Eric Linnaeus | Book 3 | Chapter 25 - I Would Rather Be Fighting Selkies (Patreon)

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𝕀 𝕎𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝔹𝕖 𝔽𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕖𝕝𝕜𝕚𝕖𝕤ᴋáʀɪ ᴇᴋʟᴜɴᴅ: ᴀᴘʀɪʟ - ᴍᴀʏ, 𝟸𝟶𝟶𝟶.

─── .✦········· ───

An icy breeze rolled across the ocean toward me, stirring my hair and clothes as it rushed past. I was standing on the edge of a small cliff inhaling the scent of sea salt. The air was clean and crisp—and I needed to calm down. My emotions were creating sea foam and if I wasn’t careful a storm would blow in. Still, it was difficult. She was out there.

Her long bright hair sloshed back and forth around her in the water as she watched me with only her eyes above the surface. I smiled bitterly to myself. My trident wouldn’t hit if I threw it from this distance. With the time it would take to land she could just move aside, and I would lose the weapon.

She was taunting me, and I gripped the spear more tightly. Hatred burned in the back of my throat; I couldn’t even remember how long I’d been glaring out at the ocean when Valeria approached. She put her elbow on my shoulder awkwardly straining upward to do so as she followed my gaze out across the sea.

“Ahh, if looks could kill,” she joked bemused.

“What do you want?” I muttered as I tore my eyes away from the selkie.

“Your sister found Eiríkr. Silvius wants you to go south with him.”

“She actually found him?”

“Yeah, he’s in Fae territory, so they need you.”

I had mixed feelings learning my cousin had been found. Eiríkr and I once played together, and we weren’t on bad terms. I didn’t blame him for running from our psychotic family. The bloodlust from my uncles, cousins and sister was enough to drown in on most days. Moreover, now I was going to have to do Karyna’s laundry for the next five or so years. She has three boys, so I wasn’t looking forward to that, and I didn’t want to go back south anyway.

Sure the north is barren, but the Selkies are plentiful and the territory was almost ours. We’re so close to winning, and it was difficult to shift my focus. I suppose that’s perhaps the truest sign that I belong to this family, my own bloodlust is equally as deep as theirs.

“Fine,” I agreed without any fuss as I turned away from the ocean. The selkie could wait, and I didn’t want to piss Silvius off by delaying.

─── .✦········· ───

I’ll admit I hadn’t seen a fae before, and I was rather curious. We found fae guards near the lake and dealt with them easily. Then five more approached. It was hard to tell them apart; they all looked the same with their white hair. Their auras were pale blue and moved like flame.

At that time, only Karyna and Hrafn had revenanted. Their auras were black and moved more like a liquid. I was reluctant to revenant; it takes me a bit of time to come back, and I didn’t want to miss it when the Fae got here. Meanwhile, Silvius was purposefully keeping his energy hidden.

Not that it mattered, we would win regardless. We’d never met anything that could withstand us on even ground. Selkies only lasted as long as they did because they have an advantage in the water. But here, against the little fae out of their castles? They wouldn’t stand a chance.

We had attacked a human summer camp well within Fae territory. It’s a well-known fact that Fae eat humans, and that they prefer tender flesh, so we thought this would be a nice ‘gift’ for them, but we’d left a few alive, witnesses.

Karyna thought it would be fun if we set a few of them free, just to cause panic. The Fae are renowned rule followers, so we were sure they would hate to have to deal with humans running off in all directions ready to break the founding rules of species secrecy.

“I want to fuck the big one,” Karyna commented in our native language with a smile. Of course that’s all she could think about.

She was standing with her heel on a fae guard, pressing his face into the damp ground. He had very little energy left, his aura was almost gone, and he was bleeding from more than one fatal wound. Karyna was supposed to have killed him already, but for some reason she delayed, I think that was just to piss Hrafn off.

