I woke up to the heavenly smell of coffee and for just a moment, all was right with the world. That is, until the vestiges of my dreams came out of nowhere and shot me out of bed. Half-remembered images blurred together with my inner core of magic vibrating like it was trying to forcefully eject from my chest. Pain began to creak up my spine before vanishing into a tingle and the rest of my dream became clear. It wasn’t really a dream, it was my magic unleashing another set of memories related to my powers. But it was all mashed together.

  Half of me wanted to get back in bed and try to see if another ten minutes of sleep would bring clarity to those dreams but Sandra had already registered me as awake through our mental link.

  [Yes, coffee is hot and on the counter.] I heard her say through our link. [And yes, maybe we can figure out your dream things later. Right now, we have other issues.]

  A rapid-fire slideshow of images ran through my head. Paul was twitching, still unconscious, outside next to the sunstone. I hustled, grabbing my gear and getting dressed in record time before hauling ass.

  “What the hell time is it?” I asked, blinking away the blinding sunshine as I stepped out the back door. I was glad I had taken the time last night to fix it so people could get in and out without my direct assistance. Not only did the stone circle swing open just like a hobbit door, but built into the bottom of the frame was a massively oversized staple made of steel that slid into two holes in the door feeding into the ground. It served as a super strong, heavy ass lock. The top of the ‘staple’ was capped in granite, meaning only myself, Elvis, or Sandra could open or lock the doors to the house.

  [I let you sleep in, lazy husband of mine.] Sandra snarked with a grin. [I was up before dawn tending the garden and watching over Paul.]

  “You carried him out?” I asked aloud, with an eyebrow raised. “Oh, duh, mental powers.”

  [Mmm-hmmmm.]

  Following Sandra’s directions, I walked up the house to the sunstone to see Paul laying against it with Eli hovering over him and two dwarves I did not recognize arguing with each other. Elvis loomed over everyone, his size an obvious deterrent while my wife lazily floated with her cup of steaming hot coffee. My employee looked over at me with relief.

  “Finally! I don’t know what to do?”

  I scoffed. “What did she tell you to do?”

  Elvis froze. “Uhm!”

  My wife gave me a non-serious glare but I kept up the pressure for a second to get my point across.

  “Doesn’t matter.” I grumbled. “What’s with the dwarves? What’s going on?”

  Everybody shook their heads.

  “They don’t believe us, boss.”

  I took a sip of my wife’s coffee before handing it back to her. I just needed that hint before the day truly started with problems. I could see the problems. It wasn’t just something small or easy. Otherwise those dwarves wouldn’t be arguing with each other that hard.

  “Put your damn translator on!”

  Hurrying to obey because Sandra also needed my translator medallion in order to understand them, the necklace heated up again for a moment as it connected and began to work.

  The shorter dwarf reached up to grab the larger dwarf by the beard, yanking him down to her height, not that there was much of a difference.

  “-knew! You know they knew! By my father’s dead forge and my mother’s broken hammer, they betrayed us!”

  The taller dwarf was much, much wider than the shorter one and his beard thick enough to not rip when yanked. “But how?” He asked, his deep voice thicker than the mountains. “They’re just humans! Ignorant frontier savages! You heard Yeldin! He believes they didn’t have magic a fortnight ago!”

  “Uh, we can hear you. AND understand you!” I said, stepping closer to the dwarves. My fingers played across the medallion for a moment before tucking it beneath my shirt. “Your boss must have a higher opinion of us than y’all seem to.”

  I let the words hang in the air before grinning with my teeth. The dirt beneath me rippled slightly before gently destabilizing the dirt under the dwarves’ booted feet. The larger dwarf’s breath caught in his throat as he froze so quickly he may as well have been a statue.

  The smaller dwarf, the woman, glared at me with open hostility before growling something under her breath. Sandra caught that look, choosing to land on her feet very slowly right next to me. I laughed as the bigger dwarf laid his massive hand on the smaller dwarf’s shoulder, pushing her back a bit.

  “You’ll have to forgive her, honored sir. Eileen is a bit young, and barely survived the attack this morning.”

  I rolled my eyes hard. “Don’t start. Don’t call me sir.” Correcting the dwarf felt wrong as he outweighed me by at least a hundred pounds of muscle and meta. “What’s your name and what attack?”

  “Grimger.” “The Skarn’Vaul!”

  Grimger let out a heavy sigh before reaching over and pushing her back with one finger, his digit leaving an indent on the iron breastplate.

  “She means the Vulgrim, as the Elves call them.” His deep sigh came out almost like a growl. “Humans have called the Enemy by many names, the Infection, RotBlight, and others.”

  Thomas peeked out from behind my shoulder. “Like, the Abhorrent?”

  Both dwarves nodded. “That would be an older name for them.”

  Eli hesitated, holding his First Aid kit in his arms. “What . . . what are they?”

  “THEY are here!”

