by G. Bailey
“Well, thanks…but I still need some real answers about the hunters,” I remark, putting the chocolate bar on the coffee table and wrapping my hands around the warm cup as I watch them for answers.
“Ten years ago, Paris fell,” Nath starts off and pauses as I nod my head.
“I know. Everyone knows that,” I reply.
“Let me tell the story then, smartass,” Nath retorts, and I chuckle. “There was a big war between the supernaturals and demons. Demons were the creatures that destroyed Paris, not the supernaturals like the world has everyone believing.”
“I didn’t know demons existed,” I reply. I can’t imagine they are nice things to be around.
“Demons are from hell, and they can possess other people’s bodies, amongst other things. Queen Winter and her four mates won the war, sent the demons back to hell, and closed the only portal. After that, Earth knew of supernaturals and wanted revenge for the millions of people that died,” he tells me. When Paris was destroyed, mum and dad had moved us to Spain, and we hid well. Regardless, life changed for everyone overnight.
“They wanted a way to make sure it never happened again, and the Hunter’s Organisation stepped up,” Rick carries on the story, “being the heroes everyone wanted by destroying the creatures and people they feared.”
“The Hunter’s Organisation was once a private business that was small, and they hunted supernaturals in secret. After Paris, they got the backing of the governments all over the world and started to grow in mass numbers,” Nath fills in what I always suspected happened with them. About a year after Paris, adverts looking for people to hire for hunters appeared all over TV and the internet. There were also warnings, ways to look for people that were different and where to find them.
“They attacked any supernatural. They took them, experimented on them and killed them. So, Winter and the kings attacked them back, destroying as many places as they could find and taking back our people in the beginning,” Rick tells me.
“But that didn’t stop the hunters,” I finish his story.
“No, it had the bad effect of making the hunters more popular. They got more money, they grew faster, and Winter was forced to back off because it was putting everyone at risk,” he explains.
“So how are you guys involved now?” I ask.
“Winter wasn’t stupid, she never has been, and she never gives up on her own people. She knew that the best way to take down any organisation is having spies and learning how to take them down from the inside rather than blindly attacking,” Rick answers.
“That’s what you are?” I ask.
“Kind of, but not exactly. Winter has spies in every organisation in the world now, except for the one in this village. The one here is the main base, with the most secrets and extreme tests to get hired. We have spent months getting in and getting close to Mr. Graves who leads everything. Yet, he doesn’t trust us, and we can’t figure out how to get him to,” Nath explains, seeming frustrated.
“What is the plan then?” I ask.
“There are ten floors to the base, and we need to evacuate every floor at the same time, and then blow the place up. Every spy is ready to do the same across the entire world, and put the hunters out of business for good,” Rick tells me. “This has been planned for a long time…we can’t mess it up. There are thousands of lives on the line.”
“I don’t understand why you can’t just go ahead with the plan now,” I ask. They are already hunters, and they are already inside the base every day, it seems, for work. What are they waiting for? Surely every day is dangerous in case they get caught.
“Only Mr. Graves’s closest hunters go to the last two floors. We can’t get the codes for them, not until he trusts us more than he does right now,” Nath replies to me. “If we make the plan, we need the codes, or we can’t rescue anyone, and the mission would be for nothing.”
“Once you get the codes?” I ask.
“We set a date and then boom, we finish our mission and go home to our people,” Rick says with a big smile that slowly drifts into a more serious frown as he looks at me. “The problem now is you.”
“Me?” I whisper.
“Mr. Graves invited you to work with him, and if we send you to the castle, and you just disappear…he isn’t going to take that well,” Rick practically growls, sounding extremely over protective and worried about me at the same time. Nath briefly glances at his friend with a confused look before blanking his expression. I don’t know what is up with Rick, but I don’t need some protective alpha right now. I’m sure he is just worried about the chance of me messing up their mission.
“I can’t stay near a hunter base with my sister,” I remark. “We have to leave.”
“I’m not suggesting Sophie stays,” Rick lightly tells me, and I pick up on his unspoken statement.
“But you’re suggesting I do?” I ask.
“Yes,” Rick answers. “Just for a month, and then you can say you miss home and want to go back. Make some excuse up, and you can then leave.”
“That can’t be safe.”
“I will never let anything happen to you, none of us will. Anytime you are there, we will be near you and keeping watch,” Rick firmly tells me, and I don’t doubt him, but the idea of going into a hunter base is terrifying.
“I don’t have a choice, do I?” I whisper.
“You do. If you want to go, you can go to the castle, and we will leave the mission. But it will cost a lot of innocent people’s lives. There are over fifty supernaturals kept in that base that we have seen go in, and god knows how many were in there before we got the job,” Rick replies. One look into his blue eyes, and I know he means it. If I don’t want to do this, I can just walk away, but that would be a coward’s actions. I’m no coward. If it was the other way around, and I was locked in a hunter base, I would want someone to save me. These guys are doing the right thing, and I can’t walk away, forcing them to give it up. I’d hate myself, and they would no doubt hate me too.