“I’m sorry, Lord Nathaniel-” the fae struggled to speak; and the moment he did, Karyna crushed his head.

“Oops, I slipped,” she apologized insincerely as she wiped the residue off her boot.

I was wrong, she wasn’t trying to piss off Hrafn. She was waiting for just the right moment to antagonize the fae and it worked. A bright blue energy ignited around the green-eyed one. It swirled around him like wildfire as he clenched his teeth.

“Nathaniel,” the broad fae beside him warned.

“I’m in control,” he responded coldly. He was right; that energy of his was compact and restrained. He was doing his best, I thought with mild amusement.

“Where’s Lazarus?” Silvius spoke up.

“My father no longer controls this territory. Now, state your business.”

“I see. That’s a shame, I was looking forward to seeing him-”

“I have no interest in small talk. You’re in my territory and whatever this is, it ends now. These are my lands, and I won’t have it. This is the only warning I’ll give. Leave, and never cross my borders again.”

“Leave?” Silvius chuckled, “You should show some respect, child. We have come for our kin, hand him over, and we’ll be on our way.”

“We have none of your kind among us.”

My sister smiled, “No? Well, that’s a shame; we came such a long way to be here!”

“That’s none of my concern.”

“It will be~,” Karyna purred, her grin widening as she turned slightly to Silvius for approval.

“Go ahead then,” he granted her permission, and my sister wasted no time.

She rushed Nathaniel immediately and the fae responded with surprising speed, blocking her attack with a sword.

“Kári, let the humans go, and Hrafn, help Karyna,” Silvius instructed.

I nodded, moving to release the humans as I was told to while Hrafn went to help Karyna. The broad fae stepped into his path, and Raven smiled savagely. He was going to enjoy that fight I was sure.

“Markos, can you handle that one?” the green-eyed fae asked.

“Of course,” he answered as his scythe lit up with energy.

“Good,” he mused, then gave the orders, “Alvíss, form the barrier. Make sure none of the humans leave. We don’t need enforcers coming down for this. Calla, you know what to do, and Killian, stay out of the way.”

With his instruction, each of the fae moved as directed, and I knew that meant the long-haired one was going to be in my way. He drew his sword, and I took up my weapon with a deep sigh. This wasn’t what I wanted to be doing with my time.

As he rushed me, I spun my trident to deflect the attack, and we met on equal footing. His eyes turned blue as energy churned around him. He was older than me by quite some years, and I had some idea of what that meant, but I wasn’t concerned. We were gods after all, or so my family insisted.

There had been a day, not all that long ago, when I was unlucky enough to walk in on my sister between two humans. There was a man beneath her while she was aggressively kissing the woman in her lap, and I quickly averted my gaze. The whole room smelled like sweat, and her charm was suffocatingly thick in the air.

“Geez, Karyna,” I muttered; the regret I had was immense.

“Kári! Join us? These two are a lot of fun~” she huffed breathlessly. She was shameless, and no one made any sort of move to stop what they were doing. Although, I suppose the humans had little choice. Under her charm, they would continue until they suffocated, died of exhaustion or until Karyna got bored and killed them.

“Do they even want to be here?”

“Of course they do!”

“Do they understand they’ll die?”

Karyna laughed, “I did warn them; now they’ll die servicing a god. What better way to go?”

I had my doubts. They probably just thought she was joking, or her charm was breaking their minds, and they couldn’t think. Either way, “I think I’ll just go. Silvius is looking for you, though.”

“So? He’s welcome to join as well~!”

I didn’t even justify her remark with a response as I left. All our lives we’ve been told that we’re gods. That nothing can survive us, and my sister believes that wholeheartedly. As for myself, I don’t know if I believed that. But this fae wasn’t going to beat me, no matter the age gap.

The energy around him flickered like fire, and our weapons clashed repeatedly with each block and attack. He was gradually pushing me back with the force of his blows laced with magic, and I realized with mild surprise that fae were stronger than we had been led to believe. At this rate, he would kill me quicker than I intended.

