The Violet Line

by Bilinda Ni Siodacain

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Opening my eyes slowly, I could feel cold stone beneath my cheek and my mouth tasted oddly like moss. I pulled my legs underneath myself and dragged my body upright. I had been lying on the floor beside the fire; I turned my head and found myself being observed by a very striking and familiar pair of blue eyes.

  My aunt sat on a wooden chair behind what I presumed must be her kitchen table. Sprawled across her lap was the biggest black cat I had ever laid eyes on. It watched me with a stare that seemed far too intelligent to just simply be feline.

  “Well, my dear, you gave yourself quite a nasty knock on the head when you passed out. Why, I’ve been sitting here waiting for you to come around all this time. And Lorcan was out of his mind with worry; he forgets every single time what the effects can be. He arrived in here carrying you, shouting holy hell; frightened me close to death, he did. I thought something awful had happened to you, that maybe you’d been attacked, but then he explained and I understood. I’ve made him wait outside. He makes this place feel small; you’ve seen how tall he is.”

  I stared at her while she talked. Noticing this she said, “Come now, dear; one would think you’d never laid eyes on your aunt before this.” She said all this with an edge of laughter to her voice.

  Finding my voice at last, I said, “I’ve never met you before; I’ve only ever seen you in pictures that my mother showed me. And yet…” My voice trailed off.

  “And yet what?” she asked, staring at me intently, her eyes boring into mine.

  “And yet, I feel as though I’ve known you forever; as though you’re somehow a part of me that I never knew was even missing until now. And now that I’m here, everything just suddenly fits together.” Shaking my head, I tried to clear the fog. “Anyway, you couldn’t possibly be my aunt; you’re in your mid-twenties and my aunt is fifty-three.”

  “I’m twenty-five actually, if you must know; well, here anyway,” she said spreading her hands wide to indicate her surroundings. “But yes, in your world I would be fifty-three and you’re right when you say I couldn’t possibly be your aunt.”

  I stared at her with my mouth hanging open. This woman had to be mad. Was I destined to meet nothing but loopers today, I wondered, still not fully sure if I should place Lorcan in that category or not.

  “Umm okay… what exactly do you mean by ‘in my world’? We’re all on the same planet, after all. Who exactly are you?”

  “Actually, my dear, right at this moment we’re both in the fairy realm. That blackness you passed through was the veil between your world and mine. In answer to your second question, you’re going to find this harder to believe, but I’m in fact your mother.”

  Silence filled the room, its presence suffocating as I tried to absorb what she had said. I nodded my head slowly, as if by doing this it would somehow make it more real.

  “Are you all right, Jade?” Her voice sounded concerned but very far away and for the second time that day, blackness roared in around me. The last thing I thought before I fell face first onto the floor was, “at least it’s not in my mouth this time.”

  Chapter Twenty Five

  My head was filled with strange images. I was a baby and my mother was holding me in her arms – except it wasn’t my mother at all; it was my aunt. Who I knew as my real mother stood and watched, taking in the scene but not interfering. My aunt cried as she held me in my arms, cuddling me close kissing my forehead. I didn’t seem perturbed by the tears that ran onto my face, choosing instead to play with her long dark hair that fell around me like a curtain.

  As she handed me over to the mother I knew, I caught sight of a tall, delicately slender man standing off to the side. His eyes were the deepest shade of violet I had ever seen and as he wrapped his arms around my aunt, I could see faint violet lines traced along his arms in the same manner that I have blue veins. He seemed so familiar to me that I longed for him to reach over and hold me in his warm embrace. His silvery wings were patterned with the violet lines I had seen on his arms. As he held onto my aunt, they began to glow until all I could see was the silver and violet melding together in one beautiful collage. With that, they both disappeared. I know I cried for days after they left, inconsolable to have been left behind, but as I grew older I quickly forgot that part of my life. That is, until now.

