Elfish by Julie Steimle (best historical fiction books of all time .txt) 📕

“She destroyed my home!” another citizen shouted—though some murmured in wonder at how a footballer knew about elves at all.

“You destroyed her home first,” Daniel retorted. Peter nodded.

They went silent.

Then one old man said, “She’s been here long enough.”

Peter narrowed his gaze on him, handing back the pen he had been using. “One might say the same about you.” He was done with autographs.

Several people flustered. That man rose clenching his fists, frail knuckles whitening. Daniel pulled Peter away from the man, whispering, “People with selfish intent only see what they want. Besides, that old man probably was here the first time her forest was destroyed. I doubt he is sympathetic.”

Sighing, Peter nodded. He said to the crowd, “We’re going to see her tonight, if we can. But we need you to keep the witches out of our way.”

“Hiring witches was the stupidest thing you have ever done,” Daniel added.

There were witches in the crowd who bristled. One spoke up. “Don’t listen to them. They’re just stupid Americans. They’ll make things worse.”

A murmur rumbled through the group, some assenting, some dissenting.

Peter laughed. “Worse? Worse than you angering an elf, tearing down her trees, and trying to build a what? Tennis courts?”

“I dare say she’ll torment this town until doomsday for you what you have done to her,” Daniel interjected with a nod to Peter. Peter got through to people better than he could—but he had to drive it home the severity of it.

The crowd shuddered.

“We might be able to convince her to come with us,” Daniel continued.

“Don’t let them!” A witch rose to her feet. She was the motherly one Daniel had combated earlier. Her hands were in bandages. “They are liars! They are trouble.”

“Oh, we’re not trouble,” Peter broke in, grinning. “We have a friend named Trouble, though. We could call him, and he’d love to come over and cause more chaos than even the Elf could unleash.”

The witch looked like she had wet herself. She nearly fell back into her seat, her eyes going wide. Her lower lip shook. She knew whom he was talking about. And that was interesting. Very few out of the US knew about Tom Brown.

“Are you threatening us?” the mayor of the town said, his face coloring.

Daniel shook his head. “No. Just the witches.”

The mayor quickly looked to the woman, paling.

Several people murmured that it was slander.

“Look,” Daniel said, his gaze growing weary, “Just don’t get in our way when we talk to the Elf. If she is willing to leave with us, then that will give the town of Wells what it wants. But if she is not willing—beware, there will be nothing we can do to stop her.”

“We can stop her,” the matronly witch declared.

“No, you can’t,” Peter replied frankly. “This Elf has been awakened. And that means she is at her full power. You are no match.”

The witch almost retorted, but stopped herself. Gazing at him, and the solid assurance in his eyes, she knew he was right.

“Should we go now?” Daniel said to Peter.

Peter nodded.

When they both left the meeting, no one stopping them, everyone drew in a relieved breath.

“They were glowing,” someone whispered.

Another nodded.

Chapter Ten

Peter and Daniel saw the rotting and collapsed tree from a distance. The Elf’s apartment was a block away from that, though. Daniel led the way inside to the third floor. The apartment was the same as he had left it, only the lights were off and the front door was open.

Peter drew in a breath after he found the light switch, taking in the wild overgrowth of plants filling the room. Daniel felt it somehow had grown wilder in her absence. He looked around then continued on to the bedroom where he found Puck-the-skater-boy asleep next to the half-awake elvish woman who was staring at the envined wall in utter dejection. She did not even look up when they entered the room, but she said, “Do you know who I was? Do you know who I was before all this?”

Daniel shook his head, glad she did not flame up or attack them. He came to her, showing her the mark of the dragon sun on his hand while Peter remained back near the door “I’m not who I used to be either. Whoever you once were doesn’t matter to us. You are our Elf. You were chosen to help the Seven.”

“I was chosen to help the Eight.” She lifted her chin, looking him directly in the eye, her ancient fury still there—as Puck jolted out of his sleep. Her eyes flickered between cat, crow, and angry deity. “And one of them betrayed the others.”

Puck sat up more. Yet with a yawn, he waved to Daniel then Peter, whom he smirked at with amused recognition.

“Well, there are eight now,” Peter said, just trying to be helpful, if not simply factual. Puck hopped off the bed and sidled up to him, eying up the footballer more. Even he seemed inclined to ask for an autograph.

The Elf stared at Peter, her elvish eyes going wide. Her head lifted. “What did you say? Eight this generation? All called at once?”

Peter and Daniel nodded, wondering about the ‘called at once’ remark. They had heard that some Seven were never quite seven individuals together. It was more of a title. That’s what Carlton Jones had said. It was rare they had gathered together at all. Each of the Seven had chosen their replacements in the past. Theirs was the first to be called altogether in generations. And Mr. Jones’ generation had been mostly slaughtered by the previous vimp and were not able to do so. He had selected them all.

“Name them,” she bit out, eying the pair of them.

