Chapter 1
I was just finishing orchestra practice and headed home. It was nine ish, and I quickened my pace. I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was following me. I glanced around, but saw no one. My name is Setha. I’m eighteen and I play the violin for the Crashing Orchestra. I have long dark hair, brown eyes, and am pretty.
“Excuse me, Miss?” A polite male voice spoke from behind me. I stopped walking and turned around. A tall, slim man dressed in a dark suit walked briskly towards me. “Do you have the time?”
I glanced at my cell. “I’s ten minutes after nine,” I replied. He had a pale bluish color on his skin. “Blue skin?”
“You can see through my glamour?” He asked, astonished. “Are you an Enchanted Hunter?”
“A what?” I asked. “No.”
“Then how the hell can you see through my glamour, girl?” His voice changed. I turned and tried to run, but he grabbed me by the wrist.
“Let me go!” I spat, as I tried to wiggle my wrist out of his powerful grip.
“I must feed off you, human!” he growled.
“You heard the lady,” an unfamiliar male voice spoke from my right. “Let her go if you want to live.”
“Mind your damn business, Eternal Hunter!” the man who held me spat.
“Protecting the mundane from you filthy fae is my business, your vile creature.” the guy pulled out a dagger and stabbed the man who held me in the neck. The guy screamed silently as dark blue blood oozed out of his wound. He faded away and was gone. I stood frozen in shock at what I had just witnessed. “Are you alright Miss?”
“Y-you just killed that guy!” I stammered as I drug my eyes to the slain man’s body that was no longer there.
“That was no mere mortal,” he spoke casually. “He was a fae.”
“Fae?” I scoffed. “As in mystical creatures?”
“Exactly,” he nodded curtly. “I hunt and kill them for a living.”
“This is insane,” I spoke as I started walking away from him. “I am so outta here.”
“He was going to feed off your blood,” the guy spoke as he trotted beside me. “I just saved your life.”
“Thanks,” I spoke. “You can go away now.”
“Hold up,” he spoke as he grabbed my wrist. He turned my palm face up and sliced it open with the blade. “Just checking to make sure you aren’t a fae, so I didn’t have to kill you, too.”
“What the fuck?” I hissed through my teeth as I snatched my hand back to my side. I glance down and saw dark red blood oozing out of my wound. It throbbed like hell. “I need this hand to play my violin, you jerk!”
“You are human,” he exclaimed in surprise. “Come with me and I’ll stich it up for you.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I shook my head. “I don’t even know who the hell you are, dude!”
“My name is Avan Urbex,” he spoke. “And you are?”
“Setha,” I spoke cautiously. “Setha Everild.”
“Badass name for a badass girl,” he smirked. “I promise I won’t hurt you, Setha.”
“I’ll kick your ass if you try anything, Avan,” I spoke. When he caught me, I suddenly felt unwell and fell. “I don’t feel right.”
“The fae placed a spell on you.” he paused. “I’ll take care of you, Setha,” Avan spoke. “I promise.”
That was the last thing I remember as I blacked out into total darkness.
***
My eyes shot open as sunlight shined on my face. I slowly sat up and took in my surroundings. I was laying in my bed at my aunt’s house. But how did I get here? The previous night’s events were not on my mind. I felt throbbing in my left hand. I looked at it. Someone had bandaged it up in tan tape. I frowned as images of Avan came flooding back to me.
Then I remembered the fae he had killed. I would have chucked it up to a dream, except I sliced my hand. After getting up, I wore a black sleeveless shirt, black jeans, and tennis shoes. After brushing out my hair, I put on my anti-per spirant. I walked out of my room and trotted down the steps. I walked through the living room and into the kitchen, where I found my aunt cooking breakfast.
“Morning sleepyhead,” she spoke over her shoulder. “You slept in today.”
“Um,” I started. “How did I get here last night?”
“Your friend Avan brought you home,” she chuckled to herself. “He is quite a handsome young man, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, sure,” I spoke slowly. A feeling of dread suddenly overcame me. Something wasn’t right. I felt the pit of doom in my stomach. Like the night of my brother’s incident. “Is everything okay, Aunt Maggy?”
She turned the other burners up full blast. There were no pans over them, so I wondered what she was doing.
“Where are you hiding it, dear?” she asked in a scary, calm voice as she turned to face me. Her eyes had changed to a glowing blue color. Her skin shimmered blue like the guy who attacked me last night. She was a fae.
“Hiding what Aunt Maggie?” I asked as I slowly backed out of the kitchen.
“You know,” she spoke as she walked slowly towards me. She picked up a knife from the counter and held it out in front of her. “The ancient relic,” she went on. “We know you have it, and we want it back.”
“I have nothing, I swear,” I spoke as my back hit the black recliner chair. “Please, Aunt Maggy, stop this.” She grabbed the knife towards my abdomen, and I rolled out of the way. She ripped the back of the seat, slicing it wide open. Just then, the door burst open and Avan stood in the doorway, looking at me.
“Setha run!” he shouted. I took off running upstairs. I ran into my bedroom and slammed the door behind me. As they kicked the door in, I ran over to my violin case and picked it up. It fell on the plush purple carpet.
My Aunt Maggy stood there with a sinister grin on her face as she starred me down. “Time to die Setha!”
“Who do you work for, fay?” Avan asked as he held my aunt in a tight headlock.
“The royals of the Fae Kingdom,” she growled. “This girl knows the location of the Ancient Relic!”
“You do?” Avan asked, arching an elegant eyebrow at me with curiosity in his eyes.
“No?!” I yelled. “I don’t even know what the hell the relic even is!”
Avan pulled out his blade and stabbed Aunt Maggie in the neck. “She was a fae pretending to be your aunt,” he spoke as her body denigrated. “Most likely she has already killed your aunt and took over her lifestyle to get to you, Setha.”
“Why me?” I asked in shock. “Why do the fae want me dead?”
“They think you know the whereabouts of the ancient artifact,” Avan shrugged. “Let’s get you outta here.”
“Where am I going to go?” I asked.
“You’re going to be staying with me,” Avan spoke. “I’m training you to become a Mystic Hunter.”
