by Tina Engel
The Hidden World
Of
Terrafirma
Book Three
Insight
Author
Tina M Engel
Book Cover Artist
Sarah Bangs
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright @ 2018 Tina M Engel
All Rights Reserved
Paperback book
ISBN 13: 978-1718131453
BISAC: Fiction / Fantasy / General
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
Dedication
I want to give thanks and so much more to my mom, for without her love, support and devotion to my family and community, this book would never have happened.
You are a very special woman, Kay Leslie Engel and have given so much of yourself to so many young people as they struggled to find themselves, in a world that constantly changes. Your nonjudgmental attitude as well as your ability to listen and understand others thoughts, feelings and beliefs, instilled in me the understanding and acceptance of all people and to respect their beliefs. Your faith in me, gave me the strength to face and conquer the challenges that have created, the me of today. I strive every day to be as good a woman, mother, daughter and friend that you have been.
I love you mom!
The wind blows
Leaves fall
The waters flow
The end is never the end.
The sun rises
The earth turns
The sun sets
The end is never the end.
There is always death
The stars shine
There is always life.
The end is never the end.
Justin Stroup
Table of contents
Prologue…………………………………………….01
Chapter 1…………………………………………..06
Chapter 2…………………………………………..17
Chapter 3…………………………………………..24
Chapter 4…………………………………………..33
Chapter 5…………………………………………..42
Chapter 6…………………………………………..55
Chapter 7…………………………………………..71
Chapter 8…………………………………………..80
Chapter 9…………………………………………103
Chapter 10………………………………………..125
Chapter 11………………………………………..136
Chapter 12………………………………………..146
Chapter 13………………………………………..161
Chapter 14………………………………………..175
Chapter 15………………………………………..195
Chapter 16………………………………………..212
Chapter 17………………………………………..227
Chapter 18………………………………………..238
Chapter 19………………………………………..256
Chapter 20………………………………………..271
Chapter 21………………………………………..285
Chapter 22………………………………………..307
Chapter 23………………………………………..332
Chapter 24………………………………………..347
Chapter 25………………………………………..355
Chapter 26………………………………………..372
Chapter 27………………………………………..382
Chapter 28………………………………………..392
Poem……………………………………………….396
Follow author…………………………………….397
About author…………………………………......398
Prologue
Have you ever wondered what was out there, just beyond your sight? You can see it but just not quite. You see a movement just out of the corner of your eye, but when you turn to look, it’s gone.
I was back in the wheat field, all golden, with the sun shining brightly. The tree stood tall, as the leaves rustled gently in the breeze. The ocean waves crashed against the cliffs, greeting me in a rambunctious manner.
“Think Emilee.” I said softly. “Why are you here again?”
I went to the edge of the cliff, looked out towards the ocean so wide, and a dark presence seemed to hover over the horizon, grey, eerie clouds pushed into the blue of the sky, trying so desperately to reach me.
I sat on a large boulder and recalled the past months. I was home, in Pineville Washington, a quaint town on the East side of the Cascade Mountain Range. I lived in a small house, worked in a small grocery store and lived a low key, unexciting life, but it was okay with me. After getting my heart broken, it was better to play it safe and simple, and boring was the safest way to exist.
It was too good to last though, slow and boring, that can only last for so long before your destiny finds you again. Funny thing, you don’t know how strong you are, until you’re faced with challenges you never knew existed.
It started with faces in the trees, dreams of water, noises in the bathroom sink, (Yes, really), and then a tree fey tried to abduct me. I didn’t know however, at the time, that fey even existed, and it wasn’t long before my beautiful boring life was turned upside down, and I was thrown into a world that I thought only existed in books.
Fey; beings that live in a dimension on this planet, that I called home, they called Terrafirma. Yes, they exist and I am one of them. A fey princess to be exact, but a princess from where, the water, land or sky?
It was Brett McNight, the one who saved me from what I thought was a tree fey. The fey turned out to be Brett’s brother, Stephan DeMill, who was the one who broke my heart so long ago.
Brett took me on an adventure against my will, I might add, through the underworld where I met many different types of fey.
Kimberlite, was a lava rock fey (best friends with Brett) large, and strong but his looks could frighten the toughest person or fey. He was really just a teddy bear, kind and gentle, but when it came to me and my protection, he would do anything, even die for me, I believed.
Queen Anahita; a water fey, was the queen over the hidden springs in the Northern and Southern Americas as humans would call it. She had some kind of relationship with Brett a long time ago and still had feelings for him but didn’t keep them hidden very well.
