Chosen Darkness (Chosen Series)

by Fawn Atondo

  With a heavy sigh, Falyn turned to address her grandfather. But he was no longer there.

  The moon was still up, so maybe the tide pool still held some of the magic? Only one way to find out, she told herself as she moved to the rocks. She followed the twist of tunnels until she arrived at the secret pool under Break’s house.

  Falyn looked around for some kind of object she could keep on her at all times without too much hassle. Among some of the items by the tide pool was a silver cuff bracelet, one of the trinkets Break had collected from the sea shore. There were other items but nothing that would be as easy as the cuff to keep on her person at all times.

  Dipping the cuff into the water, she then placed it on her wrist. There now; all she could do was wait and hope the bracelet kept her human. If it did work, then she would have to figure out how to get to Stonehenge where the Gate between worlds waited. She had money in her house in Portland but getting to it was a risk she was not willing to take. If the Shadow pack had found her there once already, they could be waiting there for her again. So really, without Break’s help, she had no funds for a plane ticket.

  Falyn headed back up to the house, being sure to use the tunnels back to the beach as she did not want Break to guess what she had been up to. The sleeves of her white dress where long enough to cover the small silver cuff with ease.

  Her next move would have to be seeking knowledge from Break about moving between places. She knew many Immortals among the mystic world could teleport from one place to another. Maybe Break had such magic. The trick would be getting that out of her without telling her why. Or maybe she should be so bold as to tell her what she wanted? If Break had no idea about the object on her wrist, surely she would have no reason to worry about telling her what she asked. It was worth a shot; she had little to lose at this point.

  With a deep breath to bring her heartbeat to a normal pace, Falyn headed into the house. Break was reading in a chair. She looked up with a warm smile as Falyn came in.

  “Have a nice walk?” Break asked.

  “Yes, it cleared my head,” Falyn replied.

  “You seem in a better mood.” Break put her book down. “Would you like something to drink?”

  “Yes please!” Falyn called.

  Break went into the kitchen.

  “I wish you and I had more time like this to talk,” Break said as she went about boiling water for tea.

  “That would be nice,” Falyn agreed.

  Okay. Falyn knew it was now or never. Either she asked Break or she came up with another plan.

  “Break, if I were to become human for good, by some crazy chance, how would I make it to the Gate in the quickest time?” Falyn hoped she hadn’t just blown it!

  Break peeked her head into the living room, a puzzled look in her sea green eyes.

  “Why do you ask?”

  “If Alex doesn’t find a cure for me, or if he can’t get back through, I will have to go get him sooner or later. I’ll need to start looking for a cure here in this world, because I am not going to spend a lifetime trapped as a dog!” Falyn barely kept control of her voice.

  Break came and sat next to her, putting one slim arm around her shoulders.

  “I understand you can’t wait forever as you are. I will, of course, help you. Falyn, but all I ask of you is that you give Alex a chance to do it his way.”

  Break was looking into her eyes as though searching her soul.

  Falyn gulped back an uneasy feeling as Break kept staring into her face. Falyn wasn’t sure if she was trying to seek the truth or to show she meant what she said.

  “I can’t promise my timeline will run perfectly with his, but I do want to know the fastest way to get to him when I need to.”

  Falyn was desperately hoping to get something out of Break.

  “Okay.”

  Break got up and headed over to a chest on a small table in the back of the room. She dug through it then brought a gold-colored pill box over to Falyn. She handed it over with a smile.

  “This is fairy dust. All you need to make it work is a wish and it will take you to the spot you wish to go.” Break gave her the pill box.

  “That simple?” Falyn questioned.

  “Yes, that simple. I keep it in here, so now you know where it is when you need it.”

  Break gently patted her hand before returning to her boiling water.

  Falyn stared at the wooden chest, not believing her plan had worked out so well. Not only had Break told her how, but she had also given her the means to do it. She was so pleased she was all but ready to sprinkle the dust on her head and go right this minute, but she somehow controlled herself and managed to sit through tea with Break.

