Rise of the Fomori: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Adventure (Faerie Warriors Book 2)

by J. A. Curtis

  Other Mina hopped the back fence and headed into the school. With the backpack I’d borrowed from Kris slung over her shoulder, she walked into the lunchroom. The backpack contained Nuada’s computer. After showing myself off to Chels, I would find Nellie. Hopefully, she’d be willing to help.

  Through Other Mina’s eyes, I made out Chels sitting at the same table where I’d caught her flirting with Arius. Her back was to me, and her normal lackeys sat nearby. She spoke with someone on the other side of her.

  Other Mina smiled, reflecting my triumphant emotions. This was my moment. My faerie guardian threw her shoulders back and stalked toward Chels’s table, but her footsteps faltered as she drew closer.

  The figure Chels spoke with came into view.

  The shoulder-length dark hair, the piercing green eyes, that clever smirk. Other Mina froze on the spot as I jerked my attention out of her.

  “Dramian is here,” I said to Arius.

  He straightened, the golem on his arm becoming more defined as his body tensed. “Where?”

  “With Chels. Talking to her.”

  “He must have followed us,” Arius said.

  “Which means he’s been here since the day we arrived,” Wolpertinger added sounding frustrated. “I did as you asked. I kept watch. How did he get around me?”

  “Dramian is stealthy. But why wait until now to show himself?” I asked.

  “He’s been observing,” Arius said. “The same way he found out about you. He didn’t make his move until he understood what was going on, why we were tracking you.”

  “He must have figured out why we’re here and who Chels is,” I said.

  Arius glared at the school building through the bushes. “We can’t let him take her.”

  I nodded, agreeing with Arius. Dramian, even if he was well-intentioned, might not understand how much danger the queen was in. Or what an ill-fitted leader Chels was. Plus, last time I talked to Dramian, he had avoided my questions about whether he was still working with Margus. That was enough reason to worry.

  “I’m going back in.” I sank back down into Other Mina.

  I forced my faerie guardian forward. What could I do? If I warned Chels to stay away from Dramian, she wouldn’t listen to me. She hated me. Dramian’s eyes rose as Other Mina approached. His smirk grew, but he didn’t acknowledge me as my faerie guardian walked past.

  “Tell me more about this homecoming,” he said to Chels.

  Other Mina froze again. Only this time because I had to hear more. Chels wasn’t really inviting Dramian to Homecoming, was she?

  “Well, I’ll give you my address, and you can come to my house and—”

  Chels stopped as she noticed Other Mina standing right next to them. Her companions noticed Other Mina as well and grew a shade paler. Chels’s eyes filled with surprise, followed by rage at the sight of Other Mina.

  “Did I ask you to listen in? You’ll get lost if you know what was best for you,” she snarled.

  I felt my own rage rise at the sight of her. She showed no remorse at all for what she’d had others do to me.

  “You better watch yourself, Chels. You’re playing a dangerous game here,” Other Mina growled.

  Chels’s shoulders squared, and her eyes flashed with fury. “Who are you to speak to me about dangerous games?”

  Was she blaming me for what happened with the fight? Stay calm. Don’t let her rile you. Don’t let her win.

  “I’m saying this won’t turn out like either of you imagine,” Other Mina said looking pointedly at Dramian.

  Something I couldn’t read flashed in Dramian’s eyes.

  Chels’s lackeys rose from their seats. They looked a lot more frightened, but they seemed to recognize when their queen was cuing them, and they obeyed. Other Mina could take them in a flash. But that wouldn’t do any good. So I had Other Mina move past the table, leaving Chels and Dramian to their conversation. Chels’s bodyguards sank back into their seats, relief flashing across their faces.

  I spotted Nellie with a tray full of food, making her way from the lunchroom. Other Mina worked her way to the girl and caught her elbow before she could leave.

  “Hey, sit down here with me for a sec,” Other Mina said, steering a surprised Nellie to an empty table. I needed to stay in the lunchroom to monitor Dramian and Chels, but I still wanted to give the laptop to Nellie. If she’d take it.

