Dawning

DAWNING

An Urban
Fantasy

By

Vivi Anna

Smashwords
Edition
Copyright 2011 Vivi Anna

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Chapter
One

Dashrael
bristled at the summons as he strode the long hall of Nightfall
Castle. To think that Chancellor O’runa could call him at a
moment’s notice without regard for time or manner. Dashrael may be
of service but he was in no way a servant. Not to any creature in
the realm, especially not a pompous high fae who thought himself
better than the mer folk.

As he walked,
his bare webbed feet slapped wetly against the gleaming black
tiles. He didn’t care if he left watery footprints all over the
pristine castle floors. It was a small reward for his unexpected
summons. Dashrael failed to dry off when he’d emerged from the tide
pool in the center court. His long white hair and clothes dripped
with lake water. Let the chancellor explain when the brownie maids
screamed to the overseer about the mess.

When he reached
the set of ornate black doors, he opened them without knocking and
strode in. Tom, O’runa’s loyal brownie servant, rushed to his
side.

“Lord Dashrael,
may I offer you something to drink? Tea perhaps?”

“No, nothing,
thank you, Tom.”

The brownie
bowed low before him, his curly dark hair nearly skimming the
floor. Then he rose and left the room, shutting the double doors
behind him.

Dashrael
scanned the large drawn room to find O’runa in the far corner
speaking into the enchanted mirror hanging on the wall. As Dashrael
approached, the high fae touched the glamoured surface to end the
call and protect to whom he was speaking. It appeared that the
chancellor didn’t enjoy being summoned either.

O’runa turned
to greet him, a saccharine smile on his thin pale face. “Dashrael,
good of you to come.” He took in the water dripping onto the floor
at Dashrael’s bare feet. “And so quickly.”

“Was there a
choice?” He couldn’t keep the disdain from his voice.

“There’s always
a choice.” The chancellor gestured to the nearby settee. “Please
sit.”

“Are you sure?
I may ruin the fabric.”

“Nonsense.
We’ll have it recovered if it came to that.”

Although
miffed, Dashrael sat. The chancellor settled in on the other side,
prim and proper, careful not to get his tunic too close to the
water stain Dashrael was already making on the silk fabric.

“So why have
you summoned me?”

“I have a
mission for you.” More the chancellor spoke, more that Dashrael
could smell the lavender and herbs he always ingested. He stank
like a flowering plant, and not the delectable ones that Dashrael
often dined on. It was one of the many things about O’runa that
bothered the merman. That and the nasally whine of his cultured
voice. It grated on Dashrael’s scales.

“Yes, that much
I gathered.”

“It is of the
utmost importance and requires discretion and complete
secrecy.”

Despite the
abysmal messenger, Dashrael was intrigued. “I’m listening.”

“No one may
know and you must leave the realm immediately after our
conversation.”

“But my…”

“Immediately.”
He steepled his long bony fingers. “Do you accept these terms?”

“What is my
payment?”

“Ten thousand
gold pieces and the good favour of the overseer himself.”

Dashrael lifted
one white eyebrow. “This is a mission for Lord Wolfstriker?”

O’runa
nodded.

“Then I accept
the terms.”

To be in the
favour of the overseer would be a boon for Dashrael. For a century
he’d been doing the dirty work for the high fae but not once had he
been able to impress the most important fae in Nightfall, Lord
A’ralurn Wolfstriker. Now was his chance to gain some status for
himself and his mate Sunarael. Maybe at the next solstice ball they
would be able to celebrate inside the castle walls instead of at
the town square with all the other commoners of the realm.

The chancellor
grinned. “I’m glad to hear this.” He handed Dashrael a thin,
rectangular, black leather case, no bigger than his palm.

Dashrael opened
it to see a simple mirror inside. But he knew nothing was simple in
Nightfall. The glass was enchanted and acted like a communication
device.

“You will get
all the information you need once you are in the mortal realm.”

“I have to go
to the human city?”

O’runa nodded.
“Yes, what needs to be found is in the city.” The chancellor stood,
ending their meeting.

Cupping the
case in his hand, Dashrael stood as well. “I won’t fail this
mission.”

The chancellor
grinned. It possessed no warmth. “Oh, I know you won’t.” Before
Dashrael could read into that statement, O’runa continued. “You are
one of Nightfall’s best trackers. You take the missions all others
fail at. We are counting on that.”

Dashrael bowed
his head and made his leave. The thrill of the hunt making each
step determined. He was the best for a reason. Discreet, loyal, and
fierce. The qualities of someone who was determined to make a name
for himself. And he would not fail, no matter the
circumstances.

Chapter
Two

It was raining
when Dashrael walked out of the ocean and onto the deserted beach.
He was thankful for the dreary day so he could move from water to
land without an audience. A tall scaly man with long bone-white
hair and eyes was not so easily explained away in this day and age.
Not even in such a progressive city as Vancouver.

Once on the
beach, he took out a vial from his leather breeches, popped the top
and drank the contents. It was bitter on his tongue. Within
minutes, his appearance changed to something as innocuous as a tall
man with long blond hair, green eyes and regular pale skin. His
clothes now consisted of a pair of jeans, t-shirt and a long black
trench coat. It was a simple fae elixir called glamor. With it, he
was able to alter his appearance to match his environment, the area
and the time, which was 1981 he believed.

