Endeverafter: The Series Presents The Cursed One

Chapter Six

For whatever reason, Drue was still on Virek's mind. To be young and full of ego. But at least she had heart. He could sense that about her from the moment she walked into the room. On the drive to her mother's house, he was sure he was going to meet a family of cookie-cutter Light Fae but the Cordovas had been a pleasant surprise. The tough-as-nails aunt, Kris, was the highlight of the entire night. She had a take-no-shit attitude and he liked how she didn't hide her disdain for the Seelie Court, even in the presence of a High Fae. And then there was Ryan, the loving mother whose only mission in life was to protect her family. She operated with a desperation that could be deadly if she was pushed to her limit. And finally, the Undine. The one they called Drue. She was an enigma. Surprised by her lack of respect for Fae authority, he was more interested in the fact that she was unaligned. Now it made sense why the Seelie Court had turned her mother away. They had no obligation to protect her.

Back at his loft, Virek made himself a drink and stood out on his balcony. Taking a sip of his Whiskey, he stared out onto the Bellvich Reservoir. The sound of the water made him think about the Undine killings again. He still couldn't wrap his mind around it. What was the person responsible after? What were they looking for? He may have been able to convince the Seelie Court that he didn't know what was going on, that he didn't care but the truth was, he did. But more important than that, it was the fact that the Seelie Court asked him to do them a favor that had his mind racing. To not only ask him to do them a favor but to owe him one in return wasn't a move they'd normally make. There was a fear behind their actions. If they didn't want to protect the Undines that were being killed, why send him to the Cordovas in the first place? There was something else to this that he wasn't seeing. Dots he wasn't connecting. The Seelie Court were a lot of things, self-serving and condescending assholes for one, but they always put the safety of the Fae first. So, if there was something or someone out there to fear, maybe it wasn't a coincidence that he was already interested in solving this mystery. Not to mention, any chance he got to kill Mercenaries was a hard prize to give up.

He was refilling his glass of Whiskey when his eyes slowly lifted. In his usual calm demeanor, a smirk appeared on his face. He closed the bottle and took a sip. "I hope you know whoever sent you has sent you to die," he said, placing the glass on the counter. His loft was quiet, a former manufacturing space with over seventeen hundred square feet of open space. Hardwood floors, exposed brick and high ceilings. Without any furniture inside, besides a kitchen counter and bar, it was easy for him to notice when something was off. Or if someone was there.

His gray eyes turned into a piercing dark blue as he dropped his hand. Bolts of electricity jumped from finger to finger. At each of the corners of the room, he could see movement in the shadows. Shooting both of his arms up in the air, he directed four lines of electricity across the room. A pair of shrieks echoed across the room followed by a large thump on the ground. He stepped out from the counter and jumped to the side, avoiding a leaping masked man. The man crashed into the side of the counter and slid down to the ground. He quickly scrambled to his feet and lunged towards Virek, who projected a blast of electricity into the man's chest. The blast jerked the man's body backwards and across the top of the counter.

A second stepped out from the shadows with a gun in his hand. He wasted no time and started shooting. Bullets flew across the room, two of which pierced Virek in the chest and his left thigh. He dropped down to one leg, grabbing his shoulder. The man, naively thinking he had the upper hand, slowly approached Virek. When he was close enough, Virek jumped to his feet. He wrapped his hand around the barrel of the gun and electrocuted it. A trail of blue electricity led through the gun and into the man's body, violently shaking him. His teeth clicking and grinding against each other. Virek grabbed the gun out of the man's hand and tossed it across the floor. He grabbed the man by the collar of his bulletproof vest and pulled him closer. Virek ripped off the man's mask and squeezed his chin together between his fingers. Looking directly into his eyes, Virek watched as electricity engulfed the man's head. His scream quickly fizzled out as his skin was burned to a crisp. Virek dropped the body and turned around, only to be hit across the face with a fist. His head snapped to the side. "You motherfucker!" Virek growled. The man attempted to throw another wild punch but Virek blocked it by catching the man's fist in his hand. He snapped the man's arm to the side, breaking it. He yelped out in pain. Virek twisted the man's arm and slid up under it, kicking the man out from his own feet. The man fell down to the ground and whined in pain as he held his shoulder. He tried to crawl away on his back but Virek put his foot on the man's ankle and pushed down hard. Then he lifted his foot and slammed it back down. Hard. He could hear the bones in the man's ankle crack and snap in half. The man let out a muffled scream underneath his mask. "Now, don't you move an inch," Virek teased, with a smirk on his face.