by Ruby Wilder
I needed to be alone with my knowledge. I need to process it.
The rain was cold on my skin. I lifted up my face to the night and felt the cool splashes wash over me.
Fuck, what now? I didn't want this. Any of it. I wanted to be normal.
I'd hoped Conri and I might date after he gave me a birthday present yesterday. I had hoped we might be a thing.
But now he was a werewolf. Bound to me.
Listen to me! A bloody werewolf!
I shook my head. Nope, I didn't want any of this craziness. How on earth could I protect the world?
I stuffed my hands in my jeans pockets. There was something in there. I felt it, rolling it around in my fingers, it was hard and cold.
I pulled the object out.
Oh, yeah, the piece of tigers eye I stole from that shop in York last week.
See! How could I be a protector? I'm a thief! I can't stop stealing things.
I threw the stone over a neighbours garden hedge, disgusted in myself. I stole things that I didn't even need, didn't want. Mostly useless stuff.
How could I protect everyone?
I would tell gran and Mr Green tomorrow.
They would have to get someone else. There must be someone else. I can't be the last of the bloodline.
It would be better for everyone. They needed someone who could do the job properly. Someone who hadn't only just found out about themselves.
Decision made, I felt relief flood through me.
I could go back to being Maeve who worked in the gift shop, the girl who had a crush on the sexy security guard.
The one who stole shit she didn't need.
I walked on, the rain felt like it was blessing my decision.
As I walked further along the sleepy suburban road, I got a strange feeling I was being followed.
I looked back but no one was there. The hairs on my neck pricked up. I was being followed, I could feel it.
I turned and stood in the empty street. The rain pelted down on me, I was soaked through. I scanned the street looking for something, anything. But the street was empty.
'Who's there?' I shouted.
I stood, feet set apart for balance arms open at my sides.
'Who's there?' I demanded.
I felt that feeling - the one I had yesterday, the pinpricks.
It started in my feet, travelled up my body and was running down my arms. My fingertips were sparking blue flashes, they lit the darkness up around me. My hair began lifting off my back and shoulders, even though it was wet through.
I stared into the dark street in front of me, unafraid.
'Last chance,' I shouted.
The blue magic flowed all around me now.
I could hear it spitting and cracking as I pulled it from the ground below. I pulled it into a ball and was preparing to throw it blindly into the dark night, when someone shouted, 'Okay, okay, it's just me.'
'Who?'
'Me, Adam.'
'Show yourself.'
Adam gracefully floated down in front of me and landed on the pavement.
I landed too - but I hadn't been aware I'd risen off the ground.
'What on earth are you doing? Why are you following me like that? I could've blasted you with this blue shit,' I said looking at my now normal fingers.
Adam laughed, 'I thought you didn't want any of this? Thought you wanted to go back to being normal and fancying the security guard where you work?'
'Stop reading my mind,' I snapped, angrily.
'Stop shouting your thoughts about then,' he countered, arms folded.
Ugh, he was so assured. I should blast him with blue shit anyway.
'Couldn't do it,' he said, smugly.
'Argh. Stop.'
'You stop. You might as well be shouting. Your thoughts are so loud. Conri knows how much you fancy him. He listens to you all the time.'
I felt my face redden. That was all I needed.
He must've read my mind again because his demeanour softened.
'You were made for this you know. You can protect the Portclava. Look at how quickly your magic fired up there. Not many can detect a vampire that doesn't want to be detected - but you just did. And you only just found out about yourself. Imagine what you could be capable of.'
He smiled at me and held his hand out. 'Let me show you something,' he said.
God, he was sexy. I knew he was a vampire and could seduce me if he wished, but with those eyes, he wouldn't even need to use his powers.
'Okay,' I said, taking his icy cold hand.
'I can't seduce you with my powers, I tried last night in the shop. You are immune to me,'
'Oh God, you need to teach me how to stop shouting my thoughts.'
