Crossing Paths

When I opened my eyes, Gerritt and Gideon were hovering over me, putting their hands on my face and calling my name.

“I’m here, I’m back.” I said, sitting up and swatting away their hands.

“What do you mean? Lay down, Melissa. You could have another attack at any moment, dear,” Gideon said, trying to push me backwards onto the pillow.

“No, no, no! Listen to me!” I said, loudly.

The two of them stopped and stepped away from me.

I realized the silver orbs had appeared around me again, as they always did when I started to lose my temper.

Gideon seemed to be awestruck by the sight, which I didn’t understand, but Gerritt must have spent enough time around me by now that he realized those orbs meant I was getting pissed off.

“Sorry, Melissa. I’m just trying to make sure you’re okay. That was a pretty big headache you just had,” Gerritt said, but he sat in the chair by Gideon’s desk instead of crowding me again.

“I want to open my mind to you all,” I said, out loud, hoping that was enough for Esther to break through.

“All? You mean both?” Gideon asked, though his eyes still followed the glowing orbs instead of looking at my face.

I shook my head, but stayed quiet, waiting for Esther’s voice.

‘I’m here, but it feels like you’re barely letting me through. You have to really want it.’ Esther said in my mind.

Gideon and Gerritt both stood up and looked around us, as if trying to find the source of this strange, new voice.

‘I said I wanted to open my mind!’ I said in frustration, back to Esther.

“What is going on?” Gideon said, and I could feel his concern.

I held up my hand and said, “Shhh. I need to concentrate.”

“Gerritt?” Gideon said.

I stopped paying attention to them and closed my eyes, listening only to Esther’s voice.

‘You have to want this to happen. Do you?’ she asked me.

‘Of course, I don’t want everyone and their brother in my head, but I am willing to allow it for the purpose of getting you out,’ I thought to her.

‘Who are you?’ Gideon’s voice in my mind asked.

‘Who are you?’ Esther shot back, with a snotty tone.

I knew that wasn’t going to fly.

‘I am Gideon Preydor. You are invading the mind of my daughter and I do not appreciate the intrusion,’ Gideon said back.

Esther laughed and said, ‘Believe me, vampire. I don’t appreciate it either. Why don’t you sit down and hush while the Fae have a chat?’

“Can everyone just shut up for a minute until I get this figured out!” I shouted, out loud.

Everyone fell silent. It was nice. I wished I could enjoy it, but I was busy trying to make it noisy again.

‘Esther?’ I called in my mind.

‘Let me help you out, twit,’ she said, ‘If you don’t want this, I can just stay here, in your head, making snide remarks and driving you and these two into utter insanity. If you do want this, I can speak freely between you all and we can figure out how I got here and how to get me the hell out.’

‘I want that.’ I thought to her.

Suddenly, it was as if my ears popped when coming down a mountain. I could hear Esther’s thoughts. I could hear Gideon’s and Gerritt’s thoughts. I could feel them separately, and I could feel how to shut off each one. Esther had freed me by making me want the one thing I thought I would never accept.

‘So much better! And see, you even learned how to turn us off. What an ace student!’ Esther said.

’Gerritt’s voice in my head asked, ‘Who are you?’

‘This again. Okay. I am Esther Sitara, former queen of the Fae.’ Esther said.

Silence. For once these two men had nothing to say.

I could feel Gideon searching my mind, as if trying to figure out where Esther came from.

“Gideon, do you mind? This is kind of weird for me and-” I started to say, but Gideon interrupted.

He cursed, which I rarely heard him do, then he put a hand to his temple and rubbed, “How did you do that?”

‘She’s not just a vamp anymore. I’m trying to tell you,’ Esther said, ‘If she has my power then the two of you are in for a real treat.’

Gerritt had not said a word since Esther had introduced herself.

“What did I do?” I asked Gideon, but my attention was on Gerritt.

He was staring at me and had a look of wonder in his eyes.

“You pushed me out of your head in a very impolite manner,” Gideon responded, not noticing the strange tension between Gerritt and me.

‘I see now. By the gods, how did you survive?’ Gerritt’s voice said, softly, in my head.

I could only imagine the scenes he was watching in my memories. My childhood without a family, my teen years in foster homes and group homes, the years I spent stripping in that seedy bar to help my drug-dealing boyfriend find more sad people to sell his poison to, my attempt to end my life after losing my baby, and all the tortures inflicted on me by the Fae after Almin kidnapped me.

