Pawn (Fae Games Book 1)

by Karen Lynch

  His jaw clenched. “It’s not charity. It’s to keep you safe.”

  “Giving someone money to help them out in any way is charity. I do have some pride.”

  “And refusing help because of your pride is unreasonable,” he argued. “It’s only money.”

  I drew in a breath, trying to think of how to explain it in a way he would understand. Money meant little to him, so I had to find something that did matter.

  “Let’s say you somehow lose your magic and you can no longer create portals or do any of the things your magic lets you do now. But Faolin still has lots of magic, so he generously offers to do all of that for you. How would that make you feel?”

  His lips parted slightly as understanding dawned in his eyes.

  I continued before he could speak. “I earned my scholarship and my admission into college, and I’m going to earn the rest of the money I need for school. Bounty hunting wasn’t my first choice for a job, but it turns out I’m actually good at it. And I’m more equipped than most people to take care of myself.”

  “Having seen what you did to those two men, I would have to agree,” Conlan piped in, earning a grateful look from me and another scowl from Lukas.

  As much as Lukas wanted to keep me safe, the truth was that I’d been taking care of myself since my parents disappeared. He’d stepped in when I was hurt and sick, but I’d fought off those men, just like I had fended off the elves who had tried to attack me on the street. I wasn’t naïve enough to think I could take on any opponent, but I could hold my own as well as the next person.

  Faolin spoke up. “Lukas, we have to go. The king is expecting us.”

  Lukas nodded, but he didn’t seem too happy to be going home. He looked at me. “You will call Conlan if you are contacted again, or if you feel unsafe.”

  “Yes.” I decided it wasn’t worth the argument to mention that he didn’t get to order me around.

  “Good.” He walked to the door of the office and stopped. “When we return, we will redouble our search efforts. If your parents are alive, we will find them.”

  Emotion clogged my throat at the conviction in his voice, and I knew he would keep that promise. Just as I knew that, despite my best efforts, I was falling for this beautiful, enigmatic, and overbearing faerie, who would only break my heart when all of this was over.

  * * *

  “Those are thirty dollars each.”

  Looking up from a rack of banti dreamcatchers I was pretending to examine, I smiled at the middle-aged woman behind the flea market display table. “Do they really protect you from banti dreams?”

  She lifted a shoulder. “I’ve had one on my headboard for years, and I’ve never had a banti dream.”

  Just to be polite, I made an appreciative sound and studied the dreamcatchers. They were similar to the decorative Native American version, but these had a tiny iron pendant at the center. If these dreamcatchers could actually stop a banti, they’d be worth a lot more than thirty dollars.

  A banti was a small faerie that looked like a miniature goblin. But where goblins liked to steal your jewelry, banti got their kicks from creeping into your bedroom at night and giving you nightmares. They never did physical harm, which was why they were only a level Two, but they could definitely mess with your head.

  Someone bumped me from behind, reminding me I wasn’t here to shop. I walked slowly along the row of tables, pretending to look at the merchandise while casting covert glances around the large indoor flea market. You’d think people would be sick of shopping a few days after Christmas, but this place was a hive of activity. And that made it the perfect spot for the thief – or thieves – I was hunting.

  This morning, Levi had called me in about a new job. There had been multiple police reports in recent weeks of shoppers being robbed at this popular flea market in Queens. The victims all had a similar story. They’d lost a chunk of time and had discovered that any money or valuables on them were gone. It was clearly a faerie at work, but three different bounty hunters had staked out the place to no avail. They believed the perpetrator could recognize hunters and knew to steer clear of them.

  Levi had decided to try a new tactic – send in someone who didn’t look like a hunter, namely me. I wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or insulted by his assessment of me, but the use of glamours on humans made this a level Four job. I wanted that ten-thousand-dollar bounty even more than I wanted to get my second Four on the books. Lukas’s offer of money two days ago had only strengthened my resolve to earn enough for college.

