by Renée Jaggér
I groaned. I didn’t want to go into a grimy pub the night before I had to go back to work, but where else would I go? Anyone who passed me might have wondered why I was staring grim-faced through my car’s windshield at the changing traffic light when my car wasn’t running.
I had to start somewhere, I decided. As it was not yet dark, I knew a nightclub wasn’t an option. I hoped I would find a phouka before it came to that. I didn’t want drunken maskless men pawing me tonight or any other time.
Who the hell am I that I’m willingly hunting a goblin on my holiday? I asked myself and had to laugh out loud as I started my car. I drove first to what I knew to be the lowest quality pub in the area. Somehow, it was still frequented on a daily basis. The sign was dangling by rusted chains and read Stilettos in chipping paint. After dark, the pub would be a nightclub, but right now, it was just a plain old drink-during-the-afternoon kind of place.
If it weren’t for the mask I was wearing, I would have covered my nose before walking in. The odors hit me as soon as I entered. The mask wasn’t going to help at all. I didn’t mind the smell of alcohol, but the interior of the pub smelled like an old man’s alcoholic breath mixed with piss and cigarettes. Whoever their cleaning people had been, they had long since quit and fled this place of employment.
The bulbous man behind the bar looked as unclean as the place. He was stroking the wooden countertop with a rag that looked like it had been wiping the same counter for the past month without being laundered in between. The last time I had stepped foot in this godsforsaken place was during my university days. I banished any memory of that time from my mind as I stepped up to the counter.
Talk about drunken maskless men pawing me, was my rueful thought as I plunked into a seat three stools down from the next patron. The man behind the bar grunted, and I badly wanted to take a razor to his very unkempt beard.
Talk about health code violations, I thought. I wasn’t here to make enemies with humans, so I didn’t say it aloud. I was looking for red-eyed humans whose eye color could change to gold and whose skin could change to bristling fur.
“What will it be, miss?” the man behind the counter asked with a smirk. His eyes shone with ill-intent. I stiffened. I had put on a high-collared shirt and high-waisted black jeans this morning. I hadn’t dressed for the roaming eyes of a man, but that wasn’t going to stop this one.
My university memories resurfaced, and for a split second, I saw myself standing on the bar, drunk and throwing an empty liquor bottle at the barman. My brother had dragged me out that night and made sure I came home safely. I shoved the thought away. Not now.
I rolled my eyes. I sure as hell wasn’t going to drink here, though having a little buzz before finding a phouka sounded like a good idea. I needed to act like I was here for another reason. “I’m waiting for a friend,” I told the man in a cool tone.
The man smirked again and chuckled. He gave me an appraising look. Probably because I’ve made a wise decision by wearing a mask.
“Sure. Meeting a friend at a pub at eleven o’clock in the morning. You and your friend should come back tonight.”
I hoped he would be passed out drunk before tonight and that someone else would be managing things. Not that whoever else might be running things would be any better. As I was speaking to him, however, I did notice his eyes were a normal human brown. Though I didn’t want to look at him anymore, I was relieved to find he wasn’t the type to turn into something I’d have to deal with.
I shot a look at a man hunched over a flask three stools down. He glanced at me. No red eyes. My heart sank. The other man, who was wearing a long trench coat in desperate need of a dry clean, looked like he would be easy to take on.
Snappable, I told myself. He looked like a twig. I turned on my stool to eye the only other two people in the pub. No red eyes. I knew if I waited here long enough, I might see some, but I was getting impatient and wasn’t going to be met by a friend.
Feigning forgetfulness, I rose and exited the pub, not that my act mattered. The people inside didn’t need to know where I was going or what I was doing. I stood on the pavement for a moment and watched the street. Some cars passed, but not very many. The shops across the street were almost entirely vacant.
It’s too quiet here.
I returned to my car and drove a few blocks to more populated streets. I sat in my car and watched people pass. No red eyes, not from what I could see. Sighing, I knew I would have to actually get close enough to other people to see if they were not human.
