THE WOODS GLARED at Kane.

Silver drove deeper into the dark foliage, steering the taxi onto a bumpy dirt road. The earthy scent filling the vehicle soothed Kane's jittery nerves. His body relaxed. His mind, however, ran free like a wild stallion, refusing to be placated.

Kane sighed, hearing whispers of a laugh. Low buzzing crept up on him. He checked his phone and swore. Not only was it five minutes until midnight, he also had no connection.

"Shit." Kane scrambled to reconnect but received only emptiness in return. "You've gotta be kidding me."

"Problem?"

Kane lifted his chin, meeting Silver's stare in the mirror. He shifted away from the middle seat and to the side of the car so he could look at Silver's sharp profile instead.

"I have no connection."

Silver tapped on the steering wheel, in tune with the song crooning through the radio. "Is that all?"

Kane watched Silver's analytical eyes find him over his shoulder. They shared a look for a split second before Silver turned around. The taxi took a harsh right turn. Darkness swallowed the last few trees Kane saw.

"What do you mean?"

Silver tapped at the digital clock flashing 11:56. "Almost midnight."

"Um, yeah?"

"You don't like that, do you?" Silver asked mysteriously. "Makes you feel uneasy... I bet you knew it was almost midnight before even checking that phone of yours."

Kane froze. He had to stop himself from grabbing his necklace, an old habit he was trying to break himself of.

"As a matter of fact, I bet there are other things that make you feel uncomfortable. Perfectly normal things that you can't figure out why you're scared of." Silver pointed at the darkness, ignoring Kane's rigid posture. "I'd bet my finest blade that you're scared of midnight. You don't like mirrors or water nor any deep hole in the ground. You stay out of windows and doorways and," Silver snapped, letting out a little aha, "you don't mess with myths. Forgotten stories of the past that have no place to stand in the realm where only science is believed in. Correct?"

Kane's mouth fell open in shock. "How—"

"Your elders, they must've tried so hard to beat that curiosity out of you. Yet here you are." Silver snorted, making another harsh turn. He fidgeted with a trinket on the dashboard. It flickered then went out. The color was green. "There's an urban legend that's been circulating for years about a taxi cab that doesn't take you where you want to go. But where you need to go. One night, tonight, you stepped into this cab, Kane."

Kane squeezed his eyes shut. There it was again. That low buzzing thrumming inside his head. It was louder now. He was familiar with the sound after years of enduring it.

It was midnight.

"How do you know all these things about me?" Kane asked desperately, voice taking on a hint of begging. "Tell me!"

The taxi's pace decreased to that of a crawling snail. "You ask for much and offer nothing in return. My job is only to take you where you need to go. Nothing more, nothing less. Anything else requested is out of the realm of what I am contractually obligated to do."

Kane went slack-jawed, forcing himself to remain calm instead of strangling Silver.

Did he trust the older man? No. Did he trust the current situation? No. Did he feel desperate enough to remain in this taxi as they drove past metaphorical red flags? Abso-fucking-lutely.

Silver knew about Kane's fears. Fears that no one outside of his family knew about. He knew something about Kane's heirloom. He knew so much yet he was a stranger.

Kane mulled over Silver's words then tentatively asked, "What do you want?"

The trinket turned on. It was a small lamp made of leaves. A single green flame burned at its center, defying what was scientifically possible.

"That's a dangerous question."

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't prepared to pay for it." Kane ignored the sound of his grandma's nagging voice whispering in his ear. "Tell me what you want. Then tell me what you know."

The taxi stopped. It was loud, the way the silence loomed between them like a phantom. When Silver turned around Kane gasped, captivated by the silver glow in the other man's eyes. Silver snapped his fingers. An old, leather bound book appeared out of thin air. The hair on the back of Kane's neck stood up. Yet he watched, transfixed, as the weathered pages flipped to a blank one. A quill dipped in golden ink appeared before Kane. His hand itched to take it.

"Give me your true name and I'll give you the truth."

Kane snapped out of his stupor, striking the objects and sending them flying into the window. "No," he said firmly.

Silver groaned. His glowing eyes lost their moonlight sheen, reverting back to green. "Such a finicky thing you are." The book and quill vanished. "Answer me this—"

"Tell me what I wanna know first," Kane interrupted, growing bold.

He knew Silver wanted his name, something he would never give, so he thought he had an advantage. Maybe he could somehow play Silver and get what he wanted.

A part of Kane thought himself to be insane. Any normal person would be running far away from this very weird situation. Yet Kane found himself feeling...

Giddy.

There was a larger part of him, something that wasn't a flaw of curiosity, that felt at ease with this tête-à-tête. The transaction was oddly familiar. He couldn't place why.

Silver smirked. "No."

Kane sputtered, caught off guard by the finality in Silver's voice. "What?"