He laughed, 'I'm not sure I want to!'
'Where are we going?' I asked when he didn't move.
'Nowhere.'
'I thought you wanted to show me something?'
'I do, be still.'
He put his other hand on my forehead.
It was as hard and cold as ice. I waited, feeling a little self-conscious.
Nothing seemed to happen for a very long time, then a few little flashes appeared in my thoughts, the flashes turned to pictures, pictures into memories. But not my memories, someone else's.
It was carnage.
He showed me the loss of life, thousands of innocent humans and Fae dead. All the spilt blood. He showed me the evil nature of Legion and his army. Their need to rule and destroy.
I saw the Druids gather and fight, led by Racheal the archangel.
They almost didn't win.
They cast their spell and sealed the Underworld. But the loss was great. Humanity almost wouldn't recover.
But it did, gradually.
The good Fae agreed to behave like humans, to live amongst them in secret and not use their powers.
Adam removed his hand.
'You were there?' I asked, surprised.
He shook his head, 'No, not me, the vampire who changed me - he gifted me this memory, so I wouldn't choose the dark side. So I would always know the truth.'
He released my hand and looked at me, 'You can't let that happen again, Maeve. We need your help. We can fight - have done for millennia - but we can't seal the veil. Only you can. Will you join us?'
I looked down at my feet.
I had to help. Adam had shown me the reality of not helping.
I looked up and into his inky black eyes, the eyes of a killer who chose to help humanity.
'Yes, I'll join you,' I said, finally.
7
I waited in the conference room of the visitor centre at Jorvikrigg.
It looked different in the daylight. Very business-like and serious.
The walls were grey, the carpet was blue and the upholstered chairs were a colour somewhere in between, I sat on one, feeling self-conscious. Someone had pushed all the tables to the walls and arranged the chairs in a circle. Like the way TV portrays an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
The door opened and Conri walked in.
He didn't have his security uniform on, instead, he wore jeans and a dark red jumper.
Oh, my God! His legs in those tight jeans! Hot! And that fitted jumper! That should be illegal! He filled the doorway space as he casually walked through it. He has his hair down, my favourite!
I moved uncomfortably, remembering he could hear my thoughts. Shit. He was smiling - too late, he'd heard.
'Morning,' he said, grinning.
'Help me, Conri! If they all hear what I think of them as they walk in the room I'm going to be in trouble.'
Conri burst out laughing, 'Your thoughts are really loud, Maeve! It's like you are shouting!'
I put my hands over my face.' Oh, God! How do I stop?' I asked, peeking through my fingers.
'It's easy! Think quietly! Look.' Conri shut his mouth, but I clearly heard, 'Hi Maeve.'
'You heard that, right?'
I nodded.
'But you can't hear me no
w?'
I listened, carefully - it was quiet, not a whisper.
'How do you do it?' I asked, hoping it was something I could do.
'Use your power. I use mine to block my thoughts.'
That didn't sound easy at all.
'Can you all hear everyone's thoughts?' I asked.
Conri shook his head. 'I can't hear any Fae unless they want me to. Humans are different. They're not conscious that they are doing it because they can't hear each other. But you - for a Druid - wow, you shout!' he said, laughing.
I concentrated.
I put my fingertips to my temples and imagined blue lightning inside my head protecting my thoughts. I had my eyes shut, but through my closed lids, I saw the blue flash.
'Whoa, steady on, Maeve. You'll give yourself a lobotomy.'
I opened my eyes and Conri was staring at me.
'Are you okay?' he asked.
Could he hear my thoughts?
'Well?'
'What?'
'Can you hear me?'
'Think something.'
I want to kiss your bulging biceps, and grab your tight butt.
Nothing. He was just staring at me. Had it worked? I tried something else.
'Conri,' I shouted at him with my mind.
'I heard you say Conri,' he said, grinning.
It worked! My spell had actually worked!
I grinned at him.
The door burst open and the most enormous person I had ever seen in my life entered.
