Neutral

by Darci Darson

  NEUTRAL

  BY

  DARCI DARSON

  THE LEGEND of THE SEVEN FLOWERS BOOK#3

  An Alyssa Devita Novel

  Edited by Nick.

  Cover Design by James, GoOnWrite.com

  Copyright © 2016 by Darci Darson

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  “The heart was made to be broken.”-Oscar Wilde

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 1

  Her first emotion was a deep sense of relief. Her abrupt leaving of Iioliv had been her salvation. She touched her lips with the tips of her fingers as her body shivered. In the next moment, the urgency of her current situation caught up with her and she diverted her attention towards the unexpected meeting with her relative. The regret and shame of her memories ceased to exist. The elf was there and she was here, free, unconstrained, focused on her goal. She was reborn and without the torment of thoughts about him, released from the whole heaviness caused by his presence around her. A dangerous excitement moved the blood in her veins and she felt her strength.

  Alyssa was in Atlantis, in the exact time point when Imre and Cherry had met Taharial for the first time. She greeted her aunt who stood alone in the battle field among glassy tree trunks, with a waving gesture and made a quick scan of the situation. Taharial steeled herself as she awaited an Opyri’s return. Alyssa then sent her telepathic message to Taharial that contained an elven incantation, but the Varuh girl stood still, resistant, her wounded back bleeding from the protruding remnants of her wings whilst her humming irritated Alyssa’s brain. There was not much time and Alyssa quickly repeated the incantation. The girl shook her head in strong disapproval, but a moment later, she nodded and sent her cheeky smile followed by a glimmer of her eternal friendship.

  “Nice to meet you, Taharial. I’m sorry that I don’t have more time,” Alyssa said, realising that her body was being surrounded by an invisible wall which would cut her off from the scene around her in any moment. It was stripping her senses of the tea odours of the trees and the decaying smell of the scarlet mist floating just above the grassy ground. The melodic sounds of rustling silver leaves ceased in a slow outflow like an ocean tide as their gentle movements still blinded Alyssa’s eyes with a delicate glitter of reflected sunrays. The rules were unbreakable as her dad had explained to her a long time ago. Alyssa was a little surprised that she had managed to stretch them, but maybe that was the influence of the elves’ magic which she had learnt from Ettrian as years had passed.

  Taharial turned around a massive tree and from her scared expression, Alyssa found out that she had become invisible to the Varuh girl. The wall had formed, translucent like glass yet impenetrable like concrete. The dread of unpredictable enveloped Alyssa in a freezing hug as she did not know what would happen next. She waited, contemplating the last telepathic words from Taharial who now was preparing herself to face the approach of one of the Opyri. The message had said ‘our secret’, ‘I have to save Imre and Cherry’ and ‘for Radveriel’.

  Alyssa observed Taharial leaping towards a deadly vampire and with a sweeping of her arm, wrestling him to the ground, with Yasmeen’s daughter being a spectator as though from another dimension. The Varuh girl then pinned her nails into his chest, crushing the rib cage and ripping out his heart. The incantation must have worked as the bleeding heart muscle burned in a blue flame and the vampire disintegrated into red, shimmering gems.

  With her last glance, Alyssa caught Imre appearing from behind a glassy tree-trunk and nodding to Taharial. His lips curled in an arrogant smile, his broken hand rising in a triumphant gesture. It was his praise for Taharial’ achievement. He did not see Alyssa and he would never learn that she had been so close. Alyssa had recognised him with no difficulty as Radveriel had shared his memories of him with her. She shivered when her eyes caught also two Opyri following her grandfather. She could not help as she was completely separated from this time point yet still able to watch. All her family knew the story of Cherry and Imre, but Rav had not mentioned anything about Taharial fighting with an Opyri. He had said that Taharial had perpetrated a serious offence against the Varuh rules. He did not know though how exactly she had violated them. Was it possible that Alyssa had just taken part in this act of misconduct? Her soul smiled and she loved Taharial with her whole heart. Not to mention that grandpa Imre had become her hero at once. As Rav had told her one day during a walk in the Alyssum Forest Imre had been a vampire and Cherry-a pure Varuh. Rav was a good storyteller and his words had flowed...

  When Cherry met Imre, she was nineteen years old and unaware of her true origins. She faced the greatest threat in her life, the Opyri hunting her in the year 2010, in a dimension called ‘Earth’. Imre saved her and she took their friend Felicia and him to her real home, Atlantis. Felicia died soon after their arrival. Alyssa’s grandparents released Aaldir, the first Opyri, from his prison with the power of their eternal love. They died but Aaldir resurrected them and they found each other on a parallel Earth. Their eternal bond helped them to reunite. Cherry was reborn as a pure Varuh but Imre was a human. Their daughter, Yasmeen who was half human and half Varuh, appeared in Iioliv when she was twenty. She met Rav, a descendant of the pure Varuh, and bonded with him as well. Iioliv was a dimension inhabited by humans, elves and other magical and dangerous creatures...

  Alyssa took a deep breath, sensing a force pulling her out from the location which she should not have visited in first place and wondered where she would end up this time as she pressed her palm against her wounded neck reminding her about the terrible attack of the vampire woman who had pushed the name Portia into her mind.

