by N. M. Howell
Raina repressed a shiver. As if it were yesterday, she still felt the posh club shudder under her feet from the explosions. She could still hear the screams, the panicked rush to escape. The attack may have been an assassination attempt on her. In fact, she suspected it was. The timing was too coincidental not to have been an intentional hit on her. Not that anyone had claimed to have been behind it. To her dismay, she didn’t know how many died during that night. She tried to shake the sudden memories out of her mind. Were the Dark Fae still out to kill her? Perhaps, in intermingling with humans, they had developed the capacity to forget.
Derek continued to chatter on as they walked closer and closer to the park. The restaurant he chose was right on Central Park South near Columbus Circle.
“Dinner can be a bit on the rich end, but brunch is pretty reasonable,” he said as they waited for a table at Marea.
Raina’s eyes kept straying across the street to the park.
“A lot of crazy stuff’s been happening since the attack,” Derek said, nodding the way she faced. “The Shadow Fae really reached out. They got human jobs. You see them on TV.”
She scowled. Why would people embrace the Dark Fae after they attacked their Light Fae cousins and destroyed the portal?
“Sometimes, we’ll get a few Shadow Fae customers at the store. Trying out human food or just looking around. As much as they’ve reached out, I’m still trying to figure them. What do you think they’re looking to do?”
Raina shrugged. Historically, the two races had been bitter enemies. Recently, through interactions with humans, both sides of the Fae race had come closer. Still, centuries of hate, the war of the Blood Days, still raised a lot of ire. It was hard to disregard the past. “I’ve never understood the Dark Fae agenda.”
Derek glanced quickly at people in the line. “Shadow Fae we call them now.”
“Right.” Raina frowned. “I forgot.”
“It almost seems like they took advantage of the portal attack to get closer to us,” Derek pressed.
Raina shrugged. “Right now, I don’t understand any of it.” But she intended to find out.
The busy restaurant gleamed with wood polished to a high gloss flickering under chandeliers with red shades. All tables full with the buzzing brunch crowd, the hostess lead them to the long counter near the back by open kitchen. Air redolent of Italian spices, both sweet and savory, intermixing with conversation and clinking silver added to the cozy feeling of the place.
“I’ve been dying to try the frittata,” Derek said, holding the chair for her.
Raina’s eyes darted around. No one seemed to pay her any attention. She relaxed slightly. “Sure smells good.”
“Smells expensive.” Derek face brightened into a cheeky grin as he sat beside her. “This place is amazing.”
Raina studied the menu. She recognized a few things, but for the most part, the descriptions of the food escaped her.
“See anything you like?”
Raina closed the menu. “I’ll have whatever you’re having.” Even though they weren’t seated by the windows, she could almost feel the green space of Central Park.
“Danny turned me on to this place. He’s living over in Queens now. You have a brother and sister, right?”
“Rrohn and Neita,” she nodded.
He smiled, dimpling up. “Hopefully I get to meet them soon.”
The idea pierced her heart. In this inviting, bustling place, she tried to keep a positive attitude. “Me, too.”
When the waitress came, Derek ordered the frittata for both of them, but as a server walked by carrying a tray of something that looked like waffles smothered in caramel, Raina changed her order. Her stomach grumbled. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten.
Derek gave Raina a concerned look. “You okay?”
“Sorry, I’m just a little edgy.” Raina shrugged her small shoulders, attempting indifference but failing. “Being this close…”
Derek bumped his forehead with the heel of his hand. “Oh, damn it. I was so excited about taking you here, I forgot how near it is to the portal.”
“I had to visit sometime.” Raina’s voice was nearly swallowed by the babble that surrounded them. “At least this is a nice enough place—”
“Raina.”
She snapped her head toward the voice, back tensing. Opening her mouth to respond, she quickly shut it when she realized no one was there. She blinked wide eyes, staring into thin air as Darek’s voice grew louder.
“Isn’t this place da bomb-dot-com?” Derek took her hand. For a moment, she lost herself a little in his touch. “It’s supposed to be one of the best Italian joints in town. Should come for dinner one night. Their seafood is meant to be the best in town.”