Dashrael
buttoned up his jacket against the cold rain, then took out the
leather case. He opened it. Inside was the plain mirror, but he
knew it was so much more. He tapped the right hand top corner three
times then waited. It didn’t take long before an image materialized
in the glass. A man. A mortal by the looks of him. He tapped the
surface again, and a name and address appeared.

Jason Decker,
2504 Larch Street.

Dashrael slid
the case back into his pocket then surveyed his surroundings. He
needed to get onto one of the streets. From there he could navigate
the city without a map. He had a mental compass inside and could
find just about any address just from instinct. He could find any
person on land or water. Every creature radiated an
electro-magnetic field and he could attune to it. It was one of the
many skills he possessed that made him so useful to those in power.
He was one of the best trackers and hunters in Nightfall.

Once he walked
across the beach and up onto the street, he bent down and pressed
his fingers to the cement. He could feel the magnetic signature of
the earth, and through that all the individual lines connected to
the people living in the city. Concentrating on his mark’s face,
Dashrael was able to pinpoint his exact location. Thankfully, it
wasn’t too far from where he was on the beach. Pulling up the
collar on his jacket, he set about hunting down the mortal Jason
Decker.

About an hour
later, Dashrael was hunkered down behind a wall of bushes alongside
a stylish bungalow on a quiet residential street. Lights were on in
the house, giving off a warm inviting glow. He peered through the
leaves and through the side window into what would be the living
room of the house. There was movement in an adjacent room. Dashrael
could see the shadows moving on the hardwood floor but he had yet
to obtain a firm visual on Jason Decker. He couldn’t report in for
further instructions until he did. Because he possessed an
abundance of patience, sitting here in the bushes in the rain to
wait didn’t bother him. During another mission, he’d waited in the
same spot for over a day for his mark to return home.

Fortunately, he
didn’t have to wait that long before Jason Decker walked into the
living room. Dashrael had his confirmed visual.

He pulled out
the case, opened it, and tapped on the left side of the glass three
times. Within seconds, O’runa’s face appeared in the mirror.

“I’ve located
the target,” Dashrael announced.

“Good.”

“What is my
objective?”

“Eliminate the
target.”

Dashrael’s gut
churned. He’d been hoping that this wasn’t an assassination, but
he’d been foolish to think otherwise. Killing was another thing he
was good at. And he’d been used on several occasions in that
capacity.

“In what
manner?” he asked, knowing the chancellor would want the mark
killed in a certain way. They always did.

“Make it look
like suicide. There can’t be any questions in this one from any
interested parties.”

“I’ll be in
touch when it’s done.” With that he touched the mirror to end the
communication and then slid the compact back into his pocket. Now,
he just had to get into the house and kill.

Gaining entry
was fairly easy. The patio door from the backyard had been
unlocked. Dashrael made a habit of being quick and silent. Not too
many of his marks had ever heard him coming. Most didn’t know he’d
been there until they were looking Death in the face.

Once inside, he
crept, keeping to the shadows along the walls until he was in a
good position near the front entrance behind a pillar adjacent to
the living room. The human hadn’t even flinched when Dashrael
slipped right by him. He’d been near enough to smell the man’s
aftershave and see the color his eyes. A bright blue in this
case.

Dashrael’s
hands were steady, his heartbeat even, as he waited for the right
opportunity to take the mortal by surprise. Because he had to make
it look like suicide, he thought the best course of action would be
to strangle him unconscious, then hang him up by the neck. He
didn’t possess fingerprints so Dashrael didn’t have to worry about
leaving them on anything in the house, or on the victim.

A few minutes
passed before Jason Decker settled onto the sofa in the living
room, his back to Dashrael. It was the perfect time, the perfect
circumstances. Dashrael would be so quick that the human wouldn’t
suffer, wouldn’t even know what was happening to him.

Clenching his
hands open and closed, Dashrael took in a deep calming breath then
stepped out from the pillar. A voice from the kitchen gave him
pause.

“Jason, I’m
home.”

The human
turned his head to the side. “I’m in here, my love.”

Jerking to a
stop, Dashrael bolted back to his hiding spot just as a beautiful
woman stepped into the living room. He could barely breathe as he
took in the newcomer. His heart thudded hard in his chest, his gut
churned.

It couldn’t be.
He must be dreaming. But as the truth of the situation hit him
square on, he knew he’d been sent here not to kill Jason Decker but
his companion. A woman Dashrael knew as A’lona Wolfstriker. But she
was more than just a woman, she was high fae, and the overseer’s
only daughter.

To make matters
even more dire…she was pregnant.

Chapter
Three

Dashrael
watched from his hiding spot as Jason wrapped his arms around
A’lona. It was an embrace of a man and women completely in love.
Dashrael didn’t need to see a DNA test to know whose baby it was
growing inside the fae princess’ belly. He now understood the true
reason he was sent here.

For centuries
the fae had fraternized with the mortals. In the past, they stole
infants and replaced them with changelings. Many a fae lord and
lady had had human lovers. Despite all that though, it was frowned
upon to mate with a mortal. To give birth to a hybrid, an even
worse transgression. Now, here was the most powerful fae’s daughter
setting up house with a human, and having his baby.