He kissed her thoroughly one more time, and
helped her gather her scattered clothes.
“Go now. I’ll meet you downstairs in about
half an hour. After breakfast we are going to Seattle. I’d like to
see your apartment, if you don’t mind inviting me in.”
“Tristan and Liv are going with us.”
“They can have a coffee somewhere.”
“You’ll get me addicted to you.”
“That’s precisely my intention, Miss
Spock.”
Astrid giggled and hurried across the
room.
“Astrid?” Jack lifted her chin and kissed her
as he opened the door for her.
“Yes?”
“You taste heavenly, baby.”
GOOD MORNING, Aunt… Betty.”
Jack’s mother was already in the kitchen,
opening the cupboards and the fridge, and pulling out ingredients
for breakfast. She looked pretty in her orange long sleeve top and
white cotton slacks. Her soft, shoulder-length honey-gold hair was
twisted in a thick knot and fastened with a pearly clip. She didn’t
look a day older than twenty-five, yet she unmistakably felt like
Jack’s mom. And my aunt, for that matter. I briefly wondered how I
should address her, but she offered a solution.
She smiled at me. “Good morning Astrid. And
call me Betty, please. It’s more practical because soon I’m going
to be more than an aunt to you. Did you sleep well?”
I could have nodded, or I could have given
her a smile. But there was an aura of a parental authority that
surrounded Betty Mohegan, so I blushed to the hairline and
stuttered, “Jack and I went out last night. We… we had a date.”
Betty laughed. “Oh, and I bet he made you
sneak out of the house, didn’t he?” She took two cups from the
cupboard and poured the coffee in. “How do you take it?”
“Black, half teaspoon of sugar.”
“Where did you go?”
“We had dinner at Pegasus, and after that we
went to a pub.”
“St. Patrick’s?”
I nodded. “Uncle James won’t be happy when he
hears about my escape last night.”
Betty waved her hand. “Oh, don’t worry about
your uncle, Astrid. He knows Jack would never put you in danger. I
know many things about us still confuse you, including the
relationships between us, but you’ll figure out the basics. James
and Jack care for each other very much. They’re friends as well as
father and son. Jack sneaked you out to make it more fun, not
because he was concerned about what James would say.” She laughed
wholeheartedly. “Jack’s a bit too old for a curfew, don’t you
think?”
“For me it’s hard to comprehend their
father-son relationship,” I said, “given their age and all.”
“I know. It’s normal for us because our
family ties are always very strong, no matter the age.”
I smiled. “Jack made me throw spells all
around the house.”
“Ah, that’s why everybody’s still in their
rooms. I was thinking this morning how I hadn’t had such a good
sleep in years.”
“It was fun thinking we were rebelling.”
“Jack’s romantic. He always has a little bit
of magic dust in his pockets.”
She found a mixing bowl, cracked several eggs
into it, and reached for the whisk. “Would you mind making pancake
mix? I’ll fry the eggs and sausages.”
I nodded and took the bowl. I suspected
Betty’s assessment had been completed. The quiet, homey atmosphere
in the large kitchen and the positive vibes that flew between us
told me I had passed the most challenging test. Elizabeth Mohegan
was content with her son’s choice. After this, winning the heart of
the rest of Red Cliffs would be a piece of cake.
“Jack was a bright, energetic boy, but a bit
too adventurous and daring for any mother’s liking,” she said as we
continued making breakfast. “He’s always had a rich imagination. He
loved pirate stories, and ships were his favorite toys. When he was
about five, he and Brian built a tree house that looked like a
ship. He would spend hours and hours up there. His friends would
come to play. Jack was the captain of the ship, of course, but he
would occasionally let the other boys take turns in being the
captain. He was always considerate and generous. He protected
smaller kids, took responsibility for the mischief he did, stood up
for himself and for others.”
I smiled, imagining little Jack in his tree
house-ship, with a wooden sword in his hands. My chest tightened
from the rush of emotion.
“You know when Jack was born, do you?” Betty
asked me suddenly.
“I know.”
