by J L Collins
His disregard for life was appalling enough, but treating his friend like this? People wrote scary stories about monsters like Quicksilver. Outside of Charming Springs, he might be considered a sociopath, even.
I slammed my fist on the wall again. Where the heck was Ash? He must have heard the commotion? Unless Quicksilver had somehow known we were coming…
I had to finish the job and keep distracting him. It was the only way we would possibly get the jump on him.
“And what about this bubble thing? You think you’re just going to stay in there for the rest of your life? You have nowhere to go but out, Quicksilver. Surely you see that.”
The twisting of his mouth should’ve clued me in.
The bubble of magic that I’d been pushing up against was gone, and I fell flat on my face with no time to catch myself. “Ah!” Everything on the right side of my face stung. But the worst part… I looked over my shoulder to see the yellow-tinged barrier was back up. Trapping me in here with him.
“You are right, Indie. There is no way out. Not unless I want there to be.”
I shook my head. “You make no sense. The whole point of testing the properties of the spring water… it should be to help, not to harm.”
He took another step forward and I quickly scanned everything I could see in the flickering light of a couple of gaslit camping lamps. I couldn’t quite make out the dark corner where Goldie was now quiet. The table was covered in beakers and glass test tubes, a Bunsen burner with an ongoing stream of flame… I could maybe use that, but I didn’t know what kind of chemical reaction it would cause.
“You’re admiring my work. At least someone does. I put so much time into it and really, no one wants to pay attention. Why worry about magic when science is taking us to the next level?”
He was babbling and I needed to make sure he kept it up. “Isn’t magic a sort of science in itself?”
He chuckled but I wasn’t listening. The blue liquid in the beakers caught my eye again. Hot spring water. Water.
I reached out with my mind, feeling the weight of the water in each glass beaker. It was dense—denser than normal water. Whatever it was, it was harder to wrap my mind around.
Extending my arm, I tried to draw the liquid forth from them, and it worked. Sort of.
The water streamed out of them but it wasn’t strong enough to do any damage other than ruin my element of surprise.
“What is this?” Quicksilver said, taking more steps closer. “Did you just summon water?” He tilted his head to one side. “But I thought you were an earth witch?”
I tried again but to no avail, and this time my effort was met with resistance. He bridged the gap between us and yanked me to my feet until I was scrambling to keep my feet on the floor. I scratched and hit at him but he was so fast that he dodged it all.
And then I was airborne.
There was something terrifying about the noise my body made inside when I hit the cave wall and fell. Pain shot up my entire left side and I saw where the term seeing stars came from as the room tilted in front of me.
“Oh, that might have been a little rough on my part. I apologize. I’m not here to throw you around.”
“Could… have… fooled me.” The words ached in my chest.
“Why would I, now? You’ve demonstrated and incredibly important gene that must reside in your DNA. Being able to wield more than one element is something this town has never seen the likes of before. The amount of time I could spend studying it…” he shook his head, laughing. “Sorry. That was uncalled for. I mean really, earth and water power? This is so fascinating! I truly thought you were an earth witch. Look how you had us all fooled.” he said, grabbing the back of my jacket and yanking me backward. “How could this be? Who are you, really?” His dark eyes were wide in awe. You would’ve thought he was taking in a firework show—not trying to murder someone.
I wrenched myself away, shaking and scrambling backwards the best I could. I shoved my hand into my pocket and wrapped my fingers around the lighter. The flint struck and a small flame erupted from the top. The heat from the fire was like a beacon for my magic’s reach, pulling it toward the flame. The ball of fire held steady in my hand until I threw it right in his face.
His screech shook the cave and his loss of concentration evaporated the magic barrier. I rolled away and jumped up, dizzy from pain. Dashing toward the dark corner, my only aim was to find Goldie.
“Can you hear me? Goldie?” I searched around, fumbling until something wriggled under my touch.
Pushing the weight of some kind of buzzing net off of her, I bent to scoop her flapping and flailing form into my arms. “Come on.”
“Stop!” Quicksilver was back in the mouth of the cave, blocking our only exit. “I can respect the impressive skills you have, but you’re still not leaving here alive.”
Hands came up from behind him, wrapping around him. Then he was gone.
I drew in a sharp breath and slumped against the cave wall, every bit of me feeling like someone had run me over with Big Ben.
Goldie nervously took off out of my arms and landed on the cave floor. “Indie? Are you okay? I—I couldn’t see anything!”
My breath was coming in panting fits but I nodded anyway, sliding down to the ground. I didn’t need her freaking out, too. “I think that was Ash. We need to…” I drew in another breath. “I need you to get help. I don’t think I can make it back to town without him.” I gingerly placed my hand along my left side and winced from the tiniest bit of pressure. Oh yeah. I'd definitely broken rib or two.
“You. Stay. I mean it,” she said softly, patting my foot with her wing.
“I don’t think I could go anywhere, even if I wanted to.”
She let out a screech as she took flight and left me to the flickering light.
