The Portal to Sidhe: Book 1

by Kelsey Schaeffer

  “Shut the door.” I said blatantly.

  “What’s wrong?” he said, looking concerned.

  “Why would you do that!” I cried.

  He looked confused and shrugged his shoulders.

  “Why would you put Damon up to that?” I demanded.

  Suddenly he had a goofy smile on his face. He knew exactly what I was talking about. “What did you say?” he asked anxiously.

  “Dad, he’s my best friend...we don’t even date. I’ve never even had a boyfriend...let alone a kiss.” I cried.

  “He came to me…” my dad said looking very confused, “he came to me a week ago and asked if he could marry you. At first, I didn’t think it was a good idea. The two of you are so young. I thought the two of you were just friends, that is why I was so confused. But he told me how much he loved you and how you were the only woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. I wouldn’t have given anyone else my blessing, but if anyone is to be my son-in-law, I always hoped it to be Damon. I hoped the two of you would wait until you’re older, but if you’re going to marry, I wanted you to have your mother’s ring. That is why I let him have it.”

  I just stared at my father in disbelief. I didn’t really know what to say. I loved Damon with all my heart, but I had never considered marrying him.

  “What did you say?” My father asked.

  “Nothing,” I said, “He’s still upstairs. I just left him hanging.”

  I felt awful. Damon was terrified as he proposed and I just walked away. I had to talk to him.

  “I need to talk to him,” I said. My father nodded in approval and I headed out the door and up to my room. I walked back into my sitting room. Damon was sitting on the couch; he looked upset and in a bit of shock. His eyes lit up as I walked back into the room and he jumped to his feet.

  “I’m sorry,” I immediately said.

  “It’s okay,” he replied, “I am sorry I did that. I uh..don’t know what I was thinking?”

  “I didn’t know you even loved me...like that.”

  “Do you love me?”

  “Of course I do! Damon, I’m eighteen years old. I am going to be queen next month and have to take on a huge responsibility—”

  “I know,” he interrupted. “I thought…if we were married, I could help you. If nothing else, I would be there for you.”

  “You can still be there for me...as my friend.” As I said friend, his eyes looked full of gloom. He put his head down and was silent. I continued, “Damon, you know I’ve never even had a boyfriend. I have never even been kissed, or anything else.”

  He looked up, “I’ve never had a girlfriend either...and...well you know...I’m a virgin too. I just thought if anyone...it would be you.”

  “I’m just not ready for this. I mean...maybe we could go on a date...or something. Just marriage...I’m not ready for this.”

  “I know. I’m stupid Miranda. I am so stupid to think—”

  “Damon, you are far from stupid. Let’s just be friends again, and maybe we can try dating, but I can’t promise anything. We both have a lot changing in the next few weeks. We need to focus on our new responsibilities. I’m always here for you and I know I can count on you.”

  “Okay,” he said quietly. I stood up and headed towards the door. Damon didn’t move. “You don’t mind if I just hang out up here?”

  “Of course. I’ll tell everyone you’re not feeling well.”

  He smiled, “Thanks.”

  I headed back down to the party. I spoke to some of the guests, but soon they began to leave. Many congratulated and hugged me before they left. I let most of them know Damon wasn’t feeling well and apologized for his absence.

  The three vampires came over to say their goodbyes. I didn’t know them very well, except Jewl, as she had been my mother’s best friend. She came by quite a bit when I was little. When I became queen, I would be working with the vampires more, as they occasionally stepped in to help with the warriors.

  Jewl had a big smile on her face as she hugged and congratulated me. I didn't know Loxes well, but he leaned in to hug me also. I knew Ben the very least, he never came around much unless he was with Jewl and Loxes.

  For a short time before my mother died, she had been a vampire as well. Ben was the vampire who turned her. Once my mother was killed, Ben stayed home most of the time and no one knew much about him. I was surprised he came to my party as I had only met him a few times. Ben smiled at me and congratulated me as well. He looked a bit awkward, but he leaned towards me. I opened my arms to accept his hug. The hug was quick, but as his last finger touched my side, I had a strange feeling.

