Faerie protective servic.., p.1
Faerie Protective Services, page 1
Faerie Protective Services
An Urban Fantasy Thriller
Robert McKinney
McKinney Can't Press
Contents
Title Page
COVER
COPYRIGHT PAGE
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
GRATITUDE
COVER
COPYRIGHT PAGE
Copyright 2020, Robert McKinney
All rights reserved. Published by McKinney Can't Press
This novel is a work of fiction. All characters, places, and incidents described in this publication are used fictitiously, or are entirely fictional.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, except by an authorized retailer, or with written permission of the publisher. Inquiries may be addressed via email to mckinneycantwrite@gmail.com
DEDICATION
For C. We’ll get there, brother.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To mom, who taught me to focus on winning the fight. To dad, who thought that the Iliad was great reading material for nine year old boys. To Jurijus Chitrovas, who provided me with such amazing art for this book. Most of all, to my wife. As always, you are my heart and sky. You kept me standing and helped make this story the best it could be.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
If you like what you see in the pages that follow, then visit our growing community at https://www.patreon.com/mckinneycantwrite . Once there you’ll find short stories, audio dramas, and even the chance to become part of the writing process for my upcoming books!
- mckinney
CHAPTER ONE
My dad liked to tell people that I was in the army. What he didn't know was that while I spent six years in uniform for Uncle Sam, I also spent a few before that in the service of the Erlking - Iron Lord of goblins, half-bloods, and orcs. I’d done a pretty good job of leaving both wars behind me once my service was done - until a green haired disaster showed up my front door.
I was in my office, of course. The same one where I'd spent more than two hours staring at a pile of debt before the stranger barged into my office without so much as a knock.
“How much do you charge to protect people from the fae?” asked the woman once she came to a stop on the other side of my desk.
Her arrival had been a surprise in itself, as I don’t get many walk-ins, but her words were even more of a shock. Talk of fae was something I’d rarely encountered since leaving the Erlking’s service. I hesitated, debating whether dredging up the magical world I’d left behind was smart. But a small part of me was curious, and wanted to see where this was going. And yeah, that pile of debt spoke up a bit too.
My smarter bits, however, got the final say.
“I don’t.” I replied, as I tilted my head to get a better view of the woman over the rim of my glasses.
She was a pretty, small boned Asian woman with a head full of curls dyed forest green. Her clothes lacked the telltale lumps that marked a hidden pistol or knife and not one thing about her jumped out as a threat to me. Not one thing, save for the fact that she was talking about Faerie.
The woman hooked a finger towards the window of my office. I didn’t need to follow the gesture to know I’d find the sign listing Aden Flint’s Protective Services as one of the strip mall’s often short-lived businesses.
“If you don’t mind me saying, that attitude is not very protective, or business like, of you, Mr. Flint.” she said. “And I think that hearing me out will be more than worth your time.”
I frowned at that. Actually, now that I thought about it, I hadn’t seen her approach through my window, which was odd. The strip mall where I’d rented out space for my business had never been busy, and the sight of someone walking across the parking lot, instead of driving up in a car, should have been enough to catch my attention immediately.
That alone would have been enough to set me on edge. Talk of fae would require more than just an edge on my part. It called for caution, and a possible need for sudden violence.
Making sure to keep my motions casual, I slipped my hands away from the surface of my desk. I dipped one towards my waistband, where the cool comfort of a short barreled Glock 19 greeted me from its holster. My other hand went towards the thick tipped Sharpie in my off-the-rack suit’s pockets. The gun might come in handy if the woman pulled out a weapon that I hadn’t clocked. The marker had a small chance of saving my ass if this mystery woman was able to sling something more exotic than a bullet.
“The fae just aren’t worth the trouble, and I’m pretty sure that includes you.” I said. “I’d appreciate it if you leave now.”
“I’m no more fae than you are, Mr. Flint.” said the woman as she took a graceful step closer to my desk.
The forest haired woman was wildly good looking, which in itself was pretty dangerous for a guy like me. My dad always said that the Flint bloodline had a type - beautiful women with a knack for provoking bad decisions. He hadn't been wrong in my case, and I’d seen enough cruelty wrapped in pretty packages while in Faerie to keep my guard up and my trigger finger ready while this woman was close.
“Fullblooded fae or not, I don’t think we’ll be doing any business today.” I shook my head. “Like I said, dealing with them just isn’t worth the headach--.”
“My research says that an armored car like the one you have parked outside and a competent bodyguard such as yourself is worth at least $5,000 for a day’s trouble.” said the forest haired woman, interrupting again.
“That’s a fair price for standard work.” I said. “But I doubt that your research included the true costs of dealing with fae.”