  A troll couple talking nearby caught my eye. I inched closer until I could hear them arguing over a lamp she wanted to buy. Moving on, I focused on three elf teenagers loitering by the wall. The two boys and a girl looked close to my age, and they appeared to be scoping out the place. Or they could be three bored kids hanging out like Violet and I used to do not that long ago.

  Channeling my not-much-younger self, I strolled toward them. Even if they weren’t the ones I was looking for, being seen with them would help my cover.

  A male elf bumped into my shoulder as he walked past, and he murmured an apology. I glanced at him and came up short when our eyes met. It had been foggy that night outside the Ralston, but I hadn’t forgotten the faces of the two elves who had attacked me. This was the one who had gotten away.

  His eyes widened in recognition a second before he bolted. Spinning on my heel, I took off after him. My cover be damned, I wasn’t letting this guy escape a second time.

  He was fast and agile, but weaving through the people and tables slowed him down enough for me to stay on his heels. He shoved a few people aside, and I called a “Sorry” to them, but I didn’t slow to help anyone. I wasn’t letting this guy out of my sight.

  My quarry reached the end of the tables and sprinted toward the back exit. I was about to lose him when a little girl ran in front of him, slowing him down. I leaped and tackled him around the waist, taking him to the floor.

  We wrestled on the floor as he tried to free himself. A sharp tingle went through my body when he used his magic on me, and I lessened my hold for a second. It was all he needed to pull free and jump to his feet.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” I said through gritted teeth as I grabbed his ankle and yanked his leg out from under him.

  The elf flailed and hit the floor again. This time I was on him before he knew what was happening.

  I flipped him to his stomach and straddled his legs, wrenching one of his arms behind his back. He tried to buck me off, and I pushed on his arm until he howled in pain.

  “Help!” he yelled. “Someone get this crazy human off me.”

  At the sound of running feet, I looked up as two female trolls and a male elf approached us. The trolls stopped and looked on curiously, but the elf kept coming. Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled out the ID I always carried there and flashed it at him. “This is Agency business.”

  He stopped a few feet from us, his nervous gaze flitting between my card and the elf beneath me. Finally, he nodded and hurried away.

  “Nice try,” I said to my captive as I pulled a pair of Fae shackles from my coat pocket and put them on him.

  Standing, I helped him to his feet and walked him past curious onlookers toward the main exit.

  The elf didn’t speak again until we emerged into the weak afternoon sunlight. “Where are you taking me?”

  I led him around the corner of the building to the parking lot. “I’m turning you in. But first, you’re going to tell me why you and your buddy tried to jump me.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he protested unconvincingly. “I’ve never seen you before.”

  “Is that so? Then why did you run when you saw me?”

  “Because you’re a bounty hunter, and you make money off arresting innocent people like me.”

  I tugged him toward the Jeep. “And how did you know I was a bounty hunter if you never saw me before?”

  “I…” he stammered, kno
wing he’d caught himself in a lie.

  We reached the Jeep, and I opened the rear door. His already pale skin blanched when he saw the cage, and he tried to twist out of my grip.

  “Please, don’t put me in that thing,” he begged.

  “I’m sorry, but I have no choice.” I steeled myself against the pity I felt for him. I’d be afraid to go in a cage too, especially one that could rob me of my energy. But it was the only way to safely transport him.

  I pushed him toward the cage, and he began to struggle more violently when he got close enough to sense the iron.

  “No!” he shrieked on the verge of a full meltdown and drawing the attention of some people in the parking lot. As soon as they saw the shackles on him, they went about their business. Only Agents and bounty hunters carried Fae shackles, and no one messed with Agency business.

  I sighed in aggravation. “If you don’t go willingly, I’ll have to use my stun gun on you. Either way, you are going in the cage.”

  “Wait!” He stared at me with wild eyes. “I know where your parents are.”

  The world came to a screeching halt. “What?”

