Modern Monsters Ch. 13&14

Chapter Thirteen:
Gathering Friends.

“Friends are a good thing to have when things get tough.”
— Words to the Wise

DAMIEN

NEW PLYMOUTH. Such a small city and full of non-Magyck users. It was a wonder any Magyck users had chosen this place to live after graduating from the Academy. Oh well, that was the MacCormin family. Mr. and Mrs. MacCormin wandered the Magyck Community looking for orphaned or unwanted creatures. Normally, once the adopted ones graduated from the Academy, they moved out. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule. Inside the brick house I stared at, two were such an exception I needed to meet with.

         Taking a deep breath, I straightened my shoulders and walked up the dirt drive, a look of determination etched on my features. Before I could knock, Mrs. MacCormin opened the door, a pleasant smile appearing on her joyful face.

         “Well, if it isn’t Damien Little! How good to see you! When was the last time we saw each other?” she chirped, ushering me inside.

         “Since Rain graduated,” I answered. Mrs. MacCormin shut the door behind me and led me to the large living room furnished with a mixture of couches, lazy boys, and hard rocking chairs.

         “Well, I’m glad you were able to get away for a while and visit. Aren’t you still attending the Academy?”

         “The Academy has been disbanded until further notice.” Being out in the middle of nowhere with no other Magyck Communities close by, the MacCormin family had a tendency to be behind in the latest news.

         “What?” she cried, halting.

         “There was an attack on the school, so the HeadMistress evacuated it.” Mrs. MacCormin didn’t need to know the details.

         “That’s terrible news. I hope everyone’s all right.”

         “There were a few causalities, but other than that, everyone got out safely.”

         “Is that why you came here? Are you wanting to stay with us as you once did after your Aunt died?”

         “No,” I replied. “I’ve come to have a chat with Rain and Divinity.”

         “I’m sorry, but they’re at school right now. They’ll be back around four.”

         “I can’t wait that long. I must be on my way as soon as possible. Can you show me the way to their high school?”

         “May I know why you wish to see them?” she asked, her voice growing serious.

         “I need help with a job, and they owe me,” I answered simply.

         “Will you be taking them out of school again?”

         “If they wish to accompany me, then yes.”

         “Figures,” Mrs. MacCormin sighed. “They’ve barely been there for a month and already they have a chance to dropout. Again.”

         “What do you mean again?”

         “Oh, you know, Divinity. She has such problems getting along with humans.”

         I smiled knowingly. “Oh yes, I can imagine. Now, could you show me the way?”

         Nodding, she stretched out her hand and placed it on my forehead. A picture of a one-story building filled my mind’s eye. Moving down the freshman hall, she showed me a section of the parking lot used by the seniors and teachers.

         “This is Divinity’s car. Cast a spell making any who might see you think you drove her car after you’ve teleported. Walk down the freshman hallway and go into the office. Tell the secretary you’re their older brother there to pick them up since I’m sick and Mr. MacCormin is at work. Got it?”

         I nodded as she removed her hand.

         “It was nice seeing you again Damien. I hope everything goes all right.”

         “Thank you,” I said bowing deeply. “I promise to protect your children as best I can.” Without another word, I took the picture of New Plymouth High School, home of the Pilgrims, firmly in my mind and teleported.

         Stumbling on my landing, — I never had been very good at the teleporting thing — I quickly cast the spell before heading toward the blue freshman door. Walking down the hall, I passed lockers in alternating colors of blue and cream and doors to classrooms filled with students either looking attentively at the teacher, or asleep out of sheer boredom.

         I passed the bathrooms and came to one of the offices’ doors. Entering, I waited for one of the secretaries to acknowledge my presence. The one sitting closest to the window which faced the door to the library finally looked up.

         “May I help you?” she asked politely, batting eyelashes with too much mascara as she took in my features. I was glad I’d decided to wear my shoulder length hair down; it helped to hide my pointed ears.

         “Yes. I’m here to get Divinity and Rain MacCormin. I’m their older brother Damien.”

