Folks Of Fury (#1; Tales Of Elysia [COMPLETED])

nineteen.

I recalled the song as easily and clear as if I was a six year old again, hiding in the atrium of the greenhouse and listening to Aunt Hetta.
"Five brothers journeyed to Hell to rescue their beloved sister from the afterlife that awaited her. They traveled the treacherous Road of Bones and waded through the tempestuous Lake of Blood.
They battled and deceived demons and beasts guarding the entrance to the realm of anguish and the afterlife.
But none of their trials prepared them for meeting with the King of Hell and his dark Queen.
They came in line, with all the souls of the dead who presented themselves to the Majesty of Hell. The brothers did not know how long it took but when alas they stood before the throne, each were granted a request because they were still living and belonged not in the world of the dead.
Samyaza, the eldest; angel of face yet a heart filled with the devil's cunning, asked the rulers of Hell for his sister's safe return to the world of the living.
The Queen, charmed by his beauty and sharp tongue, gave him a crown of thorns before sending him on a final quest.
Next came Jomjäel, a dauntless warrior who had slain the monstrous Cerberus. He asked that his sister be safely returned to the living. And the King threw a cloak made from the fur of his Cerberus over his shoulders and sent him on a quest to prove himself.
After him, walked the twins Penemue and Kharnak. Each with the same request as their brothers and the rulers of Hell gave either a jar of hellfire and a bleeding heart before sending them also on a quest.
At last the youngest, Agadir came and pressed his wish. And like his brothers, the King and Queen of Hell gifted him a serpent's cloak and gave him a quest.
When at last they all won their quests, they found they had been cursed with the gifts of Hell.
They came to their home to see if their travails had granted them their desire but they saw naught their sister but a great tree grown from where she had died."
"So the sister became a tree? I don't understand, are you sure you heard it right?"
I glared at Chris. "Of course I heard it right. I've listened to my senile great aunt sing it for years."
"What does it mean? We all recognize the names of the brothers of course." Eloise had a thoughtful look.
"The Saints of the Agnate; Samyaza of the Fey Folk, Jomjäel of the Legion, Penemue of the covens, Kharnak of the vampires, and Agadir of the Shifter clans." Micah listed out.
We were all at the wood house. All except Lionel who, I realized with guilt I hadn't seen in a while.
Ezra had called them the next day to relay the information we'd gotten from last night, without the how certainly.
"We all know the story. But not told like that."
"So what do we learn from the story, from everything you've gathered?" Chris asked staring from me to Ezra.
They'd all been momentarily stunned that either of us had been individually investigating.
"And also how do we stop whatever it is he's doing?"
"Do we even know what the sacrifices is for aside from the ley lines?" Eloise asked.
It was all questions dire to the situation which I've been asking myself.
I had my suspicions but I wasn't exactly learned in ritual magic or the ley lines to be certain of any of them.
Ezra looked at them all with a serious calm, "We know little but from it we should be able to anticipate him and perhaps find a way to catch him. A lot of people have died."
"He needs to sacrifice five each from the remaining races- Shifter, Hound and vampire. It'll put the ley lines in alignment." I continued from where he stopped and laid out a map of Redwood which I'd already marked in the locations.
They moved closer to have a good look at the map on the kitchen counter.
Micah frowned, "But that makes no sense. He'll be sacrificing six races not five- human, Fey, witch, Hound, Shifters and vampire."
"The human sacrifices are for another purpose. I don't think it's anything to do with the ley lines more than it does just giving him power."
Ezra pointed to the marked locations; townsquare, Allais River, the Manor.
"It doesn't exactly help predict where the next place will be. It could be anywhere in town."
"But we have time if the sacrifices have to made on a full moon."
"That's give or take two weeks till the next sacrifice."

