"Bo?" Kenzi stretched and yawned as she wandered into the kitchen, "Where ya at, BoBo?" No answer. Then she spotted a note on the table.
Kenzi,
On a job.
Probably won't be home until tomorrow.
Love,
Bo
"Welp, guess I'm on my own for the day… time to kill some robot hookers."
Kenzi was on the couch with a bowl of cereal in her lap, taking bites between kill-shots when there was a knock at the door. She hit pause and went to answer it. She opened the door to find two men in nice suits. The kind of suits that screamed money. But not, 'I have money.' more like 'My boss has money and I will do what the money says.'
"Vot der'mo." She whispered. Smells like trouble. The man on the left had cloudy white eyes, at first Kenzi thought he was blind until he turned his head, following her movement as she swayed back, suddenly hit by the stench of the second man. It smelled like he lived in a sewer… which was entirely possible. It didn't take a genius to peg these guys as fae.
"Uh, hi. Can I help you?" Kenzi asked brightly, shifting into her chipper customer service mode. She knew better than to be anything but polite to unknown fae. She'd nearly had her ass kicked a few times.
"You have an appointment with our employer."
"I don't have any-"
"You do now."
"Oh." It was one of those kind of appointments. "And who is your employer?"
"The Morrigan."
The men ushered Kenzi into The Morrigan's office and left, closing the door behind them. Evony sat behind her desk with a saccharine smile plastered on her face. She stared at Kenzi long enough to make her uncomfortable before finally breaking the silence.
"I couldn't help but notice that you're still alive."
"Yeah well, turns out I have friends in high places."
"So it would seem… Perhaps I was a bit hasty, ordering your execution when you could still be of some use."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm cashing in my favor." She said briskly, ignoring Kenzi's indignation.
"And what makes you think I'd do anything for you? After all the crap you put me through-"
"Oh, Honey." The Morrigan took condescending to a whole new level. "You don't have a choice." She smirked at a sudden realization. "You didn't know what you were getting into when you made that little bargain to save your boyfriend did you?"
Kenzi wondered fearfully if their deal had been sealed with magic or something and what would happen to her if she didn't honor it.
"So what do you want?" Kenzi snapped. She had a bad feeling that The Morrigan was about to ask her to do something she didn't want to do.
"I want you to retrieve something for me." She slid a photograph across her desk. Kenzi looked at her in surprise, trying to hide the relief she felt. She could handle a simple retrieval job. She looked down at the picture.
"Is that a bone?"
"It's a flute. Carved from the bone of a dragon."
"Is it magic?"
"I suggest you don't try to use it."
"Wait, it's not going to kill me if I touch it, is it? Or curse me or something?"
Evony rolled her eyes.
"If I wanted you dead, I would just kill you. Now, the flute was en route here last week when it was stolen by a group of Tengu."
"Tengu?"
"Trickster fae. They like to steal from travelers."
"So you want me to take on a group of Trickster fae?"
"Sweetie. Don't worry. This is well within your limited abilities."
"If it's so easy then why don't you do it yourself?"
"Ugh, have you ever smelled a Tengu cave?"
"It's in a cave?"
"What's the matter? Afraid of the dark?"
Kenzi scowled.
"I've had my fill of caves, thank you." She heaved a deep sigh. "Alright, so all I've gotta do is go to this cave and bring back your flute and we'll be even?"
"Of course. …Oh, and just one more thing. You can't tell Bo about this. Or your little Light Fae friends."
"Why?"
"I've set the terms. If you want to be free of your debt to me, and believe me, you do, then you'll abide by these terms. Clear?"
Kenzi hesitated, she felt like she was walking into a trap. But she didn't have a choice.
"Yeah."
"Good."
The Morrigan's goons dropped Kenzi off at the end of a dirt road and pointed her towards a trail leading into a forest. She bolted out of the car, glad to escape the stench of the Morrigan's smelly flunky. Confined spaces were not his friend and being trapped in the car with him had turned Kenzi's stomach.
She took a deep breath and stared in the direction they had pointed her in. The trees grew close together casting unsettling shadows as the grey light filtered through the branches.
"O, bozhe." She whispered as she swung her bag over her shoulder and set off down the path chanting, "This is not the beginning of a horror movie. This is not the beginning of a horror movie."
