My eyes followed the direction she pointed. I was instantly in awe of what lay below us. I had been so tangled up in my own mind that I hadn’t realized we were flying over a rather large body of water. The water was crystal clear, allowing me to see all the way to the bottom, even from the air. It was almost as if I was looking into a sea of diamonds, resting upon black velvet. In the distance, stood a chunk of land jutting from the center of the diamond water.
The black floor that held the sea extended to the island that Leah and I were landing on. The dragons planted their feet firmly in the dark sand sinking slightly into the soft land. I looked around me. Sparkling sand, dark as slate extended along the diamond water as far as I could see. Inland a ways the sand gradually turned to long grass the color of eggplant. Dense foliage and trees in varying dark shades of blue, purple, and black lined the edge of the slate sand.
“It’s so dark here, Leah. So dark in comparison to the diamond sea,” I said almost subconsciously.
“Yes, this is Raven Island. It is home to an array of dragons as they are the only Creatures that can tolerate the heat the island generates. That is why I came here first. The heat is tolerable in the morning and early afternoon, but when the sun is at its warmest the island heats up like an oven. We don’t have a lot of time. We should hurry,” she explained before sliding off of her dragon.
I cautiously slid off mine as well. “If only dragons can live here, how is it that a Fey calls this home?” I asked.
“She lives in the jungle cave where it stays slightly cooler. The cave is rather small though. It is too small to make camp in. It’s too small for both of us to enter at one time, which is why we need to get her and go.”
“Lead the way,” I said and followed her into the dark jungle.
We didn’t walk too far when Leah slowed her stride, and I spotted the tiny cave opening. The opening was nearly hidden by the dark vines that grew around it. Leah carefully pushed the vines aside with one hand while the other reached in her pack to pull out a flashlight. She shined the light into the cave before calling “Aubrey. Are you in there? It’s me Akayleah, and I have Lilly Levannah with me.” She waited a moment for a response. When none was heard she handed the light to me. “Here, Lilly, shine this in after me. I have to go get her.”
“You want me to wait out here?” I asked and realized I sounded scared.
“It’s not far in, Lilly. I need you to shine the light so I can find her and my way out. The cave is not large enough for us both to go in. I will be quick. Ok?” She said ending her statement as a question and I shook my head yes. I couldn’t explain why, but the island gave me the creeps, and I was not looking forward to being surrounded by darkness, alone. I had not seen another living Creature since landing on the island and had no logical reason to be frightened. I pushed the fear aside and took the flashlight from Leah and encouraged her inside the cave. “Hurry please,” I said and she kissed me on the forehead before descending into darkness.
The jungle was eerily silent. I found myself wishing for noise, a stir in the jungle, the chirp of a bird, anything to break the heavy silence. Out of desperation, I began to sing the first song that came to mind. “Ohhhh we’re half way there, whoahoaa living on a prayer!” I was belting out my favorite song when I heard a rustle in the bushes around me. I stopped singing and tensed my body to complete stillness. Listened. Waited. Then I saw him.
“Hello, Lilly Levannah or is that Wagner now?” He asked. He spoke quietly but I didn’t miss the sinister current that was deep in his tone. It was impossible to miss. I shuddered visibly, but tried my hardest not to show my fear. I had only seen him the one time, when Shep snapped his neck. Yet, I recognized him instantly. He looked slightly different. His features were not as sharp. Not as handsome. His face was distorted, which I guessed was due to sharing the body of another man. His warped features didn’t make him any less frightening.
“Why are you here? How did you know I was here?” I was careful not to share the fact that Leah was with me. I was sure he believed he had killed her. I worried about what he might do if he saw her with me, alive. Although I didn’t know him intimately, I knew well enough that he would not be pleased to see that he had failed at killing Leah. I also didn’t want to give away our hiding place. If he knew she was alive, that would be a natural place to look.
“I have my ways,” he informed me, allowing his lips to curl back menacingly.
“What do you want?”
“I want many things, silly girl. I want to slaughter your family. I want to torture my son. I want to make the good people of Neveah fall at my feet. I want so much and I will have it all. What I want most, at this moment, is to give my Kelsha the boy that she so deserves to have.”
