Perfidious Page 5

  Noah rolled his eyes and whispered, “Convenient.”

  We reached one of the few gates meant for half-breeds and humans to cross into the borders of Perfidious, the only one I’d ever been through. The boys’ reactions differed. Noah raised his eyebrows, but our eyes met, and his face immediately returned his neutral expression.

  On the other hand, Greyson stared ahead with wide eyes at the tree nymphs dancing between the trunks. They always liked to hang out around the gates, hoping to hear some human music.

  We only had about half a mile between the gate and the edge of the village.

  Greyson and Noah mostly argued quietly behind me while we walked. I tried not to listen. It felt like I was a tour guide or something with how they were reacting. But when we reached the main shopping area of town, they both fell silent.

  Little lean-tos lined up on both sides of the path, creating places for merchants to set up their shops. Most of them appeared to be closing up for the day.

  Many of the half-breeds we passed didn’t look human. I rolled my eyes at Greyson and Noah who were staring, jaws dropped, at a fairy-elf half-breed. Noah pointed at the wings that resembled the orange and yellow tones of a butterfly, but the half-breed’s height and pointed ears gave away his elf side.

  Noah’s eyes met mine. He stopped gawking and gave me a toothy grin.

  “Elisia?” Greyson mumbled. “How many of you are there? Are there a lot of different species of creatures?” He was stumbling over his words, and I tried not to giggle at him.

  I turned slightly so he could hear me. “There used to be a lot more, but over time, some have become extinct.”

  He seemed to be too busy looking around to respond.

  An old ogre, with more wrinkles than smooth skin, passed us. His arms almost dragged the ground as he walked because of their length.

  Greyson leaned in to whisper in my ear. “What is he?”

  I responded, my voice lowering to match his. “I think he’s an ogre, but it’s not always easy to tell. There’s mostly half-breeds here, but there are some purebloods too.”

  “How can you tell a difference?”

  “Sometimes you can’t. Half-breeds that are half-human have the Anchors, but half-breeds that have two halves of different monsters don’t have anything like that to identify them.”

  He furrowed his brow. “Why is that?”

  “I’m not sure. Some say it’s the way the Gods like to mark us as impure, but I don’t think anyone really knows why we’re born with marks and they aren’t.”

  We continued toward the center of Coalfell. The lean-tos turned into houses, but the houses in Perfidious looked more like cottages compared to the giant houses normal humans have in the city. Walking into Perfidious made me feel like I was going back in time compared to the human town I lived in. Pathways made of dirt and stones helped the residents travel instead of roads. Most traveled by wings, on foot, or by animal, instead of by car.

  After multiple rows of houses, we reached a giant teepee in the center of town. The guards that normally stood outside were gone, and I could hear no movement. I peeked inside just to make sure they were gone.

  I turned around, shaking my head at Greyson’s hopeful eyes. His face fell.

  “We can come back tomorrow morning. Are you guys sure you don't want to go home?” I said, giving them a second chance to go back home for the night.

  “No. I want to be close by.” Greyson decided. He looked at Noah to check with him, and Noah nodded.

  “Okay. Follow me. I’ll introduce you to a friend of mine. We’ll stay with him tonight.”

  Kalvin lived closer to the edge of town. He didn’t like to be in the middle of all the commotion of the village. I walked up to the familiar door and knocked. Inside, I heard the shuffle of feet, and Kalvin opened the door, wearing a red shirt that showed his abs through the fabric and a pair of black sweats.

  Kalvin gave me a charming smile as he leaned his forearm on the wooden door frame above his head. “Ya here to take my offer?” Then his nose twitched. He looked behind me and sighed. Kalvin straightened his back and folded his arms over his chest. “What’d ya do?”

  I gasped and punched him in the chest. He pretended it hurt, but I knew punching him hurt my hand more than his chest.

  “What makes you think I did anything?”

  “You have a human and a—” he paused and noticeably sniffed the air, “—something else with you. When have you ever brought any of your little human friends here?”

