Changeling

Navid stayed hidden from my sight after that. The girl trapped inside the glass room also vanished. Rumors circulated that she may have perished or been taken to the palace, but I couldn’t confirm anything. My focus was consumed by the enemy in front of me, leaving little room for thoughts of what I could not see. I took on the guise of the goblin, even walking through the city with its face, yet no one approached me. Navid remained elusive. His scent nonexistent. Did he know my true identity? Unlikely. The goblin’s voice lingered in my mind, so I finally let go and returned to my original form. Since then, I had emerged victorious in numerous fights, while Horn also continued to succeed in his own arenas.

Songs were already being sung about him. When I was pretending to be the goblin, we had him appear in the first several fights, hoping Navid would come out with me nowhere in sight. But it didn’t work; he stayed hidden from the public view.

As I entered the room shared between Horn and me, the orc’s eyes widened in surprise. But after a moment, he seemed content with what he saw. He relaxed onto his bed with a satisfied expression.

“Glad to see you back with yer shit face. Scared the hell out of me when you first showed up with that goblin, didn’t suit you.”

I sat on my own bed and combed out my hair. “Do you think he went with the princess?” Horn turned on his side and sighed loudly. “Navid? I’m assuming is who you are talking about. And by princess, do you mean the Seelie one? The one who was taken back to the queen’s court?”

“Obviously that’s what I’m fucking talking about.”

“I’m not talking to you with the attitude you have. You need to get laid.”

“Fuck you.”

“Hard pass.”

I shot him a glare before turning and marching right back out of the room. We were both sporting bruises and injuries from the lame ass excuse of a tournament. But with fights happening back to back, there was no time to properly heal. I pushed open the front door and took a deep breath of fresh air. The sun was setting, and it would soon be dark, a rare occurrence in the Unseelie lands. This meant a night of festivities and celebration. Perhaps I would take the time to find something to enjoy. To drown myself in. Or someone.

The shape shifter standing before me was a strange sight. In my opinion, at least. They had the ability to transform into anyone they desired. So it’s no surprise that I was taken aback when I saw my own face staring back at me. My unruly dark hair obscured one of my eyes, and a scar sliced through my eyebrow on the other side. Another scar cut across my lips and trailed down my neck - a reminder of a close encounter that left me shaken.

As I spun the blade in my hand, we began to pace around each other. His movements were perfectly synchronized with mine, as if he were my reflection in a mirror.

“You know, your ability is very impressive. What I wouldn’t give to be able to do that without consuming the person, or thing, that I want to become. Do you have a family? I would love to harvest you, keep you as stock.” I winked at him, only half lying. I would eat an entire generation of their kind to ensure I could keep the ability to take a face without taking a life. I was also trying to throw him off guard, which seemed to have worked.

Without hesitation, I struck out and caught him off guard. He jumped out of my reach, but not before my attack left a deep gash on the underside of his arm and blood began to flow freely. He let out a pained cry and scrambled away. I tasted the blood on my fingers, my intensely dark eyes locked onto his. His face contorted with horror as mine shifted into an exact copy of his own. It only lasted for a moment, but it achieved my desired result.

I couldn’t risk him using my own body against me, copying every move I made with ease. With a primal growl, I launched myself towards him and unleashed a relentless barrage of blows. The hapless fool never stood a chance. He stumbled back, bloodied and disorientated - I grabbed his head and smashed it brutally against my knee, feeling the satisfying crunch of skull fragments beneath my skin. The crowd erupted into a frenzy, almost rabid in their bloodlust as they witnessed the vicious fight. I tore open my opponent’s skull and greedily consumed his exposed brain.

A deafening silence fell over the tavern as I knelt down and continued to devour him. My body trembled with an animalistic transformation, fully embracing the feral nature that lurked within me.

The distinct noise of metal scraping against metal reverberated throughout the room, causing me to look up and come face to face with the deadly end of a human weapon. The iron sang in the air, hissing its poison for all Fae ears. The guard holding it had a stern expression and disgust reflected in his eyes. There was no hint of fear in the man. In response, I released my grip on the shape shifter and took a step back, trying to appear non-threatening with a forced smile on my blood-stained face.

