Authors Note
Hi! This chapter is written by Wanderlust100 from the perspective of Fey. I hope you enjoy it.
I'm going to try to put in these polyvore links again:
Steam curled off the surface of the water. The condensation gathered in droplets on the glass when I set it by my window. I rummaged through my selection of tea on the top shelf, searching for my favourite oolong tea. As I reached for the box containing the tea my hand bumped a jar of tea leaves and it fell and shattered. With a sigh of frustration I waved my hand over it, reversing the impact and putting the jagged edges back together. The jar flew through the air, gently placing itself back on the shelf. I took a tea bag from the box and dipped it into the water.
My feet made a gentle noise on the hardwood floors as I padded barefoot through my lofty town house to the living room. Just as I settled myself on the couch I heard a brisk knock on my door. With a sigh I got up to answer the door, unsure of who it would be, as I wasn't expecting company. Before I even got to the door it swung open, revealing a tall boy with a mop of untamed honey coloured hair.
"Ever heard of locking your doors?" the boy called to me with a laugh, as he strode through the doorway. I smiled as I recognized my old friend Smith.
"I'm one of the most powerful warlocks in the northern hemisphere, if anyone tried to break in I'm sure I could keep them out a lot better than a lock can." I replied as I went to embrace the boy. He drew back and placed his hands on my shoulders.
"I've had an idea!" he declared.
"What is it?" I inquired, a smile quirking up the sides of my mouth.
He chuckled before replying. "It's a surprise," he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door. His large, calloused hand felt rough and warm against my small hand. He towered over me as he ducked slightly to fit through my door frame.
We walked in silence towards his car. He released my hand from his but quickly replaced it onto my waist, tugging me into his side. He opened the passenger side door for me before walking over to the driver's side. I admired his car as he started the engine, running my hand over the black leather interior. It was a simple 1970s Mustang, a rusty red colour that was obviously the original paint job. Although I had always wanted one of my own, I found it too much of a hassle. It was so much easier to simply portal to places.
"Like it? I just got the seats reupholstered. The old ones were coming apart at the seams." he asked, peering at me out of the corner of his eye as he drove down the deserted street.
I nodded before replying "I remember when these first came out. They were all the rage."
He laughed slightly, before glancing over at me. "Sometimes I forget the whole immortal thing. How old were you in 1970?"
"You 'forget' the whole immortal thing?" I asked with a chuckle. I picked at the frayed edges of the rips in my jeans, exposing my bare skin underneath. The slight blueish hue of my skin was especially noticeable against the dark wash of the jeans- so much so that I had to put on a glamour before heading out, making sure no mundanes noticed. I was one of the few warlocks to have more than one mark, as my light naturally coloured lilac hair flowed down to right above the bottom of my ribcage. Of course, I rarely concealed that when heading into the mundane world. Dyed hair seemed to be much more acceptable now than when I was a child. I hummed to myself for a minute before answering his second question, figuring out the math in my head.
"Forty-three" I replied. "I was born in the spring of 1927."
He whistled under his breath as he turned to me.
"Making you seventy-five this year." He said quietly. I only nodded in response. Birthdays rarely mattered when you were immortal. I had met warlocks all over the world who had stopped counting long ago, and as far as I knew they were hundreds of years old.
"Well, you don't look a day over twenty." He said with a smirk as he turned his eyes back to the road in front of us. The sky had darkened as the sun set completely, our only illumination came from the headlights that cast shadows on the gravel road in front of us.
"Where did you say we were going again?" I inquired as I leaned forward to look out the window, although it didn't offer me any clues.
"I didn't" he replied. "I suppose you'll just have to wait."
I let out a breath of frustration as I fell back in my seat. I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned my head back. I stared at the ceiling and listened to Smith's steady voice as he told me about news from his pack. His voice was low and soft, and so familiar, I found that it was harder to keep my eyes open in each passing moment.
"Fey, Fey wake up." I heard someone calling me. My eyes flew open I looked for the source of the sound.
"Come on Fey we're here." Smith said as he gently tugged me out of the car. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I glanced around me, slightly confused. We seemed to be at a beach, and right in front of us I could see a bright light that hurt my eyes. A smile came to my lips as I realized where we were.
"West Point lighthouse" I mumbled under my breath. The salty ocean breeze washed over me, sending a slight chill down my spine, I tugged the leather jacket I was wearing, tighter around myself. I had been here numerous time, and it remained one of my favourite places in Seattle. It was a popular tourist attraction during the day, but at night the building became pretty much abandoned. It sat at the point of the Puget Sound, which looked across to Murden Cove. Smith knew how much I loved it here. It reminded me of my childhood home, which was a small lighthouse that sat on the rocky shore of Newfoundland.
He began walking towards the lighthouse as I stared out across the inlet.
"Coming?" he called to me, as I realized he had wandered much farther ahead. With a laugh I hurried toward him, happy to be back at one of my favourite places. The tall grass around the path came up to my waist, and it swayed slowly in the ocean breeze. As I approached Smith I heard something scuttling behind me. Just as I turned, I saw the shadow of something running by on my left. I stood still for a minute, wondering what it could be. Smith called to me again just as I heard something that sounded much like cackling and the grass began to move, as if someone was walking through it. All of a sudden a strong ocean breeze came up, causing the grass to sway and dance. With the wind whistling in my ears I couldn't hear anything else, and figured it must have just been my imagination and grogginess that had caused the image.
I hurried to catch up to Smith, and when I reached him he took my hand and led me towards the lighthouse.
"What took you so long?" he asked curiously.
"I thought I saw something in the grass, but I'm sure it was nothing." Still I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling I had.
