Swift (Strangetown Magic Book 1)

by Al K. Line

  Robin put a hand to my shoulder and I reconnected with reality. "The same goes for me. Will you never learn? After so long you still treat people, even your own family, as if they are nothing but pieces on a chessboard. We are supposed to be family."

  We left, leaving her alone with the death she had created.

  So much death, will it never end?

  Kindness

  All of us were in some kind of shock I think. Levick had exhausted himself, victorious but at a cost. Pumi was a wreck, the hatred for how out of control he had become evident, yet he was resigned to it at the same time. And Robin and I, we were probably just sad as all hell. We never learn, always hoping the Queen isn't quite as manipulative as we know her to be deep down. And now my friend, Zeno, was dead, my faith in myself wavering as I hadn't seen through him, not even a hint.

  I mustn't let myself get lost, I had to hold on to my humanity, my hope and trust in others. I knew what we had to do.

  "We've got to go see the elves, the ones that want to go home, those we thought Zeno belonged to."

  "Let's go," Levick replied, wobbling as he spoke. Pumi reached to grab him, but as Levick fell the weight pushed Pumi over the edge too and they both went down, spent from fighting, probably half-starved. They'd kept it together as long as they could, but their reserves were empty now, the comedown hard and final.

  "Okay, look," I said to Robin. "Feed them, sleep for an hour, no longer," I warned, "and then I'll be back. Mack is home and hopefully back to being himself by now. If he isn't then just wake him up. Okay?"

  "Okay, Sis, sure." Robin didn't argue with me, she was too tired and emotionally drained.

  The men picked themselves up, eyes vacant yet both insisting they would come with me, but I knew it would be a hindrance and so did they. I could move fast and quiet alone.

  As we got close to home, I became aware that the road was packed with witches, wizards, and numerous Strange, all drawn to the scene of the fight. Some were clearing away bodies, others were gawping. Some were freaked, and plenty were ready to fight if anything else happened.

  The street would be safe for a while. No way would the elves try anything so blatant again, not on our own territory. At least I hoped not.

  I ignored the questions, just telling those we passed to stay vigilant and not let anything happen to Robin or the others, and took offered food from a few of the more seasoned witches who had brought it with them, knowing we would need it. One batty old woman even offered me lasagna, but it's not the easiest thing to eat on the go—nice of her, though.

  Feeling slightly restored from the food, I left them to it. Many Strange would follow along and protect our territory, I knew. A lot of them had been through worse over the years as there's always trouble where there's magic. Sometimes our kind even go looking for it if life has been too quiet for too long.

  Then I was off, jogging through the streets on painful legs, food sloshing around inside of me, muscles aching, magic bubbling away in the background like a familiar friend. The tears fell as I kept on running.

  There were pockets of elves, friendly elves, spread throughout the city, and I had to put aside my doubts about their true integrity otherwise I would never trust anyone again. Some didn't want to accept help from humans and live with them, others simply couldn't stand the confinement.

  But the good were in the minority, and the battles that have raged over the millennia between them and dark elves has meant they are dying out at a faster rate every year. They are like Zeno was, how he acted, how he affected you so deeply, and the dark elves hate that. But maybe the good ones could help, maybe they even had answers.

  Was the Rift coming again? Is that why they went to ground zero, why Levick followed them there? Or were they ready to try to overthrow us? Enslave and rule us? Surely not. There weren't enough of them for that, and they could never hope to beat us all.

  I gave up trying to answer impossible questions and just ran best I could to the closest group of elves I hoped I could trust. Back where things had started to go wrong the previous morning, outside the old council building that was always crowded with Strange, meeting to talk, loitering, trying to come to terms with it all—good luck with that, I can't make sense of this world even now.

  When I got there the place was half-deserted. It was never this quiet and there was certainly no sign of the elves. I spotted the sprite that had helped with my shopping and asked if it knew where everyone was. It said the elves had begun acting odd and saying something was wrong, and had gone to ground zero, other Strange tagging along.

