An arctic chill ran up Jade’s spine as the gentle echo of raindrops collided with her foggy brain. No…not raindrops…dripping water? Opening her blurry eyes, the warm glow of candlelight met her blurry vision; contrasting her visible breath and spasming lungs, they were the only warm thing.

Biting ice crystals burrowed into her throat as she cast her eyes about. Everywhere they landed, glowing turquoise symbols illuminated the dark, icy cavern she’d awoken in, and a weak struggle to move her body met indomitable resistance. She was restrained.

Her tongue numb and voice hoarse, she mumbled, “Wh…where am I… Powder, where are you?”

Four people immediately took turns to confuse the ever-living daylight out of her. Each one pulled her hazy gaze, only blurry shapes to her foggy brain.

“How connected to the Other Side is she with her powers forcefully awakened?”

The deep, masculine tone pulled her focus, but the frigid mist had collected around the area, blocking the bulky man as her vision gradually cleared. His hulking outline was ominous enough. Jade gulped, her mouth dry as a playful woman giggled nearby.

“Darling, in over three centuries, I haven’t met a Wilding like her. I say she goes to Feymore. Arcadia would be too…restrictive for such a budding seductress. Well, hehe, if she survives the execution, that is.”

Jade’s vision cleared as she struggled to rise to her knees, which were very much bruised and cut, as she settled on her smarting backside. She now wore a fancy white dress streaked with red. Yeah, that wasn’t concerning; her grungy, too-small clothes had been stripped off her and replaced with something meant for a princess. Perfectly normal.

Her lungs constricted when the mists parted, and her gaze lifted to settle on a very pretty and well-built man standing in front of her. His leering, lilac ruby eyes were slitted like a serpent, glowing with an intensity that robbed her lungs of air, and his voice was velvet and sandpaper rubbing against her ears.

“I see the mark… She’s one of them…but not. I can’t be sure,” he calmly stated, his mysterious crimson eyes drifting away from her as if she weren’t worth two nickels at an arcade.

Wearing dark blue denim jeans, a fitted black shirt, and matching trench coat, Jade couldn’t pull her attention away from admiring his unique vibe. Obviously, this had to be a dream or hallucination because men just weren’t built like this. She was drawn to the shimmering luster of his thick, obsidian locks that fell to what she assumed would be the finest piece of ass she’d ever seen in her life. Yet, it was his vast, leathery wings that blanked her stunned brain with the comforting idea that she really was just in a dream—at least, he certainly was.

“Gah! Come on, Jade,” she growled, shaking her head to dispel whatever daze she was in; half black, and half glowing pink locks weaved in front of her. “Get your brain out of the gutter, idiot! What is up with my thumping chest; what, do I have a monkey inside it pounding on a drum?! I mean, I can get lonely and horny, but not trembling thighs horny, but damn he’s hot…”

Jade’s face turned bright scarlet for what felt like the first time in her life as the dragon man lifted an eyebrow at her monologue.

“Uh…did I just say that out loud? And why is my hair pink? What the hell—no, something is inflicting me…the smell. And is this fog…my doing?”

The pungent smell of sulfur and torment drew her shaky focus to the hazy outline of the woman she’d heard earlier; her outline in the thick fog revealed a seductive, devilish creature she knew very well from popular media. The devil’s barbed tail made her gulp as the woman waved at her with it. Yeah, her hot skin and thumping heart were this devil’s fault—she just knew it.

Jade sat stock still, with the penetrating draconic eyes fixating on her. Yet, her mind was snatched by someone behind her dreamy, winged dragon man as he stepped aside. 

“Good enough, my dear lad. Good enough. Now, let’s get a look at our slippery lass…”

The muscular, elderly man who came into focus kept her gaze. Her throat constricted, and her chest hurt. More specifically, it was who the guy had in his hand that terrified her.

Glowing tattoos covered the elder’s mostly bare skin—druidic tattoos. Jade’s mind went frantic when she saw the little bird lying motionless in his open palm—her imaginary bird friend…Powder. He was still breathing, if shallowly.

The elder’s bright yellow eyes paralyzed Jade as the four unearthly figures set their judging gaze on her. Yet, instead of bile, a curious smile played at the corner of the elder’s chapped lips.

