by Lynn Veevers
“Testimony, what exactly is it?”
“I see you have been poking through the family tome. Just keep on reading through that section and it’ll go more into depth about it.”
“Aunt Di, I didn’t read any book! My mother visited me with my dad last night in my sleep. She told me I had the gift of testimony.”
Di dropped her cup of coffee and it smashed to the floor, shattering into tiny sharp shards. She rose from the blue, microfiber couch and slowly moved to face her. Di’s face was ashen white.
“What did you just say?” she said, visibly shaking.
“Testimony. Di, snap out of it. You look like you just saw a ghost,” Kaya said in a clipped tone.
Di was definitely in shock. Kaya ran to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of ice water then came back to Di. Kaya dodged the shards of Di’s coffee cup to keep from cutting her bare feet. She set the cup on the side table and helped Di back onto the couch. Her aunt’s expression resembled a deer caught in headlights.
“Di, you OK?”
She blinked twice, looking at Kaya. It was then she noticed. “Kay, your eyes!”
“Yes, I noticed this morning. What does it mean?”
“It means your gift manifestation, well, for the Natural Mystic heritage anyway, has reached its maturity. In other words, you now have every gift you are ever going to have.”
“Ah well, that is a relief!” Kaya sighed.
“Yes, I suppose you would feel that way. However your last gift, testimony, is what troubles me. Those who possess the gift have been infamously powerful and…” She came to an abrupt stop, almost like the next words refused to come out.
“And what, Di? Tell me!” Kaya demanded.
“Incredibly short-lived. The gift of testimony means you have a direct link to the plane of the dead.”
Di took a moment to consider her next words. She wanted her explanation to be as clear as possible.
“I am worried because while most who had the gift could only access the plane of the dead in their sleeping state, there were those who could also do it in their waking hours. That aspect is dangerous, rare, and short-lived. If a person with the gift of waking testimony spent too much time in the plane of the dead, their spirit could become trapped there. They wouldn’t be able to return to the plane of the living because unlike a slumbering testimony, there is no tether to the living plane. The waking testimonial projects their spirit into the plane of the dead as a free spirit with no tethers. A slumbering testimonial projects their spirit, but not all of it, therefore producing a tether for the spirit to follow back to the living plane. When a waking testimonial gets lost or trapped, their mortal body on the living plane will eventually die. The waking testimony is among the most dangerous of gifts for its wielder.”
“If it is so dangerous, then why did Mom say she was happy to see I had it?”
“She probably just assumed you were a slumbering testimonial. After all, when you visited, you were asleep, so a slumbering testimonial makes sense. But we do not know that yet. I on the other hand thought maybe it was an ability that was gained through your father’s lineage. It never occurred to me that you could be a testimonial! Have you seen or talked to either of your parents during your waking hours?”
“You would be the first to know if I did.”
“OK. As long as you tell me right away.”
“So, when you said the ones who have had this gift before were incredibly short-lived, how long, exactly, did they live?” Kaya asked with the slightest twinge of worry.
“All the waking testimonials died by the age of twenty-five,” Di said.
“I am not getting any more gifts, right?” Kaya asked cautiously.
“Nope. Your eyes have made the final change.”
“Well, I am definitely happy about that. Are you going to be OK, Di?”
Di’s color had returned, as had her composure. Kaya would never admit it to Di, but she had scared Kaya in a real way. Di got entirely too emotional over the simplest things, so Kaya admitting she cared for her aunt deeply would no doubt start a torrent of tears. With that in mind, Kaya opted to keep her mouth shut.
“Yeah, it’s possible I may have overreacted a little. At least I hope so,” Di said.
Kenneth’s eighteenth birthday celebration was on Friday, just six days away. Kaya had convinced Di to take her to Oklahoma City, which was a two hour drive, so she could get Kenneth a gift. By the time they got back that night, she couldn’t wait to get inside and away from Di. She had been relentlessly lecturing Kaya all day about the birds and the bees. When Kaya was finally alone in her room, she scrolled through her contact list, found Kenneth’s cell number, and dialed it.
