by S. M. Boyce
Audrey spun in her seat to see the clerk running out of the gas station.
“I already told him I’d pay, and I am not in the mood,” Victoria said, flooring it. They peeled out of the gas station, Victoria's smile fading as she headed again for the freeway.
“Good thing we brought a change of clothes,” Audrey said, shaking her head.
Victoria laughed. “I do feel pretty guilty about this whole thing. There wasn't much left of that bathroom.”
Audrey’s smile fell. “That bad?”
“This thing, whatever it is, it’s powerful. And heavy as fuck.” Victoria cleared her throat, shivering again as she continued to drip all over Audrey's car. Truth be told, Audrey didn't even care about the mess. It was perfect, in its own way, because she would never, ever let Victoria forget this had happened.
“I need a shower,” Victoria said.
“It's probably for the best. Let's find a place to pull off. And V?”
“Yeah?”
“You need to figure out how to control this thing. What if it happens while we’re driving or—”
“Stop! Stop, dude, what the hell? I’m nervous enough as it is.” Victoria glared at her.
“You shouldn’t drive any more, at least. Once we find a place to pull over, let’s switch.”
“Fine.”
Audrey studied Victoria as the girl stared into the darkening night, the occasional passing freeway lamp illuminating her scowl with soft orange light. They didn't need to discuss this any further. Both already knew the risks. Next time someone might be in that bathroom with her. Whatever Victoria's new powers were, they could destroy things. Hurt people. Maybe even kill.
The two of them needed to find Fairhaven and this Fyrn Folly character—fast.
Chapter 8
As the car finally passed into the Santa Barbara city limits, Victoria rolled down the passenger-side window and leaned out to get a better view of the beautiful city. Palm trees lined every street, and the main road ran parallel to the beach. Women and men lay on the sand not far away, basking in the hot California sun. The water glimmered and glistened, the light bouncing off the waves like a million small diamonds.
It was paradise. No wonder there was a magical city hidden here.
Eighteen hours of driving over two days was no mean feat, and after all that time on the road they needed a place to sleep and a hot meal. Still, Victoria couldn’t quell her excitement. Soon she would find Fyrn Folly. Soon she would start training to control the magic in her arm. And soon she would have everything she needed to get her revenge.
Her jaw clenched.
Audrey slowed as the speed limit was reduced, adjusting the towels she sat on to protect her from the sopping-wet seats, still soaked from yesterday. “Okay, Victoria, where am I going?”
Victoria dug into the glove box for the notes she'd scribbled on the back of her dad’s letter. A knot caught in her throat as her fingers brushed her father's handwriting, but it wouldn't do any good to dwell on how much she missed her parents. “Looks like we need to find a bridge. The Riviera Bridge. Is your phone charged? I'll look it up.”
Audrey handed her the familiar white cell phone with the black skull case, and Victoria typed in her friend's security pin. They'd known each other's access codes for ages.
Her thumb accidentally hit the recent calls button, and Audrey’s home phone was on the outgoing calls list. Apparently she had snuck away at some point to check in with her family. Victoria’s throat tightened, a bit envious of her friend’s surviving family, but she buried the resentment and opened the GPS instead.
“Turn left on West Carrillo Street,” a robotic female voice said through the phone's speakers.
“You heard the lady,” Victoria said with a grin. She tilted the phone slightly toward Audrey so she could easily glance at the map on the screen while driving. Trees and medians filled with flowers lined the road. Building after building had sparkling white walls and red-tiled roofs, giving the street a classic and uniform look.
“This place is beautiful,” Audrey said, leaning forward a bit to stare through the windshield, her eyes lingering on an historic five-story hotel as they passed.
Victoria nodded. “I'm so grateful mom and dad didn't send me to Alaska. Pretty, but cold.”
“Would've been easier to hide that thing,” Audrey said with a nod toward Victoria's arm.
Victoria’s smile fell, and she let out a small huff of air. “I guess that's a good point. It's a little harder to get away with long sleeves in a place where it's never cold.”
