I know this will be difficult to do as well but Alix can’t know anything about this. She can’t know you aren’t her real parents, she can’t know anything about magic or about us until her seventeenth birthday. On a Nykara’s seventeenth birthday at the exact time they were born, they get a tattoo on the palm of their right hand. When this happens the Nykara comes into their magic. My dreams are telling me that there will be a Nykara family there to help you before Alix turns seventeen and to help her after her birthday. I know all of this sounds very cryptic but it’s all I have for you. I’m sorry to put you in this position but I know I can trust you with my daughter’s life. Sean and I have to disappear. There can be no connection to us at all. We’ve provided you with all the paperwork showing that Alix is yours. If we can come back, we will but we may never see you or our precious baby again. I love you, you are the best friend anyone could have ever asked for. I send all my love to my baby girl. I hope to see you again.
Love,
Sharon
Alix put the letter down. She had tears in her eyes. Even though it wasn’t a very long letter it was a lot for her to process. It was hard for her to imagine what it would have been like for her biological parents to give up their baby then disappear. Or how her parents were suddenly parents of a new baby and then asked to move to keep her safe. She laid back on her bed and went over the letter in her head a few times. She looked at the clock and it was after ten. She picked up the envelope with her name on it, held it in her hands for a few minutes and put it on her nightstand. She already had a lot running through her mind after reading the first letter. She got ready for bed. She had to go back to school tomorrow and wasn’t sure what to expect so she wanted to be rested.
Chapter 27
Alix woke up feeling tired but kind of glad to be going back to school. She was looking forward to getting back into a routine that she was familiar with. Learning magic was extremely cool, but she was ultimately a creature of habit. She was making her coffee when she heard her phone go off. On a Monday she knew it couldn’t be Shay. That made her smile to herself. She grabbed her phone. It was Ben.
Ben: I’ll be there in 5 minutes
Alix: Why?
Ben: To take you to school
Alix: Again, why?
Ben: As your Protector, it’s my job to make sure you’re safe
Alix: Do I get a say?
Ben: No
Alix didn’t bother to reply. She’d take it up with him when he got there. In the meantime, she made a bagel to go with her coffee. He could come in if he didn’t want to wait in the car. She knew there was lots of time to get to school, even if Shay was in her usual Monday morning panic mode.
Sure, enough she heard Ben pull up in front of the house. She texted him to come in, but he said he’d stay in the car. So, she wasn’t expecting the front door to open a minute later, and she certainly wasn’t expecting Shay to walk into the kitchen. Alix was speechless and that just made Shay giggle.
“What are you doing here?” Alix asked her.
“I want some of your awesome coffee.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” Alix gave her a dirty look.
“I know but seeing your face when I walked in here was priceless!”
“Haha. Now, are you going to tell me?”
“I will if you make me some coffee.”
“Fine.” Alix got up and started making Shay a coffee in an extra go cup she had. “Start talking.”
“It’s really not that big of a deal. Ben has to take you to and from school and he drives right by my house, so it only made sense that he picks me up on the way here.”
“Really not that big of a deal? Are you serious? I’ve known you forever and ever since ninth grade you have been running around on Monday morning trying to get out the door on time. And now it’s no big deal?”
Shay just grinned at her. “You should see the look on your face, it’s going to make me laugh for ages.” Alix raised her eyebrows at Shay but still couldn’t help but smile back. “Okay, okay. I’ll tell you. You’re the Chosen One, Ben is your Protector and I’m your Lossat. That means we’re kind of one unit. Where you go, we all go. Your safety is our main priority. So, if that means I have to get up earlier on a Monday morning then that’s what I’ll have to do.”
Alix was stunned. She had a feeling this was a side of Shay that she was going to be seeing a lot more of. “I don’t really know what to say. I’m used to the fun, giggling Shay. You’ve hardly been serious a day in your life. I don’t want you to lose that.”
“I won’t. But things are different now and I’m going to look out for you and that is serious business. And you know me, I’ll never be able to be too serious for very long.” Shay grinned and lightly elbowed Alix in ribs.
“Good. I guess we should get to school. I wonder what’ll be different, or if anything will?”
“I don’t know, but let’s go find out.”
The girls went out to the SUV. On the way to school, Ben explained a little about what was going on that morning.
“As your Protector, I’ll kind of be like a bodyguard, your shadow,” he told her. Alix started to say something, but he stopped her. “Let me finish and then you can ask questions. It’s not like I’m not going to be following you around or anything like that. But it’s not a good idea for you to go anywhere on your own. Right now, it’s just a precaution but if the Grynn find out you’re here it will get serious in a hurry. I don’t want to scare you, it’s just something we all need to be aware of. Okay?”
Alix just nodded her head. With all of the cool things, she’d learned over the last week she had been so excited about the magic she had almost forgotten about the Grynn and the fact that they wanted to harm her. She just sat quietly the rest of the way to school lost in thought.
When she walked into school Alix felt a little better, this was normal. The kids were talking in groups, going to their lockers, just an average Monday morning at school. The three of them got their books from their lockers and went to class.
