Read Online A Toiling Darkness by Jaliza Burwell - Free Book Online Page A

the
easiest thing for him to do. It probably was too. They told jokes
and laughed while slapping each other on the back. To them, he was
just one of the guys in a matter of seconds.
    You know we aren’t normal. I’m a fire
wielding crazy ass elemental fae and you’re…well, you. We don’t get
that. We don’t get to be friends with the humans. I’m okay with
that though. Are you?
    I agreed with Eithna then, but now…not so
much. They have this companionship with other humans that I’ll
never get to be a part of. They can talk to each other, make plans
for the future, and not worry about hidden blades and unknown
motives.
    Eventually Kalen came to a decent
neighborhood, with some graffiti and homeless people, but the
streets were clean and people were happily out and about, not
worrying about having to be dodgy. He wandered around the
neighborhood aimlessly. I was about to just give up and go be
productive when he stopped and faced my direction. He squinted his
eyes, trying to see. It made his eyes even darker, hidden deep in
his face.
    “How long are you going to follow me?” he
asked, looking in my general spot. He was about ten feet off.
    I grinned and stepped out of my little
hiding spot, flinging the shadows away so he could see me. “When
did you know?”
    “When I was helping the fae child.”
    “He sensed me, didn’t he?”
    He frowned. “Why? Is it so hard to think I
was the one who sensed you?”
    I grinned. It irked him not being the one to
notice I was stalking him. I couldn’t help it, my grin widened.
Which irked him even more.
    “You’re too human,” I replied.
    “What’s wrong with being a human?”
    “Nothing,” I smirked. “Just blind and
naïve.”
    If I had super hearing, I would hear his
teeth grinding. He was getting angry or frustrated. I was betting
on frustration. He wanted to yell at me and yet I was just a kid
and he didn’t want to be seen yelling at a little girl. That was
definitely frowned upon among the humans.
    “Do you hate humans?” he finally asked.
    I cocked my head to the side, thinking of
the question. Did I hate humans? At one point it was an easy,
automatic yes. But now? I stared at Kalen for a moment and decided
to tell him the truth. “I’m more numb to them than anything else.
Sometimes they interested me but most of the time I don’t
care.”
    Something in my voice must have told him how
hard it really was for me to admit something like that. His
expression softened a little, some of the tension leaving his jaw.
He was no longer grinding them together.
    “So why are you following me?” he asked.
    “Curious, I guess.”
    “About what?”
    Everything.
    I smiled a little, looking around. We were
standing next to a little coffee shop, people giving us a wide
birth as they walked by. Some of them casted glances at us,
curious. Others ignored us the best they could, keeping their eyes
focused straight ahead. The rest made use of their little phones. I
think they were referred to as smart phones. Some of those devices
were definitely smarter than their owners.
    “I’m curious about you,” I replied, watching
as someone ran towards us, a desperate expression on her face.
Kalen had his back to them so he didn’t notice them and no human
was in danger so he didn't sense anything.
    Blood stained the woman’s cheek, a bruise
was forming around her left eye and her clothes were ripped, blood
staining the white shirt and plaid shorts. A boy ran a couple of
steps behind her, glancing behind him while pushing the woman
forward. And when I say boy, I mean a young adult. I think that’s
what they are referred to as now.
    The desperation in them was palpable as they
ran. Anyone in their way moved to the side to let them pass. None
of them did anything to help—even with the three others chasing
behind them. Their pursuers were about ten yards behind.
    “Troubles a-brewing,” I sang as the woman
focused onto Kalen. She knew instantly he was someone who