  Grimger’s hands flexed as if they were holding a weapon. “They are an eldritch blight, a creeping plague of filth that consumes worlds. It eats planes of existence only to turn them into breeding grounds, every hungry for more. It makes even the staunchest of Dwarves believe in the gods. For without them, we would have been wiped out long ago.”

  “And they’re here? They attacked? How? When?”

  “They don’t know.” Grimger said softly, turning to Eileen. He pulled her into a hug and she broke down on his shoulder. “See? They are not infected.”

  We let them have their moment, the unspoken events of the night past being left unsaid for the time being.

  Eli gasped as Eileen’s armor pulled up on her side a bit exposing blackened claws marks. They wept crimson drops mixed with black and greenish pus.

  “Did they do that to you?” He asked, stepping closer. “I can heal!”

  Both dwarves stopped to look at him in amazement. I put my hand on his shoulder. “Hold on there. They didn’t ask and we won’t intrude.” I faced them. “I want to talk to Yeldin or whoever is in charge. And I mean really in charge, not a bullshit figurehead patsy.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Letting my healer’s compassion get the best of him was not in my plan for the day. I could live without making that mistake. I didn’t know these dwarves. In fact, all I knew was that I truly knew nothing. Did they seem nice? Yes. But just like humans, I could probably assume there are both psychopathic assholes AND kind saints in their numbers.

  Eileen’s shaky exhale caught me off guard. Just a moment ago, she looked so ready to jump down our throats and now, she looked young, vulnerable. I could feel Sandra softening but I gave her a hard tap on the mental shoulder.

  [We should help them!]

  I could feel the incoming guilt trip but I quickly shut the door on our connection leaving only the barest sliver through. Now was not the time to let compassion get in the way of good sense.

  [Paul needs our help more than they do.] I answered, our mental conversation happening at the speed of thought. [Eli will be tending to him today and I can’t promise any extra energy to aliens we don’t know and have zero obligation towards.]

  As I opened my mouth to patiently and politely decline, Eli had already sprang forward to help. Eileen’s midriff was exposed and Grimger watched with mouth agape as translucent golden bits of light that resembled downy fluff trickled down his fingers. That very light hissed and popped as it came into contact with the infection, flaring up into heatless bursts of light that stank. My brother steadied Eli as he worked, also holding up a hand to forestall any sharp words from the dwarves.

  “The pain! It’s going away.” Eileen pulled her shirt up higher and scrunched over to watch.

  While all eyes were on Eileen’s shrinking injury, I saw something else happening. Eli’s stubby wings fluttered and twisted as if an invisible wind were whipping through the air. His First Aid kit emitted a gentle hum, its stored healing energy flowing up through Eli’s left arm to his shoulder where it circulated in a strange pattern within his wings. For a split second, I saw intersecting shapes or patterns within his wings that hurt my eyes. I rubbed my eyes in surprise just in time to miss the energy flowing down his right hand to heal the angry dwarf woman. Even more surprising than Eileen’s face no longer hosting a hostile snarl, I saw Eli’s feathers grow just a bit longer, his wingspan incrementally increasing.

  I froze, my mind running a hundred miles an hour. I opened the door to my mental connection with Sandra so fast it surprised even her. My jumbled up thoughts and half backed hypotheses poured down the pipeline. Her surprise at the flood of data turned into a happy triumph without a hint of competition. In fact, she laughed because I had arrived at the same conclusion she had hinted at the other night.

  [I think you’re right.] I heard the smile in her mental voice. The teasing slowness of her reply annoyed me but I didn’t truly care. If you can’t tease your spouse, are you even married? [Acts of goodness or benevolence, that’s how Eli grows. Duh. He’s part-angel.]

  [How did I not see this? He is human with Angel powers in him, their bloodline. He has to overcome human weakness, human ‘sin’ to grow his Angel side. He literally has to ‘be good’ to become powerful.] My thoughts turned down a darker path and I felt Sandra’s grudging assent. [Which also means in order to help him grow stronger, we will have to help him on every crazy path he goes on.]

  Sandra’s nod only served to irritate me more. It’s not that doing good wasn’t something I didn’t want to do, it’s the fact that having to do good or being made to do it just took all the motivation out of it.

  Fuck me sideways.

  But I needed this kid. My imagination was expansive enough to understand that someone with literal Angelic powers could turn life as we know it around. Big bad monsters threatening a city? Oh no, send in Heaven’s Nuke. Flaming swords, Wings of Fury? Unending healing for the sick and the needy? Staving off death with the wave of a hand?

  Sandra’s mirth scrabbled at the crumbling wall of my patience until my brain turned the issue over and over in my mind. I could smell an opportunity here. I could feel the ‘finger-waggling’ coming on but I shut the door on our connection yet again before Sandra’s big heart could influence my thoughts. I don’t think Eli yet has realized how his powers grow, only that they can. He didn’t need to know that piece of information just yet.