What does a phouka do during the day? I asked myself. I pulled Douglas’ journal out of the backseat and flipped to where I had been reading the night before.
Phouka thrive off draining the life out of humans, he had written.
I could hear Douglas’ bitterness in his words. “Draining the life” seemed a bit extreme, but when I remembered how the first one I’d seen had slashed Dawes’ throat in a second, I agreed with him.
If I let one get close to me, it could do the same thing. I shut that thought down. Remember your power. My second thought came to me in another voice, and a comforting warmth passed over me. Get a move on, I told myself. I rounded another corner and parked my car but didn’t turn it off.
I threw my head back against the headrest and groaned. Why couldn’t I just summon one to question and be done with it?
As I thought that, movement to my right caught my eye. When I peered into the nearby alley, I saw two figures leaning against the wall of a brick building. They appeared to be male but were of abnormal stature compared to the men I was used to seeing.
At least seven feet, I thought. Realizing I was gawking, I rearranged my features into an unreadable stare. One of the men flung a cigarette on the ground and laughed.
I froze. I could hear his laugh clearly from where I was parked, even with my windows rolled up. It was the same laugh I had heard in my dream and at the council flats the other night. I swallowed hard. It’s impossible it’s the same one, I told myself. I killed that one. No, the crows did. But...same thing.
I realized all phouka could laugh the same way, low and dark and cold. It sent a shudder down my spine and raised goosebumps on my arms and legs. Before I could lose my courage, I jumped out of the car and glanced both ways down the street. Seeing no one, I ducked into the alley.
The creature’s laugh faded as I stepped into view. I crossed my arms and planted my feet apart. “No loitering,” I said in a cool tone.
The one leaning against the building pushed off it and sauntered toward me, a smirk pulling at his lips. “Oh, yeah? And who are you?” He uttered that cold, dark laugh again. “We don’t even listen to the police, and you’re sure as hell not one of them.”
I stiffened. Every fiber within me wanted to pounce on him, but I was here for information, not to kill. Well, information, then killing if necessary. I returned the creature’s smirk. “Just a concerned citizen,” I told him in a light tone. “Don’t want anyone to be up to anything they shouldn’t be.”
Confusion flashed across his face. As it did, my eyes rose to meet his, and I froze. His eyes looked normal. Blue this time, but human. Was I wrong? I couldn’t have been. That laugh had been inhuman, like the one from my vision.
My hesitation must have shown on my face because the man’s smirk returned. My eyes darted to the other one. He stood to the side, arms crossed and expression grim and full of rage. Pure hatred boiled in those eyes, which to my disappointment, were also not red. For the second time, I froze and gawked.
The man from the pub who was sitting three stools down! When the hell did he get here?
Recognition bloomed in the man’s expression.
My heart rate increased when I realized this. I stumbled back, losing my courage. You have power, I reminded myself, and re-planted my feet. “Where’s your pack?” I asked in a voice like a snarl. I liked the sound that had come out of my own mouth. My courage rose, and I stared the first man down. His face shuttered, and
I knew I was onto something. “You know, it’s a lot safer to travel in packs.”
The second man stepped forward, his stance threatening. I did not back down. “You should listen to your own advice, girl.”
I raised my brows and spoke in an innocent tone. “Who, me? Do you think I’m in danger?”
“Who are you?” the first man asked, his smirk gone, replaced by the same fury-filled look his companion wore.
“Like I said, I’m a concerned citizen,” I told him a coy voice. Playing dumb was fun as long as it ended with me getting answers and the smell of their burnt hair.
I flicked my braid over my shoulder. From the way they were staring at me, I knew the Way of Kings wasn’t causing them to bend under my influence. My heart clenched. They weren’t with a pack, and neither was I. I wasn’t safe, but as I remembered the wolf I had seen on multiple occasions, I had another thought.