As I narrowly avoided a fatal strike I lost my balance and landed on my backside near the humans. They weren’t restrained in any way, but we had previously killed any who dared run, so the remaining few stayed huddled close together.

“You should probably take your chance to run while the monsters fight,” I commented.

Blood trickled down the side of my face, and I dabbed the wound with the palm of my hand. It wasn’t so bad—not enough to revenant me. Can’t say my tailbone didn’t hurt though. When I looked up again, the humans hadn’t moved; I was going to have to be more forceful.

“I told you to run, or I’ll kill you!” I snapped, and they reluctantly began to disburse.

“Are you mad?” Alvíss demanded, in disbelief as the humans scattered into the forest in different directions.

“It’s your territory not mine. Enforcers aren’t going to punish us for this.”

He clenched his jaw in annoyance. Around us the big fae was still fighting Hrafn, and their leader was distracted with Karyna. This guy was the only one that could deal with the witnesses, and he knew it.

“Better get going,” I commented, amused, “I’m done delaying you.”

He glared at me a long moment before making the decision and turning to go after the humans. Chasing down twenty or so young humans in the woods at night? Yeah, he would have fun with that, I thought cynically.

I stood with no urgency, using the trident to help pull myself up. One fae out of the way, now time to deal with the other one. The youngest one was around my age, and he was waiting anxiously to the side; just as he had been instructed to do. But the moment our eyes met he knew I was coming for him, and his energy ignited.

This one fought more cautiously. He wasn’t like the others; I would say not even half as strong as the ones my family were fighting. There was a reason he’d been told to stay out the way, he must have known he was outmatched? After all, his aura was nothing compared to any of the others. I wasn’t even going to need to revenant at this point. My trident met with his sword, and he stood his ground. He actually managed to surprise me with a quick movement to slice my side with a hidden knife in his free hand, and I laughed.

“You’re so far out of your depth here, aren’t you?”

“No. I’m fucking fine, thank you,” he said, determined. It was almost cute how hard he was trying.

We broke apart and I decided then that I’d had enough. Karyna and Hrafn were still fighting, and I figured it was about time I helped them out. But first, I needed to deal with this one. Using the back of the trident, I began to draw the spell sigil subtly in the dirt. Each strike was an opportunity, and as it neared completion, I utilized the throwing knives on my belt. It wasn’t my aim to hit him, but he needed to think it was for this to work.

It was a hunting technique used on Selkies a few times in the past, and the knives needed to be distributed around the area in an indistinct way. Similarly, it worked best if the intended target didn’t notice the sigil.

One of the knives grazed his cheek as he avoided it, and another deflected off his sword. Because of this, I failed to notice that he was building his energy, and the next time I got close, he released it all at once like a bomb, catching me off guard. It burned through the cells of my body. Fae magic is far more conductive, and it felt similar to being shocked.

I stumbled and he took the opportunity, concentrating his energy into one focused point along the length of his sword as he moved to deliver a fatal strike. Unfortunately for him, that was precisely what I wanted. You see, without revenanting our energy is minimal. This was why none had targeted me. Compared to my family, I didn’t look like a threat, and I couldn’t activate this spell without magic.

But I didn’t need my magic; I had conductive Fae magic to use and the moment he connected with me it was over for him. I blocked the attack and used the trident as a lightning rod to direct his energy into the activation point of the spell. The results were spectacular.

Each line I had drawn filled with bright blue Fae energy, and the whole thing glowed. Killian hesitated, confused in the center of the binding spell.

“Oh fuck,” he muttered, but by the time he understood it was too late. All the knives I had thrown redirected back at him as if magnetized, and he staggered.

