Shot in the Dark (Shot in the Dark Trilogy Book 1) Read online

Jon stared right back at her, trying to keep his breathing under control. It reminded him how just twelve hours ago it was he who was patching up her wound.

  "Tables have turned, huh?" He forced a smile, even though the juddering of the car was making him dizzy with pain.

  "Y-yeah, I guess they have," she replied, laughing shakily. She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. Her gaze drifted back and forth from him to the window. After a while, her attention didn't stray from him at all. There was an admiring glint in her eyes. "I don't understand how you could be so brave back there. Going in first like that. You knew something was in the cavern. You knew it was dangerous. But you did it anyway, with no one telling you to. I've never met anyone so brave. It's… amazing."

  His stomach fluttered proudly at her words, and for the briefest of moments, Jon forgot about the pain. "I… heh, maybe. Doesn't feel so amazing right now." He deflected the compliment, but it wasn't true; he felt an irrevocable satisfaction from the protective animal in his chest. She's safe.

  Seven

  The car came to a jerking halt. Sylvia yelped as she was thrown off balance from the momentum and fell from the edge of the armrest. She saw Jon throw his hand out to catch her even though he couldn't reach. The short distance to the floor mat was enough to knock the wind out of her.

  "Sorry," Cliff said. "Soggy ground here. But I think this is it." The car shook as he turned around in the front seat to look down for her.

  Sitting up, she blinked and narrowed her eyes at the window above. The top of the familiar willow treeline was visible. It truly hit her what she was about to do. A chill of uncertainty ran up her spine as her eyes drifted to Jon laying on the seat above her. His breathing grew more ragged by the second.

  "This should be close enough," she confirmed, pushing herself to stand.

  Cliff's hand swooped down from above, wrapping around her before she could so much as flinch. His door swung open, and he practically jumped out of the car. He walked a few paces toward the trees uncertainly, looking down at her.

  "Where should I put you?" he asked.

  She leaned over in his hand. The trees awaited her, welcomed her. So close to home, so close to helping Jon. She tried to focus on using her adrenaline for courage rather than fear.

  "There." She pointed toward a low lying willow tree with leaves that brushed the ground like a curtain. "Give me five minutes, and I'll be back out with a book."

  Cliff obediently crouched down and laid his hand flat to the ground. Tiny feet pressed into his skin as she clambered off. She wished more desperately than ever that she could fly.

  "I'll wait here," Cliff assured. She felt his enormous gaze on her back as she disappeared into the unkempt grass with light steps.

  For a time, her footsteps crunched against the weaved landscape of wild grass. Then, a new quiet fell, and she was entirely invisible to human eyes. Sylvia ran through the undergrowth, able to sense the moment she was within the glamour barrier. The complicated magic kept fairies within its radius invisible to humans. It didn't reach farther than twenty feet in all directions, but at least villagers could go outside with the peace of mind that they wouldn't immediately be spotted on the off-chance a human wandered by.

  Hesitation slowed her steps when she reached the base of the village willow. It suddenly hit her that she was free. She had made it home. She could run inside, pretend none of it ever happened. Surely Cliff would be smart enough to understand what she'd done if she didn't return soon. And would he really waste his time hunting her down when he should get Jon medical attention?

  She breathed out sharply.

  What was she thinking? Jon was bleeding to death!

  She bolted between the thick roots of the tree. The dark downward passage was carefully hidden among the twisting undergrowth, as if the glamour wasn't precaution enough. She headed down the passage, able to take even quicker steps along the gradual slope. The light at the end grew brighter, and she emerged through an archway that opened into the underground village.

  It gave her a momentary shock to be in an area that was purposely created for people of her stature. No sky-high ceilings or vast furniture. Only cozy passageways and doors she could actually open. There was no one in her immediate vicinity, thank goodness. In case she ran into anyone, she hid her injured wing under her good one. No doubt a wound that size would raise massive concern.

  The earthy walls gave off a pleasant coolness as she strode onward. She wanted to avoid the main hub of the village, but she had no choice if she wanted to reach the nearest storage room.

