“I just don’t see it,” she mumbled, going back to her tea.
I stood where I was and looked at her. Something strange was going on, or she was possibly going crazy. First, the meals and serious, truthful talks, then all the laughing and smiling with her friend, and now staring at me like I had a horn on my head. I really wanted it to be something strange because a crazy Red would be disaster for Elder and my wolf friends. We needed her in the best place mentally to deal with all this.
“You don’t have to continue standing there.” She motioned for me to join her again.
I crossed my arms across my chest and stared at her this time. I felt it. She wasn’t telling me the truth. She had finally told me how I got to Elder, but she just went right back to her old ways. I was sick of it. I wasn’t a child and deserved to be treated like the adult I was. I gritted my teeth and finally spoke.
“What the heck is going on?”
Red took another sip of her tea. She nodded to me, understanding that my anger was growing. She knew me well.
“Mal said you have magic. Not a little bit like the wolves, but a lot. Like possibly more than Sera or me,” Red explained like it wasn’t a big deal.
I couldn’t stop my mouth from dropping open. What was she talking about? I was a normal human. Always was and always would be. There was nothing magical about me.
“The people who gave you to me said you were special and would do great things someday, but they never said you had magic. Even now, I don’t see it. I don’t know what Mal was seeing. Maybe it had to do with being near the wall and the wolves.”
I swiped my hand through my hair and just shook my head.
“Do you have magic?” Red asked, peering at me with her all-knowing look.
It wasn’t on purpose, but I laughed.
“Mom, you’ve known me my whole life. I don’t have magic. Mal must have seen it wrong. We were in the wolf village and surrounded by their magic. She had to be confused. You are both older than you look. Maybe she’s going crazy like you or sensing things as she wants them to be, not as they are.”
“Mal’s never confused about magic. She’s worried that the curse could affect you. She told me that you have to be careful around the wolves. You need to be sure to never let the darkness in.”
I just stared at Red. She was definitely going crazy. I wasn’t magical. I didn’t have powers. I was just a normal human. Wasn’t I?
16th March
Red left after she stared at me more. I had no idea what she thought she’d see, but I didn’t shoot lightning from my eyes or throw fire from my hands. That was never going to happen. I wasn’t magical, but somehow, she believed her friend over what she knew was the truth. While she might not have always been very hands-on as a mother, she did raise me. Red, more than anyone, would know that I wasn’t magical, but that didn’t seem to affect her at all. Red left to go take care of business in Azren. Her parting words were that she believed Mal, and I needed to stay safe.
I don’t know how long I sat in my house after she left. I just couldn’t believe that she chose Mal over me. I was her son. Wouldn’t I know if I had magic? I mean, wasn’t that something that would have shown itself during my childhood growing up? If I had any special powers, they weren’t very useful, or I must have never had a need for them as I had never used them. Red and Mal were crazy. The both of them. That had to be it.
I had planned to go back to the wall and wait to see if my friends were okay, but Red left Sera with me, and she complained enough to make me stay at my place for the night as she didn’t want to sleep outside. Lucky for me, Sera waited outside the whole time I contemplated that my life was a lie. Well, it wasn’t a lie, but if what Mal said was true, though I highly doubted it, it meant that my life wasn’t what I thought it was.
Sera joined me on the floor and kept unusually silent the whole night. I appreciated that she could do that. Usually, she would have given me her opinion, and we would have spent the night fighting. I needed my rest after the previous night, so I was more than happy to just be in my house in silence.
“Mal’s right,” Sera told me as she ate breakfast with me. There she was, the annoying Sera I grew up with. “I know you don’t want to believe her, but she is.”
We were actually doing better than normal, and the fighting was almost non-existent until now. Why was life like this for us? She was like the sibling I never wanted. I guess we couldn’t go one whole day without an argument.
“I didn’t notice it before, but now that I look at you…” Sera looked me up and down. “I can’t see the magic, but I feel it. When I have the full Red powers, I should be able to see it too, at least, that’s was Mal said before she left.”
Sera shrugged like that was enough to go on. I knew Red was losing her powers to Sera, but was it enough that she couldn’t see it and Sera could? I felt a lump catch in my throat. Everything just seemed to be going by so fast. I always knew that Red would give her powers to Sera, and she admitted that it was already happening. But somehow, hearing Sera speak about it made it that much more real that it was happening sooner than later. It was just kind of hard to think of Red getting older and losing that magic that made me not only follow her orders but admire her my whole time growing up. Yes, I fought with Red almost as much as Sera, but I still was beyond thankful Red took me in and raised me. She taught me to be the person I am. Good and bad.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about Sera taking over the Red position of Elder, but I knew it was hard to think of Red losing that special spark that made her Red. What was going to be left when the magic was all gone? Would she survive it leaving her? If Red died and my wolf friends were all locked behind a magical barrier, I would have no one left.
I would never admit it to Sera, but she was going to make a good Red. I just hoped it was later rather than sooner. I was pretty sure Elder needed Red more than anything right now. Sera would be a great Red, but we needed the wisdom of my mother. I just wished that wisdom came with answers.
