"Understand me I'm not like an ordinary world, I have my madness, I live in another dimension and I do not have time for things that have no soul."

-Charles Bukowski

__________

Adeline

Is she serious? Are all my childhood fantasies coming true right now? She said Fey, as in frilly creatures with green and blue skin, pointy ears, and magic. I've read hundreds of books about the fey, hoping one day as a child they might be real and here I was standing outside a freaking fairy door.

I want to believe they were as mischievous and as good hearted as the books but I highly doubt any of them will be as kind. Now that I think about it, they weren't so kind in the books either.

"So, how do we do this? Is there like some chant or something, a mystical object that needs to be placed somewhere." I have no idea what I'm talking about, this is all coming from fantasy books I've read as a freshman. I guess I'm a little rusty.

Bast shrugs, "I told you, I'm as clueless as you. I don't like the fey, nor do I mess with them. This warlock has a sick sense of humor for making us come this way."

As sick as Calio, the club demon, I highly doubt that but until we have met this warlock we will never know.

"What if we just touch it?" I suggested.

She shrugs but still follows my lead toward the gate. The crackling branches move as we do, following our footsteps as we circle the gate that appears to be a bunch of moving green snakes and brown snakes. The green leaves intertwine with one another, becoming thicker and stronger; I have a feeling these things won't take kindly to one of us chopping it down.

Several minutes pass before one of us actually does something and that someone is me, "You know what," I rush the gate, standing just before it, I spread my arms wide and yell, "My name is Adeline, I want passage to your land of the fey!" I felt kind of ridiculous standing there with my arms wide but something had to be done.

"You are absolutely insane." She hissed. I feel her grab my arm, trying to pull me away from the gate but she stops when we see the branches and vines move to the center of the large circle like door.

I glance behind me, throwing her a sly grin before turning back to the door, "I'm smarter." I quipped.

"I am not so sure Halfling," I turn to the newcomer, bumping into Bast as she too swivels around. "Two demons at a fey gate, seems to be one for the books and not even a full one at that."

I narrow my eyes at the obvious fey. His light brown hair wasn't what gave him away but his obvious pointed ears sticking out from his mane. The elf's ears were fashioned with a silver hoop; it did not go well with his modern clothing. Although he is fey, I have to admit he's sort of cute, definitely a bad guy look that belonged in one of those books.

"You definitely aren't a warlock, who are you?" Bast said questioningly.

He smiles, I would have believed anyone if they said they had been bleached; I mean no one gets their teeth that pristinely white.

He is fey. He can open the door. The sound of the succubus talking catches me off guard.

She has no reason to help me, so I ask her exactly why the sudden intrusion, why would you tell me that?

I am done fighting with you, she replies dully. She makes it seem like I want to fight with her, like I was the bad guy.

I didn't know what to say, a part of me wanted to believe her but she was a creature that was made to manipulate and conceive secret endeavors. Most of all she was living. Anything living or dead wants to be alive, she could say anything just to get me where she needed me. On the wrong side.

He scoffs, "You are on my land, I will be the one to ask the questions, demon."

Bast charges forward, "You know I could easily rip off your head." I grab her arm, pulling her back to me.

"Stop." I whisper in her ear, "He can open the door, genius."

She quickly changes course, after staring at me with deep displeasure. Plastering a smile on her face, she faces him, "You know, I'm terribly sorry, my name is Bastet," She bows, extending her hand out and down to the floor as she bends over, "This is my friend Adeline."

He takes the opportunity to bow in return, it reassures me somewhat, "I am Erbalar, gatekeeper to the second gate of The Fey Court, of Aettalar."

I have never heard of this place before, usually you hear the words: Avalon, Unseelie or seelie. Now I really feel out of my element.

"I am sorry for the intrusion, we mean no harm, we are only here to meet with an acquaintance of ours."

"No one of your kind seeks conversation inside my lands." He seems insulted by the very thought of us walking in there.

"Why not just hear us out?" I had to give it a shot, without him there was no way of knowing how this thing worked.

He shakes his head as if to dismiss me, "We do not get along; our kind has not worked so well in the past. It is why our realm has been closed off to your kind for so long."

I don't know their history or why they have such a long quarrel between the two of them but we need his help. Erbalar was a gatekeeper if anyone knew how to open a door, it would be him, it's like he was sent here for a reason.

Or maybe it is his duty to stop unwanted visitors such as yourself. I don't even bother replying, knowing it will be no use. I did not want to speak with her, afraid of my mouth running amuck. I wasn't up for growing fangs or worse, horns.

"We don't want to cause trouble, just let us through. Please. You can escort us to wherever we need to go." Would he respond to a form of begging?

He turns to me, his golden gaze roams over my body. "Who is it that you must speak with?" I fidget when his eyes find my claws, I cross them behind me.

Bast speaks because I don't know his name, "His name is Ulzif, a warlock that has vital information."

Erbalar doesn't look at her as she speaks his eyes find me once again and I know he's studying me. "Information perhaps about the Halflings...condition."

"What about it?" Could he know something? No, he was baiting us.

