Clover—she had a few drifters pass her by as she sat alone. They looked over their shoulders at her, curious but cautious. There was a strange aura to her though, one that left me on edge. It was then Rufian explained that she was Clave’s twin sister, a methodical woman who shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Long black hair, an evasive persona, and a pair of stoic cold eyes—she had the expression of a killer down pat, with an energy that warned just about everyone to fuck off.
She seemed lost in thought, oblivious to the world around her as she sipped on her drink and ate her bowl of chips. Rufian said her specialty was air mimicry, with the ability to transform into gas, fog, and mist. “She isn’t as dangerous as Clave but she could handle her own in a fight.”
“I wonder what she’s doing here by herself while the rest of her team is looking for the codex?” I whispered to Rufian.
“No clue.” He turned to me with a mischievous smile. “Why not ask her?”
I sucked my teeth. “Yeah, like that’s happening.”
“Afraid, hero?” He beamed.
“You’re the one who set up the stage for her! That whole badass pitch! I’m not gonna just waltz up there and ask about the Deo’s business! Besides, if Lanette and Pixie reported in, she’d recognize me in a heartbeat.”
He shrugged. “I only ask because your charisma points are higher than mine.”
“Yeah, by like four points. You’re the lady’s man. Why don’t you go over there and charm her?”
He snorted. “Your human is certainly showing,” he whispered. “If you were a true fae from here, you’d know she has a heart of stone. There is no buttering a brick.”
“Then turn her into toast. I believe in you, Rufian,” I said with a wink and a thumb-up.
He chuckled. “Looks like we won’t have to do anything.” He cocked his head forward, signaling me to glance over at the brave group of fae who began to circle her table. They were rugged looking men, giving off more biker gang vibes than actual precursors to the fae forces. A burly stripped skinhead, the leader of the bunch of five, took a seat across from the level 115 Clover and began dishing out threats like he didn’t value his life. But I could see where the gall came from. While he was a level 80 fae, his party were equally experienced, so taking out Clover would be a cakewalk for them.
“We standby and prepare to assist,” Rufian suggested. “If we help her, she’d be more inclined to talk to us. We’d just have to be careful of how we word our interrogation.”
“Yeah, that plan doesn’t seem promising at all.”
“Have faith in the plan.”
I watched Clover’s expression morph into one of boredom, a sign that she was getting irritated. She made it clear that she wanted to get back to her business, but the group of fae occupying her table was in her space. What was more troublesome was how half of the bar pretended like nothing was happening, while the other half began to scatter to the other side, away from the brewing fight about to happen. Meanwhile the poor barkeep barked at the ruffians, pressing on them to leave. Of course the troublemakers didn’t give two shits about his comments, continuing to badger Clover some more.
Well, I guess Rufian might actually be onto something here. We could use the situation to our advantage. If Clover was being harassed, it meant that she would be more receptive to our help. But we had to be careful. We couldn’t afford to seem too eager to help her, or it would backfire.
Before I could make a move toward Clover, Rufian grabbed my arm and leaned in to whisper in my ear, “Let’s wait and see how this plays out first.”
So we bided our time, watching the scene unfold…
“Enough of the smartass attitude, eagle eyes, I need a location!” Max, the butch fae demanded as his fist struck the table. “Clave owes me money! And he can’t afford to be late on payments, not with the kind of people he owes!”
Clover’s eyes sharpened on him, the death glare on this girl running chills up my spine. “For the last time, I don’t know where he is. I am not his keeper,” she said in a monotone and dull voice. “He doesn’t tell me anything.”
Max’s frown deepened. “You expect me to believe that?!” he growled, leaning in closer to Clover. “You’re his tail, just like the rest of you runts!”
“Take a look at her, boss? She’s all alone, away from the flock!” Eggy, the lanky four-eyed freckled fae said as he crossed his arms over his puffed out chest, trying to intimidate her. “Maybe her brother finally had enough of her shit and kicked her to the curb!”
Max chuckled like a boar at that lousy joke as the rest of his crew joined in, egging him on. “Now that’s rich! Little miss ex head hunter, top of her class, rising star of the hunter academy finally in the mud, tossed aside by her own blood! Now I know Clave isn’t known for his patience, but you must have done some serious shit to get on his bad side. And if you did, that’s more reason for you to give up his location. You want your revenge? This is how you do it! I’ll take care of him good, so good that you won’t recognize his face anymore!” he protested, slamming his fist into his hand and showing everyone his thunder bang ability. Every glass around his radius shattered, including the one supporting my tasty beverage.
She sighed exasperatingly. “I can’t believe this… is it too much to ask to enjoy one lousy drink in a lousy bar without having a bunch of pigs bombard me with their show-gun egos and bad breath?”
Max choked, and then his shock turned into irritation. “Why you little bitch!”
“Just a reminder, I did ask nicely.”
Just like that, Clover smoked out, her body reduced into a gaseous form. Five trails of smoke for five pestering fae—she made it look so simple, lodging herself into their throats and suffocating the men. One by one they dropped to the ground, clutching their necks and gasping for air. The show took everyone in the bar by surprise, some guests dashing out to save themselves, while others crowded in corners of the bar and gawked at the helpless men.
Well, so much for jumping in for an assist.
The barkeeper watched the commotion with horror, his eyes bulging and his hands clutching his sweaty forehead. I on the other hand felt froggy, itching to stop Clover. I get that those men were obnoxious, but they didn’t deserve death. But unlike Pixie and Lanette, Clover wasn’t a killer. After a few seconds of torturing them, she let them go, all of the men dropping unconscious around her table.
Judging by the rise and fall of their chests, they were still alive. I let go of the breath I’d been holding, my shoulders relaxing a bit after she released them. Clover returned to her seat and resumed eating her chips casually, the rest of the bar following suit. The sweaty barkeep tried to mind his business and continued serving drinks, while some of his patrons returned to their seats, pretending like none of that just happened.
I kept my eyes to the door, where I saw a figure loitering as if waiting for something to happen. My gut was telling me that the guy in a flat hat and a black cloak was either part of Max’s guild, or a district enforcer of some sort. I hadn’t seen him before the quick KO—he must have just walked in. But whoever he was had Clover uncomfortable, the girl getting up off her seat to head toward the back door of the bar.
Rufian kept his eyes on the man in black for a short few seconds before he nudged me for the front door. He didn’t want to lose her, but without an angle to approach her with, we’d just seem like stalkers on her tail. Clover was the high-on-alert type of fae, and I doubt anything Rufian would do could keep her spidey senses off of us.
Of course that didn’t stop Rufian from following her down the street. For three whole minutes we pursued her, until we turned the next corner, and Clover was gone.
“Well, that was smooth,” I grunted. “I told you we left way too soon. She knew we were following her.”
“It was either follow her then or lose her completely.”
“We got the same result regardless,” I said as I scratched my head, before I noticed a trail of smoke floating toward an upper window of a cathedral-like building.
I pointed my eyes toward the direction, garnering Rufian’s immediate attention. We moved, taking the front double doors for the inside of what felt like an abandoned temple committed to the High Order of fae. While the interior reminded me of a church—high pillars, stained glass windows, and the ambiance of divinity, I felt a strange power in here that gripped me by my chest and wouldn’t let go.
“We need to leave,” I insisted under my breath, Rufian ignoring me as he paced further down the aisle. “Hey, did you hear me? I said we need to leave!”
