Page 106 of Touched

What are we about to find?

The dark energy emitting from…everywhereconsumes me. It’s so heavy, the air is oppressive.

Before we can move forward, a tall, inhumanly slender female with sharply defined features and almost knife-like pointed ears steps from the shadows and thick smoke. Instinctively stepping back, I throw my arm out to prevent Aeris from passing me. It's a FaeDorcha—the Dark Fae. I recognize her features from my studies of the book Grams gave us. Elongated, warped face and innately, almost inhumanly thin build. And the undeniable aura of negative energy.

But there's somethingdifferentabout this one. Her rancid breath wafts toward me, almost enshrouding me, smelling of rotting flesh… and death. It's almost unbearable. Bile rises in my throat, and I desperately try to push it down.

"I can smell you and your little army of frail fairies…” Her nose wrinkles, causing deep lines to form in her long, drawn-out, demonic face. Disgust practically oozes from her pores as she disdainfully says, “Is that the stench ofSylphthat I smell?" She sneers, flashing her blood-stained teeth at us and snickering to herself. Her long cloak, adorned with black feathers, flaps behind her as she whirls, walking away, leaving us standing there.

What the…

What is she doing? She’s just going to leave?

Are we so undaunting that she believes us to be not worth her time?

Before she gets too far, she spins back around, pointing a talon-tipped, black-stained finger in my direction. From dried blood, soot, or ash, I don’t know. As she moves, I recoil from the scent that permeates the air. It almost slaps me in the face.

"I knew I'd smelled your stench before. You…” Her voice deepens, her sneer turning into pure, unquestionable rage. “You…”Her voice quivers with her fury. “You’re responsible…The ones who destroyed all my precious flowers at the warehouse.” She’s accusatory, but the venom in her words, and the darkness emitting from her, clarifies she’s not asking us a question. “You may have destroyed the warehouse and my plants, but you bunch of idiots were too late! I am Kalilith! I’ve built my army! Andsoon, we shall take over theworld.”

Her eyes blaze with maniacal evil, and her voice deepens, sounding dark, dangerous, and ominous. Her coal-black eyes lock on me as she stares, unblinking. I stare back. She glances at Aeris, completely ignoring the others. Then, she sneers again, throwing her head back and laughing with her eyes closed. It’s something straight out of my nightmares, sending shivers down my spine. Her eyes fly open, once again locking on me, almost pinning me in place. “I am starting here. Laric. The weak colony of these pathetic fairies.”

“Soon enough,everyonewill know my name!Kalilith!” she screeches. My eyes widen. My blood ices at the pure, undulating, evil in her tone. I push Aeris behind me.

“I can’t stand these fuckers, and their‘one with the earth and the elements, protect the balance’lifestyles. They think they're perfect with their,‘We give more than we take. No outside influence to mar our history and lineage… Protectors of the Gifted malarkey.’Elite little assholes… that’s what they are…”

I don’t think she’s even paying attention to us anymore. She’s staring at me, but she’s not seeing me. It’s like she’s lost in a trance. Just raging.

Whoa… this is some deep, abiding hatred for the Fae of Laric.

This Kalilith chick is insane. Not chick… Fae.

Kalilith is Fae.

But how? She’s nothing like Aeris, Cyrus, and Devyn. Or even me…

She’s dark, corrupt, and vile. Everything about her is just… evil.

FaeDorcha.

Where did she even come from?

Cyrus motions for us to quickly follow him around the side of the house, using hand gestures that are easy to understand. Silently and stealthily, we begin to move away from the maniacal Dark Fae standing before us, lost in her blind rage and hatred. Cyrus holds a finger to his lips, conveying that no one should make a sound and regain her attention. I nod, quickly locking eyes with everyone else. They all nod, reiterating they understand. As we put distance between us and the Dark Fae, Cyrus quietly says, "This way. Our home is at the back of the colony. Stick to the trees and move as silently as you can. I don’t know how many others are with her. We can regroup there and devise a plan once we reach the cottage.”

We carefully make our way, stopping and freezing, cloaking ourselves and attempting to cloak our scents as we go. Cyrus gives a sigh of relief as he sees the clearing behind his and Aeris’s home. We all file into the yard and Cyrus closes the ornately-carved wooden gate, yet untouched by the chaos and carnage behind us. Aeris’s fear-filled eyes lock on mine and the gravity of the situation sinks in.

This is much worse than I was expecting, but I can’t let any of them know that.

What was I expecting? A fucking army of Dark Fae and evil whatever they’ve created are here… within Laric.

Did I think we’d just waltz in here and stomp them to death like roaches?

What am I doing here? What are we doing here?

How the fuck is this happening?

These are families. Real people. Fae… but people. Lives.

Hell, most of my family, Sylphs like me, stand out here with us ready to protect us against the impending evil. They’re all here for me… and my Kindred.

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