         “Is Mrs. MacCormin not feeling well today?” she inquired following my silent prompting to ask the question.

         “Yes,” I repeated.

         “Please a wait a moment.” The secretary picked up the phone on her desk and pushed one of the buttons. Her voice rang in the halls. “Divinity and Rain MacCormin, please come to the office. Divinity and Rain MacCormin, to the office.”

         Turning my back pointedly on the women, I waited for my “sisters” to arrive. About three minutes later, Divinity arrived with Rain in tow.

         “Damien!” she cried delightedly, her shocking violet eyes lighting with glee.

         “Let’s go,” I said before she could strike up a conversation in front of the bewildered secretaries.

         “What brings you to this Magyck deprived, one horse town?” Divinity asked as we walked toward her car.

         I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. She absently twirled a small dagger between her fingers with expertise. Her stunning white hair, cut differently then the last time I’d seen her, fell slightly past her eyes before growing short and spiky in the back. A thin ponytail of hair the same length it used to be was tied at the nape of her neck and extended down nearly to her waist. Perched precariously on her head, her black hat seemed it would fall off every time she moved her head. Her pointed ears were hidden from view on the first plane as well as her sharp fangs.

         “We’ll discuss it in the car,” I finally answered. Teleporting as much as I had today was really starting to put a strain on my Magyck reserves.

         “Why aren’t you at school, Damien?” Rain asked, speaking for the first time. Her bright blue, almost glowing eyes stared at me with concern. She knew something was off. She brushed her black hair out of her face with an absent hand and continued to watch me.

         I refused to say another word until we got in the car. Only after the doors were shut, the engine on, and we were driving down the road did I reply.

         “HeadMistress Cooper shut the school down,” I began.

         “What?!” Rain cried.

         “Are you serious?”

         “Yes. Somehow, an agent of the Dark side got into the school and murdered Professor Sorcerer Sage and the Minor Freshman Spell-Weaver class. Cooper thought the only way to keep everyone safe was to evacuate the Academy. Everyone is now, hopefully, back at home.”

         “Why aren’t you at home then?” Divinity inquired, watching me longer than she watched the road.

         “The HeadMistress sent me on a mission to gather people who’d be willing to help protect Lumena.”

         “Lumena’s been found then?”

         “Yes. According to Cooper, she is residing within someone named Clair, and the link is unusually strong in her.”

         “And where is this Clair if no one’s left at the school?”

         “I can’t tell you unless you’re going to come with me,” I said looking both in the face. They had dropped their hidden features and looked as they always had since they been born. Rain’s wolf ears twitched in the cool wind streaming through the open driver’s window. Her fluffy black tail was curled up and around her right leg as she petted it with her clawed hands.

         I returned my gaze to Divinity and blinked. Her pale skin was blinding in the fall sunshine.

         “And why do you want us to help you?” Divinity questioned.

         “You owe me,” I answered.

         “I don’t even know this Clair woman. Why should I be bothered about her?”

         “You owe me.”

         She was silent at my obvious anger.

         “Will the job be hard?” Rain inquired.

         I turned my head toward her. “I’m not sure. It could be.”

         “Now that’s the kind of thing I like to hear!” Divinity cried. “It’s fun not knowing what’s going to happen. Besides, I’m bored. I don’t want to go through human high school again. My butt hurts from all the years of sitting in those so called chairs of theirs’.”

         “So that means you’ll come with me?” I said controlling my features so I wouldn’t smile at her sarcasm.

         Divinity looked at Rain through the rearview mirror. “What do you think? Should we give this poor excuse of a man our help?”

         “I’m in if you’re in,” was her response.

         “Then I guess you’ve got our help,” Divinity said looking at me.

         “Can we stop by the house first to get supplies?” Rain asked.

         “As long as you hurry,” I replied.

CLAIRYSSAH
I

“I THINK WE SHOULD GO TO CENTRAL Park. It’s the safest place to be until we can figure this situation out we’ve gotten ourselves into,” Matthew said as we mingled with the crowd in Time Square.