Conri was a tall muscular man, but this giant made him look small.
'Vig!' Conri shouted and ran over to him shaking his hand, and slapping his back.
'It's been a long time!' the giant said, in a gentle low voice.
He was huge, at a guess seven feet tall, muscular with shoulder-length blond hair. He had an innocent, but handsome face. His bright blue eyes looked at me and he smiled.
I was dazzled for a minute but regained myself when he said, 'Hi,' in his sweet, deep voice.
'Hi,' I said, holding out my hand, 'I'm Maeve.'
He reached for my hand and took it, it was lost in his massive grip.
'I'm Vigharthur, but everyone calls me Vig.'
Vig looked at Conri and said, 'Has it began?'
Conri nodded.
He saw my confusion and said, 'The veil - it's starting to weaken. It does every year around Samhain when the veil is at the thinnest. But this year it the twenty-five-year cycle. The weakest it has been since your mum was our Ancient One. We are expecting things to break out.'
'Did you know my Mum, Conri?'
'No, I'm too young, but Vig here did. They were good friends.'
I looked at Vig, 'You knew my Mum?'
He nodded but his dazzling smile had changed. It was almost melancholy now. 'She was my friend. You look like her,’ he said.
'We meet up in October every year, to protect the veil. But I'm here all year round - just in case,' Conri said, grinning.
'Two new ones this year?' Vig asked Conri.
'Yeah, Maeve here,' he nodded in my direction, 'and a vampire, he's called Adam.'
Conri was sitting on a chair with his feet up on another, eating a packet of crisps as if nothing was unusual about any of this.
He obviously wasn't going to tell me anything about this giant in front of me.
'Vig,' I asked, cautiously, 'tell me about yourself. I know Conri is a werewolf, but you...' I trailed off. What could I say? You are massive?
He smiled an easy smile, 'I'm Vigharthur of the Jotunn. The descendant of Loki. I was born in the year 66 BC. The Jotunn are a race of giants.
He spoke so gently, I almost didn't catch what he said.
'Loki?' I asked.
He nodded and looked down at his feet.
Conri said, 'Loki is in the Underworld now, he chose the other side.'
'Loki is real?'
Why did I even ask? Of course, he was real. I was living in a world of giants, werewolves and vampires. Why would he not be?
Our conversation was stopped short as the door burst open.
Was it kicked open?
It swung back and hit the wall. A tiny girl stood there in the doorway. I'm glad I learned to hide my thoughts because the first thing that came into my head was:
Resting.
Bitch.
Face.
She was pale-skinned, blue-eyed, with shoulder-length dark brown hair that she wore to one side. Her make-up was perfect and she stared into the room with attitude.
'Hi Fiona,' Vig said, giving her a little wave.
She grinned at him, 'Hi, you big oaf.'
She looked at Conri and said, with a tip of her head, 'Wolf.'
He did the same, saying, 'Shifter.'
She nodded and entered the room.
'And you?' she said to me, raising an eyebrow.
I wasn't sure about her, she looked my age, but I got an older vibe from her.
She had a bad attitude, that was obvious. But people had said that about me in the past. So I was prepared to give her a chance.
'Ancient One,' I said, with confidence.
She looked me up and down and nodded, walking into the room.
Her black boots squeaked as she walked over the blue carpet. The sexy black blouse she wore had sheer arms and shoulders and she'd paired it with black tight trousers - making her look like a spy from a James Bond movie.
She circled behind me, weighing me up.
I stood still, listening. I couldn't hear her thoughts, but I heard Conri say, 'She's like this with everyone at first - don't take it personally.'
I smiled, just as she walked to the front of me.
'What are you grinning at?' she asked aggressively.
At my height of five foot nine, I was around seven inches taller than her. It gave me the edge.
I looked down at her, and with my best 'I don't give a shit' face said, 'I dunno, but it's not grinning back.'
Childish, Maeve, childish.