“Jade, welcome back to the land of the living…not that you may remain that way for long. Stephan, prepare her for the gallows.” He turned his back to her, taking Powder and holding up a mystical staff. “I hope you survive the blade, young lady.”

A band closed around her heart as she looked up at the massive dragon man. Mhm. She was inane. Was this heaven; a, uh, very cold, confusing, and scary heaven? Hey, if she could finally cure her loneliness with this fine ass, then she’d take it! Damn, that Succubus woman…

The man was only two heads taller than her—no biggy—and his wings vanished in twinkling black light, making her blink as his large hands went for her neck—she knew they’d be rough…very rough. What about warm, though… surprisingly gentle?

“Stop making me horny!” Jade cried to both of them as he loomed over her; she somehow felt his blazing hot fingers around the chain as if wrapped around her throat…and they were rough, yet gentle in their guiding tugs.

“No is the new yes!” the Devil chirped. “I am loving your unfiltered truths!”

“Just kill me already!”

“Oh, Buttercup, that’s the plan! Keep up.”

“Hah-hahaha.” Hissing out her nervous laughter, she cleared her throat, still feeling his fingers firmly wrapped around her jugular. “No, this is fine! Totally fine. My mysterious superpowers will kick in, and I’ll escape like usual… Danger is like drinking water to me.”

The Succubus and a giant wolfman took up either side of her, the Devil giving her a charming wink.

“Stop teasing her, Chelsie.”

“I can’t help it, Gabie; she’s so…delicious!

“Why isn’t it working? Hah. Totally normal…no, this is not normal!”

Memories flooded her stun-locked brain as he tugged her forward, taking her back to the last thing she remembered—had she been in restraints before all of this insanity? She had. She’d been with the totally normal police before she’d been kidnapped by a bunch of crazy people…or were they crazy? Was magic and monsters real…was she a monster? An incredibly lucky, totally cursed…and very lonely monster?

* — * — *

A sharp bump in the road made Jade hiss as the tight handcuffs squeezed around her thin wrists and ankles; she was practically being treated like the most wanted woman in the world. Well, to be fair, she had bounced up and down on the FBI’s most wanted list recently. By no fault of her own!

She was just…unlucky. Yeah, very unlucky. More like the most unluckiest girl in history—no exaggeration. It really wasn’t!

The shrill buzz of the police radio worsened her migraine. The two officers up front laughed and joked about some party they would crash later that night. Some boring vendetta about an ex-girlfriend’s celebration about boring things like school. That was the riveting conversation she was forced to listen to; they’d be preparing for that ‘prank’ after turning in their big catch—her.

Jade’s lime-green eyes dully drifted from the window to her knee. A little, cute, and bright blue-and-black-feathered bird hopped to try and snatch her attention—her only friend in the world. His big, concerned eyes told her to run. Yeah, sometimes Powder could be a little dense and think she could magic her way out of anything.

Powder was a Splendid Fairy-wren, or so she thought from looking him up online when she was a little girl. And he so happened to be her totally invisible, totally not imaginary friend…or maybe he was imaginary, and she was completely bonkers insane because that was probably more likely the case. Her earliest memories were when she was five, on the snowy steps of a winter New York shelter, and she’d called her little bird friend Powder after seeing him pop out of a snow mound.

She’d told him several times in the past thirty minutes that it would be fine. He knew it would be fine; it always was. This frantic side was unusual for her imaginary friend; maybe it was her subconscious trying to tell her something. Whatever.

It wasn’t like this was the first time they’d been picked up for her alleged string of crimes. Of course, it was not like she’d committed any of them—not one! Jade didn’t lie. She didn’t like liars. It's not like lying would have ever helped her in the first place, and it wasn’t like anyone would believe her total life of truth-telling.

No, she was the purest, most honest person in the whole world, no lie! And…she was a criminal. The worst kind of criminal. The non-criminal type of criminal! But ho-boy, did it always look like she was an accomplice in something—no, the actual villain! That’s right! Her very presence made criminals non-criminals. What an amazing superpower that was…not. Yup, she had the literal worst luck ever.