         I weaved through the people trying to ignore their conversations and thoughts which tried to force their way into my mind. Will there be fewer people? I asked wearily.

         “They won’t be so close to us, if that’s what you mean.”

         Then let’s go.

         Matthew led the way as he entered a stream of people. After an unknowable length of time, we entered a quiet area of Central Park. When we came to the first bench not occupied, Matthew sat before me.

         Now what are we going to do? I inquired keeping my words quiet so the people passing us wouldn’t hear.

         “We need to get back.”

         But I don’t know how I did what I did. I don’t think it was teleporting.

         “It wasn’t. It’s called time jumping.”

         Time jumping? What does that mean?

         “A time jumper is someone who can move through time as easily as others can teleport. From what I know, there have been very few creatures that could time jump. The last one died thirty years ago, and that was because he disappeared and was never heard from again.”

         I stared off into the distance and let my senses go. I would never let someone sneak up on us again, not while I had the ability to sense what happened in a radius even I didn’t know the extent of yet. I needed to do some experimentation with it to see what its capabilities were. About twenty feet from the bench we sat on, a group of people stood talking in low voices. I kept out of their circle so I wouldn’t hear what they were saying. Behind us, another group of people chatted.

         Matthew was still talking, so I returned my attention to him. “What can you remember about what you did while you time jumped?” he asked.

         Well, we were in the water —, I began.

         “That’s it! The key to triggering your time jumping is water!”

         I nodded vaguely. I felt too exposed out here.

MATTHEW
II

I WAS ECSTATIC WITH JOY AT THIS. The last time jumper had had to use his own blood in order to invoke his power. This made everything so much easier on both of us.

         I was so deep in thought I didn’t realize we were surrounded by a group of mixed species until one of them spoke, his deep voice ringing over the soft babbling of humans walking by.

         “Hey sweet cakes, what are you doing out here with a lowlife like him?”

         Clair lifted her head to glare at him. “That’s none of your business,” she snapped. “And don’t call me that.”

         “Ah, come now. I’m just watching out for you. You know that’s a Vamgoyle, don’t you?”

         “What do you want?” I growled, my crimson eyes flashing with rage.

         “We weren’t talking to you!” another creature yelled, her black eyes lighting with hate.

         “X, relax, we’ll deal with him in a moment. First we need to get this nice lookin’ lady out of the way.”

         “I’m not going anywhere.”

         All eyes turned on Clair. Clearly they’d never had someone stand up to them with such vehemence.

         “Well, if she wants to watch, then she can,” another male said.

         “And what do you think you’re going to do?” Clair asked her voice filling with suppressed anger.

         “K, would you like the honor of telling her what we do for a living?”

         “We hunt Vampires,” he replied.

         “They’re nothing more than vermin and vermin should be cleansed from the Earth.”

         “A bloodsucker killed my Bobby!”

         “And my wife!”

         Others shouted the crimes committed against them until it was impossible to decipher a coherent word from the group.

         “Let’s get it over with!” a man’s voice yelled over the cries of the others.

         I grabbed Clair’s arm as they leaped at us. As I pulled her closer, there was a flash of steel as I teleported. Clair’s scream of pain told me I hadn’t been quick enough.

DAMIEN
III

THURSDAY MORNING DAWNED RAINY AND COOL. After a brief argument on when we’d leave, Divinity and Rain had persuaded me to spend a restful night in a good bed in one of the rooms shared by the MacCormin boys. Though half of them snored and the others talked in their sleep, I’d gotten enough rest to last me a week if it came down to that.

         “Rise and shine!” Divinity’s voiced shouted in the still dark room. Yeah, so I may have gotten a good rest, but waking up to someone who doesn’t even sleep and thinks everyone else shouldn’t isn’t the best way to go, especially since I don’t like the rain and cold.

         There were groans as my temporary roommates got out of bed and got ready for school. Glancing at my watch I realized it was only five. How early did their bus come to pick them up? Sighing, I got up and let the blanket fall to the floor. It was only then that I remembered there was a girl in the room and I was only in my underwear.

