by Sela Croft
“If you need me…”
“I know where to find you.”
She smiled and turned to leave. I didn’t want her to go. Not only did I enjoy her company and value her comforting presence, but I worried about her safety. I’d posted extra guards at her home. Yet I still worried. I refused lose another member of my family.
“I’ll stay a while,” Florian said.
Even with my brother’s company, waiting for any news seemed like an eternity. I paced for hours, without any word.
Then Dequan burst into the room. “I’ve made a discovery, and rushed back to tell you. There’s a vampire in the woods just outside of the city, near the border.”
“Is Callie there?”
“I couldn’t pick up any sign of her,” he said, shaking his head.
“She must be,” I said. “Why else would a vampire leave the city, unless he was working for the forces of evil?”
“I recommend utilizing one of our dragons to do reconnaissance,” Dequan said.
“Good idea. Find Valter and have him proceed.”
“Certainly, I’ll update him, and make sure a dragon is sent, right away.”
Dequan raced to the door, then was gone, leaving me alone with my brother. Florian didn’t speak. There was nothing more to say. All we could do was wait.
That wouldn’t be easy, especially not for me.
I hoped Dequan’s lead would pan out, and that Callie was safe. I wanted her returned to me and vowed retribution against her captor.
Then I’d solve the mystery of why she’d left. I might have driven her away, or she might have taken the risk of escaping for some other reason.
Chapter 7
Callie
I wanted to run, but I couldn’t. The beasts were in front of me and their owner was behind me. The enormous cats edged closer, narrowing the gap between us.
Noah sprinted forward, his movements quick and fluid, and took hold of a large branch. Snapping it in half, he tossed the smaller portion back to me. He threw it as if it were a twig, although it was heavy. Struggling to control the weight, I spun it around and pointed the jagged end toward the large black cat—easily the size of a bear—hissing and growling as it moved toward me.
The cat backed up, moving out of reach of my make-shift weapon, and giving Noah the chance to block its path. The odds weren’t in our favor.
A low, melodic voice came from behind us. “What do we have here?”
I spun around, leaving Noah to fend off the second of the cats, diving in our direction. I spotted a small figure, lurking in the shadows. Although short in stature, his arms were thick and his legs were stout. He stepped closer, and I could make out his features. His beard hung to his belly, and his face was round. His mouth was twisted in a gruesome smile, and his eyes sparkled with amusement.
“This certainly is a most remarkably rare catch,” he said, lifting a bulky hand.
Miraculously, the two cats backed away, but growled and remained alert.
“A Redcap,” Noah said and rushed up beside me.
The Fae dwarf let out a loud, bellowing laugh. “Yes, my boy, I am a Redcap. And you a vampire, lost on the wrong side of the line. And I see that you brought a little gift with you. I haven’t seen this human girl in these parts before.”
I cringed.
“It’s obvious she hasn’t been in this world before, so I intend to savor this moment.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and examined me closely, making me feel uncomfortably weak and exposed.
Noah wrapped his arm around me and moved in front of me. “You will not touch her. And if you try anything, be prepared to fight to the death.”
The Redcap broke into a bone-chilling laugh. “I’ll remind you that you are the ones who’ve ventured into my territory, bloodsucker. If you didn’t expect a fight to the death, then you are naïve.”
A shrill whistle filled the air, and a gust of warm breath slithered down my back. Before I could turn around, Noah sprang into action. Armed with his half of the branch, he threw the jagged end into the beast’s nose. With a loud squeal, it retreated. But the second cat swooped in to take its place.
I adjusted my weight and took hold of my weapon, ready to fight. The two bear-sized cats weren’t after me, but had their eyes on Noah. One after the other, they pounced at him. But he side-stepped and leaped above their heads, whenever their jaws came close to clamping down on him.
I watched, stunned, while Noah battled against the beasts. It appeared to be a game to the gigantic animals. Their growls sounded like high pitched laughs, and the jabs seemed more like playful taps than cunning strikes. Still they too close for comfort.
I wanted to help Noah. But my feet were frozen in place. Then the sound of the Redcap cackling wildly, compelled me into action. I jumped forward and spun around, with my stick-weapon lifted.
The Redcap, who was at least eight inches shorter than me, placed his hands on his hips and threw his head back, then laughed. “You had better surrender, vampire, before it’s too late. My pets won’t have near as much fun with your human here. It’d be over in three… two…” He inched closer, then jumped at me and shouted, “One!”
My weapon was lifted, and I fought to hold my ground. But my opponent seemed amused by my fear. He took three slow steps back, then lifted his hand to his lips. His lips pursed around his fingers, ready to release another high-pitched whistle, summoning his pets to deal the final blow.
I opened my mouth to scream, to warn Noah, and to distract the Redcap. But the sound didn’t come. Then I stopped short when a light flooded the sky. It wasn’t the soft glow of the city I’d longed for. It was hostile and intimidating. I looked up to see orange flames licking the sky.
The source of the flames was two scale-covered, fire-breathing dragons who swooped down on us. Howls rippled through the air. I spun to see the Caith Sidhe shudder back, startled by the sudden appearance of worthy foes. The dragons were five times their size, and two vampires rode on their backs.
