The Chaos of Azazel

Chapter 1 Lilura -      The banging and the clashing in the kitchen startled me enough to send the deck of tarot cards flying from my hands. I guess that meant the end of my reading. I quickly piled them together and put them back in their box. I made my way to the kitchen where the ruckus was coming from. In the middle of the kitchen stood a tall hulking figure of a man. Tyr, my live-in faerie boyfriend was attempting to cook breakfast. There were pots and pans and various cut up food strewn about the kitchen counters. “What exactly are you trying to make?” I asked him. He ran a hand through his long black hair. “An omelet. I think?” He answered. He gave me a wry smile, “but as you can tell it’s not going well.” “I can see that. I am not a chef by no means, but I do know that an omelet doesn’t usually take this many pots and pans.” I said. “Maybe we should stick with cereal.” I finished. Tyr nodded and started grabbing two bowls from the cupboard. It had been a month since he moved in. It had been nice this simple domestic bliss with Tyr. A little over a month ago we were hunting a killer, falling in love, fighting an ancient Egyptian god, and stealing artifacts from the faeries. I was grateful that things had slowed down and returned mostly to normal. We sat quietly at my small wooden table in the breakfast nook eating our bowls of cereal. Tyr looked up at me as if to say something but paused. “You’re trying to say something. Just say it.” I sighed. “You feel tense Lilura. You’ve felt more tense each day.” He said, his dark green eyes locked into mine. “It’s nothing to worry about. It’s just that things are going so well. The tension is from my unnecessary worrying about something bad happening. That’s all.” I explained. He still seemed unconvinced it was just that. Faeries were extremely good at reading emotions and feelings of people. The truth was that I did have an ominous feeling only made worse by the recurring nightmares. I couldn’t make sense of them, but I had a feeling they were less nightmares and more visions. I didn’t tell Tyr this though. “I hope you will tell me what is really going on when you are ready,” Tyr said. He placed his hand over mine and squeezed. I got up from my chair, kissed him on the cheek, and cleared the table of our dishes. “Eva invited us to dinner in the city with her and Kodan,” I said changing the subject. I washed our bowls in the sink and when I turned around Tyr was standing before me. “Then we will go. It will be good to see your friends.” He said with a smile. “They’re not your friends?” I asked. He furrowed his brow, “they are more like acquaintances. It is difficult to build friendships for faeries.” “Yet you fell in love with me very quickly.” I countered. He laughed, “that’s because I was always meant to love you.” He bent and kissed me lovingly on the mouth. The rest of the day passed rather normally. Tyr read a book quietly in the armchair in the living room. I worked on small spells from a grimoire I had borrowed from the coven library. When the sun began to sink below the tree line Tyr, and I got dressed for dinner. I put on a short blue and white floral dress and wore my red hair loose flowing around my shoulders. Tyr wore black slacks, a light grey button-down, and a black blazer. I watched as he put his amulet to protect him from iron poisoning around his neck. It was an hour drive to Knoxville and Tyr told me about his history and life. Over the past month, we had told each other about our entire lives. My life had taken only a day to tell him about, and Tyr was still telling me all of his. He had now gotten to the time England was attempting to combine all their kingdoms into one. We arrived at a new restaurant in Knoxville. We stood on the sidewalk waiting for Eva and Kodan holding hands. Finally, they arrived. Eva was dressed in a black halter neck jumper with sky-high heels, her black hair done in an intricate updo. Kodan was dressed in his slate gray suit. Eva and I hugged, while Kodan and Tyr nodded at each other. We went inside and were seated immediately. “It feels like it’s been so long since we’ve seen you both.” Eva started. “I know, I’m sorry about that. We’ve just been trying to get back to normal life.” I said. A bottle of wine came to the table and we each sipped at a glass. We spoke about each of our lives. Kodan was settling into the new FBI office in Knoxville, Eva was still running her clan of vampires, and I told them about our simple life we were making. “So, Tyr, how are you settling into the mortal world?” Kodan asked him. “Fine. I’ve spent time here before; it has been a few centuries though.” Tyr admitted. “When was the last time you were in this world for longer than a day or two?” Eva asked him. Tyr thought for a minute, “I believe I spent an extended period of time in this world in the year 1899. I spent the entire year watching the turn of the century. I was also with another woman at that time.” This surprised me as we had not gotten to other women he had been with. The others seemed surprised as well. “That was an interesting year. I was in America by then. Where were you Tyr?” Eva asked. “London, England,” Tyr answered. It was odd to think that Tyr and Eva had seen some of the same history yet never crossed paths before this time. Even odder was that a witch had brought together a faerie and a vampire, and a werewolf. Midway through our meal, Kodan’s phone rang. He turned around in his seat to answer it. Turning back his face was serious, “I’m sorry but there has been a strange attack and I need to go and take care of it.” He explained. He kissed Eva quickly on the lips and left swiftly out of the restaurant. “I hope everything is okay. Are you two still doing okay?” I asked Eva. “Yes, it is difficult figuring out how a relationship works between a vampire and a werewolf. I don’t know of it ever happening in my lifetime.” Eva sighed. “Fenrir loved a vampire once,” Tyr said. Eva and I looked at him. “Who is Fenrir?” I asked. “The first werewolf. He loved a vampire woman once. Of course, Fenrir's children disapproved of this, so they dragged her body into the sunlight and tore her apart.” Tyr said. “That’s not a very positive story.” I scolded. “No, but it has happened before. Fenrir's time was a time of bloodshed and deep prejudices. Vampires and werewolves have found a way to coexist in this modern world, hopefully that peace will pave the way for you two to be together happily.” Tyr explained. “Thank you, Tyr,” Eva said. “How did you know Fenrir?” I asked. “We fought against one another at one time. He is the one who took my hand.” Tyr said waving his gloved hand. “What a strange life you two have lived,” I said to Tyr and Eva. We all laughed together. The rest of the dinner passed with lighthearted banter and laughter. I hugged Eva and Tyr shook her hand as we parted ways. When we arrived at my house it was the middle of the night, but a tall figure stood on my porch. Tyr quickly got out of the truck and stood protectively in front of me. The man made his way to us. I could see him a bit better as he got closer. He was young, a little older than a teenager. His red hair was short and stood up in odd directions. He was tall and slender and dressed in faerie court attire. He bowed as he stood before Tyr. “My lord, I have come to ask for your aid.” The young man said. Tyr stood tall and glowered down at the man. “Robin, I cannot help you. I have been banned from court.” Tyr said sternly. “I know my lord. But the courts are at war and the Seelie court is losing. We must have your help.” Robin pleaded. “I will see what I can do. But I will not go tonight.” Tyr conceded. The boy beamed with relief. He bowed again, “thank you, my lord, thank you.” He said. He quickly backed away and trotted into the woods quickly. I turned to Tyr. He placed his large hand on my face. “Don’t worry my love.” He said. I leaned up and kissed him, “I’m always worried.” He deepened our kiss pulling me tightly into his arms. He lifted me into his arms and carried me all the way to our bed.