“Why are you so worried, Powder?” she dryly mumbled. “This is a typical Friday for us. Something will happen, and I’ll slip away like magic. I keep warning them. It always happens. I’m the Emerald Star Thief, after all…I knew going to that exhibit would be trouble… Everything is trouble… When will someone actually believe me?”

Powder’s eyes squinted as if doubting her. It was the first time he’d made that expression toward her, and his gentle and sweet voice whistled up to her, unheard by her captors.

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“Something is wrong, Jade! I smell something…bad. You need to run! It’s getting closer! This isn’t like the other times. It’s…foul.”

“All we do is run,” Jade groaned, sinking into the smelly seat as her restless heart quivered; she’d been so close this morning, and now she was in this disgusting back seat, cuffed like a hog and ready to be served up for Thanksgiving dinner. It likely had a drunk occupant before her because the smell of vomit, piss, and alcohol was giving her nausea.

“All you do is tell me to run, something bad is coming. Ugh. I just wanted to feel what it’s like to have someone’s trust…to be loved. One night next to a warm body…his hand combing my hair in bed while he smiled at me—cared about me…his rough fingers rubbing my lips… Is a little romance so wrong for a girl to dream for?!”

“Is she talking to herself again, Henry?” the officer scoffed, glancing back at her. “Are we sure the ugly girl’s not high? It would make sense how easily we caught the murderer.”

Rude, she dryly thought. Why is everyone always harping on my looks? I don’t look half bad, in my opinion, but I’m always the ‘ugly kid.’ Then the next week, I’m gorgeous…untouchable. Make up your mind people! It can seriously mess with a girl’s head.

“Probably faking it,” the other man sighed, tapping his police cruiser display to open up the database. “She’s prone to talking to herself on her file…never stayed long enough in custody to get a psyche profile on it. Well, other than her last psyche evaluation when she was ten and ran away from her foster parents. The damn woman is wanted in half the States, and by the age of twenty-three, no less.”

“Psycho! I heard that she has an imaginary friend—a pet bird, or some shit. What was the name?”

“Powder?”

“Yeah, that’s it! I also heard she murdered seven guys five months ago—shot them in cold blood in New York! Is that on the database?”

Reality is crazier than the story, Jade internally sighed. But is that really the best one they latched onto? It’s not even in my top hundred. That one was just terrible video angles, and I was just walking through the parking lot with a bulge in my sweater. I was minding my own business, in a bad mood, and in the wrong place for the wrong people to capitalize.

Jess pulled up in a van—who happened to have green eyes and black hair, like me—shot some college bullies with pretty wicked aim. That was her excuse anyway. And then…she saw me. Well, witnesses weren’t in her playbook, so that turned out great, and plenty of people saw me going into the parking lot. That threw me on the suspect list as the suspicious-looking hoodie girl. Some scattered, confused eyewitnesses, and I’m on the hot seat.

“She’s got a rap sheet a mile long, bud…video proof on that one with the murders, too. Damn…she’s a wild one—destroyed a whole dam in Canada. The reports are crazy!”

“The dam?” Jade sighed, shutting the pair up. “Boring. The murders? Spotty video proof, maybe, sure. They’re so clueless, Powder.”

Oh?” Henry muttered with a smirk. “Why don’t you enlighten us, then? How did the videos, gunpowder residue tests, eye-witnesses, and there she goes again—who are you talking to?”

Rolling her eyes, Jade put her focus on her little bird. “It isn’t like they’re going to believe me, Powder, but c’mon. No footage of the actual shootings. A blurry, stunned black-haired girl that is me…Roy, Jess’ ride-or-die boyfriend, grabs me and throws me in the back of his van. I show up on camera in the wide-open back as Jess is speeding out of the parking lot.

“Boom! I’m suddenly an accomplice—no, the shooter that those assholes testified to the second they found out who I really was! What pussies… Can’t own up to their shit.

“Yeah, yeah, and it says here the gun just fell into your hands as you were being tossed around and happened to fire off a shot before jumping into Roy’s…which were gloved.”

Jade shot a sarcastic smirk back at him. “You forgot the part about the bullet going between my toes and through my shoe, asshole.”

