by K L Rymer
Well, that is my theory. In fact, I bet a lot of wolves from fairy tales and legends were really shifters in wolf form.
The door knocks, and I look over at Gelert. He vanishes and I call out. “Come in.”
Zahara enters and I almost piss myself from laughing when I see her outfit. “S-seriously?!”
She’s frigging Snow White. And with her raven hair and fair skin, she pulls it off. I just had no idea she was into anything so girly. It’s not even a slutty Snow White either; the skirt runs all the way down to her ankles.
“You like,” she says, giving a curtsy as she holds the red cape.
“Yeah, I guess... but... why Snow White?”
Zahara regards me confused. “It’s Halloween. The idea is to dress as someone scary, right? I mean just look at this garish red lipstick, and these rosy cheeks.” She shivers and I slap my sides, wiping my eyes.
“Please, stop...”
She smirks in her typical fashion again and steps closer. “And who are you supposed to be? Some gay magician?”
I blink. “I’m Merlin.”
Her brow rises into her hairline, and it vanishes somewhere beneath her red headband. “Sure... if you say so...”
Someone knocks on the frame of the open door, and Zahara and I turn to see Felicity dressed as Tinkerbell of all things. I still can’t get over how sexy she looks in her human disguise. Even Damien has started acting differently around her which I’ll have to talk to him about later. I can’t be dealing with roommate drama. I have two loads of homework from two separate schools to deal with after all.
“Look who I am!” she squeals, spinning around. She wears a fake pair of sparkly wings and a cut-off green dress, and she has tied her hair up into a bun. I don’t know how the boys at Bangor will cope. Jonathan, my old roommate, is going to be there after all. The pervert.
“You’re a fairy. How nice...” Zahara remarks, giving me a pointed roll of the eyes.
Felicity points at her wings. “I have wings now!”
I laugh and adjust my beard before the mirror. Since coming to the academy, I have learned that pixies don’t actually have wings. It’s faeries that have the wings—pixies are just wingless imps.
Nora appears behind Felicity dressed as the Queen of Hearts, and we seem to have a theme going here.
We are all a Disney character...
“I have a crown!” Nora points at her head.
I chuckle once again and readjust my beard before I give up and follow the others downstairs.
Seeing them all looking so cute in their dresses, I wished I had chosen something more feminine now. But it’s too late for regrets.
We arrive in the common room where we find Jack and Thomas. Damien is nowhere in sight as usual.
Jack wears a toga and a crown of gold leaves (channeling his Greek origins), and he looks like a genuine god from Mount Olympus. The girls won’t be able to handle him at Bangor. He’s too ripped, and the long, flowing, brown mane just adds to the godlike effect.
Thomas wears a crisp, black business suit, and he’s finally managed to smooth down that mop of mousy hair.
We all stare confused.
He emits an exasperated breath. “I’m a human businessman. It’s scary. Get it?”
I still don’t get it, but I suppose he’s got the scary vibe going. He has the leather briefcase and everything, and I produce an involuntary shiver.
I give a headcount and hope Damien turns up very soon. We’re ready to leave. I hold my pin out with the academy’s Dancing Dragons’ emblem and tell the others to gather, and soon I’m crammed between a bunch of supernatural interracials.
We are all going to teleport via my pin. The others have been teleporting since their own high school years, but I don’t want to rouse any suspicions. I’m pretty sure the academy track who comes and goes, but I’ve been given full permission to teleport back and forth since I’m soooo special.
The academy leaves it up to the student’s full discretion. Sure they can go to the human world since they’re adults now and can do whatever they please, but it’s better to keep our plans secret.
What we are doing is a little absurd, and from what I’ve found out highly frowned upon. It is one thing to go for a little visit and observe humans in their natural habitat (as we will be doing in Professor Higgles’ class), but to fraternize with them and party? Hell no.
“Wait! We still don’t have Damien!” Tinkerbell—I mean—Felicity laments, and she has never looked so concerned.
