Taking one last glance in the bathroom mirror, I felt satisfied with my appearance. My green eyes were clouded with silver and purple, my hair reached the middle of my back, and my new tattoo was starting to turn red and green. I had chosen a green tank top, dark blue shorts that were tattered and torn, and red Toms. Dark eyeliner created an elegant look on my eyelids, and mascara flushed out my already long lashes. Even though I had decided that I was going to wait for Sebastian to tell me the truth, I still wanted to look good around him. Flipping my dark hair so it hung in waves over my left shoulder, I walked out of the bathroom with a smile. Nothing felt out of place in my life at that moment.
I met Clamora out in the garden by the stream for more training. Bottles of water sat on the ground by a large rock, and I knew that it was going to be a long session of pushing myself to the extreme. We started by planting seeds in fresh soil, and she told me to make them grow. Pushing with all my strength, I bathed the seeds in silver light and small plants started growing into thick, beautiful bushes and luscious flowers. Clamora figured that I had to start by learning how to use my fairy magic, which consisted of healing, helping, growing, nurturing, and teaching the nature around me. Wild animals even came to me out of curiosity; she explained that they understood that I could help them and would never harm them. Pure excitement poured from my chest, and the nature around me thrived on it. When we grew hungry we picked berries, and I told the plants to regrow them. I learned that the more I used the small silver light, the easier it was to control it and call it when I wanted or needed it. By the time it was seven in the evening, Clamora decided it was time to end the training for the day.
As we sat in her office, she told me that she was impressed by how quickly I learned and she was proud to be my teacher. “Your fairy magic is strong, and I am glad that it is. You will need it one day. But I think we can move on to training your witch or vampire side. Tomorrow evening Sebastian will be taking you to a sacred place. Depending on how your body reacts to it, we will decide what part we start training next. And there are a few other matters we need to discuss.” Clamora looked down at some more papers on her desk and tilted her head. Just when I was about to ask what the other matters were, a soft knock on her door interrupted us. Sebastian walked in with a wicked grin on his face, and his eyes were elated when they landed on me. Dark green eyes flashed back to Clamora, and he gave her a questioning look. When she nodded, he disappeared into the house.
I figured now was the time to ask the questions that were flooding my mind. “What is he?”
“Hm?” Clamora looked up through black eyelashes.
“Sebastian, what is he? I mean, is he like me? Or is he something else?” I couldn’t help the flow of words as they escaped my mouth.
“That is his story to tell. Not mine.” She didn’t look at me for a while, and I stayed quiet. Then she startled me with her words. “Sebastian will be enrolling in school with you. It has been arranged. He will be a senior, like you. And we will both be moving into your town, close to you, so we can keep training until you are ready.”
“Until I’m ready for what?” My voice was a small whisper.
“The war, my child. It is what you see when you have visions of the future. We can discuss it tomorrow. But right now, there is something waiting for you downstairs.” She shooed me out of her office and down the stairs.
In the foyer there was a small kitten sitting on the marble floor. It looked like it was shivering. Carefully, I made my way to the small thing and scooped it up. I cradled it against my chest, and it purred loudly. When I turned to walk to the kitchen to get it some milk, I stopped. Sebastian was leaning against the wall. My eyes trailed over him, and my heart went into overdrive when I noticed he was wearing a white T-shirt that looked far too snug, showing off his large muscles. Black sweatpants hung loosely from his hips, and as my gaze kept going lower, I saw his bare feet on the floor. A soft laugh escaped him. Not being able to help myself, I looked back up to his face. Chirping noises from the kitten startled me. I gave the little thing a strange look and tilted my head.
“It’s a Savannah. That one in particular is about 80 percent serval. It’s a wild cat, and they make strange chirping sounds like that. He is your spirit animal. I didn’t name him; I felt that you should be able to, since he is yours. There are cat supplies in your room.” He stepped closer and scratched the cat behind its ears. It purred even louder. “This cat will be large, and it will have the personality of a dog and cat. I hope you accept it as a gift from me.” With those words, Sebastian departed, leaving me alone with a shivering kitten in my arms.