“Even more believable! Let’s not forget your DNA found on some of the victims belongings.”

“Yeah, and how was I supposed to know the random nice guy who saw me dying of thirst and walking around half-naked would give me a water bottle, his sister’s sweater, and then would end up getting shot up later that day? Well, played universe. I guess it’s my fault for accepting a random act of kindness. Kill me, Powder!”

Pete, her current hot-blooded and slightly obese chaperone, turned off the patrol car’s sirens as they went reached a more open stretch of the highway. “She really does talk to some imaginary bird…damn crazy women. We got enough of them in this town.”

“That’s just me, bud; jaded Jade…the bloody most terrifying hot crazy chick in the States… And way to insult all women. Lora must love your company so much she decided she had to share it with Chad.”

“Bitch… And have you looked in a mirror. You really are delusional with all those warts and scars all over your body.”

Jade glanced down at her perfect blemishless skin, not a scar or wart on her. “Mhm. And who is the delusional one? Haha. Maybe I am. What do you think, Powder?”

“You should run!”

“Ugh…”

Let her head lul to the side, she shifted a little, trying to get a better position in the bondage-lovers wet dream she was in. She tried not to let herself fall further into a slump as Powder continued to peck her knee. It was getting harder to stay positive. Danger and shock value had long lost its flavor to her…when she was ten years old. One thing was new, at least. Powder really was out of sorts today, trying to get her to escape from the inescapable—only, something did happen.

Maybe I can go to that ex-girlfriend’s party and warn her that her ex is still a bit obsessed with her. Would Lora let me raid her closet for hand-me-downs? Maybe. Oh, is it time for my superpower to activate? I don’t have her address yet. Shame. I guess it’s not in the stars. At least they didn’t go into the embarrassing missing bra, paper clip, and hippopotamus down Main Street story.

The radio buzzed, calling the driver by name. “Pete, we got a call from the diner. Apparently, there is some big guy harassing a college girl, and some of the folks down there are getting a little anxious. You guys are on your way back to the precinct with that ‘big prize’ ya mentioned?” she cackled.

A loud snarl came from the slightly obese, country-side cop; this was his big break at catching a super big criminal like her, after all. She even had an outstanding bounty of $3,000,000.

Like, could she turn herself in? She tried at one point. It didn’t work out that well for her or the lady cop who lost her pants to a rabid dog—the news said later it was only a mild case of rabies…for the woman.

“Are you serious, Clara?! We have the damn Emerald Star Thief in the back of our car, and you want us to take a detour?!”

“Uh-huh. Sure, Pete. And last time, it was the Nickelback lead singer that you swore was doped up on cocaine, and how did that turn out for ya?”

Pete sucked in his bottom lip, working around his jaw in silence as his partner hissed and gave him a shrug.

“Oh…golden silence?” Clara pointedly sang. “Yeah…yeah, that’s what I thought, bud. It was a homeless guy who, surprisingly, did have a decent country voice, all things considered. Now get off yer lazy asses, and do some real good for a change! Pfft. The Emerald Star Thief in this tiny Arizona town—shoot me and call me a donkey’s aunt.”

Henry cleared his throat. “Okay, let’s just pop over there, I can jump out and handle the creep real fast, and you can watch the girl.”

“Don’t do it,” Jade dully warned. “Whenever this kind of shit happens—”

“Shut your lips! And can everyone stop calling me ‘bud,’ dammit!” Pete barked. “Yeah, I’m not taking my eyes off this son of a bitch!”

“Never knew my dad, so probably. And why?” she scoffed, drawing their attention to her revealing tank top with several unlucky rips in it that showed her dirty bra underneath. “You’ve already frisked me…three times. Was my two sticks of bubble gum and a hair clip that scary? You even took my shoes! Is that even legal? I’m cuffed like…five times,” she snickered.

Henry grimaced at her spread-out arms and legs. “Four.”

“Oh, much better! You forgot the dog leash, though,” she chirped, trying to ignore Powder as he fluttered up to her head to peck it. “Talk about compensating. I weigh what, a whopping 120 sopping wet—not that you two could ever,” she sang.