“It would explain a lot,” Sera continued, not noticing that I wasn’t participating in her discussion. “That’s why you can run faster than me and beat me hand to hand.”
I almost laughed at that. Sera hated when I bested her in anything, which these days seemed to be about everything we did. That might have been one of the reasons I practiced so much. Beating the next Red was an accomplishment alone, but beating Sera was just fun. I couldn’t believe she thought I had magic, but it was a great way that she could accept that I was more skilled than her without giving me any credit. That was a typical Sera move. I hated her attitude, but admired her skill. More than anything, I loved that she still couldn’t beat me.
“So, it isn’t just that I’m better at hand to hand fighting?” I couldn’t help but goad her. She deserved it.
“You aren’t better. You are faster.”
I rolled my eyes at her. She was just as fast as I was. What was probably the truth was that I had trained harder than her, mainly because I had more time to. I wouldn’t tell her that, but it was the truth. Sera didn’t just learn about fighting; she had to learn about all the diplomatic aspects of being Red. I got to skip all that and keep training physically. I wasn’t sure who would win if she’d had as much time training physically as I had had growing up.
“I’m pretty sure I’m wiser than you, too,” I replied, adding more to tease her.
Sera’s face turned red as she huffed at my insult.
“Castiel,” she warned, wadding up her blanket and throwing it at me.
I couldn’t help but just smile. She was so easy to upset. Her competitive side always got her into trouble, as did mine most of the time. If I was honest, Red and the wolves were my family, but Sera fell somewhere in that group too.
I caught the blanket and threw it right back at her.
“Don’t make me,” she threatened, taking a fighting stance.
I grinned as I jumped the couch and twisted her into my arms, her back to my
chest. I had her in a tight grip, proving my point that I was the better fighter.
“Do you want a broken nose?” she threatened.
It wouldn’t be the first time Sera head-butted me to get loose. I tipped my head sideways to miss the blow of her head, but instead, she used my momentum to make us both fall to the ground. I turned last moment to make Sera land on me instead of the floor.
“Uff,” I grunted as I took her weight. “Guess that supper by Red added a bit to your weight,” I teased.
Sera grunted and wiggled until she was turned around on me, face to face. I could feel her arms moving, and I let her. If I wanted, I could have kept her immobile the whole time. Her face was just inches from mine. Her brown eyes sparkled. I knew she thought she was getting the upper hand.
Like lightening, Sera yanked on my arms, pinning them above my head. She grinned at me. I didn’t hesitate as I switched our position and had her pinned. I wasn’t twice her weight, but even with her Red powers that could throw a full-grown wolf several saplings, she wasn’t able to move me.
“Give up?” I asked.
Her grin was now a pout.
“Just admit that my magical powers are better than yours,” I teased, wiggling my eyebrows at her. I was giving her an out without admitting defeat.
“Fine, but it’s just your powers.”
I laughed, and soon enough, she was laughing with me. I reached down and pulled her to her feet with me. We made our way over to get breakfast before we actually started our day.
“Okay, fine. Truce,” she said as she took a bite of her bread.
She chewed slowly as she thought, and we sat in silence.
I would never admit it to her, but I was glad to have slept at home. The howls from the wolves the night before still rang in my head. The misty wall made it hard to see, and nothing came near where I was waiting, but I could hear it. Without food, the wolves would turn on each other. I knew that much. It was killing me to not be there with my friends. I couldn’t do anything from the side of the fence we were on.
“But in all seriousness. I’m not joking around about the magic, Castiel. I do feel the magic coming off you. Can you honestly say you haven’t felt a change in yourself in the past few moons?”
Sera caught me off guard. She wasn’t joking, and she wasn't competitive. She was being serious. This side of Sera was real, and I had to think about what she asked.
Sure, I felt stronger, but that happened every season that passed. I had grown taller and stronger with all the training I had done. Each season was like that. Wasn’t that how it was supposed to work? Everyone grew up like that. Wasn’t I supposed to get stronger and faster?
“What do you mean?” I finally asked, confused.
“Until a few moons ago, I could, at least, beat you in a foot race every now and then. I haven’t beat you once this past moon.”
I had to think about that one. Yes, Sera occasionally won, but that wasn’t new. Had she really not won in one full moon cycle? I had been so caught up in the wolves; I hadn’t considered that. She had won once, but I’d let her. I guess she knew me too well.
“And while it isn’t easy for me to admit. I think you are way stronger than I am now,” she added.
I still stared in shock at her. Was that true too?
“There’s also the fact that the wolf curse was broken when you came here. Red says the curse broke, and then you showed up. What if it was the other way around? What if the curse broke because you were already in the kingdom and on your way to Red?”
Okay, that was one I couldn’t even comprehend. I would have never jumped to that conclusion, but it was something we had to consider.
“I think you have magic, Castiel, and not because I can’t beat you. I have magic too, but it’s nothing compared to you.”
Oh great. Sera was on the same side as Red. But this was harder because she had obviously thought about why she felt that way. And she was convincing me.
