Ancient One: Paranormal Romance (Protectors of the Veil Book 1)

by Ruby Wilder

  It was a woman in her late sixties. I recognised her too, but couldn't put my finger on who she was right now.

  'We can communicate telepathically. Not mind read, no. But we can talk to each other. You shouted your thoughts about the lightning pretty loudly there.'

  It was exactly what I was thinking. She'd answered before I'd asked.

  I wondered if that's why I heard Conri and Adam earlier? I'd ask her. With my mind.

  'Yes,' she answered loudly - almost before I'd finished asking the question. 'You heard them communicating telepathically. Most Fae communicate that way.'

  'Fae?' I asked.

  Mr Green, in the centre chair, stood, his robe flowing outwards with the movement. 'You have many questions, we understand that. We are here to give you answers. But first, we must ordain you,' he boomed.

  I looked at gran, she nodded, smiling. I didn't know what to do.

  I wanted answers, of course I did, but ordained? What did that mean? Why didn't I have a choice? But I trusted my gran, so I went ahead with it.

  On my nod, women came at me from all angles. My clothes were removed down to my underwear. My body was rubbed with, what smelled like, lemongrass oil, and I was dressed in a white robe similar to what gran was wearing.

  They melted away as quickly as they came and I stood there oiled, robed and flowers in my hair, feeling a bit dazed.

  'Maeve Pendle,' Mr Green boomed, once again, 'last in the line of the great Celtic Druids. Hold out your hand.'

  He approached me and I offered him my right hand.

  He took it, his hand surprisingly warm and solid. 'Do you agree to uphold the ancient Druid rules?'

  I didn't know what the rules were. How could I uphold them if I didn't know them? But I nodded anyway.

  'Will you fight for the cause?'

  More nodding from me.

  Strangely, it felt the right thing to do, and besides, gran wouldn't lead me astray.

  I looked over to her, she was bursting with pride, glowing almost. She seemed a foot taller! Yeah, it was the right thing to do - even if it was just to please my gran.

  'Do you vow to always protect the Portaclava?'

  'I do,' I said clearly. I was starting to enjoy this.

  Someone in a green robe approached from the right with a wooden bowl and a small ornate knife. Mr Green said a few words I couldn't understand over the items then took them with a flourish from green robe, who melted away as quickly as she arrived.

  'Maeve Pendle,' he boomed. As he said my name, he quickly slashed my palm. I yelped and tried to back away, but he had me held tight in his grip.

  'Ouch!' I shouted at him, just to be annoying.

  He squeezed my hand and blood ran freely into the wooden bowl.

  'This is your bloodline, your connection to the Ancient One.'

  A different green robe appeared next to me and took my hand from Mr Green. Holding my palm upwards, she tapped a glass bottle over it.

  A grey powder fell out of the top and onto my open hand. Within an instant, my cut had stopped bleeding.

  'This blood will be mixed with ours and returned to the ancient lands, where we all originate from. One blood. One line. One power.

  The Ancient One will know you are of us. She will protect you.'

  I looked down at my hand and it was completely healed. I wiped the grey power off - there wasn't even a scar.

  Green robe took the knife and bowl. Mr Green was first, his hand was cut and the blood spilt into the oak bowl. A different green robe, following behind, sprinkled his palm with the mysterious grey powder.

  They repeated this with the other six white robes in the chair, then went into the crowd. It looked like green robes were next, followed by purple, then red.

  There was complete silence as the blood was spilt. No one made a sound. I felt stupid screaming as I did. It hadn't even hurt.

  When everyone had been cut and healed, Mr Green continued, 'Maeve Pendle, you are now a member of The Circle. Our knowledge is your knowledge. Our power, your power. Our history, yours.'

  The crowd erupted, people cheered, banged drums, sang. I couldn't help but smile, it made me feel special.

  Gran came over, 'Come on, let's go home and get a nice cup of tea. John, Mr Green, is going to come and give you the answers you need.'

  And with that, it was over. My ordination into the Ancient Circle of the Druids complete.

