Fae of the North
Court of Crown and Compass
Book I
by
E. Hall
Fae of the North
Copyright© 2019 E. Hall
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author/publisher except where permitted by law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover art and design by Mihaela Voicu
Website: http://www.ehallauthor.com
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To my family,
“Your love is my light, the sun of all my mornings, the fire of all my nights.”
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Let’s Connect
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by E. Hall
Demons shadow thieve,
while the fae court grieve.
Four sisters to find.
One compass to bind.
Four crowns to take.
One curse to break.
Before twelve moons turn,
else the realm will burn.
Chapter 1
Ineke
The snake-like gaze of a puffy green demon slides over me. I won’t lie. It makes me want to gag. He’s toward the back of the line as I process today’s batch of criminals. There’s no chance my shift will be over before it’s his turn.
It usually goes something like this: the demons will size me up and do one of two things. They’ll show me their truest, nastiest side. In this case, they do not pass go. It’s straight to Riker’s Island. Or the demons will try to sweet talk me into funneling them into the line that offers them a single opportunity for reform instead of heading to Riker’s.
In a world of modern technology, the government figured out that chopping their heads off with a sword is the swiftest way to kill them. Then they passed a bill for the humane extinguishing of demons who refuse to reform. Go figure.
I’ve seen demons do some horrid things and ever since I can remember, I’ve wanted to be on the special police task force and work as a demon slayer, but alas, here I am with an office job.
“Name, please,” I say to a demon with skin like the outside of a charred marshmallow.
He ejects a wad of slimy yellow mucous and it lands on the processing form.
Gross.
I slam the stamp with red ink printed with the word denied onto Marshmallow’s form, pass it to him, and point to the line for the train with only one stop. He’ll be carted to the old jail on Riker’s Island off Manhattan and instead of living out the rest of his life in a cell, he’ll get sent into oblivion.
Right around when I was born, there was some kind of solar accident, blotting out part of the sun. No one knows why. After that, demons started appearing and wreaking havoc. As soon as I was eligible, I enrolled in the Magical Management Vocational Academy. My intention was to fight crime. Instead, I work behind this desk, wiping up demon slime. My mother prefers it this way. I do not. At least my uniform is pretty hardcore.
“Next,” I say.
The green puffy demon stands in front of me. He blinks his eyes slowly, lizard-like, and studies me.
Ew. “Name, please,” I say.
“Ineke Stowe,” he hisses.
My blood chills. There’s no way he can see my badge attached to the waist of my leather pants and there’s no way he can know my real first name. no one does. My mother made me promise never to tell anyone. I go by Kiki. A thick feeling forms in my stomach.
“Name, please,” I repeat more firmly.
The demon doesn’t reply. Instead, he passes me a note. “I was told to give this to you.”
I let out my held breath.
“Oh, this is a new one. A love note. Great. Nice try.” I roll my eyes.
When the demons don’t cooperate, we’re supposed to just use the denied stamp and move along. But this guy is looking at me with something like...warmth. Ugh. This is probably why I wasn’t allowed to become a police officer, but at least I got the training. Instead of getting to use a sword and fight demon crimes, I’m a peace officer. Figures.
I let out a sigh, pass him his form, and point to the line commonly known as second chance ranch. I stuff the note in my pocket. Heather, Allie, Bhava, and I will have a laugh when we read it later.
After I process a never-ending line of demons, the bell rings, signaling the end of my shift. Before heading to the locker room to change into civilian clothes, my boss motions for me to enter his office.
“Good afternoon, sir,” I say.
“Peace Officer Stowe, I’m going to need you to do an extra shift today. Cover for Mellers. She called in sick.”
“More like she was out late last night at a club,” I mutter.
“What was that?” my boss asks.
“Nothing.”
“I’m relying on you for this. You may not have been well-adapted for walking the beat on the streets, but you have a lot of potential here.”
I try not to frown at
