The Elder Mother

by Carrie Whitethorne

  I finished my coffee and cleared away our breakfast plates before going to get ready. If we were hunting demons, I should make sure I had enough weapons.

  I was digging through my cupboard, looking for a specific set of throwing knives, when she knocked on the door. I called for her to come in and she sat on the edge of my bed as I continued my search through the various boxes and cases stacked before me.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry?” I asked, puzzled. “For what?”

  “Being…I’m sorry I left the table,” she explained.

  I glanced over my shoulder and smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Want to tell me why, or shall I just mind my own business?” I turned to face her, but remained on the floor.

  “I do need you, Elian,” she said uncomfortably. “It’s been different this time, with it being him. He was the one…he’s the reason I am what I am. And you’ve helped me with that.”

  “I was only joking when I said that. I didn’t realise…” I said softly, fighting to mask the spike of rage I felt at the conformation of who the demon really was. It was not the time. Not what she needed.

  “But it wasn’t funny,” she said flatly.

  “No, it wasn’t. I’m sorry. I’ll keep my mouth shut in future, okay?” I said, forcing a grin, hoping that was the end of it.

  To my relief, she smiled. “That’s probably best.”

  I smirked and turned back to my task. “I won’t be long. Just looking for some knives Konrad gave me. They’re a good small set and I left a few yesterday, so I’m short. Are you ready?”

  “I think so. I’ll wait out there,” she said, leaving the room quietly.

  I shook my head, thinking about what she had said. She could plant herself in front of an army of demons and reduce them to nothing but ash in seconds. She didn’t even need to summon the power to do it. The Mother did it through her. I frowned at that thought; at her being little more than a tool for a deity to strike her enemies.

  I strapped the various knives to my body and headed out to join Seren. I’d planned to look in the most likely places the creatures would hide: out of sight, frequented by those most likely to fall into their clutches. But I found myself hoping we wouldn’t find Kern. He deserved what was coming, but knowing now what he was to her, I knew she needed more time.

  Fourteen

  Seren

  He parked in the same place he had the first night Kern found me. We followed the exact same route, hoping to find some sign of him. Nothing.

  “He did follow us,” I said as we crossed a road and passed into a loading yard.

  “Yeah, looks like it.” Elian was paying close attention to the warehouse we were approaching. “He must be around here somewhere, though. There’s nowhere else in town suitable.”

  I wasn’t convinced. In daylight, the place didn’t look as though it was of much use to anyone. Yes, the old buildings were sizeable, deserted, and offered ample places to hide, but they wouldn’t function as somewhere to settle long term. Not even for demons.

  “They were keeping their food supply well away from here,” I pointed out as we rounded the closest building and lost sight of the road. “Perhaps they have other houses?”

  He frowned, his eyes still scanning for signs of movement. “Maybe. It’s still worth giving this place a thorough search.”

  I nodded and followed him through a broken door.

  We found ourselves in a narrow corridor, doors branching off at intervals along its length. At the very end was a double door that I assumed opened into a storage area. We hovered at the entrance, listening. I looked to him, pulling my bows together in silent question. He shook his head in reply walking on.

  “There’s nothing here,” I whispered as we reached the end of the corridor.

  “No,” he agreed, inching the warehouse door open before stepping through and holding it with a foot. “No, I think you’re right.”

  Without warning, he shifted.

  “Elian, what are you doing?” I hissed as he rose into the air with a few graceful flaps of his black wings. He settled on a large, steel beam that supported the falling in roof and scanned the space. I noticed his attention was focused on an area above me, and looked up. I couldn’t see or hear anything, and when I looked back he was gliding in that direction, out of my line of sight.

  A few long, anxious minutes passed before he landed in his human form, squarely in front of me and I inhaled sharply in surprise. He sniggered, his eyes dancing as I shoved his shoulder. “Don’t!”

  “Nervous, Seren?” he asked, stepping around me and walking back the way we came.

