Mistfall (5 page)

One of the two guys at the next booth turned
around and interrupted my solitude.

“I’ve never seen you here before.”

I didn’t even bother looking up, one glance
at my eyes and I could be in serious trouble. I could tell there
were Otherworlders in the diner, but I didn’t know who they were.
Darting my eyes around the diner, I guesstimated my chances of
making it out of here if anyone did take notice of me. Figuring my
chances were better at making a few minutes of small talk, I
answered the rude one looking my way.

“That’s because I’ve never been here before.
My name is Mags by the way. And you are?”

He put his hands out in front of him
apologetically. “I’m sorry Mags, I didn’t mean to sound rude. It’s
a small town and I know just about everyone around here. It’s nice
meet someone new. My name’s John.”

“It’s nice to meet you John, but I won’t be
here long. Just some coffee and I’m back on the road.”

“Oh. Well, it was nice to-.” His voice
dropped off and suddenly he was next to my side. “Do you trust me?”
John’s voice was low and full of alarm.

“Trust you? I don’t even know you.”

“How about a little blind faith then?” John
asked before turning to his friend. “It’s too sunny, don’t you
think?”

“What?” I asked, confused as to what was
happening.

The next thing I knew John had grabbed me and
hauled me to the ground. We were crouched down low when he pulled a
knife from his side and thrust it into the linoleum. Lightening was
streaking across the previously sunny sky, thunder bursting shortly
after the flashes.

“Hold on,” he suggested.

Petrified, I did what he told me, thanking my
lucky stars that knife went into the floor instead of me. My arms
were wrapped tight around his neck when the floor dropped out from
around us and we fell, straight into the earth.

I’ll admit it, I screamed, like a little girl
too. There was no ground beneath us and we were still falling. My
eyes were closed tight, I was holding my breath and onto John with
everything I had, legs, arms, and all. Unable to do anything else,
I prayed for a soft landing.

A soft voice laughed next to me. “It’s
alright, we’re on solid ground now, you can let go. I appreciate
the gentle landing, but it wasn’t necessary.

I dared to peek one of my eyes open. Sure
enough we were on the solid ground of the valley I had, moments
previously, been admiring from forty feet up. Sunlight was forcing
its way through the storm clouds, sending the fierce weather
away.

I let go of John and stepped away, letting
the panic dwindle to nothing while I brushed dirt off of me. It was
that moment when I realized I was the reason for the soft landing
and he knew it too. I had been so terrified of plummeting into a
dark abyss, I didn’t realize I magicked up the soft landing.

Instead of the caffeine, I was rolling with
adrenaline, which made my brain pick back up on a few things I
hadn’t realized either.
He’s magical too. Since when does a
knife cause a sinkhole? Why did he grab me in the first place?
While I was thinking about the most recent of developments to my
life, John sent my train of thought into a wall.

“So what are you then?” he asked as if he
wanted to know the score of a ballgame.

Oh no, he’s wondering where my magic comes
from.
My heart began thudding, like a jackhammer, though I let
my defensive nature override the panic.

“What kind of question is that? You don’t
seem to have any tact at all do you? What am I,” I scoffed poking
him in his,
oh my
, rock hard chest, “What are you?”

He gave me a soft chuckle. “You are entirely
too worked up. Again, I mean no offense and to answer your
question, I’m an elf. So again, what does that make you?”

Uh oh, what else can I pass as?
“I’m a
Witch.”

“Bullshit, you’re not a Witch,” he
admonished.

“How do you know that I’m not?” My pulse was
becoming so rapid I thought it starting to hit the two hundred
mark.

His voice took on a tone of exasperation at
my evasion. “If you were a Witch you would have had to use your
hands or cast a spell. If I remember correctly, every limb you had
was wrapped around me and you were screaming. That’s definitely no
spell I’ve ever heard from a Witch’s mouth before.”

I’m not sure what the maximum beats per
minute your heart can reach before it explodes, but I am there. I
can’t possibly run without passing out at this point, being on the
brink of a full out panic attack.
I guess there are worse places
to die
, I thought. Figuring I should at least look him in the
eye before he kills me, I took off my hat and looked at the man
standing in front of me.

