Wake up

Tayla moaned and curled her chilled fingers closer to her chest she had no interest rising despite the Jauntily given order in her general state Of really really cold her head felt like it Was going to explode and a steady throb has set up shop in her side Incensed by the callous disregard for her pain Tayla felt she would most happily clout the eyes of whoever had torn her from the oblivion of unconsciousness

Oh Little red riding Hood get up before the big bad wolf find you again

The image of something big and decidedly canine Rockef Tayla pounding brain her muscles coil does it in preparation to rise and flee but agony spiked through her upper ribcage. She gasped and clutchedat the wound with numb fingers

Whoever was there tut-tuted

reproachfully nasty bite I suppose can’t do much with that in the way

Tayla Peeled open her eyes frost coated mulch spread out before her interspersed with varying sizes of tree trunks before finally fading to have a bush her cheek was numb where it rested on the ground

Oh goodie your up how do you feel?

her mouth felt like it was full of dust but she managed a croaked before passing out again

When she came around Tayla cracked open one eyelid wooden beams ran horizontally above Her head at an angle not a ceiling she recognized good days never begin with an unfamiliar Roof above her head shoving her initial panic back she breezed in through her nose smelling wood smoke and pine it reminded her of night spent under the stars and not in a good way careful to keep her breathing deep and even she let her one slit eye roam

She was in a single room cabin laying on his sofa with a threadbare blanket pulled up to her chin coals smoldered in the dying fireplace and the small window above the back of the sofa was shut tight Heavy curtain made another layer of protection from the cold outside. The olny other furniture was a table made from the stamp of a large tree it was All very rustic but she stayed in worse the door was crooked but locked.

Thankfully however she was alone and a locked door wasn’t going to deter her for long. Knowing her she had to work quickly before whoever had brought her here came back she threw the blanket off and set up pain ricocheted through her side and she gingerly lowered her self again. Sweat broke out all over her body as she panted waiting for her pain to dam.

Peeling up her shirt she found her torso mummified with Crisp white bandages as she watched a red blush spread on her left side marring the ****** cloth she grimaced memories Of flashing ivory teeth and the smell of burnt fur washing over her and then came the panic Bite plus beating heart equals.

Oh no oh no no no no this was so not happening

She slapped her palm to her Forehead and felt the heat radiating off her skin felt a sweat dripping down her temple oh boy

God she couldn’t catch a break could she?

The door to the cabin swung open and in walk her captorsavior she wasn’t sure but whoever he was he was alone at least for the moment Tayla quickly looked him up and down

briefly hoping to find skinny arms and legs attached to a diminutive body an opponent easy to overcome in her less than stellar state it was a whole quickly squashed

He had hair is so light it had passed blonde and skipped into albino territory the sharp contrast With his Jeep golden tan was compelling as were his his eyes are blue so bright that if his pointed ears hadn’t given him away the electric color of his irises would have it was a color Beyond human genetics his stare practically glowed

The elf dropped an armful of kindling next to the heart and regarded her with what looks like amusement Tayla gave him another perusal looking for concealed weapons unfortunately his parka was far too bulky to determine anything useful he could have been hiding enough weapons to outfit a platoon under there and she wouldn’t have known

Uneasy with his silent and vaguely marking regard she shifted and then winced in a flash elf boy was kneeling and had her shirt halfway up hey she said getting his hands away the weakness in her efforts scared her

He gave her a sardonic grin and she suddenly realize that he was not bad looking his face was fine bone down angular in a way that was uniquely fey with lips a little fuller on the bottom and the top his nose was straight as an arrow maybe a touch too long a solver scar began in the middle of his forehead and ran down through one pale eyebrow skipped over his eye and continued in a curve over his cheek instead of being disfiguring it gave him an dangerous air.

Don’t worry he said voice deep and as smooth as butter I’ve seen it before he reached for the ham up her shirt and she painted with a heated glare

Well if you wanna see it again you better buy me dinner first she snapped and then winced at her choice and repartee it sounded like an invitation hoping to cover it up she’s spoke hastily who are you?

Names blay. and I don’t date werewolves his voice held an undercurrent of laughter

she’s stiffened I’m not a werewolf

Course not you were attacked by a really really mean were Pomeranian his lips curved

She glared aren’t you a barrel of laughs I didn’t think the fey had a sense of humor

His eyes gleamed you obviously haven’t met very many elves

she hadn’tbefore this moment olny ever met one other and he tried to put a dagger through her heart not that she blamed the old guy she wouldn’t have been too happy either if someone tried to make off with her stash of psamathe. also known as insta-portal powder the dead like substance allowed one to cross dimensions without all the hubbub that goes along with getting past the gate keepers it was a pain to make and Any that got on the market was well let’s just say the stuff was not in her budget.

when she stayed silent blay Uncoiled from his Crouch and shrugged out of his coat underneath he was wearing a longsleeved grey thermal shirt. It’s close got hugged the contours of his chest he was all sinewy muscle on a lean frame like a runner or she thought that he slipped silently across the room to feed the fire a dancer

Why did you bring me here knowing I’ve been bitten and might sprout fangs and fur at any moment?