Turning to face the Redcap, I said. “What were you saying about a fight to the death?”
“You got lucky, human,” the Redcap said. “Next time, you won’t be.” And with that, he ran into the woods, with his pets trailing behind.
I turned to look up at the sky. The dragons swarmed about, their eyes glowing red. I remembered my previous encounter with the vampires, and ceased to be comforted by their presence.
Logan had warned me about the effect I had on vampires. Sure, they were loyal to him. But not to me. He was likely angry, since I’d been more trouble than I was worth.
The flying creatures whirled overhead, with flames coming from their mouths. Logan might have decided that he couldn’t trust me, and had been unable keep me in his possession. Since his enemies appeared to want me as much as he did, his next best course of action was to ensure that his enemies couldn’t have me, either.
The fact that he wasn’t there seemed to prove this point.
What was more disturbing than that…was my disappointment at his absence.
Chapter 8
Callie
In a clearing ahead, the two dragons landed, and I hesitated. The vampires slipped off the backs of the beasts. If there was danger, Noah would let me know. He nodded at me, then took off toward the new arrivals and I followed.
Noah seemed unhappy about the two vampires who’d joined us. But he didn’t appear afraid, so that was comforting. “Valter…Dequan,” he said and walked up to them.
I eyed them suspiciously, but neither of the newly arrived vampires seemed overly interested in me. Each looked me over, as if scanning for injuries or any signs of distress, then turned their focus back to Noah.
“What are you doing out here?” Valter said.
I recognized their names, although, I didn’t know much about them. My previous experience with the vampires had been tense. I recalled that they’d been uniquely interested in me. I shuddered to think how they’d wanted to drink my blood.
I took a step back to stand behind Noah, who seemed reluctant to respond to any questions.
“Are you okay, Callie?” Valter said, looking at me. “My brother is concerned for your safety.”
“Your brother?” I stepped forward to get a better view of him.
“Yes, Logan is concerned about your disappearance.”
Hearing his name sent a chill through me. My body reacted before my mind could process the reaction. My stomach fluttered with emotion. “I’m fine,” I said, pretending to be unaffected.
“Good,” Valter said, turning an accusatory glance toward Noah. “Since you were in the hands of a traitor, we feared the worst.”
Noah and I spoke in unison. “A traitor?”
“What were your intentions with the girl?” Valter asked.
Noah squared his shoulders and took a breath. “I don’t appreciate your accusations.”
“They are well founded. She was in a safe place, you’ve brought her into in Fae territory,” Valter said.
“I didn’t intend to bring her here.”
“Really? You didn’t intend on delivering her to the enemy?”
“Why would I want to do such a thing?”
“You tell me.” Valter crossed his arms over his chest and waited.
My gaze flitted momentarily to the other vampire—Dequan—who watched the entire scene unfolding with an unexpressive face and disinterested air. Then he looked at me.
“She’s fine,” Dequan said, and stepped forward to extend his hand to me. “There’s nothing more to say.”
I stepped forward. “Wait, I want to know what’s going on.”
I stood next to Noah, a friend from my former life. Then Noah had been my protector. Despite what I’d learned about him and what he’d hidden from me, I looked to him for security. In a world filled with uncertainty, I needed that shred of familiarity to keep me grounded.
“She’s comfortable with him. It must be more Fae magic,” Valter said.
“Fae?” Noah said. “I’m not working with the Fae.” He pointed at Dequan. “I’m merely doing what he asked me to.”
Valter hesitated, but didn’t seem convinced. “Explain yourself,” he said, gritting his teeth.
“I was asked to look after her, by him,” Noah said, and nodded toward Dequan.
Valter faced his cousin. There was no need to voice the question, since it was evident in his expression.
“Noah violated his instructions,” Dequan said. “He wasn’t meant to remove her from Logan’s protection.”
Valter narrowed his eyes. “Then can we trust him?”
Dequan eyed Noah with suspicion. Then he shrugged and turned back to Valter. “It’s hard to say.” He shifted from one foot to the other. “In these times, it’s difficult to know who can be trusted and who can’t.”
“So, you side with Noah?” Valter’s frustration was clear.
I sensed a breaking point coming and had to do something. “Noah is a friend,” I said. “He didn’t mean to bring me here. It was an accident.”
“An accident?” Valter and Dequan said, turning to face me.
“Something took over when we were—well, when we were mist. It was something magical. He couldn’t control where we were going.”
“How do you know how magic works?” Dequan asked.
“I don’t,” I said bluntly. “I don’t know how most things work in this place. But I was there, and you weren’t.”
I found confidence that I didn’t know I had. I was standing up to scary vampires that looked at me with incredulously. But someone I cared about was in trouble; I could sense it. I didn’t understand many things in this realm, but I knew that throwing around words like traitor wasn’t a good thing.
“Noah wanted to take me home,” I said. “I asked him not to, but he was taking me to a safer place than Logan’s floating bachelor pad. Really, if you think about it, all of this is my fault.”
That seemed to give the vampires something to think about. They exchanged doubtful looks, as if trying to decide how to deal with the new information. Before any decision was made, a rumble of blaring horns broke the silence.
