by N. V. Rose
That day, Maude coached Brielle into using her powers to open a portal. It took them to the white realm where Brielle expected to see people in white robes and golden streets. Instead, the area looked much like her childhood neighborhood in Fairburn Georgia. Children were playing on swing-sets in the middle of a playground, and the streets were paved like Atlanta roads. Houses upon houses sat row after row, and a large building with a grey bell sitting high on a pole reminded Brielle of a neighborhood office. The place blended just right, except for the fact that every person, particle and thing, produced magic; right down to the flowers that grew in the garden.
The days following, Brielle only had time to train. She’d wielded so much power that some nights she could feel the magic brewing within her. The dreams were not like the ones she had before; sporadic and unfocused. No. These dreams were vivid, as if she’d actually transported to another realm and interacted with other magical beings. There had only been one other instance when Brielle felt near the potent power she’d felt lately. That was her first encounter.
When Brielle was twelve, she’d had her first magical dream. It came after coming in contact with a man in the hallway of her elementary school. Brielle would never forget it. He was tall and slender with freckled skin, and dark brown hair that was shaped to the outline of his face. Brielle didn’t even speak to him, but she took notice because of the military stride and his serious demeanor. As they passed, the man glanced over at Brielle and his eyes glowed a stark green; much like her own.
Brielle had tripped over her feet going out the double doors as she stared the man down while he strolled through the corridor. She glanced away for a second, and when Brielle turned back, he was gone. Growing up, the dreams came with a glaze of haze. Most times, she would put it off as something not to be given much thought.
Now, Brielle’s powers had been awakened, and with each one Maude unveiled, Brielle felt more dominant. Sometimes it scared her and other times it surprised her. Running up three stairs, Markus and Brielle paused in front of a white wooden door.
“Are you sure about this?” Brielle asked.
“Watch, you’ll see.”
Markus beat a knuckle against the door rapidly in a succession of drums. He pulled back and waited but nothing could be heard from inside.
“Come on, we can’t wait.”
The door swung open and a middle height, broad-shouldered man stepped onto the porch, closing the door behind him. Brielle folded her arms. Jefferson and Brielle had first been acquainted when she chased him down thinking he was falsely apprehending a helpless man. At the time, Brielle was unaware that Jefferson was a part of the Osmo police force in pursuit of a breakaway.
“Does the council need me,” Jefferson asked. He glanced from Markus to Brielle, and somehow knew this visit wasn’t about the council at all.
“I need a favor,” Markus started.
“And I knew one day you would show up on my doorstep for a favor.”
“How?” Brielle asked.
Taking his focus to her, Jefferson let out a sigh. “I know a lot of things. What can I help you with?”
“We need a cloak,” Markus said.
“For how long?”
“Just around four hours.”
Jefferson sealed his lips tight and thought about the request.
“Is it important?” Jefferson asked.
“Yes,” Brielle said.
Jefferson stared at Brielle for a long minute. “I’m guessing the council didn’t clear this, or I’d be speaking directly with Maude and not you two.”
Brielle let out an impatient breath and glanced at Jefferson.
“I told you he wouldn’t be down. Let’s just go quickly and come back.”
“Four hours isn’t quick when moving with you,” Jefferson retorted.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Brielle asked annoyed.
Jefferson shut the door. “It means as soon as you come across one of us you’ll be vulnerable.”
“I don’t understand. I was never vulnerable before. I’ve lived twenty-two years without so much as a peep, but now, being in the open is grave danger!”
“Once you were officially chosen, word was sent out around the magical kingdom. You’re not just the young girl growing up in your parent’s home. You’re Brielle Leblanc, savior of the free world. Most of us are ecstatic about that. But there are some who loathe it, and they’ve already put a bounty on your head.”
Brielle’s eyes grew in surprise and Markus agreed.
“You didn’t tell me that!” Brielle fussed at Markus.
“If it weren’t so, why do you think we’d need a cloak to move around.”
“Ugh!” Brielle tossed her arms up then spun around on her heels and walked away.
Jefferson and Markus quickly followed her. “Where are you going?” They both asked.
“I’m getting out of here. I won’t be afraid to walk around my own neighborhood or city. This is just ridiculous.”
“No one’s asking you to be afraid,” Jefferson said keeping up with Brielle’s quick strides.
“We’re asking you to be careful,” Markus added.
“No, you’re not. You’re asking me to never leave this stupid realm without assistance. I’m not a child. I can handle my own. I tossed you across the room, didn’t I?! The both of you!”
The men let her rant while she strutted back across the lawn. Frustrated but on a mission, Brielle focused her attention on the area before her and within seconds a gust of wind swirled around them and her hair lifted from her shoulders. A portal opened in mid-air and Brielle stepped through it with Jefferson and Markus in tow. Stepping through the portal was like being zapped instantly to the time or place that the opener desired. In a blink, Brielle, Jefferson, and Markus were in Fairburn Georgia; standing under a street lamp on a sidewalk at the end of the avenue. Recognizing her childhood district instantly, Brielle struck out, walking fast down the street to get to her mother’s home.
“Wait!” Jefferson whispered sharply.
