Within the Cards

by Donna Altman

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  REST THY SOULLESS FORMS

  It was four nights until the new moon rose in the night sky. The war was inevitable. The Lords weren’t as confident as I once thought, but they would never back down. I knew we had to feed on their fears because they would undoubtedly feed on the one weakness of Ultress. His weakness of love for his children influenced by decades of hate and cruelty could be his downfall; it could be our entire downfall.

  War was cruel and unforgiving, but there were times when love had to be pushed aside to win. I hoped Ultress would be able to push his love for a granddaughter aside and realized he couldn’t change her way of thinking.

  We needed nourishment. It was time to hunt. Ellie and Dee had to hunt with the other witchyres of the village. We couldn’t take the change of them hunting with us. The hybrid vampires wouldn't tolerate their trespassing, and we didn’t need another conflict at this time.

  I didn’t worry about Ellie, because I knew the Lords every intention. I could see where they and their followers were at all times. My visions were coming freely now. Ellie would be safe to feed and nourish her being. Ultress, Elizabeth and I were bound by the separation of our own territories. Their way of hunting was different from mine, but I couldn’t fault them. Ultress learned this way many hundreds of years ago. This was the way he taught Elizabeth. We lavished in our feeding. It had been far too long between hunting trips. We had to get our physical beings strong because this war would take every bit of strength and our undivided attention to win.

  We returned to the village before Ellie and the others. Ultress and Elizabeth needed to speak to the witches. I walked along the shoreline thinking of the task ahead of us. Ellie was strong and fierce, but I still worried about the Lords getting close to her. My attention would be on the fight, and I feared I wouldn’t be able to see them if they got near her.

  This gifted ability was only valid if I could focus and during the war, I wouldn’t be able to focus my attention on her safety. If the lords got their hands on Ellie the war would be over, and they would win. Ellie was the prize so she had to be kept safe. She would be made to send Ultress and Elizabeth back to the other world, and my fate would be sealed if they captured her.

  I concentrated on Ellie’s mother. My thoughts were in the hope she would be able to watch over Ellie when the war distracted me. My convictions of protecting her were strong. I sensed a being in my mind, and then heard its words.

  “I will,” this strange voice stated. It startled me. I looked around. I knew the sound. It was the same voice I heard taunting the Lords. It was Ellie’s mother. She heard my thoughts. “How did that happen?” I had never heard of someone being able to hear the thoughts of another they didn’t know. Of course, there were many things I had never heard of, and for some reason I was the lucky one to be able to do them.

  “You told me your thoughts,” the voice spoke again. I heard a playful laugh that sounded like Ellie’s.

  Again, I couldn’t believe she heard me. She was clear in my head. I couldn’t believe my thoughts were clear in hers. I demanded her to tell me how she could hear me.

  “You still have abilities you don't know. You sent your thoughts to me.” She laughed. Her giggle was the same as Ellie’s. Her voice was soft and gentle like Ultress. A being that I never met was able to hear my thoughts. I had transferred them to her, and she responded back to me. My fears of Ellie’s protection during the war were eliminated.

  Ellie and Dee returned from their feast. They joined me on the shore where we spend hours basking in the sun. We were full of the fluid that nourished our bodies, and now we would rest and wait for our fate. Ellie and Dee were playfully running in the wet sand. They enjoyed the brightness of the sun. I laid back and closed my eye. My thoughts were still on my newfound abilities. I rejoiced at the fact I could do more than stand and watch Ellie become a victim to her uncle’s. I could protect her. I smiled and relaxed.

  I felt Ellie and Dee when they launched their bodies next to mine. Ellie was on one side of me, and Dee was on the other. We were becoming a family. We had come a long way in these last few days. Dee now trusted my intentions for her family. Her thoughts no longer lashing out at me, but she was playful in her attempts to irritate me. Ellie enjoyed watching us argue, but these were fun arguments. Dee relaxed. She was no longer scared of the Lords, and Suzi was no longer in control of her. The thoughts of Suzi’s demise sadden them but at some level, they felt relief that Ultress wouldn’t have to be the one to eliminate her. We continued to enjoy the warmth of the sun.

