Forging Family

by Bob Dattolo

  Enough of that. I plowed through my homework in about 15 minutes, then grabbed an earring from my safe. I’ve kept my super-powered rings on the entire time, figuring it can’t hurt having them in place. It’s not like anyone else can see them, so why not? They’re shielded out the butt, so they should be proof against casual searches by another mage.

  Or so I hope.

  Platinum and diamond stud in hand, I sank into it, feeling the structure for long minutes. Then the mountain of power I had been building collapsed into it, funneled through my desire and my direction. The ring quickly moved from feeling normal to burning, then the burn intensified, and I smiled as I caught a glimpse of it turning black.

  Excellent. Very, very good.

  This one makes Mr. Reynold’s earring look like a…well, not a joke, since it’s a masterwork itself. This one though is just more. More of pretty much everything.

  Dave was giving me a look when I glanced up. His eyes darted down to my desk where I was hiding the earring, making me think he has a clue what just happened. Like he could feel or see my magic at work.

  Cocking my head, I let my magic flare out more in a corona around me, then I pulled it in and shot a long tendril out one side, sending it through the wall and away. His eyes riveted on it, then he swiveled around as I brought it back into the room directly behind him. He outright laughed when I formed the front into a smiley face and then pulled it back. He winked at me before turning back into his normal self and getting back into his homework.

  He didn’t react as my magic went back to normal, looking and feeling around. My senses have been stretched out feeling everything already, and I’m so, so tempted to find out why there are so many dead bodies buried under the school. Not that I think that will go over well, I’m just really curious. I could call some up and talk to them, but that doesn’t seem worthwhile. No sense bothering someone just for that. Then again, I need to remember this place and wait for it to close at some point and then alert some archeologists. That one mass grave that I felt is just the beginning.

  So…seriously, what in the world is Dave? I can’t even guess yet. Reviewing every species in my head doesn’t help me narrow it down in the slightest. He can see magic, or feel it, at a minimum. Given his reaction to the smiley face, I’m thinking he can see it as well. Does that mean he can work it? He hasn’t made any sign of that, so I can’t even guess. I should ask him at some point. Maybe he’ll tell me.

  Beyond that, he gives people rope to see if they hang themselves… I got nothing there. Less than nothing. There are plenty of species that have odd quirks, but none that do something like that. There are three that I know of that like to steal human babies and replace them with something else. One replaces them with animals. One with random crap. The other with their own offspring. There’s another that likes to collect feet. As in they chop them off and keep them, letting the people die.

  Yeah, that’s one heck of a quirk. Thankfully, the book said that they’re extinct. Something’s telling me that I’m not bringing that particular one back to life any time soon. Not unless they are locked in by magic. I’m not dealing with collected feet. That’s just messed up.

  Chapter 20

  Our dinner that night was fantastic. Mom and I made Melissa tell us her favorite meal, and Mom made it for her. I’m still not entirely sure what kind of meat it was, mainly because Mom had to head back to the between lands to get it. Some sort of mythical animal, I believe, at least from a human’s perspective. Her mom used to make it for her on special occasions, and she’s always loved it.

  So, Mom made it, and she did an amazing job. Or so Melissa said. I’d say that I’m sad that Rachel couldn’t taste it, but I gave her the earring on the way home, and it took her most of an hour to come out of the stupor as the thing went to work.

  Let me just say that she’s way, way up there now power-wise. When Mom felt it, she trembled before touching it, feeling the power within it. “Are you sure about this?”

  I nodded, “I’m sure. She’s my vessel. She’s a part of me. I want her strong. Protected. Happy.”

  “Then congratulations on creating a masterwork item that is the strongest I have ever felt before. I haven’t felt your throne, so that might be more powerful. This one, though? It has so many facets to it…”

  One of the facets is that she can now eat and taste just like she could before. It won’t hurt her or make her sick, and her body will use it to extract energy. She won’t even have to go to the bathroom. Her body will use it all up. It won’t replace blood, but now she should be able to go a sizeable amount of time in between feedings if she needs or wants to.

