by Elon Vidal
“Only in the mornings,” her friend laughed.
Dawn got out of bed, feeling her room shrink as Damon walked towards her. He towered over her, and she didn’t like how he seemed to look down at her and assess her with those deep, blue eyes.
"Nice to meet you, Dawn," he said with a small smile playing at the corner of his lips, making her feel as if he knew some joke she wasn’t in on.
"Why are you here?" she asked.
"I'm on babysitting duty," he answered. Again, as if it explained everything.
Had she died and woken up in an alternate universe? Because in the past day, her life had been filled with more excitement than she could take. From strange powers manifesting in her, weird creatures attacking her and blacking out twice; she wasn’t sure how to handle waking up to two good-looking warlocks in her room.
Oh gods, she hoped her hair wasn’t all over the place. Not that she cared to impress Damon or anything.
"You seem to be missing an important component of babysitting, the child?" Dawn raised a challenging brow.
"Am I?” Damon said, amusement laced in his voice.
Dawn huffed like the child she wasn’t, bumping into Damon as she walked out of the room. She headed towards the kitchen, where she could hear her mother’s voice.
“The Northern Fae have come to the Council for protection, it was a massacre Isabel!” a voice was saying, and her mother looked up at her in panic when she walked in.
She saw a man standing at the far end of the kitchen, looking at her with intense blue eyes.
“Mom? What’s going on?”
She felt like she was asking that question a lot lately, never getting any answers in return. Her mother walked towards her and gave her a hug, which Dawn didn’t return, remaining rigid in her mother’s arms.
“How are you feeling?” Isabel asked.
“Like something tried to kill me,” Dawn replied, her eyes still on the new man in her mother’s kitchen.
Isabel gave her a faint smile. "This is Malachi,” she gestured to the man, “and his son Damon.”
Malachi was taller than his son, which made him really tall. With long, curly hair that went past his shoulders, probably off to search for a hairdresser somewhere. His whole look screamed I need a stylist, but it seemed to be somehow working for him.
“Nice to meet you Dawn, I’m sorry it had to be under such circumstances,” he said.
Dawn nodded. She wondered why her house was suddenly overrun by tall, white-haired men. But she didn’t ask that, nor did she ask about what she’d walked in on him saying.
“Why don’t you sit down and I’ll make you some breakfast?” intervened Isabel, who started working around the kitchen. Malachi took a seat next to Dawn.
“I know you must have a lot of questions,” he started.
“Maybe just a hundred or so.” Dawn deadpanned.
“Would you boys like some breakfast too? Damon, Elijah?” her mother asked.
Dawn glanced behind her to see Elijah with a smile on his face.
“Of course,” he replied. Dawn knew he never said no to food!
Everyone sat down, and Dawn looked at her mother before asking. “Nathan?”
“Your father picked him up early morning, he was refusing to go to school otherwise, and he had that field trip.”
Something about Isabel’s tone made Dawn think that her mother hadn’t told her father exactly what had happened the previous night, and she was thankful in a sense that he didn’t know yet. Her dad would only freak out, and she didn’t need any more of that right now.
“Is Nathan okay?”
“He will be,” Isabel replied simply. “And he will be surrounded by warlocks all day.”
Great. Just as I am, Dawn thought. It made her feel better, though, knowing that Nathan was safe. The trip was to the warlocks’ academy, an underground facility where they made weapons and all sorts of cool gadgets.
“So, about those questions?” she looked at Malachi hopefully.
"The creature that attacked you is called a Hound," he started to explain.
"Like a dog?" Dawn asked with a frown, she had never heard of that before.
"Close enough. It is a creature made of dark magic, and its sole purpose is to hunt. Someone has to be extremely powerful to control them, because it takes part of your soul every time you create one."
A chill coursed down Dawn’s spine and she wondered just what kind of a man or woman would want to go through that, and for what purpose? But she had a more burning question right now, and she hoped Malachi could give her some more answers.
“What did it want with us, though?”
Or me? She was afraid to ask, in case it was actually true.
“I wish I could say it was some random attack; but like I said, hounds are created to hunt. And with what just happened to you, I can’t help but think it’s all connected somehow.”
“So you are saying there is someone out there who knows about me, probably more than all of you guys know? And it’s worth sending that…that creature after me?”
Dawn felt as if her stomach was trying to crawl out of her throat. These were not the kind of answers that she was looking for! And the look on Malachi’s face confirmed it all, there was someone out there who possibly knew what was going on with her. And that person was not playing games.
“So why didn’t you let me kill it?” she asked, turning to her mom.
