Page 9 of Buzz Kill (Smoke & Mirrors Tavern #7)
Chapter nine
DECLAN
Was I taking advantage of the situation? Yes. Yes, I was. Was I also secretly thrilled by the stoic elf’s ridiculously indulgent behavior toward me? Undoubtedly. I couldn’t help but want to push those boundaries and see how much he would let me get away with. Elves were not known for this kind of tolerant behavior, and the fact that he hadn’t yet threatened to remove my wandering fingers was honestly surprising.
I’d been dragged along on my family’s visits to Faerie enough times to know the drill. The lower fae, satyrs, sprites, nymphs, clurichauns, those guys knew how to party. But the elves who ruled the lands were a cold people. Beautiful, regal, proper and strong, but definitely not the cuddly type.
I’d never once seen an elf couple act in any way affectionately toward each other. More often than not, their pairings were the results of contracts and arrangements, but even so you had to imagine they got along well enough to sire heirs. And yet, there was no holding hands, or hugging their children, at least not in public. So this kind of overwhelming affection was probably not something Alwin was used to. Though I was positive he’d had relations in his hundred or so years, he didn’t strike me as the ‘spend the night’ type.
To be fair, I wasn’t the ‘spend the night’ type myself. After growing up in a house like mine, I was especially sensitive to false claims of affection. Whispered words in the heat of the moment, declarations of love or desire. To be honest, it all made me cringe. But I couldn’t seem to get enough of this elf who’d probably never uttered such words in his life. In fact, I was surprised by how much I didn’t hate affection at all when it came to him.
With a sleepy sigh, I snuggled a little closer, sliding one leg between his thighs and slipping my hands just a little further under his tunic and protective leather gear. Once I was blissfully warm and completely surrounded by the beautiful elf. I easily drifted off to sleep.
When morning came, Rith woke us with the noise he was making outside the tent before the cold had fully faded. Alwin extracted himself from my grasp and I followed him out of the tent to check on the little guy. It turned out he was dragging what was presumably one of the night beasts back to camp. The thing was half charred, as if it had been electrocuted.
“What the hell? Did he kill that thing?”
“It appears so,” Alwin answered.
The beast had a thick fur over a leathery hide that Rith sliced past with his claws, producing a handful of half-cooked meat that he then walked over and plopped in my hand before I could refuse.
“Oh gods,” I blurted. “Uh, thank you, Rith. That’s… very generous of you.”
“Humans should not consume undercooked meat,” Alwin warned.
“Yeah, I get that, but he’s kinda watching me expectantly and looking all proud of himself. Maybe it’ll be okay if I just choke down a little piece of the charred part?”
“No. I will start a fire.”
“Is that safe? I assumed we were freezing to death every night because a fire would attract things.”
“It would not be safe at night, but we will be moving on from this spot shortly. It should be fine.”
He quickly got a fire started and set up the meat to cook before packing up the tent. Rith poked at the cooking beast a few times, and muttered a few things inquiringly, but when the smell started to drift over, he stopped asking questions. Clearly he didn’t usually bother using fire this way.
Several of the insect lizards seemed drawn to the fire, but Rith stabbed them and tossed them away before they could get close. It seemed he wasn’t especially interested in eating those when he had a weird ass boar-bear thing cooking.
When the meat was cooked to Alwin’s liking, he divided up portions of it. The beast was big and there was no way we were going to manage to eat all of it, but whatever creatures came to check out the smells and smoke would end up having a pretty good day. Rith stuffed himself full of the cooked meat and even wrapped up more in a piece of leather to take with him while Al put out the fire and disposed of the beast’s remains.
Once our camp was cleared away, Alwin pulled out the notebook from the day before and tapped the river on the map.
“Take us here.”
Rith made a face and tapped the giant fish again, then gestured to me. He said something to Alwin that I imagined was something along the lines of ‘this one can’t even protect himself from a lizard,’ so clearly it was common knowledge that I was the weak link here.
There was no point in protesting the obvious, but while I didn’t usually bother with things like shame these days, it did bother me that I was doing nothing but dragging Alwin down after I’d trapped him here. With me and the artifact here with him, I’d figured there was a good chance at getting us back out. Gateways typically worked both ways. But as long as that artifact was depleted, I was nothing but dead weight. He probably regretted ever getting involved with me.
Alwin shook his head. “It is true he is not a fighter, but he is smart and adept at surviving, much like yourself.”
