"Motherfucker," I hissed as I flew to The Kev. His eyes were practically swollen shut, but his lips curled into a semblance of a smile as he heard my voice.
"Astrid?" he whispered brokenly.
"Who did this to you?" I demanded as I darted around the iron chains searching for a weak link. I had to get this shit off of him or he would die. I had no plans to explain to Gemma that The Kev was no more. "I'm going to blast the iron. It's gonna hurt."
"Do it," he choked out. "I'm numb to pain now anyway."
I was tiny, but I knew in my gut that meant nothing. I might blow myself up in the process of freeing him, but leaving The Kev and letting him die was not an option. Hopefully since the Sword of Death wasn't involved I would be able to come back from anything—even blowing myself to smithereens.
Here goes nothing. I closed my eyes and pulled magic from the bottom of my soul. My small body jerked and swayed as the rush of power exploded inside me. I was floating away from him until I felt little hands on my back, pushing me to where I needed to be.
"Susu, there's a chance I'm going to implode," I frantically told her as the heat from the Black Magic coursed through my veins.
"I know," she said simply.
"I can come back from this. You can't."
"I know," she repeated. "If he dies Gemma will lose her will to live. I will have no purpose. I will take my chances. Free him, because I'm getting hungry and some bad Fairies are sounding quite tasty at the moment. Plus, I can help you. You're too small right now to do this alone."
"Make me bigger," I told her. My voice sounded desperate to my own ears. "Do it quickly."
Susu chewed on her lips and I realized she wasn't sure she could restore my size. Fuck me, I knew this was a chance I took, but if I was successful in saving The Kev, Ethan, the baby, Martha and Jane it would simply be the price I would have to pay.
"Forget it," I yelled as a wind laced with my Black Magic began to billow ominously throughout the room. There was no time to experiment and even less time for error. "Just help me."
Something foreign and mystical entered my system and whipped airily through my body. Susu was breathing hard and chanting in a language that I had no hopes of understanding. It centered me and cleared my mind. I had no clue what voodoo she was doing, but it was perfect. Focusing on the iron chains, I envisioned The Kev's body covered in a protective light and mentally sent a shield to protect him—hopefully that would be enough. I was ninety eight percent sure I could do this, which were slightly better odds than me being normal size again.
With a quick prayer to my Uncle God, I closed my eyes and let her rip. The explosion of magic was certain to be noticed, but that was now beyond my control. Pressure like I'd never felt threw Susu and me across the room with such speed and violence I was sure we were goners—or at least she was. The wall felt like a mountain as my tiny body connected with it. Fuck, I should have told her no. How could she live through this? Hell, how could The Kev live through this? The wind was brutal and glittering icy pink and blue flames engulfed The Kev. Fighting the wind, I flew to Susu and put her unconscious body on the remnants of a soft pillow and then I fought my way to the magical inferno that was The Kev.
"Fuckshitfuckfuckfuck, please don't let him be a crispy Fairy corpse when the fire dies out," I whispered as I watched in horror. I shook my head as an instant calm washed over me. Memories flowed back. I was Compassion. My power was for justice. Saving The Kev was right. I knew I was capable of great violence, but it would always be for the purpose of fairness and empathy.
"Enough," I yelled at the fire. The sound of iron chains clanking open was music to my ears. With a grunt and a small scream, I doused the fire and flew to the unharmed The Kev.
"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod," I cried out as I ran my tiny hands all over his face. He was breathing and his body began to heal before my eyes. "You're okay."
Prying one still swollen eye open he gasped and stared at me in shock. "Are we dead?"
"No, jackass. I saved you."
"Krumecaca, you are the size of my pinkie finger. Either I'm hallucinating or we're dead."
"Oh no," I shrieked. "Susu!" I darted over to where she lay and my stomach lurched. She didn't look so good. She was still out, her hair was a mess, her bones were at an angle they shouldn't be. Her clothes were torn and she was bleeding from all sorts of places. She would fucking hate this. She adored being beautiful. To me she was more exquisite than ever, but I was certain she would disagree. Why in the Hell did I let her risk her life?
The Kev crawled over and looked at the little Mini Elf. "Is that Susu?" he asked as he gently took her small broken body in his palm.
"Yes." My voice sounded hollow and my non-existent heart hurt.
"Poor little Elf," The Kev cooed as he softly blew on her.
A poof of silver and pink glitter engulfed my tiny buddy as The Kev continued to blow on her. Slowly, her broken body mended and the wounds closed. However, her clothes and hair were still a wreck.
"Um, The Kev?"
"Yes, Astrid?"
"Susu is a little, um, vain…is there any way you could repair her outfit and hair too?" I asked. If you do not ask you shall not receive.
"That, my precious child, is an understatement. Susu borders on narcissistic, but she delights me and I adore her." The Kev laughed as he snapped his fingers and conjured a lovely new gown for Susu and put her hair right back into place.