Soul (Chaos #1)

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

"It's terrible." Mam's worried voice broke through my reading and drew my attention. She stood before the television, furniture polish in one hand and cloth in the other, shaking her head.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Watch." She pointed at the screen. "The world's going mad. We can't escap eit."

I focused on the news anchor's voice. She was talking about some sort of crime wave in the centre of the city. "Just your average cokeheads acting the fool."

"Maybe," she said. "But the Dunphys and the Hoolihans around the corner had a bust-up over a hedge yesterday. Windows were smashed, and the police were called. And Mrs. Murphy's house was burgled last night. The poor woman was locked in her garden shed until this morning. She almost froze."

"What's that got to do with this?" I gestured at the TV. The screen flashed to a reporter standing in front of a vandalised school.

She shrugged. "Just seems like the world is going to hell lately."

A key in the front door made her flinch, and she dashed out of the room like a terrified animal. Sighing, I headed upstairs. I skipped dinner and fell asleep. I dreamed of winged angels that turned into devils and set the country on fire. I awoke abruptly and lay in the dark, trying to figure out what had happened.

I heard voices. Someone was in my room. Frozen in my bed, I stared until my eyes adjusted to the darkness, but then a blast of light blinded me for another few seconds.

A lightning bolt flew around my room, shifting from red to orange to gold. When the light dimmed, a small, perfectly formed faery appeared. A book fell, and my attention was drawn to her companion. He was small and bald, and when the tiny faery flew over his head, I saw the scarring on his skin and recognised him as the Seelie queen's living footstool.

I sat up straight. "You were there! At the festival with one of the queens, right?"

He fell to his knees, his head bowed.

"Sorry," I said softly. "I didn't mean to scare you."

He looked up at me with a mixture of awe and fear.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I said. "You surprised me is all."

The other faery flew down and landed on the floor in front of him. His back instantly straightened as if he drew strength from her. She puffed out her chest and danced toward me, her light turning bright red. The light emanated from her hair and skin, red and gold all over. Even her eyes were red beads that might have appeared evil if she didn't wear a mischievous grin.

"I am the sprite, Realtín," she said. "This is Grim. We have been ordered by the king to stay with you. To protect you."

I made a face." Go tell your user of a king to leave me alone. I don't need any protection."

"Oh, but you do." Grim shrank back.

"Do you dislike our king?" Realtín asked.

"He stole my friend's body. Of course I dislike him." Maybe it was a stretch to call Drake a friend, but he felt like more than the word friend could cover.

She flew into the air and patted Grim on the head. "See? This job won't be so bad."

"I'm not your job," I said. "You have to go before my parents hear you."

"Oh, they're both deaf," she said airily, flitting about my room and staring at the faeries on my shelf. "So ugly," she muttered, despite the fact at least a few of them looked a little like her.