Jayce leaned over. “What’s wrong? Shanntal, please tell me what’s wrong.”
“You… s… s… s. said,” I choked out the words in between my hysterical sobs. “You said vampires are real?”
Jayce focused on trying to comfort me. He rubbed my back and hugged me tightly. Unfortunately, his reaction made me sob even harder. I sensed his growing frustration and I felt all of this on top of my pain. I had to get the tears out of the way so I could speak again. I just didn’t know how long it would take. I’d held myself together for so long. Eight months had passed since my family was killed and it had been months since I’d shed any tears. Now, it felt like it had just happened all over again.
Eventually, I calmed down. I took a couple of deep breaths and looked at Jayce with swollen tear-stained eyes. “So, this vampire named Daray, do you know him? Is he real?” I asked with a shaky voice.
Jayce took a cautious pause before speaking. He eyed me up and down and then carefully started. “Yes, I know him. Daray is one of the most powerful vampires of all time. I believe it’s because of him the vampires and werewolves joined alliances. As far as I’m concerned, he’s a real danger to everyone, mortal or immortal.”
Again, the hysterics took over. I couldn’t make myself stop, even when I tried. The tears kept on flowing. In order to explain more to Jayce, I thought long and hard about the night at Ginata’s house when we used the Ouija board. That was the night before our families were killed and it was when Daray contacted us.
“I’m so very sorry, Shanntal.” He squeezed me harder and I knew he’d seen what I needed him to. I knew this helped him figure out whom, or what killed my family, if he hadn’t already known.
Well, at least now I had a real idea of how my family died. I never had received a straight answer from the police on what really happened. I’d only ever heard it wasn’t like anything they’d seen before. Now, I understood what they meant. It was because vampires, werewolves and doomahorns killed them. They were supposed to be make-believe… they weren’t supposed to be real.
This was so much to absorb. It was hard to find out about the significance of my new boyfriend who was also immortal, and that a war was going on in the immortal world and somehow I was involved, but the hardest part was realizing that vampires and werewolves had killed my family. It felt as though the air had been kicked right out of my chest. I needed a moment to catch my breath.
Once I pulled myself back together, I started asking Jayce questions. “What do the bad nightwalkers eat besides humans? How do immortals die or get destroyed? How do I defend myself should one attack? Is there any way for me to protect myself? Most importantly, what does any of this have to do with me?”
Jayce began answering my questions as honestly as he could. “It’s very difficult to destroy an immortal, you basically need to be one to do it. Don’t get me wrong, humans have done it, but it’s much more difficult. They simply don’t have the same strength.”
I shot him a helpless look. I was human after all.
He ignored my discouragement and continued answering my questions for the most part. There were a few he ignored, but he did give me tons of other information about the immortal world.
“Some immortals are born while others are made. The ones born begin as babies and grow until they hit their destined maturity. Then they stay that age forever. The ones that are made come from the bites of vampires and werewolves. They’ll remain the age they were when they were bitten. Vampires and werewolves are the only immortals capable of changing a person’s mortality.”
I shivered before asking, “Why didn’t my family change into nightwalkers? Why did they just die?”
“I’m not sure,” Jayce said.
“Oh,” I replied solemnly.
Jayce looked at me and I saw sympathy in his eyes. He continued. “The greatest honor for any immortal is to go up to the heavens. It doesn’t mean we die: instead, we shoot up into the stars to be joined together with our true love or soul mate for all time.”
“That’s beautiful,” I said.
“You know when you see a shooting star? Pay special attention next time to see if it’s rising or falling. If it’s falling, it means an immortal has just been born or created. As you can tell by the night skies, this happens all the time.” Jayce looked up towards the sky. “If it’s rising, well, you’ll see… it’s quite the spectacular sight.”
I followed his gaze, wondering what he was looking for. The sky looked the same to me. I saw it beginning to change the same as it did every night when the sun went down.
“Born immortals have a life cycle somewhat similar to a human. They age in the beginning the same, the difference is they can only mature as old as they’re destined to be. Some stop aging when they are sixteen, while others don’t stop until they are in their forties. It’s all kinda pre-planned; I guess you could say it’s part of the deal they make for this creation. They won’t get sick or deal with any other negative aspects of human life. As I mentioned before, once they find their true soul mate and the timing is right, they get sent up to the heavens together. They become one entity for all time.”
He sounded excited, sharing secrets of the immortal world with me, and I couldn’t help but change my mood. I was completely intrigued by Jayce.
He pointed up towards the sky. “Have you ever wondered why the stars are different colors?”
I had to think about it. I’d never really paid much attention.
“Some stars sparkle yellow, while others sparkle light purple, baby blue, and even orange. There’s only one that burns white and it’s the largest. It’s also the first and last star in the sky every night.”
I looked up, searching for the stars. None were out yet as it was still too light. I looked back at Jayce, hoping he would tell me more.
