by Jen Pretty
As the smell of fresh coffee hit the air, I took a deep breath, savouring the rich scent. Slowly I saw Victor raise his hand and reach across the table to touch mine. As I watched it, I suddenly realized I had slowed time. Just now. That was what was happening. It was real.
"I'm sorry," I said as he snapped back to regular time. I was completely unaware of how I did what I just did. Shit. How often was I doing this? This could be a huge problem. No wonder I could sit alone on the couch, and suddenly it was 4 hours later, or it seemed like days when I was waiting for something. Ugh. Definitely cannot get this training started soon enough.
Victor laughed like it was funny. It wasn’t fucking funny. How could he laugh about this?
"It's ok Alexandra; this is why we have teachers. To help you use your magic when you need it and not when you don't." He spoke softly like a father talking to a young child.
“How old are you?” I asked realizing he may be old enough to be my father.
"454 years," he replied honestly. Wow. Ya. Ok. I was an infant compared to him.
"We live a very long time," he looked at me then with his grey eyes, and it occurred to me that I would live a very long time as long as vampires don't get me first.
“Oh god. Are vampires killing all those families?”
He frowned and looked down at his hands. “Yes. We haven’t been able to stop them yet. The rest of the fae have fled the city and are heading to our homeland, but we can't just hide forever from them. We have to stop the slaughter so we can live our lives as we choose. Our homeland is wonderful, and I'll take you there once your teacher has arrived, but we can't let the vampires take over the world. There must be a balance."
"They started with a planned attack on all our timekeepers. Since then it has been a nightmare." A nightmare, indeed. I had that nightmare. A lot.
“But how can I help? I don’t understand how my magic is enough to stop them.”
“You just have to slow them down. The hunters will do the rest.”
"The hunters?" I asked. They sounded like a bunch of guys with beer bellies and shotguns.
“Their magic works with yours so they won’t be held back when you slow time. Technically their magic is battle, they are highly trained but also born to fight and defend fae. Together, you and the hunters, can turn the tables and shift the power to balance again.” He sounded almost enthusiastic.
I let it go for now. I was quite full of information and not full enough of coffee. So I sipped my coffee in silence while Victor finished his stew. It was a long time before anyone spoke again.
“Would you like some more coffee?” Margot asked.
"No, thank you, Margot, I think I've had enough. Dinner was delicious." I smiled at her as she took my bowl and mug and headed back to the kitchen counter. I looked at Victor; he was reading some paperwork he had brought with him from his office. He didn't look a day over 30. It seemed strange to know he was genuinely ancient.
“I should call my friend,” I said after another 20 minutes of watching him read.
He looked up before handing me his phone.
"Thanks." I stood up and walked back into the foyer. I dialled Vs cell number, but it just went to voicemail. So I tried her condo and got her voicemail again. I left a message telling her I was out of town for a while and I'd lost my cell, but I'd call her again soon. I was a bit worried that she didn't answer either phone but figured she was probably just busy with work.
I walked back into the kitchen and handed Victor back his phone. "I think I'll go have a shower and maybe get changed if you have some extra clothes I could borrow." The little black dress that I had worn to the club was quite dirty from my run in with the troll, and I couldn't be sure, but possibly blood splattered thanks to his beheading.
"Of course!" Margot chimed "I'll bring you up some clothes and leave them on your bed. Just leave your clothes in the bathroom, and I'll get them washed for you."
"Thanks," Margot seemed to be wholly domestic which was quite alarming honestly as I wasn't used to being around people with so much enthusiasm for household tasks like laundry and cooking.
I made my way up the stairs to the landing and opened the first door. It was another bedroom done all in pink. Figuring that it had to be Margot's room, I shut the door and tried the next. It was a huge bathroom with whirlpool tub and shower. I walked in and locked the door behind me. I was still not feeling safe or comfortable in this house or with these people, no matter how nice they seemed. I turned the water on full hot, and in less than a minute, it was scorching. Perfect. Standing under the soothing jets, I finally felt the stress leaving. My scalp was sore from the monster dragging me around by my hair, but I gently scrubbed it until I was sure it was clean. I found a new toothbrush in the drawer and brushed my teeth too. Brushing out my long blonde hair with a comb I located took forever but by the time I was done I felt almost human, though I was apparently not human, so that was weird. I giggled at the irony before wrapping my towel tightly around me and making my way back to the room in which I woke up.
