Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  I never met anyone gifted with magic outside our family. Except for the faery folk my sister hung out with and my own family, there was no one I could relate to. What if there were no others like us in the human world? What then? But I didn’t believe it. It just couldn’t be true.

  My hands hovered above my chest, and I formed the smallest fireballs I could manage. They hovered and crackled as they lit up the room in warm, orange flickers. Pushing at them with my power, they spun, slowly at first, then more rapidly until they were but a glowing circle. Their momentum created a small funnel, whipping the still night air into a frenzy and blowing my hair into my face. I started laughing; it was pure joy. Nothing compared to using my powers. It definitely made my life less dull.

  A whimper from my brother’s side of the bed made me quiet down, and I retrieved the fireballs before they set anything ablaze. They rolled my way carefully, their flames crackling until I put them out with a tiny hiss of vapor in my palms. Only a wisp of smoke remained, slipping through my fingers and curling up toward the ceiling. Checking that James was still sleeping peacefully, I laid back onto my pillow and closed my eyes, willing the sleep to come.

  I’d soon finish reading the grimoire from my Uncle Brendan and practice wielding the sword with Mom. I was on my way to becoming a world-class fighter.

  Chapter Four Diversion

  Diversion

  March 5th 1702

  There is no way to know exactly which magical being is going to fare badly against your fire magic, but it’s most certain things of this earth disintegrate in any kind of flame. Once you know this, accept it and let it become everything you are, it can either be beneficial or break you when the power fills the head with obsessions that do not exist. Never let the fire control you. It consumes within as it does without.

  ~Brendan

  The present …

  I slipped on the shirt Sary had tossed me. It was the gauzy kind faery folk wore, like the flimsy, loose peasant type that needs to be laced up to mid-chest to keep it from falling off. I felt foolish, like I was going to star in a high school musical of Romeo and Juliet. I was definitely not a Romeo, and I most certainly did not have a Juliette in sight. Not that the position wasn’t open, I just hadn’t met anyone who’d caught my fancy yet.

  I watched Sary move about the main room as I managed the short walk to the meager kitchen table she’d served dinner on. She was gorgeous, I had to give her that. I admired her long red hair and smooth skin, perfect like porcelain and fire fused together. She was fey, making her one of the most beautiful beings to exist on this earth. I hated to admit that I was somewhat smitten with her and even wondered if her faery magic might have an effect on me after all. The thought made me whip my eyes away when she turned around to place a plateful of hearty food in front of me.

  “Um, wow.” My eyes widened to take in the abundance of food on the plate. “Thank you!” I grabbed a fork and dug into the pile of mashed potatoes, steamed veggies and slices of steak. I was surprised to see her cooking such human-like meals. Most fey ate a mostly vegetarian diet.

  “You’re welcome.” She sat across from me with her own plate, piled just as high as mine, but without the meat. I was impressed.

  “Hungry, too?”

  She paused before she stuck a spoon into the mashed potatoes. “I’ve acquired quite a taste for your human food. In a way, it’s not that much different. Just the flavors vary depending on the many seasonings available.” She chewed thoughtfully before stabbing a slice of carrot. “I don’t agree in the way you humans breed your food. Modifying it makes it taste funny, so I avoid the animal meat from your world.”

  I laughed. “Never thought too much about that. I guess you’re right.” I ripped off another bite of steak and savored the flavors bursting on my taste buds. “Doesn’t seem to be the issue here. You’ve mastered the dry rub steak like an expert.”

  She didn’t look up, but I could swear I saw her blush under the cape of red hair hanging over her delicate face as she chewed quietly.

  “We’re leaving for Chicago later today.” She’d finished her meal before I had, leaving me to stare at her in disbelief, mid-chew.

  “What? Already?” I swallowed, hoping I hadn’t offended her by speaking with my mouth full.

  “Yes. I really can’t wait to see my brother.”

  Her chair scraped across the floor as she got up and set her plate in the sink before returning with her drink refilled. Iced tea.