I’m a lone wolf, you see. I wanted to say it, but the man from the pub was reacting.
He wagged his finger at me. “I know you!”
Yes, idiot, from the pub, I wanted to retort, but that wasn’t what he meant.
“Crow lady!”
The other man’s eyes narrowed. I glanced at his corded arms and chest and imagined him becoming one of those enormous clawed creatures. What the hell had I walked into? Sure, I willingly went into dangerous situations all the time, but it was usually to save a life, not risk my own.
“Yeah...” the other man drawled, his expression becoming even grimmer. “I remember you.” His lips curled into a wicked smile. “Say, what happened to our mates that night? The ones you killed.” His simmering rage radiated off him.
I remained where I was and fixed him with a stare that said, “Try it, I dare you.” I shrugged. “You know, you shouldn’t mess with someone with a reputation.”
The second man snarled, but before any of us could move, something caught our eyes. The flaps of wings drew our attention to the gutters of the building next to us, where a murder of crows had just landed. There were at least a dozen of them.
Well, hello, my friends, I thought. Nice of you to show up. Maybe with them here, I wouldn’t have to do all the fighting on my own.
I had taken too long to look at the birds.
A guttural growl wrenched my eyes back to the two men. They were no longer human. The gold eyes had emerged, and their skin now sported bristling blue and black fur.
The claws appeared next.
I gathered every ounce of rage and power within me. I wouldn’t let them kill anyone else. They had to get through me, and then they were going to answer every. Single. Question.
The next instant, I glanced at the crows above, which made both creatures also turn their attention, if only for a split second. I took advantage of that tiny window of time and struck. My power blasted through me as I hurled myself at the smaller creature, the one I had deemed “snappable” in the pub.
We hit the dumpster with a tremendous crash. A caw sounded from above. A snarl rose in my throat as I grabbed handfuls of the creature’s fur and threw him down again. He cried out at the impact. I flashed my hands toward my boots, where my two knives were hidden. I had taken Douglas’ advice and acquired the iron blades before I went out hunting. Mythical creatures had big trouble with iron. Thankfully, I had a blacksmith acquaintance who made them for Wiccans, and he’d had two on hand, and had sharpened the hell out of them for me.
Too late. A heavy claw swiped toward me, and before I knew what had happened, I had been hurled at the wall on the other side of the alley. My body slammed into it, and all the air in my lungs rushed out. I rolled on the ground, pain lancing through every nerve. I groaned and gritted my teeth. My face had smacked the wall and was scraped and bleeding. His claws had done even more damage.
My clothing had done very little to keep me from injury. I felt the slice on my abdomen and saw the blood seeping through my shirt, but the pain was not yet too intense. I rose on wobbling legs.
The creatures laughed, and the sound reverberated through the alley. The very ground shook with it. My eyes flashed fire, and adrenaline coursed through my veins. Forget questions. I was ready for blood.
Phouka blood. I had never anticipated the smell of burnt hair more.
“Nice try, little witch!” the taller creature snarled.
Why the hell did they keep calling me a witch? I didn’t doubt that witches also existed at this point, but I wasn’t casting spells. I was just hurling my one hundred-and thirty-one-pound body at them with inhuman speed.
“Supernatural” wasn’t a word I would use to describe myself, but it was the only one I could come up with. I snarled deep in my throat, and both of them jumped. I launched toward the smaller creature again, knives flashing, and they found their mark. The yelp of the creature filled the alley, and a flame of satisfaction ignited in me.
I brought my knife down again, this time at his throat. His yelps died along with him, cut off by my blade, which now dripped black blood. I scrambled up to find the second creature bounding toward the other end of the alley, trying to escape.
Not so fast, I thought, releasing a growl. The creature was at the end of the alley, but I knew I could catch him with my increased swiftness.
I didn’t need to. Before I could move a centimeter, something large and black bounded toward him. I gasped. The enormous wolf growled at the phouka, who sprang back and uttered an inhuman scream. The wolf was the same height as the monster. I stumbled forward, mouth hanging open.
