by D. M. Sears
“Our mother tried to talk some sense into her, keep her from seeing him; it had the opposite effect. Eve found ways to run into Marcus, and they eventually started sneaking off together. Many months passed; the scandal grew around the both of them. One night, coming in late, Eve asked us all to sit down; she had some news to share. Eve told us that she and Marcus had ran off and gotten married. They had gone to one of their friends in an outlying Shifter village, a Wiseman officiated the ceremony. Marcus walked in the room and stood proudly by your mother’s side. He put his arm around her; you could see a beautiful light swirl like mist between them. The happiness I felt for my sister and her new husband was overshadowed by the fear of Marcus’ parents.” I watched the pain surface in Val.
Guilt hit me. I should be nicer to Val over all this. The more I listened to her story, the more my belief in her words grew. The eclipsed spot on my wrist flared in confirmation causing me to rub it harder, hoping to ease the burn.
“None of us had ever seen anything so marvelous. Power radiated off them and made each of us feel an overwhelming sensation of euphoria. Their emotions towards each other flowed in the misting light. For a long moment silence filled the room, finally, my dad asked if they could see the mist around each other. Eve said they saw a glow about them, but nothing like the sight we beheld. Marcus told us his body warmed up when she touched him and he could hear her in his mind without her speaking. Your mother confirmed the same for herself. This odd occurrence had us confounded.”
Val stood grabbing the tea tray in her hands. I looked up at her, “Wait, you’re not done, are you?” My words sounded harsh, more so than I intended.
“No, I want to get more tea. Would you like some, too?” She stood in front of me, reaching for the cup in my hand.
I held the cup out to her, but she curled her fingers around my wrist exposing my birthmark. “Hey!” Instinctively I jerked my arm free from her grasp. Betrayal. That’s what registered first, and then…anger.
“Why?” Heat rose in my face, tears spilled down my cheeks. Their unreadable expressions turned to shock in a nanosecond. I felt like a freak. Jumping up from the chair, I ran right out the front door.
Chapter Three
I had no idea where to go; my feet took me where they wanted. My brain was full, their shocked expressions revealing how much of a freak I was. I always knew deep inside that I was different from others, but I chalked that up to individuality. Who would have thought this was the real reason?
I ran, wiping the tears sliding from my eyes, blurring my vision. I stopped in front of an oak, the breath in my chest heavy; it eased as I followed the large tree up to the night sky. This must be the conservation area behind the house. The darkness made me pause. Something pushed me forwards, the black vastness calling to me, pulling at an unknown part of me.
Breathing deep now, I inhaled the earthy aroma that surrounded me, letting the forest consume all the turmoil that twisted in my head. Something about the mossy rich smell gave me chills. I felt a connection when I was outside, plants, trees, even the soil teemed with life. A present hum filled my ears allowing me to concentrate on the forest life.
For years, I longed to come back here and explore, to answer the call that pulled at me daily. Val and Lex always had a reason for me to stay away. As I stepped into this overgrown maze of large trees and underbrush, normalcy and calm washed over me. I belong here.
Singing as I walked, “This is the story of a girl, who cried a river and drowned the whole world, though she looked so sad and lonely there, I absolutely loved her…when she smiled.”
Animals came out to inspect the curious intruder singing, disrupting their nightly routine. I tromped through the barely lit ground humming. My ears did a jerk thing, a noise registered, catching my attention, frenzied, wild, predatory: the noise of a hunter chasing prey.
Listening intently to the growling animal, I made my way through the branches and brush in its direction. Quiet, disturbing the thing responsible for the feral sounds was not on my to-do list. The cold night made my muscles stiff and my feet clumsy, not that I was graceful to begin with, far from it. Limbs and twigs brush against my body, leaving the dew behind, wetting my arms and legs. Shivers sent prickles down my flesh sending up an alarm.
Wondering what type of animal was the owner of such an angry, hungry sound busied me from the thoughts of fairies and witches. Human echoed in the back of my mind, but what kind of human lives out here? I should definitely go home. Before my feet turned, swift movements from the creek made me go still.
