Chapter 4: Encounters
'It all sounded like it made sense back then.' The girl thought as she fell back on her bed. 'Perfect sense…' Fay had to admit that it no longer did. It was one thing to say that she'd somehow find her way out of this, it was entirely another to actually start on that road.
She could still remember what had happened back in that small shop.
The demon, dragon, and wizard had bowed to her when the pentagram had vanished. She'd nodded curtly before walking out, the two by the door making way for her.
As soon as she'd found herself outside she'd broken into a run and hadn't stopped until she had gotten home. That night she'd had dinner with her family, her two friends, and the dragon, Astor. To her surprise, both Madeline and Nina hadn't been happy at his appearance either. She'd caught them glaring at him a few times, which actually made her feel better.
Astor had tried talking to her; telling her that he was the best being to choose, that he would make sure she would be protected and had sworn to keep her family protected.
'Talk about dramatics.' She thought.
Astor had gone down on his knee, much like some kind of knight, and sworn his service to her.
She'd backed away.
"Sorry but I'm not interested." Plus the whole kneeling thing had been kind of corny in her thinking. "Let's face it, all you want is for me to hand you the ability to rule, and I won't do that. The rules have been set, complete engagement of the heart and nothing less. I won't hand you the right, Dragon Leader," she'd formally addressed him even as she silently cringed at having to talk that way. "Because I don't believe in you, it's as simple as that."
She'd never had a guy look at her that way, like she hung the moon and stars. "I believe in destiny,' he'd said. "And I believe we met when we did because we are destined for each other. Please, let me prove myself to you. I swear to do all in my power. Even if you hadn't been the Right, still I would have done my best to be by your side."
Fay had faltered at that. The look in his strange eyes had told her he believed the words he said to her, and so she'd found herself taking a step forward before she'd even thought about it. Then she'd heard a whispery chuckle.
Before she realized it, Astor had placed himself before her, a sword in his hands.
"Show yourself werewolf!" he'd called out, and a figure walked out from between her mother's rosebushes.
"You!" Fay accused.
The tall brown-hair man bowed deeply to her. "If destiny is what you wish to speak of, then you should yield her to me, Dragon Lord." Astor stiffened, his hold on the sword strengthening.
"How so?" he asked. The man stepped into the light and looked at Fay with very light glowing hazel eyes. "Because even before you, I met her. That very night..."
He looked at her, knowing she would know.
"You were the one watching me from the shadows on the fourth." Fay confirmed, wishing she'd brought her cell phone with her. She'd speed dial emergency and had both of them committed to the nearest psych ward.
"My name is Konnor and I bow my service to you, Goddess of Supremacy."
Astor had stepped forward menacingly; Fay had stiffened, stepping away from the two.
'I can't believe a small part of me almost bought that crap!' She clenched her hands into fists at her sides. 'But of course, they'll all say that.'
"Neither of you," She said, putting a stop to the argument between them. "Neither of you mean it! You'll do whatever it takes to rule, but none of you care how I really feel or you wouldn't be doing this! So why don't both of you go back to whatever messed up zoo you escaped from!" she'd whirled around and ran into the house, slamming the back door closed.
Now it was Friday and she'd barely made it through the school day, having slept two hours the previous night. They were getting close to her, she could feel it; The Fears.
There had been a large number of killings, always getting closer to downtown.
'What am I going to do?' Fay thought.
It was getting harder to keep acting like everything was normal when it wasn't anymore. Heck, even her skating was suffering the effects. She couldn't concentrate on that when every time she passed a stranger she couldn't help but wonder if they'd start stalking her.
She wasn't normal anymore, no, and now that she'd owned up to it, staying here wasn't an option anymore. 'It's for the best, I have to believe that.' It didn't explain why she felt like crying.
Fay stared out the open window of her room, lost in thought, until a figure hefted himself over it and inside her room.
"Damn it! Would you guys stop that!" she snapped, jumping to her feet.
Long black hair, violet eyes and clothes to match the eyes; this was one of the Malaika by the name of Zadkiel. "I should push you out the window, you know." She said hands on hips.
"If that is your wish,' Zadkiel responded.
Fay frowned. There it was again, that weird way they all talked, well most of them, and those that didn't, talked that way when they got all official like.
She'd met Zadkiel on Monday morning on her way to school.
The idiot had simply walked up to her and hugged her, calling her his salvation and swearing his allegiance to her. Her friends had gawked, and so had the other girls and guys, making their way to school. However he has this gentle type of faces, one that had stopped her from slamming a fist into his pretty face.
