Ashes of the Forgotten Alphas

Chapter 6: Phink

“Baby girl, you’re lucky I love you to the moon and back so I’ll forgive you for not updating me promptly on what’s going on,” were the first words that blasted through the other line.

I eyed the fake Phink in front of me who showed no signs of advanced hearing at least as I continued listening to the real Phink just blabbering away on the other line. “But make sure you don’t do anything until I’m there. I’m already on my way.”

“That sounds great but can I talk to you later? I’m currently in the middle of something here.” I said, my voice as positively neutral as it can be so as not to give anything away. 

However, the Phink on the other end of the line sensed something because his tone became softer with worry. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing much but just meeting up with Phink,” I answered, smiling at the guy in front of me who looked the picture of lackadaisical as he leaned on the tree bark. He raised an eyebrow at me in question so I just mouthed Mom at him. “It’s been a while so I think we’ll have a lot of catching up to do.”

“Be careful,” was the last thing Phink said before I ended the call and pocketed my phone. 

“Sorry. You know how moms are,” I said, walking a little closer to the fake Phink who shrugged and grinned at me. “Anyway, does Medea know that you’re here?”

Medea, a witch from the infamous coven of the Carmick family who was one of the few that dealt with demons, somehow became Phink’s keeper. They were always together and when they weren’t, they kept tabs on each other. While I wasn’t sure if they were actually in a relationship, romantically speaking, they had one of the closest relationships I’ve ever seen.

The fake Phink shrugged. “Don’t know and couldn’t care less if he knows.”

“She,” I answered quickly, paying close attention to how his brows scrunched together for a second. I subtly sniffed the air, distinctly getting the scent of flowers combined with dirt and as Phink replied a second later, the scent remained the same.

“Yeah, that’s what I said,” the fake Phink played it off cool, walking closer to me with a swag in his steps. “Anyway, going back to how you abandoned me and went off with dangerous people, tell me where is Karael now and that mate of yours?”

Before he came close to me, I struck. Moving in a split second, I kicked him in the stomach and smashed down on his back as he crouched in pain. He swiped at me before stumbling backwards, holding his groin. “What are you doing? Have you gone crazy?”

“Shut up,” I hissed as I shifted my hands back into claws with sharp nails. “Who the hell are you and why are you pretending to be Phink?”

“Evangeline, it’s me. What are you talking about?” And as the fake Phink talked, despite the pain in his voice, the fragrant smell of flowers became abundant in the air like his words were sweet honey filled with truth.

But the scent of dirt was still mixed there, tainting the subtle display of manipulation and showing the truth. Whatever this guy was doing, he thought it was working since he stopped crouching and started walking closer to me, reaching a hand out. 

Instead of being affected by what it was, I grabbed the hand he held out and pulled him to me, using my other hand to punch him hard in the stomach. Not letting go of the hand I held, I pivoted until I was behind him and had trapped both his hands at his  back tightly, kicking him so he knelt on the ground.

Straight out of a horror movie, fake Phink twists his head around until he was facing me and said with a disappointed sigh, “You wolves, always so quick to violence.” Before I could have reacted, his leg swipes at mine from underneath, making me let go of his hand briefly.

Taking advantage of that, he moves away and twists his head back properly, with cricking sounds like they’re being snapped on. 

I carefully eyed the guy, who looked nonetheless worse for wear as he smiled genially at me from a distance away. Never having met anyone like him before, I wasn’t sure what to make of him. Definitely not a shapeshifter, otherwise that head spinning thing would have killed him already. No matter how fast our bodies are to healing itself, it doesn’t work that way where you can simply disconnect it like that.

Quickly, I shifted into my natural form, skin rippling into fur for a second and my bones breaking until I stood tall as a wolf in front of him. Baring a snarl, I pounced on the guy, not caring what kind of creature it is. I can know it later anyway. All I have to do in this moment is survive.

Whatever ability this guy had that allowed him to move his parts like that, he still showed weakness earlier when I kicked him in the gonads. Meaning, the basics of where to attack him remained the same. Aiming for the stomach or wherever I can reach, my teeth bit into air as the fake Phink pivoted in the last second to avoid me.

A glint of something appeared in my periphery a moment before a long sword swiped in front of me, successfully stinging my face. I tasted copper as I let the sea of power and anger roil in me like a storm up to the surface, coating every inch of my fur. Pushing all the strength and command I could, I snarled, willing that he will stop attacking. Force of will after all isn’t limited to commanding the wolves so it might work.

But it didn’t. 

Instead, the fake Phink was arcing his sword towards me, pausing for a second before continuing to bring it down towards me. The one second of hesitation was all I needed as I lunged towards him, tearing through the arm that held the sword. Without losing momentum, I shifted back to human except for my hands, ripping through his chest and pulling out his heart.

Or what would have been his heart but there was nothing remotely close to flesh that I touched. Almost elbow deep into his body, supposedly past the sternum, but there were no bones or even organs. As I pulled my hands out, the fake Phink disintegrated into sand.