Brielle didn’t listen moving even faster down the street.
“I said wait!”
In a split-second, Jefferson caught up to her, grabbing Brielle’s arm to stop her haste.
“What!?” she shouted. “You said we have to make this quick, so why am I waiting?!”
Jefferson’s eyes lit up a stark white and a splintering glow shot from his hands as he held them out towards Brielle, covering her, then Markus, then himself with a powerful forcefield. The second it was over, Brielle glanced around and saw no noticeable difference.
“That’s it?” she asked.
“When we enter,” Jefferson responded. “I’ll uncloak myself to let us in. Deal?”
Brielle shrugged. “Sure, whatever, let’s get this over with.”
The trio strolled up the sidewalk and bent the corner coming up on a two- story blue and white Victorian style home. Brielle breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing the house brought back memories of her childhood; playing in the backyard on a swing-set her parents could barely afford, doing homework in the kitchen and following her father around the shed in the back as he worked on his different carpentry projects.
Brielle smiled wide, but just as more thoughts of her father skipped through her mind, so did his death. When she was only fourteen years old, he’d been in a convenience store when it was robbed. That day, he didn’t make it home. Brielle would never forget the headlines - Fatal shooting at Corella’s Fast Run. Hers and her mother’s life changed forever, and after the intense depression Katherine had undergone, Brielle felt as if she’d changed roles, becoming the mother and Katherine becoming her daughter. It had been Brielle’s mission to make sure her mom was okay then. Today was no different.
“Are we going to the door?” Markus asked, cutting through Brielle’s thoughts.
Without answering, they tread the path and Brielle lifted her hand to knock on the door. When no sound was made, she frowned.
�
�You’re cloaked,” Jefferson said plainly removing his shield. He knocked swiftly, and they waited silently for an answer. When none came, they all glanced at one another and Jefferson knocked again. Brielle took her eyes down the street. Their home had been the last one on the corner. Every other house was quiet with no movement from cars and no porch lights indicating someone was home.
Brielle shuddered just as a moan from the floorboards inside the house sounded. She turned back to the door when it opened and got a look at her mom for the first time in weeks. A smile lit up Brielle’s face. Katherine’s light brown eyes and Cherokee skin beamed under the moonlit night. Her long black and white hair swayed behind her as she stared up at Jefferson.
“Can I help you?”
The depth in her voice took Jefferson by surprise. Katherine’s appearance made her look as if her vocals would be soft and high-pitched. Instead, she held the sound of a blues singer in a speakeasy.
“You’re Brielle’s mother?” he questioned.
“Yes, she is,” Brielle answered.
At the mention of her daughter’s name, Katherine’s questionable stare turned into a frightened one. Her brows furrowed, and her forehead filled with worry lines. “Is she alright? Do you know where she is? I’ve been trying to reach her for weeks!”
A mist of tears clouded Katherine’s vision.
“Uncloak me,” Brielle said hurriedly.
“I can’t,” Jefferson responded.
“You can’t what?” Katherine asked confused about Jefferson’s statement.
“I said uncloak me!” Brielle shouted.
Jefferson turned to look at Brielle. He could see her because the cloak came from his energy source, but Katherine could not.
“I said I couldn’t.”
Katherine glanced back over her shoulder then leaned further toward Jefferson. In a whisper she said. “Tell her not to come here. It isn’t safe.”
Alarm crossed Jefferson’s face. He nodded and without asking for further details Jefferson turned to leave. “Let’s go!” he whispered sharply.
“No. Wait!” Brielle screamed.
Jefferson’s feet patted back up the walkway. “You heard her, we’ve got to get out of here, now!”
“We’re taking her with us! I will not leave my mom to fend for herself!”
“She can fend for herself, she’s been doing it for years!”
Confused, Brielle glanced from her mother to Jefferson.
“What are you talking about?”
“She’s a guardian! She… shit, Brielle! We can talk about this when we get back, but we’re leaving now!”
Standing from the porch, Katherine watched on as Jefferson spoke to the air. Or at least that’s what it appeared. However, she knew better. After centuries of being a guardian, it wasn’t the weirdest thing Katherine had witnessed. She had a feeling she knew exactly what was happening and things were about to get crazy with every second that passed. A shadow behind Katherine moved and she yelped when she was hauled off her feet and sent flying across the lawn.
“Aaaaah!” Katherine screamed.
Jefferson, Brielle and Markus pivoted and watched with surprise, fear, and unease as Simeon’s menacing figure stepped from the doorway of the Victorian home.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are…” he sang. An ominous laugh sailed from his throat.
Brielle ran to her mother’s side to try and help Katherine to her feet, but her cover kept her limited on any physical contact. Simeon moved out of the doorway. At the same time, a fire hydrant on the street shot straight up in the air. Water soared from the opening then twirled in a tornado of liquid. Jefferson pulled from his power source and the ground beneath Simeon’s feet rattled then shot upright.
“Run!” Jefferson shouted. “Now!”
Katherine stood and ran off down the street. Markus and Brielle were behind Katherine, but Jefferson held still in an attempt to fight off Simeon. Brielle glanced back and paused.
“Come on!” Markus shouted.
