A Court of Death and Retribution

chapter 1

—
78 years later
—

Some people cope with death by grieving, some get revenge on whoever they've chosen to blame, some drink themselves to death.

I choose to scare off the dark abyss with humor.

It seems to be my only coping mechanism—laughter and humor. I don't know who I got that from, definitely not my father. Even as I sit here under a bridge in the Night Court I can't help but laugh at my pitiful life.

"Ran away from my abusive father, check! Hide from anyone who stares too closely, check! Steal, steal, steal! Check! Killed my mother," I breathed one breath, that's all I needed. "Check! Stubbed my damn toe on the corner of a door last week, check!" I let out a crazed laugh and dipped back the bottle of rum I stole from Rita's, the bar down the road. The burning liquid didn't burn so much anymore, so I frowned.

Okay... so maybe I cope by drinking, but mostly I laugh. Sometimes at myself, sometimes at others, mostly to myself—which grants me a lot of stares. Fuck I'm going crazy.

But! There was good news tonight at Rita's. I've been low on food and unfortunately rum goes better with chicken than air. A certain High Fae is throwing a party at a restaurant, one with outdoor seating. I couldn't catch the name, but it doesn't matter, tomorrow I'll go see if I can replenish my pantry.

—

I woke in the afternoon on the cold ground under the bridge. Groaning, I sat up and prodded my dying fire with a stick. Embers crackled to life and tiny flecks of ash broke off and drifted lazily through the air. I watched with a dry mouth as a piece of ash landed on my gloved hand.

"You aren't even a little afraid of where you ended up?" I scoffed and the burst of air sent the piece of ash flying away from me. I smiled at it before remembering my plan.

Well, sort of plan.

Three steps: one, find the restaurant. Two, shove as much food and beverage as I can into my pack and down my throat. Three, take a nap—once I'm back of course.

Maybe step one should be brush my teeth. I grimaced and set out to do that first. As well as take care of the rest of my hygiene.

Step one part two was set in motion shortly after, once I walked the streets of Velaris. It was bustling with music and dancing in this area. I wished I had enough time to stop and make friends.

That was my one wish.

I shook my head and kept pushing through the crowd and towards the only restaurant I've seen with outdoor seating. I haven't been here long, and I won't stay for too much longer, so I don't bother remembering the name of the restaurant.

I finally see the wealthy crowd I'm looking for. Ducking behind an adjacent building, I quietly observe the group.

They were all laughing and eating, their back turned to a buffet of food. I drooled at the sight of meat and vegetables, starches and beverages. Get it together Bella. Step two, steal the crap out of this buffet.

I managed to blend in with the crowd until I was close enough to the table. Then, I opened my pack and started soundlessly dumping food inside. I didn't care if it made a mess inside of my pack. I was too hungry to care.

Then, I slid a decanter of wine under my arm and turned to leave, satisfied with my work. As I turned, I noticed a glimmer of something shiny in the corner of my eye.

Fuck I'm a goner when it comes to shiny objects.

I groaned and observed a short woman holding a gift box in her hand. Her short, black, hair slid forward as she looked down at the dazzling necklace inside. She didn't look thrilled out of her mind, but she did smirk, and from glancing at how everyone else smiled, this was a good reaction from her.

But I want that damn necklace. I don't need it. I don't need another necklace.

The onyx stones shined and caught my eyes again. Diamonds surrounded each gem like a halo surrounding a shadow. Fuck it—I'm stealing that damn necklace.

I hid behind the adjacent building again, shoving the decanter inside my pack and slinging the heavy weight over my shoulder. The small female admired the jewelry a second longer, then closed the lid on the box and set it down on the table. I snickered to myself. Fools.

This wasn't the first time I had stolen something as expensive as this, so my nerves were only rumbling with excitement as I blended in with the crowd again.

The small female stood from her seat and walked away from her gift. So, I took the opportunity to snatch the box.

I didn't linger. I blended back in with the crowd and stopped to catch my breath in an alleyway only when I was far enough away.

Opening the box, my breath caught at how the onyx glimmered even in the night—twin to the smaller one I wore around my neck.

A halo surrounding a shadow. The diamonds surrounding onyx. A shadow. Just a shadow? A tendril of black snaked around the box and around my arm. A chill rippled down my body as I took off my right glove off.

I spun and came face to face with a shadowed stranger, instinctively hiding the box behind me.

A sly smirk grew on my face. "Look shadow male, we can't share the necklace, but if you want to be my friend I'll give you custody on the 32nd of every month."

The shadow male huffed in disbelief so quietly that the calmest wind could have drowned out the noise.

Apparently he didn't like my compromise, because I'm fairly certain the shadow male's shadows lulled me to sleep.