What the hell just happened? I thought, staring in confusion at the pile of earth on my feet. I blinked as I noticed a bright orange flower amid the dirt. Picking it up carefully, I noticed it was a perfectly preserved dahlia. What was this doing here?

Realizing what this might mean, I quickly pocketed the dahlia, running at full speed back to where I left Tate and Karael. Various thoughts of the implications of the fake Phink attacking me ran through my mind a mile a second, my heart beating fast enough it felt like it was on hyperspeed as I hoped nothing happened to them.

As I arrived back to where the portal was, I noticed the overpowering smell of the Fideal has long left the air, along with Tate and Karael who were both nowhere to be seen. My breath hitched in my throat, unable to believe my stupidity for simply running ahead of them, thinking they’d get away seconds after I did.

Knowing the danger might still be lurking somewhere, I kept an eye on my surroundings, my body poised to attack if something happens. Yet nothing did. In fact, not a sound chippered through the forest so I started walking towards the portal where the distinct autumnal scent of Karael was stronger and Tate’s earthy leather.

Their scents only became more distinct the closer I got to the portal until I was but a breath away from it and I couldn’t deny it anymore. They had gone through this portal. However, with Phink’s warning echoing in my mind and what happened with that fake Phink, the question was: Did Karael stage all of this and dragged Tate with him to wherever this led to or was he also a victim of whatever happened here?

An hour and a half later, I sat drinking coffee in a far off booth at Bob’s Diner, waiting for Phink. Since I couldn’t stay in that forest for a moment longer with the need coursing through my veins to jump straight into that portal despite not having an idea of the entire danger it posed, I just headed back to Willow town and found this diner.

Somehow, people didn’t care that I looked worse for wear with earth caking the soles of my sneakers and dusting my entire body. I simply got offered a wet wipe along with the coffee I ordered and that was it. Maybe any other time I would have pondered why they could care or judge less than the usual people I encountered in the city, but definitely not right now. Not with the fake Phink, Fideal, and Tate and Karael missing.

Hash brown, eggs, and the delicious aroma of liquid gold permeated the air but it didn’t take my mind off what happened. There were a million questions in my mind no answers, and nothing made sense except the fact that I finally understood why Phink warned me not to do anything until he was with me. Because he knew I was in over my head.

“You look like death warmed over,” came the smooth voice of Phink as he slid in the empty seat of my booth, facing me with a genial smile on his face.

Tension riddled my body in a snap as I held the coffee in my hand, knowing the blazing heat of the liquid something I could use as a weapon if things go wrong since there were humans around. The person who resembled my friend smelled like the ocean at the break of dawn, when the air is fresh and crisp, without a hint of anything else man made. But this didn’t mean anything because the Phink I knew never had one particular scent.

Phink raised both his hands slightly above the table to not make it as obvious to the humans around us. “Baby girl, it’s me.”

A soft snarl rumbled in my throat, quiet amid the chatter but Phink heard it loud and clear. He sighed, lowering his hands back on the table as he said, “I can prove it.” He gestured to his pocket and my snarl became a tad louder, warning him to not do anything stupid.

A second later, he placed a brilliant navy blue phone onto the table, unlocking it quickly and pressing a couple of things. Then a beat later, a soft ringing tone coming from my pockets sounded as my phone vibrated and when I pulled it out, it showed Phink was calling me.

“This doesn’t prove anything,” I growled, locking my phone back again as anger pulsated through every word I bit out. “Tell me something that only Phink and I know, then I’ll believe you.”

Another sigh as he leaned back. “I thought the last time you threatened me like this was when you were riding that miasmic spell your half brother Gabe had created with Damar. Anyway, smell me then.”

The words were awkward but I got what he meant as I tasted the air again. This time, rather than the smell of the ocean, the distinct scent of summer when the sun warms the earth and flowers bloom graciously surrounded him. There was only one person, I have ever encountered, who can change his scent at will through a spell.

Suddenly sure this is my friend, I reached over through the booth and hugged him. “I’m glad you’re here,” I said before sitting back down. “Sorry about that. Things are just...confusing right now.”

“Well I sure hope so. Those fangs of yours were harsh enough to think you didn’t want me here,” joked Phink, grinning at me. “Catch me up though on what happened?”

Minutes later after I told everything I could, sparing no details until the end, Phink sat back in his chair, a worried look on his face. “From the Fideal to the copy of me you saw, things definitely doesn’t sound good. Are you sure though that you saw a dahlia when the spell was broken?”

“Spell? Do you think it’s a warlock or wsitch’s puppet?” I asked, pulling out the dahlia from my pocket and showing it to Phink who carefully took it away from me.

“No. It’s most likely a creature made by a fae who wanted you distracted.”

“How could you tell?”

“You’re here unharmed and it dissolved quickly. The moment it lost its form, I’m guessing, meant whatever its maker wanted was done, leaving behind a signature of its power.” Phink gestured to the dahlia, continuing, “The sidhe after all have a taste for signing their own work. Most of it is arrogance, the rest is because it’s unavoidable since a sidhe’s hands of power are rarely the same.”

