by Lee Morgan
As Jillian took Pearl with a grin, Kara ran over to Sarah’s side. She stretched her arms out in front of her. She was a little too excited. “Gimme my nephew. We’re going to party while the parents are away!”
“Woo-hoo! Party!” Darrel giggled as he went into his aunt’s arms while Sarah smiled. Kara started swaying back and forth like there was music to beat to.
Connor looked around and spoke with her back to him. “We should return within the hour. After we tell the secret, I’ll make my way to the field and help with the construction. We’ll see everyone real soon.”
Sarah turned around and entwined her fingers with her mate’s. He smiled and waved to everyone.
As they left, she saw her father and Mark leading Xaon and Firon through the forest and to the training field. Somehow Shannon found her way to sit on her sister-in-law’s enormous shoulder. Clarein walked around the house carefully while making sure Shannon didn’t fall. Then there were the three women. Somehow Rhoda made her way to Kara and Jillian. Rhoda and Jillian also began dancing without music, just like her crazed sister-in-law. David stood back and watched them while showing a half smile and shaking his head slowly.
Connor and Sarah were moving through the woods as her apprehension began to build. What will we do if they take this the wrong way? How will we be able to do this properly? Connor’s family took it well enough, but they weren’t rigid like most humans that I’ve encountered in my time. Then she made the mistake of sighing.
Without looking at her, her mate spoke reassuringly. “Do not worry too much about this. I’d rather explain to them about what is happening personally rather than them finding out the hard way. The world will see our existence shortly anyway. Some will accept us with open arms, many will be apprehensive at first and there will even be people who will be hostile towards us. I wish there was a way to break the news to the world right now, but with such a short deadline the human public and government will only get in our way. But for the time being we need a human to keep the other humans away, for their safety.”
She squeezed his hand and they smiled at each other.
“Since you’re so sure about this, allow me to take the lead this time.” He smiled her smile as an answer.
Soon they made it to her parent’s property and she jumped into the passenger seat of the enormous green truck. Connor turned on the ignition and they were soon traveling down the road towards town.
It took about twenty minutes to finally reach the local and well known police station. Connor pulled into the parking lot silently and found a perfect spot. She exited the vehicle and shut the door. They then met by the tailgate and had to slow their steps to that of a casual human. Then they walked together and up the steps of the police station. Connor, always the gentleman, opened the glass door for her. Once inside, she saw many desks that were covered in papers along with individual computers. There were several deputies working. Plus there were a few shady looking people that could send a chill up ones spine. Despite all this, she walked up to the front desk.
Behind the front desk sat a new rookie who just completed his academy training. He looked up as she greeted him. “Hello Charles, how are you today?”
He offered a boyish grin. “I’m well Mrs. May. Is there anything I may be able to help you with?”
“Actually yes there is. Can you see if Deputy… I mean Sheriff Burrow’s can speak with us. My husband and I need to speak with him for a few minutes.”
Charles’s eyes lifted from hers to Connor’s and he shrunk back into the chair unintentionally. Then Charles cleared his throat. “I’m sorry about that Mr. Connor. Sometimes you look more dangerous than some of the inhospitable people whom live around here.” She caught her mate smile for a moment and then Charles said “Alright, give me a moment. I’ll go and see if the Sheriff is available.”
Charles stood from his desk and walked in the back of the establishment. It took him about ten minutes for him to finally return. By that time Connor and Sarah moved to sit down in the waiting area. He said “The Sheriff said he can spare about fifteen minutes right now. You can go right on ahead.”
They stood and made their way to the back of the building. The new Sheriff gained a corner office that had solid glass for its three walls. To cover the walls he used shades that could be spun to offer privacy. Right now they could see in the office and their family friend saw them approach. Sheriff Burrow stood from his large desk and met them at the door. He swung it in and was already smiling, like always. “Come on in, kids. What do I owe for this unexpected surprise?”
