Collection of Older Works

Faethfully Yours: Chapter Six

Ivan's POV

"1:53" Ivan muttered as he watched the long arrow make its rounds on the clock opposite his bed. What had begun as an observation grew subconsciously into a ritual as every night he lay awake, waiting for the clock to strike that hour.

The hour.

Sighing, he tugged restlessly at his hair. The clock would undoubtedly strike two that morning but it wouldn't just signal the passing of another dreadful day and sleepless night, but of two guilt stained months since he had been accused of murder. Two months since he last saw Charlotte awake. After her heart stabbing confession, she blacked out and never regained consciousness... 

'You killed me...' He played the words endlessly in his head, trying to decipher her last word... but it was no use. She passed out before he could ask her to repeat it. 

Groaning in frustration, Ivan resigned from the warmth of his bed to embrace the chill of his fourth story window. The small town slept underneath him and he could clearly remember his first night there. It had been spent in the same manner, looking out the same window, haunted by the same guilt, wondering if he could really survive living there for very long. That had been ten years before.  

Shongopovi, Arizona had not been his first thought when seeking refuge. After fleeing the Upper Circles of Hillenia, Ivan sought out large cities thinking that the massive amounts of human aura would help hide his identity but that proved to be unwise. After almost losing his life at the hand of earth dwelling fey, Ivan, with the help of fellow fugitive Elena, began seeking obscure and remote places. Shongopovi was the only one that offered them unparallel safety with an added benefit. Nearby burial grounds shielded their existence from others of their kind while the native people, the Dine, possessed a very different, yet very powerful magic.  

The Dine had been especially weary to offer them shelter. Only after agreeing to have their darkest powers bound under Dine spells and agreeing to teach the Dine what Fae magic they still possessed, were they then allowed to stay. Exhaling sharply, Ivan accepted that his days of safety and anonymity were counted.  

A young woman walked on the opposite side of the street, in and out of the lights provided by towering street lights. With her hands tucked in her pockets, she walked with her head down...but then she stopped. She looked around and with a slight shake of the head, continued walking.  

She stopped again. 

Ivan wondered if she noticed him watching and almost felt embarrassed at his voyeurism, but then, in the inconsistent flickering of the following streetlight, a shadow separated from the night and crept slowly towards her. Ivan rubbed his eyes and focused. He must've been seeing things. There was no way any fey could ever enter Shongopovi without him being consulted first. 

From the moment Ivan arrived at Shongopovi, he had received reports of "lighted creatures" and "solid shadows" lurking just beyond the burial grounds, but they were never able to enter. Only with the blessing of the Dine would they ever be able to set foot into the lands. Without it, no magic wielded could save a fey or any other creature from what ancient magic awaited them. That thought held little comfort as the shadow began creeping across the street in his direction. 

Ivan kept his eyes fixed on the flashing street light, not wanting to give away that he had indeed seen the movement, but it was only getting closer. Had he been free to use his own powers, the ones he knew would disintegrate the shadow, it would not have been an issue...but he was bound.... 

"Crap..." he thought, quickly flipping through his mental catalog of available spells but there weren't any that wouldn't violate his treaty. Nonchalantly stepping back, Ivan turned on a nearby lamp relying on old fashioned light vs. darkness.