“Hey Kays, you are back from the city,” he said knowingly when he answered.
“How did you know I went to the city?”
“I called around noon and your uncle told me you two gals took off to the city for the day. You had dinner yet?”
“Yea, we grabbed a bite on the way back. I know your birthday is this coming Wednesday. Do you have anything planned?” Kaya asked sleepily.
He sighed and Kaya could hear the irritation in the gesture. She was starting to be able to read his moods and even thoughts sometimes just based on his tone of voice or the expression on his face.
“No, it is more like what my dad has planned. He is throwing a big eighteenth bash for me on Friday. It’s going to be here at my place and every senior in the school is invited along with a few select juniors, you and Anissa, and a handful of juniors. I wish he wouldn’t make such a big deal over it.”
“Well, it is only one night and I am sure you will have fun. It is already almost eight-thirty and I am so done after today’s trip. I am just going to go to bed, but before I get off the phone with you, I was wondering what you are doing tomorrow morning. I need to talk to you about something,” she told him.
“Well, I have no plans other than I was hoping to see you. How about I swing by at nine tomorrow morning and we can talk over breakfast?” he asked.
“That sounds good, Kenneth, see you in the morning.”
“Goodnight, Kays,” he said and ended the call.
She rifled through her dresser, got some bed clothes on, then laid down. Kaya fell asleep minutes later. She slept like the dead with no dreams to be had.
Kenneth was the first to look up from the table and notice Kaya standing there. She’d just raced downstairs after finding she’d overslept. Her hair was mussed and she still wore her oversized Mariners jersey, complete with tube socks.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he said with a smile.
Di and Uncle Jed said their good mornings, then walked out the back door to take their Sunday morning stroll. Kenneth walked across the kitchen and tried to hug her, but Kaya stepped back.
“You don’t want to do that. I haven’t showered yet,” she said in warning.
“I know, I can smell you,” he said with a smile.
Kaya had what she was thinking written all over her face because he quickly started back peddling.
“No, Kays, I am not saying you smell bad. In fact, I could smell you when you were in your room,” he said, trying to smooth her feathers.
“You are not making your case any better, Kenneth!” she said with agitation.
He just laughed at her in his easy way.
“No, you are just not understanding what I am saying, Kays. I have a dog-like sense of smell, even in Human Form. I can smell someone before I can see them. For whatever reason, your scent in particular is amazingly strong to me. I have never had someone’s scent stand out so much unless I was purposely singling it out.”
Kaya shrugged rather dismissively and ran a hand through her sleep-rumpled hair.
“I guess that was my first lesson in the ways of the Lycan, huh? I am going to go take a shower and after, we can talk about this some more.”
Kaya ran upstairs, stripped in record time, and hopped in the shower. Afterwards, she was wrapped in a fluffy
, lime green towel. She was washing her face over the sink when it happened.
“You know he is down there going crazy right now, don’t you sweetie?” she said.
Kaya’s head shot up and water flew in every direction. There in the reflection of the mirror was her mother, smiling at her.
“Great so I am a waking testimony! Aunt Di is going to love that.” Kaya said, disappointed.
“Hi Kaya, in three…two…one.”
“Kaya, are you OK? Something doesn’t feel right. There is something here. I can sense it,” Kenneth said, clearly ready to bust down the door.
“It’s OK, Kenneth. It is just my mother, I’ll be down in a minute,” she said casually.
“Your mother?” he asked, perplexed.
“Yes, my mother. I will be down in a minute to explain, and if you see Aunt Di, come back in. Don’t let her run off.”
“Oh, OK, Kays,” he said uncertainly.
Kaya could hear him plodding down the stairs. Obviously, he was reluctant to leave the door. He was never heavy-footed.
“You know Aunt Di is going to have a fit, right?” Kaya said to her mom.
