When We Were Still Human by Vaughn Foster (best ereader for textbooks .txt) 📕

“Our parents ere in’ational herb traders, so we’ve come ta Ys e’ry few months,” the girl continued. She didn’t change like her brothers, but her pupils dilated to narrow, lizard-like slits. “We normally on’t come untiil August, but mum wanted to see the—”

“Ice sculptures!” the blond boy interjected with a jab to her ribs.

Avia narrowed her eyes and looked up to Paris. The Celestial only smiled. “They are beautiful. Oh! Have you three been to that candy shop down the street?”

All three of them lit up as they turned their heads to the flashing yellow sign. “The moon sand and peppermint toffee is the best!” the girl exclaimed.

“Nuh-uh,” the freckled boy argued, crossing his arms. “Yeu hav to go for ta chocolate peanut butter tarantula legs!”

Paris turned to the blond boy who’d been relatively quiet. “What do you like?” she asked.

He looked down and shrugged. “I on’t know... Anything gummy and sour, really. Like candies in the Western Kingdom that are shaped like worms.”

“He’s so mundane!” the girl giggled, slapping him on the back.

“Hey, I like gummy sour candy,” Castor boomed. Before any of the kids could prepare themselves, Paris was gone and her massive brother loomed over them. “I don’t think we’re boring. Eh, Avia?”

Avia stood to her feet and brushed herself off. “Yeah, sure.” She was shocked at how casual they could be at a time like this. They needed to interrogate these kids, not make friends. She took a step towards them, but a massive hand clapped back on her shoulder.

“Whoa! I’ve never seen a mirage li yeu, sir,” the girl said in awe. They all tilted their heads back to take him in. It looked like they were trying to follow the map of stars across his body.

Good luck with that, Avia thought. She’d already tried and failed several times herself.

“I’m a special build,” he chuckled. “Now you guys run along. I’m going to make sure my friend didn’t hurt her knee when she fell.”

With a quick wave, the kids disappeared down the street and into the candy shop. When they were out of sight, Castor removed his hand and leaned against the building nearest to them.

“What the hell was that?!” Avia hissed, violently motioning towards the store.

“What were you going to do, Avia?” Castor asked with a mocking raise of his brow. “Burn three small children alive in the middle of a crowded street? They were, what, ten? Twelve?”

Avia opened her mouth to retort but stopped. She hadn’t really thought through what she would’ve done when they caught the kids. Castor was right, even aside from their age there were too many witnesses.

“Okay, fine,” she huffed, throwing up her hands. “Maybe I didn’t think it through.” She ignored his satisfied smirk. “But you heard them. Something’s going on. Tonight. And now we have no leads. We can’t leave until we find the grimoire, and I don’t know about you two, but I don’t want to be in this icebox any longer than I have to. Now, whether you’re coming with me or not, I’m marching into that store and—”

“Avia,” Castor sighed, reaching for her arm. Avia side stepped out of his grasp and sent a wave of fire to his face with the back of her hand. A passing couple slowed and stared, but quickly sped away as Avia shot them a cold glare.

“You’re making a scene!” Paris whispered. Castor’s eyes darted both ways across the street. Avia looked around to see several shoppers quickly avert their gaze. They continued on like they hadn’t seen the confrontation.

“Diplomacy,” said Castor. “We can’t go starting chaos every time we need information. Besides, we already know where they’re going.”

The red that had been creeping into Avia’s vision faded. Her arms fell to her side. “We do?”

“They dropped this.” Castor held out a flyer. Avia took the paper and wrinkled her nose.

Circ D’Undead!

576th Annual Celebration- With special guests,

Freyr and Freya!

Citizens Only

Beneath the text was a picture of a stout Selkie man with a thick, curled mustache. Above him were two acrobats on a tightrope. They each had long, pale-blond hair braided down their back. As Avia compared their near-identical build and facial features, she became positive they were related. She just couldn’t tell what they were. They looked human, but their bodies were grey and… rotted? Bone could be seen around the woman’s left eye. Freya, she assumed. The skin on her brother, Freyr’s, right arm was practically gone.

“The Norse Twins,” Castor spoke, breaking Avia’s concentration. “They went missing several centuries ago. The sempiternus—zombie— appearance is new, but that’s them.”

“They were a part of the Vanir,” Paris continued. “Gods of fertility and wisdom with the ability to see into the future. After the Accords, Freya and Freyr stepped down from the godhead and served the Northern Queen. Freya governed the Light Elves in Álfheimr and Freyr ruled the Dark Elves under the earth.

Castor took the flyer from Avia’s hand and stared at the grotesque fae rulers. “On the day of the current Northern King’s ascension, there was an attack. Human hunters invaded one of the enchanted forests, and the twins were the first to respond.”

The Mark on Avia’s arm flared to life, and she was taken into a vision. Hunters tore through the forest on horseback, each wielding a glowing scythe-like weapon. One by one, each of the fae met a gruesome death. Satyrs were de-hoofed. Centaurs split down the middle. Then the fairies. Before they could scream, the scythes dug into their backs and rooted out their wings. The then-mortal fae were left to bleed out— if they weren’t trampled underfoot.

The vision hurled Avia back to the icy walkway. She clenched her fists in an effort to control the fire, but the skin around her eyes started to crack. Flames swam beneath