Mistfall Read online

  Why didn’t I just use my magic for, say four star hotel accommodations? For starters, it’s a lot more work and a waste of magic. Secondly, I’m trying not to attract attention.

  The wind traveled upon the branches of the trees like spirits in flight. Were the hamadryad’s talking? If they were, I only hoped it wasn’t about me.

  I imagined a crude sort of A-frame tent in my head and before me appeared my work. Satisfied with the shelter my leaves and branches had turned themselves into. The wind kicked up again and I turned around, looking for the gossiping hamadryads. Finding none, I retired for the evening. It had been a very long day.

  I grabbed Willa’s letter from my bag, wanting to read the rest of it before nightfall. Lying on my side upon the soft grass and velvety moss, I removed the contents of the envelope and began where I left off.

  This is the true story of what happened to our kind, the Iblian jinn. Two hundred years ago, our world was a different place. Otherworld beings weren’t as united as we are now. There were various alliances of course, but never lasting peace.

  Various attempts were made to unite the myriad of species. It was one attempt, a shame on all of our histories, which brought us together as we are now.

  The leaders of the factions agreed on one thing. They were tired of living in hiding from the humans. Together we drove the humans off their lands. We forced our superiority on them.

  Only the Fae did not join us. They were the gods’ first creatures in this world, older and wiser than the rest of us. They warned us of what was to be our folly, but their words fell on deaf ears.

  Many justified our actions, claiming we’ve done no worse to the humans than they had done to their own kind. Barbarism and genocide became the rule and not the exception. Some though, believed we should work with humans, not against them. This caused a rift between the leaders. Infighting began soon after.

  Iblis wanted to rule over all, humans and Otherworlders alike. The Erlking Abelard (you know him as King Abel of the Elves) wanted a democracy, governed by a body of equal representation of all species of Otherworlders.

  Though Abelard’s words and actions were just, his thoughts were not. He too wanted to reign supreme over all beings. Abelard was deceitful, using charisma and pretty words to sway those who sought equality.

  He did it too. Most Otherworlders backed Abelard. Only those who resided in Hades: demons, Ifrits, and ghouls supported Iblis.

  Iblis enslaved his own kind, the Iblian jinn, to counter Abelard’s mighty Aelfadl. He bound the Iblians using many forms of forceful persuasion. Murdered family members, torture, and kidnappings were modus opperandi for Iblis, a means to his own ends. In the end, all the Iblians agreed to be bound.

  Both we and the humans fought a war with two fronts, against each other and against ourselves. The atrocities committed by both sides, human and Otherworlder were so great, the gods intervened.

  We had angered the gods. Their children had turned against each other, trying to become like the gods themselves.

  The gods reduced otherworldly numbers by a third as punishment to us all. Iblis was dealt with the harshest. His Iblian army was reduced to ash, cowardice being their crime. When Iblis showed no remorse for his actions that contributed to the loss of the Iblians by his own hand, he was condemned to spend eternity in Hades.

  The humans were shown mercy. The youngest of all the species, they were still learning to be civilized. This fact would later be remembered by Iblis, fueling his hatred and empowering his future schemes.

  The veil that separated our world was thin, easily passable by humans. Now the Mistfall was reinforced by the gods, so that no human would pass beyond it into our world again. That was the extent of the human’s punishment.

  We were all warned that if we ever tried to dominate the Earth again, the gods would destroy us all.

  Fighting on all sides stopped, in an effort to appease the gods. No one claimed victory and the war was largely forgotten. The humans today barely mention the War of 1812 and completely deny our existence.

  The Powers That Be were created soon after. Our history too was altered. All Iblian jinn were blamed as belligerents. There were none left, save Iblis (and myself, but I’ll get to that), to defend themselves and he was stuck in the underworld. Otherworlders shifted their blame to ignore their own acts in the war.

  The gods spared me. I fought against the evils that the Otherworlders were committing. As Iblis’s wife, I could never walk again in the lands of our people. I’ve remained on the human side of the Mistfall, these past two hundred years.

  My actions and banishment were not forgotten by the gods. I still had a purpose to serve. Once finished, I was promised eternal peace in return.

  If you remember anything I have ever taught you, remember what I have written here.

  Willa

  I was dumbstruck. Willa was Iblis’s wife? I just couldn’t imagine the master of evil and my kind, caring Willa as husband and wife, no matter how hard I tried.

  On top of that, all these years of believing I was being hunted because of who I am and it turns out it’s more or less to keep the true history of the Otherworlders a secret. If anyone found out about me, the truth as they know it would fall to pieces. We all know how politicians like to tell the truth. I think my death is the more likely of those scenarios.

  I know what you’re thinking. How do I even exist? I used to think that perhaps some Iblians escaped and made me before they were killed off. I asked Willa once who my parents were. She told me, “You are a gift from the gods.” I was beginning to think she may have been a bit more literal than I had previously thought.

  Currently, I was repressing that thought. It was neatly stored behind the cobwebs in my brain. I never concerned myself with parentage before. There would only be more questions than answers if I went down that road. Who cares where I came from anyway? I’m here and that’s all there is to it.

