Faefalling (working title)

18-We become sewer rats. YAY.

We emerged from the meeting room and immediately headed to suit up. Three hours remained until the strike of midnight and with it the coming of a new day. Three hours until everything would be over, one way or another.

Draoi was charged with leading Lazuli, Agaveah and I to the Rat Boys armory. We rushed down a couple flights of rickety stairs until we were below basement level. The lower we went, the less drab and rundown the building became. While there was rotting wood for walls upstairs, down there everything was polished marble and stone.

We soon came up to a door. Simple yet sturdy, it revealed nothing of what lay beyond, not a hint of light nor a whisper of voices.

Draoi turned to us, lips etched into a firm line. "You don't move, you don't talk, you don't even so much as make eye contact with anyone," he hissed, the last order directed at Lazuli.

Without more explanation, he swung open the door and stalked off. I didn't think to call after him as the sounds of a lively crowd hit me. Startled ears took in the buzzing room.

Glass shelves lined with bottles of all shapes and sizes covered every available patch of wall, servers and patrons grabbing them as they pleased, while music charged towards us from the stage in the center of it all, the lead singer's grating voice demanding immediate intoxication.

An imp zipped past my head, the gust of wind and devilish giggle in their wake tousling my hair, and I swore under my breath.

Agaveah's eyes were fixed overhead where hundreds of blue lights circled. Forest wisps perhaps, though it was odd for so many to be in one place.

The notion became less and less far-fetched as my gaze drifted about. I spotted a merrow dosing in a big-boned fae's lap, long webbed fingers and flat feet giving her away.

At one of the bars, chugging down a beer, was a stocky leprechaun, his entire body covered in putrid, orange hairs that smelt as vile as his attitude. He eyed the stacks of coins being slid over to the bartenders and licked his lips, exposing two rows of razor sharp needles. It appeared to be Runda's personal club for misfits and felons.

A couple of scantily clad folk approached, eyes roaming over our group. The looks they shot Lazuli had me drawing her closer to my side. Agaveah leveled a stare their way that could've toppled mountains.

Frowning, they slunk back into the crowd, provocative scowls vanishing the instant they chose their next targets.

It was easy enough to spot the Rat Boys in the dancing, drinking throng. Their deep red outfits stuck out amongst the sparkling golds and flashy greens of the regular partygoers. Even so, many participated in the merriment with just as much whimsy as the most drunken pixies.

I spotted Draoi's midnight curls in the crowd just as he neared his associates. It took but three words and a couple of shared laughs for the least intoxicated of his fellow rodents to stand and trail him to where we waited. They set off up the stairs in a hurry, leaving us with nothing but some crooked grins and daring looks.

Draoi nodded at us to follow him and we filed back out of the pub, taking a right at the staircase.

A couple of halls later, we made it to a large iron door, a keyhole and dial sitting on either side of the obstacle. Draoi slipped a necklace off and handed it to me, a slim key hanging from the worn cord.

"Alright, Short Tips, you go over there. When I tell you, open the lock. We clear?"

I gave a curt nod, though I was less than fond of being ordered about, and followed the instructions.

Draoi took a steadying breath and shook out both hands, approaching the dial as I approached the slot. The instant his fingers touched down and began to spin a combination into place, a visible tremor ran through him, accompanied by a wince.