by Sheryl Lee
“Why didn’t you think to call me Sunny? I work with Zora too.” He looked genuinely hurt which caused both Zora and Sunny to roll their eyes. Apparently Powers had never noticed that Zora usually chose to stay clear of him. Ignoring his question Sunny staring accusingly at Zora, while Zora felt a bit shocked at this display of concern from the usually sunny Sunny. When it became evident that Sunny was waiting for a reply Zora apologised, her mind frantically searching for a plausible reason for totally forgetting not only coffee with Sunny but also the existence of the rest of the world. Had she really not checked her phone since yesterday morning?
“I’m so sorry Sunny. We are working on an article and I just lost track of the time. My home phone is out of order (blatant lie) and my mobile has no service here (totally blatant lie). I’m so sorry I forgot coffee (absolute truth), can I take you out for a wine instead next time we have an evening free? We could try out that new wine bar.” Wine sounded like an excellent idea she thought.
“And perhaps you would like coffee and cake now, since you’re here and if you have time?” Powers had come to stand beside Zora and smiled winningly at Sunny. Sunny stared suspiciously at him, pulled out her phone – full service – put it rather pointedly back into her bag and appeared about the flounce off. At that point Marcus added his desire for her to join them for coffee in a voice so smooth that Zora felt chills down her spine - and they were not chills of fear. She was unsurprised to see Sunny visibly thaw, shrug briefly and take a seat that offered an unobstructed view of Marcus. Axel appeared to be trying to stifle a laugh, Powers merely went back into the house to make more coffee and Zora sank back into her seat wondering if she was going to have to protect her friend from a hungry vampire.
As though he could read her mind (note to self, could vampires read minds?) Marcus turned that lazy smile onto her. “Do not worry Zora, your friends are safe with me.” His smile turned mischievous and he flashed a hint of fang at her before turning that smile back towards Sunny. Zora glanced anxiously at Sunny, had she seen that? No, her expression was as sunny as her name. Powers came back out with fresh coffee and a plate of red velvet cakes which distracted Sunny from her close examination of Marcus.
“So Powers and Zora, what is this article you are working on, and do these guys have anything to do with it?”
“We are working independently on the murder case, and Marcus and Axel here are helping us. Oh Sunny, how very rude of me, you haven’t been introduced.”
Marcus and Axel rose to their feet as Powers performed the introductions, but Zora sat frozen in her seat. Sunny was an ordinary human, someone who should be far away from all things supernatural. Now she would want to be involved too, or at the very least she would tell Malcolm. What was Powers thinking? How were they going to cover up all this supernatural stuff?
Sure enough, as soon as the introductions had been made, and Marcus had held onto Sunny’s hand for a touch too long, she dropped back into her chair, picked up her coffee and said, “So, where are you at and how can I help?”
Zora tried to glare at Powers inside her mind, maybe if she concentrated strongly enough his head would explode or something. Sadly, judging by his amused smile, that was not likely to happen. Instead Powers leaned forward and addressed Sunny.
“We all know there is more to these murders Sunny, which is why there is the media ban on them. Marcus and Axel have further information but they don’t want to take it to the authorities as yet. I’ve known them both for a long time, so they came to me as a journalist to help them to uncover more details.”
Sunny was staring at Powers in fascination and a definite air of disbelief and Zora was not surprised. Undeterred he continued, “Very soon we are all going out to the murder site to look for clues. Would you like to come?”
Zora almost choked on her mouthful of coffee, yet looking at the focused expressions of Marcus and Axel, she seemed to be the only one who thought this was a bad idea. She swung her gaze back to Sunny – was there something about the girl that the others knew and Zora didn’t?
