by K.N. Lee
Good. Now we were getting somewhere. I watched her cautiously. She had been all too quick to reveal her identity,
“Why did you invite us to the mansion after so long?” I asked again, adding more force to my words this time as my tattoo glowed ominously.
Danielle stared at me. I half expected her to begin gushing about how happy she was to know that I was like her, but as I watched her, her face contorted into an expression of anger. I was taken aback. What exactly did she have to be angry about? I wondered as I stared at her, waiting for her to say something.
“Everyone’s here because of you Faye-Minita. You have to pay for what you did. You cannot go unpunished. You have to answer for your misgivings and the first order of work, is to lose someone you love,” Danielle said, still looking at me with that scary expression of hate.
I blinked. Someone I loved? I knew immediately whom she was talking about, and my heart skipped a beat. How dare she threaten him? What did I ever do to her?
I suddenly felt the urge to lunge at her and take her to the ground, beat some sense into her, but I held myself back. There was still a lot I didn’t know about the situation and I wanted to make sure I understood completely before I did anything rash.
I opened my mouth to speak when Danielle raced towards me at a dizzying speed. She struck me in the chest and I found myself reeling through the air until I collided with the wall behind me painfully. I slid to the floor as my back ached painfully. What had just happened? It felt like a truck had hit me. How was I still alive?
As I looked up, I saw Danielle point towards the dresser in the room and it levitated in the air for a short second and she pointed towards me and the dresser zoomed forward in my direction. My bones ached and I couldn’t move. I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable impact.
Suddenly, my stomach lurched and I opened my eyes. Juan looked down at me with a worried look on his face. I could not hold back my joy and I hugged him tightly, wrapping my arms around him in relief.
“She was going to kill me, Juan. Did you see that? Danielle was going to kill me,” I said into his shoulder and he comforted me.
He broke off the hug and stared at me with eyes that held a deep sadness. I was instantly on edge and asked him what was wrong.
“Faye? Remember that guy who died in the car crash?” he said, not breaking his gaze, and I nodded slowly. How could I forget?
“He was Danielle’s fiancé,” he said
I blinked twice, unable to bring myself to say anything. Then, a voice spoke in my head, whispering,
“What goes around, comes around”.
I watched Faye in wonder as she looked up and around her as if she was searching for something. What was happening? I wondered, looking at her. Then I noticed her arm. Her tattoo was glowing. Instinctively, I had a feeling that a fairy was communicating with her.
“Faye? Are you okay?” I asked and she seemed startled. She looked at me with eyes that were not quite focused, and she nodded.
“I am fine Juan. We have to get Ophelia and Drayton out of the mansion as soon as possible. I don’t think Danielle cares about the fact that the Oakatex exists at all and probably wants us all dead. I think she’d more interested in punishing me for the death of her fiancé”.
I looked at her and she stared back at me. The look of fear I saw in her eyes was all too real.
I opened my eyes suddenly and felt a slight wave of nausea wash over me. Then, the next second, it was gone and I found myself staring into the worried face of Ophelia.
Immediately she saw that my eyes were open, she broke into a smile. Her face was filled with relief, but I was still confused. I couldn’t remember falling asleep. Plus, I looked around, not recognizing the room; I didn’t know where I was. I saw Danielle’s picture on the wall and realized that I was in her room. But how did I get there? I saw the bite mark on my chest and I felt completely lost. What could have left such a mark?
“What happened? How did I get here?” I asked, still feeling confused. Ophelia looked at me with a huge smile on her face and began explaining.
I listened with growing apprehension as she described something she called a Fae and said I had been blessed with the bite of one of them. She asked me to feel grateful, as it was a great honour to have received the bite.
I looked at her incredulously. What was she saying? Since when did getting bit by anything get considered as a favour? Or honour? I wondered if everything was okay with her.
“What does that even mean Ophelia? Was I bitten? What’s a Fae?” I asked simultaneously and she smiled a patronizing smile as though my questions were naive. She lifted her leg and I was surprised to see a bandage wrapped around it. She ripped it off and revealed a bite mark conspicuously on her leg. It was just like the one I had on my chest.
“I was given the same honour that you have a long while ago. It’s the reason I became such a good lawyer, you know. The bite and subsequent changes gave me the ability to read the minds of people, not other Fae’s, just other, ordinary people”.
I was taken aback by this revelation, and before I knew what I was doing, I sat up and scooted away from her in shock. What exactly did she mean by what she was saying? I looked at her, but I saw a completely different person. It was very obvious that I did not know the woman I intended to marry. She hid this part of herself from me, and God only knew what else. And she read mind’s to be a good lawyer? That meant she was cheating the legal system, wasn’t that a crime? I scooted back further and it all made sense to me then.
I realized why she had been so eager for us to come to the reunion. She had brought me back here to be bitten. To become like her, a Fae or whatever she called it. How could she have betrayed me like that?
She moved closer and I raised my hands in protest and she shrank back slightly, looking confused and slightly hurt. Was she hurt?