“Raina.”
Again, she turned toward the insistent voice. Again, she saw no one. Not even a face looking expectantly back.
“What’s the matter?” Derek asked, giving her hand a small squeeze. “You want to go someplace else?”
“No, I’m fine. Do you hear someone calling me?”
He shook his head. “Uh-uh. Sometimes you get that, when you’re in a crowded room. You think you hear your name.”
“Raina. Raina?”
She felt an odd thrum go through her. The voice was coming from the direction of the park, even though it sounded right in her ears. Could it be…?
“Here you go, Mediterranean frittata and dulce de leche waffles with braised pear,” the waitress said brightly as she set down the plates.
“Derek, I’m sorry, I have to—”
“Raina!”
She hurriedly shoved her chair back and headed for the door.
“I thought you liked Italian?” Derek called after her.
She heard him asking the waitress if he could get the food to go.
Before she could blink, she was out on Central Park South, running across the broad crosswalk, ignoring the crush of buses and cabs. As she passed the USS Maine monument, she broke out into an all-out sprint.
While she had nearly zero magic left in her, Raina’s Fae physique was light. Faster than an Olympic athlete despite her weakened state, she pounded her way north through Central Park. At one point, she thought she heard Derek call her name. It was not nearly as loud as the beckoning call in her head. There was no way a human could keep up with her at full speed.
She passed the Sheep Meadow on her left, the Playfield on her right, racing for the lake. The portal lay between the Cherry Hill and Bethesda fountains, a walking path leading from Terrace Drive. It had been built to blend in and enhance the natural outcroppings of bedrock a few decades before the park itself.
Rounding the corner of a path, Raina stopped short. Her breath caught in her throat.
She knew what to expect. She’d seen images of the site on television countless times, but it didn’t make it any easier. Seeing it in person, right there in front of her, nearly crippled her. She couldn’t move.
The once beautiful pedestal that hosted the portal was blackened, the stonework cracked. Runes that once marked the steps to the portal had been chipped away, graffiti covering much of the graceful symbols. Only one of the five spires remained, the rest looked like careless deforestation. Once, the portal generated an illusion, a graceful, classical building to human eyes. Once, the portal opened on an arboreal Manhattan, where the sun and moon lingered in the sky forever.
Once, the portal was a doorway to home.
Not any more.
Now, a squat, ugly building squatted behind it, a solid mockery of the former shimmering illusion. The remnants of her portal scattered and charred over the grounds of the dark fae’s farce of a school, as if nothing more than forgotten decoration that hadn’t yet been cleared away. Beyond the remaining spire sat the entrance to the school, large doors painted the same light blue that once shimmered within the portal.
Seeing it made her sick.
The façade was fake stone. She was fairly certain even the ivy was pl
astic. A featureless concrete retaining wall angled toward the main structure, and proportionally narrow stairs cut through like a box canyon. The building itself was a cube with a grid of square windows, neo-classical pillars seemed haphazardly attached, supporting nothing. Hanging from the front, the banner read: University and Museum of Fae Metaphysics. Beneath hung a smaller banner: Academy of Fae Magic: A Magical Education for Humans.
Nausea threatened to boil through her as she stared, rooted in place. A line of people stood in the distance at the theater-style front doors, waiting to enter. The tragedy, the horror of an unprovoked attack on her people, now stood as a heinous money-making venture.
Heart racing, she leaned against a nearby tree. Blackness threatened to take over as she clung desperately to the bark, ice-cold fingers digging in as she fought the heavy pull of unconsciousness. Squeazing her eyes shut tight, Raina drew in a slow, steadying breath. “Calm down,” she said to herself. “It’s fine. You’re fine. You knew what this was.”
It most certainly was not fine.