Al seemed to realize the demon didn’t get any of that. While Rith didn’t really understand me either, he was good at picking up on things in my tone. Alwin’s tone was even and composed no matter what he was discussing, and it left the demon staring at him blankly.
“I appreciate the vote of confidence, Al, but I don’t think he got that.”
“If anything attacks, I will kill it,” he said instead, once again with the same even tone.
Rith remained silent, giving a simple shake of his head and looking at me to translate.
Alwin drew his blade a few inches as if to remind the child he was armed, and Rith shuffled back a step at the unexpected action.
“Okay!” I cut in, pushing the blade back into its sheathe. “And now he thinks you’re going to attack him. Look,” I tapped the fish in the drawing. “If that thing attacks, he’ll protect me.” I wrapped Alwin’s free arm around myself and pointed at his sword.
The demon’s eyebrows lifted, and he said something else, his voice raising at the end in question. He looked to Alwin for the answer and the elf held me tighter and dipped his chin in acknowledgement. Rith’s eyes darted between us a few times before drifting to a spot on the ground. It took me a second to realize it was where Al and I had slept the night before. Rith’s eyes widened and his already reddish cheeks seemed to get a little darker.
“Oops,” I murmured. Now I felt kinda bad for snuggling up to Al so brazenly while the demon child was present. But in my defense, it was really cold and we were fully dressed. Nothing actually inappropriate happened, but this kid seemed to have jumped to the conclusion that we were a couple.
Yes,“ Al agreed. “It seems he’s never seen a demon protect anyone but their mate. My willingness to protect you has led him to believe we are mated.”
Rith refused to meet our eyes again, but he muttered something and gestured for us to follow. Apparently, as long as he believed Alwin was my mate, he was willing to show us the way to the river. Did that mean he didn’t want to see me hurt if Al hadn’t been willing to protect me? That was kind of sweet. It was probably only because I’d kept Al from killing him and gave him my food bar, but still. It almost felt like I had two people on my side and that was something I’d never had before. Just thinking about it left a strange ache in my chest and I rubbed at the odd pain as we started walking.
Rith led us through the desert for a long time before signs of life started appearing. The occasional cactus-like desert plant dotted the ground, and eventually the sand became a hard clay. It was a while longer before shades of green started appearing, much darker than the colors in the human world. Deep evergreen grass and thick trees told us we must be getting close to the river.
Alwin pulled me closer as we entered the wooded area. “Stay close, I am not familiar with the plant life in this world.”
“Trust me, I have no intention of leaving your side.”
Rith motioned for us to be quiet and he crept forward through the trees. He seemed to be going around something, but I didn’t see whatever it was that had him on guard. Al took my hand as he followed silently after Rith. In response to my inquisitive look, he finally pointed out the massive bird hiding in the branches of one of the trees ahead.
Holy shit! Its leathery skin and feathers blended in with the trees a little too well, but that thing was a damn pterodactyl. It was massive. And based on the razor-sharp beak and talons, it would have no problem making us its next meal. Alwin squeezed my hand and pulled me along, pointing out the next threat, and then another, until I was starting to see why Rith had retreated to the desert.
We finally made it to the river, but our journey wasn’t done. Rith wouldn’t approach areas that were too out in the open or any places where other animals were drinking. Instead, we followed the tree line for a long time until we reached a less friendly area where the water rushed rapidly over jagged rocks. A cliff was up ahead and the sound of water crashing reminded me a little too much of the last time I’d gotten caught up in a current like this. That hadn’t been my favorite experience, but it had nothing on what the sharp, jagged rocks here could do to a human body.
“Guess it’s a good thing I wasn’t planning on going for a swim.”
“The water here is dangerous,” Alwin confirmed. “But that is why other demons and animals would prefer the calmer parts. We are less likely to run into anything here.”
“He’s a smart kid.”
“I will set up the shelter here and then we can start a fire to boil water for drinking and bathing.”
After all that walking in the desert for two days, I had sand coating every inch of me and I would have given my first born for a bath. But that was not the kind of joke you made around the fae, so I held my tongue for once.
“What can I do to help?” I asked instead. “Do we have a way to gather water?”
Rith wandered off again, but he’d already proven he could take care of himself, so we didn’t question it. He was probably hunting for more bugs to eat or looking for a place to take a leak. But while Rith got the benefit of the doubt, I was a different story.
“I will handle it. Do not forget there are dangerous things in the water.”
“Even here? I can’t imagine anything would survive being raked over those rocks.”
