Awakening Fate (The Chronicles of Elizabeth Fairbairn Book 4)

by Cheryllynn Dyess

  Wesley put his arm around her waist and pulled her in close in front of him, surrounding her with both arms. He gave a gentle kiss on top of her head, as they both watched the sun set the rest of the way for the day. The orange hues kept the sky lit for about another thirty minutes. They stood in silence, thoughts racing between them, but no words were spoken.

  Once the sky darkened, Elizabeth turned to him, “I am glad we are,” she had to think of the right words to say, “fixing this.” She motioned between the two of them. “I know a lot had to do with me and my not knowing so much and understanding even less. But it feels natural to be with you.”

  He lifted her chin with his forefinger and thumb, rubbing her chin softly he smiled. “I wasn’t going anywhere I didn’t have to. I’m just glad things are settling down a bit.” He kissed her forehead gently and let his lips linger a moment longer. Pulling back, he looked down at her, she was nearly mesmerized by his eyes. “I know you have had a few new things pop up recently. So, do you want to talk about it?”

  Elizabeth shrugged and then proceeded to tell him everything from the phone call to the protection spell her mom and aunts put over Sara’s car. She made sure to leave out no details. If he were to be her partner, he had to know all and be all in.

  He stepped back a moment and paced just a bit while he thought, this seemed to be a new habit he picked up recently. It reminded her of Sire Levi, and she could now see the resemblance of the two strongest. She hadn’t paid attention before, but Wesley was taller and more muscular, his hair was longer but turning a lighter shade of brown. She wondered if soon his hair would be the color of his fathers. “Thoughts?”

  He stopped and looked at her, “I can help with protecting Sara. Well, not me in particular but we have many allies in the others that would be willing to help with that. And… about Devlon.” He turned away for a moment, the pain of the thought that another man kissed the woman he loved still ate at him and he had to tamp down the anger before continuing, “would you be willing to take his magic?”

  “Absolutely!’ She replied without hesitation. That gave him a bit of relief. “I have another idea as well.”

  He held his hands in front of him at his waist, “Go ahead.”

  “I think we are going to need to trap Jeremy and Devlon in some sort of scheme with the law. That could be the only way we can be rid of them for good without hurting them.”

  “Do you think that we can? We both know how conniving your brother is and to be honest, Devlon is the one with magic so I highly anticipate Jeremy using him as bait or the muscle.”

  “I thought of that. I just don’t want to have to repeat what happened with Edom. We gave them both every chance to give up and they just wouldn’t. I don’t know how far Jeremy would be willing to go to get his magic back.”

  “Is that even possible?”

  “Honestly, at this point, I don’t even know.” Elizabeth was tired of fighting, she wanted peace and couldn’t think of any good way to get it without two more people getting hurt. Could she continue to defend the coven and the others safely? Would Jeremy and Devlon create enough havoc to make her lose her control?

  CHAPTER 10

  It was Monday and Wesley started his week by calling on a few friends of his within the community to help keep Sara safe. He explained everything that had been happening, to include his new role as keeper of Prince Petre’s items, and each one agreed to help. There was no hesitation and that made Wesley proud to call them friends. He set up a time later that day for them to all meet Sara at the cafe. She needed to be aware who was in her corner and that she was never alone unless she wanted it that way.

  At 3 p.m., Wesley entered the cafe only discovering that Sara was already there. “You’re early,” he said as he slipped into the booth.

  Looking at the plate before her, she pushed her food around with the fork, “Yeah, well I figured I could get a late lunch before I meet everyone. Thanks for doing this, by the way.”

  He watched her for a few moments. She wasn’t eating and hadn’t looked like she ate anything before he arrived. Looking over at Jewel, he was met by her stare. She looked worried but gave him a nod of confidence. “You know Elizabeth cares a great deal about you. It goes beyond the promise her people made with the seraphim to protect the humans.”

  Dropping her fork, it clanked loudly causing a few heads to turn her way. Leaning in she spoke with a hard tone, “I never once considered the promise. I always thought this was about friendship.”

