by Zara Zenia
I needed to get ready for work, a six-hour sundown to midnight shift which I spent alternating handling shop stuff and doing tarot readings.
On that particular day at work, I felt lonely, bored, and more than a little horny, and during a lull early in the day, I decided to do a bit of reading for myself. I enjoyed reading a lot as it helped with my boredom and I often got insights on the people around me that I normally wouldn’t have.
I had to get to my shop around seven PM so as to avoid being burned by the sun. Gwen Liu was already there, waiting to get more lessons on Tarot.
“Hey, Gwen, how are you?”
Her entire face lit up at the sight of me, and I couldn’t help but smile. Her smile was infectious sometimes, and I often wondered what kind of human would leave a girl like that pregnant and alone?
“I’m great, Malcolm.”
“Ready to get started?”
We made our way into the shop and I got things set up for business before I began. She went ahead and made a pot of tea while I got things settled. Sometimes, I thought that she knew her way around the place better than I did.
I could usually spend hours with her and it was the same on that day. After a few hours of learning, we began to talk. She started expressing her fears to me about the child in her womb.
“I have never known what to do about this child. The more I think of it, the more confused I get.”
I sighed. “Are you unsure whether you want the child? Is that what it is?”
“I want the child. I just don’t want to be in these circumstances.”
I told her that first, she needed to take away the fear and focus on making the child happy.
“Just focus on that, Gwen, and the rest will fall into place.”
She smiled at me, and I felt that it really encouraged her for the first time in a long time. It’s always a good day when I can make her smile. She bade me farewell as she had to return to her work at The Cellar. I nodded and watched as she got up to leave. Her engorged belly reminded the world that her life was going to completely change in a short time.
A few minutes later, I closed my eyes and focused on nothing in particular. I allowed my mind to free itself and allow whatever needed to come to me find me. My body was shocked into a trance as I got an indication that I had to leave the shop immediately. I opened the Tarot Deck and started looking through the cards. The one that I pulled told me that this task was a necessary one. I wasn’t sure what to think or why I was being called to the woods, but it must be important. What would I find there? Danger? I had to wonder why I was the one needed in such a scenario, but the universe always has a reason for choosing the ones it does. I got up from the table and started closing up the shop once again. I ushered out the couple of people milling about with my apologies that there was an emergency. When I locked up and went outside, the snow had turned into a torrential rain and the temperature was rising unnaturally.
I knew immediately that something wasn’t right. There was something in the air that was anything but natural. Where had the weird storm system come from, and was that why I was being called to the woods? My instinct immediately told me to go into the mountains, reasons for which I was oblivious. But my instincts were quickly verified with a bizarre shift in the weather—including the temperature rocketing up to the seventies. It was impossible for the weather to change so drastically, even in a strange place like Diablo Falls. If the high temperatures continued, they would threaten to melt all the accumulated snow at once and cause a terrifying mix of mudslides and floods. That would be disastrous for the entire area.
Getting such an indication, I would normally get the aid of the Shifter Rescue Team, but I couldn’t because of a recent beef between the vampires and the shifters. Sometimes, those beefs got out of control and now in this case, I couldn’t depend on them for any help. It was stupid, but some of those grudges held on for decades, sometimes centuries.
On my way to the mountains, I met a search party who were also going to the same direction I was heading to. I approached one of the men on the team. “Where are you guys going? Do you know what’s happening here?”
The man explained to me how the sudden bizarre shift in the weather had caused a lot of accidents and that they were on a journey to find what was causing the weird storm system as they strongly believed that it wasn’t natural.
“Do you mind if I go with you? I feel called to be here.”
The man nodded.
I fell into place with the team and stared up into the sky as the clouds darkened and then lightened repeatedly. I had a bad feeling about things and I had to wonder if something quite dangerous was in the area. Who was behind the sudden change in the weather? Would I be able to find out who the person was and not get in trouble, or better still, find something greater than I could ever have imagined? I didn’t know what I was going to find, but I knew deep in my bones that it was going to change my life.
Chapter 3
Ebony
After the breakdown of my car, I decided to walk into the woods in search of shelter as the weather was getting unusually cold. I ended up lost in the woods and became very frustrated. I had always been a little directionally challenged to begin with, and with no local phones to help a girl out, it wasn’t surprising that I soon found myself lost. I also had a massive freak snowstorm bearing on me that had me more than a little worried. Where was the bizarre weather coming from? I didn’t remember weather such as this when I used to visit my grandmother. She certainly never talked about similar occurrences.
I totally blamed Brian as the cause of my current unfortunate predicament, and I hated him even more. I should have been at home, nestled against him, watching something on Netflix, and looking forward to him ravishing me later on that night, but no, instead, I was lost in the woods. I was probably going to die out here in the mountains, eaten by some creature that had been left hungry for too long.
