by Martha Woods
* * *
It’s early morning when I wake, still wrapped in Darien’s arms as I feel his breath on my head. I listen for a few more minutes, enjoying the feeling of his body before I carefully unwrap myself from his arms and quickly leave the room. I walk downstairs to the kitchen and make a small breakfast for the family to enjoy when they all decide to wake up. I’m jotting down a quick note explaining my whereabouts when Morgan comes walking through the front door.
“How was your night?” I ask quietly, catching his attention.
“Productive,” he responds as he walks towards me. “But now I must sleep. Keys are in the car, along with your things.” Without waiting for me to reply, he disappears upstairs to sleep the day away.
I let Darien know that I have to contact my mother in town and that I should be back by lunch to go over the final decision for his parent’s business. With the note pinned to the fridge, I head out of the house and get into the rental car. As I start the engine, I look over and see the wine bottle resting carefully on the floor. I can’t help but stare at it for a few moments as I try to remind myself that it’s a harmless bottle of wine. Thankfully Mr. Yung doesn’t know that, I think as I pull out of the driveway and head towards his restaurant.
Using the paper with all of Mr. Yung’s information on it, I take the paper and wrap it around the neck of the bottle before getting out of the car and walking calmly into the restaurant. The downtown area is busy as always, but now there isn’t a customer in sight as I open the front door and step inside. I hear shouting coming from the back as an older Asian man steps out of the kitchen and comes to the front in hopes of having at least one customer for the day. But when he sees me wearing sunglasses inside his dimly lit restaurant with the wine bottle in my hand, he begins to pale as his mouth drops open.
He raises his hands in defense as I pocket my glasses and walk up to him. He sees the fire in my eyes as I grab his hand and force him to touch the bottle. He struggles at first and starts to yell in fright, but once his fingers touch the bottle and he realizes that nothing is happening, he begins to steady his breathing. The help in the back has all rushed through to see what is happening, but once I let go of Mr. Yung, he calmly dismisses them.
“I understand now,” he says in poor English as I set the bottle on a table next to him. I calmly place my sunglasses back on as I crumble the paper in my hands and toss it to the ground.
“I’m giving you 24 hours to pack up and leave town, Mr. Yung. If you ever try to use the power of a token again instead of turning it over to my people, then I’ll return to slaughter you and everyone you know,” I say coldly. I wait a moment for the shock to pass through him once more before he closes his mouth tightly and gives me a single nod. I turn and quickly exit the restaurant and disappear into the crowd of people who don’t even notice the Thai restaurant is there.
Next on my list of places to visit is the internet café. As I step through the doors, I immediately spot Lucy behind the counter. The moment she spots me, she drops what she is doing and rounds the counter with a finger pointed at my face.
“Anastasia Juravinski, you have some serious explaining to do,” she hollers even though she can’t stop herself from smiling. I pay no attention to her words as I remember that I sent Morgan to collect my package. I embrace the woman despite the fact that everyone in the room is now watching us. “I was so worried about you,” she whispers into my hair as she lets go of me and leads me behind the counter where she returns to attending her customers. Once she has a moment to spare, she takes a seat next to me and grabs firmly to my hand.
“When that vampire walked into my café, I thought for sure I’d have to kill him. After all, a vampire in broad daylight isn’t a normal sight. And then when I saw those two children with him, I wasn’t quite sure what to think. And then when he asked me to hand over the supplies you ordered, I thought I was going to faint right there and then,” Lucy explains as she bursts into a fit of giggles. I couldn’t help but laugh what it must have been for Morgan to walk into a den of werewolves. Obviously, it wasn’t a pain free experience for Lucy either. “I wasn’t sure what kind of trouble you had wrapped yourself up in, child,” Lucy continues, “But I’m sure glad to see you alive and well now.”
“The feeling is mutual, I assure you. But now I need to report to my mother. She isn’t going to be happy when I tell her what I’ve done,” I say as I stand and stretch. A wave of nervousness washes over me as Lucy leads me into the backroom and has me sit at a desk with a single laptop.
“You can tell me all about it later, I suppose,” Lucy says before she leaves me. I take a moment to boot up the computer and send a quick message to the Kingdom requesting a video conference with my mother. A few minutes pass by before the incoming call appears on the computer screen in front of me. I take a deep, long breath before I hit the computer key and allow my mother’s face to come through.
Chapter 9
“Child, do you know what time it is here?” my mother speaks once our connection is stabilized.
“I’m doing well, thank you for asking,” I say as I can’t help but smile at my mother’s tired expression. It doesn’t take long before she cracks a smile and adjusts her position in her chair.
“Anastasia, I assume you have important information to report or you wouldn’t have woken me at such an easily hour,” she continues. I can tell she hopes this conversation won’t last long. I have similar hopes, but I’m the one who knows how unlikely that will be.
“Darien will be accepting an offer today and should have the business papers finalized by the end of the week,” I begin, taking Morgan’s advice and starting with the good news.
“Fantastic. That should stabilize the trading routes before the end of the month. Good work, Anastasia. I didn’t think you’d be able to wrap this matter up this quick.” I want to bask in my mother’s complement, but I know that moment will be short lived.