  Nellie sat down, setting her tray on the table. She appeared mildly annoyed that Other Mina had stopped her escape from the lunchroom.

  “I need your help,” Other Mina said. She pulled the laptop from the backpack and set it in front of Nellie. “The information on this laptop is encrypted. I was wondering if you could help us—un-encrypt it? Is that a word?”

  She eyed the computer suspiciously. “Whose computer is this, and how did you get it?”

  “The computer belonged to a woman named Nuada. She encrypted the files on the computer, but now she can’t remember how she did or how to undo it.”

  Sort of.

  “When I met you, I thought you might be able to help us,” I added.

  “Seriously, that’s your story?”

  “I’m sorry, would you like to tell me how I got this computer?”

  She frowned and opened the laptop. “How much is she offering?”

  “Offering?”

  “Yeah, I’m not a charity. This could take hours, maybe days. If she wants the information so badly, how much is she willing to pay?”

  “Oh, um, well...” We didn’t have money. We didn’t really have anything to offer her. “What about...” Come on, think Mina, “a date to Homecoming?”

  I flinched as her eyes snapped to my face. “What?”

  “Yeah. I can set you up with my friend Arius.” What are you doing? My brain shouted at me.

  “Arius. The new hot boy?” Nellie said.

  “You know him?”

  She gave me a flat stare. “Everyone knows him.” She paused, and I got ready for the lecture about being so shallow as to think I could pay her off with a date. “Okay.”

  “Y-you agree?”

  “Yes. I agree.” She reached into her bag that she’d hung on her chair and came back around with a pen and paper. She scrawled across it and then handed it to Other Mina. “Tell him he can pick me up at seven, and I expect dinner.”

  The paper contained her phone number and address. Nellie messed around on the computer as Other Mina pocketed the information.

  “You can give the computer to Kris Mendez when you’re finished,” I said.

  “Why not you?”

  “I mean, if you can’t find me for some reason. You know her, right?”

  “Yeah, I know her. Well, I know who she is at least,” Nellie said. “Is this Nuada lady from Ireland?”

  “What?”

  “She has a map of Ireland as her screen saver.”

  Other Mina took in the map on the screen. It was a topographical map, no names or places listed. When it had come up, neither Arius nor I had identified it.

  “Hey, um, why is Chels glaring at us?” Nellie asked, her voice suddenly very quiet.

  Other Mina glanced over. Dramian was gone, and Chels spent her time shooting death glares in our direction. I looked around, but Dramian was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he had actually listened to me? Doubtful. More likely he had gotten the information he’d wanted from Chels and would find a more private time to approach her.

  “I may have made her hate me. I ratted her out for cheating,” Other Mina answered.

  “And you just sit me down in front of her like we’re best friends?” Nellie hissed.

  I could see the fear and anger in her eyes. Her entire body trembled.

  “I’m sorry, I—”

  “I’ll take the computer gig. And the date.” She snapped the computer shut. “But don’t you ever come near me again, understand?”

  Other Mina nodded, not meeting her gaze. I had endangered Nellie by displaying that we knew each other to Chels.<
br />
  “I hate you. Stay away from me!” Nellie shouted, rising, the computer clasped in her arms, her backpack on her back. And with that, she ran from the lunchroom.

  WE KEPT A CLOSE WATCH outside the school until the last bell sounded just in case Dramian returned. Other Mina found Kris as soon as school let out. We followed Chels home from school.

  Dramian wasn’t in sight, so far. Other Mina kept watch outside Chels’s home. Arius would rest and take the late-night watch. We hunkered down inside Kris’s car on the side of a neighborhood road a few blocks from Chels’s house

  “All right, you guys, I... I think I’m ready for some answers,” Kris said, her eyes flicking over to Wolpertinger, who sat silently on the passenger seat next to her.

  She surprised me, demanding explanation after explanation, seeking to know everything about faerie life, taking each of my fantastical answers in stride. At least now she wanted to fully be in the loop on what was going on. Afterward she appeared a little dazed, but she didn’t question any of my answers.

