Freya Snow Pup Trilogy

by L. C. Mawson

  “Scarlet had to believe you had died,” the Ancient told him. “It was the most fitting punishment for her.”

  Sebastian looked away, but he didn’t argue. “What you said about Amber refusing to let go... You said it was because of me. She doesn’t want to come back because she doesn’t want to see me, does she?”

  “She is afraid,” the Ancient told him. “Amber still loves you, but she is terrified that she cannot trust you. After everything your mother did, can you blame her?”

  “No, I suppose not.”

  “And yet your mother’s actions were driven by her not being of a single world. The loneliness of not being fully Vampyre, and yet not being fully Demon, drove her to this.”

  “I’m not my mother. My father was a Vampyre, I barely have any Demon blood in me...”

  “And yet it is still enough. No Vampyre nest would ever accept someone with blood as tainted as yours. But I can help. I can seal away the part of you that makes you a Demon. I can seal away those powers.”

  “You would make me a full-blooded Vampyre?”

  “I would make you indistinguishable from one, but I cannot change your DNA.”

  “My what?”

  The Ancient sighed. “I forget that this Creation is still young. I cannot change the building blocks of what you are, what your children will be, but I can seal away your demonic powers.”

  “Then do it.”

  The Ancient nodded before leaning in, pressing her lips to his.

  When she pulled away, the Ancient receded to the back of Amber’s mind, leaving Amber in full control once more as she watched her love writhe in pain.

  “Sebastian!” she cried, stepping forward.

  He recovered after a few moments, and looked up at her, his red Demon eyes replaced with the golden ones of a Vampyre.

  Chapter Twelve

  Freya bolted upright, gasping for air. Her mind was in a million different places at once.

  Her thoughts slowly began to ease back together, returning some semblance of cognizance.

  “Are you okay?” Amber asked, frowning slightly as she looked Freya over.

  Freya nodded slowly. “I think- I’m fine. I just- I think that I absorbed some of your memories in the transfer.”

  “Which memories?”

  “Mostly ones from around when you first got your powers.”

  “Yeah, that wasn’t exactly a pleasant time for me. But it was when I learned most of my combat skills, which would explain why they were transferred with the knowledge.”

  Freya was about to respond when she was stopped by a knock at the door.

  “Come in,” Freya said, making her voice sound a little weaker.

  Margaret opened the bedroom door. “Are you up yet? Ryan was about to head out to work. Are you feeling any better?”

  Freya shook her head. “I’m still queasy, but I don’t think there’s anything to come out.”

  Margaret nodded. “Then you should stay off school today. I’ll take the day off work as well.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” Freya assured her. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  Margaret shook her head. “Not if you’re throwing up. It’s fine, I can work from home today. I’ll bring you up a glass of water now, and I’ll see if you’re ready for food later on.”

  Freya didn’t know what else to do, so she just nodded as Margaret left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

  Freya didn’t move to shut the door, waiting until Margaret had come back up with the glass of water. Once Margaret left again, Freya shut the door behind her, using a spell that she could remember from Amber’s memories to dampen the sound from the room. She didn’t want to chance Margaret hearing her talking to herself.

  “Did you just spell the door?” Amber asked her.

  Freya nodded. “I thought it would be a good idea.”

  “It was, it’s just that you seemed to cast the spell nonverbally.”

  “Well, yeah. Why is that surprising? I have your memories.”

  “Because I never quite managed to master that. Your mother, on the other hand, was particularly adept at it.”

  Freya tried not to let the mention of her mother bother her, instead focusing on the task at hand. “So, what do we do now?”

  “The easiest way for the Demon to get to you, if he can’t get in the house, will be to go after your foster family.”

  “If Margaret’s staying here with me, that means that he’ll be going after Ryan?”

  Amber nodded. “You have to follow him to work. The Demon should appear fairly soon, and you’ll be able to end this.”

  “Will I? I mean, I assume that he’ll have weapons now that he knows what he’s up against. How will I be able to fight him?”

  “You’ll have to be smart,” Amber told her. “Now, you’ll have to leave a glamour behind so that Margaret doesn’t get suspicious. Do you know how to do that?”

  Freya nodded, going over the incantation in her mind to produce a sleeping version of herself. She hoped that Margaret wouldn’t try to wake her up, as the glamour clone wouldn’t move beyond the slow rise and fall of her chest. It had the illusion of breath, nothing more.

  Freya made her way over to the wardrobe, pulling out a pair of black cargo pants, and a black turtleneck. She would never normally wear them together as an outfit, but it seemed the most appropriate for fighting.

  She also supposed that, if this was likely to happen again, she would really have to invest in a sports bra...

  Once Freya had pulled on her clunky black boots, she turned back to Amber.

  “So, how do I follow Ryan? I mean, it’s not like I’ll be able to walk behind a car. At least not for long.”

  “Do you have my knowledge of how to shift?”

  Freya closed her eyes, the knowledge quickly coming to her. She nodded, before letting the world around her fall away.

  She peered down the street that she had appeared in, just as Ryan’s car pulled around the corner.