“I can’t believe this. I can’t believe you. How could you allow this to happen? Did I say to you at any point I did not want to be me? Ordinary? I don’t even know you. You are something else entirely. Was that all a lie? Did you feed me what you wanted me to feel, say or do when I was an ordinary person?” I asked, suddenly realizing other sinister implications of her confession.
She looked at me and for a second, I saw something that almost looked like remorse flashed across her face, and then she opened her mouth to speak. She never got the chance to as the door flung open and Danielle stormed inside looking incredibly angry. I stared at her in shock, wondering just what could have upset her. Was she a part of this as well?
She looked around the room as though she were searching for something. Then she growled in fury as her eyes settled back on Ophelia and me. I barely recognized her.
“Where are you friends?” she snapped and Ophelia jumped slightly at the sound of her voice. I just sat in silence, staring at her. I had no idea where Juan or Faye-Minita were and as it turned out, neither did Ophelia and she just kept quiet, staring at Danielle with undisguised fear.
I looked at the both of them and it was obvious I had been drawn into something I didn’t really understand. I wondered what Juan and Faye-Minita’s parts were in all of this. Could they be in on the plan as well? It hurt to think that they might be.
“In that case…” Danielle said, “I will be needing the two of you. I know that she will come looking for you. When she does, I will be waiting for her”.
I looked on in surprise and mild shock as Peggy, Moira and Bobby entered the room. They grabbed a hold of me and Ophelia and I felt slightly powerless in their grasp.
Danielle looked at Tabitha, who I just noticed was in the room as well and looked slightly confused. Then, she muttered something about her already being a Fae and I spoke then, unable to contain myself anymore,
“What exactly is going on here Danielle? Why are you doing this?”
Danielle looked at me in contempt and replied,
“This has always been the plan, Drayton. Ever since Faye-Minita and Juan murdered my Derek. I vowe
d to make them pay. I will make them suffer and anyone who stands in my way will join them in that suffering. I really hold nothing against you but they have to feel the pain I felt”
After she spoke, she turned to Moira and asked where Vagner was, as everyone else was accounted for except him. Moira responded that Vagner had left earlier in the day in search of more animals to photograph. Danielle growled again in frustration and I wondered how she managed to make such awful sounds. Then she left instructions for him to be captured and brought to her to be turned the moment he stepped foot into the mansion. She was going to handle his turning personally.
As I watched, short of words and contemplating my next line of action, Danielle’s tattoo began to glow and I suddenly heard her in my head. I turned to Ophelia and she looked at me as well, it seemed that she could hear the voice. Her message was simple and clear, and it was meant for Faye-Minita. She informed her that she had Ophelia and I in custody and added that if she wanted is to remain alive, she would turn herself in.
I looked at Danielle. Would she really kill us? Was she capable of such a thing? She turned towards me and I caught the look in her eye. My chest fell and I swallowed.
It seemed my life and that of Ophelia now rested in Faye’s hands.
Juan tried to convince me otherwise, but my mind was made. There was no way I would allow Danielle harm a hair on my friend’s heads.
“Trust me, Juan, I know what I’m doing. You didn’t really see her, I did. She’s going to kill them. Please, just poof me into the room. We’ll have the element of surprise,” I said and Juan looked at me, seemingly seeing reason in my plan. I was glad that I’d been able to sound convincing, but the truth was that I had not quite gotten the hang of my powers yet and there was no way to tell how the confrontation would turn out, but I had to try.
Juan nodded and when I blinked, I was all alone.
I appeared in Danielle’s room and everyone turned in surprise. I caught sight of Drayton staring at me in shock. I knew I had a lot of explaining to do. There would be a lot of time for that later, but for now, we had other things to take care of.
Danielle seemed furious, as she didn’t see Faye with me anywhere,
“Where’s Faye-Minata,” she asked furiously and I smiled as a voice sounded from behind her, startling all of them once more.
“I am right here, bitch” Faye screamed and charged at Danielle who stood close to one of her bedroom windows. I watched in horror as the both of them crashed out of the window and fell out.
Danielle’s room was on the third floor.
I watched the ground approach with growing trepidation. Beside me, Danielle screamed, flailing in the air and I regretted my actions. Was this how it all ended? With me falling out of a window to my death? It seemed rather anticlimactic.
Suddenly, I was aware of a film of light gradually growing around us. Danielle looked at me as we were both enveloped in the light. Our swift fall slowed considerably and we glided at a leisurely pace the rest of the way, landing safely on the floor, unharmed.
I looked at my body in disbelief and caught sight of another figure standing between us…about two feet off the floor.
Ambrosia looked at the both of us and I stared at her in confusion. What was she doing here? Had she been the cause of that light?
“Ambrosia? What? How?” I asked, confused and wondering what exactly was happening. I suddenly caught sight of movement to my right and turned to see Danielle move to attack me. I flinched but soon realized that she could not move. She struggled, but she was held in place by an invisible force.
I turned back to the cat and my mouth fell open. Ambrosia was floating in midair and glowing ominously, and then as we watched, she started to change form, stretch out and morph. Soon, we were in the presence of a frail old man. I recognized him immediately. I’d been looking at a painting of him only the previous day.