Tentatively, Zora tried to focus her new abilities. She had no idea what she was doing and no idea even if she had any ability to see below the surface of people. She stared as unobtrusively as she could at Sunny and tried to clear her mind of thoughts. She got nothing for her efforts except a feeling of lightness and a sort of bright blue haze coming from Sunny. She was focusing so intently that it was a few seconds before she realised that Sunny was staring at her speculatively, and Powers was addressing her. Blushing faintly Zora tuned back into her surroundings in time to hear Powers saying in a slightly annoyed tone that told her he was repeating himself. “Are you ready to go Zora?”
Realising that Marcus and Axel were already standing, and Sunny was looking at her expectantly, Zora grabbed her cup and gulped down the last of her coffee before standing. She smiled sweetly at Powers and began picking up the cups and plates while thinking ferociously about sharp knives and sensitive parts of Powers’ anatomy. Unsurprisingly he began putting things on one of the trays with a great deal of speed and they both took them into the kitchen. As soon as they got in there Zora rounded on Powers.
“What do you think you’re doing? How are we going to hide from Sunny that Axel is a fairy and Marcus is a vampire who by the way seems to have very impure thoughts about her! And what about this werewolf, are we going to be exposing her to danger? I don’t want her harmed Powers.”
Powers held up a hand to stop the flow of agitated words. “She already knows Zora, maybe not about the werewolf or who Axel is, but she knows about the supernatural world.”
Zora stared at him, her mouth open in shock. Sunny, bright cheerful mostly lacking in common sense Sunny already knew about this world she Zora had only just discovered?
“Close your mouth Zora, I can see what you had for lunch. Sunny’s family is one of the families Axel told you about, that supply blood to the vampires. She herself does not help out in the family business but she has grown up with it.”
Sunny walked into the room in time to catch what Powers was saying and grinned at Zora. “So if you’re trying to protect me from knowing that Powers is a shapeshifter and that those two gorgeous specimens out there are supes, don’t worry Zora. However I would like very much to know exactly what you are, you seem quite different to the girl who stood me up for coffee.”
Zora just stood there, her world once again shifting beneath her feet. Seeing this Powers sighed, grabbed her bag and her arm, promised to tell Sunny all about it on the drive there and called out to the others that it was time to go. Zora allowed herself to be led out to the car, and sat in silence on the way there while Powers, Axel and Marcus filled Sunny in on the whole story. Sunny was sandwiched between Axel and Marcus, three golden heads filling the back seat with various shades of sunshine and a slight trace of blue that still clung to Sunny. Zora tried to come to terms with all that had happened.
Somehow, Sunny knowing all about this new world made it much more real and permanent to her. Acknowledging to herself that she had been thinking this was an aberration in her life, and that things would go back to normal soon Zora tried to accept this new reality, and the realisation that for a large percentage of the population there was nothing new about it. It was simply how the world really was only her eyes had been closed to it until now. It made Zora feel very vulnerable, to know that the world as she had previously understood it did not exist. A bit like Alice, she felt she had fallen through a mirror to a strange world and there was no way back. Without taking his eyes off the road Powers reached out a hand and captured hers, rubbing his thumb reassuringly along the back of her hand. Sighing inwardly, Zora admitted that sometimes it was good to have someone so attuned to her.
She stared at the police tape still in place as they pulled up beside the scene. She so didn’t want to go back in there. The three in the back had no such qualms and were already out and approaching the tape. Sunny was walking very close to Marcus Zora realised, and
repressed a niggle of worry for her friend. Compressing her lips, she climbed down from the cab and allowed Powers to take her arm, something that caused him to arch an eyebrow, but he simply placed his other hand over hers where it rested in the crook of his arm, and walked silently with her to the tape. The others had climbed under it without hesitation and were walking in different directions, studying the ground intently. Marcus, Zora noted, walked unerringly to the spot where she had felt frozen and stood sniffing delicately. Axel seemed more interested in the trees to the left and Sunny seemed to be walking aimlessly but she was nonetheless clearly studying the whole site. It made Zora feel like a bit of a lightweight, remembering her last time here. She herself would not have been able to describe the scene in any kind of detail.