“Ouch.” I waited until the coast was clear and pulled my jacket off as slowly as possible, hissing under my breath the whole time. The digital voice recorder was right where I left it. I hit the red stop button and slipped it back inside.
Thump.
I listened again, unsure if whether I heard something on the voice recorder or—
Thump.
The noise was coming from outside the cave. Snow crunched and somewhere out there, someone was grunting. My first thought? Ash.
It took everything in me to bring myself to a stand, but once I was up I was going.
At first I saw nothing, but the sound of struggling led me to the slope of the hot spring where Quicksilver had Ash pinned down, his hands firmly around his throat.
My brain screamed—why wasn’t he teleporting away?
Sucking in a deep breath, I tried to think. My vision was spotty at best now, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before the roar of pain in my side would put me out.
I was no good to Ash like this. Why did I tell Goldie to leave so soon?
I reached out in their direction, trying to summon whatever magic would work.
“Stop!” I screamed, watching Ash’s struggle weaken. I didn’t know what would happen if he couldn’t breathe, but I didn’t want to find out.
Quicksilver looked up, his dark eyes calculating. I knew he was going to come for me the second he let go of Ash. If he slammed me against the cave wall again, it really would be lights out for me.
I tried to find the trees behind me, backing up into them. I had nowhere to go. I couldn’t summon air because I wasn’t strong enough… and if Ash couldn’t get up I wouldn’t—
Rubbery green vines shot out of the ground and out from the trees surrounding. Their trailing stalks hovered and crawled menacingly until they were close enough to Quicksilver to twist around him.
“What is this? No! Aunt Am—” But his words were muffled as several large leaves covered his mouth so he could speak no more.
The black clouds around my vision were closing in as Quicksilver was dragged down to the ground, restrained and unable to move.
I lazily looked past Ash and there, ho
vering over the middle of the hot spring, was Amortencia, her arms outstretched and her vivid green eyes glowing.
20
Enjoy The View
Never tick off a fairy elder.
That was one thing that Amortencia made very clear as she ripped the beautiful vines from the ground with her mind. Quicksilver’s struggling body was now floating through the frigid air.
Amortencia’s lilac gown was bedazzled in enough rhinestones and glitter that it rivaled my favorite princess Barbie’s dress. But that didn’t stop her from looking like a warrior queen, with her arms out and her wings flitting behind her as she followed.
“Wait—wait!” I called out, stretching my fingers out as I tried to pull myself up. The sun was blinding against the white snow everywhere. I closed my eyes, my head pounding.
Ash was above me, a silhouette blocking out the light. I could just make out the curled edges of his hair, his face shadowed.
“Are you okay?” I whispered, and immediately regretted it. The words were dry and crackling in my throat.
He had the nerve to chuckle. “Am I okay? You’re worried about me?” His smiling face was a welcome image but he pulled away, revealing bad fluorescent lighting.
Wait. Where was I? I checked in with my body, and also regretted that. I was sore pretty much everywhere—the kind of sore that required medication…which explained the fuzziness in my brain.
“Can I sit up?” I said, wincing at the hoarseness.
“Here, let me help you.” His warm arm encircled me, keeping me steady as I tried to angle myself up. I was surprised when my left side didn’t feel like it was going to rip apart.
“What did they give me? I thought I broke something…”
“You did, but I don’t know what exactly they did to mend the rib. I’m not a medical professional, but they used some kind of magic on you.”
It hurt to roll my eyes. “You. Don’t. Say?”
Ash laughed again. Well, at least he found the situation humorous. It was actually nice to see him in good spirits. Especially considering he was being choked out only moments ago…
“How long have I been in here?” My gaze swept across the small hospital room. It looked just like any other regular hospital room. A painted pot of beautiful winter primroses sat on an upright tray by the window. In one chair, Fatima sat reading a tattered copy of what looked like The Feminine Mystique.
She gave me a little wave. “Hello, you.”
“Nice pick,” I said, nodding to the book. “Just some light reading?”
“Something like that.” She came over, tucking the book into her bag. “I would appreciate it very much if you stopped running headfirst into trouble, you know.”
“I think we all would,” Ash said, standing back with a knowing look. “Not that she’ll listen to us.”
I pointed to him. “Glad we’ve established this by now. Now, is anyone going to fill me in?”
What I had missed was enough to fill the pages of Fatima’s book and then some. Amortencia had big plans to handle her nephew on her own terms after a very public debate between her and Chief Putnam. But just as I’d seen firsthand myself, you don’t argue with Amortencia Fell. She wasn’t above putting someone in their place. Or rooting them in place, for that matter.
“What does she plan on doing with him, anyway?” Something painful, I not-so-secretly hoped.
“She hasn’t given specifics, but most fairies who land themselves in jail are taken to Amortencia’s compound. It can be easier for fairies to slip the chain, so to speak, at the jail. So she handles all of that herself. I would imagine that it would be doubly so for her nephew,” Ash said.
“You think? I was thinking she might go easier on him.”
