by Audra Hart
“It would only be counterproductive for me to try to force her to hear what she can’t remember on her own yet. But she needs to be surrounded by her family and friends and soon!”
I see Luca nod his agreement at this and I am very relieved that he agrees. Maybe he can forgive me for Verona… eventually.
“I am going to hang up now and start contacting everyone here in North America. And Luca… We need supernatural beings too, like your kind, I think. Do you know any that would be willing to stand up for Morna?”
Morna interrupts, “Breena, were we joined, our power I mean, last night. Is that why I was so strong?”
I can‘t help it, I am giddy with excitement when I answer my little sister; “No way, kiddo! That was all you! You are the First Warrior of the First Order of Airendell, and all of Ireland, Wales, and apparently of all the New World too. Oh Morna! You were and are so amazing, so awesome! I could feel your power! It nearly overwhelmed me, I think you might have been holding back to protect Luca. Can you believe that?”
“No, not really,” breathes Morna in a tiny, frightened voice.
“And by the way sister, I must confess to being a little jealous. I certainly hope you know what you have in that man there with you! He is just as awesome and just as amazing as you are. WOW! Sorry, I digress. But seriously, I am totally jazzed!!”
Morna laughs, “Gee, sis, I couldn’t tell.” She rolls her eyes at Luca. I want to giggle and tell her stop rolling her eyes at me, but I don’t blame her, so I let it go.
Luca interrupts, “Breena, how did your vision get through my buffer spell?” I can hear his concern in his voice, he’s worried that he’s not doing all that he can to protect Morna.
“Luca, I think Morna got out of it, not the other way around. I don’t know. But I know your magic is sound brother. You are protecting her, don’t worry. You have never and will never let her down.”
“Okay Morna, I know you have teacher things to do today. By the way, you rock at that too! I have been getting random visions of you for years, but couldn’t pin down your location, or see your face clearly. Gee, lady, don’t you ever look in a mirror?” I am so jazzed up I don’t wait for her to answer me. “But anyway, I will call back tonight. We need to make plans. Don’t break any furniture little sister! Or your man!” She laughs heartily. “I love you! Bye.”
Once I hang up I realize that I made a big mistake not telling them lay off of the lovey-dovey stuff until I can break the connection. I shudder when I think of what nearly happened with Fionn. I feel warmth pooling between my legs again. I feel like I am becoming a hormone driven sexpot. I am also kicking myself for not asking Morna if she knows anyone named Damian. I push those thoughts away from me sing a calming chant.
After I have finally calmed myself a little I start calling our friends. I am so excited that I am not making much sense until I force myself to focus on helping Morna. I am not too surprised when Fionn doesn’t answer his phone. Either he’s ignoring my calls or he found another immortal to get busy with. Fionn won’t have sex with mortals, he says they are too fragile. I chuckle, I guess it’s the Shifter half of him that makes him such a wild man.
I can’t help myself when I feel a momentarily twinge of regret and wonder how good it would have been if I had not yelled out Damian’s name when Fionn made me come and he had actually finished making love to me. I shudder; Yeah, physically it would have been good. Probably very good, but not right. Fionn is my friend, not my mate.
I groan and head for the shower when Morna and Luca start to go at it, again. I am reciting nursery rhymes and singing stupid songs from the 80’s as I let the icy water flow over my head to try to distract me from what my sister is doing with her mate.
I am trying not to spy on my sister and her man until I hear Luca mention the name; Damian. That gets my full attention. I can’t really figure out who he is from their conversation and Morna’s surface thoughts are not revealing much about this Damian. I am growing increasingly frustrated as I go to the kitchen start to make some breakfast. Is this my Damian? I laugh at myself; Your Damian? Get real, Breena. You have been having visions and dreams about a man who may or may not your mate. Get a grip, girl!
Morna is apparently exploring her newfound strength when I see her break off piece of her wardrobe door. I am also shocked when she knocks Luca across the room like he’s a rag doll, all at his urging, just to test her strength. Even other vampires and Shape Shifters would have a hard time doing that to Lucian Michaels. He’s always been powerful, but he has become unbelievably powerful since he was changed into a vamp.