I sigh. “Look, he snoozes he loses. We need to scat, ASAP, before anyone gets wind of our plans. No doubt some sniveling Ingenious snitch would claw at the chance to get Mendacious in trouble.”
And by sniveling Ingenious snitch, I mean Angelina.
“But... it wouldn’t be the same without him...” she continues, and I see those genuine tears gathering in her big, blue anime eyes.
I really should have given her my Sailor Moon outfit. She would have pulled it off way better than I ever could.
“Fine. We wait two minutes,” I tell Felicity, and she relaxes. I guess she just wants her good friend there so they can steal shoes together.
Just as my patience wears thin, a cool breeze wafts through the room, and now a dark silhouette materializes in the corner.
Well, speak of the devil...
“Damien! Quick! Get over here!” Felicity cries, waving him over.
The demon steps forth from the shadows, and I stifle a snort.
Oh, look... it’s a pirate.
I’ll admit he’s convincing enough. He even has the hook for a hand and the red-eyed macaw on his shoulder. I think it’s real.
He wears a long leather coat and a V-neck blouse that shows off the hairs of his chest. He has even grown a bit of stubble in the last few hours. In other words, he looks hot, especially teamed with those sinister green eyes and that dark guyliner—I don’t think the girls at Bangor will be able to manage with him either.
“And who are you supposed to be?” I ask as he squeezes in beside Felicity. “Blackbeard?”
He arches a brow. “I’m Captain Hook. Tinkerbell’s idea.”
Felicity giggles and nudges his shoulder, and I groan. They are already going for couple costumes now, and I just want to get away from the academy for a few hours.
“Well now that we’re all here. Let’s go.” I hold up the pin. Hopefully, if they hold on tight enough, they will teleport with me.
“Hold on,” Thomas interrupts, looking over at Felicity and Damien critically. “If you’re going as a pair... then shouldn’t you be Peter Pan?”
Damien’s forest-green eyes shine red once again. “You suggesting that I wear tights, Wolfie?”
An awkward silence follows, and I finally explode. “That’s it! Take us to Bangor! Now! Please! Before I tear someone’s head off!”
The pull seizes hold of us immediately, and soon we are thrust through space and time. Well, that’s what it feels like. I almost lose my magical staff, but I manage to hold on.
Next, we land on a windy, freezing hill, and everyone gripes.
“Ah, you could have warned us Bangor was so cold, Bryn!” Nora cries, shivering.
She’s not wrong. We have landed right beside the North Wales Sea at the end of October. Not exactly the Bahamas.
“Look!” Felicity points to the strait, and we all glance over the water. The Isle of Anglesey is just across from us, and I will never grow tired of this view, especially as the full moon reflects upon the inky black water.
I am getting the impression supernatural beings don’t get to see the sea so much with all the teleporting they do.
“It’s so beautiful...” Felicity whispers, and Nora and Thomas hum in agreement.
Zahara scrunches up her nose next and mutters meh, then looks my way. “Well, show us the way, Merlin.”
I grin and use my staff to guide me forward. “With pleasure.”
We climb down the hill toward the woods below, and from th
ere we will cut through a gate that leads us to a road and so on (it’s not such a bad walk when you go downhill).
“I’m cold,” I hear Felicity shudder next, and Damien summons flames to keep her warm.
“Just remember to put that fire out,” I warn. “Humans aren’t normally accustomed to demons and their ways... Hell, they don’t even believe they exist.”
Under the light of the moon, I catch his wicked sneer. “So just tell them it’s a trick.”
Felicity claps, “Ooh, I love tricks!”
I growl. “No! Damien! Put the fire out, and give Felicity your coat instead. I’m sure she’d love that anyway.”
They don’t hear my last few words. Felicity gushes as Damien places his leather coat around her shoulders, and now he’s messing up her fairy wings.
They are the weirdest couple.
