Blood Dust

~Seth~

There were certain phrases I was accustomed to hearing. Words I had heard too many times to count, and yet continued to go in one ear and straight out the other.

‘You went too far!’

‘You’re out of hand!’

‘You’re too violent!’

‘What the hell is the matter with you?’

There was a list that went on and on, but none of these words ever got through to me. None of them made me stop and rethink my choices.

Being a fury, my temper was already bound to be short and brutal, but considering how the last few years of my life had turned out, the phrase ‘hot-headed’ was an understatement at best.

I was perpetually enraged, furious, and annoyed with every little thing. The smallest of things made me tick, but unlike a bomb, I had no countdown before I exploded.

To go along with a set of phrases I was used to, there was also a situation and setup I had grown acclimated to over the years.

Being handcuffed by enchanted restraints in the police station interrogation room was one of those.

I had already spent a fair amount of time in a homey cell and had been moved to the interrogation room a few minutes ago, waiting for an officer to come in and tell me just how bad the situation was.

Before that, though, they would play the waiting game with me. Leave me chained to the metal table for an hour or so while they watched me to see what I would do. Their hope was to sweat me out and get me to break down into a nervous mess. It would make their job easier if I was scared. I would be more compliant if I was fearful.

Too bad for them, I was accustomed to this.

Over the years, I had used many retaliation tactics.

One time I had sat there without saying a word, even when they entered and began talking to me. Another time, I'd just started laughing hysterically and was so uncontrollable they'd believed me to be insane.

But my absolute favorite one was the smile.

I would just sit there and grin, being as agreeable and polite as I could be, answering all their questions with sincere bullshit and manners they could do absolutely nothing about.

Today, though, I would not be using any of those.

Today had been eventful, draining, and long.

Naturally, I did what anyone would do after a long day. I yawned, stretched, got comfortable, and took a nap. I was tired, and if they were going to make me wait an hour for them, I might as well use it wisely.

Just as I closed my eyes, the heavy padlock door opened and in stepped the officer. I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of thinking they disturbed me. I could hear heavy footsteps, male by the sound of the scuffing against the floor.

The chair screeched as it was pulled back, and there was a slap as he threw something on the table. From the sound of it, it was papers, and a lot of them.

It was probably my file, my track record growing with each city I was kicked out of.

The officer sat down and flipped open my file, but still, I did not open my eyes. He paged through the manila folder, flipping through sheet after sheet of official city documents with the bright red stamp BANISHED boldly stamped across them.

This city was sure to have another set of documents ready to add to my impressive collection.

“So, boy,” a gravelly voice cut through the air, “you’ve gotten yourself into quite the mess.”

If he expected a reply, he didn’t show it as he continued on when I didn’t answer.

"To make a bad situation worse, that wasn’t any fae you sent to the hospital. That was the High Being’s little brother, Nathaniel Blackwing.”

Again, there was a pause, giving me space to answer if I so wished.

I didn’t.

There was a tap on the table. “You don’t look surprised to hear that.”

I wasn’t. I had known who he was long before I'd turned him into a punching bag for my bad temper.

"I think you ought to be more concerned about your situation here, Seth." The officer said. "As you well know by now, the High Being makes the final call on your allowance to stay. Right now, your odds aren’t looking so good.”

I couldn’t help the snort that escaped.

Did he think I cared? This was just one more for the books. It didn’t matter to me if I stayed or left.

“You think this is funny?” the officer quipped. His voice was cool and clipped, and I could tell he was starting to lose his patience. “Banishment is no small issue. You can’t step foot in any of these cities ever again. You’re lucky you’ve started from one end and worked your way to the other, because otherwise traveling between cities would be a bitch considering the number you have been exiled from.”

“I’m touched you’re concerned about my traveling plans,” I murmured dryly, deigning to crack one eye open to catch a glimpse of the officer before shutting it again when I found him less than impressive.

He was middle-aged in his looks, which didn’t mean a whole lot in the supernatural world.

For all I knew, he was the same age as me or perhaps even younger, or older. Every person was different regarding the age they remained. I’d seen some as young as twelve and others as old as seventy.

Luckily for me, I wasn't stuck at a drastically young or old age. Unluckily for me, I was on the younger end. I had remained right around twenty years old, hence being called ‘boy’ often despite the fact I was more than double that age.

A supernatural’s lifespan was another hard thing to measure, as it varied from race to race. Humans had the shortest lifespan, along with the sprites. Elves and dryads had the longest lifespan, usually averaging around three hundred years old. As for my race, the furies, a more violent subtype of the harpies, we averaged around two hundred years, like most of the other races.

