by Juniper King
“Why did he leave?” Gwen remained silent, avoiding eye contact and twisting her fingers together. “It was because I was born, wasn’t it?”
“…Yes. Well, no, it wasn’t because of you. We were told it was because of your mother.”
“Because of my mother that Muse never returned?”
“Until you were found last year, everyone in town thought you were dead. Our father had told everyone your mother vanished before your birth and killed you just after you were born. Only to die herself not long after.”
The story Gamel had given Aksel and Ayre was that Lucan hadn’t known if I was alive or dead, but he was telling these people that I was without a doubt dead. And that my mother was dead as well.
“If everyone thought I was dead, how did someone know to look for me?”
“They didn’t. Our courier was out of town on other business. It was just a stroke of luck that he found you. Apparently, you happen to look just like your mother when she was your age.”
Yes, Lucan had said the same thing when he first saw me.
Then a thought struck me. Could the courier’s ‘other business’ have been hunting for daemon blood and he just happened to find me? Some things were making a little bit more sense after speaking with Kue, but there was still a huge discrepancy with the story. “But, Gwen, you said my mother vanished, she never returned after she left with me?”
“That’s right. Father said your mother leaving town and killing you had angered Muse and that was the reason he never returned. I suppose she must have hidden you somewhere and lied to Muse,” she contemplated.
“It’s possible,” I said, “but how would your father have known she’d killed me, or that I was even dead if my mother never came back to town. How would he know she was dead?”
“Perhaps Muse told him? They often spoke.”
“You said he disappeared without a word, why would he have stopped to speak to your father to explain why he was leaving? And if he had, why wouldn’t you father have said anything?”
Gwen physically shifted on her feet growing noticeably more uncomfortable with this revelation “I…I don’t know. I’ve never given it much thought.”
It was clear up until my arrival Gwen had had no reason to question her father. There would have been no reason to think I wasn’t dead until I was found. My very existence tore Lucan’s story apart.
Now that the broken pieces were being laid out in front of her, and they weren’t fitting together, she must have realized something wasn’t right.
“My father has always been rather high handed, people rarely question him. It could be he’d assumed the worst, but…” I could see a grimace forming on her face as she waded through her thoughts. “I hadn’t even given it a second thought until now,” she reflected, “When my father learned you were alive, I overheard him curse your mother and how she had lied to him. Lied about you being dead? How could that be possible unless she’d come back to town and spoke to my father after your birth? If that was the case, why would he have told us she’d never came back? Why would he have said she’d died?”
“I’m sorry that I brought it up.” I had wanted answers, but I hadn’t meant to completely destroy Gwen’s image of her father. I hadn’t meant to drag her into this mess.
“Eliza never believed me.” She continued as if she hadn’t even heard me, eyes staring unfocused into the distance. “She thought I was just delusional after mother died. Father has always been strict, but in recent years he’s become so much worse. He’s become demanding—quick to anger. He’s used to getting his own way, and if someone stands in his way…”
“What are you saying?” Her sudden seriousness had prickles crawling up my spine.
“One night, four years ago, I heard my mother arguing with him at the top of the stairs. It was right around the time my father began communicating with Muse again. I didn’t catch most of it, but it sounded like our mother wanted to leave, to take us with her and leave this town. My father… I mean, I think I saw… he pushed her.” Tears began to collect and slide down her pale cheeks.
I didn’t know what to do. I had caused this turmoil for her. I did the only thing I could think of in this situation, the same thing I would have done if I’d seen Jess or one of the kids crying.
I took a step towards her and wrapped my arms around her. She tensed for a moment before hesitantly wrapping her arms around my back.
We stood under the heavy silence for a long time as she sobbed into my shoulder.
But I know I’d heard right. Four years ago… She’d said her father had started communicating with Muse again. Was my biological father involved in this convoluted scheme in some way too? Why did I have to return before he returned? Especially if he and Lucan were already in communication.
I found myself even more anxious of what was to come.
The silence was oppressive.
The only sound echoing through the small dining room was the quiet clinking and scraping of utensils on dishware. Lucan and I sat across from each other at a table that was meant to seat four, but the girls didn’t join us. I could only envy them right now.
Admittedly, it was nice having a meal that wasn’t a fish full of tiny bones or a small animal, skinned and cooked over an open flame, but I couldn’t enjoy it.
What should I talk about? I took my time chewing the succulent piece of carrot in my mouth to avoid having to speak. Should I ask about my mother? How can I talk to this man when he’s twice been accused of murder?
“Tell me about your travels.” He said politely while cutting a piece of meat. His attention seemed more focused on the food than me.
I swallowed. “Oh, it was mostly uneventful. All that walking was a little bit taxing, but my chaperones took good care of me.” Was I acting too formally? The words sounded strange as they rolled off my tongue.
“I am happy to hear you didn’t face any hardships.” He finally looked up with the ghost of a smile on his lips.
