It was the eyes I noticed first. They were bright blue and were fixed, rather unnervingly, in my direction. Even more worryingly was the fact that I'd just made eye contact. But the most distressing thing about the entire situation was that I wasn't seeing anything, which meant I was staring down something without a soul.
"That was very good," the thing-that-looked-like-a-man said, gesturing towards my guitar case. It was almost my height, skinny with a mass of spiked hair, wearing a blue suit with a long coat thrown on over it.
"Thank you," I said nervously, trying to edge past it. The thing had parked itself right in front of the bar entrance, blocking off my escape route. "I try."
"Does your magic help?" The thing leaned closer. I in turned leaned backward. The whole scene probably looked pretty comical to someone who wasn't in immediate danger of being eaten by some denizen of the night.
"I like to think it's natural talent and hard work," I offered in reply, mentally calculating how hard I'd have to throw my case at the thing to at least distract it.
"Hmm." It narrowed its eyes and stared me in the face for a long second, almost as if searching for something. Then it straightened up abruptly, turning on its heel and exiting the bar. I stared after it, breathing for what felt in the first time in hours. I made my way to the door and cautiously poked my head outside, eyeing the dark street and feeling about for any supernatural presences.
Nothing.
"Thank God," I sighed in relief, slipping outside and starting the walk to my apartment. The thing hadn't had a soul, which meant it was either one of two things: a vampire, or something from the NeverNever. Or…all right, I'll admit. I'm not exactly and expert. But I was pretty damn sure that thing with the feral eyes was a faerie.
Ok, here's the thing. My name's Fitz Kreiner and I'm a wizard. No, sorry, that's not true. Technically, I'm a sorcerer. I've got barely enough power to be considered a wizard but there's no way I'm even going within fifty feet of the White Council. All I want is to lay low and play music, not get swept up in magical politics.
Anyway. I can blow stuff up and am apparently of interest to supernatural creatures. I thought about the thing in the bar's eyes as I reached my apartment building and shuddered. I've never seen anything so wild in my life. Although I do have to admit I was glad a soulgaze hadn't occurred. I hate those.
The building was quiet as I entered, which was to be expected at one in the morning. I eschewed the elevator –it wasn't like it worked half the time anyway- and took the stairs to my apartment. Third door on the sixth floor, which made for a ridiculous amount of stair climbing. I was more than a bit out of breath by the time I reached my door, which was slightly embarrassing. I'm not exactly in the best shape; a scrawny physique and a smoking habit does not a healthy person make.
My apartment was pitch black when I finally got the door to open and made it inside. I fumbled for the light switch, praying that the electricity would work. See, one side effect of magic is that it tends to wreck havoc on modern technology. I'm luckier than most because it usually takes longer for stuff to die on me. Some practitioners have to live by candlelight. The lights flickered on.
I dropped the case on the floor by my bed and went over to the window. It was too stuffy in the apartment, as usual. The frame was jammed again and I had to wrestle it open. It flew up suddenly, making me jump in surprise. I just about leapt across the room when I looked outside.
"Holy hell!" I stumbled back, staring at the figure perched on my windowsill. It was the thing from the bar, I just knew it. The eyes were the same, even though the form was different. It was smaller this time, with long curly hair and some sort of fancy dress outfit. "Did you follow me?"
"Yes." It locked eyes with me again. "May I come in?"
"No!" No way in hell was I giving this thing permission to enter my house. "What do you want?" A sudden thought occurred to me and I backed up even further, to the workbench on the far wall. "You're a faerie, aren't you? I'm armed, you know," I said as I snatched up a box of nails and pointed one in its direction. The thing hissed, features blurring suddenly. I caught a glimpse of…something. Whatever it was, it looked wrong and I swallowed, scared stiff.
"Put that away." Its voice was surprisingly calm, almost melodious. "I swear I mean you no harm."
"Say it again."
"I swear."
"Again."
"Thrice sworn and forever done!" It sounded impatient now. I relaxed slightly, lowering the nail. A promise made three times by a member of the fae was the closet they could get to telling the truth.
"Fine." I made a vague hand gesture. "Come in."
"Thank you." The faery slipped gracefully inside, then turned to close the window. "You needn't be so petulant, you know. I could've come in regardless of permission granted. I was merely being polite."
"Yeah, well…" I put the box back down on the bench but slipped the nail into my pocket just in case. "You scared me. I've never met one of the fae before. You are one, right?" I eyed it suspiciously. "I thought they were taller."
"I can take whatever form I want," the faery said neutrally and I hoped I hadn't offended it. That would be bad news. "This is the one I prefer at the time being."
"But earlier, at the bar-"
"I was disguised." The faery tipped its head to the side, studying me. I didn't think it had blinked once this entire time, which was just downright creepy.
"Why, though? What do you want with me?"
"I am searching," the faery said simply. "A mortal girl I was fond of was taken by magical means and I wish to find the culprit."
Damn. I hope it didn't think I'd done it. "Hold on," I stammered, backing further away. "It wasn't me, so…"
"I know." The faery moved closer, still not taking its eyes from mine.
"Then why-"
"I want your help. I am limited in this realm and I need a servant to assist me."
Ok. No way was that happening. "No." I said firmly. The faery narrowed its eyes. "I'm not getting involved in anything. That's not my thing. And I'm nobody's servant."
"You will help me."
"No I w-"
"You will help me," the faery said again. It wasn't stated like a threat. More like an observation. "You are a good man." It turned suddenly, heading back towards the window. "I will return tomorrow."
"Wha-" I finally managed, but it was too late. The damned thing had disappeared again. I rushed over to the now-open window. "Leave me alone!" I shouted into the night. A man on the street below twisted up to look at me and I closed the window sheepishly. The lights flickered out suddenly and I groaned. I felt the way towards my bed, cursing liberally, collapsing onto it as soon as I felt the rough covers.
"The universe hates me," I muttered into the pillow. All I wanted was to be left in peace and now I was being stalked by some faery with a noble streak. I had to figure out what to do and fast, before I got dragged any further into this bound-to-be-dangerous situation.
Naturally, I promptly fell asleep.