  She kept shifting from one location to another, from the beginning of streets to the ends as she followed close behind the car. By the time Ryan pulled into the car park at his office building, Freya was a little out of breath. She shifted one last time to the roof of the building before letting herself rest.

  “I really hope that I keep the ability to shift tomorrow,” Freya said, once she was no longer so tired. “I’ll never be late to school again...”

  Amber smiled. “After using it so thoroughly, I would be surprised if the ability left you completely. Now, do you know how to use your magical senses?”

  Freya frowned, doing her best to sense around her with a sense that she had never used before. After a moment, however, she managed to get some sense of a swirling force surrounding her. It wasn’t quite sight, and it wasn’t quite touch, yet seemed to be somewhere in between the two. As if she could feel something tangible swirling around her with her mind.

  “It’s just a jumble,” Freya said.

  “Of course it is. Imagine if you had never used your eyes before. Do you not think that the world would be too bright?”

  Freya rolled her eyes. “I think it’s too bright, anyway.”

  “Regardless, this is simply background magic that you are seeing. You will gain perspective over time and this will simply become the magical equivalent of hearing cars on the road. Something you can hear if you listen, but not something you’re consciously aware of.”

  “Again, I think you’re speaking to neurotypicals there,” Freya said, rolling her eyes. “But I suspect that this perspective will come when the Demon appears, won’t it? It’s just, if the background magic is this intense, it’s going to be quite painful when I sense him, isn’t it?”

  Amber nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. But you should still keep your mind open. It will give you a warning just before he arrives, which might make all the difference.”

  Freya decided to simply sit down as she waited, sensing through the background magic to see
if she could sense anything else in the area.

  Sorting through the patterns, however, did nothing but relax her, allowing more of Amber’s memories to float to the surface.

  Amber waited outside of her cottage in the woods, feeling awkward. She had left the world behind because she had failed. And yet, here she was, taking on another student. Just waiting to fail again.

  Viv arrived shortly enough, with the girl in tow.

  Amber couldn’t quite bring herself to address her new student right away, instead turning to her teacher.

  “Viv!” she cried before pulling the younger woman into her embrace. “I haven’t seen you since you were half my height.”

  Viv smiled awkwardly, tucking her hair behind her pointed ears. She looked every bit the child that Amber remembered.

  “Aunt Amber,” she greeted. “How have you been?”

  You have brought me another student and another opportunity to fail, Amber thought, but didn’t say. If there had been anywhere else for Viv to go, she wouldn’t be there.

  “Fine,” she eventually answered.

  Amber turned to the girl - Lily - and finally looked her over, figuring that time wouldn’t make it any easier. The girl squirmed under her scrutiny, and Amber’s anxiety melted just a little. Lily looked terrified, and Amber didn’t want to make things any worse for her.

  She gave the girl her best smile. “You have your mother’s eyes,” she told her, “but you’re the spitting image of your grandfather.”

  It was very true. Lily looked very little like her mother, with neither her white skin nor black hair. Instead, she had her grandfather’s olive complexion, and blonde hair that Amber couldn’t trace. Though her startling green eyes were very much her mother’s.

  Lily smiled. “That’s what he always said.”

  “You see him much?” Amber asked, trying not to let her conflicting emotions cloud her voice.

  “Yeah. He comes by every other weekend...”

  Amber struggled to continue smiling at that, but she did her best. “I suppose he would. He always hated how he missed your mother’s childhood.”

  Lily just shrugged at the mention of her mother, and Amber supposed that it was probably a sore topic for the girl.

  Amber turned to Viv, deciding that she needed to speak with Lily alone. “Your rooms are set up inside,” she said. “Perhaps you should go and put your things away while I talk with Lily.”

  Viv nodded, leaving Lily and Amber alone.

  “So, why don’t you tell me why you’re here,” Amber said.

  Lily’s eyes grew large at the question, betraying her terror. “Miss Smith didn’t tell you?”

  “I want to hear it from you.”

  “I... I was mad.”

  Amber nodded, listening patiently.

  “I’m not good at PE. We were playing hockey and I tripped, and this one girl, a Witch, she fired the ball at my face while I was down. It broke my nose and her response was ‘well, you shouldn’t be so clumsy.’ And I just... I snapped...”

  “What then?”

  “The next thing I knew, her hair was on fire.” Lily pushed her hands further into her pockets as she spoke. “I’d never even managed so much as a spark before...”

  “And then what?”

  “She put it out before she sustained any serious burns, but her parents made a thing about it and I got kicked out. The Council of Light didn’t know what to do with me and Miss Smith suggested that I come to you.”

  “So now you’re here.”

  “Yup.”

  “Can you show me?”

  “Show you?”

  “Your magic. I’m guessing you’ve only tapped into fire so far.”

  Lily shook her head in a rapid motion that went on for a little longer than usual. “Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. Did you not hear me? I set someone on fire by accident.”

  “You had no idea that you were about to break through. Now you know, it will be more controlled.”

  “Right. Because no one with experience has ever accidentally hurt someone with their magic.”

  “I’m not Human, Lily. You won’t break me.”