  The images changed. Sam was with me. He seemed agitated, but I couldn’t hear or understand what he was trying to tell me. Darkness edged his skin and his face seemed more haggard. I reached out to him, to perhaps help him, but my hand simply passed through him as though he was a ghost. He looked at me, concern flashing across his face. He spoke faster but I still couldn’t understand him.

  He slowly faded out of my line of vision only to be replaced by a fast flowing river. It bubbled by the bank at a merry pace but as I inspected the water more closely, I couldn’t help but notice the colour of the water was wrong. Instead of a clear blue, its depths were a dark red and the foam, which sat atop the fast flow, had a pinkish tint to it.

  I bent down on to my hands and knees and leaned over the edge of the bank, trying to get a better view of the river itself. It continued to bubble merrily past, except the harder I stared at it, the redder the water became.

  The surface of the water broke and a hand grabbed my jacket, pulling me head first into the boiling mass of reddened water. I opened my mouth to scream but my mouth flooded with water. Dragging myself to the surface, it felt as though my lungs were about to burst. As I hit the air, I gulped down the fresh oxygen, letting the cool sooth my burning throat. I felt myself being dragged downwards and I fought, kicking and screaming, but the arms that held me felt like iron brands. I closed my eyes, willing it to be just a dream. When I opened them, I was sure my wish had been granted. I stood in the centre of a cavernous hall. Black and white tiles covered the floor, reminding me of an over-sized chess board. I turned slowly, trying to figure out where exactly I was, and it was then I saw her.

  She stood within arm’s reach of me; her long dark chocolate hair tumbled down her back and fell in luscious curls to her waist. As she turned to face me, she swept the red satin gown out around her feet. My eyes travelled upwards, the eye drawn in to show just how tiny her waist was beneath the intricate lace corsetry of her black bodice. Her skin glowed luminous under the light and as I stared harder, I could make out tiny violet lines running just beneath the surface of her skin. A pair of sapphire blue eyes stared back at me; I had never seen eyes so cold and unfeeling. Curling her red lips into a small wicked smile, her eyes seemed to be lit from within with a cold violet fire that glowed, leaving me with no doubt as to her otherworldliness. Her cruel smile lit up her face; she was beautiful in a cruel, twisted kind of way.

  I stared, horrified as my own face stared back at me, and yet it was not my face. I could see the tips of her sharp fangs as they pressed against her bottom lip. She lifted her hand as if she would strike me and I raised my own in defence, cowering away from this vision of horror in front of me. I felt myself beginning to crumble. Looking down, I could see the shards of a mirror smashing onto the floor, parts of me still reflected in them and as I broke up and disappeared from existence. Her manic laughter filled my ears before silence reigned.

  Opening my eyes, I stared around at my surroundings in panic. I knew it had just been a dream but with everything that had happened over the past week, I wasn’t sure about anything anymore; I certainly couldn’t afford to just dismiss my dreams anymore. I sat up slowly and my head throbbed softly; it was like background music that had grown tiresome and I just wished would go away. The bed I lay on was springy as I moved to its edge. Crisp white sheets covered me, over which lay a flowery duvet. I let my feet touch the floor softly, not wanting to alert anyone to my wakened state, preferring instead to enjoy the quiet of my surroundings.

  Standing up, I walked slowly over to the dressing table and picked up the antique hair-brush. its ornate surface seemed so beautiful and unusual. I picked up a fe
w of the small trinkets that adorned the dressers surface; I was hoping I could find out more about my Aunt Emily or my mother from these small items. It was hard to think of her in those terms. I didn’t understand the situation; it all seemed so far-fetched. I mean, I had a set of parents and now I had another; it didn’t make sense. I made my way over to the window and looked out. The view was breath taking. The room I was in was on the second floor and the window was surrounded by climbing roses, which were in full bloom. Each rose on the same bush was a different colour and I couldn’t resist opening the window to take a closer look. The heady perfumed air filled my nostrils, almost causing me to stagger, and I accidently brushed against one of the blooms.

