“It has always been known that light is attracted to dark. They pull and push against each other and one cannot survive without the other. What is less talked about is...” The professor stopped pacing and stood in front of Alison’s desk, looking down at her, “dark is almost always attracted to dark. Maybe those kids should ask themselves why they attracted the dark wizards? They don’t come out for just anything.”
Alison looked into Mr. Powell’s dark brown eyes and he held her glance for several moments. Over the loudspeaker the bell rang, breaking their eye contact. Alison breathed heavily, looking from side to side trying to figure out just how Mr. Powell knew what she had been thinking. It was impossible, right? He had to have just read into it, since there wasn’t a professor at the school who didn’t know Alison was a Drow now.
Izzie nudged Alison and glanced at Mr. Powell. “Come on, we have study hall in the library.”
“Right.” Alison shook her head and grabbed her books, looking back at Mr. Powell, whose eyes followed her curiously until she was out the doors. She turned the corner to find the group waiting for her, and Ethan grabbed her arm and pulled her out into the courtyard.
“Why would you ask something like that? Did you see the way everyone looked at us? They knew we had done something we weren’t supposed to.”
“I needed to know why those wizards attacked out of nowhere. Why they picked us.”
“Uh, because we were six lowerclassmen wandering around the underground city all alone on the edge of Opulence? They saw easy targets.”
“No.” Alison pulled her arm away and shook her head. “They weren’t trying to bully us or scare us, they were trying to kill us. The magic they were using—I’ve seen it before.”
“It was dark magic.”
“Yes, but they used it like grown wizards and witches would. They were sent there; I know it. And when they returned losers, the sky darkened. It was a sign from whoever sent them out there for us.”
Izzie put her hand on Alison’s shoulder. “Maybe you are just upset and overthinking all this. What would they want with all of us? Why would anyone go out of their way to kill some weird magical kids and two orphans?”
“They weren’t sent out for all of us, just me.”
“Alison, I appreciate you being a martyr, but I don’t think that’s the case.”
“It most likely is.” Luke walked up to the group. “I could sense their intentions, and they were zeroed in on Alison. It didn’t make any sense, but that’s what it was. If they had wanted you guys dead they would have killed you. You don’t know enough magic. The only ones giving them a hard time were Izzie and Alison.”
Ethan took a deep breath and tapped his chin, thinking. “Okay, and why would they want to kill you?”
“I don’t know, maybe because I’m a Drow?” Alison knew there was more to it than that, but she wasn’t about to blab her secret to everyone. It was not only irresponsible at that point, it was dangerous, and she didn’t even know enough about it to explain.
“I know Drow aren’t the most popular beings on the planet, but to provoke a battle for no reason seems a bit out there.”
The bell rang again, signaling that they were late for study hall. Ethan shook his head and threw his bag over his shoulder. “Come on, we don’t need to be any later. Detention yesterday was enough for one week.”
Izzie smiled and twined her arm through Alison’s. They headed toward the library slowly, not saying a word to each other. Alison liked that about Izzie; she didn’t have to spill all her secrets and thoughts. She was just there no matter what, kind of like during the fight. Alison let the thoughts rampage through her mind, wondering if there was any truth to her theory. If there wasn’t, great, but if there was they could be facing a real threat—all because of her heritage. It was just another instance of something happening that Alison couldn’t control, only this time she was afraid that it could get her friends killed.
25
When the girls were fast asleep that night, Izzie opened her eyes and carefully slipped out of bed. She pulled her jeans on slowly and quietly and drew her hoodie over her head. Sleeping just wasn’t ever in the cards for her, and she’d gotten into the habit of wandering the grounds. It was the only time she could think without the hustle and bustle of everyone around them. It wasn’t the perfect scenario, but she was at least left alone with her thoughts every once in a while.
She sat down on the edge of her bed and pulled on her shoes, then stood up carefully, pausing as Kathleen grumbled and rolled over.
“Where are you headed?” Alison was sitting up in bed, already throwing back the covers.
“Nowhere… go back to sleep.”
“I’m coming with you. You could use the company.” Alison could see the pain radiating through Izzie’s soul. She was lonely, but for something she couldn’t understand.
Izzie grabbed her satchel and pulled it over her head and across her chest as Alison pulled on her jeans and slipped on her shoes.
“I can’t talk you out of it? We could get caught, you know.”
“I’m coming.”
“Suit yourself,” Izzie whispered, annoyed and grateful at the same time. She took a look around the room one more time and headed out the door, closing it carefully behind them.
Students were technically not supposed to roam the mansion late at night, but there were a number of upperclassmen boys that went to the dining hall for a late-night snack. No one would pay a bit of attention to them.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs they ducked behind the staircase for a moment, letting a group of three boys walk into the dining hall. They scooted through the lobby and out the front doors, heading quickly across the lawn and out into the pastures. Once out of sight of the front steps Izzie pushed her hood back, letting the cool breeze blow her hair around. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of fresh air, listening to the frogs and crickets in the background. They would be gone soon with the weather changing, and she would miss it. Alison looked around at the calm energy emanating from the woods.
