Page 8 of A Hint of Delirium

The sprite scampered away and we were once again left alone. Ansel sat beside me, still glamoured and wearing an enigmatic smile that made my knees weak.

“I want to show you something,” he said. “But you can’t freak out.”

“More than I already am?” I grunted. “Hardly.”

“Right. Well, all High Fae have powers that go well beyond being able to glamour themselves, other people, and objects. Because we’re so in-tune with nature, we have elemental abilities as well.”

“Elemental?” I raised a brow.

“Yes. Using your terms, I am an earth elemental.” He stood and held out his hand for me to take. “Follow me.”

I took it and let him lead me to a grassy area up a sloped bank. Ansel knelt and I did the same, knowing I probably looked weird to others since they couldn’t see him.

“Watch this.” He grinned and cupped his hands on the grass. Right before my eyes, a flower started to grow, then another and another.

“How did you do that?” I touched the petals reverently to convince myself they were real.

“Pretty, huh?” He plucked one and placed it behind my ear. “As an earth elemental, I can control nature.”

“Can all fae do that?”

“You mean High Fae, and no, we don’t all control the earth. Others can control air, water, or fire. There are other elemental powers besides those four, but they’re rarer.”

I chuckled. “So you’re like avatars.”

“I might not be from this realm, but I know what that is,” he deadpanned. “And no, we’re not anime characters, Violet.”

I laughed at how offended he got. “You can call me Vi.”

He gave a weird smile. “Is that what you prefer?”

“Yeah.”

Ansel stood. “Very well, then; Vi it is.” He held out a hand and an orange swirling light shot out of his palm into the air, slowly growing into a huge circle. “Why don’t we get out of here?”

“Wh-What is that?” I stuttered. “I’m not going inside that thing!”

“Don’t be difficult, Vi. It’s a portal. It will take us back to your home so we don’t have to take the subway and bus again.”

“I—”

He offered a reassuring smile. “Just take my hand. I promise everything will be okay.”

“No,” I said adamantly, standing my ground. No sane person would willingly go in that thing. I grimaced as I looked at all the swirling oranges that flickered and popped like electricity.Oh, hell no!“I’m not getting sucked into some vortex of the unknown. I don’t know what’s in there! Do I look like the type who joins clinical trials for money? No! Because they’re dangerous, just like this! I don’t experiment—”

Ansel sighed, dropping his shoulders. “Fine, I guess we’re doing this the hard way.” He scooped me up, flipping me over his shoulder as if I weighed nothing but a grain of rice.

“Hey!” I shouted. “You can’t do this! This is kidnapping again, you psycho!”

He smacked my ass, which made me shriek before wisely shutting up. My cheeks were redder than a tomato. “Quiet, Vi. It will just take a second to kidnap you to your home … again,” he chuckled. “Hang on tight.”

When Ansel stepped into the portal, wind buffeted my face and tossed my hair all around. I clenched my eyes shut as we journeyed into the unknown.

* * *

We bolted outof the portal, my curls whipping all around my face in punishing lashes. I nearly fell off Ansel’s shoulder in the dismount.

Grace. It wasn’t my middle name.

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