  Yeah, she liked the meal too.

  We fell into talking in the backyard after playing in the pool for a while. Hours passed as we discussed everything under the sun that you can think of. Crushes. Favorite books. Dream vacations. Bucket list things. We covered it.

  Then I asked about her family, “Can I ask about…your mom?”

  She frowned, but it wasn’t quite as sad as I expected, “Yeah, you can. I loved her so much. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about her.”

  “Your dad…or, your step-dad, really killed her in front of you?” Rachel looked troubled at that thought, which is fair. That’s a messed-up thing to do.

  “Yeah. They’d pretty much just figured out I wasn’t his and how it happened. It didn’t matter to him that Mom didn’t have a choice. It wasn’t even cheating. She didn’t sleep with anyone.”

  Mom perked up, “I think I missed something? Can you explain that?”

  “Not in detail. I just know what I remember. It’s…I’ve never had magic. I’m not sure if Ceri mentioned it, but Syl is my brother. Or…half-brother, I guess. We grew up together and got along so well… Except I’ve never had magic. Neither of my parents have any history of that happening in their families, so it never sat well with my dad. You know what I mean. I still think of him as that, even though he made it clear that he’s not.”

  She took a deep breath, lips pressed together, then exhaled, body slumping in her chair, “I thought he loved me. My entire life, I thought he loved me. I knew Mom did. To her it didn’t matter that I didn’t have magic. Not even Syl seemed to care. No one knew why I didn’t, but it was just how I was. Except Dad…things started going worse with him when I was maybe seven? Eight? He started treating me differently. Just a little bit at first. I didn’t even notice it when it started, so by the time I picked up it was taking place, it had been going on for years at that point.”

  “Like what?” I prompted.

  “Like I said, little things at first. Fewer gifts for my birthday or other holidays. We’ve always lived on Earth, so they were doing Christmas and things like that so we’d fit in with others. Syl started getting more gifts, when they always tried to be even. It was pretty clear that he was the one doing it, too. Mom would put the gifts out, but then Dad would come out with some that were, oops, forgotten. They’d always be for Syl. And they’d be expensive. He’d get things that I begged for and never got, even when he didn’t want them to begin with. Then Syl started acting weird, too. That’s what really woke me up. I had begged and pleaded for a signed book by my favorite author. It wasn’t even that expensive, but she only does something like a hundred a year. I wanted one so badly. Syl never even read one of the books. He got it for Christmas and he read the message in it…it’s what I had basically asked for…and then he laughed and burned it with his magic.”

  She wiped a tear, “That’s what opened my eyes. What he did there…it was so callous. So…evil, I guess. It made me realize that something’s wrong. I was 11 when that happened, and I started putting things together. Dad and Syl got worse, no matter what Mom did or said. She tried, God, she tried so hard to protect me. At least once a week one of them would hit me with a spell of some sort. Pain. Broken bones. Destroyed things. I never knew which of them did it, but it’d be telling if they asked about something I didn’t share with a
nyone, you know?”

  “That’s messed up.” Rachel was beyond pissed, which is good. So am I, and I don’t want to be the only one here with blood on my mind.

  “Then when I was thirteen…They figured out what happened. How I was born and how I wasn’t his kid.”

  “What happened? I’m still not sure how that happened?” Mom’s brows were furrowed hard.

  Melissa sat up, “Umm, hold on a minute? Let me get something. It’s getting close to midnight.”

  I looked at my phone as she got up and ran into the house, “Damn, it really is. Time flies.”

  Mom glanced at her phone as well, “It does. It just goes quicker the older you get, too.”

  Melissa came back in a rush, falling into her chair again. She had an ornate box in her hands.

  “What’s that?”

  She rubbed the box, ignoring my question for a bit. Her eyes weren’t focused, telling me she’s back seeing something that took place years before.

