A burning fever rose in her throat. “Stop it Jean! Stop it! I couldn’t leave him lying there. He didn’t ask for this – he has a right to know. When he asked me if there was a way to change back, I told him about the book. He wants to change back. And anyway, Maeve did it!”
“Oh really sis, you must be out of your mind!” Jean’s hand lashed out against Vivian’s shoulders pushing her back against the door. For a split second that Jean raised her hand, she thought she was going to hit her, but instead Jean turned on her heel and smacked Seth across the cheek with a loud slap. His head turned sideways, and when he lifted, Vivian could see a bright red hand mark.
“You think you’re better than us because you’re human?” Jean rounded on him causing him to stumble backwards, but it was clear when Seth hit the wall that he had enough.
“I don’t believe in any of this and even if I did I wouldn’t want to be living with a bunch of freaks!” Seth’s words were dripping with poison.
“Then leave!” she made her words slow and deliberate so there was no mistaking them. “Our kind, help you all and you repay us with mockery and spitefulness. You disgust me.”
“Help? How do you help us humans?”
“Oh, let me count the ways. Some of those car accidents, where it’s a ‘miracle’ that the drivers and passengers survive – that’s us! Our magic is used to slow down the vehicles. People dying from venomous snake bites that remarkably heal with no lasting effects have the venom extracted by our “freaks”. The money that just turns up, is the job of the “freaks”. We help more than you even know.” Her jaw was firm and lips pursed together tightly.
Seth’s eyes shot daggers and as he raised his hands to push Jean out of the way he was startled by what he saw. Gray, fur boots replaced what used to be long slender fingers. He let out a ragged breath as he gawked at them. Jean backed away smiling at his defeat and seeing his eyes crying out for help as he looked up, Vivian walked over to him. When she stared into his eyes, the twinkle that was once there was gone replaced by a mixture of sadness and disbelief. She touched his shoulder and said, “I’m sorry.” The pit of her stomach suddenly sickened.
“I’m sorry,” Vivian repeated watching as the fur disappeared, and the claws shortened, returning to the resemblance of human hands. He inspected them making sure all indications of the creature were gone. Vivian remembered that Seth had never witnessed his transformation; he had been unconscious the first time it happened.
Seth dropped his hands to his sides, his head falling back against the wall with a soft thud. He closed his eyes tightly, and Vivian felt the urge to lay her hand on his shoulder, to hold him and comfort him, but she resisted, shoving her hands deep in her pants pockets.
“Hey, relax,” Jean prodded him in the shoulder. “We’ll get you a room here, you can get some sleep, and we will figure out what to do with you in the morning.”
He managed a crooked smile and nodded. “Thanks.”
“Now, wait outside. I have to talk to Viv real quick.” Jean clutched his shirt, pushing him out of the room, slamming the door behind his retreating back.
“What is it?”
Jean turned to her. “You got the letter too?”
Vivian saw a crumpled paper laying on the nightstand by the bed. “I didn’t save mine though,” she sat on the bed sinking down in the soft mattress.
“I save all of them.” Jean said.
“Why?”
“They’re our family Viv! They’ve been writing for two years, and that’s an obvious sign they still love us –“
“Or want to kill us!” Vivian interrupted.
“Aunt June is dead.”
Vivian’s breath caught in her throat, and looked at Jean in disbelief.
“It’s true,” said Jean answering Vivian’s question. “Levine just came back and told me. He tried to save her, but he got to the scene too late ….”
Levine was part witch, and part Elvin. He had the ego the size of the world, but he was good at what he did. Except this time he fell short.
“How?”
“Car accident.”
Vivian nodded in understanding, staring very hard at a scratch on the wooden floor.
“She was our family -”
“I’m not going to the funeral,” she cut her sister off.
“Viv-“
“No! I’m not, that’s it, drop it Jean!”
Shaking her head disapprovingly, Jean threw the letter in the drawer. “Tell me again, why does Seth want the book?”