“Turn right on Olive Street,” the robotic female voice interrupted.
Audrey obeyed the little voice coming from her phone and turned onto a side street. Road by road, they obeyed the GPS’s directions, twisting and turning as they drove deeper into Santa Barbara's Riviera suburb. So far, not a bridge in sight.
After about half an hour, the GPS led them to the Riviera Bridge. The road led over it, but from what Victoria could remember they had to find a way underneath.
“Over there,” Victoria said, pointing to a gravel lot just in front of the bridge. As the car bounced over the uneven path, the thin and winding road led down to a clearing underneath the bridge. The tires crunched over gravel as they inched their way down the steep side-road, Victoria never quite sure whether they would stay on it or fall off and roll down the hill into the reservoir below.
“You have arrived at your destination,” the robotic voice said.
The gravel path ended directly under the bridge, which was nothing more than a slender stone arch at most thirty feet over their heads. Concrete walls blocked them in on both sides, and Victoria had a sudden rush of claustrophobia. If Luak found them here, they would be trapped. Dead. He could easily roast them in their car before they escaped, or maybe —
Panicking, afraid the shield would appear at any second thanks to her wild imagination, she threw open the car door and jumped outside. She grimaced, hands over her head as she waited for the inevitable weight on her arm to take her to the ground. Thankfully, it didn't, and she let out a relieved sigh.
Audrey got out as well, throwing the backpack containing the crystals over her shoulder. Looking around, she kicked her door shut. “What next?”
Victoria unfolded the paper and scanned her notes. “We need to touch one of the symbols spray-painted under the bridge. The triangle, I think.”
They walked toward the concrete barrier, Victoria on edge as she continued to scan their surroundings. On the other side of the bridge the road ended in forest, gravel fading into dirt and weeds.
Victoria located a couple of strange symbols, their spray-painted lines reminding her of Nordic runes. She reached for the triangle, suddenly doubting how well she had remembered her parents’ notes.
“That will electrocute you,” Shiloh said from behind her.
She jumped, a little scream escaping her as he once again surprised her. “Christ, will you warn me before you do that?”
“If I remember,” he said, shrugging.
So, no, he wouldn’t.
She rubbed her temple, annoyed with the ghost elf who had the personality of a thirteen-year-old girl. “So that one will electrocute me if I touch it?”
He nodded.
She waited for him to tell her which one to touch, but he simply stared at his nails.
“Should I touch the square, or—”
“Oh, no, that will melt the skin from your bones.”
“Oh, awesome.” Victoria rolled her eyes.
Audrey chuckled.
Again, Victoria waited, but the ghost didn’t say anything else. She bit her lip to bite back a sarcastic remark and gestured to the symbols on the barrier. “So, which of these will not kill me?”
He huffed. “I think you meant to ask me which will let you inside.”
“Oh. My. God,” Victoria said, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.
Audrey laughed harder.
“Touch that
one.” Shiloh rolled his eyes and pointed to a crude hourglass-type symbol comprised of two triangles.
“Thank you,” Victoria said, gritting her teeth in annoyance as she smacked it with her palm.
Beneath them, the ground trembled. The gravel vibrated from the sheer force of whatever was happening. Pebbles fell off the bridge, and for a fleeting, panicked second Victoria wondered if it would collapse on them.
Gold light shot from the barrier with the symbols, piercing them and sending a ripple of ice down Victoria’s spine. A puff of her breath hovered in front of her, suddenly visible despite the hot day. She shivered and watched as the gold energy spread around them like a force field, encapsulating everything within a fifty-foot radius.
The concrete barrier crumbled like a mishandled cookie, the loose chunks of rock disappearing the moment they hit the ground. Bit by bit a jagged hole appeared before them, as tall and wide as a large truck. Stairs appeared one by one, popping out of the ground and leading downward into the darkness. Embedded in both walls, thousands of glowing green crystals lit the way.
