by Rachel Angel
“So how about we just boot her out,” Cici said.
Harley considered everything they’d said then everything the school had to offer. It was a chance to change her life, to give herself and her family a real future. If she could tough it out and get a degree, especially one from such a prestigious school, she could turn to architecture or urban planning. The thought of spending the rest of her life waitressing or standing behind a service counter scared her more than the thought of what these creatures could do to her.
“I have nothing to lose,” she ultimately said. “And I have no other options. Sorry, but you guys are stuck with me.”
Kingsley, who’d been silent for a long while, stepped closer to her. His gaze was warm and understanding, and when he put his hand to her shoulder to guide her away from the group, she felt a spark of something so unusual in her belly.
She looked up at him when he stopped just a few feet away. It was a strangely intimate moment and he suddenly seemed so kind and sympathetic. Did he know what it was like to want something so bad? Did he know what it was like to not have the means of getting what he wanted?
Of all the boys, he was the only one she felt a connection with, that she felt she could talk to.
“Do you know what we do to some special first year’s here?”
“Not particularly. No.”
He scratched his nose and fidgeted as he glanced briefly over her shoulder at the gang of faes behind her. He seemed reluctant to tell her more.
“Every year there is an initiation for a first year the Student Council gets to choose. And that’s us.”
Harley nodded. She’d heard of initiations that happened in most schools.
“This isn’t the paddle on the butt, whipped cream in the ears type of initiation. They can get rough. Really rough.”
She vaguely remembered Mr. Higgins mentioning some sort of initiation that was a tradition, but she hadn’t been paying enough attention to know more.
“A lot of faes, even powerful ones, don’t survive.”
“Survive? You mean they die?”
He nodded solemnly. “The chances of you surviving are quite literally nil.”
“I don’t believe you,” she muttered softly, almost to herself. “You guys are all just trying to scare me away. I don’t understand why. I don’t understand why it’s so important for you to get me out of here. Am I some sort of threat to you?”
She looked tenderly into his eyes, hoping to make a deep connection with him. She wanted another ally, someone she could lean on when everything around her was going crazy.
“Look,” he said gently, putting a hand to her shoulder. “You seem like a nice enough girl. Don’t get messed up with all the things that happen here. It gets ugly, it gets violent and it gets deadly. Truth be told, we’re just trying to protect you. Maybe we’re doing it in a very clumsy way. Forgive us for being so inept. Our true intent is noble.”
She looked at him, wanting to believe him. His eyes were warm and the hand on her shoulder tender as his fingers worked their way to her neck. A warm finger gently stroked her skin.
Her lids were suddenly heavy, and she wanted to melt into him. There was no denying their chemistry and instant attraction.
“Get out while you still can. Get out before it’s too late.”
Chapter 8
Shaken, Harley returned to her room. The building now looked as it had when she had first arrived, the same distinguished and ornate architecture that her father had loved so much. She couldn’t help but wonder if the previous hours had just been an illusion or was this the illusion.
Both felt and looked so real.
She opened the door to her room and found April studying.
“Hey, how are things going?” April said, setting her book down and getting up from the sofa bed that she’d opened into her bed.
“What are you doing here? Don’t you have a class?”
“I think I learn more here. I’m all nice and comfy in this pile of cushions, and I don’t have to deal with some idiot calling out stupid names. What about you? How was your history class?”
“Boring as hell.”
“Yeah. You have Professor Higgins, right? He’s quite a bore, but he knows his stuff.” April sat on a stool and looked at Harley. “You looked pretty disturbed for someone who just came from a boring history class. What happened?”
“The Fallen Boys, or Fallen Faes, or whatever the hell they are, threatened me.” Harley went into the kitchen and pulled the carton of milk out of the fridge and set it on the counter with a bang.
“The bastards,” April said, turning on the stool to look at Harley.
“They said something about an initiation. Said it was a tough initiation.” She grabbed a glass from the shelf and poured some milk and tried to drink it, but she was barely able to get a small sip down her tight throat.
“And they said you had to take part?” April said as she sat on a stool and set her elbows on the counter.
“Not in so many words, but it was pretty strongly implied.” Harley set her glass down and drew in a deep breath. “They made it out to be pretty horrible.”
“It is. It’s not just an initiation, at least not the sort of thing you might usually hear about from certain college sororities or fraternities. Even the most brutal hazing doesn’t compare with what can happen here. It’s often been fatal for faes. I can’t imagine how a human could survive.”
Harley swallowed the ball of fear that suddenly filled her throat. “That’s what Kingsley said, but I didn’t believe him. I thought he was just trying to scare me.”
“I’m just not sure why you should have to participate. As a human you shouldn’t have to.”
Harley looked at her. “So, you’re one of them, right? I mean, a fae?”
“Yeah.”
“And you know that I’m not.”
“Right.”
“How do you know? I mean, if I’m here. Could it mean that I’m…?”
“A changeling?” April said.
“Yeah. The guys told me about that. Could I be one?”