The wolf didn’t even look at me. It snapped its jaws at the phouka before throwing its head back and howling deep and long. It then bounded out of the alley.
I shouldn’t have been surprised since I had seen the wolf at the council flats, but I froze as I watched it retreat. This had, by far, been the most chaotic day I had experienced in a long time. At least at the council flats, I had been familiar with where I was.
The phouka scrambled back, changing to human form again. He flung his hands up, face fearful as I stalked toward him. The blood of his accomplice dripped from my knives. “I’ll give you whatever you want,” he screamed.
I hoped no one had heard the commotion we were causing. I wasn’t keen on explaining why it looked like I had killed two man/monsters in an alley in broad daylight. Besides, knives longer than three inches were illegal. I didn’t need to be fired from my job or thrown in jail.
I smirked. “Of course you will.” I lifted his chin with the point of my knife. “I want answers. Where do you come from, and who do you serve?” The odor of the other phouka’s body disintegrating filled the air. It made me want to throw up, but it was adding to my victim’s fear, so I didn’t allow my displeasure to show.
“Redcap! Redcap sent us!” the creature squealed.
I frowned. Was I supposed to know who that was? Asking didn’t seem wise. “What was Redcap having you do?”
“We were waiting! Waiting!” Sweat poured down the creature’s human-looking face.
“Waiting for what?” I demanded.
“Night! Night!”
You work best in the dark. I see. “I’m going to let you go,” I told him. I grasped the collar of his torn and bloodied shirt. “If you harm anyone, I will hunt you down and make you pay.” Apparently, I had enough fire in my eyes to make the creature try to scramble away from me. My hold on him remained firm despite his flailing.
“Where can I find your boss?” I released him so he could fumble in his pockets and withdraw a folded piece of paper, which he shoved into my hand. I frowned at it, but after unfolding it, I saw an address written and circled in red ink. I glared at the creature as I wiped off and replaced my knives. “Go. Tell your boss I’m onto him, and he should stay out of my way.”
The creature fled. I sagged against the wall of the building next to me and peered at my still bleeding wounds. I winced as I brushed my hand over one. They would need to be taken care of soon. My head spun, and I hoped I could get to my car before blacking out.<
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I glanced up to see the crows still sitting atop the building. They were looking down at me but were otherwise motionless. “Thanks for the help,” I muttered. At least the wolf had had my back. Then, remembering how the previous murder of crows had pecked out the eyes of all the phouka, I realized that with their help, I might not have gotten answers.
“Redcap,” I echoed. I would need to get home, clean my wounds, and find out who that was. I clenched the paper the creature had given me in my fist. I would look up the address too.
Two hours later, I had taken care of my wounds and looked through all of Douglas’ books. Nothing on Redcap. I sent him a message and soon after, logged onto a zoom meeting with him.
I suppressed my smile at seeing his curtains open and sunlight pouring into the flat behind him. He seemed to be doing better already. I explained what had happened to me that day.
Douglas’ eyes widened. “Are you stupid?”
I stiffened. Sure, I had made plenty of less-than-wise decisions, but I wished he had used a word like “brave” or “tenacious.”
He buried his face in his hands. “You went alone?”
I narrowed my eyes. “I came out more than all right and got some information.”
At the mention of information, Douglas dropped his look of horror about my rash encounter with mythical creatures and leaned forward. His agitation changed to curiosity. “What or who is Redcap?” I asked.
Douglas’ eyes had been wide before, but now they looked like they would pop out of his head. “Redcap?” he echoed, his voice hoarse.
I nodded. “I couldn’t find anything in your writings. What do you know?”
Douglas gulped. “A redcap is, according to legend, the highest form of goblin and usually has power over lower forms like phouka. You said the creature was sent by a redcap?”
I nodded. “He gave me this.” I unfolded the paper and showed him the address circled in red.