  “I’ve not seen him for many months.” She gripped onto her mug tightly, her knuckles turning white as she stared down into it as if she expected the fluid to enlighten her with the future.

  “I’m going with you.”

  She whipped her head up, surprised. “You’re not coming with us.”

  “Why not?”

  “You’re not fully healed.”

  I huffed. “I’m pretty darn close. Give me another swig of that faery magic cure-all drink you gave me, and I’ll be right as rain.”

  Her face turned scarlet, but she didn’t relent. She wore a tough shell, but I just needed a crack to slip into. “No, Benton. You need to go home and recover. Dealing with banished fey is no life for you. You’re human.”

  “Oh, but you can keep my sister as your queen, though? That’s all right, then?” I sounded bitter, but I didn’t really care. She wouldn’t be leaving me behind. “This isn’t a request.”

  She got to her feet, shoving the chair back. “Shade is fey. Our sister. You’re not. You may have magic, but you don’t belong nosing yourself into faery matters.”

  “I’m as powerful as you are. Fire elementals can deal with a lot of crap, including the faery kind of stink. I’ve killed more banished fey than I care to count. Who do you think is cleaning up the mess your kind created? All those who escaped the wards of Faerie, they threaten your world and mine. Guess who’s rounding them up? Me. Not you, me.”

  “It’s not your problem.”

  “So what? I’m not doing this for fun, if you haven’t noticed. Shade’s my sister, and she needs me to do this. I’d do anything for my family. Someone needs to clean up the creatures who breached into my world, yet here you are, telling me I’m not needed? That’s bullshit!”

  I slammed my mug on the table, splashing iced tea over the rim. I didn’t care. She’d pissed me off enough to cramp my stomach. I’d eaten too much, too fast, and now I was more than a tad bit livid, with adrenaline surging unforgivably through my body. Sary may have been beautiful and kind enough to fix me up in my moment of need, but she shouldn’t be treating me like a sickly human who was beneath her.

  She’d turned redder than a sunburn, with a splash of horror in her eyes, making me feel like I might’ve gone too far.

  “You’re kind is so barbaric. Your people have killed those that didn’t deserve to be killed. It’s not that I don’t need your help, really. Please understand. You won’t be coming with us. I fear you have ulterior motives besides helping me find my brother.”

  “You’re wrong. And … my people?” I eyed her in disbelief. “You’re one to talk.”

  I sucked in a breath, not sure what to say to her anymore. It seemed there was nothing I could say to change her mind. She was set on not letting me go with her. Maybe I could follow her and Braelynn. Maybe I could accompany them without her knowing.

  “Fine.” I shoved away from the table and slammed my dish into the sink. I didn’t bother to check if it had shattered. “Don’t come crying to me when you find more than you bargained for when you get to Chicago,” I snapped and shuffled my way back to the bedroom. I was going to pack my things and leave before them. At least that way I could watch them leave later and follow them.

  Sary said nothing more, but I felt her hardened stare on the back of my neck. As I sat on the bed, I rubbed at the sore spot along the side of my stomach, which still ached with each breath. The deep, thrumming pain made me rethink my situation. I needed to be more aware of things, especially my own health. I h
ated to admit that Sary was probably right. I needed to recover. Trampling around Faerie would not do. I’d have to be even more vigilant to avoid getting hurt again.

  The pull of my injury made me rub it once more, wincing as the pain flared up. I wondered just how far I could go without passing out from the excruciating ache. The faery draught helped it heal faster, but it was a serious wound that required more than one dose of medicine.

  “Here.” Sary bumped a cup against my shoulder. I turned to find her holding it out, a sad expression on her face. I ignored it and glanced into the cup. It was filled with the faery healing draught. She remained calm as she waited, but full of sorrow.

  “Thank you.” I reached for it and slipped my fingers around the cup, where they brushed hers. She didn’t let go right away but let her fingers hold onto it for a second too long, making me flick my gaze back up to hers. Her skin felt like a kindred heat testing my boundaries and feeling oh so good.