Allowing Powers to lead her to Marcus she tried to keep her mind on the task at hand. It was difficult, worried as she was that she would be unable to feel anything and thus be seen as a failure to the others. Powers pressed her hand gently, and murmured in her ear, “No matter whether you feel anything or not, Axel and Marcus will not be disappointed in you. Relax, it’s not a test.”
Zora felt that it really was a test, but she tried to do as Powers suggested. They came to a halt next to Marcus, who addressed them both without taking his eyes off the ground, “I can smell so much blood, and fear. This poor man was terrified before he lost his life. I think the werewolf was playing with its prey.” He met Zora’s shocked eyes, his own burning with an intense blue fire, a colour completely impossible for human eyes to achieve. Zora found herself trapped in his gaze for a few brief seconds, before she wrenched her eyes away. Powers grunted slightly and Marcus exhaled a surprised breath that had Zora looking back at him.
“Zora I apologise, I did not mean to use compulsion on you, I was angry at the werewolf and I did not bank down my eyes before I looked at you. And yet, you were able to break the spell, you truly are a very powerful defender.” His eyes had gone back to normal, but his expression remained grim. Zora smiled uncertainly at him, not entirely sure what he meant. Seeing it, Marcus elaborated. “Vampires have great power in their eyes; we use compulsion to make others bend to our will. Sometimes a strong emotion will light our fire and anyone trapped in our gaze succumbs to the compulsion even if we do not mean to use it. Naturally as we grow older and stronger we can control this. I have not lost control in this way for many years and I apologise most humbly.”
Zora swallowed hard as the implications of his words sank in. Marcus was a dangerous man, she was glad he was an ally. She looked at the patch of ground before her and wished with all her heart that she did not have to step onto it. She turned to Axel as he joined them as what seemed an obvious thought occurred to her. “Axel, this murder happened at night, how will I see anything?”
Axel stared at her in surprise before saying in a careful tone of voice, “Little Zora, what you are about to do is magic. Do you really think a small detail such as the time of day is going to interfere with this?” He actually looked a little annoyed, did he think she was criticising the quality of fairy spells? That was probably a bad thing to make him think. Zora now felt nervous about two things and was relieved when Sunny came up to her and bumped her gently with her hip.
“So, a defender eh? I admit, I had no clue about you, but of course if your abilities were blocked by the fairies I wouldn’t would I? And I sure didn’t notice any evidence of any bond between you and Powers. That kind of sucks doesn’t it? Pity you weren’t bonded to someone like Marcus.” She winked impishly at Zora, blew a kiss at Powers and smiled sweetly at Marcus who no longer wore such a forbidding expression. Zora smiled at her friend, grateful to her for defusing the situation. Then she took a deep breath and stepped forward.
Nothing happened. She didn’t freeze, her hair didn’t blow in an invisible wind, no goose bumps raised the hair on the back of her neck. Zora looked at the four faces watching her anxiously and shrugged. All four faces fell to varying degrees and she couldn’t help but feel she had just failed a major test. Well, she had thought all along that she was a bit of an imposter.
Intending to walk around Sunny who was standing in front of her Zora took a single step sideways. As soon as her foot made contact with the ground the world faded around her while a jumble of impressions assaulted her mind. She swayed where she stood, unaware that her hair was once again lifted around her head, her eyes were burning molten gold and her skin was glowing. She didn’t see the shock and awe on Sunny’s face or the worry on Powers, or the satisfaction on Axel and Marcus’. She saw only the images pouring into her mind, assaulting her with vivid colours, sounds and smells. Nobody had told her she would hear and smell the visions. As abruptly as they had started the visions stopped, leaving Zora feeling drained and weak.
As soon as her hair stopped swirling around her head and her eyes lost some of that eerie glow Powers stepped forward and slipped his arm around her waist. When her foot touched that spot of ground he had been cut off from his connection to her and had no idea what she had seen, but now the connection was restored he could feel her exhaustion. Marcus and Axel each began to speak but Powers held up an imperious hand.
