Hey Mister

“Hey Mister!  You can wake up now… I’m okay.”  I felt the feather like touch of young flesh against my hand and a tug on my arm, trying to pull me upright.
 

“Get up!  Dinner’s waiting!”  The voice was familiar, though at the same time strange, and I had a hard time lifting the weight of my eyelids.  I didn’t truly want to wake up.

“Ty!”  Brian’s voice echoed through my mind and my eyes shot open.

A feeling of dread engulfed me as the memories of those last moments of consciousness filled my mind.  Somehow I had called the lightning without thinking, and had killed an innocent. To be honest… I didn’t want to face it. 

Shadow’s cold nose nudged me from sleep as I felt its cold wet roughness nuzzle against my chin.  I guess I couldn’t sleep forever, though I was suddenly willing to give it one hell of a try. 

I sat up and blinked away my exhaustion, trying to find the voice that called to me.

“He’s okay… He’s half Fey,” Aurora said reassuringly.

Aurora’s voice filled my ears, and my mind was struggling to understand.  ‘Kevin is half Fey.’  It took a moment for the words to register in my brain but, once they did, I was elated and relieved. 

The Fey are what most mortals call or identify as faeries.  Mention an elf or faerie and most people instantly envision pointed ears and winged creatures of the forest.  Actually, there are many breeds and varieties of Fey, just as there are Lycan.  The Fey have a talent for manipulating energy, specifically electricity.  They were created by the tears of the Slegna, and have diversified just like the other races, mortal and immortal.

My memories from Galen and Doris told me that the Gypsie were a branch of what most humans would today call Dark Elves.  That knowledge has either been lost, or so closely closeted away that, should anyone ever suggest such a heritage to a Gypsie in this day and age, it would be an instant invitation to battle.  No one wanted even the most remote affiliation to that Darkness… but that is another story.

“Aurora!” Daniel gave her a reproaching look, but she stared back at him, with her onyx eyes and unruly black hair, in defiance.

“It’s your fault this happened; now sit there and shut up, Little Brother,” Aurora snapped as she glared at Daniel.

“I’m so sorry.” I finally spoke, and it was the only thing I could think to say.

“Don’t be…. I am the one that called the lightning.”  I felt Bry’s body stiffen against my back as I tried to make sense of where I was.

His touch was cold and rigid, and I shivered against him.  For the first time, I felt Bry’s arms and body against mine, and they seemed like something foreign and unfamiliar.  I could just as easily have snuggled against a cemetery statue, on a late fall night, and found more comfort. 

In that instant I understood.  It wasn’t me who had called the lightning.  It was Bry.  His heart and emotions had closed off so completely, to me and everyone else, in that moment that I assumed it must have been my doing.  I didn’t know what to say, or how to feel.  Emotions were running rampant around the room and, strangely, I still could sense nothing from Bry.

I was lying on the couch in the living room, with Shadow to my side, and Bry was behind me, propping me up with my head on his lap.  Kevin knelt beside us with his brother and sister behind him.  Kevin stood, lifted his arm, and rested his hand on Bry’s shoulder.  If I thought Bry felt cold before, he seemed like absolute granite now.

“I thought you were dead.”  Bry’s voice words were cold and cruel.

“I was, but I’m not now.  Galen and Doris told me to tell you, ‘Save it for later.’”  With that, Kevin grinned and stepped away.

Bry’s chest shook with an almost imperceptible tremor and suddenly I felt heat rise within him.  My Bry was back, and the cold thing that had been beside me moments ago was gone.

I had felt this coldness before, on two occasions in our short past.  The first was when I started ‘public’ school and I had dealt with a group of bullies. The satisfaction he felt then worried me, but I dismissed it as something that had been a long time coming.  A small vengeance fulfilled via my actions, but now… I feared it was something more.  There was definitely a darker side to Bry that was beginning to surface, more and more often.  It frightened me.  I suspected then what I discovered later…  but I was in love, and it was so much easier to dismiss in those days. 