  Break headed to bed a few hours later, leaving Falyn alone on the sofa pretending to watch TV. She waited for what felt like hours and hours before the dawn came, washing her in its light. Holding her breath, she waited. Her heart beat wildly as she kept her eyes shut. After a few minutes she peeked down at herself. Sure enough she saw a leg – not paws, but legs! Thank God!

  Falyn saw a thick, woolen cloak hanging on the coat rack. She put it on since she would need something warm. The thin white dress would not keep her from freezing if she ended up in England! Falyn crept toward the door. She thought she heard Break moving around upstairs and froze. If she opened the door right now, Break would come and see what was going on because no dog could open a door on its own. The doggie door Break had put in for her a few weeks ago, so she could come and go as she pleased, would have to do. Dropping to all fours she crawled toward the door and then squeezed through the flap onto the porch. Easing herself to the ground, she ran as fast as she could to the beach.

  Taking the golden pill box in her hand she thought of the Gate to the other world in England, and of Alex. She sprinkled the dust on to her head. It felt like flickers of heat running all over her body. Her breathing got slower as she felt something pushing down on her chest. Just as she thought she was going to faint, it stopped. She felt rain falling down on her. It was cold and she started to shiver. She opened her eyes one at a time.

  She was in the middle of a huge field, the massive stones of Stonehenge before her. She walked around them, still not able to think clearly. She was here! Now how did she get through to the other world?

  As she pulled herself together, the last rays of the sun backed off the stones, the darkness quickly consuming them one by one. Falyn waited at the edge by a large rock that seemed out of place; it was outside the others which formed the famous circle. As the darkness covered the odd stone, a green light sparked off it. Falyn jumped as the boulder crumbled, revealing a large man nearly seven foot tall with a massive pair of wings the same color as the stone he broke free from.

  Falyn was dumbfounded as she looked into the burning eyes of the stone-colored man. He was now very much flesh and blood, except for his wings. The man stared back at her, as if waiting for something. At that point Falyn recalled she had her hood up. The cloak covered her features so she threw it off. No sooner had she done so than the man of stone bent to one knee, his head down, his large wings curling around him.

  “Hello?” Falyn said it as a question as she was feeling a prickle of fear.

  The man once more stood. Towering over her, he cocked his head to the side, studying her more closely.

  “Druid?” His voice rumbled the question at her like a rock slide.

  “Yes,” Falyn whispered. “Druid.” She tried to sound sure of herself but had no idea if she did.

  The man cracked a small smile, but so quickly Falyn thought she could have been seeing things.

  “What brings you to the Gateway?” he asked in his booming voice.

  Falyn felt a burning in her head. It was overwhelming. Her knees went weak and she fell to the ground. The fire in her head nearly drove her into a black nothingness. Suddenly, she heard words coming out of her own mouth.

  “I seek to pass the portal, which
is my right as the rightful bearer of this passage!”

  Falyn could feel the power in the words.

  It worked for the large stone man. He nodded and then led her to the middle of Stonehenge. Once in the center, Falyn pictured herself touching the soft earth on which she stood. She could see the Gateway opening.

  Falyn bent, pushing her hand down on the earth, just as she had seen it in her mind. There was bright green light as the Gateway opened. Without second guessing herself, she crossed through the light. The pain that hit her made her cry out. She could not handle it and everything went dark.

  Mermaids

  Break stood at her large bay window and watched as Falyn used the magic to start her journey. A soft smile formed on her lips: Falyn had to seek her fate. Break had done her best to keep her promise to Alex, but Falyn would have to go to the world of the Immortals. It was the only way to break the blood spell.

  Alex would never willingly allow Falyn to risk her life, but it was unavoidable since Falyn had to search out the truth about what power flowed through her veins. She knew about her wolf side, but her Druid side was a mystery. This was the one that held the key to her future – to the power she would need to fulfill her destiny.