  Falling into bright light, she nearly lost her balance. When her blinded eyes adjusted, Alyssa noticed that she had appeared in a strange place from one of her mum’s stories. The place was called ‘Earth’ and was filled with people walking and noisy vehicles. Alyssa stood in front of a three storey building with big windows displaying slim figures wearing strange clothes. A woman in her sixties passed and stopped, turning back. She had this nosey, sharp expression and wore wide leg trousers in green and a striped top with a light cardigan on top.

  “Are you ok?” the woman asked with a concerned voice.

  Alyssa nodded, happy to understand the language that was used by the woman. It was also Yasmeen’s language.

  “Are you sure?” the woman persisted and her face wrinkled. “Your neck is wounded. I will call for an ambulance.”

  “No, thank you,” Alyssa protested and stepped back, walking into another stranger. Her mind started spinning as there was too much noise and too many human beings around her. Too many heels clicking on the pavement, too many irritated voices, too much of the continuous rumble of the sounds of human life, the vehicles passing and repair works nearby.

  The woman’s suspicious eyes fixed on her neck whilst her hand dug in
her big, brown bag, taking out a pink cell phone.

  Alyssa knew what the item was as she sometimes sneaked into Yasmeen’s head to enjoy the memories of her mum’s life in Westfad Manor. The girl also suspected that the old lady would call that ambulance despite Alyssa’s protests.

  “Thank you for your help,” Alyssa said in a firm and cold voice and then her lips whispered a quiet incantation. “Go away, you nosey old witch,” she murmured and a triumphant smile crossed her face as she watched the woman turning back and heading towards another building with large windows at the front.

  Alyssa looked around, wondering what she should do now, conscious that more people were sending surprised glances her way. Her clothes made her stand out from the crowd, not to mention her bitten neck.

  The weather was nice with the summer sun shining brightly and a pleasant breeze cooling the hotness of Alyssa’s skin. However, the smells surrounding her, made her feel sick and the combination of the fumes emitted by those noisy vehicles and the sweaty odours of passing humans, caused her an excruciating torture. Alyssa moved forward, her head clouded by the number of unpleasant stimuli and hit against a slim figure. The girl blinked and locked her eyes on a young woman with very short, blonde hair. The woman wore a flowery dress descending to her knees and funny, strappy shoes exposing her toes with red nails.

  “Grandma Gerizpe, what a coincidence,” Alyssa said sarcastically. Destiny seemed to have a sense of humour as this meeting appeared to Alyssa a little absurd.

  The woman shook her head as if taken aback by Alyssa’s unusual greeting and stepped back.

  “Take me from this horrible place, Grandma,” Alyssa continued and paused as the woman’s expression showed a sheer terror and disbelief. They both stood, staring at each other and after a few moments the blonde retreated and strode towards the nearest entrance, clearly scared by the encounter.

  Alyssa cursed quietly and followed her.

  “Felicia, Felicia Reese!” Alyssa shouted with desperation, acutely aware that a lot of people started gathering around her like she was a performer in the theatre and from the distance the echoes of an ominous siren noise were getting closer.

  The blonde came to an abrupt stop and turned back. She narrowed her eyes and seemed to contemplate something feverishly; pulling forward and back, circling around a poor small tree planted in the pavement, but a few moments later, her arm extended towards Alyssa, making an inviting gesture.

  “Come on,” the blonde said.

  Alyssa wanted to jump into her arms, but she managed to compose herself and sent only her smile full of relief.

  “She is my sister,” the blonde shouted to people gathering around them and grabbed Alyssa’s arm. “My car is parked near the cathedral. Who are you?” she murmured as she pulled Alyssa behind her so that they could disappear amongst pedestrians and escape from the two people in green uniforms getting off the vehicle with reflective yellow and green markings. Alyssa knew that they were paramedics as Yasmeen had told her about the emergency services from her birthplace.

  “What is this place?”Alyssa asked.

  “The High Street,” the blonde answered. “I asked you a question.”

  “I’m Alyssa. I’m Alyssa Devita, Yasmeen’s daughter.”

  “What do you know about Cherry Devita? What do you know about Felicia Reese?” the blonde questioned, her voice stirring and becoming more hysterical with every word.

  “Grandma, how much do you remember this time? You are so young,” Alyssa said, trying to sooth her.

  “Not much and at least I know now that I’m not crazy,” the blonde said and smiled with a warmth that seemed familiar to Alyssa. “Or maybe you are a part of my craziness... I was trying to save those poor kids but I think that I died... I’ve had these dreams and memories since I was born. Two psychologists and three psychiatrists could not diagnose me properly. When I was hypnotised the memories had been so realistic that my doctors were shocked. I stopped taking medications a long time ago as they don’t make any difference. Am I crazy, Alyssa?”

  “No,” Alyssa answered slowly. “We are not crazy. We are unique.”

  “This is my car. Get in and if I could ask you, try not to contaminate my car upholstery as I have just washed it. My name is Paige by the way but I think I was Felicia before...”

