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Texas
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RUDY DIDN’T HAVE SUPERNATURAL hearing like Jake and Asha. The first he knew he was about to receive a visitor was when the door to his cell opened. Lying on his side on the bed where he’d been dumped a few minutes ago, he managed not to give himself away that he was wide awake.
“So, this is what a leprechaun looks like,” the same doctor who had ordered him to be incarcerated said. Rudy had his back to the human so he couldn’t see his face, but he could almost feel the man’s glee. “At least I won’t have to have you restrained while I take samples from you,” the man added with a chuckle.
Tensing as he heard his jailor cross the room, Rudy hadn’t felt this helpless since being caught in a magical trap that had used gold coins as a lure. Clearly, the doctor didn’t know much about leprechauns, because he tugged Rudy’s collar down and touched him with his bare flesh. A moment later, he placed a needle against a vein in his neck. Although his magic was being suppressed, Rudy had built-in abilities that didn’t require the use of magic. He utilized one now and the needle tip froze instead of sliding into his vein.
Rudy latched onto the human’s memories and they both went on a journey back in time. He learned everything he needed to know about Oscar Parry in an instant, but he didn’t care about anything except the human’s memories of Asha.
The moment he focused on the dryad, he saw her being locked up in her room at the Parry Institute near Lanford ten years ago. It hadn’t taken Oscar long to figure out the girl wasn’t human. He’d begun experimenting on her immediately. He’d forced her to use her natural defense mechanisms to protect herself from the orderlies who were ordered to assault her.
Rudy felt sick to his stomach when he saw her eyes turn silver and her skin turn gray. Strange spikes protruded from her flesh to repel her attackers. Asha had killed over thirty clueless men who had no idea what she really was. He was afraid that the bad karma dryads received for murdering others would haunt the lass for centuries.
Delving deeper into the doctor, Rudy saw his aspirations to become more than human. Dr. Parry was terrified by the thought of dying. He was searching for a way to turn himself into an immortal. The leprechaun wasn’t at all surprised to discover that Sheridan Harwood had been funding his research long before anyone had even heard of her. She’d set up this new institute and had been sending supernatural creatures here for him to examine. He had an entire team of scientists working on his pet project now.
Rage welled inside Rudy at the torture he’d seen Asha go through at this monster’s orders. Rolling over to face Dr. Parry, the white-coated man was bending over so he could take a sample of his blood and was easily within reach. Rudy’s hand moved almost of its own volition to grab a shiny silver pen that was tucked into the man’s coat pocket. He barely needed to reach up to stab the human in the throat. Realizing what he’d just done, his hands rose to cover his mouth and his eyes went wide in horror.
The moment the pen punctured Oscar Parry’s neck, he snapped out of his daze at seeing his memories flash before his eyes. Straightening up, he reflexively pulled the pen out of his throat. Blood instantly spurted from the ruptured artery. He clapped his hand over the wound and screamed for help, forgetting that the room was soundproofed. He staggered towards the door to get the attention of the guard who was waiting outside, but the leprechaun tackled him to the ground.
Rudy knew he’d just doomed himself by attacking the human, but he was going to make sure it wasn’t for nothing. This man had to die and so did all the others who worked in this building. They were the human equivalent to the Goblin King, performing experiments that were dangerous and potentially devastating to all life on this planet.
Holding onto the doctor’s legs, he watched the spreading pool of blood in morbid fascination. Dr. Parry reached for the door and feebly pulled himself closer, leaving a red smear on the ground. Rudy held onto the man’s legs grimly, anchoring himself to the floor with his feet. He might be small, but he was strong. He watched the blood that had been spurting from the small wound slow, then become a sluggish trickle. Dread and resignation rose within him as the human went limp.
“Here we go,” Rudy said softly, trying to prepare himself for the aftermath of taking a life. Dryads received bad luck when they killed, but it was much worse for his kind. He just hoped his friends wouldn’t see him after he changed. If they did, they would abandon him without a second thought and he wouldn’t blame them.
Oscar gasped for air once, twice, then he expired and the leprechaun paid the price for his mistake.
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Caught in the ghost trap, Leroy floated in a calm state of utter nothingness. Some part of him was aware that he needed to escape, but the spell had blanked out his mind. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been in this prison when he suddenly felt a spike of pure malice coming through his connection to Rudy. The sense of evil was so strong that it jolted him out of his trance.
Looking around, he saw he was in a stainless-steel cell that held a bed, a basin, toilet and shower. A metal dresser sat off to one side. He glanced down to see a circle with strange symbols in the center had been painted on the concrete floor. The ghost trap was designed to imprison his mind rather than his spectral form. It was easy to use the veil to shift himself into the hallway.
Unease and a flicker of fear had him zooming towards where he could feel Rudy. Something bad had happened to his friend, something that had changed him horribly. Seeing a pixie with her face pressed up against the window of a cell, he ignored her when she waved at him madly. He couldn’t hear what she was yelling and he didn’t have time to stop and see what she wanted.
He could feel Asha somewhere close by, but right now his focus was on his current leash holder. The leprechaun was in a cell that was being guarded by a lone human. Armed with an assault rifle, the guard wore black tactical gear. Bored with his duty, he turned to peek through the window into the cell and gaped in horror at what he saw. With a strangled yell, he reached for the door handle.
Leroy sped towards the man and manifested enough to slam into him. The human flew down the hallway and hit the wall hard enough to knock himself out. Leroy grabbed hold of him, broke his neck and used the veil to shift the guard into a vacant cell. He then returned to the room where he could feel Rudy. Malevolent glee emanated from the leprechaun so strongly that he could feel it even through the door.
Bracing himself as best he could, the phantom drifted over to the window and looked through it. Blood coated the walls and floor. A very dead human with a terrible combover had been dismembered and lay in multiple pieces. His head had been torn off and it sat on its stump as if surveying his mangled corpse in horror. The ghost saw a round hole in his throat that he assumed had been caused by the bloody silver pen that lay next to his remains.
Tearing his attention away from the body parts, he forced himself to look at Rudy. The tiny man’s clothes were no longer green. His velvet suit and hat were covered in the blood of his victim. His hands and face had turned crimson with gore. For a moment, Leroy thought the leprechaun had been feasting on the corpse, but he was grinning widely and his teeth were white rather than red.
Drifting backwards before Rudy could see him, Leroy knew it would be a very bad idea to be within sight of the leprechaun. Rudy still wore the ring and he could command the specter to act. The ghost didn’t know what had happened to his friend, but instinct told him to stay the hell away from him right now.
Casting an anguished look at the door, he went in search of Asha. Maybe she would be able to help him find Emelia. He hoped they could come up with a plan on how to fix whatever was wrong with Rudy.