"Dawn, once a hound marks you, it never stops hunting you. I'm afraid we can’t gravely hurt or kill the hound without hurting you, too. Your mother had to put a spell on you to help you rest last night, otherwise you would have felt everything the hound felt until it healed itself." Malachi said with regret in his eyes.
Gods, it just kept getting better! Dawn groaned, then covered her face with her hands. “What else? Am I going to be a human sacrifice too? Or being prepared to be some kind of alien bride?”
“There are no such things as aliens,” Elijah winked, obviously trying to lighten her mood.
And while she was usually the first person to try and joke her way out of any terrible situation, she didn’t feel that way right now.
“We can’t do much except protect you from now on,” Malachi chimed in.
“Protect me? You mean like this?” she held up the hand with the mark of the caging spell.
Malachi winced, as if he knew that it wasn’t as reassuring as he hoped it to be. "It's not ideal, but we have to be certain that you are not in danger. From now on, a Guard will be with you at all times until the Council informs us otherwise."
Dawn looked at her mother, “And what am I supposed to do till then? Be under house arrest?”
“We were thinking that you could join the First Guard,” her mother suggested, then held her hand up before Dawn could protest. “Only temporarily.”
“Mom,” she sighed.
“You can be there with me,” Elijah said with a small smile.
“You made it?” she asked, feeling genuinely happy for her friend.
She should have been there for him, she thought. But she’d just been busy blowing out lights like some kind of poltergeist and being attacked by weird, human-like dogs. All in a day’s work.
“But trials were yesterday, or have I blacked out for days again?’
He laughed and shook his head, “No, I got in on first selection.”
“First selection?” she exclaimed. “But that’s like for really badass magic and fighting!”
Elijah grinned and nodded, “Yep.”
Dawn pretended to be confused. “So how did you make it?”
Her friend rolled her eyes, and then they both laughed. When the laughter stopped, she felt conflicted. She was really happy for Elijah; this was all he had ever wanted. But it wasn’t her dream, and it wasn’t fair that her hand was being forced. Her intent had been set on pursuing nature’s language through plant life so she could better understand how to contribute to its harmony. Her plans had nothing to do with f
ighting off demon dogs and being under house arrest.
“It will be good for you to keep training and being around people who can help protect you,” Malachi said. “Like your mother said, it’s only temporary, and we are doing the best that we can.”
“There will be over two hundred Guards in one place. Some seasoned and some new recruits, but all more than capable of holding their own in a fight,” Damon joined the conversation. “You are not being sent to prison, but somewhere where you can actually learn how to better protect yourself. You can’t argue that is not a good idea.”
It was a good idea, but so was eating vegetables and exercising to maintain good health. Not everyone did that, though, and perhaps it was her human side that just rebelled against good ideas.
"But what about my internship? I could still try to convince them to take me," she argued weakly.
Even as she said it, she knew that it was a feeble attempt. There was a strange light emerging within her that she didn’t even understand, and now there was a mark on her back that was like a beacon for evil creatures. There was no way that she could go out into the human world like this.
The time was nine in the morning when she called time of death on her career plans. It seemed magic was not done with her just yet.
THREE
Dawn looked around the empty waiting room again and thought that whoever had designed the room deserved a pay cut. It was cold and empty and made a person feel like they had been waiting for ages instead of the minutes. Or perhaps that was the goal after all, to make you feel like you were waiting for a meeting that would never start.
She wondered if she could convince Elijah to use a spell to sneak her name onto the EOS acceptance list when all this was over. It was unethical but at this moment she didn’t care, the choice had been taken from her and she deserved another chance. If the Council didn't like how she used magic for her own personal gain, then they could build another waiting room just for her. Maybe make this one full of phone charging ports that didn't work. That would be her worst nightmare.
"Dawn?" A tall guard appeared in the doorway.
She pretended to look around the empty room and smiled politely. "I'm sorry you just missed her."
The man didn’t even show a hint of emotion as he turned away. "Follow me."
Dawn stood and followed him, taking an elevator down.
"The Enlightened use elevators?" she asked with a laugh that was to hide her nerves more than anything.
The guard didn't speak and it made Dawn wonder if she could survive having such a job if she joined the First Guard and was assigned a similar station. Definitely not, she thought. Which was another reason why she really needed that apprenticeship.
"So, what are your bosses like?" she asked when the silence became too much. "Do you take company retreats to bond and relax? Does the Council sometimes show up to work in jeans?"