  She heard conversational voices coming up on the next archway. It would only take a few quick strides to walk to the next passage once she was out in the open. Holding her breath, she kept her head down, fearing that someone to call her name the moment she was spotted. But no one did, and she entered the next hall without a hitch.

  After a short maze of paths, she finally reached a storage chamber with piles of old tomes. She grabbed the first one she could get her hands on, flipping through it hastily. No healing spells, as far she could see. Her heart pounded anxiously as she repeated the process with the next book. It took five tries before she located what she was looking for.

  Clutching the book tightly to herself, she made her way back to the paths until she reached the main hub again. Without a beat of hesitation, she trotted out and backtracked to the dark passage that led outside. Only the inclined path stood between her and the exit.

  She made it halfway up before the sound of scrambling footsteps behind her made her freeze. Someone grabbed her by the shoulder. Hugging the book protectively, Sylvia whirled around, wings snapping open instinctively. A wide-eyed ten-year-old girl stood in front of her.

  "S-Sylvia, it is you!" Even in the dim light, the crippling relief on Hazel's face was unmistakable. "I knew I saw you! Where in the world have you been? Mother's been worried sick!"

  Taking a few steps back, Sylvia swallowed the urge to embrace her sister. She'd spent the past day wondering if she would ever see Hazel again, but Sylvia had a matter of life and death on her hands. She took on a stern expression. "Shh! I'll be right back, alright? Stay here."

  "What? Y-your wing!"

  "Yes, I've noticed," Sylvia hissed, turning on her heel. "Just stay put, and don't tell anyone you saw me!"

  "But what's going on? Where are you taking that book?" Hazel's little footsteps followed after her.

  Sylvia clenched her jaw and turned once again to look her little sister in the eye. "I said stay put. I'll explain everything when I get back, I swear. Don't tell anyone I'm here, not even Mother."

  Praying she wouldn't have to repeat herself again, Sylvia rushed all the way up the passage until she was blinking in the leaf-filtered sunlight. Hazel didn't emerge after her. Tucking the heavy book under her arm and cursing her inability to fly, she sprinted until she reached where Cliff had left her.

  He wasn't difficult to spot. Cliff towered over the jungle of grass, his silhouette blotting out a portion of the sky. She slowed to a halt near one of his massive boots, tentatively craning her neck toward his face. One hand lifted up, ready to get his attention, but his eyes were already on her. His broad shoulders slumped in relief at the mere sight of her.

  "Ready?" he asked, scooping her up in two hands.

  The car door opened, and Cliff ducked into the backseat, awkwardly finding a place to set Sylvia. Jon wasn't a small guy by any means, and there wasn't much room with him scrunched up in a prone position on the back seat. Luckily, Sylvia was barely five inches at her tallest. She had room to spare as she was set down somewhere around Jon's hip. Cliff reached over her, unwrapping the makeshift bandages of shirt strips from around Jon's leg.

  "Ah!" Jon squeezed his eyes shut, grinding his teeth.

  Trying to block out Jon's groans of pain, Sylvia flipped through the discolored pages of the old book. She skipped right past the incantations for minor scrapes and burns. The healing spell she settled on wa
s nearly two pages long, for deep still-bleeding lacerations. It wasn't going to be easy, but she was too frantic to let her insecurities get the best of her. She balanced the book on one arm and raised the other toward the bite wound.

  "What are you doing?!"

  Ripped from her concentration, Sylvia turned to find the owner of the familiar voice. Her little sister hovered a safe distance from the open car door, looking upon the scene with absolute horror. The little girl's fiery red hair caught the light, her green eyes as wide as dinner plates.

  Cliff whirled upon the new voice. His eyes darted between her and Sylvia, seemingly conflicted on whether he should lunge and grab the newcomer or ignore her.

  "I told you to stay put!" Sylvia clutched at the spine of the book tighter as if Hazel would fly down and tear it from her hands.

  But Hazel didn't move. Her terrorized gaze focused on Jon's wound, and then the book in her older sister's arms. A look of realization appeared on her young features, coupled by confusion.

