Elfin

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Light elves have one mate—their Chosen. They love that one person with totality and unquestioning faithfulness. Despite all the darkness that lives inside a dark elf, despite all the evil that is innately born in them, they too have but one mate. For whatever the reason, the ferocity and intensity with which they love their Chosen is not lessened by their evil, or sacrificed because of who and what they are.” ~Myrin, Advisor to Lorsan

Trik stood leaning up against a large tree in the deserted park, the lateness of the night having driven the humans to the perceived safety of their homes. He debated whether to immediately return to his own realm and report back to Lorsan, or wait until he regained control of his emotions. He didn’t want to tell his king what had happened with the beautiful girl, Cassie. Trik had plucked the girl’s name from her mind when he had touched her. As soon as his skin had made contact with hers, it was evident to him that her beauty wasn’t just skin deep. She was beautiful down to the deepest part of her soul, and that alone should be enough to make him stay away. But he knew he wouldn’t, especially since she had seen the light elves in their true form. For all the good in the light elves, they still lived according to their laws and a human who had seen them in their true form had forfeited their life—whether it was their fault or not. The instant she’d busted into the room where he’d been hiding, spying on the light elves, she’d owned him. There was no way Trik would let Tamsin and his band of goody-two-shoes touch a single hair on her head.

He shook his head and chuckled as he remembered the look in her eyes when she’d heard his words—I’m yours. She’d feigned nonchalance, but he knew better. He had affected her deeply. But he’d also left much unsaid. If he’d have told her that she was his as well, she might’ve bolted from the room. Then she’d have run right into the arms of the light elves, and that would’ve gotten real ugly, real fast.

He pushed away from the tree and decided to head for one of the many businesses that his people owned. It would do him good to surround himself with some good old-fashioned greed to remind him of who and what he was. Like the light elves, the dark elves had many business interests in the human realm. Not only did they provide the elves with a steady source of human money, but they also served as an excuse for the elves to justify coming here to keep tabs on the various other species that had decided to make this realm their home. Both elfin species were very successful in their endeavors, but their dealings were strikingly different. The industry of the light elves centered around the wellbeing of the earth, clean energy, pollution control, those types of things. The dark elves’ businesses, on the other hand, had everything to do with self-indulgence, feeding off of the baser needs of humans and the potential for darkness and evil deep in their hearts.

Deciding he needed a distraction from the beautiful human, Trik walked in the direction of the storefronts just beyond the park. He found what he was looking for in a large glass window that shone his reflection.

The favored mode of travel for all elves was that of refraction, a magical ability that allowed them to travel great distances, including from realm to realm, using mirrors, or glass shiny enough to show their reflection. To perform this feat, elves needed only to think of where they wanted to go and then step into the glass. He pictured the lights of Vegas in his mind and took a step forward, his leg slipping easily through the glass, followed by the rest of his body. Once on the other side, he stood in front of Iniquity, one of the many casinos in Las Vegas that his people owned. The bright lights flashed across his face; the city noise and chatter of humans was music to his ears. He could feel the greed, the lust, and the depression that swirled around the city in a thick fog. He inhaled a deep breath, smiling as he thought to himself. This is where I belong, not drooling over some human girl. Yet even as the thought passed through his mind, he knew he would see her again. He marched through the front doors of the casino, looking to find one of the few humans he dared to call a friend, and hopefully a good card game.

***

“So why exactly were you hiding in that conference room?” Cassie’s father asked as they walked out to the parking lot after having locked up his office.

Cassie had been trying to figure out what to tell her father. She didn’t want to freak him out, nor did she want to sound like she was off her rocker, but she didn’t want to lie to him either.

“I thought I saw someone. Are there any unusual people who work in your building?” she asked carefully.

“What do you mean by unusual?” he asked as they arrived at her car.

“Like long, shiny hair, weird colored eyes, and pointy ears, unusual?” Cassie cringed as she said the last part. She knew how it sounded, and the look on her father’s face just confirmed the sanity, or lack thereof, in her statement.

He thought for a moment before he replied. “The owners of our company are a little odd looking.”

Cassie jumped on that statement. “Odd, how?”

Her dad scrunched up his face as he tried to describe them. Of course, a man trying to describe anyone in any amount of useful detail was a little bit of a stretch.

“Well, they don’t have long hair, or pointy ears, but they are …” He scratched his forehead and searched for the words. “Well, for lack of a better term, beautiful.”