Crows watched her from the tree branches, cawing occasionally as she made her way along the trail. She looked at them nervously.
"They're just birds." She told herself, "Totally normal. Not creepy at all." A twig snapped behind her and she whirled around, whipping her katana out of her bag. After a minute, when nothing attacked her, she took a deep breath and relaxed a little but kept her sword in hand as she continued down the path.
She lost track of how long she'd been walking and it took her by surprise when she came around a bend and the trail ended abruptly, leaving her standing exposed in a clearing. She quickly stepped back onto the trail in the cover of the trees. There was a cave on the other side of the clearing. Kenzi put her sword away and fished around in her bag until she found her binoculars and scoped it out. There was no movement and nothing to suggest that anything lived there. Maybe it was deserted.
"What do we have here?"
Kenzi squeaked in surprise and spun around to find four young men behind her. They looked Japanese with black hair that shone like raven's feathers. The only thing that looked odd about them was their slightly longer than average, almost beak-like noses. Kenzi was fairly certain they must be Tengu.
"Um, hi. I'm just..." She looked at the binoculars in her hand, "Bird watching."
"You have wandered into our territory and we do not deal lightly with trespassers."
"So sorry. I'll just be on my way-" She tried to walk past them but they barred her way. "Look, I don't want any trouble." Kenzi was beginning to worry that she wouldn't be able to talk her way out of this one. "Would you guys be willing to make a deal? I could get anything you want. Provided that you don't mind if it fell off the back of a truck."
"Or we could just take it." He circled around Kenzi, looking her over. "Because what I wantis a pretty little human to… well, I'm sure I could find a use for you."
Kenzi decided to roll with the helpless human act for a bit.
"And… you'll treat me alright?" She tried to look scared and hopeful at the same time.
"Oh yes, little dove, I take very good care of my property. As long as they're useful."
"Well, I- I'm a musician. I can play just about any instrument. Drums, flute, you name it, I can play it."
He suddenly smiled.
"Is that so? It's been years since we had live entertainment. Do you know 'Etenraku'?"
"Are you kidding me? That is my jam. I'd play it but, you know, I don't have my flute with me."
"Well, we're in luck, I just so happen to have one." He put an arm around Kenzi and led her into the cave.
Kenzi couldn't believe the guy was just going to hand her the flute, she wondered if he even knew what it was. She followed them into a larger furnished chamber filled with chachkies. There were rugs on the stone floor and tapestries on the cave walls. There were a couple of couches and armchairs but the chamber was absolutely stuffed with shelves covered in junk. It looked like an episode of 'Hoarders Go Antiquing'. One of them walked over to a shelf, picked up the flute and brought it to Kenzi. She forced a fake smile as he handed it to her.
"Oh, wow, it's so much more… bony than I expected."
They watched eagerly as she raised the flute to her lips, The Morrigan's warning not to play it echoing in her mind. She couldn't risk playing it without knowing what it would do. Not to mention she had never even heard of 'Edenragu' or whatever it was. For lack of a better plan (or any plan at all) she decided to make a run for it. Maybe if she could make it to the trees she could lose them in the forest. She bolted for the cave entrance and was about six yards away when the Tengu leader grabbed her. He held her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides. He yanked the flute out of her hands and growled in her ear.
"You are going to regret that." His other hand was suddenly at her throat, squeezing, almost gently at first, then harder and harder. Her eyes were wide with fear as she realized he intended to draw this out, he was going to make her suffer. She was clawing weakly at his hand when he abruptly jerked away from her. She spun around ready to attack him but paused as the tengu, standing strangely rigid, looked at his own hand in confusion as it raised up above his head, still holding the flute.
Kenzi whirled around hopefully and found a familiar figure standing at the entrance of the cave.
"Vex!"
"'ello, Love." He winked. "Miss me?" He jerked his already outstretched arm, and the Tengu began bashing himself in the head with the flute, again and again.
"No no no! I need the flute!" Kenzi yelled.
"What flute?"
"The bone! The bone is a flute! I need it!"
"Oh. Well, why dint ya say?" Vex dropped his arm, releasing the Tengu from his control. He collapsed and the flute rolled out of his hand. Kenzi snatched it up as Vex stalked forward, grabbing the Tengu by the throat and lifting him up. The man sputtered and writhed in his grasp.
