by Julia Crane
Even though I was curious, that wasn’t what held my attention for very long because when my eyes shifted over I saw the halflings climbing on top of each other; they were three children high, with the other two still on the ground clapping. Three out of the five had wings, now. If my eyes were not playing tricks on me, they were even taller than when I’d left only hours ago. Their growth made me very uneasy. True, if they grew quickly we could put them to work helping Earth, but if they grew too fast they would miss their childhood.
I could almost hear my mother’s words, ‘They weren’t born to be children. They have a far grander purpose.’ Still, it made me sad to think of. They deserved fulfilling lifetimes. My mind drifted to Seth sleeping upstairs—he’d also been robbed of a childhood.
Blake broke my train of thought. “Are they what I think they are?”
Michael laughed. “If you think they are hybrid, human-fae, then yes. My God they have grown so much in such a short time.”
“How old are they?” Blake asked, moving forward.
Michael’s eyes met my own. “Only days old.”
“Whoa.” Blake ran his hand over his face. “What does that mean?”
“We have no idea,” I answered, crossing into the room where the children were. They looked up, fell to the ground, and all started talking at once; some in fae and the others in English.
The little girl that Michael held earlier ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his legs. He laughed, reached down, and threw her up into the air, causing her to giggle. What a beautiful sound.
So much beauty, and yet outside destruction was going on all around us. Luckily, we were safe … for now. I wish I could say the same for my mother. I still can’t believe the faeries would go against her.
“Are you okay?” Michael asked, seeing the concern on my face.
“Just worried about the queen,” I replied, reaching down for the other girl, who had yet to be named. “What should we name you?”
Nixie, entered my mind, and I wondered if she’d put it there or if it came from my subconscious. “Nixie is a perfect name for you. What do you think, Michael?”
“I like it. You’re right, it suits her well. So now five out of five have been named. I wouldn’t have thought it would be so hard to pick names.”
It was more difficult than I’d imagined, too. Probably because most people had to come up with one name not five. My heart constricted when the thought, ‘It should have been seventeen’ crossed my mind.
“They are here, Momma, you just can’t see them.” The little girl had spoken telepathically to me.
I closed my eyes and could now see the soul energy of the little ones. She was right, they were back with us. That set my heart at ease. I was surprised they were able to return so quickly, but nothing about them was normal.
Quietly, I sat down on the floor and they all huddled around me. Lowering my voice, I asked, “Have any of you been able to connect with the queen? I fear she is in danger.”
The one named after my father nodded his head sagely. “I have been watching her. She is in the grande hall now. They are not upset about the halflings, but they are very upset that she agreed to open the realm to the demons and other creatures if need be. And she is refusing to change her stance.”
“She gave her word, she would not back out from that.” I knew how my mother thought. “But so far there is no uprising?”
“They lie to her face. While they are talking, an army is being formed to try to contain her,” the little girl closest to Michael stated. It was so strange to speak to a child as if they were wise, but I knew the children were old souls indeed.
I laughed. “It would take more than an army to contain my mother, and she will know what they are up to. You will learn that faeries always know a lie when they hear it. I’m sure my mother is preparing for whatever they have planned.”
Curious, I asked, “Can any of you see the future?”
Prophecy is a rare gift. The other little boy nodded his head. His hair was orange, his eyes purple, his skin the color of a pale human. “I think so. I’m getting flashes.”
I leaned toward him. “What are you seeing?”
“Death. A lot of death.”
I gasped. “My mother?”
“No, she is a blind spot to me. I don’t know why.”
“Because we are related. It’s the same with her and I,” I said in frustration.
“I see a man, he is a strong warrior. He will help her. I don’t know how but I keep seeing him in the flashes. He is scary, but I think he is good.”
Lovely, a scary man. Maybe he was seeing the captain of the guard. I flashed an image of the captain from my head to his but he shook his head. Okay, well whoever the mystery man is I hope he shows up soon.
I realized Blake hadn’t said anything. I glanced up and he was just watching us. “Blake, what are you thinking?”
“I’m not really sure. In all my years I’ve never seen anything like this before. Can other creatures mate with humans?”
My face flushed. “We didn’t exactly mate, we had the help of science. Something about DNA splitting. The man in the other room is the one that should be credited.”
Blake scratched the side of his head. “I’m not sure how the others are going to take this.”
“They will have to deal with it. It’s really none of their business.”
“But it is. This will change everything.”
I frowned. “How so?”
“Creatures have always felt superior to the humans. If they have powers as well it might cause trouble. Not to mention the humans will be freaked out.”
I rolled my eyes. “Blake, the planet is near destruction, and the human population is barely holding on. If this is a way to keep their lines alive I think they will take it.”
“I don’t think so. They fear magick too much.”
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. “Perhaps the children will bridge the gap.”