"Well don't worry, I'll protect you" he said jokingly, as he pulled me close to his side. All of a sudden I was aware of how close we were, and how deserted this place was. Smith had been one of my closest friends for a few years now, and that's how I wanted it to stay, but I always felt as if he wanted something more from the relationship. I swallowed the rising lump in my throat, as he guided me towards the lighthouse, his hand never leaving my waist. I almost began regretting my decision of staying home for Smith to find me. Perhaps I could've gone somewhere with Psyche, or went to Scarlet's house, or been anywhere other than here with Smith. All the familiarity had left and it felt awkward now as we walked.
He pulled me up the stairs of the lighthouse, standing just outside it on a small porch. Looking down at my feet he turned to face me, taking both my hands in his.
"Fey-" he began. I took a sharp intake of breath as my mind raced. It wasn't that I disliked Smith, it's just that if my seventy-five years on earth had taught me anything, it was that people always leave. It was difficult falling in love with a mortal, watching them slowly waste away before your eyes, eventually dying and leaving you empty. Almost everyone I had ever loved died or abandoned me because they thought I was a freak. That's what always intrigued me about the ancient warlocks I had met, how they were able to deal with so much pain and loss. That is until I realized that they either surrounded themselves with other ancients, or lived in complete isolation.
"I have something I need to tell you." he continued. Would it be rude to portal away right now? I feel like that would be rude.
I suppose I'll never know what he was going to say, because just as he opened his mouth to speak a chorus of screams and cries sounded from behind us. I whirled around, instinctively putting my hands up as they began to glow with purple sparks. Towards us ran an army of tiny little people. As they began to get closer I realized what they were. Knockers, I thought as they approached, hissing and spitting at us. They were ugly creatures, standing about three feet tall. They had long noses, pointed ears and viscous sharp teeth. Their feet seemed misshapen, as they all stood at funny angles on their toes. Short tails flicked behind them, topped with a small tuft of brown fur.
As they began to climb the steps to the lighthouse I threw out a barrier, stopping them in their tracks, some of them flying back as they ran into it. Still they kept coming, pounding and clawing at the invisible walls of the barriers. From beside me I heard a low snarl emit from Smith's throat. When I looked at him his skin had started rippling, and his teeth had formed into fangs. The change in him caused me to lose focus for a mere second, but that was enough for a couple of the knockers to break through. Just as they did Smith jumped forward, his full transformation taking place. The back of his shirt ripped open, revealing nothing but fur. When his feet touched the ground they had already turned into paws, and his hands followed suit. Smith was one of the few werewolves I know, and the transformation never ceased to amaze me.
Smith clawed one of the knockers, and blood streamed from the creature's stomach as it fell to the floor. He turned to face the other knockers that had broken through, and I focused my energy back into the barrier. There was so many of them, and the pressure from their relentless pounding was beginning to take its toll. I tightened my hands into fists, running an electric current through the barrier, causing most of the knockers to fly back, and many more began to retreat. Still there seemed to be an endless amount.
A high pitched howl sounded to my right, and I saw that one of the vile creatures had bite Smith, latching itself on to his neck. Another jumped on him, scraping its claws down his side as another howl rose from his throat. With a flick of my wrists I pushed out the barrier as far as I could. The remaining knockers were hit with the full force of it, and many got crushed in the process while the others went scurrying back into the grass. There were now four knockers attaching themselves to Smith. With the rest of my energy I sent three of them flying, and Smith managed to shake the last one off. Just as the little Knocker began to run towards the bush I caught him by the throat, pulling him up to my eye level.
"Who sent you?" I demanded. The little creature trembled in fear as I gripped his neck hard, awaiting an answer.
"We came here ourselves, you are trespassing on our land!" he replied in a shaky voice. The knockers talked in odd languages, and his English was hard to understand. It sounded as if his voice was bubbling up from his stomach instead of his throat.
"Your land?" I replied with a scoff. "And who exactly gave you the right to this land? What have you done to the mundanes here?"
He hesitated before he replied, and I shook his neck forcefully.
"We do not hurt the mundanes, it is only other Downworlders like you and your friend who we attack. Our old territory was taken by the Clave, so they sent us here." I could hear the bitterness in his voice as he spoke of the Clave, there were many tensions between us and them. I began to laugh, and the creature seemed shocked by my reaction.
"You were sent here by those filthy Nephilim?" I asked, still laughing. The creature only nodded in response.
"So what anger do you have against us? We all have a common enemy here." I said.
"We are worried someone may take our land again. This land is all we have left now that we aren't allowed back to our old territory" it said, sounding unsure of his answer.
"And what's to stop you from going back?"
"The Clave." With that answer I began laughing again. I placed the creature back down on the floor before replying.
"Screw the Clave! If you want your old land back, then take it back. Just stay away from us next time." With that the creature nodded, before quickly scampering back into the grass.
From behind me I heard a low grunt, and turned to see Smith sitting there in his human form, wearing nothing but a torn pair of jeans. Two long gashes ran down his side, and he had an ugly looking bite on his leg. I hurried over to his side as I looked over his wounds. I reached out to his shoulder, asking permission to heal him, but he shrugged me off. I bit my lip.
"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.
He smiled weakly before nodding.
"We should get going." he said, as he slowly began to get up.
"Do you think you will be able to get home by yourself? I actually need to be somewhere." I said. He gave me a longing glance before nodding, as he turned to head to his car.
"Goodnight Fey" he called to me, not looking back.
"Goodnight" I called out softly to him. I watched him walk away until he was out of sight. I looked down at my hands, as a small orb of glowing light began to form in them. Without a second thought I built a portal on the wall of the lighthouse in front of me. Imagining my destination, I stepped through without a second glance.