The Paragon Element (Book 1)

by Jeff Hale

  I willed myself over there as quickly as possible, and before I knew it, I was standing on her front lawn. Dave’s car was parked next to the curb, bearing out my suspicions. The blinds were down on all the windows, odd shadows behind them as though furniture had been haphazardly piled up in front of them.

  I spun and faced the fae who were advancing on the house. I didn’t have a clue if I could face a singular fae, let alone a whole squad of them. Guess I would find out. I shrugged and formed a wall of fire in front of them, their shadows moving behind it.

  “Leave this place be, or face me and die!” I announced in false bravado.

  “Pah, we no afraid of puny sorcerer! It you who die!” an ogre threatened from behind the wall. Shorter shadows, bogarts, rushed the wall of flame, incinerating themselves as they tried to get through. I glanced behind me. Dave and Jessie were peeking through a gap in the blinds.

  “Ogre, you’d be better off leaving. I’m no sorcerer! I’m one of Merlin’s chosen Sentinels!” I shouted back. There was yelling and what sounded like swearing from the other side of the flames.

  “Okay! We leave now!” the ogre yelled.

  I told you they were stupid. Apparently he’d found no new volunteers to run through the flames. I left the wall up, regardless. I turned and ran up to the front door of the house. It opened before I reached it. Jessie flew out and threw herself at me in a hug. Then she slapped me.

  “Okay… I guess I deserved that.” I rubbed my face.

  “Damn right you did! Not telling us where you were for so long! Ass! Oh, and if Kat hadn’t left, she would owe you a few as well!” Jessie glared at me.

  “Look, about that… I wasn’t… I had something I had to do. It has to do with what’s going on around here. I hope that…” I stopped as Dave and Malcolm came out of the house. All three of them gave me the same look. Like I was their salvation.

  But someone was missing. “Where’s Nina?” I asked, worried now.

  “Up in Washington again, visiting Kat,” Dave told me, his voice a mix of resignation and concern. I just, nodded, hoping things were quieter where Kat lived than they were here.

  “Can you help us? I saw what you did over there, bro, please say you can help us,” Malcolm appealed, holding Jessie close to him.

  “Look, I’m… I’m sorry. I can’t explain what happened. Not entirely anyway. Obviously, we can’t stay here. We have to get to the Velvet Flame, it’ll be safe there. I’ll explain things once we’re there.”

  “But how are we supposed to get there? There’s more of those things out there, and my car just got roached by your… spell,” Dave pointed out.

  “Ugh. Sorry about that. I’ll buy you a new one after all this is over. And you’re right, I don’t know. I’d hate to have to try and fight our way back to Lucien’s. It’s a long walk, and it would be even longer if I had to fight for every inch of ground we made, not to mention there is no way I could protect all of you at once.” Without a vehicle it was going to be tricky going.

  “I can get you there,” a familiar voice spoke up.

  I turned and saw Raven striding through my flame wall like it wasn’t there. Then I realized it was her that wasn’t there. It was some sort of projected image.

  “Where are you, though? I know that’s not really you,” I called out.

  “I’m in my car, about a block away. It’s clear. For now. But you’ll have to be quick. Once you’re in the car, I can cloak all of us and we can get to Lucien’s. Yes. I know all about what happened and what you were told to do. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to help you fight Azryel like I promised. It was something that you honestly needed to do on your own, that’s why I disappeared. Well, that and I needed to be back in the fae court to keep an eye on things.

  “They’re making their move now, like you haven’t already figured that out. But they have something bigger planned. All of these small attacks are a distraction. I just never figured out what their big move was going to be,” she said, worry in her voice.

  “Okay, everyone stay close and follow me.” I extinguished the flame wall, then looked down the street both ways. Raven’s car was parked down the street to the left, right where she’d said. I headed us for it when I realized we might be missing some more people. “Uh. Jessie? What about your family?”

  “Oh, they’re not here. They went out of town after we left for Prom,” she called back, jogging lightly to keep up with the group.

  We made quick time to Raven’s car and piled in. I felt her enact her cloaking and she took off. Jessie and Malcolm were up front. Dave and I took the only two spots in the back. If some stupid ass cop wanted to pull us over right now, I’d fry him and deal with the consequences later. He would deserve it.

  We all rode in silence as the shock of the day’s events began to wear off. Azryel’s parting statement was finally having time to sink in. Right after the fight I hadn’t been able to think about it, but now I did. Was he telling the truth? Did he have Serena’s soul, or at least the key to retrieving it? Could she be brought back? Should she be brought back? As much as I wanted it, I had heard tales of things like that going wrong and not in a pretty way.

  The drive through the city was like driving through another world that consisted of wonders and nightmares alike. We wove through pockets of National Guard units fighting against fae war squads, watched as police were devoured by a lesser drake, and bore witness to another pillar of flame coming from near the Strip.

  “Any idea about what’s causing that?” I asked, pointing to the flames, and figuring I might already know the answer.

  “The sphinx in front of the Luxor came to life,” Raven said.