As I sat up and pulled away from Bry’s support, Shadow hopped off the couch and waited.  It was if she knew it was time for dinner, and she stared back at us, waiting.  I turned and hugged Bry, and felt waves of terror and shame flood out of him. 

Leaning forward, I whispered in his ear.  “When I am perfect, I’ll judge you.  Until then, let’s try to remember we’re human.” 

I gave Bry a quick peck on the cheek, leaned back, and smiled at him.

“So… even the mighty Druids aren’t perfect!”  Daniel sneered, and a satisfied grin formed on his face, only to be replaced by a look of shock as a loud slap sounded from the back of his head.

“Owww!  What’d ya do that for?!” Daniel whined as he cowered away from Aurora.

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I watched him brood, but I didn’t mean it to add insult to injury.  His pride had been bruised, and I felt it as surely as if it were my own.  The sensation was of a small battered thing, throbbing within my chest and aching from its latest injury.

“Please accept our apology and stay with us.  Dinner is on the table, and we’d love to have some company.”  I smiled, and hoped they’d follow as I stood and pulled Bry up from the couch.

“We’d love to,” Aurora announced in a tone that was more a command, than a reply. 

I made my way toward the kitchen, with Shadow leading the way, when I heard Aurora clear her throat.  I turned and saw that she and Daniel hadn’t moved from where they stood.

She was glaring at Daniel.  “I’m sorry.” 

Daniel’s words were barely above a whisper and resembled a moan as he stared at the floor, idly picking at his sleeve.

There was strength in Aurora that I hadn’t noticed before.  She looked as though not even an earthquake could have dislodged her from where she stood.  Their Gypsie life must have been a difficult one.  They were alone, with only one another to depend upon, and I suspected that she held the reigns to her family.  Still, behind her dark eyes, I sensed tenderness.  She loved them.  It wasn’t until then that I understood the true meaning of family, and the harsh realities that bind them together.  Before meeting them, I suppose I took too much for granted.  By comparison, until recently, I had had it so easy.  It’s a harsh lesson to learn.

“We’re sorry, too.  Now let’s eat.”  I watched as Daniel glanced at Aurora and then quickly back to the floor.  She seemed to soften and relax as she walked past her brother and toward the kitchen.

They didn’t trust us completely… that little tidbit, I could still sense, but we were making progress.  I smiled at Aurora, and turned to see Kevin already seated at the table, scooping a generous helping of Macaroni and Cheese onto his plate.  A few of the yellow macaroni seemed to jump from the spoon and land on the table, which he quickly scooped up with his hand and then fed one by one to Shadow. 

She was so gentle with him that it made me smile.  It was as though she knew how fragile he was, and took great care to gently take each delicacy from his fingers like some great prize.  Her reaction to the boy surprised me.  Had I fixed her, her own plate as usual… she would have completely wolfed it down with abandon.  Yet, here she was, completely content with the smallest of morsels.

“Seems you’ve made a friend.”  I chuckled as he raised his head and grinned at me. 

We ate quietly.  I had questions, and I knew they did too, but it seemed we had all decided they could wait until later.

Kevin finally finished his second helping of dinner and sat staring at Bry.  He seemed to be waiting for something.

“Are you going to kill him?” Kevin asked innocently, but the words carried a depth and truth that I didn’t want to acknowledge.

The room grew deathly quiet, and I gave Bry a warning glance.  “We are druid.”  I spoke before Bry could answer, and hoped that he would listen as well.

“They said that you should.  You should do it fast, before it’s too late.”  Kevin picked at a lone piece of macaroni with his fork as Shadow watched, perched calmly by his side, hoping that it might be hers.

“We are creatures of free will.  What good has ever come from death?” I asked Kevin and waited for an answer.  It seemed strange to be asking someone so young such an adult question.

Kevin shrugged and then fed his last piece of macaroni to Shadow. 

“When are you leaving?”  Kevin smiled and twirled his fingers through Shadow’s grey curls.

“Later tonight… when the moon rises, we’ll be heading out.  I think we’ve had enough of death today.”  I smile and ruffled Kevin’s hair with my hand.