  The walk back to gran's kitchen was quick, it felt much shorter than the journey to get here. Gran opened the pantry door, and we were in her kitchen.

  'Here,' she said, 'your clothes.'

  Gran handed me my normal clothes and I went upstairs to get changed. I changed back, but couldn't take the beautiful flowers out of my red hair. Not yet.

  It was surreal. Only yesterday life was boring. Day after day, the same. Now, I was a member of a Druid circle, gran had a doorway to an enchanted woodland in her kitchen, I could shoot blue lightning from my fingers and I'd met someone who could move so fast he could travel ten miles in the blink of an eye.

  What the hell?

  I wandered back downstairs, jeans, jumper and flowers in my hair, and joined gran and John in the kitchen. They were in their normal clothes too.

  Gran passed me a cup of tea and patted the chair next to her.

  'What do you want to know?' John asked, clutching his cup of tea.

  John was a man in his seventies, but still tall and straight. He had thinning salt and pepper hair and a craggy, but regal face. He looked like a leader.

  'What is the blue lightning?'

  'Okay. I think I need to start from the beginning. Haven't you told her anything, Hilda?' John said, looking at gran.

  'No, not a thing. I didn't know if she had the gift. I've seen people destroyed because they knew about our world but could never be a part of it. I wanted to spare her that. I'm sorry, Maeve.'

  I nodded. I knew that gran meant well, but still, a little knowledge would've been nice.

  'Over two thousand years ago humans lived in harmony with Fae.'

  Oh, he'd started! 'Fae?' I asked, butting in.

  'Fae are the others, the non-humans, monsters if you will.'

  I snorted, 'Monsters?' A sarcastic grin on my face.

  'Oh yes,' gran answered, one eyebrow raised. 'You do know how you got here so quick tonight, don't you?'

  I shook my head.

  'It's because Adam is a vampire.'

  My mouth gaped open, my cup slipped from my hand and bounced off the table. The tea spilt across gran's clean table cloth, but the cup didn't smash.

  'N-no, I didn't.'

  She had that mischievous twinkle in her eye now, the one she got when she was being naughty.

  'Ah, I see. So you won't know what Conri is then.'

  'Conri?' I asked, but I wasn't sure I wanted the answer,

  'He's a werewolf.'

  5

  My head was spinning. Everything I thought I understood, thought was real, had just been smashed.

  Vampires? Werewolves? These were the things we read about as kids, but as we got older we knew were make-believe, right?

  But, however hard I tried, I knew this new world I had just found out about was the truth. I knew I was different, I'd always felt it. This was just the proof I'd been searching for - for years.

  'I can hear the dead, gran, always have. I never told you because I didn't want you to think I was odd.'

  Gran laughed, 'I think you odd, ha!'

  John looked at me said, 'Hear the dead? That's an unusual gift. Please explain.'

  I told him about the voices I hear now and then, that they speak in a language I don't understand. I thought they were friendly, but realised, after the blue lightning incident, they aren't friendly at all.

  He looked at gran, a concerned expression on his face.

  'No, can't be,' gran said, shaking her head.

  She scooped the tea-stained cloth and whisked it into her laundry basket. A quick rummage in a kitchen
drawer and another clean cloth replaced the tea-stained one.

  Gran smoothed the cloth over the table. She never had a bare table, that would be barbaric.

  'Can't be what?' I asked, concerned.

  John looked at gran and said, 'We haven't had a Caller since the 1800s. Would be useful.'

  'What's a Caller?'

  'It's someone who can hear the Fae from The Underworld, and can communicate with them through a doorway.'

  'Okay,' I said, making the 'that's just gone right over me head' motion.

  'I think you should start from the beginning, John,' gran said.

  John grabbed my hand. I was wary - last time he did that he slashed me with a knife.

  'You need to open your mind, Maeve. There are things you will hear about and experience over the next few weeks that will seem... unbelievable. But, trust me, it's all true. It's best if you don't question things for now - just open your mind.'