Vivian rubbed her face falling back onto the bed. “He wants to change back, and the book is the only answer. You know that book has the counter curse written somewhere in it. So…. Do you have it?”
“No.”
She dropped her hands from her face, peering at her. “What?”
“I don’t have the book.”
“Jean, why don’t you have it? Where is it?” She bolted upright, staring wide eyed at her sister.
Her eyes softened, and she backed away. “I went to visit them…”
“Visit who?” Vivian questioned.
“Our family.”
She had enough, Vivian stood, her eyes sending darts. “Why?” She heard her voice echoing off, and she took a deep breath, asking again in a softer tone.
“A letter every month for two years! I had to do something, I had to talk to them. I still think they care. I’m sorry you don’t.”
“I’m not,” she retorted. Her anger rose in her veins at Jean’s calm voice. How could she be so calm about this?
“Yeah…. Well, I will give you credit. They stole the book.”
Vivian’s fists clenched but instead of hitting her, she grabbed the nearest pillow off the bed, pounding it over Jean’s head. “How – could – you! You – stupid – stupid – girl! You – idiot!”
Jean shielded her head with her arms, crouching low. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she yelled.
Breathing hard short gasps, Vivian dropped the pillow to the floor, sitting back on the bed trying to catch her breath. Her throat was dry and scratchy, and the little saliva she had she couldn’t swallow. Tears began to sting her eyes in anger.
“Sis…. I am sorry. Really sorry. I should have left the book here, but thought if they read it they would understand, but while I was being welcomed, it was stolen out of my car. I didn’t know until I got home.”
“You know what they are,” her voice was muffled by her hands. Jean seemed to understand what Vivian was about to say.
“Yes…. I know, but I thought…. I don’t know what I thought.” She took a seat beside her sister on the bed.
“We’ll get it back.”
Jean nodded in agreement. “So, , how is the lady in the fire?
“Very well, she’s fine.” Looking over at her, Jean quickly added, “and no one saw me.”
“Akira is a great psychic. Don’t know how we would do without her.”
A long silence followed. Vivian didn’t know until she looked over at the red luminous clock that it was already two in the morning. Suddenly she felt very tired, and rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand.
“I better go get Seth a room….”
Jean jumped at her words breaking the silence nodding. “Yeah, I need to get some sleep too and Viv, I am sorry. I’m so sorry, I messed up things really bad for all of us.”
Vivian patted Jean’s shoulder, and walked over to the door. “Don’t worry about it. I will take care of this somehow. We’ll figure out something.”
Outside she found Seth sitting on the floor leaning his back against the wall. His eyes were closed, and face relaxed as though he was in a deep sleep. Vivian wondered if she should wake him up but in the end, she knelt down touching his shoulder lightly, his eyes opening wide and he jumped to his feet.
“Whoa!” Seth looked widely around the hallway and spotted Vivian kneeling on the floor. “What?“
“You fell asleep.”
“Oh. What time is it?” Seth rubbed
his eyes continuing to look around the empty hallway.
Vivian got up on her feet. “Late enough. Let me show you to your room.”
Across the hall from Jean’s room was Vivian’s. One of the unoccupied rooms, two doors down from hers was the room she led him to.
“Wow, what is that smell!” Seth covered his nose with the sleeve of his shirt.
“Oh-sorry! A vampire used to live in here and after that a witch. They didn’t get along so to be sure the vampire didn’t come back she stuck garlic everywhere.” She laughed quietly when Seth gave her a dazed look.
Despite the awful garlic smell the room was nice. Red velvet curtains covered the large bed and the opened double windows blew in cool air from the forest not far across the field. It was dark, but then again the entire Underground was dark. It was the way they all liked it.
“It’s not bad,” she smiled and looked toward the ground. It was true though. If it wasn’t for the garlic smell it would be wonderful.