  I didn’t answer, closing the door silently behind me and following.

  Back outside, he turned left to complete the walk around the perimeter of the building. “This would be easier if we could fly.”

  I shrugged my shoulders and quickened my pace to catch him up. “What’s over there?” I asked, pointing through a chain link fence.

  He followed my hand. “That’s the steelworks, the river just beyond,” he told me, veering toward the fence. “We could have a look?”

  There was something about the derelict building…it seemed so isolated. If I wanted to hide, that would probably be somewhere I’d choose. “Yes, I think we should.”

  He took a few steps back before running and scaling the fence. My brows rose as he landed. I followed, landing perfectly at his side.

  “Huh,” he said, turning and heading over the stretch of wasteland before us.

  “What? Didn’t think I could?” I asked smugly.

  “I’ve no idea what you can and can’t do,” he answered. “We’ll have to put you through your paces.”

  I wasn’t sure what that meant, so I ignored it. “What happens if we don’t find anything here?”

  “We look somewhere else, or wait for him to come to you,” he said with a mischievous flash of his brows. “He’ll turn up. He can’t seem to stay away from you.”

  “No…” I agreed quietly. He was clearly oblivious to my discomfort at the thought of Kern following me around.

  “Saves us a lot of time if he does. Do you want me to fly ahead and see what I can see?”

  I looked around. The area seemed deserted; the only sounds were that of birds and the whisper of traffic. “No. It’s probably better if we stay together,” I said, not wanting to face Kern alone if he were to show up.

  I wasn’t sure why he intimidated me so. I was no longer the helpless human girl he’d robbed of her life all those years ago. Despite his confidence, I was his greatest threat. I didn’t know if I was still considered mortal; if he could kill me a second time should The Mother’s powers fail me. But that meant he couldn’t know either. That should have given me strength.

  Elian was heading for the river and I followed a few paces behind. The building was off to our left, a good distance away, and we crossed the uneven ground carefully. He watched and listened, paying no attention to me, and didn’t notice when I paused. I suddenly felt uneasy, or more uneasy, really. I hadn’t felt entirely comfortable since we’d left the car, but this was different. This was the distinct feeling that something terrible was about to happen. It was more than my reluctance to meet with Kern again and as I continued after Elian, the dread grew.

  He stopped at the river bank and looked up and down the flowing water. “No sign of movement along here,” he said quietly, heading for the old steelworks. Focused on his task, he didn’t notice that I hadn’t immediately followed.

  “Elian,” I said softly. “I don’t feel—” I couldn’t finish.

  He turned and cocked his head. “In what way?”

  I frowned. I couldn’t explain it. “I don’t know.”

  “I’ll go on ahead, have a look, and come back quickly,” he said, looking as if he were about to shift.

  “NO!”

  The panic in my voice had him striding toward me, his brow etched with lines of concern. “What�
��s wrong?”

  “I don’t know. Something isn’t right here. I can’t explain…we should keep going,” I said, shrugging my shoulder away from his hand. “I’m here to find Kern. Just…don’t leave me. Please.”

  Before he could protest, I walked toward the building before us. The ground was littered with old bricks and broken glass, and I picked my way over them carefully. Elian followed silently behind.

  I focused on his emotions as I closed the distance. He was confused. Frustrated. Concerned. Again.

  I picked up speed. I couldn’t explain why, but I felt I had to reach the building.

  “Seren?” Elian questioned, jogging to catch me up. “What is it?”

  I didn’t answer. I couldn't. My stomach churning with anxiety that I had no explanation for. I just knew I had to get to that building.

  The feelings intensified, from anxiety to dread, dread to fear, fear to terror, and I had no idea where it was coming from. Whose emotion was this? There’s no one here! As my boots hit solid ground, so did my knees as I collapsed in tears, emotions beating down on me so relentlessly I could hardly breathe. They surrounded me, smothered me, washed over me, and I could feel them pulling me down. I couldn’t get away if I’d tried. I tried to block it out as I usually did, but it was so strong, it overwhelmed me.

