Chalcedony: Book Two of the Everleaf Series Read online

  Contents

  Chalcedony Title Page

  Copyright

  Stay Updated

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  About the Author

  Black Beauty by Constance Burris

  Wander This World by G.L. Tomas

  Copyright © 2016 by Constance Burris

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Printed in the United States of America

  B.E. Publications, 2016

  Summary:

  After escaping to the human realm, Coal is accused of kidnapping and spends six months in a juvenile detention center. After he is released, he learns everything he was told about his past was a lie. In order to discover the truth, he'll have to make a deal with a government agent hell-bent on destroying the treaty between the two worlds.

  To discover current and future stories by Constance Burris, visit www.constanceburris.com.

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  Chapter One

  Coal's fists bobbed in and out of his vision as he concentrated on the six foot three inches of sinewy muscle moving in front of him. All he needed was for Jorge to lower his guard and give him an opening.

  They were surrounded by eight other boys. The spectators cheered and muttered boxing instructions in low, excited voices. Anything louder would alert the guards, and the day's entertainment would be over until the next rare occasion when the guards neglected their duty and left the group of seventeen-year-olds alone.

  The residents of the Meyers Juvenile Detention Center spent the mornings in individual study (or in court), the afternoons in counseling (or in court), and in the evenings they were allowed to play ping pong, card games, or dominoes. His social workers had told Coal he was supposed to be working on his social skills and learning more about his new country.

  Coal stood a shoulder above the rest of his cellmates. In the fey realm, his height had helped him fit in with the elves (well, as much as a human could fit in with the fey). Here, with humans, it made him stick out. In the Meyers Juvenile Center, it had made him a target.

  All of the boys were dressed the same. Same color shoes, same pants, and same shirt. Half of the time, when he saw someone from the back, he had no idea who it was.

  Strands of Jorge's black, shoulder-length hair had fallen out of its ponytail and across his brown eyes. With his head lifted confidently, he gave Coal a cocky smile.

  The sunlight and birds chirping filtered through the opened window.

  Jorge threw his punch. Instinctively, Coal leaned back, but Jorge had unusually long arms, even for his height, and the punch still connected with Coal's chin. His teeth rattled, and pain shot through his jaw. Coal ignored it, lifted his fists, and stared at Jorge's triumphant grin.

  When he had arrived six months ago, Coal had had no idea how to fistfight. His first brawl, which happened three days after he had arrived, had taken him by surprise.

  He had wrestled, mastered swordplay, become skilled with a bow, and occasionally used an ax in the fey realm, but boxing was new to him. He had no idea how to form a fist, much less throw a punch. He had left his first fight with two black eyes, a loose tooth, and a reprimand for not telling the guards who had beaten him. Coal did not know much about the human realm, but he did know snitches never got very far.

  In the fey realm he had been teased and bullied for being a human, but he knew his elven best friend, Chalcedony, would protect him. And she had until he betrayed her to save a human child Chalcedony had taken from the human realm. Now he was in jail, being punished for a crime he had been dumb enough to let her commit.

  For his second fight, he was more prepared. He remembered his sword lessons with his half-elf, half-dwarf mentor Grigory. He made sure his feet were planted on the ground. He kept his eye on his opponent, trying to guess his adversary's next move by the direction of his feet and where he looked. Just like hands in a swordfight, fists were liars. An inexperienced swordsman always looked before they struck. Coal made his hands into a fist and pretended it was a sword.

  David, Coal's opponent in the second fight, had feinted to the side and then moved straight forward. Coal, ignoring the feint, dodged and jabbed, hitting David in the face with two quick punches. David dropped to his knees and Coal felt a surge of triumph. His rush of victory quickly disappeared when David, still on his knees, punched Coal in the groin. Overtaken by pain, Coal crumpled into a ball on the floor.

  In the cell alone at night, when he was not meditating, he was throwing punches at invisible opponents. In his third fight, he refused to lose.

  Coal's first blow was weak. He was too far away and his fist barely grazed Jorge.

  "You're gonna have to do better than that to take me out," Jorge said, as if he knew beyond a doubt he would win.

  Coal needed to get in closer. His arms were not as long as a sword. He was taller and stronger than Jorge, Coal reminded himself. He could never win against elves in the fey realm. Jorge was human; Coal could win this. He stepped closer and threw a right hook toward the side of Jorge's face. It was immediately followed by a jab to Jorge's jaw.

  The impact of Coal's knuckles against bone sent a painful jolt through his hand. He ignored the sharp pain and stepped back, just as Jorge's fist sped by.

  The surrounding boys softly muttered oohs and ahs.

  Jorge's eyes widened in shock more than in pain or fear. "Man, look who grew some balls all of a sudden."

