by J. E. Cluney
“Of course,” I nodded.
He just gave me a thin-lipped smile before bidding us a good day and striding out of the room.
“Well, I’m confident you know how to use your sonic scream to defend yourself. With that out of the way, we can focus on your other abilities and how to hone them. We can work on honing your scream too eventually, but for now, just being able to deflect attackers is enough,” Sasha said as she straightened her skirt she’d worn today. I was in shorts and a singlet, but the day wasn’t too warm thankfully.
“What other abilities?” I asked, eager to find out more.
“Well, your banshee foretelling can sometimes be triggered in other ways, used to reveal some things. I never could learn how to do it, as not all banshees have the gift. I can sense death by touching someone like all banshees, but some banshees can tell how someone died, or get clues to how someone died, by touching objects or things tied with those deceased,” Sasha explained.
Now that was something. How interesting.
“How do I know if I can do it?” I asked, intrigued by the idea. It was also a little disturbing, but all I could think about was all the uses it could have, like solving murder cases or archaeological finds.
“Here,” Sasha reached into her pocket and pulled out an old pocket-watch. “I want you to focus on this while holding it. It was owned by Harrison O’Donnell. I want you to draw your power forth and focus on the banshee within,” she said as she offered it to me.
“O’Donnell?” I questioned.
“My brother,” she said, without a hint of distress in her voice. He’d been dead a long time apparently, going by the lack of response from her.
I nodded, reaching out and accepting the pocket-watch. It was cool to touch, and the glass over the watch was cracked, and it had long since stopped working.
I stared at it for a moment, trying to imagine the stories it would have hidden in it. Had it been carried by Mr O’Donnell always? What secrets did it hold?
I closed my fingers around it, focusing on my inner power, on the banshee lying beneath the surface.
“Imagine that you’re reaching into it, drawing out the clues, discovering the truth,” Sasha murmured.
As if that was of any help.
Instead, I let my instinct guide me. My banshee side was interested by the object, and I let her take the reins.
I slipped into the void once more, floating gently as I looked around the darkness.
Strangely, it wasn’t quiet like usual.
I frowned as I glanced around, trying to locate the source of the static sound. It was like I could hear a radio, caught between stations.
Focus. That’s what I needed to do. I drew in a deep breath, putting all my attention on the sound.
A flicker a few yards from me caught my attention, and I blinked as I willed it into focus.
I found myself staring into a room, an elderly man lying in a hospital bed. He was hooked up to a breathing machine, and he looked extremely unwell, skinny and lethargic.
I still stood in the void, darkness around me, but I could see into the room as I walked over, like I was looking in through a window.
Sasha sat on the end of the bed, sobbing softly. She looked a little younger than what she looked like now, and she wept as she rose and moved to the side of the bed.
“Goodbye brother,” she whimpered, her voice breaking as she took his hand.
I knew she could sense his death coming, filling her with dread, just like I’d sensed Derek’s death.
I eyed Mr O’Donnell, wondering just what it was that was killing him.
And just like how I knew things with Marcus and the others, I just knew.
He had cancer, lung cancer to be exact. And his treatment had failed. He was in a hospice now, counting down his days.
I drifted away from the room, having found the answer I sought.
I opened my eyes, still standing before Sasha.
She had an intrigued look on her face as she watched me curiously.
“What did you see?” she asked softly.
How did she know I saw something?
I must have frowned in question, because she smiled and explained. “Your eyes went black like a banshee.”
Right.
“Cancer, lung cancer,” I murmured. “I saw him in the hospice.”
Sasha nodded. “Yes, all those years of heavy smoking caught up with him. I knew it was coming before he even got the diagnosis. It hit him quickly,” Sasha sighed.
“You looked young, and yet he looked old,” I murmured. Was that how it would be for me with my family? Because I was going to age slower?
“Yes, he aged normally, being just a shifter,” Sasha nodded, noting my dismayed expression.
I didn’t want to see my aunt and uncle die while I was still seemingly young. Same with my cousin Hayley.
‘It’ll be okay,’ Marcus assured me, and I felt the strange comforting sensation from him. He was trying to project calm and reassurance to me, and it was actually working.
He was right. It wasn’t like I had a choice in the matter. Still, it wasn’t easy to accept.
“This power has many uses,” Sasha said, pleased that I’d been able to do it.
I was quite astonished I’d actually done it. Especially on my first go.
‘It’s because you’re not holding back anymore,’ Lucas stated.
He was actually at home today, but our bonds had strengthened to the same extent as Marcus’ and I, so the distance had no effect now.
“Do banshees help out the police?” I asked. Surely there were so many unsolved cases that could be dealt with.
“Not all banshees have the gift, and there are so few of us around,” Sasha sighed. “You’re the only other one I know of in Australia.”
I just stared at her, letting that fully sink in. She’d said she hadn’t met one in Australia, but I didn’t know that she knew there were no others.
Just us? That couldn’t be right. Surely there were others.
“Maybe the others just haven’t been found,” I suggested.
