Perfidious Read online

  “Ha. I am definitely coming, right, Greyson?” Noah walked tall, his head high.

  I snapped my head to Greyson and raised my eyebrows.

  Greyson shrugged. “He’s coming. Which way to Kalvin’s house?” He started to walk around my house towards the woods.

  I caught up with him and whispered, “Do you realize how dangerous this is?” I looked back to see Noah’s wide grin. “His scent could attract a lot of monsters our way. The kind of attention we don’t want.”

  Greyson kept walking. “We’re not changing our minds.”

  I shook my head and led them to Kalvin’s house. Their determination struck me silent. I didn’t know how to handle that kind of stubbornness. Maybe Kalvin could talk some sense into them.

  We walked up to his house, and I knocked on the door. It took Kalvin a couple minutes before he answered.

  His eyes were half open as he glared at me, and he was only wearing sweatpants, no shirt. I had to pull my eyes away from his muscled chest and defined abs.

  “You want to go this early?” Kalvin asked. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the two boys with me. “Why is the human here?”

  I felt bad waking him up since I had no idea what time he actually left my house the night before. The idea of him next to me invaded my mind. Heat rose to my cheeks.

  “Um, Greyson wouldn’t back down,” I said, biting my lip. My mind needed to get back on track.

  I saw the corner of Kalvin’s lips pull up.

  “And yes,” I shifted my weight and looked away from him. “We’re all ready to leave. I’d really like it if you came with us.”

  I turned back to face Kalvin, only for him to shut the door.

  I knocked several times, growing louder with each knock. “Kalvin! You’re not being fair. Open up! Let’s talk about this.”

  When Kalvin finally opened the door, his clothes were changed, and he was fastening a backpack on his shoulders.

  “You’re loud in the morning.” He walked past me, pausing to whisper in my ear, “Ya also kick in your sleep.”

  I felt my face flush. He turned around and laughed wholeheartedly. It made me smile because I knew that we were even.

  We started on our way to Gross Peak. I took the lead because I had Lexon’s map. Greyson was behind me and Noah was in front of Kalvin, a classic defensive position to have the two weakest fighters in the middle. That way if anything approached us from any side, Kalvin or I could take care of it.

  I scanned our surroundings. The trees and plants were the same as any other forest. If we didn’t see any monsters, I could easily pretend we were on a normal walk in a normal forest.

  I turned to see Noah taking in his surroundings as we came up to a tight curl of a river. His eyes widened as he saw the majestic blue, purple, and green fins peeking out of the water.

  “That’s the Chelan River. Its name means ‘deep water’. No one really knows how deep it goes, except for maybe the mermaids or nymphs,” I informed them.

  His eyes sparked, and he sent a sly smirk to Greyson. “This would be an awesome place to throw a party, right?”

  “Ha!” Kalvin sarcastically sneered. “Go ahead, get yourself killed.”

  I rolled my eyes and went back to tracking our route. Lexon had instructed us to follow the curve near the river, then to follow the moss to the north.

  “You think everywhere is a good place to have a party.” Greyson cracked up.

  “Right, but that’s why I’ll be the best event planner in the country. I know everything there is to know about throwing a party anywhere.”

  I turned my head so they could hear me. “Well, I wouldn’t throw a party here—”

  Noah didn’t let me finish. “Yeah, yeah. Too dangerous, right?” He sarcastically shivered like he was scared before he looked away from me.

  “That and humans aren’t supposed to know about Perfidious, right?” Greyson added.

  Kalvin chimed in. “Exactly, so don’t try to bring any other humans here.”

  I didn’t know what Noah’s problem was, but there was definitely something wrong. Did he not like me? I always thought that Noah was a smart, happy guy. However, since I started talking to him about Perfidious, he’d seemed almost angry with me. I wanted to ask him about it. I deserved to know why he was acting like that.

  After all, he was the one that talked me into telling Greyson everything. Greyson was at least listening to Kalvin and me. The rules, the dangers, and the cool stuff. He took it all seriously. Noah, on the other hand, kept acting like it was all a joke.