“And I was also able to stabilize a missing token,” I continue. My mother’s expression hardens and a short pause forms between us.
“Tell me more,” my mother encourages.
I look away as I speak, “I failed you again, mother. I fell for the demon’s trap and found myself back in that place.” I half expect my mother to start yelling at me for my foolish behavior but all I hear is her taking a deep breath.
“Well, I see you are well and alive. Tell me what happened,” she says calmly as I look back at her. I feel relief when I see how concerned she is. Even though my mother has taken on the responsibility herself to find and send warriors out to neutralize tokens, she never has stopped caring about the safety of her people overall. And since 99% of warriors who fall for token traps never survive, I’ve become that 1% success rate two times in a row.
For the next hour or so, I explain to my mother everything that happened from my investigation process to the time I spent in the token trap. I explain in details everything I witnessed and the steps I took to find an exit. But it’s Eliana’s last words that seem to puzzle us both. We discuss whether the muse’s words could be true and that in fact it’s our spirits that travel to the supernatural realm, and not our bodies.
“You need to return as soon as you can so we can present these findings to the board members, and especially your brother. This new information can really help his research,” my mother concludes as she raises her arms above her head to stretch. “Now, if you have no further reports, I’d like to return to bed before I have to get up and share your news with the generals.”
“Actually Mother, I’ve discovered something else about Darien’s family, and you’re not going to like,” I say. My mother’s eyes focus on me as I take a deep breath and begin explaining how Darien helped rescue me from the townhouse and how I explained everything to him. Though I can see the rage building on my mother’s face, I keep her from screaming at me by explaining what I discovered about Elizabeth. Once I finish my explanation, we both realize Darien would have found out even
tually about our people by the coming of age of his sister.
“And how do you know it’s your power inside her?” my mother asks after she has taken a few minutes to think about what I have said.
“Because as far as I know, there is no one else among us that wields blue hell fire. And what is more troubling, Mother, is that she is completely unaware of it and appears to have full control of keeping it locked within her. But now that she has come of age, I don’t know how long that containment will last,” I say, emotion and worry leaking into my words. I try to compose myself and appear confident as my mother looks away and finally back at the screen.
“Bring her with you. And since she is under age and from a human family, you must bring them with you. It seems we must extend our alliance to the human race after all,” my mother concludes as she starts rubbing her hands together. I give a nod in agreement as I look at the time and realize it’s already past noon.
“Expect us in a few days, Mother...I love you,” I speak before she ends the transformation.
“I love you too, Anastasia. Now please hurry home,” she says, giving me a small smile before the screen goes black.
Relieved that this part of my day is now over, I stand from the desk and slowly roll my shoulders to release the tension that has set in my body. I spend a few extra minutes with Lucy, giving her bits and pieces of this past weekend’s events before I have her make a large lunch for me to take back to Darien’s house.
* * *
“Really? More food? You act like we are a bunch of starving people,” Darien says as I walk into the living room with two large bags in hand. I set the bundle on the coffee table in front of the couch where Darien and his younger siblings sit watching TV. Sometimes I wonder if that is all they do.
“Well, I’m not going to start complaining now,” John says as he opens a bag and pulls a box onto his lap before opening it.
“You must remember, Darien. Where I’m from its hard to get decent, fresh food. I’m enjoying it while I can,” I admit as I grab salad and a warm sandwich before anyone else can claim them. “Did you call Mr. Walters this morning?”
“Yes. I signed his offer and his associate picked it up this morning. I should have a copy by the end of the day. As far as I know, my parent’s business is no longer my concern,” Darien explains as he sits on the couch, waiting for Elizabeth to choose what she wants from the bags.
“And do you feel relieved now?” I ask as I take a bite of the salad. The fresh greens and vegetables tingle my taste buds as I close my eyes for just a moment to enjoy the sensation. I hear Darien chuckle as I look back at him.
“A part of me is, but the other half feels like I have lost my parents for good,” Darien explains. His somber words seem to have an effect on the children as well as they slowly look down and focus on their food.
“Hey now, it’s such a lovely day. How about we go outside to enjoy this lunch?” I suggest, hoping a change of scenery will help brighten their moods. I also need Darien to see Elizabeth in direct sunlight if I am going to convince him that his family needs to return home with me. I leave my sunglasses inside as we all pick up our food and head outside to the back patio. I wait for everyone to settle down at the picnic table before I sit and continue eating.
“Anna, are you feeling okay?” Elizabeth asks once I realize I’ve finally caught the attention of everyone at the table.
“Why do you ask that, Elizabeth?” I say as I slowly look at her, and then John. I want them to see the blue fire in my eyes and to know for certain what they are seeing.
“There is something wrong with your eyes, Anna,” John says as he gives me a smile. I can’t help but enjoy his innocence as I glance back at Darien. He seems to be nervous and appears to be confused by my actions.
“I assure you, John, there is nothing wrong with me. I just have very special eyes, and very special powers to go with it,” I tell him. Curiosity sparks between Elizabeth and John as they exchange excited looks. “Would you like to see?” They both nod in response as I stand from the table and look at Darien once more to make sure he isn’t going to stop me. I can tell he also wants to see for himself what I can do.
