The Real Folktale Blues (Beyond Ever After #1)

by Random Jordan

  “Yeah, except if you had said that I wouldn’t have used magic on you. Anytime a spell is used on someone in their bounty database they are all over it!” I growled before slipping my hand into my cloak and realizing I no longer had my long-handled axe, but I had my entire collection of axes back. So I pulled out two one-handed hatchets.

  My stance became placid, as I used one arm to push Goldie behind me. Not that it would really do any good. Pixies were fast, and now that my magic was unlocked I would have to actively channel magic through my body to enhance my speed and strength enough. But even then I couldn’t swat down twenty over-glorified bugs before they could get to Goldie.

  Still, it didn’t make sense as to why they would only send pixies. Annoying as they were, there was no way they could carry Goldie away and deal with me. It was almost like the Faerie Security Force was giving me a pass.

  “Well… if it isn’t the former Red Faerie. Stealing away innocent young girls again are we? And another one of your charges no less, though I guess this one isn’t quite so innocent. Disappointed?” A voice of sultry amusement chimed from behind me, sounding like metal being tapped against glass.

  I didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was that had come up behind Goldie and me.

  “I don’t steal innocent young girls, Nera. Still trying to turn a boy into a real man? Or was it trying to give wood to a young boy? I can never remember exactly.” I mocked, the fury still wavering in my tone.

  “Hmph” Nera harrumphed with little care.

  Neraid Crest or Nera was a Sidhe. A race of beings supposedly well-endowed with magic, which was why it was no wonder she also became one of the top notch Faerie Godmothers as well. Her Godmother name, The Blue Faerie, was likely the most renowned out of any, and she has often said that she was the most powerful of any Godmother. But I couldn’t be sure of that, since elating her ego was her favorite pastime, even if she wasn’t supposed to be able to lie.

  “You aren’t getting her.” I spoke crisply, noticing some of the pixies were more than antsy, wavering about in a swarm.

  Is that what you call a group of pixies? Swarm? I’d call it a ‘dusting’ of pixies, instead. Anytime you got a group together they shed so much dust it littered the areas they hovered. That was supposedly where the Pixie Path got its name.

  “Whoever said I came for her, my dear?” Nera’s Sidhe-feline eyes narrowed.

  “Then what do you want with me? As much as I love seeing you again, I’ve had enough time to reminisce today.” I sarcastically brushed her off. My back turned completely to the pixies, to face her. She was far more dangerous than her little minions.

  “Your magic. I have been requested to relieve you of it, and if you will not hand it over, well…” Her already thin skin curled over her pointed cheek bones to form a smile that was just pure evil. “…then I am to relieve you of it, without your consent.”

  Translation: Hand it over or I get to kill you how I want.

  And I just got my magic back too. I should have expected this.

  “I can’t just hand it over to you. You know the rules, balance.” I tried to stall. There had to be some way out of this. And I realized now that the pixies were just to keep us from running, more than anything. They wanted to eliminate my threat of magic, so they could just take Goldie from me easily.

  “Ah, yes, yes. I did not forget. Your magic for what?” She wasn’t normally so get-to-the-point. Pretty much all Sidhe loved carrying out conversations, twisting words and laying out contracts. For now though I just had to keep her talking while I figured how to get out of this. Maybe she knew that and that was why she was so crudely quick. But maybe the quickness was my redemption.

  “A portion of your magic. And you can have mine.” I stated after a few brief seconds of heavy breath.

  My eyes scurried to glance at Goldie, whom had tensed up considerably and scooted inches closer against my side now. She spoke through her teeth, “Give me my weapons back.”

  This seriously was not the time… Oh… Faerie Fudge. The thief wanted to fight her way out of this.

  “What darling jokes you come up with.” Nera’s smile lightened and her breath lilted out of her in gentle heaves and hums. The most amusing laugh I had ever heard.