Saban Montgomery, king of the Fae, as it said in his diary.
He looked at Danielle sternly and then turned to me. The next words out of his mouth were not anything I could have anticipated,
“Welcome home, the new leader of the Fae”.
12
My eyes widened in shock as I stared at the man who stood before me. My entire life flashed before my eyes and I suddenly found it hard to breathe. How could this be? What was real and what wasn’t? My grandfather had vanished a long time ago and nothing had been heard from him since. The general consensus remained that he was dead. How then could he be standing in front of me as real as anything I could think of? He seemed to have aged quite a bit, but I guessed that was completely normal. He had been gone a long time, and as it seemed, he had simply taken cat form and hung around the area. This revelation was both shocking and awe-inspiring. It was obvious that there was a lot I did not know, but how could I begin to ask? Where did I start? I still could not move and I simply stared at him, wondering why he had decided to show up now.
The last thing he said suddenly registered in my head and I felt the shock intensify within my still-petrified body. What had he just called Faye-Minita? ‘Leader of the Fae’? What exactly did that mean?
He was looking at Faye-Minita and smiling and there was a hint of admiration in his eyes. I looked at Faye-Minita and she looked as confused as I felt by the title. So this was new to her too.
My grandfather looked up suddenly and I turned in that direction and saw the others coming out slowly. Juan looked flustered and relieved at the same time, as he caught sight of Faye-Minita and me safe and unharmed. His attention turned to Saban and I could tell he recognized my grandfather. The other had identical looks on their faces and I could tell they all knew whom he saw as well. Saban Montgomery was very popular in Rosendale and there were very few people who didn’t know him. His popularity had been given a new dimension as a result of his sudden disappearance. He had gained a certain level of notoriety and spawned more than a few ghost stories.
I caught sight of some of them and instantly knew how they felt. I was feeling the same way myself.
He looked at all of us, one after the other and I could feel his gaze bore into me. Like he could see through me. It was rather unsettling, but I stood my ground, returning his gaze. The silence was intense. We were in the presence of the oldest Fae. He took in a deep breath and then he spoke,
“The right of a Fae is only given to those deserving and not just for everyone. Keep in mind, we are not invincible, we have our limits, and we have our own enemies. Anyone who forgets this is already on a slow path to a very painful death”. He paused and fixed each of us with that same piercing gaze and this time, I looked away. His eyes were even greener than the pictures made them look and seemed to glow slightly as I looked at him.
He turned to me and spoke,
“Your intentions were not noble Danielle. Your only intention was to hurt Faye-Minita and Juan for something you only think they did. Something, which they didn’t do.” He said and I looked to the floor, unable to hold his gaze any longer. What did he mean by that? I knew what I was talking about, I knew what they did, I knew.
I looked at Faye and she looked confused by my grandfather’s statement, and as I watched, she looked over at Juan who then turned towards my grandfather. He still had that same solemn look on his face. That confident look that made it seem as though he knew exactly what he was talking about. Then Juan addressed him directly,
“Pardon me, sir, but we were the ones who hit that car. We were the ones driving under the influence and not watching the road. We saw him die, we are to blame.”
As he spoke, I watched him and his voice cracked at the end of his statement. He seemed to be recalling the events that took place that day, and I could have sworn I saw an errant tear threaten to escape his eye, but then he seemed to get a hold of himself as he looked at my grandfather and waited for him to respond.
He regarded Juan with an apologetic expression and I wondered what could be going through his mind. He smiled slightly and then he spo
ke as though to all of us and no one in particular,
“I was there that day you know? I watched Faye-Minita get bitten and I saw her hold her Fae side back. I also witnessed the car accident. I saw it happen”.
Then he turned to Juan and spoke directly to him,
“Juan. Think back carefully. Did your brakes work that day?”
__
I heard the old man’s question and blinked in surprise. I had not been expecting such a question. The events of that day were a blur, how did he expect me to remember?
I thought back anyway. Back to that fateful day, when Faye and I had been returning from the party and had run Derek off the road. I could remember that I was high on various drugs and had not been in full control of my senses. But, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense.
I remembered wondering what exactly had happened to my brakes after the accident. I had wondered if I even pressed them at all. It seemed like I did, but they didn’t respond, did they?
I had just thought it was the drugs confusing me and meddling with my mind. But what if it wasn’t? What if my suspicions and Saban’s implied meaning was true.
I looked at Saban, unable to respond. Could it be?
I watched Juan try to remember the events of that day and I wondered if what Saban was implying could be true. I recognized the need I felt for it to be true and tried not to get my hopes up. The accident had done a great deal in making me the woman I was and I had no doubt that if it hadn’t been for that fateful day, I would probably not where I was.
Saban Montgomery turned towards me and said,
“As for you, you watched him die didn’t you?”
I nodded, remembering the pain I’d felt, as I’d been unable to help him. Where was he going with this? What did watching him die have to do with anything? I looked at Danielle, she looked as though she was going to cry and my heart went out to her. I knew how I would feel if anything happened to Juan, and he wasn’t even my fiancé, we weren’t even dating. Saban spoke again then,