Snakes In The Grass ~ Chapter 1 ~ Welcome To My Life

Author's Note: I hope you all liked the preface. Oh well, it's going to take a while to get to this part of the story. For the time being, let's start from the beginning, shall we? Let's move like... half a year back, during early August, when Althea was still a simple Nymph, cut away from the magical world. This chapter is written to help you get a glimpse of her world, before she gets pulled away from it; so enjoy it while you can! *grins*


Hugs!
Nessie

The sun crept from behind the edges of the mountains, painting them a soft shade between cerise and orange. Above my head, colors were visible everywhere I looked. Greens and yellows and whites surrounded me, so garish I felt I was drowning in them. The sensation was magical. The tall damp grass tickled my cheeks as I lay on the ground, trying to catch a glimpse of the sky’s blue behind the sea of leaves and branches up high. I stretched my bare toes and felt water drops on my feet.

A voice reached me from afar, “Althea! Althea!” I recognized my name being called and quickly stood up, smoothing my dress and hurrying back, to the direction I knew home was.

A smile spread across my face as I looked at my mom. Her light aqua blue-green eyes shone in the morning light. The wavy hair falling past her waist was curling and uncurling, responding to the wind’s light touch. A not so happy expression was plastered on her face though. Her brows here furrowed together, causing her typical worry wrinkle to show.

Uh huh… What did I do this time?

“Did you need anything, mom?” I asked innocently.

“I’ve told you not to go too far away from home,” she said in a deceptively calm tone. I was beginning to wonder if I should consider the possibility of a storm following right after it… It wasn’t the most common thing for mom, but it did happen.

“Sorry…” I murmured and toyed with my own hair, twirling my finger around a curl; a nervous habit I picked way back, when I was little.

“Could you please come? I need some of your help inside.” She beckoned me and I followed her to the inside of the house, moving through the door she held open for me. My little sister, Ginger, was right in front of the door, spinning around in small circles, daisies stuck in her long braid. Margaret, her best friend, was standing next to her, giggling and making a small bouquet of flowers herself.  She waved at me as I passed in front of her, and I smiled back kindly.  Ginger and she were joined to the hip, so I was used to having Margaret around whenever my sister was around. Which was almost always.

“Did anything happen?” I inquired as my mom closed the door and I hurried to pull the curtains open. Our house, like most houses over here, was like a big rabbit hole, a room into a small slope in the earth with furniture in it. I really liked my house, but I had to admit, the way it was, didn’t let much of the sun come in. My parents had tried to create as many openings as they could, but when it came to holes, no matter how many they made, the light was never enough. And being in the middle of a deep forest, where sunlight rarely reached the ground anyway, wasn’t very helpful. Luckily, we only had to stay inside when the weather was bad, and it was going to take a while for it to show. It was late summer and everything was warm and sunny… Perfect time to lie in the grass and look pointlessly at the sky just like I was a few minutes ago.

Mom didn’t respond to my answer, so I decided to repeat my question, just in case she was too distracted to have noticed me. “Mom? Did something happen?”

“No, honey, why would you think that?” she answered in a voice that inspired anything but coyness and distress to me.

I shrugged and pulled a mass of leaves that had gotten tangled in my hair and inspected it carefully, as if it was the most fascinating thing in the whole world. “You just seemed a little… I’m not sure really… Guarded maybe.”

“No,” she said, a bit too fast. “I mean… You know I get like that when your father’s away.”

I smiled knowingly. “Yeah. So I’ve noticed.”

Dad had merely gone to the village to do some shopping… Get some things it wasn’t easy to find in the forest at this time of the year. The Muggle village was an easy solution. And it’s not like dad didn’t know how to blend in… He grew up like a Muggle. He practically was one. He just had been tangled in a very magical world for Muggle standards.

“Come on, mom. It’s not like a wizard is going to show up just like that, at random, here. None has found us for decades and today isn’t going to different. We both know that dad being or not here doesn’t matter when it comes to them. He’s not the most intimidating man in the world,” I teased.

My mom smiled gloomily and lit a candle that stood on the round table by the widest window. She then took a seat to the nearest chair, trailing circular patterns on the wood with the tip of her fingers. “I have to agree on that. He is many things… But intimidating… He’s not that one.” She chuckled silently but I could see it hardly made her mood. A grim smile was all she let on.

Dad was a sweet man with a broad smile and constantly red, freckled cheeks. His eyes were a washed out shade of hazel, turning completely green in the sun and his hair was always tussled and was very dark brown, almost black. The only color our people’s hair couldn’t be. He really stood out around here.

I sat opposite mom quietly. As she remained silent and showed no signs of intending to talk again anytime soon, I decided to bolt up and to keep my hands occupied, I started making the beds. I finished very quickly though and was again left with nothing to do. Mom’s anxiousness was obvious; the small pot with gardenias on the table was growing with rapidly, just like the ivy which had begun creeping up the walls. I knew her emotional state was messing with her magic, but I couldn’t do anything but look as the leaves grew and turned greener, stretching across the table and the walls, creating a mosaic of leafage across the inside of the room.

“Mom…? If you keep this up, I think we’re gonna need some big pruning hook to get rid of all this,” I warned, a humorous tone on my voice.

She looked around and nodded. The ivy stopped growing, although it didn’t really matter anymore. The little sprout that had been peeking shyly from a shady corner, just where the wall and the floor met, was now a fully grown patch of ivy, covering the biggest part of the house’s internal. It didn’t look too bad now that I thought about it. It was actually lighting the place up. Little buds, tightly closed, adorned the vines, and concentrating on them, I made some bloom, revealing little white flowers. It was a gift of our kind to do such things. It was part of being a Nymph.

