Harvest Moon, Part 7

I pushed my way through the crowd, shoving aside goblin and troll alike. Size didn’t seem to matter, they all folded by easily until I had stepped onto the dance floor and found myself thrusting a finger at the big guy and shouting.

“He deserves no acclaim for what he has done!”

The room fell eerily silent. And it was then that I realized I just stepped out and accused him going only off Corrigan’s word. Sure, she promised me the information. Only problem was, she hadn’t given me anything to go off of. I was blindly throwing accusations.

Titannia didn’t bat an eye, “well, Elroy Reardon. You’re reputation precedes you. However, I had no idea you’d be so brazen as to interrupt me.” She stepped down slowly from her small podium. Her moves were heavy, yet she did not stomp. More of a slow lumbering. It reminded me of a bear pacing its food.

She rolled her shoulders, and under the full fur gown she wore, it really added to the whole bear look. A gorgeous creature about to tear my head off. That is until, the big guy in the small suit step forward and took a knee before her.

“Please, my Lady, it would do you no honor to bring yourself down to his level. Allow me to deal with this matter,” he never looked up to her. Not at her eyes. Not even up to where my eyes were set on her. Uncouth, thy name is Elroy.

She considered his proposal, all the while looking to me with fire in her eyes. I had made things rough the past couple of months, not directly to her. But this was incidentally the final straw. She wanted to deal with me herself. But the fire subsided as she gazed around at her Court. Not here. Not amongst the murmurs of the party. To take action in front of this large a crowd, it’d be the end of her reign.

So, instead, she bowed to her man, “you do me great honor, Adolf. I’ll leave this matter in your care.” Her hand extended and the man, Adolf, kissed the ring upon it. Then she shot me a gaze. If looks could kill, I was half expecting her to childishly stick out her tongue too.

Titannia slowly back behind her Court and returned to her lofty position above them all. She waved her hand and smile down the length of the dance floor to me, “what matter do you bring to the Court today Mr. Reardon?”

“I come to challenge Rite of Claim!” my fists clenched and I tried not to let slip that I was sweating. It was only the doublet that caused it. But it'd be like blood in the water whatever the reason.

Whispers broke out all around us. But they were silenced by Adolf laughing. His great stomach shook and rumbled beneath his suit. The silence he caused had a different air then Titannia’s. Color left the faces of our audience. They didn’t fear him for political reasons, it was strictly physical. And his laugh scared them.

“Do you come with more? Names? Faces? The fact that I even took them? Perhaps even some evidence that I had not made Claim?” he crossed his arms over his chest and dug his feet into the floor.

“Jacob and Margret Dietrich,” I withdrew the photo that had been given it to me and held it up high for all to see. “They were taken from the City. They were under constant watch and no known patches of Fog exist in the area they live. This means, they had not stumbled into Faery and no Fae holds Claim within the City limits. Therefore, when taken you could have made no such Rite.

“And under an oath, one of your own kind fingered you as the kidnapper,” I wasn't about to drop Corrigan‘s name. If I got out of this and she lost some of her standing she probably consider me a new statue in her private collection.

“You’re correct, Mr. Reardon,” he smiled all teeth. “I did not have Rite of Claim.”

“Then, the children will be returned-”

“I didn’t need it,” he slowly stalked towards me.

“Without it, especially in the City is grounds for King and the Irons stomping their way right into Faery and-”

“The children were lawfully traded.”

“Traded?” I took in a deep breath, and blinked. “What do you mean traded?”

Adolf held a sheet of paper up, “traded. By their parents.”

Without hesitation, I grabbed the sheet of paper. It was old sheep parchment, hand scribed, and notarized. A weird out of place feeling, who the hell would get such a thing notarized?

“You have done me a great dishonor today, Mr. Reardon. I have no choice but to earn it once again,” he continued, as I tried to read through all the legal jargon. “I demand satisfaction.”

The slap spun my head around and stung my cheek. I hadn’t even seen him pull the glove. He was incredibly fast for his size. As I turned back to face him, the crowd had begun to whisper among themselves.

“A duel has been established!” Titannia cried from her seat of power, sending the crowd into a frenzy of cheers. Damn Corrigan, I could see her smug smile. She had planned this all from the get go. I fell for it hook, line and sinker. She knew every bit of information, but just wanted to bait me with one that would send me out to get myself killed.

Adolf and I walked down the dance floor. The shouts and cries had grown more blood thirsty. Some of the more unsavory types had begun to foam at the mouth. Too much dancing at this party, not enough blood. It was a walk that seemed like an eternity till we stood before Titannia, the voices had died down as she spoke. “Duels have long since been the method we use to absolve disagreements in our Court. Adolf, as the aggrieved party, you may choose time and location of the duel.”

“If it doesn’t not displease my lady,” he said stretching a little more under his collar. “I ask that this duel begin here and now.”

She fought the smile, not well enough, “it would do no harm to our Harvest rituals and I should think make sporting entertainment for our celebration. Your request is granted.

“Elroy Reardon,” she said turning to face me with a furrowing brow. “As the challenged you may select the manner in which the duel is won. The most common options are to the death, to first blood-”

“First blood,” I interrupted her again, it was doubtful I’d get another chance. “To first blood.”

“Very well,” she said and adding an upward turn of her nose. “choose your weapon-”

There was a cry through the crowd, as a pair of Changelings burst in front of us. “Boss!” They both cried. “Wait, you gotta stop this!”

I recognized the voices. One was larger, more troll like. A light green skin tone that was stretched tight over rippling muscle. His teeth were oversized and he had an incredible underbite. I still had soreness in my jaw from where he punched me the other night. The other was smaller, a bit more wild. He had the horns and legs of goat. That explained why a couple of those kicks were a little more solid and a hell of a lot more painful.

“Silence!” he spoke harshly as Titannia eyed the men. "You dishonor me further!"

They cowered from both his word and her gaze, “but…”

“I said SILENCE!” he barked.

They slowly backed away, but eyed me suspiciously. I gave them a little wink then returned to the matter at hand

“Now then, if we’re through with distractions Adolf?” Titannia spoke.

He bowed his head, “yes ma’am.”

“Then gentlemen, select your weapons and let the duel begin.”

Adolf rose then he and I stalked into the center of the dance floor. Luckily, in her desire to strip me down Corrigan had missed the hidden knife I kept. It was pure iron, which the Fae had a noticeable weakness for. Usually, it’s illegal, by Fae law, to bring it inside Faery. It was one of the few things that kept King at bay. But I really didn’t mind the repercussions. I’d have felt naked without it. I brandished it with a smile and everyone took an audible, singular step back.

Everyone, except Adolf. He continued to grin. I didn’t notice it before, the sharpness of his teeth. Each of them canines. Or I hadn’t noticed it before, because they hadn’t been that way before. I could see it, the back ones were beginning to change. Moving from flat to sharp, pointy.

His suit was groaning against his form pressing against it, he was actually growing right now beneath it. Seams tore, until the thing began to peel off all around him. Till finally it erupted as the fabric could not hold back his bulk any more.

Suddenly, fur, long and shaggy sprouted from all other his body. A dark gray pelt over took him. He reared back as his hands elongated, becoming more like a pair of massive paws before slamming to the ground.

His jaw popped, dislocated and stretched outward along the nose. It flattened out into a wet black snout as a mass of hair covered it, little whiskers at the end. His lips curled back into a snarl, and I looked deep into the eyes of the big bad wolf staring back at me.

Shit.