Sarah spoke lightly “We just need to speak to you.”
Once they were inside, the human friend closed the door behind them. They each sat down in one of the two comfortable leather chairs. Then the new Sheriff came over and sat behind his desk. His dark skin was still showing the crinkled smile of a middle aged and playful man. “So is there a problem that you need my expertise? Is this like a legal question or is there something disturbing you?”
She leaned forward and tried to speak pleasantly. “Actually, there is something going on and we think we could benefit, having you watch our backs.” The Sheriff remained smiling while his dark eyes remained relaxed on hers. “You see, there might be more reports and disturbances coming in here within the near future that might be a little more than this office can handle. Very soon, there are going to be a great many people approaching the town for a time.”
He leaned back in his chair and spoke. “Are any of these people unsavory?”
She nodded. “Some of them can be. But I must reiterate that you aren’t equipped to handle them.” The Sherriff’s eyes narrowed. “What you need to understand is that we need you to let us handle things, if you have a situation with someone new to the town, that’s being disruptive.”
“Who is, us?” he asked calmly.
She shook her head and glanced at Connor. He was looking calmly at his friend while allowing her to take the lead. This wouldn’t be easy, but she did ask for this. She returned her gaze on their friend and continued speaking evenly “Before any more explanations can be given I’ll need you to take the rest of the day off and come with us.” The Sheriff’s eyes widened and his composure broke for a moment. Before he could open his mouth she continued. “You will have many questions today, but we are going to trust you with our very lives. The least you can do is to come with us and hear everything that we have to say. Will you keep our trust and follow us for today. Tomorrow you can do as you’d like.”
The office went silent for the next five minutes as the officer of the law weighed the heavy decisions in peace. Finally he looked between them and asked “Are things going to get very serious around here?”
She shook her head and grimly declared “It will get very serious everywhere!”
He took a deep breath and sighed through his nose, met her stare and said “If it is truly that important to you, I’ll come with you and deal with the consequences some time later down the road.”
Finally Connor spoke. “You’ll ride in my truck and we’ll also go retrieve the misses.”
Sheriff Burrow finally grinned again. “I’ve been dying to ride in that giant green monster again!”
Before they left together, the Sheriff locked his door and told Charles that he was leaving for today. He would put everything on his schedule for tomorrow.
In a few minutes they made it to his home and Mrs. Burrow almost leapt into the cab. She looks absolutely delighted to leave the house for awhile and to have some time hanging out with the May family again.
As they pulled into her parents driveway Mrs. Burrow sat behind Sarah and said “This really is a great change of pace. So why are you and Connor being so secretive all of a sudden?” She turned around to see her smiling like her husband.
“All I’m going to say is that after today you’ll never see the world in the same way again. Now hold the rest of your questions until we get to my home.” Sarah smiled back at her playfully.
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Mrs. Burrow almost squealed like a little girl. “Oh I love all this cloak and dagger stuff. And I cannot wait to see Darrel and Pearl again too.”
Connor and Sarah glanced at each other and smiled in foresight. He smiled and spoke with his mind. “We’ll see if they will see our children in the same light after today. How do think they’ll handle things?”
She shot her mate a wry smile. “Since our children take after me, nothing bad will happen. We’ll need to keep them from fighting for more than two seconds.”
“Good luck with that!”
The four of them exited the vehicle and began walking through the woods. They held hands continually because they love closeness. Mrs. Burrow noticed this and moved over to her husband and held his hand. They looked at each other with excitement, but Sarah’s worry was what would be coming next. Would they shun them or even come to hate or would they actually become closer? Soon everything would be revealed and the friendship would be put to the ultimate test.
As they reached the cottage, Sarah noticed that everyone had either gone inside or was hidden. She searched the backside of the house for any dead giveaways and found one. Behind an oak tree watched a single golden eye, peering excitedly towards them. The eye didn’t remain there for very long as a large clawed hand appeared to Shannon’s side and ushered her into being completely hidden behind the tree. Now everything looked normal.