We went to school afterwards. I was a bit anxious and reluctant about going back not after the fun time Ezra and I had spent yesterday.
Even with the whole Bacchus incident. Dancing with Ezra was just as riveting as the sex we'd had when we'd gotten back.
My ear burned at the recollecting flashes of his undulating toned body as he drilled an insanity of passion into me.
"What're you thinking about back there?" Ezra quipped over his shoulders as he made a turn.
I blinked and came back from sinful reverie. "Hmm?"
I saw the edge of his amused lopsided grin. "I felt you squirm a bit and then you blushed."
I rolled my eyes. Sometimes I forget how cocky he could get with how expertly he knew my body.
"I was thinking how we didn't get to go skinny dipping after our date."
"I guess we didn't. Next time I promise, maybe I'd even do a striptease for you."
I leaned close enough to say into his ear, "Then maybe I'll do that thing with my tongue you like." And I flicked my tongue on the shell of his ear for good measure.
The Ducati veered dangerously as he momentarily lost concentration and he cursed and brought the bike back into the lane.
"Jesus, Senoy! You must have a death wish on this bike, don't distract me like that."
I chuckled just as Chris drove up to us and threw us a questioning look.
"Everything cool there, man. You nearly wrapped yourself round that tree."
Eloise chided with only just her 'what-the-fuck' look behind him.
I shrugged innocently. Ezra shook his head. "It was nothing."
We got to school, receiving the usual gaping awe and stink eye from the crowds in the quad.
Well I got the stink eye from the witch kids and unsuspecting humans who were just pissed that Ezra held my hand possessively.
"Guess we're part of the Legion Four now?"
"Still a most ridiculous name." Chris miffed, throwing an arm around Eloise who flushed into his body.
Guess it was only sooner rather than later, for that to happen.
"And we're still not calling ourselves the Fantastic Four, Chris." Micah reprimanded absently as he kicked his bike to park.
"Hey, have you heard from Lionel since?" I asked Ezra as he slung his book bag over his shoulder.
He frowned to himself as I've was only just realizing his negligence of one of his best friends.
"I think he went out of town to see family. He doesn't have much of relatives in Redwood."
"Oh, it seemed odd that he hasn't been around."
Ezra had a straight face but his eyes spoke volumes of the uncertain discomfort he had about it. He had been jealous of Lionel taking me on date.
But that seemed so long ago now.
"We can go and see him in Algiers after school, if you want?" He offered as we walled into the school building.
"We have that thing after school. You know going to check the morgue if Bacchus was right about the dead Fey."
I was still unconvinced that he was right and no one had noticed that the Fey Court had been affected by the murders.
Though it seemed plausible to the fact that Queen Mab suddenly got interested enough to hand it out to me as a quest of knighthood.
Why she'd want the killer tried in her realm.
"From touring the Crescent City and nightclubs to visiting morgues...not what I expected our relationship to turn into in such a short time." He said cheekily.
I snorted and opened my locker to take out books. "I enjoy a dash of morbidity here and there."
Ezra leaned in, a hand placed at either side of my head, caging me in. "Do you now?"
"Ezra," I warned with a look about the hallway and no doubt caught a few disgusted glares from some of the students.
Still witches. But what did I expect.
"You can't kiss me out here."
He froze with a frown down at me. "Why the fuck not?"
I sighed and closed the locker before replying. "It'd be like rubbing it in their faces."
"You shouldn't care what anyone thinks, Senoy. What we do is none of their business. Not anymore."
And then I caught a few of the Legion Boys also glowering dangerously at me.
A small crowd of six Hounds leaning back at their lockers and whispering amongst themselves and throwing dark looks our way.
"Have you called your father?"
Ezra gave a deep sigh and opened to speak. "Senoy drop it. I'm not calling him or reconciling. At least not yet."
The bell rang and Ezra took my distraction and placed a kiss at the edge of my mouth before saying.
"I'll see you at lunch." He didn't sound thrilled about it and wondered if bringing up his father was a bad idea.
Ezra didn't turn around as he made his way to his first class which wasn't the same as mine.
Tuesdays we hardly had the same schedules.
I sighed deeply and adjusted my bag over a shoulder before going to English-lit.
Ms. Hathaway picked Chris to read the Scarlet Letter, the book we were reading for the class.