by Kristie Cook
“I’m looking at the different portals of Faerie we could take to get closer to the desert where we’ll find Lorell.”
“Oh,” I said. I wondered how the border portals of Faerie determined how we’d end up on the other side of them. It didn’t exactly say “Portal to the Mojave Desert” on it. I think the map had more magical properties than it allowed me to see, so I let her get her bearings.
“I got it!” She pointed at the map with two fingers, one on an area near Chicago, near our current location, and another one on Las Vegas. “We enter a portal here, near the southwestern side of Chicago. It should take us to the northern edge of Las Vegas, near the western mountains.” She smiled, looking excited. Right then the waitress approached to refill our sodas. Sary quickly folded the map and tucked it away in her pack.
After the waitress left, I wiped my face with a napkin and looked at the two ladies with me. I felt tons better and wondered if eating was the trick to keeping my energy up, not only physical energy, but magical stores as well. Sary and Braelynn sat there either staring out the window or around at the other diners. It was obvious they didn’t mingle much in the outside world. It seemed humans were fascinating creatures to them. I found it amusing to watch them back.
“Can I ask you guys something?”
They both turned back toward me and awaited my question.
“Are there humans with no magic who can see past our glamours or ‘see’ magic?” My thoughts went back to the redheaded girl from the subway and the hotel window.
Braelynn nodded. “Yes. They have the sight. It’s rare, but there are some who possess this trait. Most die before they get too old, though.”
My eyes widened. “Why?”
Sary sighed, rubbing her face and playing with her soda straw. “Because if the wrong faery spots them, they’ll kill them on sight.”
I gulped. “How would anyone know if a human has no magic but has the sight?”
Sary and Braelynn glanced at each other and looked back to me. My curiosity only spiked.
“These humans can see a spark or a wavering glitch in our glamour. Some say it’s like we shine, or glimmer. We don’t actually shine, but that’s what the glamour looks like to these particular humans, and it’s how they detect us. If a faery who doesn’t want to be discovered notices a human looking at them when they don’t possess any magic to be able to see them, which is easily determined by testing a person’s shields, they off them. No shields equals no magic. They see them as a threat to their safety and usually target the human for extermination.”
“Just for having the sight? That sounds a bit harsh to me.”
Sary nodded. “Yes, it is. But fey are a proud race, and any threat to our safety never goes unchecked. The only ones that survive beyond youth are usually stolen as babies, snatched soon after birth to serve faeries in the Faerie realm. There are oracles who work as bounty hunters to find such children. If a child gets past that age and grows older without detection, they’ll most likely learn to stay away from the faeries they do see, to stay safe. It’s just rare to find a full human with the sight.”
I thought about the girl with burgundy red hair and could see why she was so afraid of us. “Would you guys do that?”
Sary looked confused. “Do what?”
“Kill a human with the sight?”
Braelynn looked down to her plate while Sary stared at me in horror.
“No. Never. I don’t have a need to kill humans unless they harm me. It’s mostly the banished who kill humans, or demented fey who use these humans as slaves. Most who live in Faerie do not bother with such things. The taking of young children with the sight is usually done by the Unseelie, who hunt them to return them to the Faerie world for servitude. These are the bounty hunters of the Faerie, but they don’t just look for those with the sight. They track runaway faeries, faeries who’ve broken some sort of pact, oath breakers and escaped prisoners.”
I turned to Braelynn, who was avoiding looking at me. “What about you, Braelynn? Have you ever run into a human with the sight?”
She looked up at me and nodded, looking bleak. “Yes. I knew a girl named Talla in my clan when I was younger. She was human and a good friend. She was taken from her family when she was but a toddler and brought to our clan in Faerie. Later, when we were almost matured, a bounty hunter came to our village and took her. We couldn’t save her, and I never saw her again. He probably killed her.”
I leaned back, paling. I wasn’t sure if I liked where this conversation was going. “Oh, okay. Sorry to hear that.”