As my fingers wound their way through his hair and down his cheek, I felt his magick travel up my arm, like a thick mass clinging to my skin.  It was dark and heavy, even though I couldn’t see it. 

One thing I had learned, above all else, is this.  Regardless what symbols are used, candles a person lights, or any other object for focus, it is the visualization of a thing and the focus of energy that is the true backbone of casting.  Knowing that it’s there, and directing the energy, is real magick.

I concentrated and peeled away his power from my flesh like one might shed his clothes, but it was a struggle to push it free of myself and back into his aura.  He was searching, however innocently, for an answer.  He seemed so innocent with his questions… but they weighed heavily on my mind.

I stood and cleared the table, and my thoughts drifted back to Bry.  I suppose my mind has always been pre-disposed to consider the worst possible scenario.  While I’m always hoping for the best, I have learned lately to expect the worst.  It is the way of things when you are subject to fate.  Lately.. I’d discovered that fate is one hateful bitch.

Bry and I stood side by side, as I washed, and he dried the dinner dishes.  My mind traveled along the reflections that slid across the suds that surrounded my hands.  It felt as though an ocean divided us, and loneliness gripped my heart. 

The Gypsies, as I had started referring to them in my mind, had settled in the living room, listening to music and lounging on the worn and frayed furniture.  I would have to get a television, soon.  There was no way I could expect these people to face what was coming, without some simple mindless distraction.

“I can’t promise you I won’t kill him when we arrive.”  Bry broke the silence and his words ripped me from my thoughts.

So…. It was going to be like that.  This was going to be the talk.  I had made every effort to let him know my feelings on the issue, and he was telling me that he would do as he pleased. 

At first, I didn’t know how to react, but finally decided on an answer.  “So mote it be.” 

To you mortals, that is translated. ‘So be it’ or… ‘Fine... do whatever the fuck ya’ll want.’ 

Bry didn’t say much after that.  We stood side by side, and I rinsed the last dish and handed it to him.  I pulled the drain from the sink and watched the water sink lower and lower with each metallic belch. 

“Promise me that you’ll give Asher a chance.  Let’s hear his side of things before we do anything rash.”  I tensed, and dreaded his answer.

“Anything for you, Ty,” Bry whispered, as he leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the cheek.

I turned to see him smiling back at me.  There was love in his green eyes, and I felt it rushing out to cover me like a warm blanket.  Had we more time, and if it wouldn’t have drained us of our energy, I would have raced him to our bed.  Now wasn’t the time.  My head said no, but there were parts of my body that were suddenly screaming yes.  I wanted him, desperately.  Bry trailed his fingers down my spine, slowly drifting from my neck down to my waist.  My back arched and a weak moan escaped my lips.

“Later Bry… besides they’re in the next room!”  I elbowed him in the side and giggled, hoping that we hadn’t drawn any undo attention with our play.  Just thinking about it made the heat rush to my cheeks, and I knew I was blushing.

“I suppose we should get the sleeping arrangements taken care of.  I’m sure they’re tired and would like to rest.”  I turned and looked through the doorway to find Daniel staring back at me.

He had such an ominous look on his face.  I couldn’t sense any hate or anger, but there was confusion.  He seemed to be boring holes into my body as he stared back at me.  It must be his European heritage that gave him his dark look.  The sharp curve of his jaw line promised a strong, square chin when he grew to full adulthood.  His olive skin was more than a weak tan.  It was like something earthier, that time and lack of sunlight couldn’t take away.  His rich black hair seemed to hang and fall about his face with a mind of its own, daring anyone to comb it or place some order to the mess.  And yet, it fit him perfectly.  It was long and shaggy, and almost reached his shoulders, with bangs nearly the same length, but it seemed the perfect length for his face. 

Daniel spun around and tried to hide his eyes and feign interest in a piece of frayed material on the couch beside him as we walked toward the living room.  As we entered, Kevin and Aurora turned to look at us and smiled, while Daniel sat desperately trying to ignore our arrival. 

