Chapter One
“What are you up to, Damian Skye?” Eliza Whitaker muttered as she leaned forward from her vantage point behind a book display to see if she could get a better view. The object of her attention was a tall man with white hair, who was leaning casually against the wall just outside the ladies’ restroom. To a normal passerby, he looked like any other guy waiting for someone, but Eliza knew better.
Damian was up to no good. Damian and his brothers were always up to no good. They sought only to dominate or destroy. History proved their destructive nature repeatedly with each realm their kind invaded and decimated and all the lives they’d wiped out. They’d destroyed her home realm and now they were aiming to destroy the peaceful balance Eliza and her sisters had fought to maintain on this realm.
Damian was powerful, more powerful than she was, so Eliza simply watched, trying not to be noticed. Why was he out during the day? That was one question Eliza wanted an answer to. He usually didn’t come out until nightfall, so seeing him wandering during the daylight hours was curious enough, but to find him standing outside a ladies’ restroom in a downtown art museum, well, that was just too suspicious to ignore.
A gaggle of tourists walked in front of her, obstructing her view. And wouldn’t you know, they decided to stop to talk about the display she was hiding behind. Grimacing, she leapt over to the column next to the display and peered around the corner. Damian didn’t look in her direction. He checked his watch and tapped his foot impatiently.
A woman emerged from the bathroom and went willingly into Damian’s embrace. Eliza had wondered about his location but watching as Damian bent to plant a kiss on the woman’s lips, Eliza guessed that mystery was solved, but it now created the question of who the woman was and what she was doing hanging around with the air demon.
One thing Eliza and her sisters had in common with Damian and his brothers was they usually revealed themselves to ordinary humans only if the situation was dire and unavoidable. Looking at the woman in Damian’s arms, Eliza could see that she didn’t have on the disguise that the fey-kin used when walking amongst humans. Eliza could see a disguise as if it were a shimmering veil, but she saw the beings in their true form under the veil.
The woman with Damian wasn’t a fey-kin. So, unless the woman in Damian’s arms was a species of being Eliza had never seen before, she was just an ordinary human. Holding back the bile in her stomach at seeing the woman pawing at Damian, their being together didn’t seem to Eliza to be either dire or unavoidable.
Eliza supposed some women would see Damian as attractive. He was easily over six feet tall and had the sleek physique of a swimmer or long-distance runner. His legs were long, his waist trim, and shoulders broad. He wasn’t the most muscular of his brothers, nor he was the tallest, but he was probably the most wicked.
All wielders of air magic were fair skinned with stark white hair and silver eyes. Just like all wielders of earth magic, like her, had brown hair and brown eyes. Wielders of fire and water magic had red hair and green eyes and black hair and blue eyes, respectively. It had something to do with the elemental magic and how it affected the body.
When the happy couple left her view, Eliza slipped from behind the column and followed behind them, keeping off to the side and pausing to casually check out a display so she could follow them without making it look as if she was following them.
They walked down the corridor and slipped into the El Greco exhibit. She watched as Damian handed over two tickets to the man standing at the door entrance before he and the mystery woman went inside.
“Blast it all,” Eliza grumbled. She didn’t have a ticket and didn’t think she could slip by the guy at the door without being noticed. Her sisters criticized her because not only was she the youngest and smallest among them, but she was also the most physically average. One of her innate skills was to blend, to not be noticed and being average in appearance helped with that skill. It wasn’t the camouflage of a chameleon, but she had the ability to blend in with the surroundings so that no one noticed her unless they were either really looking or else knew she was there. The ticket guy was looking for people coming in, so her innate skill was, right now, useless to her.
“Think Eliza,” she muttered to herself. She couldn’t run back to the entrance where the tickets were sold because she was sure there was something going on inside that exhibit that she needed to see, and it would probably happen when she wasn’t there. Damian and his weird, clingy girlfriend couldn’t be here just to check out paintings of the Christian religion. Damian was odd, but he wasn’t that odd.
Behind her, she heard a long sigh as a woman wearing a cleaning vest sat down heavily in the plush chair. She pulled off the vest, slapping it across the back of the chair next to her, and leaned back, closing her eyes. Next to her was the cleaning tray she carried around. From the assortment of cleaning items, it looked as though the woman was one who went around and cleaned out the museum bathrooms.
Chewing on her bottom lip, Eliza formed a plan. As gently as she could, Eliza tugged the orange vest from the back of the chair and slipped it on. Stepping around the column, she crouched and reached out to the tray. The woman sighed as her phone chimed.