“She is exhausted, she can barely stand on her own. We need to get her home and let her eat and rest. Then you can ask your questions. Is that ok with you Zora?”
Zora heard nothing except ‘rest’ and ‘eat’ but since that was exactly what she needed she nodded her agreement and allowed him to support her back to his vehicle. On the drive back Marcus and Axel speculated about how much Zora had seen and the level of her power. Sunny remained quiet and studied Zora’s profile with worried eyes. Powers kept his hand entwined in hers except for when he needed to change gears, and Zora herself just stared sightlessly out the window while inside her mind was screaming protest at the sights and smells that had assaulted her senses. Would it always be like that? Because if so, she wanted to give back her membership card to this supernatural club and get a refund.
At the house Powers settled Zora on the veranda and produced a packet from his pocket which he passed to her. Zora raised her eyebrows as she saw what it was, “Jelly babies? Really? Like Dr Who?”
Smiling at her reference to the Dr with a penchant for the sweets Powers explained, “You need a sugar hit, eat some jelly babies while I make coffee and some proper food for you. The others are going to enjoy the ocean view and not bother you until you say you are ready.” This last was added firmly with a stern look to Marcus and Axel who nodded their reluctant agreement. Sunny took the seat next to Zora and assumed a militant expression before leaning across and stealing a handful of jelly babies.
Zora ate a few of the little sweets and had to admit that she felt better for doing so. She had never felt so drained in her life, but more than that she felt violated by the images she had seen, the cries of the poor murdered man and the things the werewolf had done to him. She felt like she should somehow wash her brain with bleach to remove the darkness she had witnessed. And the smell - the smell of fear, and blood, and other things even nastier. Pushing it all to the back of her mind Zora concentrated on the taste of the little sugar treats, better to think about it when she had to, when she had to tell the others what she had witnessed.
Sunny patted her hand, swiped a few more jelly babies and went to help Powers in the kitchen. She paused by Marcus and Axel and Zora heard Marcus asking her about her family and about a supply of blood for him. Sunny said something in the affirmative and then was gone. Zora noted absently that the blue haze still clung to her, and wondered if she would always be able to see that around Sunny now. Perhaps it was Sunny’s aura she thought, but then surely she would be able to see everyone’s aura if she could see one persons.
Planning research was far easier to cope with than the recent events, so Zora allowed her mind to think only of auras, compiling a list in her head of websites and books that might give her more detail. She was adding questions to her mental list such as colours and brightness when Powers and Su
nny came back out, bearing a giant pot of coffee and a heaped platter of food – warm beef salad, an assortment of cheese, pickles, fresh bread sliced generously thick, and some more of the decadent chocolate cake. It was enough to take away the taste of fear and the terrible smells that lingered in her nose and mouth, as though she really had been there as it happened. Zora smiled her thanks at Powers as he buttered some bread and heaped a plate of food for her. Sunny poured some seriously strong looking coffee and added a dollop of milk before placing the divine smelling concoction next to her plate.
Without needing any encouragement Zora dived into the food, so hungry that she was a little worried she would embarrass herself with the speed at which she devoured it all.
When she cleaned her plate she reached for a slice of the chocolate cake, her tastebuds already groaning in anticipation of the delicious treat. Chocolate cake and coffee, what better taste combination could there be she wondered absently. Looking up from her plate she saw four pairs of eyes staring at her in varying degrees of amusement.
“I do love a woman who appreciates her food, generally she appreciates other appetites too.” Marcus winked at her while Powers frowned heavily in his direction and Sunny cast a highly speculative look at him which managed to encompass his entire body. Marcus switched his gaze from Zora to Sunny and smiled a slow predatory smile that caused Zora’s toes to curl up and it wasn’t even directed at her. She was unsurprised to see Sunny break eye contact and look down at her plate, blushing prettily.