  “When I was really little, Mom told me about her first husband.” She continued rubbing the box. “He died a long, long time ago. He was gone for more than 2,000 years before she met up with Dad and got married. She never stopped loving her first husband, but he had asked her to move on. He wanted her to move on…so she did. He gave this to her before he died. He said that it’s for her first daughter…they never had kids. He said he made it long ago and gave it special powers…and it’s for her first daughter. She should get it as a gift on her thirteenth birthday. Mom told me that she used to take it out and look at it from time to time as a way to remember him. Dad made her throw everything else out, but she kept this hidden from him. Protected.”

  “What is it?”

  She rubbed the box more, finally looking down, “When they figured out I wasn’t Dad’s child, they traced it back…they traced it back to this. My gift from her first husband…my real father. He put magic in it to…to basically form me. Mom put it on and the magic triggered…and the next time they had sex, she got pregnant with me. My father is Mom’s first husband…except he’s been dead for thousands of years. Dad…he snapped. Attacked Mom…and now she’s dead. She’s dead, and I still have this. This is the catalyst for me being born, but it’s also the catalyst for me losing my mom. Even though…even though she said it would also be the catalyst for me gaining more than I can ever dream of.”

  She opened the lid slowly, but I couldn’t see in it. The box isn’t that deep, being maybe three inches deep at most, but it’s at least nine or ten inches square. I have no idea what she has in it, but she stares into the box with a mixed look of longing, fear, and hatred.

  Honestly, I can see that. It’s something that caused her to be born, but it also turned into the end of her family and her living in a freaking cave. I’m shocked she still has it, frankly. I’m not sure I wouldn’t have thrown it out.

  My lungs seized as she reached in and pulled out a circlet that’s maybe two inches tall. Two inches of the most breathtaking metalwork I think I’ve ever seen. It gleams in the darkness as she holds it, moving it slightly.

  Then she places it on her head

  And Mom’s magic rockets out of her as she stands, leaving behind a crushed chair that probably cost a grand. Magical flames crackled down her arm as she pointed at Melissa, “What…where…where did you get that?!”

  Melissa was frozen solid, staring at the angry woman decked out in magical armor and wielding a glowing sword. Her helm is in place as well, which isn’t a good sign.

  Her hands were still up from when she placed the circlet, and they stayed up as her muscles quivered, “I’m sorry…what did I do? This is from my mom? She said it was a gift…from my dad. My real dad! I’m supposed to put it on just before I turn 17?”

  Mom moved closer, dropping her hand and instead pointing with her huge sword, “Tell me your name, Melissa. Tell me your last name.”

  She lowered her arms, holding them across her stomach, “Sothach.”

  Mom frowned as she got angrier, “Lies! No fey would be named Sothach!”

  I stood, unsure what to do. I can’t see why she’s freaking out, but she’s my mother! “Mom? Why can’t that be her name? It’s just a name!”

  She whirled on me, sword leading the way, and I had to jump back, or risk being cut. “No, Ceri! No fey would name their child trash!”

  I shook my head, trying to make sense of that, “What? What are you talking about?”

  She turned back to Melissa, “Sothach means trash! Garbage. Refuse! No fey would name their child that.”

  Tears were streaking down Melissa’s cheeks as she looked down, “It wasn’t always that. Dad changed it when he kicked me out. He said it’s all I deserved. That I’m garbage…”

  Mom’s voice dropped to a whisper, “What was your name before that?”

  “Foxwood.”

  The sword disappeared in a flash, leaving Mom in her armor and helm as her face lost its focus for a few seconds. When it came back together, she took another step forward, “Foxwood? Was your mother Allisa? Your father Rhistel?”

  Melissa looked up and nodded, “How do you know that?”

  Mom dropped to her knees, tears starting that shocked the crap out of me, “Please…please, Melissa, you have to tell me. Do you know your real father’s name? Either name?”

  She nodded again, “Yeah…Mom told me when she gave this to me. Why?”