  Wesley immediately understood his mistake and began apologizing quickly. “I. I’m sorry. That was dumb to say it like that. I just wanted you to know it was about friendship and to me, it’s about making sure the people she cares about is safe.”

  “I’m sorry. I’ve been on edge since this started up. I don’t know how y’all handle it so quickly.” She pushed her plate away giving up on trying to eat.

  “How much do you know about us? The others?”

  “I know about the witches and that elves and fairies are real, but not much more than that. Elizabeth said the less I knew the better.” She picked at her fingers when she spoke, and Wesley knew instantly she was nervous.

  He leaned forward on the table, intertwining his fingers with his own, “How much would you like to know?”

  Her eyes shot up, “Seriously? You’d tell me… everything?”

  He gave a small shrug, “It may be in your best interest. You are about to be surrounded by those who are, different, and you may want to know about them.”

  “Where do you begin?” She asked sure that she was ready to learn everything she could. She wanted to be more helpful to her friends and not such a burden. It was time she stepped up and was able to do more.

  Wesley smiled, he knew she wanted to be more active in this battle. He also knew Elizabeth would be upset, but he’d handle that later. “I begin at the beginning. Are you sure you are ready?” He had to ask to make sure this human was ready to be introduced into the world of fantasy that many others had no idea existed yet so many lived every day.

  Sara tapped her finger on the table, her eyes shot up at Wesley, “No doubt whatsoever.”

  He smiled, “At a time when the earth was young, and man was just beginning the angels walked the land with us. They ate among us and even mated with us. Those who had offspring’s created the others. The children that were born resembled their angel parents and manifested gifts and abilities according to what their angel parent could do. Angels had magic, abilities, gifts or whatever you want to call them. They were real and therefore we are here now. Elves. Fairies. Dwarves. Sprites. We are all real. We walk among the humans every day and none of you know it. We can hide the features well enough that would make us stand out.” He waved Jewel over. “Jewel, will you show her?”

  Jewel turned to look at Sara and smiled, “Would you like to see?” Sara nodded and Jewel pulled her hair back and removed the glamour that hid her pointed ears. Sara gasped and covered her mouth quickly. “Oh sweetheart, you don’t have to be scared. I would never hurt you.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude,” Sara looked ashamed.

  “You just discovered that fairies were real, and you are apologizing to me?” Jewel laughed, “I can see why Elizabeth likes you. You are so damn sweet.”

  “So, what can you do?” Sara asked Jewel.

  Jewel shrugged, “Well glamour, obviously. Fairies have extensive knowledge of nature and how to use it to our desires. Good and bad. Not sure if you know this but fairies don’t age like humans. Once we get to be about sixteen our ages slows down to a snails crawl. I will look like this when I’m a hundred.” She waved a hand over her face.

  Sara’s face scrunched, “How old are you?”

  Jewel chuckled, “I’m actually eighteen. I quit aging two years ago.”

  “So, this is why your complexion and well everything is near perfection?”

  Jewel nodded before looking at the register, “Sorry. Job calls. Got to go.
” She leaned down to Sara, “By the way, I’ll be one of the others helping you. See you tonight. My shift starts at midnight.”

  Sara turned to Wesley, “Shift?”

  “Each of those who volunteered to help will watch over you in two-hour shifts each day. This way everyone has time for their own stuff too.”

  Sara nodded, “So, that is a lot of people each day helping me.”

  “Yep but most of the time you won’t even know they are there. Dwarves are great at blending in and not being seen, Sprites are very social and like to eat so they will be around during the daytime hours, usually meal times. Two elves and myself will take turns as well. So that makes three fairies, three elves, four dwarves and two sprites.”

  “Wow, so twelve people will do this…but for how long?”

  “Until we are no longer worried about the threat. You may not know where the person is during their time, but they will be there. If you get any messages or phone calls or unexpected visits, you will send out a group text to update us all. If anyone has to miss a shift, we have some people willing to hop in for replacements.”