  My blood was boiling. I glared at Noah, who was still having a verbal battle with Kalvin about humans in Perfidious.

  I took an aggressive step forward.

  A hand gently pulled on my wrist.

  Greyson smiled softly at me. His eyes stared into mine but seemed to be looking beyond the surface. He glanced at Noah, and then back to me.

  “He just needs time. He’s not used to change,” he whispered.

  I nodded. How did he know what I was thinking?

  I looked away from him and focused on a tree ahead. That look in his eyes…I had to look away. It seemed like he was looking into my head, not just into my eyes.

  The tree swayed unnaturally.

  None of the trees around it were moving, but that one tree looked like it was getting tossed around by a storm.

  “Kalvin?” I asked.

  He stopped talking and looked at me.

  “Is that what I think it is?” I pointed in front of us.

  Kalvin stopped walking and went pale. “I hate those damn birds.”

  As though they heard him, a flock of thunderbirds flew from the trees. I could see little sparks of electricity ignite underneath their wings, thunder clapping with each stroke.

  “Run!” Kalvin yelled at Greyson and Noah.

  The thunderbirds caught up to us. Their beaks shocked us as they pecked at our heads and arms. The little bolts of energy caused my muscles to twitch, but I pushed through.

  Noah wasn’t doing so well. More birds swarmed around him, and he was starting to slow down. I swatted at the birds, trying to get some of them off him.

  Kalvin waved at us. “This way!”

  He pushed to run faster, grabbing a branch and pulling it back.

  “Down!” I shouted.

  Noah and Greyson followed my lead and dropped to the ground, but the birds didn’t understand what was about to happen. They stayed in the air, hovering as Kalvin let go of the branch.

  The branch hit them as though it were a bat hitting a home run.

  I got up and jogged over to Kalvin, breathing hard, Greyson and Noah on my heels.

  “Should I tell you ‘I told you so’ now or later?” I asked Noah.

  He narrowed his eyes at me but looked too out of breath to respond.

  1451 - 1650

  * * *

  Decades passed, and the Shapeshifter King rallied as many monsters as he could find. He appointed scouts to spread the word of their new home, a safe haven for monsters. By 1453, Perfidious—a combination of vast flatlands, deep valleys, and steeply sloped mountains—seemed to occupy the remainder of the monsters, but the Shapeshifter King was saddened by the low numbers that had endured the Human War.

  However, not all was right on the borders of Perfidious. News spread of the monsters being there, and humans gathered to try to catch one escaping. The Shapeshifter King devised a solution. He called on the druids to create a barrier to separate the outside world and Perfidious. The druids did as they were asked, leaving only seven small pockets, or gates, around the area where anyone could enter or leave. Connecting the gates was an impenetrable wall of foliage.

  The Shapeshifter King built his own castle in the middle of Perfidious. The remaining monsters set up villages and homes scattered throughout, mostly staying among their own species.

  The Shapeshifter King, quickly realizing that Perfidious was not the perfect sanctuary he had intended, knew he’d have many har
dships to overcome.

  An excerpt from The King's Legacy:

  A Complete History of Perfidious

  11

  Before heading up to the cliff, we made a deal to meet at the bottom if something attacked us again. It was an open area, the crossroads of many paths.

  The view over the cliffs seemed like a sea of fog. Tree tips swung in the breeze, but nothing could be seen below. With no way of telling how far up we were, I studied the twists and turns on the map, trying to ignore the bad feeling growing in my gut. The map said it was about five more miles, which meant another hour and a half approximately.

  Everyone mostly snacked on the way there, but I focused on the map. Traveling in monster territory wasn’t the safest task, and I wanted to make sure we didn’t get lost. That was the last thing we needed.

  The drawing of the cave did nothing to prepare me for the real thing.

  I put the map away and stared into the black depths of a hole in the side of the mountain. The cave seemed much smaller than Tamara’s but was much more intimidating. We stood at the entrance, no one making a move to go inside.