“I think they are going to be seen as freaks. Look at how quickly they are growing. They are talking, they have powers, humans and creatures alike are going to fear them. I don’t say this to scare you, but I worry for their safety.”
His words slammed into me like a fist. He was right.
“Do you think we should keep them a secret? We were ready to tell the others as soon as my mother returned.”
“I think you should hold off at least for a while. A couple of them could pass for pure bred fae, but the other three it’s obvious they are neither human nor fae.”
Michael and I locked gazes—I could see the worry on his face. If Blake was concerned then we needed to take that into consideration. I wish my mother was here.
I found myself wondering if she’d told Demitrious about the halflings, and if so what his take was on them. If I didn’t hear from my mother soon, I would have to seek his advice, since my mother clearly valued his opinion.
Chapter Twelve
Three days had passed and the storms were still raging outside. We hadn’t had any word from my mother. I was seriously concerned. What in the creation was going on? I couldn’t even reach her telepathically. She must have known I was worried, and surely she was worried about the state of Mother Earth, especially after she dropped the bomb about this being Earth’s last chance.
I found myself going into my mother’s study. I sat down on her chair and laid my head back. Mother, where are you? Why aren’t you answering me?
I felt his presence before he knocked on the door. “Come in.”
Demitrious stood in the doorway; he was so large and menacing looking.
“I’m not that mean.”
“Stop reading my thoughts,” I demanded in a huff.
His large frame took up most of the doorway. “You’re doing well. The others are looking up to you and no one has questioned your authority.”
Sighing, I leaned forward on the desk. “I think they are more afraid of you than me. They know that mother le
ft you as her enforcer.”
A rare smile crossed his face. “You are much like your mother.”
“Why hasn’t she contacted me?” My tone was weary.
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I thought you would have heard something by now.”
“Do you know about Henrek?” I asked, tiptoeing around the subject.
The demon shut the door, crossed the room, and sank into one of the seats. “I have met him.”
This piqued my interest. I didn’t think anyone had met the unique man, he was always hidden in the basement.
“He tried an experiment between your mother and I.”
My body stilled. What? Had my mother lost her mind? She’d tried to make a halfling with this demon? There was no way she would do such a thing.
“An experiment?” I asked carefully.
“Yes, he wanted to see if there was something in my DNA that gave me access to the other lifetimes. If there was a way it could be replicated.”
My shoulders relaxed. Okay, that made more sense. I could see my mother being curious about something like that. I found myself quite enamored by the idea of having access to past lives. “Did it work?”
“It did not. He couldn’t find the genetic coding that caused the anomaly.”
“Have you met others with this gift?”
He shook his head. “None that I am aware of. Why did you ask me about Henrek? Is something more going on?”
I hesitated. By the stars, I wished my mother would contact me, but she told me to trust him with everything. Each day that passed the children grew bigger. They were getting anxious in the basement and wanted to go exploring.
Tell him. My mother’s voice startled me.
Mother? Are you okay?
It’s worse than I expected, but do not worry yourself. Take care of the babies and Mother Earth. I cannot speak long. I love you.
Just as quickly as she came, she was gone.
“She spoke to you just now, didn’t she?”
I laid my palm flat on the table. “I really wish you couldn’t read me so well. Yes, she did. She said it’s worse than she expected and gave me permission to tell you what I’ve been battling in my mind.”
His expression never changed—he simply sat there, waiting.
I took a deep breath. “With the help of Henrek, we merged my DNA with that of a human’s and have produced halflings. They are very powerful. More so than we could have expected.”
For the first time I saw a fleeting emotion cross his face. I wasn’t quite sure what it was. Fear? Pain? Anger? Hard to say with a demon.
“May I see them?”
I’d expected something a little more than that. “Don’t you have any questions? What are your thoughts? We’re worried how the others will take them.”
He leaned back in his chair. “You are right to be worried. There have been other hybrids before. Many, as a matter of fact, but most are born with dormant powers so they have been of no concern. However, if what you say is true and they are indeed exceptionally powerful, yes I can see that being a concern. Are they being protected?”
I gave him a look and he held up his hand. “Just asking. I’m assuming they are under this roof? As you know, there are many different creatures milling about. Not all have your best interest at hand.”
My spine straightened. No, I had not been aware, but I had suspected.
“What do you think we should do?”
“I cannot give you advice until I see them for myself.”
I’d already told him, so I might as well go all in. “Fine. I must warn you, I don’t know how they will react when they see you. When I said they are powerful I wasn’t joking. So far they haven’t come across anyone they didn’t trust, but I have no idea how they will take a demon.”
He gave a slight inclination of his head.
“And if you harm them, even in self-preservation, I will kill you myself.”
His eyes actually twinkled. “Duly noted.”
I rose to my feet and he followed, keeping a respectful distance. As we made our way into the basement, I realized the rest of the castle was surprisingly quiet. Everyone must have retired to their rooms.