Blood trickled from his mouth into the dirt, and he begrudgingly bent a knee as he sank to the ground. By some miracle, none hit an immediately vital point, but it didn’t matter. With an array of knives sticking out of him like a magician’s trick gone wrong; he was done. I could have left him like that; he wasn’t going to recover. Still, Silvius hates loose ends, so I took up the trident and moved to end him.

The fae glared up at me as I approached; he looked simultaneously afraid and regretful. I guess he knew it was his own fault for not noticing the spell before wielding magic so freely. I raised my trident to finish it, but an arrow struck through my forearm with shattering force.

“What the-?” I turned to see the human girl release the second arrow. It flew true to target and hit directly through my chest.

The cold metal tip pierced the artery just above my heart. It had slid in between two ribs, and I swayed unsteadily as I pulled the arrow out. The precision was impressive. Blood filled the internal cavity crushing my lungs and impairing my breathing. I’m not sure what killed me, the blood loss or the suffocation? Either way, it didn’t matter. I knew nothing more.

─── .✦········· ───

I couldn’t say how long it took, but the surge of energy that brought me back was powerful. The injury to my chest closed over, and my heart began to beat again in strong steady pulses. Power surged through me, bringing out the markings under my skin and fulfilling my true potential.

The first breath I took pulled the atmosphere, and I took a moment to reorientate myself. Killian was no longer in my line of sight, so I assumed I didn’t need to worry about him anymore. Meanwhile, Karyna was close to Hrafn, and both looked agitated by now. I could tell they’d each revenanted at least once while I was out, and the fae they were fighting were beginning to slow with exhaustion.

“About time, Kári. I was almost getting worried!” my sister laughed.

“Whatever,” I muttered, she knew full well it takes me more effort than it does her. She can revenant without even thinking about it.

“I told you to do it earlier,” Hrafn scolded.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m up now. What do you want?”

“Some lightning would be nice.”

I scoffed, lightning? What did he think I was? A kite? I can’t just produce random weather conditions from nothing. There has to be something for me to work with, and right now, the most I could use was a bit of wind. I thought about it for a moment. If I pushed the warmer air up, I could create a low-pressure system, and if I moved the air fast enough…

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” he wasn’t going to get lightning, but a cyclone should suffice.

I allowed my magic to billow out of me and intermix with the air, energizing it into a frenzy. The pick-up in the wind was instantaneous, but this would take some time. Time, I quickly realized, the fae weren’t likely to grant me.

“That one too?” the big one muttered, irritated.

“It would seem so,” Nathaniel responded blandly.

“I guess I was too optimistic. Calla, deal with it; try something we haven’t.”

“Yes,” the girl responded.

They were sending the human after me? Was this some kind of joke? She rushed at me, and my concentration broke as we connected. She was fast, and I blocked against her with my trident. The girl readjusted flawlessly, twisting the sword and sliding it upwards along the length of my weapon, wrenching it from my hand.

The trident landed with prongs downward somewhere off to the side, and I was forced to retreat as she very nearly sliced me again. She granted me no time to counter; moving seamlessly into her next attack, and I found myself stumbling backward.

It’s hard to defend against a blade without another weapon and I didn’t fancy losing a limb. Her skill was unexpected and somewhat terrifying. Like when a field mouse jumps at you aggressively, and I didn’t quite know what to do.

The hesitance cost me. She switched to hand-to-hand combat, and before I knew it, I was flat on my back. It was unbelievable. She stabbed a knife into the side of my throat, and I reflected on my life; killed by a little girl, the same little girl, twice.

This time I took hold of her, forcing her hand away and the knife back out of my throat. Blood spurted out of the jugular, and I held her wrist tight, twisting it so that even as I died I wouldn’t let go.

The first revenant was just a warm-up. It was always easier the second time in a row. The world darkened as my eyes closed for only a fraction of a second as my power reloaded. It flowed out of me, and I looked her in the eye, holding her gaze evenly.

“That’s enough now,” I told her calmly.

