I had Trudy by the collar between one breath and the next. She dangled, her feet no longer touching the ground. Yet she felt much heavier than she should.
“Change back now,” I ordered, not playing.
The young Aellei — as I’d thought — shimmered back into his original shape. Long, light-brown hair glittered around a sensual, androgynous face. Like my kind, the Aellei appeared just different enough in looks to not quite pass for human.
He had height and a slenderness that spoke of grace. His feet now reached the floor, and his eyes were a pale blue. But his bright white skin really put him apart.
I shook him. “No more nonsense. You know who I am.”
The young male nodded and trembled like a leaf in heavy wind. While part of me was glad to get to the truth of the matter, another felt weary, that my reputation as a sorcerer and Killer of Shadow was as strong in Aelle as it had been hundreds of years ago.
Unfortunately, I’d earned that reputation. It had taken the Dark Tribes centuries to truly divide, and I’d had little choice to either accept death at the hands of Darkness or fight back with the Light.
“What should I do with you now?”
My words caused him to shiver. Then I noticed his companion, peeking out around the kitchen doorway.
The Aellei followed my gaze then whipped his head back. “I-I wish, I mean, I, ah, don’t know what —”
“Tell me why you’re here, or your death will be long in the making.”
“We’re just here to get one of our lost.”
“A lost Aellei?”
Nodding furiously, he explained, “Our people thrive on change. Several times a year, mostly during festival season, we travel to other places to play for fun.”
“But this mundane realm was declared off-limits centuries ago when the humans started seeing strange things. Puck and his under-appreciated sense of humor.” That particular fae had opened the door to a bunch of other magir — those magically attuned beings — from other realms that no long remembered where they’d come from.
Now many of them thought they belonged here and continued to live in secret among the humans. Which reminded me to have a chat with Aerolus about a rogue vampire that had tried to steal blood at Outpour. Or maybe I should talk to Cadmus… Well, when I could find him.
The Aellei shrugged. “Right, well. So we’re — I’m here to gather one of our lost ones back before the queen has to explain why we broke the boundary again.”
Hmm. Something about the youngster felt wrong. Altering my perception, I saw what he’d been hiding. The Aellei and their stupid games.
I swore and threw him so hard he broke through the wall.
“Enough, young one. I tire of these games.” My mood darkened as he and his friend in the kitchen snickered. “Tell me what I want to know, or I’ll feed you to the Light, one piece at a time.” I balled my hand, suddenly encased in fire.
The Aellei sneered and shimmered into another form, this one of a much more mature male. His hair reached his hips, his eyes a bitter blue and full of deceit. “Took you long enough, Guardian. I fear rumors of your greatness have been exaggerated.”
I arched a brow and turned his feet to stone.
He shrieked and swore in his common tongue while pulling frantically at his feet but could only move them a few inches at a time, as if his feet weighed several hundred pounds.
“That’s Noraevian rock.” I smiled. “It responds strongly to the gravitational force in this plane. Now try again, before I forget myself and leave you here to rot with your friend. And the one soon to turn to ash in the kitchen.”
“I’m here for a traitor,” he snapped. “It’s Aellein business. Nothing to do with a Light Bringer.” He stared at his feet with horror, no doubt more concerned at how he looked than at how he felt.
An odd vulnerability they had, but the Aellei clung to vanity almost like a religion.
In his upset, the Aellei’s skin grew so brilliant I had to shield my eyes.
With a sigh, I allowed one of his feet to return to normal.
“The traitor?”
“She’s not here, obviously.” Even under my spell, he had the gall to sound arrogant and disdainful. “Look, this really isn’t your business.” His cocky tone dimmed when he glanced back at his feet. “I am sorry you witnessed this. I don’t want any trouble. Just —”