“We need to work out the sleeping arrangements.  I’m sure you’re tired from your trip.”  I looked at them and tried to figure out just exactly how we were going to house a growing army in the days to come.

“I suppose now would be as good a time as any to explore the place that Brethren has given us,” I announced and turned to grin at Bry.

He chuckled, and nudged me with his shoulder.  “Up for a little exploring, you guys?”

“COOL!”  Kevin jumped up from where he was sitting on the floor, and almost ran the few steps it took to stand beside us.

For someone who had died at Bry’s hand, he was quick to treat it as though it had never happened, and I was awed by his ability to forgive and forget.  People say it all the time, but seldom do they actually make it a practice.

“Maybe I should go, and Kevin and Aurora should stay here until we know it’s safe.”  When Daniel finally spoke, I think it caught us all by surprise.

“I assure you that it’s safe.  All we have to do now is find the entrance, but something tells me that it’s in the basement.  Come on, let’s go,” I said, and waved them over to follow.

I’m sure that, on some level, we all sensed the power emanating from the basement, but the Gypsies had been too polite to ask, and I was glad for it.  Neither Bry nor I had an honest answer.  We simply hadn’t had the time to find out, yet, how the new power, pushing from the floor below, was connected to the stronghold Brethren had created for us.  I don’t know for sure how I knew it was out there either, other than Galen’s words… ‘Use the place that Brethren has provided you.’  With it came the knowledge that something was there, but he had left out one small detail... how to get in.

Bry and I turned and walked through the kitchen to the steps that led down into the basement.  I paused at the top of the stairs, half tempted to go through the door that led outside.  I could hear Kent’s complaints about having to do laundry, so loudly in my memory, that I could almost see his pathetic puppy dog look as he moped down the steps, laundry basket in hand.

I felt Bry’s familiar touch on my shoulder, and wondered how long I had lingered there in that memory.  “You okay?”

“Yeah… just old ghosts.  Let’s go,” I said, as I flipped the light switch on the wall and started down the stairs.

I had only gone down a couple of steps, when I realized it was only my feet I heard shuffling along the wood.  I looked up to find them all staring back at me with a strange wide-eyed terror.

“Memories… just fond memories… now come on.”  I chuckled and started back down the stairs.

There was no missing the energy in the air.  The magick was so thick it was difficult to breathe, and I paused with only a couple of steps to go before I reached the bottom.  Warmth swirled around and pressed in on me as though we had somehow changed the air pressure.  I forced myself to take the final steps down, and moved a couple of feet forward to make room for the others.  Glancing back, I saw that they seemed as affected as I was by the dense magick in the air.

“Wow… it’s sooo pretty!”  Kevin was the first to speak as he walked further into the basement, gazing around in awe like someone might at an elaborate fireworks display.

Seeing aura and seeing magick are two very different things.  Everything has aura, be it a rock, plant, or person.  Even a mortal human can learn to see an aura if they give it enough effort and practice.  Magick, or the direction of energy, is quite different.  I am not Fey, and I know it is their talent to sense and perceive power in this way.  At some point Galen, or Doris was given the explanation eons ago, and I had the memory of it.  Somehow, I suspected that witnessing it was completely different from the explanation.  I guess you could liken it to explaining what cheese tastes like to a four year old.

The basement, for lack of a better word, was more of a cellar than anything.  It seemed an afterthought that bricks had been laid and they bowed in slightly here and there as tree roots claimed space in the earth just outside.  It had been refinished some time back, but still the ceiling lay exposed and you could look up and see the water pipes and electrical wires that serviced the rest of the house.  The concrete floor was covered with a nice, ambiguous, brown speckled tile that did more to hide the dirt than it did to accent the décor. 

The walls were bare and old red brick surrounded us on every side.  To the immediate left, after coming down the stairs, was a seldom used bathroom and shower sectioned off by dingy brown paneling and matching trim.  It was functional… but not pretty by any means.  Further ahead were the wash area and furnace. 

