Fair Deception

Chp. 6, Part I

Once the bells were up, and I'd sprinkled a fair amount of sea salt under the front and back doormats, I finally took my bag to my room and dumped it on the floor. I had a quick wash and then pulled on a pair of stretch jeans, a comfy bra, a tight vest top and my slippers.

Throwing myself backwards onto my bed, I stared up at the ceiling. What the hell had happened to my life in the last 24 hours? I felt a little lost in the whirlwind of events that had unfolded; from the fight last night, to getting attacked in the woods, to Broch being in my kitchen this afternoon. Heat rose in my cheeks when I thought about how soft his hair had felt when I'd run my fingers through it, and the way his breath caught when I'd touched the point of his ears. I squeezed my eyes closed in brief embarrassment - I hadn't meant to touch him. It was as if my hand had moved of it own accord.

In a bid to bring back some elements of normality to my life, I went downstairs, made myself some nutella on toast and then slouched down in front of the TV. After a couple of old episodes of Supernatural, Aunt Jenna came through the front door with arms full of shopping. I checked my jeans were hiding the bandage around my calf and then went through to the kitchen to help her unpack the food.

Pulling a packet of my favourite chocolate out of a bag, I turned to Jenna, "Did I tell you that I love you?"

She laughed, "I'm just glad you're in a better mood. How was your afternoon?"

"Erm, it was good, managed to blow off some steam." I tried to keep my expression level, "I ran into Broch on the way back from the bus stop too."

"Kalen's friend?" Jenna asked with a knowing look. I nodded. "Is he the one who came to the door to walk with you last night?" she pried further.

"Uh huh," I said nonchalantly and carried on unloading the shopping. Once it was all unpacked Jenna made us cups of tea and we watched another episode of Supernatural.

"That's what I need?" Aunt Jenna piped up.

"Huh?"

"I need a Charlie Bradbury in my life," she said with a serious expression, while I snorted and drank some more tea.

"Want to watch another?" I asked after checking my phone.

"I can't, I need to get ready if I'm going to get to Natalie's in time. You sure you're okay being left here alone for the night?"

"Yeah," I looked at my hands, "Actually, I kind of invited Broch over later, if that's okay?" I grinned sheepishly.

"Any of the others too?"

"Not at the moment, but I was thinking of reaching out to them. Broch seemed pretty keen on me talking to Kalen again," I sighed.

"If it helps you and Kalen get sorted then it sounds like a really good idea. Right, I should get a wiggle on or Natalie will have my head," Jenna said and headed upstairs. I switched channels and was halfway through watching the first Hobbit film when she came back down and into the front room.

"Okay, I've left £15 on the kitchen counter for food, any more than that and you can pay for yourself. Is there anything else you need?"

"No, thanks Jenna. You off?"

"Yeah. I'm aiming to get to Natalie's by about seven, as our table reservation is for eight."

"Okay." I climbed off the sofa and gave her a hug. "Have a good time tonight? Don't worry about me, I'll have people keeping me company."

Jenna smiled at me, "Thanks Anastasia. I'll be home by mid afternoon tomorrow," she picked up her backpack and a bottle of wine and headed for the door, "I'll text you when I get there. Have a good night."

"Oh, and tell Natalie, I say hi," I called and enjoyed the warm smile that spread over Jenna's face in response.

As she got into her car and pulled away from the drive, I waved. The sky had turned all shades of pink, lilac and orange while the sun began to set, so I stood and admired the fleeting shades of twilight before closing and locking the front door. I checked my phone again and realised Miranda had responded to my message. Returning to the front room, I texted her back like normal. Maybe, if things continued the way they had been before last night, this whole Fae thing, wouldn't really be too much of a problem.

There was a sharp knock on the door so I sighed and then headed back into the hall. I opened it, phone still in hand, and saw two guys I didn't recognise standing opposite me. One had extremely long, unkempt hair and an unnerving smile, the other one's hair was shaved so short that the skin underneath shined in the evening sun. "Can I help you?"

The one with the long hair sniffed loudly, nodded to the other and then tried to come into the house. I stepped backwards and suddenly the bells either side of the door started to ring. The men's faces twisted into grimaces and they paused to cover their ears. Quickly realising they were Fae, I slammed the door shut and locked it.

Running into the kitchen, I paused by the island; taking a moment to freak out. After processing what had happened, I stared at the phone in my hand and then called Kalen. I needed his help. I held the phone to my ear and listened as it rang through to his answerphone. A face popped into the kitchen window in front of me and I let out a yelp of surprise. The Fae stared at me, narrowing his eyes when he saw the phone by my ear.

"Can't you all just leave me alone?" I shouted at him through the window.

As he shook his head in response, the fae's long, hair fluttered in the evening breeze. The grin that spread over his lips was viciously excited. I shuddered and then sprinted out of the kitchen and up to my room, calling Kalen and getting his answer phone a second time. Putting the phone down on the side, I wrestled my tonfa out of my bag - they were good for close-quarter fighting. One tonfa in hand, the other under my arm, I called Kalen a third time and got no response. Knowing that there were two Fae downstairs, who didn't want to negotiate, and I'd barely managed to beat one before, I started to feel panicky. I quickly typed out a text, 'Fae at my house,' and sent it to Miranda, Kalen and Broch. Then, I heard a smash and bells ringing. Shoving my phone into my pocket, I reasoned it was safer downstairs where there were two ways into the house, so headed back to the kitchen.

The window had been smashed. There was glass all over the tiled kitchen floor. Glad I still had slippers on, I shuffled carefully through the room. The bells were quiet and I couldn't see either of the Fae. I held the tonfa flush against my forearms and stepped as lightly as I could. Through what was left of the window, I heard the crunch of gravel and tensed towards the sound. As I waited for the face to reappear in front of me, I felt movement behind. Whipping my tonfa round, it bounced off the shoulder of the Fae trying to sneak up on me and knocked him sideways onto the floor.

When I tried to make my way through to the front room, the Fae on the floor reached out and wrapped a long-fingered hand around my injured calf. I let out a yelp of pain and tried to shake him off, but before I could swing my tonfa at his arm, the Fae with shaved hair jumped through the window and wrapped his arm around my neck from behind. I felt something sharp at the bottom of my ribs and froze.

"That's better," the one holding me hissed. He twisted the blade at my side, "You feel that? Drop the weapons."

I let my tonfa clatter against the tiles. The long-haired Fae stood up and looked at me with cruel eyes. He rubbed his shoulder slowly and glared at me with a level of malice I'd never experienced before.

"Quite the arm you've got there," he said menacingly, bending down to pick up one of the tonfa. He twirled the weapon slowly in his hands. Grasping the handle experimentally, he twisted his arm as if deflecting imaginary blows and then stopped to smile at me. Suddenly, he punched his arm forwards and smacked me in the gut with the end of my own weapon. All the air rushed from my lungs and I struggled to gasp it back in again. I felt my head go blurry and was aware he was speaking, but the words seemed to float meaninglessly in the air.