"No," Silver replied easily. "I have no interest in answering your juicier questions without proper payment."

"But... You want my name," he offered lamely.

"And you will never give it to me," Silver pointed out. "I'm not going to grovel for a bargaining chip that you have no intention of ever surrendering. It's beneath me. Now, come. We've reached our—"

"No!" Kane grabbed Silver's shoulder. "Wait. What was your question?"

Silver's shoulders shook in silent laughter. "Ah, Kane. You amuse me."

"Ask the question." Kane said through clenched teeth, embarrassment curling within the pits of his stomach. He'd folded so easily.

"Why do you guard your true name so well?"

"My grandma told me to never give it away."

"And do you always do what your grandma says?"

Kane swallowed thickly. A seed of guilt took root within his lungs, forcing the truth out of him with his next breath. "I used to."

Silver observed Kane then asked, "Why don't you listen anymore?"

Kane let go of Silver's shoulder. He was done for the second Silver turned around and they locked eyes. Silver's eyes persuaded Kane to speak. So he did.

"She died. Now I'm in your taxi doing things that would've given her a heart attack and killed her a lot faster than cancer did."

Silver pursed his lips. Genuine sympathy shone within his calculating eyes, catching Kane off guard. "My condolences."

"Thanks."

"Don't ever thank me," he hissed. The sympathy in Silver's gentle eyes dissipated. Anger raged in its place. "It's disrespectful and poor manners."

Kane's mouth snapped shut. The fire in Silver's eyes left him reeling. He didn't allow himself to breathe until Silver let out a quiet sigh, the fire in his heated stare withering away.

"Knowledge is power. It isn't free. There are prices to be paid in order to gain what you want to know," Silver explained. The hypnotic aura from before returned tenfold. Kane's body relaxed but his mind forever remained alert. "If you want to know something then you must give something in return. It's against my nature to accept anything of lesser value than what I am exchanging."

Kane nodded. That seemed fair.

"Can you tell me what's so important about a true name?" he asked. "No one ever explained it to me, just told me not to give it away."

Silver's lips twitched. He shook his head. Kane swore.

"Of course you can't tell me—"

"Oh, I'm perfectly capable of telling you."

Kane glared. "You just don't want to tell me."

"Precisely." Silver smiled a slippery little grin. "You learn well."

"Keep your compliments to yourself."

"Oh!" Silver clutched his chest dramatically. "Your attitude wounds me, Kane. It truly does."

Kane rolled his eyes, ignoring Silver's loud snickering. "What can I offer you that has equal value to a true name?"

Silver stopped laughing, his eyes became deadly serious. "I think, before you ask such a question, you should be asking something else first."

"And what's that?"

"What are you?"

Kane narrowed his eyes. "I already asked that. You didn't give me a straight answer."

"Did you?" His swampy eyes flashed silver. "Ask me what I am, I mean."

Kane replayed their interactions, pausing when he realized his error. He never asked what Silver was. He asked who he was.

"What are you?" Kane asked. Trepidation set his nerves alive with fear the longer Silver drew out the silence.

"I'm a fae. If you grant me what I want in exchange for what you seek, then we'll be bound together for life. If you cross me then you will pay for it." Silver replied, smiling serenely. He snapped his fingers. The green light flickered. Silver's eyes blazed like two pools of moonbeam while the book and quill settled in Kane's lap. "Fae contracts are nothing to take lightly, Kane. You of all people should know that. It's absolutely ridiculous that your family didn't teach you as much."

Kane's mouth went dry.

Fae. The word elicited an inkling of a myth. A fairytale that no one in the modern world believed in anymore. It was the reason why he knew nothing about such creatures.

Kane licked his lips. He dried his sweaty palms on his jeans, leaning closer. Something unknown nagged at the back of his mind. He ignored it.

"What would you ask of me?"

"Loyalty."

Kane balked at the simplicity of the request. "That's it?"

Silver nodded. "Loyalty is equal to a true name. Once you write your name in my book the contract will be in effect. You will have your answers."

Kane let out a heavy breath. An invisible weight slammed into his chest. He jerked to the side and the pushing ceased, freeing him from the pressure.

"What you said before," Kane overlooked the feeling of being watched, "about how I should know better. What did you mean by that?"

Silver's thin fingers hovered over Kane's necklace. "The septagram you wear is no ordinary symbol. It's a faerie star. There are many meanings but when it's worn on silver and hangs around your neck, there's only one explanation."

"What does it mean?"

Silver inched closer. A spark of white light emerged from the faerie star, zapping his finger. He didn't flinch, only retreated and said, "You've been cursed by the fae."

The window shattered and Kane was yanked out of the taxi by a ghostly hand before either of them could blink.

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QOTD: What are your thoughts on Silver now that you know what he is? Do you think Kane should make the deal? Who is the owner of that ghostly hand?