A million thoughts ran through my head. The front runner being, is this guy fucking serious? My fear was beginning to wane, anger and annoyance taking its place. This man was not even a whole man. He was a dead man who stole the body of another. His once beautiful face now blurred by the features of another. There was a light side that slightly eclipsed his darkness. I was no longer afraid of this sad Hybrid.
“Who the hell do you think you are? You are a sad little man, Jax. Or do you go by your host body’s name? You can try to intimidate me but it won’t work! I can see inside of you! The man’s body that you parade around in was a good man wasn’t he? At least he tried to be. He was blinded by Kelsha, but he was truly good deep down. That makes you sick doesn’t it? You want to be intimidating, frightening, evil, but you have to try really hard because he is inside there shedding light on your darkness.” I felt his hand connect with my cheek. My face instantly began to sting. I assumed hitting me was intended to shut me up. Make me cower. He was mistaken.
“You don’t scare me, you fucking pathetic excuse of a man! You will never touch my son! Kelsha will never touch my son! You go back and tell your bitch that I am ready for her. You can want it all, Jax, but you will never have any of it!” I declared, forcing my voice and my words to sound assertive. The last thing I needed was for Jax to think of me as a weak, silly girl. I wanted him to fear me, or at least know that I wasn’t afraid of him. He would never touch my son.
He laughed in my face, but backed away a few steps. “You are a fiery bitch aren’t you? You remind me of her you know? Your mother was fiery too.”
“You asshole! Don’t you dare speak of my mother!”
“She had a dirty mouth too. For such pretty faces and innocent facades, you both spew nastiness from your pretty little mouths.”
It was my turn. I punched him as hard as I could and watched his nose burst and bleed.
“Get the fuck out of here!” I said slowly, quietly, but with force.
“You think you can beat me? Kelsha? Her army was trained by your precious Shep. They are strong. They are violent. They will die for her. You and your people don’t stand a chance. The only thing saving you right now is that boy. If I take you, or better yet kill you, I will have a harder time finding James. Just know I am watching you, Lilly. Your time is limited.”
He turned away from me and walked away. I bent over, catching my breath. My heart was racing with pure rage. When I thought he was gone, I yelled into the base of the cage for Leah. Adrenaline, fear, and rage pumped through my veins. I was ready to ignore Leah’s request for me to stay put and barge into that cave when she finally appeared, a fragile Fey in her arms. All the emotions that were wrapped up inside of me, just a moment before, were forgotten when I saw the weak Fey. I looked at Leah, with my feelings tied in a knot, and said, “Let’s get the hell out of here.” Her eyes met mine and though they knew nothing of my visitor, they reflected the same worry as my own. “Yes, Lilly. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
It didn’t take long to reach the Asrai cave and retrieve Calista. We were making good time and would be home by nightfall. Leah and I didn’t speak much during the trip. My mind was cluttered with thoughts, fears, and worries. At the moment, I tried to focus on getting Ca
lista and her sister back to Leah’s, safe and sound. I was not naïve but still held onto hope that the sisters being together would give them strength to outlive the fight we were all preparing for, the fight that, if won, would kill the evil that was slowly killing them.
The flight seemed to go quickly. Maybe it was my mind’s constant dwelling on things to come or things that were. I felt a huge relief when my dragon landed in the clearing behind Leah’s tree home. I was anxious to see my son. I was anxious to see Shep.
I followed as Leah carried the frail Fey into the house. We were greeted at the door by Shep and Michael. I immediately saw the worry they both expressed in their eyes. They saw Leah close behind me and turned back into the house, no words spoken. I followed Leah into the room that held the Fey safely. I watched the little fairy on the bed beside her sisters. There was a slight stirring and acknowledgement but no greetings, no hugs, not even hello. The sisters laid side by side, asleep. If someone had walked into the room, unknowing, they would assume the beautiful Creatures were dead. They weren’t dead, not yet.
“Leah, we have some things to talk about.”