“Welcome to Fairhaven. I can take your car,” someone said behind them. If a mouse could speak, it would sound like whoever this was.
Victoria spun on her heel and lifted one fist as if preparing to fight, but paused when she saw a little gremlin-like creature with massive winged ears. He—or she—was a murky green color that reminded her of a swamp, with skin covered in little bumps. The creature looked vaguely familiar, and Victoria wondered if she had stumbled across a picture of one in her brief time with their parents’ spiral notebook.
She frowned at the memory of the notebook, furious and frustrated that Luak had destroyed such a valuable collection of information. Just one more reason to bash his brains in, she supposed.
“Your car, please,” the creature said again, voice squeaky as an old wheel. He lifted the palm of his hand and gestured with his fingers.
“Where are you going to put it?” Audrey scanned the empty gravel lot.
The gremlin creature squeaked in a rapid and unintelligible succession that sounded a bit like laughter. “The car lot, of course.”
He snapped his fingers, and the golden light around them shimmered. Through it they could see rows and rows of cars, a few trucks, and even a bus.
Audrey's mouth dropped open, and Victoria was sure hers had, too. Without pausing, Audrey tossed the keys to the creature, who caught them effortlessly. He snapped his fingers yet again, and a golden ticket appeared out of thin air and hovered in front of Audrey. She snatched it, examining the tiny black font on it. Victoria couldn't make out the writing from her angle.
“Enjoy your time in Fairhaven,” the creature said with a tiny bow. He snapped his fingers a final time and disappeared into the air. The engine revved to life behind them, only his ears visible over the dash.
Audrey leaned in. “If he wrecks my car—”
“I'll buy you a better one.” Victoria grinned.
“Ferrari, you hear me? I want a Ferrari.”
“Yeah, right. Not sure I love you that much.”
Audrey stuck her tongue out and faced the newly formed hole in the wall. “Well, let's do this.”
“Don’t let anyone see your artifact,” Shiloh said, gesturing toward Victoria’s arm.
“Why not?”
“They will kill you on sight.”
“Jesus,” Victoria muttered under her breath. She grabbed her wrist, a little nervous that there was nothing but a thin sleeve between her palm and the artifact she couldn’t control.
Audrey put her hands on her hips and stared him down. “Thanks for the intel, but that would have been better to know much, much sooner.”
Shiloh shrugged, arms crossed as he stared into the forest.
Victoria frowned. “What if that valet had seen it, or—”
“He didn’t,” the ghost interrupted.
“But if he had—”
“He didn’t,” Shiloh repeated.
Victoria’s cheeks burned with annoyance, but she took a breath to cool off. This ghost would be the death of her if she wasn’t careful. “We don’t need these—people, I guess—in Fairhaven knowing you’re a ghost. You should disappear now since the valet can’t see us anymore.”
“Fine.” With that the ghost disappeared into thin air. No poof, no warning. He was simply gone.
“Not—” Victoria glanced around, but Audrey’s car was rumbling down a row of sedans and kicking up dust so thick she could barely see it.
“God, he’s annoying,” Audrey grumbled.
Victoria pursed her lips, biting her tongue in the very likely case he could still hear her. To distract herself, she led the way down the stairs. Hand brushing the wall as she descended, she kept her eyes peeled for any change in the shadows. The air cooled with every step. Her mind buzzed as she let her imagination soar at the thought of what Fairhaven might look like. She hadn't realized it would be underground, so perhaps it would be nothing more than a dull network of caves connected by tunnels she would have to learn to navigate. This could be bad. If they needed a quick escape, it would be hard to accomplish with such a long trek to the surface. She wondered how they would find a wizard in a confusing labyrinth below the ground, and how—
Around the next bend, the tunnel ended in a massive cavern that stretched for miles. Birds flew high above, no more than tiny silhouettes. Shimmering green stalactites hung from the cavern’s ceiling, bright and brilliant as they glowed with a fire all their own. The one in the center of the cavern reached nearly to the ground to meet a tall white spire ascending from far below, the tallest tower in the city. A white stone palace surrounded the spire, and a network of roads spiraled from the castle like rays from the sun. Crowds bobbed and weaved along the paths far below, thousands of tiny shadows bustling through the massive city. Buildings lined the roads, some of them tilting at impossible angles, some of them swaying slightly.