  “No witches though?” Sara felt disappointed to realize there were no witches taking a shift.

  Wesley gave her a reassuring smile, “No. They will be working directly against the threats. Elizabeth is working on honing her new powers and will be meeting with the coven to get things on point there. You will be safe.” Wesley reached out and held the woman’s hand and gave a small squeeze.

  Sara smiled, “Well, let’s meet everyone then.”

  CHAPTER 11

  Elizabeth took the day to practice her skills with the magic she inherited from Jeremy before meeting with the coven and reading more in the books Lady Doreen gave her. The elven history was fascinating. When they removed his magic, she felt in flow in but had not really tested it much, it was time to discover what she could do now. She walked into the backyard with her mother and aunts and found a mound of dirt near the farthest corner to practice on.

  Raina and Reba stood on either side of Elizabeth, leaning forward Reba smiled, “Ready?”

  Smiling Raina responded, “Yup. Let’s get this show on the road.”

  Elizabeth shook her head, “Okay… let’s see what happens.” Holding her hands out, palms facing the pile of dirt Elizabeth attempted to move it. Nothing. Shaking her arms out, she tried again and nothing. This went on for nearly an hour. “Oh my god! What in the hell. Maybe I didn’t get anything.” She was frustrated and getting tired.

  Sari stood on the back side of the pile of dirt and watched her daughter struggle. She thought about ways to encourage her but then thought maybe the threat of danger would be a better strategy. Looking up to the sky, Sari twisted her hand as it hung by her side. The wind picked up. She looked at the pile and pushed the air under it, making it loosen and fly up into the air she manipulated.

  Elizabeth saw the dirt flying into the air, into a wind tunnel that resembled a tornado. Within seconds, the tunnel was face to face with Elizabeth threatening to collide with her. Her aunts moved back, knowing what her mother was doing. Instinct took over when the dirt tunnel came at her. Holding her hands up to the dirt, she mentally commanded it to go backwards and fall. It responded and obeyed.

  Once the dirt fell, Elizabeth also fell with exhaustion. She gasped for breath. The woman came up around her, “This is not like fire. You will have to strengthen your control over it with practice,” she heard her mother’s voice above her.

  She looked up, “You did that?” Sari nodded. “Well, it worked. But what if it didn’t?”

  “I had control until I didn’t. You did that. I didn’t give up. You are more powerful than you realize.” Pride filled her mother’s words.

  “Time to get cleaned up. The coven will be here shortly,” Reba called out to everyone.

  Just before the coven arrived, Elizabeth knocked on her mother’s door. “Come in.” She heard her mother call from inside her room. Cracking the door open, “Mom? Can I come in?”

  Sari stood in front of her mirror, turning her head when she heard her daughters voice, she smiled “Of course. Come on in. What’s up?”

  Elizabeth was nervous and her voice shook slightly when she spoke, “Do you think I’m doing the right thing?”

  Sari sat on her bed and patted the space next to her, “Come. Sit.” As Elizabeth sat next to her Sari ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair, “I think we are all doing the best we can. None of this has been easy! I think with all you’ve faced, you’ve done the best we could ask for.”

  Looking deep into her mother’s eyes, Elizabeth’s hope soared. “I always worry that I am causing more trouble than I’m worth.” She leaned on her head on her mom’s shoulder. Sari wrapped an arm around her and caressed her hair with the other hand. “Mom. I’m sorry about dad.” A single tear fell as she remembered that moment when she had to turn the machines off. She was angry and knew it had to be done, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.

  “Oh sweetheart, things haven’t been easy at all. As far as your dad goes, well… he gave you, us, no other options. He wouldn’t stop his crazy ideas and well, he finally faced people who were stronger than him and not scared of him. Now, let’s get ready the coven members should be here soon.” Sari gave her daughter a tight squeeze then pushed her up and waved her out. Elizabeth could only smile, this was so like her mom to give a heartfelt speech then push on to the next task at hand.