  Break had long ago given up returning to the sea, but her unique mermaid powers still held true. She could look into the eyes of a soul and see their fate. Each time she did so, a little more was revealed to her. She was careful not to give too much away to anyone and sometimes she longed not to see what lay ahead for them, but that was her gift. Right now she could only watch as two souls were working toward each other and their unescapable fates. Those fates were not what either was expecting, for the fact was when it came to destiny, a clear line was never drawn – it was always weaving and turning and bending in such a way no one could understand. But for a mermaid, fate was as clear as day to see, and Falyn’s would lead her in nearly a perfect circle!

  Chapter ten: Immortal

  Alex stood in the large stone chamber of the Immortal Guard, waiting for his meeting with the Elders. He had been waiting for this meeting for over six weeks now. He had continually been told they couldn’t meet him yet, but finally, today, they had agreed to see him. Alex was not about to get his hopes up too much, though. Until they were actually in the same room at the same time, they could always change their minds, and no one could make them do anything they did not feel like doing.

  Alex watched the door on the other side of the room. He had never seen a member of the Immortal Guard before but he knew well enough who they were. The Immortal Guards were a race known as Gargoyles. They stood about seven feet tall; hard-bodied warriors who had massive stone wings. They had the power to turn themselves, and others, to stone. The Gargoyles alone made up the Elders, the leaders of the Immortal world.

  The only members of the Immortal Guard in the other world were the gatekeepers. They spent all their time as the massive stones of Stonehenge, forever posing as large rocks. The only time any of them came to life was when someone showed up, knocking. That didn’t happen often since not many people could pass through the Gate.

  Alex had snuck through the back door, by using magic from the elves to open a one-time trapdoor into this world. There was no way back, however, since he used all the magic up getting here. So he was now stuck here in this backward place. They had not moved on from the seventeenth century here.

  Alex recalled that time perfectly; after all, he had been born then but he no longer yearned for those days. He liked the twenty-first century just fine. Sighing, he took up pacing again while he waited for the Elders to enter the chamber.

  Soon the door opened and the four Elders walked. They were tall, broad-shouldered and dressed in knee-length kilts with their clan colors draped over a shoulder. Each carried a huge broadsword. They took their seats at the long wooden table in the center of the room. Alex followed their lead.

  “Alex, we offer apologies for our long delay. However, we were not prepared for your visit. We have not had an outsider sneak in like you did for a long time,” the one with pale blond hair said.

  Alex nodded.

  “Alex, why have you sought a meeting with us in this way?” This came from the redhead.

  “I am not sure how one goes about seeking an audience with the Elders. I would not have broken any rules if the matter was not so serious, I assure you.”

  “We have already agreed your action does not merit punishment. All the same, we do not feel your action can be allowed to be duplicated by others. How did you come to make a portal to this place Alex?” the blond one asked.

  Alex felt like punching all of them in the face! Had he not just stated his reasons for coming here were serious? All they wanted to know at the moment was how he got here!

  “I used elven magic to make a temporary portal to this world,” Alex gabbled.

  “Is this magic easy to come by for other Immortals?” Redhead asked this time.

  “No, it’s not. I have used the last bit of magic I possessed coming here. Can we please focus on the matter at hand?” Alex demanded.

  As if they all worked on the same wavelength, the elders looked toward each other as if they were speaking to one another with their eyes.

  “Yes please let’s,” Blondie agreed.

  “I know you set laws up in my world to keep order, but things are not that way anymore. And moreover, none of you have come back to check on the world you vowed to keep safe.”

  “How would you know?” the elder with red eyes asked.

  “For one, the vampires all but wiped out the werewolves at one point, and the Lycan Court has so many branches of their bloodlines it’s nearly civil war!” Alex said.

  “Werewolves were taking human lives without just cause. That is why we let the vampire take out their numbers,” Blondie explained.