There were various toys and treats, two silver bowls, a bag of cat food, a bed that looked too large, and a purple harness. I sat down with the kitten on the floor after giving it food and water. He was beautiful. Black spots and stripes covered his body, and his belly was white. A short, stubby tail wagged in excitement, and his yellow eyes glowed with happiness. The longer I looked at the cat, the more I saw a shy personality with a strong sense of protection and friendship. Smiling, I realized I knew what his name was going to be. Helios. Tired after a long day, I picked up my new pet and snuggled him to my chest as I crawled under the blankets. He seemed content and went to sleep right away.
My sleep was dreamless and restful. Helios, my new kitten, woke me up by licking my face. Scratching his ears to applaud his efforts, I stretched and yawned. I was in a lazy mood, so I threw my hair into a messy bun on top of my head and covered my legs in baggy blue sweats. My white T-shirt hung loosely from my torso. I scooped up my cat and headed to Clamora’s office so we could continue yesterday’s talk.
Clamora’s slender frame sat in the oversized desk chair. Her raven-black hair was pulled into a frazzled ponytail that hung limply at the nape of her neck. A tired look clouded her gorgeous eyes, but she tried to perk up when she noticed I was standing in the doorway. I put Helios onto my lap as I sat down in a chair. Energy called to me, and as I listened carefully, I realized it was Clamora’s. Tilting my head, I listened closely to figure out what it was telling me. The Native American woman sitting in front of me needed rest, and lots of it. She was exhausting her body and her energy to the point of death. Carefully, I reached out with my silver glow and pushed at the energy. It wobbled immediately, then I pushed at it one more time and it fell completely. When I looked up at Clamora, her head was on the desk, eyes closed, mouth open, soft snores escaping her. Sighing, I stood up and walked to the kitchen with an unhappy Helios following at my heels.
A smoky smell filled my nostrils. I picked up my pace and heard pops and sizzles coming from the kitchen. Rayne was making bacon, eggs, hash browns, and sausage. Futilely, Helios tried jumping on the counter to reach the delicious smell, but his small legs couldn’t make the jump and he clattered to the floor in a flailing heap. He shook himself off and walked figure eights around my legs as if to ask for some food. Some bacon was ready, so I grabbed a piece and gave half to the small Savannah. When Rayne finally turned around, I smiled sheepishly and laughed. Her eyes were glowing with happiness, her hair was a mess, and there were grease stains on the white apron that was wrapped around her tiny waist. She motioned for me to take a seat at the large table. As I sat down, she brought over plates of food and glasses of juice. Smiling, she even gave Helios a small plate of cut-up sausage and bacon. His hungry meow was ferocious, and he immediately dug into the warm meat on his plate. Eventually, when Rayne was satisfied, she took a seat next me and started eating.
After breakfast I helped her clean up and thanked her for the meal. Rayne was more than happy that I enjoyed it, and that someone was finally around to taste her cooking. When I excused myself, I wandered up to Clamora’s office to see if she was awake. With my first step into her office, I realized it had been a mistake to push her energy to sleep. Her face was furious, and her eyes glared when they landed on me. I could tell she wasn’t really angry, just frustrated that she had lost time. I understood. There never seemed to be enough time in the days anymore. My apologetic smile made her face soften. She knew I had done it for her own good. A white chair seemed to call my name, so I sat with my legs tucked to my hip and waited for her to finish yesterday’s conversation.
“Thank you. I really needed rest, although I would rather you not do that. I understand you felt it necessary. So thank you, AubrieAnna.” Clamora spoke with such serenity and so genuinely that I smiled at her. “About yesterday’s talk: You are going back to your parents’ cabin today. I believe they told Sebastian they were leaving tomorrow. Anyway, I will enroll Sebastian in your school, he will be there to protect you, guide you, and make sure that nothing bad happens until you are in full control. Also, I will be renting a home on a large property near yours, and we will train after school. If you have a ton of homework, please tell me, and I will make sure Sebastian tutors you before and after our training sessions. I have called your parents to tell them, and they are okay with it, as long as you pass your classes with As and Bs. That shouldn’t be a problem; I can tell you are a smart girl.