“On second thought… It doesn’t look bad,” I assured her.

I could hear Ginger’s laughter from outside and the splashing of water. Our house stood closer to the river than the others and Ginger used to play with Margaret by the riverbank a lot. After all, the waters were calm at this season of the year.

Mom was still uneasy; the animated tattoo-like shapes of vines on her arms danced nervously, constantly moving in anticipation. Sometimes like this, I wished I was a witch and could make a sleeping potion for my mother. She really had no reason to panic like that.

It was known that Nymphs had pulled away from the wizarding community many centuries ago; almost since the middle ages. When the Ministry of Magic decided to create a Department of Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures and included us… As if all we were was Magical Creatures! For a while we were placed at the same category with Jarveys, overgrown talking ferret like creatures! It was ridiculous. An open offence to our race. This was the main reason a wide gap, a chasm even, had emerged, dividing the two communities.

With the recent events – the wars between wizards, the so-called dark and light ones – and the way Magical Creatures such as Dementors and Giants were used for the wizards’ benefit, maybe it was for the best that we didn’t participate in all this madness. I was barely four when the darkest of all wizards was killed, once and for all, but this doesn’t mean I am not aware of what kind of darkness almost took over the wizarding world. While they were trying to put their pieces back together though, we lived in peace, safely tucked away. Being a pacific race and not fighters, we remained hidden, knowing this war was not ours and wouldn’t affect us on any level, no matter what the outcome.

My family and I lived in one of the oldest Nymph societies; one of those which first had cut all threads binding them to wizards and witches. Still, this little thought, that we would be discovered again, remained, spreading panic and fear among most of our people. Like my mom. Someone would think she was one of the most progressive or our kind, marrying a Squib and living happily with him, but she was not; she was worried just like everyone else and feared exposure more than anything in the world. Dad was indeed son of a pair of wizards, but he had no powers himself. He and mom met accidentally once that mom went to the village nearby and thinking he was a Muggle, she started meeting with him secretly, getting to know him better. In the end, his wizarding heritance didn’t matter anyway. My sister and I were Nymphs, just like mom, and had same powers with her, making plants grow and bloom. She had also some little control over water, but neither Ginger or I had shown such signs of sharing this part of her heritage. Not yet at least.

I giggled, looking at the bloomed gardenias having covered the whole table and hanging from the edges of it, like a tablecloth. The door opened and dad walked in, a smile on his flushed face as usual. He placed the brown paper bags on the floor by the door, stroked mom’s hair affectionately and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.

“How’s my girl doing?” he asked me then. He seemed overly excited today, more than usually.

“Good,” I said smiling and stretching my hands over my head, yawning.

“Still sleepy?” he teased. It was noon already, but being lazy all morning, I still felt as if I had just gotten out of bed.

“No,” I lied and laughed. I was the worst liar in the world. I couldn’t keep a straight face after lying even if it would save my life.

“Reaaaaally?” he asked and came towards me, tickling me until I couldn’t hold myself upright and almost fell on the floor, still giggling.

“Okay, okay! I surrender!” I managed between giggles and he gave me his hand to help me up.

After barely a few seconds had passed, Ginger rushed in, a blur of brown-reddish hair and hugged dad. Margaret stood by the porch, peeking shyly. Shy after all these years… It was funny. We were practically a second family to her.  Her golden hair shone in the sun, like a wheat-filled meadow in the summer. Her flamboyant blue eyes stood out on her tanned skin, just like her pale blue dress. As fast as Ginger came in, she left, bolting out the door and pulling Margaret along.

“I see you did some decorating while I was gone,” dad commented, looking at the intricate patterns of climbing ivy and gardenias around the room.

“The blame’s on mom,” I said, grinning. “I’m going for a walk, alright? Promise I won’t go too far.”

The sun was still high in the sky, but as usual nothing but greenish light reached the ground at this part of the woods. The river’s water flowed noisily next to me, as I made my way to where I knew my grandparents were. They were some of the oldest Nymphs in the area, grandpa being two hundred and fifty years old and grandma being two hundred and thirty two. Nymphs lived usually much longer than humans, at least one to two hundred years.

The thick underbrush was getting damper as I went closer and I knew I was getting closer. They lived really close to a small cliff, where the river fell abruptly, creating a waterfall. Between the oaks, which resembled old humans, figures trapped in wood, long forgotten by the world, stretching their arms lazily, stood grandpa. He was one of the Elders of our tribe, well respected among our people and the younger Nymphs always came to him seeking advice.

Another thing that made Nymphs so different than humans, wizards and Muggles alike, was that we could turn themselves into trees. Not all of us did it though. It needed years of practice and meditation, complete dedication to nature and determination. Not many chose it, mostly because the change was permanent. My grandpa for instance, had decided to do it.

Ever since I knew him, my grandpa was a peculiar man, with lively leaf-green eyes and a toothy grin. His skin wasn’t exactly looking like human skin anymore. It had a green-brownish tint in it, the color of green olives. It seemed like an old, gnarled tree’s trunk from place to place, with knots here and there. A few branches grew out of his back and one behind his ear – I always teased him about this one – and leaves sprouted from it, as if he were a real tree. Once, a few springs back, a robin had made its nest on some branches and it took us a while to remove it, being careful not to break the bird’s eggs.  He didn’t move around much anymore, and he had told me he was probably going to root on the ground soon. Literally. I thought he was kidding at first, but my grandpa isn’t much of the joking kind.

