The Revelation of Light and Dark (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 1)

Makes me wonder how many times I thought I had indigestion over the years and it was perhaps a daemon vibe I was getting instead from someone nearby.

Zaid’s expression puzzles. “Possibly. I’ve certainly never heard of a human being able to sense fae or daemon, much less see beneath their glamour. Perhaps it’s tied to the strength of the fae or daemon. Those with stronger glamours might have full lockdown on anything that would alert you.”

“That would imply Marcus is strong,” I hedge.

Zaid’s eyes glimmer. “Very strong. What did you see with Marcus?”

I take a moment to tuck away the fact Marcus is a strong daemon, yet I was able to see beneath his glamour. That means Zaid is far more powerful than Marcus as I got nothing but a near brain aneurysm from trying to see beneath his.

I don’t dare even bring that up, though, as I’m sure that’s what Zaid would classify as one of those stupid questions that waste his time. So I tell him what I saw as requested. “He wasn’t horrid. He was blue, and his eyes were quite beautiful. Like faceted crystal jewels.”

“What else?” he presses.

“Nothing. I ran.”

“Think harder,” he insists. “What else did you see before you ran?”

What did I miss? Closing my eyes, I think back to how his skin seemed to turn transparent, his true form filling in color, changing shape, and becoming clearer. The skin, the mesmerizing eyes, I had started to turn away, but—

“He was glowing,” I blurt out.

Zaid’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Is that normal with others you saw?”

“Sometimes,” I say with excitement as memories come back. “Some glowed like that… just a thin golden white light around their form. But others had a dark outline. Like there was a layer of oily sludge hovering over the outline of their body. And some… had nothing around them. I never looked for long, but yes… I remember that now.”

Zaid actually smiles, but it’s thin-lipped, and I can’t tell if there’s any true joy in it. “Congratulations, Miss Porter. You just learned your first lesson on how to distinguish fae from daemons.”

I’m starting to become intrigued, leaning forward in my seat. “Why do some have an outline, but others don’t? And do daemons have powers like fae?”

“Only daemons have auras—what you call outlines—and the color, whether it’s that white glow or the black outline, denotes which side the daemon leans toward… their Light or Dark Fae parent. All daemons are immortal, have immense strength and can glamour. It is rare for a daemon to have been bestowed other magical abilities through stone magic and even rarer for them to inherit magic from their fae parents.”

“Wow,” I murmur, wondering what color aura Zaid has. “And if fae have no aura, how do you know if they’re Dark or Light? By whether they’re ugly or beautiful?”

Zaid shakes his head. “In general, looks alone cannot be reliable. Fae have hierarchies, and those at the top are beautiful, retaining much of their angelic glory, both on the Light and Dark side. Those on the bottom, after periods of evolution and messing with magics gone awry, can be unappealing to the eye. The lower castes of Dark Fae tend to be the ugliest. Bottom line, though, you cannot always rely on something as base as looks because some royal Dark Fae are as beautiful as Light Fae.”

I bolt upright. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I exclaim, holding my hands up in the universal stop gesture. “Royal? As in kings and queens and such?”

“Yes, but we’ll get into that later. Remember, these species have evolved over tens of thousands of years so there are exceptions to the general rules. Also, in general, a Light Fae isn’t going to kill or harm you for the fun of it. The same can’t be said for a Dark Fae. They are mostly filled with dark intent, so if you do come across one, give it a wide berth.”

I think about Mr. Pelman and “Dan” from the coffee shop recently. Both gave menacing vibes. I’m quite confident without having seen beneath their glamours, they’re Dark Fae or a daemon offspring leaning dark.

“I can probably rely on that vibe feeling I get,” I ponder. “Bad vibe equals Dark Fae or dark aura daemons. Nice buzzing feeling equals Light Fae or light aura daemons.”

Zaid shakes his head, giving me a stern frown. “I would discourage you from relying on that. I know of no one else who can ‘feel’ fae and daemons the way you do, but I don’t think it’s been tested enough to be able to count on it.”

That’s a good point. I’ve been so rusty over the years in even attempting to tap into my ability that I don’t know if the vibe correlates with the Light and Dark differential in the species.