  "Y-you can't do that!" The little girl flitted closer, apprehensively eyeing Cliff before focusing back on Sylvia. "But, if the Council finds out—"

  "I know!" Sylvia snapped. She gritted her teeth and tried to calm herself. She needed to focus in order for the spell to work, and arguing with Hazel would only decrease the chance of success. Finding a way to avoid the consequences had to wait. "I know what can happen. But I know what I'm doing."

  "Shoo." Cliff waved a hand at the little fairy.

  Spooked by the simple movement, Hazel cried out and darted away from the car. Sylvia's heart pounded harder as she wondered if Hazel would go to the village and alert the guards. But the young fairy lingered at the treeline. Satisfied, Sylvia concentrated back on the matter at hand.

  "Are you ready?" she asked Jon, turning to look at his face.

  Jon frowned, visibly piecing together the brief confusing conversation between the fairies. "Yeah," he finally answered in a strained voice.

  After sparing one last worried glance at her little sister, Sylvia locked her eyes on the book's incantation. Taking slow and steady breaths, she raised her arm again and placed her fingertips on the edge of the dog bite. Warm blood ran down between her index and middle finger. Anxiety for Jon's well-being fueled her magic. In her peripherals, she saw him shut his eyes.

  Using the clearest enunciation she could manage, she read aloud in Fae. Her pupils dilated. A pleasant chill snaked through her arm and traveled to her fingertips. Her breathing became labored, but she pushed on. A cerulean glow emitted from her hand when she was more than halfway through the incantation. The light spread out over the wound, blocking out the slick crimson.

  Though she could hardly see past the tunnel-vision of the spell, Sylvia could vaguely see his face, still screwed into a mask of vivid pain. It stayed that way for so much of the spell, she began to fret in the back of her mind that she had made an error. Then his face relaxed, relief flooding his features along with a cold sweat. His breathing evened out from irregular grunts to deep, slow inhalations.

  ***

  Wringing her fingers together, Hazel cautiously moved closer to the vehicle until she could at least see Sylvia. The little girl sighed and buried her face in her hands when she saw her sister was in mid-spell. She racked her brain, wondering what Sylvia could possibly be thinking.

  She was so engrossed in these worrisome thoughts, she didn't have time to hide when the massive man standing outside the car shifted and glanced in her direction. Hazel went rigid when he did a double-take, turning away from the open door to face her.

  "It's okay," he said, his voice hushed as he took a tentative step toward her. "I'm not gonna grab ya."

  Hazel gasped and flew backward until she was well out of the human's reach. She stared at him timidly with her arms raised in defense. When he made no indication he would chase her, she came closer. She frowned, dozens of questions surfacing. Just being near humans was straight out of a nightmare, yet her sister was healing one, offering magic as if he was her own kind.

  "A-are you making her do this?" Hazel stuttered out, eyes shining with worried tears. She remained a wary distance from the uninjured human.

  He followed her gaze to the other human's prone form in the backseat. "Hell no. I didn't even know she could do this shit." He flexed his hands restlessly at his side, giving her a strange look. "I'm just gonna take a shot in the dark here. You're Hazel, right?"

  The little fairy raised her eyebrows. She glanced at Sylvia and wondered how and why her name had been mentioned.

  "Y-yes," she replied after a moment. She flew forward, hugging her arms to herself. She could hear her sister's voice clearer, which was enough to bring her comfort despite being in the presence of an enormously dangerous human. "W-who are you? And why do you have Sylvia?"

  He didn't answer immediately, instead turning over his shoulder to watch Sylvia at work. The glow of the healing spell illuminated a glint of intrigue in his eyes. Soon enough, the weight of his gaze was back on Hazel, that far-too-big mouth opening to speak.

  "We were hunting down a monster dog and your sister got in the way," he replied shortly. "We're not interested in hunting fairies, so you can cool it, alright?"

  Hazel recoiled, staring him incredulously. She clenched her fists at her sides, anger winning over the horror. "Her wing! You did that to her!" She shook her head with a scowl, now even more confused as to why Sylvia was healing the human in the backseat. Hunters! They had hunted her!

  She flew backward slowly, considering making a beeline to the village for help now that she knew the humans had in fact hurt her sister. However, she was distracted when the magic blue glow faded out of the corner of her eye.

