Amele began knocking. “Isabel, what the hell is wrong with you? Isabel, open up, I’ve brought something for you.”
“Oh no, you have some explaining to do miss fake blonde, fake human, fake friend! Oh my God, were you ever even my friend? Who put you up to this? What are you and what the hell is happening to me!”
She heard the soft thud of Amele’s head against the door. “So it’s begun.” She whispered. “Have you read the letter from Keiren yet? From your mother?”
Isabel yanked the door open, fire blazing in her eyes. “Tell me what you know or go away. I’m feeling like I need to be a little dramatic and tell everyone to piss off at the moment. I take it you aren’t really from Maine after all. And the bit about being orphaned and left with a huge trust fund, I’m guessing that’s not quite the case either.”
“Yes I’m your friend Isabel, we’ve spent the last 5 years nearly inseparable, remember? I’m sorry about the lies, they were necessary at the time. And no, I’m definitely not from Maine.” Her face truly looked hurt even though she didn’t look like Amele at all anymore. She was almost blindingly beautiful, even more than her blonde facade. Her skin shimmered and her eyes were like liquid amber with midnight locks shining in the sun. And one of her pointed ears was pierced. She stood on the porch with her arms over her chest almost grinning as Isabel checked her out.
“Ok Amele, or whoever you are, so what is going on around here? Last night I had a wicked good dream that I am beginning to understand was not a dream at all, about a raging hot Sidhe prince who I could barely control myself around and who also mentioned that I’m some kind of princess, told me about a mother I never knew, and oh yeah, I’m part Sidhe too. Then this morning I open that package and read a letter from a mother who’s trapped somewhere and has given me advice that my choice between two men could change the worlds, I get this amulet and now I’m seeing shit like you. Clearly. That about covers it for me. Your turn,” she crossed her arms over her chest defiantly and stared at her ‘friend’.
“Well, aren’t you fiesty this morning?” She laughed. “I am Amele, that much is true. And really Isabel, is it so bad? You’re going to have 2 immortals vying for your love for the next few weeks and all you have to do is choose one for eternal bliss. Well, of course you must choose the right one in order for that to happen but we all have faith that you will. As for me, I was strictly forbidden to reveal anything to you until it was time. Now it’s time.” She eyed her gently.
“Why am I not freaking out over all this? The logical part of me is screaming that I can’t be awake, that you can’t be standing here in front of me with pointed ears, that none of this is possible, but then there’s another part of me that is incredibly calm. How is that possible?”
“It’s your heritage Isabel, you’re calm because part of you knows it’s true. You were raised in the human realm but you are not human. Well, I guess you are for a little while longer but you never should’ve been. It was part of the deal that your mom made. I personally think that there could’ve been better choices but Keiren had her reasons.”
Isabel began pacing around the living room. “Not human? What am I?”
“You see Bel, I was sent to be a guardian of sorts to you while you came into your human adulthood. I actually love the human realm so for me this was a wonderful task. You know how much I love Ben and Jerry’s,” she winked. “And, you are the future of the realm, so there’s props for that too. But then when we actually got to spend time together, I decided I actually like you. From there, you were no longer a job, but a friend. I hope you do know that.”
She softened her stance a little. “You should’ve told me Amele.”
“Tell you how? Oh yeah, right. I should’ve said, ‘Hey Isabel, I know this is going to sound insane, but I’m not really blonde, I can fly and I have pointy ears, wanna see? Oh and fyi, you’re just like me, only royalty! Should I have said it that way?”
No, that probably wouldn’t have helped.
“Hey, would it help to know that I put a little spell on your ex for being so mean to you?” She smiled mischievously.
Isabel’s face managed a bemused grin against her will. “What did you do?”
“Oh, well, let’s just say he will be having some sexual issues of his own for a while. Nothing major and it will not last too long, a few months maybe. But certainly long enough for him to gain a reputation for being a ‘softy’.”