Heat boiled through her and Raina found herself on her knees in the damp grass. Shoulders shaking, she felt trapped. The air was hot around her, far too hot for the chill of the late morning. The very breeze felt suffocating, and she began to hyperventilate. Fingers fumbling clumsily over the small metal zipper pull, she yanked it as hard as she could to cool herself down, but the zipper caught. The sweater felt tighter, binding her chest and shoulders and arms like a straitjacket. She yanked again, but still the zipper wouldn’t budge. The overwhelming feeling of being trapped flooded over her. She needed it off. Now.
Growing frantic and gasping for breath, Raina dug her nails into the skin-tight sleeves at each shoulder and clawed at the fabric. Fragile nails caught at the seams, and with a rip she sliced right through and tore both sleeves from her arms. Throwing them as far from her as she could, she stumbled backward on hands and knees until her back was against the tree. Sweaty palms clung to each forearm, her left hand placed carefully over the glyph that marked her. She felt surprisingly free.
Raina had grown tired of hiding, of covering up. Those sleeves had become her little fabric prisons.
Gods above, she hated sleeves.
Closing her eyes, she was finally able to breathe. Calm and clear-headed, a quick laugh escaped her lips at the strange feeling of release. She hoped no one had witnessed her little outburst.
“Jeeze, Raina!” Derek’s voice panted in the distance as he jogged toward her down the path. His cheeks were bright red, his breathing labored. He carried two amazing-smelling takeaway boxes in his hands. “What the hell was that? Are you okay?”
She looked up at him from the ground, eyes wide as she came to terms with where she was. “No.” Her voice sounded tiny, weak.
Derek’s eyes left hers, roving over the site around the school before returning to her. They then caught sigh of the yellow shreds of fabric that lay scattered over the grass. “Dude, what happened to you?”
“Nothing.” Raina forced a laugh and accepted Derek’s outstretched hand, pushing herself to her unsteady feet. “Forget about it. Fashion problems. Threading came undone.”
To his credit, Derek didn’t pry. “Well, you’re going to need to cover up. Especially in a place like this.” He handed her the boxes so he could remove his jacket before handing it to her in exchange again for the food. “Take it. After that marathon you just made me run, I don’t need it. Seriously.”
He urged it into Raina’s hands as she murmured a thanks and pulled it on. At least these sleeves felt light and loose against her skin. Still unable to unzip what remained of her sweater, she left the jacket open, just in case.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to cut and run. I panicked.”
“No worries.” Derek always had a way of making her feel at ease. He infuriated her a lot of the time, sure. But his easy grin always brought a smile to her face. He turned toward the building, arms cradling the boxes as if they held something far more precious than brunch. “People became really interested in the Light Fae after the attack. The museum part is nice, paintings and photographs, I can’t say what the university is like, but for the most part, people like it. Five stars on Yelp! It draws people from all over the world. So, in a way, it’s—”
“Horrible?” Raina sputtered. “Disgusting? Deplorable?”
“Raina—”
“My people died here!” She said through her teeth. “Did anyone set up an amusement park outside the World Trade Center after the terrorist attacks? How could anyone allow this?”
Derek stole a few glances on the visitors bound for the museum. “You might want to take it down a couple notches,” he whispered.
“I’m taking it up a few notches.” Rage replacing all semblance of grief, Raina stormed toward the steps to the portal pedestal and the hideous slabs of concrete beyond. She crossed the massive site before she even had a chance to think. “Someone’s getting a piece of my mind. Soulless monsters.”
“Raina, wait!”
She ignored his shout and pressed on.
“Raina, hang on.”
Without hesitation, she strode across the granite pedestal toward the horrid structure that now stood on the site of the portal to Oreálle.
4
“You guys coming in here, or are you just here to look at the view?” A woman with waist-length black hair stared at them. She struck a cliché model pose, weight on one foot, right hip cocked, left hand on the other hip, right hand in her hair. Raina half expected her to shake those long black locks like humans so liked to do on their shampoo commercials. While there was no doubt she was gorgeous, almost unearthly beautiful, there was also something very familiar about her. The woman eyed her up and down, eyes lingering on the yellow zip-up that showed through Derek’s oversized jacket.
“Do I know you?” Raina asked.