“Bueno?” the woman spoke into the phone and then let out a long string of rapid-fire Spanish, sounding upset with the person on the other end of the phone. While the woman was distracted, Eliza slid the cleaning tray closer to her and then behind the pillar. She paused, the cleaning woman was still talking on the phone, so Eliza stood and hurried over to the exhibit entrance.
The man at the door nodded and didn’t stop her as she stepped in. Eliza scanned the area until she found the happy couple. They were across the room talking to a man Eliza didn’t recognize. The unknown man had jet-black hair and was large, taller than Damian and probably twice his width. Clingy woman stood next to them looking very bored. The two men were engaged in some heated discussion. She wished she was closer so she could hear. She didn’t have the ability to read lips.
As she studied the two men, her gaze drifted to the dark-haired one, the one she didn’t recognize. It was hard to see with so many people in the dimly lit room blocking her view, but she caught a glimpse of something shimmering, indicating that the image she was seeing wasn’t his true form. She could normally see right through the disguise of any fey-kin, being another innate power she possessed. This man’s disguise was different. She couldn’t see his true form under whatever he used to conceal himself. That was troubling and something that Eliza had never witnessed before.
As Eliza watched, Damian pulled clingy woman closer to him and put her hand inside his and then held out his other hand, palm up in front of him. The man with the jet-black hair looked down and suddenly, his hair blew back as a gust of wind came out of Damian’s hand, startling the man and making him take a step back.
Eliza let out a soft gasp and lost her grip on the tray of cleaning supplies. The plastic tray crashed to the ground, causing many people in the room to look over at her. She quietly cursed and looked back over to lock eyes with Damian. Eliza let out another gasp and bolted from her position by the curtain to the door. Once she was out in the corridor, she broke out into a full run. Damian, being much taller and more muscular, was bound to catch up to her sooner rather than later and if he did, she was as good as dead.
What she just saw wasn’t possible. All users of magic drew their elemental energy from the ley lines, the invisible rivers of magical energy that crisscrossed the globe. Without the natural energy to fuel the spell, magic couldn’t happen. There weren’t any ley lines in downtown Chicago. It was the reason why downtown was supposed to be a safe zone for beings of all kinds to simply walk and shop without threat of being attacked. How the heck did Damian generate the energy needed to cast a spell?
She glanced over her shoulder and saw Damian sprinting after her. Clingy woman was nowhere in sight, and neither was the disguised man with the jet-black hair. She had to get out of there, away from Damian, before he caught up to her. He’d looked upset that she’d crashed his little party. She bounded down the main stairs and slammed into the front doors. Pushing open the glass, she ran for her life into the sun.
Damian was up to no good. Damian and his brothers were always up to no good. They sought only to dominate or destroy. History proved their destructive nature repeatedly with each realm their kind invaded and decimated and all the lives they’d wiped out. They’d destroyed her home realm and now they were aiming to destroy the peaceful balance Eliza and her sisters had fought to maintain on this realm.
Damian was powerful, more powerful than she was, so Eliza simply watched, trying not to be noticed. Why was he out during the day? That was one question Eliza wanted an answer to. He usually didn’t come out until nightfall, so seeing him wandering during the daylight hours was curious enough, but to find him standing outside a ladies’ restroom in a downtown art museum, well, that was just too suspicious to ignore.
A gaggle of tourists walked in front of her, obstructing her view. And wouldn’t you know, they decided to stop to talk about the display she was hiding behind. Grimacing, she leapt over to the column next to the display and peered around the corner. Damian didn’t look in her direction. He checked his watch and tapped his foot impatiently.
A woman emerged from the bathroom and went willingly into Damian’s embrace. Eliza had wondered about his location but watching as Damian bent to plant a kiss on the woman’s lips, Eliza guessed that mystery was solved, but it now created the question of who the woman was and what she was doing hanging around with the air demon.
One thing Eliza and her sisters had in common with Damian and his brothers was they usually revealed themselves to ordinary humans only if the situation was dire and unavoidable. Looking at the woman in Damian’s arms, Eliza could see that she didn’t have on the disguise that the fey-kin used when walking amongst humans. Eliza could see a disguise as if it were a shimmering veil, but she saw the beings in their true form under the veil.
The woman with Damian wasn’t a fey-kin. So, unless the woman in Damian’s arms was a species of being Eliza had never seen before, she was just an ordinary human. Holding back the bile in her stomach at seeing the woman pawing at Damian, their being together didn’t seem to Eliza to be either dire or unavoidable.
Eliza supposed some women would see Damian as attractive. He was easily over six feet tall and had the sleek physique of a swimmer or long-distance runner. His legs were long, his waist trim, and shoulders broad. He wasn’t the most muscular of his brothers, nor he was the tallest, but he was probably the most wicked.