Exchanging looks with Peter, Daniel said, “Red, Sir Iron Fist—”

“Give our real names.” Peter flicked Daniel’s ear.

Puck giggled, enjoying this.

But the Elf rose, shaking her head at him then also at Puck. “No. He is. Your given names are one thing. But he is naming the Eight as the Eight.”

Peter shrugged, looking back to Daniel who squared his shoulders more with confidence. “Sir Strength Heart, Sir Long Shanks, Sir Cooly, the Chosen One, the Zombie—” Peter rolled his eyes, as he hated that nickname and Daniel had indicated him (though Puck giggled more, hearing it). “And Myself.”

The Elf looked to Peter. “Zombie?”

Peter shook his head. “More people call me the Witchdoctor.”

Puck nodded from behind, making actions for him being a famous athlete.

“And what do they call you?” The Elf turned to Daniel, accepting Peter’s words fully while rolling her eyes at Puck.

Daniel shrugged. “Swift.”

She smiled. But then she said, “Do you have the ankh?”

“Red has it,” Daniel replied, flushing with hope. The conversation was going in the right direction.

She nodded, smirking while eyeing him up. She could tell he was older than he looked, though still quite young in comparison to her. She peeked to Peter and asked, “Do you have the box?”

Leaning back, Peter nodded. “Yeah. I have it.”

Her eyes widened again. She closed one eye, saying it again, “You have the box? Did you open it?”

Daniel and Peter both nodded.

Puck’s eyes widened shocked. He raised his eyebrows at the Elf.

Her eyes went even wider. “And you still see? You were not blinded?”

They exchanged glances then Peter said, “It’s our box.”

“How did you open it?” she demanded gleefully. She as practically hopping with excitement. “I locked it. The keys were inside. No Seven has ever unlocked it.”

Both Peter and Daniel shot her a dry look. Peter said, “There’s eight of us, first off. And secondly, a friend got the keys out for us.”

“A friend?” Puck murmured, though it was not his conversation.

“How?” She waited, eyeing the pair of them. Her gaze bore into them. 

“He’s half-imp,” Daniel supplied, as it was Tom Brown who had done it as a favor. The man was immaterial when he wanted to be, able to reach through solid objects at will.

Puck looked dazed.

The Elf immediately laughed. Her voice was like music. She was even tearing at her eyes. Shaking her head, she declared with open joy, “You are the first to do something like that! You befriended the damned!”

Puck grinned, as that was why he had liked and trusted Daniel. His body relaxed, eyes flickering from Daniel and Peter then to his friend.

“I wouldn’t call Tom that…” Peter felt offended. Tom was awesome. Trouble, but awesome. Peter had counted himself blessed to have known and befriended the half-imp. There was no way a man like him could be damned. His heart was too good.

But the Elf grinned more at him, peeking to Puck with relief. “Not what I mean. Out of all the chosen Seven I have met, you are the first to see us as worthy.”

Daniel frowned, confused, prepared to remind her that there were eight of them again.

“Do you know why I lost my memory?” she said to them.

They shook their heads.

“We’ve been trying to figure it out,” Daniel said in earnest, looking to Peter. “When we found out we had a patron Elf, we were surprised. Things are getting more difficult, and we need more help.”

She gazed on him fondly, almost as if she knew him. With a sigh, she said, “I fled. I was scared. I… I fled from the one who had cursed me. ”

Peter waited, watching her. “What? Cursed you? Why did you flee from the Seven? They could have helped you.”

She grinned at him. “Because, the Seven were tainted. There was always one who hated my kind—the elf folk. They called me ‘the damned’—sometimes to my face. They resented me. Then one cursed me—quite literally. Early middle ages. He was the leader of the Seven at the time. And he placed a spell upon me to punish me, acting as judge and jury. And my crime? Being elfish. I think today they would call that racism.

“But… he did it to control me. He thought I was too unruly. He tried to wipe my memory—but instead he confused it, tangled it up. It is still a tangled mess now. But anyway, after fleeing the Seven that would curse me to control me, I forgot my name. I forgot my past. And the one of the Seven who had cursed me, deemed himself as god over me. On the whole, I think it was merciful that I did not curse him back.

“By instinct alone I found my way back home. I made certain no other Seven would be able to find me. It was the one thing I did remember—they cursed me. They betrayed me. So when I settled in Isle of Man, I forgot everything, even that I had been a destroying angel and a called advisor to the Seven.” The Elf shook her head. “The fool, made it so I could not do my duty. I assume the Seven thereafter suffered because of his prejudice?”

Peter nodded. “Yeah. Mr. Jones said it was the quest of the Seven to find out what happened to their Elf. But none have gotten as close as we have to finding you.”

“Good,” the Elf grumbled. “They didn’t deserve my help.”

Puck smirked, nodding in agreement.

“Do we?” Daniel asked, bating his breath, hoping.

Lifting her eyes to him, gazing at him, she nodded. “You do.”

Peter detected something more in that look.