As Alix sat down at her desk in English Miss Fay came over to her. She took Alix’s hand and shook it. “It’s good to have you back. I hope you had a good week.” Alix was momentarily stunned. When Miss Fay shook her hand, she felt something like a shock. Alix looked at Miss Fay’s hand and saw her tattoo. She was Nykara. Miss Fay bent down and whispered to her, “If you have any questions you can always come and talk to me.”
Alix had a hard time concentrating in class after that. She was wondering who else she already knew that was Nykara. She also got thinking about her mother’s letter to her mom and about the danger her mother thought she was in. That led her to thinking about the Grynn. How would she recognize one if she saw them? She had to talk to Ben about that.
The only thing notable that happened in Spanish was the amount of homework she and Shay got for being away for a week. At lunchtime, she wanted to talk to Ben about the Grynn but there were too many other people around. She was glad no one asked her where she had been for the last week because she wasn’t sure what she would have said. She spent most of the hour reading and trying not to think.
Biology went by very slowly and again she was given a lot of homework. Ben said they could work on it together after school. Finally, Biology was over. She had been looking forward to Culinary Arts all day because it was Monday and they would be cooking. In class, Mr. Rollins was handing out the recipe for the day. When he handed Alix the recipe she briefly saw a tattoo on his hand but not exactly what it was. He looked at her and nodded. She couldn’t say anything, so she just nodded back. She worked kind of on autopilot after that. It was an easy cookie for her to make. She was lost in thought and wasn’t paying attention as she pulled the pan out of the oven she hit her wrist on oven element and dropped the cookie sheet on the oven door. Alix cried out. Mr. Rollins came running over.
“Are you alright?” he asked her.
She held out her hand but before she could say any
thing he grabbed her wrist and put his hand over the burn. She felt it cool and within seconds the pain was gone. She gave him a questioning look, but he just shook his head and whispered, “After class.” Then loud enough for the rest of the class he said, “Did your oven mitt slip?”
It took Alix a moment to realize he wanted her to answer in a manner that would make this look normal.
“Yes, Mr. Rollins. I didn’t have it on all the way. I should know better.”
“Did your cookies survive?”
“Looks like they did.”
To the rest of the class, he said, “Everyone should learn from this. Alix could have dropped her cookies on the floor or ended up burning herself. Make sure you use everything in the kitchen properly.”
He went back to his desk and Alix continued to finish her cookies but making sure to pay attention for the rest of class. The bell rang for the end of the day. Alix texted Shay that she had to talk to Mr. Rollins and would meet them in a few minutes. She waited until everyone had left the room and went over to Mr. Rollins desk.
“So, I see that you’re Nykara. How did you do that?” Alix asked him. “I don’t really know all the much but from what I understand if you’re a teacher that makes you a Theorist right? How did you heal my wrist like that?”
Mr. Rollins held out his hand, so she could get a better look at his tattoo. It was a small bird sitting on a branch. “I am both a Theorist and a Healer. It’s unusual for a Nykara to be strongly two types but not unheard of. So, the Healer part of me was able to heal your burn almost instantly.”
Alix heard someone at the door. It was Ben and Shay. She motioned for them to come in.
“What’s up?” Ben asked.
“I wasn’t paying attention and I burned myself during class. Mr. Rollins healed me, and I was just asking questions about it.”
Shay looked at her questioningly. “How?”
“He’s two types of Nykara, a Theorist, and a Healer. I had no idea that was possible. I have so much to learn.”
“Alix,” Mr. Rollins looked at her, “Would it be okay with you if I had a look at your tattoo?”
Alix figured she would have to get used to being asked that question. She held her hand out for him to see. He studied it for a moment.
“I never thought I’d ever get to see something like this in my lifetime. It’s something every Nykara is told about but it’s been somewhat of a legend for so long I think many people thought it was just a myth. Alix, I want you to know that whatever you need I’m here to help you. I think you’ll find that most Nykara you meet will feel the same. Have you met very many Nykara yet?”
“A few in my training last week. Ben and his parents had to call in reinforcements to help because I was able to learn so fast.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Ben started, “It was incredible. She learned in a week what takes most Nykara months or years to learn.”
“I’d love to see what you can do but this isn’t the place. Ben, it might be a good idea for Alix to be introduced to all the Nykara in the area. It would placate some of the rumors everyone is hearing as well as help Alix learn who else is Nykara. We never know when she’ll need help.”
“You might be right Mr. Rollins,” Ben agreed, “I’ll talk to my parents and see what they think. We’d better get going. I think we all have a lot of homework we need to get started on.”
Alix and Shay agreed. They left the school and went to Alix’s house. Her parents weren’t home yet, so Shay and Ben came in and they decided to do their homework together. Alix had lots of Spanish and Biology, Shay had lots of everything and Ben had Biology and Math. They worked on homework for about an hour before Alix’s mom got home.
“How was school, Alix?”
“Mostly okay. I found out that Miss Fay and Mr. Rollins are both Nykara. I burned myself in Culinary Arts and Mr. Rollins healed me.”
“Healed you?”