  Once all the members arrived, Elizabeth stood and faced them, “First, thank you for coming. Second… Jeremy and Devlon are still a threat.” Elizabeth continued to tell them what was happening and how the others were helping to watch over Sara while they would work on figuring out a way to stop them.

  “I might have an idea,” Zachary spoke up.

  Elizabeth looked at the young witch and smiled, she was glad to see the males getting involved. “Watcha got?”

  “We don’t have to trap him. He’ll come and do the damage himself,” he said confidently.

  Everyone turned to look at him, Stephanie spoke next, “Do tell?”

  “Well, mom, it’s the oldest trick in the book. Jealousy. He is into this Sara girl, right? Why not set her up with one of us guys? It’ll eat him alive to think ‘his girl’ is with another witch. She’d be in no harm’s way with all the protection going on and he’d walk right into it.”

  Reba shook a finger at him, “You might be on to something. Are you volunteering?”

  Zachary blushed, “Maybe.”

  Rose chuckled, “He’s liked this Sara for a while, just don’t want to admit it.”

  “Gee thanks!” His face reddened deeper and everyone laughed, except Sari.

  She stood up and looked at the young man, “Do you know what you’d be putting yourself into? My son is a devious and evil man. He may not have magic, but his best friend does and is easily manipulated.”

  “You had mentioned getting the law involved. How do you figure that in?” Stephanie asked.

  Elizabeth thought for a moment, “Stalking! We could build a case for it.”

  “He is strong, but it could work,” Stephanie remarked.

  Zachary stood up, looked Sari in her eyes without blinking, “He is no match for the power of this coven. It’s been proven once, and I’ll be glad to help prove that again. We have a duty to perform, whether I’m into the girl or not, and we can’t fail.”

  “I’ll ask her and see if she is game,” Elizabeth spoke up then dialed Sara.

  “Hey girl,” Sara answered quickly.

  “Hey, you sound upbeat.”

  “I’ve had an interesting day. Currently, my company is a sweet dwarf who likes to hide in the shadows,” Sara giggled.

  “He told you about…”

  “Everything. Elizabeth, I know it all now. What’s up? Everything okay?”

  “Oh, yes. We had an idea I wanted to run by you.” Elizabeth went on to give Sara the details of the plan and ask if she would be willing to be bait.


  Sara replied simply, “Who better than the human he wants to be the bait to stop him.”

  “You are truly one of the strongest people I know. Come by tomorrow around ten,” Elizabeth turned to Zach with a questioning expression to make sure that time was good, with a nod she continued, “to meet Zachary… your newly appointment boyfriend.” Elizabeth nodded at Sara’s response before she disconnected the phone.

  Looking at the members all looking at her, Elizabeth spoke confidently, “We have a plan to put into motion. Let’s work out some details and get the word out.”

  Around ten that night Wesley texted Elizabeth, everything goes well today.

  She responded, Most definitely. I know you told Sara too, that was a good call. Elizabeth filled Wesley in on their plan and decided he’d be at the meeting in the morning so that Sara would feel less uncomfortable. They each finished their messages with an I love you and called it a night.

  CHAPTER 12

  Up early, Sara thought she would do a little extra work on herself before she met Zachary. She was aware of who he was from school. He was a year before her and always thought he was a bad boy, so she never considered more than that other than he looked hot. She worked on her hair and makeup then went through a few outfits before giving up and just tossing on jeans and a t-shirt.

  As she walked into her living room, she was startled by the sprite sitting crossed legged on her couch with a plate of food. “Oh. Hello.”

  With a mouthful of food, the beautiful sprite, smiled and waved. Swallowing her food quickly she responded “Good morning. You were in the shower when I arrived. Didn’t want to bother you.” The woman took another bite of food, “Oh, I brought groceries too. You’ll need them with all of us coming and going.”

  Sara just nodded before heading to the kitchen. Filling the coffee maker, she turned the machine on to brew a fresh pot. Calling out to her guest, “Hey, you want coffee? Sorry, I don’t remember your name.”