The officer decided to ignore my comment and proceeded with his agenda. “According to your record, most of the incidents resulting in your...” he tapped the table twice with his finger as he glanced down at the forms. “...Removal,” he looked back up at me to see my lips pulled tight in a mocking smile, “Occurred at university campuses. My question is, why do you continue to attend even though it’s a high-risk situation for you?”

College for supernaturals was extremely different from what it was for humans. Humans took it very seriously, dedicating their time and effort to one field to be able to learn and master it. It made sense considering their whole life revolved around their honed and specialized skill. But for supernaturals who had long lifespans, dedicating so much time and effort to one thing got boring very quickly.

We were faster learners than humans, already specialized in things from birth. The Elves picked up languages quickly and were the most agile creatures on the planet. Mermaids had great people skills and could charm the socks off of anything. Vampires were sharks, unequaled in the business world.

So far behind, the humans had no choice but to stay focused and dedicated to one task. University, for them, was a learning experience.

For supernaturals, university was a social situation. We attended classes to learn new things, but at our advanced rate, it took little to no effort on our side. Supernaturals went for the clubs and friendships.

“What else am I supposed to do?” I shrugged. “I’m not going to waste my whole life working like those humans.”

“At least working might keep you out of trouble.”

“I don’t care if I get in trouble. So what if another High Being wants to banish me? At least I got to have my fun and beat the crap out of one of their citizens first.”

The officer grimaced. “I don’t think you understand the severity of this situation, Seth,” he ground out my name. “The High Being holds your way of life in his hands. One word from him and–”

My eyes snapped completely open, and I pushed forward until my chest pressed against the edge of the metal table as I leaned over.

“My way of life has nothing to do with this city or your High Being. This is just one more city like all the rest. Getting banished from one more doesn’t change a fucking thing for me.”

The officer glared back at me through narrowed eyes. “Banishing you has more consequences than you realize.

I rolled my eyes. “He can go on and do it then. See if I fucking care. There are more cities out there.”

The officer examined me, his eyes squinting as he tried to figure me out. After an intense moment of silence, he leaned forward and laced his fingers together, bringing his hands to rest on the top of the cool metal.

“How many cities do you think you’ve been banished from?”

His blank face gave away nothing. I couldn’t even get a hint as to why he was asking me this question.

“I don’t know, maybe twenty-five?” I ventured.

The officer didn’t even blink. “No, Seth. Twenty-five is not even close.”

Saying nothing more after that, I made another guess. “Thirty-five?”

“Sixty-three,” he corrected me flatly. “You’ve been banished from sixty-three cities.”

I frowned, opening my mouth to argue that those stats had to be wrong, but he pressed on. “Some you didn’t even manage to last more than a week before getting booted out.”

Well, that would explain why I didn’t remember most of those cities. Oh well, they were probably trash anyway. If I had only lasted a week, there must have been a lot of ‘Nath Blackwings’ there to press my buttons.

Shrugging, I sat back into the metal folding chair, tipping it back so it was only on two legs.

“Sixty-three, sixty-four, what’s one more?” I drawled. “As I’ve said before, there are other places out there for me.”

“Here’s the thing, buddy,” the officer sneered.

My eyes narrowed at the nickname and condescending tone.

"There isn’t," he said. "This is the last city that permits supernaturals. The only ones left are human-only cities.”

My chair hit the ground with a loud tink! and I straightened.

“What?”

The older-looking male looked me dead in the eyes and repeated, “This is your last city that permits supernaturals. The only ones left are human-only cities.”

I felt the blood drain from my face.

My last city? This was it?

“I see it’s finally sinking in,” the officer said, and I looked at him with wide eyes. “That’s right. This is it for you, which means if the High Being walks in here and stamps one more red banishment mark on your file, you’re done for. You’ll be humanized and sent to live in the human cities.”

My heart thundered in my chest, rising into my throat.

Humanized.

The word echoed through me.

They would inject me with a DNA alteration that would change my genetic makeup and strip me of any and all supernatural attributes, rendering me completely human.

I wouldn’t be a fury anymore.

I wouldn’t be anything.

I’d be just another human.

A loud buzzing jolted me from my spiraling thoughts. The officer pulled his phone from his pocket, staring at me as he listened before muttering a yes and ending the call.

“Speaking of the High Being, Pierce Blackwing has just arrived, and he’s on a warpath.”