“Hi, gramps,” I said, waving and approaching him.

He slowly turned his gaze from the river towards me and waved back. His hand seemed more branch than skin, even more than it did the last time I’d seen him. “What brings you here, Althea?” he asked me.

I shrugged. “Nothing in particular. Just taking a walk.”

“Ah, I see. So you did not get into some trouble and are trying to hide, are you?”

I smiled that smile only grandpa and I shared, but then shook my head. “I didn’t do anything this time. Honestly, just wanted to go somewhere quiet.”

He nodded. “Well, in that case, stay as long as you wish. This place really helps you find peace, I assure you of that.”

“I know,” I agreed. “Going to greet grandma and I’ll come outside and sit with you.”

Grandma, unlike grandpa, was a whole different story. She was… well, more ordinary. A simple Nymph, with no intents of turning into a tree. Her skin had darkened a few shades with the passing of the years, but there was nothing woodsy on it, it was simply tan. Her eyes were more bluish, unlike grandpa’s, and her hair had that bronze tint that was rare among Nymphs. Most of us had brown or dirty blond hair, and orange or bronze were colors more than unusual. She still was holding on well, not too wrinkled or bending forward. Nymphs aged at a much slower pace than humans, at least after their twentieth birthday. If grandma could be compared to a Muggle for example, she would look like a sixty year old.

My grandparents’ house was smaller, similar to appearance to ours; a hole in a small cliff, but a soft layer of moss had covered most of the floor and any part of the walls that wasn’t already covered in white and yellow jasmine. Grandma was sitting on the bed, a wooden bowl on her lap as she cut strawberries in half. I greeted her and sat on her right, offering to help her with the strawberries, but she refused. She kept talking about how sweet those strawberries were and I took the chance to pick up a piece and try it. I loved wild strawberries, especially when they were sweet like these ones. I took a few more, but grandma stopped me eventually, reminding me that there would be any left if I kept bolting them down.

A light tapping on the window made us turn, and we saw a pigeon standing on the sill. In the past, we used owls, just like wizards did; after we cut any kind of contact with them though, we found other ways to communicate, such as sending letters with pigeons when the distance wasn’t too long, and with bigger birds such as falcons when the recipient was too far or we wanted to send a package. Many Nymphs believed that the owl post was controlled by wizards, each letter monitored and read. Therefore, our people avoided using owls as if they were cursed.

I jumped up and hurried to open the window for the pigeon. Just like I expected, there was a wrapped piece of parchment tied on its leg. It sat on my forearm, its small talons tickling my skin, as I untied the knot and took the letter in my hands. The pigeon flew a few inches away, sitting at the back of a chair, waiting for a replying letter.

“Let me see what it says,” grandma said and reached for the letter.

“What is it?” I asked, peeking impatiently over her shoulder.

She smiled. “The Elders. There are going to be some festivities tonight. Dancing and sitting around the fire. I was expecting it for a week now. Wonder why they delayed it so much.”

I shrugged. “Dunno.”

“Well, let me write a quick letter back. Go tell it to your grandfather,” she suggested and I went outside.

A few seconds later, I saw the pigeon flying out the window, with grandma’s letter tied on its leg. Grandpa was of course still at the same spot, standing quietly, watching the sky. “There’s gonna be a bonfire tonight,” I informed him.

“Good, good. This one took them too long to plan out. They must be preparing something big,” he murmured. A smile crept on his face. “You will come and tell me how it went afterwards, won’t you?” he asked me.

“You won’t come?” I asked, feeling a little disappointed.

He chuckled and his whole body shook, leaves and branches included. “I highly doubt I will be able to go anywhere from now on, dear. I have to admit this place has grown on me. I’m literally beginning to root on the ground.” He laughed a little more at his own joke.

I tried to smile, managing just a crooked half-smile. “Fine… I’ll come. I always do, don’t I?” It was a fact that for the last months, I was the one coming and telling grandpa about everything that happened at the bonfires, but I still hoped things would be different the next time.

“Yes, you are,” gramps agreed. “You’re the best granddaughter a grandfather could wish for, Althea…” I felt something light and tickly patting my back and I realized that instead of his hand, grandpa was moving the branch that had grown from behind his ear.

“Cool trick,” I said, grinning.

“Ooooh, trust me, there’s more.” He winked.

I sat with my back placed against the bark of a fallen tree nearby, closing my eyes and enjoying the whooshing of the water flowing and the humming of the grass under my feet. Grandpa remained silent as well, for many hours. Eventually, grandma came out of the house, saying it had begun getting dark and that I’d better go home and get ready for tonight.

On my way back, I passed the clearing where the bonfire was going to be lit. I could see Nymphs, some whom I knew, and some whom I’d never seen before, men and women, bringing seeds to life, making flower buds bloom and open their petals even though they were not night flowers. Everything looked fantastic. Some men near the center were piling logs of wood, placing stones around them in a circular pattern, where the fire was going to be. A few logs, knocked on the ground by the bad winter weather of the previous months, were pushed in a very big circle around the bonfire spot, in order to create space for the dancers near the center. Moss enfolded the old logs and stones, dressing them in green.

“Althea!” Ginger called, waving her hands high in the air and bouncing impatiently from the other side of the clearing. “Come, come!”

I hurried to her side and her little fingers locked around my wrist, pulling her towards the house. The vines on her hands were moving restlessly, mirroring her excitement. Small buds of yellow flowers were making their appearance on her skin, but hadn’t opened yet; she was too young. Ginger was almost seven now.

