by L. V Russell
“Do you miss it, then?” he asked, not turning from the furious waves.
“Parts of it, the parts you showed me at least. Will you miss it?”
“I’ve never spent long outside Faerie. There’s always a pull to go back, and I’ve always listened to it. Fey get banished to your world as a punishment, so it’s harder for us to live here, there’s too much iron and not enough magic.” He paused, catching the look I couldn’t quite keep from my face. “I don’t see this as a punishment, Teya, that’s not what I meant…I just don’t understand how your world works.”
I remembered all the warnings he had given to me on our first meeting, how I would be torn apart by monsters in the woods, my soul cleaved from my body. Oh, how he had enjoyed tormenting me. I gave him a wicked smile.
“Just imagine everything here wants to kill you and you’ll be fine.”
“Ha ha,” he replied, “I warned you, and you still didn’t listen.”
Reaching up, I pressed my lips to his cheek. “Because you were just being a bastard, and you know it.”
His eyes lit up as he laughed. “You ignored me anyway.”
“And nearly got myself killed,” I said, shaking my head. “Come on, let’s go take a look at our seaside cottage.”
Old paint peeled away from the door, the lock stiff. Inside, dated wallpaper covered the walls, the embossed patterns stained a nicotine yellow. Greying net curtains hung limply from the windows, spots of mould creeping up the tattered lace.
Upon one wall, blocks of bright colours had been painted in neat squares, little tins of paint stacked up upon one counter. The whole place looked barely touched.
“It could be a lot worse,” I began, placing our bags onto the table before wandering into the living room. An inglenook stood at one end, a pile of old logs waiting in a tattered basket beside it. “Care to light a fire?”
“If we can get something to eat after,” Laphaniel replied, stuffing logs into the fireplace.
“You’re hungry already?” I asked, wondering how he could possibly want food so soon after spilling his guts up.
“Starving,”
Fire danced at his fingertips, sure and strong before catching the logs and setting them alight.
“I have some money left over from what I took from Niven,” I said, fumbling in my pocket. “and since we’re at the seaside, how about I treat you to fish and chips?”
“Let me clean up first,” Laphaniel answered, pulling his shirt off. “I won’t be long.”
I didn’t blame him for wanting to freshen up. Settling on the old sofa, I snuggled beneath a faded knitted throw and closed my eyes for a moment, drained from the car journey and the shock of crashing the car.
The sudden cold stirred me. Darkness settled in shrouds of shadow, and I knew I was no longer at the cottage. Standing up, I disturbed the dust that clung to everything. Candlelight flickered weakly in tainted holders, dripping wax onto the stone floor in puddles. The weak flame barely cast any light in the dark room.
Laphaniel lay asleep on the bed, and I moved over to join him, reaching out to brush the hair away from his face. I jerked back at the chill of his skin, my hand barely touching his cheek. His lips moved, and I bent low to hear what he was saying, flinching at the coldness swamping him. Something tickled against my cheek, and I recoiled back as the fat body of a spider pushed its way past his lips. The skin around his mouth cracked, peeling away to reveal white bone that crumbled as more and more spiders crawled from his lips.
They poured over the covers, scurrying over each other in a frantic dance, leaving nothing beneath the mouldering blankets but bone and the echo of death.
“Teya.” Laphaniel’s voice swept over me, sending the darkness and shadows back into hiding.
I forced my eyes open, fighting against the desperate sob clawing its way up my throat. I fell against him, his hand coming up to the back of my head, drawing me close.
“I closed my eyes for just a minute,” I began, breathless. “Only a minute.”
“I know,” he answered, smelling of soap and mint. “One day we will bargain away our nightmares and make a fortune.”
The nightmare slipped back into my subconscious, lying dormant, waiting. “Go finish getting dressed,” I said, trailing a hand over his still bare chest. “You’re very distracting looking like that.”
Laphaniel’s eyes lit up, the wickedness within him flaring to life as he moved closer. “How distracting?”