  “You can come with me. On one condition.” Sary shifted on her feet, looking torn.

  “All right. Anything.” I didn’t want to argue anymore.

  We both held the cup until I nodded. I didn’t want her to let go, I wanted her fingers to slip over my hands even more, up my arms and around my body. It was a sudden longing, and I was left lost and bitterly cold when she let go to sit on the bed. She motioned for me to drink down the sweet nectar, and I did as she wanted, afraid to anger her again. I was more afraid of her leaving my side. Immediately, the pain threatening to overwhelm me receded like an ocean tide sucking away the ache. The relief made me breathe out a pleasurable sigh.

  “What’s the condition?” I hoped I wouldn’t be sorry with what I’d already agreed to.

  “You will not kill anyone around my brother, or him for that matter.”

  “That’s two conditions.”

  She pressed her lips taut, letting her breath leak out slowly as she continued to glare at me.

  “Okay, okay,” I said. “No one dies while visiting your bro. Got it.” I whipped out my most charming smile, hoping my pearly white teeth and quirky looks would win her over. She shook her head, looking like she wasn’t sure about this, then stood up and whipped out of the room before I could ask her anything else.

  I smiled. Nothing like having a beautiful woman around to distract from the real problems. Now I would get to see her for a bit longer. What wasn’t to love about it?

  For once, I was actually looking forward to something.

  Chapter Five Seen Unseen

  Seen Unseen

  The ward wavered, and I frowned as I felt its magic spark when it touched mine. This particular wall of the Land of Faerie had been tampered with, and a temporary fix was keeping the ward functional somehow. Curious. I could feel its spell trying to reject me, like a swift slap of nausea and a wave of electricity humming along it and down my extremities. Who would attempt to fix it without the proper magic? It wasn’t a bad try, but it was amateurish at best.

  Still … like I could fix it myself in a jiffy. I smiled at the thought and let out a short huff. I could fix it if I had two other witches to help me. Sealing a ward to a land as gigantic as Faerie drained the best of any magical being.

  “Think you can do a better job?” Braelynn snapped. She’d obviously been observing me when I’d approached the barrier. I laughed and pointed to the ward.

  “Did you do this?” I turned back to the wavering wall while it tried to shove the spell of aversion down my throat. It bounced off without any effect. “It’s not bad. Just … you know … not perfect.”

  “No, I most certainly did not.” She examined the wavering magic. “I’d make sure it would’ve killed you, not just shock you with a spit of static.” Braelynn’s scowl made me want to burst out laughing, but I avoided it by walking through the barrier. There would be plenty of time to dislike one another. I didn’t know how Shade spent so much time with these girls. After just a couple days, I was already feeling abrasive toward them. It didn’t bother me so much as it did them, from what I could tell by their constantly strained frowns. It was fun annoying them, though, and it only made me want to do it more often.

  “Seriously. Doing your best to piss us off again, aren’t you?” Sary stood with arms folded and her foot tapping furiously on the ground. I was completely sputtering as I choked down a chuckle. Shrugging, I threw her a goofy grin, hoping it would cause her to rethink being mad at me. I was crass, I got it. That didn’t mean I wanted to be fighting the entire way to Chicago.

  “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t really mean to insult anyone. Let’s just say I don’t have much of a filter and leave it at that.” I winked, bowed and moved ahead, hearing them both sighing in tandem. Moments later, they passed me, keeping their distance like I had the plague. This was going to be an interesting trip. The amount of conflict to come when we did get to our destination was definitely bound to be a party I didn’t want to miss. It would be especially interesting when Sary met her brother Ferdinand again. She was going to be in for a truly unanticipated shock.

  Shade’s story of the Siphon Lord left me wondering if he could really siphon anyone’s magic or just that of faeries. It’d be interesting to find out, but I probably wouldn’t want to get too close. If he tried anything on me, he’d be toast. I wasn’t afraid to use my Empyrean blade on him. In fact, I was itching to use it on anything now. It’d been several days since my near-fatal fight with the Draeliks, and I was already itching to participate in another duel. It was what I had been trained for, and I was darn good at it, too.