Douglas; a tree fey elder was a mentor to Brett. He and Brett had a very special relationship, almost like a grandfather and grandson bond even though they weren’t related that way. Douglas knew things and helped guide us when he could. He was never far away.
Eagle; (another friend of Brett’s) is a shifter, who can turn into an eagle that humans see, or his fey self, still resembling an eagle but with human parts.
Tobias and Tilly were the elders of a troll clan, a large family and they welcomed me with open arms. Their home was deep within the mountains.
I met Captain Adam Banks and his partner Jordan Davis on a fishing boat on Lake Erie as we traveled eastward, as we continued this very strange adventure. I discovered an incredible world under the waters, fought a mega octopus and escaped Stephan once more. I learned that Jordan Davis, who had a negative energy surrounding him, was connected to me in a way I would never have believed.
And of course
, I can’t forget Rose and Lily, two very special fey. The bond I had with them, I believed was unbreakable. Rose was a pixie, the one who gave me part of what I needed to survive, her blood. No, I was not a vampire, but exactly what kind of fey I am, was yet to be determined. Lily, a cat, was a shape shifter like Eagle. She could change into a domesticated cat as humans see them, and her cat fey shape. She was a moody, trouble making fey but I think it was just an act, covering up who she really was and why she was with me.
There was also Ragnar and Eliza; members of a goblin clan who helped us, and Queen Widow, (a very large black widow spider) and her family, many hundreds of her babies.
There were many others who helped along the way, and I considered them family and missed them so. They all came together to protect me.
Proteus, I was told in the beginning of this journey, was my father. He lived and ruled in the Atlantic Ocean, the City of Bermuda. I was thought to be in danger after I was born, so Proteus had me hidden as a human, but the Dark One found where I was hidden, and Proteus wanted me back with him. He was not my father, I learned, but he played a part in this crazy adventure I was on and I had to learn what it was, to continue.
Kimberlite, Queen Anahita and Douglas all gave me special gifts. These gifts all had the power to help keep me safe.
Kimberlite’s gift was a diamond necklace, filled with baby lava pebbles who kept me company, allowing me to handle heat and kept me connected to Kimberlite when he wasn’t with me.
Queen Anahita’s gift was pearl earrings. When put into my ears, they attached themselves to my cheeks and neck, forming a shells of sorts. It was a rainbow color, like the inside of an abalone shell, that became a shield that surrounds me for protection, if need be.
Douglas gave me a barrette that turned into a very sharp dagger, which attached to my hand when I released the barrette from my hair in a certain way. It had taken time to learn how to use these gifts but as time went on I got better with them.
Brett…as I sat starring out at the ocean, the greyness coming closer, the breeze changing to a wind, cold and icy, Brett was in my mind. We were connected in a way that was comforting and scary at the same time. I loved this fey, and I knew he loved me, but he kept a barrier up most of the time. I could break through once in a while, but then he put it up again.
Why was I here in this place again, my dream world or vision? I thought it might be both. As I remember back to when this adventure or nightmare started, I found myself here, remembering everything but …my mother. We were trying to get to my mother. We were on a ship, my mother was there, she saw Jordan and …
Brett was in my mind again. “Come back Emilee, Come back to us.”
Chapter one
When the past is revealed,
Then the present
Makes sense.
When I opened my eyes, there was Brett, the only face I saw, with a look of concern and relief. I felt his hand holding mine and as he ran his other hand across my cheek, brushing a strand of hair from my face and tucking it gently behind my ear, that warm safe vibration I felt when he touched me sent a shiver down my spine and a hunger again. I couldn’t understand...a hunger for what?
The room I was in became clear and as I looked around I saw all the worried faces, and as I came to my mother’s face, I remembered. The ship, we had been on the ship. I met my mother, and she and Jordan knew each other. Jordan had called her Lena.
As I started to sit, Brett said, “Take it slow Emilee.” He helped me to sit and then stand, never letting go of my hand.
My mother, Angelina, took my other hand and they led me over to a couch. As I sat down, I looked at my mother’s face. She was looking up, and I followed her gaze. She was looking at Jordan and he had a look of confusion mixed with worry in his eyes.
The room was quiet, no one spoke, not knowing what to say. As Jordan and Angelina gazed at each other, they were speechless for a moment.
“You died, they told me you died.” Jordan said, softly.
Angelina let go of my hand and went up to him, touched his cheek softly as if afraid he would disintegrate if touched too hard, and said, “It was as if I had.”
Her smile was sweet and eyes full of sadness as she removed her hand and walked back over to me, sat down and took my hand again. The silence in the room was painful as we waited for someone to speak.