Leaning forwards, I kissed him, tasting his little moan that caressed my lips. “You completely muddle my thoughts until I can’t think straight.”
“Is that a bad thing?” he breathed back, deepening the kiss.
“No, it’s wonderful.”
He pushed against me, a hand sliding up against my waist as he kissed my neck, his teeth nipping the skin just below my collar bone.
“Laphaniel…”
“Hmmm?” His hand skimmed over my thigh, barely touching as I reluctantly pulled it away.
“Wait…”
“Why?” he murmured, clasping his fingers through mine. His mouth found my lips again, chasing away all reason.
“Because…” His tongue brushed against mine, and I dragged him closer, needing him…wanting him. “We don’t…”
“Don’t what?” The huskiness of his voice nearly undid me, rumbling over the hollow of my throat.
One hand slipped from my fingers, moving lower, brushing beneath my clothes, against my breast. It skimmed my side, soft and gentle, moving lower and lower.
“We don’t have…” I tried not to arch into him, drawing back before meeting his dark gaze. “If I end up pregnant…”
He let out a groan, head buried against my neck. “Oh.”
“Put a shirt on, and we’ll get some food,” I said, catching my breath “then we can nip to the shop. It’ll be like a date…something humans do.”
“I had you dancing to the trees and drinking wine made from moonlight. Did I not court you well?”
“You held me against my will.” I remembered all too well the strange coldness of that glowing wine, the crispness, the way I could almost taste the stars themselves.
“You didn’t want to leave.”
I closed my eyes at the memory. “No, but is there anything wrong with wanting something more…”
“Human?” Laphaniel finished for me, and I sensed the barest hint of uncertainty in his voice, a thread of vulnerability that rarely surfaced.
“Maybe, I don’t know,” I said quickly. “I long to dance under the trees until my feet can no longer hold me up, to fall asleep in your arms under the moonlight and carry on dancing when the sun rises again. I want that more than anything, but a part of me misses chips on the beach in the drizzle.”
“I sometimes forget how human you are,” he said, brushing a strand of hair from my face.
“Sometimes it’s easy to forget that you’re not.”
Laphaniel’s hand lingered against my cheek before he pulled away with a small smile. “Come on then, let’s go and get your soggy dinner.”
“Thank you.”
He smiled as he took my hand, and even though we had run away and were in hiding and the ever present threat of death hung above us, it was nice to laugh, and to walk in the rain, and eat chips on the beach in January.
Chapter Five
The wind had more than a little bite to it, with the winter sun unable to do anything but brighten the otherwise grey sky. The small collection of quaint shops and boutiques stood either side of a winding cobbled lane, leading away from our cottage down to a rustic harbour, where half beaten boats bobbed happily on the water.
The village was serene, a place where the pubs had real log fires and candle stubs on the cosy tables. Beside the charming pub stood a gift shop selling new-age type jewellery, all silver stars and crystals beneath a soft fog of incense smoke. I peered in, distracted by the twinkling fairy lights hanging from the shelves.
“See anything you l
ike?” Laphaniel said beside me.
“Why, are you planning on buying me something?”
“No.”
I elbowed him before I walked off.
“I believe I bought you once,” he called after me, humour rich in his voice.
“So romantic,” I replied, not caring to dwell on the memory of him, bargaining with the witch who had captured me. Slimy Soo had demanded a high price for me…a small fortune for a dying girl.
Laphaniel leaned against the shop front, his eyes flicking to a pair of girls that were staring at him as they walked past. I could see their cheeks redden as they caught his eye, and their steps quickened.
“Not really,” he said with a smile. “I was looking for a goat to fatten up.”
I gave a snort, shaking my head, “Well, I will always be grateful you chose me and not the livestock.”
“So am I.” The fairy lights caught the violet in his eyes, making them glimmer like star shine. “Though the goat smelled better.”