  “Your parents, Jesse James. I can take you to them if you let me go,” he said with more confidence.

  My mind raced. He would probably say and do anything to get me to let him go, but he knew my name and the fact that my parents were missing.

  I pushed him roughly against the Jeep. “Where are they? Are they okay?”

  “They’re alive…for now.”

  Roaring filled my ears. “If you’ve hurt them, so help me…”

  “I never laid a finger on them.”

  “Where are they?” I asked through clenched teeth.

  “Not until we have a deal.” He straightened his shoulders, and I caught a sly gleam in his eyes.

  “I promise I’ll release you if you take me to them,” I vowed. I produced the key to the shackles and dangled them before him as an incentive. I wasn’t lying. I would let him go free if it meant getting my parents back.

  He held up his bound hands. “Then take these off, and let’s go.”

  “Not so fast.” I pocketed the key again and pulled a second pair of shackles from my gear bag.

  “What are you doing?” Fear crept back into his voice.

  “You don’t want to go into the cage, and I don’t want to have to hold onto you so you don’t run away.” I hooked one end through the pair on his wrists and secured the other to the cage.

  “I thought I was taking you to your parents.”

  I took out my phone. My gut told me he was telling the truth, at least about knowing where my parents were. But I wasn’t stupid enough to go up alone against people who could kidnap my mother and father and hold them captive this long.

  “Who are you calling?”

  “Reinforcements. I’m not going anywhere with you alone.” I dialed Lukas’s number. He’d said he would only be in Faerie for two days, which meant there was a chance he was back.

  It felt like a heavy rock rested upon my chest when the call went to voice mail. I left him a message before I hung up and called Conlan. He’d know the best way to handle this.

  The phone rang four times before the call also went to voice mail. My heart sank, and it hit me how much I’d come to rely on them and to expect them to be there when I needed them. I hadn’t meant for it to happen, but somewhere along the way I’d started thinking of them as friends.

  I went through my contacts again. Lukas and Conlan weren’t the only people I could call for help. I dialed Bruce’s number and let out the breath I was holding when he answered.

  “Bruce, I need help,” I said in a rush. “I’m with an elf who says he knows where Mom and Dad are.”

  “Slow down, Jesse,” Bruce replied calmly. “Now, tell me what’s going on.”

  I told him where I was and filled him in.

  “You were smart to call for backup. We’re less than fifteen minutes from you, and I’m going to contact some of the other hunters and get a group together. Stay where you are, and wait for us.”

  “I will.” I almost said “please, hurry,” but I didn’t have to tell Bruce how important this was.

  I hung up and looked at the elf. “My friends are on the way. When they get here, we’ll go to my parents.”

  He swallowed nervously. “Bounty hunters?”

  “Yes.” I paced back and forth, too anxious to stand still. “Don’t worry. I keep my word. As soon as you take us there, I’ll let you go.”

  “And the other hunters? What if they don’t want to release me?” He pulled against the shackles, testing the sturdiness of the cage. I didn’t bother telling him to save his strength.

  “Unless there is a bounty on your head, they’ll have no reason to hold you.”

  That wasn’t necessarily true. If Bruce or one of the others wanted to bring the elf in for questioning about his part in the kidnapping of two bounty hunters, they were within their right to do so. I wasn’t going to tell him that and risk him clamming up on me.

  Neither of us spoke for several minutes, and I couldn’t stand the silence. I shot him a sideways look. “What’s your name?”

  “Why?” he asked warily.

  “You know mine. Seems only fair that I know yours.”

  “Kardas,” he said a little too quickly, making me suspect he was lying. He could have called himself Elvis for all I cared, as long as he led me to my mother and father.

  I stopped pacing to face him. “Why did you kidnap my parents?”

  “I didn’t.” He met my gaze without blinking. “I swear on my life. I wasn’t even supposed to know where they were. I found out by accident.”