Instead she'd pulled away, glaring.
"Go away." She'd ordered.
"I know that is what you wish, but you must listen to me, please I implore you."
Nina and Madeline had glanced at each other, as if they were uncertain about what to do, before Madeline apparently made a decision and dragged Nina away with her.
Fay had glowered at those still gawking until they'd started moving, then directed her glower at him. "You know they're going to start gossiping about this now."
"I apologize." He'd said, without her permission he'd taken her hand and led her down the street into a Starbucks, where he'd ordered them both something to drink and sat on the chair across from her.
"Talk, and make it quick," Fay said impatiently. "What do you want; no wait, I know what you want and the answer's no."
He'd watched her with silent patience. "Azrael is who seeks that power. I find myself happy with my position; you however, will never know peace until you find a way out of who you are. The names that they have called you in the past, they have hidden even from you your Soul Name, have they not."
He leaned forward. "You know what I speak of. They called you Excalibur, they have called you the Holy Grail,' he stopped when she snorted. "Please; I was never the Holy Grail."
At the same time, she couldn't help but wonder at what the hell she was talking about. Fay really hoped this was all some sort of delusion because some rabid college girl had bitten her and now she was simply in a nice cozy patted cell, waiting for all this to just go away.
Unaware of her thoughts, the smile that had appeared in Zadkiel's face had been knowing and a little amused. "Then why were you so weak as to not be able to protect your chosen King?"
Fay had narrowed her eyes, feeling just a little as if she were a puppet and someone else was controlling her. "I don't remember, I just barely remembered what I am, and not happily. Yes I was the sword,' how she wished she could kick her other half's butt. "Was I ever the Grail…" she hesitated frowning, "Okay so there's a small possibility. It wouldn't be the first time I was broken in half." And now it sounded like she was some damn toy.
Zadkiel was silent, and when his name was called he stood and picked up their drinks.
He returned and settled into the chair once more. "However,' she continued, "From what I've been told; once those two artifacts became legend I was mended by Van…van…vena...errr…"
"Väinämöinen." Zadkiel provided the name. "He's still around?" he then asked in surprise.
Fay smirked. "Yes." She answered, "I vanished into the stream of time after that, at least for a while, the rest you know. Well that's what I was told by Merlin."
Fay tapped her fingers on the table impatiently.
"What do you want?" Fay asked once more, although this time she sounded tired.
"I want to help you, you are human now, and you wish for as normal an existence as you can get," Fay nodded.
"Then let me help you. That is all I ask."
That's the part where Fay had stood. "Thanks for the drink." She'd muttered, already on her way out. She'd known he'd watched her until she walked out of sight.
Now here he was again, back to annoy her. "You know I find it hard to believe that you want to help me, after all you're part of one of the factions after me; even if you are known as a Malaika."
"Then come with me, we'll go far away where none of them can find us. I will help you find your dawn." Fay's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Fay, come with me; if you simply say it, I will give up my place in the faction and leave with you."
Fay shook her head, stepping back. "What are you, crazy? I can't run away from this,' half of her wondered why the hell not, "and neither can you; what's more; what am I supposed to think when you come on this strong! We've just met and not only you but Kyro and Konnor have said something similar. I mean seriously, at least Astor came up with something to explain his insanity." Cause insanity it was.
Zadkiel stiffened at the dragon's name. "He has nothing to do with this, but can you not see?"
Fay shook her head, feeling as if they were both speaking different languages.
"We have sought you for centuries, dreamed of having you by our side, and now we have found that you have come to us in a form in which we can cherish you."
At his words, warning bells began going off inside her head. "Wait…explain that again?"
Zadkiel smiled. "In simple terms; I believe you will find most males in the factions wish to have you by their side, as their own, Fay. Except for the wizards, of course."
Her eyes narrowed to slits, then she sighted in exasperation, her expression said she wasn't buying it and she wasn't sticking around for the rest of the auction.
"Okay then..." she sidled away.
Zadkiel started forward but Fay stopped him with a pointed finger. "No you stay, stay right here. Don't you dare follow me or I swear I'll call the police."
Puzzled, Zadkiel watched as Fay went to her closet, picked up a backpack and her skates. "Stay." She pointed at him in warning, before walking out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Fay supposed that any other girl would have been swooning in joy at having a bunch of hot guys trying to 'court' her, their words not hers. That was the final straw, she wasn't going to listen to any of them, and she wasn't going to fall for any of their stupid lines! 'I won't!' Fay silently fumed, picturing several tons of explosives going off in their vicinity. 'And they can all go to hell.' She'd heard it was a very painful place to be in.