  It didn't know what was happening, and said that like plenty of others it didn't want to be anywhere near the place if the Rift was coming to dump more creatures onto the city.

  There was no way I could keep running so I would have to walk, so that's what I did. I sucked it up, refused to give in, and began moving again, wondering when my mind would admit it was beat and let my body collapse in a heap and sleep for a week.

  How could Zeno have done that to me? How had I let him? I felt like a fool, like a little girl that trusts everyone rather than the cynical Justice I believed myself to be. Maybe it was good, in a weird sort of way. It proved one thing at least—I wasn't like my mother.

  Good Elf, Bad Elf

  Ground zero was different, very different. The air was alive with magic and the melodious voices of elves. It was also dangerously seductive. Just getting close I felt the sexual tension increase and, er... Okay, my nipples went hard and I felt damn annoyed at them as I'd just watched an elf I'd believed a friend die, killed lots before then, and had blood all over me.

  Maybe a dozen or so elves were gathered by the wound on the city, peering down then up, a few other Strange milling about, trying to figure out what was was going on. Steeling myself, telling off my breasts once more and poking them into submission, I made my way to the group.

  "What's happening?" I asked a familiar face, his name unknown to me.

  "Elf killer! Elf killer!" he shouted.

  Oh, shit. "No, wait, it was the dark elves. They attacked us, found out we were trying to uncover what they are up to. Do you know? Why are you here?"

  The elves crowded around, but they left me alone, the scent confirming I hadn't harmed their own kind. They were too close though and I was losing control. Too many voices, too much heat, it isn't good for a gal, and my mind was losing focus as animal instincts took over.

  They felt it too, and I saw that dreamy look they get in their oversized eyes and they moved in closer, circling me, passion building as they hummed to each other, the excitement growing, their focus on me rather than what they were here for.

  "Whoa! Stop. STOP! Back off, all of you. This isn't about to turn into a human and elf orgy, I came for answers."

  They snapped out of it, stepping away, attention back on the matter at hand, and they kept distancing themselves until we were far enough apart to talk without trying to rip each other's clothes off. My nipples had misbehaved again but I figured they'd have to retreat in their own time—poking them was probably not the best thing to do given the circumstances.

  "Can't you feel it?" asked an elf.

  I tried to relax, to feel for a difference in the air, in the vibration of the place, but I got nothing. "Nope. Seems the same to me."

  "Something is coming, something is happening. They are bringing more."

  "More? More what? Are the dark elves doing this?"

  "What an odd question. Of course they are doing this. It is their fault we are trapped here, you humans know this."

  "No we don't, nobody told us that. How do you know?" This was scarier than I had thought. Did the elves really make this happen? I, along with everyone else, assumed they had got caught up in the Rift the same way the rest had. But with no bloody idea what was happening or why.

  "We know, have always known. We thought you knew it was them, our enemies. They wish to have it all. Now they have our homeland they want the human world as well. But it
went wrong, not enough came, and they brought us and others too. That will change." There were murmurs of agreement, a few moans, and I probably added a groan or two of my own.

  "What's coming? How is it coming?"

  "More dark elves. They are amassing on the other side, in our world, calling for the Rift. Calling to be brought to help those already here take it from you. To wipe us out, the few that want nothing but peace and to be left alone. They will destroy this world and all of us stuck here. We want to go home, we must go home. Our world will be lost to them if we don't."

  This was getting beyond a joke. Talk about a bad day, right?

  "When are they coming? Can you tell?"

  They shifted uncomfortably, looking somewhat abashed, some zoning out, trying to get a feel for things, while others held my gaze. Their spokesman, answered. "We don't know. It could be five minutes, it could be five years, but there is a disturbance in our home world as they try to open the Rift, to force it again but stronger. To come in overwhelming numbers, and with no other Strange this time. We know this, can sense it, but how close they are to achieving it is unknown. It is why we are here, to try to understand, but they are too many, too strong for us, and they will not let this knowledge be shared."

