Once Upon a Book (open)

[Mercedes Worthington]

It was foggy as Mercedes made her way down the streets of Old-Dublin. Her boots clicked on the broken cobblestone of what was left of what used to be a busy street. It was too early for the gutsy tourists to be out here. It wasn’t really that safe. There were touring groups here and there, but even them were protected with armed escorts. Dublin wasn’t the same as it had been so many decades ago.

Mercedes let out her breath before moving forward. Her eyes flickered right and left as she kept moving. She didn’t want to come across a rogue Fae or any other supernatural being. Ever since the war had started, Fae were out for blood as it seemed. Mercedes had seen so much blood already when it came to helping out at her mother’s clinic.

A soft ping caught her attention and she glanced down at her phone. She flipped it open to see that it was a message from her mother warning her to be careful. She couldn’t help but smirk, before sliding her phone back into her pocket. “Yes, Mother,” she whispered to herself, as she kept on walking. “I will do so.”

Mercedes kept on going. Her eyes drifted to houses and little shops that used to be busling with people. She stopped in front of a shop that looked to have housed books. A battered cover of a book caught her attention. She glanced around her before moving inside, through the broken window. She hunched down next to the book to see that it was a book about dragons. A faint smile crossed her face, as she gently picked it up. She shook the dirt off of it taking care to make sure to harm the book.

“Beware of Dragons,” she read out loud. She then chuckled as she got to her feet. She slowly began to flip through the book only to stop herself when she noticed another shadow floating past her.

[Conan Argenkye]

Wise men wonder while strong men die...

Conan rummaged through the piles of books. He would grab a book and if it resembled in the slightest what he was searching for, he would open it up, scan a couple of pages before throwing to a side. Other books, the newer ones, he simply cast to another side without bothering to open them.

The book he was searching for was very old. Almost ancient. Rumors told that a wise Fae that had roamed Earth for centuries had written down on that book all the passages imaginable that lead from Earth to Faerie. Rumors also said that it contained songs of old, now forgotten to Faes and an atlas of every beast in Faerie. Simply it was a very detailed atlas.

Conan wasn't interested much in the songs, but of the passages and beasts. If what the book contained was true, the knowledge could be used to block those passages and destroy the beasts that had crossed over.

There was a reason that everything seemed to spin around Dublin. His kind had made the first contact with humans in this very place, there was some deep rooted connection with Ireland and Faes. Conan wasn't very old, so he didn't know the exact nature of this connection. He had never been in good terms with the court to ask, nor interested. But here he was now, trying to put the pieces together. He was an ex-general, and even though he had broken all the bonds he had with his world, he wouldn't let this one pay the price of his people's mistakes.

So consumed was Conan in his search that he didn't notice the new presences until he heard the glass. Someone was entering through the window. And there was a darker presence lurking in the shadows.

Conan slowly stood up and started walking in the direction of the window. Carefully, he hid behind a book shelf, the closest one to the window. He saw that he wasn't the only one hiding. Fast and silent it passes, but it was enough to alert him. A Shade.

The beast had been hiding in the darkest corners of the shop, waiting for the time to attack. At the entrance of the human, the Shade was automatically drawn to it.

Conan saw the woman, calculated how close he was to her and how fast he could get to her before the shadow did. There's wasn't much time to think though, because the beast positioned itself to leap´. Conan reacted immediately. He launched himself at the woman, pulled her down to the floor, protecting her with his body. He stretched out his arm to the beast and sung of fire.

Flames twirled around his arm and shot at the shadow. There was a scream. Without loosing that window of opportunity, Conan grabbed the girl and thrust both of them through the broken window.

They landed roughly to the ground, but he had wrapped his arms around her, making sure that she didn't receive the worst of the impact.

He stood up, ignoring the cuts of glass on his body and the scratched on his forearm of claws. He pulled the girl to a sitting position before facing the shop. He sung again, and the flames were quenched.

He sighed. Hopefully no important books had been burned. Remembering the girl he looked at her. "Are you hurt?" he asked, kneeling down.

[Mercedes Worthington]

One minute Mercedes was getting ready to leave, the next all heck broke loose around her. She had been right about there being something following her. She hadn’t really done her homework either, checking to make sure that the bookstore had been empty when she had gone in there, or she would have seen the other person.

The next thing she knew, she was knocked to the floor and covered by someone, male by the scent of him. It didn’t matter how often a guy showers, they tend to always smell manly by some means. She watched as he created fire out of mid air. She bit down on her bottom lip to keep from screaming. She didn’t have to be a complete fool to know what he was. Now all she had to do was to figure out for what side he played for.