The girl didn’t answer, more rather she couldn’t. Charm radiated off me like a poison and I’m sure she was using all her concentration not to give in to it. Fertility was my least potent trait, and in general, I preferred not to use it. I don’t like the forced nature of it, but that in no way meant I wasn’t good at it and in this case, I would make an exception.

I sat up gradually and took her with me as I stood without breaking our eye contact. “Relax now, there’s no need for you to die fighting me,” I assured her softly. Not that it looked like she needed it, and not that I was sincere. Although no expression crossed her face regardless.

“Good girl, just keep focused on me; this won’t hurt.”

Even as I spoke I was using our death ability, slowly draining the life from her and she was fading. Nothing can survive without energy, and ordinary humans use all they have to survive, making cells fire correctly, keeping their brains functioning, and so on.

As she began to succumb her legs weakened, and she reluctantly dropped back to the ground. Her expression finally showed something: mild annoyance, so I suppose she understood, but she was powerless to stop it. Humans aren’t a match for us. They belong where she was, at our feet, groveling, worshiping.

I smiled bitterly to myself; I sounded like Silvius. At least I was being more merciful than he would have. The human gradually grew limp, and her eyes closed. It was almost done when a sudden blast of red energy hit me, breaking my concentration and forcing me away from her.

A human man wielding witch’s magic had arrived with another fae who looked identical to the green-eyed one, a twin? I speculated; I didn’t know Fae could have twins.

As I recovered from the shock of it, I couldn’t help but laugh. The human man looked terrified, and the fae had a massive aura. What on earth was going on with the Fae? Everything I knew said they were an arrogant species with little tolerance for any others. Yet here were humans, witches, and one of our own kind all in their midst? It was comical.

“Alright, whatever. I give up,” I put my hands up. Karyna and Hrafn could deal with this.

“Charles, keep an eye on this one. If he makes any move, let me know. I’m going to help my brother.”

“Got it,” the man answered tensely. I could tell he wanted to check on the girl, but she was lying halfway between us, and he wouldn’t risk getting any closer.

“She’s alive,” I assured him with disinterest, “Barely.”

My statement did nothing to reassure him, but I turned my attention to the rest of my family. Silvius was still waiting, and his expression held no concern as he watched. I couldn’t see Hrafn or the big fae, but Karyna looked enraged. She wore what we all did, armor plating across the top of her shoulders and upper chest, lined with bear fur and teeth.

This left her midriff exposed up until her hips where she had skin-tight pants and more plating to cover her thighs. But her outfit was blood-soaked, and she was half-crouched, half-knelt, facing Nathaniel. Charm radiated off her in thick waves, but the man seemed unaffected.

His energy flickered, blown about by the ever-increasing breeze, as he spoke to the new arrival, “Brother, they don’t die.”

“Everything dies?”

“They return.”

“That’s interesting.”

“Can you handle this one? My fight is with him,” Nathaniel’s attention moved to Silvius, and my uncle lifted his head in acceptance of the challenge.

“Easily,” the one with long hair agreed nonchalantly.

They switched, and Karyna smiled. “Hey, handsome,” she commented as the twin scrunched his nose. I knew immediately the same thing she knew: her charm was working on that one, and she changed tactics. No longer trying to attack, she approached him cautiously as Nathaniel moved to face Silvius.

My uncle took the axes off his belt and cut the artery in his own throat to revenant on the spot. His talent was death, and the revival was near instantaneous as he stepped forward to fight the younger fae. If he had any sense, he would never have dared challenge Silvius. My uncle was more than double all of our ages and two generational levels above the rest of us.

Still Nathaniel approached with a calm demeanor, he exhaled softly as he turned the sword in his hand and broke into a light run to meet Silvius. The moment they collided sent shockwaves through the air as their energies polarized.

Sword met with axes, and they moved almost too quickly to follow. Silvius’s inky black energy reacted like dye in the air while the faeling’s magic condensed around him protectively.