I finally decide I can’t take any more. I know Morna is feeling scared and will probably seek comfort in her man’s arms again and I can’t endure another round of them making love while I am still connected to my sister, so I pick up my phone and call them again.
“Morna! I told you not to break your man! Hey, can you two chill out with all the lovey-dovey stuff until I can figure out how to interrupt this connection? Seriously, give the terminally single lady a break, Okay?”
“Breena! You are still watching us?” Morna demands.
“No, not watching, I told you I am experiencing and seeing, hearing everything that you do. It’s like I am in your skin.” I tell my sister in exasperation. Gee, I thought I made that clear earlier. Obviously not. “So please, please give me a break. I may never be able to look Luca in the eyes again as it is. Okay?”
I can feel Morna’s embarrassment over this little tidbit, it rivals my own. But for some reason I remember something that Luca told Morna last night. He thinks I don’t want anything to do with him and here all of this time I was thinking he was avoiding me because he hated me for hurting Morna. I decide I better clear that nonsense up and quick. I tell Luca that I have never wanted him to stay away from me, he’s my brother and I love him dearly.
By the time I hang up they have promised to be good until I can figure out how to break the connection. I hope and pray that I can do it soon, even if it is nice to have this window into my sister’s thinking, I feel like I am eavesdropping on a stranger. I am very aware that Morna’s personality in this incarnation is pretty different than it was before the curse. Mostly, she lacks the confidence she always had before. She’s very unsure of herself in this incarnation. Hopefully, getting her memories back will help with that, but who knows. She has had a rough time in this incarnation. I can’t even imagine the full extent of the pain she has endured losing her children and husband.
Morna is fixing her hair and putting on her make up, but she can hear Luca on the phone to Brigid, someone else is connected to Morna. I suspect it’s probably Aideen, Morna’s daughter. I suspect our blood tie to Morna and the fact that we are First Order Spell Weavers like Morna was is the reason for the connection. The three of us are the only First Orders in North America, well besides Bronwyn’s boys. But they are not related to us by blood.
I am trying to make arrangements for someone else to take my caseload at the facility where I work treating vets with PTSD when Morna goes downstairs to get the ‘kids’. Luca calls me to tell me about the connection to Aideen. I nearly drop the phone when I see my mate through Morna’s eyes! There’s no doubt, it’s him. And he’s truly beautiful. I make some flip remark to Luca about him to cover my rapidly beating heart and elevated respirations. Luca can hear those things even over a phone and for some stupid reason I am trying to play it cool. I am just not ready to admit to Luca or Morna that I have been having visions of my true mate.
I know from Morna’s mind that Damian, my mate, is a teenaged vamp. But he’s so beautiful my heart clenches painfully. Not just because he’s pretty, but because his aura is bright blue and fairly clear for a vampire. He’s striving hard to be a good man. Shit! My mate is a vampire? No way! Fionn is going to blow a gasket when he learns I have been blowing him off for a vampire!
Luca drags me back to our conversation with a vengeance when he asks me if he should contact Magdrid. I vehementl
y tell him that’s a bad idea and convince him not to contact her. My mother may be the leader of our Clan but I am convinced that she is evil to bone. We hang up when Morna brings the vamp and his kid sister upstairs. I sit and stare at my mate through my sister’s eyes while they eat breakfast and talk about their plans for the day.
I am overcome with the fear that this gorgeous man can’t really be intended for me. I have tried hard to hide my loneliness from my friends for several centuries. Only Fionn has any idea how barren my life really is. I resolved not to tell anyone besides Fionn and Rinda about my visions of Damian over the centuries. I decided long ago to just let nature takes its course, if it’s meant to be, it will be. I cling to that resolution now.
While Morna is in her first meeting of the morning I work to tie up loose ends of my life, in case I am gone for an extended time. I have a lot of responsibilities in my life, and many of them are of the preternatural kind.