We soon find the road and eventually we end up on the main street. My fellow humans pass us by and the others tense.
Nora gives a nervous “Hiiii” and Thomas nods, muttering, “Good day”.
Felicity grips Damien, and Jack, as always, is solemn. Only Zahara seems to be in her element.
A few male students pass. Zahara gives one a wink and I drag her away, muttering under my breath. I’m going to have to keep an eye on her tonight.
Who knew she was such a flirt.
I pull out my phone and search the address. It’s not too far from here, but fuck... it’s up another hill.
We pass below the university’s main building, and I hear a few oohs and ahhs from the group.
Sure it’s impressive, especially with its floodlights and flapping flag, but it is tiny compared to the academy.
I suppose the human world is just so new to them. They are easily impressed.
After a trek up the hill and another short walk, we arrive at the address. A three-story student accommodation, and already loud music blasts from the open windows.
There are discarded cans in the small yard, and it looks as if some seagulls have helped themselves to their trash since it’s everywhere.
We will give it two hours, and then we’ll go.
I text Megan to tell her we are outside. She already knows that I am bringing friends. I lied and told her I joined some random drama society. That way I can cover everyone’s weird eccentricities.
I turn to the others. “Remember to just act cool, and don’t use any of your powers!”
“We’ll try...” Damien chuckles and Zahara and Felicity laugh along with him.
I sigh through gritted teeth. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.
Chapter 13.
The faded, peeling paint of the door opens next and there Megan appears dressed as a generic cat. She looks sexy though, showing off that slim figure, and her red hair looks bushy and wild.
We lock gazes, and her big, cornflower blue eyes widen when she gets a good look at my costume. “B-Bryn? Is that you?!”
“Hey, Meg...” I gesture to the others behind me. “These are my friends from drama. The ones I told you about.”
She still can’t take her eyes off my costume, stifling a laugh, and then she peers over her shoulder. “Soph! Come get a look at Bryn!”
I sigh and look at Zahara. “We’ll go inside in a moment.”
The Unseelie raises a brow and glances up at the door when Sophie appears. Now the two human girls get a good look at my costume, cackling their heads off, and I finally barge past. Sophie is dressed as a pretty pink witch that is a little too sparkly for my liking, but whatever.
Sophie and Megan flatten themselves against the wall, allowing us passage in the narrow hallway, and I hear a mixture of “Hellos” behind me.
It’s not the best way to introduce my friends from both schools, but there is plenty of time later.
I need a drink and fast.
I tell my Mendacious roommates to go into the living room as Megan and Sophie lead me to the kitchen. To my surprise, Zahara follows us, and now we all stand in the sticky, messy kitchen.
Students... so filthy.
A few guys play beer pong at the table (as they do at parties), and they all stop when Zahara enters. She winks and Jonathan, my ex-roommate, looks as if he’s about to burst.
I get it. When a hot goth chick winks your way, you drop everything and give her the attention she so obviously craves, but come on. It’s too much.
Sophie couldn’t pour me that rum and coke fast enough (anything to numb the sight of Jonathan ogling).
“What are you studying?” Megan asks the Unseelie girl, and Zahara peeks my way.
I wave my hand, telling her to think of something on the spot, then take a sip of my drink. We really should have thought this through.
“Erm... drama, obviously,” Zahara replies, smiling.
Megan nods and looks over at me curiously. ”I never knew you liked drama, Bryn.”
I sip my drink and shrug. “Well, you know... anything to forget about cow cunts.”
One of the guys playing beer pong chokes on his drink. I bet he never expected to hear an American girl be so blunt like his fellow British. The British just seem to love the C-word...
Megan and Sophie burst out laughing, and Zahara joins in too (though she probably just likes the C-word).
“Great idea. That lecture still gives me nightmares...” Megan shudders, helping herself to wine. She peers up at Zahara as the Unseelie girl takes a shot from Jonathan. “Where you from anyway? I don’t know the accent.”