  “We’re supposed to go in there, right?” Noah asked, his eyes never leaving the cave.

  I nodded. “Let’s go. Stay close together.”

  I barely made out a hidden crack in the stone a couple feet into the cave, large enough for something my size to fit into. The darkness obscured other fissures deeper inside, and I couldn’t make out if they were real passages or just indents in the cave wall. If any creature had wandered in there for shelter, they’d have no way of seeing an attack coming.

  And I was worried that would happen to us.

  Greyson and Noah scanned the cave. Kalvin seemed to hold his breath. He looked over at me. Our eyes met, and he nodded. It was definitely the shapeshifter’s hideout.

  I inhaled, ready to call out to see if anything would answer.

  A sound echoed in the cave before I could, the sound of something slithering on the walls. I immediately turned around to find what looked like a crocodile but more human-like.

  Kalvin produced a large dagger from his bag.

  “You come into my home and threaten me.” The shapeshifter sounded like a snake speaking human words. “What do you want?”

  I refused all instinct to grab my weapons as I stepped forward. “We are here to ask you if you could help a half-breed. He is part shapeshifter and has no idea how to use his abilities.”

  “Why would I help you?” The shapeshifter inhaled loudly. “He hass no blood of mine.”

  “He’s part of your kind. I thought shapeshifters, if nothing else, didn’t want their species to become a forgotten memory.” Anger spilled into my words as I swallowed my fear.

  I couldn’t show weakness in front of the monster.

  The creature’s eyes widened. He grew a few inches and slithered forward. “Watch your tongue, little elf.” The shapeshifter towered over me but then paused.

  My left hand was clutching my weapon by instinct, and I didn’t let go.

  Someone cleared their throat.

  “I just want to know how it works to shift.” Greyson walked up next to me. His voice seemed stable, but his muscles shook. “Then, we’ll leave.”

  The shapeshifter looked over at Greyson and relaxed slightly. “Whatever monster you come in contact with, you can turn into. Think about what you want to change, and it will appear. It’ss that ssimple.”

  “Can he only change into one being, or can he change different parts of himself, like what you seem to be doing?” I questioned.

  The shapeshifter’s head snapped to me. His eyes narrowed.

  I held my breath so he wouldn’t see my body tremble.

  “A half-breed can probably only sshift partss. I like your gutss. But if you come back here, I will ssee if they taste as good as they ssmell. Lucky for you, I already ate.” The shapeshifter licked his lips. He turned and started to walk deeper into the cave.

  I relaxed a little and turned to face my friends.

  Greyson grinned from ear to ear as he and Noah walked out of the cave together, talking about what Greyson could try to change into first. Kalvin kept his eyes on the monster behind us.

  I motioned to him that we should leave.

  A gust of wind blew past all four of us and into the cave.

  Kalvin sniffed the air, turning pale. “I know what Greyson is.”

  A loud growl thundered behind us.

  “You tricked me into helping the Impure King’ss sspawn!”

  I turned around to see the shapeshifter transforming, growing into something terrifying. Horns grew from his head, and his scaly skin turned into muscular bunches of fur.

  Kalvin didn’t ask questions. He grabbed my arm and pulled, wanting me to run. He let go at the mouth of the cave, and I ran as fast as I could, pushing Greyson and Noah to do the same.

  My eyes widened. The shapeshifter was gaining on us. I looked back to see Noah struggling to keep up. Kalvin rolled his eyes and went back to help Noah.

  The roar erupted again.

  I didn’t think about my next action. All I knew was that I had to do something. I grabbed Greyson’s hand and pulled him a different way than Kalvin and Noah.

  The shapeshifter followed us.

  Kalvin noticed and yelled my name, but I couldn’t stop, and I didn’t look back. I pushed Greyson to run faster. I kept my mind focused on getting him out of there, out of danger and away from the beast.

  The vibrations from the shapeshifter grew stronger, and I increased my speed, not even questioning how fast Greyson could run. I glanced at him next to me, startled to find that Greyson was keeping up with me running at full speed.