“Jack was in both world wars. He was
twenty-three when the U.S. entered the Great War, and he was
immediately sent to Europe, along with about a hundred of our men,
mostly werewolves, but quite a few humans, too. Brian and Hal went
as well, to stay close to our boys and make sure they came home
alive and in one piece. I was terrified, especially for Jack. His
aging hadn’t stopped yet and he was vulnerable. We are much
stronger than humans, even when young, but we’re not
indestructible. Werewolves can survive many things humans can’t,
but not cannon balls and grenades. In our youth, we can be easily
slain. And that war was nothing but a horrible slaughterhouse. So
many of our kind died then, but miraculously, all of our men
returned.
“And then, two decades later, another war, an
even more horrible one.”
Betty sighed. “And Brian, Jack, Hal and many
more went again. This time some didn’t come back.”
“Did they have to go? Were they
enlisted?”
“No. Our men don’t need to go. We can easily
keep ourselves out of sight. But they usually want to go.
Werewolves have plenty of natural aggression, more than humans.
Humans have sports and, unfortunately, wars to relieve the
pressure. We dilute it with our transformations and excessive
physical activities. In the past, there were endless bloody fights
between the clans. We still fight among ourselves and we take part
in human conflicts.”
“I suppose it’s difficult not to when we’re
so tightly connected with them,” I said, using ‘we’ quite
spontaneously.
Betty noticed it and smiled. “Yes, we are,
indeed. And especially when we think it’s justified, like defending
your country or fighting against monsters like Hitler. Our people
have a strong sense of justice, no matter if the injustice directly
affects us or not.”
“Who was the Red Cliffs leader while Brian
was away?”
“Your uncle,” Betty said proudly. “See, he
didn’t become the Einhamir all of a sudden. He was the best man to
replace Brian.”
“Brian was the first Red Cliffs Einhamir,
wasn’t he? I always forget to ask Jack.”
“No, he was the second one, after Garth
Erwood. Brian and I came to Red Cliffs from Europe in 1857. In
1862, Garth decided to retire and move back to the old country, and
Brian was elected, and after him James. And now it’s Jack’s
turn.”
I was grateful for this undisturbed time with
Betty. She helped me to start seeing a complete picture of a man
I’d met and fallen in love with roughly two weeks ago. As Betty’s
story continued, I started connecting my beloved Jack with a boy in
a tree house, a young soldier in two bloody wars, a smart, sharp
mechanical engineer in the 1950’s, a marine biologist in the
1970’s, a successful businessman, and a man whose recent job was
special missions.
“Did he go to Vietnam?”
“No. When he came back in 1945, he declared
it was the last human war he’d take part in, and so far, he’s been
keeping his promise. Besides, he strongly opposed the Vietnam War.
Nobody from Red Cliffs went to Vietnam. Not only that they didn’t
want to, but also Brian made it almost impossible. After World War
II, where so many of our people died, he initiated and the High
Council passed a law that nobody could take part in any human
conflict without the Einhamir’s permission. This was one of his
greatest decisions, if you ask me.”
“But there was a war between the outcast
vampires and the others.”
“Yes, but that’s a different matter. It was
our conflict in a sense that, thanks to Brian and your grandfather,
werewolves and wizards decided to take part in it. Aside from
humans, we don’t meddle in other races’ affairs unless it’s
necessary. Shall we put some blueberries into that batter?”
The next big conflict that affected so many
lives in Red Cliffs was when my mother decided to leave the clan,
but I didn’t want to initiate that story.
Betty thought otherwise, though.
“I know what you’re thinking, Astrid,” she
said in her simple, direct manner. “About Rowena and what happened
then. You see, many Red Cliffers would never mention her name, and
would never talk about those days. When it comes to your mother, I
want to clear the air between us right now, so I’ll tell you what I
think.”
She took a deep breath and continued. “It
took me a long time, but I’m at peace with everything that happened
then. I don’t hate your mother, Astrid. I don’t even hate Seth
anymore. But he’s too dangerous and he has to be stopped. But
Rowena... Your mother and I used to be close friends. She was like
a sister to me. I knew her well and never believed she wanted
anybody dead. Unfortunately, she was part of some tragic events
that affected many lives, and those wounds don’t heal easily. She’s
also Seth’s victim, that’s how I see her. Anyway, we don’t need to
talk about her, but if we do, I want you to know where I stand.