“Do you want anything from the shop?” I asked, laughing. “I’m just going to grab some tampons if you want to wait here?”
“Could you get some more bottled water? The water from the tap tastes wrong.”
I knew it was stupid to feel uncomfortable buying tampons around Laphaniel, but it just felt too human. I didn’t know how female fey bodies really worked, I had no one to ask. It had been mortifying enough to ask Laphaniel for supplies in Faerie.
I didn’t know if fey menstruated at all, if they bore children like a human woman would. They could lay eggs for all I knew, though I hoped to god they didn’t.
Inside the shop, I grabbed what I needed, along with a few chocolate bars simply because I missed them. Handing over what was nearly all my stolen money, I caught the date on the local newspaper.
January Twenty-sixth.
“What’s the matter?” Laphaniel asked after I joined him on the cobblestones, noting the look on my face.
“It’s my birthday today,” I replied, unsure how I felt about it.
Laphaniel gave me a quick kiss on the mouth, and as birthday presents went, it was by far the best. “I’ve got you a gift.”
I looked up at him, my eyes narrowing as he passed me a small black box. “You only found out it was my birthday ten seconds ago.”
“I didn’t intend it to be a birthday gift.”
“When did you get it?” I asked. “Did you just steal this when I was in the shop?”
There was a sudden, wonderful wickedness in his eyes as he shook his head. “I was given it.”
“In the five minutes I was gone, you managed to Glamour a poor shop assistant into giving you this?”
“She seemed happy to help.”
“She?”
Laphaniel cocked his head, a slow smile itching at his lips. “Jealous?”
“No,” I lied, not liking the thought of him bewitching anyone else, knowing how easy he was to fall in love with, how it started with the touch of Glamour, and the knowing smiles. I just wasn’t going to tell him that.
“Do you want me to go back and pay for it?” he asked, his tone sharpening.
“I don’t think they accept blood and nightmares.”
Laphaniel’s eyes narrowed as I snapped at him. “Shall I go find out for you? See if I can make her scream instead of smile?”
“I have money, you don’t have to use that here.” The word came out before I could stop it, and I regretted it instantly. “I didn’t mean…”
“That?” he repeated, mimicking the way I had said it, like it was a dirty word. “Glamour? Do you have endless riches in your bag I don’t know of then? Let me see.”
He snatched my purse from me before I could react, emptying the pitiful amount of money we had left into his hand.
“Give it back,” I hissed.
“How much is here?” Laphaniel demanded, shoving his hand towards me so a few coins fell to the ground. “Enough to buy food? What about wood for the fire? Did you buy matches or is my Glamour only okay when it’s for something you want?”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
“I don’t know what you meant, Teya,” he said, suddenly cold and distant. “Would you rather I was human? Is that it?”
“I’ve never once wished that.” I shook my head, grasping at words. “You enchanted me…literally, from the moment I first met you. Everything about you was wonderful and extraordinary and frightening, and I found it so easy to fall in love with you…too easy.” Stupid tears pricked at my eyes, and I bent to pick up the few coppers that had fallen, before snatching the crumpled note from Laphaniel’s hand. “I didn’t fall in love with a human boy.”
An awkward silence settled over us, neither of us willing to break the tension, both too stubborn to reach out. I didn’t mention the gift again, and Laphaniel had placed it into his pocket without a word.
“Let’s just go back,” I began, tightening my coat against the chill.
“I thought you wanted to get something to eat?”
A bitter laugh slipped past my lips. “I wanted to buy you dinner and sit on the beach. I wanted to show you a little of my world, even though it’s grey and damp and not magical in the slightest. Because you showed me yours.”
Laphaniel held out a hand. “Then show me.”
I glanced at his hand. “It is a grievous offence to yell at someone on their birthday over here. In some countries it is still punishable by death, did you know that?”
He cocked his head slightly as he tried to work out if I was lying or not. I would have fooled him if I was able to keep the smirk from my face. Grinning, I took his hand and pulled him close, knocking the shopping bag slightly, making it clink.
