When We Were Still Human Vaughn Foster (the kiss of deception read online .txt) đ
- Author: Vaughn Foster
Book online «When We Were Still Human Vaughn Foster (the kiss of deception read online .txt) đ». Author Vaughn Foster
âOur parents ere inâational herb traders, so weâve come ta Ys eâry few months,â the girl continued. She didnât change like her brothers, but her pupils dilated to narrow, lizard-like slits. âWe normally onât come untiil August, but mum wanted to see theââ
âIce sculptures!â the blond boy interjected with a jab to her ribs.
Avia narrowed her eyes and looked up to Paris. The Celestial only smiled. âThey are beautiful. Oh! Have you three been to that candy shop down the street?â
All three of them lit up as they turned their heads to the flashing yellow sign. âThe moon sand and peppermint toffee is the best!â the girl exclaimed.
âNuh-uh,â the freckled boy argued, crossing his arms. âYeu hav to go for ta chocolate peanut butter tarantula legs!â
Paris turned to the blond boy whoâd been relatively quiet. âWhat do you like?â she asked.
He looked down and shrugged. âI onât know... Anything gummy and sour, really. Like candies in the Western Kingdom that are shaped like worms.â
âHeâs so mundane!â the girl giggled, slapping him on the back.
âHey, I like gummy sour candy,â Castor boomed. Before any of the kids could prepare themselves, Paris was gone and her massive brother loomed over them. âI donât think weâre boring. Eh, Avia?â
Avia stood to her feet and brushed herself off. âYeah, sure.â She was shocked at how casual they could be at a time like this. They needed to interrogate these kids, not make friends. She took a step towards them, but a massive hand clapped back on her shoulder.
âWhoa! Iâve never seen a mirage li yeu, sir,â the girl said in awe. They all tilted their heads back to take him in. It looked like they were trying to follow the map of stars across his body.
Good luck with that, Avia thought. Sheâd already tried and failed several times herself.
âIâm a special build,â he chuckled. âNow you guys run along. Iâm going to make sure my friend didnât hurt her knee when she fell.â
With a quick wave, the kids disappeared down the street and into the candy shop. When they were out of sight, Castor removed his hand and leaned against the building nearest to them.
âWhat the hell was that?!â Avia hissed, violently motioning towards the store.
âWhat were you going to do, Avia?â Castor asked with a mocking raise of his brow. âBurn three small children alive in the middle of a crowded street? They were, what, ten? Twelve?â
Avia opened her mouth to retort but stopped. She hadnât really thought through what she wouldâve done when they caught the kids. Castor was right, even aside from their age there were too many witnesses.
âOkay, fine,â she huffed, throwing up her hands. âMaybe I didnât think it through.â She ignored his satisfied smirk. âBut you heard them. Somethingâs going on. Tonight. And now we have no leads. We canât leave until we find the grimoire, and I donât know about you two, but I donât want to be in this icebox any longer than I have to. Now, whether youâre coming with me or not, Iâm marching into that store andââ
âAvia,â Castor sighed, reaching for her arm. Avia side stepped out of his grasp and sent a wave of fire to his face with the back of her hand. A passing couple slowed and stared, but quickly sped away as Avia shot them a cold glare.
âYouâre making a scene!â Paris whispered. Castorâs eyes darted both ways across the street. Avia looked around to see several shoppers quickly avert their gaze. They continued on like they hadnât seen the confrontation.
âDiplomacy,â said Castor. âWe canât go starting chaos every time we need information. Besides, we already know where theyâre going.â
The red that had been creeping into Aviaâs vision faded. Her arms fell to her side. âWe do?â
âThey dropped this.â Castor held out a flyer. Avia took the paper and wrinkled her nose.
Circ DâUndead!
576th Annual Celebration- With special guests,
Freyr and Freya!
Citizens Only
Beneath the text was a picture of a stout Selkie man with a thick, curled mustache. Above him were two acrobats on a tightrope. They each had long, pale-blond hair braided down their back. As Avia compared their near-identical build and facial features, she became positive they were related. She just couldnât tell what they were. They looked human, but their bodies were grey and⊠rotted? Bone could be seen around the womanâs left eye. Freya, she assumed. The skin on her brother, Freyrâs, right arm was practically gone.
âThe Norse Twins,â Castor spoke, breaking Aviaâs concentration. âThey went missing several centuries ago. The sempiternusâzombieâ appearance is new, but thatâs them.â
âThey were a part of the Vanir,â Paris continued. âGods of fertility and wisdom with the ability to see into the future. After the Accords, Freya and Freyr stepped down from the godhead and served the Northern Queen. Freya governed the Light Elves in Ălfheimr and Freyr ruled the Dark Elves under the earth.
Castor took the flyer from Aviaâs hand and stared at the grotesque fae rulers. âOn the day of the current Northern Kingâs ascension, there was an attack. Human hunters invaded one of the enchanted forests, and the twins were the first to respond.â
The Mark on Aviaâs arm flared to life, and she was taken into a vision. Hunters tore through the forest on horseback, each wielding a glowing scythe-like weapon. One by one, each of the fae met a gruesome death. Satyrs were de-hoofed. Centaurs split down the middle. Then the fairies. Before they could scream, the scythes dug into their backs and rooted out their wings. The then-mortal fae were left to bleed outâ if they werenât trampled underfoot.
The vision hurled Avia back to the icy walkway. She clenched her fists in an effort to control the fire, but the skin around her eyes started to crack. Flames swam beneath
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