She Awakens

by Caitlin Denman

  The smoke is thickening, and the world is still shaking. Everything vibrates as I search for camp, I can’t see it anymore. I turn my head, as much as I can with the awkward way I'm laying on the saddle. I search where Oak should be laying, but I can’t see him. All I see is Father whispering something to Raven. Then he pets her one last time on the forehead and Raven takes off.

  I try to yell out “No! Dad!” but the pain wracking my body cuts off any words I try to form and turns them into a yell of agony. Behind us I can hear the woman screaming again, and see my father running away from us towards camp. He runs through the smoke, his figure turns hazy, almost ghostlike, getting cloudier and murkier until I can no longer see a figure at all, only the wisp of his outline moving in the distance.

  The pain is getting to be too much. I am starting to feel lightheaded and woozy, then there's sensation like I’m hovering above myself, like my consciousness is outside of my body. Out of nowhere a huge, beautiful crack arcs across the sky. It’s the white of pure power, like a thunderbolt forged by the God of thunder and lightning himself. As it lands right in the middle of camp, the following explosion is ethereal and world shattering.

  By now Raven’s ungodly speed has gotten us far enough away to not be touched by the ensuing fireball of fury, but my skin feels hot. I can feel the heat of the explosion on my face. I vaguely hear myself cry out for Father before I succumb to the excruciating pain and everything goes dark.

  17

  Allister

  Walking into the king’s ominously dark throne room, the first thing that catches my eye are the guards. Two Fae guards flank the door leading in, and two more flank the colossal dais before me.

  The guards are swathed from head to toe in golden armor. Their heads are adorned with full-faced helmets with long golden feathers poking out the top of them. Golden scale armor runs down the length of their bodies; even their boots are fully protected in the same gold armor. Fae families in our kingdom are starving, and here the king is sitting on his throne, protected by guards whose armor alone could feed fifty families for a year. It’s disgusting. These guards are the king’s golden guards, his protection unit, the best of the best—except for myself, of course.

  I am strictly the king’s personal slayer, the kingdom’s greatest warrior, trusted with dispatching of the most sensitive targets. Henrik, King of the Western Fae sits on a huge black throne. The throne itself is forged out of charred bones of the humans Henrik killed over the years. Atop a smaller but matching throne next to him sits Kenda, my mother, and Queen of the Eastern Fae. Which, through marriage, makes Henrik the King of all Fae.

  Now, as I walk into the throne room, the first, most menacing thing I see is Henrik. Henrik is a big, bulky man; not fat, but muscular. His gray beard reaches from his aquiline nose down to his broad chest. His hair is short, salt and pepper colored, and his piercing eyes are the color of fresh blood. He may have become my stepfather when I was young, but I didn’t delude myself, I know exactly where I stand with him, a competitor for the throne. He puts up with me for now because of my slaying skills, but that won’t last forever.

  I cross the immense, dark, marble floor to stand in front of them. As I peer up at the king and queen, I see they are both clad in matching golden tunics. The tunic overwhelms my mother. The two of them are polar opposites, where the King is big and muscular my mother is dainty and feminine. The clothing almost makes Henrik seem commendable, but I know that is not the case. Henrik is the scariest man I have ever seen in my life. It isn’t necessarily his appearance, which scares me, although his features are terrifying, it's what I know he is capable of.

  Henrik is hundreds of years old and inherited his throne from his father at the young age of 221. Inherited probably isn’t the right word for it. Overtook is a better word for what happened. Henrik’s father was poisoned during a dinner party with a rival tribe. The chief of that tribe, my father, was blamed and executed.

  Henrik became king overnight and overtook the rival tribe by forcing my mother to be his bride, gaining more people and land under his rule. Some said Henrik had poisoned his own father, killing two birds with one stone. But the people who said such things usually didn’t live terribly long. I think back to that night all those years ago, to the truth.

  I was only five years old when all this happened. Too young for anyone to take seriously but by chance I know, firsthand, what happened all those years ago. So does my mother, but she was, and is, too frightened of Henrik to speak out against him and I don’t blame her.

  During that fateful stay at the palace, all those years ago I was mostly ignored, so I spent my days exploring the palace. I remember I was playing spy and sneaking down each and every corridor I could find without being spotted.

  Soon enough, I was in the belly of the palace, lost. I turned a corner and walked right into Titania, the king’s only daughter. She peered straight down at me and at the same instant I heard the king yell her name from behind her.

  Before turning to Henrik, Titania whispered down to me, “Run.”

  I was frozen in place, scared out of my mind as Titania turned around to face her father. As she turned around, she smoothly pushed me back down the hallway I had just sneaked down, which was exactly what I needed to pull me out of my reverie. I turned and ran back the way I came, back around a corner, but instead of running away, I did what a real spy would do and hid behind a statue, listening.

  From my vantage point, I could hear everything being said between Titania and Henrik.

  “Is everything ready for tonight?”

  “Yes, father.”

  “Where is the poison?”

  “In the hands of a trusted individual. It will be done before dessert.”

  “I hope you’re right, because if this thing does not go off without a hitch it will be you who I hang.”

