City In Embers

by Stacey Marie Brown

  I’d been trained to treat them as creatures and beasts, to see past the human form some portrayed. They were not sweet fairies but threats to humans. Very few people could see through fae glamour. Fae come in all shape and sizes. Some created animal illusions like rats or mice to hide in plain sight. Some had human forms. Some were shape-shifters. But there was something making them different from humans—eyes, hair, horns, something that would tip me off. Most of the time it was their aura. Fae auras are extremely different than those produced by humans. Humans have a simple mix of colors. Fae not only glinted with magic but were substantial in heaviness, and they released colors and energies not existing here on Earth. When I first started, it took me more than six months for my eyes to get used to experiencing their images and understanding them.

  “Kate would like your brief on the collected on her desk tomorrow.” The doctor clasped his hands and leaned back in the chair. His dark skin contrasted with his white lab coat. He was in his mid-fifties with silver-white hair and hazel eyes. He was lean and tall and looked to be in good shape, but I knew he probably didn’t own a pair of running shoes. He practically lived at DMG. He had to. There was not one time I came in he wasn’t here, usually in his lab, testing and studying.

  “Of course.” Daniel nodded, which made me smile. He knew I hated doing the reports on our collections. He usually gave in and did them. His excuse was I already had enough papers to write for my college classes, and I should focus on those. I understood he did the reports to limit my stress so I could get an extra hour of sleep. I studied his profile as he continued to talk with Dr. Rapava. My heart twisted in my chest when his eyes flickered to mine, feeling my stare.

  “Check with Kate before you go.” Dr. Rapava dismissed us. He was efficient and to the point. He didn’t dally or make small talk.

  Kate, on the other hand, liked to chat.

  Both Daniel and I groaned as we stepped out of the doctor’s office into the hallway. It had to be nearing dawn.

  Kate Grier was also in her fifties. She had gorgeous long snow-white hair and sparkling brown eyes. She was short and more on the round, curvy side. In personality she was Dr. Rapava’s contrast. She was a brilliant scientist, but when she was out from behind her microscope, she was flighty and hyper, like the absentminded professor on espresso shots. She was often getting distracted mid-sentence and constantly losing things, like her reading glasses, which were usually on her head. She was sweet, but sometimes I wanted her and Dr. Rapava to take notes from each other. He could stand to relax, and she could get to the point quicker, especially at four in the morning.

  As we walked down the hall to her office, a man called from behind. “It’s the Daniels.” Only one person seemed to take pleasure joking about my last name and his first. With a sigh, Daniel and I both swiveled to face him. Liam and Sera stood down the hall. They were another collector team. Liam seemed to have some kind of complex and thought of Daniel as a threat. Liam was constantly trying to one-up us or brag about their collection of the night. You know—those people who have to be the best and try to outdo everyone else? That was him, and Sera was even worse, instigating Liam’s teasing. They had to let everyone know they were better and faster than the rest of us.

  “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. How did your night go? We collected two fae tonight.” Liam tried for a good-natured smile but fell short. He was African American and in his early thirties. Fit, trim, tall, and looked like he should play for the NBA. He spent five years in the military before he came here. He kept his hair close to his scalp and wore the tightest T-shirts known to man. He had an incredible body, and he did not shy away from showing it off.

  Sera was in her mid-twenties and barely reached the middle of his chest. She said her ancestry was Siamese (now called Thai), but she was born in America and raised here in Seattle. She was petite with dark hair and almond-shaped eyes, pretty but cold and unfriendly. I knew if I were as small-boned as her, they would have teased me about it. But any negatives they found in other people were pluses for them. She could get in and out of tiny places and surprise fae when she took it down. My developed frame was a hindrance. Daniel’s and my age difference was also a constant target for them as I was the youngest seer, and Daniel was one of the oldest hunters.

  There were currently eight of us. There used to be more, but not all came back after the last group hunt. We were paired off: Daniel and me, Liam and Sera, Hugo and Marv, Peter and Matt. Each pair had one with the sight, a seer, and one with military training, a hunter. We were called the collectors.