He smirks, his hands fold in front of him as he does this I can see his glamour waiver. I can just make out white shimmering tattoos along his pale skin. He reaches out, his hand swipes the air and his glamour completely disappears.

"The thing was useless." I can see him better now; his modern clothing was now gone revealing a hunter's cloak and attire. His skin is less creamy white, it has more of a blue tint to it, making the tattoos etched into his skin standout. They were nothing but swirls of a milky white color, swirls and maybe symbols; nothing I've ever seen. His brown hair is now a pale brown, like he stopped in the middle of it being bleached. He wasn't totally horrible to look at not like the rest of the things I have seen but he's still something.

"She's growing rapidly, into the demon Death has made her. Her eyes can barely keep their real shade and her nails have changed." Why he addresses Bast, I don't know but when he turns to me he speaks solely to me. "You shouldn't have seen through my glamour so easily either."

His words are unsettling and the fact that he knew about me and Death shot a wave of panic through me. Everyone seems to know who I am, why is that? What made me so damn interesting?

"So what, she's changing. And yeah maybe that's why we need to see this warlock but how is any of this going to get us closer to the warlock." Bast had a point, why did he want to know about this; I mean he's a gatekeeper.

"I am a protector, surely you must understand what that implies. I cannot just let any demon or Halfling inside without knowing their business. It is bad enough that a warlock has entered these gates."

We were just making him angry and the longer we stood out here the warlock gets further away.

I can see Bast rubbing her claws against her legs, she was growing impatient.

Wait, a minute. "You said the warlock came through this specific gate."

He looks annoyed at the question, "Yes." He didn't like the fact that he had given away his ineffectiveness at guarding the gate.

"Well then you know now that we aren't lying. You said it yourself he came through here. Meaning we wouldn't have known about it unless we received the location from him." Damn that was good, pat on the back for you Adeline.

Bast jumps up, clapping her hands wildly, "She's right, oh she's totally right." She turns to me with a smile, elbowing me in the arm like I didn't hear her loud shrieks. "You have to get us through, just for a small while. We won't be long, I promise." She raises her hand before saying, "Demon's honor." Seriously.

He looks between us, not as convinced as we were. "Demons have no honor, nor do demons in training. Leave now, I will not ask you again."

"Shit." Bast mutters. "Well then I'm sorry about this." Before I can stop her she releases a dagger that was hidden in her boot. It shoots forward in a blur hitting him directly in the left shoulder.

His arm! I face her, ready to scream at her for missing when I hear a loud body hit soft loamy grass. I see the guard unconscious on the ground, the dagger still sticking out of his arm.

"What was that?" That surely didn't kill him.

She walks casually to the side of the elf. Where she begins poking his face, "It's laced with a drug that makes anyone drop like a sack of potatoes."

"Leave him alone Bast."

She smiles wickedly, "I was thinking of giving him a permanent scar. He was too much trouble and he should've just let us right in."

"Stop being so dramatic. Find us a way in there, it's your fault the only person here who can open the gate is now unconscious." Why does she always do this? Instead of one complicated plan she has to go through a hundred to get where we need to be.

She glares at Erbalar, then finally stands, "Fine. Let's see every uptight elf gatekeeper should have some sort of key right, so let's say if I look here..." She stops only to search the small pouch attached to the elf's waist. She pulls out something small, "Aha!"

"Is it the key?"

"No actually I don't know what it is." She walks to me handing me a small crystal.

"It's beautiful." I twirl it between my fingers watching the rainbow of colors shimmer along the jagged edges.

"Yeah it's awesome but it's not getting us over there." She goes back to rummaging through the elves things. Well it's more like she's groping him in his sleep but whatever.

I face the gate, knowing this has to somehow open it. I don't know why but I have this gut feeling it's really the key. The gate was not only hidden in plain sight but the key could be as well.

I raise the crystal to the moving branches but nothing happens.

Biting my lip, I try to concentrate, to work my damn brain and try to figure this out.

When I said my name before, something happened, the branches began to move. As if waiting for something more, maybe waiting for this.

"My name is Adeline Winters and I want passage to your land of the fey." I stretch my hand out and like before they begin to move only now they don't stop. They grow quicker and one catches my wrist. I struggle against it, pulling at its branches but they move too fast and soon my other hand is entwined with more branches and vines.

"B-Bast!" I push away with all the strength I have but nothing gives. They begin to reach my forearm, pulling me forward as they reach higher.

"Why must this always happen to you?" Bast starts to claw away the branches but after she take one down another one takes its place.

I stumble forward when a larger vine wraps around my waist. I scream as more and more take a hold of different parts of my body dragging me into this so called gate.

"Bast please get me out of here." She claws faster but I know it's no use, soon my cheek touches a branch.

"Adeline, just relax let it take you and I will find a way to get you out."

I try to shake my head but I can't, "No, don't leave me. You can't let it take me." I close my eyes when I am forced deeper into the vines and branches.

"Baaaast!" I scream until my throat goes raw.

••••••••••••••

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-Ash
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Sorry for the extremely late chapter, please forgive me. :(