Return of the High Fae (Vegas Fae Story Book 1) (6 page)

I went through the door, waved goodbye, then headed back
into the dimly lit alley. As the door closed, I looked around, wondering where
the girl had gone. Except for the cars, there was nothing visible. I shook my
head as I walked to the car. First it was talking dogs. Now there were Faeries.
Or was it Elves? Hell, did it really matter?

I sat in my car with the engine running for a minute or
two, just watching the lot. I couldn't figure it out. It had looked so real. I
knew she couldn't really have had wings, but, damn. I saw them. What was
happening to me? But I had seen the audience's reaction as well. She had done
something to them and it was clear the other girls saw it, too.

So I was seeing and hearing things, but for the girls at
Darlings
?
Ouch! That had to hurt. Imagine what has to be going through their minds as
they do a seductive lap dance, when suddenly their customer forgets they exist.
Talk about a blow to your self-esteem. Not to mention the bottom line if he
doesn't tip her. To hell with it. I gave up trying to figure any of it out.
This wasn't the place.

I put my car in gear and made my way out on to Highland.
Making a left at the light, I headed toward Las Vegas Boulevard and the
freeway. Eyeing a 7-11, I changed my mind, cut across several lanes of traffic
and pulled into a parking space. I needed coffee.

It must be my night for pretty women. As I went through
the door, I saw the clerk ringing up something for a nice looking gal. She was
in her mid to late 30's, with light brown hair to the middle of her back. Not
magazine pretty, more a wholesome-type look. The kind of girl your mother would
probably like. But there was also a subtle hint of sexy about her, just barely
peeking out. She was well-dressed, casual style, in pressed black jeans with a
black shirt that sparkled when she moved and showed just a hint of bosom. But
it was her eyes that grabbed me, and they grabbed my soul. They were as green
as emeralds.

At first glance, I thought she might be wearing contacts,
but when I took a second look, they were all hers. I was a sucker for green
eyes. I gave a smile and a hello as I walked by. She just nodded and continued
toward the exit, barely noticing me. Oh well. What did I expect? This was 7-11
for God's sake, not a pick up joint.

I grabbed a coffee, paid the clerk, and went back to the
car. The Oakey exit was blocked by a limo. I'd seen that they sold hard liquor
inside so I guessed a customer needed to make a purchase. I turned to exit on
to a side street when I heard a commotion.

Barely illuminated by the street lights, the woman I had
just seen in the store was being taunted by two twenty-something's in a red
Corvette. This was an industrial area, so there really wasn't any place for her
to go. I rolled the passenger side window down and heard them arguing. I could
hear them calling her "Lilly" and making lewd remarks.

Some people say you shouldn't get involved, but that was
never my style. Besides, I was armed and knew a few tricks. Still, it would
have been better if someone else knew I was here. In the police world, backup
is never far away. When you're a P.I., you're usually on your own, but that's
the breaks. Maybe I should have dialed 911, but I just didn't think about it. I
gunned my car and drove toward them. Stopping behind the Corvette, I switched
on the brights and stepped out of the car.

One of the guys had the woman by the arm, pushing her
against the storefront. He was reaching for her breast with his other hand and
she was struggling. The other guy was still taunting her, rhyming words with
Lilly. I couldn't make it all out. Something like "Little Lilly needs my
Willy," or some such nonsense like that. I had a sudden vision of a scene
from
A Clockwork Orange
, and then I intervened.

"I think that's enough, boys. Fun's over," I
declared, just loud enough for them to hear.

They both looked at me, then the one holding her arm
sneered. "Back off, twat, this is not your affair."

Say what? I don't think I'd ever been called a twat
before. The other guy walked towards me. Normally, I'd have known better than
to let someone get that close, but it was too late.

"Beat it," he threatened, shoving me in the
chest.

He snarled. He actually snarled, and I could have sworn
his eyes shifted somehow.

Without warning, something inside me snapped and I saw
red. I'm not talking about anger, although that was certainly part of it. I
mean literally. My perception of my surroundings had changed. I don't know what
it was; call it adrenalin mixed with some unknown hormone, call it a shattering
of the spell Meredith told me about. It doesn't matter, because suddenly
everything was different. There was a red tinge and the world was no longer in
darkness. It wasn't infrared, it was something else. Things slowed down and I
could see... and hear... almost everything. I'd swear I could even hear the
beating of their hearts.

