Of Fey

Chapter Seven

   I lean against the bathroom counter and I look at myself in the mirror to get a better view of the damage done to me today. My head is almost healed from the rock, thanks to the small lesson my father taught me. My chin has two finger sized bruises from Draven before we were attacked. My side is bruised from being sling on the ground too. Once we got home mom let Draven use her bathroom while I went straight to mine.

  I wrap a towel around me before going to my room. I flick on the light only to jump. "Damn it, Draven! Can you not come in here while I'm in the shower?"

"Maybe you should start taking clothes into the bathroom with you," he suggests while looking at a picture on my dresser. He's turned away from me and his shirt is off. He's wearing a pair of sweatpants that hang low on his hips. The tattoo girl seems to be weeping at the bottom of the circle.

"I shouldn't have to. It's my room," I reply. Draven picks up my letter opener and plays with it. He looks into the mirror at me.

"I didn't mean to bruise your face."

"I'm not worried about my face, I'm worried about how much of you my mother has engraved into her mind," I retort making his lips turn up into a mischievous smile.

"How much of me is engraved into your mind?"

"I only saw a butt."

"Only a-"

"Are you fishing for a complement?"

"I'm a demon, of course I want a compliment even though I already know how stunning I am," he says looking back down at the letter opener.

"Then you don't need me to complement your butt. You can be conceded enough for my complements," I say walking over to him. The tattoo girl is now standing up and looking at me?

"You're mom likes my butt," he mutters. I let out a scoff and he twirls around to glare at me. "She doesn't normally like it when you stare."

"My mom?"

"Myst."

  I raise an eyebrow in question making him sigh. I cross my arms over my chest. "The tattoo you've been staring at since you've noticed I was shirtless."

"I'm sorry I've never seen a moving tattoo before," I say sarcastically.

"I know you have many questions about it but that can wait for a little bit. I have something I need to do," he says while closing the distance between us. His mischievous smile only widens which makes my skin crawl.

"You're leaving?"

  He shakes his head no while looking down at me. "In the woods, what you saw wasn't fair," he whispers.

"What?"

   He reaches over and yanks my towel off. "Draven!" I shout while trying to grab it back. He takes a step back looking at me. I turn away from him and grab one of my fuzzy blankets off my bed using it to cover myself.

"Now we are even," he says. His eyes are still wondering like he can see underneath my blanket.

"Stop." I hiss out grabbing my under garments and slipping them on underwear my blanket. I grab a T-shirt and put it on before dropping the blanket.

"Half the fairy but twice the beauty."

"Can you stop? Why are you so annoying?"

"Like I said, I'm a demon Jezza," he teases. I frown at him only making him chuckle. "But I'll let you ask me questions about Myst."

  Myst, the tattoo girl that resides in a circle on Dravens back. Draven lays down on his stomach on my bed and pats a spot beside him. I cautiously sit beside him looking at his back. Myst seems to be watching me. "Why is her name Myst and where is she from?"

"She's always been there, trapped. At first it was a circle made of one name so it was a very tiny cage but eventually as I went on with my job and more names were added she had more room. She can speak to me whenever she pleases but she tends to stay quiet. I call her Myst as in the mystery girl on my back," he explains. Myst seems to be waving at me now. I hear a soft sound, like a breeze.

"She says hello and that she thinks you have a-"

  He stops when the noise starts up again. "Pretty hair."

  I look back down at the girl on the demons back. Her hair is wavy and I  can't exactly how long her hair is though. She has on either a dress or a skirt that the bottom is flowey.  I reach out and gently and touch the spot beside her. Draven flinches from the contact but Myst runs over to my hand and acts like she's shaking my finger in a formal hello.

  She then sits down beside my hand and points to some of the scars on Dravens back. "If the tattoos appeared since you've been alive then how are their scars underneath?"

  Myst nods her head like that something she actually wanted me to ask him. "It's not a story to be told right now," he replies. Myst looks up towards his in an angry way.

"Where are you from? Like originally?"

"Not too far from here. Reagan, David's daughter, I lived there in the same town but back then it was basically nothing," he explains.

"Before anyone knew it existed."

"Besides the natives. They didn't magically appear over night," he snaps back. I go to move my arm back but Draven grabs my hand. He moves it from Myst to a thicker scar on his lower back. "This was the first scar."

"Do you still have anything from when you rose?" I ask making him chuckle.

"Just what I gave you," he admits. I run my fingers over the scar. I wonder how he got it.

———

"Yes mom, I'll be safe. I love you," I reassure her before hanging up the phone. I park my moms car before going into the little shop. After Draven admitted where he was from and somewhat of who he is I can get some stuff and possible advice.

  From what mom and I have found to free Draven I need some stuff from the religion that he is closest to. I assume it's the Natives religion. Once I enter the shop it's quiet. There's a teen and older man at the referrer but no one else. I scan the shelves for anything that jumps out at me. The smell of cedar wood is strong in the air. I grab some incense for mom, she loved the stuff.

  There's nothing particularly old enough to date around Dravens age so this might be a bust. I walk to the register and set the packets down. "Did you find everything?" The man asks.

"Uh, I actually have a question. I have this friend that done one of the ancestry tests and this really interesting thing came up. There was like this tribe or small community around here that dates really far back and he was wanting me to get knowledge of their religion. Like a book or even an oral tell," I ramble. The teen girl looks up from her phone at the old man.

"Why isn't he here?"

"He was in a car accident. He can't leave the house without someone helping
Him and he's too heavy for me to carry," I lie. The old man just studied me before shaking his head.

"I can't help you," he finally says. I pay him and head back to my car. I set the bag in my car. A shiver runs down my spine making me shiver.

"Why hello," a man says. I turn on my heels to see two men who share some similarities, maybe brothers. Both have brown hair but one has more curly hair.

"Can I help you?"

"Well, we hear your poking around our history," the one with the longer hair says. He has tan skin and dark eyes. Something about him seems more open then his accomplice.

"Depends, you know anything about the history of this town before it was a town. Like towards whenever it was first inhabited?" I ask. The other one cross his arms over his chest trying to seem more intimidating.

"Whose asking?"

"Jezza. You?"

"I'm Ghost and that's my brother Wen."