by Alison Pensy
Faedra let out a heavy sigh and leaned her head back to rest it against the cold hard granite of the headstone and closed her eyes. It felt nice and cool against the balmy warm of the evening air. A few minutes passed and she said nothing, but listened to the sounds of nature surrounding her. She could hear the dogs breathing and feel their hot breath on her hands that were now resting on her thighs. The birds chirped in the trees behind her; in the distance she could hear a horse whinny from the stables across the road.
A crunching on the gravel path prompted her to open her eyes. It was the vicar and he was heading in her direction.
“Good evening, Faedra. I thought I might find you here this evening,” he said with a knowing smile.
“Hello, Vicar.”
“Are you feeling alright, my dear?” he asked, his eyebrows pulled together to form a frown.
“I’m fine,” she lied. “Haven’t been sleeping very well the past couple of nights and right now I feel a little sad, but I’ll be fine.”
He seemed satisfied with her answer and smiled again. “Well, if you need me, dear, you know where to find me. Say hello to your mother for me won’t you.”
“I will, Vicar, thank you.”
The vicar turned and headed towards the church. Faedra watched as he disappeared behind it, closed her eyes again and sat in silence for a few more minutes. She was trying to clear her head before she spoke to her mum, but the more she tried, the more out of focus she became until she could hold it in no longer. A wave of emotion swept over her and she burst into tears. She was tired and had had an awful day.
“Mum, I miss you so much,” she sobbed. “All this strange stuff is happening to me. I don’t know why and I don’t know what to do about it. I don’t feel like I can tell anyone. I mean, I think I’m going crazy, so I can’t imagine what other people would think. They’d probably lock me up and throw away the key.”
Tears tumbled down Faedra’s face. The eyes in the woods, the fortune-teller at the fair, the abuse by Mr. Thompson, her hands, and the fact she missed her mother desperately, all came flooding out. She buried her face in her hands; her body was wracked with emotions that were out of her control for the moment. The tears were relentless and she felt powerless to stop them. She was hoping a good cry would make her feel better.
A cold wet nose nudged her elbow. She ignored it. Faen nudged her again; this time she took her hands away from her face, which was now red and blotchy. She could see the blurry outline of her dog looking at her with sadness in his eyes too.
Faedra wrapped her arms around his neck, just like the first time she had met him. She buried her face in his soft fur and accepted the comfort she felt when she did so.
“I wish she could give me some kind of sign that she was still with me,” Faedra said into his neck. “Faen, sometimes I feel so alone.”
He whimpered in response; she still had her head buried in his fur. She didn’t have the strength, just yet, to leave the security and comfort she felt when he was close to her, and he was not about to move a muscle until Faedra had calmed down.
A few more moments of sobbing passed, and the shudders rippling through her body started to ebb. Her breathing became less ragged. She pulled herself from Faen to wipe the tears from her eyes with a tissue she had grabbed from the picnic basket. When her eyes began to focus and the drumming in her ears from the pulse of her heartbeat calmed, she heard a familiar sound that she hadn’t heard for a very long time.
She looked up and gasped. Sitting on the headstone directly in front of her was a bird, not just any old bird, but her mum’s favorite bird. Its name escaped her at that moment, but she knew it was fairly rare and not seen in this area very often. It looked directly at her and sang its beautiful lilting song.
A surge of comfort swept through Faedra at the sight. It was the sign she had asked for.
“I knew it. Look, Faen,” she said, pointing at the bird. “It’s Mum’s favorite bird. She sent me a sign; she is with me,” she looked up heavenward. “Thanks, Mum, that’s just what I needed.”
Faedra felt her spirits lift exponentially in comparison to how she felt when she first entered the graveyard a little while before. She regained her appetite and decided it was time to eat the sandwiches she had packed into her picnic basket. Straightening herself up, she sat cross-legged on the blanket and placed the basket in front of her.
The dogs both sat up and looked expectantly at the picnic basket that was now positioned between them.
“Don’t worry, you two. There’s something in here for you, as well,” she said with a smile, the first one she had managed all day.
She pulled out a couple of ham sandwiches and passed one each to Faen and the collie. They wolfed theirs down in seconds and looked again at Faedra, and then at the basket.
“That’s your lot, you greedy buggars,” she laughed and pulled out an egg sandwich for herself. She loved egg sandwiches; they were her favorites. Her mum used to make them for her when she was a child, so it was only fitting that she would bring one to eat when she visited her.
The little bird sat perched on the headstone the entire time; Faedra threw it a few crumbs. It hopped down onto the ground and finished up the crumbs that had been offered it.
A few moments passed and their picnic was finished. Faedra felt like a huge weight had lifted off her shoulders. She leaned back up against the cool granite of her mother’s headstone and closed her eyes again. She didn’t want to leave just yet; although, she was incredibly tired.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep when she was woken suddenly by a low carnal growl. She recognized it instantly as being the same as that time in the woods a few days ago. Her eyes snapped open and fear whipped through her. She felt disoriented for a second because it was almost dark. That odd light just after the sun goes down and the night sets in.