  “I would rather not test that theory.”

  Amber gave her a firm look, folding her arms. “And you’re not your mother.”

  “How would you know?” Lily muttered. “It’s not like you stuck around to see her burn out. Nobody did. How come the five year old girl was the only one not surprised when she broke? I found her weeping over my father’s corpse... Or how about when, a few months later, she topped herself? You weren’t there then either.”

  Amber’s stomach stabbed with guilt at Lily’s words. She was right. But dwelling wouldn’t help Lily.

  “You’re not her,” Amber repeated firmly. They both had to believe that if this was going to work. “You can control this.”

  Lily didn’t answer, shoving her hands further into her pockets.

  “But only if you do something, Lily. If you keep just wishing it away, you will turn out like her. I can’t help you if you don’t work with me.”

  Lily sighed, bringing her hand reluctantly out of her pocket.

  She flicked her wrist and her hand went up in flame. She flailed it rapidly to put it out, her chest seizing up.

  “It’s alright,” Amber assured her. “You’re okay. We can work on this.”

  Lily nodded, but she didn’t look so sure...

  As Freya’s mind returned to reality, she found that part of the memory faded, becoming fuzzy. She supposed that she wouldn’t keep any of these memories once the spell wore off... At least, not in their entirety.

  But what she focused on was the way in which her mother had used fire, not water. If her mother could do it, why couldn’t she do the same?

  Freya opened her palm, and after just a moment, a flame burst forth over her fingers. It only lasted for a few seconds, however, before sputtering out.

  Freya turned back to Amber. “What happened?”

  Amber shrugged. “You first showed affinity for water. It shouldn’t be surprising that fire is the element that you would have the most difficulty with.”

  Freya nodded with a sigh before conjuring the flame once more. Even if it wasn’t particularly powerful, and wouldn’t do much damage, it had to be a better weapon than water. Especially when yesterday’s rain had all dried away.

  Before Freya had a chance to give it much more thought, she felt a sudden burst emanating from the surrounding magic. Almost like a bright light being shined in her eyes.

  She rolled out of the way, just in time for the Demon to appear, bringing his sword down right where she had just been sitting.

  Freya scrambled to her feet as the Demon shifted back in front of her. He brought his sword down once more, but she shifted back behind him. She ignited her fist in flame before punching him square in the back as he brought his sword down once more, causing him to stumble forward, losing his balance.

  He shifted once more, but she anticipated him appearing behind her and dodged to the side. His sword just narrowly missed her, and she hit him once more with her fist. But her knuckles came into contact with metal, not fabric coated skin. She realised that he was wearing a black spaulder that almost melted into his clothes, but now that she’d noticed it, it was more than obvious.

  He took advantage of her disorientation as pain shot through her hand. He shifted behind her, swinging his sword before she had a chance to evade. It struck her across the back.

  Freya stumbled forward, pain slicing through her.

  “Use your magic to dull the pain!” Amber cried, and Freya gathered her Energy to do just that. After all, she knew from Amber’s memories that the Demon would feed from her pain, becoming even stronger.

  Freya shifted to the other side of the roof, giving herself just enough time to dull her pain before the Demon appeared before her once more.

  Freya shifted away from his attack, doing her best to dodge and evade. Her movement was fluid with Amber’s muscle
memory, but her muscles quickly began to protest under the unusual strain. No amount of memories could make up for being unfit.

  She brought up her hand a few more times, but flames refused to coat it, making sure that, even when she did hit, she did little damage.

  She couldn’t help but wish in that moment that her elemental skill had been with fire, not water. Maybe then she wouldn’t be tiring so quickly.

  The Demon grinned at her as he brought his sword down once more, and she barely managed to roll out the way, finding herself skidding across the ground.

  He barely looked as if he had broken a sweat.

  If only water could be used offensively without any present, Freya thought to herself. There was definitely not a drop of the rainwater from last night, and the sky was now perfectly clear. She doubted she would be able to draw enough moisture from the air to do any harm. And though she was sticky with sweat, she also doubted that that would be enough to do any good. Nothing more than a frozen needle at most, and she had barely managed to injure him with a spear.

  That left the only sources of water as...

  Them.

  People were basically just large sacks of water after all, and Freya doubted that Demons were built so differently that that wouldn’t still be the case.

  As the Demon advanced on her, she focused her attention on the water within him, pushing it away from her.

  It seemed to be working as the Demon slowed. He seemed to be pushing against the air just to get her.

  She pushed even harder, also sending the water up and down, left and right, any direction but towards her.

  The Demon continued pressing forward, but she could see that his skin was starting to turn pink, and his eyes were becoming bloodshot. As he came within a few feet of her, blood began to drip from his nose. It was followed closely by blood from both his ears and eyes, and his face contorted in pain.

  She gave one final push, with all of her remaining strength, and he screamed in response.

  Her vision blurred. She had never felt so exhausted. The Demon, thankfully, seemed to decide that enough was enough, shifting away.

  “Freya,” Amber said, the anxiety clear in her voice, “you need to get away from here. You need to get somewhere safe to recover.”