She looked at me, not knowing what to do.
There was an awkward silence, and we stared at each other. It seemed to go on forever until I heard Vig start to giggle, then it turned into a laugh. Conri joined in and soon, the noise spread around the room.
Fiona didn't laugh, but she smiled. I didn't laugh either.
So, she was a shifter. I guessed that meant she could turn into things, but I wasn't sure what. I'd have to ask Conri later.
Maybe she could shift herself into something a little more cheerful.
'Where's Adam?' I asked, mostly to break the tension, but also because I wanted her to know I knew someone in the group.
She snorted, then said, 'Adam, the vampire?'
Ah, shit. I felt myself redden.
How could I have been so stupid? It was still daylight.
Now, I only knew what I knew about vampires from fiction films and books, but they all said the same thing - vampires can't go out in sunlight.
I didn't know what to say, she'd got me.
Should I just zap her with blue lightning to hide my embarrassment?
Maybe not, one can't go around zapping folk simply because one didn't like them.
My uncomfortableness was cut short by the door swinging open. It was an older guy in a leather jacket, jeans and sunglasses. He looked like he was desperately trying to be cool, but I felt great respect for him, and I didn't know why.
'Hey, Drago,' Vig said, going over to him.
'Long time no see, Vig,' he replied in a thick Russian accent.
He was older, maybe late forties, early fifties, around six feet tall with salt and pepper grey, floppy hair and short grey stubble. He wasn't muscular, but he wasn't thin, either. Definitely in good shape and tanned, and obviously Russian.
He looked around the room. Said hello to Conri and Fiona, then came over to me. He took my left hand and lifted it to his lips, kissing it gently.
'Ancient One,' he said, bowing.
I reddened again. Should I cur
tsy to him? He gave off that vibe.
'You are so old!' It just popped out. I don't know why I said it. It was rude to comment on someone's age.
Drago smiled and removed his sunglasses. His eyes glowed red. They were terrifying.
'You are correct, my dear. I show you,' he drawled.
He bowed his head then looked up. He seemed to shake and flicker as if he was a hologram and not a real thing in front of me.
Then, just like that, he was a dragon.
Yes, a dragon. An actual freaking, fire breathing dragon.
He stared at me with the same glowing red eyes, fire dripping out of his mouth onto the blue carpet.
He was beautiful, magnificent. His body shimmered with teal blue scales.
It reminded me of a mermaid's tail. He was enormous, maybe ten or twelve feet high, his neck was bent so as not to touch the ceiling.
I was mesmerised, I reached out to touch him, but he transformed back.
'You cannot touch me, I burn you,' he said reaching out for my hand, 'but I like that you try.'
Conri came over and stamped out the fire that was starting to take hold of the carpet.
'The fire sensors,' he said to Fiona, pointing at the ceiling.
Fiona sighed and changed into a bird. It was instant - no flickering like Drago.
When she got near the sensor, she smashed it with her beak. She did that to the other two detectors in the ceiling, then landed and transformed back to Fiona.
Drago still had hold of my hand, 'I could explain, but show better, yes? And you are correct, I very old. Older than most. Even older than Druid Ancient Ones.'
He let go of my hand and bowed.
I was strangely attracted to him. He seemed so wise, so regal, so masterful. I knew I would do anything this man wanted. He would just have to ask and I would willingly comply.
He broke my daydreaming. 'Who wait for? Levi and new person? He vampire, yes?' Drago said, in his deep Russian voice.
'Yes, he's a vampire. He shouldn't be very long, it's almost dark. And you know Levi...' Conri answered.
We waited in the blue and grey conference centre - that now had burned holes in the carpet - until nightfall set in. Drago sat patiently, head rested back on the wall. I guessed his eyes were closed. He looked calm.
Fiona paced. And muttered. She seemed to be quite an angry person.
I wondered why.
She stomped up and down, her boots squeaking. I tried not to let it get to me, but it did.