All wielders of air magic were fair skinned with stark white hair and silver eyes. Just like all wielders of earth magic, like her, had brown hair and brown eyes. Wielders of fire and water magic had red hair and green eyes and black hair and blue eyes, respectively. It had something to do with the elemental magic and how it affected the body.
When the happy couple left her view, Eliza slipped from behind the column and followed behind them, keeping off to the side and pausing to casually check out a display so she could follow them without making it look as if she was following them.
They walked down the corridor and slipped into the El Greco exhibit. She watched as Damian handed over two tickets to the man standing at the door entrance before he and the mystery woman went inside.
“Blast it all,” Eliza grumbled. She didn’t have a ticket and didn’t think she could slip by the guy at the door without being noticed. Her sisters criticized her because not only was she the youngest and smallest among them, but she was also the most physically average. One of her innate skills was to blend, to not be noticed and being average in appearance helped with that skill. It wasn’t the camouflage of a chameleon, but she had the ability to blend in with the surroundings so that no one noticed her unless they were either really looking or else knew she was there. The ticket guy was looking for people coming in, so her innate skill was, right now, useless to her.
“Think Eliza,” she muttered to herself. She couldn’t run back to the entrance where the tickets were sold because she was sure there was something going on inside that exhibit that she needed to see, and it would probably happen when she wasn’t there. Damian and his weird, clingy girlfriend couldn’t be here just to check out paintings of the Christian religion. Damian was odd, but he wasn’t that odd.
Behind her, she heard a long sigh as a woman wearing a cleaning vest sat down heavily in the plush chair. She pulled off the vest, slapping it across the back of the chair next to her, and leaned back, closing her eyes. Next to her was the cleaning tray she carried around. From the assortment of cleaning items, it looked as though the woman was one who went around and cleaned out the museum bathrooms.
Chewing on her bottom lip, Eliza formed a plan. As gently as she could, Eliza tugged the orange vest from the back of the chair and slipped it on. Stepping around the column, she crouched and reached out to the tray. The woman sighed as her phone chimed.
“Bueno?” the woman spoke into the phone and then let out a long string of rapid-fire Spanish, sounding upset with the person on the other end of the phone. While the woman was distracted, Eliza slid the cleaning tray closer to her and then behind the pillar. She paused, the cleaning woman was still talking on the phone, so Eliza stood and hurried over to the exhibit entrance.
The man at the door nodded and didn’t stop her as she stepped in. Eliza scanned the area until she found the happy couple. They were across the room talking to a man Eliza didn’t recognize. The unknown man had jet-black hair and was large, taller than Damian and probably twice his width. Clingy woman stood next to them looking very bored. The two men were engaged in some heated discussion. She wished she was closer so she could hear. She didn’t have the ability to read lips.
As she studied the two men, her gaze drifted to the dark-haired one, the one she didn’t recognize. It was hard to see with so many people in the dimly lit room blocking her view, but she caught a glimpse of something shimmering, indicating that the image she was seeing wasn’t his true form. She could normally see right through the disguise of any fey-kin, being another innate power she possessed. This man’s disguise was different. She couldn’t see his true form under whatever he used to conceal himself. That was troubling and something that Eliza had never witnessed before.
As Eliza watched, Damian pulled clingy woman closer to him and put her hand inside his and then held out his other hand, palm up in front of him. The man with the jet-black hair looked down and suddenly, his hair blew back as a gust of wind came out of Damian’s hand, startling the man and making him take a step back.
Eliza let out a soft gasp and lost her grip on the tray of cleaning supplies. The plastic tray crashed to the ground, causing many people in the room to look over at her. She quietly cursed and looked back over to lock eyes with Damian. Eliza let out another gasp and bolted from her position by the curtain to the door. Once she was out in the corridor, she broke out into a full run. Damian, being much taller and more muscular, was bound to catch up to her sooner rather than later and if he did, she was as good as dead.
What she just saw wasn’t possible. All users of magic drew their elemental energy from the ley lines, the invisible rivers of magical energy that crisscrossed the globe. Without the natural energy to fuel the spell, magic couldn’t happen. There weren’t any ley lines in downtown Chicago. It was the reason why downtown was supposed to be a safe zone for beings of all kinds to simply walk and shop without threat of being attacked. How the heck did Damian generate the energy needed to cast a spell?
She glanced over her shoulder and saw Damian sprinting after her. Clingy woman was nowhere in sight, and neither was the disguised man with the jet-black hair. She had to get out of there, away from Damian, before he caught up to her. He’d looked upset that she’d crashed his little party. She bounded down the main stairs and slammed into the front doors. Pushing open the glass, she ran for her life into the sun.
dreamwriter.earth
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