Fae (8 page)

But I knew they had found her on the front steps of their house. I knew she had been a baby, a foundling bundled up with a note that read, “
Treat her as if she was your own.”

Lisa Ellis had been told that she would never have a child and believed the baby was her gift from God. David had been just as overjoyed. They waited for months to see if someone would come and claim the child. Told the authorities. But no one ever showed up. It was as if the child had been placed there by
magik
.

Or by
Odin
. I remembered when Odin took me to the Elizabethan Gardens to tell me the story of Caroline's ancestors. I was a boy at the time, only eleven. At that age, I never questioned Odin. He was my savior, my mentor, my God. I always looked up to him and did as I was told. He had showed me the world solely through his eyes, and when he took me to the enchanting gardens, he told me that he wanted me to learn everything about the future that faced me.

My destiny.

My life.

He wanted me to know all that I could, so that when life placed me in difficult situations, I would know to just charge forward and accept that in the end everything would fall into place. No matter what challenges lay on the road before me, I would find my way.

He had looked formidable that day, as mighty of a God as the legends said.

“Your destiny was cast when the ship carrying the 114 colonizers arrived here from across the great sea,” he had told me. “One of the passengers was quite special. She was beautiful, innocent. She had life within her. She was so enchanting that one day, when she was deep within the forest, she caught the eye of Arthur, a warrior prince of the Light Fae.”

“But that is against the law,” I remember saying to him.

Odin had smiled at me and nodded sadly.

“It is, but it was love at first sight. He couldn't resist.” Odin waved his hand and instantly I saw Arthur before me, approaching Eleanor. “Watch closely, my son.”

Odin had been right. Eleanor was beautiful. Her long hair framed a striking face, one that was remarkably similar to Caroline's. Arthur, a warrior by trade, was tall and handsome with blond hair and sparkling blue eyes.

“I don't recognize you,” Eleanor said, staring at him.

“My name is Arthur. I was here before you arrived.”

Strangely, Eleanor was not afraid. “We were told that we were the only ones here.”

Arthur shook his head. “No, you are not alone,” Arthur took a step closer. “Tell me your name.”

“Eleanor. Eleanor Dare.”

I could see that Arthur was entranced, beyond smitten. His eyes shined so brightly that it was a wonder she didn't ask him about it, or maybe she didn't care.

Odin waved his hand again, and the scene before me changed.

I watched as Arthur and Eleanor embraced. She was wearing a white gown with a lily wreath on her head, and he was in traditional Fae clothing. He held her hand solemnly.

“I promise to love, cherish, and protect you for all eternity, Eleanor. You are my mate, the chosen one for my soul, and I will love you until the light is extinguished from my being.”

Eleanor kissed him passionately.

Again, Odin moved his hand and I saw a pregnant Eleanor sitting by a stream, smiling as she rubbed her belly. Her peace lasted only a moment as Arthur ran into the clearing.

“Eleanor!” he shouted out, holding a sword in his hand. “I must get you out of here!”

Eleanor stood up in fear and reached out to him. “What is it? What has happened?”

“He knows. He has found out, and he's coming for me. For
you
. He will stop at nothing to destroy you and our baby.”

Eleanor was terrified. “But why?!”

“Because he is a monster,” Arthur replied in anguish. “Because I chose to love you. I chose to love a human. We have married, and you now carry a halfling. I have defied the laws. I have committed a crime in loving you.”

“But why?” she pleaded desperately.

“We are not allowed to mate with humans, Eleanor. For my kind, it is a sin. The ultimate offense against our race.”

“How can loving someone be a sin?”

For some reason, I never forgot those words. It was true. I could feel her pain even at a young age. I understood why she was horrified. She loved; there should have been no pain or shame in it.

Arthur leaned down and kissed her.

“I do not regret one day, one second that we've spent together. You are my life. My love. And this child is proof of everything we've felt for one another.”

“What are you saying to me?” Eleanor began to cry.

It hurt to watch them like this, and at the time I wondered why Odin was showing me such an intimate scene.

“I have to go and plead our case. I will speak to him, to Alderon.”

“No!” Eleanor screamed at him. I could feel the shiver race up my spine. “He will destroy you!”

“I cannot allow anything to happen to you.”

Eleanor began to sob.

“What will I do by myself?
Without you
?”

His sadness overwhelmed me.

Arthur smiled at her and placed his hand on her swollen belly. “This child is half of me. It is a testament of our love. I will come for you.”

But he didn't.

The scene before me dimmed, and then Odin showed me something that I would never ever forget.