The vampires looked up at the sky.
“We’d better go,” Dequan said. “It seems as if our enemies have called for reinforcements.”
Chapter 9
Callie
The glowing forests and the luminous grass were exotic, in this part of the realm. But the dangers that lurked overshadowed its charms. I looked forward to returning to the vampire side.
I walked toward the dragons, and the closer I got the larger they loomed. I thought of Kaida, the pet dragon. Logan had told me that she was small, and at the time it hadn’t seemed so. But in comparison, she had been small.
The creatures heaved, and their smokey breath spilled out, filling my lungs. Up close, their heat permeated the air around me, and the puffs of smoke made me cough. Fangs protruded from their mouths, and were the length of my arm. The leather wings that extended from their backs vibrated, as they waited for their orders.
“You can come with me,” Dequan said, then turned toward me.
A wave of uncertainty flowed through me. I didn’t know that vampire. He could harm me, if he chose to. He’d seemed overly interested in me during our first meeting, then had nearly come to blows with Logan to get closer to me.
I remembered the way he’d leered at me, his eyes filled with ravenous hunger. At the time, it had appeared that he might lose control. At the moment, he seemed calm. In an odd way, that was more unsettling.
I tried to stall. “You want me to go with you?”
My eyes drifted to the dragon he approached. Its green scales shimmered in the low light cascading over it from the glow of Crystal City in the distance. Its eyes glowed red, and puff of smoke wafted from its nostrils.
“I was sent to bring you back to my cousin,” Dequan said, and extended his hand. “And that’s what I intend to do. It’s either that, or I leave you here and tell him that the Fae got you… because I doubt you would stand a chance out here on your own.”
I looked over at Noah, hoping for some guidance. Although still visibly upset—likely from being called a traitor—he nodded that I should go with Dequan.
I didn’t take Dequan’s hand. I still didn’t trust him. But I followed him toward the dragon, and trembled in its enormous shadow. I glanced back to see Noah astride the dragon that Valter had ridden.
Then Valter hopped up in front of him. When I turned back, Dequan was already settled in. I swallowed back my fear and prepared to mount the fire-breathing creature.
I set my hand against its scaly side, then it exhaled and I resisted the urge to leap back. The scale-covered skin was surprisingly soft, like Kaida’s. I tried to find comfort in that. I concentrated on the memory of that night on the roof of Logan’s home.
Focusing on that, I worked to pull myself onto the dragon’s back. It took me a few clumsy attempts. I could feel the dragon’s patience growing thin as I clambered against its side, grabbing onto any scale my fingers found to gain purchase.
Dequan offered me his hand again, but I had too much pride to give up. When I finally managed to pull myself up, I let out a shout of victory.
My shout was overpowered by the blast of a horn—much closer this time.
Valter said, “Let’s go.”
The dragons’ wings beat against the air, the force nearly throwing me backwards, and in a flash, we were airborne. The lights of the city grew brighter in front of us, and my body pulsed with excitement. While the wind whipped at my face, I concentrated on the strength of the dragon below me, and the promise of safety within reach.
The brisk air swished by and my thoughts raced. I couldn’t understand why Dequan sent Noah to look out for me. And if he had, I wondered if that meant he knew about my sister too. I intended to find out.
Unwittingly, my arms had wrapped around his waist. Although majestic, the flight was not overly smooth, and I wasn’t comfort
able perched on a dragon’s back. I needed to anchor myself to something.
I shouted into Dequan’s ear. “Why did you send Noah to look after me?”
“It’s my duty to defend Shadowland,” he said. “I learned that the Fae might have interest in two sisters living in the outside world. I decided it was best to protect you and sent someone to do that, until we discover what interest the Fae have, exactly.”
The fact that he knew about my sister was interesting. As far as I knew, Logan didn’t know that I had a twin. Was it possible that Dequan hadn’t told him?
“Have you figured it out?” I said. “Do you know what they want with me?”
I was careful not to divulge too much. Even if he did know about Rosamon, I wasn’t prepared to admit it. It was my duty to protect her, despite the void keeping us apart.
“No,” Dequan said, “I haven’t discovered the Fae’s purpose.”
“Who told you about me?”
“My information comes from Natasha.”
“Logan’s sister?”
“I guess you know more about our realm than I originally thought, human,” he said, with amusement in his voice.
Dequan’s answers didn’t satisfy me. I wasn’t certain that Natasha knew about my sister, and Logan had only relayed that the future included a girl with violet eyes. Possibly, there was more to her vision than she’d shared.
Even though I wanted to grill him further, to try to find the answers to my questions, I had to give up my efforts. The winds were increasing, so it was becoming difficult to talk.
There was more information to gain, but it wasn’t going to be easy to obtain it. I sympathized with Logan, and his similar dilemma. I suspected that someone knew more than they were saying.
I had withheld information from Logan, and he knew it. He perceived I wasn’t telling him the truth about who I was or why I was there. And yet, he’d been patient with me.
The lights of the city gleamed beneath us, and my emotions surged. I’d be see him again—soon. I’d wanted that badly, just a few moments before. But I was torn, feeling anxious about what was to come.