I had no clue what was happening, but everything was in
perfect clarity. I could hear the sounds of cars, animals, and people. Even
those blocks away. I could tell you the exact height and weight of each
attacker. Hell, I could tell you what they had in their pockets, just by the
sounds the coins made. One was 6' 1", 203 pounds, and there were 2
quarters, a dime and 3 pennies as well as a coin I didn't recognize in his left
pocket.

The other, well it doesn't matter. He had a rod of some
kind in his pocket and I saw him reaching for it. From I don't know where,
power surged through me. I lunged forward, grabbed Mr. Beat It by the throat
and lifted him into the air. I twisted around and slammed him into the trunk
area of the Corvette. He groaned loudly and I could feel the surface yield with
the force.

The other one pushed the woman down hard and ran toward
me, his face and body starting to contort into something not quite human.

Before he could reach me, I shot my arm forward and did
the same to him. Smashing him into his partner, I watched as he changed back to
normal. While they were stunned, I pulled the rod from the second one's pocket.

"Let me go!" Mr. Beat It cried out.

I squeezed, and then caught myself before I went too far.
Don't ask me how. Whatever was surging through my body was difficult to
control. Hell, I didn't even know if I could control it. Holding them down with
my arm, I examined the rod I had taken from him. It was not like the ones I had
seen in the pictures. This one reminded me of a scepter. It was about 18"
long with a handle that was hand carved out of hard wood. It looked like oak.
One end held a blue jewel, which looked as if the wood itself had grown around
it to hold it in place.

"You two weren't planning on using this, were
you?" I asked, pointing the tip just inches from Mr. Beat It's face.

"No, really, I wasn't... I, I'm sorry... she's just a
Lil, man!"

I didn't know what a Lil was, but it didn't matter. I
rolled the scepter in my palm and it became an extension of my hand. The tip
burst into a bright blue flame. His eyes widened as he tried to back away, but
there was nowhere for him to go. I watched as he grimaced, the bright flame of
the rod now just inches from his eyes.

What the hell! I was freaking out and liking it at the
same time. I wasn't sure what I was doing, but events were out of my control. I
slowly pulled the scepter away and grabbed both of them by the throat again.
Although they looked human, I sensed there was more to them. I'd seen the one
boy try to change into something else. Could it have been a wolf? I wasn't sure
but I was so hyped up it didn't seem to matter.

"This is my town," I declared. Oh God, did I
really just utter that cliché? "If you come here again or go anywhere near
this woman, you will not find me so merciful." Merciful? Where did that
come from? Then I relaxed my grip enough for them to speak.

"I promise... we're going," Mr. Beat It
sputtered, gasping for breath. The other one was nodding frantically, his head
moving up and down so fast I thought it was going to fall off.

"Go," I commanded as I lifted them up and pushed
them down on the trunk of the car.

They scampered toward the sides of the Corvette, never
looking back, and scrambled into their seats without even opening the doors. I
heard the tires squealing as they drove off, the burned rubber smell permeating
the air. As they turned down a side street toward Main, I heard the roar of the
engine fade.

I stepped back and leaned against my car, my vision slowly
returning to normal. I felt... drained. What the hell was going on? Was I was
having a dream? Maybe I was still in the
Darlings
rear parking lot,
sleeping in my car. But it didn't feel like a dream. I looked at the scepter again;
the tip dark, cold, no fire burning within it. Could all this magical crap be
real? I was too tired and confused to think. I just wanted to sleep, but then I
remembered the woman.

She was still on the ground, her back up against the
storefront, a look of total astonishment on her face. Gathering myself up as
best I could, I stuck the scepter in my belt and covered it with my shirt. I
walked over to her and knelt down. "Are you ok?"

"What are you?" she asked.

That was the second time someone asked me that in as many
days. Once again, I didn't have an answer. But at least this time the question
made sense.

"Doesn't matter. Are you ok?" I asked again.

She started to get up and I reached to help. She grasped
her hand in mine and I wearily pulled her to her feet. When she was up, she
didn't let go. She just held onto my hand for a moment and then she slowly
released her grip. "Why did you help me?"

"Why did I help you?" I repeated, my other
problems forgotten for a moment. What kind of a question was that? What do I
even say to that? "I'm sorry, maybe I was mistaken, but you looked like
you could use some help."

"Most of your kind wouldn't have gotten
involved," she replied, abruptly, as she brushed off her clothes.