Zahara gulps back her shot and turns cross-eyed. “I guess you could say I live in the mountains...”
Megan ponders a moment then shrugs. “I suppose you do sound a bit Welsh.”
She doesn’t but so long as Megan is convinced.
We go to the living room. My Mendacious roommates stand to a corner, looking lost as hell. Several girls give Jack the eye, while Damien holds his hook up to them in salute. They giggle and whisper amongst themselves.
It looks as if I wasn’t wrong about the impression that they would have on the female students. A sexy half-titan and a delicious half-demon would get any human girl’s pulse racing.
Felicity shoots the girls an evil dagger then clicks her fingers, and a spark of pink magic ignites.
The girls’ drinks splash up into their faces and they shriek in horror. But then they laugh and wipe their noses, and I stomp over to the pixie. “What are you doing? I said no magic!”
Felicity keeps her burning gaze on the girls as they still smile at Damien, and I palm my face.
I knew this would get out of hand. I really should have sat down and had a heart-to-heart with Felicity, but she’s already gotten way over her head.
She is only going to get her heart broken, and I don’t want to deal with her crying again. The sound hurts my soul.
Megan and Sophie introduce themselves to Nora, Thomas, and Jack, and I see Megan’s eyes dilate when she looks up at the titan.
The guy is a real specimen. I don’t blame her. But I can’t have my supernatural and non-supernatural friends intermingling too well. The results would be disastrous.
Zahara ambles over to another group of guys, and I just don’t have the strength to stop her anymore.
My main concern is Felicity tonight. She is definitely the one to look out for—the real black sheep of Mendacious.
Before long everyone has had a bit of beer. Some of my Mendacious roommates even have their first shots. Thomas and Nora lug theirs back and hiss in disgust, but Felicity can’t seem to get enough, and soon she’s begging for more.
She may look like a normal nineteen-year-old tonight, but she still has the stature of an eleven-year-old beneath the camouflage. If she keeps drinking at her current pace, she will end up in magical A&E.
At this rate, we won’t even make it to the party at the academy.
No. I can’t let that happen. I need to see the look on Matthew’s and Angelina’s faces when I turn up all badass with my beard and magical staff.
That�
��s when the real fun will begin.
So I end up spending the night looking after Felicity which is just shit. Why am I always the one to end up babysitting this bothersome pixie?
After her sixth shot, I tell her she has had enough, and she folds her arms and pouts.
Wow... just like the real Tinkerbell.
Her Captain Hook, meanwhile, talks to a pretty redhead who attends my classes at Bangor. And look... she’s dressed as Harley Quinn. Fantastic.
I try to block them from view with my pointy wizard hat and Gandalf stick, but Felicity still sees them.
It appears her camouflage makes her see at a taller eye level too as she looks on past my shoulder, and the hurt and betrayal flicker inside her big, round pools.
I’m a bit shocked by Damien tonight. Whereas he came across quiet, mysterious, and antisocial when I first met him, now he’s become a douche.
Another one living up to his costume tonight. Captain Hook was a pirate, and pretty damsels were his specialty.
The demon leans in close to Rachel (I think that’s her name), and now they kiss like the French.
A soft whimper comes from behind me but when I turn around, Felicity has already disappeared. My heart pounds and I whip my head back and forth, frantically searching for her.
Shit. Not good.
A crash and a yelp, and I whirl around to see that Rachel has fallen onto her perfect ass. Her baseball bat clatters beside her, and it’s just as well. She had it propped over her shoulder a moment ago, trying to act all cute like the real Harley, but she didn’t quite have the crazy flair. (Felicity definitely has the crazy flair).
Damien crouches to help her up, and I notice Rachel’s shoes have vanished. Not the left, but both shoes, and I narrow my eyes.
Felicity...
I spot those floating heels rushing out of the crowded room next, and I run after them.
The pixie can turn invisible. It’s a skill all imps have. Hence why they are so good at stealing household objects.