Margot had left me some loose jogging pants a t-shirt and hoodie. Thank God. I needed some fleece in my life right now.
I threw the comfy clothes on and lay down on the bed. The bed was far too cushy to lie on without getting trapped in the softness. So before I even knew what was happening, I was asleep.
Red. Everywhere red. I was walking from my room on the lower deck of the yacht towards the stairs up to the main deck, and it was everywhere. Spray on the ceiling, soaking into the carpet. The closer I got the stairs the more panicked I was getting. Then I saw my sister. Lying on her side but she was barely recognizable under the blood. I started to scream. This couldn't be happening. I ran forward three steps and saw my mother and father. They were lying together, but neither was moving. I was screaming so loud my voice was hoarse. I could hear someone calling my name. I opened my eyes and threw a punch at the same time realizing too late it was my nightmare. My fist had made contact. Shit. Who did I hit? I looked around and suddenly realized there was an old man with a bloody lip staring at me from 10' away. Omg. I struck an old dude.
“Oh fuck! I am so sorry! Are you ok? Shit, shit, shit. VICTOR!!!” I called before I realized the old guy was laughing….
“Umm…are you ok?” I asked again.
"Yes. Yes. I'm quite fine young one. You can't harm me, that's why I'm the teacher," he replied with a smile, and I realized this must be my new teacher Master Evan.
"I'm so sorry. Ugh. I was just having a nightmare. I don't usually hit people." I said feeling bad about punching the guy in the mouth.
I took a good look at my new teacher. He appeared to be about 70 with a white beard and crazy hair. He looked a bit like Albert Einstein, actually.
"Don't worry child. It'll take more than that to take me out. Now, shall we have a proper introduction?" he spoke around his bloody teeth. God. I was never going to forgive myself for that one. "My name is Master Evan, and you will call me Evan. Don't listen to anyone else about your magic. They are all idiots. You have excellent magic that will serve us all well."
"Umm ok. Good to meet you, Evan. My name is Alexandra, but you can call me Lex. I'm not so sure about my magic though. It seems to have a mind of its own."
"Oh yes. Rightly so. Magic will do as it will unless you say otherwise. That is lesson one. Now. You might want to get dressed and come down for some food. As I understand it, we are heading back to Homeland today as soon as you have eaten and it's a bit of a long trip." he winked, and he bounced out the door like a young boy. I shook my head at the strange behavior.
I dragged myself up and into the bathroom. Had a quick shower and threw the same comfy clothes back on. I didn’t do anything but sleep in them. Probably fine.
As I was headed downstairs, I noticed Victor's office door was open and he was speaking to someone. I came around the stairs and hovered at the bottom. I don't usually eavesdrop on conversations but enquiring minds etc.
“Wha
t are you talking about, Reg? She is the last one. We don’t have a choice. She needs training before you can take her anywhere,” Victor declared with a slight amount of irritation.
A voice I didn't know spoke next, but I assumed it was ‘Reg' "I realize she isn't trained but how long do you plan to keep her in Homeland. I need to get the team together and start before the vampires take over this whole world. We don't have time to baby her."
Wow. No pressure. I should not be eavesdropping. Turning on my heel, I walked into the kitchen. Immediately blocking out what I just heard. This is why manners matter. My momma always said you never heard anything you wanted to hear by eavesdropping, and that lady was right.
“Good morning! I hope you slept well,” Margot gushed with a smile. I returned her smile and sat at the table.
“I slept ok most of the night but woke up a bit rough,” I admitted.
"Oh dear! Did Master Evan scare you? I told him not to go in when you slowed time like that. It seemed like a bad idea, but he was sure he could help you."
"No. It was a nightmare. Well, reliving the murder of my family. Not quite a nightmare. But I woke up swinging and Evan happened to be in the line of fire, and I punched him in the mouth." I wrinkled my nose still upset with myself for punching a friendly old man.