  “I am serious, Nera. Some of your magic, for all of mine. If you are as powerful as you brag, then it should be a fair trade shouldn’t it? Magic for magic. Simple.” I explained, my eyes darting to the expanse around us. It was just glittering dust trails, a couple trees and some rocky mountains. There was only one way I would know how to get out of this, besides bargaining. And that just involved more magic.

  Nera’s eyes lit with a brilliant glitter, clearly thinking over my proposition. And I knew exactly what too. I just said ‘some’ magic, if I didn’t specify how much in exchange for all of mine, she could just give me enough magical power for one spell in trade for all of mine.

  Balance was crucial to a Sidhe. But don’t think of a scale, they simply believe that one thing must be given for another. The worth of the two things was not what mattered, so long as they seemed near enough to equal.

  “That can be done. Do we have a deal?” Nera finally came to her decision, taking a couple careful steps toward me with her sea-colored dress dancing around her bare legs.

  “Yes.” Like hell I was actually going to make that kind of deal. But she didn’t know that. She probably figured I was less intelligent than her and thought having even one spell of magic was better than being dead. But that wasn’t what I had planned.

  No one gets my magic except me.

  It is possible I am slightly possessive.

  The Sidhe woman moved with a serene calm, while I heard Goldie’s warnings in my ear about how stupid this was. The Blue Faerie’s bony hand slid out in front of her.

  Our binding words already solidified the agreement. The touch of any body part was to transfer the power. And that was exactly what I needed.

  I tucked one of my hands into my cloak and re-hooked a hatchet, before throwing my hand back out. I kept it palm down right before I took up her hand. Instantly both are bodies swirled in a light, and a wind gently picked up around us from the energy dancing in the air. Goldie jumped away, but still close enough that the dusting of pixies wouldn’t jump on her for running away.

  The magic leaked from my body, like I was slowly dying. The thrum of power coursed from the back of my neck and into my hand before passing onto the Faerie Sidhe. She tossed her head back in sensation, likely overwhelmed by the quick transfer of power.

  Every last ounce of my magic poured into her. I felt like I had just been drained completely of my blood. Even when I had sealed it away, I could always feel the power inside me, but now it was utterly gone.

  At least until Nera looked down to me; her eyes reflecting light to make them glow silver as they drew wide and stared.

  My magic was leaking back to me, through her entire body. I smiled sweetly, even if I felt like I was going to pass out from magic loss. She knew she had been careless in her uncharacteristic haste. Just like how I said ‘some of her magic’. I never stipulated how long I had to give her my magic.

  She had been too sure of herself that I was an utter idiot to just hand over my magic without clarifying how much of hers I would get and for how long. I used the fact that she didn’t want to clarify either. Meaning I could take whatever I could get.

  I’ve been told I’m way crueler than any faerie. Maybe it was because I had been one?

  “You cannot!” She roared similar to a lion.

  But by the time she had realized I was draining her magic with the return of my own, she had lost enough to make part of her wings turn an ugly grey. She could cut me off from the rest of her magic, but mine was still there to command. I pulled every last drop back into me, and ripped my hand from her grasp to severe the connection with a static jolt between us.

  Her eyes flared with an angry glint, like she was about to pounce me. Sidhe were magica
l though, it left their bodies brittle. They never did anything physical unless it involved magical transfer. The reason I could pull away from her so easily. And the reason I could also break her bones if I really cared to.

  The light and wind died around us, and I was practically intoxicated by the return of energy swirling around in me. She wasn’t kidding when she said she was powerful. I barely leeched a second’s worth of energy from her and I felt like I had gorged myself on a feast fit for a giant.

  Nera curled her fingers tightly, to expose the bone of her knuckles, as she made a fist. She whisked her hand about in front of me. But her face went blank, and then her mouth dropped open. I swear she would have killed me in that moment, if she knew how to.

  “You… you… STOLE FROM ME!” Her bellow exploded in a way that wasn’t expected of a fragile looking creature like her.

