Chapter 6

Night had fallen when we finally headed out the door; my dad and I both carrying luggage as well as our larger weapons. We were almost to the car when I was lifted off my feet, straight up into the air. I dropped my bag and grabbed behind me at my assailant with one hand as I pulled my iron knife free from its boot sheath with the other. I'd been taken by surprise, but Extinguishers are trained to never lose their cool in a fight, and I calmly assessed the threat as I defended myself.

There were two of them. The one on the ground facing my father was the unseelie male fairy from earlier and if the screech coming from behind me was any indication, the female unseelie was the one holding me up. This surprised me a little more. I'd been sure the next fairy attack against me would have come from that winged, seelie son of a bitch.

Wind rushed around us as I stabbed back with my knife and realized that she must have some sort of air magic. She didn't have wings so it fell to reason that she was using the air currents to keep us aloft. She was also very quick; dodging my blows with agile twists and even dropping me at one point, only to swoop down and snatch me up by my feet.

I hung upside-down as she gleefully swung me from hand to hand and started flying us away. I caught sight of the roof of my house below us and kicked upward; connecting with her knee. I heard a small crunch and she screamed as she dropped me. I had just enough time to duck into a roll as I fell; hitting the angled roof with a thud before I began to slide down it. I stopped my progression right at the edge and looked over to see my quiver of iron-tipped arrows scattered across the driveway.

I reached out a hand to focus my thoughts and mentally grab hold of several arrows, then twisted around and flung them up into the air behind me. I had timed it perfectly but still, the unseelie woman dodged all but one arrow and that one only glanced her shoulder. It was enough though, and she gasped in pain as she fell to the roof.

I stood; jerking aside as she slid past me, but her hand snaked out and caught my ankle; pulling me with her. The edge of the roof dug into my back as I was yanked across it, then the back of my head hit it hard as I was lifted into the air once more. I tried again to reach her with my dagger, but she was moving too fast. I gave up and lit her clothes on fire instead.

Whoosh. A second and she went from sleek, midnight assassin to flaming marshmallow. The rush of her air magic quickened the fire's pace; sending it up and out, away from me and into her beautiful hair. She gave a fox-like shriek and let go of her magic while admirably holding onto me.

I put out the flames as we fell and lunged upwards; rolling her so that when we hit, she was beneath me and took the brunt of it. We hadn't fallen very far, but I heard the hollow crack of something within her chest. The fairy looked up at me; eyes tight with pain and hatred as I placed my dagger against her throat.

"Why would you disobey a Lord of the Wild Hunt to attack us?" I nearly shouted at her. "Tell me!"

"I do not truly answer to him," she spat as blood started to trickle from her lips. The iron in her shoulder wound was already traveling. It must have struck deeper than I'd thought.

"Who then?" I pushed the blade harder against her throat and her flesh began to sizzle. She screamed but then pressed her lips firmly together. "Who?" I dug my knee into her stomach.

"Seren." My dad was behind us, which meant the other fairy must be dead.

"Give me a minute, Dad," I growled and pulled the blade away so the woman could speak.

"You have no idea who your enemies are." The fairy began to laugh insanely. "You should fear the darkness, Extinguisher!"

Her laughter was so unsettling that I actually drew back so that I was straddling her hips. Her braid now ended just below her ears; a frayed, burnt, bloodstained rope. Her clothing was nearly gone, just the leather armor remained; blackened in waves mapping my fiery attack. Patches of her skin were just as black; some cracking open to reveal the red flesh beneath. All of that, combined with the blood at her lips and shoulder, made her appear half-dead. Like a witch who'd been saved from the fire only to be taken by insanity.

The laughter ended abruptly as blood splashed up from her neck and slapped my cheek. I flinched a little and looked up at my father as he yanked his sword out of the ground. He'd struck so hard that the iron had embedded itself in the earth beneath the fairy's neck.

"She could have given us important information," I nearly shouted at him.

"She wasn't going to give us anything," he said grimly as he shook the blood and soil off his sword with a quick movement.

"Perhaps we should leave now?" Aideen asked in a small voice.

"We'll have to take the bodies with us," I grumbled as I got to my feet.

I was angry with my father but a little surprised that my anger wasn't over the fact that he'd stolen the kill from me. Not too long ago it would have been, but now, I was angry because the death had been wasted. Perhaps I really was moving on from my mother's death, or perhaps it was all due to the fact that Aideen had given me a key bit of information. Mom's death hadn't been random; it had been murder.

Murder made sense of my revenge. It gave it purpose and direction. All I needed to do was find something or someone to point me toward the killer and I'd know where to place my next step. I just wasn't sure if sharing that move with my father would be a good thing or not. It could give him some clarity as it had me, or it could remove the last bit of his control and drive him completely over the edge.

The crack of a tarp thrown open sounded like thunder in the suburban silence, and I turned sharply to see my father spread the bright blue plastic in the back of our SUV. He strode over to the body of the male fairy with jaunty steps. His job was much easier than mine since his corpse was cut up into manageable pieces. I grabbed the fairy woman's foot and started to drag her over the pale cement; leaving a wide swath of blood behind me. I sighed; wondering if it would stain and if we even had the time for more than a quick spray of the hose to cover the evidence of our victory.

Aideen stood to the side; watching it all with wide eyes and shaking arms crossed over her chest. I didn't have the time to comfort her, wasn't even sure that I knew how, so I passed by her with a down-turned gaze and didn't look up until I'd reached the back of the car. Dad gave me a Cheshire Cat grin as he threw an arm onto the tarp. It landed with a crinkly thud, and I grimaced.

No, it wouldn't be wise to include him just yet.