I finally reach Fionn on his cell phone and tell him about Damian and make him promise not to tell anyone about my dreams. He reluctantly agrees and I wasn’t far off the mark when I thought Fionn would blow a gasket. “Bree, you are fucking kidding me? You honestly believe that you are destined to be mated to a goddamned teenaged vampire?”
Fionn’s words bring tears to my eyes and I can barely speak when I answer him; “Yes, Fionn. That is exactly what I believe.” I sigh and rub my face hard. “Look Fionn, I know it’s crazy but I am confident my visions are truly showing me my mate. I can’t explain the connection I feel with him.” I sit and listen to the silence on the phone. “Hey, we probably won’t hook up for years since he’s so young.” By now I am crying hard when I tell Fionn; “Please don’t make this any harder for me than it already is. You know how empty my life really is. Fionn, you are best friend, and the only person I have really let into my private life since Morna died the first time… Please Fionn, don’t judge me over this.”
“Shit, baby! I am not judging you.” Fionn’s voice sounds pained and rough making me want to comfort him. “Baby, I just can’t believe it. I know your visions have shown you children, lots of children, in fact. This fucking vamp can’t be your mate, they can’t have kids. Can they?”
I say nothing because I really don’t know if a vamp can father children or not. But somehow I doubt it and fear and pain creep into my very soul that Damian may not be my mate after all. Maybe I am not destined to ever have a true mate… Maybe it’s all just some fantasy I have created. I hear Fionn sigh raggedly and it drags me back from my desolate musings. “Fuck! This is so messed up. Those three bitches are really cruel sometimes.”
I chuckle at Fionn’s reference to the Greek fates. According to Greek mythology there are three Fates. Clotho, the spinner, who spins the thread of life of each soul. Lachesis, the measurer, who selects one’s lot in life and decides the length of each soul’s existence. Atropos, ‘she who cannot be turned’, who uses her shears to snip the thread of life. She’s basically the bringer of death.
Fionn lived around New Orleans for a couple of hundred years and got in pretty tight with some of those other immortals around here. Most of them are of Greek descent and his thinking over time was greatly influenced by their world. We both know the Greek pantheon was powerful and one of the most influential in history. They aren’t the be all, end all when it comes to powerful immortals but they can still make a real mess out folks’ lives when they are so inclined to do so. Part of me wonders of that’s what is going on in my life. Did I anger the Greek fates somehow? Is someone just messing with me?
Fionn actually had some very unpleasant dealings with the Greek Fates many, many years back and he firmly believes they play with everyone’s lives. I am not too sure about that, but I am forced to admit this does feel almost like a cruel practical joke that the man I am sure is destined to be my true mate is a Stone Cold vampire. And a very young one to boot. I rub my face tiredly and sigh. That would be just about right, some so called Greek god playing with my life just for shits and giggles.
By the time we hang up Fionn has resolved to go home and check on his business and his partners before he comes back east to be near me and my sister. “Baby, I got a feeling things are going to get really weird for all of us, really soon. I plan on being close by in case you or Morna need a friend.” I am nearly in tears as I thank my oldest and closest friend. I know Fionn has a bit of the prophetic gift from his mother so if he says things are gonna get weird, hang on to your hair because things will get strange.
A few hours later I am forced to admit that Fionn’s words were indeed very prophetic when I realize that the second meeting Morna attended at her school was actually a meeting with two Elvish envoys, and it had nothing to do Morna‘s job in special education. I get pretty pissed off when I realize the Elves are playing games with Morna’s memory. A rumor I heard about Almeda, from way back when, resurfaces in my mind causing me to wonder at their motives. But I had contacted Lord Albreich earlier and he had confirmed that he had sent trusted envoys to investigate after this latest attack on Morna‘s life, so I let my suspicions go, for now...
But dealing with Elves always makes me antsy. Spell Weavers are descended from them. Actually, from one Elf; the original Ari. He met and married a mortal named Almeda and granted her eternal life. Together, they had fifty-two children in one year’s time. Each of those children were gifted with a Gateway between the worlds and given the responsibility of guarding it. They all started their own magical clan. Spell Weavers are descended from Arthoe, son of the original Ari and Almeda, and a Celtic priestess named Lille.