Angelina looked towards the porthole as if looking at something far, far away, and then spoke. “I was told, after they finally healed me, certain I would live, I was placed in a deep sleep, deep in the darkest depths of the castle. I slept in a trance-like state, for years.
“When I was awakened, they told me I was with child and the baby within me slept too, not growing, but was alive and well.
“I was brought up into the castle but in a part that no one entered, and only two elders knew I was even alive. I was given food and clothing and was told to rest for the night and all would be revealed as to my future soon.”
Angelina looked towards Douglas as she commented on the two elders who knew she was alive. I assumed with the tilt of Douglas’s head, that he was one of them.
Angelina continued, “I woke in the night to a woman standing next to me, a beautiful woman, whom I felt I should know but couldn’t remember. It was time to leave. She gave me specific directions on where I was to go, and said someone would meet me there.
“I got out of bed, and as I turned to look in her direction, she was gone. There were clothes at the end of my bed and I dressed quickly. There was a knock at the door and as I opened it, there stood one of the elders who had brought me here.” Angelina said, as she looked towards Douglas again.
She then continued. “He guided me out of the castle, to an area I had never seen before. I was on my own then in the dark night, with only the stars to light my way.
“I was heading to the sea, walking a path through a forested area, barely a path beneath my feet. As I approached the sandy beach, I wondered where I was to meet this person and when. I walked to the water’s edge, just far enough away that when the waves crashed on shore, they would leave me be.
“There at the edge of the sea was a water fey and he informed me that he was here to help. He handed me a necklace and told me it would hide my appearance. He was going to take me somewhere, to live a different life, where my child would be safe. I didn’t know what else to do and had no idea exactly what he meant. I felt that he was truthful and I could trust him.
“I put on the necklace and before I knew it I was a water fey. I understood as long as I had the necklace on, I would remain in this form.
“As we swam to the great city of Bermuda where Proteus ruled, this water fey shared with me a story, the story of my new life. I was his daughter who had lived in a small village throughout my childhood, but on my 18th birthday, it was time to come home, wed and have a family.”
Angelina turned to me then and continued, “When you were born, the woman came to me again and told me you were in danger and that I had to convince Proteus to send you away somewhere safe.
“He was against it, at first, but with my persistence I convinced him to share my concerns with his land allies. They seemed to agree and convinced Proteus that the safest place to hide you was with the humans, and they changed your body, as much as they could, to resemble a human.
“I didn’t understand why I was brought here only to lose you but I trusted this woman, I felt that I knew her somehow. I was told to stay with Proteus, continue to play the role I was to play and one day I would be reunited with you.
“The woman came to me several times in dreams, when I was most frantic to be with you. She reassured me that you were fine and I needed to play out this role, to continue to keep you safe as well as myself.
“I was also given a task, to find something that would be important to us all in the future. As I waited until the day I would see you again, I searched and found it, just before you were to come home.
“When I was told that you were b
eing brought back home, I was so happy, until rumors of you not being a total water fey started spreading. Rumors of me not being a pure water fey was causing turmoil and Proteus was starting to doubt me.
“Proteus came to me, asking again if I was a true water fey and was I being honest with him. He touched my necklace and asked about it. Why had I never taken it off, all the years that we had been wed, even though he had given me more beautiful jewelry? When he touched it, Proteus saw the real me for a moment.
“Proteus knew then, that something was not right and told me not to leave my room, as he closed and locked the door behind him. I was frightened and didn’t know what to do.
“That night, again in my dreams, the woman came and showed me the way out. Upon waking, I realized I had to do what she said, and going to the door, I saw that it was unlocked. I left the palace, following her instructions, and there at the entrance to the palace grounds, was the fey who had pretended to be my father years earlier.
“He told me he was here to take me someplace safe. I ended up here on Captain Adam’s ship, waiting, not knowing why I was here at first.
“The woman came to me the first night I was here and told me I would be meeting my daughter again and all would be revealed soon, as to why you were sent away and who we were protecting you from.
“I had no idea that Jordan was alive. I was told he was dead and I had no reason not to believe it.”
Angelina looked at Jordan then with such sadness in her eyes as she said softly, “I didn’t know.”
Jordan came over to the couch, and kneeling down in front of us, took my hand from Brett, (Brett didn’t seem willing to let go, I might add), and looked at me with such affection and said, “My daughter.”
I looked from Angelina to Jordan, my true mother and father. Tears of joy and loss, staining their cheeks. Joy of finding me and each other and the loss of the years we could have been together as a family.