  “Yes, sir,” she tightly voiced, ending their exchange.

  After hearing their exchange, I turned heel and ran away. I found my way back to my mother’s room and told her everything I heard. Of course, she didn’t believe me. She thought it was all just part of the spy game I was playing, which made me think these crazy things. I insisted that wasn’t the case so emphatically she quickly got tired of arguing with me and sent me to my room to have supper instead of with the other royals. Now thinking back, I’m sure she was worried I would say something and cause trouble for our kingdom.

  So the adults had dinner without me. I ate dinner alone and crawled into bed for the night hoping mother was right and everything I heard was just a figment of my imagination, but I knew in my heart it wasn’t.

  Afterwards, right as I was falling off to sleep, my mother quietly stepped into my room. She glided over to my bed, sat down, and kissed me on the forehead. Then as she got up to leave, she whispered, “I’m sorry.” The next day, I would find out Henrik was now blaming my father for poisoning and killing his father.

  My mother came to me later that morning and we agreed not to ever talk about what I overheard the previous day ever again for the sake of our people back home. She also told me Henrik had informed her for this slight against his household he would start a war with our nation unless she married him. She explained she would do this to keep bloodshed from reaching our border. But we later found out in exchange for peace she would never be the same woman again.

  She gave up her freedom for our people, for me, but now she sits on a throne by her second husband whom she knows murdered the love of her life. She sits there like a statue; unmoving and uncaring of what happens around her. I don’t know if she even realizes who I am as I walk through the throne room toward her and Henrik.

  Henrik has called for me many times over the years but not like this. Today, while training with my squad, one of Henrik’s golden guards came to tell me I was being summoned under gag order to drop whatever I was doing and head to the throne room immediately.

  As the leader of Henrik’s top death squad, I hadn’t ever been so accosted espec
ially with a gag order. My squad has never once been exempted on mission details. There is nothing in this world my men can’t handle, so why would Henrik need to be so secretive? Why call for me only?

  I kneel down at the bottom of the steps to the throne with my head bowed and a fisted hand over my heart in a show of allegiance.

  “You may stand.” Henrik’s booming voice fills the room.

  I rise and place my hands behind my back staring into those bloodthirsty eyes.

  “What can I do for you, my liege?” I ask in my most humble voice.

  “I need you to fulfill a mission for me.”

  “Me and my squad would be honored.” I bow.

  “No, only you this time Allister. Not your squad. This is a top secret mission for you and you, alone.”

  “Yes, of course, sire,” spills out, but I have a million questions coursing through my mind. Why only me? What is so secretive I have to do this alone? But before I can finish my thoughts Henrik continues.

  “I’m sure you felt the quake of an Awakening the other day.”

  “Yes sire, one of our Fae must have gone through their Awakening. I didn’t think much of it.”

  “None of our Fae Awakened. That was an outsider.”

  This shocks me. “But we felt the quake here, how is such a thing possible?”

  “I’ve known about this particular Fae girl for some years. She’s of mixed blood. How she’s survived for this long, I don’t know. I knew she was close to her Awakening so I sent a werewolf out to dispatch her, but it didn’t return. I don’t know how she overcame the werewolf, but she did. When the werewolf didn’t return, I sent out one of my special projects and that’s when she Awakened, and my special project was also lost. So, as you can see, we have a problem on our hands. She’s a rogue Fae, and she could be the most powerful Fae of this generation even though she's only a disgusting half breed.” He glares at me with his cold dead eyes, his emotions, like usual, unreadable.

  “So, you want me to capture her and turn her to our side so we can use her power?” I question.

  Henrik sends me a seething stare and screams “No! I want it dead! It’s past the point of being one of us. It needs to be put down.”

  I don’t think before I blurt out, “But why?”

  Henrik explodes. Fire encompasses his body. I drop to a knee again and a torrent of fire shoots past where my head had just been seconds ago as Henrik bellows, “You do not get to ask me why I make my decisions. I am your king, and you will do this for me without question.”

  I put my fisted hand back over my heart and bow my head as low as possible as I say, “Yes sire, of course,” in my most non-threatening voice.

  “My adviser will give you the information regarding where she was last seen and you can go from there.” I stand up and turn to leave, but at my back Henrik yells, “If you disappoint me boy don’t even bother coming back.” I spin back around to face him and bow my head to my king.

  I knew something was up from the moment Henrik summoned me, but I didn’t realize how serious the situation was until now. I am his top slayer, the leader of his top death squad. If he’s willing to kill me for failing to kill a little girl, there must be something else different about this half Fae. There must be something extraordinary about her.

  With my head still bowed in submission, I back out of the room without turning my back on Henrik again. I want him to continue thinking I am on his side. As I walk through the castle, I have a million thoughts cascading through my mind, all of them about this half Fae girl.

  18

  Attina

  I wake up to the bright light of a new day and the swaying movement of Raven under me. The sun is already high in the sky by the time I open my heavy eyes.

  Every single inch of my body aches and my skin feels too warm from lying in the sun all day on Raven’s back. My lips are dry and tough, and I can feel my lips have cracked and are peeling away. My throat is so arid it feels like I swallowed a mouthful of sand and my sweat ridden clothes are clinging to my skin like I’ve had a fever all night and it finally broke.