Dawn felt triumphant when she saw a ghost of a smile at the corner of the guard's lips, showing her that he was indeed human after all. Well, maybe not human exactly but he had a heart underneath all that old armor. People really needed to come up with a better word other than ‘human’ to describe soft spots or any form of weakness.
They kept going down as the elevator went through various symbols that she couldn't read. There were no numbers, so she had no idea what floor they were on or going to.
"Are you taking me to Hades?" she asked with wide eyes.
She didn’t know for sure that it was an actual place, but many people believed it was. The home to one of the ancient gods who kept all evil souls there.
"Do you ever stop talking?" the guard finally said in a deep, tense voice.
"When I'm sleeping. But I don’t really know if I don't sleep talk either so there's that."
The guard ignored her after that, and they descended in silence until the elevator finally came to a stop.
“We are here,” he said.
“Where is here exactly?”
The guard pointed ahead, “Just walk straight ahead and the lights will show you the way.”
Lights suddenly came on, revealing a passage ahead of them. She nodded and followed the path, more lights coming on as she walked. She entered a large room and stopped at the center. No one was in yet so she looked around. It was circular in design, with several steps leading to 12 chairs at the top of the stairs. How very humble of The Enlightened, she thought. Not that she had anything to expect from a council that called themselves Enlightened.
A door opened from the back of the room, and one by one hooded figures walked in. The long, brown robes made them look like something out of a horror movie, but the Council was just old fashioned like that. She waited until they all sat and pushed the hoods away. Dawn could tell what some of them where, but not all. All that didn’t matter though, and she steeled herself for what would come next.
“I am Gael,” one elder spoke. “You have become quite the interesting subject of many discussions, young Halfling.”
“I have?” Dawn said before she could stop herself. But of course, she had, that’s what you got for launching a magical electromagnetic pulse.
“We sense no new magic in you,” Ezekiel said. Dawn looked at him. It felt good to see a familiar face, even though Elijah’s grandfather was not exactly the warmest person. “Yet you suddenly have this new power, is that true?”
“To be honest I’m not sure it’s a power per se, because I don’t know what the light does. That was the first time I saw it too.”
"Give us an account of what happened," another elder spoke. Judging from his piercing green eyes, she suspected he was Fae.
Dawn told them everything she remembered from the day the light had shown up, and they all watched her after she was done. She had never felt so tiny in her life and wondered if that was the point of all this.
"Perhaps the whole truth would be better, yes?" Gael's deep voice finally broke the silence.
"That is the whole truth," Dawn said, her heartbeat kicking it up a notch. "I dreamt of a girl in a castle, and one day the light just showed up. I swear."
They were quiet again and she started to feel anxious under their scrutiny. She clenched her hands, feeling her palms becoming warmer. One of the elders stood up and walked down the stairs towards her. She couldn't tell what he was from his appearance, he had no distinguishing features in particular. When he finally stood in front of her, he held out his hand.
He paused for a second as he tilted his head to the side and looked at her. “Your eyes…is your mother Fae?”
She nodded and all he responded with was a ‘hmmm’. Dawn ignored his weirdness and raised a questioning brow at the hand he was stretching out to her.
"Show me this dream," he said.
Dawn hesitated before placing her hand in his, looking up at him in surprise when she felt how cold he was. Probably a Mimic then. She'd had a sparring match with one when she was younger, and she remembered how cold the girl had been. Mimic shifters tended to be like that, basically empty shells until they changed into whatever creature they were mimicking at the time.
"Close your eyes and remember your dream, I will be able to see what you see," he said.
She wasn’t sure she wanted someone in her head like that. But she didn't have any other choice since she needed their help. She closed her eyes and thought of the ruined castle. She found herself standing where the dream usually started. Except this time, she felt like she was in control. Mothball whiffs stuffed her nostrils and were soon abated by the howling wind that swept across the corridor. She looked at the castle walls, seeing the flower from her dreams, except they were wilting now. Strange, she thought. Why did she remember them like that when they were always in full bloom?
"Show me," the mimic whispered, and Dawn began to walk.
"What is that?" The elder asked softly, as if trying not to startle her, pointing at the flowers.
"I don't know, they’ve just always been here. But they are now wilting. Everyth
ing else looks the same, except for these flowers. They’re usually in full bloom."
"And the girl?"
Dawn pictured the girl, with her long white hair and piercing stare.
"Are those druid markings?" he asked, and Dawn felt herself nodding.
"It's what I see."
"Does she say anything?"
Dawn shook her head, "No."
"She just gives you the light?"
"Yes."
"Interesting," was all the elder said.
When there was no further instruction, Dawn felt weird just standing there with her eyes closed.