  Marv and Matt had the sight, but Sera and I were the dominant seers. Women and children tended to be stronger and more open to the sight, but Sera and I possessed above normal sensitivity. Because of this, we were usually the ones they called on to work.

  “We got our job done, Liam.” Daniel was not one to brag. Secretly Daniel wanted to punch Liam most of the time, but he never let it show and never gave in to their taunts.

  On the other hand, I had trouble disguising my dislike for them. My fists clenched at my sides, begging to be introduced to their faces. Daniel’s hand lightly touched my back, trying to ground me. It wasn’t working. These two seemed to trigger my well-buried violent nature.

  “Looks like it.” Sera smirked as she nodded toward my swollen lip and ripped jeans. Her meaning was clear. She was evidently too good to get beat up by a fae, but I wasn’t.

  Daniel’s hand pressed harder into my back as my body grew tight with anger. Liam’s brown eyes glinted when he watched me tense up.

  “Think the kid needs a timeout. Did she miss her nap today?” Liam smiled, his perfect teeth shining under the fluorescent lights.

  My foot only took one step toward them when Daniel grabbed me around the waist, spinning me to face the opposite way. “We have to check in with Kate. We’ll see you guys later.”

  Laughter broke out as Daniel forcibly guided me toward Kate’s office.

  “Why do you let them get to you?” Daniel spoke low as we turned the corner of the extensive underground headquarters. I’d yet to find the end, or maybe the beginning, of this building. It looked like how you would picture a secret government building: no windows, fluorescent-lined hallways, and offices with cheap linoleum flooring and stark white walls. The only areas where I forgot it was deep underground were either in the training room or the cafeteria. That was only because my mind was solely on kicking ass or getting mine handed to me or food.

  “How do you not?” I growled.

  He took a breath. “Zoey, you need to learn more control. You cannot go off and hit people, especially coworkers, because they upset you.”

  “Why not?” I snorted.

  Daniel’s head slanted to the side. “Because there are rules. They are not our enemy.”

  “Could’ve fooled me.”

  “We need to save our energy for the real threats.” His voice constricted in an odd twinge. I stared at him, but he kept his eyes forward.

  “Well, I think it would do Sera some good to show her what ‘the kid’ can do.” My lips curved up in a smile as I imagined kicking the shit out of her. She was excellently trained in karate and other forms of combat, but she didn’t grow up on the streets. I could take her.

  Daniel opened the door for me, his free hand still on my lower back, and ushered me into the office. His touch was the only thing leveling out my temper, but it accelerated my heartbeat.

  “Daniel... Zoey!” Kate sat on the floor, books and notes spilling from the cupboard and fanning out on her lap and the linoleum. “I was looking for the notes on the specimen you caught back in November. He has similar qualities to the one you got tonight... or so I thought. Can’t seem to find the paperwork.”

  Daniel breathed in. “You are looking at November from three years ago.” He pointed to the binder label, displaying the month and year.

  “Right.” She waved her hand. “Silly me. Now where is last year?” Her head went into the cupboard, knocking more
binders onto the floor. She hummed as she searched, seeming to forget we were in the room.

  My shoulders drooped in frustration, my lids growing heavier. The struggle to keep them open and maintain my patience was getting harder. Daniel sensed my weariness and touched my arm in compassion.

  “Kate? Dr. Rapava said to check in with you before we left,” Daniel said, reminding her we were there.

  “What?” A thud rammed the shelves. “Ow.” She sat back, rubbing her head.

  “Kate.” Daniel’s tone was firm.

  “Oh, right...” She turned to us, her hand still on her head. “I only wanted to let you know we’ve been getting a lot of calls about fae being spotted around Belltown. The activity has tripled near there. Olympia also has had a rise in sightings. We feel something is happening. Have your phones close. You will be on call and need to be ready to go on a moment’s notice until we figure out what is going on to stir up these goings-on.”