There are some people back home, your uncle included, who tend to
ignore the fact that Rowena gave a birth to an Ellida, which means
she cannot be a bad person.”
“Uncle James thinks there could be some
resistance because I’m Rowena’s daughter.”
“Your uncle is a wise man and great leader,
but it doesn’t mean he’s always right. For Red Cliffs, you are our
Ellida, nobody questions that. They might not like your mother, but
they know you can’t be responsible for what happened when you were
a baby.”
“My first transformation was postponed. I
turned when I was twenty-three. That may be a reason for some
raised eyebrows in Red Cliffs,” I said.
“Nonsense. Ellidas often turn late, after
adolescence. The wolf side is slightly less mature, because she
emerged a bit late, and the spirits are, of course, unconnected
until, well, until they are connected. Morgaine told me that.”
“That’s good to know. Did she say anything
else that could help me?”
Betty smiled. The resemblance to her son was
now even more apparent. “She says there isn’t a bad bone in your
body.”
“But how would she know?”
Betty shrugged. “She just knows. She’s an
Ellida.”
I scratched my head. “Well, my Ellida hasn’t
kicked in yet, so I don’t know what that means, but I’ll take your
word for it. In any case, I have to remember to thank her for her
vote of confidence.”
“You know that not all female offspring of a
wizard and a werewolf become an Ellida. Some of those girls never
turn into a werewolf or, sometimes they don’t develop any wizard
powers at all, or they lose those they have when they turn. Once
you come out of the first transformation with your wizard powers
intact, it means you had been chosen for an Ellida. Those rules are
simple and unbendable, and out of our control. And beyond question.
That’s why I think James is making a mountain out of a molehill: no
chance Red Cliffs won’t accept you. But, on the other hand, try to
understand him. You’re his blood, and he’ll protect you by all
possible means. We all will.”
Having said that, Betty came close to me and
kissed my forehead.
A big lump stuck in my throat and tears spilt
down my face.
Betty stroked my hair pulling me against her
chest. “It’s okay. It’s good to cry sometimes. We know you are a
rare bird among wizards. You’ve got more werewolf in you, that’s
all. Now, flip the pancakes, they're going to burn.”
I brushed the tears away and turned my
attention to the flat top.
I heard steps, a familiar long stride, and
Jack entered the kitchen. “Good morning, ladies,” he said and
kissed his mother’s cheek, then turned to me and took the spatula
from my hands. “Good morning, baby. Did you sleep well?” He lifted
my arms, locked them around his neck and kissed me. Gently,
unhurriedly. I blushed and wiggled out of his embrace, but he
continued to distract me, closing his arms around me from behind
and kissing my neck.
“I’ve heard you two had a good time last
night in Seattle?” Betty said in a casual voice.
He placed his hands on my shoulders and
turned me around, pretending to be shocked. “You told her?! Wait
until your uncle hears!”
“Your mother asked me how I’d slept. I
couldn’t lie.”
“What won’t I be happy to hear?” my uncle
asked as he came in, still yawning. “God, I don’t remember the last
time I slept so well. Too bad we have to go home tomorrow.”
Well, you are in for another blissful
sleep tonight, if I can help it
, I thought and laughed
silently.
My uncle gently kissed his wife’s lips. “Good
morning, love,” he said in a husky voice, and I wondered if
something else besides my little tricks had contributed to such a
good rest. He walked to me and kissed my cheek. “Did you sleep
well, Astrid?”
I opened my mouth to tell him I had,
regarding it as a purely rhetorical question. Jack winked at me and
said nonchalantly, “I took Astrid out for a date last night. I even
made her think you wouldn’t approve of it, so we went out through
the window.”
James let out a noisy breath and rubbed his
chin. “Where did you go?” he said after a while.
“To Pegasus. And later to St. Patrick’s.”
“How’s Simeon?”
“They’re all good. Sofia, the boys and Nicky
were there, too. They said hello.”
“The food is still good?”
“Excellent.”
“And how are the Hallorans?”