“Possible, but banshees are incredibly rare. There may be others still waiting to awaken, or who may not know what they are,” Sasha agreed.
“I’d hate to not know, I didn’t know so much about myself for so long,” I murmured. No one else deserved that. To be kept in the dark for so long. And if they had the banshee scream, that would be terrifying if they didn’t know what it was.
“They’re not easy to locate. Not even warlocks can track down banshees. There are just some supes who have such incredible magic within them that they are hidden from those seeking them out,” Sasha said, understanding my distress.
“How’d the wendigo find me then?” I asked.
“They’re drawn naturally to banshees I believe, but it could have also just been coincidence,” she said, her brow furrowing. “Just like vampires can sniff out fae, wendigos can sniff out banshees. They’re the only supe that can, too bad they’re soulless.”
Soulless. That word always made my skin crawl. But they were monsters, driven only by hunger, hunger for flesh, and hunger for power.
“Now, I’m not sure what other powers you may have, but there are some more tests I’d like to try to see what other powers you may possess,” Sasha said as she stuck out her hand.
It took me a moment to realize she was requesting the pocket-watch back, and I apologized as I handed it over.
“I want you to hold this instead,” Sasha said as she offered me an iron fragment. It looked like a piece off a fire prodder, broken at some point.
“Why?” I frowned as I accepted it. I turned it over in my hand, wondering if it was also linked to someone’s death.
“The banshees who can’t touch iron once awakened have the intangibility power. They can become incorporeal and pass through physical barrier, much like a spirit. When they awaken and gain this spiritual power, they also gain an intolerance to iron. It burns them,” Sasha expl
ained as she eyed my hand.
“It doesn’t burn,” I stated, staring at the iron piece in my hand.
“Then we need not worry about that power,” she said dismissively as she took the piece from me. “Next, I want you to focus like you did for your scream. This time, I want you to try to sing.”
“Why? What does singing do?” I questioned. “And am I fully awakened if I haven’t been with all my mates? You said not all your powers were accessible until you did.”
“Some banshees can sing as well as scream, and their songs can only be heard by those who are going to die, and they are drawn to you. They will seek you out,” Sasha explained. “As for being fully awakened, we’ll do these tests again when you have. For now, I want to know what I should focus on with you.”
“Do I even want that power, drawing those who are going to die to me?” I murmured, shuddering at the thought. I wouldn’t want those due to die to seek me out. What would they do once they found me?
“I’m unsure if it can be useful, I’ve only heard of the ability,” Sasha shrugged. “It’s less intense than a banshee scream, but still alerts you to who is going to die.”
Still, it was another shitty power in my opinion.
And singing? I couldn’t sing if my life depended on it.
But I did as instructed, finding myself in the void once more.
I could feel my power engulfing me, and I opened my mouth.
“Hush little baby, don’t say a word, momma’s gonna buy you a mockingbird,” I sung, feeling foolish.
No, this didn’t feel right at all. I switched to humming and vocalizing, but it felt stupid and not right at all.
I pulled myself from the void, and Sasha was frowning at me.
“I’m going to go with no,” she murmured.
“That bad?” I asked, wondering if I’d sung aloud.
“Your voice sounds fine, but it’s not a banshee song. I doubt they sing ‘Hush little baby’,” she snorted. “Did you feel anything when you tried to sing?”
“Just stupid,” I stated.
“Then I’m going to assume it’s not a power of yours. Yet. Maybe later on. You would’ve felt something while in the void when you tried to sing if you had it now, like a voice trying to rise from you,” she explained.
That definitely had not happened.
“Well, this is the final test of the abilities I know. So far, it looks like the ability to learn about the deceased is the only thing for you, apart from the main scream and sonic scream,” Sasha mused.
I just nodded, and Sasha turned to her bag on the floor and pulled out a salt container.
I just frowned at it.
“Salt lines can work against spirits. The show ‘Supernatural’ had that correct. I heard that one of the writers was actually a supe, so he implemented some true supernatural lore into it. They’ve done that with a few shows actually,” Sasha rambled as she drew a salt circle around me.
I felt stupid as she did it, watching her and wondering what ghosts had to do with me right now.
“The other power I know of is projection. Some banshees can project themselves from their body. It can have its uses. To test if you have the ability, I need to chant an incantation, and when I’m finished, you will step out of the circle. If you possess the ability, your projected form will be forced to remain in the circle,” Sasha said as she rose, having completed the ring around me.
“Is it safe?” I asked instantly.
“Yes, nothing will happen to your body or projected state, it’s merely just to see if it’s an ability you possess at this stage,” she assured me.
“Okay,” I breathed, still uncertain about how comfortable I was with this. She was an instructor, technically, so surely this was safe.
I gritted my teeth as she began chanting in words I didn’t recognize. Latin most likely. It was always bloody Latin.
She didn’t take long to finish up, and she nodded and beckoned at me once she was done.
I stared down at the salt circle, my heart fluttering as I sucked in a breath.
What would a projection of me even look like if it was from my banshee side? Would it be like the wispy version from the mirror?