  We were pretty much always on call, but it had worked out I could continue school and take care of Lexie. Her latest test results had detected something in her blood. The entire next week was filled with doctors’ appointments and tests, and I was the only one to get her there.

  Daniel’s fingers clutched my wrist comfortingly. He was the only one who knew what I went through on a daily basis. He caught my gaze, his expression telling me, Don’t worry. We’ll work it out.

  Kate had already returned to searching her cabinet. We let ourselves out and traveled up to the surface. Luminosity loomed at the edge of the horizon, highlighting the east and flushing Mt. Rainier in a soft glow. It had been a long night. I already felt dirty and exhausted, and the day was only beginning.

  Daniel pulled to the front of my house. Okay, house was an exaggeration. It was a mobile home with a chipped, feeble, white picket fence and a tiny AstroTurf lawn, things that made sure you knew this was the closest you were going to get to the “American dream.”

  My neighborhood was one step above being called a ghetto, and his car was like a parade float going down an empty street. The pristine BMW screamed to be carjacked, stripped, and sold for parts. It had taken a while to let Daniel see where I lived—part embarrassed and part wanting to keep my two lives separate. Having him enter my reality felt wrong. Nothing about him fit here. I’d been raised most of my life in rundown environments. His world was across town in a high-rise condo. My origins might be poor, but I wanted nothing more than to escape the chains keeping me here and soar to his world in the sky.

  “I know later this week you have to take Lexie to her doctors’ appointments.” The car idled silently. “If we get a call, we’ll make it work. She’s your first priority.” He looked at me. “Okay?”

  It was a beat before I nodded. “Okay.”

  “Now, get your butt in the house and get some sleep.” He smiled.

  I opened the car door, sliding out of my seat. “Good... night?” The rise of the sun taunted this term.

  “Good night, Zoey.” The words were simple enough, but there was something behind his expression that gave me pause. I couldn’t quite decipher it, but it caused my heart to pound. I shut the passenger door and went straight for the front door, giving him a last wave before he pulled away.

  Entering the small two-bedroom, one-bath house, the familiar odors of stale cigarette smoke, flat beer, and coffee hit me. Jo usually went outside to smoke, depending on how drunk she was. The TV flickered in the dark living room. Jo was passed out in her recliner chair, where she normally slept. She worked the night shift as a fish deliverer. She would pick up the fresh fish, pack them in ice, and truck the load to different locations around town before the markets opened around 4 a.m. On her days off, she had trouble sleeping and usually drank and watched infomercials till she passed out.

  My gaze rested on Jo. Her frizzy gray hair stuck out of her ponytail like it had been electrocuted. Her face was square shaped and creased with wrinkles. One look told you she had a hard life. Joanna Wilcox was not a warm fuzzy or that nice, but compared to some of the foster situations I’d been in, she was all right. She never laid a hand on me. She yelled a lot, but I could tune out her hurtful words. To make ends meet and probably in hopes someone would fetch her beer out of the refrigerator, she took in foster kids. Several had passed through the doors, but Lexie and I were the only ones who stayed. I had no doubt I would have been one of those kids who ran away thinking life would be better on my own, but Lexie ended any notion I held about leaving. Our bond was instant, and my internal need to take care of her kept me here—even after I turned eighteen.

  Lexie was four and I was thirteen when Jo took Lexie in. I’d been with Jo less than six months. Lexie brought in extra cash because she was born with a disability confining her to a wheelchair. Her mother had been a druggie and had Lexie out of wedlock. Lexie had been left at a gas station at the age of one, probably right after the mother learned there was a reason her daughter had yet to crawl.

  At twelve, Lexie already had a tough life. I tried to do whatever I could to make it easier for her. I became her mother, her sister, her best friend. I took her to school, made her lunch, and got her to medical appointments.

  Walking to Jo, I picked up the blanket off the floor and covered her. She grumbled and shifted to face the other way. I actually felt like the mother to both. Trapped. Even though I was old enough to live on my own, I wouldn’t leave Lexie, and I couldn’t afford to take her with me yet. So I stayed. And because I brought in money, Jo let me.