  Ultress, Elizabeth and little Graylee joined us on the shore. Ultress and Graylee had formed a bond as if they were father and daughter. She stoled his heart, and she followed him everywhere he went. Her smile was breathtaking, and even though Ultress was a strong and mighty man, she wrapped him around her little finger.

  Ultress and Elizabeth watched Ellie, Dee and I as we playfully taunted each other. It pleased them that we had formed a bond and would stand with them to correct the ways of their creations. Ultress sat by Ellie on the sand. His little sidekick sat close to him. His long blonde hair whipped in the wind. His giant body towered over the small frame of his granddaughter and Graylee. No human would have thought of him as a grandfather or realized he was over four hundred years old. He looked no older than thirty. With his shirt off, his washboard abdomen rippled like the small trickles of waves that met the shore. Elizabeth sat in front of him leaning against his body with her back to his chest. She would never be thought of as a grandmother of two teenagers. She looked to be no older than twenty-five. Her body was slim and her muscles tone was well defined.

  We enjoyed and laughed while we soaked up the sun. If a mere human approached, they would think we were a family of normality. They would be unknowing that our existence could end within a few days. We relaxed our minds and enjoyed a normal existence on a sun-drenched beach.

  Dee flung her arm toward me. She connected with the ripples of my abdomen. She jumped up, and I lunged to my feet as I grabbed her tossing her over my shoulder like a rag doll. I began to spin her around. Dizziness was a human reaction. It had no place in our playfulness. She pounded on my back. The sounds were like thunder. Ellie laughed with the cherub laugh I loved so much. Our fun delighted Elizabeth. She smiled at Ultress because they were proud of their creations. We were the future of their race.

  Ellie jumped to her feet as I put Dee down from the perch of my shoulder. Graylee joined in on our playful games. I ran down to the water’s edge as they ensued the chase. Graylee trailed behind us laughing and kicking the water in our direction. We ran through the water kicking and splashing each other. I dodged their attempts to trip me into the water as I picked up Graylee and swung her around as she laughed. We were children playing in the water. Ellie and Dee were strong, but I was able to hold them both at bay. We laughed and played.

  Our bodies were soaked with the water that cooled normal humans. However, ours didn’t need the cooling because we didn’t have the fragile forms of that of humans. The sun couldn’t burn us, so our playful day didn’t have to consist of drenching in sun block and clothing that humans donned. Ultress and I were in shorts with no shirts, and the girls enjoyed the tiny suits that normal females wouldn’t dare to wear for fear that their over-indulging bodies would ruin its glory. These three females had no fear of this because their bodies were immortally perfect.

  I looked up on the shore where Ultress and Elizabeth enjoyed watching us play, but they were no longer, where we left them. They started walking in the opposite direction. I searched and saw their interest. Their eyes set on an approaching form. This form walked toward them. I saw the female in my thoughts. She was more beautiful than my mind’s eye pictured. Her flowing white dress whipped in the wind. Ellie and Dee caught the halt in my interactions. They saw the form, and they too knew her name. I heard Elizabeth’s thoughts first, and then I heard her barely audible voice.

  “Lauren,” Elizabet
h spoke. Her voice was distant and longing.

  It pleased Elizabeth that her daughter came to join them and to stand with them in this fight. This elegant being had made out our location from the interaction with my thoughts and came to stand with us. Ellie and Dee revered their mother’s arrival. She flowed with grace just as Ellie had the day she walked back into my existence. As she approached her parents, she stopped and smiled. She held out her arms.

  “Father, Mother” she addressed them. They greeted her with open arms. Elizabeth was complete. The daughter she loved so much had returned to her. They embraced in a hold that was unbreakable.

  “My child,” gasped Elizabeth not wanting to let go of her grip on Lauren.

  Lauren looked into the eyes of her father. It pleased him to see the happiness she gave his wife. Elizabeth’s embrace held as Ultress touched his daughter’s face and kissed her forehead.