All Nymphs had tattoo like patterns on the skin of their arms and legs, which grew, just like the Nymphs themselves. The children had only leaves and slowly buds emerged and sometimes, like in Ginger’s case, it was obvious what color the flowers would be when they would open their petals. Usually flowers were yellow, white or a pale shade of pink or purple. Around puberty, the flowers would begin to open and then they’d remain the same way until a Nymph’d grow very old, where the flowers vanished and only leaves were left again. My own flowers were a soft purple, like lavender, but the shape reminded of jasmines.

“What’s the hurry for?” I asked, observing her braid. Flowers of all colors and shapes were still tangled in her hair from this morning.

“Nothing!” she said. “Just taking you home to get ready!”

I never understood my sister’s constant excitement about everything, things really non-exciting included. Like I had something too much to do.  I’d just wear a different dress and would pull my hair back, that would be all. It wouldn’t take too long.

The scene we faced when we entered the house was a pretty unusual for our family. Mom was clutching the edges of the table hard, almost towering over dad who was sitting opposite her at the table; they seemed to be having a fight. And we showed up in the middle of it. Mom crumbled a piece of paper in her fist, hiding it from view and both of us turned to look at us instantly. Their faces began to soften, the creases of anger and the tension of the fight evaporating into thin air.

“Hi,” I said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“Hey, honey,” dad said and Ginger seated herself on his lap. He tickled the sensitive spot behind her pointy ears and Ginger giggled in response.

Jee… Things were weird lately.

Oh well; hopefully, this was gonna be an interesting night and I’d have a lot to tell gramps.

If you want to read the next chapter... Stay tuned, I will update very soon!

Snakes In The Grass ~ Preface ~ I Do Finally See

Author's Note: Hey, folks! Yup, Harry Potter's knocking on my door! I've got that crazy urge to write write write Harry Potter fics! So here's another one, Althea, my beloved protagonist of Snakes In The Grass is going to play some important role in the future for my other story, The Albus Potter Chronicles (If you haven't checked it out feel free to, and if you've got any ideas for a title PLEASE share them with me!), but it's not of huge importance to keep up with both stories as they can stand alone. I'll try to fill people in about one story and another and not leave dark spots for people who're reading only one of them. Anyhoo... Well, I know, I haven't written a preface EVER before, but yup, I felt like writing one for this one! I'm working on some insane stuff to create a whole new kind of magical creatures, aka Nymphs as you may have noticed from the synopsis, and trust me, you're gonna be well informed about their kind throughout the story! So, without further ado (aka my tiring rambling about nothing particular) go ahead and read the preface! Enjoy and leave me your thoughts!


Hugs!
Nessie

“Can you see?” Firenze asked me, his front feet bending, bringing him to eye level with me. “Do you see what I mean now?”

I looked at him. Then looked around the room. I smiled, feeling complete.

“Yes. I do see.”

And I meant it. I should have known all along. It wasn’t just the room held responsible for the way I felt. Of course, this was the only room in the castle which made me feel really like home. The grass on the floor, as lively and green as it was back home… The enchanted ceiling, an endless open sky above my head, almost hidden from the barrier of tangled green branches… The mossy rock I sat on and the wide oak tree shading the ground over me… It all helped. It made me open up and face this bizarre reality I had all of a sudden found myself in. But… I knew there was more…

After all this time feeling like a stranger… I knew where I belonged.

As much as I wanted to get back home, I knew I had to stay here.

I knew things that others didn’t. And although returning back to my big forest, isolated from the world and getting away from all this wizarding madness seemed like the easy thing to do, I had this feeling that I should remain where I was, stand my ground and help people here. Tell them the things I knew, and they should know too, but without my help couldn’t.

Something big was coming. And nobody else would be able to warn them. Trouble was on its way. Not too soon. Not too late. But it was. There was no denying that.

“I had seen it in the stars you were coming. I had been expecting you,” Firenze said. It wasn’t the first time the wise centaur had spoken in the same cryptic way about me. The difference was, that this time, I understood. Or at least was beginning to.

To read the next chapter, click here!

Matter Of Life And Death ~ Chapter 13 ~ Sleepless Nights, Tormenting Dreams and Soft Touches

Chapter  13: Sleepless Nights, Tormenting Dreams and Soft Touches

Author's Note: On the run again. Hmm, that mustn't be good for Brian's mental health. Maybe I should loosen the ropes a bit... Or maybe... Nah... Hahaha. Sorry for the mysterious note, you're not going to find out anytime soon who wrote it. I think I might keep confusing you for a little while longer. *insert evil laugh* You think it's time for Brian to talk to Lillian about what he is? Well... Not happening either. But there's some other things that are going to happen. Read and comment! And above everything else, enjoy! *smiles*

Lots of love,

Nessie

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“What are we doing here?” Lillian asked the moment I opened the sports equipment store’s door.

“If you stop asking questions, you’ll find out soon enough,” I snapped. Silvia was holding my hand tightly, and she was sucking in every little detail of the room surrounding us carefully with her big, silver eyes.

“But you don’t make any sense at all!” she exclaimed. “First, you give us barely fifteen minutes to get ready, and then you call a cab and get us to the smallest, most unknown village of the area and start searching for sports equipment! No. Sense. At. All!”

I turned around suddenly, trying not to frighten Silvia as I pulled her around. “Listen to what I say and listen carefully,” I started in a low but threatening tone. “Do not make a scene inside the shop, okay? I have a plan. Unlike you. So be quiet. And as I told you before, you can go if you want. You don’t have to stick with us like a leech. I think I’ve made that clear already. Nothing holding you here.”