Brian had tried calling me while I was on my way to Diablo Falls, but I had hung up on all his calls. He then sent text messages saying that it wasn’t his fault as I was always too busy for him, making him ‘sexually starved’. I felt nauseated at the thought of it. I felt like throttling him until he could no longer breathe. Did guys actually say that stuff to girls and think that it was okay? To actually blame me for the fact that he cheated, it was just too shitty to even think of. What was seriously wrong with him? I refused to believe that there was something so wrong with me that I’d caused my boyfriend, my soulmate, to cheat on me. It wasn’t me. It was all him. There was a huge character flaw in someone who saw nothing wrong with sleeping with a student. It was bizarre and sickening. He was a narcissist at best, and I just wished that I had known that far sooner. I could have saved myself a lot of heartache.
I felt like I had been walking forever, and I knew that I needed to take a break. The weather seemed to be worsening and I needed to find some shelter. I looked around at the rock cliffs around me and knew that there was probably a cave that I could hole up in. Hopefully, I wouldn’t be sharing it with a bear. I moved around the rocky cliff face and found an entranceway to one. I lingered at the entrance, wondering if I was risking my life just by going in there. I would have to take my chances, however, because it was just as dangerous being out in the middle of a storm. The temperature was dropping drastically, and I couldn’t be out there like that. I sat down in the back of the cave, thankful that there were no bears. I nearly passed out from the cold, and I started chanting inside my head that I needed the cold to be gone. I would die if the cold didn’t abate. I needed it to be over.
Suddenly, the temperature started rocketing in the opposite direction, so drastically that I felt the chill leave me immediately. It was actually warm around me, and I stood there shocked. Was I alive? I seriously questioned whether I had frozen to death. The weather was definitely unusual for the time of year. There was usually snow on the ground, and now, suddenly, the temperature was in the seventies. It was weird, to say th
e least.
I got up from my spot and stepped tentatively out of the cave. I looked up at the sun that was now beating down on me. I was so confused as to what was happening, but I was thankful for the warmth. At least now, I could keep walking and hopefully get myself to town. Fat drops of rain started to fall from the sky, but the air was still stifling with its warmth. I didn’t mind the rain so much as long as it stayed warm. I walked through the rain, brooding sadly on how my life got to that stage, how I’d never imagined things like that could happen to me. I walked for a while until I began to tire again. I found another shelter under a rocky outcrop. I sat there unhappily, wishing that I could just get to the town already. I was really starting to wonder whether I would die out there. I was wet, exhausted, and more than a little hungry. I could really go for a cheeseburger at that moment, and I was really hoping that I would live to get to eat another one someday.
I looked up through the trees, and it was then that I saw something familiar. I tried to remember when and where I had seen it before. Then it dawned on me that my grandmother had brought me there when I was little and told me some funny stories that I didn’t believe. At the time, she had made mention of it being their home. At the thought of my grandmother, tears welled up in my eyes and I wished my grandmother were there to comfort me.
My grandmother had been very sweet, always telling me stories about magic. She used to tell me that I could do anything as long as I put my heart into it. Right then, in as much as I wanted to believe that statement, I could not. I had never had the powers that my grandmother spoke of. I could never understand how I had descended from a coven but didn’t have the same powers that the coven had. Was I flawed, broken? I didn’t know. Grandmother had always told me to be patient, but I was pretty sure she was hiding her own disappointment at my lack of powers. I definitely didn’t think that I could do anything that I put my mind to. I had put my whole heart into my relationship with Brian, and now my heart was shattered. I felt like it would stay that way forever.
Blackthorne Mountain, a lone mountain on the far side of the valley from the Crown, former site of the old coven house and site of the Fae Brugh. I sat there on the pavement beside the mountain and I suddenly heard someone talking to me. I thought at first that it was just my imagination, but this time, it was more audible. “Oh God, please don’t let me be hallucinating. I don’t think that I can take much more of this,” I muttered to myself.
I opened my eyes and looked up. I scrambled back against a tree, staring ahead of me in shock. The biggest damn troll was in front of me, and oddly enough, he was holding hamburgers in his hand. He looked like a tusked, armor-clad version of the Incredible Hulk.
“Who—who are you?” I stammered.
I didn’t expect him to smile. I thought he was going to use me to make some more of those delicious burgers he had in his hands. Had I literally manifested burgers right before my eyes? The situation was all a little too bizarre for me.
“My name is Og. I’m a Burgh guardian. I’m a protector of the innocent.”
I was so scared, I considered running away, even though those burgers looked so delicious. I looked to the side to devise a getaway plan when I saw a slim blonde human with big blue eyes and pale skin. At least, I thought she was human. I didn’t know why, but I felt relieved, probably because this person looked human. That seemed safer to me in that moment.
“Shh, don’t be afraid. I’m Massie McCree.”
“Are you human?”
The woman smiled. “No. I’m a local Sidhe and Fae queen at the local Burgh.”
I looked her over. She was cute, perky, and friendly. She certainly didn’t appear to be someone I should fear. Maybe these two weren’t so bad after all.