Damn, death was gorgeous! He was a little
taller than me with chocolate brown hair and eyes that reflected
every color of green in the forest. His skin had a bit of a golden
tan to it and he was close to my age if not a few years older. He
was wearing a close fitted t-shirt that showed he was no slouch in
the physique department. There was a tingle of butterflies in my
stomach that had nothing to do with the panic still raging through
me.

He hadn’t noticed my eyes so I looked back
down at me feet in a futile attempt to put off the inevitable. “I
can’t tell you what I am,” I confessed.

“Why not? Does it have anything to do with
your friends up there?” he pointed back up the cliff at the
diner.

“What friends? I was drinking coffee alone
before you interrupted me and sent us tumbling through the rabbit
hole.”

He walked closer, stopping just inches from
me. He put his hand on my chin, lifting my face up so he could get
a better look at me. His eyes widened in recognition. “That would
explain your friends Violet.”

Violet?
“I was trying to go
unnoticed.”

“Well Violet-“

“Mags,” I interrupted.

“Well Violet, you didn’t go unnoticed,” he
continued. “Those friends of yours were Elven assassins and they
knew you were there. They were coming right for you. If I hadn’t
plunged us down into the cliff, you would be bound for eternity or
dead right now.”

Assassins? It was the Aelfadl that Willa was
talking about. Where was I going to go? What do I do now? How am I
going to survive? Question after question rolled through my head
while my heart continued to pound.

John thought my silence meant I didn’t
understand what he was talking about. “The Aelfadl are the best
assassins, human or otherwise. They rarely lose a target.”

That was the last thing I heard as my panic
mode went nuclear and I fell into a world of darkness.

When I woke, I was in an unfamiliar bed. I
got out of bed and looked around the room, taking in my new
surroundings. The walls, ceiling, and floors were made from rough
hewn timbers.
I must be in a log cabin
, I thought to myself.
Aside from the Spartan décor of a bed, night table, and dresser,
the only thing of interest was the bookcase.

On the wall opposite the bed was a built-in
bookcase. I ran my hand along the bindings, reading the titles. The
owner of this house had varied interests if these books were any
indication. There were books on history, classic literature,
science, and then there were some I couldn’t make out, being in the
Elven language.

So much had happened in so little time. I was
finding my breathing restricted, as if an invisible hand was
closing upon my throat. I needed fresh air to clear my head and
come up with a plan, so I walked to the door leading out of the
room. I needed to escape my current confines and figure out what I
was going to do. I put my hand on the doorknob and was about to
open it when I heard voices on the other side. I still wasn’t sure
where or with whom I was with so I put my ear against the door to
listen.

“We can’t move her anytime soon. We need more
time,” a female voice said.

“Elena’s right. At the minimum, we need three
more months,” an older male grumbled.

I recognized John’s voice when he answered
their concerns. “Are you sure? That’s the soonest you’ll be ready
for her?”

“Yes. We’re already rushing to get it done
that soon,” the woman, Elena, responded.

“I guess I have no choice. Mags will stay
here then. I don’t trust her safety to anyone else,” John
offered.

“What about…She’s awake.” the gruff male’s
voice stiffened.

I gasped and backed away from the door as
silently as I could. I don’t know who exactly was on the other side
of that door and I didn’t want them knowing I was eavesdropping. I
wasn’t able to make out the end of the conversation, only the
shuffling of feet and a door closing.

The doorknob slowly turned and John peeked
his head in. “Hey Violet, are you alright?” he asked.

Physically I was fine. Emotionally, I wasn’t
sure. “I don’t know. So much has happened. It all seems so
surreal.”

John’s body fully emerged from the door and
walked over to me, stopping about a foot away. He was wearing a
white v-neck sweater that clung tightly to his body, and jeans. His
hair was disheveled and a shadow of stubble was just appearing on
his face. Any other time, I may have stopped to appreciate the
rugged look on him, but all I had were questions.