“What is it, Lilly?”
“I think it would be better if I speak to everyone at one time. I don’t want to re-tell this news any more than I have to. “
“I understand. Michael and Shep seemed worried when we arrived. Did you sense that?”
“Yeah. I thought the same thing. Let’s go find everyone and figure out what is going on.”
Leah pulled the blanket up to the women’s chins before following me out of the room. We found Shep and Michael in the sitting room, alone. “Did something happen while we were gone?” I asked immediately. Shep looked up at me. “Yes, but James and everyone here is ok. Let’s go join the others. We have some things to talk about.” Shep’s tone sent chills to my bones. He didn’t look mournful, just worried. I pushed the thought of, another life lost, away and tried to not think the worst. Being optimistic was getting harder every day.
We followed Shep and Michael out of the tree to the garden area. I thought it was amazing how well kept this place looked. For as long as Leah had been away her home should have been in disarray. Dust, cobwebs, wilted flowers, decrepitated wood, but it was none of those things. Instead, the flowers were bloomed, though they drooped like most of the vegetation in Neveah, they were not wilted yet. There was not a speck of dust and no spider webs to be seen. I figured Leah’s friends in the forest kept her home tidy in anticipation of her return. Not the work of horrible Creatures at all.
There were multiple seats made of wood stumps scattered through the small garden. Some sat on the stumps while others were finding comfort on the soft ground. As I looked around I realized we had quite a few more people here than we had when we left that morning.
“What’s going on?” I asked. I was worried but relieved to see my grandmother sitting safely on a stump. “I thought we agreed some of us would stay behind to guard the manor?”
“There has been a change in plans, Lilly. Sit down and we will tell you what has happened.” Shep took me by the hand, and we sat next to Vivianna, who was holding James. I smiled at my chubby boy and reached my arms out to him. He fell into my arms and snuggled in tight.
“I have some news as well but you can go first,” I said to no one in particular. I listened as Denali told me the story of what led my grandmother and her guardians to desert her home.
~Chapter Ten~
Since Fionna’s arrival, she carried a fear in her belly that would never go away, unless Kelsha was eliminated. She also felt the seed of love growing in her heart. The mixture of fear and love was odd to Fionna and at times the feeling of love scared her more than the fear. She had known fear her entire life. Fear seemed to take permanent residence in Fionna’s life. She had come to accept it, even welcome it over the years.
She not only worried about Kelsha, but that Diallo would ask her about her life. Fionna never had feelings for another living being like she had for Diallo. How could such a good, pure, and loving man love her? Every time he looked at her, smiled at her, touched her tenderly, she fell deeper in love with the man. When he asked her to tell him about her life, her guts twisted painfully. “What could you possibly want to know about me?” She asked him. “I want to know everything about you,” he replied seriously but with a smile.
They were walking the perimeter of the manor. She volunteered to take watch with him when Renny’s shift was up. Helping guard the house gave her a sense of pride and being with Diallo gave her a sense of safety. Now he was asking her to confide in him. She never told anyone about her life. Her sister knew, but she didn’t speak of their past either. She ran a few scenarios through her mind. She could refuse to speak and tell him she is starting new. Fresh. She could lie. She could tell the truth. If anyone was ever going to accept her and love her for who she was, where she came from, she had to be honest. Diallo was the man she knew, deep down, that she wanted to be honest with. She took a deep breath and began her story.
“Let me start by saying that my life has been far from sweet or happy. You may not want to hear or know some things in my past but I want to tell you. If you choose to move forward with me, I would be the happiest girl alive. If not? I will live anyways.”
“Fionna, nothing you have done in your past will change the way my heart feels about you. I know you have goodness inside. I can see it in your eyes, your heart. I want to love all of you. Know all of you. I want to heal all of you so you can become whole.” He always tugged at her emotions when he spoke to her. She fought the threatening tears back and began her story.