         “Out!” I yelled. Divinity burst into laughter as my face turned bright red. This was why I’d locked my doors at the Academy, so things like this wouldn’t happen. Before I could find something hard enough to throw at her, which probably would have been the bed, she turned gracefully on her heel and was gone in a flash, almost faster than I could watch.

         “Don’t worry mate. It’s happened to the best of us,” a Dii-myn a little younger then me by a few years said as his left wing stretched toward the ceiling and the other stayed flat against his back.

         I growled in response. Dragging my robe over my head, I left to gather Rain and Divinity.

         “Let’s go, now,” I said just as Mrs. MacCormin was setting the table.

         “Oh no you don’t. No one leaves this house until after they’ve eaten something. And only after!” Mrs. MacCormin said taking me by the shoulder and shoving me into one of the fifteen mismatched chairs placed around the huge dining table.

         I resigned myself to eating a small amount of the mountain of food she had prepared for her adopted kids and husband. After Rain had wolfed three large helpings of breakfast into her system and I’d had a medium sized helping of one, — Divinity was unable to eat human food as it didn’t go well with her system — we left the house with many goodbyes to the others and hugs and kisses from Mrs. MacCormin.

         I grumbled as water dripped down my robe making me shiver.

         “Hey, it could be worse,” Divinity stated, “It could be foggy and rainy.”

         “Let’s just get out of here before I really get mad.”

         “I think he is mad,” she whispered to Rain so that I could hear. “You’d have to be crazy in order to seek the help of a crazed Vampire and a pup of a Werewolf.”

         I glared at her. Silently, I held my hand out in front of me and slowly gathered a small amount of Magyck. Before I teleported, Divinity and Rain grabbed my hand and we partner-teleported to Washington D.C.

         “Who are we going to try and have join us?” Rain asked releasing my hand.

         “Damien Carter,” I replied.

         “What?! Why him? He’s not even good at anything! Surely there are better people who would be of more use then him.”

         “He’s one of us and I would trust him with my life.”

         “So, since he has the same name as you, how are we going to get your attention? Are you going to be Damien 1 and 2? Hey, if you are, then we could call you guys Thing 1 and Thing 2!” Divinity practically sang. She was enjoying herself way too much.

         “No!” I snapped. I turned my back on her before I could be tempted to use my Magyck and tear a chunk of asphalt out of the road and smash it against her head. Being in the same group with her was going to give me a headache everyday if I wasn’t careful. Leading the way, I brought them to a large modern-day house with cream colored paint and a shingled roof. Since the time was two hours ahead from the time in New Plymouth, Idaho, the sun was already up and people were on their way to work. Walking up the concrete sidewalk, I knocked on the door. Mr. Carter opened it after my third knock.

         “Sorcerer Little!” he said in surprise. “What brings you here? I thought you were still attending the Academy.”

         I told him the same thing I had Mrs. MacCormin. His reaction was similar to hers. “I need to speak with Damien,” I finished as Mr. Carter showed us inside.

         “Damien! You have visitors! Hurry up and get down here!” he yelled up the stairs.

         “Coming!” a faint voice called. There was a lot of thumping as someone rushed to finish getting ready. Nearly a minute later, Damien came flying down the stairs.

         “Sorcerer Little!” Damien cried grabbing my hand and shaking it vigorously. “What brings you here on this fine day?”

         “I need your help,” I answered looking him in the eye.

         He leaned back with my abruptness. “What kind of help?”

         “Protecting someone.”

         “Well, you’ll have to give me more information than that.”

         “Lumena has been found,” I replied in his mind.

         His eyes widened.

         “So will you help us?” I asked when he failed to say anything.

         “Yes.”

         “Good! Then let’s go! This business of getting people’s help is so boring. Let’s go meet this person and start protecting her!” Divinity declared, getting to her feet.

         We said our goodbyes to Mr. Carter who wished his son good luck on his new job. “Hopefully this one will be able to keep your attention longer than your other jobs,” he said, giving his son a hug.

         “We’ll just have to see,” Damien stated with a smile.