  Mom reached out, but she’s far too far away to actually touch her, “My brother…I have a brother that was nearly two thousand years younger than I am. I love him…I loved him so much. We were so close for the longest time. He made the most beautiful art. He made what you are wearing…he once told me…he once told me that he made it for his daughter. He said…he said that she’d be special. Blessed. And he asked me…he asked me…if anything were to happen to him or Allisa…if I would take her into my home. I promised him. I swore on my magic and my love for him that I would.” She sniffled, “Please, you have to tell me. What is the name of your father?”

  “Illianaro Olarel.”

  Mom fell back on her heels, mouth hanging open.

  And then an angry fist of God struck own from the heavens, driving Melissa into the ground as the paving stones beneath her shattered from the force of the impact. Her scream was drowned out by the cataclysmic roar of power as it hit and continued to hit.

  My magic surged forward, and I gathered everything I could, pulling my sickle and shifting to my death figure and feeling even more magic at my disposal. It grew around me in a mountain of power as I moved forward, raising my sickle high.

  “Please…god or goddess of magic, please aid me in helping Melissa. I don’t have a clue what the hell is happening…but please help me help her!”

  Power coalesced in my sickle as I prepared to strike at the blowtorch of magic…when it stopped.

  It stopped without warning. Without even a flicker.

  Leaving behind a slightly freaked out looking Melissa laying in the shattered remains of the stones. “Why…why can I see you in my head? Ceri? You’re in my head? Why are you there?” She giggled as she raised her hand and made a casting motion.

  And I felt a connection inside of me.

  Chapter 21

  “I’m sorry, I’m still not getting what you’re saying.” Melissa huddled with the hot chocolate on the other side of the table.

  Since no one was helping me, I had to try again, “It’s simple. Very simple. You’re the goddess of magic.”

  She shook her head, “See now, that’s where you’re losing me.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose, “Come on, you have to see it. Fine, let’s try this again. You’ve prayed to me and connected, right? Do it again.” She sighed and did, and I connected with her.

  “Now, how about this? Melissa, goddess of magic, hear my prayer and send me a sign.”

  Her mouth fell open, “Freaking hell…I saw that inside of me again! How is this happening?!”

  I sipped some of my hot
chocolate and put the mug down. “Well, to start, you’re Mom’s niece. And, if I’m not mistaken, she has direction from her brother, your father, to take you in. Adopt you.”

  Her eyes widened, “How did I miss that?”

  “Well, in your defense, you got hit by the fist of God a second or two later, so you probably lost it as you were being driven into the cement.”

  Mom had been crying nearly the entire time. Crying and silent. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it, “Mom? Seriously, you need to say something. If that circlet…no, that crown, was made by your brother, then Melissa is your niece, right? Does that mean…?”

  She blinked away her tears and centered herself. “The fey…family is important to us. Our vows are important to us. Very. Illianaro once told me that he was working on a way to have a child from beyond the grave. I didn’t listen to him…after all, we’re fey. We’ll live forever, right? Except he didn’t. He died. He died and I later learned my sister-in-law married a former friend of mine. Or at least someone that travelled in the same circles. Rhistel.” She blinked a few times, “I believe he’s the one that drove Marisela’s family out of the between lands, but that’s neither here nor there.” She cleared her throat, “When I was your age, I first learned that I would gain a daughter. I have lived my life dedicated towards being at this point and being worthy of Ceri. Except…except now that I look back on what I learned, I was being told more than that.”

  “Umm, what do you mean?” Sue me for asking. I’m not getting it.

  “My magic told me I would gain a daughter, and then I would have my family. I took that to mean I would have a family once I had you in my life…but now…now I think it means Melissa as well.” She held her hand, keeping mine in place as well. “You are blood of my blood. Daughter to my beloved brother and his wife… he once asked me to take you into my home. Make you mine. I never thought this day would come to pass. Ever. And yet here we are. You are here. You are a newly woken goddess…and yet you need a home. A family. Well, Ceri and I have a home for you. And a family. You just need to say yes.”