  Elian gripped my waist and hauled me to my feet as he realised what was happening.

  “I’ve got you. You’re okay,” he murmured into my ear. “Come on. I’ll help you back to the car.”

  I shook my head, trying to steady my breathing enough to speak. “No. I can’t. We’ve got to find him. Whatever he’s doing here, we must stop him, Elian. He’s hurting people. I'm okay. I’m fine.”

  With his arm still firmly around my waist, he held me close and waited for me to be ready to continue. I felt as though a physical weight was pressing down on me, the intensity of the emotions so great. With a few steadying breaths, I steeled myself and walked toward the abandoned buildings, fighting against my urge to run, to remove myself from the barrage of pain and suffering I was experiencing.

  There was a section of the wall missing from the closest building and I headed straight for it. Elian remained at my side; watchful, but silent.

  We carefully stepped through the hole and I paused.

  “What?” he whispered. “Him?”

  I shook my head again. “No…it’s stopped.”

  His head snapped up to look around the building. “What do you mean, ‘it’s stopped’?”

  “Back here. It’s gone,” I said, frowning. “But there’s nothing over there, either.”

  He scanned the ruined building, looked back out the way we’d come, then looked to me. I looked down at my hands, feeling useless. I was trying, but there was no sense to the way the emotions were moving around.

  “They’re underground,” he growled, looking at his feet. “I bet they’ve been here years and I never noticed.”

  He was becoming angry again and it made me uncomfortable. I needed to leave just as much as he did. “Come on,” I said, “we need to go home.”

  He frowned, but allowed me to tug him away, back over the wasteland and back to the car. He was silent the entire walk.

  “What do we do now?” I asked, tilting back my head, and looking at the roof of the car.

  “What do you want to do now?” he asked.

  I sighed. “I don’t know. Something that doesn’t require me to think.”

  “How’re you feeling? Really feeling?” he asked.

  What an odd question, I thought. I turned my head to look at him as I assessed my emotions. Now I was away from there, away from the overwhelming feeling of terror, I felt angry. Whatever they were doing, whoever Kern had in his lair, they were hurting them. And I couldn’t stop him. Not then. My jaw clenched. “I’m angry.”

  “Hold on to that,” he said, speeding away.

  He pulled the car into his usual space and cut the engine.

  “Why are we back here?” I asked. I’d assumed we were going somewhere to handle my anger.

  “Come on,” he said, grinning.

  I followed him inside, but he didn’t take the stairs up to the apartment. Instead, he walked around them, past the lift, and opened a door set back in the corner. He held it as I passed him, and said, “Second on the left.”

  I followed his instructions, pushing open the door, and the bright lights automatically flickered on. “Gym,” he said in explanation. “You can work off some of that anger.”

  The first thing I noticed was a large, leather bag hanging from the ceiling on a heavy chain. Looking around, I saw other items. A circular board on a three-legged stand, knives imbedded in its face, a rack holding circular plates, a low bench beneath, a large square mat in the centre of the room.

  “What do you do here?” I asked, walking toward the leather bag.

  “I train,” he said simply, shrugging out of his jacket, and removing small knives from straps on various points of his body. “That’s for hitting,” he went on, nodding at the bag as I placed my palm on its cold surface. “That’s for target practice.” He indicated the circular board. “And that’s a sparring mat.”

  “And those?” I asked, looking at the bench.

  “Weights. They help to build strength. I’ll be out in a minute. Change into something you can move easily in.”

  He went into a side room and closed the door behind him. I changed into joggers and a loose t-shirt and turned back to the bag. I stared blankly at it for several minutes, lost in my thoughts, and didn’t notice him return.

  “Hit it,” he said, moving silently across the room.

  I frowned. “What?”