Chapter Fourteen:
Gathering Fright.

“Being frightened isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes it can even help to serve you.”
— Words to the Wise

KURO

“I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM. It’s like they’ve disappeared from the face of the earth,” I said.

         “Well, keep searching. I will not lose Lumena after waiting all these centuries to finally get what I deserve,” Nekarro swore, rising from his chair and coming to stand next to me.

         “I will search to the ends of the earth if I must,” I declared.

         “I know you will, my sweet black flower,” he whispered against my ear making me shiver. “Damika!” he called, breaking my moment of bliss.

         Damika entered through a side door and sauntered over to Nekarro, her silver eyes shifting to gold in a blink.

         “Yes?”

         “Tell the Hunters to broaden their search. Anyone who has a connection to Matthew, any kind of connection, kill them. Make it so the impure races of Vampires, Werewolves, Vamgoyles, and any other half breeds are gone from this world once and for all.”

         “As you wish, Master,” she said dropping to a knee and bowing.

MATTHEW
I

GENTLY, I LAID CLAIR DOWN ON THE springy fall grass, her head supported by piled leaves and other plants. Kii-harrah struggled out of her pocket and watched Clair with fear lighting her eyes. I knew exactly how she felt. Already, the poison the knife had been coated with was taking affect. Clair was fading in and out of consciousness and I had no idea of what to do. Pushing my doubts to the back of my mind, I tried to think of a plan.

         “First, I need to take the knife out,” I muttered to myself trying to keep my head. Bracing myself for the smell, I ripped Clair’s blood-soaked, poison-coated sleeve above the wound and threw it to the side, already forgotten. “I’m sorry Clair, but this is going to hurt,” I murmured. I grasped the handle firmly and pulled it out. A spurt of blood mixed with poison dribbled down her pale arm.

         Now what? I wondered silently. Gazing at the wound, I didn’t know what to do.

         “Suck ... the poison ... out,” Clair whispered weakly as she surfaced from the darkness once more.

         “But I could kill you!” I cried. But I didn’t have another choice. She was right; it was the only possible solution to save her. Even though the poison in her was meant for Vampires and Werewolves and creatures like me, it was able to hurt her because of the venom I’d injected into her when I’d bitten her. And the poison was fast moving and resistant to healing so even if I called Míane, she wouldn’t be able to do anything.

         Throwing my fears to the side, I firmly gripped Clair’s arm and sank my fangs into the bloody cut. My mouth filled instantly with her tainted blood. I wanted to stop, but I knew if I did it would kill Clair if I did. Taking as much blood into my mouth as I could, I lifted my head and spat the poison infested liquid onto the ground where it fizzled, killing the plants it landed on. Though it had been made for killing my kind, this poison was exceptionally strong.

         Bowing my head to her arm again, I took another mouthful, spat it out, took another and spat that out as well and kept it up until I couldn’t taste any more poison. My mouth burned from the toxin. It felt as if the taste of it would stay with me for the rest of my life. Gazing down at Clair in the moonlight, I watched her shallow breathing before I ripped a long strip off my clean robe hem for a bandage for Clair’s arm. She’d fallen unconscious again. I felt her cheek; she was freezing cold. Holding her close, I used my wings to try and warm her since she was too weak to warm herself.

         The night slowly wore on and Clair didn’t make any improvement, instead she got worse. It seemed I hadn’t been fast enough in getting rid of the poison. She burned with fever in my arms. I needed blankets, but I had no idea if my Kaemyns would be able to find me, so I had to make do with my wings as the only thing to try and make Clair sweat the fever out. To make matters worse, with how far the toxin had spread, I’d been forced to take a dangerous amount of blood, almost to the point where Clair would die if I took any more.

         She needed to go to the hospital, but there were too many factors preventing us from going. With the Dark side searching for us around every corner and me being a Vamgoyle, I couldn’t exactly walk into a building full of humans. Besides, I wasn’t sure if Clair would be able to survive the teleporting since it normally took a lot out of someone even if all they did was partner-teleport.