Braelynn focused her saddened eyes out the window, leaning on her hands. The memories this particular conversation had awoken for her were bittersweet, I was sure. I felt bad even asking them about the humans with the sight, but at least I now knew what that girl was. I had to find her, help her get to a safe place. Maybe whenever this business with Oran was over, I could return to find her and help her out. Hopefully, I wouldn’t be too late.
Chapter Ten Faery Tricks
Faery Tricks
I knew the way through Faerie would be short this time. I just wished it wouldn’t take me through Faerie at all. Wishes don’t always come true, but at least it was quick. When we emerged from the border of Faerie and stepped into the arid desert near a vibrant, green park, I was sure we had gone the wrong way. Sary reassured me we were right where we were supposed to be. A furtive glance around to find a sign pointing to the Las Vegas city limits made me finally relax.
“So how do we go about finding this Lorell? What do runt-riffs look like anyway? Do they even resemble humans?” I stopped my questions when I found Sary glaring at me with her lips tight. “What?” I guess asking too many questions at once was prohibited.
“Remind you of someone?” Braelynn leaned in toward Sary and gave me a tiny smile.
“Oh, yeah. I remember the million questions Shade had when we were first travelling together. Although,” Sary flashed a sarcastic smile at me, “this one is more annoying, if you can believe that.”
“Oh, I believe it.” They both burst out laughing, and I was left flabbergasted at what they heck they were talking about. Maybe Shade and I were more alike than I’d thought. She was my sister, after all.
“Hey, I resent that remark.” I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Bested by two female faeries. Best day ever.
“You know we still like you.” Sary patted my back.
“Great. I’m thrilled.”
“You should be.” Sary winked and pointed toward the horizon. “I’ve tracked Lorell downtown, so that’s where we’re going.”
I squinted my eyes and stared across the valley to find a large building pointing out of the center of it. The city was spread out far and wide and was bustling with activity. “Near that space needle-looking thing?”
Sary nodded. “Yep. Down that way, but a bit more north. Come on.”
I groaned. “It’s going to take us forever to get down there. Let me call a cab or something.” I jogged to the edge of the sidewalk lining the park and peered down the way to find a convenience store propped right on the opposite corner. “We can ask to use their phone.”
“What are you going to pay the cab with?” Sary folded her arms and gave me a questioning look.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Whatever you gave the hotel people last night for a room.” Confusion made me stop and peer at her curiously. “What did you pay the hotel with anyway?”
Sary and Braelynn gave each other a look and promptly pulled out some leaves from the tiny little packs strapped to their waistbands. With a quick flick of a hand, they both turned the leaves into money.
“Wicked! Uh, yeah … give them that.” I shook my head again, surprised at their little deception. “You really pay bills with leaves?”
“Or anything thin enough to look like money.”
“Handy trick. Wish I’d thought of that before.”
“It doesn’t stay looking like money forever. It’s just a temporary
glamour.”
“Gotcha.” I sighed and headed toward the convenience store, knowing they’d follow close behind. I was feeling loads better today. Even the wound from the Draelik wasn’t aching. I felt great, actually. The craving for the draught was gone, so I was hoping I wouldn’t be needing that stuff for a good long while.
I hurried into the convenience store, feeling grateful for the A/C blowing at full blast. The city was a different kind hot than what I was used to. It didn’t matter if it was winter, the temperature was still higher than back home. At least it was a dry heat, sucking at my skin to shrivel it up. Even so, the sweat began to bead on my forehead.
“Excuse me.” I leaned on the counter and watched as a pretty blonde girl finished stuffing cigarette boxes into the display on the wall behind the counter. She turned, wiped her hands on a smock tied to her skinny waist and gave me a pleasant, bright smile. It made me flush, and I stuttered to ask her what I needed.
“Hello, how can I help you?”
“Do you have a phone I can borrow? I—I need to call a cab.”
She nodded, reaching behind her for the phone and the yellow pages. “Yes. Here you go. Dial 9 first.”