Fay turned a corner and crossed the street, heading towards the river park. 'That's where all this began.' She thought to herself. 'I wonder how Camille's doing.'
Fay had seen the older girl around the college campus. She'd been walking with three other girls, her face showing how happy she was. 'At least one of us is happy.' Fay came to a stop in front of the park, lost in her thoughts.
Then she saw it.
The light of a battle field burst up into the night sky before it encompassed the entire park and vanished, although Fay could still feel its presence.
The battle field made it so that everything within it became a different dimension where a fight took place, anything that was destroyed within it returned to normal once the field was down, and no one but those involved in the war could go through it.
'Damn it!' Acting against her better instincts she raced into the battle field. 'I don't want anyone fighting over me, it won't help them. I've said this before!'
"Storm of Ice!" she heard a female voice call out before the spell took effect and ice appeared from high up, rushing at a dodging figure.
"Is that all you have Magus!" Fay heard a boy's voice, maybe around twelve, shout. Then she saw him.
He dodged the ice attack fluidly, as if he knew the very places where the ice would hit. Floating around him was a cord of thick red velvet; at both ends were red glowing spheres with thick silver spikes.
The cord rushed forward, as if thrown by an invisible hand, the spikes growing slightly larger before launching themselves at the Mage.
"You're nowhere old enough to take me on, little werewolf." The mage smirked, stretching her arm forward, her palm open.
The spikes hit an invisible shield and fell to the ground.
"Shut up old hag!" The boy growled. "I'll take you down no matter what!" He curled his right hand into a fist, pointing in the fallen of the spikes.
The spikes shook, launched themselves into the air, circling the mage as they tried to find the shield's weak point.
"How dare you call me an old hag! You sniveling little twerp!"
Fay stepped onto the grass and almost slipped, the wheels on her rollerblades spinning as she caught her balance momentarily, the lightning that blazed down from the sky caught her by surprise and she fell onto the wet grass.
"Blaah." Fay spit out the grass in her mouth, passing her arm over her now wet and somewhat dirty face. She picked herself up slowly, taking a look at the combatants. 'No, I haven't met them before.'
One was a woman, perhaps in her late twenty's, though with a mage it was highly doubtful, she could be a thousand years old and it wouldn't show.
The mage had silky blond hair that cascaded down her back to her knees; she wore an elegant white halter dress, pearls hung around her neck and silver earrings swayed slightly as she moved, she was of mid height, taller than her own four eight inches, perhaps around five something.
The way she moved was as if Fay were watching a dancer on stage; one of the woman's white gloved hands was up in front of her as she directed the lightning with practiced ease, much like a band conductor.
The dark brown hair boy wore a white Chinese shirt, brown pants and black shoes. He moved swiftly as he dodged the strikes then sent his own attack forward.
"What makes you think you could ever hold the attention of the Right?" The woman taunted the boy. "You're nothing but a boy, and from what I've been told, she doesn't care much for any of the males."
"Shut up hag!" the boy shouted, sending his spikes out once more, but once more she blocked them. "Like you have any chance of gaining her approval either!" he shot back.
"And you do?" the woman taunted as she stepped closer to the boy.
The boy growled, somersaulting away from her. "Don't come near old hag!"
Fay wasn't sure, but she thought she saw the woman's eye twitch. "I'll only take your insults for so long pup! Earth tremble!"
The ground around the boy began to tremble, earth spikes beginning to form.
"Stop!" Fay shouted standing quickly. The two turned as one in her direction.
"The Right!" The boy said in surprise, then jumped away before the spell could be completed; turned in mid air and landed a few feet from Fay. "Have you come to prove me right, oh great one?"
Now it was Fay's eye that twitched. "No you idiot!" she shouted angrily. "I'm here to tell the two of you to stop this at once! If you think that you're going to get anywhere by fighting like this then you're wrong!"
"Ah, so you're the Right." The woman walked over to them. Her brown eyes assessed Fay, her arms crossed loosely in front of her. "So it's true, you now wear the form of a human female."
Self conscious Fay stepped back. She wasn't exactly wearing elegant clothes. Her clothes were a little baggy on her body, her blue jeans ripped at the knee, her black shirt had the picture of a small white kitten snarling. "Yeah, so what?"