  Ellie and Dee joined my side as Graylee ran to see whom this new being was talking to her friend Ultress. We watched the reunion not knowing if we should join them. Both daughters stood frozen at the love that penetrated through the embrace of the mother and child and from the look in a father’s eye as he watched their embrace. This was the completion of our need. Lauren was the one that could keep Ellie safe when my attention stood on completing our task.

  Lauren and Elizabeth released their embrace. Elizabeth’s amazement at the face of her daughter was gasping. They turned to see us standing there watching their reaction. Lauren moved toward our presents as her parents and Graylee followed her. Ellie and Dee stood as children frozen from fright of the unknown. They held hands needing the protection of the other. It had been many decades since Dee saw her mother, and Ellie didn’t remember her. They stood quite looking at the approaching form they called mother. As she came closer, they moved closer to me with each standing slightly behind me, one on each side of my body.

  She approached where we stood. Her face was a mixture of Ultress and Elizabeth. Her eyes were that of Ellie’s. She didn’t remove her trance like intention on her daughters. Both stood quietly holding my arms as if I were their protector from the uncertainty they felt. There was a long silence. Neither Ellie, Dee nor their mother knew what to say. I reached out my arm still clung to by Ellie and offered my appreciation of her arrival.

  “It’s nice to finally meet you ma’am.” I broke the silence.

  “You are as I imagined. Ellie has wonderful taste.” She turned to Ellie and smiled.

  As I withdrew my extended arm from greeting their mother, Ellie tightened her grip on it. I reassured her by wrapping my arm around her as I touched her bare back.

  “Hello my children,” she spoke with the same gentleness her parents had.

  “Hello mother,” Dee spoke first and smiled.

  Ellie was still clinging to my arm. Dee released her hold and embraced her mother. I was glad I was immortal because the strength of Ellie’s nails digging into my arm would have amputated it if I were human. Lauren and Dee held their embrace as Dee’s body relaxed. She found her home in her mother’s arms. Lauren looked at me and then at Ellie.

  “Eleanor, do you know who I am?” she questioned. Lauren smiled softly at Ellie. She hoped she would give her a chance.

  “Yes,” she spoke in a child like voice.

  Dee released her hold on her mother, but kept her arm around her waist. I could feel the vibration of Ellie’s speech against my arm. Ellie's head was resting on my upper arm her mouth slightly tilted toward it. I had never seen this shyness in Ellie. She was always extremely outspoken even during the first days of our reuniting. I wanted to laugh, but I knew she needed my strength.

  “Ellie, can I call you Ellie? She asked. Ellie shook her head acknowledging that it was OK. Again I wanted to laugh because I remember her pushing up her nose in a snout saying that others made her name sound like a ‘pet pig’. She read my thoughts and pinched my side. Her thoughts then went back to her early years. I could see she was remembering her mother’s voice as a child. She remembered the sounds of them laughing as her mother sung to her. She was the first to call her Ellie. Her body began to relax at the familiarity of her memories, and she began to release the tightness she held on my arm.

  “You’re so beautiful my dear. More beautiful than I remember.” Lauren’s word continued to be soft and understanding.

  Ellie moved from behind my arm to get a better look at her mother. She saw her own eyes looking back at her. Her mother’s beauty enchanted her.

  “You’re my mother?” Ellie spoke.

  “Yes, I am my dear.” Lauren returned.

  Elizabeth held on to Ultress as they watched their daughter bring ease back to Ellie. She was transforming from a shy child into the relaxed being they had come to know.

  “Can I touch you my child?” She asked Ellie. Lauren stretched out her arms for Ellie to take her hands. Ellie looked at me. I smiled at her, which gave her the strength she needed to react to her mother. Ellie mimicked her mother’s actions. Their hands met. I knew there was no lightning in the sky that could produce the amount of energy that radiated from their touch. Ellie fell into her mother’s arms and their embrace was thunderous. If tears could be produced, the sand would be drenched with the moisture of the flow.

  “Mother,” Ellie gasps.

  “Yes my child I am here.” Lauren replied.