  Coal struck before Jorge could say another word. A few weeks ago, a boy had hit his opponent on the side of his head. It had taken a full minute before the other boy woke. With that in mind, Coal sent a speeding fist towards Jorge's temple. Jorge fell to the ground head first as his feet gave out beneath him.

  As he had seen the other boys do, Coal lifted his hands above his head and hopped back and forth, claiming his victory. After months of being teased and feeling helpless, he finally felt a measure of control and normalcy. It was suddenly deathly quiet except for the chirping of the birds. Coal swallowed his dread and looked away from Jorge and toward the door. A guard stood near the entrance, his arms crossed over his chest.

  COAL SAT cross-legged on his bed while he took long, deep breaths to clear his mind. It did not always
work. On some days, no matter how hard he tried, memories of his past life in the fey realm with his best friend played on a loop over and over again. Pain accompanied by a burning desire to return home always followed those memories. After three days of being confined to his room, the haunting memories of the fey realm were becoming less frequent. More and more he could simply clear his mind and focus on nothing.

  When his bed rattled and shook, Coal, unwilling to return to reality, ignored it. He hoped it would stop, but it shook a second time. "Get up, boy. I know you ain't asleep."

  A long, deep sigh escaped from Coal before he opened his eyes. "Get up, boy. I know you ain't asleep." Abraham, a short, heavily muscled man with a gold tooth and a too-tight gray uniform loomed above. "You have a visitor," he said, kicking the side of Coal's bed again.

  Coal stood and put on a pair of gray-brown slippers that were only slightly less hard than the floor. He did not ask who the visitor was. For the past few months, the only people who had bothered to visit were social workers. But really, after three days of confinement to his room, it really did not matter who it was. Meditation was a useful means to escape, but it would feel damn good to leave his room.

  Abraham led him past another guard standing outside the room. They were always in pairs. As they escorted him down the empty hallway, they passed the recreation room, and he felt more than saw the gaze of the boys. He made sure he stood straighter and turned up a corner of his mouth as he walked by.

  The juvenile center had four conference rooms. All of them were cramped, musty, and windowless. Because of the long horizontal lights hanging from the ceilings, every single one was too bright.

  At first, Coal was frequently in these constrained conference rooms being interrogated by humans who introduced themselves as federal agents. Once they understood that Coal was not going to change his story, the meetings became less frequent. Now he only saw social workers, who changed every other month, so after the third, Coal did not bother to remember their names. On a biweekly schedule, they would stop by and ask if he was being treated okay and if he remembered anything about Elizabeth's abduction, or if he remembered anything about his past. On each visit, Coal always said the same thing: he was being treated fine, and no, he could not remember anything about Elizabeth's abduction or anything about his past.

  When Coal saw the man wearing an expensive suit and gun strapped to his waist standing in the conference room, his pulse quickened and he suddenly regretted ever wanting to leave his lonely room.

  "Hello, Coal," Agent Ellis said, extending his hand.

  Coal nodded and took a seat at the table without returning the greeting. Agent Steven Ellis was not a social worker Coal had been expecting. This was the man who had questioned Coal for hours on end when he had first arrived in the human realm scared, confused, and alone. Agent Ellis had preyed on Coal's ignorance by leading him to believe that unless he named the accomplices, Coal would be sentenced to death. Coal had almost cracked and told them everything. Despite the consequences, Coal had refused to implicate anyone else. Back then he still believed someone would come for him. Six months later, he still hoped he would escape.

  "Are you here to take me to the hangman and a firing squad," Coal said, his voice full of disdain.

  Agent Ellis sat down and began lightly drumming the table with his hands. "So you're mad about that, huh? I was hoping to scare the truth out of you. I guess you figured out that we don't actually kill people for kidnapping, especially kids?" The man's skin was a few shades lighter than Coal's, and he had a thin beard that connected to a mustache with a few errant strands of gray.

  Coal shrugged and looked away.

  "I get it. You don't want to talk to me." He paused, looking expectantly towards Coal. "You're mad because you feel like I lied to you. Well, answer this. How should you be treated? You were an accessory to kidnapping. Then the mother felt so guilty over the abduction of her child that she killed herself. I repeat, how should you be treated?"

  "I brought her back," Coal answered, biting back guilt and regret. He had done all he could to get Elizabeth home. In the end, he had succeeded. It just had not been soon enough.

  "That doesn't erase what you did. That's not going to bring that girl's mother back."

  Coal stared down at his calloused hands. His friends in the fey realm--Mireya, Haline, Royden, and Queen Isis--had all tried to get Elizabeth home and back to her mother. It never occurred to anyone that she would not have a mother to return to.

  "I can help you," Ellis said, softening his voice. Coal knew what was coming next. When Ellis wanted something, he was always nice--at first. He wanted to know why she had been taken and where his accomplice was. Coal could not answer those questions. He would pay for his part in Elizabeth's abduction, but he would not tell them about the fey realm or Chalcedony.

