Becoming Fae

Turns out, breaking a blood curse wasn’t as hard to prepare for as I had thought it would be. Netiri, being a priestess, had a ceremonial blade and Immail coached me in the right words in some coarse sounding language that made the hairs on my arms stand on end. Once that was done, Netiri laid in the middle of a circle she had etched in the dirt and Immail sat cross-legged as close to the edge as he could without actually crossing the line.

“I still say this is a terrible plan,” I muttered, looking at the dagger in my hand.

“It’ll be okay,” Mal said and kissed my cheek.

“For who?” I looked at Harmon, who was sitting beside Netiri with his legs tucked under himself.

“It’s time,” Immail called, and I stifled a groan as I entered the circle.

I sat on her side, across from Harmon and closed my eyes, gathering the strength of will to do this... this risky, insane ritual that I had made no secret that I was against. Not only was it a risk for Harmon, but the ritual itself was a risk for Netiri and the actual breaking of the curse could snap back at me, hitting me with a magical whiplash that would lay me out for a long time.

Still, I started speaking and raised the blade, lying flat in both hands, out in front of me. From what Immail had said, I was using my magic to call the darkness that had attached itself to Netiri. Once I saw it, I would cut Harmon and use his blood with my magic to get rid of the curse. In theory, it would be simple, but the problem was the evil. It would fight to remain and would also use Harmon’s blood against my efforts. He was a weapon that we were both fighting over and the strongest one would prevail.

As I spoke, chanting my demands for the darkness to show itself, my eyes flicked down to Netiri. She looked like she was in pain, but she had told me to keep going, no matter what happened. She’d been pretty serious about it, too, saying that if I stopped the magic that had cursed her could very well lash out at me and who knew what it would do.

Something drew my gaze down to her chest and my lip curled as I watched an inky black shimmer appear over her heart. It gave me the feeling of greasy, oily, toxins sitting on the top of a pond. As I watched, it grew, spreading towards her belly until it consumed most of her torso. Using my magic, I searched the blackness, trying to find the center of it. The origin and heart of the curse attached to her and those that shared her blood was elusive, to say the least. I could feel the evil, like a living thing and it knew that I was trying to get rid of it. So, it was hiding from my search.

I don’t know how long I spoke, pulling on the blackness until, finally, the condensed center of the blackness moved closer. In my head, I imagined grabbing a hold of it, like gripping a slippery fish in the water and tried to lift it up. Of course, it fought like crazy, latching on to Netiri and ripping and tearing at her essence the more I tried to pull it free.

That was the important part of this whole ritual. Once I had my hands on the thing, I had to get it out of her. It would still be attached, like an umbilical cord, but it had to be out of her for me to get rid of it. The more it struggled, though, the more I could feel Netiri’s essence suffering. I could feel the ground under me shaking as Immail paced outside of the circle and the sweat rolling down my face and back.

I flicked my eyes open, seeing the gray, haggard look of Netiri then up to Harmon’s worried expression. He wasn’t involved in the battle I was having, but he could sense it and we both knew it wasn’t going to let her go. Not without killing her first and from the way she looked, that would be sooner than later.

Harmon looked at me and held out his hand, seeing the decision I had made before I even acknowledged it myself, and nodded at me. Quick as a flash of lightning, I sliced his hand, then my chest, yanking the curse until it latched onto me.

It was like ice replaced my blood and my skin became fire. White replaced everything I saw, and my ears rang with a screech that couldn’t have come from this world. My bones felt like they were being smashed over and over again and I swear my brain melted and my head cracked open.

Then, Harmon slapped his palm over my chest everything exploded. We were thrown apart and I landed hard on one of my wings in the dirt, not caring if I was in or out of the circle anymore. I hurt everywhere and I felt used up and wrung out, like an old rag. My vision slowly turned gray and unfocused and I could hear noise through the ringing, like someone shouting at your from under water.

There was an angry screech and the gray in my eyes was chased away by an intensely bright, vibrantly deep red as heat warmed my body for a moment. After a struggle, I flopped my head sideways and saw a dark blur and a flash of white, some more red and blast of bright blue before the sounds stopped and I felt something on my face, turning my head again.

After a few moments, I smiled, seeing Mal’s face, angry and worried, and his lips moving, though I heard nothing.

I saw Immail’s huge hand grab him by the back of his shirt and toss him away before he picked me up rushed me over to Netiri, who was alive and struggling to hold herself up as she reached for me, huffing and shaking in exhaustion.

She was saying something and shaking her head as Immail laid me beside her. I could feel her magic washing over me as tears flowed down her cheeks and she looked panicked as she shook her head again, her lips moving as she spoke again.

“Can’t hear,” I rasped weakly, but even that was silent in my head.

I couldn’t move. I could barely feel. But the thing that stuck with me was that I heard nothing.