Faen and the collie were both standing to her left; their hackles were raised and they were postured ready to fight. Faedra noticed the oddest thing at that moment. The collie was looking at Faen and growling in different tones. Faen returned the collie’s gaze and growled back in different tones, also. Were they talking to each other? It certainly looked like it. Faedra watched in amazement as the two dogs seemingly had a conversation right before her eyes; then they turned their attention on her and she almost jumped.
The collie barked at her; it was an insistent bark, like she was instructing her to do something. But what? Faedra didn’t talk dog. The unusual scene unfolding before her almost made her forget what was causing it in the first place, until the collie looked back in the same direction as Faen and continued her deep menacing growl. The two of them looked ferocious, sending shivers down Faedra’s back. Although Faedra was loathed to, she couldn’t stop herself looking into the trees, and the familiar icy cold feeling washed over her again.
“Oh, no, not again,” she whispered to herself as she bent down and scooped up her blanket and picnic basket, ready to make a quick exit. “What are those things?”
She was watching, trance-like, at what looked like the same pairs of eyes she had seen in the woods the other day. Only this time there were three pairs of them. The collie barked a response to her question, then looked at Faen and snapped a bark at him, too. He turned and all but pushed Faedra in the direction of the car park. She snapped out of her trance and picked up the pace, running as fast as she could while dodging between the headstones. The older ones were dotted randomly all over their exit path. Symmetry was not something that had been adopted in the olden days, but she wished for it now. She bashed her hip into the corner of one as she miscalculated its position when running past it.
“Ouch. This is getting beyond a joke,” she cursed to herself, not daring to look back in case those things were chasing her. She could hear the collie’s growl getting fainter as they drew closer and closer to her car. They reached it, but Faedra couldn’t find her keys. She had tossed them in the picnic basket when they’d arrived and now was frantically
feeling around in it, trying to grab them.
Faen barked several times in quick succession.
“I’m trying, Faen, I know they’re in here somewhere.” Her heart was racing; she didn’t know if those things were close or not. Her fingertips brushed over the cold metal of her keys. “Got them!” she exclaimed as she pulled her hand out of the basket clutching onto her car keys. She opened the door and let Faen in the back, threw the basket and blanket on the passenger seat, then jumped in herself and put the keys in the ignition.
“No, no, no! Don’t do this to me now,” she cried as she turned the keys, and the car responded with a splutter. “Come on, Sally, you can do it. You have to get us out of here,” she coaxed her car as she turned the key again. Still there was nothing but a splutter. “I promise I’ll never call you an old banger ever again if you start for me now,” she pleaded and turned the keys once more. The engine spluttered to life.
“Yes! Thank you,” she patted the steering wheel.
Faedra revved the engine a couple of times and then put it into gear and drove out of the car park, spraying gravel behind her as she did.
“Sorry, Vicar,” she cried, as if he were standing right there and had witnessed her speedy exit. “Thanks, Sally, you have my word, I’ll never call you an old banger again.”
Faedra had named her car when she first bought it. Her dad had thought it cute and her uncle had made fun of her, but she didn’t care. She heaved a sigh of relief as she put more and more distance between her and the church.
“I hope I’m going to get some answers soon. My life is getting just a little too weird of late,” she thought out loud.
The next morning Faedra wasn’t surprised to see that the bruise that had been forming on her hip, where she had bashed it against a headstone during last night’s getaway, had all but vanished. A slight reddening of the area was all that remained.
She got ready for work. Only another couple of days and it would be her birthday. She was so pleased that it fell on a Saturday this year. She was planning an evening out with Zoë and Amy, and was looking forward to going out and having some fun with her friends.
CHAPTER FIVE
The sun peeking through the curtains awoke Faedra on the morning of her eighteenth birthday. She stretched and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she turned over to look at the time on the clock that was sitting on her nightstand. It told her that it was six thirty in the morning.
“Urgh, it’s still early,” she moaned.
Faen was lying on the rug next to her bed and stirred when he heard her move. He sat up and looked at her, wagging his tail as he always did when he greeted her in the morning.
“Hey, boy, it’s still early. I’m going back to sleep again for a while.” She moved to turn back over, but something caught her eye as she did. Pushing herself up on her elbows, she looked straight ahead at her doll’s house. There resting up against the wall of the house was an envelope that simply read, ‘Faedra’.
She looked around the room, not quite sure what she expected to see, maybe her dad peeking through her door. Had he put it there as a surprise for her when she woke up? She got out of bed and wandered over to the doll’s house, picked up the envelope and went back to sit under the covers. The envelope had an old-fashioned wax seal as a closure on the back.
“That’s odd,” she said, pulling her eyebrows together. “Who on earth seals an envelope like that anymore?” She had seen plenty of examples of them in the museum, but had never seen it on a modern day letter.
She opened the envelope with care and pulled out a letter. She could feel something else in the envelope and tipped it up. A ring fell out onto her comforter. She picked it up so she could examine it.