  I try to clear my throat, but can’t. It feels like I have rocks stuck in there. “Raven I’m up. Stop for a minute,” I croak out. I don’t know how long I’ve been asleep, but with the way my throat aches, it must have been a long time.

  Raven abruptly stops and I try to keep my balance, but I’m too weak and I sail over her shoulder landing hard on the ground on my back. After moving on horseback for so long I simply lay there taking in the feeling of stillness. Raven moves so her head is directly above mine blocking out the sun and I can feel her warm breath graze my face.

  “You okay, kid?”

  Hearing her voice hits me like a ton of bricks and I instantly start crying uncontrollably but through the fog of tears I hear Raven’s voice, shrill and concerned as she says, "What's wrong? Are you hurt? What’s going on?”

  I take a deep breath and slowly let it out before I sit up and turn to Raven to answer her. “I’m just so overwhelmed. What happened? Where’s Father? Where’s Oak?” I say, searching around us, finding nothing. Raven drops her head and stares down at the ground before answering and I know that can’t mean anything good.

  “What do you remember after your Awakening took hold?”

  I think back. My memory is extremely hazy and they are clouded with pain, but there are a few things, which actually stand out.

  “I remember falling on the ground and the massive pain wracking my body. Father was restraining that woman. I kept thinking about that huge splinter of wood driving straight through her heart, then a feeling of relief. Somehow after that, Father was by my side and I saw that woman bleeding out hurt on the ground. Then he picked me up, put me on your back, and after that all I remember is the unending pain. I saw Father walk back to camp and I tried to yell out to him but all I could do was scream and then I remember a blinding white light.”

  Raven kneels down on all fours so she is on the ground face to face with me. She takes in a deep steadying breath and begins. “Attina, first off you must know that woman at camp was your mother. I don’t know if Silas ever told you her name, but her name is Titania.”

  My jaw drops. I try to say something, but all that falls out of my mouth is a croaking noise. I remember now, Oak screamed at Raven that Titania was there. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was what Father said my mother’s name was.

  “Second, her power was weather manipulation. I don’t know if you noticed with everything going on, but by the time we made it back to camp together there was a dark ominous cloud cover circling the camp. That white light you saw while we were leaving was lightning striking the ground. We barely made it out of the strike zone. I don’t know how anyone could have survived that kind of explosion. I’m so sorry, but we must continue on without them, we must accept that they are gone my lady,” she says this last part with a sadness in her voice and a bow of her head.

  “No!” I shout, scrambling to my feet, my mind moving faster than my body's capabilities. My legs are so weak I fall back down and sit, dazed. I whisper, “They can’t be gone… they can’t be gone.”

  I vaguely realize Raven is saying something to me, but I’m too far away in my own world to hear her. I’m flipping through my memories of Father and Oak. Each and every laugh, smile, hug, and support they gave me over the years. How Oak and Father always protected me above everything else. They can’t be gone. I still need protecting. I wrap my arms around myself while rocking back and forth. I feel like a child trying to soothe themselves, but it’s the only thing that helps.

  As I sit on the ground rocking myself, I see wind blowing around my body, encircling me. I search around, nowhere else is the wind blasting, only around me. Then I notice water seeping up from the desert floor and pebbles around me start shaking. This must be my Fae powers, how am I supposed to do this? Mother said Father and Oak would help me with this part but now they’re gone.

  Seeing my powers taking over
on their own makes me think how helpless I undoubtedly am now. Father and Oak would know what to do. I won’t ever be able to control my powers without them. I can feel myself fracturing on the inside and somehow, I can physically hear the cracks spreading through me. How am I supposed to do this on my own? It’s impossible.

  Raven’s voice breaks through to me, through the splinters, and smashing the haze covering my mind. I gape, and see her shouting at me, but can barely hear what she's saying over the sound of the wind circling me. I strain my ears and her words drift to me as a whisper

  “Calm down! Breathe Attina! You’re going to hurt yourself.”

  I start to breathe deeply, in and out, and as I do the winds calm some.

  “Attina, breathe damnit!” Now I can hear it for the shout it is.

  I continue slowly and breathing deeply, over and over, in and out.

  Then out of nowhere everything stops. The wind is still. The rocks around me have all moved away and now I sit in a crevice; like the earth around me tried to block me from the world, like it tried to wrap me in a protective bubble. I continue to rhythmically breathe, each breath calming me more and more. Then Raven’s face is right next to mine.

  “Are you okay, Attina?”

  I breathe in again. “Yes, I think so.”

  Raven explodes. “You scared me! What the hell just happened?”

  “I don’t know. I guess those were my Fae powers coming out,” I say meekly.

  “You better tell me what’s going on right now!” I can tell by the expression on her face she’s annoyed, it’s the same expression she had anytime she had to deal with me growing up.

  “I don’t know!” I yell. “I was thinking about Father and Oak being gone and I wrapped my arms around myself and thought how comforting it was and the winds started. Then I thought about how I’d never be able to control my powers without them and things just got worse from there…” I trail off.