April shook her head. “I don’t think so. You know, most faes have a way of detecting humans from other faes. It’s kind of like a radar. You don’t give off anything that suggests you could be a changeling or fae. Nothing. And…” She stopped suddenly.
“What?” Harley said softly, almost afraid to ask.
“Well, I’ve been hearing a rumor going around the school.”
“Already? A rumor about me?”
“I think so. Some are saying that a human was accidently accepted at the school. Something about a misprint on a report or something. It doesn’t happen often, but it happens. We make mistakes, too, you know.”
Harley forced a smile.
“Everyone seems to think that the mistake is you. I think they all felt it, that you’re human; your classmates, other students in the halls or cafeteria, and even your professors.”
“But I want to stay,” she muttered softly. “I need to stay. April, if I leave here now, I’ll be waitressing the rest of my life.”
“Harley,” April said. “The fact that you didn’t realize that this was a faery realm kind of proves that you’re human.”
Harley looked down to the glass of milk on the counter, tears threatening to spill. “So, what do I do now?”
A knock at the door startled them both.
“Want me to answer?” April offered, already getting off the stool.
“No. Chances are it’s for me. I better face whoever it is head on.”
“Well, you certainly are a brave human,” April said. “I’ll give you that.”
Harley opened the door to the snide and unfriendly faces of Cici and Ashley. Their large eyes held a glimmer of innocence, but their smiles were cold and bitter.
“Well, human,” Cici said. “It’s official.” She held out a golden envelope. “You are to be initiated.”
Harley looked at the envelope but didn’t move to take
it.
“Reluctant to take it?” Cici said. “Wise choice. I mean, accepting this envelope is like signing up for your own execution. You know, we only came here to help you, human. Kingsley might have neglected to tell you, but if you choose to leave now, we can help you forget about everything you saw here. Just say the word and we’ll send you back to your world and we’ll wipe your memory clear of everything. You can live your normal, human life happy and free.”
“You’re lucky we’re offering you this option, human,” Ashley said. “I mean, we’re not always this nice to humans. But we’re willing to give you the choice. Leave and go back to where you came from and live out your life as the good little human that you are, or stay and face certain death.”
Cici leaned in. “This isn’t a quick, slice-off-your-head kind of death either. It is usually a long, slow, painful death.”
“Yeah, kind of like they’ll cut off one limb, let you bleed a bit, then drag you behind one of those cute little unicorns.”
“And you don’t want to know what sort of damage the front end of those unicorns can do,” Cici added.
Harley thought about it a long moment. She thought of her future, her parents and her need for an education. But she also thought about the times she’d helped her dad move in the new washer and dryer. He’d marveled at how strong she was. And the time she’d wrestled with a tough guy in high school and had thrown him to the ground with surprising ease. She’d once been witness to a horrible accident just outside Las Vegas and had run out of her parents’ car and headed to the crash. Despite cries that an explosion was imminent, she’d rushed to the car, had turned it back onto its four wheels and had pulled out the unconscious driver, all before anyone else could come to help.
She was strong. She knew that. Stronger than the average girl. And she was tough, able to endure a good amount of pain. When she’d sprained her ankle in high school, she’d walked home all the same. And when she had cut her arm trying to open a broken window, she simply put a bandage over the deep wound and continued with what she was doing.
People underestimated her. These faes underestimated her.
She turned to look at April before making her final decision.
“I don’t want to see you get hurt, Harley,” April said, “but you deserve to be here. You probably deserve it more than any of them. Do you have faith in yourself?”
“I think I do.”
“Then go for it.”
“And why in the world would you listen to a charity case. She has no idea what these initiations are like.” Ashley looked past Harley and glared at April. “Although if you want to know what it’s really like, I can arrange that for you.”
“You know,” Harley said, suddenly feeling strong and determined. “I might not know about these initiations either, but I’m not about to let you guys control my life. I’m not going to let this opportunity for a great education slip by because of some fear of the unknown.”
Her decision made, she smiled and tore the golden envelope out of Cici’s hand. “I’m not afraid of challenges, and I’m not afraid of hard work. I’ll face whatever I have to. And I’ll show you; just because I’m human doesn’t mean I’m weak.”
Cici burst out laughing as she looked at Ashley. “Look at this. How ignorant can a girl be?”
Ashley looked at Harley. “Too bad you don’t understand the ways of the fae, human. We can run circles around you people.” She looked at Cici and laughed.
“If that’s your final decision,” Cici said, glaring menacingly at Harley. “We’ll look forward to seeing you brought down. In fact, we’ll bring popcorn and beer and enjoy the show.”
Ashley leaned in closer to Harley. “Better yet, we’ll get in the ring and take care of you ourselves. You know,” she said, flicking Harley’s hair off her shoulder. “You should be more respectful of another girl’s man. I saw the way you looked at Oak.”
“And I saw the way you fawned over Kingsley,” Cici said. “You know, that really wasn’t very nice of you. I mean, here we told you that you were free to go after Zed and Red, but no… You had to go after the two guys who are already taken. What kind of slimy slut does that?”
“The initiation will just give us a legitimate reason for tearing your fucking head off.”