  “Point taken. Kalvin, this is Noah, the human, and Greyson. Greyson needs to speak to the Elders, who have already left for the night. I need a place for them to stay, so I can take them early tomorrow.” I gave him puppy dog eyes, hoping he would say yes.

  Kalvin’s face fell. “You know how dangerous this could be?” His eyes shifted to Greyson, his pupils narrowing. “What is he, anyway? His scent is strange.”

  “See…about that…he doesn’t exactly know.” I was lucky that I was Kalvin’s best friend. By the look he gave me, I knew he would never do it for anyone else. “Please, Kalvin.”

  Defeated, Kalvin stepped to the side for us to enter. “Will you be joinin’ us?” he asked, assessing Greyson and Noah.

  “Yeah, I’ll stay. I don’t trust you all alone together.” I nodded at him as I walked in.

  “Well,” Kalvin sighed. “Ya know where the extra blankets are, and the couch unfolds. Are ya sleeping out here, or do ya wanna cuddle in my bed?” His eyes flickered to Greyson.

  I’m not sure why he mentioned cuddling. We’d never done anything like that before. At the cellar, he always took the floor. I’d only slept there a few times, but that was when Aaron was still alive. I slept on the couch back then.

  “Um, I’ll sleep on the floor. I’m not gonna take your bed,” I answered him.

  “Okay. I’ll be in my room.” He walked through the door to the kitchen and around to his bedroom.

  Greyson watched Kalvin leave, his face void of emotion, while Noah’s eyes darted between us.

  “Sorry about him. He’s not a big fan of people.” I wiped my sweaty hands on my leggings.

  Noah broke the awkward silence that was beginning to build. “So, what is he? Is he an elf like you?”

  “No, he’s half-human, half-dragon.”

  Noah’s eyes widened.

  Greyson moved to the couch. “Is he your boyfriend?”

  “Kalvin?” I almost choked on air. “No, no. Not my boyfriend. He’s just my best friend.” I shifted uncomfortably. Time to change the subject. “Are you guys good sharing the couch?” I grabbed the extra blankets from the closet.

  Greyson looked down at the couch and started taking off the cushions. “We’ll be fine.”

  “Okay. I’m gonna go talk to him,” I said, walking towards Kalvin’s room.

  I knocked on his bedroom door. He was moving around inside but didn’t answer. I entered anyway.

  “Hey,” I whispered.

  “Did you really have to bring them here?” He didn’t look at me, just continued throwing a couple of blankets and a pillow on the floor.

  “They asked to stay in the village. I thought you’d be okay with it,” I said, closing the door.

  “Yup. Completely okay with ya bringing two guys here from your little human party,” he snapped. Then, he turned back to me and his features softened. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just…tired. I didn’t sleep the best last night.”

  I nodded. He crawled into the bed he made on the floor and pulled the covers over his head.

  “Aren’t you going to get into bed?” I asked.

  “I did,” he responded.

  I opened my mouth to say something, but he didn’t let me speak.

  “I’m not going to make ya sleep on the floor. Just get into the bed and go to sleep.”

  I smiled in the darkness. “Thanks Kalvin. I owe you one.”

  “More like three,” he whispered.

  Without another wo
rd, I crawled under the covers and went to sleep.

  7

  In the morning, I didn’t waste any time. As soon as I saw the sun, I threw my feet over the edge of the bed, careful not to hit Kalvin who was still fast asleep on the floor. I tiptoed to his bathroom in the hallway and looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes took a second to adjust to the bright light. I splashed some water on my face.

  “Not a morning person?” someone said behind me.

  My heart stopped. I whipped around, ready to punch whatever was behind me.

  Noah glared at me.

  “Don’t sneak up on me like that!” I told him after I found my lungs again.

  Noah stood in the doorway laughing at me. “How did I sneak up on you? Don’t you have superhuman hearing?”

  “You didn’t. I do. You just—I’m not awake, and the water was running. Okay?” I didn’t want him knowing he scared me.