-----

Harmon

Netiri was dying. I could feel her life slipping away as Fae fought to bring the curse out of her. If she died, the curse would remain, and it would take my life just as easily as it took Netiri’s. I watched as she tried to hold on, but when I looked at Fae, I knew she was going to do something crazy.

What’s even more crazy was that it made some sense.

Taking the curse and making it latch onto her soul would weaken it, since it was intended for Netiri. I knew what I had to do and as soon as I felt the sickening evil trade Netiri for Fae, I put my bleeding hand over the cut she had made on her chest and pushed my magic and intentions through the connection.

The reaction was immediate, exploding in a silent blast that sent Fae and I flying apart violently. I was unconscious for some time, but when I woke again, I saw Immail running to Netiri with a still and limp Fae in his arms.

“I-I can’t,” Netiri said, struggling to hold herself up as she reached for the weak dregs of her own magic. “I can’t do anything. I’m drained. There’s nothing I can do.”

“Can’t hear,” Fae rasped softly, and my heart fell.

“What happened?” Mal demanded.

“She took it from me but couldn’t stop the curse from taking things from her,” Netiri shook her head. “Even now, the last bits are dying, taking more.”

I shoved to my knees and crawled to them, wrapping my hand around Fae’s ankle and pulling us closer together until my mouth was near her ear. I’d never done this before. None of my kind have in hundreds of thousands of years, not since the war when the creatures now known as demons first showed up here.

“My light for your life. My life for your soul,” I whispered and plucked a feather. “My strength for your burden.”

I forced myself up, kneeling over her then drove the point of my feather into her chest, making sure it went deep enough to pierce her heart and I heard Netiri gasp before there was nothing.

-----

Blaine

I shuddered and rubbed my chest, feeling like something inside broke.

“What the hell was that?” Ben asked, frowning and rubbing his chest as well.

“I have no idea,” I answered. “It kind of hurt, but didn’t?”

“It feels... empty,” he frowned harder, before his eyes blew wide open and he went pale. “Fae. The bond is gone.”

“What?” I felt my blood draining from my own face.

“Something happened. Something bad,” he said, standing up fast enough to send his chair clattering to the floor.

“Hold on,” Rollie said, jumping up from the other side of the table where there was a map spread out. He grabbed the back of Ben’s shirt and dragged him back, leaning him against the edge of the table. “Before you two go running off, think for a moment. You gave them a wisp when they left. Is it still alive?”

“No,” he gritted.

“Then what about you, Blaine? Can you still feel her as your master?” he asked me.

I searched inside for a moment before I nodded.

“Then she’s alive,” Rollie sighed in relief.

“It’s shuddering, but it’s still strong,” I said, and Ben growled as he rubbed his face.

“Go get her,” he said, and I nodded, shifting in a blink and moving through space until I was right next to her.

I was expecting just about anything, but seeing Harmon kneeling over her with a white feather in her chest was not one of those things that I even considered. There was blood on his hands, and I knew it Fae’s.

I growled and lunged forward, my front claws hitting him in the chest and felt my nails dig into flesh as I clamped my jaws around his throat. Only it wasn’t his throat. It was thicker and the flesh didn’t break under my teeth like it should have.

“Blaine! Stop!” Mal shouted and I growled.

“Not bad, little hound,” I felt a hand roughly pat my head and I glared at the owner, only to let go of his arm in shock.

He was a huge, hulking red demon unlike anything I’ve ever seen or heard of before, but I could see the black of his soul. It was so deep and complete, but around it, a halo of light from a cleaner soul. I’d seen layers like this before. Quinn and Mary. Mal and Fae.

“Blaine is Fae’s hound,” I heard Naz say. “Blaine, this isn’t what it looks like.”

“Where the hell were you?” Mal snapped at him.

“I had to be away from the ritual. My blood and Immail’s are the same. My presence would have interfered,” he answered. “I came when I felt the explosion.”

Explosion!?

A soft groan drew all of our attention to Fae and Mal started inspecting her from head to foot frantically.

“Where is he?” she grumbled as she gingerly sat up. “I’m going to beat him like a pinata.”

“Blaine’s trying to kill him,” Mal said casually as he kept fretting over her and she swatted at his hands.

“Blaine’s here?” she asked, looking around. “How long was I out? And why is there no fire?”

“What? Fae, you weren’t out for long. Only a few minutes. It’s the middle of the afternoon,” Mal frowned at her as her eyes darted around.

“Oh, my gods,” she whispered, reaching out and touching his face. “I can hear you, but I can’t see.”

“Har-Harmon,” a woman said, sagging back to the ground like she was exhausted. She looked remarkably like Fae. “He shared his essence with her, fixing the deafness the curse caused. I don’t know why you can’t see, though.”

I growled and Fae snapped her head around, her eyes searching for me.

“Blaine, let him up,” she said.

“I have a few questions for you,” Immail grinned, and I yelped as he picked me up like I was nothing more than a poodle, not a fearsome hellhound.

“Better you than me,” Naz muttered as I was carted away under the demon’s arm.