  Looking overwhelmed, Kris left to walk to a nearby Chinese takeout to pick up dinner, and Wolpertinger flew off to forage his own food. Disappointment filled me because we weren’t going to get to eat the tamales made by Kris’s grandma. At least not tonight.

  Arius and I sat alone in Kris’s car. He unwrapped the bandage around my head.

  “How does it look?” I asked.

  “Better, but...” He brushed his thumb around the edges and I gasped, jerking back. “Still tender, apparently.”

  “I’m surprised I feel as good as I do,” I said.

  “The poultice I applied has helped the healing process. We’ll let it get some air so it can heal over.”

  The space between us suddenly felt suffocatingly thick. Something in his eyes was throwing me off balance, but his face remained frustratingly neutral. I wished I knew what was going on in his mind. Was he thinking about Dramian? About Jazrael and Dramian? Or—my heart rate sped up—maybe about our kiss?

  I cleared my throat. “So about last night,” I murmured. “When we were inside the glass ball and we kissed—”

  “Hey guys,” Wolpertinger flapped in through the car window left open for him. He landed on the passenger seat and popped his head up, pressing his paws against the backrest. “W-what’s going on?” he asked in a high, squeaky voice.

  I pressed my lips together in annoyance at the interruption.

  “I thought you were foraging,” Arius said, his voice harsh. He must not have appreciated Wolpertinger’s sudden presence either.

  His nose twitched like crazy, and his little body trembled uncontrollably. “Oh, you know, eating is overrated. I don’t need to eat every night, do I? I’ll just, you know, think about eating again... sometime next week.”

  He dropped down onto the seat and curled into a tight ball. I leaned over the passenger seat to get a good look at him. His feathers quivered as wave after wave of fear passed through him.

  “Wolpertinger, what happened?” I asked.

  “Golden eagle. Came right at me. I barely escaped.” His little body shook.

  Poor creature. I reached over the seat and patted his soft head. “Hey don’t worry, I’m sure Kris can find you something to eat so you don’t have forage.”

  “Thanks Mina.”

  I glanced at Arius. He slumped farther down into the seat of the car and stared out the window. Neither of us wanted to discuss our kiss with others around. That conversation was over.

  Kris returned a short while later. The car filled with the smell of Chinese food as we sat and ate.

  “What’s the plan now?” Kris asked, slurping a noodle.

  “I heard Chels invite Dramian to Homecoming,” I said. “I’m pretty sure he accepted.”

  “It would be the perfect time to get her alone,” Kris said.

  “And kidnap her,” Arius said.

  “Or just explain things,” I suggested.

  Arius shook his head. Like he had room to talk. Still, I couldn’t rule out the possibility, considering Dramian had tried to kidnap me when we first met, which was why I was going along with all the hypervigilance. But I still thought Dramian and the faeries who followed him needed protection from Chels, not the other way around. Chels wasn’t equipped to lead a pack of wolves, let alone actual faerie children.

  But if Dramian was still working with Margus—

  No, he wouldn’t. What reason would he have to put himself at Margus’s mercy after everything that happened?

  “Whatever his intentions, making his move on the night of Homecoming sounds like his best option,” Kris agreed.

  “Still, we should be vigilant in case he tries to make his move beforehand. We can track Dramian if he shows up during the school day. After school, we confront Chels,” Arius said.

  “Chels won’t be at school tomorrow. Or the football game in the afternoon,” Kris said. “She and her followers skip out so they can get their hair and nails done for Homecoming. At least that’s what they did last year. When Chels is gone, we notice.”

  So she wouldn’t be alone all day tomorrow. Great.

  “If that’s true, then we probably won’t be able to approach her until after Homecoming. We also still have to follow her tomorrow to make sure Dramian doesn’t show up to get her alone. We’ll have to take turns monitoring Chels while we get ready for the dance,” I added. My teeth sank into my bottom lip, and my hands twisted in my lap. We were getting close to a topic I really didn’t want to bring up.