Margot giggled a little bit then bit her lip trying to hold it in before she burst out laughing. "You punched Master Evan in the mouth?" by this point she was laughing so hard she had tears rolling down her cheeks. "Oh, my Lord. You know that man hasn't left the monastery in 300 years. First day out and he gets punched by a child," her laughing continued. "Magic doesn't work on him. That is why he teaches the young; I doubt he's ever been injured by a child."
I wanted to point out I was nearly 22 but decided I couldn’t say it without sounding like a petulant child so I bit my tongue as Margot set a plate of breakfast food down for me. Egg sausage, toast, hash browns, and a steaming cup of coffee. She was still randomly giggling but trying to hold it in.
Evan, Victor and a man I didn't know but was betting was impatient Reg, walked into the kitchen. Evan didn't seem worse for the wear, but as soon as Margot looked at him, she burst out laughing again and had to excuse herself from the kitchen.
I turned back to the group and Evan had a pinched look on his face but didn’t seem angry.
Victor spoke first “I understand you met Master Evan already.”
"Yes. I'm very sorry, Evan. That's never happened before," I apologized with a solemn look on my face.
"Don't worry child! I told you it would take more than a fist to take me down." He was in the kitchen getting himself some breakfast at this point, and as he turned back he smiled at me, and I really couldn't see any trace of the damage I had done to his mouth.
“What happened?” Victor asked.
“Nothing of concern. But we might need a dreamer to help our young friend with a nightmare problem.” He winked secretively at me then looked back to Victor “I think I might know the perfect dreamer for her,” Evan suggested before turning back to me “how long have you been having nightmares?”
"Since my family was killed," I muttered around a mouthful of sausage. Apparently, my manners were completely gone at this point. Whatever. Margot made a mean sausage.
“Hmm,” was all he replied before digging into his meal.
“This is Reg, Alexandra. He is the leader of the hunters I was telling you about.”
I stared at him for a long moment. He had light blue eyes and sandy brown hair. He looked younger than Victor so perhaps closer to my age. I didn't really know how it worked, but it seemed like we aged much slower than humans. Much, much slower.
“Nice to meet you, Reg. Call me Lex. “ I said and gave him a small smile. Just because he wanted me to help him save the world and I’d rather sit on my couch all day, didn’t mean he was a bad person. Probably.
“Nice to meet you too.” He turned to Victor “Let me know when we are ready to head out. I have part of a team planning to meet us at the portal. The rest are already in Homeland.”
"Wait. There is a portal? I thought Homeland was like Ireland or something. What is a portal and what does it do and where is Homeland anyway?" I was not jumping in some magical portal.
Just. No.
Chapter three
As we drove away from the city, it felt like a goodbye. I didn't have any family or close friends, except V, and no pets. My job was a bit of a joke. The board didn't need my input, and my lawyer kept track of everything relevant anyway. He was my daddy's lawyer and was a part of my childhood memories, so I trusted him to take care of my interests. All of a sudden I was on a new path. The things of storybooks were real, and I was part of that. It seemed hard to believe. Then I remembered Victor said he knew my family just before I'd passed out a couple of days ago.
“Victor,” I said from the back seat of the SUV.
“Yes, Alexandra?”
"Call me Lex. Uhm. You said you knew my parents?" I asked tentatively. I wasn't sure what I wanted from him, but if he had information about them that I didn't know, I felt it was my right to ask. I mean they did keep a huge secret from me my whole life.
"Yes. About a hundred years ago we lived near each other in the Homeland." He glanced at me in the rear-view mirror.
Holy. Shit. I suppose I should have figured out by now that they had to have been much older than I expected. They both looked middle-aged, but that meant most of the things I knew about them were lies. I felt a bit queasy.
"Perhaps we should wait till we aren't driving to have this conversation, hmm," Evan suggested from the passenger seat. Good point. I could probably cause an accident on the highway if I changed time. I took a deep breath and tried just to be cool. I was far from cool, but I sat back and stared out the window and said a little prayer that I wouldn't kill us all. Stupid magic.