They moved through the tall grass and climbed to the top of the hill, as Izzie looked in all directions to find Horace. “You have to promise not to tell the others, Alison.”
“I give you my word.”
Horace was usually out that time of night doing his rounds with the dogs, and she often kept him company on his walks. Izzie didn’t see any sign of him though, and his tiny cottage on the outskirts of the teachers’ housing area was dark.
Izzie shrugged, figuring he was busy sleeping instead of worrying about idiot students like her who decided to go wandering around the place. “We should head back,” she said to Alison.
“You lookin’ for me?” Horace called from behind her. “I see you brought a friend this time. Good for you.”
“Hey.” Izzie turned around, smiling sheepishly. “Alison couldn’t sleep either. We went out for a night stroll and figured I’d catch up with you if you were out here. Thought maybe you had called it a night.”
“And let students get carried off by gargoyles? Nah, as much as that appeals to me for some of them, I’d be a terrible caretaker if I let that happen.”
Izzie laughed. “Depends on which ones. So, where you headed to tonight?”
“Figured I’d head over to the orchard. Some of the older boys like to sneak out there with their girlfriends. I usually just scare the crap out of them and watch them run off, pants around their ankles, but it’s pretty late in the season so it will surprise me if we find anyone.”
“I kind of hope not.” Alison grimaced.
“Mind if we walk with you?” asked Izzie.
“Not at all.” Horace handed Izzie one of the dogs’ leashes and they set off toward the back side of the property. There were all kinds of fruit trees planted out there, some from Earth and others from Oriceran. They tried to keep them separate, unsure what would happen if they cross-pollinated. No one wanted a peach with teeth.
�
��You can’t sleep either, huh?” He smiled at Alison
“No.” She groaned. Lately it had been getting worse. The truth was she had seen Izzie leaving late at night before and thought Izzie could use the company.
Izzie gave her a reluctant smile as the dog pulled on the leash. “I thought it was just me.”
Alison brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “I don’t know what it is. I mean, I don’t feel like I’ve been up for weeks. I feel fine. But I can’t fall asleep.”
“Let me ask you a question. Do you ever zone out, like go into some sort of trance state? You can hear around you, but you are in a haze, your body relaxed, your mind blocking the constant chatter?”
Alison frowned. “Actually, yeah. At least once a day, usually after school on my bed. Emma thinks I meditate so they just kind of leave me alone.”
“If someone touches you, do you come to kind of like you’ve been woken from a deep sleep?”
“Yes! Oh my God, yes. What is that?”
“I did some research last time I was in the underground city. Figured you would want to know a little more about your people. I came across a section on sleep and it said that Drow generally do not sleep, not like most creatures anyway. They go into a trance-like state where their bodies rejuvenate. They were so busy underground all the time that taking some time to stop and trance out every once in a while throughout the day was easiest for them. So, I guess you not sleeping is a Drow thing.”
“That’s crazy...” She shook her head. “I don’t sleep, I make purple flames, and I go into trances.”
“There’s a lot more to the Drow, and I think over time you’ll notice more and more powers developing. Your appearance will change too.”
Izzie looked at Alison and felt herself relaxing. I’m not the only one who’s different.
“Yeah, Brownstone told me that. He said my skin will darken and my hair will probably turn completely silver like my mother’s. I never thought there could actually be freaks in the magical world, but here I am.”
“You think that too?” Izzie blurted out the words.
“You’re not a freak. Neither one of you are,” he chuckled. “I grew up a bright red head in Austin Texas. They called me a freak all the time, but I think there it’s more of a compliment. Strange place.”
“That’s right, you grew up in Texas, I forgot. What’s it like?” Izzie scratched the dog behind his ears.
“Big and beautiful.” He laughed. “My parents worked at the mill outside of town and had a small farm, which is why I knew how to take care of property like this one.”
“But as a human, how did you fall in with the magical folks?”
“My Aunt Estelle owns a bar in Austin, she has all kinds of folks coming in and out of there. She hooked me up, guess she got in good with them. Actually, the headmistress knows my aunt too. Her granddaughter, Leira, used to live behind the bar my aunt owned. She was a detective, never knew she was magical, then one day her whole world changed. She’s actually speaking next week here at the school, you’ll hear all about her then.”
“Oh, that’s right, special guest speaker Leira Berens. She’s a bounty hunter now, right? Wasn’t she the one who helped take down Rhazdon?”
“Yeah, her and a whole slew of others. But in the end, Rhazdon gave her life to help others. Complicated woman.”
“I think I heard Brownstone and Shay talk about her once.” Horace put out his hand and helped Alison down the steep embankment as Izzie easily ran ahead, waiting at the bottom.
“Living in Texas taught me a lot of things, and so did my aunt. She is a pistol, doesn’t take crap from no one. I can always count on her being right there behind her bar, cleaning something, a cigarette hanging off her lip, her hair in a tall bouffant just like it’s been since before I was born. I’m glad she recommended me for this job. I really like being here. I’ve made a lot of good friends, met a lot of good people along the way.”