“Wow, that’s unusual,” she whispered as she held the ring between her thumb and forefinger, inspecting it from all angles. It looked very old. She didn’t recognize the metal it was made from. It didn’t look like gold or silver, although, it did look gold in color; maybe some type of copper mix. There was no stone in the ring; it was solid metal throughout. The main part of the ring was square and had what looked like a Celtic design engraved on it. There was a different symbol in each of the four corners of the ring and they looked like little swirls going in different directions. The band came down from the square and they, too, were engraved with several rows of etched lines. The band itself was thick. It was a ring of substance but didn’t look too oversized for a female to wear.
Faedra slid it on the ring finger of her right hand and it fit perfectly. As soon as the ring was in place, a warm sensation emanated up her finger and throughout her hand. She stared at it, then brought her hand nearer to her face so she could inspect it more closely. Her eyes widened as she watched the symbols glow for a few seconds and then fade back to normal again.
She picked up the letter and watched as goose bumps flashed up her arms; an involuntary shiver was sent hurtling down her back. For some inexplicable reason, she had a feeling that she was not going to like what this letter had to say, but, after taking a deep steadying breath, she opened up the papers. She noticed that Faen was staring intently at her now as she scanned the top of the first page, which made her gasp.
“This is Mum’s writing, I recognize it from my old birthday cards that I kept,” she said to him and then turned her attention back to the letter and started to read.
My Dearest Faedra,
If you are reading this letter, something prevented me from being with you on your 18th birthday. I have probably been taken from you and your father. There are things you need to know and it is best that you hear them from me. For that reason, I wrote this letter to be given to you in the event that I could not be there in person. Before you read any further, make sure that you have Faen sitting beside you.
Faedra looked quizzically at her dog. “Mum says before I read this I need to have you beside me.”
Faen pricked up his ears, jumped on the bed, laid his head on Faedra’s leg, and looked at her. His beautiful amber eyes were burning with understanding.
“You do understand everything I say, don’t you? And how does Mum know your name, you turned up after she had died?” She drew in a breath as the incomprehensible happenings of the recent past started to make the tiniest bit of sense, and continued to read the letter.
By now you may have been experiencing things that you cannot understand. I wish I were there to tell you myself and answer all your questions, of which I’m sure there will be plenty. I shall start at the very beginning and hope that I can answer most.
Faedra, you are a direct descendant of an ancient Celtic bloodline. Thousands of years ago there was a family and they were fae. Yes, faeries do exist. This family desperately wanted to become human and live in the World of Men. The fae king at the time could see their desire, although, he could not understand it. They were so desperate that the king eventually granted them their wish, on one condition. Should he ever need their help in the World of Men, they would consent. The fae family agreed to his condition. In addition, the king allowed them each to keep one of their distinct powers. More concerned for their well-being than they seemed to be themselves, he also allowed them to keep their ability to heal much faster than normal humans.
The family lived happily among men for many years. Living among the fae had become a distant memory until one day the king visited them. He was seeking a place to secure a very precious element of fae heritage and asked the family if they would look after it for him. Remembering the king’s generosity and their previous agreement, they agreed to his request; the king handed them the Amulet of Azran.
Let me explain a little more about the amulet. There is a book the fae use to help control nature, in all realms, not just ours. It is a very powerful book called the Book of Anohs. The amulet was created to be utilized in conjunction with the book and it has the power to control weather when the two elements are put together. On its own, it is nothing more than a pretty trinket. The king realized that if the book and the a
mulet got into the wrong hands, the results could be devastating in all realms, and he was not willing to take that risk anymore.
You see, there are two types of fae in Azran. There are the Light Fae, also known as the Seelie, who are good, and the Dark Fae, known as the Unseelie, who are evil. The king had reason to believe that the Unseelie were plotting to try and take control of the two elements. He bound the book with powerful magic to protect it and hid the amulet in another realm… ours.
The amulet has been passed down throughout our descendants since it was given to them all those centuries ago. I was Custodian, but if you are reading this letter I have probably died and will have made sure that it was passed to you at the time of my death. You are now the Custodian of the Amulet of Azran.
Faedra looked up from the letter in disbelief, all kinds of crazy thoughts swimming around in her head.
“This is ridiculous. I’m a receptionist. The only thing I’m custodian of is the key to the coffee machine so I can refill the cups,” she muttered to Faen then continued on with the letter.
First, we must get the amulet around your neck. Once you turn eighteen you must wear it always and never, ever take it off. I cannot stress how important that is. It is warded so that only the Custodian can touch it. You will find the amulet in Arianne, the fairy I gave you. If you push her wings together they will unlock a secret compartment in the horse’s body.
Faedra looked over to her fairies, eased herself out of bed, and crept over to her collection. She opened the glass door and plucked Arianne from the center of the shelf. She carried her back to bed and got back under the covers. Faedra sat and looked at Arianne for the longest time, staring at her in disbelief. Her heart was racing, and her hands started to tremble. She took a deep steadying breath and held the two outstretched wings between her thumb and forefinger, held her breath, and squeezed them together. The wings were stiff and she was terrified of breaking them, but with a little more pressure they closed together, and Faedra heard a tiny click. She held Arianne around the waist and lifted her from the position she had, sitting astride the majestic black horse.