She placed her hands on her hips and licked her lips. Everything on her showed how annoyed she was; even the way her thick lashes went up and down, made me think she wanted to lure me in a corner and snap my neck or something. Kellah was discreetly watching the argument from a distance, pretending to browse through stacks of skiing clothes. When the salesgirl asked her if she wanted something, she thanked her kindly and said it was okay. Then it was our turn.

“May I help you?” the girl asked and smiled in that typical way every saleswoman did. Sadly for her, I couldn’t mirror her expression.

“Yes,” I said immediately. “We’re looking for hiking equipment.”

I felt Lillian sucking in her breath next to me and I was sure I could imagine what she’d say if the girl wasn’t standing before us smiling intently.

“Oh. Um… sure. Come this way please.” She led us through some more displays in the store and following her through a narrow, poorly lit hall, we reached the back of the store. To my dislike, she began babbling. “Ya know, we’re not really used-” she stopped to suppress a wave of giggles and then started again, “-to to people showing up in the middle of the night-” another pause, “-asking for hiking boots and stuff. You’re not intending to start climbing the mountain in the middle of the night, are you?”

“We haven’t decided on that one yet,” I said curtly.

Lillian glared at me and I was sure I saw her eyes literally glowing with fury. What?! She mouthed.

When the salesgirl turned the other way, I grabbed her wrist roughly and pulled her aside. Leaning close to her ear, I whispered, “Nobody asked you to join us. You’re free to go anytime you like. Now who’s running away like a little girl, huh?”

She shook me off violently and shoved me back. “I’m not going anywhere,” she muttered and walked closer to the clerk, who started talking again.

“Oh, you really shouldn’t try. Night climbing is bad trouble. Accidents happen. There are wild animals. You seriously shouldn’t. Even the experienced hikers don’t usually attempt such things. Have you at least had the basic training?”

“No,” Lillian said and I wished the girl would turn around again because I had a few more things to tell her. “You wouldn’t happen to know where we could take some lessons, immediate-like, would you?” Lillian continued, glancing at me with a triumphant look on her face.

“Oh sure. We got a bunch of tourists coming here just for the mountain. There’s a training station on the foot of it actually. It’s a big, part stone, part wood building, not easy to miss. And you can stay there during the sessions. It’s almost empty at this season. This kind of weather is repelling every kind of adventure seeker.” She pointed at the cold night out of the window. The air was chilly, but the fact that there was no snow or ice must be a good sign. Right? “You must really like danger to come here in the middle of the winter, huh?”

“That obvious, huh? Total adrenaline junkies.” I murmured gloomily, turning around to spot Silvia. She was playing with some helmets, trying them on and giggling at herself. Some of her Shadow People surrounded her, looking curiously.

“Oh, yeah. No offense, but you must be pretty close to insanity to even consider doing that. Adrenaline junkie or not.”

“You have no idea,” Lillian mumbled, placing her hand in front of her mouth so that I was the only one to hear.

“So you’re gonna need some backpacks, boots…” And the list went on and on. When we left the store, we were loaded with bags and my head felt too full with all the information about what everything we bought was used for.

Kellah had mysteriously not uttered a single word since we left; no questions, no objections, not even a sarcastic comment about how I – according to her – was so much like my father.

It had gotten dark hours ago, so we would have a lot of trouble finding our way around the town if there weren’t so many signs pointing us in the right direction to head towards the training station. It was a big building, just like the talkative clerk had described, made of gray stone with wooden columns supporting the roof above the balcony-like front porch. Yellow light came from the windows on the main floor and when Kellah spotted it, she sped up, hurrying to get inside and get warm. I hurried as well because I could see Silvia was getting cold, and she was trembling like a leaf and her breath rose like clouds of frost-like smoke. Kellah did all the talking, because – according to her again – I would probably scare the heck out of those people with my brusque way.

“Of course we have a room,” someone from the staff said, the only person who was probably still awake at this late hour. “But you need to share, if that’s alright with you.”

“Yes, of course, there’s no problem with that, family and all.” Kellah agreed.

The guy led us to the first floor and handed over the key of the room when we were standing in front of it. “You may rest now. Since you’re the only ones staying here at the moment, we can probably have a more flexible training schedule. We can start in the morning.”

“That’s great,” Lillian said with enthusiasm, which to me looked obviously fake. I wondered if the guy had really not noticed because he was tired, or ignored it. I saw how he was ogling Lillian just a few seconds ago. Involuntarily, I felt as if something was pricking my skin, messing with my temper. You’re jealous, Brian… a little sing-song voice crooned inside my head and I had to make a great deal of effort to keep myself from shaking it violently. No, no, I’m not! I cannot be jealous! Why would I be? I don’t care about her! 

“Goodnight.  If you need anything, anything at all, please don’t hesitate to come find me. Anytime of the night is fine,” the guy said, emphasizing anytime as he looked at Lillian then said goodnight to us for the last time and went down the stairs, returning to his post. Without any further talking, we went in the room and placed our stuff in a corner in front of a closet. I straightened my shoulders, taking in the room still trying to clear my head. That jerk was a little obvious with his flirting! Again, what do I care?! There was something I didn’t like at all here. Yeah, the pervert downstairs! Really, Brian… enough already!   

I actually did shake my head to clear my thoughts and looked around the room again. Really?! My luck never ceased to amaze me. There was a double bed and… bunks. At the moment, neither choice seemed quite attractive. I’ve had many and still fresh traumatic experiences with both.

