Author's Note: Do I really have to say everytime that I'm not Holly Black and do not own this stuff? Cause I'm not. And I don't.
Alright guys, we have a problem. NO ONE IS REVIEWING! this makes me sad. Here's an ultimatum. I'm going to blackmail you by saying that if I won't post another chapter until you review. So there. :P
Ok, so I am so proud of myself for keeping up with my updates! This chapter is really intense. I actually toyed with the idea of upping the rating to M. When you guys review, which I know you WILL (see above ultimatum) just because you love me that much, tell me if you think this fic should be M rather than T.
Happy reading! Or not, since this chapter's not very happy...oh, i'm giving stuff away, i'm giving stuff away *promptly stuff her fist in her mouth and attempts to type with one hand*
here's the next chapter!
Title: THE NEXT STEP
Author: pelori
Chapter 14: The Discovery
"I already knew about faeries."
The girl cocked her head as she swallowed the last of the green beans to have been on her plate.
"You see," Jared continued nervously, "Arthur Spiderwick, the man in that portrait, discovered the Fantastical Realm. He studied faeries…no, he made them his life's work. Everything he learned, he compiled into his Field Guide."
"A book?" Brana questioned, her face blank. "A book containing all the knowledge of the faeries in this area?" She raised one eyebrow slightly in question.
"Yes," Jared replied, sighing, "I know it was dangerous, but at the beginning, he didn't realize what he was doing, putting all that stuff together in one place. He found out later when this ogre, Mulgarath, decided that he wanted the book for himself."
"I am sure," Brana mused, bringing her pale fingers to stroke her chin thoughtfully, her eyes still drawn in an emotionless gaze, "he certainly would, at that."
"Well, Spiderwick made the Circle and hid the book away, but that wasn't enough for the elves and the silf—"
"Obtrusive meddlers," the faerie girl muttered.
Jared continued, "His daughter, Lucinda, learned form her father's work and had the Sight, but she never read his book. She feared it. Eventually, she got too old to stay here and fight off the goblins alone. She went to an old people's home and—"
"A what?" Brana questioned.
"An old…never mind. Remind me to tell you later," if she is still willing to listen at that time, Jared thought to himself. "Somehow, Mom found out that the house was empty, and since we didn't have anywhere else to live, we moved here. I mean, Lucinda did leave us the house, after all."
Jared paused. This was the part wherein he feared the reaction from the potentially terrifying faerie before him.
"What happened to the book?" Brana asked carefully, studying Jared's face, as she began to draw the pieces together. If Jared's story followed through to its logical conclusion…
"I found it," Jared whispered, his eyes to the floor. "I found it and broke the seal," he raised his eyes slowly to meet the intense glare of the fantastical creature sitting altogether too close for comfort. "I read it. Every word. I know more about the Fantastical Realm than anyone since Arthur himself when he wrote it."
"What?" the girl hissed, baring her razor-sharp fangs, as thoughts ran through her head: the words of the sprite in the forest, 'This used to be Mulgarath's territory, but he is gone now, and no one rules here. Well, maybe the child with the book…' the yells of the Bogart, 'I will tell the master…Then the boy will not be so welcoming,' and the strange conversation she had had with the boy, 'You want me to teach you a power that does not belong to any human?' and his reply, 'Yeah! I want to learn as much as I can about the Fantastical Realm!"
The faerie growled, a low, feral sound that sent adrenaline and fear running through Jared's system. The human boy began to scramble backwards, knowing the black-clad creature in front of him could hear the crazily erratic beating of his heart, and likely smell his terror.
"You are the one who defeated the ogre, supplanted him, and used that Book to maintain rule over the faeries!"
"What?" Jared breathed out, "No, I—"
Before he could react, the snarling faerie launched herself forward, knocking the boy to the floor, pinning him below her.
Jared struggled frantically against her hold on him, her grip unbearably tight.
"No, you don't under—"
"Liar! I knew humans couldn't be trusted!" she barked out, opening her deadly maw to reveal her jagged incisors, lowering her head until the tip of one of her canines moved across the exposed skin of Jared's neck, drawing a thick line of blood in its wake.
Jared drew in a shaky breath. Was this the end? Was this strange creature going to kill him? But as he felt the faerie's taloned hands dig into his wrists and shoulder, his fight or flight instinct kicked him into action. He brought his knee up, throwing it into her thigh, at the same time that he threw his head forward, crashing it against the pale forehead lowered so conveniently close.
The creature roared, her grip loosened just enough for Jared to scramble out from under her, kicking and punching as he went.
Thrown back by the force of Jared's struggle, and the pounding in her head, the faerie shrugged off her clock, revealing pale hardened muscles, quivering with anticipation of the attack, her torso covered with a thick black leather jerkin and matching leggings on the legs that were slightly too long and slender to be considered normal for a human.
But Jared didn't stop long enough to register anything other than her stance; she was ready to strike. He stealthily reached into his pocket, drawing out the pocket knife he kept with him at all times since the struggle with Mulgarath.
"That's not the way it happened!" Jared tried once more as he carefully opened the knife one-handed, hiding it against his thigh.
"Really?" the creature growled sarcastically, "Then let me see!"
Jared had only a second's warning before she sprang, her arms outstretched. Almost in slow motion, Jared reacted, bringing his knife-hand up, his wrist steady before him. At the same time, he felt what seemed like a dozen tiny daggers digging into his neck.
As he opened his mouth to scream, he was aware of two other sensations: one, he no longer felt the cool metal of the knife in his hand, only warm flesh pressed against him, and two, a cool hand had come to rest against his forehead. And suddenly, Jared felt like he was thrown into the center of a whirlwind.
Flashing before him, he saw hundreds of images: his father, playing baseball with him the Christmas he had received his first baseball glove; Simon's face as he sat in the cage suspended above the goblin camp; his sister's crying visage as she, Jared and Simon sat at the top of the stairs of their house in New York, listening to their parents yell at each other; the mirror shattering as Jared's fist pounded into it, furious at the principal for giving him detention for yet another fight; Mulgarath, in his true ogre form plowing through the old Spiderwick mansion, the small Grace family doing everything they can to stop him; and finally, a tiny sprite held in the palm of Jared's hand as he applied Neosporin and a small Band-aid to the tiny creature's battered leg after a bad fall.
All at once, the noise of the whirlwind reached a crescendo and stopped, at the same time that the sound of his own scream came back to him. But the pain in his neck slowly began to recede, as did his cry as Brana slowly pulled back her hand from his brow, her teeth from his flesh, slowly moving her body off of Jared's, which once again lay pinned to the floor. As more of Jared's senses returned to him, he felt the warm hilt of the knife in his hand, surrounded by warm sticky liquid.
Author's Note: Ohh, cliffie! Sorry to leave you guys hanging, but the opportunity was knocking!
Anyway, I will hold the other half of this chapter HOSTAGE (cause I do have it almost completely finished) until I get at least ONE REVIEW! If I don't get any reviews, it seems to me like you guys don't like this fic, so there' s no reason for me to continue to update.
I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing. In writing this chapter, I realized that I have never before written a fight scene. How n00b-like of me! Horrible! Anyhoo, I hope it was alright. I know one of my lovely review-ees, Jaredfan, I believe it was said that they loved it when Jared got into trouble and fights. How 'bout this one? :3