  “Back then, even the vampires were guilty of this,” Alex reminded them.

  What Alex did not remind them, though, was that rumors about what happened between the werewolves and the vampires had to do with a botched wedding which led to the Lycan Court’s rules on no mixing of bloodlines. Something the Guard should know – after all, they suggested it!

  In turn they looked at him as though they could read his heart and his soul, which he actually hoped they could. If they could read him, then they could be no other than the leaders of the Immortals.

  “Human life is not to be messed with by any Immortal in any way which would bring on knowledge of our world,” announced Redhead.

  They all nodded in unison.

  “I fear there are certain people who would wish to take over ruling the Immortal races and I doubt the lives of humans matter much to them,” Alex pointed out.

  “Why would someone want to take over? They must know they could not accomplish this goal!” the red-eyed Elder said.

  “This is true, Alex. We would wipe them off the earth. We could make it so that not a single Immortal remained,” Blondie said.

  Alex was feeling overly annoyed. How could they miss the fact something was terribly wrong amongst the Immortals who lived on earth?

  “I don’t doubt your power, but I’m puzzled how none of you can see the issues growing among the Immortal races,” Alex told them.

  Alex couldn’t shake the feeling something was not quite right with the four Elders. They looked the part, they spoke as he imagined they would, but their lack of concern for the other world – the world they themselves watched over – was alarming.

  “We see why this would upset you, Alex. We will need to sort through the facts you’ve presented and discuss how better to deal with the issue.”

  “How long will this little deliberation take?” Alex wanted to know.

  “We cannot give you a time-frame, Alex. We have to seek the counsel of our brothers before we can say anything else.”

  “What about opening the portal so I can return to my world?” Alex asked hopefully.

  It was, a
fter all, the whole reason he’d sought out the Guard. Well, this and he needed to know why the Guard was not stepping up to the troubling issues going on in his world.

  “We can’t open the gate for you at this time. Because of the way you entered, no Guard could let you out. Only a Gatekeeper could help you and their bloodlines have been wiped out in this world,” Blondie announced.

  Alex did not say another word. He was so frustrated he was worried he was going to lose it, and he was sure attacking a member of the Guard would lead to jail time, maybe even death.

  So he watched as the four of them left through the chamber doors. Even after they had gone, he sat there staring at the door, still convinced that something was very wrong. Alex knew from experience some leaders among the Immortal race were not to be trusted. Given half a chance they would overthrow the Guard. Had they already done so? Were these supposed Elders actually imposters?

  Alex could not shake the feeling of doom which had come over him during his fruitless meeting. How could they be so blasé about such a threat? Surely, at the very least, they would want to look into the wrong-doings of the Lycan Court. Even his own kind had gone far off the straight and narrow path.

  Alex was staying at an abbey on the same grounds as the Guards’ great hall. The monks were kindly souls. If he could trust anyone in this world, it would surely be the brotherhood.

  Once back in his room, he removed a wicked-looking silver dagger from his belt. It was dipped in gold – the only way a vampire could handle silver. Alex had brought the dagger with him as an afterthought. Something in his gut had pulled at him so he had slipped it into his belt at the last moment. On a normal day, one should not have to fear the Immortal Guard, but Alex knew things here were far from normal.

  After coming into this world, he had tried to find out some kind of antidote to the magic that held Falyn, but it had only led him on a wild goose chase. His first stop had been with the monks at the Abby. He had hoped they would know where to start searching. They did have plenty of suggestions to give him but no one would speak to him on the matters of a Druid. And every time he thought he’d picked up some kind of a lead, it would always come back to ‘The One’. Every soul in this world was awaiting the coming of The One. He had therefore found no help for Falyn as of yet, and he was stuck here as well, but Alex was not about to give up all hope. He had meant to ask the Immortal Guard about Falyn’s situation, but he’d quickly realized during the meeting they were going to be absolutely no help at all with anything.