  “What’s going on in that human head of yours, dear Benton?” Sary slowed to let me catch up to her and fell into step alongside me. I made room to the side for her, but not enough that her arm didn’t accidently brush by mine every now and then.

  “Not much is going on in this head. It’s pretty empty.” I didn’t smile, and could feel her eyes on the side of my head, but I avoided looking at her. Her power was more amplified here, and though I could fight it off, sometimes I felt I could easily weaken and give in to it. Not happening.

  The trail was well worn, and I could tell a lot of fey used it to come and go from the West Coast to the middle of the country. Walking through Faerie was an advantage; we could get from one part of the human world to another a lot more quickly. I liked getting places faster, but I hated using this shortcut through this most ostentatious place. I just never knew what was going to happen when entering Faerie. When I did happen to tread through here to visit Shade, it was barely tolerable and annoying. Everything about Faerie gave me the creeps. Sure, it was full of magic, which made things interesting, but the Scren Palace was the only place I really felt safe.

  “You’re such a liar.” Sary breathed out a breath before she continued. “You and your sister are nothing alike. She’s kind and sweet whilst you’re cocky and narcissistic.”

  I cringed at her assessment of me. Did she really see me like that?

  “It’s because you don’t know anything about me.”

  “Oh, but I do know you, Benton.” Her eyes gleamed a shiny emerald when I glanced over at her. “I can read emotions fairly well, and yours … well, you tend to hide yourself deep inside, because you’re afraid of pain, of getting hurt.”

  I shook my head. “You got the wrong impression then.”

  “No, I didn’t. You don’t let anyone in. Why?”

  I halted in my steps and faced her full on. “Who are you to judge me? You don’t know who I am and never will. I’m here to make sure things don’t go nuts at your brother’s house and to figure out who’s organizing the Unseelie in the human realm, and that’s all you need to know. You got me pegged all wrong.” I wanted to shut down, keep her at arm’s length. Why did she have this effect on me? It made me want to hurt her back. “You don’t even know your brother anymore. Maybe you need to look at the mess you’ve become since you left my sister on her own. Or did you forget that you fell apart and abandoned her?”

  Sary’s mouth ga
ped, like a goldfish struggling for air. I gave my head another shake before I strutted forward, without her.

  “Where are you going? I’m not done talking to you.”

  “I’m done talking to you.”

  “What did Shade tell you about me?”

  Her question was quiet, sadness filling her voice like an old ache was fighting to creep up her chest. I stopped again and sighed, staring hard at the ground. Shade had told me everything about her journeys in Faerie. Some stories were very unpleasant. Others were fascinating. Sary’s tale ended in pure tragedy.

  “She told me you fell apart after your boyfriend’s death. Kevin? Steve?”

  “Stephen.” Her lips frowned at my failure to name him right.

  “Yeah, him.”

  “He was my chosen.”

  “And that’s supposed to mean something to me?”

  Sary’s eyes glistened with fluid. My chest hurt seeing it, and I looked away. I couldn’t let her in. Not her.

  “A faery’s chosen is forever, until one of them dies. Like Shade and Dylan. It’s for life.”

  “So what happens if you lose your chosen, like you did?” I risked a glance up at her soft, porcelain face. Her beauty was marred in sadness, which made my heart cramp. I had to stop these feelings. She was so out of my league.

  “We live a half-life. Never really complete ever again.” Her voice quivered.

  “Can’t you remarry? Shade told me you can.”

  “Yes, and it would help with the pain of losing a chosen.”

  “Find someone else then.” I started forward again, since Braelynn had quietly continued on and was already a good ways ahead of us.

  Sary pressed her soft pink lips together, and I felt the air stir about us, whipping her hair up and away from her face. I wanted to kiss her, and the urge to do so was so strong, I could barely rein in my emotions. I almost stepped forward to cup her tear-streaked face.

  I was such a prick sometimes, and it always backfired.