  Another long day had taken its toll on me, causing my eyes to droop and my brain to shut down. It was all I could do to put the letter away before sleep came over me. The dreams that followed would only screw with my head more than it had been reading that letter.

  8. Thieves in the Night

  “Mags,” a familiar voice called. “Mags, are you alright?”

  Dazed, I blinked and looked around. I was sitting near a pond John and I used to picnic in. John also happened to be sitting across from me.

  “I’m confused,” I admitted, shaking my head.

  He handed me a water bottle. “It’s no wonder, we’ve trained hard. Between using your magic and fighting you’re exhausted and dehydrated.”

  “That must be it. I could swear though that I was just-.” I never got to finish the sentence. John had grabbed me by the shoulders and was looking at me with eyes that could melt into any woman’s soul.

  He was smiling. “The brain gets a little funny when you’re dehydrated. Eat some food and drink the water I gave you. You’ll feel better soon.”

  I nodded dumbly and did as I was told. The cool, refreshing water revived my dry throat. I had forgotten what I was saying to John and any lingering questions disappeared. Matter of fact, I felt better than ever!

  “You were right,” I smiled. “I feel fantastic now.”

  “I knew you would.” He stood up and offered me his hand. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”

  I took his hand as he helped me stand. We had only gone a few steps when a faint rumble came from my stomach. I turned around to grab an apple from our picnic basket, but there was nothing there.

  “Where’s the apple?” I murmured to myself.

  John had heard me. “Is that what you dropped?”

  I gestured to where we had just been sitting. “I didn’t drop anything. I hadn’t even grabbed one yet.”

  Concern etched itself in the lines on his brow. “Yes, you did. I have it right here.” John held out his hand and in it was the bright green Granny Smith I had been looking for.


  “Keep eating, you’re still not at one hundred percent,” John ordered and gave me the apple.

  I felt fine. I wasn’t tired and most certainly wasn’t dehydrated. The water I had been drinking was a welcome treat, but not necessary. Why was the hottie of my dreams trying to shove food down my throat? The last thing I could remember was falling asleep in the forest, alone.

  A scene flashed in front of me. Melissa, John, and three others obscured by hoods, were at John’s home, sitting at his kitchen table. John was calling my name, but there was no sound.

  I was there, but felt a million miles away. Why was he calling my name as if he had lost me if I was standing right there? Who were those hooded things?

  As soon as I realized this was no dream, no memory of things that had happened in the past with John and I, everything went fuzzy. I could no longer make out the lines in the hewn timbers that were his walls. I tried to focus on anything from a withered plant in the windowsill above his kitchen sink to the chair John was sitting on, but to no avail. It seemed the harder I tried the more everything went out of focus.

  I blinked to try and clear my vision and I was once again by the calm waters of the pond. John was shaking me gently. I was trying to hold on to the vision I had, but it was quickly forgotten when the sound of his voice broke through my muddled brain.

  “Mags? Mags, I’m serious. If you don’t eat I’m going to force it down your throat.”

  Like a dream you instantly forget the moment you wake, my mind cleared and my attention was once again centered on the man in front of me.

  “I’d like to see you try,” I countered.

  His hands slid down from my shoulders and grasped my arms firmly as he pulled me roughly to himself and moved his head to kiss me. We were so close that I could see a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. He was panicked and I realized something was off. I wrested my arms from his hold and pushed him away.

  “What the hell is going on?” I demanded.

  “Mags, it’s okay, you’re just not well,” he cooed.

  “That’s crap. You’ve never once called me by my real name. If I’m not well, how do I know that?”

  I grabbed for my sword, but it wasn’t there. The holster that was always strapped to my back was missing as well. John lurched forward, attempting to reach me and I summoned a fireball to throw at him. My magic was gone as well. I had no weapons, no magic, and warning bells were going off in the back of my head, trying to remind me of something.

  My heart was getting faster and pounding harder. I didn’t think it could take much more without exploding. Breathing became difficult; I was only able to take short, shallow breaths. Blackness swirled around the outer edges of my vision, threatening to encompass my sight completely.

  I was on the verge of blacking out when the world shifted and I was once again standing in the middle of the kitchen.

  John was addressing the three hooded beings. “She’s too strong, I couldn’t hold onto the dream. Did you find her?”

  “We have,” the one in the middle answered.

  Everything went dark again. My sleep became a dreamless grey void. When I woke, all I would remember was another dream about a memory of John and I.

  I woke to the sounds of leaves crunching. The forest was pitch black, not even the moonlight could pierce its thick cover. I couldn’t create a light source without giving myself away. I had slept with my sword, so I was ready and waiting to strike out at whatever was stalking around in the dark.

  “Mags,” a voice whispered, “are you there?”

  Whoever it was, it had to have been friendly or less than hostile. The night stalker was also an idiot. I stood silently, my breathing still, refusing to give my position away. I was irritated that whoever was stumbling around was letting it be known that we were here to Hades only knows what goes bump in the night. Either I’d have to kill something or my stalker was going to have to learn a hard lesson on the finer points of stealth.