  The flower recoiled from my hand as though I had slapped it. Catching myself, I examined them more closely, choosing to hold my breath as I leaned in closely towards them; I didn’t want to be surprised by the strong beautiful scent a second time. It couldn’t possibly have moved away from me, I thought looking at the giant petals and flowers surrounding the window. I must simply have hit it harder than I thought, causing it to move with the force of my hand. A particularly large bloom caught my eye; its petals were a brilliant blue hue and it shimmered and shone in the light. As I moved towards it, drawn by its beauty, I could see how the light reflected off its petals, causing a small rippling effect on the petals themselves. I had truly never seen anything like it and I desperately wanted to smell it. I leaned towards it but I couldn’t seem to get any closer to the flower itself. Leaning a little further out the window, I still couldn’t reach it. I had thought it was close enough for me to reach.

  I moved to come back in the window only to find myself stuck against the rose bush. Hundreds of its tiny thorns caught in my t-shirt and some of the branches tangled in my cardigan. I tried to pull away again only to have them tighten against me. I was stuck and the more I tried to move, the harder they gripped me. I had no choice but to call for help. Just as I opened my mouth to call for Emily or anyone to help me, I saw Lorcan jogging up the laneway towards the house. He had a hurley in his hand and he tossed a small slíotar high into the air only to catch it again on the end of the stick. Spotting me, he lifted his arm and waved but I was stuck so tight at this point, I couldn’t move any part of my body.

  “What’s wrong with you?” he asked me as soon as he reached the yard at the front of the house. “You’re not fell out with me because I forgot to warn you about the veil, are you?” He sounded concerned as he questioned me and the innocence in his voice made me smile despite my current predicament.

  “Umm no, Lorcan; it’s fine really. Emily told me you were panicked enough.”

  He cut me off. “Oh right so, then what is it?”

  “I’m stuck.” I kept the statement simple enough, not really able to explain how it had happened in the first place or even what had happened for that matter.

  “You’re stuck?” He repeated my words, confusion evident on his face. “Stuck in what, Jade? The window; I mean it’s not that small, but you’re not that big a cailín that you could get stuck. Sure, just move back a bit and you’ll fit in there no bother.” He spoke with a smile on his face, as though he had explained away all my problems.

  “Lorcan, I’m not stuck in the window; well I am, but it’s not because I won’t fit back in through it. I seem to be stuck in the rose bushes; every time I move, they tighten up on me and I don’t seem to be able to get out of them. Do you think you could help me or maybe get Emily to help me? I really don’t fancy being stuck here for the rest of my life!” My voice was sharper than I intended but that didn’t stop Lorcan from looking at me strangely before exploding with laughter.

  “I-I can’t believe... you... got stuck.... in Emily’s Roses....” His words were interspersed with peals of laughter. Childishly, I stuck my tongue out at him as he stood laughing.

  “Seriously, Lorcan, it kind of hurts. Help, please.”

  “Ah alright; so, two minutes.”

  I could hear him as he thundered into the house. He never walked anywhere quietly, it seemed; he barrelled. I could hear voices downstairs before two sets of steps hurried up the steps. Emily burst into the room followed quickly by Lorcan, who had a scone in his right hand. With the limited mobility I had, I could just make out him munching it as Emily hurried over to me.

  “Jade, how did you manage this.” Her voice was softly scolding as she spoke before leaning down close to the roses and whispering to the bright blooms. I watched dumbfounded as one by one they recoiled back to their original places around the window and I was set free. She helped me back in the window before insisting on examining the marks they had caused.

  “What are they?” I asked, still surprised by what I had witnessed. Lorcan sniggered in the corner as he devoured the last crumbs of his scone before beginning to choke. Emily hurried over to him and pounded him swiftly on the back as he turned beetroot in the face.