“It didn’t. That’s where your Erlking comes in.” said the forest haired woman. “Five half-bloods, at minimum, are needed to face off with a lone fae warrior without excessive casualties. That’s what his army, your army, says at least.”
I shook off the mention of the Erlking’s tactics, controlling the shock of that simple statement. She’d done her research. Not that it helped her.
“I’m the only one here, so I don’t see how that helps you.” I said, keeping my voice level.
“It doesn't.” she said. “But I’d say it’s a fair start for pricing. If it usually takes five half-bloods to stand against Fae, then that means I should pay you at least five times the going rate for a decent bodyguard.”
I did some math in my head, reran the numbers, then froze.
“Are you really offering me $25,000 per each day’s worth of work?” I asked.
“I only plan on needing your services for one.” she replied. “I’m in a hurry, though, so I’ll throw in double if you can take me, safely, to where I need to be by the end of the night.”
Well, shit, I thought. 50,000 dollars. Less than a quarter of what she was offering would be enough to bring me back into the black - for a while at least.
I could definitely use the money. But was it worth the risk of dealing with the fae?
The land of Faerie was a far cry from sunshine and rainbows. Many of the things that lived there, though alluring, had enough power to shatter a building down to its foundation and even more were twisted enough to consider such a thing fun.
The idea of facing that again brought the word “no” to the tip of my tongue. Before it could come out, though, I looked back down at the pile of printed out bills, past due loan payments, and bank slips on my desk.
Fifty. Thousand. Dollars. I rolled the number around in my head. It wouldn’t be enough to wipe out all of my debt, but it would cover my payments for more than a year.
There were risks in this, that much was sure. But at this price point it just may be worth it, but not definitely. To be sure, there was a not-quite-man that I had to see first.
“I’m tentatively willing to take this job.” I said. “But there are some details to clear up first before we officially start.”
“What kind of details are we talking about?” asked the woman.
“The time sensitive kind. We’ll discuss them on the road.” I said as I rose from my desk and retrieved my keys from a wall hook. “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER TWO
It’s always a good idea to aim for small talk in the first few minutes with a new client. When it went well, the clients adjusted to your presence in their lives a little faster, and smoothed over the rough edges of having to be so close to each other for extended periods of time.
That, and it helped with nerves.
The woman wasn’t much for small talk, unfortunately. Her name was Tatianna “Tati” Bolormaa. First name Russian, second name Mongolian. When I asked her if she preferred visiting either country, she replied with “Steppe is steppe, as far as I’m concerned.”
I took that as a cue to drop the subject and guided my new client towards the parking lot and my not so standard Jeep.
Though not much at first glance, the sand colored vehicle tended to impress clients who liked to keep a low profile and was my lone edge in the crowded bodyguard industry of El Paso, Texas. It was almost as armored as a tank. Both the driver’s and passenger’s side doors had been reinforced with steel, while the remaining surfaces sported enough layers of Kevlar and ceramic trauma plates to stop all but the most dedicated attackers.
The additions had also been subtle enough for the vehicle to blend in with a crowd - which was why I could sometimes charge rates high enough to keep the lights on and gas tank full. Without that Jeep, my business would be dead in the water, as opposed to its current state of limping by on life support.
I opened the passenger side door, and Tati jumped in before slamming the door shut with a clang. I followed suit and scanned the parking lot for anyone paying attention to us.
“Seatbelt.” I said.
“How thrilling.” said Tati. “Is that the detail you wanted to talk about?”
“No ma’am.” I replied. “But it’s where we start if you want us to go anywhere.”
Tati stared at me for a moment with a smirk on her face. The expression looked good on her, but I was a professional and I did my best to pretend that the expression didn’t stir anything more than professional curiosity. An awkward pause followed, but it was one that I could bear so long as it ended with her seatbe--
Click.
That sharp, metallic sound sent a brief pulse of something, maybe fear, through me. Despite a war in both this world and Faerie under my belt, I still got antsy at the start of a new job. I think that the sheer weight of not knowing how well, or how badly, a job could end up is what got to me most.
There are more than a few ways to deal with emotions like that. A shrink would have told me to delve deep into my thoughts until I’d picked out exactly what was putting me on edge. I’d never met a shrink worth listening to, however, so I instead went with something that the Erlking taught as gospel for his recruits.
You can’t control the world, but you can shape what you touch. Anything in arm’s reach is a chance to exert your will, and if you’re skilled, or just lucky, you can bend a little of the world in your favor.
There was no way of knowing what the rest of the day had in store for me, but I did have enough experience to know when the worst case scenario for a job like this would likely go south.