Laphaniel lifted the two bottles of spiced rum from the bag. “Teya Jenkins, did you steal these?”
I winced.
“You little hypocrite,” he said, though he seemed more impressed than anything.
“I stole those the old-fashioned way.”
“You have a skewed sense of morality, Teya,” Laphaniel said, rolling his eyes as we started to walk down to the seafront.
I bought us a bag of chips to share and a bottle of coke, which Laphaniel turned his nose up at. I drank half the bottle in one go, the taste both familiar and comforting.
The beach was deserted, the sea choppy and grey with waves crashing up the sand to leave a trail of seaweed behind. We wandered along the shoreline, allowing the icy spray to wash over our feet, meandering down to the tiny cove just beyond our cottage.
I sat between Laphaniel’s legs on the damp sand, the chips balancing on my lap as the sun finally broke through the grim sky, tearing the grey to reveal the bright blue beneath.
“Here.” I passed a bottle of rum to Laphaniel before opening my own. “I chose these because of the pirate on the front.”
Laphaniel’s laughter rumbled against my back. “Are you planning on getting wretchedly drunk on your birthday?”
“Would you stop me?”
“No,” he replied, clinking his bottle against mine. “It would be nice to forget about everything for a little while.”
I took a mouthful of rum, closing my eyes at the warmth sliding down my throat. I took another and another and another until the world began to dance around me, and everything became much softer…more bearable.
Laphaniel kept one arm around me, his fingers stroking back my hair as he quietened his demons with alcohol. He stayed there for a moment, just holding me, his head resting on my shoulder.
We lit a bonfire with pieces of driftwood, Laphaniel sparking it to life with a flick of his fingertips. I watched the flames lick at the broken wood, spitting and hissing as it crawled across the edges and turned them black. His fingers were still warm as I reached for them.
“How do you do it?” I asked, and he flicked his fingers again slowly, so little flames danced in his hand.
“Like that.”
“I wish I could do it.”
He t
ook my hand carefully, pushing my third finger and thumb together, twisting my hands ever so slightly, so he made me click my fingers. “Try that.”
I did as instructed, the lazy tone of his voice sending a shiver down my back that had nothing to do with the frigid wind.
Nothing happened, my fingers didn’t even make a decent clicking noise. Laphaniel held my hand tighter, leaning in to whisper in my ear.
“Again.”
I moved my fingers, his hand beneath mine, mimicking the exact gesture he had taught me only moments before. Flames instantly brushed against my skin, nestled between both our hands, burning but at the same time, not.
Warmth flowed over my skin, and I knew that if Laphaniel slipped, even a fraction, I would burn.
“Don’t set me on fire.” I laughed, amazed at the feel of his Glamour in my hands.
“I could always toss you in the sea if I did,” he replied.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
I was up over his shoulder before I could make another sound, his eyes flashing with pure impishness as I struggled against him, squealing at the sudden icy spray of the sea as he ran towards the water.
“Laphaniel! Put me down.” I clawed at his back, while the water crashed against him. “No! Don’t put me down.”
I slipped closer to the water, his hands tightening when he staggered slightly.
“I thought you wanted to get down.”
“Not here.” I tried to clamber back up him, but he was as unsteady as I was. I managed to overbalance him further, and we both plunged beneath the frigid water.
Laphaniel dragged me back up coughing and spluttering, the saltwater burning in my throat. I shivered instantly; the weight of my sodden jeans dragged down my legs. I yanked them up, but the waves crashed against me, and they slipped down again.
“It’s freezing!” I yelled at him, noticing he was trembling too, but only because he was laughing at me with deep breathless gasps.
Seeing him laugh like that awoke something deep within me, I couldn’t remember a time when we had both laughed so freely. I never wanted it to end.
With a manic glee, I shoved him hard, watching as he stumbled back, unable to catch himself, so he crashed back under the water.