“Also, regarding which part of training to start you on next . . . Sebastian is taking you to a sacred ground where those who are not supernatural cannot go. It will enhance the next part of your bloodlines. We will go from there. He knows what to look for, and he also will be able to help you through any situation that may come along. Now go pack your belongings, and your cat’s. Sebastian is going to take you there, and then to your cabin. I will see you in a few days. Be careful, my De de lo qua s gi.” Clamora stood up, and her blue dress touched the floor. She stepped out of the room with such grace that I prayed would rub off on me someday.
Helios slept peacefully on my lap as we drove on a winding road through trees and small moss covered houses. Sebastian had dutifully loaded my stuff into the trunk when I was ready to go. My black leggings were speckled with cat hair, but my orange shirt was safe for the time being. We had been on the road for at least an hour with nothing but trees for scenery most of the way. When we finally started seeing buildings again, they were all run down with broken windows, lopsided doors, and slanted roofs. I could tell that they were abandoned because no cars littered driveways, no stores were open, and gas stations were out of service. Shivers fled down my spine, and my cat growled at the surroundings. After another thirty minutes, we arrived at a small parking lot. I set Helios down in the backseat with a blanket to keep him comfortable and a bowl of water on the floor in case he got thirsty. Stepping out of the car, I almost fell to my knees.
The sun was achingly hot, and my eyes burned. An overpowering force seemed to hold me up. Thankful for whatever was allowing me to stand, I walked toward the center of the lot, being called there by something unknown. Sebastian was by my side the whole time and never let me go where he thought it was too dangerous. When I reached the spot, a blinding light seeped through my pores. My jaw and teeth ached. I tried to reach for Sebastian, but my movements were foreign and strange. Too fast—I was moving too fast. Suddenly, electricity crackled in the sky. Dark clouds scampered toward us. Rain poured down and thunder clapped, making the ground shake. Iridescent flashes of lightning were so close that they scarred the ground beneath our feet. Cursing, Sebastian threw me over his shoulder and ran with inhuman speed to the car. As soon as he shut the door, the storm went away. Running his hands through his soaked hair, he grumbled about how it was ridiculous that both of my other supernatural parts had manifested. He stalked around to the front of the car, got in, and drove away from the empty, scarred and sacred grounds.
Awkward silence filled the car. Helios crawled back onto my lap and settled in to take a nap. After an hour had passed, Sebastian huffed and pulled over. He turned to face me, a look of anguish, sadness, happiness, and frustration in his eyes. “AubrieAnna, I just, I want you to know, that . . . that I will always protect you. You’re important to me. You are . . . you are . . . ” Sebastian struggled to tell me something. I could see he was fighting it. My heart sped up, hoping he was going to tell me that maybe I was his soul mate. He sighed angrily and said, “You are my friend.” My heart fell into my stomach, and he pulled back onto the road and continued to take me to the cabin in silence.
The crunch of gravel under the tires woke me up, and I noticed we were finally at my parents’ cabin. I was all too eager to get out of the cramped vehicle. Holding onto my little Helios, I stepped out and stretched my legs. My mom rushed out the front door and squeezed me tightly. She gushed over my kitten, and he purred under her pets and baby talk. Alexandier stood on the porch, glaring at Sebastian, and my father looked relieved that I was all right. We maneuvered my stuff into the house, and I hugged my older brother. Sebastian nodded at everyone and took his leave. I was too scared to say goodbye to him, but I was terrified of never seeing his deep green eyes again. Melly and Mickey bounded down the stairs and tackled me just as he walked out the door. Their excitement over me being back was palpable, as was the prospect of having a pet. When my younger siblings settled down, Helios cautiously allowed them to play with him. With the younger kids preoccupied, my parents began asking me questions. I answered every one dutifully. They were proud that I was learning to use my abilities so easily. My dad excused himself to go prepare dinner, my mom called Amelia and Mickey to go upstairs with her so they could pack up, and Alexandier was left with me. A silence fell over the room and settled into a strange feeling.