  “Ha! I totally scared the shit out of you.”

  Well, so much for that.

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Get Greyson. We’re leaving soon.” I watched him leave. Although, I wished I’d wiped the smirk from his face.

  I finished getting ready and went into the living room, expecting to find Greyson just waking up. Instead, he paced around the room. The pullout bed was already put back into the couch, and he was folding the last blanket.

  “Greyson?”

  No answer.

  “Greyson?” I asked again, but that time I stepped into his line of sight.

  Wow. He doesn’t look like he slept at all.

  His eyes snapped up to mine. “Hm?”

  “Ready to go?”

  He hesitated but nodded quickly.

  We walked out the front door. I turned to make sure both of them were following me, but instead of two, three guys exited the house. Kalvin, hands shoved into his pockets, looked up at my questioning gaze and shrugged. I smiled and waved for Greyson and Noah to follow us. Thankfully, it wasn’t a long walk from Kalvin’s house to the Elders’ tent.

  We ended up waiting almost an hour before we received admittance to see the Elders, who had been busy dealing with the everyday concerns of Coalfell residents. Upon entering the teepee, strong waves of frankincense and myrrh assaulted my nostrils. The only light in the room came from lanterns and the sun shining through a tiny hole above. The three Elders sat comfortably in a semicircle on giant pillowed cushions, their bodies covered in dark robes so only their heads were visible.

  As a mandatory requirement, all Elders came from different villages and kept their identities secret so no one could sway them through certain monster beliefs, but there were always rumors about what kind of half-breed each was.

  I bowed my head in respect, but none of them looked happy to see me.

  “What is it now, Elisia?” said Enmah, the one on the right.

  The only female Elder, her head appeared human with a full mane of golden hair, but the way she sat revealed some sort of animal body. My best guess was a lion or dog.

  “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me,” I started. They didn’t reward my kindness.

  In fact, they never paid attention to my input, even when I visited them with ideas of how to keep half-breeds safer, which I did frequently. Half-breeds needed simple things, like self-defense classes that I even offered to teach. My ideas required building spaces like a dojo or more housing. They always said they’d think about it, but they never brought it up again.

  The Elders of Coalfell thought they were safe, safe because they were closer to the border and not many purebloods liked to be so close to human civilizations. So in their eyes, my ideas were pointless. But the Elders also told my father, and he adamantly turned down the idea of me working in Perfidious.

  After that, I lost all respect for the Elders of Coalfell.

  “Get on with it, girl!” the one in the middle, Drithro, spoke impatiently. He was scaly with fangs and slitted eyes. His head looked like the face of a snake in the shape of a human.

  I made sure a smile remained on my face while addressing them. “This is Greyson. As of yesterday, he thought he was human. I spotted his Anchor, and he quickly found out I had a similar mark. However, he has more questions than I can answer, so he’s hoping you could take the time to answer some?”

  I gave them a mocking bow and waited for their response. The confused Elders turned to one another, whispering.

  “Elisia, darling,” the one on the left, Yima, spoke before the others could open their mouths. Out of all of them, he was the one that seemed more human, even though his skin was a bright blue and his eyes tinted red. “We will try our best to address the situation. Um, which one of you is Greyson?”

  I nodded for him to step forward.

  Drithro motioned to a guard and turned back to Greyson. “Show the guard your Anchor. Votarog has studied the differences in Anchor species similarities.”

  Greyson took off his shirt as the guard approached. Votarog furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to speak, only to close his lips tightly. Then, he looked to the Elders, apologizing before he explained.

  “It’s nothing like I have ever seen before.” Votarog turned to Greyson. “Usually, there are some qualities that could identify monster blood. For example, there is usually some kind of flame symbol within an Anchor of a dragon half-breed. I am sorry, but I do not understand what yours means. The simplicity of the circle and two triangles could represent that you have more than one type of monster blood running through your veins, but there is no way to know for certain.” He looked disappointed that he couldn’t help more and returned to his post by the entrance.

