Elfspirit

By Leila Bryce Sin

Taryn Malloy, Bright Elf living in a human world, knows there is something missing in her life. All her life, Taryn has refueled her powers with sex and lust, the life-giving forces her people have managed to find in the human world. Fallon, the mysterious green elf, has been walking Taryn’s dreams, showing her a world that once was, that may still be; if she can find it, reawaken the true magic inside of her.

Taryn sets out to seek the land of her people, to open the gateway between her world and the Iron World of the Humans. If she can, Taryn will refuel their true magic and restore balance to their lives. Taryn will dance for the joy of dancing, not just to refuel her magic – she can stop the struggle to just survive, she will truly live again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shauna Granger
• Release date: Jul 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301491117

Book preview

Elfspirit

Chapter Six in The Taryn Malloy Fantasies

Copyright 2012 by Leila Bryce Sin

Smashwords Edition

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2012 by Leila Bryce Sin

Cover art by Leila Bryce Sin

My world was forever changed after coming back from the land of my people, even if it had only happened in my dreams. When I walked, I felt my magic propelling me, as if it would carry me on a current of power. I was hyperaware of all the iron in the human world as it ate away at me, burning my skin and making my head hurt. I had to get out of there.

That was exactly what I was doing.

Standing in my apartment, surrounded by boxes and furniture covered with drop cloths, I watched my old life being packed up and shipped away.

After I’d left Corbin’s apartment, my body humming with power, I knew I had to get out of the city as soon as possible. I had to find that land from my dreams, the land Fallon had brought me to. Something deep in my bones told me that was where I belonged.

My mother had told me we’d left our land because it was too small for our population. If we stayed, we were bound to destroy it. If we destroyed our land, our magic would die. Soon after, so would we. So we adapted to the human world, using their technologies, exposing ourselves to iron until it didn’t really bother us. All the while, we let our magic slip away without even realizing it.

Fallon was right. We should dance because it is magical and natural, not because we have to in order to replenish our magical stores. Our magic should fuel our dancing.

As I stood in my living room, waiting for the moving men to haul out the couch, I looked down at my hand. My skin was almost glowing, the power pulsing with my heartbeat and swimming through my veins. Wiggling my fingers, I watched the power build between my fingers until a tiny ball of energy formed in my palm.

Like blowing a kiss, I sent the ball of energy through the open window as the two moving men came inside again. They hoisted the couch and duck-walked to the door, but they struggled to get it through the narrow opening. They were grunting and swearing through their teeth, only managing to get the couch well and truly stuck in the doorframe.

Let me help. I walked forward.

One of the men watched me expectantly while his friend openly smirked. Smirker was still tugging on the couch, trying to get it into the hallway. He assumed I couldn’t do anything that those two burly men couldn’t do. A small, petty part of me hoped he’d keep pulling.

I laid my hand on the door frame, just above where the couch was wedged, and fed some of my power into the wood. I willed it to open for me. Slowly, a hum grew louder and louder as the paint split at the edges of the doorframe. It bowed, and the couch slid through easily, slamming into Smirker’s gut and sending him into the hallway wall. His partner howled with laughter, doubling over and bracing his hands on his knees to keep from falling over.

I went back to the kitchen for my cup of tea. I cradled the mug, heating the cooling liquid with a tiny thread of power. I was donating all of my worldly goods. None of it would do me any good where I was going and human currency wouldn’t help me either, so there was no point in selling any of it.

Oh, please, take your time, a familiar voice said from the hallway. There’s not a lady waiting to get through or anything.

I turned in time to watch Roxy step up onto the couch and walk over the back of it. She took Chuckler’s offered hand to help her down once she was inside the apartment. Her beautiful, long brown hair was caught up in a high ponytail at the back of her head, making her eyes seem even bigger in her narrow face. Her pointed ears were exposed and her jeweled earrings caught in the light as she spun, taking in the change in my apartment.

I thought you were joking, she said, her hands on her round hips, one shoulder of her black T-shirt falling to expose her creamy white skin. You’re serious?

That’s what I said. I set my cup on the counter and moved over to her. I didn’t think Roxy would come with me. Being part human made it easier for her to live among the humans, and she’d always liked them more than I did. But I wanted her to come with me, more than anything.

You can’t go, Tare, you can’t. Roxy rushed to me and took my hands. Her fingers were cool and strong as they dug into my palms.

I stepped closer and pressed my forehead to hers. Closing my eyes, I let the power swirl through me and around us, pulling her closer until our bodies touched. The power flowed from me, into her, and back again, finding an easy balance between us like an ocean wave lapping at the shore.

Roxy shuddered against me. Her breath caught in her throat, and when we opened our eyes, they shined quicksilver with power. Roxy’s lips were parted in a silent gasp as she stared at me, my feral power rushing through her veins.

Come with me, I whispered. My voice resonated with power, making Roxy bow against me, her back arching, and I held her in place with a hand at the small of her back. You can have this too.

When she regained her balance, Roxy stared at me, her eyes brighter than I’d ever seen them. Her ears seemed sharper, the points higher. Her eyes were larger, the very stars of the night sky shining through them, as she stared at me, and I wondered if I looked the same. The wind of my power swirled around us, teasing the ends of my white blond hair, tugging at her ponytail, and pulling at the edges of our clothes.

Roxy’s mouth worked, but her voice was failing her. With a breath, I reined in my power, folding it back into me, and slowly the wind died. I took Roxy’s hands again, keeping her close.

That’s why you’re leaving, she whispered. As I watched, Roxy’s features melted back into place. Her ears weren’t quite as impressive, and her