Elfin Trilogy

Chapter 3-2

“She sounds so young.”

Trik nodded. “Yes, but it’s so hard to tell with humans. As Tony has said, some that are under the human adult age look to be in their twenties, and others that are older look like teens.”

Lorsan seemed to ponder Trik’s words. After several minutes of silence, he finally spoke again.

“Not that I don’t find it very significant that you have found your Chosen, but I still need to know what Tamsin and his elves are up to.”

Trik visibly relaxed. The subject of his mission to spy on the light elves was a much more comfortable subject than that of his young Chosen. “You aren’t going to like what I have to say.”

Lorsan snorted. “Since when do I ever like what you have to say, and since when do you worry about what I like?”

“Good point,” Trik agreed. “Tamsin knows of your new venture.”

Lorsan’s eyebrows rose and his lips tightened into a thin straight line. “How is it that he came by this knowledge?”

“You think we have a traitor amongst us,” Trik said. “That I cannot yet verify. But—,” Trik held up a hand to hold Lorsan off as he continued. “Based upon what Tamsin said in their little meeting I overheard yesterday, I would guess that he has made some sort of deal with one of ours.”

“Tell me exactly what was said.”

“He directed his people to explore the possibility of purchasing land you have plans for. He said if his human investors asked questions, he would let on that he thought there may be oil below the surface, and he wanted the land for exploration.”

“So you believe he knows of Rapture?” Lorsan asked, referring to the addictive liquid the dark elves had developed.

Trik nodded. “He wants to buy the exact land where you are planning on locating our store houses. He must know something.”

Lorsan stood and began to pace. “We need to speed up our timeline. You say the light elves saw your human—,”

“Chosen,” Trik growled. “My Chosen.”

Lorsan waved him off. “Yes, yes, your Chosen, then. If he’s seen her, then they will be after her. If he is dealing with that little issue, then he won’t have had to time to move forward with the land purchase, which means that we should have time to contact Leon and tell him to get it done now.”

Leon Bonetti was the human realtor the dark elves had hired to help them find the land. Trik didn’t care for the sleazy little man, but it wasn’t up to him who Lorsan employed.

“I’ll go see him.” Trik stood to go.

“What are you going to do about your Chosen?” Lorsan asked.

“You mean you aren’t going to tell me what to do?” Trik raised his eyebrows at his king.

“Would you obey me?”

Trik’s face spread into a callous smile. “Not when it comes to her.”

Lorsan rolled his eyes. “Not when it comes to anything is what you really mean. Do what you must, but at some point you will have to tell her who and what you are. Will she be able to handle it, I wonder?”

Trik shook his head with a low chuckle. “I’m the assassin and spy for the dark elf king. I kill without remorse. I live for myself and my own pleasure. I come from a dark people with dark hearts. How do you think she’s going to handle hearing that?”

“Who knows?” answered the king. “I’ve never been able to understand humans.”

Cassie spent the next twenty-four hours distractedly going through the motions of her day. Any time she tried to focus on something for longer than a few seconds, Trik would pop into her mind. She went from class to class, nodded at the appropriate times, and attempted to look interested when Elora spoke to her, but that was all the effort she could manage.

“You’re thinking about him again aren’t you?” Elora asked as she nibbled on a carrot she’d pulled out of her lunch bag. They sat in their usual spot in the far corner of the cafeteria, giving them a full view of the room. She and Elora were experienced people watchers. They amused themselves by imagining crazy things people were saying or thinking while they went about their lunch period, unaware of the two girls humoring themselves at their expense.

“I can’t get him out of my mind. It’s like he put a spell on me or something.”

“I don’t know what sort of magic elves hold,” Elora replied.

“Are you still going on about that?” Cassie interrupted exasperatedly.

“What other explanation is there, Cassie?” Elora asked indignantly. “You said the dude’s appearance changed right before your eyes.”

“A synapse in my brain must have misfired.”

Elora raised an eyebrow at her. “A misfired brain synapse? That’s really what you want to go with?”

“As opposed to, Elves with Magic Abilities for $200, Alex? Yes I’m going to go with misfired brain synapse.” Cassie smarted off.

“We’re going to Lisa’s store after school,” Elora told her as she took a drink of her soda, all the while ignoring Cassie’s scowling face. “We can talk to her and see what she thinks.”

“Lisa!” Elora yelled as the little bell over the door of Enigma, her mother’s store, jingled. Cassie followed Elora into the new age shop. She never ceased to be amazed at the many interesting things that decorated Lisa’s store. They walked to the back of the store where the cash register sat and waited for Elora’s mom to come up from the backroom.

“What are you girls doing here?” Lisa asked as she dragged a large box from the storeroom. Cassie walked around the counter to help her and Lisa smiled. Cassie once again noted Lisa’s disarming smile. She had a gift for putting people at ease.

“Cassie saw some elves and then met one who has pretty much put a claim on her,” Elora said nonchalantly.

Cassie’s mouth dropped. Elora sounded like she was talking about the weather rather than about a mythical race of humanoids.

Lisa froze and looked from Elora to Cassie, her eyes wide, with disbelief or surprise, Cassie couldn’t tell.

Elora shrugged. “I didn’t tell her anything, I just gave her an explanation for what she saw.”