“Then I will stay to help, but you have to promise me that you will protect me if something goes wrong,” I ask.
“I will always protect you. I promise,” Rick says.
“Same,” Nath answers, staring at me intently as I sip on my cup of tea, wishing the warm drink would somehow make me feel better about all of this.
“Then I best go home and tell Sophie the news,” I eventually say.
“Sophie will love the castle. My stepmum’s best friend has a daughter who’s nearly the same age as Sophie, and a total troublemaker. She will make friends, and it’s only going to be one month until you are back with her,” Rick tries to comfort me, but it’s hard not to worry.
“Sophie has lost her parents, all her friends and her old home. Now I’m about to tell her she won’t see her sister for a while, and she has to leave…it isn’t going to go well, no matter what I say to her,” I reply.
“Let’s hope she doesn’t throw anything at you,” Nath says, rubbing his head even though the bump has healed. I smile internally.
“I’ll be sure to hide the shoes,” I can’t resist but say, and Nath glares at me. “After all, they are scary in the hands of a little girl.” Rick laughs, while Nath doesn’t look at all impressed. I finish drinking my tea before leaving the cup on the coffee table and standing up.
“From now on, one of us will be at your house at all times. For safety reasons,” Rick informs me, and Nath nods in agreement. “No more risks.”
“I will go over to stay tonight. Let me just grab the bracelets and the crystals to work on, and some pajamas,” Nath says and jogs to the stairs before I can even tell him no.
“I didn’t even agree to letting him stay,” I protest. “Or any of you to stay for that matter.” Rick walks around the coffee table to me and places his hand on my shoulder. The little contact sends shivers all over me, and I can’t help but focus on how nice his hand feels.
“Let us keep you safe. If anything happened to you, none of us
would ever be able to forgive ourselves,” he urges, his voice gentle, and I stare into his blue eyes that are brighter than I thought they were.
“Okay,” I find myself saying, and he slowly slides his hand down my arm, sending goose bumps and making me shiver all over again. If he knows the effect he is having on me, he doesn’t show it. I’m sure a guy that looks like him and is a prince, is used to this effect on women.
“Thank you, Adie,” he grins, removing his hand and walking around me to the piles of shopping. “I will carry your shopping back for you. Let’s go home, Nath can catch up.” Why do I like him calling my house home?
“Sophie, come on. You know I’m right,” I plead with her, even though my reasoning isn’t getting through to her, despite how many times I’ve told her my explanation of why she has to leave and I have to stay.
“NO! I hate you! You’re leaving me alone and sending me away! Why would you do this to me?!” she shouts through the locked bedroom door. I slide down the door, wrapping my arms around my legs and resting my head back against it.
“You don’t hate me, or you wouldn’t be so upset about this,” I retort, hearing her cry and wishing she would open the door. I could break it down with one kick, but it’s not the point. She needs to let me in. And I also don’t want to fix a broken door as I have no clue how to do that.
“I’m scared,” she whispers through sobs, my shifter hearing just barely picking up on it.
“I know you are, and I am too. I’m scared that if I’m selfish and keep you here with me, you will be killed. I’m scared that you will really hate me for making you leave, even though it is the right thing to do,” I explain my feelings to her, hoping it will make her understand. “I’m most scared that I’m letting mum and dad down in some way by making the right choice and letting you go.”
“I don’t hate you. I’m sorry I said that,” I hear her mumble, and it’s surprising how relieved I am to hear her say it.
“I know you don’t hate me, sis. It’s only one month, and I will be back. Just one month. Mum and dad raised you to be strong, just like they raised me to be. I know you can do this,” I reply and hear her footsteps across the room as I pull myself to my feet. Sophie opens the door and flings herself into my arms, holding me tight as she cries.
“Mum and dad went out, leaving me with a babysitter for a few days, and they promised they would come back…they didn’t come back. I don’t want you to not come back,” she whispers, but my sensitive hearing picks it up, and she knows I can hear her.
“I am coming back, Sophie. I will be back, and you can show me all around the castle, and no doubt introduce me to the friends you will make there,” I tell her, and she lets me go, nodding rapidly before wiping her eyes.
“Did you bring food back? I’m hungry,” she remarks, clearly wanting to change the subject, and I awkwardly laugh.
“Yes, I just put it all away, and Nath is making sandwiches for us,” I say.
“Who is Nath, and why is he here?” she asks, crossing her arms.
“Nath is one of the neighbours, and different like us. He will be staying tonight for protection. One of them will be staying here every night,” I tell her, and she bites her nails, clearly thinking it over. “Why don’t you go down and ask if he needs help? I’m going to put some of the spare things in the attic before I come down.”
“Okay. As long as he isn’t messy, can cook, and puts the toilet seat down, then he can stay,” she says.
“Why don’t you tell him your demands as he makes you food? I’m sure he can comply with them,” I say, biting my lip, trying not to laugh at the thought of Sophie telling Nath what to do after she threw a shoe at him. She nods, clearly thinking that it’s a good idea, and walks past me to go down the stairs.