I found it strange that he was not more relieved that I made it to Ilonvale safely. When I was first introduced to him, he didn’t seem relieved by my arrival at all, and now he was only making pleasant conversation, like he didn’t actually care whether or not I made it through the trip unharmed. This was not a loving father happy to be reunited with his estranged daughter, he was acting the part to the bare minimum. He was cold and distant and making conversation with no other reason than to be polite.
What was his game?
Lucan put his utensils down with a heavy clink, drawing my attention. He laced his fingers and met my eyes.
“I’m afraid I have been deceitful to you, Selynna.”
I swallowed my mouthful of food, my attention piqued. “How so, father?”
“I’m sure you must have heard rumours by now, perhaps speaking with Gamel or the girls,” he trailed off. Get on with it, I wanted to shout. “I admit I told a little white lie to get you here to Ilonvale.”
“What kind of lie,” I politely prompted.
He let out a sigh. “I am not your biological father.” Silence once again enveloped the room as he seemed to pause to let the idea sink in.
I tried to plaster a look of intrigue and confusion on my face, hoping to prompt him for more.
“I was being truthful when I said your mother took you when you were a baby, but… your real father was a daemon.”
“A daemon?” I tried to replay all the emotions that had gone through my head when I had learned of this for the first time.
“I’m sure it must come as a shock to you, but you are not human. Not fully.”
Yes, truly shocking, I mused.
“Once Muse disappeared from our town,” he continued, “I decided to take on the responsibility of raising you as your father. That is, until your mother stole you away from us.
“I thought you had said my mother passed away just after I was born.” Could he not keep his own story straight?
“That is correct, she stole you away on
ly to pass soon after.”
So he was sticking to that story. I had to be careful of the questions I asked. I knew his story was flimsy and the more holes I poked in it, the sooner it would be brought to light as fake. Who knows what he would do then?
“Why did she steal me away?” The real question in all of this, and seemingly safe enough for me to ask.
“I’m afraid I don’t know, child.” His eyes met mine. Though his face looked contrite, there was something about his eyes that made me think he was not being entirely truthful with his emotions. “But… now that you are back in your true home, you can help us.”
“Help with what?” This was it; I would finally learn why Lucan wanted me.
“You can help us get your father back.”
“How can I do that?” I didn’t have to feign confusion this time.
“All will be explained tomorrow at the ceremony.”
Okay, immediate red flag. A ceremony? In a creepy, isolated, daemon worshiping town? I wasn’t exactly sure what I had been expecting when I’d arrived, but it certainly wasn’t a ceremony.
“A ceremony?” I tried to keep the nerves from showing in my voice.
“Yes, dear, at this ceremony we will bring your father back to us. We have a method of contacting daemons—a way to summon them, if you will. All we need is a small amount of your blood.”
A ceremony and my blood. Uh-uh, nope.
Even with the still mostly full plate of food in front of me and not having eaten anything all day, a sickness began to flood my stomach.
“May I be excused to bed, father? I’m exhausted after such a long journey.”
“Of course, Selynna, it’s best that you get your rest for tomorrow. The girls have prepared you a room for the night.”
I finally had the chance to meet my real father, my daemon father, and all it would take was a ‘small amount of my blood’.
How far was I willing to go to solve this mystery around my family and meet a father that, by the sounds of things, might have and ulterior motive for me?
I jumped at the quiet knocking sound behind me, whipping around to see Aksel perched on the windowsill on the other side of the glass, barely visible in the darkness outside. All the tension from throughout the day had me ready to jump out of my skin. Aksel motioned for me to let him in.
I paused momentarily, listening for any movement. Gwen had ushered me into the small spare bedroom about half an hour ago, her demeanor noticeably more reserved than before dinner, and since then I hadn’t heard any noise from the hallways. I quietly opened the window and he gracefully slid inside.
“What are you doing here, did anyone see you?”
“Relax, I already told you, with my illusory magic no one will be able to see me unless they’re looking for me. I’m practically invisible out in the darkness,” he said with his trademark smirk. It didn’t last long before it fell from his face. “There are men surrounding the house, they’re being discreet, but to a trained eye it’s obvious they’re on guard. Looks like now that you’re here they’re not taking any chances of letting you leave.”
“He’s holding me as a hostage, but still going along with his act of being my father?”
“Probably to make things easier on himself. A willing captive is much easier to control than one who’s fighting back and trying to escape. I’m sure the guard outside is just a precaution. There’s more than just that though. Since we arrived, I could feel the weight of magic in the air. It’s something humans wouldn’t notice, but I think the line between realms is thinner here.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“Nothing significant, it just allows for more ambient magic to spill out from Kimyr.”
“Could that be the reason for people acting strange?”
Aksel’s brows drew together. “Strange how?”
“When I came here everyone was staring at me, some people even bowed. It’s like some kind of weird cult, it feels wrong.” I didn’t want to admit it to him after everything we’ve gone through to get here, but I was unsettled, scared even.