“Keep talking!” Pete threatened, smacking the cage and now sweating.

“Hey! Hey!” Henry put a hand on Pete’s shoulder. “What’s going on—”

“Don’t touch me!”

“Bro!”

“Look, I’m just…maybe this is a little weird. I…something about her sets me off, dude—it’s her looks—the way she looks at me! She’s been talking to air since the moment we picked her up—and her snide comments…gggh!”

Jade glanced left at the reflection in the window to study her frantic bird friend; even she wasn’t sure if she was crazy or not.

“Something is wrong, Jade! This isn't normal. I can feel something bad—something evil! We’re getting closer to them.”

And what do you want me to do about it cuffed five ways to Thursday, little buddy? This dude definitely has a bondage kink; not that I’m judging. I like a good bondage play every once and a while…not that I’ve tried it, but plenty of guys seem to think I’m that type of girl with how often I get tied up.

“Chill! Chill! Uh…do you want a breather? I’ll watch her, and, heh, it’ll be my ass if she gets out. Ya know?”

“Mmgm. Maybe I do need a break from her shit,” he groaned, rubbing between his eyes and pulling off the sparsely occupied highway before his partner activated the receiver.

“We’ll be there in two minutes. We’re just down the road…and then we’ll be in to show you how wrong you are, Clara!”

“Bet. I’ll stake my lunch on it.”

“That’s a big one for you—bet!” Puffing out a soft laugh, he nudged his head to the side as the diner came into view. “Alright, Bud. You go in, and I’ll wait here with our golden goose.”

Green eyes drifting to her frantic bird friend, now pecking at the glass without effect, she mumbled, “Get me a burger, extra sloppy—add some peppers to it if it doesn’t cost more than a buck. I’m good for it. I’ve got an emerald the size of my fist stashed somewhere, right? Maybe you missed it on your first three investigations checking to see if my curves are real.”

“I am not going to miss that mouth,” Pete grunted, parking sideways across the street. “Let’s go—”

“Oh, no!” Powder jumped back to her knee, looking up at her with fright. “I knew it! I knew it! It’s a trap! They’re here to take you!”

Who? The cat people you’re always going on about? The frogs…the lizard men, and witches? There are too many to count.

Jade sat a little straighter, now on high alert, as both men froze. A weirdly buttery tar smell wafted through their cracked windows, and Powder’s chirps vanished into oblivion.

The world became smaller as her pupils dilated, and a vice closed around her chest, making her mind haze. She swayed a little, and a warm, dangerous, and womanly voice breathed into their ears.

“Free our little jailbird, my pets. Take your time and don’t damage the goods further… Oh, how…ragged and rough! She will be a lovely gem to polish. Don’t be scared, dear. We merely have a few things to discuss. Although, things might get a little…heated. Hehehe.”

Only half lucid, Jade didn’t even realize when the two cops had undone her restraints. Powder was pecking her on the head again, not that she could feel her imaginary bird’s frantic attempts to snap her out of whatever had seized control of her, but all Jade heard was the woman’s drawing words, pulling at her chest as if a rope was wound around her heart, dragging her in.

“That’s it, sweetie…don’t resist. You are quite the slippery one, or so I’m told, but you’ll find I’m not so easy to escape. I hope you enjoyed your short freedom. Wait…Gabie, is that…a little birdy friend she has? A Fey Sprite…oh, how interesting… This changes things.”

The pressure winding around Jade’s heart wound tighter and tighter the more she tried to fight this lulling scent—and she instinctively knew it was the scent—the voice was a trick.

Fight it! What…the hell?! Stop…moving your damn legs, Jade…

Stumbling forward, her vision centered on the doors of some obscure diner, and no matter how hard she fought the pull, her body wouldn’t listen. She pushed open the doors and tripped on her face as a surge of power welled up within her.

“I’m…not going to—ack!” Smacking her forehead on the tile, the spell popped. She couldn’t feel her body anymore, only the throbbing headache and shimmering pink locks dancing in front of her vision. Then everything washed out. “I’m…no one’s slave…”

The last thing she saw was a blurry red woman and a giant refrigerator.