“Oh my god,” she laughed. “Oddly, yes. That does make me feel better.” They both burst out into laughter then. “So, am I going to have the ears and flying thing too?”
Amele doubled over in laughter again. “Definitely the ears but the flying is anyone’s guess. Since you are a halfling, your abilities could go either way. But you absolutely will kick ass. Your Da’ was one ferocious warrior.”
“Great, last night I’m a wee mortal and now I’m a halfling. I think I must be having a nervous breakdown.” She pinched herself again, this time so hard that a purple welt immediately appeared. “Ow!”
She crumpled down on the couch pulling up her knees and burying her face in them. The sharp sound of Amele’s laughter made her jerk up and stare.
“Prince Bodhe called you a wee mortal? Oh Gods, he didn’t start off well did he?”
Isabel just looked at her. “Really, this is all funny to you? What am I supposed to do? My entire world just changed in a few hours and I don’t know what way is up or down anymore. Can’t you tell me anything important? Who is the other one that I haven’t met yet? Is he as charming as Bodhe? What are the rules other than the one I sleep with I get to keep for eternity and possibly destroy a world or two? And what exactly makes me a halfling?”
“I am bound and can’t tell you as much as I would like to but I can tell you who the other is. The other is named Morkain and he is the chief advisor to the Queen of Light Elves in the Kingdom of Albequen. He is also wildly handsome in a very lickable sort of way and you will find him charming I’m sure, even for an Elf. Some say that he will take the throne when the Queen steps down from her rule. That’s where your father was from of course. He was the only son of Queen Lorelei.”
“Elves too. Nice. So I’m an heir to an Elven throne? We didn’t get to that part of the conversation last night. Faer- I mean Sidhe, Elves…really? Is there anything else that I need to be aware of while we’re at it? Do dragons and mermaids exist too?”
Amele scoffed, “Well of course they do, but we don’t often see them in our realms of course. Though I do miss a few of the dragon Lords, my they are yummy when not all scaled up and such.”
“No of course you don’t see them much, why would you? And please keep your sex-capades to yourself with dragons for the moment, I think I have reached my limits of what I can imagine for one day,” she said. It’s one thing when your best friend is the most beautiful girl in town and has anyone she wants to have falling all over her, but now she had to imagine her doing it with dragon too? Eww!
Amele stifled a laugh. “Isabel, I understand that this is a lot to take in but you must be prepared now more than ever because even as these immortals try to charm you, there will be those that seek one outcome or another. The curse prevents any from harming you or persuading you in any particular direction but there are darker beings that would be able to bend the rules to an extent. So you must always wear that necklace and please also take this since you refuse to use a cell phone.”
Amele handed her a ring with a beautiful white center stone. “It was what I was digging for in the car.”
She flipped it around in her hands, studying it for a moment. “What does this one do? Drown me for a moment? The necklace was like a lightning bolt.”
Amele burst out laughing again. “Your mother and the nature stuff. Too much really but funny nonetheless. Ah no, it will not affect you in any way. But if you ever need me all you need to do is cover the stone with your right palm and I will be right there.”
“And why exactly would I need you?”<
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She looked at her very seriously then, eyes flashing with light. “Because I am your guardian Isabel. And because I am thousands of years old and can kick some serious immortal ass. Which is what you will be learning to do in the coming days. Wear the ring and let us hope that you do not need to use it. Now get your sweet little princess ass dressed and come with me, I want to take you for a drive so you can truly see your world.”
She looked at her a bit stunned by her words but complied. Thousands of years old? But she knew when she looked into the amber fire of her real eyes that she was exactly what she said. And a large part of Isabel was actually comforted to have her by her side.
Chapter 4
“Amele, what are these creatures?” Her eyes wide with wonder and horror.
She looked out the window of the BMW and for once was very happy to be in the dark and secure confines of her car. Isabel had always thought it excessive and preferred her own jeep to Amele’s higher class taste but her jeep would definitely not be strolling around Troy for a while. Not until whatever these things were had left.