“We can’t leave him!”
“There’s nothing we can do, we’re cloaked!” Markus returned.
They both looked back to Jefferson, helpless, as Katherine continued her getaway down the street. She was none the wiser since, from what she could tell, Katherine was the only one there to run and Jefferson was saving her.
Jefferson was strong. As a part of the Osmo police force, he held powers from all over the magical realm. The ground split down the middle then parted as he continued to fight off Simeon. His plight seemed to be working until Simeon leaped over the opening in the ground simultaneously lifting the earth with him. The particles of soil came down hard on top of Jefferson and immediately, Brielle and Markus were uncloaked as Jefferson passed out. When Simeon’s smug glare connected with Brielle’s horror-stricken face, he growled.
“There you are…”
Immediately, Markus created two balls of fire that rotated in his palms like spinning lava. Brielle’s eyes glowed green with internal demand. She lifted the lava from Markus’s palm sending it soaring at Simeon. The flames wrapped around him in a revolving whirl of wind, tossing Simeon back toward her home’s opened door. Markus struck out running toward Jefferson. Jefferson’s limp figure lay still underneath rock and concrete. Markus lifted the earth from Jefferson while Brielle sent a current of sailing winds underneath, effectively lifting his body.
With her attention elsewhere, Simeon broke from her tornado of fire and was back on his feet. This time, his orbs shone with an iridescent blue glow. Jefferson’s body drifted over to Brielle and a fireball with the circumference of a basketball rocked against Simeon’s core as Markus sent the energy flying. Again, Simeon was knocked down, but he didn’t stay that way for long.
“Let’s go!” Brielle hollered. With her powers evoked, her voice had changed. She didn’t even recognize the authoritative voice herself as a portal opened in front of them.
“Brielle, honey?” Katherine said behind her.
Markus ran through the opening and Brielle floated Jefferson inside. At the last minute, she turned and grabbed her mother’s arm, giving Katherine no time to hesitate as they disappeared just as the portal closed.
They fell onto the lawn and Brielle rolled to her feet and glanced up into the face of Maude.
“Get him to medical!” Maude shouted. Her radiance cast through her eyes. Markus, along with a few others at Maude’s side, hauled Jefferson off in a sprint to their healer. Maude turned her fury on Brielle and glanced over at Katherine.
“What were you thinking?” Maude said.
Brielle rose to her feet. “You were watching us?”
“I’m always watching you. What were you thinking?”
Brielle opened her mouth to speak, but closed her lips knowing if Maude was watching then she already knew Brielle wanted to get to her mother.
“Is this a game?” Brielle asked.
“I wish it were.”
“Why didn’t you stop us from leaving?”
“What difference would it have made? You would’ve just found another time to sneak out.”
“Sneak out!”
Maude stood still, her radiance disappearing bringing forth dark-brown wise eyes.
“I’m a grown woman,” Brielle continued. “I don’t have to sneak around. These are not my rules. They’re yours! You tell me I’m supposed to save the world, practically give me no choice, then band me from moving without being watched because there’s a bounty on my head. You never tell me anything. I must piece together what’s going on until I get the full picture. Then still, I don’t know if I got it all.” Brielle ranted with frustration seeping from her. She glanced at her mom. “You knew all of this time, didn’t you?”
Brielle turned back to Maude. “And you knew she knew! And what the hell is a guardian!?”
“You know what you need to know,” Maude’s stoic voice was back.
“I want to know everything! Right now, or I’m not doing another thing!�
��
To prove her point, Brielle took a seat in the grass, folded her legs and waited.
Chapter Four
Brielle was staunch in her resolve not to get up from the lawn until all her questions were answered. Sure, she looked like a tantrumming teenager, but at the moment, Brielle didn’t care. They, all of them, had thrown her head first into a world she didn’t understand. And to top it all off, it looked like her mother was part of the conspiracy. Thinking about the lifelong deception, Brielle cast hooded eyes towards her mother.
The two women standing over her, regarded Brielle. A knowing glance was shared between Katherine and Maude. These women had known each other for more than a century. It had been prophesied to Katherine that one day, she would bear a child with exceptional gifts. That part of the foretelling was not a surprise to her. Learning that her child would be called upon in a manner Katherine couldn’t even imagine was the startling part. That made Katherine a guardian; not just a mother of a gifted child, but a guardian of something, someone sacred to the council. The prophecy also meant that she would lose her child to the cause. That was difficult for Katherine to know in advance but made even more difficult once Brielle was born. Katherine loved her daughter more than life itself. When she learned exactly what Brielle’s responsibility was, not just to the council but to the world, Katherine rejected it. It was too big, too much for her precious daughter. Standing before the council, she asked and reasoned with them to change their collective minds. Katherine went so far as to suggest that the council errored in their decision. Brielle couldn’t be the savior; she was just Katherine’s daughter.
The council allowed the loving mother to express her sentiments but were not dissuaded from their decision. Katherine grieved the choice. It was Maude who talked her through it; convinced her that Brielle was up to the challenge. She was born for the task at hand and Maude promised to be there for Katherine’s daughter every step of the way. And now, there they stood; standing over the one they both swore to protect with their very lives.