  I lifted my free hand to scoop back my hood. The smirk plastered on my face, wasn’t just amusement, but pride. Come on, I could at least gloat for a second.

  I wagged a single digit in front of her. “It was a fair trade. I gave you all of my magic for a second, in return for a small portion of your magic, permanently.”

  The anger practically emanated off of her. And her hand was ready to flick to finish the final maneuver needed to cast some somatic spell. I hadn’t a clue what.

  But it didn’t really matter.

  She whipped her hand through the air and the pixies all backed up, followed by Goldie stepping further away.

  Nothing happened though. In fact, not even an ounce of energy could be felt in the air.

  My smirk grew even wider, while Nera’s face blew up to match the color of my hair.

  “You like my present? That’s the price of letting me jolt all of my magic through you. A spell I invented originally to seal my magic away. How else do you think I avoided you for the past few years?” I mused, holding out my free palm to let her see the inscribed marking on the glove.

  “You… sealed my magic?” She sounded almost meek. I had been expecting more fury, and rage and lioness roars. But I could barely hear her.

  “I locked your magic to keep it from you. My own special spell, and now I’m your key.” I explained, not really wanting to go into detail. It was the exact same spell I taught Ettie to use on me. It locks the magical energy away from being called on for incantations, but the magic had to go somewhere and be used somehow, so it wouldn’t be long before Nera discovered she could now physically fight me, probably even break my bones with a single hit, considering how much magic she did have. But by that time I was hoping to be gone.

  “You can’t. Impossible.” She stumbled for words, which only made the situation more amusing.

  “I’ll unlock it, for a price.” I grinned at her.

  The blood vessels on her face could have been boiling with how red they had grown. “I will do no more deals with you, Red Faerie.”

  “Then you will never have your magic again.” I stated simply, before twirling and glaring at the pixies while holding my axe up. “Now who wants some iron in their diet?”

  Every last one of the floating rainbow sparkles flew off in all different directions. My smile only grew wider. At least pixies were smart; they knew if I just took Nera’s magic away, I could do far worse to them.

  I turned back to the blue faerie, “You better start walking. The closest place to call the faerie academy must be miles down the pixie path.”

  Nera growled at me and had her hands so tight into fists she probably could have cut a melon with her knuckles. “You’ll regret taking my magic. You should know the vengeance of a Sidhe more than anyone, Gnidori Hodder.”

  I lowered my eyelids as my smile died away. “Nera, you left me no choice. At least there was no blood spilled.”

  “I’d rather have died than be impotent.” She spat.

  “And that is exactly why I left being a faerie behind. You always work in absolutes. There’s always something more to life than what you knew it to be. You don’t need magic to live. Take it from me, I did it for years.”

  Her cold cat eyes were glaring me down. If she knew of her new physical caliber, I would have been afraid this time that she’d have pounced on me. Instead she whipped her dress around in a sharp turn and strode down the pixie path in the direction of Hue’s territory.

  I heard her voice one last time, softly but filled with rage. “If you can even call what you did, living.”

  I shook my head and wondered if maybe this was the reason my cloak was taken later. Was that going to be Nera’s revenge, to steal my cloak? That hardly seems like the Sidhe revenge I would expect.

  “That was amazing, Gnidori.” Goldie gasped next to me.

  I shrugged. “I’m used to dealing with faeries.”

  I turned to start up the hill to Charming’s castle when Goldie stepped in front of me.

  “If I have to go in there, I at least want my weapons back.” She demanded again with the kind of determination I’d come to expect from her normally. She added quickly, “And my shoes.”

  I sighed.

  I just saved her from a gruesome faerie death and signaled to all the faerie kind that I was open market again. Yet all she was concerned about was getting her weapons back? This was the real reason I stopped being a Faerie Godmother.

  There was just no way to please some people.

  Eighteen

  A Charming Wolf

  The throne room looked exactly how I remembered it, minus every living soul. Well, almost everyone.

