Fairly Normal People

-Chapter Eighteen-

Andy climbed to his feet and faced Stroud.

"So it was you." Andy said firmly.

Stroud took a long final drag of his cigarette, threw it onto the ground and put it out with his shoe. He nodded to somewhere behind Andy and thundering footsteps entered the threshold of the apartment which could have only been Darren the troll. Then somewhere to their right there was a flush and a few moments later Maddie the dryad emerged from the bathroom still wiping his hands on her jean short shorts and looking a little embarrassed as if she had been caught off guard. She pulled the buds out of her ears and turned her music off.

"My bad." She said.

"Shut up." Stroud scolded.

As anger bubbled up in Andy's gut he felt the now familiar presence of Nightmare in his thoughts. No, I need to do this, Andy thought to Nightmare who sent him a mental signal of acknowledgement.

"Why? Why would you do this?!" Beth screamed through the sobs.

"You know I tried so hard to stop it from going this far. Like you actually have no idea." Stroud said as Darren chuckled from behind them. "You would think you would have the same level of common sense as everyone else around here."

"What do you mean?" Beth asked as she sniffed.

"Those street kids? The Hardly Boys or whatever? They've been on my dime, dollface. I've been paying them to harass you so you take off and my father and I can swoop in and buy the whole complex for cheap. And don't you even try to tell me you haven't been able to hear that walrus Mrs Applebottom snoring. Just take the fucking hint would you?!" Stroud said as he shuffled painfully in place.

"So all of this was just for money?" Beth asked.

Stroud just shrugged.

"There's kind of a bigger thing going on but Daddy always said 'Stroud me boy, never show your hand until you've already got em by the balls'." Stroud said before he nodded to Darren. "This the one?"

"Yup." Darren grunted after he sniffed throatily.

"So you were the little bunny hiding in the monster's lair." Stroud spat venomously. "And here I thought I had hastily killed this one. Even if it was self defence."

Stroud shrugged again involuntarily as he lifted his wet shirt to show the stab wound in his side.

"Hurts like a son of a bitch too." Stroud said. "But now I know that you know who I am, I don't need to glamour all of those signs anymore."

He shook and quivered and Andy watched his knife wound knit itself back together as the magic Stroud had used reentered his body.

"Jesus." Lucy said in astonishment.

"You're fey too?" Andy barked.

"Would you believe I'm the first of my kind? I'm the first half breed ever. I'm a true half elf." Stroud said proudly.

"That's impossible." Andy said. "Humans and fey can't interbreed."

"They couldn't before but I suppose my elvish mother was just close enough to human to make it happen." Stroud said. "This probably explains how you could never see my true nature? I'm simply too human."

To nail in his point he dropped his glamour and his appearance changed only subtly. His eyes moved a fraction further apart and his face only slightly changed shape. His eyes grew a shade more yellow, his irises a tad wider and the small bumps of horns could be seen lifting two patches of hair on his head. Andy was speechless at the transformation, not only did he not notice such subtle cues when he first met Stroud, he simply couldn't have even if he knew without a doubt about the truth. It also explained how he was able to pull off those small tricks of his, deft hands and a mastery of glamours.