  Dee’s eyes met mine and for the first time, she was gentle. She knew her family was now complete. The mother she and Ellie longed for had now returned. There was no force that could break this bond of love.

  Ultress and Elizabeth watched as the three embraced and bonded their existence. Never again would anyone come between their family. Ultress pulled his wife close to him as he bent down and picked up Graylee. He felt pleased with his being. This soulless creature witnessed the one thing an eternity of hatred couldn’t break. It was the love of a mother for her children. I stepped back to view the scene that was before me. I was a witness to what normal humans would never understand of the immortals that we were. We don’t breathe and blood doesn’t pulsate through our vessels, but the non-beating heart within our being still loved and needed to be touched.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  THE PLAN

  It was now two days before the Great War. Ellie and her mother spent many hours reliving Ellie’s existence. Dee and I worked harder on perfecting my ability to see another’s future thoughts and my ability to move objects through time. I was becoming extremely beneficial as long as my attention wasn’t diverted. Dee was standing at one end of the hut that I shared with Ellie, and I was at the other. She took her stance with her arm reared back and propelled a dagger in my directions. I was in deep concentration and stopped the dagger in mid-journey. Ellie entered the hut just as the dagger came to a halt. She screamed at Dee.

  “What the hell are you doing? You could have killed him.” Ellie screamed. Her voice made the walls of the hut shake. She rushed over to me and glared at Dee. Her nails dug into my arm. The dagger dropped to the floor.

  “What do you think they are going to be trying to do when we are at war?” Dee returned her screams. She rolled her eyes at Ellie and walked over to pick up the knife.

  I could see the fear in Ellie’s eyes as she wrapped her arms around me. I was glad she hadn’t entered the room just moments before when the dagger was in flight. It may not have stopped. Dee’s aim was at the center of my chest, and she threw it with intent on it reaching its mark.

  “Besides Ellie, it wouldn’t have killed him. You took care of that a long time ago. It would have just injured him little.” She began to laugh sounding like the Dee before our truce.

  “I don’t care Dee. I can’t stand seeing him in harm’s way.” Ellie pleaded. She tightened her grip around me.

  “Listen little sister, he’s going to have more than just a dagger heading for him in a couple of days. You had better get use to it. They’ll try to get to him in order to get to you.” Dee sneered at her. “Ellie put your bi
g girl panties on for once. He’s a big boy. He can protect himself.” Dee looked at me knowing we had to do something about Ellie’s fears.

  Ellie put her forehead to my chest unable to look at me. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  “I know.” She uttered softly.

  Dee walked over to her and put her hand on Ellie’s shoulder. I saw Dee was worried that Ellie wouldn’t be on her guard for fear I would be captured. The Lords would know her insecurities and use them to their advantage.

  “It’s alright. I know you love him, and you don’t want to lose him, but Ellie if you don’t pay attention you’ll get him captured or worse, yourself. Once they have you, it’ll be over for all of us. We are counting on you.” Dee’s tone was firm causing Ellie to listen.

  “Ellie, I can take care of myself, but you’ve got to let me. I know it’ll be hard because I have to do the same for you. We can only protect the other by protecting ourselves.” I reassured Ellie.

  Dee looked in my direction. We both knew we had to develop a plan to keep Ellie from sabotaging herself. There was a knock on the door. Lauren entered the hut. We knew Ellie wasn’t paying attention to our thoughts of devising a plan to protect her. Our thoughts were further protected with Lauren entering the room.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting.” She begged forgiveness.

  “No mother; come in please. Dee and Daught were just strengthening his abilities, and I almost got him hurt.” Ellie's head dropped. I pulled her closer to me to console her.

  Lauren’s eye met mine. It was like looking into Ellie’s eyes. She could tell Dee and I were worried about Ellie. Our love was strong, but during the war, it could be our downfall.

  “I was just going down to the shore. Dee would you like to walk with me. We can give Daught and Ellie a few minutes alone together.” Lauren’s tone was calm.

  “Sure why not, Ellie’s not going to let me throw daggers at Daught anymore.” She winked in our direction. I smiled, but Ellie wasn’t amused.