“I’m sure your fair share of bad ones too.”
“That’s for sure.”
They walked to the edge of the orchard and looked out across the fields of trees. Alison let out a deep breath and smiled, seeing small wisps of magical energy dancing through them. She stepped closer narrowing her eyes, realizing that there was so much she was missing during the normal hustle and bustle of the days. There were so many people all the souls started to just meld together, but at night she could see all the little details she normally overlooked.
“There are magical creatures out there.”
“You see a lot more than I do,” whispered Izzie, reaching out to squeeze Alison’s hand.
“I see a lot of different things.”
“Yep,” said Horace. “There are small magical creatures all over these hills. They are the fairies and tree gnomes. They live here under our protection, but they stay in the background, living their lives just like anyone else. They like to be close to the kemana. In fact, I’ve heard rumors that there are a few of those crazy furry trolls roaming around here somewhere too. But don’t go chasing them. Ms. Berens said her granddaughter saved one’s life one time and now he’s bonded to her for life. They are like tiny hairy little Yodas.”
“Interesting.” Izzie chuckled. “I’ll make sure to walk the other way if I see one.”
“Their souls are orange and green,” said Horace.
Alison turned her head looking at Horace with surprise. “You know about me? Did Ms. Berens tell you?”
“Eventually but I’d already figured it out. You don’t see the details like everyone else does, and the way you study each and every person… I knew you were seeing them in a different way than the rest of us.”
“Guess I can add that to the list of weird things about me.”
“Not weird, just different, and different can be really good. For example, what do you see when you look at this section right here?”
“I see fairies and... there.” Alison pointed about half way down the closest orchard. “Two elves, desire circulating their energies.”
“You mean making out?” Izzie laughed, clamping her hand over her mouth.
“See? I would have probably completely missed them. All I see is trees.”
Horace turned to walk back up the hill and the girls followed as Alison looked back at the energy “Aren’t you gonna stop them?”
“Eh, I’m feeling generous tonight. Who am I to stand in the way of love?”
Alison laughed and reached up, taking his hand as she climbed the embankment behind Izzie. “Can we take the dogs through the pastures?” asked Alison.
“Sure, why not,” said Izzie, running ahead, making a loop and coming back to them. It was better being out at night with a friend. A friend.
Alison looked out over the fields, noticing the souls she normally missed. She felt like she was seeing everything for the first time, her wonderment lifted her spirits. It had been a long time since she felt that way—curious, excited, filled with a warm glow. She didn’t even think about everything that had happened while shewra wandered. It opened her senses, something she had needed to do for a long time.
When the sun was just starting to brighten the sky, Horace walked the two girls back to the mansion. Izzie stood there looking out over the frosty morning grasses, her hands shoved in her pockets to keep them warm. She gave Horace a hug, surprising him. He chuckled and hugged her back.
“Just remember, when things get overwhelming and overbearing for either one of you, there are always creatures out there for you to discover, to watch dance through the forest at night. You don’t ever have to feel alone. Us freaks, we stick together.”
Alison and Izzie laughed, taking each other’s hand as they climbed the steps to the dorms. They went to their room and Izzie sat down on the edge of her bed. The alarms hadn’t gone off yet, and the whole mansion was still silent. She stared out the window watching the sunrise and wondered how long she could keep that feeling. A friend.
She knew a lot was going on, just
like she knew there was a lot more to her and her past than she really understood, but it was nice to spend one night just acting like a normal teenager. She almost felt like with the sun rose the problems, but without it, nothing would grow.
“You’re back,” Emma whispered from her bed. “I heard you leave last night and I was a bit worried.”
Alison smiled. “Thanks, but I’m okay. Just don’t sleep very much, so I went for walk down to the orchards.” She kept her word and didn’t mention anything about Izzie.
“Are they beautiful? I haven’t been yet.”
“They are the prettiest thing I have seen here yet, except for maybe the Vampire Flowers of course.”
Emma covered her mouth and giggled as Alison grabbed her things and headed to the showers. She was ready to start a new day, to try to figure out who she was, and in the moments between, just enjoy being there. She knew times wouldn’t stay that simple for long, not with royal Drow blood flowing through her. Dark days were just over the horizon. Alison had a sneaking suspicion they weren’t going to wait for her to be ready, to know who she was and to prepare for the worst. Until then, she had the orchards and her friends, two things that she could never turn her back on, that was for sure.
26
Alison sat in the quiet of the library, her hands resting on her potions book. They had midterms coming up in about a month, and she wanted to make sure she passed with flying colors. She was tired, and she had not gone into a trance for the past day. Her evenings were spent walking the grounds with Izzie, gazing at the different souls flickering and flashing across the grounds. It was now their quiet time. Little moments carved out of each day where they forgot about all the stressful stuff like tests and grades and just focused on the world around them. The only grownup they ever saw out there was Horace. He didn’t pepper them with questions —he just talked, leaving space if they wanted to interject.
Dark Is Her Nature Page 15