  My father told me when I was younger, occasionally supernatural beings, including fairies and vampires, gave off a certain vibe. He said sometimes it felt like a tingle or spark and sometimes just a shiver. He said a feeling can be good or bad and eventually it would make sense.

  Over the years I had never really felt anything strange. When my father or Damon or my aunt Allison hugged me, I always felt a warm sensation. It was like putting your hands over a cozy fire. I always thought of the feeling as love. The feeling I had just felt with Ben was nothing like I had felt before. It felt like a warm zap that ended just as quickly as it started. I quickly backed away from Ben and looked nervous. Ben looked a bit confused by my reaction, but he lifted his eyebrows and rolled his eyes. The three vampires turned around and walked out the door.

  Before long, everyone was gone besides my father and Damon’s family. There was a giant pile of presents and envelopes waiting for us in the parlor. I went back upstairs to check on Damon and to see if he wanted to open gifts. When I arrived back in my sitting room, Damon was lying on my couch looking melancholy.

  “Do you want to open gifts? It’s just our parents and your brother?”

  “No. I’m ashamed. Can you tell my parents to just take the gifts home? I’ll be home later.”

  “Damon, why are you ashamed?”

  “I asked your Dad if I could marry you. He gave me your Mom’s ring. I have been talking to my parents for weeks about proposing. They all knew what was going on. What will I say to them now?” as he spoke, I could see a tear forming in the corner of his eye.

  I felt awful. I didn’t know what to say. I sat down next to his head and put my arm on him.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I told my dad already and you know he still adores you. It doesn’t matter who I marry, you will always be my dad’s son. My dad wanted a son and a daughter. He said I was his greatest blessing and you are his second greatest blessing.”

  Damon smiled and sat up, “You know my parents love you too.”

  “Let’s go back downstairs,” I said. He stood up and the two of us headed down the stairs.

  As soon as we entered the parlor, Damon’s parents had enormous smiles on their faces. They thought we were engaged. Damon looked down and shook his head. I saw his parent’s expressions change.

  “How about we open gifts!” my dad said to cheer up the mood.

  The two of us sat down and began to open our presents. The two of us weren’t attending college, so our gifts were a bit less traditional. We received quite a bit of money. I was given some clothes and a few picture frames and knick-knacks for the mansion. Damon was given similar gifts, but since he was a hybrid fairy, he also received special magic books as well as fairy dust and potion. Some dust and potion was difficult to make, so these were very nice gifts.

  Our two families spent some more time together, but it was getting late in the evening and everyone was tired from the excitement. Everyone hugged one another and Damon and his family headed towards the door.

  Just as Delia was opening the door, the sound of the siren began to wail once more. This time it wasn’t a distant noise, but a chilling scream. Delia stopped and looked at her husband. I looked at my father.

  “I think that’s a tornado siren,” my dad said, as he looked confused. “It sounds nearby!”

  Just then hail began po
unding from the sky once more and a strong gust of wind pulled the door from Delia’s hand, as it slammed shut. Delia jumped in the air and my heart began to race. I quickly looked out the window to see the sky was fading from gray to green.

  “We should take cover!” my dad cried.

  Nathen nodded his head and we all headed to the basement door. My father held open the door as we all filed down the staircase. When I reached the bottom I realized Nathen and my father were still at the top.

  “Dad, c’mon! It isn’t safe!” I yelled.

  “I’m sorry Sweetie, we need to check on your grandparents,” my father said.

  “Nathen!” Delia cried.

  “Honey, stay with the kids,” Nathen replied, as him and my dad quickly left.

  “Dad!” I cried as I started after him, but Delia set her hand on my shoulder and said, “He’s been through worse. He will be okay.”

  Our basement was cold and unfinished and mostly full of storage. There were a few lawn chairs lying against some boxes. I went over to grab them; Damon followed me to help. The two of us set up a few chairs and we all sat down huddled together, while wind screamed from just outside the windows. Delia and Victor looked nervous but Damon remained confident and strong.

