Page 26 of Shadows of Air and Earth
"Five," Riley breathed, raising his sword up high.
“Agreed,” I nodded, my daggers mirroring his sword.
"One, two, three, four, five, once I caught a fae alive," cooed a voice behind us, her voice bouncing as if she were skipping at our backs.
Another giggle to our front, "Oh yes, sister, I want to play! Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, then I caught their little friends."
Clapping and chortles echoed, "Yes, yes, let's play. Why did you catch them so," called out another.
"Because I could not let them go."
My eyes darted to my left, just barely making out the slender silhouette of a flower nymph. A green body, layered silver bark skin upon her face, starburst blooms like that of hyacinth fluttering around wide eyes that were the color of the glowing sun, disappeared into the mist from whence she came.
"Goddess," Xi breathed, bringing her sword to her face. "They are playing with us."
Riley groaned, "To what purpose?"
My lips thinned, scanning the white fog, poised and ready. I yearned for my shadows to return but even they likely could not penetrate this kind of fog. It nulled all power… when I had fallen into the rings as a young faeling they could not assist me then and I felt their absence just as keenly now.
More salacious laughter and then a strong humming vibrated the mist, caressing over my skin with a horrifyingly lulling pleasantness that took much for me to resist.
"What did you do with them?" purred another, continuing their taunting song. Her voice whispered against my ear but when I turned towards her she was gone, leaving only a trailing sound of amused giggles.
"Made them dance until their end," they all hissed in unison, stepping out of the mist together like perfectly cultivated flowers in a garden. An array of pinks and blues, whites and purples, their bodies flowed like willows dancing in the wind. Green naked skin glistened in the mist, offsetting their petal hair and their encased masked faces of silver bark.
They were beautiful—and by the brilliant sunny glow in their eyes, they werehungry.
"I don't dance without a partner…unless you're asking to be mine, anthousai." I stepped forward, blades still high, the beads of sweat trailing down my naked skin forcing a shiver from me just as much as their lingering, voracious eyes.
I was a distraction, a weapon, and simultaneously, without a tug on our bonds, Riley and Xi fell fluidly in line at my back—the warriors that would wield me. And like a good blade and shield, I would make sure this was where the anthousai greeted death. Afterall, Sheol needed more souls to satisfy its god.
Chapter 17
Isaw nothing, asidefrom the faint outline of Riley’s wide shoulders, and the slightest hue of his wavy green hair that even now, my traitorous fingers ached to run through. The thick fog was everywhere, and my lungs burned from my sorry attempt to keep the seductive fragrance of the anthousai fromcompelling me into their revelry. Oxygen deprived, my sword arm shook, straining to hold my blade and the slick of sweat coating my palms made my grip even more challenging.
All made worse by their creepy as fucking Faerie nursery song of doom.
Between us, as a half naked shield, Remnant Dark faced the nymphs head on. "You've had your fun, now it's time to return to your circle," the general called out. The hard edge of her tone made me shiver, flashbacks of the night of The Wailing suddenly dominant in my mind. This was no longer the fae that talked to birds and shadows, nor was it the one that our world honored with its elements, this was the fae of death…one that was at the center of all my night terrors for the past six months.
Ignoring the eerie allure of laughter and the tension in the air, I focused on Riley's strong silhouette, my scimitar raised out to the side, mirroring his powerful stance. Poised and ready, a warrior through and through, I had yet to see someone match his savage ways on the battlefield aside from Remnant Dark.
A curse, a harsh breath, then we moved. A slow dance along the open clearing. Closing my eyes, I felt them both like I did the energy of the earth, the flow of their bodies, the hiss of Riley’s steel slashing outward, mine following simultaneously with it.
The sharp cry when my blade made contact with a solid being brought a satisfied smile to my face, but the moment was brief and my slight pause fatal. The cord between us grew taut, the leather groaning, and I slid towards Riley blindly just seconds before I heard his soft grunt and the tearing clothing. My blood froze at his sharp inhale. I didn’t need to see through the thick fog to know Ri had been hit, and it was more than just a graze. Furious, my sight caught the curvy shape of willowy legs peeking through the mist, and I reacted. Sweeping low, my scimitar whistled, my weakened state forgotten as I put powerinto my slice, cutting clearly through the retreating nymph that dared to harm my air elemental.
My air elemental…fucking goddess, my chest tightening from an aching heart. How was I ever going to walk away from him once he explained his past?
Hot blood sprayed across my face, and I grinned ferally, latching onto the euphoric satisfaction of my vengeance rather than my impending loss of the fae I loved. The nymph's following scream was shrill and I relished the sound—anything was better than their singing.
Crumbling at my feet, the anthousai writhed on the ground, her legs cut cleanly from her body, she wept and pleaded for help. Raising my blade high to end her pathetic existence, bright yellow eyes snapped up to meet my fury, and I forgot not to breathe. Sweet scented pheromones enveloped me in a cloud, and every part of my body spasmed to a tension driven stall, seized by the anthousai’s power. Panting, I fought against the invisible restraint but it only served to drown me more in the haze of her wonderful scent.
"Xi," she whispered sweetly, "oh Xi, heal me, don't let me die. You don'treallywant to kill me. All you need to do is cut the cord and heal me." Her silver barked lip quivered as her green body crawled towards me, and I found myself drawn towards her, entranced.
Through hooded eyes, my resolve wavered. I didn't want to kill her, did I? I could try to heal her mangled body after all. It was my secondary power. I could heal.
"Cut the cord Xi, heal me please…heal me terrella. Please." Leaning in, deeply inhaling her lilac and berry scent, I collected the tears that spilled from the crinkles of her silver bark. The wetness spreading across my fingertips was euphoric. Cooling yet warm, it was a whispered caress with promises of love.
I heard a faint roar and someone shouting my name between the nymph’s pleas, but it was something that I could not be bothered with.Shewas the most important thing in this world and she needed me. For once in my life someoneneededme. Flipping my blade, I cut the leather in one fluid downward stroke and placed my hand on the being, willing my power to heal her.