"Don't like it when the tables are turned, do ya?"
The other Tengu had scattered when Vex showed up, running further into the cave but now they were creeping back and they were armed. Kenzi glanced back at Vex in time to see one of them come up behind him with what looked like a chain with a weight at one end.
"Get down!" She tackled Vex to the ground, landing on top of him, just before the length of chain whistled past his head.
"'ey! You ruined my dramatic rescue!"
"Yeah, by saving your ass! How did you ever survive this long?"
"Charm and good looks mostly." He quickly rolled over, taking Kenzi with him. She flinched as the chain slammed down right where they had been a moment before. Vex's arm shot out and the Tengu froze in place. He looked back at Kenzi, pinned beneath him.
"Who's savin' who's ass now?" He got up and held his other hand out to Kenzi, pulling her to her feet before turning his attention back to the newcomer. Vex forced him to wrap the chain around his own neck and, ignoring the strangled gasping, he casually continued his conversation. "You got a real knack for gettin' yourself into trouble. I blame the succubus. She's a bad influence on you."
"Please," Kenzi rolled her eyes, "I was getting into trouble long before I met Bo." She glanced over his shoulder, "There's more of them coming," She warned, "Like a lot more."
Vex followed her gaze, there were at least half a dozen Tengu fast approaching.
"Time to go." He suddenly decided. "Now." The fact that Vex looked worried scared Kenzi a little.
"I thought Tengu were Trickster fae."
"They are. They're also skilled warriors. They're thought to be descendants of The Garuda."
"Seriously?! But The Morrigan said-"
"She lied! She doesn't care if you get yourself killed! Now, come on!" Vex took control of one of the warriors, using him to lash out at the others. In the confusion that followed, he grabbed Kenzi by the arm, dragging her out of the cave and leading her straight into the woods.
"Shouldn't we stick to the trail? Isn't that the first thing they teach you in boy scouts or something?"
Vex snorted.
"Do I look like a boy scout to you? Nah, Tengu like to set traps for travelers. We're less likely to stumble into something nasty this way."
"Well I hope you know where you're going because I'm already lost."
They hurried along, Vex slightly ahead of Kenzi, keeping an eye out for traps just in case.
After a few minutes they slowed down, looking for any sign that they'd been followed. It seemed they were in the clear so they continued on at a reasonable pace.
"We should put as much distance between us an' them as possible." "So… what are these Tengu?"
"Thieves, more or less. You ever wonder where the term 'Highway Robbery' comes from? Back when valuable cargo was brought to the kingdom along the King's Highway these little blighters would pop outta the trees, rob 'em blind and then bugger off into the woods again."
"Wait, weren't they the guys who did the whole 'Stand and deliver' thing?"
Vex grinned, raising an eyebrow at her. She smacked him on the arm before he could make a joke.
"You know what I mean."
He laughed.
"Yeah. They made damn good pirates too once the highway robbery thing got stamped out. Some say they can even shift into birds but I never seen 'em do it. And they really don't like it when you steal from 'em. …What you doin' taking on this horde a birdbrains anyways?"
"I owe the Morrigan a favor."
"Oohohoho," Vex looked impressed and slightly alarmed at the same time. "What did you get yourself into?"
"I didn't have a choice alright, she was going to talent-suck my boyfriend."
"Boyfriend?"
"Ex-boyfriend." She amended. "And what are you even doing here?"
"Was followin' up on a bit a business with Her Royal Thighness. Imagine my surprise when I see you gettin' your tight little ass marched outta The Morrigan's office with no succubus in sight." He gave a little shrug. "Thought you mighta been in a bit a trouble."
Was that a quickly buried spark of concern in his eyes? Kenzi wasn't sure but the thought made her smile.
"Vex, seriously man… I'm glad you're back."
"Aw, c'mere." He rolled his eyes and pulled her into a hug, "That reminds me, where's that blush brush a mine?"
"Ooo… would you believe I lost it?"
"You best not 'ave. You do not want to know what I'll make you do to yourself if you 'ave."
"Alright, alright." Kenzi pouted, "I'll give it back as soon as we get home."
Vex grinned.
"Wait 'til you see the eyeliner I picked up in India."