  "You just want to go home, right?" An idea was forming, although the sensible part of me thought it ridiculous, impossible. But maybe now there was nothing to lose. Okay, there was a lot to lose, like life and sanity, but if we got overrun with mesmerizing dark elves intent on the destruction of mankind, well, that wouldn't be good, would it?

  No, so I was going with it, and besides, nobody else had come up with anything, better or worse, since the Rift caused all this upheaval.

  I wanted my city back. I wanted my old life back. No, scrap that. I wanted a new life, a better one, and it was hopeless if I was enslaved by elves and made to do nasty things while my mind turned to mush and I slowly withered and died.

  "Of course we want to return home, but we cannot. Now more will come and they will eradicate us all. Our homeland will be theirs and theirs alone. We must get back. The war has raged for eternity and it cannot end with them triumphant."

  "In that case, I think it's time we fought back, don't you?"

  A Race to Organize

  I filled the elves in on my tentative plan, basically making it up as I went along. It was more a work in progress than anything I'd labored over, nailing down the details, or even had someone check if I was loopy or not. But the tide had turned and the elves had attacked us—there was no way it wouldn't escalate.

  The city was already coming alive with the news of what had happened. Single attacks were common by out-of-control elves, but they had never attempted to attack in force. They simply wouldn't be allowed to do it and hope to survive.

  Sure, we knew they hated us and wanted what was ours, but we don't go around committing genocide unless provoked. This was outright war and I knew Strange humans would be on the warpath now, with plenty of otherworldly creatures all too happy to join in if their natures allowed them to do so.

  With Levick revealing their monitoring, their interfering, and their fear of people like me and Pumi and the fact they wanted to eradicate us, remove the dangers to themselves, they had played their hand too soon and would have to back it up now. No turning back. The game was on.

  With the elves left at ground zero with hope and more than a little confusion, but a promise to do what they could to carry out the plan, I left, the ideas coming at me fast as I itemized what I had to do and how I could do it.

  Doubts crept in, and I wondered if I was crazy for thinking I could orchestrate such a thing. After all, who was I? Just a Justice with an attitude, not any kind of leader. Was this even possible? Was I about to cause a whole lot of hurt for a whole lot of species that didn't deserve it? Most likely I was, but I'd be damned before I let more invaders come and try to take our lives from us.

  They had to be stopped and there was only one way to do it.

  I found it impossible to run. Even walking fast made my side ache. My legs were like dead tree trunks, and I think I might have fried the few brain cells I had left by thinking too much. But I had to do this now, otherwise it could be too late and it would all be over. Visions of my world, my city, finally being free again crowded in, buoying me along, urging me to move one foot in front of the other and keep going.

  Pumi kept crowding into my mind. There was something about him that attracted me, no doubt about that, and then I felt awful for thinking such things because Zeno was dead and I'd had feelings for him. But that wasn't natural, merely the effect of the elf, and besides, he wasn't really the person I'd thought he was anyway. Ugh, what a mess. I should go frolic amongst the tomatoes with Faith and forget about men altogether.

  As I weaved through the streets, it was clear there was something in the air now. Normal and Strange were different. There was an edge to things. They sensed it same as me, knew everything was about to change and had no clue if it was for the better or the worse. News about the fights would have spread like wildfire, the gossip mobilizing Strangetown. Probably everyone already knew that Pumi had been framed and that he'd fought to help save us, which was a good thing.

  Chaos was close. The city was ready to erupt into violence and that would do us no good. Our home would be ruined and magic would rip apart our reality if the elves and us went at it in a big way.

