The
Sprite
Part
5
Neena dodged and dashed through the
camp, still clutching the sapphire as she used her cloak of shadows to fade
into the darkness at the edge of the camp. She could hear one of them following
her slowly through the woods even with that and knew he was tailing her
deliberately. Must be using some magic seeking device…this cloak was a dead
giveaway to one of those types of spells. She decided now was as good a
time as any to call it a night. She’d done what she’d come to do…it was time to
beat a hasty retreat.
She hovered a while longer for a lingering
moment, remembering the way his finger had felt rubbing between her wings. Not
a sprite in the world had the ability to rub your whole back with just one
finger…it had been amazing. The crashing of human feet through the bush near
her reminded her of what she knew all along…he was human and not to be trusted.
After all, he wasn’t out hunting ducks!
Keeping an eye out behind her, she bolted back
toward the edge of the camp, only to be painfully rebounded by some invisible
force. She looked up, trying to catch her breath and finally noticed the force
field in front of her. In her haste, she had neglected to leave in a different
direction than she had come. The force field had disrupted her magic and reread
her makeup, sending it to all the other sensors. She was effectively trapped in
this 20 foot circle around the camp until the sensors were deactivated.
Hearing the footsteps approaching her, she
winced in agony, then dragged herself under a piece of bark and laid down to wait. She could barely breathe as it was, the
pain was so great, but she didn’t want to draw any attention to herself. She
lay there on her back for a long time, looking up at the underside of the bark
and trying to focus on anything but the agony. It felt as though her entire
body had been crushed and then reshaped without any painkillers. She swallowed
hard and turned her head…only to find herself staring at a soft leather boot.
Eyes wide, she almost DID stop breathing for
a moment. How the hell do a HUMAN get that close to a sprite without making
a sound?, she thought frantically. All he had to
do was shift and she’d feel crushed again, but this time permanently. She
really wanted to close her eyes, but had to look up to see who this was…
And it was HIM again! She could feel a wave
of angry frustration sweeping over her as she looked up. He was crouched down
by the sensor inspecting it, with one foot on either side of her so she had a
perfect view of him from here. It was all his fault
that she was here in the first place…him with his stupid sexy attitude and his
stupid rubbing her wings and his stupid…giant bulge in his pants just above
her. She could feel herself growing warm and nearly choked…if she didn’t stop
getting interested in this guy, she was going to start glowing the way all
sprites did when they were ready to mate with each other. He’d see her for SURE
then!
She scrunched her eyes tight and tried to
think of anything else, starting with all the different jobs she’d had in her
life. She’d been a messenger as a kid, then lost her parents and became a petty
thief, then joined up with a human and runs some scams that way, even being a
hired assassin/Mata Hari type for a while, then
became a fairy hunter herself for a bit (actually being quite good at trapping
her own kind), then ran afoul of Turlock and his family when she’d tried to
kidnap and sell his kids. If not for the fact that his baby son had adored her,
Now that she’d been with the family for a
few years, she had to admit that she’d gone terribly soft, since none of the
jobs she’d done in the past seemed that appealing anymore. Well, she
thought, smiling, she had kind of enjoyed sleeping around and seducing all
those guys. She’d really had to in some instances to get close to her prey, but
she hadn’t ever really done more than have a good time and go. She grinned,
thinking of the many men, human, elven, dwarven and other who’d actually thought her size and
delicate features were a turn on that gave them the upper hand, not realizing
she had the power to be as tall as 4 feet with her amulet on.
Dammit, she
thought, suddenly realizing she didn’t feel it on her neck. Where WAS that
amulet? She looked back up at him again to see if he was watching, then
slowly turned her head to look for the amulet. She could see it lying near the
perimeter not far from her, but knew she couldn’t get it. No sooner did SHE
notice it than HE did the same. She saw his hand descend and pinch the little
chain and medallion up between his fingers…the very fingers that had rubbed her
back earlier. She winced again and closed her eyes…God, how she hated humans,
especially the good looking ones that she couldn’t help but wonder what was in
their shorts…
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