Beside the furnace stood our washer and dryer and the place of Uncle Kent’s torment.  I could almost hear the subtle bitching that accompanied every day that he found himself in front of it. 

It was clean, for a basement, but definitely not what I would have ever called pretty.  Now the room swelled with power, and I was reaching out with my own energy in search of an entrance.

Kevin continued to walk ahead of us and stood staring at the far wall.  “Where’s this door go?”

He leaned forward and, before any of us had a chance to call to him or warn him away, a section of brick the height and width of a door slid open without a sound.  As it opened outward, we all rushed forward to Kevin’s side.  Aurora was the first to reach him.  She pulled him back as if saving him from an oncoming car.

Before us lay a long, lit corridor that went in the direction of our sacred circle of trees.  I know the passage was underground but what amazed me was that it was lit.  Orbs of power lined the ceiling every few feet and the corridor seemed to slope downward for a quarter of a mile.

“Well, let’s go.” I started walking down the long corridor and marveled at how smooth the stone surfaces were. 

This area of Illinois is known more for it’s remnants of coal than it is any vast deposit of other stone, yet the walls, floor, and ceiling were lined with the smoothest stone and were completely seamless.  The place didn’t seem built at all.  Somehow, it had grown here, if such a thing were possible.  With magick however, I suppose nearly anything is possible.   I’d seen too much, these past few weeks, to believe otherwise.

Bry rushed to join me and walked by my side.  We would explore this place together.  I reached out my hand to hold his without thinking, and the sudden touch of his skin surprised me.  I hadn’t really thought about reaching for him but the sudden sensation of his flesh against mine was a welcome addition.  I’m sure it was a little odd for the Gypsies to see our display of affection but, if we were going to be living together, they would have to get used to seeing a lot of strange things.  This place was going to be filling up quickly and with such a wild assortment of creatures and people that it boggled my mind.  The idea excited and scared me at the same time.  How would we feed them?  How many bathrooms are there down here?  Are there bathrooms down here?  The endless questions almost made my head hurt.

Suddenly, a doorway appeared on the left.  A pinpoint of light started at the top, in the center, and grew outward in both directions as if drawing it on the grey stone.  It continued outward, and then down until the door’s shape was finished and a handle appeared.  We stopped and just stared for a few moments, until Kevin squeezed through us and grabbed the door handle.

“Sorry, I gotta go.”  With that, he turned the knob and pushed the door open.  It looked like stone, but yet modern, and I wondered how he had the strength to push something so heavy with apparent ease.

Magick… it was simple…  Or not so simple.  Somehow this place had sensed Kevin’s need, and provided for him.  A few minutes passed, and the door opened. 

“Anyone else gotta go?” Kevin smiled as he wormed his way back through us to his sister’s side.

We each took our turn in the ‘facility’ before we continued on.  I suppose at least one of my questions had been answered.  The plumbing was modern, but again there was no real sense of electricity.  The light source was a ball of power overhead, floating motionless against the ceiling.  The toilet, sink, and shower/bathtub were all white.  Normally they wouldn’t have stood out, but the grey and white marbled stone walls, floor, and ceiling accented them in such a way that it looked almost too modern.  It was immaculate in every sense of the word, but… not home.  There were no personal touches to the room and it felt strangely foreign.

My thoughts instantly turned to regret, as a framed picture appeared on the wall above the toilet.  It was of Kent and Mark, arm in arm, leaning against each other in front of the family truck they had bought so long ago.  They were younger and, of course, even more handsome with the energy youth can bring, but it tore at my heart.  I stared at the photo and felt my chest tighten.  When could it have been… ten years ago?  I remember the day Kent came barreling up the driveway, with a big grin on his face as he sat behind the steering wheel.  He seemed to think that truck could climb the tallest mountain.  I missed them so much.  A familiar burning started in my eyes, and I took a deep breath to fight the sorrow.  The picture started to fade away.

“NO!  I want to see them!”  I spoke the words aloud. I suppose I was talking to Brethren as much as anyone.  As fast as the picture began to fade away, it reappeared. 