“The room is shielded,” Demitrious noted as we entered. I’d forgotten about Lila’s shield.
“No need to drop it. I was just making an observation.”
I looked at him, stunned. This was one powerful demon if he could get through a spelled room without any trouble. He shouldn’t be seeing the halflings across the room, but his expression told me he clearly was.
I walked forward and he followed, not even pausing to get through the shield. Suddenly, I was a little afraid of this man.
The halflings must have sensed this because they all snapped their heads up and narrowed their eyes. But as soon as they focused in on the demon they relaxed. Great, like my mother they were enchanted by this beast of a man. Why did everyone trust him so easily? There was danger in that alone.
He lifted a hand and waved. They hopped over the gate that was keeping them confined in the large room while Henrek worked. I was impressed with their natural abilities. I think even I’d have trouble scaling that gate.
The one named after my father actually dove into the demon’s arms. I stood there with my mouth hitting the floor. He laughed. The. Demon. Laughed. I pinched the bridge of my nose, and shook my head.
The children appeared to be closer to five years old or so, if I had to guess. I wasn’t very good with the ages in human terms.
It took me a moment to realize the halflings were conversing with Demitrious though their minds, but what bothered me the most was I had no idea what they were saying. They were talking in Demitrious’ native tongue. My offspring spoke demon. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any stranger.
Demitrious set the little guy down and turned toward me. “You must keep them hidden. They are far too powerful, every creature in this land will make it their mission to destroy them.”
“But why? We’re powerful and they know better than to attempt to mess with us.”
“You’re not seeing the big picture. The creatures never wanted to merge with humans, they wanted to clear the planet and take it over for themselves. You may think they are helping your mother, but they are just biding their time to take over for good.”
I gasped. “That can’t be true. Mother would never allow them under our roof if it were so.”
“Your mother is a very intelligent woman. She knows you keep your enemies closer.”
“But even she wanted to tell the others about them.”
“If she had sought out my guidance she would have known that would be like putting a bullseye on the halflings. I speak the truth. Not only that but then you would have to worry about the creatures forcing themselves on the humans, to try to bred their own race.”
I crossed my arms and studied him. As much as I hated to admit it, I believed him. I couldn’t risk putting the humans in harm’s way even more.
“Great. So what do we do? We can’t keep them locked in here forever. And they were made to help replenish the Earth.”
“It was a noble plan, but not a well thought out one.”
I didn’t like him saying my mother’s idea was a bad one. And no matter what, I wouldn’t change having them in my life.
I paused, frustrated. “We can’t bring them to the realms, they would never be accepted.”
He nodded in agreement. “This is true. At least not now. Maybe in the future.”
Suddenly, Demitrious’ body went rigid. “We need to go upstairs right away.”
I hadn’t sensed whatever it was that he had, but I knew better than to question his instincts.
“Henrek, keep them safe,” I yelled over my shoulder as I ran to catch up with Demitrious, who was already at the top of the stairwell.
As soon as the door opened I knew what had alerted him. Darkness. The room was shrouded in a dark mist. There was no form, just an energy field. The room that
was once empty was now filled with the creatures staying inside the castle. But they looked different. They were filled with adrenaline, excitement, like an angry mob waiting to be released.
It didn’t take me long to realize the mist was mingling with their energy, causing them to get keyed up. It ignited the flames of hatred they had inside. For each other, for me. Their attention was riveted on me.
I felt the darkness swirl within me. It was calling to me, to embrace my shadow side. I was surprised to find myself willing, anxious, to take heed to the pull. The harder I tried to resist the more it filled my body.
Freaked out, I glanced at Demitrious, his shoulders were heaving up and down. A vein pulsed on his forehead. In that moment I knew the darkness was within him and he was battling himself to gain control.
In a flash there was chaos, creatures tearing at each other. One of the shifters lunged at me but Demitrious interceded, breaking his neck and tossing him aside.
Another’s body crashed into the wall with enough force to shatter the marble wall, surely breaking every bone in the creature’s body. I watched as the body slid to the ground in a pool of blood.
Somehow the demon had beat the darkness and instead of fighting the others, he was protecting me. My hand throbbed, wanting to release my power on the others, my mind kept telling me to fight it. That I was there to bring peace not cause war. However, my power didn’t want to listen.
Tables were knocked over, bodies flew through the air crashing against the walls. The chandelier fell to the ground with a devastating bang, crystal shards flew everywhere.
Next thing I knew, the room stilled.
What had changed? The darkness still hung in the air, filtering through our bodies.
A flash of light so bright it hurt my eyes came from behind. I turned and cried, “No!”
It was Calamus, only he no longer appeared that of a child, he was a full grown man and his body glowed from within. The only way I knew it was him, was his eyes, that and how eerily similar he looked like my father.