“Yeah. I accidentally hit my wrist on the oven element. He came over to see what I did and put his hand on the burn and healed it almost instantly. It was amazing.”
“I’ll bet it was. It’s still hard to believe all the things are possible with magic.”
“Mr. Rollins thinks it might be a good idea to have a party or something so all the Nykara in the area can meet me. What do you think?”
“Ben is this normal?” her mom asked.
“No, not really. Sometimes there is a celebration but it’s usually only close family and friends. But this is a once in a lifetime situation. Alix is kind of like a celebrity now. It’s only been just over a week, but word is already spreading throughout our community. The Almati Council will also want to come and meet her. I’ll talk to mom and dad. I think we’ll all have to have a meeting to talk about this.”
Alix went a little pale. A celebrity? Meet the Council? It all sounded a little scary, okay, a lot scary.
“Are you okay?” Shay asked looking at Alix. “You don’t look so hot.”
“Um … I’m not sure. It’s starting to get a little overwhelming again. I don’t think I’m cut out to be any kind of celebrity. And I never thought about meeting the Council. It sounds almost menacing.”
Ben looked at Alix. “I’ve never met them, so I can’t really say what they’re like, but Alix, you’re the Chosen One. I can’t stress how important this news is for all Nykara across the world. I don’t want to freak you out but for hundreds of years people have been wondering and waiting for the Kaelneth. You’re the one who is foretold to save the world. You’re a big deal. I know you’re still new to all of this, only seventeen and freaking out but if you couldn’t handle it you wouldn’t have been chosen. The magic knows what you’re capable of, even if you don’t. And from what I’ve seen so far you’re more than capable of anything.”
She didn’t really know what to say so she didn’t say anything. Just when she thought she might be getting a handle on everything something else popped up to freak her out a little more.
It was Shay who broke the silence. “I think Alix has had enough for the day. Too many revelations in too short a time just might short circuit her brain. Can’t have the Chosen One getting brain damage.”
Alix could hear the smile in her voice. Trust Shay to know the exact thing to say to lighten the mood.
“Thanks, Shay.”
“Anytime.”
Ben and Shay left a few minutes later. Alix did homework until her dad got home and they all made dinner together. Her parents asked her questions about her day. It didn’t bother her though. She knew they cared and were curious about everything. They wanted the best for her and she knew they would stand behind her no matter what. After dinner, they sat down and watched one of their favorite reality TV shows. By nine-thirty she was yawning. She said goodnight to her parents and went to her room. She saw the letter from her mother and picked it up. She held it in her hands for a while but decided to leave it to read another day. She wanted to give it her undivided attention and after the day she’d had she just wasn’t up to it. She laid down and was asleep in minutes.
Chapter 28
Alix was hiking in the forest. She could hear Shay a small distance behind her grumbling about having to go on a hike. It made Alix smile, Shay wasn’t always the biggest fan of being outdoors. Alix was admiring the beautiful trees, the pretty flowers and the birds she could hear chirping at each other. She reached a clearing and decided to wait for Shay to catch up. She sat on the grass and took a drink of her water. A minute or so later Shay walked into the clearing and flopped down beside her with a grunt.
“You act like I’m torturing or something, it’s just a hike,” Alix said to Shay.
“You know I don’t like bugs.”
“And have you seen one bug yet?”
“Well no, but …”
“No buts,” Alix interrupted her. “It’s a beautiful day, the sun is shining, and have you ever seen a more perfect place? Quit complaining and try and enjoy yourself. Feel the breeze on you
r face and listen to the birds.”
“What breeze and what birds? I don’t hear anything.”
Alix was about to tell her to cut it out when she stopped. She realized that the light wind had totally stopped and so had all the bird noises.
“Okay, that’s weird. Just a minute ago I was sitting here waiting for you and enjoying the feel of the wind and listening to all the different birds. Why has it all stopped?”
“I don’t like it. And I don’t mean being in the woods. All the birds just wouldn’t stop at once unless there was a reason.”
“I agree. Maybe we should head back.”
As the girls got to their feet they heard a noise.
“Did you hear that?” Shay asked.
“Yes. Did it sound like someone saying help to you?”
“Maybe, and maybe we’re hearing things? Or maybe it was a bird or animal?”
They waited a minute and didn’t hear anything else, so they started to leave the clearing. Just as they were about to step back into the forest Alix saw something out the corner of her eye. She turned her head and thought she caught a glimpse of someone. She took a few steps in that direction.
“Where are you going?” Shay grabbed her arm to stop her.
“I thought I saw someone over there.”
“All the more reason for us to get out of here.”
That’s when they heard a woman scream. They both jumped.
“That came from the direction I thought I saw something. We have to go help her.”
“Are you crazy! We’re in the woods by ourselves, what do you think we can do?”
“I don’t know but we can’t leave her out here. I’m going to go look.”
Alix started jogging towards the place she thought she saw someone. Shay followed her since she didn’t want to be left alone in the woods. As Alix entered the tree line she got a glimpse of someone, so she changed direction to follow them. This went on for few minutes. She was never able to see who it was. She was getting tired, so she stopped. Shay almost ran into her.
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