“So sorry, couldn’t help myself. I’ve never come across one before, and I had to try.” Had to try and preserve him in some way. I could already feel him slipping out of my grasp, eating him alone wasn’t enough. Worth the shot.

I kept moving backwards, my hands raised in surrender until a strong hand grabbed the top of my head and turned me around to face the door. “We’ll take our leave now,” Horn called out as he hurriedly led me out onto the dark, empty street. As soon as the door shut behind us, he shoved me with a force that knocked me off balance and sent me face first onto the rough cobblestone pavement. “What in bloody hell is wrong with you?!” As soon as I stood up, he grabbed me by the neck and forcefully pushed me away from the bar. “Ye’ve never done that in public before! Why would ye go and take such a chance like that?!” He tried to push me once more, but I quickly jumped out of his grasp.

“Shove me again and see what happens!”

Anger pulsed through his body, causing veins in his face and neck to twitch. He roared at me and slammed his fist into the wall, causing the entire building to shake. When he turned back to face me, he continued to bellow in my face. Unamused, I crossed my arms in defiance. After a few long minutes of pure, unadulterated rage, he finally calmed down enough to give me a heated glare over his shoulder. I raised an eyebrow in response.

“Ah ye piss off.” He angrily spat and walked away, probably headed to the nearest bar. I saw him leave and quickly spat out a small piece of bone before turning my attention to my next goal.

“So, tell me how it works.” I jumped back when I heard his voice from above, but it only took me a second to spot him. He had been walking next to me the whole time, the chicken shit lingering on the roof the entire time. “That was a very entertaining showcase you did back there. You actually eat people. You are the very definition of a monster, yet you aren’t Unseelie.”

“Why don’t you come down here and find out?” I snarled.

He feigned a shiver and continued walking, not even bothering to look my way. I followed him like a predator stalking its prey. “Still though, his brains?” He pretended to gag. “Is it always the brains? Did you eat my goblin friend’s brains?”

“That bastard wasn’t your friend, he told me many things.” As we reached the end of the street, he swerved and led us down a different path. Instead of leaping to the nearby building or going downwards, he navigated above a shadowy alleyway.

“Yea, true enough. Still doesn’t answer my question, indulge me. One of us will be dying soon anyway.”

“What makes you think that I’d tell you anything?”

He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. I saw a stack of trash cans up ahead and quickly did the math in my head. “Your little fairy darling, you know it’s because of me she’s here? True story,” the bins passed us by as we kept walking, I was mildly distracted. “I was stationed in the human world off and on for the last ten years. Really put a dab on my relationship. Foul creatures. I actually met her a long time ago, although, shame on me, I didn’t realize. Anyway, long story short I finally found her. Surrounded by Seelie guards, remnants anyway. We killed most of them, lost her. Had to hunt her down by using a Naga. Nasty creatures,” now he actually shivered in disgust. “Somehow, by some means, she actually ended up here of her own accord. It was so convenient, I just couldn’t believe myself.”

“You talk a lot,” the story was boring, and not nearly anything I cared for.

He let out a sigh and hopped down before another bar scene, where I could hear a fight raging inside. He turned to look at me with a calm expression, one that didn’t reveal any emotions. It was probably the most genuine look I had seen on the bastard. “The point is, do you really want her? There is so much baggage. Unseelie wants her dead, Seelie wants her for themselves. I don’t know what either is planning, but being thrust in the mix of it sounds like hell.” He shook his head, banishing whatever emotion had taken hold of him. My hands ached to reach out and grab him, but out location made me think twice.

“Where have you guided me?” I asked.

He gestured towards the door, a dark glint appearing in his eyes. “Come on now, it’s our turn.” A grin spread across his face, revealing his sharp teeth and hinting at a fierce battle to come. I couldn’t resist the urge to smile back, mirroring his expression.

Fuck yea.