         That left me with one choice. One that could make drastic changes to the one I loved. But I didn’t have a choice. I made sure my wings were still around her as I let go with my left hand. Using my fangs, I scraped a gash across my wrist. Blood welled and slowly dripped down my arm. Putting it to Clair’s mouth, I gently pried her lips open and let my blood trickle into her. It just dribbled out of the corner of her mouth and seeped down her chin to the ground below.

         There was nothing else for it. Putting my wrist back to my lips, I sucked blood into my mouth until I couldn’t hold another drop. I didn’t even know of this was going to work. Bending down, I placed my lips gently against hers and parted them to let my blood slowly pour into her. I was the only one around. If her body didn’t accept my blood, I would have no choice but to try and take her to a hospital and hope she would live through the teleporting. The risk against her was too great. I would rather give her all the blood within me then try and take her though a teleporting.

         At first, the blood did the same thing it had when I’d held my wrist to her lips, so I let more leak through my teeth. She subconsciously swallowed so she could breathe. Pausing to fill my mouth again, I looked her over to see if anything had changed. Of course after only one mouthful, nothing had. I shoved my musings to the side and focused solely on the task of transferring my blood to Clair.

         I lost count of how many times I bent my head to her lips. My mouth was numb with the taste of blood. I wanted to stop, but I dared not until Clair showed some kind of improvement. Stopping for a short break, I checked her again. Her face wasn’t so pale and her breathing so shallow and her fever was completely gone. I absently wiped a streak of blood from her face with my hand before continuing in the hopes that I could give her enough of my blood to replenish what I had been forced to take.

         As I bent to fill her mouth for the third time since my short pause, Clair’s eyes snapped open. I nearly swallowed the blood from shock. Before I was able to pull back, Clair’s hands snaked behind my head and pulled me closer. Planting her mouth firmly against mine, she forced my lips apart. Blood poured into her mouth which she greedily sucked until there was none left. It was as if a demon had taken over. I didn’t even know if she was consciously awake or if it was some primal instinct that allowed her to move.

         When she failed to get anymore from my empty mouth, she broke her angry kiss and attacked my wrist. I was mesmerized by the sight of her partaking my blood. I didn’t even feel the pain. I didn’t want her to stop; however, I could feel my strength getting dangerously low. As Clair showed signs of being able to accept my blood, I needed to stop her before she sucked me dry.

         I was about to gently pry Clair off my arm when she released me of her own accord. I watched in horror as she went rigid. Her mouth opened in a silent scream. My ears bled with the force of the sound filling my mind as her cry sought a place to go since it couldn’t escape her lips. I thrust myself away from Clair, trying to find relief from the screeching. As I lurched to my feet, the seemingly endless scream stopped. I stared in amazement as her blonde hair turned raven. Strands of it shot out of her head to fall gently around her chin as if she’d somehow put months of hair growing into a few short seconds. Her fingernails grew into sharp claws before disappearing and reappearing over and over. Fangs showed at the corner of her lips then vanished and emerged repeatedly. Her skin paled until she was nearly the same shade as a Vampire.

         And then she shut her eyes and succumbed to the darkness once more. Her claws and fangs slowly retracted as sleep took her. When she made no signs of movement, I slowly shifted to kneel next to her. I settle to wait for her to wake even if I had to wait until I dropped from exhaustion.
Tuesday morning dawned and passed. The entire time I sat with Clair’s head resting on my knees. As the night crept on, I thought of a variety of things ranging from what I needed to teach her and what kind of things we could do with her ability to time jump.

         Wednesday morning’s sun rose to a blanket of clouds hiding it from view. Around nine, the rain started. At first it was just a light sprinkle, then, as the day progressed, it steadily became harder until it was raining cats and dogs. I was too weak to use my power to keep the rain off us, so I hunched my shoulders and kept Clair pressed against me under the protection of my wings. In that way I was able to keep her dry.

         As midnight came and went, I found it increasingly more difficult to stay awake. I pinched myself every time I felt my eyes droop. After a very long twenty minutes, my body finally got what it wanted. I drifted off to sleep with Clair as the last thought that ran through my mind.