“How are we going to sleep?” Lillian asked as if reading my mind.Thank God she couldn’t actually do that!   

“Let me show you. It’s quite simple. You lie on the bed, close your eyes and pull the covers on top of you,” I said sourly.

“That wasn’t clever, Brian,” she snapped. “I meant, who is going to sleep where?”

“Brian and Silvia could sleep in the double bed and we can take the bunks,” Kellah suggested.

“I’ll take the one on the top,” Lillian offered.

“Always on the top…” I mumbled.

“Excuse me?” Lillian said, lifting her head to look at me. With the shadows of the yellow light that was filling the room, her eyes looked even bigger, and her lashes longer. It made talking harder and staring easier. Ugh! What is this girl doing to me? 

“Nothing,” I mumbled and before she had the chance to start an actual conversation, I helped Silvia on the bed and crawled under the covers from the other side. “Goodnight.” I ignored any kind of sounds after that, light switches clicking, backpack zippers scratching, fabric moving against skin as Kellah and Lillian probably changed into their PJ’s. I hadn’t even bothered doing that. I was just too tired to care.

 

I kept trashing about in my bed, rolling from side to side uncomfortably. I only stopped when Silvia curled into a little ball on my side and decided it would be best to stay still and let at least her sleep. I looked at the dancing shadows on the ceiling, the ghosts of branches moving in the wind. I could feel the windows rattling violently, the sound magnifying inside my uneasy mind. I closed my eyes annoyed and ended up in the conclusion that I could not stay up all night. Falling asleep wasn’t half as difficult as I had expected. It was just that like everything else, I was making a way too big thing out of it.

* * * * *

Suddenly, I felt as if I was drowning… like… like I was sucked into nothingness. Then I realized there was ground under my feet. Colorless, texture-less ground. It didn’t feel too slippery, but neither too rough. Not even, but not uneven either. I couldn’t match it with any other kind of material I knew… I didn’t know anything about it, other than it was there, making me stand on my feet. And around me… there was only black. I made a panicked turn around, trying to figure out where I was, where I should go. To be honest, I wanted to punch a wall really hard, but there was no wall… only that black thing… like… smoke. I knew what that was. Almost. Black smoke. Magic. Necromancer magic was being used. It could be one of them as well, but I didn’t feel that usual chill in my spine…

A faint ghostly purple-white light glowed through the smoke and before I knew what I was doing, I was following it, drawn to it and trying to reach it. Maybe it was clear, bright sky that I was seeing on the other side, right?

I knew the answer was no, but I kept going anyway. It seemed as if the small, brave rays of light that managed to reach me, somehow pierced through the smoke, causing it to give way and create some kind of narrow path for me to walk through. Although I had the worst of feelings about this light and the smoke around it, I was almost thankful there was a path. I always hated that smoke. It gave me the feeling I was choking. With every step I took, the light got brighter, the smoke less dense, until I stood there, too shocked to move. My mind felt numb, I blinked several times to make sure the ethereal image before my eyes really was there. I pinched my forearm, trying to wake myself up. Nothing changed, other than my arm hurt a little, so I ended up with the conclusion I wasn’t asleep at all. Maybe…

The smoke rose, creating a small violet-silver cloud, floating just inches from the odd material I was standing on. It moved constantly, swirling and twirling in small spirals, restlessly, trying to create a shape, to take a form. Eventually, it stopped, sliding slowly into the air, creating a curvy figure, a figure I had been seeing a lot for the last few weeks. Lillian.

The ghost had a scary resemblance to when they, the monsters, attacked Kellah and her, when the Pectlacero tried to rip her soul from her body. I stood motionless for a few, slow, torturing seconds while trying to convince myself that my mind was playing tricks on me. The ghost’s end was not defined, I could not make out the outline of her feet; it looked more like a swirling tail, like a jinni. There was some kind of thin thread of the same smoke-like substance the ghost was made of, which kept her soul connected to what took me a while to realize was actually Lillian’s body. What the heck is going on?  Am I dreaming or am I awake? Is that really Lillian and what happened to her? 

She lay there, still and white, pale as a ghost… what an irony… Her complexion pallid, completely colorless, all the pink lost from her cheeks which were usually bright as rose petals.

Her soul, floating right above her, still had that vibrant shade of violet; she wasn’t dead yet, but she didn’t have much time either. As soon as the head and the floating hair formed fully, her chin jerked up, her eyes met me. They stood out even more intently now, the reddish brown against that lavender purple; unlike most ghosts I’d seen though, her look wasn’t piercing and scary… just… just pleading, begging, penetrating me to my soul.

Her mouth moved, forming words which I already knew she was going to say. I stared for a second, an unclassified expression clouding my characteristics, uncertainty mixed with fear and knowledge and expectance of what was happening. I had seen it coming. I knew it would be since I made the idiotic choice of healing Lillian. Yet, I remained quiet, listening carefully to what she had to say.

“I know,” I agreed, nodding and grabbing a fistful of my hair nervously, tousling it, just to do something and not stand awkwardly still. “I know…”

The question now was, did the real Lillian know? Subconsciously, she must; but did she really have any idea? I highly doubted it. I didn’t even expect her to remember what happened after the Pectlaceros got to them. When her soul had been slipping away, out of her body, albeit she was unconscious herself, she had talked to me. Her almost-ghost, had talked to me. But Lillian had probably not a clue about that, no conscious memory of it at least. She never brought it up, and she had the tendency of speaking her inquiries out loud. Maybe it was better that way. Were she fully aware of what was happening to her, she would have probably been scared to death. And she had a good reason too.

