck up to meet my mouth what I was feeling clicked .

  Teeth.

  I have freaking fangs?

  My eyes scanned the area and landed on Sien. She was watching me, seeing what I had become. What I was about to do. Her eyebrows creased in the middle, her mouth hung open.

  She is afraid of me. I wouldn’t hurt her... would I?

  The bubbling, thick red magic amplified and sent the human’s fear flooding into me. I looked down to the pulse that beat once, twice, three times. Then I bit down.

  I fell forwards as the projection disappeared and the juice from the bulbous fruit dribbled down my chin.

  The red power inside me fizzled away at the disappearance of the human who’s emotions had called it. My vision cleared to a soft pink and I regained enough of my senses to move the humans to the mountain base, and move myself away, up into the sky. Just far enough that the vision cleared a little more and I no longer wanted to rip all of their throats out. Being in the human world with so many of them near, even projections, was getting harder and harder to resist.

  “Desmoree, he’s nearly here,” Drendor said, zooming past me, a golden sparkle trailing behind him.

  Drendor has the pixies helping him. No wonder he knows so much about what Traflier is up to out here in the human realm.

  Drendor came to hover beside me.

  “Why isn’t he here already? He could portal right here, even use the gateway, why isn’t he?”

  “He probably doesn’t want to waste the magic he has left.” Drendor replied as the air thickened. The tufts of grass protruding from the red soil quivered and the magical creatures all looked to me.

  “We need him to take the power from me, but you don’t need to get hurt in the process, just lead him to me, and act under my control. If I say something, do it. This only works if he thinks my power is exactly what he wants, what he needs.”

  They all nodded or otherwise agreed.

  I moved the human projections into position behind the unicorns, against the wall of the mountain.

  A dot appeared on the otherwise clear blue sky. It grew quickly and before I knew it, an enormous black mist ball soared towards us. I threw up a shield around each of us, my magic holding, but the effort to pull my power to the front forced it to coexist with the thick red energy of the vampire power. It shot out worm-like tendrils to try to wrap around my white energy. It looped through, unable to consume it but still making it hard for me to concentrate.

  The view became a red haze and it was like I could feel them. All of them. Their anticipation, fear, excitement, anger. All of it. And I wanted all of it. My eyes met with one of the human projections, an older male. His salt and pepper three day stubble couldn’t hide the throbbing pulse in his neck.

  I started to lower down towards him, then the black mist swirled into a funnel and became the young Traflier I had seen in Sayeesies.

  “How nice of you to gather the fabled I need all in one place. It will make this so much easier.”

  My vision cleared and I locked eyes with Traflier.

  “They are not here for you, they are here for me,” I said, remembering the plan.

  “Come now, Desmoree. Oooh, what is that I feel in you? Do you have a new power? Did some misguided fabled creature share their magic with you? Not that it matters, you can’t stop me. I already have all the power of Sayeesies. What could you have that could compete?”

  I looked down at the creatures below us then to the dragons flanking me. I raised my hands on either side and as I did the creatures moved aside to reveal the human projections standing against the rock wall.

  “Humans?” he asked, floating back a little, a crease forming across his brow.

  “These are just a few of them, there are millions, billions here. But you know that, don’t you?” I coaxed.

  “You revealed yourself, your kind. They won’t stand for it, Desmoree, your precious elves will have your head.”

  “Oh I have elves too,” I said, raising my brows. “You might have the power of the Feydom but I have them, all of them. You might have been able to control the fey with that pitiful power of yours, but I control everything.” I lowered myself a little and Traflier followed. As soon as I was closer to them, my vision went red again.

  Not yet. I told myself but it was too late, he had seen my eyes, and dropped in a flash to the ground below.

  I raised my hands and the humans began to walk forwards in a line towards him, the dragons circled up above and began shooting fireballs at him. He had a shield in place too. And it was holding. The dragon’s fire didn’t even make a dent. Instead it was absorbed by his shield like all oxygen had been sucked from the flames the instant they hit it.

  The unicorns bolted around him, dwarves riding their backs and throwing orbs of colored dust at him.