  ***

  Darkness crept into the edges of Sylvia's vision as she neared the end of the spell. The words on the yellowed pages were all she knew, all that mattered. Her eyelids grew heavy, but she managed to remain conscious. She could feel the magic doing its work, mending Jon's shredded artery and vessels and rejoining the punctured flesh and muscle.

  Sylvia pulled her blood-stained hand away from the thick scar she left behind, her face pale as a sheet. She felt like she had been in a different world for the duration of the spell. Her normal senses returned slowly, only for exhaustion to strike her like a lead weight.

  The book slipped as her arms dropped limply to her side. Her knees buckled, and she stumbled backward on the seat. She made it a few steps before the sensation of falling seized her. She heard Hazel's voice cry out her name.

  She hit a surface much sooner than she should have, and it wasn't the hard car floor mat. This surface was warm and leathery, soft enough to safely break her fall. She lay on her back, blinking upward when her world shifted. Jon's face appeared overhead as he sat up straight, peering down at her with wide-eyed concern.

  "Sylvia," he breathed. He brought a fingertip to her clammy cheek, voice cracking. "Why… why did you do that?"

  Sylvia scrutinized him, vision clearing. The image of his face screwed up in agony was burned into her mind. Now he looked perfectly alert, as if he had never been hurt at all. She didn't dare move much while her head pounded so hard, but she managed to grin widely at him with relief and triumph. I did it.

  She reached up and rested a hand on the first joint of his finger. "Are you joking? You were bleeding to death, dummy. What else was I supposed to do?"

  A buzz of wings entered her hearing. Tilting her head back, Sylvia caught sight of Hazel perching at a crouch upon of the driver's seat headrest, facing the back of the car. The little girl looked tense as a coiled spring, ready to fly back out at a moment's notice. Sylvia's attention was stolen when Jon's fingertip pulled away from her cheek.

  He smiled faintly, his eyes still searching for an elusive emotion in Sylvia's face. "Not so big on the whole escaping thing?" he asked wryly.

  "Not much to escape from when I'm gonna be let go anyway." Sylvia averted her gaze, but he didn't let it go.

  "You could hav
e ditched us instead," Jon insisted, as if trying to make sense of all this. He held her higher, and Sylvia found that she had little choice but to look at those immense brown eyes. "I mean, I took you… I hunted you." His gaze lingered on the gaping hole in her wing, confusion mingling with gratitude.

  "I'm not going to deny that you and Cliff hurt me," Sylvia admitted. "You two terrified me, and well, still do, a little." Wincing, she pushed herself to sit up halfway. A fond smile touched her lips. "I don't know how to explain it. Being away from here… I could be curious about everything, and you didn't treat me like that was bad." She glanced away shyly. "Besides… you're my friend, alright? Of course I couldn't ditch you."

  He tilted his head to the side curiously. In an impulsive burst, Jon bowed his head and brushed his lips against her cheek in a chaste kiss.

  Odd warmth surged through Sylvia. Something told her she should have been horrified, but she wasn't. She couldn't place the feeling, but she was sure it wasn't negative. Her stomach fluttered, and she reached up to touch her cheek, skin still tingling from the sensation of his lips.

  "You and him," came Hazel's soft voice.

  Sylvia turned in surprise, having forgotten she was there. Hazel stared with mild disgust and confusion, and Sylvia quickly caught on to what she was thinking.

  "No, no, it's not like that," Sylvia said, chuckling at the notion. "It's just a kiss, Hazel. It doesn't mean anything."

  The little girl shook her head in disbelief, looking panicked. In the blink of an eye, she spread her wings and darted out of the car. Before Sylvia could so much as call out for her to stop, the smaller fairy disappeared into the treeline.

  "Should I go after her?" Cliff asked, staring with a particular scrutiny at a braid of spindly tree branches.

  "It's too late," Sylvia said, sitting up fully. "She'll be in the village any second now. Just let me think." Legs shaking, she stood up on Jon's hand and pulled her fingers through her hair, staring at the treeline. "Someone will probably notice her running into the village. Little kids aren't supposed to be outside alone. They'll see she's upset. If she doesn't want to get me in trouble, she won't answer any questions, but they'll check to see what scared her."