  “Hit it,” he repeated, moving to the opposite side of the bag, and leaning a hand against it. “You said you were angry. Be angry. Hit the bag.”

  So, I did. And he laughed.

  “Here,” he said softly, moving to stand behind me. “Hold your hand, like this, pull your arm back, to here. Swing from here, and….”

  I swung at the bag, hitting it squarely. It wobbled on its hanging, and I swung again, then with the other hand as he’d shown me.

  I wasn’t aware that he was holding the bag as I swung punch after punch, building a rhythm as I pounded my frustrations into the supple leather.

  I’d let Kern go. Twice. Collapsed in a tearful heap that day because of these cursed gifts. I had no home. I had no idea what was going to happen to me when this was done. I’d let down my guard. I’d let Elian in. I'd kissed him! I pushed that memory away.

  Punch after punch landed, until I couldn’t throw another. I stood panting, looking at my red, raw knuckles, and surprisingly, I felt better.

  “You done?” he asked, walking over to the board and pulling the knives in its front free.

  “I think so,” I said between ragged breaths.

  He nodded and stepped back a few paces. “Good. How’s your aim?”

  “I don’t know,” I chuckled, sitting cross-legged on the mat to watch him.

  He didn’t even bother to aim as he threw the knives. They landed in such quick succession, I wasn’t sure how many he’d hurled.

  “So…back at the steelworks, what was that?” he asked, retrieving his knives and beginning again.

  “Overexposure. Whatever they’re doing, it’s causing a lot of people to suffer.”

  He didn’t respond, but threw the knives with more force.

  “I need to find a way to block it out so we can find the entrance. They must be underground, like you said.”

  “Makes sense,” he said, tugging the knives free. “What can we do to help you achieve that? The blocking it out bit.”

  The rhythmic thuds as the knives hit their target were oddly soothing, giving me something to focus on rather than over-thinking my latest hurdle. “I’m not sure. Now I know to expect it, I would probably be okay.”

  “Then we’ll work on that tomorrow,” he said, turning to me. “Do you want to try?”

  I
shook my head. “No, I think I just want to forget about today and start again tomorrow.”

  “Fair enough,” he said, walking to the door and holding it open. “Any idea what you’d like to do for the rest of the day?”

  “Absolutely nothing. I’m tired,” I said over my shoulder, making my way up the stairs.

  “Okay, well, we’ll hang around here, and when it gets dark, I’ll go out and look for an entrance back there. There must be one. That okay?”

  “No!” I said in alarm. “You can’t go there alone. I’ll come with you, help you.”

  “You’ve done enough today. I’ll fly. I’ll be fine,” he assured me, unlocking the door to his apartment. “Last time I checked, they couldn’t fly.”

  I gave him a sceptical look and curled up on the sofa.

  He walked straight past and I heard him turn on the kettle. A few moments later, his duvet landed on top of me.

  We spent the rest of the day curled at opposite ends of the sofa. I felt the need to sit closer to him, as I had the previous night, but remained where I was. His duvet held his scent and I contented myself with that.

  He was unusually quiet, not really watching the television, but not speaking to me. He did spend quite a long time tapping on his phone. I didn’t dare ask what was wrong. As the sun began to set, he went into his room and returned dressed in leather trousers, matching leather vest, and displayed an arsenal of knives.

  “Do you have to go?” I asked, struggling to keep the concern from my voice.

  His lips twitched up in a half-smile. “I won’t be long. Don’t worry. I’ll fly over, see what I can pick out, and come straight back. I promise.”

  I nodded and looked away. I’d expected him to just go, but instead, he passed behind me and paused. “I’ll be home in a couple of hours.” I tipped back my head and smiled.

  He left by the patio door, closing it softly behind him.

  Pulling his duvet up beneath my chin, I settled into the corner of the sofa and waited.

  He tapped on the door before he came inside, I assumed so he wouldn’t alarm me by simply walking in.