  “Well, that’s a shame,” Drithro said.

  Enmah nodded in agreement. “Have Elisia take him until we sort it out.”

  Before Yima spoke, I walked forward. “He hasn’t even asked you his questions! I don’t have any answers to give him—”

  Someone cleared their throat harshly behind me. I figured it was Kalvin, but I didn’t look to find out.

  With a harsh but sweet tone, Yima pointed his attention to me. “Please take him under your wing, Elisia. We don’t have any answers to give him right now. Questions that can be answered at this time should be within your own knowledge. Let us figure it out, and we will summon you once we know more.”

  I wanted to protest again but decided against it. If they really had no answers, there was nothing I could do.

  “Thank you for seeing us. Please summon us when you have answers,” I said through clenched teeth as I turned to leave.

  I stomped from the teepee, townspeople scattering from my path. The Elders seeing people in a tent left little room for privacy, and I watched a game of telephone begin to play around the village.

  Kalvin leaned in and whispered, “We should head to your cellar.” His breath tickled my ear.

  A shiver rippled down my spine, and all I could do was nod.

  My eyes met Greyson’s, and I gestured for him to follow. We walked out of Coalfell, past the little houses on the outskirts, deeper into the forest. I could see my oak tree, but someone grabbed my wrist, stopping me.

  Greyson dragged me away from Noah and Kalvin. I was confused, but I didn’t say anything. He let go of my arm once we were out of human hearing distance from them.

  He roughly combed his hand through his sandy brown hair. “What’s gonna happen next, Elisia? They didn’t even let me ask questions! They had no way of knowing if they had answers or not!”

  I placed my hand on his shoulder and tilted my head so he would meet my eyes. “I know. I’m sorry. The Elders aren’t always the most reliable, but I honestly thought they would’ve given you something more. If you have any questions about Perfidious, Kalvin or I could answer them.” I felt terrible that I wasn’t able to give him more.

  He took a deep breath. “When I have questions about Perfidious, I’ll let you know. Right now, all of my questions are about what I am and why my mom never told me, which I guess no one can tell me that las
t part.” He opened his mouth to say something else but closed it just as fast. He clenched his fists.

  “How about I take you and Noah home? You live with them, right? Maybe Noah’s parents know more? You could ask them if your mom ever said anything.” I removed my hand from his shoulder.

  His eyes brightened. “You’re right! There’s no way my mom would entrust them with me if she didn’t tell them anything. I’m gonna go tell Noah.” He beamed and jogged back to Noah and Kalvin.

  I walked up to Kalvin and elbowed him gently. “I’m gonna take them home.”

  He elbowed me back. “I guess that means we ain’t gonna see my mom today?” He smiled understandingly, yet his eyes remained sad.

  I was about to answer him, but Greyson interrupted me.

  “Can I come?”

  “What?” Kalvin laughed. “No.”

  Greyson didn’t listen to him.

  “Elisia, I want to see more of this world. Noah’s parents won’t even be back until sometime tomorrow.” Greyson suddenly seemed taller.

  Kalvin frowned and shrugged his shoulders. “He’s got a point. We could still go. Greyson can come as soon as we drop the human back off at his house.”

  “You aren’t going without me,” Noah fought.

  Kalvin grinned. “No, you're just a human. You’d be an easy snack.”

  Noah took a couple strides towards Kalvin. “I’m the wide receiver on our football team. I have also played numerous other sports and have a 4.0 GPA. I think I can handle myself.”

  Kalvin made his stature imposing, and his pupils narrowed. “Prove it.”

  Noah tried to punch him, but Kalvin dodged. He tried multiple times, but he was never able to touch Kalvin. Feeling the touch of defeat, Noah went for one last punch, throwing all his body weight behind it.

  It was a mistake.

  Kalvin took hold of his wrist and flipped him onto the ground.

  “Ya got spunk. But ya still can’t come.” Kalvin extended his hand to help him up. “Either way, it’s too dangerous for us if ya go.”