I walked towards the water; the small clearing had one solitary tree, a willow tree. Under the tree sat a figure shadowed by the lack of light and the flowing branches from the willow. The silhouette was large, too large to be female, sitting on knees hidden by the weeping tree. The figure turned my way and a deep animalistic growl escaped his lips.
I remember in school a teacher asked, if I had to choose flight or fight in a dangerous situation, what would I choose? Fight was the answer then, big words, and big talk. Now that I faced a dangerous situation, my instincts screamed at me… flight.
“Run, run to the house. Run to the house!” I told myself in a sort of mantra. I didn’t get far, my foot found a hole, a large rock broke my fall kissing my forehead.
“Why didn’t I get the graceful gene…” I hung my head frustrated at my non-agility.
My flesh heated in a strange way, my uneasiness grew, the figure stood behind me.
“What are you doing in the forest… spying on me?” Hard and angry, his voice spit words at me. I tried to stand; my ankle rebelled at the idea. I could tilt only so far to see the stranger.
Dark grey eyes, the color of steel, outlined in black leered at me. I froze, he moved away with a speed I consider, superhuman.
“Tell me why you came. Don’t you know it isn’t safe?” I felt the anger in his voice and my temper ignited.
I whirled my upper body around trying to find him, “I came to clear my head. How did I know anyone would be around tonight? As for spying on you, get over yourself. I ended up by your tree because of a noise I heard. I have done nothing to you, so take your growl and intimidation back to the water!” My temper got the better of me; my bold words were only words. Inside, I was terrified.
I rose up, put weight on my foot and let a small cry loose. I sat on the rock trying to figure out what to do. I raised my hand to wipe the blood from my forehead that was now dripping down my face. Out of nowhere, this strange man stood in a beam of moonlight next to me.
“You think I growled at you?” His voice was softer, amused. I couldn’t place the accent, I knew right away he was definitely not from here.
“Okay, so maybe growl isn’t the right word, I don’t even know if it was you who made the noise, but you don’t need to be a bully. I was just here to get some clarity. Had I not heard the strange growly noise, I wouldn’t have even made it this far into the woods.” I took a tentative peek at him. My cheeks flushed… o-m-g!
The moonlight shined overhead, illuminating his features. Speechless. Despite the angry glower, yelling, and the present crazy man in the woods persona, he was beyond attractive. Like the not-real kind of attractive. I ogled the pale golden skin, sleek muscular frame, full pouty lips, and coal black hair hanging over his forehead past his brows ready to set a woman on fire. A deadly combination to all women. There was a scar across his right cheek and down to his neck, the only part of him that didn’t look like the cover of GQ. Scar or not, he was perfect. Broody, first thought that came to mind after assessing this magnificent male specimen, made my lips up turn. I was six shades of red and my heart hammered under my ribs.
“Wow.” I couldn’t lose my tractor beam stare. He was just too good-looking.
“Excuse me?” The man tilted his head in question.
Embarrassed, “Um…nothing.” I needed to shut up, now.
I fixated on my shoes, convinced I scanned over Mr. Hotty long enough to make us both u
ncomfortable.
“What is your name?” My voice sounded unlike me, high-pitched, girly. Flirting, I was flirting. Sigh, only me. I shook my head at myself.
Another swift change in his position, “My name is not important, we should get you home.”
The voice coming from him now was stern, yet soft in a strange way. Heat spread through my body finding my birthmark as he scooped me up, the gesture taking me by surprise. The scrutiny was gone and sort of sadness was left behind, I can add moody to my list of adjectives describing him.
My breath caught as he whisked us through the woods using his speed. I closed my eyes tight to keep from getting sick and buried my head into his cool neck. Intoxication…the only word I had for his scent. The pheromone concoction he released was designed to make the knees weak and the tongue-tied. Way too soon, I felt us stop; I opened my eyes to see a house stare back at me.