The girls glared at Harley, their hatred for her something she’d never seen before. Their sardonic smiles were cold and their large eyes suddenly gleamed in an unnatural way.
Then Harley noticed the fangs that clung to their bottom lip. Back home in her usual world, she might have been frightened, but now she knew it was all a façade. As she kept her eyes on them, the illusion of their beautiful faces faded, replaced by the greenish white skin of vampires.
Clenching her fists, Harley waited for what came next, but was still surprised when Ashley lunged at her, baring her teeth, ready to bite. Harley ducked out of the way and Cici started after her.
April, quickly jumping to action, grabbed Harley’s wrist and pulled her into the room, slammed the door, then jammed it closed with one of the stools.
On the other side of the door, they could hear the girls growling and whining.
“Wow, that was quick thinking,” Harley said, running her hand absentmindedly over her neck. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” April leaned against the door for added insurance. “I like you, and I have to admit I don’t really want you to leave. Besides, they’re already pretty cruel with me, so what do you think would happen if you’re weren’t here?”
Harley laughed. “Right. It’s probably best that we stick together.”
“Good idea.”
Harley sat at the counter and looked at April. “I need to figure out what is this Fae magic.”
“I can try to help.”
“You know, when I was talking to the girls, they were pretty and, well human like, then suddenly…”
“They looked like monsters?”
“Yeah. Like vampires, to be exact.”
“That’s what they call glamour. It’s a particularly powerful magic they all have. It’s a way of making you see what they want you to see. Most faes can only hang onto that glamour for about an hour, but some can stick to it for a long time.”
“Making it hard to know what’s real,” Harley added.
“Exactly.”
“Wow. I really have a lot to learn about all this Fallen Fae and Faery Realm stuff. I have to find some way of fighting back.”
“Well, you’re in luck. When I was a kid I was obsessed with this stuff. I read positively everything about them. I watched television shows, and movies and videos and anything and everything that had to do with faes. Then one day, out of the blue, it all opened up to me.”
“Just like that?”
April held her hands out. “Just like that… and here I am.”
“You have to tell me more.”
“I’ll do better than that. Come on. We’ll go to the library. You know, the one with real books, and I’ll show you.”
Chapter 9
“I have to admit,” Harley said. “I can’t really remember the last time I set foot in an actual, brick and mortar library.”
“Don’t you just love it.” April said as they wandered through the rows of shelves filled to the ceiling with books on every topic imaginable. “I mean, just the smell of a book. Its pages. The book cover.”
Harley sniffed the air and shrugged. “If you say so.”
“I’m guessing you get your information from a computer or phone or something, right?”
“Well, mostly. I mean, in high school we did have textbooks, but outside of that, yeah. If I have a question, I get the answer from the internet.”
“So, I’ll tell you one thing,” April said as she pulled out an old book with tattered corners and faded cover. She patted the book cover affectionately. “What was written in here long ago, the history of the faes, cannot be changed and altered to suit anyone’s needs. It is what it is. What the ancestors wrote, their de
piction of the happenings of the times, the wars, the peace treaties, all of it; it is here, in their words, unchanged by those who would like to see history revised.”
“You certainly are passionate about this.”
April brought the large book to a small table by the window and plunked it down. “I told you I was once obsessed with this. I know just about everything… or at least I think I do.”
She sat down and opened the book to a map of the world of faes. Harley sat beside her, marveling at the detailed drawing. Tiny lines tightly cross hatched or spread further apart gave the drawing light and shadow, depth and life. The drawings of a world so foreign to her almost came off the pages.
“So, let’s start with this,” April said. “Up here we have Fall. It spreads in a narrow band all the way across the land to here.” She pointed to the very edge of the realm. What humans would call southeast of that are The Wooded Lands. There’s a wide river here that separates the two and down here to the south, an even wider canyon separates it from Spring. Spring is at a higher elevation, mostly high deserts and most of the tallest mountains in the kingdom are here. And here on the western side, we have Sea.”
Harley nodded her understanding. “Okay. Professor Higgins mentioned Fall and Spring, but he said nothing about Sea and Wooded Lands. Though I must admit, I wasn’t very attentive in his class. But he showed us a map at the very start of the class, and I don’t remember seeing those kingdoms.”
“See what I told you,” April said as she flipped the page over. “Sometimes, some people want to alter history. Some might just want to tweak it a bit, kind of make it look like Sea and Wooded Lands aren’t as important.”
“Who are they?” Harley said, looking at the portraits of two couples.
“The king and queen of Fall, and this is the duke and duchess of The Wooded Lands.”
“Are they faes?”
“Absolutely.”
“But they look so…”
“Human.” April chuckled. “When humans talk about faes, more often than not it’s in the context of folklore or tales. They describe faes as having pointed ears and dainty little wings. That is partly due to a particular band of mischievous faes who were a little too showy in their ways. They exposed themselves to humans centuries ago, and the humans have passed the stories of those particular incidents on through generations. Those faes all had the same genetic makeup. In other words, they had the ears and wings. Since then, humans have stuck to that image, even playing it up and romanticizing faes.”