Seth looked around slowly as if getting used to everything now. As if it was going to be that way forever. “it’s not bad at all” Seth acknowledged.
“You should get some sleep.” Vivian conducting herself in the ways of their ancestors, bowed herself out of his new room.
She rushed two doors down and closed the room to her door quietly. Her room was quite different. For one it didn’t smell of garlic. It was much darker. The windows were covered by torn curtains. Only a small glimmer of light cut through, shining on the wooden floor that creaked slightly when stepped upon. Everything in her room was old. The dresser was filled with pictures of her past that she never looked at, and on the bed was a comforter that had become flat after years of use. But she loved it.
Curling up, she laid on her bed. Vivian watched the light from the window peek through the rips in the curtain and she heard the door open, a slight creaking sound on her floorboards and a shadow cast against the light. She sunk lower with the bed as someone sat beside her.
“You like him don’t you?” Jean brushed the hair away from her sister’s face.
Vivian answered with a sigh.
“You do. I know you do. It’s obvious the way you look at him. And he likes you too, because he looks at you the same way.”
Vivian rolled over on her back. “It can’t happen.”
“Why not?”
“Because he wants to be human. He wants to go back.” Her throat tightened and she felt her face go slightly red as though she was a shaken cola bottle under pressure.
“You can go back too you know! All you have to do is stop using magic!” Jean jumped and sat upright at that thought.
“I don’t want to. You know I love my family. I will always love them, but this is who I am - this is my fate. If they love me they will accept me the way I am. If Seth wants me then he will have to accept it too…. But he can’t even accept himself.” Vivian turned over onto her side pulling the blanket up to her chin. She closed her eyes, and pretended to be asleep, but somewhere through the night, she drifted off.
*****
At some point in the middle of the night Vivian awoke sitting straight up in her bed, breathing deeply. What had awakened her? A bad dream possibly? She looked around her room. Nothing seemed out of place nor out of the ordinary. Her curtains waved in the wind that crept its way through the gap in the window, the grime unstirred on her nightstand and dresser. Both doors, one to the bathroom and one to the hallway remained tightly shut and no forms lurked in the shadows of her room.
She lied back down until deep screaming pierced her ears. She swung her feet onto the floor, and ran out of her room following the screams to next door where Seth was. It was no longer screams rather that of roars and growls. It all sounded so painful. She pressed her ear against the door afraid that maybe it was just a nightmare, but he seemed to be very awake.
"What is all the noise?!" Jean had rushed out of her room too.
"I don't know...." Vivian pulled her ear away from the door. She didn't knock, but swiftly opened the door knowing she wasn't ready for the sight that was about to meet her. Seth lied beside his bed on the floor partially dressed and tangled in a blanket. He was curled up with his knees to his chest; his hands clawing at his stomach.
Vivian knelt next to him pulling the blankets away from him trying to pry his hands away from his stomach. "Seth! Are you okay?" She knew very well that he wasn't but she had no idea of the pain a werewolf faced. By his grimacing facial expressions she suspected it was worse than any pain she had ever felt.
She was answered with a growl. Shortly after, "It hurts! It hurts so much. I hate this, I hate being this monster!"
Jean flinched from his words, but made no move to correct or scold him. It was only the pain talking. If he had said it coherently he may have once again felt the sting of her words.
"It's natural to hurt. Your body is changing; transforming," she tried to comfort him with understanding.
Seth rolled onto his stomach reaching out with a claw and digging it into the wood beneath his hand. He scratched downward leaving deep claw marks into it.
"It hurts.... It really hurts. Make it stop, Vivian! Make it stop!" he cried in short grunts as fur sprouted onto his arms and hands. "Vivian, please...."
"I can't do anything, I'm sorry," Vivian looked over to Jean, but she was staring at him shaking her head sadly.
"Painkillers - anything.... Something to stop this."
"There is nothing," Jean said shortly.
"No, there has to be." Vivian pleaded.
