Isabel took a sip of coffee, put the mug down, looked at the paper again and tried to remain calm as her feet began tapping on the linoleum. She picked up the letter again, tossed it down on the table with irritation, and tried to still her nerves. Taking another sip of coffee, she tried to write the whole thing off as some awful joke from that asshat Michael or Sheree, but something nagged at her incessantly. First the dream, then this? No, she didn’t believe it, she couldn’t believe it. She forced her feet to stop tapping and took another long sip of coffee. Then, she flew out her front door.
Searching frantically for the loose board and still hoping that this was just some weird, cruel prank, she shuddered when she found it. How long had it been there? And how was the strange book delivered? This was just too much, especially after the dream last night. Oh God, what if he wasn’t a dream? She closed her eyes and opened them again, taking a deep breath. Ok, wake up already. Come back to the world of the sane! Isabel scoffed at the absurdity of it all, and nearly stood up and went back inside. But a clawing presence wouldn’t go away; a little voice in her soul that got very loud when she even thought of turning away from the porch.
Embracing the insanity instead, she pried the loose board aside and though she loathed reaching into the dark space where any number of slithering things could be waiting, she did it anyway. She closed her eyes and thrust in her hand with a small squeal, awaiting the bite of a massive snake. Her hand made contact with a long wooden box instead, and she yanked it out of the dark underbelly of the porch as fast as she could. Suddenly the throbbing in her head was completely forgotten by the throbbing of her heart.
She inspected the box, brushing off the dirt carefully and turning it over slowly in her hands. It wasn’t wood as she first thought when she touched it. It was some kind of iridescent, almost pearl looking stone. How had it weathered under here for twenty-two years and not been altered in the slightest? It was long and thin and she held her breath as she opened it, no sound as she did so from the invisible hinges hiding somewhere on the seamless box. Her breath caught in her throat, and she didn’t know if her heart was even beating at all anymore. Staring back at her was an ancient looking pendant that caged a deep red stone with a light silvery brace, and when caught directly in the sun it seemed almost like it was in motion. A moving fire inside of the hardened exterior of an otherwise ruby colored stone.
“Breathe, just breathe,” she whispered to herself.
The long metal cord was thick, and there was no clasp. A part of her wanted to toss the thing as far away as she could, not put the damn thing on. ‘If that was a letter from your mother, as crazy as she sounds, you need to put this on. She’s trying to protect you’ a voice echoed inside her head. A nervous laugh escaped her. Nothing would happen if she put this thing on, she was being ridiculous, right? What the hell are ‘blinders’ anyway? She took a deep breath and lifted the chain over her head.
It was as if a lightning bolt shot down into her chest, and she was thrown back off the porch and on the grass, her sight completely taken away. Her teeth smashed together with the impact and the headache she’d been nursing since she got up flared dramatically. She gasped for air that wasn’t entering her lungs, and then felt the internal explosion recede. The pitch blackness that encompassed her eyes when she put the thing on began to recoil, and shades of gray turned into color as her vision returned. The world was different when it came back into focus; brighter. Well, brighter in the bright places…and so much darker in the shadows. She thought she saw something black scurry from behind the house, but she shook it off as a stray cat.
Maybe I’m still dreaming? Or dead. Maybe I drank myself into a coma last night?
There were those stories of people that woke up from comas having gone on journey’s with their soul—astral projection, was the name she remembered—that had out of body experiences and such. Those things are documented. That could be what happened, right? She was in a coma somewhere due to alcohol poisoning and none of this was real.
Yeah, right.
She reached down and pinched herself hard, wincing as tears pricked at her eyes. Pain doesn’t usually happen in dreams, does it? But neither does kissing a seriously hot Sidhe Prince, and smelling jasmine and spice and man. And actually, pain did happen in hers, but with enough of it she could usually wake herself up. She groaned and sat back on her feet for a moment, looking at the necklace in her hand.
Just then, the crunching of her gravel drive made her look up. The familiar sight of Black Beauty came gliding up the path, shimmering slightly in the morning sun. She stood up and shielded her eyes, taking a step up on the porch. What the hell was Amele doing here so early?