They broke apart, and my uncle wove a spell between his hands, sending a quick succession of black orbs toward his opponent. Nathaniel stood his ground. Putting up one hand against the attack, energy ignited in the palm of his hand, and the blast struck each black orb resulting in a chain of eruptions.

Mist formed, curving around each circular explosion, and Silvius used it as a cover to rush into his next attack. They met head-on again, and Nathaniel deflected the axes away to aim for my uncle’s throat.

The sword found its mark as Silvius allowed it, using the proximity to engulf the fae in a swell of dark energy. That was as good as walking into a shroud of death, and I wondered if a fae could survive such a thing?

My question was answered when bright blue energy rapidly burned through the inky residue. The fae’s magic had changed now, it was thicker, weighted. It almost seemed to drip off him like plasma. This was his true power I thought.

“Unnaturally powerful for your age, child,” Silvius commented, shaking the blood off his hand as it ran down his arm from his throat.

Nathaniel ignored the comment, “As I said before, this is my territory, and I will defend it. Leave, and this won’t have to get any worse than it already is.”

My uncle laughed, “You don’t fill your boots, boy. Let me show you what real power is.”

“It’s not my wish to fight.”

“Of course not. Fae are a weak, spineless species. You would rather cower away in your castles than achieve anything of merit.”

As he spoke, Silvius’s energy began to flow in earnest. It grew, wilting the vegetation it touched and blocking out the rising sun. I shuddered. It was rare that I saw this, and I wasn’t especially thrilled. This is why we don’t argue with him.

Nathaniel seemed to understand, for he took an involuntary step back. “Achaicus, get everyone back now!” he barked the order.

It was far too late for that. Silvius was building his energy into a massive sphere, and it would kill anything it touched. Moreover, none of them could retreat regardless. The twin was caught looking into Karyna’s eyes, the human girl was unconscious, and I wouldn’t allow the witch to go anywhere.

The instant Silvius discharged his energy, the air condensed before expanding in a rush. There was movement in the last fraction of a second before the dark magic impacted, and it curved over a shield of blue energy, blasting the surroundings like a nuclear explosion instead.

For a moment, I couldn’t tell what had happened, but as the dust settled, I understood. Nathaniel had used his sword as an anchor point for the shield, and the big fae had joined him at the last second. Together they had managed to deflect the hit and protect those behind them. But not without cost.

Nathaniel coughed violently, and blood leaked from his nose and mouth as he rested in a crouched position. It was clear he had taken the majority of the impact while Markos stood beside him, protectively ready for the next attack. Not that he looked much better. Hrafn hadn’t returned with him, but I was sure he was exhausted from fighting my cousin.

“Should I go again?” Silvius mused, light-heartedly as he began to generate a second blast.

“No,” Nathaniel growled, “You’ve made your point.”

“Good. Now, I want my nephew Eiríkr. We know he’s here, Eric, I believe he calls himself. Hand him over, and we’ll leave you in peace.”

Both fae tensed at the mention of his name, “And what reassurance is there that your word can be trusted?” Nathaniel spat. He, in particular, seemed upset by the request, and Silvius laughed.

“He wears our family crest around his neck; that should be proof enough of our relation, if the family resemblance isn’t enough for you. As for the rest, there’s no guarantee we won’t change our minds. However, not handing him over ensures we will return with certainty. You understand?”

“…Yes,” he sneered spitefully.

“Good. Karl, Karina. Come, it looks like we’ll need to go find Raven.”

Karyna winked at the twin fae, flashing her chest at him before departing, while I rolled my eyes. If she had stripped down right there, I wouldn’t have been surprised.

“I’m going to go,” I informed the witch, and he made no move to stop me.

All the fae were quiet as we left; I hope they knew exactly how doomed they were. We would attack them even without Eiríkr’s information, but it would be easier with it, and I felt confident that they would hand him over. Just as they had handed over Brigetta all those decades ago.

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