"I’m sorry, there isn't."
Seth was unable to say anything more, as his mouth took the shape of a werewolf’s snout. He growled and transmuted more, right before their eyes.
Vivian could not help herself, she placed a hand on his hairy shoulder. Maybe she could decrease the pain, just a little. She concentrated. Take the pain away, take it away, cast it aside. He stopped moving but continued to shake as though he was chilled. She thought it may have worked when suddenly he howled jumping up on four paws throwing Vivian onto her back.
A hand braced her arm pulling her to her feet. Jean was still shaking her head. "You tried Viv, that's all you could do. He's going to have to learn how to deal with this."
"He didn't ask for this...." She watched as Seth laid back onto the floor burying his nose between his paws.
"Did we?"
Vivian wrenched her arm back, and sat down next to the whimpering wolf. She slid her hand down his back moving up to scratch his ears. Soon he fell back asleep there on the floor. He would change back when the sun rose and to keep him warm, Vivian covered him tightly in the blanket. It would be a difficult transformation, but maybe he would learn to live with it and love all the magic with this new world.... Like they all did.... Or maybe he was too different from any of them and he would only want to return to his human world. How could she blame him? His mortal life had been taken. He was pushed into this strange world. If her mortal life had been more like Seth's, she would be resentful too.
She tore her eyes away from the sleeping wolf to the window. A full moon shone brightly against the black sky, a spotlight on them. On the night of a full moon he would have no choice but to turn into a werewolf. If he challenged the change, it would be worse; torture in fact. On the night of a full moon he had to submit. It was the only way.
Returning to her room, Vivian crawled into bed. A cool breeze made its way through the small opening in her window, chilling her. She pulled the blankets around her chin thinking more of Seth and the girl that had destroyed his mortal life. Astrid needed to be taught a lesson. That was the last thing she thought of as she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Four
Silver Reflections
Days passed by in a funny haze as Seth tried to get use to their ways. The first morning he was hit with the many different smells from the kitchen. On the many rows of long mahogany tables were dishes of berries for their fairies, centaurs, and elves, blood for the vampires
, potatoes for the witches and wizards, and much more. Even meat for the werewolves. Seth was hesitant about eating the raw meat dripping with blood, but after wincing for the 50th time he had decided to try. He ate two slabs that morning, and drained it frequently with a silver goblet of cola. Each morning Seth had begun to cringe less from guilt. Vivian did not understand, because even humans ate meat. It became clear one morning when he leaned over the table to tell her as a human, he was a vegetarian. A vegetarian werewolf…. She had choked on her tea from laughter, and Seth laughed with her.
Vivian walked down the hallway, knocking on a door. No answer. She knocked again. Still no answer.
“Akia has gone to visit her family,” said Jean from behind her.
She fell forward slightly, banging her head on the door gently. “And I didn’t get the message, why?”
“Ummm…. Forgot?”
Vivian turned around chuckling. “Thanks a lot."
"I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner."
“It’s okay. When will she be back?” Vivian asked.
“No idea. She didn’t tell us.” Jean said.
“So for the time being, no more savings.”
“Right, but to let you know on a different note, that a message has been posted."
Vivian furrowed her eyebrows thinking. "About what?"
"I can't believe you forgot. Well, for that you can go and see for yourself."
A messenger board hung up in the circular room. Late one day it announced the 150th birthday ball for the late Maeve. It was what every creature all year looked forward too. Even the centaurs who usually had their minds to the stars, would celebrate the day.
“Who will you be going with?” Vivian stretched out on Jean’s bed watching her trying dresses on with a wave of her hand.
“Flint,” another dress covered her, a blue one with ruffles.
“Flint? The fairy? Are you crazy?”
Jean rolled her eyes, swishing the dress side to side. “No, I’m not.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“He can be human size. He’s a little taller than me when he is, and he’s really sweet. Anyway, who are you going with?”
Book of the Hidden Page 3