  He touched my forehead with his index finger and a jolt shot through my brain. It wasn't unpleasant. It felt weird - like he'd hypnotised me or something.

  'Over two thousand years ago humans lived in harmony with Fae. Fae are non-humans. Vampires, werewolves, demons, dragons, ghosts, elves, pixies...' he trailed off and looked at gran.

  'What else?' he added, his brow furrowed.

  'Oh, erm, witches, shapeshifters, trolls, giants, fairies...'

  I interrupted gran, 'I get it,' I said, 'anything not human.'

  John nodded and continued, 'Fae have always been the most powerful, much more so than humans. But for millennia they lived in harmony with them, often coupling with humans to produce weird and wonderful offspring. Druids are one of those blendings. A human man fell in love with a female archangel and the Druid bloodline was formed. Out of all the Fae, archangels are the most powerful, demons coming a close second. But I digress.'

  John coughed and stood, stretching his long back.

  'I think mead would be a good drink to help lubricate my pipes,' he said, grinning at gran.

  Gran jumped up and went into the pantry, it was a normal pantry now. She retrieved three beautiful carved wooden goblets that I hadn't seen before and a clay bottle with a cork in the top.

  'Proper mead, brewed on Holy Island by the monks,' gran said, proudly.

  John nodded, impressed.

  Gran poured each of us a measure in the oak goblets and passed them around.

  I noticed how beautiful her hands were, young for her age, with long painted nails. I hadn't seen that before.

  I took a gulp, the mead was sweet and strong. I had a feeling I was going to need this to hear what was coming.

  John took his goblet and downed it in one big gulp. He continued, 'So, we all lived in harmony until a demon named Legion called for an uprising. He preached that humans were weak, inconsequential, to be kept only as pets, at best. Some of the Fae listened.’

  Gran topped his goblet back up with more mead and he continued.

  ‘There was a war. Humans almost lost, were almost wiped out. But the archangel Racheal and her Druid children stood up to him. Some of the Fae also stood by her, believing him to be too evil to follow. A bitter and long war followed. Both sides suffered great loss of life. But, with Racheal's and the Druid's help, the humans came out on top. The Druids, using Ley Line magic, cast a powerful spell, banishing those who stood with Legion and his demon lover Lilith to The Underworld. The Underworld is another world, hell, perhaps, that is sealed. The only way in or out is through a doorway - called a Portclava. This Portclava's is marked so that people would know where it is. The information is lost to most now, wiped from the history books, but the Druids know, as do other ancient groups. The Portclava is marked with a stone circle, the Druid's way of showing important sites.'

  John rubbed his head, it was a lot of information.

  'How many, um, Portclavas are there?' I asked.

  'Only one. We are charged with keeping it sealed. It is here in England.

  'Stonehenge?' I asked.

  'No, Stonehenge is for something different. It is Jorvikrigg in York, where you work.

  'What's the blue lightning?' This was the most curious thing to me.

  Ghosts, ghouls and goblins were real. Okay, I could accept that. There was a doorway to another world. Righto. Conri was a werewolf. Got it. But the blue lightning? Come on...

  'It's magic,' John said, simply.

  It must've been the expression I wore, or maybe it was the way my arms automatically crossed in front of my chest, or that I let out a sigh, that made John Green elaborate.

  'All the Fae can fight and defend, but only a Druid can close the portal. Only Druids have the magic. We draw it from the earth, from Her great power, through Ley Lines. The portal is in a precise location where the Ley Line converge. The magic is strong there. Strong enough to seal an underworld full of evil monsters. The blue lightning is that power. Mother Nature's power. You can tap into it. That's all. It's not complicated.'

  And there it was. The knowledge that he had known for all of his life, took for granted.

  We could wield coloured magic about like a lightsaber.

  I could tell he thought this was as ordinary as getting out of bed in the morning. But to me, this was, well, wow! I had magic!

  'The magic found you with the help of the pendant your gran gave you. You don't need that pendant, but it helps when you are just starting out.'

  I looked at gran, she was smiling.