Cassie’s mouth dropped open and her mind jumped to the tall, incredibly handsome, and yes, beautiful, guy who’d called himself Trik. She remembered how his appearance had seemed to shift before her very eyes, though both forms were unbelievably attractive.

“They don’t have long shiny hair?” she asked.

Once again, her father looked at her as if she had grown a second head.

“No, no long shiny hair. Are you sure you’re alright?” he asked her cautiously.

Cassie thought for a moment before she answered her father. “I’m alright,” she nodded, “maybe they were just dressed in their Halloween costumes or something.” The tone of her voice made it very clear that she didn’t believe her own words.

“Maybe you need to get more sleep,” her dad offered. “But I’ll ask our night security guard if he’s seen any weirdos hanging around, just to be safe.”

Cassie nodded in agreement, though she knew that what she had seen had nothing to do with sleep. She climbed into her car telling her dad that she would meet him at home.

“Be careful,” he told her, as he always did when she was getting in her car.

***

Cassie sat on her bed as she dialed Elora’s number. As she’d gotten ready for bed, she’d tried to gather her thoughts. She still wasn’t sure how she was going to explain to Elora what had happened that night. The phone rang four times before Elora answered.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“How did you know something was wrong?” Cassie asked.

Cassie could swear she could almost see Elora rolling her eyes.

“It’s eleven o’clock. You only call me this late if there is some sort of issue. So, let’s get on with it so I can get some sleep.”

Cassie was used to her friend’s abrupt and oftentimes rude behavior. Others might have gotten offended, but Cassie knew Elora didn’t mean anything by it; it was just the way she was.

“I think I’m going crazy,” she began, unable to hide the nervousness in her voice.

“You’re going to have to give me more than that,” Elora told her dryly.

Cassie jumped into the story of her night without hesitation, making sure not to leave out even the smallest of details. When she finished, she sat quietly, waiting for her friend’s reaction. After several heartbeats of silence, Elora finally spoke.

“So, what I hear you saying, is that you saw some incredibly handsome men with pointy ears, shiny hair, and freaky eyes in one of the conference rooms of your dad’s building?” She summarized and Cassie let out a breath of relief as she heard the belief in her friend’s voice.

“Yes,” Cassie answered simply.

“Then you ran into another incredibly handsome guy who seemed to flicker between two different appearances?”

“Exactly,” she answered again.

“Well, I have two theories,” she paused in thought. “Elves or Fae.”

Cassie choked as she swallowed. “What?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’?” Elora replied.

“I mean what are you talking about, elves or fae? You believe in elves and fae?”

“Definitely,” she answered matter of fact like. “Do you have another explanation?”

“Halloween costumes,” Cassie answered lamely.

Elora snorted. “You believe that about as much as you believe in Santa Claus.”

“Maybe not, but I don’t believe in elves or fae either.”

“Can you honestly tell me that you think, in this whole wide world, in this whole wide universe, humans are the only beings besides the animals?” Elora asked.

“Yes, I do. If such things existed, how could they have kept themselves a secret for so long?” Cassie challenged.

“Oh, come on, Cass, just because we haven’t seen them, doesn’t mean others haven’t. Unless you can think of a better explanation, that’s the theory I’m going with. I will do some research and ask Lisa. Now, you said this Trik character told you he would see you again and that he was yours?”

Cassie nodded absently, only to realize that her friend couldn’t see her through the phone.

“Yes,” she answered.

“That means you need to keep your eyes open. If you see him again, ask him what he is.”

“Just like that? Hey, what are you? Isn’t that kind of rude?” Cassie huffed.

“How else are you going to find out if he isn’t human? And he just told you he was yours and you don’t even know him. Isn’t that kind of rude?”

“Fine,” Cassie said dryly. “I’ll ask the incredibly hot weirdo just exactly what he is. That should go over really well.”

“Good. We aren’t going to figure out anything more tonight so try and get some sleep.” Elora told her before she abruptly hung up.

This was another one of the man quirks Elora constantly exhibited—she didn’t believe in goodbyes, so she simply didn’t say them.

“Yeah, fat chance on the whole sleep thing,” Cassie told her empty room.

She lay back on her bed, not bothering to get under the blanket. She closed her eyes and Trik’s face appeared, despite her attempt to push him from her thoughts. Realizing it was useless to try to prevent her mind from dwelling on him, she decided to enjoy the view.