  “Thought so,” I muttered.

  We arrived at Lucien’s to witness a scene I thought I’d never see. Lucien’s clothing and hair were disheveled and he was standing in the doorway to his club. Both the doors were wide open and he was ushering people inside. When we got out of the car, a look of relief flashed over his face.

  “You all made it. Good. Go right on in. Follow the bouncers to the basement. We will hide out there until all of this clears,” Lucien told us quickly.

  “I’ll stay up here and help stave off any attacks, everyone else head down.” I waved them past.

  “But… Rick…” Jessie protested, looking at me like she was completely lost.

  “Go. I’ll be down in a bit. I promise,” I said. I leaned down and gave her a hug, then caught Dave’s eye. He just nodded and took charge of leading them away. After they left Lucien smiled weakly at me.

  “You’ll not be needed here. The fae won’t attack us, and the humans have been leaving us alone for the most part,” he told me.

  “Who are you taking in?” I asked, looking around.

  “Anyone who wishes sanctuary from the madness,” he replied, “though mainly it’s been those like us and their families who are running from the humans. The humans fear what is different, and lash out against it.”

  “I’ll stay just in case.”

  He nodded, then stood straight and stared past me. A fae child, probably no more than six human years was running towards us. Every time he took a step he shifted forms, from a fox, to a child, to a bird, to a small dragon, back to a boy. I knew it was a changeling, and it was scared.

  From around the corner came a full squadron of National Guard including an M1 Abrams tank, obviously chasing the child. Lucien was gesturing for the child to run faster, to hurry up and get inside. To our horror we watched as the men opened fire upon the child. None of the bullets seemed to touch him, but he was visibly weakened. Then the men cleared away, and the tank took a shot. The child flew at us at a high velocity, and came sliding to our feet, dead.

  Lucien’s expression went from one of horror, to one of pure rage, his eyes glowing with the black fires of some other world. It was a sight I would never forget.

  “Uh. Lucien. They have a tank? I’m not sure if I can shield…” I said, before being cut off.

  “
It matters not!” His voice was nowhere near human. “You men think you have struck a blow against us!?” he yelled out.

  “Stand down, or we will be forced to fire upon you!” came the response from someone with a bullhorn.

  “You gun down a child I intended to protect, in cold blood, and expect me to stand down!? I am the guardian of the Aetheric Realms! I am the essence of life and death! I am the fires of this world incarnate! Now you will earn your places in whatever afterlife you believe in! May the Aetheric winds be merciful to your souls!” Flames began to ignite around and on Lucien, and he seemed to get bigger.

  I knew that it was a short amount of time, but it seemed to happen in slow motion. The figure of Lucien became engulfed by a raging inferno that coalesced into a blazing, molten bird the size of a small house. I had only heard tales of the Phoenix. I had no idea that was what Lucien was when I had threatened him. I was just glad he found it humorous enough to not fry me on the spot.

  Once he hit full form he pulled his wings back, and then brought them forward in a quick motion, creating a gust of fiery wind that roared through the night air, vaporizing the men, the tank, and everything else the wind came in contact with. The air shimmered violently, like a mirage on hot asphalt, and I felt the warmth caress my face. The wind calmed, the scent of ash in the air, and when I looked over at Lucien, he was still standing there in Phoenix form, little licks of flame jumping from him like tiny solar flares.

  “I told you that you would not be needed up here.” His voice crackled, hissing softly, and he nodded at me. “Go. Join your friends, noble Sentinel. I will continue to protect this place from up here.”

  “Thanks, Lucien. I had… no idea,” I said, truly awed by his presence. I tore my gaze away, then ran inside and followed a bouncer into Lucien’s office, and down a set of stairs through a hidden door in the left hand wall. The basement opened up once I had descended about three hundred steps. It was huge, and sections were cordoned off so that the refugees that were taking up residence here would have plenty of space. Some of the refugees were assisting the club staff to help those that were injured, passing out food and drink, and otherwise tending to those who needed it. A good number of people were on cell phones, some crying in sorrow, some in relief or happiness.

  I found Jessie, Malcolm, and Dave quickly. Was Val still alive I wondered? Dave had said that Nina had gone to visit Kat and I wondered how they were doing up in Washington. Despite his current situation with Nina, Dave asked me a couple of times if I thought Nina was safe. I told him that I thought that she’d be fine, but I really had no way of knowing for certain. Once we found the area they sectioned off for us, I sat on one of the cots and tried to relax.

  “Where’d Raven go?” I asked, just then noting she was gone.

  “She went to transport more people,” Jessie said, sitting down next to me. We all sat for a few minutes in a silence that was broken by a general announcement from the bottom of the stairs.

  “We now have a large television hooked up on the north wall of the room. For those of you who would like to watch the news to see what is happening out there, we ask you to make your way in an orderly fashion to the north side of the room. We will have staff members point the way for those interested,” Lily called out over the noise, her voice actually carrying over the low din.