“Don’t underestimate her. She may look innocent, but she is one of the most powerful beings in the region. She usually takes the guise of a slim, blonde human with big blue eyes and pale skin. In her Fae form, she is tall, slender, with silver hair, pointed ears, and eyes that shine from within. She’s dangerous if she needs to be,” Og stated rather plainly.
“Oh, God, I think I’m going to faint,” I whispered. I wasn’t used to this. I was used to living in the human world where creatures typically hid themselves better.
Massie tried her best to calm me and explain to me that I was at Blackthorne Mountain, specifically, the fairy mound with a gateway that only Fae people or someone they invite can easily find.
I looked up at her. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
Massie smiled. “We have been expecting you for years now, and we are so glad that you are finally here. What took you so long, my girl?”
“What? That’s impossible. I don’t understand.” I was really starting to think that I was losing it. I had been out in the cold and rain for too long. I needed to eat and sleep, and clearly, I was having some kind of breakdown. Going through a breakup could do that to you, cause you to have an emotional break, and that was clearly what was happening to me now.
“It’s not impossible because you are here,” Massie stated.
“I think you have me confused with someone else. I am not the person you’ve been waiting for. I’m sorry that I disturbed you or stumbled upon your doorway or whatever. I need to go now. I have to get to town before this storm gets any worse.” I got up and turned away from those delicious-looking hamburgers. I started to walk away, feeling grateful to get out of that weird situation.
“I am not mistaken, my dear. Are you not the descendant of the local coven?”
That was something that caused me to still and turn back toward her. “Ebony, you have great powers which can affect people’s lives, either positively or negatively, depending on how you choose to use them.”
The Fae knew her name. How was that possible? How did she know anything about her? Had her grandmother talked to these people about her?
“Please stop. I know you’re mistaken now. I don’t know how you know my name, but I assure you that I don’t have any powers. I’ve known that my whole life. So please leave me be and let me leave.” The conversation was just making me sad. I felt like they were just playing with me. I had always felt insecure about the fact that I wasn’t like my grandmother. I had always wished that I was. If I had so much magic in me, if I were able to change people’s lives positively, then why was I sitting there in the woods with a broken heart? It made absolutely no sense at all.
“You are free to leave whenever you want. You aren’t our prisoner. Please, just don’t forget what I told you. One day, you will realize that I was right, and you can always come back if you want to find out more about yourself,” Massie said.
I felt a huge sense of relief to be able to leave as I felt that all she said was a load of bullshit. If I had great powers, wouldn’t I know it? Surely, I would have some idea. I started to walk away from them, and I hoped that would be the last conversation we had.
As I was walking, I was still thinking of how to get out of the mountain, or better still, get a signal on my phone so I could get directions or have an inkling of where I was or how close to town I was. I felt completely empty at the moment. A lot had happened that day, and I was emotionally drained. Suddenly, I heard a movement, and I spun around feeling so scared. What was I going to run into this time? I thought of all the bad things that could happen to me out there, being alone in the middle of a place where I knew no one. I had already run into a Fae and a troll. What else was I going to discover? Lo and behold! It was only a man with the most handsome face I’d seen in a while. He was tall and lanky, with long white-blond hair that he kept in a ponytail. He had pale blue eyes, sharp features, and dark clothing. My heart began to beat very fast and I couldn’t explain the reason. I had never felt that way before. Even with Brian, I hadn’t had such an immediate reaction.
He put his hand up immediately. “I’m sorry if I frightened you. That wasn’t my intention.”
I smiled nervously. “It’s amazing how many people you end up meeting in the
middle of nowhere.”
He laughed. “I’m from town and I’m here for a reason. I found an abandoned car on the highway. Was that yours?”
I nodded. “Yes, I’m not sure what happened to it, but it died on me and I’ve been trying to find my way toward town ever since.”
“I had a feeling that someone out here needed my help.”
“You had a ‘feeling?’ Are you a supernatural as well?”
A look of surprise came across his face. “I don’t mean any harm. I’m here to help you. You have no reason to be frightened of me. I can help you get out of here. I can walk you back to town, and you can come to my shop to get cleaned up and dry off.”
A wave of relief flooded through me. The thought of getting out of there and getting dry was very appealing. He felt like a guardian angel to me, and at that point, I would probably follow him anywhere.
“What’s your name?”
He smiled. “Yes, an introduction would be appropriate. I’m Malcolm, and what’s your name?”
He spoke like he was from a different era. “I’m Ebony.”
“That’s a beautiful name.”
I blushed. Being complimented by such a handsome man was definitely not a bad thing, especially since he was saving me from myself at that moment. He just happened to be my type of man. I had to caution myself to guard my heart so that it didn’t get shattered again. At the thought of that, I became sad again. I certainly didn’t want to get involved with someone, even if he happened to be the most handsome man I had ever seen.