“The oldest immortal is named Sitara,” he began. “She was the first known immortal and lived on earth for five thousand years before finding her soul mate. Sitara crossed the world numerous times, in hopes of finding what she longed for. Her obsession took a piece of her heart and she wasn’t able to love entirely because of it. She did however, end up meeting someone who was also immortal and he was able to steal all the pieces of her heart. That’s how she’s up there with him today.”
The sun disappeared over the horizon and the sky continued darkening. We looked up in time to see Sitara and her true love making their nightly appearance.
“Wow, it’s kind of sad it took her so long to find her true love. It’s almost heartbreaking.”
It was as though she’d heard what I said and they twinkled brightly back at me.
“Don’t feel sad. They’re happier than humanly possible. That’s why they shine so bright. That’s why they all do. Going up to the stars is the greatest gift an immortal can receive.”
Jayce placed his arms around me and we snuggled up watching as more of the different colored stars emerged. The happy couples twinkled brightly as they made their appearances one by one. In no time at all, the sky was full.
Jayce explained what the different colors meant. “Sitara is the only white star. She received this honor because she was the only immortal to live among the humans for so long. Most immortals find their soul mate much faster. Blue stars mean the immortal was around for four centuries. Yellow, orange and purple also stand for the number of years they were here. Does this make sense?”
“Yes, I get it.”
I felt so comforted by Jayce’s presence and finally understood why he seemed so familiar. With every passing minute, it felt more and more like he was my true love. He’d been in my life, in the background, waiting just for me.
My purpose was clear. Jayce had told me about the immortal fight because I was a survivor. They thought I was going to be their savior. I wouldn’t let any of them down. I would choose good over evil any day. Evil killed my family and there was no way on earth I would ever help the evil side win a fight.
We walked along the beach heading back to
wards the car when something caught my eye. There was a flicker. I looked but it was gone. Suddenly, it appeared again, glowing in the tall grass. “Jayce look,” I whispered.
“It’s alright, it’s just a fairy house. Their mushroom houses glow blue when the moon is up.”
We walked towards the glow and I knelt down to examine it a bit closer. Sure enough, a patch of glowing blue mushrooms hid in the tall grass. It was beautiful the way the glow glistened off the tops and stems. I stood up, took a step backwards and looked all around me. We were surrounded. A peach colored glow caught my eye as it flew quickly towards us. I flinched as musical wings buzzed by my head. The glow stopped moving and I noticed the figure of a tiny female. She was beautiful, with her long hair curled, flowing freely along with her fancy white dress. Her wings sprawled opened and closed, keeping perfect rhythm. She left sparks behind as she whipped away, her laugher caught on the wind.
“She must be a fairy.”
“Yeah, that’s Shea.”
“I never knew something so tiny could be so beautiful.”
With a wisp, she was in my face. “I’m Shea, Queen of the Fairies. You’re welcome on our land whenever you wish. You are our friend, Shanntal. We keep peace with you.”
“Thank you, your majesty,” I said bowing to the tiny queen.
She let out a sweet giggle. “I said we were friends and friends call me Shea. Please, you don’t need to bow. I’m just a girl, the same as you.”
“Shea,” I repeated slightly embarrassed.
Apparently, I was the court jester to the immortal world. Every one of them had laughed at me during our introduction. I was delighted to be such a success with them and felt honored that they’d accepted my presence.
A flood of new glows filled the air around us. Hundreds of fairies wisped all around. They were so beautiful, each one different. There were females with long locks and some with short spiky hair. Males flew past in all different shapes and sizes. I even noticed some cute curly haired children.
The sound of their wings fluttering was breathtaking. It reminded me of an orchestra playing music. It combined perfectly with the sound of the waves splashing gently behind us. Jayce felt it also. I could tell by the way he grabbed onto my hand. There were so many sparks between us. Our fireworks, the fairies’ sweet music, this was perfection.
Jayce pulled me in close and kissed my lips. I melted from the sensation of the sweet sting taking over. I found myself wondering, would this happen every time our lips met? Was it because of the electricity flowing through us that made our kissing linger or was it because this still felt so new to us?
We stayed on the beach for a while longer enjoying the company of my new miniature friends. I stood off to the side as a group of girls surrounded me. At first I felt intimidated by the number of small beings gathering around me, but was quickly put at ease as I got wrapped up with tales of their history and things they’d foreseen in the future. They explained everything to me, right down to how they lived, their rules and laws and the foods they ate. They were virtually the same as us, only miniature.
I glanced over at Jayce, who was interacting with some of the male fairies. I smiled, thinking about how much he looked like a giant. He smiled over at me, thinking the same thing.