  No, it had to end, and soon, before everything burned. I couldn't stop thinking about food, either. I'd burned through the offered snacks earlier and was nowhere near recovered. It would take a lot more than that to help, but I would be devoid of energy soon, fit for nothing, so as soon as I got home I would stuff my face with anything I could find and rally the troops to carry out my rather dubious master plan and hope I didn't get them all killed before it was time for dinner. Dinner? Had we had lunch? What time was it and what had happened that day?

  Everything was jumbled up. I felt lost, out of the loop and estranged from my own self. Like days had blended and I wasn't sure if I'd slept, if I'd eaten, or what I'd been doing.

  Running, that's what I felt like I'd been doing my whole life. Running and being chased, with death my only companion. That was my life. Death and rejection and here I was, a woman that wanted what she could never have.

  A woman that could never have a child of her own because her mother taught her magic and spells and power and violence at a young age. It ruined my body, the same as it did Robin's, and I could never be what I wanted to be so hurt others, justifying it because it stopped them hurting others more, but it never took my pain, my emptiness away.

  Yeah, it's been a messed up life, but I was just on a downer. Life has also been good, wondrous, and I have loved as fiercely as I have fought. I have always protected my own, but they always leave, grow old and frail, and I have to move on, start all over again. But sometimes I get tired of it all and just want permanence, to not have to witness the life drain from those I love while I remain the same.

  I wanted to be happy. I wanted to rest. I wanted to be loved and for it to last for eternity.

  I also wanted that lasagna.

  Making Calls

  As I headed home, dizzy, aroused, depressed and with about a hundred other emotions vying for dominance, I got my act together by organizing. There would be no second chances, this had to work or we would be toast. Burnt, nasty, unbuttered toast. So, I made some calls.

  I called Tukutli-Ninurta Gravel, tech expert, timeless Assyrian wizard and the most powerful man I have ever known. I told him what the elves had told me, that there was a disturbance and the Rift might open at any time, and I told him my plan. If there are people I don't know in Strangetown then he knows them, and they would listen to him, do as he asked like it was an order. He promised to do what he could, swore he would help, and even offered to update my phone for free.

  Next was Yuki Ye. In for a penny, in for a pound, and he had a lot of clout in the city too. He'd rally the drunks, the s
kulduggers, the loners and the alone, the gangsters, the underground fighters, and those who were simply up for anything. And he too would help.

  I called friends and I called enemies. I worried about my phone running out of charge as I had no clue when I'd last plugged it into the mains, and I got in touch with wizards and witches and necromancers and earth mothers and those that dwelt in the shadows and those that lived in the light and those that were fallen angels and those that were as pure as the Earth itself. I called warlocks and wardens and sent out a distress signal through my tattoo that linked Justices together, and I even made a ripple in the Pool itself, almost draining me completely of what little magic remained.

  They would come. The large, the small, the lost and the happy. Normal and Strange, those that loved the city and those that loathed the city yet would never leave. I gathered them all and I became increasingly anxious as responsibility grew until I felt unable to stand under the pressure. But what was the alternative? We would be dead anyway if something wasn't done.

  And then I was home, plugging in my phone like I'd just got back from work and was on a break. I was wild and dangerous, manic and exhausted. My shoulder throbbed from magic in the ink that answered the call to the Justices of Strangetown, and I nearly fell as I made it into the kitchen.

  Half deranged, I raided the cupboards, stuffing my face until I felt sick, then just kept on going until the fridge was bare and the floor was littered with debris. Then I went back into the vaulted space of the church and my friends and family were there, stood in a line like soldiers, waiting for me.

  Ready to fight, or die.

  "Um, hello, what are you all grinning at? Everything okay?"

  "Yeah, babe, everything's cool," said Mack, looking larger than I remembered him being, practically brimming with vitality. What had he been up to? Guess the rest did him good—demons do recover quickly.

  "We are fine, Swift," said Levick. "We got your call and have been waiting for you to return so we can do this. Are the elves really planning on calling the Rift? Did they really do it in the first place?"