E.V.I.E.: 13 Slayers, 13 Missions

by Lexi C. Foss

  I rub the bridge of my nose. “Please don’t challenge a redcap,” I sigh.

  Redcaps are fae, but a particular sort. Not lesser, not high, but a race unto themselves. Sort of like boggans or goblins. Of Arin, but not part of the hierarchies within the fae. The thread that binds all redcaps together is anger. Rage. Unspeakable violence when provoked. And oh, how easily they are provoked.

  “Watch your tongue, lordling,” the redcap sneers.

  “May I?” I tap Darynder’s arm, and he lets me shimmy past him in the small hut, but then he grabs my hips and pulls me back, not letting me get any closer to the glowering redcap.

  “I’m a slayer from the human realm, and I’m on the trail of a seeker. A violent, vicious monster who spilled innocent blood.”

  At this, the redcap grins, his sharp teeth glinting greenish in the firelight. “Sounds all right to me.”

  Redcaps. Ugh.

  “Have you seen such a one?” I ask.

  He takes a drink, his wrinkled nose wobbling as he swallows it down.

  The room is silent, as if everyone knows the fuse has been lit and they’re wondering how big the explosion will be.

  Darynder is tense behind me, and I have no doubt he is giving the redcap his haughtiest glare.

  “I may have done,” he finally offers.

  “That’s great.” I keep my tone light. “Could you tell me what you saw and which way he went?” Maybe if I sprinkle a little sugar on it, the redcap will give up the goods. “I’d really appreciate it,” I add with my best schoolgirl smile.

  He peers at me, curiosity sparking in his red irises.

  Darynder’s grip on my hips intensifies.

  He finishes his drink and stands. “I’ll tell you, if …” He grins.

  Oh, shit. He wants a bargain. Bargaining with the fae never ends well for me. I touch my braid, the ghost of me having to shave off all my hair and give it to a pixie when I was 13—yeah, that went over great at school—still flitting around in my mind. And the time I had to walk naked through the summer court, singing a bawdy song and tweaking my nipples as I went because of a bad bargain I’d made. Bargaining with the fae is a terrible idea, especially for me.

  “Fight me and win, and I’ll tell you all I know.” He pats the curved sword at his side.

  “And if I lose?” I thought Darynder couldn’t get even more tense. I was wrong.

  The redcap smiles, his hand straying to the crimson cap tucked in his pocket. “I’ll dip my hat in your blood, little mortal, and add your soul to my collection.”

  “Pfft.” I wave a hand at him. “Never mind.”

  Darynder’s eyes widen as I turn to him. “You aren’t going to—”

  “Make a deal with a redcap I could never beat? No way. You know I have zero skill with this blade you gave me, and I barely know how to throw my fist around.” I shrug. “I’d be dead quicker than the flutter of a pixie wing.”

  Confusion mars his handsome face as I push past him.

  “Come on, let’s have a drink. I need to wet my whistle. My throat is dry, and that’s never a good thing for a gal with siren in her.”

  Darynder groans. The fae around the fire gasp in unison.

  I plop at the bar next to Ferramus and peer into the acorn cup he offers.

  Darynder sits next to me, his eyes boring into me as I risk taking a sip. It burns on the way down, singeing my throat, and it takes every ounce of control I have not to cough. My eyes water, though.

  “Set the trap, I see,” Darynder says under his breath.

  I give him a smile as I keep the redcap in my peripheral vision. “You liked it.”

  “You aren’t fighting him.” He takes the acorn cup and drains it. Succubus blood is drying on his knuckles, and everything about him screams strength. I keep staring at him, my gaze traveling to his chest and then to his throat, past his strong jaw and to the pointed tips of his ears. Licking them would be right up there on my bucket list. I wonder if he’d like it. When I catch him looking right back at me, his eyes glittering darkly, I swallow hard.

  He lifts his cup but doesn’t break my gaze. Ferramus raises a furry brow and pours him another. The temperature in the hut is slowly rising, the tension roiling. The fae gathered near the fire are scooting back to the far wall. They know the same as I do—redcaps hate sirens. Hate them with a fire that can’t be contained. Of all the foes they defeat, redcaps delight in the siren’s blood soaking their caps. I don’t know why. No one does. But the stories often tell of a love betrayed so long ago that no one can remember who wronged whom, only that now sirens and redcaps will fight to the death on sight.