  I began to tremble from not just fear of the storm, but for my father’s safety. Damon saw me trembling and said, “Let me go get you a blanket.”

  “No…no,” I cried. “It’s safer down here. I’m just nervous. That’s all.”

  Damon nodded his head just as we heard loud crash through the howling wind.

  I jumped out of my seat, “What was that!” I yelled.

  “A tree?” Delia questioned. “There, there, Miranda. It will be okay.”

  I was shaking and my heart was racing. My throat felt tight like I couldn’t breath. Suddenly my phone rang. When I saw my father’s name, it felt as if a giant weight on my chest had been released.

  “Daddy!” I cried as I answered my phone.

  “Sweetie,” he said, “I’m okay. I’m at your grandparent’s. We are in the basement. It was bad out there…trees are fallen, debris flying around. Stay in the basement until the alarms go off. Love you.”

  “Love you Dad,” I replied as he hung up the phone.

  “He’s okay,” I told everyone.

  “What about Nathen?” Delia asked.

  I shrugged as Delia took out her phone to call her husband. While Delia was dialing on her phone, Damon wrapped his arms around my trembling body. His body felt warm against mine.

  After a few seconds, Delia set her phone down and said, “I don’t have service.”

  Damon and Victor checked their phones and both shook their head. I looked at my phone and saw I had no service either.

  “I’ll go check on him,” Damon said as he stood up.

  “No…no. Damon, stay here. I’m sure he’s okay,” Delia said.

  Damon sat back down. I could see fear was hiding behind his blue eyes. He reached out and grasped my hand. Just then, we heard the wind began to howl louder as a rumble began to shudder outside. The small basement windows began to softly tremble.

  “Damon what is that!” I screamed.

  “Hang tight, Miranda,” he said. “Mom, Victor. Hang tight.”

  The lights went out and I began to cry, “Damon! Damon!”

  “Hang tight. Hang tight,” he kept saying. I could feel him shaking as he held me in his arms. Victor and Delia cuddled up to Damon and I. The four of us clutched one another as the rumbling continued outside. As the sirens continued to scream and the windows shook, we heard a loud crash from outside the walls. I screamed as Damon, Delia and Victor clutched tighter.

  Finally after a few minutes, the rumbling slowed down and finally stopped. The sirens stopped. All was quiet. I could feel everyone’s body relax as a sigh of relief swept between the four of us.

  “It’s over. It’s over,” Damon said from the darkness. “Stay down here. I’ll see if there is any damage upstairs.”

  “It’s dark, Damon. I want to go too.”

  “Okay,” I heard him say.

  I grabbed his hand and the two of us slowly walked to the stairs. I could hear Delia and Victor following behind.

  When we entered the main floor we took a look around. It was now dark outside, but we could see through the moonlight, everything was left untouched. I took my phone out; still no service. I used the light from my phone to find our kitchen flashlight, then the four of us headed to the front door to see what happened outside.

  Our perfect town was a mess. We were lucky the homes were all still standing, but everything else was a mess. Leaves, branches and debris were everywhere. A small tree had fallen into our house, but the tree acquired more damage then our home. I noticed a few more trees down and several homes had minor damage, but overall it seemed as if the tornado had done minimal destruction. The sound of the rumbling wind had been much more terrifying than the outcome.

  The four of us headed to the mansion to see if we could find Nathen and my dad. As we headed across the street, my father was already headed our way. When he saw me, he ran to me and held me in his arms.

  “Oh! I’m so glad you’re okay. I was so worried,” he said as he kissed my forehead.

  “Have you seen Nathen?” Delia asked.

  My father scrunched his face, “No he went to check on Lauren. I took shelter at the Hamilton’s when things got really bad.” Then he said, “A tornado touched down nearby. Looks like we were really lucky, some wind damage and debris. I haven’t seen much yet. I came straight from the Hamilton’s. Maybe we should check Lauren’s house to see if Nathen is over there.”