Arthur was staring up at an angry Alderon as he stood on a round stone pillar among the court of the Dark Fae.

They had used
magik
to hold Arthur against his will. He stood pinned on top of the pillar, unable to move his body, unable to move his hands, held by
magik
behind his back. He had been angry. But after many hours of interrogation his anger had turned to frustration.

He was growing lifeless inside, I could tell, but he kept his exterior strong. He was losing strength, I could see, but he didn't give them the satisfaction of showing it.

“You have defied the laws! You have committed an unforgivable act.
Procreating
with a human! How could you rebel against your own people?”

Arthur looked up at the court, mustering up every ounce of his strength. He would not go down without a fight. He would not allow them to crush his spirit. He was a leader.

“I love her. I will not apologize for what I feel,” he replied defiantly.

Alderon shook his head, looked around at the other Fae.

“So be it! Know this, Arthur. Know that on this day in front of this court you have admittedly defied our laws,” he said menacingly. “You alone caused this outcome. So let it be known that I will not rest until the woman and the child are dead. That child is an abomination!”

Arthur's eyes lit up with blue fury as he tried to break free of the invisible chains that held him.

“NO!!!” He roared.

Alderon lifted his hands up in the air, the dark sky rumbled at his command. The moon that had been pearl white moments before turned a deep onyx, and Alderon began to chant, “A Tuatha mana de sona. Are you prepared to hear your judgment?” Alderon asked Arthur.

Arthur stared at him proudly. I admired his courage.

“Banishment in the Yew for eternity.”

Alderon lifted one hand and sucked the darkness out of the moon. A giant black orb appeared before him and began to swirl like a tornado until it captured Arthur. He howled as his body was pulled and twisted around in the orb.

I stepped toward the scene in horror and put my hand out to try to stop it, but Odin pulled me back.

“This has already passed, child. I'm showing you what was.”

And just like that, the scene before me was gone.

The rest of the story was just as painful. Arthur's mother, Esmerelda, had hidden Eleanor amongst the other members of the Lost Colony. Esmerelda and the other light Fae had kept a watchful and protective eye on her until she gave birth to Virginia, and then Esmerelda took the child away in order to protect her.

Alderon and the rest of the high court came to Roanoke in disguise and undetected by those of the Fae that were protecting Eleanor. Alderon was only looking for Eleanor and the babe, but when he discovered the baby was gone, he destroyed the village. He killed everyone, including Eleanor, and then erased the damage so no one would ever know what had happened.

The story of the Lost Colony was born.

The wounds that were left behind would take years to heal. In the midst of this incomprehensible act, Eleanor's child, Virginia, was raised by Esmerelda in the protection of the light Fae. She was so special, gifted with the best of both the human and the Fae. Because she possessed many powers of the Fae, she was able to go undetected by Alderon for quite a long time. And like the Fae, she was slow to age. Centuries went by before she became a teenager.

And when she was eighteen she met the love of her life, Royce de Danann, the rightful heir to the throne of the light Fae. The two fell in love the moment they met, married secretly, and Virginia later conceived Caroline.

But like most true love, it was never meant to be. Alderon discovered Virginia's identity, tricked Royce into believing they would have a truce, and then destroyed him. Virginia, devastated over the loss of her beloved, left Caroline with Odin and then took her own life. The human side of her made it easy to do.

Such
was the lineage of Caroline. She was the rightful heir of the light Fae.

And I, the
only son
of Alderon, was the man single-handedly responsible for the demise of Caroline's entire family.

“Wow. You just went back ten generations,” her soft voice broke my thoughts.

I looked down at the paper and realized what I had done.

“I can't believe you remember all of that just from memory. That's incredible.”

I was annoyed with myself for having slipped.

“Your relatives have such unusual names.”

“Mixed blood.” I covered quickly as I looked down at the paper and stared at all the names. My family. I realized I just made a very big misstep because every name that was written on that piece of paper was a true relative.
My true descendants
.

“Eastern European and Irish?” she asked tentatively.

“Something like that,” I said cryptically as I looked at her, which was yet another monumental mistake. My heart stopped as I stared into her eyes. She took my breath away.

Caroline nervously looked away from me. And for some reason I didn't understand, I couldn't allow that.

Look at me
, I insisted.

“Did you say something?” she asked quickly as she met my gaze again.

Had she heard my command? I was shocked. How could she have heard me?

I thought back to Brighid, the Great Mother's words. She once told me that when a soul recognized its chosen mate, the two could communicate without words. Such was the bond that true soulmates shared.