“I was born in a village on the far side of the South Mountains. My family and most of the residents of my village had the gift of manipulation. We all varied slightly but we all could manipulate. I can make people feel emotions that are not true, love, fear, courage, anything. My father was a master at inflicting fear, my mother at love, and my sister always gave people courage. She was one of Jax’s favorites because when he felt inferior or afraid he would go to her. She would give him a sense of courage making him believe he was invincible.
“My father had evil inside of him. I wondered how my mother, so beautiful and gentle, could be with a man like him. When my sister and I were very small we would lay in our bed and listen to him beat her. We would listen to her cry. When I was about nine years old, he beat her pretty badly, left her in a hump of tears and blood, and came to find me. I knew he was thinking bad thoughts about me when he burst into my room, drunk on rage. I tried to change his emotions. Tried to dampen the rage, but I couldn’t. He was much stronger than I was, physically, emotionally, and his power was stronger.
“He came to my bed and took away my childhood innocence. He had his way with me, and then he left. He left me bruised and bleeding. I forced my mind to sleep when he left me and tried to push the entire thing out of my memory. I woke the next morning to my sister’s screams. I found her kneeling on the floor beside our mother. Our father lay a few feet away from her, a gaping hole in his chest. My sister was holding a knife. My father beat my mother to death. I can’t say for sure if my sister killed our father, but from that day on my sister was never the same.
“I packed a bag for my sister and I and we left our village. I couldn’t risk my sister being blamed for either death. I couldn’t stay in that house, in that village. I knew we had to start over. I wanted for her and me to be happy. We lived in the different lands of Neveah for years. We ate wild vegetation and fish and bathed in rivers and streams. During the cold time we made shelter inside of large trees and slept closely for heat. When I was seventeen, I met Jax.” Fionna paused, trying to find the right words. She never imagined she would tell her story to anyone. Up until Diallo there had never been anyone she trusted enough to tell. She had her sister, but her sister lived the same life. Her sister chose the dark. She embraced Jax and all he had to offer her. Fionna, though she had done horrible things, always believed that deep down her soul was
good.
No, since she was a little girl she had no one to talk to, no one to trust. Though she deeply regretted the pain she caused Shep and Lilly, she was grateful to Kelsha for bringing her to Shep. Had she never met him, never cared for him, she may have never had the courage to escape. She felt Diallo gently squeeze her hand, encouraging her to continue.
“Well, Jax was a bit older than my sister and I. He was quite mad by the time he found us. We were hiding in a tree near his compound when he first saw us. He was kind and caring in the beginning. He took us in, fed us, clothed us, showed us affection. Not much time passed before I began to see him for what he was. He was a monster and he frightened me. I tried to avoid him as much as possible. I busied myself around the compound, usually far away from wherever he was. I thought I had outsmarted him, avoided him just enough to be invisible. I was wrong and one day when I was gardening he came to me,” she stopped when she felt a knot in her throat, threatening her attempt to sound strong when she told her story. Diallo held her hand, squeezing gently to let her know she was safe with him.
“He decided that day that I belonged to him. In the beginning I was complacent. I would lay there, semi-conscious while he had his way with me. I learned that he liked it when I was scared and submissive. The more I resisted the more he took. It was never gentle, never loving. He liked to beat me. The more I cried the harder he whipped. He would go until I was bleeding then leave me alone a few nights to heal. Once I figured out that my weakness made him stronger I began to fight back. He liked it when I put up a fight. I would bite, scratch or hit him, whatever it took to keep him from beating me. Eventually he brought things like chains and ropes into my bedroom which I used to tie him up. The more violent I was towards him the easier he was on me. Eventually I just accepted this as my fate until another one of Jax’s followers befriended me. He was a nice man. He was gentle and caring. I could never be intimate with him because Jax had broken that part of me but he was a wonderful friend to me. Jax saw our relationship grow stronger. He is a jealous man and though Raiden and I were not intimate Jax was convinced that we were. He killed Raiden and beat me, almost to death. The only good thing to come out of that beating was that Jax actually felt bad for almost killing me. I don’t know why, he killed with abandon and never felt guilty about anything but he felt remorse for me. He stopped coming to my room. Soon after that he was dead,” she finished her story and wiped her tears from her face.
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