“That includes you. Stay here and keep an eye out for wildlife. We have no choice but to start a fire and hope it doesn’t attract anything too dangerous.”
By the time Al was done lecturing me, the tent was set up and he was pulling items out of one of his larger spelled bags. This one’s opening expanded a couple of feet and he reached an arm inside, pulling out a pail and then a larger oblong basin that I assumed we were meant to bathe in. It would be a tight squeeze for a grown man to sit in, but I certainly wasn’t going to turn it down.
Alwin set the basin on the other side of the shelter to give it some semblance of privacy, then started a fire before going to fetch water. Once the water boiled, it was divided between Alwin’s canteens, storage bottles, and the bathtub. We drank our fill, but Rith still hadn’t returned.
“Should we be worried?”
“If he has not returned by the time you are done with your bath, I will go looking for him.”
Alwin handed me a bag of the items he’d given me the night before. It held a toothbrush and brushing powder, soap, a washcloth and a thin but absorbent towel. The washcloth and towel had charms woven in that cleaned and dried them after use, Alwin truly had thought of everything.
“You must have traveled a lot to be this prepared for anything.”
“Before Aiden was born, I spent most of my time away from home. I explored many less travelled parts of Faerie, aiding lost travelers, taking on jobs for various courts, and making alliances along the way.”
“Why did you decide to leave home?” I asked as I stripped and sank into the water on the other side of the tent.
Alwin was quiet for a moment, like he hadn’t expected me to keep conversing while I was bathing. It wasn’t like he didn’t know I was right there, though. What was the point in pretending there was anything more than a few feet and a piece of fabric between us?
“I was raised in a high station within our court, but I was not royalty. My position afforded me opportunities to serve directly with the royal guards, and unlike that of the highborn, my training was not for show. Our court had two particularly skilled fighters but when my skills eventually surpassed theirs, they encouraged me to seek out the sword master that trained them. There was no reason for me to stay. I trained with several skilled warriors during those years. Several of those masters were wanderers, seeking solitude after many years of service, and I learned to live off the land while studying with them. Others belonged to various courts that allowed me to temporarily serve in their armies while I trained. I lived that way for a very long time before my mother called me home. That was when I took in Aiden, so I stopped traveling and started a small court of my own. Many courts had become familiar with my name and my skills during those years which is why they often seek to merge with my court. While we are a small court, they are aware that my skills would be valuable to any army.”
I bit my lip to hold back a smile. Alwin wasn’t bragging, what he stated was a fact. He wasn’t exactly humble, but he wasn’t being arrogant in the slightest. If Alwin said his skills impressed half the courts in Faerie, then that was just how it was. He was the exact opposite of me in every way.
“Your parents must be proud,” I commented a little sarcastically.
“Quite the opposite. My father died when I was very young, I never knew him well. My mother, however, was a bit of an opportunist and she sought the shelter of larger courts by befriending whoever would offer her the highest position within their court. Her methods worked, but as a result I felt little loyalty to the courts she aligned herself with and while I became a useful asset to her when I was older, I refused to allow her to use me as a bargaining tool and I left to pursue my training. We didn’t speak for over a hundred years when she suddenly called me back.”
“And she only called you back to ask you to take in Aiden?”
“That would have been forgivable. She asked me to dispose of him. Calling in a healer or someone who could end her pregnancy would have been noticed by the head of the court. No one came or went without their knowledge and the in-court healer was loyal to their queen, they would never have kept her dark secret. So she hid the pregnancy and called me back to make her mistake disappear. A visit from her son would be the only thing no one would question.”
“Was it really that big of a deal that she had a kid? You elves sure have some old fashioned ideals.”
“The issue was not the pregnancy, but that she’d bred with a human servant. Elves are not accepting of mixed blood and that she’d sired a half-human child would forever be a mark on her reputation. Her high station would be lost. The only way to preserve her status was to get rid of Aiden and pretend he’d never existed. But I became a disappointment once again when I refused to kill my brother.
“After I confronted my mother and found out what happened, I took Aiden away and started my own court. I took in a few loyal servants I’d previously encountered during time training with other courts and since we were too small to have an army, I trained them to defend themselves and our court. It was only a few years before the challenges started. We hadn’t made any enemies in that time, so I can only assume that was when my mother found us and tried to have us taken out by larger courts. Her efforts failed each time, but it took quite a while before word got around that we were not a court to be taken on so easily. Eventually it became harder for her to find a court willing to attack us and our battles became less frequent. I believe she gave up when Aiden moved to the human world. Or perhaps she no longer has the influence needed to send anyone else after us. Either way, she is certainly not proud. I too, am a disappointment to my family.”