  “And you really think she will still head to Prince Blue’s domain?” I could overhear Charming speak in a hush, while I positioned myself in a fair spot on the rafters over the throne.

  Goldie scuttled in next to me, more silently than I had been. That surprised me at first, until I remembered she was a thief. Of course she was better at sneaking around.

  Once she had settled as well, my attention fell back to Charming and whoever it was with him.

  “Of course she will. She’s a good enough tracker to figure it out. Too bad she isn’t good enough to know I came back this way.” The haughty voice of a young woman replied to Charming.

  My mouth fell agape, and I leaned back almost to the point of falling off the rafter. I knew that attitude anywhere, she’d always had it. No matter what form she took or voice she stole, Gabbi was always the same: so full of herself.

  Goldie smacked my arm and leaned over to whisper, “Who is Kay talking too?”

  I just put my finger to my lips to get her to be quiet. We didn’t want to draw attention. But more to the point, I didn’t want to explain it to the fiery haired girl.

  She slumped down her shoulders in a pout and decided to pull out a knife from the boots I magicked back to her so we could get here. I couldn’t rightfully force her to keep wearing heels, especially with the climbing we did. That would have been plain wrong. She wasn’t my prisoner.

  “That wouldn’t matter anyway. You were only the decoy to get her on the right track, not to mention the perfect leverage. I would almost come to think she would have done anything to know your whereabouts.” Charming continued, his hand swaying to the side and landing on the armrest of his silver throne.

  The woman Gabbi was currently pretending to be looked a lot like the dark-haired girl with the circlet upon her head that stood next to Charming’s throne when I had been in here last time.

  The woman laughed, not at all like Gabbi would. “That is because she doesn’t have her magic sense anymore. It was the only way she could track me before. Without her magic she’s just another legendary.”

  That stung. I could feel it digging right into my heart. But Gabbi’s words had been doing that to me ever since she became the big bad wolf.

  “So she really lacks her magic now? I’d heard stories she surrendered it after revealing my marriage to Cinderella when she found out I’d already married Gertrude and Rosa. She ruined so much of my life. I guess I can find small constellation from the loss o
f her magic.” Charming continued through his gritted teeth. I only wish I had ruined more of his plans. At least I’d ruin his fun if I showed him some magic.

  The body Gabbi was using flicked her hair as she casually walked the distance to one of the feast tables still set up with remainders of food. She grabbed a piece of food off the table, looking as though she were bored with the conversation.

  “She’s not had it for as long as I’ve been dead. I was the last one she used it on, as far as I am aware. I believe she felt it was fine to give up her magic if I wasn’t around anymore.” Gabbi smiled her fang-toothed smile as she tossed aside the piece of cheese she had picked up.

  Charming glanced over to her, his eyes actually seeming thoughtful. “I had been meaning to ask. How are you even alive?”

  Gabbi glanced over her shoulder at him, still grinning like a wolf. “That would be my secret for now. But…” The wolf-woman swiftly shot across the room to stand inches from Charming with her huge teeth bared at his neck, as she finished. “If you really would like to know, I can send you to the Underworld and you can ask Death yourself.”

  Charming gulped noticeably. I knew she was just toying with him, but some part of me had wanted to see it happen. The better half of me would have stepped in to stop it though. Unfortunately.

  “I’d prefer to remain quite alive, wolf.” Charming tried to say with the straightest face he could muster.

  Gabbi’s teeth pulled back into her mouth before she just as hastily yanked away from the man and strolled around the room a bit more. My head bobbed down and I pulled at Goldie next to me when the shapeshifter started scanning the entire room. This was probably the third time she had already done that. She liked knowing her surroundings.

  “Just no fun you are, my tsar. I would almost wager everything Gnidori mentioned about you was true.” Gabbi continued, her currently green eyes not even focused on Charming.

  “Must you always be like this, wolf. I tire of it rather quickly. Now can we move on, if you are going to refuse to answer that question? How about a different one, instead. What did you do with Cinderella?”