Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Kellan

The small hotel was not a Hilton by any means. The whitewashed Aztec stone reminded me of a small bungalow from a different country. The sun had lowered over the town, but I could make out the curved arches of the porch and the lack of AC from several yards away.

I didn't care where I laid my head as long as it wasn't those ungodly woods enclosing the town.

Shoving open the front door and stepping into the humid lobby confirmed my no AC theory. The small man standing behind the counter looked up in confusion as I walked inside.

He obviously didn't have customers often.

"Can I help you, sir?"

His tiny wire-framed glasses sat crooked on his narrow hooknose. His black blanket of hair was combed over in a sad attempt at covering his age.

I dug a handful of gold coins from my pocket and slapped them down on the table. "I need a room for the night."

He eyed the coins before scooping them into his hand and into his pocket. "Yes, sir." He turned and plucked an iron key from behind him. "Your room is 4A. It's right around the corner. If you need anything, please let me know."

I didn't need anything but a good night's sleep. The key was heavy in my hand, nothing like the cards used on Earth, and it brought me back ages. I stalked from the front room, around the corner, and faced 4A.

The door whined when I opened it, the smell of old wood and watered-down cleaning products wafting outward.

The wood furniture looked older than I was, but the feather-down mattress called my name. There was no decoration but a small mirror above the single-standing sink in the corner.

Sitting down on the edge of the small twin bed, I kicked off my boots and leaned back. My body ached from the long day. I needed to eat, but I didn't have the energy to go hunt food down in the middle of the night.

I'd find a farmer's market or bakery in the morning.

I wouldn't wither away before then.

Groaning, I rolled over to grab my pillow when I noticed someone peeking into my window from the slit in the curtains.

I sat up, watching as the woman stood up straight, tilting her head to the side in an alluring way.

She disappeared from the window. Then I heard her knock slightly on my door.

What in the hell? It was the middle of the night.

Walking over, I opened the door and looked down at the faerie. It didn't take long to realize what she wanted. The barely there dress covered her ample breasts and hit low enough to cover her underwear.

Her blonde hair was high on her head, and her makeup made her look like a woman of the night, which judging by her audacity and the time of night, I assumed she was.

"Can I help you?"

She smiled softly. Her heart-shaped face was pleasant to the eye, but nothing about her called to me. No woman had called to me since the one I loved was ripped away.

That'd been too long ago to count.

"Are you alone?" she asked in an accent that sounded British.

"Yes," I said, curling my hand around the edge of the doorframe. "And that's not going to change. Good night."

The faerie wedged her tiny foot in the doorjamb, keeping me from shutting it. The moonlight illuminated the pointed tips of her ears, which had turned red in embarrassment.

"Are you sure, sir? I promise you a good time."

She glanced over her shoulder at the corner of the lot. There was a shadow of what looked like a fae perched against the side of the building.

Bastard.

I watched his slender frame readjust against the building. The blade of the knife in his hand flickered in the moonlight—a silent warning. One that I didn't care about.

"I'll tell you what," I said low enough he couldn't hear. "You tell me where I can find Deidamia, and I'll invite you in for a real good time."

The color in her face drained, and she stepped away from me. Before she could run, I looped my arm around her waist and hauled her inside, shutting the door behind us.

"Please—" she begged, but I stopped her.

"Listen to me, Faerie. I'm not going to hurt you. But I will tell your little friend out there you didn't meet my standard if you don't answer my questions."

Her bottom lip trembled, but she eventually nodded.

Grabbing her upper arm, I led her to the bed and made sure the curtains were closed. "Tell me where I can find Deidamia."

She sighed and began to swing her feet. "She lives in the Dark Woods somewhere. I don't know the exact location."

Sitting across from her in the hard wooden chair, I leaned my head back and stared. "Where can I find the Dark Woods? They sound so promising."

"They're located behind the King's castle. I don't suggest you go them," she said softly. "You seem like a—" she gestured toward my body— "capable man, but the Dark Woods are littered with bad things. Things that will kill you."

I watched the honesty on her face. "Why are you being pimped out by that man outside? What do you owe him?"

She chuckled. "My life. He found me half-dead in an alleyway, took me in, fed me, healed me, and now I'm repaying him."

"By sleeping with random men? What a guy. Where is the king's castle?"

She pointed toward the west. "It's about a half day's walk that way. Follow the cobblestone walkway out of here."

"Thank you. You can stay the night if you'd like. I won't touch you. I'm exhausted from my day's journey, and frankly, I prefer brunettes."

The corner of her mouth tugged into a small smirk. She caught my sarcasm and slipped into the left side of the bed as if she was tired.

When she instantly fell asleep, I knew he'd been working the hell out of her.

I tugged my shirt over my head and laid on top of the covers. The company, whether we spoke or not, felt better than I imagined it would. It'd been so long since I shared a space with someone.

My eyes drifted shut moments later, and black engulfed me.