CLAIRYSSAH
II

IT SEEMED I FLOATED FOREVER IN THE dark place. I couldn’t feel anything even with my strange ability to see things where ever they might be. I struggled to gain some sort of sense of direction; it was to no avail. Radom thoughts drifted across my mind. I thought of the time when I was ten and a strange man had followed me home and tried to come inside. Thankfully my mom and been awake when I came home and called the cops as the man walked around the house looking for a way in. He’d been a registered sex offender and his prey normally centered on girls aging eight to twelve. As the memory faded, the parade of recollections began in earnest. My first day of school played across my brain. I remembered Carol, my best friend in kindergarten through fourth grade when she moved away. Next to show itself was the day I was in choir and I’d surprised everyone including myself with the fact that I could sing higher than anyone in class and sustain the note.

         The memories quickened their speed until all I really got out of them were flashes of sound, color, and emotions. And then they slowed as recent memories began their own show. As pictures of Nicolas and Matthew marched across my mind’s eye I lingered on the pictures of the Vamgoyle. Every time I saw his laughing, silver eyed gaze directed at me, my heart fluttered uncontrollably. As the images progressed after the time I lost three of my main senses, I lingered on the sensation of his touch against my skin and the times he’d spoken to me. I wanted to see his face with my own eyes, not with this strange ability of mine. I wanted to hear his voice with my own ears and speak to him with my own voice instead of using telepathy. I knew things about him had changed like his eyes and hair. I wanted to know what color they were now, I wanted to see them.

         Finally, my mind tired and I was forced to go deeper until I was encased in a comforting darkness where I thought of nothing. That was before the world turned red.

         I craved blood. I wanted it as I’d never wanted it before. My throat burned for it. My body yearned for it. But my mind repelled the idea of having it. I didn’t want to become something like Matthew, even if I did like him. It was a part of him, not me. I shouldn’t be having these sorts of thoughts, and yet I was. I wanted blood and I wanted it now.

         I knew my eyes opened, but I couldn’t see or even sense anything. My mind was solely focused on one thing: getting blood. I didn’t want to feel these thoughts, so I ran to the back of my mind to escape them so I wouldn’t know what I’d done. I barely registered the fact that my eyes shut after my body was done with whatever it had been doing. Unwillingly it seemed, my body relaxed and allowed me to go back to sleep. For an unknowable length of time I thought and dreamed of nothing.

         At last, I opened my eyes and sent my senses out. Somehow I knew it was Thursday afternoon, the exact time we had time jumped; it was why I’d woken. As my senses roamed out, I found myself pressed against Matthew with his wings firmly holding me in place. He was sound asleep. I could feel the tiredness radiating off him in waves. I instantly froze in the process of moving his wings so I could get up and stretch. He needed as much sleep as he could get. As the minutes slowly passed, I let the things I could sense fill my mind with a perfect picture. The ground was covered with water which dripped from the pine tree branches above.

         So that’s why Matthew has his wings around me. It also meant he was so weak he couldn’t produce some sort of spell that would drive the wet away from us. As I thought of him, my senses shortened its span and focused exclusively on Matthew. He was covered with the rain that had fallen. Slowly, my mind traced the outline of his webbed wings and lizard-like tail, his soaking hair and muscled body. I was suddenly struck with the want to see him with my real eyes. I wanted to see his actual coloring, not this lifeless, black color my senses showed me. I focused on his hair and tried to make my senses show me the color of it. For a moment I thought I saw his hair shimmering in the afternoon sunlight before my focus was lost as well as the color I’d been able to sense. I tried again before the headache beginning to form made me stop.

         The minutes crawled by. My body was cramping since I hadn’t moved in nearly three days and my stomach was growling while my throat felt sandpaper dry. I wondered what had happened while I was unconscious. The image of the Hunters suddenly passed across my mind. At the remembering of the knife that had struck my arm, it flared with pain. That explained the dull ache that had been bothering me ever since I woke.