Lisa took a step toward Cassie. “What exactly did you see?”

Cassie was surprised that Lisa wasn’t laughing, or telling them that they were absolutely crazy for even considering such an idea.

“Well…” Cassie started. She explained everything she had told Elora and waited for Lisa to finally tell her that she needed medication for her hallucinations.

Lisa stepped back and leaned against the counter, her arms crossed in front of her chest and a thoughtful look on her face—a face that was nearly identical to her daughter’s. Her hair, a dark brown, could have been the same color as Elora’s. But Elora had kept hers dyed since before Cassie could remember, so there was no way to be totally certain.

“So what do you think about Elora’s ideas about this?” Lisa asked Cassie carefully.

Cassie c****d her head to the side. “What do you mean, what do I think? Are you telling me that you believe her?”

Lisa nodded slowly. “I believe her because I know that it’s true, as does Elora.”

“How?” Cassie practically shrieked.

“We know elves,” Elora said in her usual matter-of-fact tone.

Cassie coughed on her own saliva as she attempted to swallow. “Y-y-you know elves?” She stuttered out her question.

“Have you seen the products I carry in this store? Where do you think I get most of this stuff?” Lisa asked.

Cassie shook her head. “I need to sit down.”

“Yeah, you are definitely going to need to sit down before I tell you the really scary part.” Lisa walked around the counter and pulled out a chair for Cassie.

“The really scary part?” Cassie’s brow rose. “You’re telling me that elves being real isn’t scary enough?”

“Are you sure, absolutely sure, the elf you met said his name was Trik?” Lisa asked.

Cassie nodded.

“That’s not good.” Lisa tapped her lips with her forefinger, her eyes unfocused in thought.

“Why exactly is it not good?” Cassie was trying to grasp what Elora and her mother were saying, but it felt like they were making her drag the information out of them.

“Well, if it is the Trik, then you met the dark elf king’s most deadly assassin,” Lisa said.

Cassie’s head fell forward and landed on the counter with a thud. “You have got to be kidding me.”

Elora snorted. “Only you would meet the most dangerous elf out there and have him basically tell you that he wanted you to be his woman.”

“Thanks, Elora, that is really helping.” Cassie thudded her head against the counter repeatedly, hoping that if she knocked herself out she would wake up and all of this would have been a dream.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Lisa grabbed Cassie’s ponytail to keep her from hitting her head on the counter again. “We have a more serious concern. You said you saw the gentlemen in the conference room in all their Elfin glory, shimmering hair, shining eyes, all that?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s really not good, Cassie.”

Cassie raised a single brow at Lisa. “Really, because the death looks they gave me before chasing after me wasn’t a clue at all.”

“Well, don’t you want to know why they were chasing you?” asked Lisa.

“I guess that would be useful information to know.”

“It’s against Elfin law for a human to ever see an elf in its true form. My family has known of them for generations. I’ve known of the Elfin my whole life, and I even have a close Elfin friend named Syndra. None of us—not one—has ever seen them in their natural form.

“What does that mean, exactly, that I’m not allowed to see them?” Cassie asked nervously.

“Unfortunately, Elfin law states that if a human has seen an elf in their true form, then the human is marked to die. Even the light elves, who are supposed to be the good guys by the way, stick to that rule. So essentially …”

“Your ass is grass,” Elora said absently as she nonchalantly flipped through a magazine as if they weren’t discussing her best friend’s imminent demise.

“Again, thank you, Elora, for the overflowing empathy,” Cassie said matching her friend’s dry tone. “Okay, so let’s say that I believe you, what do I do?”

“I will speak with Syndra and see if there is some loophole that I don’t know about. Maybe there is a way to petition the light elf king.”

“So, we are going to basically beg for them to let me live even though I know their little secret?”

“Pretty much,” Lisa said, nodding her head.

“You two are just little rainbows of positivity, you know it?” Cassie said sarcastically.

Lisa laughed. “Meanwhile, you need to see what Trik wants with you. He is a dark elf, Cassie. No, no, he is the dark elf. He isn’t one to be trifled with.”

“Yes, because I make a habit of trifling with dark elves,” Cassie snorted. “Sorry, Lisa. I’m not trying to be a butthead, I’m just a little overwhelmed.”

“Understandable,” Lisa said as she patted Cassie’s shoulder. “We’ll figure it out, alright?”

“Did you know my dad’s company was owned by the elves?” Cassie asked Lisa.

“Yes, but we aren’t allowed to reveal that we know about the Elfin, which is why Elora has never told you that she knew about them.”

“Are you going to be in trouble?” Cassie asked her.

Lisa shook her head. “I don’t think so. After all, we didn’t reveal them to you, it was Tamsin’s fault.”

“Who is Tamsin?” Cassie asked apprehensively, not sure if she really wanted to know.

“He’s the light elf king. I imagine he was probably one of the one’s you saw in the conference room.”

Cassie stood as she blew out a deep breath. “I think I need to go home and stick my head in the ground for a while. Hopefully, when I finally emerge, the elves will have forgotten about me.”

“If you are on Trik or Tamsin’s radars, I imagine they aren’t likely to forget about you,” Elora told her friend.

“Okay, you are not allowed to speak anymore,” Cassie pointed a finger at Elora. “Take me home please, and keep your happy thoughts to yourself.”