  “Mortal.” The redcap paces back and forth in the small corner of the hut. “Accept my challenge. I have the information you seek.”

  I turn on my stool and shake my head. “Sorry, pal. I don’t want to die.”

  Darynder grits his teeth and stares at me as I grin at the redcap.

  “You’re weak, but you have siren blood in you.” He runs his dirty fingers along the hilt of his blade.

  No, I don’t have a drop. “Yep, why? You don’t like sirens or something?”

  A frigid breeze blows into the hut as the place clears. Only Ferramus remains, hovering at the bar and shifting his gaze warily between the redcap and us.

  “You’re weak. Small.”

  I nod. “Exactly. Thanks for the offer, though. Darynder and I need to rest, then hit the road, see if we can find some sort of trail.”

  “In the deep snow?” He laughs, the sound like a harsh bark. “The only way you’re finding the seeker is if I tell you which peak he set out for. Twice he’s been here. Once to drop the succubi, and then again just last evening. I saw his path each time.”

  “I’ll fight you.” Darynder stands.

  The redcap ignores him. “No. I have plenty of high fae blood already. I want hers.”

  “No can do.” I hiccup. That burns too.

  The redcap gnaws at his lip so hard it bleeds as he paces back and forth in the comically small space.

  “Come on, Darynder.” I look at Ferramus. “Is there somewhere we can stay for the night? We’ll be gone as soon as the sun rises.”

  “My place. It’s not fancy at all, a bit rundown, if you take my meaning, but it has a roof and a fire.”

  “Sold.” I stand.

  “Stop!” The redcap advances.

  Darynder forms a wall of solid muscle between us. My heart seems to beat double time at the sight of him. I need to focus on my ruse, but all I can see is his broad back, and I wonder what it would feel like if he were on top of me, my nails digging into his skin. These thoughts keep flashing in my mind, horny ones that I’m not used to having.

  A low growl rips from him. “Mate.” It’s just a word, but from his lips, it’s more of a caution. Like he’s pulled tight, and one more pluck of his strings will send him unraveling.

  The redcap stops pacing. “I will grant you a boon.” He sounds almost reasonable for a blood-obsessed goblin. “You’re a mortal. It’s only fair I give you a fighting chance.”

  He’s desperate to kill me. Good.

  “Like what?” I peer around my solid fae. “I’m just a mortal. There isn’t much you can offer. I mean, look at you. You’re a killing machine. I don’t stand a chance.”

  The redcap’s eyes are wild now, focused on nothing but me. If it weren’t for Darynder, he’d have already come for me, spilling my blood with reckless abandon, duel or no. “I will fight you without weapons.”

  “Wow. That’s generous.” I bobble my head back and forth as if considering it. “But you have claws. Those are pretty hardcore. No, I can’t risk it.” I grip Darynder’s elbow and pull him toward the door. “Come on. Let’s get to Ferramus’s place before—”

  “Wait! I’ll fight you with no weapons, no magic, and one hand tied behind my back.”

  I pause again, considering. “All that sounds good, except the hands. Both hands behind your back, then I might have a chance.”
r />   “Pah.” The redcap spits and narrows his eyes. “No.”

  “Goodnight, then.” I pull Darynder from the hut and into the icy street. Snow is falling again. Always falling from the black sky in this part of the winter realm.

  “You’re forgetting the redcap’s—”

  “I’ll use no weapons, use no magic, and tie both hands behind my back,” the redcap bursts from the hut behind us and bellows.

  I spin and pull my blade free. “Deal.” The zing of magic binds our bargain, and his arms yank around behind him, a phantom rope keeping them in place.

  For once, I feel I’ve made a good deal. I’ve got this. Easy.

  “Let’s go.” I raise my sword.

  “Ilsa,” Darynder growls a warning from behind me.

  The redcap grins.

  A cold chill rushes up my spine as his fangs lengthen into two corkscrewed tusks, razor sharp and tinted green with poison. They’re deadlier than any weapon the redcap could’ve wielded, and he’s already barreling straight for me, his feet nimbler than a cat with three tails.