I needed time. I needed more time, but she was running out of it.

Suddenly, the mist grew thicker and constricted, like a python, curling its slimy, cold body around us. My head turned instantly to Lillian’s ghost, still looking at me, falling silent and speechless. Its color was slipping away, the dead violet of it turning more and more silver with each passing second.

“No!” I shouted and ran to her.

My knees gave in and I sat next to her on the ground. In my disarray, I grasped her shoulders, clutching on them so hard my nails almost broke her pale skin. I shook her body, trying to wake her up. Her eyelids didn’t even flutter.

“Please, no…” I said and my voice rang throughout the empty room, sounding hoarse and shaky. “No… Just no… please…” I didn’t let go of her, but my hold loosened, her limp body supported just by my arms. I felt weak, powerless, my insides like jelly. Not the good kind though. It was the kind of way I had felt when I didn’t do anything to help Silvia almost five years ago; the feeling that I was utterly and completely useless.

The smoke inspissated, turning so dense I could barely breathe. I felt it creeping into my lungs, filling them, choking me from the inside.

“You know what you have to do…” I heard an eerie voice, the same voice I always did. The one trying to tempt me, always being there, never leaving me, almost like that little devil standing on the left shoulder of every cartoon character, giving it all sorts of wrong advice. Only this was more vicious, more… dark. Maleficent. That was what it was. It constantly tried to convince me to break the biggest of all the rules I followed; to use my magic.

“No!” I yelled back, knowing no one but myself would hear my voice. “I can’t do it! There has to be another way!” And just like that, the smoke swallowed me whole, and the dream dissolved.

* * * * *

I jumped up, gasping for air. I supported my weight with my hands and sat up straight, still panting heavily. The air was clear, nothing like the smoke that almost suffocated me in the dream.

I kicked the covers away and stood up, trying not to wake Silvia up. She looked so peaceful now that she was sleeping. Her blond hair fell like a veil around her, sprawling across the length of her pillow. Her alabaster skin stood out in the darkness, lit by the soft beams of moonlight creeping through the curtains. I adjusted the blanket over her gently, trying not to shake her in the process, and stroked her hair before looking away. I clutched a fistful of my hair, struggling to clear my muddled thoughts.

Without even realizing it, I made my way to the window; I looked at the rocky terrain stretching endlessly before my eyes, going up and up until it was lost in the night’s darkness. The landscape was suspiciously calm; too peaceful. The wind wasn’t blowing and everything was dead still; nothing moved in the bare from trees incline. I squinted my eyes, trying to make out some details; anything that would give away that we had been surrounded. That we had been followed and had fallen into a trap, but even ten minutes later of staring and concentrating, nothing happened. I let go of the fabric of the dark curtain, letting it fall heavily back in place, hiding myself and the room behind it. Creating a false sense of security. Yes. That was what I needed at the moment.

Kellah was deeply asleep, having pulled the quilt on top of her head, the same way she did all the years that I knew her. My gaze moved from my aunt to Lillian. That girl who had invaded my life so quickly, coming fast and furious, sticking with us just by an unfortunate twist of fate. She was wearing nothing but a long, gray T-shirt and was curled in a ball bringing her legs close to her chest, her knees almost touching her chin. She was still, but a faint trembling was obvious; the covers were thrown at the foot of the bed.

Robotically, my arm stretched forward and I stopped myself the moment my brain processed what I was doing.

Brian! Cut it out! No! Do. NOT. Go. There! a small voice inside me yelled.

For a split second, I obeyed. I stood there and let my hand drop to my side. As soon as the voice stopped though, I moved again.

No, no, no! it said again.

For the first time after a long while, I hushed he only voice I was always listening to. My sense of reason.

I picked up the quilt and pulled it over her, my hand brushing against her arm. I felt her relaxing a little under my warm fingers.

The voice was still there, transformed into a pointless mumbling I chose to ignore. To hell with all the stupid rules I’d created! A faint smile formed on my face and I caressed Lillian’s cheek before letting go; not before catching the cerise shade on her face though. The sight almost made me excited. She blushed when I touched her, even in her sleep. What was she dreaming? Probably whatever it was surely it was better than what I was forced to see every time I drifted in dreamland.

Then though, as soon as I put some distance between Lillian and me, the voice started again, ringing inside my head so loudly it was physically almost painful.

Idiot! Yeah, go ahead, get involved! Let’s see how that goes! She’s running out of time! Go and get attached like the brainless moron you are!

I resisted the urge to yell back and punch a wall. Instead, I sat at the edge of the bed, all my muscles tensed, hair clutched in my fists, eyes closed, sucking in air greedily in short gasps.

No… I can’t do it… I thought. I can’t allow myself to get attached in any way… but…Ugh! She is literally driving me insane!

Ever since the incident with Silvia, I had come to terms with the situation, not trying to deny it for a single second. That night, it was decided that as long as we breathed, our lives would be living hell. And trying to imagine that the factslike this were wrong, would just bring us in a worse position than we already were, if that were even possible. Ultimately, probably leading us to our deaths. This was when I had realized it was vital to keep Silvia alive… and safe from all of them; that it was more important than anything else in the world. My life didn’t matter if my sister died. Nothing wouldn’t matter anymore. Horrible things would happen if they caught her. I just couldn’t let it happen. I still can’t. I won’t.