“I think we need to head into town and see if they have the records on your adoption. Maybe Red doesn't remember something,” Sera suggested. “Someone once mentioned that the records are magical. That even if someone doesn’t fill out the papers and add their child to the record that it will be there. Even if Red doesn’t know who your parents are, the records should have known.”
While I still wanted to do more to help the wolves, I did need to know the truth. And if my birth family was magical, maybe they were the answer. Sera was onto something.
“If you are what brought a change to the wolves, we need to figure out how to do it again,” Sera explained as she stood up and made her way to the door.
That was one thing I did love about Sera. She didn’t sit still long, and she didn’t let a problem stop her. I had never once seen anything actually stop her. The girl was tenacious. She was an excellent ally to have in helping the wolves.
“Fine,” I finally replied, putting away the last of our breakfast and following her outside.
Sera winked at me and took off at a full run. Just because I had beaten her in every race for the past moon cycle didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try to beat me now. I laughed. I loved that side of her. No matter how friendly she got, she was never going to be anything less than competitive.
I took off after her and quickly caught up. Sera was right. I was stronger lately, but I had no idea why. I wasn’t exactly sure how magic worked, but I tried thinking all sorts of things as I ran. No lightening, no water or magic balls flying around me, no color changing, or plants moving. I kept trying anything and everything I could think of while we ran, but with my strength and Sera’s newly growing Red powers, we were at Azren before I could try much more.
No matter what Sera, Red, or Mal thought, there wasn’t a magical bone in my body. I couldn’t do a thing magic, and they all had to be crazy. But I did have to give Sera that maybe there was magic in where I came from. That would have made more sense. I might have brought some sort of magic with me when I arrived as a baby. Whoever my parents were, maybe they wanted me to be protected and save the wolves. If we could figure out who I was and where I came from, perhaps we could save them again.
Sera stopped just inside the tree line and peeked out up to the village. I wasn’t prepared to see it so vacant. The people had spent the best part of the past decade moving to the ground, and it was now a ghost village. Not one person was left below the trees. Buildings were empty, and the lights were off. Not a sound came from the town at the base of the tree, and it was almost like even in the trees it was quieter.
Sera stepped out of the trees slowly and waved up to the guard tower that had been unmanned for most of my childhood. Four men stood there and waved back down to Sera. I could see the glint of metal as one man moved. They had guns.
I followed behind Sera as one of the elevators was lowered for us to go into the trees. As soon as it touched the ground, Sera yanked me into it, and it began to rise before I caught my balance.
“New rule is that it can come down, but once it touches the ground, it rises again,” Sera explained.
Okay, mental note to myself. Get on elevators fast. Were the tree people that worried? Mal had caged the wolves; they were safe for now.
When the elevator opened at the top of the tree, two guards stood there waiting. Both of them nodded to Sera and I and walked back to their station.
“And they have to confirm every person that enters or leave the trees,” Sera continued to explain. “Red made it law that no one can enter or leave without being checked. They are still not completely okay with the wolves, even though they are behind the wall. Some of the people have suggested that it would be a great time to hunt the wolves since they can shoot and not have to get close to them. You know, the normal hotheads that are causing trouble. When I’m Red they’ll find they can’t talk crap like that. Red is too easy on them if you ask me.”
And she would be. Sera was tougher than my mother, but then again, being a diplomat meant you couldn’t ju
st boss people around. It was likely Sera would change with time too.
Sera shrugged and led the way on the wooden pathways between the trees. To someone who hadn’t grown up here, I was sure they would be fascinated by the trees. It had taken decades, but the people of Azren had perfected living off the ground. They had running water pumped up to the trees. All the modern conveniences, and you didn’t have to worry about a wolf attack.
“To the records building?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at Sera in a challenge.
She grinned back at me. “Race you there?”
She grabbed the nearest branch and pulled herself up into the layer of branches above the houses and buildings. When we were kids, we found you could race in the treetops much better than on the bridges that connected all the buildings. You still couldn’t do a straight shot to where you were going as you had to go on branches you could run on, but it was better than the village below. Our competitiveness got us into trouble more than once, but after we moved up a level, we got in trouble a lot less. It might have been that not as many people got caught in our races, but it was still better in the treetops.
I grabbed the same branch behind her and pulled myself up.
“Ready to lose?” I asked her. “Magical being here, after all.” I grinned at her, and she smiled back, undeterred by my taunting.
“You’ve forgotten one thing all-magical being,” Sera replied. “When we last did this game five winters ago, you weren’t a hulking monster.” Sera didn’t wait for me to understand what she said as she took off on the branch that she was standing on.
I didn’t wait to figure it out either and took off after her. Soon enough, I was being hit left and right by the branches above us. I watched as Sera made it further away from me into the trees. Her smaller stature made it easy for her to run, but not for me. This wasn’t going to be a fair run at all. Sera gave one last look behind her at me and gave me a small wave before she jumped to the next branch and kept running. She had the advantage.
Throne of Night Page 6