  I groan inwardly. Never bargain with fae.

  10

  Darynder

  I try to step forward, to block my mate from the redcap’s attack, but the magic of their agreement keeps me back. There’s no way to break it. My feral roars, and I beat on the magical barrier that keeps them locked in combat.

  The redcap rushes her, his fangs plenty dangerous. He may be bound, but he still bears the light-footedness of all fae kind. Compared to Ilsa, he may as well be a floating pixie. Mortals, even those with a line of fae blood, can’t compete.

  She dodges left, avoiding his attack, then pulls her blade. “How do you even eat with those things?”

  He rushes her again, a hard howl in his chest as he aims to knock her down.

  She ducks and whirls, her blade striking out and cutting across his side. But it doesn’t stop him. The rage and bloodlust in him keep him moving forward, his venomous fangs perilously close to my mate’s flesh.

  But she has tricks of her own and jumps out of his way, her body moving in calculated steps as she spins and slices again, her blade slicing along the redcap’s cheek. She has skill. A great deal of it, far more than I ever imagined. Pride blooms in my heart. My mate is formidable. A changeling, yes, but also more.

  The redcap falters, then rights himself. “Filthy siren! Tricksy and lying. Like all your kind.” He spits and charges her again, but she sidesteps just in time and leaves a cut down his back.

  “Seems almost unfair.” Ferramus floats beside me on his frozen wings. “A trick.”

  “Fae aren’t the only ones who know how to strike weighted bargains.” I can’t take my eyes off her; off the way she parries his attacks and strikes with her sword. It’s as if she’s only toying with him. But I’d be a fool to think she isn’t in danger. A single drop of redcap venom would paralyze her, and more than that, she wouldn’t survive.

  “Careful there, your feral is showing.” Ferramus backs off as I flicker, my feral trying to burst free and save my mate.

  But there’s nothing I can do.

  “Your left!” I yell as the redcap comes for her.

  She tumbles a little on the slick road but gets back to her feet, her sword in front of her. “Do you yield?”

  The bloody redcap snarls. “Not until I taste your marrow!”

  She curses and barely avoids his fanged attack, then spins and gives him another wound. Strong and proud, my mate fights with strength, but she can’t outlast the redcap.

  “You mad, bro?” She laughs and darts away from him, her hair coming loose from her braids as she escapes his clutches again and again.

  He mutters strings of curses as he continues to chase her, his fangs dripping as he seeks to land just one blow. That’s all it would take.

  I’m losing my mind watching her. My mate. In danger. And me powerless to help. I try again to move between them, but the magic surges against me.

  “End this!” I yell. “We’ll find the seeker another way.”

  “This won’t end until her blood soaks my cap.” He dances nimbly, his feet barely touching the hard ground.

  Ilsa’s breathing hard, white plumes rising from her mouth as she circles the redcap. “I could’ve killed you already.” She tips her sword toward his throat. “That cut along your neck? I could’ve made it go all the way to the other side. But I didn’t.”

  “Oh, thank you, whore siren.” He bows, then lunges for her.

  She strikes him, her blade slicing through his upper arm as she staggers away from the weight of his impact. Everything inside me goes cold as I watch her struggle.

  “Fight him!” I bang my fists on the magical barrier.

  The redcap howls and keeps coming for her.

  She keeps him at bay, backing up as she slices through one of his fangs. It spurts angry blood as he screams, but he still doesn’t stop. His furious soul pushes him onward, shoving her back until she slips on the icy ground and tumbles.

  My heart stops as she hits the lane with a thump and the redcap falls on top of her, his one remaining fang aiming at her throat.

  11

  Ilsa

  “I knew I’d win.” I sigh to the ceiling of the hut.

  Darynder shakes his head, still furious.

  “Stop being mad. I got the information we were after, didn’t I?” I smile as I think about how the redcap finally gave in. He spilled it all, and now I’m only a day’s journey from my quarry. I can slay him, then head home. The thought should please me, but instead, I feel a little … hollow. My gaze strays to Darynder, his jaw set in lines of anger as he uses his knife to carve off bits of meat for me.