I took the cordless phone and book from her and gave her my own flirty smile. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.” Was she turning red? I liked her response. Too bad she lived in Vegas instead of Portland.
She watched me as I walked down to the end of the counter for some privacy.
“Don’t forget to bring it back,” she called out, winking and returning to her task before I could reassure her I wouldn’t steal it. I guess she saw a lot of crap working in a place like that, even if it was in a nice neighborhood. Still, I didn’t look like a thief, did I? I took a sweeping glance down at my white shirt, hoodie, jeans and sneakers. Nope, I looked like a sloppy hoodlum, but not a thief. What do thieves really look like anyway? There was dirt caked on my shoes, my hair was all mussed up and my hoodie had seen better and cleaner days.
I sighed. So what if I looked unkempt. I was a warrior and an elemental warlock. Cut me some slack. I flipped through the yellow pages, finding what I needed before finally dialing the nearest cab company.
Sary and Braelynn were standing at the entrance outside, looking awkward as they peered at the slot machines lining the windows. One old man sat at one of the machines, yanking the handle every now and then to send the reels spinning. The tiny bells going off as the reels stopped made Sary twitch with each chime. The old man wiggled his eyebrows at the ladies before giving them a toothless grin. They gave each other a tentative glance, looking not quite thrilled at his attention. I stifled a chuckle as I finished confirming the ride and hung up the phone.
“Here you go, miss. Thanks a ton.” I handed the phone and book back to Blondie and flashed her a white, toothy grin again. That caught her eye, and she gave me that charming smile once more before glancing away. “You don’t happen to have any Funions, do you?”
She was watching the girls, looking strange standing outside with nothing to do.
“Uh, yeah, second row to the right.” She flicked her eyes back to me and pointed to the girls. “They with you?”
“Um, yes. My cousins are visiting from out of town. Never seen slots in their entire lives.” I liked the little laugh she let out as she smiled and visibly relaxed. “You know … tourists.” I rolled my eyes for emphasis and sealed the deal by grabbing a bag of chips and quickly filling up a Slurpee cup before placing it onto the counter for her to ring up. Her delicate fingers tapped away at the touch screen register, and I found myself admiring her studious face.
I wished I could stay and chat more, but I knew there wasn’t time for that. I sighed and thanked her for her help before I turned to Sary and Braelynn, who probably didn’t need any snacks. By the way they stared horrified at the racks of food, I could see that they were more than disgusted by the fake, sugary crud humans stuffed down their throats.
“Have a nice day!” Blondie waved at me as I headed through the front doors. I turned to wave back and admire her backside as she turned away and walked down toward the rear of the store. When I turned back again, I found a disgusted Sary and a tight-lipped Braelynn.
“What?”
“Must you ogle every female in your vicinity?”
I shrugged, and they both turned to head back to the sidewalk to wait. I sipped on my Slurpee and joined them.
The day was growing shorter. I munched on the Funions as quietly as I could and scanned the streets. There wasn’t much magic out there in the suburbs of Vegas, meaning there weren’t patches of Unseelie escapees nearby. Good thing, though. I didn’t feel like battling anyone just yet.
I shoved the empty bag into the trash as the cab pulled up, and the girls and I jumped into it and gave the driver the directions. The cab was a minivan, so we all sat in the back so we could have some privacy.
“What if we don’t find this Lorell? Then what?” I asked.
Sary chewed on her lip and Braelynn furrowed her brow, thinking about my question. “I’ve tracked him as best I could, but when we get closer, I can weave a more specific tracking spell with the crystal, since it was his.”
I scratched my head. “What if it leads us back to Ferdinand, its previous owner?”
Braelynn smiled, a rarity from her. “I can track anyone who’s touched it. I know a lot more than just healing arts.”
I grinned. I liked her way of thinking.
“Sounds good!”
When we got closer to downtown, she pulled out the crystal figurine of Elvis and dropped it gently into her lap. She rubbed her fingers together before she held her hands over it, almost cupping it, and leaned forward and began whispering words over it.