His laugh was dark, matching his name perfectly. “That’s not how fairies work. A betrayal against their own kind is the deepest crime. If she doesn’t make a public show of his punishment, then it won’t look fair. It won’t be that kind of public show,” he quickly added, seeing the look on my face. “I’m thinking it will involve the stocks at the compound. For starters.”
Wow. That was a thing, huh? Can’t say I feel bad for the guy, after the whole 'him trying to kill me' thing. He should just count himself lucky I couldn’t move when he was choking Ash… I buried that image as fast as possible. I didn’t need another rage-induced headache.
Then it hit me all at once, just like a rage-induced headache. “Drusilla!”
Fatima placed her warm hand on mine. “She’s okay. In fact, all of the ill fairies are now awake. A little out of sorts, sure, but they’re all okay. Amortencia handled that as well. She was able to make Quicksilver give her the antidote for the sleep drug.”
I fell back against my pillow. “Oh, thank god. Is Drusilla here? Can I go check on her?”
“She’s fine, Indie.” Goldie flew in and landed at my feet on the bed. “I just came back from a particularly interesting Special Council meeting. I guess they think it’s best to hold off on the triathlon for now, while everyone is getting back on their feet. Oh! And Drusilla is holding down the fort at the Gazette for you. No need to worry about her.”
I didn’t doubt it. If anyone would bounce right back, bubbly and ready to take on the world, it was Drusilla. I smiled and it hurt. When the heck had I busted my lip?
Ash cleared his throat. “Through some vigorous questioning, Amortencia also got us the proper chemical properties so that Fatima and I could whip up a mixture that carefully eats through the adhesive. I lost my favorite cloak in the process, though. The kid had me pinned and unable to move to teleport—I couldn’t travel without being untethered,” he explained through his teeth. “He somehow managed to paint the glue on my back.” Ash said. “Obviously there are more important things to worry about.”
There were definitely more important things to worry about… but I felt bad for him. How was I supposed to joke about his LARPer attire without the traveling cloak? Now Ash would look like an ordinary guy. Well… maybe not ordinary.
“I’m sorry. If it’s any consolation, he ruined his own life in the process. Maybe you’ll get lucky and find something similar at the thrift store?”
Cloaks and jokes aside, I was glad to be in the presence of my friends after what happened in the cave. It dawned on me that I’d shown someone else my powers—someone untrustworthy for that matter—and it left me feeling vulnerable. Or it might’ve just been the drugs talking.
“I better get going. I promised Maverick I’d help him with some errands today,” Goldie said, twiddling her wingtips as she looked away.
“Errands. Mmhm. I told you…” I gave her a quick wink that only she could see.
Despite having a sore… well, everything, I wanted to get back to the Charming Springs Gazette as quickly as the doctor would allow.
The door had barely shut behind me before Drusilla came rushing forward, her arms thrown wide. “Oh my god, I’m so happy to see you,” she said with a beaming smile. “I know you’re a trooper and all but I was still worried about you.”
“I was probably more worried about you, but I do appreciate it.” I met her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Dru. I feel like the worst boss in the entire world.” It was hard to tell whether it was guilt twisting in my side or the bruises.
“No way,” she said, her usual lightheartedness turned somber. “You’re a great boss, and a great editor, too. It takes a little while to fall into the routine but you caught on so quick! Honestly, I’m a little jealous.”
I looked down at the bandaging peeking out from under my shirt and then back at her and her perfect dark curtain of hair. All I could do was laugh. “I don’t see why, but thanks for trying to make me feel better anyway.”
“Don’t be silly. You’ll be right as rain before you know it. Right now you might want to handle the list of names of people already trying to fill Quicksilver’s spot, though.”
His spot? Oh no… “We’re going to need a new photographer I guess. Which is just awesome. Do you
have anyone in mind that you already know, perhaps? I’m not sure I want to let just anyone in.”
And who could blame me?
She looked up to the ceiling and counted on her fingers. “A friend of mine and Alina’s is in need of a part-time job. He’s a really hard worker, plus he’s not secretly plotting to kill anyone. I think.”
“That inspired a lot of confidence in me, Dru. Maybe we can get back around to that later.”
She grinned. “I’ll just work on setting up the headlines, then.”
One of the things that might have been slightly irritating was that both Goldie and Ash were constantly around, refusing to listen when I told them I was perfectly fine and didn’t need a couple of babysitters watching me at my job.
“Especially because I’m the one running the show,” I hissed in their direction.
It was difficult to get back into the swing of things when those things included typing up the rough draft of the article I’d been sitting on this whole time—the one that nearly got me killed.
From my desk I heard someone breeze through the front door in the lobby, but there were no footsteps that followed.
Amortencia, flagged by a hugely buff guy who was definitely a shifter, strolled in with a controlled expression on her dainty face.
She was no longer donning the fancy gown a la old school Vanna White but was wearing a black and white sweater tunic. She looked like she could both strut down a catwalk and also kick someone’s butt.