  “Lorcan, what have I told you about scoffing them down like that? You’ll choke yourself to death. It serves you right for laughing at Jade; she doesn’t understand the things here. I thought you were more sensitive than that; it was why I chose you.” She spoke to him sternly, as if he was only a misbehaving five-year-old and not a young man in his twenties. I covered my laughter in my hands as he hung his head, the colour on his cheeks becoming more and more pronounced with every word she spoke. He finished up his coughing fit and she turned back to me.

  “Well, as you can see, they’re not like the roses you have back home. They actually work a little bit like a burglar alarm; if anyone tries to break in, which happens very rarely here but it still happens, they simply wrap themselves around the person until they can’t move anymore and hold them until we return. I find it very handy and they are so pretty to look at, but they are very defensive and don’t like to be touched at all, as you have seen. Anyway, would you like to come down? I’ll get you some plasters and we can have a bit of a chat. I think you’re in need of it, dear; you’re very confused and I don’t want to be the source of your confusion anymore. I made some scones and I have the kettle boiled.”

  I nodded. I wasn’t ready to talk just yet. First, leprechauns; then she tells me she’s my mother and the person I thought was my mom all along is really my aunt; now rose bush alarm systems. This day really couldn’t get any weirder. She watched me with a concerned look on her face and I could feel her worry for how I was handling all of this rolling off her in waves; I was even worried about how I was handling everything.

  “I’m ok. I’ll be down in a few minutes, just going to pull my trainers back on,” I told her. She simply watched me as though she would add something but instead changed her mind and left the room quietly.

  “You know, you really should be nicer to her; she’s lovely and she makes the best scones ever. Not even my mom can compete – and she’s a leprechaun; it’s bred into her.” He surprised me when he spoke. I’d forgotten he was there; I was so caught up in my own thinking.

  “Don’t start on me, you. I’m sure she’s lovely, but I don’t know her. How am I supposed to immediately like someone if I don’t know them? I need time to sort it all out in my head before I can go accepting things you know. It’s a lot to take in; it changes everything.”

  He studied me carefully before he spoke. “Jade, you’ve always known this. I mean honestly, where did you think you got your gift from in the first place? Your mother is not gifted that way at all; she’s entirely human. You, on the other hand; you’re not. The sooner you can accept all of this, the better it will be for you. But you don’t have a whole lot of time; you can’t stay here for long periods of time. You’ll understand more if you talk to Emily; she can tell you. I’m not allowed to; I’ve been sworn to secrecy. I hate it, you know.”

  I so badly wanted to question what he meant about not being able to stay here for very long, but I couldn’t because I knew he wouldn’t answer. So I chose to ask him the question he wanted me to ask. “What do you hate, Lorcan?”
>
  “All this secrecy stuff; it gives me a pain in my stomach.” He spoke with a scowl marring his handsome face. “When someone swears me to secrecy, well, that makes it worse; then I really want to talk. I know I can’t, but I really want to. It’s so unfair. I think it would have sounded better coming from me anyway; I’ve been told I have a way with words. I make it easier for people to understand really difficult situations.” He smiled at me. “You know that’s why I came over here now. I was hoping I could help to make you understand; you know make the knowledge softer. I’m not saying that you’re stupid or anything, just that I could break it down easier for you.”

  I stared at him incredulously. “Did you just insinuate that you think I’m stupid?”

  “God no, I’m not nuts. I said the opposite. Wait...”

  I stood watching him, expecting him to come out with some explanation for what he had just said. My impatience won out. “Lorcan, what?”

  “Can you smell the fresh scones and butter, because I can I think.” In the blink of an eye, he had darted from the room and I could hear his boots clattering down the wooden stairs; I had only witnessed him moving that quickly when the vampire in ‘The Wreak-Room’ had lunged for him. I sighed; Lorcan was an enigma I was never going to be able to figure him out. He constantly changed from moment to moment and half of the time, I wasn’t sure if he was being serious or joking. He hurt my brain, I decided. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I pulled my trainers out and began pulling them on. He was right about one thing; I could smell scones and butter. Their scent caused my stomach to growl appreciatively and I hurried as I tied my laces.