I glanced up toward the cabbie, who was changing channels on the radio and muttering under his breath, not giving us a second glance. Good. I didn’t want him to freak out and drop us out onto the road thinking we were some satanic cult or something. Humans take everything the wrong way, hence why magicals don’t really make themselves a public spectacle.
It was fascinating watching Braelynn perform the tracking spell. I’d learned so much from the grimoires in the Pyren back home, but from what Ferdinand had told me, I had a long way to go. At the moment, I was more of a fire elemental trickster and warrior than a true sorcerer. If it came down to a match of magics, I would probably lose. Pathetic.
When she finished, she held it out on the palm of her hand. “There. It will pulsate with energy the closer we get to Lorell. If we’re in the same room, it’ll vibrate until we set eyes on him.” She grinned, giddy from using her magic. It made me just as happy to see her sudden good mood.
“You’ll have to teach me that spell so I can write it down in my own grimoire.”
She furrowed her brow again and leaned closer to me. “You have your own grimoire?”
I nodded. “Yep. Mom wanted us to make our own grimoires. It’s an old family tradition. Everything I learn in my lifetime I’ll need to write it in there, like my ancestors did. Not only for me to remember, but for the future generations to reference.”
She looked pensive. “Have you read them all?”
“The grimoires? No. Not yet. There’s tons of them. Plus some scrolls in some old language I don’t even understand.”
She smiled and reached out to touch me on the forehead. A swift, tingling cold sensation rushed from her finger into my skin and made my brain feel cold. I fought the urge to jerk away.
“Whoa … what was that?” I tried not to be loud, but the cabbie looked up into the rearview mirror, eyeing us suspiciously.
I waved at him, throwing him a sheepish grin before he frowned and looked back toward the road. Phew! Close call.
“I gave you the gift of speed reading. Next time you’re at the Pyren, you’ll be done reading all the grimoires in no time. Plus,” she leaned forward and whispered, “you can read any language now, too, even ancient elemental ones.”
I rubbed the spo
t on my forehead. “Wow, really? That’s cool! That’s a neat trick. I’ll be done reading them before Anna.” I gave her a tight squeeze until she squeaked. “Oh, sorry. Really, thank you!” I was grinning from ear to ear.
Braelynn smiled and proceeded to close herself up again, turning to peer out the window. It was too bad, it was pleasant to talk to her when she wasn’t withdrawn, a lot more so than with Sary and her volatile personality.
I sank back into the seat and peered out the window as well. Sary sat on the other side of me and appeared to be seething about something, but I didn’t care. Let her be jealous. Jealousy was good for people to learn what they really wanted out of life. What they did with it was what mattered.
Chapter Eleven Vegas
Vegas
The flashing lights stayed on even in the daylight hours all through the downtown Fremont Street area. I peered above us and studied the enormous arch structure they called “The Fremont Experience.” It was impressive in its sheer size and the amount of tiny lights stamped throughout it. The entire street was bursting with tourists and alive with chatter, announcements and flashing neon signs.
“Show’s tonight after sunset and every hour after that.” A woman at the nearby shop kiosk waved at us. “Get your phone bedazzled here!” I shook my head and snorted. I didn’t think I needed my phone bedazzled, decorated, pimped or anything. In fact, I was in desperate need of a charge. It’d been sitting dead in my pack for a long while now, but it didn’t matter to me much. I was an off the grid kind of guy.
The place was crowded, and I found myself getting bumped all the time on all sides if we stood still too long. Bunches of tourists and locals muttered their curses at us as they picked their way around our little group. It was nightmarishly suffocating for anyone not used to sharing their personal space.
“Where’s the Golden Nugget?” Sary paused at another kiosk selling Las Vegas souvenirs to ask. The shopkeeper pointed down the street and added his own spiel to the directions, hoping to reel her in to buy a trinket. Sary was already breaking away, without even acknowledging the guy, and kept on moving forward. He gave her a deep scowl when he realized it wouldn’t do any good to try and sell us his wares. We shoved ahead to keep up with her.