I hold my hand out in front of me and imagine the blue flames leaping from my skin and forming a small ball in my hand. A second later, the image comes to pass as the blue flames erupt along my arm and collect in the palm of my hand. I hear them gasp as I pass the blue flame from one hand to the other as the flames slowly grow and begin to cover my entire body.
“Does it hurt?” John speaks up as he stands and debates whether he can touch it too and not be burned. I clear my mind as the flames die away and return to their captive state behind my eyes.
“No, John. It does not hurt. The flames are not meant to burn on this planet.”
“Then what do they burn?” Elizabeth asks in a hushed voice. I can tell she is slightly afraid and I wonder if she can feel the same sensation in her own body.
“They hurt beings from the supernatural realm, a place that boarders our own reality. Me and my people control this power and protect our world from those who wish to come and visit,” I say calmly. I take a seat at the table and wait for the next question to arise.
“I’m guessing they are not very nice people,” John says out loud. I give him a nod to confirm he is right.
“Why are you telling us this, Anna?” Darien speaks up, clearly troubled by my display of power. He doesn’t look pleased with the fact that I just told his siblings that monsters do exist. Honestly, there is no easy way to explain the supernatural realm, but I know they need this knowledge if they are going to travel with me and become to exposed to a whole other world within the walls of the Kingdom.
“Because I want you all to come with me, Darien. I want you to return to the Kingdom with me and see for yourself what my people are working towards,” I confess. Darien lets out a long sigh as he reaches across the table and gathers my hand in his.
“Look, Anna. I care for you, but please don’t get the wrong idea over last night…” he begins to say but I quickly withdraw my hand to stop him from speaking any more. Instead I simply point towards Elizabeth to force both Darin and John to look at their sister in the daylight. Even from across the table, I can see the blue flames dancing behind her eyes.
“Oh kool!! Elizabeth can do it too!” John yells as he hopes from his seat and races to his sister side. Elizabeth looks like she is about to panic as Darien looks back at me and then back at Elizabeth.
“How is this possible? Anna, what did you do to my sister?” Darien asks as his rage sounds in his voice.
“Darien, I assure you that I have no idea how this happened,” I quickly say as he stands from the table and starts pacing along the patio edge. “All I know is that it would be safer for your whole family to travel with me so she can be properly analyzed by my people,” I continue as I stand and place both hands on his shoulders to stabilize him. I stare into his eyes and make sure he is looking at me before I continue, “I want to figure out what is going on as well and try to find out how she acquired my power. You need to understand Darian that I’m the only one that has ever wielded the blue flame. The rest of my people control normal red, fire.”
I keep my eyes locked on Darien as my words start to slowly sink in. After a moment, his body relaxes and I lower my hands away from him.
“Is she going to be okay?” Darien whispers, looking away from me so Elizabeth can’t hear him. I can’t help but smile as I draw his face back to mine with my hand.
“Yes. She will be fine. Even if the flames erupt from her, it would not harm her just like they don’t harm me,” I explain.
“But those burn marks I saw…” Darien continues.
“The flames wielded by my people don’t burn anything in our realm. But I am somehow different than everyone else. Not only are my flames blue, but I have a tendency to lash out in my sleep. That is why the room burned down when we were children and why I scorched the townhouse in th
e city. It’s the reason why I was sent away from my people at the age of four to live with my uncle and try to find a new way of controlling my powers,” I explain. “And that is why I want you all to return with me. I want to make sure Elizabeth doesn’t have to go through what I want through at her age.”
“We need to go, Darien,” Elizabeth speaks up, fear fully threaded in her words. “If they have a way to cure me, then we need to go before school starts.” My heart fills with guilt at the sound of her words. I don’t have the will to tell her the truth and as I look at Darien, I feel like he understands that situation more than Elizabeth. For now, I am willing to allow her to believe she can be cured from this ‘condition’, if it means she’ll travel willingly and appear before the masters for a full examination.
Darien walks over to Elizabeth and pulls her into a tight embrace. He even opens his arms and allows John to join him. I truly feel bad for them because they have experienced their parent’s deaths and now will be taken from their homes, from everything the know and love, and brought into a whole new world; a world they will never be able to forget. It’s like ripping the innocence from a child and forcing them to grow up. Even though it’s been the way of my people for generations, it doesn’t feel right to do it to a family that has never known the true evils of the world or of the realms that rests on the boarder of our own reality.
“When do we have to leave?” Darien asks as he looks over at me as I simply stand and stare at the three of them.
“The sooner the better,” I admit. “It will take us several days to travel and we’ll need to pick up proper clothes along the way.”
“What do you mean?” he asks as I open the patio door and suggest we head back inside to get ready for our travels.
“Where we’re going, it’s very cold.”
* * *
I hold tightly to Elizabeth’s hand as we stand in line to board our plane. Darien is holding onto John’s hand as Morgan stands in front of us. He is responsible for handing over our boarding tickets and passports. The attendant doesn’t even bother looking at our passports as she keeps her eyes focused on Morgan, a dreamy grin on her face as she slowly scans our tickets.