Suddenly angry with myself and with everything around me – especially that idiotic world of the dead that was floating around the room, going right through ours which got me into so much trouble – I stood up and kicked the air frantically. I knew the movement was stupid; that it wouldn’t help in the least, but I had to do something. Even if that meant to put the blame on someone else’s shoulders; someone only I and very few others could see.

With clumsy, nervous movements, I walked in the bathroom and splashed lukewarm water on my face, hoping it would have some calming effect on my nerves. No such luck though. It just made me more alert and paranoid. I kept thinking someone would attack in the meantime, take Silvia and get lost while the sound of the water whooshing in my ears would make sure I was unaware of everything. Yeah, I am losing it! I really need to get some restful, dreamless sleep. 

“Brian,” I heard a small voice and practically jumped all the way to the ceiling.

“What?” I growled, realizing it was just my aunt.

“You alright?” She placed a cool hand on my arm and I turned to face her.

Her hair looked tangled, she looked tired and just wanting to crawl back into bed. I wondered why she wasn’t. “Yeah. Just a dream made me uneasy. I’ll be fine.”

She raised her eyebrows, and I realized it must have been because I told her what was wrong just like that. No rude remarks, no rough comments. Once more, my defenses were down. I was beginning to believe that I shouldn’t talk to anyone after waking up in the middle of the night. “Oh,” she finally said.

“Want to use the bathroom?” I asked, wanting to end the conversation; if there was even supposed to be one going on.

“No. Just checking on how you were doing.”

“Goodnight then,” I said quickly, ready to walk away.

“Um… Do you think we could talk a little?”

“I’m tired,” I groaned.

“But you can’t sleep,” she stated, matter-of-factly.

“No. But if I don’t try again, I never will.”

She raised her eyebrows, and weighted my expression. “Seriously? Come on, both of us know you don’t believe a word you’re saying. And as your aunt, I know you better than that. When you wake up in the middle of the night, not even the strongest sleeping pills can get you back to sleep.”

“It’s been a while since I needed sleeping pills,” I objected. “Things have changed.”

“By that, you mean you haven’t tried to bypass sleep altogether ever since? Yes, I know that. Now it’s more like sleep is bypassing you, and I don’t think that it ever did ask for your consent.”

“Whatever, Kellah, I am in no mood, or condition to chit-chat right now. Okay?”

“No. Brian, I’ve been trying to have an actual conversation with you since Luisa died and you showed up at the kennel! I know you’re not the talking kind and I know you’re a natural jerk…”

“Hey!” I exclaimed.

She gave me the Look and continued, “But it’s not about you, it’s about Silvia! So you need to find a way to cooperate, even if it is... Difficult. For. You. It’s been the same for me as well. Do you think I consider this a walk on the beach? Or, in our case, on the mountain?! Why did you bring us here, Brian? Why the heck did we have to buy hiking equipment and have to climb up that mountain, which nobody attempts at this time of year? You’re putting us all in danger, especially your five-year-old sister! She’s five! How in the world do you expecther to climb a mountain which is a challenge for pro hikers?!”

“You know how? With my help, as always. And I can’t stand here, with my arms crossed, waiting for them to get her. Because anywhere we go, they’re going to find us. We don’t stand a damn chance against those freaking monsters! Climbing that stupid mountain is our only hope!”

“What do you mean?”

“Has mom ever talked to you about the friends she made during the little time she traveled?” I inquired.

“Vaguely mentioned it, I believe,” she agreed.

“She came here,” I explained. “She knows people on that mountain who can help us.”

“What? Have you lost your mind? There’s no way there are people living there!”

“Wanna bet?” I challenged her.

She frowned and lightly tapped her bare foot on the wooden floor. “And whatkind of people are they exactly?”

“Some who can offer some protection for us for the time being. We can hide there for a while, to figure out where we should go. And maybe… finally… get some answers. It’s going to be beneficial for both us, and Lillian.” And we need to get there before we run out of time… before she runs out of time, I thought darkly.

“Lillian?” Her brows creased and an expression of confusion clouded her face. “What kind of benefit could there be for her getting there? What have I missed Brian? What aren’t you telling me?”

I wanted to slap my forehead at my stupidity, at letting more out than I should. I tried to keep a straight face and I shrugged. “Nothing. Whatever. She might be able to stay there and be protected. That way we’re also getting rid of her when we have to leave that place,” I said, trying to make my voice sound indifferent.

“What is going on between Lillian and you anyway? It’s not like I haven’t noticed there’s a lot of tension between you two. Like… you really seem like a couple that’s fighting a lot.”

“We’re not a couple!” I practically roared. I cleared my throat and tried to take some calming breaths. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said in a quiet voice.

“Whatever you say. But let me say this, Brian, the way you just reacted speaks volumes, dear boy.” She smirked then nodded but even from her tone alone, I could sense she didn’t believe me. “Trust me, one of these days, we’re gonna have that talk. And that is going to be before we leave for that damned mountain because I think you’re insane and even trying to climb that thing is going to be the death of us. We’ll never make it to the top whole.”

“We will,” I said instantly. We have to, I whispered inside my head.

“We’re still gonna have that talk. You can’t avoid it forever.”

 

“Dream on,” I mumbled and threw the covers on top of my head, although she was right. I wouldn’t sleep again for the night. Is she right? Have I doomed us already? No! I have to believe that they can help us protect Silvia and save Lillian. Please… let me be making the right decision and let us get there in time, I thought to myself and sighed as I concentrated on the ticking of the clock to drown out Lillian’s soft breathing.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To read the next chapter... You'll have to wait till the next update! :D