Aksel shook his head, “That has nothing to do with ambient magic. If this town has been completely isolated for its entire history and they worship daemons, a cult wouldn’t really be surprising.”
“That’s not quite right…” I gave Aksel the abridged version of everything I had learned.
“They said they needed your blood?” That was the first thing Aksel said when I had finished my narrative.
“Yeah. Didn’t you say that they might try to use me for my blood, though? They tried to get Kue’s.”
“I did, but not for that reason. Why would they say they need it to bring your father back? Human’s can’t just call up and chat with a daemon, much less summon them. Daemons only come to Loam if they want to come, humans have virtually no say in that.”
“Then what would they need with my blood? How will that bring my father back?”
“I don’t know. They need your blood?” Aksel mused to himself again. “This is even stranger than we’d first thought. It could be blood magic, but what would humans know about blood magic?”
“Blood magic?”
“It’s a daemonic skill that varies throughout each clan, kind of like a specialty magic. But I don’t know of any that can summon daemons. There’s no way humans could use it; they shouldn’t even know about it.” Aksel took a moment to think. “Selynna, I know we were ready to come and confront this, whatever it might be, but… tell me now if you want to leave and put this all behind you, we’ll get Ayre and leave, right now. There are ways we can keep you out of these people’s hands. If you don’t want to do this…” He sounded concerned.
“I want to leave,” Aksel nodded reassuringly and was about to speak before I interrupted him, “but I have to see this through.”
Since our journey began, I’d survived flames and seas, I’d faced off against a succubus and a finman and won. I fell from the sky and lived. I survived torture, for gods’ sake. It seemed ridiculous that I would be so afraid in a human town.
But if even Aksel was afraid of what the outcome might be tomorrow…
No, I couldn’t live a life on the run. If I left now, they would surely keep trying to find me. Based on Lucan’s reaction when he’d first seen me, and the guard keeping watch outside, there was no way he would let me leave now. And what about the mystery behind my mother’s actions and her death? What if there was a way for me to communicate with my father?
“…Okay,” Aksel finally spoke, “If you’re sure that’s what you want, then we’ll keep you safe. We won’t let anything happen to you, no matter what. And tomorrow, whatever happens during this ceremony thing, I won’t leave your side. If Lucan tries anything, I won’t hesitate to kill him.”
“I understand.”
“Don’t worry, this is almost over,” he finished with a reassuring smile.
Almost over…
Once this was over what would happen to the three of us? Aksel and Ayre would leave and go back to their mercenary lifestyle and I would go back and pick up the pieces in Woodburne.
“Aksel?” He looked over to me, eyes shining with apprehension, and anything I’d wanted to say evaporated. “Uhm, sorry, I—I don’t…” I didn’t even know what to say. I couldn’t ask him to come to Woodburne with me, and I couldn’t follow them around in their mercenary jobs, I would get them hurt. I just knew I didn’t want to never see them again. “Can you… stay with me tonight?”
His smile became sympathetic. “Selynna, there’s nothing else I would rather do tonight. But if they decide to check up on you in the middle of the night and see me here, we’re both in trouble.” He was right, but my heart fell just a little bit. “I’ll be right outside.”
“Sure,” I nodded.
Aksel began to leave towards the window but stopped, “Oh, but one more thing before I leave.”
He wrapped an arm around my back, pulled me close, and kissed me. It was a kiss that express
ed every unspoken word between us, all the unspoken feelings. The first kiss we shared since everything had come to light between us. And I realized after everything that had happened, whatever happened next, I trusted him with my life.
26
I looked at my reflection in the mirror. “This is…” I didn’t quite know what adjective to use to finish off my thoughts.
It looked nice, to be sure. The garment was beautiful, pure snow white and made of a soft silk. The sleeves were snug around my upper arms and flared wide down past my fingertips. My legs were nearly bare, the slim skirt only falling to about mid-thigh. I found it strange that there were no zippers or buttons to fasten the outfit shut, instead it wrapped around like a bathrobe and was tied using a red silken scarf around my waist. I turned around in the mirror and saw that the scarf was tied in an intricate bow behind my back with the ribbons falling down to my knees.
But the shoes were something else; thick wooden sandals adding about three inches to my height. With a thick, thong strap pinching between my toes and no strap around my heel. It would truly be a miracle if I didn’t fall down the stairs.
It had already been established that I was roughly the same size as either of the twins, why couldn’t I just borrow some of their more casual and comfortable looking clothes again? What was the purpose of dressing me up in something so exotic?
“You look stunning,” Eliza said in awe, clasping her hands together.
“You don’t think it’s a little… over the top?” I questioned as I turned around in the mirror for the third time.
“Of course not,” she waved off my skepticisms. “This outfit was made especially for the ceremony. You should go, father must be waiting.”