“No.”

“Oh, I thought you did.” She looked away from me again.

Thankfully, Mr. Allen interrupted.

“Now that you've completed the outline of the few branches of your tree, you will focus on the details that we discussed earlier. The whys and the hows. When this assignment is complete, you will know all of the details of each other's lineage. So, for this evening, I'd like you to set some time aside and meet with your partner and begin to ask those questions. You will learn as much as you can about your partner's grandparents, and you will write a report on the information you've obtained through interviews and research.”

I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. Now I would be forced to spend time after school with Caroline? Where was my reprieve?

Mr. Allen seemed immensely pleased with himself. “I'll leave you guys until the end of class to start the history lesson.”

I looked at Caroline who seemed just as uncomfortable about the situation as I was. Since there was no escaping her, and it clearly wasn't her fault that we were both forced into spending time with each other, I tried to be amenable.

“I have football practice after school and won't be able to meet until the evening,” I said curtly.

She twirled a strand of hair in her fingers. “I'm helping my parents out after school at their restaurant, so that kind of works perfectly for me. I won't be done until six.”

Great.

An evening with Caroline. I couldn't wait.

“What restaurant?” I asked, knowing perfectly well which one it was.

“L&D's Diner.”

“I can meet you there after practice.”

“That works,” she said matter-of-factly. “Wait, I forgot. We might have to meet at my house because I'm dropping my car off at the repair shop on the way in to work. So I've asked my friend Teddy to pick me up and drive me home.”

“I'll meet you at the restaurant. We can work there, and then I'll drive you home,” I offered.

“That is very generous of you, but I don't want to inconvenience you,” she said, a bit defensively. “We can meet at the restaurant, and actually I can always walk home. It's not that far from my house.”

Walk? That would never happen.

“I'll drive you home.” It was no longer up for discussion.

She looked at me in surprise. When she was offended she seemed so indignant, as if she could take on the world. Given her size and delicacy, I found it vastly amusing.

“I'll see you at six.” I left no room for argument, and before she could respond the bell rang. I stood up and left quickly.

“Tick Tock goes the clock.”

Alderon walked through a black dungeon followed by one of his faithful servants. There were cells everywhere filled with all sorts of creatures that defied human imagination. One-eyed monsters, three-legged beasts, all imprisoned by
magik
waiting anxiously to be unleashed to do Alderon's bidding.

Alderon walked the long hallway, pausing at each cell to take its occupant in. He'd lift his hand up facing the cell, and black energy would move from his palm as he felt the creature's essence. After a deep breath, he'd walk away, because the beast wasn't worthy.

“For thousands of years I have collected every despicable creature in the universe, and I have yet to find the one that can destroy her,” he told his servant, Puck, who kept a few paces behind.

Puck was something of a legend amongst the Dark
Fae
. A mischief-maker, a Fae that wanted harm to befall all those that he came in contact with. He was most famous for inspiring Shakespeare by entering his life and wreaking havoc everywhere he went. He had then been immortalized in the human world in
A Midsummer Night's Dream
. Because he had interfered so many times in human lives, he had been banished from entering the human world for a thousand years by the light Fae, and he counted the days until he could enter their realm again.

He was Alderon's favorite servant.

“Indeed, milord. Once we have finished here, and if nothing is to your liking, we will look in the least obvious of places. And we will find what you need.”

Alderon smiled. “We shall, indeed.”

Alderon stopped in front a cell and faced a giant of a monster. It was well over twenty feet tall, jagged teeth lined its enormous mouth, and it was covered in blood-red scales. The creature had no eyes, no nose, no ears. Only its teeth and horns.

“Ahh, here we are,” Alderon said.

“Wrath?” Puck tried to hide his confusion.

“Do you know how powerful his horns are? A touch from one of those can kill any mortal or immortal instantly. He is said to have been created in the darkest recesses of the universe when there was no light. Before even the existence of Odin.”

Puck's eyes widened. “Is he the only one?”

“There is another that I have yet to find and capture.”

“Could he destroy Odin?”

Alderon smiled. “I hope to test that one day. Once I learn how to tame him.”

The creature sat cross-legged on the ground and moved its hands out, feeling the energy around him.

“He is beautiful, is he not?”

“Yes, milord.”

“I found him the day Tatiana and Devilyn were taken,” Alderon explained. “One of the reasons why I was away and unable to stop their abduction.”

Puck looked cautiously over at Alderon and was quiet.

“What is it you wish to ask me?”

“With your permission,” Puck responded, slowly.

“Granted.”