In the span of a couple seconds, the stranger set me down and I turned to look at him; he was nowhere in sight. I didn’t even hear him leave. I looked around hoping for one last glimpse, but I knew he was no doubt in the woods where I found him. I watched the door open, Lex and Val embracing me as if I was gone for weeks. Val’s puffy eyes and tear streaked face showed an unspoken apology. They both gave me a stare that said, “If we hadn’t just messed up, you would be in so much trouble, young woman.” I took a step and felt the stab of pain in my ankle.
Chapter Four
I limped in the doorway using my aunt and uncle as crutches.
“How did you injure your foot, Eden? I see you have a cut on your head, as well.” Lex used precision and skill as he worked my foot, assessing the damage.
I explained about going into the woods and falling. The strange encounter with the mystery man never made the conversation. That tidbit was mine for the dreaming, which I am certain will be soon. I felt so tired. I felt the heat again and decided to calm myself before I gave something away.
As Lex finished up, Val hugged me tight. “I am sorry. I wasn’t staring at you because I thought something was wrong with you. Eden, you have no idea what your birthmark means.”
“It is just a sprain. You were very lucky you didn’t break it, little miss. Your head wound wasn’t as deep as I first thought, so sutures are not needed.” I caught the wink and grin.
“I will go make you a pack for your ankle and something for that cut. Be right back.” Val left me with Lex.
I searched my uncle’s expression for any type of answer to why my mark was a bad thing. Nada. The sun was starting to come into the sky. Pinks, purples, and mute oranges were on the horizon brightening the room.
With a bowl in her hands, Val struggled with white bandages and a towel as she sat in front of me. Her gentle hands rested my ankle on the rolled towel and I watched her ladle a clear gelatinous concoction over my ankle. It smelled of lemongrass, mint, and rosemary. Mmm, the smell was soothing. It began to set, turning green, and paste-like.
Val wrapped the bandages around my foot carefully, “Maybe we have talked enough tonight. You should elevate your leg a bit and get some rest. We can discuss more after you have slept.”
Fishing out a small tin, Val rubbed some clear goo on my cut.
“I can’t argue with you. I am tired. Promise you will finish the story when I wake up?”
“Of course, sweetheart. I promise.” Her eyes darted away from for one split second and I felt as though she really didn’t want to replay the rest of the story to anyone.
“Thank you. By the way, I am sorry I ran. I had to think about some things, ya know?
“Eden, Lex and I were young once, we understand.”
“Alright you two, let’s get Eden to bed.”
The three of us made our way to my room and I collapsed on my mattress. The sweet black abyss of sleep was a welcomed comfort.
I woke in the afternoon. Rays of sunlight shown across the wood floor adding to the quiet atmosphere. Stretching my arms above my head, my yawn big, I flexed each muscle, tensing and relaxing them.
“What a day.” I covered my face, remembering the conversation and mystery man. Panic seized me a moment. I was a fairy and a mage, Val and Lex are my real aunt and uncle, and my parents lived in another place that was not in my world. How was a teenager to cope? At this moment, I would love to be in a coma as to not deal with this crazy drama. Sigh…
“Enough of this self pity.” I put my feet on the floor standing cautiously remembering I had hurt my ankle.
“Sweet, thank you, Aunt Val and your magic mojo.”
My mouth tasted disgusting and I was in some serious need of some liquid. I walked down the steps and into the kitchen hoping to find my family. We had things to talk about. As I got to the sink, I saw Lex outside in the backyard talking to a figure hidden by the tree line. It was a little weird, but then again, after everything I had heard early this morning, weird was becoming my new norm.
“Good morning sleepyhead!” I turned to see Val behind me looking younger and very refreshed in her fuchsia tank and khaki shorts. Her hair had a shine to it. She kissed the top of my head as she reached around me for a glass.
“How is the ankle, do you feel any pain? Your cut is almost fully healed.” Her smile was infectious.
“I don’t know what you mixed together, but it feels just like new. Maybe you can cure my clumsiness?” I gave her a beaming toothy grin.