  I glared at him. “Then why did you and your friend try to jump me?”

  His eyes darted around, and he lowered his voice. “We were hired to take you to someone. Don’t ask me who because I value my life too much to say.”

  “Was it the same person who has my parents?”

  “No.”

  His answer surprised me. Who else would want to kidnap me other than the people who had my parents?

  “Did that person hire those two men to break into my apartment, too?” I asked him.

  Kardas frowned. “I don’t know anything about that. I was hired for one job, and that’s it.”

  My phone rang, making both of us jump. I looked down to see it was Trey. I never thought I’d be happy to hear his voice on my phone.

  “Dad and I are seven minutes away,” he said. “We’ve been able to reach nine other hunters so far, so you have a whole posse headed toward you.”

  I bowed my head as relief coursed through me. “Thank God.”

  “Hang in there, Jesse,” Bruce said, letting me know I was on speaker. His phone rang, and I heard him ask, “Who did you get?”

  Trey’s phone beeped, and he said, “It’s Kim. I need to answer.”

  “Go ahead.” I started pacing again while I waited. Kardas watched me guardedly, probably wondering about his fate when all of this was over. I was too worried about my parents to offer him more assurances.

  Tires peeled, and I peered around the side of the Jeep as an old blue Chevy Impala tore into the parking lot. People shouted and jumped out of the way as the car sped toward us.

  I was wondering which of the other hunters had gotten to us so fast when the car screeched to a stop a few feet away.

  Two men I didn’t recognize jumped out. I was about to ask who they were when the back door opened and a male elf appeared.

  In the time it took for it to click that these were not my backup, the bigger man roughly grabbed my wrist, sending my phone flying from my grasp.

  His arms went around me from behind, and he started dragging me toward the car. From somewhere in the parking lot, I heard shouts.

  I didn’t even think as one of my legs hooked around his, forcing him to stop walking. I swung my opposite hand down hard and nailed him between the legs. He grunted, and it took two more chops to get him to relea
se me.

  I broke away and was reaching for my stun gun when the other man’s fist plowed into my jaw. My head snapped back, and stars floated in my vision. I landed hard on my hip, and pain shot through my head when it hit the pavement.

  One of the men leaned over me, and I punched him in the throat, but there was no force behind it. For my efforts, I received a stinging slap that made my ears ring and caused my head to knock excruciatingly against the pavement again. His face swam in and out of focus as he lifted me and slung me over his shoulder.

  “Wait,” Kardas shouted. “The keys.”

  Hands rooted in my pockets, and I heard the jingle of the shackle keys as they were thrown to someone. My stun gun hit the pavement along with my car keys and a small switchblade.

  I was tossed into the sedan’s trunk, and my wrists and feet were quickly bound in front of me with industrial strength plastic ties. I heard a ripping sound and duct tape was placed over my mouth. The man worked with a practiced ease that sent a fresh chill through me.

  The trunk came down, leaving me in darkness. Doors slammed, and the car was moving before my eyes had even adjusted to the dark interior. My eyes sought out the emergency release before I realized that this car had probably been around since before the Great Rift, and it had no release.

  The car took a sharp right turn, and I moaned as nausea rose up in my throat. The dizziness and pain in my head pointed to a concussion, and I struggled to keep from passing out. I tried to keep a mental list of every turn we took, but I had trouble focusing and lost track after the first ten minutes.

  It felt like no more than thirty minutes had passed when the car stopped and the engine shut off. Dread twisted my stomach as I listened to the murmur of voices and waited for someone to open the trunk.

  My heart raced as I imagined what was waiting for me out there. It couldn’t be good. Would I ever get to see my parents again? And what would happen to Finch if I didn’t come home? My chest hurt when I thought about my brother alone and frightened.

  The trunk popped, and I braced myself. A hand appeared and lifted the lid to reveal the two men, who glared at me as if me being in their trunk was a big inconvenience to them.