There were too many memories, and I loved the uncles deeply.  I always will and, strangely enough, Brethren had gotten this one touch of home perfectly.  I suppose it was just too close to my heart, and I wasn’t prepared for it.  I stared at the white and grey swirled stone floor and smiled.  We had such a long way to go, and so much to do that I couldn’t help but chuckle and shake my head.  What else is there to do, when you are swept up in the currents of life and racing toward your future?  In my opinion… hold on tight.

We finished, and continued our way down the hallway leading to what I figured would be a much larger chamber.  I knew that, if there were going to be that many people coming, we would need a massive hall to meet in.

What we found wasn’t what I expected.  I had a coliseum in my mind.  It was anything but.  There were no rising rows of chairs like you might find in a theatre.  Instead, there was only one raised balcony, upon which someone might address the masses standing on the flat floor below.

I had anticipated an area devoid of even the first traveler, but instead found a throng of people growing in size by the second.  As we stepped out from under the ancient arch overhead, the people paused, and a sweeping silence surged through the crowd.  I recognized many of the faces, but most were complete strangers. 

Galen and Dorianna’s memories told me who the oldest of the crowd were as we continued forward.  The many creatures of time stepped back and let us pass, as though we were a parade and something to be stared at.

The space into which we stepped was so large I had to stop and stare.  It was massive.  It seemed as though someone had dug out a cavern for the largest football stadium, then tripled it and set it beneath my feet.  The ceiling rose so far it was out of sight and disappeared into shadows without shapes.  An ominous black covered the ceiling as if darkness itself had found a home. 

The crowd parted as we passed, and then seemed to swallow our retreat as we continued on.  So many creatures and beings were present that I didn’t dare try and catalog them all as we moved toward the raised balcony ahead.  I felt their gaze against my skin like weights, dangling and pulling against me, as we walked.

From this distance, the balcony looked like a small stone shelf jutting out from the far wall, barely set above the crowed below.  It was at least a mile or more away, and I knew that the distance hid its true dimensions.     

They were all here; the Troll, Goblin, Vampire, Gypsie, Nephillim, Lycan, Grigori, Fey, and so on.  Each race was arriving, and with them the crowd grew before our eyes.  A large orb of light sat in the center of the throng of people which pulsed and spit out another creature with each flash of light.  A bright blink of white light surrounded us and, moments later, we found ourselves standing on the balcony staring out at the growing mass of creatures.

Looking out, I could barely see the stone walls that surrounded us, as every set of eyes stared up, searching for something or someone I wasn’t sure existed.  I had to wonder… what ever made me think we could lead these people to war?  This had never been my intention, or even my slightest concern, when I took my first unsure steps to public school only weeks before.  Now…. we stood on a stone ledge, in front of hundreds of eyes begging some form of guidance.  The weight of their stare seemed to press against my chest, and I couldn’t breathe.  Part of me wanted to run, while another wanted to plant my feet on the floor and make some grand speech.  I suddenly felt as though my feet had been nailed in place.

Bry stepped forward, and spoke.

“Good eve, good people.  I am Bry.  The one I love, who stands beside me, is called Ty.  The three dark haired ones are Aurora, Kevin, and Daniel.”  Bry indicated each of us with a raised hand as he announced our names.

“We are the Fey!” Bry yelled, and raised his arms to the ceiling.  A cheer roared out from the crowd.

“We are the Lycan!” Another cheer shattered my thoughts, as arms raised and I stared out at the throng of people.

“We are the creatures of the ‘other’ world.”  The masses roared and cheered, to the point I feared a riot might break out.

It was then that I stepped forward, and words I didn’t know found their way past my lips.

“Welcome to Brethren.  Here…. we are all equal and one people.” A low murmur traveled into the darkest corners of the room.

I knew a hierarchy existed amongst the clans.  It has always been that way.  One race has always thought itself better than another.

“You have answered ‘The Call’.  Many of us will die, but on the battlefield we will die as equals.  No one life is of more value than another.  If you wish to leave, that is your choice,” I announced loudly.  Thankfully, the acoustics of the area didn’t require me to yell.  It seemed as though this stone amphitheatre was created specifically for the purpose of public announcement and rallies.

