Shadow Play

26

Feeling like I was making decent progress, I began to research draug and the Fae. Of course, there was so much information and I had no way to verify what parts might be accurate and what was complete fabrication. The draug was linked to Norse mythology and sounded like a kind of zombie creature that had a thing for treasure, which would explain his need to have my necklace. They were noted for rising from graves as wisps of smoke and having super strength—both of those facts were consistent with what I had witnessed. However, I also read that they stank badly, and I hadn’t noticed any particular stench. None of the articles tied the draug to the Fae, but otherwise the descriptions seemed consistent. Turning to the Fae, the name alone had a variety of spellings and the etymology was diverse. I noted all the historical references, associated charms and legends before I got to a section on the 'Tuatha De Dannan' and the 'Aos sí,' which I took particular interest in as they were both legends of Faeries originating from Ireland. I wasn't sure how much of the legends pertaining to each were true, but surely some of the stories had been founded in truth. After a while, I started to feel like a dog chasing its tail. I gave up researching the Fae and attempted to see what I could learn about Lochlan and the Huntsman. At first, all that came up were the same pictures of the club and articles I had seen previously. But when I entered 'Huntsman Fae', what came up made my palms tingle and my heart race in my chest. The first thing I saw was the Wild Huntsman Legends—the Wild Hunt—why hadn't it occurred to me before? I felt like an i***t. It wasn't like I hadn't read books about Fae and heard the legends. I wasn't nearly as well versed as Ashley, but studied at a liberal arts school, I'd read a handful of books about the Fae, including a Midsummer Night’s Dream which I had studied extensively. I was generally familiar with fairytales and legends, but I had never entertained the possibility that they had any truth to them, therefore I hadn't put the two together. I wondered what other mythological people and creatures that I had dismissed as fiction were out there walking around in plain sight. Trying to recall legends about the Hunt and its members, a burning question sat in the forefront of my mind—did that mean Lochlan and Ronan were Fae? I lowered my head into my hands. Of course they were, Rebecca, how naïve can you be? What was it Lochlan had said? We have ties to the government. I had assumed he meant our human government, but now I doubted that was his intent. Just like in the myths, apparently the Fae were master manipulators and I was going to have to listen very carefully from now on. They were all Fae, and our interests were not aligned. As soon as Ash headed back to the States, I’d be alone, a sheep among wolves. Granted, I was a sheep with a magic necklace, and as sheep go, that put me a step above the rest. But I was still a sheep, nonetheless. The deeper I dug into this new world, the more entrenched I became and I was convinced that I had a purpose here. There was a reason for it all, I just had no clue what it was yet. OceanofPDF.com 10 By the end of the day I was exhausted, but I didn't want Ashley to have to be alone in the hospital so I got ready to make another visit. She had not responded to my text earlier, so before I left, I tried one more time. Me: Hey honey, I'm about to head your way Ash: Really not necessary, just got meds Me: I don't want u to have to stay the night alone there Ash: Not so bad, hot doctor that stops in, trying not to drool Ash: Literally Me: Nice! I don't mind, I swear Ash: Nah. They said I can go in the morning, just come get me then Me: If you're sure Ash: Def Me: K, I'll be there first thing Ash: ?? The next morning, I took a cab to the hospital and retrieved Ashley. She was instructed to get with a doctor back home to monitor her recovery and remove the cast, but for now there was nothing to be done besides rest and heal. We went back to the apartment and settled in for a day of movies. Between Ashley's pain meds and the overwhelming events of the prior forty-eight hours, we were both ready to lose ourselves in a mindless distraction. “Before we start watching anything, Bec, please tell me you reconsidered and will come home with me next week.” “No, Ash, nothing has changed. If anything, I just feel more compelled to get answers.” Her head fell back onto the couch and she sighed. “All right, I know how stubborn you can be. I just wanted to make sure.” Earlier in the morning I had started to debate whether I should tell her all of what I had learned. I wanted her to understand why I felt the way I did, but I also figured the less she knew, the safer she would be. I hated seeing my friend hurt, and while I couldn't seem to escape this s**t show, she certainly didn't have to be dragged into it. Selfishly, my desire to have her understand where I was coming from won out and I explained what I had learned.

“After I visited you yesterday, I went to the Huntsman to talk to Lochlan.” Ash's eyes got big and she leaned forward. “And?” “And, he and his 'associates' are like a police force for the Fae.” “He confirmed, the creatures are Fae?” I described the conversation in detail, leaving out my getting hot and bothered and the whole scenting me part. “Well you're in luck. If we know it's Fae that we're dealing with, I'm a veritable encyclopedia on the Fae. I can give you a rundown of the basics. First, you can't eat or drink anything from Faery because it will mess you up.” She began to tick off on her fingers all of her acquired knowledge of Fae lore. “They can't lie but they can be super tricky when you talk to them.” “Yeah, I got a taste of that one already.” I grumbled and received a raised brow in response before she continued. “There's the gentry, they are the sophisticated, more people-like Faeries but there’s loads of other kinds, too. The scary part about them is they tend to be the ones that go after s*x, whether just because they're extremely s****l or because they feed off of humans’ s****l energy.” “Lochlan mentioned something about feeding on s****l energy, but I'm not sure what that means.” “I’m not certain how it works but it means they sometimes ensnare humans to feed from them. They use their power to make you so turned on that you don’t know which way is up or down and you basically become a s*x slave.” “Are you serious?” “Yeah, it's all you can think about. s*x becomes your world and you lose yourself.” The Fae could manipulate your hormones or whatever their magic did to make you compliant and unable to think clearly—that sounded awfully familiar. f*****g Lochlan. That had to be why I got so horny and stupid every time I was near him.