“Some of them are Sidhe of course but the darker, scarier ones are of the Unseelie Court. The Unseelie are our dark brethren and they feed off the energy of mortals since they lack emotions themselves.”
Isabel shuddered. One was walking with a girl holding her hand and he was almost completely grey, was little more than skin stretched over elongated bones and had white vacant eyes. His ears were long and pointed but they hung down on the side of his deformed head grotesquely She looked closer and noticed patches of oddly placed white hair all over it. Ugh! She ripped the necklace of her head and felt her heart hammering in her chest and watched as he transformed into a perfectly normal looking twenty something. Not eye candy by any means but good looking enough.
Amele looked over at her, studying her reactions. “The Unseelie feed on emotions Bel, the more intense the better if you know what I mean. And in the process they drain their hosts. Most will move on once a host is too weak and the human will recover, with a blank spot in their memory. Some however are more greedy and take every last drop of life.”
“You mean they…oh my god, that’s disgusting! What about the Sidhe? What are they doing here?” She noticed them just hanging about, more observing than taking part in mortal life. And thank goodness, they were almost normal looking. Except of course for the glow to their skin and the devastating beauty.
“They are acting as guardians. They are making sure that none of the Unseelie cause too great a disruption in this world. You see, it’s only once every 100 years that the Unseelie can cross over due to a pact that was made, and they can only stay until the blood moon. Any that remain afterwards will be destroyed by the Sidhe guards.”
“Oh! But your kind can come and go as they please anytime?”
“Yes Isabel, our kind can come and go at will. There is no reason to create a shield from us since we do not disrupt the natural order. Except for now of course. We will all remain here until the curse is lifted.” One of the Sidhe smiled and bowed to her as they passed in the dark car.
Isabel nodded and watched the scattered grey ones around their small town. She wanted to know more about the curse but the Grey things were too captivating. “Is it like this everywhere?”
Amele looked around. “Yes. Worse than this in many places.”
“But shouldn’t someone stop this? I mean, they are hurting people right? There must be some way to keep them in their own realm. They don’t belong here Amele!” She was disgusted watching all the people going by with the grey unsightly creatures.
“There is a way but none are powerful enough to do more than ban them most of the time. It is said that one will be born that will have the power to contain the shadow realms but they are not yet here. So for now, it is all we can do to guard as best we can.”
Isabel sat there and watched in mute horror as they drove. They were everywhere. She could only imagine what a bleak picture it was in the big cities. She felt her stomach heave again. A girl she knew from one of her classes at school was sitting next to an Unseelie on a bench with her hand on his leg as he whispered into her ear and she smiled. The grey things’ hand was stroking her hair and she could almost see the wave of energy going from the girl to the creature. It was almost like a wisp of smoke between them. It took everything in her not to jump out of the car and scream for the girl to run.
“You cannot interfere as difficult as that may be. It would alert them that there is one with sight among them. And trust me, they do not take kindly to a human being able to see them unglamoured.”
Ok, she didn’t even want to know what that meant. With a heavy heart she broke her gaze away from her classmate and the retched beast.
“Take me home Amele, I have seen enough for today. Please.”
She quietly turned the car around and headed home. “I hope you will not mind me taking up residence in one of your spare rooms Isabel. I believe you can see now why it is important that I watch over you. The Unseelie as far as we know do not have any knowledge of the prophecy but if they found out you would be in great danger. I think it best that I stay and teach you in between your dreams.”
“Y-yes,” she shivered watching a Grey one kiss an unsuspecting mortal, his repulsive body rubbing up against the girl. “Okay.”