  Clearing my throat, I stepped forward as the last bit of diseased flesh vanished into colored smoke. Thomas caught Eli as he sagged, weariness tugging at him. I shot Elvis a look and nodded towards Eli; he caught the message. The big warrior stepped closer to Eli and guided him back towards where Paul lay. I didn’t say a word until they were settled and Elvis was standing guard.

  “You must be hungry. Here, please. We have plenty.”

  The smell of roasted meat caught me off guard as a platter of skewered deer-fox floated around me and to the dwarves. My wife picked the smallest skewer up and took a bite to show it was safe to eat and I snagged one because my stomach growled at me. My wife tucked her hair behind her ear as she gave a million watt smile to the dwarves.

  Grimger froze as his hands took the platter, his eyes locked on my wife’s exposed ear. My eyes narrowed as both dwarves stood stock-still.

  “We are most grateful, your Majesty.”

  My head slowly turned until I saw my beloved’s ear. Now, I’m not saying my memory is perfect or that I’ll always notice when she does something different with her hair, but I'd be damned if I didn’t see that there was a distinct point at the top of her ear.

  I groaned. “Not you too?!”

  Color fled her face as her fingers explored the tips of her ears. “What?! What is this?”

  Woody vines sprang up from the ground, weaving together to form a simple stool that caught my wife as she sat down. Both dwarves faster than expected put the food down and bowed even deeper.

  “Please forgive my earlier rudeness.” Eileen had lost all trace of anger and hostility, her voice now quavery with regret and fear. “Not only did you have your servant heal me, but you have also fed us personally.”

  The desire to take advantage of the obvious misunderstanding was overshadowed by irritation. First, Paul. Now, dwarves we don’t know are calling my wife royalty and scraping the ground at the sight of her?

  Grimger’s voice was still deeper than the mountains but somehow gentler than before. “And you have provided us a place to live on your claimed land. We are beyond grateful for your generosity. We entreat you to dine with our council tomorrow night. We know you must have questions and we dwarves would be happy to host such esteemed company.”

  “I’m going to need an explanation to precede this invitation.” I said, taking my wife by the hand. “What gives?”

  Grimger’s craggy face scrunched up. “We will need at least a day to provide proper accommodations and carve into the hillside-”

  “No, no, the ‘royalty’ part.” I said firmly. “Explain why you’re calling me ‘sir’ and referring to my human wife as ‘royalty’.” Both dwarves looked at each other and sort of shrugged. “Don’t do that. Tell me. Answer me as if I were a child who didn’t know a damn thing.”

  Eileen waved her hand at the stool made out of vines. “You may be human, or at least, you were, but if what you say is true, that magic sundered the Veil on this world seven or eight days ago, then her true heritage is coming to light.”

  “Pointed ears are common enough.” Grimger said, cracking his knuckles. “But thinly pointed ears facing a bit backwards are rare. The command over Nature is what makes it truly obvious. Only those with the royal bloodline of Spring or Summer can do such as this.”

  The comfort of holding Sandra’s hand vanished – my knuckles screaming as her grip tightened.

  “Oh Hell.”

  A few moments passed in silence, the kind that stretched too long because neither of us knew how to step out of it. Sandra’s hand was still in mine, warm but distant, her grip loose like she wasn’t entirely there. I felt the urge to shield her rise up—strong, instinctive—and fall short against something neither of us understood yet.

  “That’s a lot to take in.” I said, stumbling through my words a bit. “Eileen, glad you feel better and Grimger, let Yeldin and Maelyin we’d like to chat with them later after y’all get settled in more. I think we all need to sit down for a chat.”

  They understood the dismissal immediately. Both dwarves bowed and turned to leave, abandoning the platter until Sandra cleared her throat and made a flat, unimpressed face. Eileen froze, then hurried back, stammering apologies as she took the food and promised it would be returned spotless.

  “Hey!” Eli said, grinning. “I figured something out. I can do this slow without draining myself.” He tapped the kit against the gleaming sunstone. “We accidentally made a circuit—healing power and sunshine.”

  Thomas shook his head. “Some people get all the luck. A little faith, a little sunlight, and boom—life on a silver platter.”

  “Shut up,” I growled. “You wrecked your motorcycle at the start of the apocalypse and lived long enough to get superpowers.”

  Sandra snorted. “He’s got a point. If anyone cheated Death, it’s you.”

  Thomas sighed. “Fine. Maybe I’m jealous. Or maybe I’m losing my mind. But this madness needs to chill for more than half a second. Did you at least learn anything useful?”

  Sandra’s eyes glittered. “The dwarves think I’m royalty.”

  Thomas barked a laugh. “Yeah. Redneck royalty. Sure.”

  I almost laughed with him.

  Sandra didn’t.

  She lifted her hands, and the ground answered.

  Vines surged up around her, thick and vibrant, weaving themselves into a mantle of green. Flowers bloomed as they climbed, rich with color and life. A crown of living rose vines settled across her brow, her hair shifting aside to bare the delicate points of her ears.

  The laughter died instantly.

  No one said a word.

  The dwarves might actually be right.