  No one hesitated on going to the viewing area. I caught Lily’s eye and flashed her a smile as we went past. The smile she returned to me was a mix of worry and something else, something warmer. We made our way to the north side of the room, where hundreds of folding chairs had been set up in front of one of the huge electronic wall murals they used for the upstairs dance floor. After a few minutes it flickered on. It had been tuned to a national news channel and there was a film of a dragon appearing out of thin air over what looked to be a major airport. A plane nearly crashed into the dragon, and in response, it reached out with one front claw and pushed the plane downwards while pushing itself upwards. It then flew off at a high rate of speed. I had never seen anything quite that large. Even Ritter wasn’t that big. It made the plane, a full-sized commercial liner, look like a toy.

  “That’s right. What appears to be a dragon has appeared over LAX. The resulting collision caused Southwest Airlines Flight 644 from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Los Angeles, California, to violently crash. There are no survivors. The military launched an assault on the creature, and from reports, none of the air squadron survived to come home,” the news anchor said, trying to keep calm as he read the news.

  “And in New York City…” the anchor continued on, “wait… this just in… the President has informed the press that he is about to make an important announcement.” The camera went black for a minute or two, and then another feed was brought online, which showed the White House in the background, and was being filmed on the lawn in front of it. The President stepped up to a podium, escorted by two large trolls. Like ogres, trolls were strong, but much more intelligent and much more cruel and ruthless.

  “Today is a day of revelations,” the President announced. “Today we find out that we are not alone as a species upon on our own planet. There have been other creatures, creatures out of legends and myth, that have inhabited our world, hidden, alongside us. Today, the wall that once separated our two worlds since before the Dark Ages was brought down by persons unknown and for reasons unknown, allowing us a glimpse of those things that have always existed in the shadows and on the fringes of our society.

  “I was approached by the Fae Court of Freedom’s Hope today, and offered a pact of non-aggression and an agreement that we would enter into negotiations with these other peoples that we have been sharing our planet with unknowingly. We will determine how they will fit into our society, and what laws they will need to abide by. I have been promised all of the information we will need to formulate such things.

  “I, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and any willing leader from the… supernatural species will make a new Constitution that will sit beside that of our original forefathers and will pertain to our new neighbors.” As the President prepared to continue his speech, screaming could be heard, and the camera swiveled in place to look behind it. In the back of the crowd a large army was moving towards where the camera sat. Fae of all types began fighting against Secret Service personnel, and soon after, American military forces moved in to provide much needed reinforcements and support. Then I saw people teleporting in, and recognized MAGE agents. After that, the camera went dead.

  The view switched back to the news anchor. “Well, as you can see, our country, and from the reports we have received thus far, the entire world, is in turmoil. Stay with us as we will continue to fill you in with the latest developments on this unprecedented event.” Then the feed went dark, and a series of commercials came on.

  We spent days in Lucien’s basement as the turmoil above us sorted itself out, as the President and the United States military held off a siege against the White House. Raven appeared to report that that the fae were in the midst of a massive civil war, and the humans were helping one side while darker creatures of the Aether, and some suspected agents of Baba Yaga, including some lesser demons and several vampire families, helped the other side. I felt that I should have been out there, but there was only one of me, and I knew my place was here with my friends to protect them if needed. I felt helpless, but my part had been in helping to tear the Barrier down.

  Nothing was ever going to be the same again.

  EPILOGUE

  The siege on the White House continued for over a month before Baba Yaga’s armies were finally routed and driven into hiding. A new Constitution, dubbed the Constitution of the Aetherically Gifted, was drafted. It gave those of us who were more than human the same rights as humans, the same laws as humans, with the same punishments for breaking those laws, but with special concessions for our abilities.

  The rest of the world was dealing with this event in its own way. Vampire lords took back the Carpathians and Romania. Eng
land seceded its sovereignty over Ireland to the fae courts that resided there. Russia was cut off from the rest of the world as Baba Yaga took complete dominion over her home territory. Most of the Middle Eastern countries remained autonomous from their Aetheric counterparts, fighting wars against them if need be. Japan remained under the control of its president. The United States had won its war, as had Canada, and Canada had followed suit with fair laws. Mexico and much of South America were taken over by old Aetheric entities that demanded blood sacrifices and a return to the old ways. The border between Mexico and the United States was now patrolled by a contingent of fae and MAGE agents to discourage any strikes into our territory.

  Eventually the strange fauna that now inhabited our world, from the fey-like animals, to the griffons, dragons, and unicorns, would go into hiding, becoming almost as elusive as they were in the old world. Crypto-zoology became a field in need of people and its ranks swelled in the coming months. Hundreds of students within the biology field switched their majors to this now accepted field of scientific study. I heard stories of MAGE agents quitting and joining these scientists to study the science of Aetheric powers.

  The world over was changing because of what I helped do, and my official firing from MAGE was not unexpected. I was given a large severance check and a hint that if I were to open up a private agency that MAGE would consider giving me cases to work on that they would turn a blind eye to, and they would pay me much more per case than I was receiving while I was in their direct employ. It was an idea I liked, but something that would have to wait, at least for a while.