“Why did they take Tatiana as well? She is not half light, half dark, like Devilyn. She is a pure Dark Fae.”

Alderon turned and began to walk again. Puck followed.

“A test. To see if they could raise a Dark Fae and turn her into the light. They'd have to use my child of course, with my blood; if they could do this then who could they not turn? Then there would be no need to destroy the race of the Dark Fae. No need for any loss of life.”

“It cannot be possible.” Puck was clearly shocked by such a suggestion.

Alderon stopped and turned to face his servant. His smile was slow, methodical.

“They do not know how impossible it really is. My daughter does not know she is Dark. Odin believes he has shielded her from me for all of these years. He believes I cannot reach out to her.” Alderon seemed victorious. “What he doesn't realize is that I had no need for her until now. I've waited all these years for this moment. And now my daughter will help me capture the girl.”

I'll see you at six.

It was almost like a date.
Almost.
Except that Devilyn disliked me immensely and didn't seem too thrilled about the prospect of spending an evening with me. A girl could dream.

The rest of the day went by in a blur and faster than I expected. The only thing I couldn't seem to help was my sudden nausea and lack of appetite, which I blamed on Devilyn because the only thing I could focus on was spending time with him later.

Alone.

I met Teddy after school in the parking lot. He always seemed to be able to calm my nerves, and today they definitely needed some of his TLC.

“Hey,” I came up behind him. “Thanks again for giving me a ride to the restaurant. My dad actually picked up my car from school earlier today and dropped it off at the shop, so I wouldn't have to.”

“What did you say was wrong with it?” he leaned on the hood of his red Toyota.

“The brakes have been acting up, and he doesn't want to take any chances.”

“That's probably a safe bet. I can't believe that you're already having problems with the car. It's practically brand new.”

Teddy's car was ancient, but he treated it as if it were his most prized possession. Since money was tight for his family he considered everything he owned a luxury. When I watched Teddy quickly clean up a spill in the car or hold the iPod his mom had given him for Christmas like it was the most expensive item in the world, it made me realize that I was the luckiest girl in the world to be able to call him my best friend. I sometimes wished that some of the more privileged students in our class would take a page out of Teddy's book. He appreciated everything he had in a way that was humbling and inspiring.

He asked, “Wanna hit a drive-thru before I drop you off at the restaurant?”

The thought of a greasy hamburger and fries made my stomach turn, but because Teddy looked so excited and anxious, I nodded my head.

“Sure.”

Teddy slowly backed out of his parking space. “So how was school?”

“History was really interesting today.”

“You mean the family tree assignment that Mr. Allen made us do? Talk about lousy luck, Melissa Andrews is my partner,” Teddy's face crinkled in distaste. “You should have heard her go on and on about how cheerleading runs in her family. I thought my head was going to explode.”

I couldn't help but laugh.

“I could literally feel my brain cells running for cover every time she opened her mouth. Please tell me you have better luck. Who's your partner?”

I was quiet for a moment.

“Well?” Teddy prodded.

I lost my smile. “Devilyn Reilly,” I said quietly.

Teddy abruptly pulled the car over and started to laugh so uncontrollably that tears were running down his face.

“I'm glad this is so amusing to you,” I muttered. Then I started laughing, too.

“I can just picture it,” he said between gulps of air.

“It's pretty bad, I know,” I admitted with. Teddy finally got control of himself.

“Did Mr. Football dazzle you with tales of his father being an all-pro?” Teddy asked. “Did he tell you how he comes from a long line of famous athletes?”

“No, he didn't,” I replied, rolling my eyes at him. “We actually really didn't get into the details of each other's backgrounds. I took up most of the time in class just trying to remember my own lineage. It was embarrassing; I couldn't remember anyone's name.”

“Really? I find that hard to believe.”

“Really.” Now
this
was a topic I wanted to discuss. “It's kind of crazy if you think about it. I mean, I never really saw my grandparents growing up. I have no aunts or uncles. I don't know anything about our family history. It's kind of unnerving.”

“Why?”

I couldn't hide my agitation. “Because who
am
I? Where do I come from? What were my relatives like? What did they do? What did they love?”

“Whoa. This really has you upset?”

I was quiet for a moment as I tried to understand what I was feeling. The emotions were so new, yet so strong. I wanted to know everything about my family. Up until this moment it had never even mattered. It was funny how in the blink of an eye my life could suddenly change direction and that some assignment in class could throw me off so much.

“I'm not upset. I'm just confused by it, you know? I just suddenly felt like some freak. I think I was probably the only one in class who knew nothing.”