  Chapter 2

  Alyssa took the passenger seat as Paige advised her and they headed towards the main road. The seat was soft and comfortable but the seatbelt constrained her chest which reminded Alyssa a bit of the sensation caused by her bow hanging across her chest; each time Yasmeen and her went hunting or during the archery lessons with Ettrian. Yasmeen hunted on rare occasions when she was really fed up of fish and fruit so popular among the elves. Rav had never killed an animal, with his diet comprised mainly of fruit and veggies that he enjoyed cooking for his family. He sometimes tried his wife’s meat dishes; those were rare occasions when Yasmeen called him a hypocrite and laughed at him not with him.

  The journey lasted twenty minutes and Alyssa soon became so overloaded with all the new things that her receptors went numb. She did not know how she got to Paige’s one bedroom flat that her host had been renting for herself only. Happy and relieved, her exhausted body descended on the flowery sofa in the lounge. But she stood up rapidly as her eyes caught the grimace on her host’s face.

  “Take a bath first,” Paige ordered and moved towards a small bathroom, tilting her head as encouragement.

  “Grandma, a little dirt won’t kill you,” Alyssa said with sarcasm as she followed Paige.

  “Why are you calling me grandma?” Paige asked, filling the bathtub with hot water.”Are you hungry? Did we... meet in my previous life?”

  “Yes, I am very hungry to be honest and yes, we met in a place called Iioliv. You were my dear grandma. You are not my relative but I love you very much.”

  “Take a bath and I will prepare something to eat and find a plaster to dress your neck. And we will talk, ok?” Paige said with confusion. She explained where the towels were kept as well as handing her spare toothbrush and tooth paste. Paige gave Alyssa a look of confused amazement whilst she instructed her in the use of these tools. Alyssa had tasted the pea of the toothpaste with her tongue and had tried to break the toothbrush. Retreating from the bathroom, Paige sent Alyssa a glance of consternation, followed by a timid nervous smile. Alyssa realised that her norm was not Paige’s norm at all.

  “We will talk,” Alyssa said to her with a happy smile on her face, intending to reassure her host. Grandma was adorable with her youth and kindness, but as Alyssa looked around, she was disappointed with Paige’s taste because the furniture in the flat seemed to her so poor and simple compared to her house in the Alyssum Forest. She liked the smells travelling in the air although they were fresh, flowery and slightly too sharp for her senses. Anyway, what mattered now was that she had found Felicia Reese and her fears were alleviated.

  Just as Alyssa finished wiping her body with a big, green towel, Paige knocked and opened the door slightly, throwing some clothes on the bathroom floor as she did so. Alyssa put them on and caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror that hung above the sink. Her unique, violet-blue eyes blazed like two flares. Alyssa dried her long wet hair with a towel, her fingers manipulating it to untangle the ash-brown wisps. Another memory seeped into her mind. It was Aymar, Saleh’s son complimenting her eyes and hair. He had been in love with her since their childhood but she could return only her friendship to him. This was an innocent and sweet memory, though. Other memories caused her an uneasy heaviness that pressed down upon her chest. She felt an incinerating flush spreading onto her cheeks and wanted a magical relief to forget them all.

  She then rushed towards the kitchen. The garments were too short and too loose, but she managed to make some simple adjustments to the flowery top and skinny trousers so that she looked decent. Alyssa leaned against the kitchen worktop and swallowed a sandwich with the greed of a starving animal.

 
; “What do you know about Cherry Devita?” Paige asked, nervous and agitated.

  “She is my real granny,” Alyssa answered with a full mouth. “But I have never met her because my mum jumped to Iioliv and she can’t come back. She met my dad and they got married and we moved to live with the elves.”

  Paige froze for a moment and when she seemed to regain the control over her body, she raised her hand and took a plaster from the long shelf above the work top. She handed it to Alyssa like a robot. Yasmeen had described those stiff movements of a surprised person with the phrase ‘like a robot’ yet Alyssa had no idea what this really meant.

  Alyssa shook her head as she did not know what to do with this tiny thing. She grabbed another sandwich instead. Paige placed the plaster back, looking defeated. Alyssa palpated the bite site on her neck; the wound did not seem to bleed anyway.

  “I’m not calling for the police only because I think I’m as crazy as you,” Paige said. “I also feel that you are somehow close to me and that I should help you.”

  Alyssa stopped eating and locked her eyes on the woman. The part of her that was a Varuh stirred and sent her a message, freezing the girl’s soul with its gloom.

  “You are sick and you have nothing to lose,” Alyssa said with a bitter sadness in her voice and put her hands on the woman’s arms, stroking gently.

  “In fact, I’m dying,” Paige said in a low voice.” This is a metastatic cancer, very unusual in my age. I have maybe six to eight months left.”

  Alyssa had no idea what that meant but she suspected that it was something horrible. She noticed that Paige’s face and arms were slightly swollen and her skin looked unnaturally pale and unhealthy. In this moment, her nose detected a trace of the foul odour emitted by Paige’s body. It could have been unpleasant to a stranger, but for Alyssa it was a part of her dear grandma.

  “I remember different things, every day more and more,” Paige continued. “I was a healer and an owner of a B&B.”