“Kaya, get dressed and I will meet you in your room,” she said.
With that, she melted away into the background of the bathroom wall. Kaya put on her new change of clothes, opened the door, and walked across the hall to her bedroom. When she opened the door, her mom and dad were both sitting on the bed.
“Well, don’t you two look cozy? So am I on the plane of the living or the plane of the dead?” Kaya asked.
It was her dad who stood and spoke.
“You are on the plane of the living, Kaya. What you are experiencing right now is not your gift of testimony, it is an ability known as spirit speaking. It’s not a gift from your Natural Mystic lineage but, rather an ability from my side of the family. You are like a beacon for the dead. It is actually an ability you can tune out. Your mother happened to catch you when you were wide open or, as we call it, accessible. With time, you will learn how to either close or open your ability. Basically, your ability allows you to temporarily draw spirits into the plane of the living, unlike testimony where you have to project your essence into the plane of the dead. It’s as simple as that.”
It sounded easy enough to Kaya. So technically, if she wanted her mom and dad not to be here, she could simply close them out. She decided she may want to give them a warning before she tried that.
“I love you and I am going to try to close now. See you both later,” Kaya said evenly.
They exchanged looks with each other, then started to protest, but it was too late. They were gone. Kaya felt horrible, but she drew the line at her mother popping up while she was in the bathroom. That point had made it easier to just will them away. Kaya walked over to her mirror and brushed her still damp hair when Kenneth came upstairs and stood in her doorway.
“Whatever was here is gone,” he said.
“I told you, Kenneth, it was my mother, and then my mother and father. Apparently one of my abilities from Dad’s line is spirit speaking. I just found out. My mother just popped up without warning.”
“So there is nothing I need to worry about when I feel that again then?”
“Nope, not at all. Well, except me being mad when they pop in unannounced,” Kaya said flatly.
“So after you talk to your aunt, where do you want to go to talk?”
“It doesn’t matter as long as we are somewhere we won’t be overheard. That would be the last thing we’d need,” Kaya said flatly.
Untitled
“So, Kenneth, I need to know the difference between a Natural Lycan and an Afflicted one. My parents were quite concerned when I told them what you are. I didn’t know until then that Lycans had killed them. We argued and they calmed down once I told them you were born this way.”
His face drained its color like he was about to pass out.
“Kenneth, are you all right?” Kaya asked, half shaking him.
“Yea, I think we need to talk to my dad. If what you say is true, then you’re in serious danger and so is your aunt. We are going to have to talk to your aunt about your parents later. We need to go talk to my father, now!”
He left Kaya standing there staring after him. When he reached the door, he looked at Kaya expectantly.
“Well, are you just going to stand there?”
Kaya snapped out of her daze and followed him out the door.
4
Asking an Expert
They found Kenneth’s father in the kitchen. From what Kenneth had told Kaya, his father liked to cook in his spare time. Even with that tidbit of information, Kaya was not prepared to see the bear of a man standing at the counter, rolling out dough and covered in flour.
“Hey Dad, we need to talk. You got a minute?”
“I already told you, Kenny, eighteen is a big deal for guys and gals both,” Owen told his son.
“Dad, that’s not what it’s about.”
“Who is your friend, Kenny?” his father asked out of the blue.
It threw Kaya for a loop because he had not even turned away from the counter to know she was there. Then she remembered he was also a Lycan, so of course he would have sensed her first.
“Dad, this is Kaya Hunt. She recently moved here to live with her aunt, Diana Haile,” Kenneth said just a tad formal. Kenneth was respectful and even humble where his father was concerned. It was clear to Kaya that no disrespect went on in this house when it came to Owen’s children addressing him.
“It is nice to finally meet you, Kaya. Kenny talks about you non-stop, Sammy thinks the world of you, and, well, you are a ray of sunshine for your aunt,” he said with the broadest of smiles.
