A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps by Kit Bryan

Ashton's eyes widen as I approach and he takes a half step away from me which makes me freeze in place.

"Are you okay? Is it safe now?" I ask, glancing around and trying to figure out why Ashton would be backing away from ME. I mean, he's the one who is basically glowing.

"It is safe enough, however it would be best if you were to keep your distance from me for the time being." He responds. His voice sounds strained, like he's struggling with something, although he looks like he's just standing there so I don't know what. I'm going to guess that whatever it is, it's probably the same reason why he's turned into his very own nightlight. The glowing is probably only very faint, but with the sun just starting to go down, he stands out against the shadows of the dim evening light.

"You didn't answer my first question, are YOU okay?” I repeat suspiciously. Is something wrong? He really doesn't sound right.

"I will be fine." He insists and turns his attention to the imp. I stay where I am, respecting his request to keep my distance, but I watch him closely for signs of discomfort. He is sort of bouncing in place, rocking on his heels and hit movements are jerky and sudden. He really doesn't look okay, he looks like he's in pain and trying to hide it which I don't love. Still, he says he's going to be fine and I trust him not to lie to me. He knows himself better than I do after all. "Where are your partners?" Ashton demands, standing over the imp and being his most imposing self. I doubt it was necessary, the imp already looks terrified. All the fight seems to be gone from him and there isn't so much as a spark of fire on him anywhere.

"I do not know anything! It was not my idea to kill your father. They just hired me to help because I have strong fire magic!" His words are a cry. Hold up a second, did he say they killed Ashton's father? But he told me that it was their king who was murdered. Surely Ashton would have mentioned if he was royalty right? Surely he wouldn't be able to hide the fact that he's searching for his own father's assassins... right? Shit. This might explain the near constant sadness and his dedication to his task. He was acting like this would be an easy fight for him to win. But now I'm thinking it wasn't that he believes that he can easily win, but rather that he refuses to contemplate that he might not defeat them. Ashton is here for justice, or revenge. I'm not sure which. Either way, he's not been entirely honest with me. Part of me is mad at him and the rest of me just feels sorry for his pain and loss. The contradicting emotions just leave me a little blank. I can't decide if I want to yell or cry so instead I just continue to watch and see what else I can learn.

Ashton glances at me briefly, probably realising that his secret is out, but when I don't give him any kind of useful reaction he turns back to his interrogation. I guess we're in agreement about dealing with this later then. "I do not care who created the plan. You will be locked away and sentenced for your involvement. I want to know where the others are." He demands again. The imp cringes away from him, nearly tumbling onto his back.

"I truly do not know. When we arrived here we decided to split and go our own way in the hopes of avoiding capture. I did not expect that this place would be so different or that it would be so hard to blend in. The humans are everywhere and it is difficult to find somewhere safe to rest. I have no way to contact the others. I do not even know who they truly are. We wore glamours the whole time. I can tell you that I believe one of the others is a woman or at least commonly masquerades as one. She was too comfortable in her glamour to be anything else." The words are basically tumbling out of the imp as he hurries to share everything that he knows. All of a sudden, Ashton collapses to his knees with a pained groan. I can't help myself. I rush towards him, although I stop just out of reach when he holds out a hand for me to stay back. The imp's eyes widen and his expression becomes desperate and almost hopeful. He turns his attention to me for the first time.

"Girl, the prince is weakened right now. If you help me I will owe you a debt, all you must do is remove the chain from around my neck and I will take care of the rest!” He sounds desperate as he pleads with me. I can't help but roll my eyes. "Did you miss the part where I want to help Ashton? Why would I help you? Just shut up already." I tell him aggressively.

"Ashton you're in pain, What can I do?" I demand, kneeling beside him. He has burns up his arm and cuts from the glass, but none of the injuries look serious enough to bring him to his knees like this. Ashton shakes his head and with a nervous glance at the imp he strikes out and knocks the assassin unconscious. The sudden movement makes me jump back a little in surprise.

"I regret that I must request your help once more. I do not want you to be frightened but because of my magic I am going to pass out in a moment and I will need your assistance to manage this situation. I am sure you have many questions but I do not have time to answer them right now so please listen and I promise to explain later.” He pauses and sways a little like he's struggling to stay upright. I nod and wait for him to continue.

"Call your father and have him lock the imp away. But make sure he knows that under no circumstances should the chain around his neck be removed. It is limiting his magic and as long as he wears it he should be no more threat than any other human. He cannot remove it himself but anyone else could remove it for him." Ashton takes an unsteady breath before he continues.

"I will need you to keep me safe while I am unconscious. I will wake on my own but my glamour will fall and it may be some hours before I wake." With a shaking hand, Ashton reaches out, grabs my hand in his ice cold fingers and bends over it slightly.

"Thankyou and... I am sorry." Then without another word his hand slips from mine and he collapses to the ground unconscious.

The street is strangely quiet. I can hear crickets and a dog barking nearby and since the glow coming from Ashton faded the moment he passed out, it is also pretty dark since the sun is almost entirely gone now. For a moment I just sit here, completely stunned. What did Ashton tell me I need to do? I'm sitting here with two unconscious fae who are both no longer wearing glamours. It is only a matter of time until someone gets brave enough to come and check out what happened here. I take a couple deep breaths and force myself to think. Right, first thing I need to do is call for help. I don't want the imp to wake up before help arrives. I could call the actual police, but instead I just do what I always do when need help. I call my dad.