Chapter 14

Slaten pulled away and went and sat down next to Janus and Cora who had been silent during the exchange.

Luna stood awkwardly to herself, feeling out of her element away from the fairy realm, her silence caught Ridge’s attention. Her short stature and light but warm skin made her appear more approachable than her cold mother. Her eyes were softer and aquamarine blue.

“Luna, how long can the spell last to keep us invisible?” Ridge moved closer to her while she continued to stand awkwardly.

“As long as you all stay close to me, you will be invisible to all.” Luna’s voice was soft and nervous.

“Can what you do work anywhere?” Ridge had desperation in his voice as he studied Luna.

“Yes, I can make anyone invisible who remains close to me.” Luna looked up with a smile, feeling important.

Luna’s soft voice still carried so much weight with the group. Everyone was silent

***

It was fall in the city. From the sky, the color of the leaves gave the city a warm and golden look. Meridian, Relic and Caius had not been there long, and Meridian was overwhelmed with the city and all the things in it.

“Wow! I always heard from the other guides how wonderful this place was, but I never imagined it this way. I can feel the energy and the life force of the city that never sleeps.”

Meridian had excitement in her voice that her father had not heard in a long time. Caius was quiet but smiled while listening to her.

Relic had been around a time or two in the city but unusually didn’t chime in with any comments. Meridian noticed the silence and left her father’s side to catch up with Relic who had been walking in front of the father and daughter pair.

“Hey, Relic, why so quiet?” Meridian asked playfully.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I am a little worried that we won’t be able to pull off Selena’s demands and get back to the fairies in time. I feel bad for what happened between Kieren and me, and as much as I don’t like seeing you with him, it would be a tragedy if we fail, and I would have a hard time living with that. I am a lot of the reason he is where he is.”

Relic kept his head down as they walked down the street. Meridian put her arms around him to comfort him, and just before she could speak, Caius spoke up to let them know that they had made it.

“Hey, we are almost to where Talon stays much of the time. It is known that demons and ghosts hang around in this old place. Of course, there are humans there, but they don’t see us. Meridian I am not comfortable with you going into this kind of place. I want you to wait outside.”

Caius always was so insistent.

“Father, really, you have to stop treating me like a child. I am the one who has to go with Talon and go into the demon realm, so you might as well get used to the idea that there are going to be many things I do that you are not comfortable with.”

Meridian took a playful tone with her father.

“So, this is it? Looks really homey,” she added with more than a touch of sarcasm.

The people coming out of the bar had piercings in their faces, some were skinheads, and they all dressed very goth and provocatively.

Relic had come out of his melancholy moment. “Yep, If I could be seen, I would fit right in.”

Caius made no objection to his daughter’s statement.

“All right, this place is pretty rough, and it isn’t usual for guides to show up here. We will be immediately noticed by the fallen, the demons and the ghosts that come here. It will not be a welcomed visit, to say the least. The fallen here won’t be the worst, but some of the demons will loathe us being around. I can’t predict what will happen, but it could be that they become violent. Meridian, you will be no match for them, but if you insist on coming then stay between Relic and me. Do not make direct eye contact with any of them.”

Meridian looked confused. “Why? Do they read minds like we do?” she inquired.

“Not like we do, but they can see your memories and know your deepest fears. They use those things against humans, and they can do it to us,” was Caius’s swift response.

As the three rolled into the old bar, it was brimming with people from what looked like another world. Outcasts, gothics, mystics and the wild were seen at the bar, dancing together and indulging in the illegal street drugs that were easily available.

Meridian was quiet; nothing had prepared her for what she could see. Relic looked at her and he noticed the discomfort on her face, and he firmly squeezed her trembling hand.

Caius, the oak he was, had no change in his demeanor. He was scanning the room looking for Talon who was known to hide in the back. It didn’t take long before a couple of demons took notice of the trio. The demons looked just like the guides or any other human. The distinction was the tone of their skin and the color of their eyes. The demons were dark-skinned, almost red, and their yellow eyes had pupils shaped much like a cat’s.

The two that took notice were hovering over their humans helping influence inch by inch all their decisions that would somehow lead to them causing themselves harm. The humans were drinking, had just exchanged ecstasy and were having a time with their favorite drug. The demons watched with pleasure as the boys poisoned themselves but quickly noticed the guides.

“Well, look what we have here.... We don’t see the likes of your kind come in here. Do you think you can just walk right in here and get away with that?”

The demon’s voice was low and sly. Caius locked eyes with the demon, exactly what he wasn’t supposed to do and the demon saw a flash of his memory fearing his daughter going to the demon realm.

“Now, why would you be sending your daughter to our world? Surely, you know she can never come back.”

The demon let out a loud shrill laugh.

Not too far away and undetected, they were being watched by another being. He was tall and could have passed for a human, but it was clear to Relic, who locked eyes with the being as Caius and the demon had their exchange, that he was not human and went undetected through the crowd of humans dancing across the floor to the fast-paced techno beats that shook the building. He was tall with sandy-blonde hair, and his fluorescent eyes stood out in the black lights of the club. He moved closer, and Relic lost sight of the being among the crowd. He reappeared and made his presence known as he stood between Caius and the demon.

“I think it would be best for you to back off and go back to where you came from,” the demon hissed at the man standing in his face. “You are already a disgrace to humankind and your influences; you have no influences on them.”

The stranger got right in the demon’s face.

Caius took Meridian by the arm and moved her behind him and said, “Talon, please, it is okay. We will be okay. Let’s go somewhere we can talk...please.”

The tense and silent moment was broken with Caius’s words. As the demons walked away backward into the crowd, his whisper could be heard as though right in their ears over the loud music.

“See you soon.”

The sounds of their hisses vanished as they disappeared into the crowd.

Talon turned around and faced the trio. “Boy, you all have some nerve coming in here like this. Why didn’t you wait outside?” he asked.

Relic spoke out to the fallen guide about which he had only heard. “I know that Caius came here and talked to you before. But things have changed, and time is of the essence. Please, can we go somewhere and talk?”

Talon nodded his head and motioned for them to follow him through the crowd. As they walked through the people on the dance floor, ghosts were flying through the air dancing over their heads. Meridian couldn’t help but look at them. They were iridescent and bright in the dark room. One of the ghosts was a woman and she kept her eyes on Meridian. Relic couldn’t overlook the admiring glance the ghost gave to Meridian.

“Be careful; she swings both ways,” Relic remarked with a laugh.

“She’s very pretty. What happened to her? Wait, how do you know all that?” Meridian questioned as she slapped Relic.

“Ow! What is this with your violence?” Relic chuckled.