  He offers me a piece, and I take it, chewing it slowly as I look at him. Gorgeous fae, handsome even when he’s surly. I get a strange prickle beneath my ribs, one that teeters down my spine and ends between my thighs.

  “Where’d you learn to fight like that?” he grits out.

  “I could ask you the same question. You tore those succubi apart with ease.” I take another morsel from his fingers.

  “All fae can fight. You know this.”

  “You fought really well, though. Like, it made me tingly.” Did I say that out loud? Sheesh, Ilsa.

  That loosens him up a little, and he cuts the next piece of meat with slightly less violence. “I trained with King Leander and his Phalanx long ago during the great war to rid these lands of its faithless king.”

  “A flanix? What’s that?”

  “Phalanx. It’s the king’s most trusted warriors.”

  “You didn’t get invited to join?” I ask.

  “I had other responsibilities.” A deep frown sets around his mouth, his brow furrowing. “My family is … difficult.”

  “Hmph.” I would nod in appreciation, but I’m still mostly paralyzed from the goblin venom. I won the fight, but the damn redcap nicked me with his fang. I’m lying on a cot in a hut while Darynder fusses over me like I’m a newborn. And, honestly, I kind of am. I can’t feel much below my neck, and I pray to the Ancestors—if they’re really out there—that I don’t pee myself unknowingly.

  He seems to shake off his momentary gloom. “And you? You weren’t born with those skills. You’ve honed them.”

  “Slayers are trained from the moment they feel the calling. I’ve been fighting since I was a child, working at becoming the best of the best. It’s the only way a slayer can survive when she’s up against a vampire with innate strength and speed.”

  “Drink this.” Ferramus interrupts, his nose wobbling. “It’ll help get rid of the poison.” He hands Darynder a small acorn cup.

  Darynder sniffs it warily, then tastes it.

  “I’m not trying to poison your mate, if you follow me.” Ferramus waves a hand at us, then turns to leave. “I’ll come back at first light, help you get your bearings. Your unicorns are at the small stables on the western edge of town.”

  “I’d forgotten about them.” I smile. Good. I
hate unicorns.

  “They didn’t wander off, but if they had, I couldn’t guarantee one of the ogres wouldn’t get them.” He rubs his stomach. “And we haven’t had unicorn around here for quite some time.”

  “That’ll be all,” Darynder says, though not unkindly.

  “’Night.” Ferramus leaves, the cold gust of wind shooting through the door as it closes like a blanket of ice on my face.

  “Why do you hate unicorns?” Darynder changes the subject as he holds the acorn cup to my lips.

  “I told you. They’re filthy brutes.”

  He raises a brow and pours the liquid into my mouth. I swallow, then sputter, then wonder if I can somehow make myself throw it back up. “Bitter!” I make pathetic spitting motions with my tongue.

  “Here.” He pours some water onto my lips, and I open, taking it in and swishing it around before ruefully swallowing again.

  “What was in that? Tasted like a roadkill skunk’s ass.” I shake my head. That’s an improvement.

  “It’s safe.” He slices a piece of cheese and presses it to my lips. “Now what’s the real reason you don’t like unicorns?”

  I chew the cheese and consider him, his dark eyes and the wealth of soul that lies behind them. He’s a giant, handsome mystery. One I didn’t expect. One that seems to be growing on me by the second.

  “Fine.” I sigh dramatically. “When I first visited Arin, I was still a child. This was long before I was called to be a slayer. Anyway, when I arrived, the first magical creature I saw was a unicorn. I ran up to it, utterly amazed, and I spilled all the desires and secrets of my little child heart. My fear of thunder, my love of butterflies, my favorite flavor of ice cream—moose tracks, naturally.”

  He quirks a confused look but doesn’t interrupt.

  “Well, you can imagine how that went.” I frown just remembering it. “The unicorn laughed at me. Horrible creature. Ridiculed me, then made plenty of jokes at my expense until my mother threatened to castrate the thing.”

  “It hurt you.” He nods.

  “Yes. It broke my childish heart. When I ran up to the unicorn that day, I believed in magic, and unicorns, and happily ever afters—and then, I didn’t anymore. The illusion was finished. It’s something I’ve never been able to forgive.” Is my chin wobbling? Certainly not. Must be the paralysis.