The mention of Sammy made Kaya smile. She had met Kenneth’s wayward older sister shortly after she had first met Kenneth, although until now, she had never heard Samantha referred to as Sammy. She was a senior like Kenneth, but they were not twins. Samantha, being the only girl, was rebellious and had a tendency to get away with it, or at least did, until she failed her first senior year.
Looking at Owen, it was clear Kenneth must have taken his looks after his mother. He looked nothing like his father, who came across to Kaya as a huge teddy bear.
“Your Pure Form is a bear,” Kaya said absentmindedly.
“How did you know that?” Owen said as he pinned Kenneth with an accusing look.
“Don’t look at me. I didn’t tell her!” he said to his father defensively.
Owen circled Kaya, taking in everything he could see. “You look just like Colleen did at your age, and I’m assuming you are gifted as well. It deeply saddened my heart to hear about her death.”
“Actually, Dad, that is what we need to talk to you about. Kaya’s father also had a magical core and it was Afflicted Lycans who killed them both. I think Kaya and her aunt are in danger.”
“I agree with you, Kenny.” Owen said, stroking his auburn beard.
“Since my father told me these Lycans were actively hunting me, I would bet you are right as well,” Kaya said to Kenneth.
“You say your father told you this? Then I am guessing that is your gift? Being able to talk to the dead, um, I mean passed,” Owen said, clearly feeling uncomfortable.
“Yes, I have the gift known as testimony, and it is one of the gifts stemming from my mother’s side of the family. I also have abilities which I inherited from my father’s side.”
Owen glanced over at Kenneth with a concerned look on his face. He looked so worried, in fact, that it put Kaya on edge. What did they know that she didn’t? Kenneth was wearing the exact same expression as his father.
“Yeah, Dad, I know.”
She was curious to know just what it was he knew.
“Kaya, your scent has a certain quality about it only those with a magical core possess. Your scent is particularly strong. I could smell you well before you entered my house. You said you had gifts, more than one, and then you said abilities, also more than one.
The ripeness of your scent is like a magical beacon,” Owen said to her.
“What Dad is trying to say is you are irresistible to an Afflicted Lycan. Once one has your scent, it will keep tracking you until an opportunity presents itself,” Kenneth said, anxiously.
“So, Kenneth, is that why you were so drawn to me?” Kaya asked out of curiosity.
He appeared genuinely hurt, and Kaya instantly felt bad.
“Actually, Kays, it wasn’t. When I met you, you possessed the most subtle undertones of a magical core. I didn’t realize it was what I had smelled. After you didn’t show for school and I came to see you at your house, that is when I knew without a doubt what I smelled. It was considerably stronger. Like, one-hundred fold.”
“So what exactly is the difference between an Afflicted Lycan and a Natural Lycan? I mean, other than the obvious?” Kaya asked.
It was Mr. O’Connell who answered.
“For starters, Afflicted Lycans have their own brand of immortality, so to speak. They can be killed, but only through precise actions. If you shoot an Afflicted in the head, they will appear dead, but in actuality they are just in a state of dormancy. They regenerate, and once the body has mended, they regain consciousness. Afflicted and Natural Lycans alike have three forms they can take; the Pure Form, which is the animal form, the Human Form, and the Hybrid Form, which is a mix of the two. Afflicted Lycans are created when anyone who is not a Lycan is attacked by a Lycan in Hybrid or Pure Form and blood is drawn in any way. It does not matter if the attacking Lycan is Afflicted or Natural. It will result in an Afflicted Lycan either way. Afflicted Lycans do not possess a natural magical core like a Natural Lycan does. A Natural Lycan has a magical core that is passed down on a genetic level. Because Afflicted Lycans are created and not born, they don’t possess a natural genetic magical core. They hunt those who do in order to absorb the magical energy into their own fiber to keep their state of animation stable. Many of the victims don’t even realize they have a magical core or even know the first thing about it. Without a magical essence, the Afflicted Lycan will start to deteriorate, the beginnings of a horrific and painful existence,” Owen said.