Changelings: The Novelization (Book 1)

Chapter Two: "Fetch"

Chapter Two

“Fetch”

Salamanders dressed predominately in black and red, form-fitted outfits lounged about on fancy pillows sipping wine, or moving gracefully past red gauzy curtains in order to partake of the decadent spread on the feast table. Most of the Salamanders allowed their iridescent scales to show around their brows and curve around their dark-lined eyes, creating an elegant mask.

The partygoers were indistinguishable from human punk-goths, but the official guards and attendant staff members were dressed in the traditional armor-like garb of their culture, which included breastplates of red scale, loose-fitted red pants, black boots, and of course a weapon or two – which varied from daggers to long blades.

Where they were gathered was once the lobby of the town’s most upscale hotel and casino, built in an old-fashioned style that evoked early twentieth-century glamour. After the invasion, the Salamanders needed a place to crash that would suit their purposes and life of leisure, so they spent an entire month remodeling the building to be their new lair. All the wood fixtures were removed, and the walls were stripped down to the red brick. They hired Gnomes to transmute all the fixtures and tables into a reddish-gold metal.

To human eyes, it would have looked like an interior decorating job commissioned by the lord of hell.

The room was mostly dark, filled with thick smoke that smelled like a combination of sulfur – the Salamander’s natural smell – and burning incense lamps placed on nearly every table, for they could breathe smoke better than regular air. The power stations were shut down during the invasion, and the Fae did not bother to turn them back on. They left the ornate light fixtures, but threw out the electric light bulbs, replacing them with will-o-wisps – small ghostly flames, the souls of deceased Salamanders, that dimly lit the dark, smoky interior. The Salamander wisps were usually red or orange, giving the impression of torches in a dark cave that echoed with the sounds of gambling and tinkling glasses.

A center fountain that was designed to display cascading water was now filled with blood-red wine, flowing down into a pool where the new inhuman tenants could refill their glasses and goblets. Around this fountain waited three beautiful Salamander girls, who stood out as the only ones who didn’t seem interested in talking, flirting or interacting with anyone else. They seemed to be guarding a black, jagged electric guitar placed between them, balanced on the fountain’s edge.

Sitting primly beside it was Etheline Seraphino, a sour-faced girl in a long skirt that showed off one leg, her feet shod with black stiletto heels. Across the front of her black leather corset a bandolier strap was slung, containing vials of glowing liquid. She was engrossed in a dusty tome that she held in her lap with her gloved hands – as she read, she ran her tongue along the edge of her fangs in a habit of concentration.

Bindi McCay was sitting on the ground in front of the guitar, dreamily braiding her impossibly long hair and humming some eerie tune. Her dress had a fancy lattice-lace collar that turned into a slinky dress with waist-high slits on both sides that showed off her legs. On her feet were gold gladiator sandals, around her wrist were gold serpent bracelets, and at her waist was a coiled whip.

On the opposite side of the guitar from Etheline, reclining length-wise on fountain edge, was the eternally frowning Tanis Long, wearing a sleeveless drape-collared top, tight-fitting capris and small curved-toe shoes. Her eyes were half-closed, bored, her temple propped up on the palm of her hand – which looked like a dangerous thing to do, since her fingers were capped with long, razor-sharp gold claws. She was the most aggressive and tomboyish of the three, which was probably in reaction to the fact that she was the smallest and the most cherubic. Her hair was bobbed, with two pieces tied into pigtails, the ends gelled into spikes.