Rule number one for anyone who’s ever been shot at is to “get off the X.” At least 30 minutes had passed since Tati barged into my office. That was plenty of time for a skilled opponent to track her down and put some lookouts in place. I didn’t know who, or what, was after her yet so the last thing that I wanted was to start off this job with unseen observers in tow. I figured that the best way to put any nearby spies on the back foot was to get out of here, and off the X, as fast as possible.
I stomped on the gas and peeled out of the parking lot, leaving a trail of burnt rubber in my wake. Anyone who wanted to follow would have to do so fast enough to reveal themselves in the process.
Unfortunately for Tati, the shock absorbers for jeeps are built to climb rocks, not provide a smooth ride. Every pothole that we blitzed over was transmitted straight to the passengers, and while I was familiar enough with the ride to avoid getting thrown around, Tati bounced into the door frame on more than one occasion.
I don’t think she liked it.
“Is this supposed to make me feel safe?” asked Tati as we rolled over a crack in the roadway deep enough to shake us down to our bones.
“Safe is relative, ma’am.” I said. ”If you’re running from the fae then our best bet is to flush them out as soon as we’re able.”
“There’s no ‘they.’” said Tati. “The one I’m worried about liked to take care of dirty work herself.”
“Any chance I’ve heard of her?” I asked as I skidded around a corner, jumped on the highway, and started making my way towards the center of town. Though Tati didn’t know it, one of those details that we needed to discuss found its endpoint at a tower in the midst of downtown El Paso. Without going there, our day would be over before it had even begun.
“I doubt it.” replied Tati. “Her court’s small, and she rarely makes trouble outside of her own borders.”
“If she owns a Faerie court, then I’ve definitely heard of her.” I said as I finally slowed down to the speed limit and settled into the fast lane heading east on I-10. “I was a scout in the Erlking’s army. We had profiles on every lord of Faerie.”
“I know.” said Tati. “Believe it or not, you’ve got a reputation of sorts. It’s how I knew to look for you once I realized that I needed a guard.”
“Which brings us back to the first question.” I said, setting aside the urge to dig into just who told her about me for another time. Knowing exactly who and what we were facing took priority.
“What’s the fae’s name?”
“This one’s name is Chal.” replied Tati. “The Lady Chal of the River, Storm, and Sea, if you want to be formal.”
I raised an eyebrow and resisted the urge to whistle at that. The Lady Chal was no joke when it came to the fae. She was a lord of Faerie - a being so powerful that her mere presence in a location changed the landscape around her. I’m not just talking about shifts in rainfall, or a sudden wave of freshly grown daisies either. When lords of Faerie came to play, they dragged mountains, rivers, or swamps for dozens of miles in their wake. Even if her court was small, like Tati said, she wielded formidable power.
Unlike most fae, lords of Faerie tended to stay still and mind their own business. Though no one I knew was exactly sure why, I figured that doing so was a good way to keep from interfering with the lands of near peers and rivals. That alone made sense to me. I had neighbors who shat bricks every time a dog peed in their front yard. Imagine how angry they’d be if the couple from down the street carried a whole biome with them every time they came over for gossip and tea.
I shook my head and merged into a slower moving lane before my distraction got us both spread across the highway. If my client was running from the Lady Chal, then whatever she’d gotten herself into was above my pay grade. My first instinct was right. I definitely needed to get eyes on this job before fully committing.
We cruised along the highway until the lopsided skyline of downtown El Paso, Texas established itself over the horizon. I saw Tati tense up as the skyscrapers came into view, which was about what I’d expected to happen. If she’d been in the area for any length of time, she’d have a good idea of just what approaching those buildings meant.
“I think now’s as good a time as any to talk about the rest of those details I’d mentioned.” I said.
“You’re taking me to your Erlking.” replied Tati, her voice cold.
“You’re half right.” I said. “I’m taking myself to see the Erlking. You can come with or wait in the Jeep.”
“Your Erlking is in Faerie. You know, the place where The Lady Chal lives?” she said. “That’s pretty far from where I want to be.”
I shrugged beside Tati absentmindedly. Something about the traffic around me was putting me on edge, so I glanced into my rear view mirror to check my surroundings. There was enough construction along the highway to close off several exits, and I saw more than a few cars start to merge into exit lanes before abruptly swerving back to their original spaces once they realized that they’d have to take a detour. I didn’t know how far along the nearest exit would be, which could be a problem if things became stressful on the road.
I also knew that paranoia was the constant companion of anyone who’d been in as many Faerie and fire fights as myself. Just because your gut was freaking out didn't mean that it was right.
I turned my attention back to Tati.
“Funny how that works.” I said. “But here’s the thing. Lady Chal is not currently at war with the Erlking. If I’m going to protect you, and maybe come to blows with the Lady in the process, I need to let the Erlking know first.”
“Couldn't you call him?” she asked. “Or send an email?”