  “Mags,” the voice called louder, causing some of the trees to shake their branches at the intruder. I recognized the Darwin Award winner. Luca was the interloper trying to wake the dead and he was standing only a foot away from me.

  Catching him by surprise, I tackled him, rolling away before he could fight back. He scrambled to his feet, but I swept my leg out and knocked him off his. He growled in frustration and a giggle escaped my lips.

  “Who’s there?” he demanded.

  “Relax there cowboy, no need to get testy.” Not being able to see sucked. Besides, thanks to him we may as well have a bright red neon arrow pointing at us. I preferred a campfire instead and went about creating one.

  “What the fuck was that for?” Luca shouted at me once he could see properly.

  “Nice language. That was for alerting the entire forest of our location jackass.”

  He gave me a puzzled look. “In the Wildwood?”

  “What’s the Wildwood?” I asked, not too interested in the answer.

  “You don’t even know where you are?”

  I don’t know if the look of sheer amazement on his face was because I truly didn’t know the name of the forest or if he thought I was just stupid.

  It was time to let Luca in on my secret life. I spent the next half hour giving him the condensed version of my life until this point, omitting parts where other people were concerned. He may be my only ally right now and I had a feeling I was going to need all the friends I could get.

  “I’ve led a rather cloistered life,” I finished.

  “Well, that explains a few questions I’ve had about you.”

  “Only a few?” I had to laugh. He may not have thought his question was as funny as I did, but it felt good to have something to laugh about.

  Luca made his way over to the fire and placed his hand on the ground. Beneath his hand the earth erupted. Thick, woody vines appeared and grew rapidly. They entwined themselves around each other, like snakes, weaving in and out until they formed a round, cylindrical shape. Once they were done growing, they melted into each other, solidifying, forming a log.

  “Have a seat,” Luca gestured to his creation. He had a big grin on his face showing he was proud of his work. I have to say it was rather impressive.

  I sat next to him and took a moment to collect my thoughts. I had dreamed about John again. What is wrong with me? There was something that nagged me about the dream, something wrong with it, but I couldn’t put a finger on what. I didn’t spend too much time on it though, after all, it was just a dream. Right now I had questions for Luca.

  “So,” I looked up, “why are you here and what is the Wildwood?”

  “After I checked on your friend, I raced back her to find you. I told you I didn’t like the idea of you going to see the Fae. It just didn’t sit right with me to leave you out here on your own.”

  Melissa! My tone was edgy. “How is she? Is she safe?”

  Luca patted my knee. “She’s fine. I gave her the keys to my place. She’ll be safe there for now.”

  “Oh my God Luca, thank you!”I squealed as I ambushed him with a hug. I think he may have thought I was going to tackle him again as he was slightly hesitant to return the embrace.

  I pulled away and he put his arm around my waist, scooting me closer, not ready to let go of me yet.

  “The Wildwood,” he began, “is a dominion of the Fae. It’s easiest to think of it as asylum for wayward Otherworlders. The residents of this forest hold no allegiance to anyone. Out of respect though, they defer to the Fae.”

  “I was wondering why the few people I met today didn’t try to kill me. I thought it was just luck.”

  “Probably more afraid of you than anything,” he admitted.

  “Yeah well, there is that whole ‘evil incarnate’ label that goes along with being Iblian.”

  I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. This felt good, the fire warming me up and being snuggled next to Luca, safe and sound. He was slowly rubbing circles on my upper arm wit
h his thumb. I could have stayed in his embrace for hours. Sadly, this night wasn’t going to allow for such luxuries.

  “Are you awake?” Luca nudged me with his shoulder.

  “Barely,” I admitted. “What is it?”

  “I was just wondering. Is there any way I can still get you to run away with me?”

  It’s not that I hadn’t given any thought to his previous offer of protection. He seemed warm, caring and kind. Luca said he had the ability to protect me. I could do much worse.

  But did I really want to live the rest of my life in hiding. Always looking over my shoulder, looking out for the next threat? I was outted now and the freedom that came with it was refreshing, even with its bittersweet undertones. I already knew my answer. I would fight my enemies as an Iblian jinn. Powerful, deadly, and fearsome.

  “I’m sorry Luca, but I can’t.”

  “Why? Why not come with me?” he begged.

  I turned to him, face to face. “I’ve never been a shy, frightened little butterfly. I’m tired of hiding, the camouflage, and constantly checking my back. It’s high time I take back what’s mine.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “And that would be?”

  “My life. I want my life back.”

  Our conversation was interrupted as the air shimmered before us. Hailz appeared amid the flurry of purple and gold. Luca, unprepared for her sudden intrusion and snake-like appearance, fell off the back of the log in surprise.

  It was hard, very hard in fact, but I managed to stifle my laughter.

  “Hailz, did you have to show up so abruptly?” I asked while holding my side (it was in stitches).

  She chortled. “I would apologize, but I’m not sorry.”

  Luca got to his feet and stormed towards Hailz. “You think that’s funny?”

  Her tongue darted in and out of her mouth. “I do actually. It’s not every day when you can take one of the-.” Luca lunged for Hailz before she could finish what she was saying.