I knew Al had raised his brother, and I knew how elves looked at half-bloods, but never in a million years had I imagined that was how it all went down. Alwin was like the model elf. He was flawless in every way, untouchably beautiful, elegant, and lethal. A graceful warrior, the ideal elf. To think even he had disappointed his family, and for doing the right thing no less, was for some reason infuriating.
“Geez, I thought I drew the short straw when it came to moms, but yours might have mine beat.”
“Your mother was not in any of your dreams, did she treat you the same way your father did?”
“Not when I was young. I think at first she didn’t really know what to do with me and they assumed my dad’s methods would work eventually. It wasn’t until I was around thirteen that my mother got involved. Her demon is a succubus. I don’t think I need to tell you how they tried to get me to use my magic. It worked too, the first time anyway. That was when I ran away and got the spells tattooed on my hands. After that, as long as I could touch her or myself, I could nullify her magic without actually casting anything myself. That was why my dad was so pissed. It was pretty much the first and last time anything they’d tried actually worked.”
“But it does not work on all magic?”
He’d seen my dreams so there was no sense in lying, but exposing a weakness just wasn’t something you did in the Prescott family. Still, Al already knew I was nothing but weaknesses, so why stop now?
“It’s a strong spell, but my dad’s magic can get past it when he ties my hands down because he has excellent control and can keep his magic from ever touching my hands. If I can’t directly touch the magic with my hands, I can’t dispel it. And obviously Acacia’s demon can get past it, too.”
“He is the epiales demon?”
“Yeah. When I’m not aware of the fact that I’m dreaming, I don’t even remember I have the ability. If he does pull from a memory after I got the tattoos, it’s like the one you saw where I couldn’t use the spell. During those nightmares, I’m not conscious of the fact that I should try it, anyway.”
I finished washing up and dragged myself out of the water. The water in the fae world was slightly different from the human world, it took on a strange crystalline glimmer, like the water itself was touched by magic. Here the water was closer to what I was used to, but it almost felt heavier. It wasn’t thick, still definitely a liquid, but when I scooped it into my hands, it wasn’t quite the same.
I stood, and the drops of water clung to my skin strangely before streaming down to the ground. Quickly patting myself dry, I pulled my boxers and pants back on and sighed. I’d shaken the sand out, but what I wouldn’t give for some clean clothes. Seeing as it was my fault we were in this mess, I couldn’t exactly complain.
When I circled the tent, Al was working on the glamours again. Every spare moment he was tinkering with those things, but even I could tell the magic here was harder to use than the natural magic in Faerie, or even the limited magic in the human world. Alwin’s world was abundant with the stuff and elves used it all the time. While this place certainly had natural magic, it was resistant to being manipulated. Not impossible, just significantly more difficult. And because elves wove such intricate magic in the first place, Al couldn’t be having an easy time with those glamours. And yet… it wasn’t like I could offer to help.
“Why don’t I take a look around for Rith while you’re working?”
Alwin’s eyes finally lifted and he paused when he saw me walking around half naked, his gaze lingering on the black marks marring my skin for a moment before he responded. “That would not be safe.”
He had questions for sure, but he wasn’t pushing the issue for the moment. That was fine by me, it wasn’t an easy thing to talk about. I pulled my shirt back on with a grimace, but it was better than leaving my tattoos exposed and inviting questions I didn’t want to answer right now.
“As soon as I have completed the glamours, I will find a town to purchase clothes and supplies. I have a few spare garments, but I don’t believe my clothes would fit you.”
“We don’t even know what kind of money they use here,” I pointed out.
“I have items I can sell or trade. It should not be an issue.”
He tucked away the charms, but before we could go look for Rith, something started moving in the trees, snapping branches and moving slowly but steadily closer. Whatever it was sounded big and Alwin grabbed my arm, pushing me toward the tent.
“It reeks of blood. Stay hidden until I come for you,” he whispered.
“Why don’t you hide with me?”
“It’s likely sensed our presence by now. If it found no one, it would keep searching until it discovered the shelter. Go now.”
Knowing I would only be a hinderance, I did as he asked and ducked inside the tent, but I immediately found a spot between two anchors where I could peek out. My angle wasn’t the greatest, but it only took a moment before something huge and furry and covered in blood flashed across my vision. A moment later, the anchor to the tent was yanked away and I fell back on my ass, startled by the demon hovering only inches away.