The beast howled in pain as the fire engulfed it, a sound that would make most ears bleed. Mercedes shut her eyes, doing her best to keep out the screeches. Her shifter senses were kicking into over drive making the sound louder than it should be. Her savior ushered her outside and protected her from the fall. Mercedes was slightly taken back by the gesture. Not many humans would do such a thing, let alone a Fae.

Mercedes took a moment to collect herself as he put out the fire. She spotted her book not that far from them, a bit singed now than it was. She frowned as she picked it up. Good books were a hard find now. When the big technology boom hit, hard cover books were thought to be a thing of the past, and soon became relics. If you didn’t have a nook, then you just didn’t read anymore. Even the major papers went digitial towards the end, only to come back when the demand was high for paper.

“Are you okay? a soft voiced asked, causing Mercedes to glance back at her savior. A faint smile crossed her face, as she nodded. “Yes,” she started only to stutter. She stopped herself short for a moment to collect her racing thoughts. “I’m fine, thank you.” She slowly got to her feet, brushing off her clothes as she went. “What was that thing? It wasn’t like anything I’ve ever seen before, and believe me I’ve seen a few odd things.” She started to put her book into her satchel when she glanced over at him. “I take it that you read as well?”

[Conan Argenkye]

"That --" he glanced back at the store. The beast was nowhere in sight, so he let his shoulders loosen up. "--was a Shade. They are beasts that live in shadows and fear light. This one probably got trapped in the shop last night," he answered. He found it odd that a human wouldn't know of their existence; Shades were practically the ones responsible for killing sprees, even more than Dark Faes. Conan didn't think that their existence had been ushered up by the government, every soldier in his unit knew of those creatures. Soldiers cowered at the thought of having to do rounds at night, afraid that the shadows would consume them.

“I take it that you read as well?”

Conan chuckled as he removed his jacket. The lower part of the right sleeve was shredded, from where the claws of the Shade had dug in. "I do," he said, looking back at her. "Although, you picked quite a strange place to read in. Next time carry a flashlight, it can save your life."

He rolled up his right sleeve, uncovering two gashes on his arm. Healing songs were not his forte. They didn't even make it to the top ten. This was stupid of his part, considering that he dedicated his life to being in wars, so he always managed a simple song to help him survive until professional help arrived. Placing his palm on the wounds, he mumbled a small song. It stopped the bleeding, but besides that, the wounds remained the same. Open and raw.


“Are you sure you’re not hurt?” he asked again. He wanted to make sure; after all he had literally pushed her out a window. “Even if you’re just sore, I can ease the pain until you have someone take a look at it.”


Unfortunately, he would have to postpone his search until nightfall, or the next day. The Shade wouldn’t stay in the place for long, they preferred sewers, alleys or large abandoned buildings to pass the daytime.

[Mercedes Worthington]

Mercedes shot her helper a look. “That was a shade,” he muttered, causing her to look around. She hadn’t had come across them before, but then again, she was rather still young when it came to the others out there. There were some who are called babies who are over 100 years old. Her eyes drifted around.

Mercedes couldn’t help but smirk at the comment he made about her picking the best place to find a book. She then shrugged, picking at the worn edges of her sleeves. “I’m not a digital reader,” she muttered, shooting him a glance. “There aren’t that many places out there anymore that you can find decent hard-cover books. Plus no one really lurks here anymore, so it’s usually nice and quiet.”

The tiny hair on her arms rose the moment she sensed magic in the air. She watched as he began to hum a simple song. From the sound of it, it had a sense of magic behind it. She knew of those who sung songs to cure all their illnesses. It was a really neat trick, if you knew how, but Mercedes never had the time or the desire to learn. Her mother was always around and her medicine seemed better than any simple idiot song sung.

“Are you sure you’re not hurt?” At that, she glanced up at him. He was a pure gentleman if that. She shot a glance down at herself and frowned. Her pants were torn and dirty, but other than that she was okay. Her pride had been what’s hurt the most. “I’m okay,” she started. “Ease my pain? How so?” She shot him a concerned look. “Are you a medic of some sort?”

Mercedes took a breath before brushing her dirty hands over her coat, and offered him her hand. “Where are my manners, my mother did do her best to teach me some manners. Mercedes Worthington, and thank you for helping me out back there. I know I should be more careful out here, but a little adventure now and then isn’t so bad for you.”