Xade, Cosette, and Allura go to the carnival for a fun day only to find the ringmaster is using real fae magic to run his show. He captures the three Faeries and forces them to perform in his show but they're not about to bat their wings and toss fa...
Cosette was pinned to the wall by two of the men, a blade held steady over her wings. Silent tears streamed down her face. Xade expected to see Allura's rage but her face was stone still as she waited for their instructions and probably an opportunity Xade thought. Xade closed their eyes and tried to reach for their other magic again but it was coiled tight deep inside them. Even touching it they couldn't lure it out. Clenching their jaw as the crowd cheered just beyond the curtain Xade scrambled for it, their fingertips just brushing it, it was just barely out of reach.
A sharp pain jabbed at Xade's side, she whipped around and found one of the large men pointing an iron bar at them. They inched away and Allura grabbed their arm.
"Easy," she warned glancing down at their hands. Xade's hands glowed molten red and they crossed their arms to hide them as best they could. "Hold onto that anger though." Allura grinned. "We will use it."
The men jabbed the iron at Xade again. "Get out there and look pretty." he sneered.
Allura led the way and Xade followed. Allura raised her arms and smiled wide. Xade couldn't bring themself to put on a show like Allura but they lifted their chin and drew themself up. They would not make themself small enough to fit in the world of these humans.
"Ladies and gentlemen and creatures of myth and lore." The magician's voice was as smooth as the first time Xade heard it and almost as enticing. They shook the enchantment away. What faery did he have that made him so charismatic? He didn't have enough faery blood to enchant. What else did he have there, hidden behind the stage, or danging overhead obscured in the shadows? Xade closed their eyes in an attempt to focus, all fae had heightened sensing but theirs was even more because they were not just fae. They had the blood of a goddess, they had more than just magic and strength and an impossible lifespan. They could sense heat and feel vibrations in the ground. They could scent between individuals, not just human and fae. They could figure this out. More info meant Allura could strategize better, meant Cosette would get away with her wings, meant they would get out of there and go back home to their apartment and Allura would tell the story again and again of how she took down another faery ring.
Xade's mind blanked as the scents filled their nose, the vibrations in the air separated into different vocals and tones. There were more fae in the crowd. A few Demigods. The human's voice sat at a different frequency than the final vibration a low almost imperceptible hum carrying under everything else.
"Siren," Xade whispered. Allura gave her a slight nod to let Xade know she heard. That was what made the magician so enchanting. Xade continued to listen as they followed Allura's steps and tried not to listen to the near silent whimpers of Cosette.
"The world is full of more than just seven simple wonders." Allura's steps disappeared and the rapid hum of her wings lifted up. Xade followed without thinking, they hadn't meant to show they had wings too. Xade's eyes snapped open and found the magician smiling up at them. Allura flew up over the crowd. People reached out to touch her hands and she reached her hand back green glimmered and a faint shimmer sprinkled over the crowd. Xade hovered over the magician. He flicked a glance at the crowd as if tell Xade to join Allura but Xade rose higher, they did not have the same shiny magic. Their skin warmed as they watched Allura put on a show. How dare this simple human subject them to mere showmanship. Their forked tongued flickered out and they flew down and snatched the magician from the ground.
"What are you—"
"You want a show, don't you?" Xade demanded. "My magic is diluted but I can fly fast." Xade zoomed around the stage. The crowd oooed and cheered and Allura's eyes glinted. The Magician was completely distracted by Xade's move. Allura flitted around looking more like a butterfly than a faery but the crowd ate it up. Xade could still make out the Siren's call but where was it? They flew up and over and around trying to pinpoint the sound but Siren's had always been hard to track even by the sensitive ears of an Echidna. Their tongue forked out again to taste the excitment. The wonder and there it was... fear... anger... irritation. Xade flew higher into the shadows.
"They can't see me anymore." He snapped jabbing his staff at their side. Xade hissed and snatched the cane and then smiled.
"They'll see you." Xade released the magician and flew higher. "Allura." They called as the siren's song came through loud and clear. A little higher and just on the top ledge a young woman lay, with her tail drying out behind her the scales lifting and folding in spots.
"Faery." The siren inched back but there was no way she could get away. "Stop the enchantment."
"And be left in the sun for another day." She scoffed. "Not a chance. I'm going straight to my pool after this."
"Do you want to be this human's puppet?"
"Of course not." She spat.
"Then me and my friends will take care of it, but I want his show to burn." She smiled her hands heating. The siren's eyes snapped to her hands and she backed away again. "Stop all your enchantments. I want him to fall hard." Xade arched into a backflip and flew back down to the crowd. Just like they thought. Allura caught him and was lowering him back to the center of the stage by one hand. Her wings beat hard and fast. She was used to her faery body not the added weight of a human. Xade flew down beside Allura and they bowed overhead with the magican. Xade waited for the enchantment to stop but the siren's hum vibrated through the room. Xade glanced to the back where they could just barely see Cosette still held against the wall, the knife barely an inch from the iridescent wings. She stood so still that Xade couldn't even see her breathing. Her wings dared not to even flutter.
"Could have warned me," Allura whispered as the magician bowed.
"I called your name."
"You're lucky I have good hearing," she grumbled
"I knew you had good hearing." Xade reminded her.
"What was that about?" Allura's eyes flicked around looking for their next move. They put on a show but they couldn't be put back into those cages.
The magician rose his arms and flicked his wrist sending the faeries; away. "The magic I present to you is ancient magic of Fae and Nymphs. Mermaids and darkness." Xade raised their hand a black smoldering cloud of dust lifting from the small flame cupped in their hand. They flickered a glance toward Cosette and Allura, ever vigilant, inched back.
Burn them alive the words were solid in their head. The siren's hum ceased and the crowd's wonderment turned to fear as Xade's darkness reached outward. Fae were not meant to draw a curious eye. Their hands darkened and then brighten to molten red. Fae magic was meant to deter. To give the humans such a sick impending sense of doom they ran. The fear tainted the air around them and the magician glanced up at Xade. His eyes widened as he met their black eyes and staggered back, his own fear taking over as the siren's enchantment lifted from him.
"What is it you humans say about playing with fire?" Xade grinned, fire licked up their arms, their eyes molten amber as their wings smoldered behind them. There Xade finally felt it. The magic from their blood. The snake inside them uncoiled for the first time their faery magic dampened by the iron around them lifted and scales covered them from head to toe, their body stretched and narrowed. The ancient magic of a near-indestructible goddess filled her chasing away all the fae and taking over. For the first time in their life, Xade felt truly powerful who could stand against them like this?
"Echidna..." the magician gasped.
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