But dealing with Elves is not like dealing with humans or even most immortals. They are highly advanced, possess very powerful magic and many are what we call true Eternals, meaning they can’t truly be killed unless they voluntarily give up their spirits. They hold all of their emotions in check until they find their true mate. They remind me of fucking Vulcans! They even look like em. I can’t help but wonder if Gene Roddenberry wasn’t an Immortal. I chuckle at the thought. Jeez, Bree! ADHD much? I shake my head to clear it of my fanciful notions.
Once an Elf finds their mate, they are worse than hormone driven teenagers for a couple of hundred years. No one in their right mind comes between newly mated Elves. I shudder thinking about dealing with Elves under any circumstances; Not my first choice of allies. They are powerful, but something in me just never completely trusts them because I have had a run in or two with Elves who weren’t trustworthy.
There are two kinds of Elves, Light and Dark. Just like the names imply, one race stands for goodness and purity the other for evil and villainy. That’s not to say the Light Elves don’t have their rotten apples and the Dark Elves sometimes spawn a truly decent and pure being. But those are the exceptions, not the general rule.
During the course of their conversation, I realize that the Elves are aware that I am connected with Morna. It occurs to me that they can probably tell us how to break the connection, but I decide to just leave it in place, hoping to get to see Damian again. You are so pathetic, Breena Glynn! You are willing to snoop on your sister just so you can get a glimpse your potential honey. I ignore my own inner voice that’s chiding me and focus on what all this might mean for the Spell Weavers.
After the Elves depart and I calm my rampant imagination and call Morna. Luca tells us that he had been told years ago, right after Morna’s first death that she would continue to come back, over and over, until she was strong enough to take over as First Spell Weaver of Airendell.
Well, no duh! It’s been obvious since we were kids that Morna was destined for that role. We just assumed the witch and her stupid curse had robbed our Guild of Morna’s leadership. In fact, a while back the Elders summoned Elias O’Toole, Bronwyn and Brian’s youngest son, to inform him that he had been chosen for replace Magdrid as First Spell Weaver at some unspecified time in the future. I never really bought it. Elias would make a great leader, but he’s not Morna Glynn.
But M
orna doesn’t take this news well. She’s scared and doesn’t think she’s up to job that destiny seems to be dumping in her lap. She just doesn’t remember who is. Or what she is. Not really. Oh Crap! This is going to be tough for my sister. Fionn nailed it when he said things were really going to change for all of us.
Morna and Luca have decided to go to Chicago tonight, so I go online and book a flight for myself. I have avoided being with my sister and her mate for too long. Obviously my mate’s life it closely tied to them so I refuse to stay away any longer. Honestly I don’t know if I am rushing into Morna’s life to be with her or to have a chance to get to know my Damian. Either way, I am taking the plunge.
There was another close call when Luca joined Morna in their bedroom while she was supposed to be getting dressed. I was overwhelmed by Morna’s need for her man and I would have truly forgiven her if they had given into that need and made love. Fortunately for me though, Luca told Morna that someone else was connected to her like I am. So Morna didn’t push it. I am relieved she let it go. Luca could never deny Morna anything she truly needed or wanted desperately and I would have been left hot and bothered and not damned thing I could do about it.
I blush when I think of my failed attempts at masturbation over the centuries. For some reason, it just doesn’t work out for me. I have no idea if I don’t know how to do or if I am only wired to come for my partner. Either way, I never experienced an orgasm until last night. And then I have two of them! Jeez, I am so fucked up! I so need to hook up with my own man.
My heart breaks a little later when Morna looks into her bathroom mirror and calls herself a coward. I hate to know that Aideen is seeing all of this. She has always been so harsh in her judgments of her mother. I can’t help but think that her seeing Morna so vulnerable is just fuel for the fire. I was Aideen’s lore mother and I love the child dearly, but she has a bit of a harsh, judgmental streak to her and is very possessive of her Daddy. She is always jealous when Luca finds Morna and his world revolves around his mate instead of his daughter.