A smile slowly stretched over the mage's lips. "This does most certainly make things much more difficult." She bowed lightly. "My name is Corentin, I belong to the Magus Faction." Light flashed in her eyes and a black pentagram appeared beneath Fay.
"What the heck are you doing?" Fay demanded.
"Capturing you of course."
Fay tried to rush out of the pentagram only to be bounced back to the middle, dropping her on butt.
"Let her go! This isn't part of the rules!" she heard the boy shout.
"Now, where in the rules does it say that she cannot be captured? This is war boy, not some game we play to please her."
Fay stood, glaring at Corentin. "I never wanted this war in the first place, and I won't be used like some stupid tool!"
Corentin smiled coldly. "But don't you see, Right, you are nothing but a tool…to all of us."
Beginning to feel weak, Fay fell to her knees. She was really getting tired of falling so freakin much!. 'I know she's right. All of them see me as a tool.' Not for a moment had she believed what Zadkiel had said. It came to her mind that what they were all infatuated with was what she represented, power, not her…never her. Not that she minded that part, but she'd rather they not be interested in her period.
Her vision blurred. She could hear the boy shouting at Corentin to stop, his weapon being launched at her while the mage blocked it and kept up the spell.
Fay didn't have to be told what type of spell this was, she was already feeling the effects, her eyes were getting heavy and so were her limbs. '
'I am so going to get her back…for…for this.' It was her last thought before she collapsed onto the grass.
"How dare you!" Lovell shouted, sending his spikes out once more. "You will never gain what you want this way!"
Corentin laughed. "Oh we'll gain it, just you watch."
Once more she placed the shield up and Lovell smirked. This time the spikes went right through the shield, slamming into her shoulders, right arm, and thigh.
Corentin screamed in pain and doubled over.
"Never underestimate a werewolf!" Lovell smirked in triumph.
Corentin shot a death glare at him and stood, pain twisting her face. "I'm not done just yet you fool. Soon the Right will be teleported to my Leader."
Lovell turned to the collapsed figure in the pentagram. "Hold on! I'll get you out." However the figure didn't move and Corentin laughed."Darkness, by my blood I invoke thee…"
Lovell turned back to the mage, his teeth gritted. 'That spell, I won't be able to dodge it.' He knew because their leader and his older brother, Bardulf, hadn't been able to dodge it either.
"Rise from the hells at my command…"
Lovell took a few steps back. 'But…but I have to get her out, I can't let the mages win…which means I'll have to use my secret weapon.' At least if he wanted to dodge the strike.
"And destroy my enemies!"
Corentin's blood seeped down to pool around her, then vanished as red light filtered out behind her from the ground, before Lovell's eyes a demon from the fourth hell arose.
Pitch black, it had the form of a bull standing on hind legs, its eyes glowing a menacing dirty red.
"Kill him." Corentin pointed. With an inhuman cry the demon launched itself at Lovell.
'I won't go down without a fight!' He launched his rope, the rope changing into a large red cobra that hissed and opened its jaws wide, its fangs sinking into the demon's left shoulder and stopping the demon's strike.
The demon cried out in pain, taking a hold of the cobra with its large crab like hands. The cobra hissed but kept its grip, and the two fell to the ground. The ground underneath the bull sizzled, beginning to turn into molten lava as with a forceful tug, it freed its shoulder and threw the cobra away from itself.
The Magus and the Werewolf watched each other warily. "Tell me, how is it that you hold a summons werewolf?"
Lovell smirked. "It's been a long time since the last war; my brother knew that we had to advance or face being killed off."
Corentin snarled, her face no longer beautiful but ugly in its twisted rage and hatred. "Pathetic, trust me when I say you will be extinguished in this war."
She pointed her good arm at the pentagram and it began to fade away.
"No!" Lovell shouted, quickly trying to find a way to break the pentagram.
Corentin laughed, the demon roared and charged the cobra. Suddenly there was a sound like shattering glass as a bright blue light collided with the shield around the pentagram and brought it down.
Another blue light consumed the demon and banished it back to its hell; a gust of blue wind whirled around the fallen figure and suddenly she was gone.
"Count this as your first strike Corentin." A young female's voice echoed through the park before the battle field also vanished.
Lovell jumped back. "Looks like we'll have to take this up later." He smirked.
Corentin clutched at her bleeding arm. 'Damn Guardian.' She thought. Never had any of the past Guardians ever dared to do what this one had done. 'Pathetic mortals, how dare they believe they can hold sway over us?' Still for tonight she would retreat.