I forced my feet to move, shivering as I stepped over the salt line.
I looked at Sasha for her reaction as she looked at the salt circle, not comfortable with looking back just yet.
She looked disappointed, and I turned to see what had happened.
Nothing. Just the circle of salt on the floor.
“Well, looks like it’s just you then,” she shrugged. “We can focus on your sonic scream then, on honing it.”
“What about the knowledge of deceased? Can’t that be used to help police?” I asked, finding it the most useful of my abilities.
“It can, but it’s not always a clear answer. The ability is unique. Deaths that were normal, something that would’ve happened without outside intervention, like cancer or heart attacks, are rather easy to distinguish. That’s why I chose to test you with my brother’s death. I knew his was clear cut. Murders, even accidental, are harder for some reason. I’m not sure why, but I think it may have something to do with how much knowledge is out there, how many witnesses. I think, that on some other level, the banshee side can tune in to what others have seen or know. I’m not entirely sure, but from all my studying, I’ve come to believe that it must be something more. Can it be helpful, yes, but I doubt it’ll ever give you a clear indication of death if it is caused by unnatural means,” Sasha tried to explain.
“How would one figure out the death then?” I frowned.
“From what I know, it’ll give you clues. You can follow these for clearer answers. As to how and what these clues are, I’m not sure. The text I found on it was quite vague.” Sasha gave me an apologetic look.
That wasn’t very helpful at all. I wanted to see if this power was of any use.
‘I could ask my dad for an unsolved supe case file? You can try to figure it out? I’ll explain your power to him as best I can,’ Lucas offered.
That was a thought. Maybe it was my way to try it out. It definitely wouldn’t hurt.
‘Okay, thank you,’ I thought back.
Solving unsolved crimes. Maybe that was something I could do in my free time.
Only one way to find out.
13
“Imagine being able to solve murders though?” Ollie thought aloud. I could see the idea of me being an investigator was something reeling in his mind.
I’d spent my afternoon of lectures wondering about it, and what Sasha meant by clues and such. Would I even know when I tried to see the cause of someone’s death?
We’d spent a fair chunk of my banshee training session working on my sonic scream, but I hadn’t been able to hone it much, if at all. But we’d discussed working on separating my pixie magic from my banshee magic, and we’d moved to me practicing drawing out my pixie magic without my banshee magic. That had been more successful, considering the pencil I was animating was no longer on a murderous spree by the time we called the lesson off as it had been going for hours.
“It would be a cool power,” I admitted.
I wouldn’t lie, I’d been fantasizing about working with the police on the side of being a veterinarian. It was something I’d do, but I wouldn’t give up my dream.
If I could help solve murders and give closure to those affected and help serve justice, then I would do it.
‘Don’t forget that you may have to see some graphic scenes. You’ll be seeing the moment someone died, and some murders are brutal,’ Marcus warned me.
My smile faltered as Ollie and I walked home from uni, the warm afternoon sun beating down on us.
He was right. I’d have to see some pretty dark stuff if I were to involve myself in murder cases. Things that could be traumatic to see.
I could even find myself faced with more bodies like Derek’s. The thought made me shiver as I forced it from my mind.
But at the s
ame time, if there were unsolved cases that not even a warlock could figure out, and I had the ability to solve it, then why shouldn’t I? Sure, just because I had the power, didn’t mean I had any obligation to use it.
‘But you like to help people,’ Lucas answered, having been listening in.
I did like to help. It was why I was studying to become a vet. Helping out others was important to me. Whether it was people or animals, I wanted to help if I could.
I played with the hem of my shirt as I wondered if I could handle the potentially graphic scenes I’d have to see.
Well, if Lucas could get me a case to test, then I could see how it went. That was all I could think of. It couldn’t hurt to try.
I sat in my room, reading through my textbook and working on my assessment in bed. Ollie was studying in his own room, while Lucas and Skip were in the living room. We’d agreed on pizza for tonight, and I’d be seeing my family again tomorrow after uni. I’d texted Natalie when I’d gotten the chance once I was home, which resulted in a phone call explaining my abilities. She was fascinated by it, and urged me to give the unsolved case idea a go.
I’d finished the call and jumped right into studying, but I was struggling as my mind kept moving to how I’d solve a case. I wanted to know how the clues would work, and just how I’d need to unravel the truth.
I found my mind drifting back to Derek, at the sight of his body, and the nauseous feeling washed over me. Could I handle seeing things like that in my mind, knowing they were real?
And Derek.
I hadn’t fully accepted what had happened to him. I had been too busy with so many other things, that I hadn’t thought too much about it. About his death. I’d deliberately forced it out of my mind.
The death of a man I once thought I loved.
I gritted my teeth as my eyes stung. He didn’t deserve my tears, and yet, I did have him to thank for teaching me about my ‘wolf side. Sure, he’d turned into an arsehole, but at first, he wasn’t too bad. It was those nice memories that were surfacing in this moment, of him laughing with me and telling me how special I was.