I frowned because I only had more questions than answers but before anything else, “Karael called you a halfling before. Does that have anything to do with people calling you the Great Destroyer?”

Phink widened his eyes, making the ever-changing colours of it more noticeable, for a second before a laugh erupted out of him. “Hell no. One of these days, I’ll tell you why I have that nickname but for now, you need to catch up on all things Faery before things, and anyone else besides Tate, bites you in the ass.”

“I know,” I said, rolling my eyes at him and ignoring the blatant joke. “So tell me then quickly what I need to know so we can go rescue my mate wherever he is.”

Phink smiled at me, a knowing glint in his eyes before he turned his attention back to his phone, moving his fingers quickly through the screen.

“I’ve been compiling a couple of things recently and it’s far from complete but it can help you.” He nodded his head to my phone as it beeped and I noticed I received a file from him. “That’s for your eyes only. No matter how incomplete it is, the information there is painfully accurate and something people have been killing each other for centuries.”

Faery. I opened the PDF, scrolling through the file which didn’t take long since it was only three pages and everything was listed alphabetically, in short descriptions. “All of this is what I need to learn about Faery?”

“Of course not. The basics of what you need is there but I can’t give away the farm now, can I?” teased Phink, winking at me. “Even if it’s you, baby girl.”

Understanding what Phink meant, especially since the book he wrote that I heard contained every single tidbit of information on all things magical, from history to all artifacts, still couldn’t be found these days.

Last I heard, it was jumping owner to owner, taking on the elusive and eccentric characteristics of its maker. Although I never fully confirmed the book’s existence, more so because Phink never said outright that he indeed wrote one, but hints like this PDF he sent me, gave me an idea of the truth.

“Thank you,” I meant it as a soft smile lined my face before something in the PDF caught my attention. It was a simple description of the sidhe, showing exactly what Phink thought of them: A bunch of elitist old fools. 

An image of Karael flashed in my head, making me snort in laughter at how accurate it was.

“Not that I don’t love your wording here, but I still don’t know what it means to be sidhe.”

“Besides being dumb fools?” Phink raised an eyebrow, grinning widely at me. As I nodded, a chuckle escaped his lips. “I suggest don’t call them that to their face. Not until you’ve gotten the political landscape of the courts and can navigate your way out of that shitstorm. Although...” Phink trailed off, carefully watching me, his unsettling ever-changing eye colours making it all the more dizzying. 

“Although what?” I snapped.

“Nah, it’s nothing,” Phink gestured to my phone. “I trust you’ll manage those fools if needed. Anyway, whatever you’ve heard about the fae being able to command nature and other aspects of it is true, but only for a certain sort of fae. The ones said to have been descended from the god and goddess themselves, and consider themselves as deities: the sidhe.”

“Sounds like it’s an accurate description then,” I muttered dryly before scooting out of my booth. “Come on, let’s go. You need to see the portal. And besides Karael saying that I can determine where it goes, I know you’ll have a better idea than I do on where it leads to.”

Nothing changed in the area where the portal was located, besides Tate’s scent getting fainter by the second. Phink approached the portal, inspecting it without a word for a couple minutes but occassionally making huffing sounds under his breath.

When he continued doing it without saying anything, I had to say something. “What is it?”

“Karael’s right. Words I never thought I’d say but in this instance, he’s correct that only a strong Weaver could have made this. And I have worked with a couple of them in the past but the last time I’ve seen a Weaver capable of something like this, she was persecuted.”

I frowned. “Then do you think she did this?”

Phink shook his head. “She’s already dead and any of the remaining Weavers are too weak to even make a portal heading to this realm, which means we’re in big trouble.”

“More trouble than a flesh-eating monster loose in a city and a portal that leads who the hell knows where?”

Phink watched me with a seriousness in his eyes as he said, “An untrained Weaver with this much power could wreck havoc if they keep opening portals like this one. There are a lot of realms out there baby girl and most of them contain things beyond your imagination that can easily kill you in a second.”

Then Phink smiled, the suddenness of it making it feel like I got whiplash. “It depends but I don’t think it’s something you have to worry about, especially since you already have a lot on your plate.”

Deciding not to comment on what just happened because it wouldn’t lead to anywhere else and Phink most likely wouldn’t say anything more about it, I walked closer to the portal, breathing in the smell of burning embers. “What’s the one thing I need to know to survive Faery?” I asked, imagining what lies on the other side that I could still smell fire even hours later.

“I mean there’s a lot since that place is riddled with snakes but never trusting anything they say tops the list.”

I made a small sound under my breath in agreement before gesturing towards the portal. “Let’s go then. I don’t know what’s going on the other side but I can’t let Tate spend one more second there.”

Phink bit his lips, staring at the portal for a good long second before nodding his head slowly at me. “I’ll come but I can’t guarantee that I’ll stay long.”

Before I could clarify what he meant, Phink grabbed my hand and pulled me inside the portal with him.