“That's probably not true,” Teddy shook his head. “And why does it matter now?”

“I don't know.” And I really didn't. “It just does.”

“Well I'm sure a nice chocolate milkshake will bring you out of this funk,” Teddy said as he pulled into the drive-thru of Queen Elizabeth's, a local hamburger joint. “What do you want?”

“I'm fine. Really. No milkshake. I promise,” I said. “I'm at the restaurant tonight. I'll grab something there.”

Teddy shrugged his shoulders and ordered. It didn't take more than a few seconds before Teddy began devouring his burger and pulling out on to the road. He dropped me in front of my parents' restaurant. The parking lot was relatively empty.

“Thanks for the ride,” I waved at him as I pulled my backpack tight up against my shoulders and, walked up the wooden stairs and entered the restaurant. From the outside it was clear that it was a small mom and pop diner. It needed some work, maybe a fresh paint job, but despite its outward appearance, it was a place that all the locals loved. The food was always good, and the service was even better. I loved the diner and it never bothered me to have to pull in hours. When I walked inside my mom greeted me with a giant hug.

“Hi honey,” she sang. When my mom hugged me, I always felt safe. Like nothing could ever touch me. There was nothing like unconditional love.

“Wow. That's some hug,” she said as she kissed my head. “I haven't gotten one of those in a long time.”

“I just missed you,” I replied as I put my backpack down behind the counter. I made my way toward the back room to grab one of the uniformed collared shirts and black apron. My mom followed me.

“How was school?” she asked. I pulled my oversized sweater off and slipped on the a tight fitting polo and apron.

“It was fine,” I said as I pulled my hair back in ponytail.

“Just fine?” she asked. ”You don't have to change into the black pants. Your jeans look good.”

“Thanks,” I replied, relieved that I didn't have to wear the full uniform. I looked over at the mirror and smoothed the runaway hairs away from my face. I pinched my cheeks for some color.

“Since you just had a ‘fine' day maybe I'll make my famous lasagna for dinner.”

“You don't have to do that,” I said quickly. “I actually have a History assignment tonight, so I can close up the restaurant.”

“Are you going to work on it here?” my mom asked. “By yourself?”

“No, not by myself. We were each assigned a partner to complete the project with,” I said with a bit too much excitement. “He's going to meet me here after his football practice.”

My mom smiled curiously. “Football practice?”

“Yeah, mom, it's no big deal.”

I knew the second my mom met Devilyn she'd have all sorts of ideas in her head about the two of us dating. Wishful thinking for the both of us.

“Well, let's have it. What's his name?” she continued, clearly ignoring the part about it not being a big deal.

“His name is Devilyn. He's the new quarterback.”

“Quarterback? That's a cute position, right? He must be cute. Is he cute?” I knew it. She had to go there.

“I guess.” I was trying my hardest to be evasive and not smile.

“Hmmm,” I could tell she was excited. This was the closest thing to a date I'd had in over a year. I didn't have the heart to tell her that Devilyn positively despised me. “What's the assignment you're working on?”

“Our family tree. We're supposed to go back three generations. I didn't realize how little I knew about everyone in our family.”

“What do you mean?” Her voice got tight.

“Grandma, grandpa, or great-grandma or grandpa. I barely know a thing about our background.”

My mom uncrossed her arms and stared right at me.

“You come from your father and me. That's the most important thing to know, Caroline.”

“I know that. But it's nice to know what your relatives were like. It would be nice to know my history. It would help answer a lot of questions I've had all of these years.”

“Why does it matter?” she asked. She looked surprisingly hurt.

“Because your history is my history. And that means something to me.”

My mom smiled in relief. “Oh, honey.” She walked over and pulled me into her arms. “You make me so proud. We'll talk about our history and your questions this weekend. How does that sound?”

I sensed she was just trying to put me off, but I shrugged it off. “Sounds good.”

“What time are you meeting
your
Mr. Devilyn?”

“Mom, he's not
my
Mr. Devilyn,” I laughed. “He said he'd be here at six.”

“Six? I'll have Frank put together a dinner for the two of you.”

“It's not a date, mom,” I said as I made my way toward the dining area.

“A mother can dream, Caroline.” She laughed as she walked toward the back office. I stuck my head in the kitchen and yelled out to Frank, our chef.

“Hey Frank!”

Frank gave me a giant smile. “How's my favorite girl doing?” Frank had been with my parents since the minute they opened the doors to the restaurant. He was like a grandfather to me, always bubbly and larger than life.