The Faerie Curses

Chapter Six: The Sprite Master

"What's your name?" I inquired, kicking a sprite out of the way. Behind me, Glen was battling two more.

"I'm Tyler," the boy answered.

"Tyler, I want you to go back to your house and hide, alright? Go under your bed and stay there until morning. Don't come out until then."

The boy, Tyler, nodded in understanding, sucking on his teddy bear's arm.

"You're a pretty fairy," he told me, throwing his small arms around my waist.

I stiffened. I hugged him back, holding him tightly for a moment. He was little and warm against my sleek armor, and my heart throbbed almost painfully. I gently pried him off of me.

"Run, Tyler," I told him, "Do as I said, OK?"

"I will," he responded in his high pitched voice.

I watched as he darted away, his teddy bear swinging behind him.

"Who knew you were so good with kids?" Glen remarked, "I always thought that you fed on their dreams."

I glared at him.

Then there was the earthquake.

It felt like one, at least. The whole ground vibrated and thrashed beneath my boots, and I struggled to maintain my balance. I stared at Glen, who was also wobbling.

"Are...you...doing...this?" I asked, my words bouncing along with my body. Glen shook his head.

This isn't good.

A figure rose from beneath the ground, slowly emerging from the shaking earth. I first noticed the stranger's armor. It was unlike any armor that I had ever seen, crudely fashioned around the figure's entire body. It glittered with a malicious gray color, and the figure even wore a mask made out of it. The mask covered their entire face, with only two slits that exposed a pair of glowing gold eyes. They glared at me, and I wanted to drop to my knees and cower in submission. But I stood strong, glowering at the towering figure. The stranger also had a dark, billowing cape that shrouded them in blackness. My eyes were on their back, though. The figure had no wings, just two scarred stumps of flesh where they used to be. This person was most definitely a sprite.

Every single sprite sank down into a low bow, and Glen and I took in the scene with horror.

"Master, Master..." A chorus of hissing rose into the air, and I could picture a cruel smile behind the figure's mask.

The earth abruptly stopped shaking. I was immensely dizzy, but I stood tall, unwavering.

So this was the sprites' master.

"What a sight we have here." The Master's voice echoed throughout the town and the surrounding trees. It was deep, dark, and male, with a twisted edge that made my skin crawl and my spine tingle unpleasantly.  "I see that we have some rather unpolite guests tonight. Ah, and they happen to the faerie academies' best warriors. I'm quite flattered."

"Enjoy being flattered while it lasts," Glen spat, "Considering that every faerie in the realm will be hunting for you in about an hour."

The Master chuckled in amusement.

"If it isn't the summer prince himself. You'll make a decent king someday, but sadly there won't even be a Summer Court by the time I'm finished."

The sprites howled. Glen whipped out his oak staff in fury, but The Master put an armored hand up.

"There will be no need for that, young prince."

Two sprites closed in, grabbing ahold of Glen and roughly shoving him into a bow. The other sprites screeched with laughter, their cries bloodthirsty. Glen heaved backwards and shot a glob of spit from his mouth that landed on The Master's armored foot.