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The goblins in my employ had so willingly followed him, kept out of sight, and reported back. And while they watched, they had learned more about him than he probably knew about himself. Their surveillance of him the last couple of weeks was fruitful, indeed. I was impressed really, I would have to give the goblins a raise for the work they had done.
Not only had I learned more about him than I needed to, but I had learned a bit more about his family. His brothers, his parents, even the girl he was currently courting. And with the knowledge I altered my plans to fit around him. While this man was a menace, he would be a nice pawn in this game.
However, I’d far underestimated the strength the memory spell would do on this mortal. When I planted the seed in his mother’s head amongst the weaving of my other spells, I hadn’t anticipated how quickly it’d come undone.
Fate had an interesting way of thwarting me.
Of interfering with every plan and every ambition I had. With everything it seemed, it was if it was mocking me as I tried to spin my web. One meeting, one moment, and it had all shattered. Not only was this thread completely broken, but his connection, this tie to Serra was stronger than I’d originally realized. I had not known how intimate their relationship had been. I had not known how much in love with him she had thought herself to be.
That spell. . . well. . . that was a fun one. Sending him to her.
I remember that day. I’d lingered in the shadows as I watched them meet. Watched it unfolded for a time before being forced back to the Fae Realms. Unaware that it had gone sour so quickly.
For now though, I would let Fate do its own thing, let it travel its course. Even if I had not accounted for how quickly things would escalate. How involved it would be.
But this could work.It could play into my hand of cards so easily. This man’s infatuation with her would be useful indeed. She had regained his attention, but it could be to my advantage. Certainly I’ll use this unfortunate turn of events and I was more than happy to adjust to see it done. If I could use him to convince her to come with me and manipulate it all in a way that benefited myself, it would force her from the Mortal Lands.
Right into my ruse.
If it meant I would get wanted in the end, all that I cared about. I’d see it done because that was all that mattered.
But even while I stood there and watched this man, I could feel the forest round me. It was on edge as I stood here amongst the trees and the brush. They were silent, waiting for something. As if it knew what I was about to do. The cackles from the low brush had ceased upon my arrival and the air had gone still.
Quiet.
Shifting back into the darkness of the shadows, I waited. My eyes on the man hiding in the brush as he watched her door. But I was not here for the man, no. I was not here for him at all. I saw the carriage drop him off at the forest edge- taking off again as he slipped between the trees- before stopping outside her house. The maid was timid, scared. The large box in her hands as she made her way to the door.
A twig snapped under my foot, causing the mortal man to look up. His hand went to his hip, a dagger hidden from sight. He looked around the wood, the brush, before he settled in again, weariness on his face as he turned back to the cottage.
“He really shouldn’t be playing in the forest.”
“Sir, let us play with him?”
The hobgoblin's skin was a sickly green color, with deep furrows and ridges running across its forehead and cheeks. Its eyes were large and bulging, taking up most of its face, and they gleamed with a mischievous intelligence. The creature's nose although small and flat could sniff out anything and its mouth. . . it was full of razor-sharp teeth that glinted in the moonlight. Its ears were pointed and slightly askew, and they twitched as it listened intently to the world around it.
Each that had followed me this evening wore a suit of battered leather armor, with frayed edges and rusted buckles. Many carrying a mace strapped across their backs. Despite this ones scrappy appearance, there was a fierce determination in it’s gaze, and I knew it would do whatever it took to complete the task I had set before it.
“In good time. . .”Iresponded, “you know what must be done first.”
My eyes snapped back up at the creak of her door as it rang in my ears. I watched the maid scurry from the cottage and climb back into the carriage before lurched forward and barreled back down the lane toward the village, toward the building she lived in. For the home she had known these last years. For what it was worth, this was my favorite part, terrorizing the mortals of this world. My eyes went back to the man in front of me.
And this would be fun indeed.
The mortal man hiding in front of me, he would not see the Fae male, no. This mortal man who had roused a hidden emotion in me, who had laid his hands on her, his mind was weak and his heart even weaker. He was easily fooled, easily manipulated to believe what I wanted him to.
No, this man would see the beast.
The beast this Realm thought me to be.
“Whatever it is he plans to do, he’ll find the forest has other ideas. It’s honestly too bad he’ll be collateral damage.”
An echo of chatter, laughter and mirth went up around me as the brush shook and danced. The goblins had a job, and they would do it well. They always did. I watched as they spread out, past that man and down the lane. The look in the man’s eyes as I stepped from the brush and prowled toward him, his nightmares come to life.
It really was unfortunate, what I was about to do. As much as I wanted to, as much as I really wanted to mess with this man more, I had to stick to the plan.
ChapterEight
SERRA