  Delia nodded her head, but I could see she was very worried. The five of us walked to my grandmother’s house with the light of the flashlight, illuminating our way. As my father had said, there was a lot of debris and wind damage, but all the structures remained.

  “As soon as cell service is back, I’ll get someone out to clean up these tree,” my dad said while looking around.

  I nodded my head. Damon and I were still holding hands and when I looked towards him, fear was written across his face. I squeezed his hand for encouragement and he gave a half smile.

  It only took a few minutes to reach my grandmother’s home and when we did, we saw a tree had fallen across the front driveway. As we walked closer, I saw a figure lying under some of the branches. Then I saw a small pile of blood.

  Chapter 3

  “Dad! Dad!” I screamed, pointing my flashlight the figures way.

  As soon as the light hit the body, Delia screamed, “NATHEN!”

  “Oh my God!” Damon screamed.

  The five of us ran to Nathen’s body. Delia was screaming her husband’s name.

  “Dad! Dad!” Damon said as he shook Nathen’s shoulder. Nathen didn’t move.

  “Oh my God. Oh my God.” Delia was crying.

  I held the flashlight towards Nathen’s body while Damon tried to wake him up. My dad and Victor were lifting branching off Nathen to try and get him to safety. Suddenly Nathen began to move.

  “He’s moving!” I cried.

  Delia quickly wiped her tears away and reached out to massage her husband’s shoulder, “Nathen,” she said softly. “Are you okay Sweetheart?”

  “Delia?” Nathen whispered.

  I heard a sigh of relief sweep across our group as everyone continued to pull away branches. Finally Nathen was free. I held the flashlight on him, so we could look him over for injuries. Delia was holding his hand as Damon was checking him for lacerations.

  “I’m going to get Dr. Glintin!” my dad cried and ran off.

  “No…No. I’m fine. Just heal me.” Nathen whispered, but my dad was already headed down the street.

  “Is anything broken?” Delia asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Nathen said softly. “Just a little pain. I think I hit my head and got knocked out.”

  Damon was trying to find where the bleeding was coming from. Finally he lift
ed his father’s arm and saw part of a tree branch gouged into his arm.

  “Oh shit!” Damon cried, “Dad, your arm.”

  “I’m fine Son. The doctor will fix me up. Do the healing chant.” Nathen said.

  Victor quickly threw off his jacket and wrapped it around the branch to try to stop the bleeding. I handed Delia the flashlight as Victor, Damon and I surrounded Nathen’s body. We each placed our hand on top of his body and began the chant. We chanted for several minutes while waiting for my father and Dr. Glintin to return.

  Finally after at least a half hour of chanting, Nathen said, “I’m feeling better. Let’s just wait for Dr. Glintin.” Nathen held his wounded arm as he tried to sit up, but he looked wobbly.

  “Dad, be careful!” Victor cried as he put his arms around his father to support him. Just then, Nathen reached across his arm and yanked out the branch.

  “Oh Nathen!” Delia cried.

  “I’m okay,” he said as blood began splattering out of his arm.

  Damon wrapped Nathen’s arm in the jacket and held it tight to try and stop the bleeding. Just then, Dr. Glinton and my father came running down the street.

  “I’m so sorry!” Dr. Glintin said, “There are a few other injuries. They’re okay, but they needed to be treated. How are you feeling Nathen?”

  “I’m alright. Just a little bleeding from my arm.”

  Dr. Glintin pulled off the jacket as blood began spraying from the wound once more.

  “Hold the jacket,” Dr. Glintin said to Damon. Damon held the jacket as Dr. Glintin pulled packages of gauze and tape from his bag. He puled the jacket away once more and began to cover the wound to stop the bleeding. Finally he said, “I need to stitch this up. Do you think you can walk back to my office?”

  “I think so,” Nathen said as he tried to stand, but he was too dizzy and lost his balance.

  My father and Damon ran to his side to help him off the ground. The two of them were able to pull Nathen off the concrete and start walking him to Dr. Glintin’s office.