It was about a 6-hour drive. So after three stops for gas, two extra stops for coffee, several pee breaks, plus a whole lot of boring conversation about weapons thanks to Reg we pulled into an abandoned drive-in movie theatre lot. It seemed more like the kind of place you leave a dead body than where you go through a portal to some other place, but I left my trust in our fearless leader, Victor. The 5 of us piled out. I had a good stretch and chugged the last of my cold coffee before setting it back into the cup holder in the SUV when I realized there wasn't a garbage can in sight.
“Alright, where is this magical portal?” I asked looking around like I should be able to see a door or something.
"It's just beyond the screen," Victor pointed towards the collapsing wooden wall structure. "But Reg's crew hasn't arrived yet. We can give them a few more minutes."
"I'll give them a call now," Reg said taking out his phone, he dialled quickly while he walked to the other side of the SUV to grab his bag from the trunk.
Before Reg even got his bag out, an SUV that matched the one we drove in pulled through the old gates and right up beside ours. As the dust settled, two men and a woman climbed out and greeted Reg. There was plenty of masculine back slapping and chuckles. I rolled my eyes and looked back at the screen where Victor had said there was a portal. I didn't see a portal.
Reg and the other men came around and stopped in front of us. They all waved and said hellos to Margot and Victor and Evan and then Reg started introducing them. "This is Armond, my second in command" Armond was taller than the rest of them but not quite as muscular. He had messy dark hair, intense green eyes and two samurai swords strapped to his back. That was not terrifying at all. "Beside him is Fritz." Fritz was beautiful. Soft brown eyes that twinkled and a smile like a movie star. "And last but not least this is Darla. Darla looked older than the rest but had a soft, welcoming smile and a friendly air to her. Apart from Armond none of them seemed armed so at least there was that.
"Nice to meet you all," I mumbled reluctantly. I still wasn't feeling especially good about this portal business and was having trouble focusing on anything else.
; "So," Armond looked me up and down "This is our new timekeeper, then?" He glanced at Victor and Victor nodded. "Can you change time, darling?" He asked with a smile. I couldn't tell if he was being condescending or not. But I felt like it was a test that I would either pass or fail with no retakes. So I flipped him the bird. Better safe than sorry. He chuckled.
Evan stepped between Armond and me and spoke "Let's just get to Homeland before we invite trouble. She is untrained, and I feel like a sitting duck."
“You're right,” Victor agreed “let’s get moving.”
As we all turned and started walking towards the screen, Armond and Darla were having a whisper fight in the back of our little group. Finally, Armond spoke loud enough for me to hear "I'm sorry if I came off like a jerk, Alexandra, I didn't mean anything by it."
I turned my head to look at him, and he seemed sincere even if I was quite confident Darla had made him say it. "Ok, and call me Lex."
We all continued on our march. As we walked toward the giant screen, I really didn't see anything. I mean nothing that looked magical anyway. "Where is this portal? I still don't see anything."
“It’s just there,” Evan pointed to a skinny tree that looked half dead. Ok. Sure. Ya. Dead tree totally looks like a portal but then what did I know about portals? Nothing.
As we got closer, I started to feel it. Like the feeling of coming home. Peace or something. But then another feeling overtook me. Fear. My heart began to race when Victor yelled, and Margot screamed. We all turned to see a hoard of men with glowing red eyes. Three of them had hold of Margot and were trying to drag her back towards the parking lot. Those eyes, though. My brain was firing like fireworks. I'd seen eyes like that before. Then all I saw was red. Walls, floor, bodies. And I screamed.
Everything slowed. The men with red eyes farther away turned and started to run, but the ones holding Margot were too slow. Victor was trying to reach for Margot, but he was slow also. Evan looked at me like I was brilliant.
But the hunters, they were the ones to see. The four of them turned in unison, producing weapons. Armond, with his two samurai swords, was already decapitating one of the red-eyed men while Reg and Darla took out long knives and started fighting and Fitz started producing small knives and throwing them faster than I could see. Before long it was just us left standing.