The slinking edges around the Dark Woods seemed to move against the daylight around it. There was something alive about it but with no human life in sight.

My fingers twitched at my sides in anticipation of entering the mass darkness. My feet urged me forward, but I felt frozen in my spot. The fear on the faerie"s face when I mentioned Deidamia's name kept me there.

I knew why she was afraid. I'd lived it. Josie was living it.

I had to save this girl I didn't know. I had to kill Deidamia, so no one shied away at the sound of her name again.

The trees moaned and whined the closer I grew to the tree line. A roll of nausea thundered through me like slipping through an invisible portal. Thorny vines and brush clung to my legs with each step past the barrier of normalcy. The Dark Woods were dark indeed.

The sunlight hardly made it through the thick canopy above me.

Noises of animals and little monsters echoed in the distance, and looming shadows around me attempted to swallow me whole.

A soft cry for help echoed to my left.

It sounded weak. Young. Like a child.

I ran toward it.

Blood smeared on my skin from the briars.

Each step dragged me further from safety and deeper into the forest. The trees began to thin, and a swampy mess pulled me down into the earth by my feet.

I clung to the nearest tree, seeing the silhouette of a woman in the distance. The wind tossed her ebony hair around her shoulders, and her scent twisted lust around inside of me.

It was her.

She smelled like ... It didn't matter.

I had to save her. Stepping forward, I attempted to pull my feet from the mud with no luck. "Hold on, Josephine," I called, but my voice sounded small.

Like a child.

Deep, methodical laughter rang through the treetops, sending crows scattering around me.

Josephine stalled in the distance, placing one hand on a tree, she turned to look at me. Her blue eyes were vibrant, though the distance should have dulled them.

Deidamia formed behind her. Bigger than life. The horns on top of her head were large, those vicious green eyes full of hate and smug arrogance.

"Too late, Kellan," she said in that sultry voice. "It's too late again."

I woke to a wet face, and the faerie leaning over me with a pitcher of water. "I'm sorry," she said softly, handing me a towel. "You were screaming, and I didn't know what to do. I need to leave. I can feel him getting antsy outside."

I swiped my palm down my face. Taking the towel, I wiped off my chest. "Thank you."

The sun was higher in the sky than I would have liked.

My body needed the rest.

The faerie stood uncomfortably by the door, avoiding my gaze as I dressed. "Who is Josephine?" she asked softly. "Your wife? Is that why you didn't take me up on my offer?"

I slid my T-shirt back over my shoulders. "No. My wife died decades ago. Josephine is who I came to rescue. Deidamia took her."

The faerie's eyes were wide in shock. "You're going to face off with Deidamia? Oh, dear. Please be careful."

The genuine look on her face made it harder to hand her over to the creep lurking outside my door. I could hear his breath. "I can handle myself," I whispered. "Can you?"

She swallowed. "Thank you for the good time."

I didn't doubt she meant it. A good night's sleep without a creepy guy's hands all over her probably was a good night.

I walked toward the door, glanced back at my room to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything and opened the door.

The Fae outside sighed in relief at the sight of us. His purple-colored eyes greedily took her in, and it raised my anger.

"About damn time," he hissed. "Has he paid you?"

She shook her head.

Digging gold coins out of my pocket, I handed them to her. The fae intercepted my hand, and I snapped. It was unlike me to do so. Well, most of the time, but I pressed him against the window by my forearm and watched as he gasped for breath.

The faerie behind me grabbed my T-shirt and begged me with those big storybook eyes not to make it worse for her. But I would make it better. Using the knife lodged into my boot, I slid it along his cheek, drawing blood.

"Why don't you run, little faerie?" I asked, looking over my shoulder. "I'll keep him here until you"re safe."

She didn't budge.

"Run, girl," I hissed. "This will be your only chance."

She nibbled her bottom lip, turned, and took flight, leaving sparkles in the air like something out of a child's storybook.

The Fae chuckled deeply. He craned his neck to gather breath enough to speak. "I will find her, fool."

I pressed harder. "Yeah, maybe after you heal."

He looked confused until I stuck my blade into his thigh and watched as he crumpled down to the sidewalk. I jerked the blade out, watching blood pool underneath him. "You better see a doctor about that. Wouldn't want you to bleed out."

I left him howling on the sidewalk like the coward he was to follow the faerie's directions toward the Dark Woods.

Rain began to sprinkle down on me. It only added to the darkness of the situation. Maybe the rain would wash away some of the trouble that the Dark Woods had for me.

A tall, twisted tree sitting on the side of the walkway held a low-hanging branch.

On it sat that stupid red-eyed crow.

He flew away as I grabbed my bag to pelt him with another rock.

He wasn't as stupid as he looked.

His caw sounded frantic. Like a warning. Perhaps he was letting Deidamia know I was near. Good. She could have something ready for me because I sure as hell had something planned for her.