I go to my room and pick up the box of spare things I want to put in the attic, knowing I’ve put off going up there long enough. The whole reason mum and dad left us this house was for whatever they hid up there. I walk back to the corridor and put the box on the floor before reaching up for the attic door. I pull the door down, revealing the ladder stairs, which easily slide down to the ground. After climbing up the steps, I look around the dark attic for any sign of a light. I reach into my pocket and pull my phone out, turning the flash on and using it to find a switch for the light. The switch isn’t far away; I reach over turning it on, and it lights up the massive room. I climb up the final steps and climb onto the floor which has carpet done. I stare around at the room which is full of old-looking boxes and one massive desk covered in books. I walk to the desk, first sitting down on the old chair which squeaks from the movement. Each of the books looks ancient, and I'm half scared to open them in case they fall apart.
One of the books is open right in front of me, and I blow on it to get rid of the dust. I use my hand to smooth away some more of the dust and see the drawing of a woman stood in the middle of a field. The woman has long purple hair and matching purple wings. She has purple flowers tattooed all up her arms, matching the purple trees in the background. Just underneath the woman is the subscript ‘the Queen of the Spring court’. What the hell is a Spring court? I wipe the other side of the book down with the back of my cardigan sleeve and stare down at the words—well, symbols—which for a second don't seem to make any sense, when suddenly I can actually read them.
The Frayan world was said to be the first of all the worlds created. At first, they say only gods, goddesses, and fates lived alone on the planet which was more beautiful than life itself. Eventually, they all got tired of living lives of luxury all alone. They began making animals for companions, and small creatures only they could speak to, but this didn’t keep them amused for long. The gods decided to make different worlds and leave. Four gods and goddesses remained with four fates as their mates. They made the courts of Frayan as they spilt the land in four sections to live out their lives. Each of them had a child born in a different season. One child was born in winter, one child was born in spring, one child was born in autumn, and finally, one child was born in summer. Each child became the heir to the court they were born in. This is the start of the Frayan courts. The gods made the Fray race so that their children could have further children and continue the courts, but only the royal blood line carried the blessing of the wings.
This is how the Frayan race began and how it has always been for thousands of years, long after the fates and gods disappeared from all worlds.
I go to turn the page when I hear someone shout my name and recognise it as Sophie. Frayan sounds like a beautiful place and like a fairy tale. Who knows if any of this is right or real? I stand up and look around all the boxes knowing that they must hold the history of the race I have just read about. The race which my mum says I came from. This must be the way she wanted me to learn my history, learn who my parents are maybe. Though looking at the dozens of boxes, it is going to take me a long time to go through them all and have any understanding of the Frayan world. I shake my head and climb back down the ladder, picking up the box and taking it up to the attic before turning the light off and closing it. Covered in dust, I pull my cardigan off and hang it over the banister. Then I shake my hair to get the dust out before running downstairs. I follow the sounds of talking to the kitchen, when the door is held open by a doorstop. Sophie and Nath are eating sandwiches on plates and quietly talking as I walk in.
“For you,” Nath says, holding out a plate he slides off the side. The sandwich is thick with cheese, ham, and salad. It looks really nice.
“Thanks. What were you guys talking about?” I ask, seeing Sophie’s smile.
“Nath was telling me about the castle and about the war. He was explaining what his life was like there as a kid,” Sophie fills me in.
“What about it?” I ask, before taking a bite of my sandwich, interested to know what a place is like with just supernaturals living in it.
“I moved into the castle in the middle of war, and mother was rewarded a place on the council, which I inherit
ed a few years back. The council runs the everyday issues that come up, but anything serious, the queen and kings will take over. They always have the final say in any situation, but after the war, there weren’t many serious things that came up. Most of us were thankful to be alive and respected the royals for fighting for us, therefore it got pretty boring for us as kids,” Nath says, grinning at me before taking a bite of his own sandwich.
“Bored supernatural kids…that couldn’t have been easy to handle,” I say, looking at Sophie. One is bad enough. I couldn’t imagine a whole castle full of them.
“Yeah, we got into a lot of trouble and always had our families chasing us. Practical jokes mixed with magic,” Nath winks at me, “well it was fun until we got caught.” I laugh with Sophie and Nath, enjoying seeing Sophie so interested in anything other than her iPad.
“You said there is a school?” I ask.
“The Royal School for All Supernaturals. I know, it’s a mouth full of a name. The castle has been transformed into a school as it is the safest place, and the surrounding lands have cabins for housing. The school has only recently opened as we had to relocate a lot of our people to the island,” Nath explains.
“Island?” I ask.
“Ever heard of Atlantis? It’s not just a story,” Nath says, grinning at Sophie’s shocked face.
“Atlantis is real?” she asks in awe.
“Yep. Once you are at the castle, you can go and visit it. There are portals in the castle that open on weekends for kids to go back home and see their families. Or just to go shopping on the island, go to the beaches, see the jewel trees and anything they want to do,” Nath says. “The island is something I can’t wait to show Adie. All women love it.”
“How old are the kids that go to the school?” I ask, ignoring how he just suggested something like a date and his flirty tone.