Hunted by a Night Fae

Chapter 4

A lute filled the air, flirting with the fiddle. The beat lifted higher and higher as my legs moved of their own free will. I careened across the grass, its blades tickling at my toes. A giggle erupted from my throat and I lifted up my arms. My legs carried me deeper into the throng.

Eyes like those of a cat turned to watched me as I passed. Purple skin with blue stripes gleamed under the bright dancing lights. They floated to me, curious. It was then I noticed they were not lights at all, but pretty little girls with cornsilk hair and skin that glowed. Fluttering wings, fragile looking with their gossamer sheen, brushed past my arm. There were seafoam-haired women with multicolored scales decorating their skin that danced with horned men that had the the lower body of a goat.

The trees around us were not trees at all, but women with brown skin that was rough and knobbed like bark. Their hair was made of a dazzling array of green leaves woven together. They rose their hands, and exchanged whispers, watching from the distance as the light grew stronger, and heat drenched my skin. Distantly, I realized I was sweating.

Still, I danced.

Euphoria thrummed through my veins as I was consumed by a fiery heat,  and I danced like I had an endless supply of energy. The sensation radiated from me in waves as the music rolled over me.

I turned, meeting the hands of a smushed-faced gentleman. He was wearing a top hat a tad too small for his wide head. My partner bowed, the hat nearly toppling to the ground, and clasped his thick-skinned hand in mine.

He danced with me and soon I was passed from partner to partner. More slit cat eyes followed me, along with other eyes that came in dazzling unnatural shades. Bright oranges the color of fresh apricots, to the endless black of thick coal. Every single one of them watched me as I danced. Their attention lingered, urging me to dance more for them. I wanted to make them happy. Suddenly, it was the most important thing I could think of.

They smiled with sharp-toothed grins.

Males twice my size passed me between them. I blinked and then I was surrounded by a flurry of small women, flying through the air with pointed ears and high piercing voices. They dispersed and then before me stood the tall toadstool, a large bonfire at its base. Beside it, a mismatched band of musicians played. Tapping their feet to the rhythm of their music. I blinked, then noticed the musicians instead looked rather tired, haggard faces gazing back at me empty-eyed. Thin bony arms moved at a frenetic pace, blood running down their fingers in a continuous rivulet.

A throbbing ache radiated up from my feet, into my legs. I furrowed my brows, for a moment lost. But then it disappeared, warmth flooding me all over again. I danced some more, my feet slipping over the slick grass in a continuous twirl.

A tall woman appeared before me, her skin as green as the grass at my feet, hard jewel-like scales lining her skin. I paused my dance to turn to her, the world momentarily continuing to spin around me.

"Such a pretty dancer you are—for a mortal. You look thirsty. You should have a drink," she said, her smile never leaving her face.

A whisper spoke from deep in my mind as she held out a golden goblet to me. Cold-looking clear liquid within its depths sloshed over the side. I batted the whispers away.

I was just then aware that I was parched.

I opened my lips to thank her, but only a heavy wheeze came from my throat. I frowned. How long had it been since I started dancing? I looked down at my feet. When had I lost my shoes? There was soil and mud-caked between my toes.

The strange woman pressed the cup into my hands, a slithering tongue reaching out to lick her lips. "Drink, little pretty. You have already shown us you can dance as much as we can." She made a sound that could have been a laugh, but it sounded a lot more like hissing.