  With a sigh, I collected Jo’s empty beer cans and the TV dinner off the floor next to her chair and walked to the kitchen, throwing them in the trash. The microwave clock read 5:23. Ugh. I only had an hour before I needed to wake Lexie for school. Since she turned a preteen, it felt like my mission was to get her up and out the door on time. Sleep was probably not in my cards. I flipped on the coffee maker and decided on a shower while I waited for the caffeine I desperately needed. Tiptoeing into the room Lexie and I shared, I crept to my dresser.

  “You just getting home?” Lexie’s sleepy voice drifted from her bed.

  I whipped around. “Sorry. Did I wake you?”

  Lexie shook her head as I treaded to her small twin bed and sat.

  “What happened to your mouth?” She glanced at my face.

  “Oh, boxing class.” I waved my hand, disregarding my swollen cut lip. Cuts and bruises were easy to explain. People tended to use their hands or a weapon instead of words in this neighborhood. I never wanted Lexie to think violent behavior was right, so I said the wounds were from my self-defense classes. I didn’t want her to think it was okay for anyone to hit her. If you got hurt when learning to defend and stand up for yourself, it was different.

  “I was worried. Why were you out so late?” She sat up, rubbing her eyes. Then her hands dropped to her lap. “Oh... ohhhh!”

  My head moved back and forth. “No. It wasn’t like that. Daniel and I had to work.”

  “Work... right.” She smirked. No one knew exactly what I did. Keeping the fae secret was a big part of our job. The government wanted to keep the public ignorant of the threats surrounding them daily. They felt the mass hysteria caused by people knowing would stop the world in its tracks. Sometimes it was cool to think of myself as a secret agent, and other times it got exhausting keeping the lies straight. Jo and Lexie thought I worked as an organ transplant coordinator, matching and delivering fresh organs to patients in need. It made a good cover why I needed to go at a moment’s notice at any time of the night and day. Lexie had met Daniel a couple times when he picked me up. Of course, she thought he was old, but loved teasing me about my crush on him. She assumed most of the time we went to an office and squabbled over who got which organ.

  If only.

  “Believe me, I wish it could be more.” I ruffled the mass of coarse dark curls hanging past her shoulders. Lexie was half African American and half Puerto Rican. She was stunning with huge eyes, dark creamy skin, and the mop of wavy hair. Her
face was like an angel. It wasn’t till you glanced below her waist the illusion broke. Her legs were like grotesque, twisted tree branches. Lifeless and dead. Kids at her school had a hard time dealing with the contrast. She kept a blanket over her legs when she could, but her wheelchair could not be hidden. School was a harsh place, even when you didn’t have obvious disabilities. Her guarded, tough nature also kept people away. Neither of us was any good at making or keeping friends. She had a few she hung with, but they weren’t close. She never went to their houses, and she would never invite them here.

  Being a foster kid, you learned to depend on yourself and not need anyone because most likely the person would disappoint or eventually leave. In my case, get rid of me. There were only two people I let in—Lexie and Daniel. She had been young enough to accept my love and help, but I was the only one. We were tough to the outside world. But in this room, we could let our guards down.

  “I think you should go down on him at one of these all-night meetings. That would get his attention and definitely change his mind.”

  “Lexie!”

  “What? You think I don’t know about that stuff?” She shrugged. “Oh, right. You’ve gotten all prim and uppity now with your new fancy job and a classy man to try and impress.”

  “Uppity?”

  Lexie leaned her back against the wall. “You used to say things like sucking dick and coming. Now you’re too proper.”

  “Lexie, I’m not proper. I simply don’t think you should be saying those things. Not at your age.”

  “You did.”

  “Yeah, but don’t follow in my footsteps. Be better.”

  Her lids narrowed, studying me. “Someday I will escape this hellhole and won’t look back.”

  “I hope so.” I rubbed the blanket over her legs.

  “And I’m not a kid anymore. I know more than you think I do.”