  Nothing got through.

  Traflier reached out a hand and sent a snake of black mist out, it wrapped around an equillis leg and brought it tumbling down. Then he whipped the tendril up into the air and swatted at one of the dragons, sending it crashing into another one and both of them tumbled to the ground behind him. An orb hit his back, breaking his focus.

  His shield is down when he is attacking.

  Traflier turned from me and faced the dragons as they struggled to regain their footing.

  “Desmoree, do you really think I couldn’t take their magic if I wanted to?”

  I could feel the fear of the dragons, but there was something else too. I could feel Traflier.

  “You don’t have the power to take their magic and they sure as hell aren’t going to give it freely. I can have them attack you until you have depleted what’s left of the power you took. It can’t be much. I mean you didn’t even portal here.”

  He turned his head to look at me out of the corner of his eye.

  “You think I couldn’t take it. I can take whatever I want.” Then he held up his right hand and in it, something flickered in the breeze.

  Is that fur?

  Traflier turned back to the dragons, finally finding their feet and then I saw the strand begin to darken.

  “No! Go, get out of here!” I ordered and they leapt into the sky. Traflier sent a black tendril towards them. I let the red churning inside me take over, and the world slowed again. I ran towards Traflier and grabbed the strand from his hand. The moment it was free from his grasp the strand dissolved. My eyes went to the dragons and they looked fine. They were moving super slow, but they were fine.

  Then something prickled inside. The red energy bubbled and churned. I looked back at Traflier and he was smiling. He slowly tilted his head to one side, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

  What’s happening?

  At that thought his smile widened and he raised his other hand. Not super slowly like the rest of the world appeared to be moving. He lifted up his hand and out of the corner of my eye I could see the bundle of fur in his hand blackening. The red energy surged through me and into him, his head arched back as he let it all in, let it all take over.

  Sien opened the gateway and the unicorns, dwarves, and dragons fled through it. Only the human projections remaining. But then Sien started tossing out more of the bulbous fruits and more and more human projections appeared.

  Traflier lowered his head slowly, his red eyes widely staring into me.

  “My Desmoree, do not fear, for I’ll not kill you yet. You will live to see what I do to your human realm, your fabled creatures, your new elf friends. If you think the extermination of the yowies was
bad, just wait and see what I do next.”

  “You don’t even know how to use the power you took from me, do you?”

  He threw me back and I tried to phase but nothing happened except me slamming against the mountain wall. I cried out as the pain shot through my back.

  What the hell, did he take it all?

  “What, do you think I failed to take your power before? That I couldn’t?” He was laughing now. “Please, I left you that power so you could do exactly this. The demons attacking Sayeesies, reclaiming my tree and absorbing it’s power, and sending the fey fleeing from the realm. I wanted you all to evacuate, and so you did. Do you not see, Desmoree? You have done everything just as I planned.”

  “Prove it, go on,” I said, climbing to my feet. “Show me what that power can do.”

  He smiled and his eyes went an even darker shade of red, then he was gone. I scanned the area, finding him gripping the neck of a human projection to my right. The woman’s eyes bulged just as they would had he really been holding her. I could no longer smell her fear, it didn’t call to me, but I could see it was calling him. His mouth opened and sharp pointed teeth descended from his eye teeth.

  “It calls to me, I can feel them all. I must have it. I will have it. All of them will be mine,” he said, then bit into her neck. For a split second she cried out then dissolved away, and he was left holding a bulbous fruit to his lips.

  He snarled at me and instantly appeared beside another of the projections. He didn’t waste any time, grabbing the man by the throat, he tilted his head and bit down. Again the man dissolved and the fruit dripped from his lips.

  It was hard to track what happened next as he went from one to the next until all the projections disappeared and all there was left, was him and me and a scattering of bulbous fruits.

  He moved in front of me, his eyes dark red, his fangs dripping with the juice of the bulbous fruits.

  “I can still have you,” he said, reaching for me, but a silver shimmer reverberated in a bubble around me, blocking him from making contact.