Shea fluttered close by as the others spread out and moved over towards Jayce. She explained to me in greater detail about their hidden homes. “The glowing houses we live in resemble ones which humans would live in… on the inside anyway. The number of caps tells you the size of the family residing there. Each cap represents a bedroom. All houses have a basement, which is underground so you aren’t able to see it. This is the room where the entire family gathers together. Families always eat together because this gives them the opportunity to check in and see how everyone’s doing.”
“That’s amazing, Shea. I’m so grateful you’re sharing this with me. It’s beyond my wildest dreams.” I smiled at my tiny friend.
“Let’s go join the others now.” She wisped away, leaving a trail of sparks.
I followed her over to Jayce and slipped my arms around his waist.
As the night went on, the fairies told more stories from their various adventures. It reminded me of sitting around a campfire, only the fairies’ glow was our fire.
Jayce leaned over and whispered, “Once you believe in fairies you can always see them and their homes. If you don’t believe, they remain invisible. It’s good protection for them.”
I looked him in the eye and nodded. He leaned in, planting another fiery kiss directly on my lips. It felt like I was in a fairy tale. This was a perfect night, with perfect scenery, and I had the perfect company. Nothing could ruin this evening. Absolutely nothing!
First Encounter
~ Chapter Four ~
A sliver of the moon peaked out from behind the thin scattered clouds. I was in awe. It was as if someone had hand-painted the clouds, just so the moon could make this brilliant appearance.
We stood side by side, basking in its beauty. But then a gust of wind carried a howl in our direction. The mere sound sent a shiver through me. “What was tq hat?”
Jayce spun around, dread marking his expression. I’d never seen him like this. My heart pounded quicker as my anxiety levels increased. He grabbed both of my hands, locking them in a tight grip. Flashes of different visions began racing through my mind. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on what he was showing me.
Wolves came into the vision. Only these wolves didn’t look like any normal ones I’d ever seen. They were larger and their coats were way more ragged. The harder I concentrated, the clearer the vision became. Their evil grey eyes were piercing, no sign of a soul remained. Razor sharp, jagged teeth lined their blood stained mouths.
My dream started coming back, but Jayce squeezed my hands tighter and pushed more of the vision on me, commanding all my focus.
Dark figures strolled in a v-formation just behind the pack of bloodthirsty werewolves. The shadowy figures all wore similar long, dark flowing attire. They all shared relatively the same distinct movement, almost floating as their clothing and garments flew out behind their bodies, resembling wings.
These were vampires and the thought made me hold my breath. I couldn’t believe I was witnessing this. It was surreal, like my own personal spy cam into the immortal world. I carefully pieced together the visions, but one part remained unclear, why was Jayce showing me this?
One specific face emerged and I instantly knew it was Daray, even before Jayce pointed it out. The sight made me take a step backwards. My heart beat a strange new rhythm and the blood pumping through my veins felt ice cold. This sensation felt like the fear I experienced in my dreams. I needed to run, but at the same time, I was drawn to him.
I didn’t fill Jayce in on the fact that I’d recognized Daray or the reaction I had when I first saw him. I tried my best to ignore the response, but Jayce picked up on the reaction despite my attempts. He carried on with the vision.
Daray stood out from the others. He had a way about him, which radiated strength and stamina. His dangerous façade was both seductive and appealing, with his dark commanding eyes and darker hair pulled back tightly. His skin was pale but absolutely perfect. He was fashionably put together, even if it appeared to be from ancient times.
Daray led the group. This was clear by the way the werewolves walked in front, as if they were dogs on a leash. It was also obvious by the way the others followed his lead. Four other vampires were equally spaced apart, making up the rear of the group. The others had the same dangerous, yet luring features. A lone female stood out of the crowd. I focused all my attention on her. Jayce tried to redirect me, but I needed to know more about her.
She looked different. Her wild features weren’t nearly as alluring, nor did she glide gracefully as the others did. She came across as unstable, or even somewhat awkward compared to the rest of the group. She didn’t walk up front with the werewolves or walk side by side with the vampires. She
was just there, mixed amongst them. After a moment of pondering over the reason why she acted so differently, Jayce quickly filled me in on the fact that she was a half-breed, a half vampire and half werewolf. ‘Lakylee,’ her name came to me easily.
I felt pity towards her because I’d known a similar feeling once before. She was alone, one of a kind, and I could completely relate, knowing exactly how she felt. I was the only reminder my family ever existed, left to carry on alone. Sometimes life was cruel.
Jayce ignored my empathy as he pushed through the conclusion of his vision. He showed me the group quickly approaching towards… the vision was lost. I couldn’t see anything except blackness. I opened my eyes only to find the beach surrounding us. I watched Jayce wrinkle up his face with concentration. His eyes shot open. “They’re coming,” he said.
Panic rushed as I figured they were coming for me. The immortal fight was going to start tonight. Would they kill me in order to win this battle? After all, I was the obstacle standing in their way, so it made perfect sense to eliminate me.
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