“This is Trini,” Derek replied with a reluctant smile. “Danny’s wife.”
Raina remembered the photos on Lee’s desk.
“Guilty.” Trini smiled. She had the familiar big Fae eyes and bone structure yet was wrapped in the curved musculature of humans. The combination was stunning. Her eyes glanced once more to Raina’s chest. “And you are?”
Raina suddenly realized the yellow sweater she was wearing likely belonged to the girl in front of her. Swallowing through the lump that grew in her throat, she opened her mouth to sputter out an explanation.
“This is the friend I was telling you about,” Derek cut Raina off. “She’s from out of town, wanted to see the sights.”
Raina dropped her eyes to the faux marble floor and zipped the jacket straight up to her chin. “I’m really interested in the academy.”
Trini gave her one last up-and-down.
Without the magic flowing through her, Raina thought she could easily pass for human. At least to humans. But to another Fae? Would her bone structure, her slender frame give her away?
“Nice to meet you. Friend.” The Dark Fae gave Derek a smile, brows and lashes lowered before turning away. “I’m sure I’ll see you around, Derek.”
“Do a brother-in-law a solid?” Derek stopped her as she moved toward the building. Trini stopped and gave him an impatient stare, waiting. “Well, since you work here and all, maybe you could show Rainara around?” Dark brown eyes sparkled under waggling eyebrows.
Rainara? While she thought it was probably a smart move by Derek not to reveal her identity, he couldn’t do better than that?
Trini slumped her shoulders and put her fists on her hips. She smirked. “You Glow-Getters have some kind of club?”
Raina resisted the urge to bristle, but at the same time, her the weight on her chest lifted a little as she realized she was passing. Darek’s sister-in-law didn’t seem to have a clue as to who or what she was. “It would be so awesome of you,” she finally said, rolling her shoulder in attempt to make herself look at ease.
She was so very much not at ease.
Eyes so black, the pupils
tracking back and forth between Raina and Derek could hardly be seen as Trini thought it over. “All right, Friend. My shift starts in fifteen minutes. I’ll give you the nickel tour.”
“Now? Oh, right. Perfect.” Raina tried to generate some excitement in her voice even though she dreaded stepping inside the deplorable structure. “Thank you.”
With a sing-song voice, Trini said, “You owe me, little brother-in-law.” She then took Raina by the arm and pushed through the tall glass doors into the academy.
“I guess I’ll just stand here eating these all by myself,” Derek called out, waving the takeaway boxes in the air to their backs.
The smell of cinnamon and sugar disappeared as the doors closed behind them.
Although she didn’t believe it possible, the inside was worse than the outside. Trini dragged her across the wide lobby, floor tiled in cheap blue-veined linoleum that was supposed to resemble the marble of the portal. Most of the walls were unfinished concrete that showed the wood grain of the forms used to pour the cement.
“I know. Tacky, right?” Trini offered conversationally. “We wanted something that reminded the public of the original structure. But this is Central Park. The city gets involved, contractors, blah blah blah, and you end up with this. But yes,” she rolled her eyes, and spoke as if reciting. “There really was a portal to another realm that stood on the lake shore outside of the building.”
Raina shrugged. “I don’t doubt it.”
She fell under Trini’s scrutiny again. “I can see why Derek wants to be your friend, Friend. That tight little body of yours. You could almost pass as Fae.” A chill stole over Raina’s skin and she almost faltered until Trina made a moue with her lips and angled her head. “Almost. But seriously, you could dress it up for him a little. I know it’s cold out, but still. Skinny jeans or yoga pants. You’d have him in the palm of your hand.”
“I, uh…”
“This uniform? I know. Ugh, right?” Trini wore very snug stretchy black pants tucked into high black leather boots. A tight silk blouse lay beneath a black bolero jacket with Trini stitched over the right breast. She dressed it up with dozens of clinking, clattering bracelets on each arm and a gilt filigree and gem choker that could only be of Fae manufacture. A thin belt suspended only by the narrowness of her waist and flare of her hips held various snapped pouches.