The car stopped about twenty paces from her, and Isabel waited for her to emerge. The dark tinted windows mixed with the sunlight made it impossible to see inside, but it looked as if her shadow was rummaging through bags of some kind in the passenger seat. When the door opened and Amele stepped out, Isabel almost screamed. Her friend, once a normal, blonde haired, blue eyed bombshell of the cheerleader type—definitely of a human type—now had flowing dark hair, pointed freaking ears, and was dressed in some kind of cross between vampire-goth and medieval leather get-up, complete with a sword on her back. That was so not Amele. The smile on the thing’s face was absolutely Amele, however, and the world just went from strange and unusual, to bat-shit crazy. She shrieked and barely made it inside the door before Amele—or the Amele body-snatcher—got to it. She slammed it shut and locked it.
“Isabel, what the hell is wrong with you? Isabel, open up, I’ve brought something you need to see,” the thing said from the other side with Amele’s voice.
“Oh no you don’t! I don’t know what you drugged me with last night but I’ve had enough! Get out of here, Miss fake blonde, fake friend, fake human! Oh my God, were you ever even my friend? Who put you up to this? What are you and what the hell is happening to me?” She was shaking now, fully and completely freaked the hell out. She had a freaking sword!
She heard the soft thud of Amele’s body snatcher’s head against the door. “Shit. So, it’s begun,” she whispered, “Have you read the letter from Keiren yet? From your mother?”
Isabel was suddenly so pissed that she forgot her fear and absorbed the anger of ten pre-teens. She yanked the door open, fire blazing in her eyes. “Tell me what you know and then go away. I don’t know what the hell is happening today, but none of this can be real. So, since I’m still dreaming, clearly, by the looks of you, let’s have a quick chat before I go admit myself. I take it you aren’t really from Maine after all? And the bit about being orphaned and left with a huge trust fund, I’m guessing that’s not quite the case either? Who are you? And what happened to my world overnight?”
“I’m your friend, Isabel, we’ve spent the last 5 years nearly inseparable, remember? I’m sorry about the lies, they were necessary at the time. And no, I’m definitely not from Maine.” Her face truly looked hurt even though she didn’t look like Amele at all anymore. She was almost blindingly beautiful, even more than her blonde facade. Way more, actually. Her skin shimmered and her eyes were like liquid amber with midnight locks shining in the sun. And one of her pointed ears was pierced near the top with an iridescent ring. She stood on the porch unmoving as Isabel checked her out.
“Okay, Amele, or whoever you are, so what is going on around here? Last night I had a wicked good dream—that I am beginning to understand was not a dream at all—about a raging hot Sidhe Prince who I could barely control myself around, and who also mentioned that I’m some kind of Princess. He told me about a mother I never knew, and oh yeah, I’m part Sidhe, too. Then this morning I open that package and read a letter from a mother who’s trapped somewhere and has given me advice that my choice between two men could change the worlds. She also left me this,” Isabel held up the amulet, “and now I’m seeing shit like you. Very clearly. That about covers it for me. Your turn.” She crossed her arms over her chest defiantly, mirroring h
er ex-BFF, and stared at her with as much ‘go screw yourself’ in her eyes as she could.
“Well, aren’t you feisty this morning?” she countered. “I’m Amele, that much is still true. And really, Isabel, is it so bad? You’re going to have two immortals vying for your love for the next few weeks and all you have to do is choose one for eternal bliss. Well, of course you have to choose the right one in order for that to happen, but we all have faith that you will. As for me, I was strictly forbidden to reveal anything to you until it was time. Now, it’s time.” She eyed her gently.
“Why am I not freaking out more over all this? The logical part of me is screaming that I can’t be awake, that you can’t be standing here in front of me with pointed ears, and a damn sword on your back—holy shit, is that thing real?!? Logical me is saying that that none of this is possible. But then there’s another part of me that is incredibly calm, even if I’m irritated beyond anything I’ve ever known. How can that be? Look at you! What the hell are you? I’ve gone insane, I know it. You poisoned me last night.”