They continued walking and knowing about Connor remaining in her mind she asked “Connor, what about the footprints from our visiting friends?”
He looked around the yard, after raising his power and without alerting the Burrow’s suspicion to conclude “Everything looks to be in order. Clarein seems to have had just enough power to cover up everyone’s tracks.”
As they approached the cottage, there came the joyous sound of laughter. Jillian and Rhoda were laughing almost hysterically. Mrs. Burrow grinned and said “Sounds to me like there is a party going on inside.”
Connor opened the front door and inside they brought out one of Jillian’s games from her house. The dining room table had been moved back so that there was enough room. They were playing Twister. Jillian and Rhoda were currently on the board and looked almost like a contorted pretzel. David was sitting on the couch with Darrel and Pearl in their car seats, on the floor and looking at the excitement. Kara was to the side and flicked the arrowed spinner. She yelled “Grandma, left hand red!”
Sarah stepped inside after Connor and said “What are you guys doing?”
Apparently her voice broke Rhoda’s concentration. She buckled and crashed into Jillian. In everyone’s face was a round, yellow spandex bottom.
Then everyone started laughing.
When Jillian and Rhoda finally untangled themselves, Kara stood up, grinned and said “We became a little board while waiting for you to come back. So Jillian ran home and brought this game over for us to pass the time.”
Mrs. Burrow walked around her chuckling husband and asked “May I join the next game? I haven’t played this in years.”
Sarah turned to her and smiled. “Sure you may, but we do have things to discuss first.” She conceded with a playful smile.
Soon they all managed to fit inside and Connor brought out all of the chairs for everyone to find a place to sit. Rhoda picked up the plastic mat and moved it over and out of the way. Now they were all sitting inside the front of the house while in a circle. Darrel and Pearl remained in their seats, but they sat in front of their mommy, while her feet rocked them back and forth. The two Burrow’s sat across from Connor and herself. To the left sat Jillian, Rhoda and David. To the right sat Connor and his sister.
Sheriff Burrow started the conversation when everything became eerily silent and awkward. “So what is this big secret that has pulled me from work?”
Everyone glanced at Connor and he glanced at her. She shook her head.
Her powerful mate leaned forward and sat his predatory eyes on his friends. His tone was calm and remarkably comforting. “Deputy Burrow,” The sheriff only smiled knowingly. “in this world there is the food chain. Who do you think is at the top of the food chain?”
“We are!” The sheriff announced with a bright smile and then corrected himself. “The human race I mean. There are some animals that could kill us, but our minds allow us to reign supreme on this world.”
Connor smiled, leaned back in his chair and his tone almost became threatening. “What if I told you that humans were actually third or even fourth on the list? What would you say to that?”
The sheriff’s smile didn’t waver. “Then if that was the case, I’d like to see some definitive proof. Do you have any to back this hypothetical question?”
Connor smiled wryly. “In fact I have proof because I’m part of the upper food chain. Actually I’m probably at the peak…”
“With that body of yours I wouldn’t doubt it.” Mrs. Burrow said with a light laugh that seemed strained.
Everyone was smiling at the moment, but that was until Connor’s voice became deadly serious. “Now the two of you must listen to me very carefully. We have a secret that will be revealed to the entire world soon enough, but until then we must remain inconspicuous to the public. If word was to be spread, I would instantly know it came from the two of you.” There wasn’t even a hint of a smile on anyone anymore. “We wouldn’t even tell you this if certain events haven’t been put into motion. This secret will put not only our lives in jeopardy, but also yours. If you can understand that, would you like to hear our families’ secret?”
The middle aged looking couple glanced at each other for a moment. They then reached for the others hand and returned their eyes to him. Sheriff Burrow then said “We want to understand what is going on and why things sound so very out of hand. We think of you as family and family don’t keep secrets like the ones that are making you speak like this.”