  'I'm so proud of you, my big girl. Not everyone inherits the magic, you know. Our lineage is dying out. The doorway has been unprotected for twenty-five years. The magic is becoming weak. It was only a matter of time before it failed and let the Fae out.'

  'My mum was the last one?' I asked.

  'Until you, yes.'

  'What about other children? Your grandchildren, Mr Green?'

  He shook his head sadly, 'None developed the gift on their twenty-fifth birthday.'

  'So there's only me in the whole world?

  'Yes, and that's not all,' Mr Green said, solemnly. 'There is a twenty-five-year cycle, the veil between the worlds becomes very thin. The thinnest time being Samhain, Halloween. This year is the weak point. Over the last few years more and more Fae have escaped. It's building up to a big fail in the magic. Last year a Changling got through, and we lost many human babies before The Protectors found it and killed it. It left many Changling babies, and we aren't even sure we've found them all yet.'

  'The year before that a Thunderbird broke free,' gran said, turning to me, 'can you remember all those power cuts we had?'

  I could! It was a few years ago, but I could remember. I nodded.

  'They were caused by the creature. ‘It can summon thunder and lightning causing power outages. They are more annoying than dangerous. But still, we can’t have those things flying about.’

  'Who are The Protectors?' I asked. It sounded like I would need their help.

  'There are six protectors. You know Conri and Adam. Adam is a brand new recruit. Conri has been with us a few years now. And there are four others, who have been with us for many years. They have pledged their lives to protect humanity. And they are bound to you. You are their leader.'

  'And you have a secret weapon, Maeve,' gran said. 'You can hear them, through the doorway. You will know when they are near - when they are building up for a push through the magic.'

  It was all a bit much. I was the protector of a portal that sounded like it led straight to hell. I had six creatures to help me. Only six. Not really an army, is it? And they were bound to me? What did that mean?

  Oh, and I'd only just discovered magic.

  'Do I get any training?'

  Gran laughed, 'Training? What like? Line tin cans up on the back fence so you can shoot them off with your magic?'

  'Um well, I don't know?' I asked, slightly embarrassed.

  'Everyone's magic is different. There is no training. No guidance. Only the desire to keep the doorway closed. You felt tha
t earlier, didn't you?' John asked.

  I nodded. I had felt it. It was strong. An irresistible urge to run outside and fight this thing I didn't understand.

  But I couldn't have stopped myself if I had tried.

  Gran looked at me and said, 'Come on, bedtime, you look tired. It's been an eventful night - lots to learn.'

  'One last thing,' I ventured. 'Why can't you all keep it closed?'

  'Once the pendant is passed to the next child in line, whether they have the gift or not, the burden passes from you to them. There can be only one Ancient One. Only one that The Protectors are bound to. Only one that can close the veil. If you have children, Maeve, you must pass it to them on their twenty-fifth birthday. If you don't have children, the burden will stay with you until you die. You are the last of the line. That's the Druid's rule.’

  I nodded, it made sense.

  'What do I do now?' I asked.

  'Just carry on as normal, Samhain is approaching. You'll know what to do when it arrives.'

  'Come on,' gran insisted. 'Big day tomorrow.'

  I got up and waved goodnight to John and turned, 'Why? What happens tomorrow?'

  'You meet all The Protectors.'

  6

  I lay in my bed, wide awake, staring at the ceiling. What had just happened?

  A few hours ago, I was a normal girl, a bit weird, okay, but normal. I knew the world only had humans in it and I could hear dead people sometimes.

  It gave me hope of an afterlife.

  But now, well, now I knew I wasn't normal, I had magic.

  I knew that humans existed with all other types of creatures and oh, those dead people I thought I could hear? Nope. Monsters from hell banished there by my people.

  I used to work nights in a gift shop, now I'm the sole protector of humanity.

  Jesus, I'd never sleep again.

  I got up and slipped my jeans on, I needed some air.

  It was a rainy night, but warm for October, so I left my white bed vest on.

  I quietly went downstairs, gran must've gone to bed, the place was in darkness. I pulled my leaky boots on and went out of the front door.