Blay shrug carelessly I thought you were Amusing

Tayla watched him with narrowed eyes the fry didn’t just help people or so was the general consensus they like to bargain and bride and to twist the truth she may have amused him at some point but this main reason for helping her probably lay in something she owned or he thought she could give him

and speaking of positions where are my things.

There he said waving at the far corner where she saw her nondescript Brown Parka lying

Open the inner pockets were lined with the occasional weapon and various paraphernalia most

People would have sold their grandmother for her eyes shot to blay and she wished it was Within arms reach had he gone through it? Had he taken anything? God she hope not most She had stored in there had taken her ages to track down and not to mention the danger of getting her hands on it

Blay coaxed the dying fire into a comfortable blaze and sat back on the balls of his feet arms clasped around his knees he stared at the flickering tongues of flame and unblinking.

Taylaeyes him apprehensively he was just sitting there it was weird and she wonder if he let her leave.She grit her teeth and struggled into a sitting position when bay didn’t react she eyed the door. She lost her sleeping bag along with the food she had in her backpack so burning down for the night out in the open was out of the question walking all the way into The nearest town would be hell with her injuries they’re not impossible she’s side absolutely fingering the bandages around her waist there was no choice really she’d have to stay here were ever here was only for one night tomorrow she’d walk into town she promised herself maybe Elf boy could give her a lift

What is your name?

She almost jumped is his voice cut through the silence Tayla she said and then silently cursed she given him her real name. The name she had has a kid it wasn’t exactly common And she didn’t want it floating around. But that what you get when you answer without thanking stupid she berated herself she should know better.

Well Tayla what are you?

Witch she said lying with confidence it was one truth surprise would never win for her now with her survival instinct intact

most of the time she tried to pass for human But her hand had been tipped she admitted To knowing what he was not that it would have been hard to guess With those long pointy ears But modern humans always looked for logical explanations only fools and crazy people believe in elves magic and werewolves.

He turned his head to look at her his fingers tap tapping on his arm I didn’t know Witchs could create fire. White witches anyway it seem too aggressive for such goodie goodies No offensive but aren’t you guys all about healing and protection and whatnot?

Tayla Responded even as her eyes narrowed she had a feeling she was being played how do you know I’m white?

I was under the impression that it was impolite to assume a witch dark he shrugged in a Rpple of muscle in the contain potential for movement obviously I was misinformed

He eyed her and she forced herself not to squirm. Avoiding having to meet his gaze she fussed with the bottom of her bandages. When she realized what she was doing she forced herself to stop

you know he continued when she once again met his gaze I never heard you use an indentation when you were tossing that wolf then again I wasn’t very close so I could have been mistaken but I could have sworn the fire was coming right out of your palms. Interesting color too he grinned at her a flash pearly white in the din.

Tayla muscles froze. He knows

The thought echoed in her her head. He knew.

With absolutely no grace she scrambled to her feet ignoring the lightning bolts of pain that speared the bite in her side. Blay rose with her and she realized he was at least a head taller than her and half again her width. He moved like an animal in the best sense of the word; all leashed power and fluid motion. If he chose he could be on her in an instant.

That is, if he liked third degree burns.

With a snap she called to life a tear-shaped ball of flame. It was a last resort, something she never used unless a situation was truly dire. There were never any witnesses because her fire could burn through everything, even magic. She didn’t want to use it now - and wouldn’t have in a normal situation - but he knew. She should kill him. It was the smart thing to do.

The fire, the same electric blue as his eyes, hovered above her hand and she held it ready at her side.

It would be so easy. Some elves had magic just as some humans did but even that wouldn’t stop her fire from consuming the handsome elf-boy if set free. His speed. His strength. His weapons - if he had any. Nothing would stop him from being reduced to a crispy husk and it would only take a thought. Or a slip. But she’d gotten better at controlling those. The dark thing that lurked at the back of her mind told her to do it. Burn him, it hissed. Do it.

But she knew what that thing was and would never let it control her. Never. Besides, she didn’t want him to burn. Blay had helped her. He’d patched her up even though he’d seen what she was. It wasn’t enough for her to trust him but it put her in his debt. A life for a life.

Stories might spread but she wasn’t a child anymore. She knew how to disappear.

“Stay back.” Decision made, she edged her way to her coat. “I’m leaving.”

He cocked his head to the side, snow-colored hair flopping over his forehead. It made him look like a little boy. With the tone of someone finding out the boogeyman was real and living in their closet he said, “So you are a half demon… Come on, don’t do that. Wait. I’m not going to do anything." His voice held a note of exasperation but Tayla noticed he wasn’t coming any closer.