“Alright then.” Connor looked at everyone and then down to Sarah’s feet. “Darrel, Pearl, go ahead and say hello like you normally do.”
Both of their children opened their eyes and turned their heads to look at their father. Connor nodded reassuringly and both of the law upholding friend’s brows were furrowed. Darrel took the initiative by lifting his hand and waving in a way that no child should, to the now stunned couple. “Hi guys. I know this is a shock to the two of you, but let me introduce myself to you, for once. I’m Darrel and it is nice to finally meet you like this.”
“And I’m his big sister, Pearl.”
“big sister? You only beat me by a minute, sis. Don’t get all high and mighty all of a sudden.” Darrel criticized.
Sarah warned “That is enough you two. Remember what you want later?”
They turned their heads to see her raised eyebrow. Together they said “Sorry, Mommy!” She nodded in acceptance of their understanding.
Things became quiet for several seconds, until Mrs. Burrow asked “Did they just talk…? But how? Their lips didn’t even move…”
Sarah project her mind to her human friends. “They can speak with their minds. They are very gifted for their age.” Mrs. Burrow and her husband locked eyes with her and Mrs. Burrow’s jaw dropped before his could. “What you need to understand is that the world is much more different than you can possibly imagine. Now there is more that you need to hear.”
She glanced at Connor to see him smiling. He smiled her smile and then turned to their companions. “As you’ve just witnessed, there is much to discuss. Now would you like to understand what is going on or hear it all from the beginning.”
Together, the Burrow’s’ declared “We want to hear everything!”
Connor smiled pleasantly. “If that is what you want.” Her mate leaned back and spoke with complete authority. “In this world there are three races of Immortal beings known as the Keepers, Balancers and Changers. The three classes live…”
For the next three hours Connor and the rest of the family explained about themselves. The guests were stunned spee
chless on more than one occasion and entranced with some of the stories her mate spoke upon. They were very interested in how Connor and Sarah made fire and Jillian made an orb of water, in a simple demonstration. They were curious as to Sarah’s age and laughed when she told them that she was over three hundred years old. They didn’t laugh when Jillian explained that she was her daughter and that she is over seven hundred years of age herself. Then there was Kara. She had asked the Sheriff how heavy he thought she was. When he made his guess, she told him to try to pick her up. He about gave himself a hernia in the attempt. Then he learned about Changers and what they were capable of. Then finally they all went outside to show off Clarein and Shannon. The sheriff literally stumbled back and landed on his bottom when the giant creature, known as Clarein, revealed herself.
Very soon everyone met one another.
Once it started becoming dark, David offered to take the Burrow’s home. Connor heard this and went inside their home for a minute, used his powers and came back outside. They all stood in a very loose circle as he called upon everyone’s attention. “Deputy Burrow, as you can plainly see, there are many things in this world that have been kept secret from humanity. There is going to be a major event soon and we need to prepare ourselves for it. I cannot tell you all the details, because you need to trust me on this and understand that it is for your safety as well. I honestly need to know if you’ll help keep the peace between the immortals and the mortals with me.”
“As the Sheriff of this town I’ll do what I can, but how can I help you?”
Connor smiled, walked up to him and placed something in his hand. “That is the human equivalent of a badge of the Immortal Guard we spoke earlier about. If you have any problems with a suspected immortal, show them that badge and if they understand what the badge signifies, tell them to come with you peacefully. I’ll need you to bring them here for now. When things settle down, I’ll dispatch one or two actual Guards to the station as a liaison to aid you if any trouble arises. Plus I’ll need you to keep as many people away from the section of forest we discussed about earlier. Quarantine the area if need be. If any humans do arrive close enough to be suspicious, I’ll assure you that they will be escorted safely away from the area. But if they resist and try to go where they shouldn’t, you can guess the consequences.” In the hands of the sheriff was a steel pendant that looked exactly like what the Immortal Guards keep on a necklace.