Chapter 5
The day had been spent getting Amele settled in her house and learning about the Sidhe and the Elves among a few choice other races that she was curious about. She was told a little bit about the curse and the prophecy and that she would come and reunite the crowns somehow. Her mother had fled Loveryn twenty-two years ago, cloaking herself in magic so that none could follow her. She had brought Isabel to these people in particular, they were chosen because of who they were and where they lived. Her mother had thought that bringing her to this small town nestled in the mountains would reduce her risk of the Sidhe or the Elves finding her. And although bartering her into a mortal existence for this part of her life was risky, she did it because of visions, or that’s what Amele thought anyway. She knew that just as she was going to go through the change however that the crossover of the Unseelie into the human world would happen and she feared they would know what she was somehow. Welcome best and only friend in the world Amele. When her parents had died in the car accident she would’ve never gotten through it if it wasn’t for her.
Apparently her mom had summoned her by a letter, much like Isabel had received at exactly the right time, ensuring that the secret would be maintained and once Amele accepted the task, she was bound here with no communication to Loveryn. The Unseelie would not near any mortal that was being watched by the Sidhe guard and Amele was one of their oldest and strongest warriors. Who would’ve thought the cheerleading party girl was a few thousand years old and as she put it, was able to kick some serious immortal ass? According to Amele there wasn’t much in the way of immortals that she couldn’t slay so most avoided her. The prophesy also did not say when she would come, but it did specify that the dreams would preclude it so whichever of the two was not after her best interest may be able to reach the shadow beings somehow preceding this.
Amele couldn’t go into details about why the curse was placed or how it was lifted other than it was somehow broken by her choice. Her mother would wake if she chose correctly and there would be order in the magic realms again. Right now the veils were very thin and the realms that should not ever merge with others were beginning to get close. Most believe that this was the work of the Elementals but truthfully the Elemental Gods didn’t care enough about anything to do this by themselves.
“Someone has bound one to them. And that is very dark and dangerous magic Isabel. The Elementals are powerful and unfeeling and they would not be summoned without a great price. But all that is speculation since it’s been so long since anyone has summoned one of the Earth Gods.” When she asked further about the Elementals, Amele would not divulge her.
“In time Isabel
. But it’s getting late now and there is another that you must meet.”
“Aren’t you going to give me advice or something?”
“I can’t Isabel, it’s against the rules. I cannot sway the decision one way or the other.” She sat there deep in thought for a moment. “Oh! There is one thing I can tell you! If you ever want to wake up, all you have to do is say aloud in the dream, ‘I want to go home’.”
No wonder I flew out of there so quickly last night. “Good advice that would’ve been better served before I left Bodhe. Can I choose who I go to?” She tilted her head up to her friend.
“Afraid not halfling. Not until you have made your choice anyway.” She grinned.
She glared at her for the name calling again and huffed up to her bedroom. “Halfling my ass. I think I like Princess better,” she muttered beneath her breath as she stomped up the stairs.
She settled in her bed, her stomach tight and fluttering. How the hell am I going to get to sleep like this? Tossing and turning, her bed felt like it was made of stones and it was a great deal of time before the blackness finally overtook her.
When she opened her eyes she found herself in a large bedroom with a fire blazing in an enormous fireplace. Afraid to speak she began scanning the room slowly, expecting to be accosted again at a moment’s notice. “Welcome to Albequen,” a silky voice purred behind her. She whipped around and shrieked.
“I really wish everyone would stop sneaking up on me!” She glared at the easily 6’5 foot being that was inches from her.
Really? Could this get any worse? He was beautiful. Long black hair pleated in braids that went behind his pointed ears and piercing blue eyes flared at her. A smile beckoned his full lips and reached up into his magnificent eyes. Every inch of him was a sculpted gorgeous mass of muscle and his skin was deeply tanned.
And dammit if her pajamas weren’t gone again. She wore a blue silk dress this time that was cut dangerously low in both the front and back and swept about her ankles softly. Her necklace and ring remained however. Good to know. She didn’t know if she could actually summon Amele or not but at least she was protected from magic and that made her feel more confident.
Immortal Dreams Page 4