Several gnolls, giant-kin, and other varied members of different races turned toward the portal to leave.

“Listen to me!”  My cry sounded almost desperate, and I wanted to kick myself for the weakness and desperate tone I couldn’t hide.  “Please consider this.  You may turn your back on me, and these other fine people, but you also turn your back on your homes.  Without everyone’s help, the Earth will fall.  There will be nothing left of the homes you race back to now.  Your friends, families, and all that you have strived for over the millennia will be destroyed.  Turn away now… and you turn on them as well.”  Those that had started to leave stopped and turned.

“I am not so foolish to think that we will all come out of this alive… but if we pull together, some of us may be lucky enough to return to our lives and loved ones, knowing we made the difference.” I continued on, knowing I had everyone’s attention.

“There is room enough here for everyone.  Brethren will provide for your needs and the needs of your families.  For those of you who choose to stay, the lower levels are off-limits.  Berserkers and creatures from darker times reside there. 

Beserkers are difficult to describe.  I haven’t honestly seen one before, but Bry and I had Galen and Dorrianna’s memories, or at least a good portion of them.  Beserkers are frightful beasts and the remnants of older times, before man became the dominant species on the planet.  While coming face to face with a lion might scare the piss out of you, meeting a Spiked Trokis or a Slithering Weka would probably cause most to die on the spot from sheer fright.  Even if you had the strength of will to turn and run, your life expectancy would only be a fraction of a second longer.

I’m sure my inherited memories do little justice to how fearsome and horrible these things truly are.  Some still ask why all of these creatures weren’t moved behind the veil, along with the darker things of those times.  The answer is simple.  Some were, but some were not.  They are wild things, and have no true malicious intent.  It would be the same to ban all bears or elephants to that place.  Sure, they could kill you just as easily, but that generally didn’t happen until they decided you were their next meal.  If it had been decided that creatures were to be put behind the veil based on their ability to kill, man would have been put away with the rest of them long ago.  I can’t think of a more ferocious, malevolent being, than what we have become in this day and age.

I wasn’t sure how long I was lost in my thoughts, but hearing Bry speak nearly made me jump out of my skin.

“Please use tonight to settle into your new home.  Bring those you love and trust to join you.  Be warned… we are not sure what wards are in place to safeguard us, so try to keep your actions as peaceful as possible.  Have a good night, and welcome to Brethren,” Bry called out to the people, and then made a slight bow, as if to signify that we were finished speaking.

“What gives you the right to lead?”  A low but strong voice called out from the crowd below.

There was a strange sensation.  It wasn’t so much what the creature said, but the power that rushed up with the words, and crawled along my skin like a thousand pin pricks.  Each was warm and sharp, and threatened to steal my breath away.  A sense of dread filled my being like some dark cloud had just blocked out the sun.

An area opened in the crowd below, and grew wider by the second as creatures of every race backed away from a small woman.  Her skin was pale, beyond the color of someone lost from the sun.  It was opalescent, and seemed to dance with rainbow colors as the light and shadow shifted.  Her hair was white and hung low below her waist.  She stared up at us, and I felt her power pour over us like nothing I had ever experienced.  She was a petite and frail looking creature, but I knew instantly that she was much more than she appeared.  There was something familiar about the large, almond shaped, gold glowing eyes staring up at us that triggered a memory that I couldn’t quite grasp.  Something in the back of my mind started screaming, but I couldn’t find or place the memory.  My thoughts were clouded, and I knew that the magick pouring out of her was the cause, though I couldn’t seem to do anything to fight against it.

“I, Lillith, invoke the old law.  As is the right of anyone within these walls, I challenge you, Bry… to a duel for the leadership of Brethren.”  Her voice was sharp, like broken glass and delicate bells, but sounded so much more shattered.   My skin became a rush of goose bumps, and I shivered.

To be continued...
 

Posted: 01/04/08