Amele huffed, “I most certainly wouldn’t and didn’t poison you, and you’re not insane. It’s your heritage, Isabel, and you’re calm because part of you knows it’s true. You were raised in the mortal realm, but you’re not mortal. Well, I guess you are for a little while longer but you never should’ve been. It was part of the deal that your mother made to keep you safe and normal—a lot of good that did. I personally think that there were better choices, but Keiren had her reasons. No one, not even me, would question a Foresayer.”
Isabel began pacing around the living room. “Okay, so, I’m some kind of freak of nature that’s going to destroy the world. What are you again?”
“Worlds, plural, hon,” Amele sighed. “Bel, I was sent to be a guardian of sorts to you while you came into your mortal adulthood. I actually love this realm, so for me this was a no-brainer task. You know how much I love my Ben and Jerry’s, and the ice cream too” she winked, “and, you are the future of the realms, so there’s props for that, as well. But, then when we actually got to spend time together, I decided I actually liked you. I don’t like many beings, and that’s a truth that many can back me up on, you’ll see soon. From there, you were no longer a job, but my friend. One that I love dearly, even when you’re completely acting your age—like now. You finally learning the truth and seeing me for who I am doesn’t change that, even if you’re a bit pissed at me right now. I hope you know that, about how I feel at least. And yes, the sword is very, very real. No, I’m not going to hurt you with it. I’m here to protect you, not hurt you.”
She softened her stance a little, hurt overtaking the anger she felt. It was like someone punched all the wind out of her all of a sudden. “Too late, your lies hurt immensely right now. You should’ve told me.”
“Tell you how, exactly? Oh yeah, I could have, I guess. Maybe I should’ve said, ‘Hey, Isabel, I know this is going to sound insane, but I’m not really blonde, I can fly and I have pointy ears, wanna see? Oh and by the way, you’re just like me, little Sidhe sister, only royalty! Should I have said it that way?”
No, that probably wouldn’t have helped things.
“Hey, would it help to know that I put a little spell on your ex for being so mean to you?” She smiled deviantly.
Isabel tried to hide a bemused grin unsuccessfully. “No way, what did you do?”
“Oh, well, let’s just say he will be having some sexual issues of his own for a while. Nothing major and it won’t last too long, a few months maybe. But certainly long enough for him to gain a reputation for being a ‘softy’.”
“Oh, my God,” she laughed. “Oddly, yes. That does make me feel better.” They both burst out into laughter then. “So, God, I can’t believe I’m about to even ask this, but am I going to have the ears and flying thing too?”
Amele doubled over laughing at her. “Definitely the ears, but they may be a little different than mine since the Elves have slightly longer points than the Sidhe. The flying is anyone’s guess, though. Since you’re a halfling, your abilities could go either way, but you will absolutely kick ass. Your dad was one ferocious warrior, and that’s a huge compliment coming from me. You’ll just have to trust me on that for now.”
“Great, last night I’m a wee mortal and now I’m a halfling? I don’t know which is worse, especially since I don’t know what a halfling or wee mortal is to you. I think I must be having a nervous breakdown.” She pinched herself again, this time so hard that a purple welt immediately appeared. “Ow!” Isabel crumpled down on the couch, pulling up her knees and burying her face in them. The sharp sound of Amele’s laughter made her jerk up and stare.
“Prince Bodhe called you a wee mortal? Oh Gods, he didn’t start off well did he?”
Isabel just looked at her. “Really, this is all funny to you? What am I supposed to do? My entire world just changed in a few hours and I don’t know what way is up or down anymore. Can’t you tell me anything important? Who is the other one that I haven’t met yet? Is he as charming as Bodhe? What are the rules other than the one I sleep with I get to keep for eternity and possibly destroy a world or two? And what exactly makes me a halfling?”