  I turned my attention back to where I was going but only saw clouds.

  It was too late to stop.

  We were running too fast, and my feet ran out of solid ground. I responded immediately. My body twisted, allowing me to grab the ledge with little effort. The hard part was catching Greyson, who reached for my hand. I was so close to falling that I could only grab his fingers.

  He grabbed my arm, smashing hard into the wall. Greyson’s full weight yanked on my joints. It felt like someone was trying to rip off my arms.

  I heard a snarl above us.

  I looked up and saw its yellow eyes. The shapeshifter had grown at least two stories tall, a mangled monster that loomed over us. It was a combination of beings—giant, dragon, and minotaur—and I had seen nothing so deadly or so terrifying in my life.

  “Did you think I wouldn’t notisse the sstench of fairy?” The monster spat down at me in a deep voice. “The King’ss Legassy cannot return!”

  The creature snarled as he raised his leg, and he brought it down on the hand holding us to the ledge. Pain erupted, and I could no longer hold on. We started to plummet towards the fog. I had to let go of Greyson’s hand to cradle my own.

  Greyson screamed.

  We were going to die.

  Unless…

  “Greyson,” I yelled, trying to ignore the pain. “Greyson!” I shouted louder.

  He finally stopped screaming to look at me, his eyes watering from the wind just as mine were.

  “Think about it! Think about Tamara’s wings!”

  He looked confused. “What?”

  “Tamara’s wings!” I repeated. My eyes widened as the fog started to thin. “Think about them on your back! Tamara said it extends from her shoulder blades. Turn your shoulder blades into wings!”

  With a nod, he closed his eyes tightly. Suddenly, he relaxed, and a pair of red wings spread straight out from his back. He stopped falling and started gliding. Greyson opened his eyes and reached for my hand, but he was too far.

  I exited the layer of fog, only to see about forty feet before I hit the trees.

  “Greyson!” My voice broke into a scream.

  I tensed and blocked my face against the impending collision with the branches.

  A pair of arms slid around my waist. We reduced speed b
ut were still falling. Twigs sliced into my arms as we crashed through them.

  I turned my head to see Greyson concentrating hard, aiming for a small space between two trees. His wings lifted and slowed us further, but we were still going too fast. As his feet touched the ground, it felt like he tripped. He threw me, and we both tumbled a few feet before stopping in the dirt.

  I closed my eyes. Sleep threatened to consume my mind, but I didn’t let it. I tried to stay awake as I laid there, listening to the high pitch ringing in my ears.

  I was too weak to move, my heart convulsing like a drum roll.

  12

  I heard a groan come from Greyson over the diminishing ringing in my ears. I tried to move and immediately regretted it. My body felt like weights had replaced my muscles.

  I tried again.

  I needed to see if Greyson was okay.

  He had landed behind me, and I couldn’t see him. My muscles screamed at me as I moved onto my elbows, pausing to take a couple deep breaths. I groaned, watching the bruises start to change the pigment of my hand and elbows. Dirt fell off me as I leaned forward to look around.

  I couldn’t hear Greyson moving. What if he was really hurt? What if he was unconscious?

  More rustling came from behind me.

  Greyson coughed and cleared his throat. “Elisia?”

  I ignored the pain and turned on my side. He crawled towards me, his wings draping over his sides, dragging in the dirt. I cleared my throat to talk, but my voice was still hoarse.

  “You should…” I coughed. “You should put the wings away.”

  His lip pulled up into a half smile as he closed his eyes tightly. The wings slowly retracted into his back. Once they were completely gone, he moved closer and sat near me, leaning his back against a tree.

  My eyes searched him.

  He was definitely bruised. A small cut on his cheek dripped blood but didn’t look deep. My heart rate started to return to normal.

  He was okay.

  I let my body fall back onto the dirt to relax and heal.

  After some time, I sat up and put some pressure on my left palm without thinking. Burning pain shot through my hand and wrist. I winced, cradling my hand to my chest. I couldn’t bend my fingers.