Why Are All the Good Guys Total Monsters? by De-Ann Black Read Free Book Online Page A

visible. ‘You
did this. Now take me back. I won’t do anything you tell me.’
    Sabastien smiled. ‘You are indeed remarkable. Fighting even
when you’re outnumbered in a world that’s not your own. I’m impressed. We were
right. You are the one to right the wrong that was done to us.’
    ‘You selfish prats! Picking on a girl because you can’t get
back what’s yours. Cowards, both of you.’
    Sabastien was still smiling. Daire looked ashamed.
    ‘How did you like outrunning the monsters?’ Sabastien said,
as if this achievement would somehow make me feel pleased with myself.
    ‘You’ve poisoned me with your purple thorns,’ I said, trying
not to weep as I saw the taint of it on my hand.
    ‘Better that than being caught by those monsters. That
wouldn’t have been pretty,’ said Sabastien. ‘The fae in you helped you outrun
them.’
    Could I outrun Sabastien and Daire I thought? Could I? Could
I at least try?
    ‘You’re not as fast as us of course,’ said Sabastian, eyeing
me suspiciously. ‘And you can’t get back to Edinburgh without us.’
    ‘Why not?’
    ‘Can you fly?’ There was a hint of amusement in Sabastien’s
voice that made me angry. I wished I had the power to prove him wrong.
    Daire was quiet. He wasn’t listening to what we said. His
attention was focussed on the forest around us. The blue mist had faded to
reveal trees of the deepest green, amber and bronze I’d ever seen. The only
time I’d seen such depth of colour was in Orlaith’s paintings of faeries in
enchanted woods. How right she was.
    ‘Did you use your magic on me?’ I demanded of Sabastien. ‘I
heard you. You whispered in the air. I heard you say spellbound .’
    ‘Hmm. I did, didn’t I. Though Daire tried to spellbind you
first when he offered you the white gold charm.’
    I shot a look at Daire who wouldn’t meet my gaze. No denial.
So that’s what he’d tried to do.
    ‘You didn’t touch the charm,’ said Sabastien, ‘but Daire was
near enough to enchant you slightly, influencing your thoughts for the rest of
that day. You thought about him, didn’t you?’
    I nodded.
    ‘I simply added to the enchantment,’ said Sabastien. ‘I
thought it would be easier for you to deal with the fact that we’re fae.’
    ‘And the corsage — was there something in the scent of those
flowers?’ I still wore the flowers on my wrist though they had faded and looked
like they’d died a long time ago.
    Sabastien’s smile confirmed my suspicions. Then he touched
the flowers, making them sparkle.
    A sound, swift and fierce, resonated through the trees.
    Sabastien became wary. His eyes scanned the perimeter.
    ‘What is it?’ I whispered. ‘Are the monsters back?’
    Daire moved closer to me, guarding me with his body, wings
extended like a shield.
    I heard a sound, then something shot past me and daggered
into a tree, missing me by a breath. A blue arrow, clear as aqua crystal. Daire
grabbed hold of me, turning away from the direction of the attack, shielding me
from harm. Though I doubted his wings would stop an arrow like this. It cut
deep into the bark of the tree, glistening, sharp.
    A figure darted through the trees. All shades of blue in
clothing, hair and wings. His skin was pale, his hair blond with a turquoise
tint. His trousers and top were unkempt, not ragged, but merged with the wood.
He was as tall and strong as Daire and Sabastien, and held a huge weaponry bow.
It glistened like sea water on a summer’s day, catching the light. Blue arrows
were sheathed and strapped across his back.
    ‘Archer,’ Daire whispered to Sabastien.
    I sensed their trepidation.
    ‘Get Vesper out of here,’ said Daire.
    Sabastien nodded, and flew off with me, flying through the
forest heading for the city and the snow.
    The air was so cold my dress froze.
    When we landed it glittered, encrusted with white snow
crystals. My silver shoes matched the snow.
    Sabastien whispered something, again not to me, but to the
air itself,