She managed to get her one arm through a sleeve even though bending down felt like subjecting herself to a hot poker between the ribs. “Not a chance, buddy.” She tossed the fire to her opposite hand and got her second arm through. Without turning her back to him she felt her way to the door.

He rolled his eyes like she was being melodramatic but the truth was her kind - half demons - were scorned and hunted by the supernatural world at large. Something about hordes of half demons raining down hell on behalf of their Sheol-bound sires. Not that Tayla had ever met her immortal daddy. He could rot for all she cared. She had no intention of raining down anything on anybody. Well, unless they got her first. In that case, all bets were off.

“I mean you no harm.” Slowly, as if she were a wild animal he hoped to tame, he stretched a hand toward her. With adrenaline pumping through her system, her eyes caught everything, every blink, every flinch. She saw that his nails were cut short and square with little white half moons at the bases. Practical if not manicure-perfect. She’d never been a fan of perfect.

“Like I haven’t heard that one before,” she muttered, her empty hand searching for the door knob. She found it, twisted and ducked out. The cold hit her like a hammer blow and she slammed the door shut before moving as fast as she could toward the tree line. Every step seemed to tear her wound open farther, the pain making her vision darken and her lungs compress. It didn’t help that her parka weighed approximately twenty pounds.

The cabin Blay had brought her to was obviously off the grid. It sat, as far as she could tell, deep in a forest - there was no way to tell if it was the one where she’d been attacked - in a small clearing. Glancing back over her shoulder she decided that it was actually very…quaint. When the door didn’t open and Blay didn’t come after her she closed her fist around her handful of demon-fire, extinguishing it. When she curled open her hand it was unmarked, completely unaffected by the tiny inferno. Her mouth formed a grim line as she trudged onward.

Tayla made it a hundred steps into the trees before she had to stop. She leaned her shoulder against a bare-limbed birch and shivered. She didn’t dare sit because if she did she wasn’t sure she would have been able to force herself to get up again. Sweat dripped in her eyes. Chest heaving, she put a hand to her forehead. She was burning up. Even with cold hands she could tell she had a major fever.

Her head swam and her stomach churned. Infection or impending Change? She wasn’t sure but the survival rate of both was slim. She had to get out of this forest.

She fished around inside her coat. It was a maze of inner pockets but she easily found what she was looking for by touch. She withdrew a tiny vial of silver powder. Psamathe. She gave it a little shake and eyeballed the contents. There was enough left for maybe three more jumps.

Unhitching herself from the tree she uncorked the vial with a reluctant sigh. Kneeling almost made her pass out but she managed to get low to the ground. She cleared away the light dusting of snow and tilted the clear container, drawing a line of powder as thin as she could. When it was long enough to accommodate her width she recorked it and withdrew a tiny dagger from the depths of her parka. Holding the ornate handle she pricked her thumb, a bead of crimson welling up. She didn't know why she bothered; her wound was surely leaking enough blood through the bandages around her waist already.

“Hey, stop!”

She cursed. Her head whipped up to see Blay crouched on one of the high limbs of the birch tree she’d rested against. His white hair was whipping around in the wind and his cheeks were ruddy with cold. How the hell did he get up there?

A branch snapped close by. Her ears tracked the sound back in the direction of the cabin. Great. Elf-boy had backup.

Without wasting another second she pressed her thumb to the end of the silver line. Like a lit fuse, a bright spark raced across the powder leaving nothing in its wake. A beat passed. Suddenly a curtain of rippling light erupted from the ground so bright it left imprints on Tayla’s retinas. She heard Blay echo her curse as she stepped through.

Focusing on a destination even as the world became an infinite and dazzling white, she felt herself being propelled forward. When she’d first jumped with psamathe she’d been so disoriented she’d forgotten to hold a target in mind and wound up almost killing herself. Gateways, she’d found, did not want to be used. She’d ended up six feet underwater with no sense of up or down. That in itself was bad but add a frozen river somewhere in northern Russia and you had yourself the potential for a watery grave. If not for her half demon heritage she would have drown.

Despite the lesson learned through that experience, Tayla almost lost it when something hard slammed into her back. Pain ripped up her side. Her lungs caught on a scream. Arms wound their way around her waist and warm breath tickled the back of her neck. She threw her elbow back and it connected with a hard body.

“Umph,” Blay’s voice said in her ear.

Before she could send him another hit they were suddenly tumbling head over heels in a tangle of limbs. Tayla’s head cracked against something hard and her sight dimmed as she skidded on her back. She came to stop, the air being crushed out of her chest. She pawed weakly at the heavy male torso squashing her. Blay propped himself up on his elbows and shook his snowy-white head. She pinched him. He jumped and glanced at her over his shoulder. Electric eyes widened and he scrambled to get off. What a gentleman.