  "I didn't tell you this before, but I'm with a special division of Homeland Security. I know things most people don't."

  Coal ran a nervous hand along his braided hair while he tried to think of something to say. This was not part of Agent Ellis's usual script.

  "The child says she was taken from her home by you and a fairy princess named Chalcedony. Then she said she was taken to the land of the fairies. But there were no fairies, just elves." Ellis looked at Coal. "Everyone, including her father, is wondering what kind of crack you gave this child. But I know better."

  Coal narrowed his eyes. What did he know?

  Agent Ellis leaned forward. "I know about the fey realm."

  Coal's mind raced. Had he really heard right? Did Ellis know about the fey?

  "Humans are not as ignorant as they like to think. We signed the treaty just like they did. There are a few of us still in the loop." Ellis took a pen out of his coat pocket and began gnawing on the tip. "But lately the fey have been very sloppy. More and more of those things are coming here causing trouble, and I think your princess is behind it. I can get you out of here," Ellis said, taking the tip of the pen out of his mouth and pointing it at Coal. "I just need you to tell me the truth. I need you to corroborate the girl's story."

  Giddy relief rushed through his body. Being surrounded by people who had no idea another world existed made him feel as if it never existed, like his whole life was a lie. Agent Ellis's confession made Coal feel like he was not crazy. His life mattered. But it did not change anything. Coal still had to stay silent.

  "I know the girl is telling the truth about where she's been," Ellis continued. "What I don't know is why you're protecting the elf who took her. Chalcedony is supposed to enforce the human-fey treaty, not break it her damn self."

  "What do you want from me?" Coal asked. "We've been through this all before. I don't know anything except for what I've already told you."

  "I want your full confession. I want you to go on record."

  "I took her. I already told you. There was no one else. Just me."

  "Why did you take her? Where did you take her?"

  "I needed a friend. I'm homeless and we were living on the streets," Coal answered automatically for the hundredth, if not the thousandth time. He never veered from his answers, and he was not going to start now.

  "Then explain to me how the hell you got that girl from Boston to Ireland. Since when can the homeless travel internationally? You're also over six feet tall and as wide as a football player. Since when do the homeless eat so well?"

  After a long silence where Coal felt as if Agent Ellis was trying to stare a hole into his head, Agent Ellis sighed deeply. "That's an ugly mark." He motioned to the cut beneath Coal's lip. "The longer you remain quiet, the longer you'll stay in here and the more bruises you'll get. I heard you beat the guy who did it pretty well, but he'll just come back again with more of his friends. But if you tell me what happened with the girl, I'll get you out of here."

  Coal met Agent Ellis's eyes. "I've already told you."

  Ellis stood, walked over to Coal and grabbed his shirt. "Why are you protecting her?"

&nb
sp; "I'm not protecting anyone." He had been in so many fights over the past few months, it was instinctive to hit anyone that touched him. But Ellis was baiting him. Coal knew it.

  The door opened and fear flashed across Agent Ellis's face before he jumped away from Coal.

  "Steven, leave the kid alone. You just admitted he didn't take the kid." The man was dressed similarly to Agent Ellis, but his skin was white and he had blue, misty eyes and white hair. "Abraham, take the kid back to his room," the man said.

  "HE'S PROTECTING A kidnapper," Ellis said, shoving a chair across the room.

  "You're just as familiar with Stockholm syndrome as I am. It shouldn't surprise you," Agent Craig said calmly. The man never registered any emotion besides calm.

  "Rogue fey are one thing, but when fey royalty start breaking the damn treaty, what the hell are we supposed to do? Just turn our heads and pretend that it isn't happening?"

  "Politician or fey royalty, they never think the law applies to them. Give it up. This isn't a fight you can win. The girl is home. Forget about the rest and let the boy go."

  Ellis grimaced. The thought of releasing the boy made him sick. Coal was the key to bringing down the fey. The girl was young and unreliable. But the boy ... "Are we sure he's human?" Ellis asked, grabbing at anything that would keep the boy in custody.

  "Paranoid much? Besides his height, what about him screams fey? Our contact from the fey realm has already confirmed that the boy was taken from the human realm just like the girl was."

  "And you believe him?" Ellis asked.

  "Yes. Have you ever seen a black elf? Shapeshifting, race-bending queens don't count," Agent Craig said with a tone of finality. "The boy is human and he has rights. We can't hold him any longer. With this Black Lives Matter movement, if our records get audited, which the fuckers in Congress always do, I'll get my head handed to me if they see I kept an innocent 'victim' locked up any longer than necessary. On paper, the boy looks like an angel. He escaped with the girl and brought her home. It's a Lifetime TV movie."