  “Good idea,” Arius said. “Kris, Mina and I will need to borrow your car so we can get to the dance—”

  Kris’s eyes lit up. “Oh, you two are going to need way more than just a car. But don’t you worry! With my help, you’ll be the most beautiful couple on the dance floor.”

  Arius nodded thoughtfully. “Whatever we need to look the part.”

  You two. Couple. And Arius hadn’t even batted an eye at Kris’s words. I twisted my fingers so hard it felt like they might snap.

  “Actually, I’ve already agreed to go with someone,” I said.

  Arius’s eyes narrowed. “Go where? With who?”

  I sighed, then met Arius’s gaze without flinching. If I was going to confess, I might as well do so with pride. “I agreed to go to Homecoming with a boy named Preston.”

  A storm brewed in those dark eyes, and I braced myself for what was coming. Kris sat in the driver’s seat, noodles halfway to her mouth, her eyes darting between me and Arius, her jaw nearly reaching her lap.

  Not helping, Kris.

  “And why would you do such a thing?” His arms were folded, his fists clenched—the tone of his voice a forced neutral that he was putting way too much effort into.

  The image of Chels kissing Arius flashed through my mind. “It doesn’t matter, the point is, I said I’d go with him.”

  “Well then, you’re just going to have to tell him you can’t go with him,” Arius said.

  “She can’t do that,” Kris cut in. “She’d scar the poor kid for life.”

  “This is more important than some silly human—”

  “I’m going with Preston,” I said, my voice low. “And there’s something else.”

  Arius ran a hand over his face. He raised his eyebrows at me in expectation.

  “I kind of set Nellie up with you, Arius, for Homecoming.”

  17

  Homecoming

  Mina

  “I can’t wait to see you all grown up and breaking boys’ hearts”—Nana

  HUNDREDS OF STRANDS of lights hung from the ceiling, casting a soft moonlit glow about the banquet room. A cool breeze blew in through the fancy hotel’s open doors where couples gathered on the rooftop balcony overlooking the town of Coeur d’Alene. Through the large windows, I saw both the heavy clouds above and Lake Coeur d’Alene in the distance. Whoever chose the venue and decorations had done an amazing job.

  “Last year, you elected her as your freshman duchess. And this year is n
o different for your sophomore duchess is none other than Chelsea Herrington!” the vice principal announced.

  A large amount of enthusiasm met the announcement, but my gaze turned to Kris and some of those off on the sidelines who appeared less enthusiastic. Chels paraded to the stage and joined the boy elected sophomore duke, the football jock who’d intercepted me outside the locker rooms. A grin stole across my face at the sight of his splintered nose.

  The announcement for the junior duke and duchess and, finally, the homecoming king and queen came after. But it was clear from the way Chels stood center stage and elicited everyone’s attention that she owned the show.

  Everyone knew who the real queen of Lake City High was.

  They placed a sash on Chels’s shoulders and a crown on her head. The sight turned my stomach sour. She didn’t deserve such an honor.

  “Don’t like Chels much, huh?” Preston said to me.

  I smoothed out the deep scowl on my face. “It doesn’t matter.”

  It really didn’t. I was bound to protect the insipid girl no matter what kind of shallow, horrible person she was.

  She looked close to perfect in a short red satin dress with her hair pulled back in a mass of precisely placed ringlets.

  Preston shuffled his feet next to me and adjusted his tie as if it was too tight. Kris had booked dinner for her, her boyfriend, Arius, and Nellie at the same venue as Chels and her friends, but Preston insisted we go to his family’s cabin on the nearby reservation along Lake Coeur d’Alene. If I hadn’t been so distracted by my mission, I might have appreciated the romantic dinner Preston had planned for us. The spacious cabin was beautiful, but my thoughts were so far away he could have fed me cardboard and I wouldn’t have noticed.

  Other than some mention about his parents’ divorce and the cabin hardly ever being used anymore, I had no idea what we’d even talked about. All I could think of was Dramian making his move while I sat in a ridiculously expensive cabin with a boy who should have asked someone else to the dance.