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I wasn’t fully behind the fae noble yet—which would be the most advantageous spot to spring an attack from—but he started to raise his hand. The crystal orb he held—his artifact that let him use magic—flashed and the red fog that hovered around it started to peel away.
He’s about to release his spell. I must stop him!
I jumped out of the shadows, pulling one of my daggers from my belt. I slammed the pommel of my dagger into the base of his skull and the fae noble collapsed, his spell dissipating.
I yanked my second—and last—pair of magic-canceling cuffs from my belt and secured the fae noble. I pulled his hands behind his back, spotting the flower insignia of King Harel of the Seelie fae sewn into the neckline of his shirt.
Looks like this really was a struggle between two Courts.
Fights between the smaller local fae Courts had become more common these days as the local rulers were struggling with each other trying to swallow the other Courts in order to grow.
When my team had been sent out, we were told it was most likely a territory dispute. But you could never be sure what you were stepping into when it came to disagreements between supernaturals.
Back in the thick of the fight, Tetiana was still frowning at the naiad that had dosed her with water. She casually picked the naiad up by the neck and shook her—muddling the naiad—then flung her at a nervous faun armed only with a bow.
The last remaining opponent was an angry looking leprechaun. He smashed Tetiana in the kneecap with a hammer making the vampire exclaim something in her native tongue that was probably an old curse word going by the fire in her voice.
I grabbed the fae noble’s crystal orb and launched it at the leprechaun, cracking him in the head so he toppled, falling on top of the centaur I’d downed earlier.
The street was abruptly quieter, except for the groans of the defeated fae.
Brody perched on the chest of the troll he’d downed, showily pulling out his radio and pressing the necessary button. “Evergreen Road is cleared,” he announced, his voice crackling over the line and blasting out of our radios for everyone to hear.
Tetiana brushed more algae off her uniform. “Showoff.”
“Well done,” another voice answered over the radio. My hearing wasn’t good enough to recognize the speaker over the slightly static-y sound the radios always produced, but it was probably Sarge—the sergeant who led our squad. “Any injuries?”
Brody glanced at Grove as he pressed the right button to talk again. “No one is hurt, but Grove’s out of it.”
“Understood. Secure the area and revive Grove. We’re almost done with Sapphire Street. We’ll meet up once finished.”
“Got it,” Brody replied over the radio. “You heard Sarge, Tetiana. Get hopping.”
Tetiana rolled her eyes. “Very well, only because as a furball you are so weak that it takes all of your concentration to keep one juvenile troll down.”
“Hey!” Brody protested.
I smiled at their easy banter—something they couldn’t see thanks to the full mask I wore. It was slayer tradition to hide your face. Vampires had long memories, and you didn’t want to be recognized by them—that would make hunting and tracking them much harder. Even though I was no longer working as a slayer, I still hid my face—I didn’t want any vampires besides my squadmates knowing what I looked like. As a lone slayer without my family to back me up, I was an easy target when I was off the clock.
Tetiana idly picked Grove up by the collar of his uniform. “At least you are better at remaining conscious than this buffoon.” She casually held Grove up. He dangled from her grip, still snoring. “WAKE UP!”
Brody cringed, his werewolf hearing amplifying Tetiana’s shouts. “Has anyone ever suggested you could use your voice as a weapon?”
“Every part of my person could be a weapon,” Tetiana declared.
As the two continued to exchange insulting but easy banter, they both wore slight smiles. They were comfortable with each other—something rare for vampires and werewolves.
That must be nice, I wistfully studied the fae noble trying to judge just how out of it he was.
The streetlights illuminated his face and revealed the pout of his lips that made me suspect he was finished fighting, so I stepped away.
My movement killed Brody and Tetiana’s verbal sparring. Their smiles disappeared when they glanced at me.
Disappointment at their obvious change in attitude needled my heart.
No, it’s okay. In fact, it’s expected. They don’t know me since I’m new to the night shift.
I’d been working on the Curia Cloisters task force for most of the year. They’d started me on the day shift and had only recently swapped my schedule, so I now covered the late evening/ night shift.