         What made me sleep for over two days? I asked myself. Nothing came in the way of an answer. Guess I’ll just have to wait till Matthew wakes up.

         An hour passed, at least what I thought was an hour, when Matthew suddenly changed position. Instead of him practically holding me on his lap, he moved so that his right wing was under me keeping me off the wet ground while his left wing stayed covering most of my body. Only my legs stuck out on the dry place we’d created.

         My heart began to race as his grip tightened around my waist. He shifted closer, his deep breaths of slumber seeming even more slow to my quickened breath. I thought of other things to keep my mind off the fact that his arms were pressed so tightly around me. The first thing that came to my mind was the fact that some of his hair had escaped his ponytail and was now tickling my face. Taking a deep breath, I blew it off my face. It flew up and came back down to cover my sightless eyes.

         That was when I noticed my hair had grown from being nearly gone to falling past my eyes in less than two days. How is that even possible? I wondered as I gazed at it with my senses. Something else had changed about it, yet I couldn’t tell what aside from the fact that it fell to chin length now.

         “Clair,” Matthew abruptly whispered against my ear. I shivered and tried to suppress it when I realized he was awake. It seemed he’d woken when I’d been thinking about my hair. “Are you feeling better?” he asked. “Are you cold?”

         A little, I lied. I didn’t know what was changing about me, but it was something I wasn’t sure I wanted to feel anymore. The only feeling I was sure about was my aching arm and head.

         “Yeah, I’m kind of cold too. And hungry,” he murmured.

         Where are the Kaemyns? Shouldn’t they have been able to find us by now? It is Thursday after all.

         “It is?” Matthew asked, surprised.

         Yeah. He seemed to believe me since I said it with such force he couldn’t argue with me.

         “I guess we should call them.” He rose to his feet while still holding me against him; it was almost as if he didn’t want to let me go. Finally, when he was sure I could hold my own weight, he released me. I was nearly sad he let go; he was really warm and made me warm at the same time.

         Stretching, I sent my senses out to make sure no one was around. There wasn’t except for the normal animals that lived in the forest. One creature in particular I knew. Out of the woods Kii-harrah came trotting with a branch of berries in her mouth. She came to a stop at my feet before jumping into my waiting arms.

         Oh, Kii-harrah! I’m so sorry I didn’t feed you!

         “It’s all right. You were tired and hurt and needed to rest, so I went hunting for food and found this!” she said proudly.

         I’m so proud of you! I exclaimed petting her behind the ears.

         She licked me across the cheek with her berry-stained tongue. “I brought this for you and Matthew,” she said jumping down and nudging the branch with her muzzle.

         I bent down and picked it up with a thanks. I was starving, or at least it felt that way. Matthew needed them more though, so I took a few and gave the rest of the berries to him. He gobbled them as if he hadn’t eaten in more than three days.

         “Thank you Clair, Kii-harrah,” he said when they were gone.

         You’re welcome.

         “Well, I guess I’d better call the Kaemyns,” Matthew sighed.

         Let me do it, I said. He didn’t need to push himself. From what I could tell he needed blood more than using his Magyck and wasting his energy. I think I remember how to do it; it’s not like it was hard or anything.

         He nodded gratefully. “You need the practice anyway.”

         I rolled my eyes before settling my thoughts. Taking a deep breath, I remembered the things Matthew had said to help me reach the Magyck. Forming the thought of a small, burning flame, I called the names of the Kaemyns. Instantly they came with the packs in tow. Sagging, I leaned against a conveniently placed tree and rested for a moment. Calling all of them at once for the first time had taken more out of me then I’d thought it would.

         After I rested for a moment, Matthew came to stand next to me. “Well, I suppose we should go back to the Cascades,” he stated into the silence.

         No, I said. Damien can find us even if we aren’t in the Cascades. It’s why we have these after all, I added waving my hand that had the ring.

         “All right. Let’s at least set up the tent so we have somewhere dry to sit.”

         Good idea, I agreed.

Next Chapters: Chapter 15: Mixed Coalition, & Chapter 16: Mixed Coincidence.