Beneath their feet, the tunnel became stairs etched into the cliff as it descended to the base of the cavern. It would easily take half an hour to reach the bottom. She gaped as her eyes scanned the underground city.
Audrey whistled. “We’re sure as shit not in Kansas anymore.”
Victoria nodded, not quite able to form words. This was it—the place where she would find answers, help, and training. Here she would learn everything she needed to know to control the dangerous magic embedded in her body.
She would not rest until she had mastered it all.
Chapter 9
At the bottom of the stairs, Victoria couldn’t help but pause and stare. Fairhaven was too much to take in all at once.
Despite the glowing green crystals above, nothing had an emerald tint to it. The wide road would have fit four cars across easily, but was instead filled with a bustling crowd of creatures Victoria had never seen before. Some towered a good two feet above her, the ground shaking a bit as they walked, and metal plates not unlike armor covered their shoulders. Some looked like the gremlin who had taken Audrey’s car. Most of the crowd were elves like Luak, but they wore elegant gowns and suits. She tensed at their presence, stiffening on instinct, but these elves smiled gracefully. They had class and grace, which Luak lacked.
Everyone who passed stared at her and Audrey, bewildered expressions on more than one of their faces, and she stared right back in wonder.
Her trek into Fairhaven became more intimidating with every step. An unfamiliar underground city. Strange creatures. Only one contact, and she didn’t even know what he looked like.
“This might be even harder than I thought,” she mumbled.
She walked down the street with no idea of where to go first. Elaborate shops made from black brick lined the road, every window filled with something to sell. From ornate dresses with lace and frills to a massive battle axe coated in blood, there was something for everyone: leather bags, glowing potions, bubbling cauldrons that radiated steam. It seemed as though anything could be bought on this one stre
et alone.
Too bad they had no idea what Fairhaven used as currency.
A little nervous, Victoria pinned her right sleeve hem under the fingers of her right hand, careful to make sure no one could possibly see the artifact in her arm. Every set of eyes seemed to follow them, and no wonder—they were the only humans here.
As they meandered down the busy street, Victoria caught glimpses of life in Fairhaven through the many windows. A little gremlin pointed to a knife in a display and tugged on the shirt of a slightly larger gremlin. In another shop, an elf wearing a tan gown with a black apron over it handed an elaborate leather satchel to a fellow elf whose long blond hair hung in a loose braid over her shoulder. The blonde dropped four crystals into the shopkeeper’s palm, and they nodded to each other, muttering words Victoria couldn't hear through the glass.
It clicked for her in that moment: the crystals her parents had left her were the currency here. She shot a fleeting glance toward Audrey's bag, suddenly itching to grab the pouch and keep it close. They hadn't realized what they were before, but now they had to be extremely careful to protect them. It was all they had to survive on, and as strangers to the city, they would need to make every crystal count.
Though most of the shops had nothing set up on the street outside their doors, one store had boxes filled to the brim with what looked like odd, bumpy fruits. The sweet and tangy aromas of mango and pineapple wafted from the boxes, and Victoria’s mouth watered. As she studied the display, however, a massive creature emerged from the store, stairs creaking as it descended. The creature reminded Victoria of a bridge troll in a dress. Long black curls framed her round face—at least, Victoria assumed this was a female from her attire. The shopkeeper grinned as Victoria caught her eye, and Victoria returned the smile. Through the window, half a dozen rows of shelves filled the store, each surface lined with trays of meats and casseroles.
The creature said something in a boisterous, high-pitched voice, watching them as she smiled broadly. It was probably another language, but to Victoria, it sounded mostly like humming.