“What’s going to happen to me?” I asked.

He raised one eyebrow in amusement, “What do
you think is going to happen to you?”

“Well,” I started, “I’m pretty sure you’re
not going to kill me or turn me over to those who will, even though
you know what I am. Aside from that, I don’t know.”

John laughed. “That’s a pretty fair
assumption. Besides, if I bared you any ill will, I would have left
you in that diner to the Aelfadl.”

I couldn’t argue with that.

“Why don’t you come with me into the living
room, have a cup of tea and we can talk about it.” He opened the
door with a sweep of his arm. “After you.”

The living room was just as sparsely
decorated as the bathroom. Aside from the usual accoutrements of a
couch, coffee table, and rocking chair, there was nothing to
signify the personality of its owner.

I sat on the edge of the couch, still a bit
apprehensive, but much more relaxed than I had been in the past
twenty-four hours. John returned a few minutes later, with two mugs
in hand and sat down beside me.

“Here,” he handed me one of the mugs. “It’s
chamomile. I kinda figured you could use its calming
properties.”

“Oh yeah, I guess so,” I laughed
nervously.

John put his hand on my arm. “Mags, you can
relax. You’re safe here.” He lifted his head to meet my eyes and
gave me a small smile. His emerald eyes betrayed his feelings,
honesty showing itself. Between that and the softness of his voice
I was disarmed. It didn’t hurt that he had used my name instead of
the silly nickname he had christened me with.

My face flushed, embarrassed to admit I had
listened in on the earlier conversation. “What were you and the
others talking about earlier and what does it have to do with
me?”

“You heard that.” He wasn’t asking, just
stating a fact. Trepidation crossed his face as he gathered his
thoughts. “Well, the long and short of it is, Willa sent us to
protect you.”

My jaw dropped. I didn’t know how to respond
to that.

He went on to explain that, aside from my
little hiccup of showing up early, Willa had planned on moving me
somewhere safer once I was old enough to leave home. The attacks on
me had been increasing and Willa believed the Aelfadl had finally
narrowed down their search for us. She deemed it too dangerous to
remain among the humans, for their safety, and put a plan in
order.

Others had volunteered to help Willa in her
plan for me. Not all Otherworldly creatures were against us. Willa
was over a thousand years old and in that time had made many
friends and champions.

Willa had been tasked with smuggling me into
the human side of the Mistfall. She made it possible, through magic
and bribery for the Maguire’s (my human parents) to adopt me. Willa
had kept a close eye on me, though I never knew she was there until
she moved next door to us.

John wouldn’t let me in on the plan, for
safety reasons, except on a ‘need to know’ basis. I didn’t argue.
Enough people had already been hurt because of me and I didn’t want
anyone else put in harm’s way.

Having eavesdropped on their conversation, I
knew they were on Team Mags. With no plan of my own, I decided to
put my faith in Willa and go with hers.

He told me that I would be staying with him
for the next three months, while the rest of Willa’s plan was put
into order. My inner self was jumping up and down, screaming
“Woohoo,” but I kept even faced when I agreed. Three months with
that eye candy couldn’t be that bad. Besides, I had nothing left
and nowhere to go.

When I awoke the next morning I was still
bundled up underneath the feather down of my comforter, but alone.
Luca no longer occupied the chair in my room. There was a glass of
brew
and a note on the bedside table.

Drink this before you come out of the
bedroom. ~Melissa

Ignoring the glass for the time being, I lay
back down and stared at my ceiling. The ceiling was my favorite
part of the house. Colorful stones and gems covered it in a type of
mosaic that was especially beautiful when sunlight poured through
the windows and made them sparkle. Rainbows of color would dance
around the room. The stones kept me from being exposed. It was a
type of magical insulation for jinn.

“John,” I sighed. Looking at a particular
emerald green stone I remembered what happened after my dream left
off.

A few days after my arrival at John’s, I met
Jack. Jack was at the diner with John that day. He was responsible
for the storm that distracted everyone while John helped me escape.
They had grown up together and were best friends.