“I am bound by magic and can’t tell you as much as I would like to, but I can tell you who the other male is. The other is named Morkain and he is the chief advisor to the Queen of Light Elves in the Kingdom of Albequen. He is also wildly handsome in a very lickable sort of way, and you will find him charming, I’m sure. Even for an Elf. Some say that he’ll take the throne when the Queen steps down from her rule, but that’s your throne. That’s where your father was from. He was the only son of Queen Lorelei.”
“Nice. So I’m an heir to an Elven throne. That’s why he was calling me Princess. We didn’t get to that part of the conversation last night other than the Princess part, and I think the letter freaked me out so much that I didn’t see any mention my exact heritage except for her side. No, maybe it did. Shit, it totally did. Oh God, Amele, this is too much. Faer- I mean Sidhe and Elves…really? Is there anything else that I need to be aware of while we’re at it? Do Dragons and Mermaids exist too?”
Amele scoffed at her incredulously. “Well of course they do, but we don’t often see them in our realm. Though, I do miss a few of the Dragon lords. My, they are absolutely delicious when not all scaled up and such.”
“No, of course you don’t see them much, why would you? And please keep your sex-capades to yourself with any Dragons for the moment, I think I have reached my limits of what I can imagine for one day.” It’s one thing when your best friend is the most beautiful girl in town and has anyone she wants to have falling all over her, but now she had to imagine her doing it with a Dragon, too? Limit reached!
Amele stifled a laugh. “Isabel, I understand that this is a lot to take in but you have to be prepared now more than ever because even as these immortals try to charm you, there will be those that seek one outcome or another. The curse prevents either one from harming you or persuading you in any particular direction other than with their devilish charms, but there are darker beings that would be able to bend the rules to an extent, and some that aren’t even aware of the curse or prophesy, trapped as they are in their realms. So you must always wear that amulet and please, take this too since you refuse to use a cell phone. It was a gift I meant to give you for your birthday.”
Amele handed her a ring with a beautiful white center stone and Isabel just looked from the ring to her extremely different looking friend. “It was what I was digging for in the car.”
She flipped it around in her hands, studying it for a moment. “What does this one do, drown me for a moment? The necklace was like a lightning bolt. It knocked me clear on my ass and I couldn’t breathe for a second.”
Amele burst out laughing again. “Your mother and the nature stuff. Too much really, but insanely freaking funny. No, it won’t affect you in any way when you put it on, but if you ever need me all you need to do is co
ver the stone with your right palm, think or say my name, and I’ll be right there.”
“And why exactly would I need you?”
She looked at her very seriously then, eyes flashing with light that was too similar to the prince she couldn’t think about right now. “Because I’m your guardian, Isabel, and because I was born long before Jesus—many, many thousands of years before—and can kick some serious immortal ass. Which, by the way, is what you’ll be learning to do in the coming days. Wear the ring and let’s hope that you don’t need to use it. Now, get your sweet little princess ass dressed and come with me, I want to take you for a drive so you can truly see your world.”
She looked at her, a bit stunned by her words, but complied. Thousands and thousands of years old? But, Isabel knew when she looked into the amber fire of Amele’s real eyes that she was exactly what she said. And a large part of her was actually comforted to have her by her side, even if she still felt like she was heading to the loony bin. Sooner, rather than later by the looks of things.
CHAPTER THREE
Unseelie, Meet Isabel
“AMELE, WHAT IN God’s name are these things?” Her eyes were wide with both disgust and horror.
Isabel looked out the window of the BMW and for once was very happy to be in the dark and secure confines of Amele’s car. Isabel had always thought it excessive and preferred her own jeep to Amele’s higher class taste, but her open jeep would definitely not be strolling around Montreat for awhile. Not until whatever these things were, had gone back to the hell they came from.
“They are not of the Gods any longer, Isabel. Some of them are Sidhe of course but the darker, scarier ones you’re referring to are of the Unseelie Court. The Unseelie are our dark brethren—cursed many years ago—and they feed off the energy of mortals since they lack emotions themselves.”
Immortal Dreams (Immortal Realms Book 1) Page 5