My kind? Maybe she'd have some answers. "What does
that mean? What kind wouldn't have gotten involved?"

She looked at me with a quizzical expression on her face.
"I may not know who you are, but even an idiot could tell you are
Fae."

"Even if I am Fae why shouldn't I have stopped
them?"

"The Were are creatures of the Fae, your realm. Why
would you defend me to spite them? Am I not but a Lil to you?" Her face
became angry but I could tell she was puzzled. "There is no love lost
between our kind, or have the rules changed after all these years?"

She was definitely not acting like a damsel who'd been in
distress. But crap, if we weren't supposed to like each other, why did I think
she was she so damned hot?

Wait? Did she say Were? As in Were-wolf or maybe,
Were-something-even-worse? And what the hell was a Lil? Shit, what was going on
here? I was back in the fantasy novel. Maybe I was in a coma somewhere, like on
that British TV show. Damn, I didn't even know the characters, let alone what
part I was playing. Now there were rules as well? But I needed answers and she
might be my best hope. I could go to Milagre, but could I trust him? Hell,
could I trust her?

Suddenly I remembered why I had intervened, as it were,
and no "your realm" or forest bullshit changed that. Damsel in
distress or not, I was getting pissed.

"Listen, lady... what is your name, anyway?" My
change in tone surprised her.

"Delia, but..."

"Listen, Delia," I interrupted, folding my arms
in front of my chest. "I don't know what you think I am, or for that
matter, what rules you think I should follow." I wasn't being exactly
truthful. So what else was new? "I don't give a damn who those punks were.
Where I come from we don't let strangers paw a pretty gal and we don't ignore a
woman in distress."

Well, maybe I did care if they were Werewolves but why
bother her with trivia?

Her features softened, and what might have been a smile
began to appear, but she caught it before it could emerge. "I'm sorry, it,
you just surprised me." She looked down at the ground for a moment as if I
might have embarrassed her. "It's just... never mind. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, why don't you let me give you a
ride home, or to wherever you're going? That way, I won't have to worry about
whether you made it safely or not."

"No, I'm just going to work. It's not far," she
replied but I could see she was unsure.

I needed answers, but to be truthful, I also wanted to
spend more time with her. There was just something different about her.

"Please, I insist," I said, trying to smile.
"I promise I won't bite."

She giggled and it felt wonderful to watch. I walked her
to my car and opened the door for her. She paused a moment, then got in.
"I wouldn't have let them go too far, you know. It is not forbidden to
protect oneself from harm," she commented, placing her hand on my leg as
if to reassure me. Forbidden, what the hell did that mean?

"Right, well," I pointed out. "It looked
like they were harming you from where I was standing."

"My life was not in danger. There are rules, you
know."

Who makes up these rules? What the hell was that about? I
threw my hands in the air. None of this was making sense. "So let me get
this straight. They can paw you and maybe rape you, but that's ok. I mean, as
long as they don't try to kill you." It was my turn to look at her like
she was crazy. "What kind of screwed up rule is that?"

"You really don't know, do you?"

I looked back at her without saying anything. I was tired,
frustrated, and almost didn't care anymore. Maybe it was the fight; maybe it
was just irritability at being thrust into a world that had so many screwed up
rules. Hell, I wasn't even sure it was still the same world I had gone to bed
in two nights ago. At the moment, though, I didn't have an answer, and I was
tired of saying no. "Where to?" I asked, as I put the car in gear and
pulled out into the street.

"Make a left at the next street. I work at
Danu's."

"Danu's? What's that?" I asked, turning down the
street she pointed out.

"You've never heard of it?" She was looking at
me like the mere mention of the name was all I'd need.

Here we go again. "Sorry. What is it?"

"It's a bar, second building from the end. Turn
there," she instructed, pointing between two buildings.

Cliché or not, Vegas really is my town. I was born and
raised here. I went to school here. Hell, I worked the streets for 25 years
here. I knew this part of town like the back of my hand, and there was no way
that place was supposed to be there.

The front was just an antechamber with a heavy door. There
was a wooden sign hanging outside like an old English Pub. Carved into the wood
was the name, Danu's, and above it, a caricature of a female holding a sword
while sitting on a crescent moon that shone over a sea. The letters were white.
The name and image appeared hand painted. It was between the old Las Vegas Fire
Station #4 and a machine shop.

I'd been down here hundreds of times over the years and
I'd never noticed this place. But then, nothing made sense anymore, so why
should I be surprised.