I knew our conversation would have to be finished, but at this moment, to see her in a good mood, how could I be upset? I missed her happy and carefree.
“Wonderful to hear dear. One day I will fill you in on all my remedies. I always hoped to pass down the family book to you. Now you know about our heritage, so I can! As for the lack in coordination, I am afraid you get it honestly, from your mother.” Val giggled at her own comment.
I sputtered in my juice, “You mean it?” I was definitely excited now! I had seen her with a worn leather book that was so thick you needed two arms to carry the thing. Val never let me see inside the pages, she always locked it up once she was finished with it. All my fear of the fairy mage thing vanished. How cool to be like her.
“Of course I mean it.” Val sat at the table gesturing for me to follow. “Now that I can tell you all I know about our family, I have no reason to hide the book anymore. This is your past, present, and future, just like it’s mine. Your mother would have wanted you to learn and use your gifts.” Val sipped her spiced milk.
Busily engrossed in our discussion over certain plants she wanted to add to our garden, Lex came into the room excited.
“How are my two best girls this afternoon?” Lex seemed more relaxed as well, as if he had just come back from vacation. His eyes were the color of an ocean in the Caribbean, so clear and warm. He kissed Val on the cheek and came over to me kissing the top of my head.
“Good, thanks to Aunt Val.”
A tear dripped from her chin. “You called me aunt.”
“Yeah, is that okay? I mean you are my aunt, right, and you my uncle?” I tried to gage their reaction.
“We are, but you should address us as you feel comfortable. I will say… uncle has quite a ring to it though.” The cocky expression on his face gave way to laughter from the three of us.
“What?” Lex gave a wink and went to pour himself a cup of coffee.
“Who was the person you were talking to, in the backyard?”
“That was a friend of mine. He will be coming over tomorrow for dinner. Until then, I think we should finish our little talk.” Lex took a chair by me and put his hand over mine.
“Hold on, all this stuff is kind of hard to take. I just have issues with believing I am a fairy and mage. I want to believe you; a part of me knows what you’re saying is true. However, all I ask is that you don’t get upset with my reactions to what you tell me.”
“Honey, we aren’t upset at you. What we have told you is fantastical and certainly unbelievable. We both know it’s tough accepting who you are.”
“Eden,
I should have told you a long time ago. The memories are painful, but this is your life too, and you had a right. Anger is expected. I hope to someday make it up to you.” Her voice carried regret.
“It’s okay, I just need time to process, that’s all.” The reassuring squeeze from Lex made my heart tighten at my family.
“Val, I think you stopped at the marriage.”
She gave a simple nod, “We needed some answers from somewhere, and we decided to go see Amend, our tribe’s Shaman. If anyone had the answers we sought, he did. Only one high mage was in power at a time. Some have lived over 300 years, and he was already 230 and had been around long enough to give us some insight.”
“Does every mage live so long?” So cool.
“Some do, some don’t. On the average mages and the other races in Ellethny live significantly longer than humans in this world.”
“He lived in a small basic house that had a table, two chairs, a bed, and then shelves holding strange items; ingredients for potions, charms, other items as well as books. I liked being in his house. So much power radiated through it. He was wise beyond his years and we knew he could tell us about this strange connection.”
Lex took over, “I am a direct descendent of Amend, my uncle. I never knew my parents because they both died when I was very young and thus spent my childhood at his home. He taught me about spells and our use of them. My uncle told me a spell had gone wrong and killed my parents. I disliked magic after that and over the years couldn’t live there anymore. I ran away and came here.” I saw just a tiny hint of a fire behind his eyes as he thought about his parents. I understood his reaction completely.
“There are portals set up in different parts of Ellethny that can take us anywhere in the world. I ended up here, and it was a good thing I did. I wouldn’t have met Valora otherwise.” He smiled a loving smile at his wife and then returned to me.
“A long time ago a prophecy was made. It stated a child would be born from a couple tied by heaven’s light. The child would be marked to take their place as the ruler of Ellethny and unite all the races.”