I could feel Gerritt’s desire to comfort me, but now was not the time to deal with that.

‘Gerritt? You are a member of Oceania’s royal family?’ Esther said, thankfully not questioning the words he had just spoken.

Gerritt cleared his throat and said, out loud, “Yes. Queen Finna is my mother’s sister.”

‘Why aren’t you sitting in some palace with a fancy title and lands to oversee?’ Esther asked, but not sarcastically. She was seriously curious as to why a member of royalty would choose the life of a guardsman.

‘That is my business. What do you need from us?’ Gerritt responded, in my mind.

I felt Esther’s amusement at Gerritt’s reaction.

‘Could you stop trying to torment everyone and just get on with it, queen of the clowns?’ I said to Esther, then imagined the sight of her in the clown costume I had put her in earlier.

Gideon and Gerritt both chuckled, so I knew they could see, too.

Esther ignored them and started explaining, ‘When my people were being hunted and killed, butchered and parted out like cattle, I went into hiding. The idea was that I would remain safely hidden away until the hunts could be ended. At first, I stayed with the dwarfs. They were very hospitable and invited me to stay in their king’s palace. I didn’t want to be rude, but I was trying to stay out of politics and out of the attention of anyone who might recognize me. My…’ her voice in my mind seemed to catch when she continued, ‘My advisor told me not to go. He said it was too dangerous to be seen. I thought he was just being overprotective, but he didn’t tell me the truth. The truth was, he had seen a band of hunters trading with the dwarfs just that day. One of the hunters was someone familiar. He recognized my advisor and tried to speak with him. Kort, my advisor, pretended he had no memory of the hunter.’

“Wait, the dwarfs allowed you to hide in their lands, but they invited a party of Argent hunters?” Gerritt asked.

‘They didn’t believe we were in danger. The hunters claimed they were only killing bears. Maybe they were, but that one hunter had a hunger for something bigger.’ Esther replied.

“So, the hunter saw you?” I asked, interested in the story.

‘Yes. Like I said, I didn’t want to offend my hosts, so I went to the palace, thinking they’d just put me in a room and leave me alone. I was wrong about that. The dwarf king, Froth, had decided that his military was strong enough to withstand any hunter who came for me and that there was no reason he shouldn’t benefit from allowing me to hide in his kingdom.’

“Benefit?” Gerritt said with an expression of disgust.

‘Oh, he didn’t want me for himself. He wasn’t that kind of man. He wanted me to marry his son. That was his offer. I could stay and be protected by his army, live in his palace, marry his son and use my power to benefit his people,’ Esther thought to us and her memories showed us a vision of a throne room with a short, squat throne.

I felt her anger when she continued, ‘When I graciously declined his offer and tried to go back to the quarters Kort and I had shared since we arrived, King Froth became angry. He was beet red and shouting at me so loud, I’m surprised the whole palace didn’t crumble. Me, being the hotheaded bigmouth that I am, let go of my own anger as I shouted back at him.’

“Oh,” Gerritt and I said in unison.

We looked at each other, but I quickly looked away.

“The hunter saw the orbs,” I said.

‘Yes,’ Esther said.

“The orbs mean you’re angry?” Gideon asked, looking curious.

Esther laughed, ‘Yes, or extremely upset by something.’

I felt him looking at me and I also felt his silent apology. Apparently, he’d had no idea I was in distress when those silvery balls appeared.

I smiled at him.

‘Anyways, the hunter saw my orbs and he came at me, sword raised, as if I had no way of defending myself,’ she laughed and shook her head, ‘I was scared and angry and I lost control. I meant to knock him backwards with a shot of starlight. Instead,’ she stopped using words and showed us in pictures what had happened.

It had not been a clean death for that hunter. The scene was gruesome, bloody, charred and smoking flesh plastered every surface around where the hunter had once stood.

“Holy crap,” I said, silently wondering if I had that ability.

‘I can show you some things before I go,’ Esther said, then finished her story, “I was thrown out of Froth’s kingdom with Kort. We had nowhere to go, as we were, but Kort could shapeshift. He had a chance at a life and a shot at stopping the Argent hunts. I told him to put my soul into a soul stone and wake me up when it was safe. I meant to come back home and help my people rebuild.’

“What happened?” Gideon asked.

‘I don’t know. I said goodbye and Kort did the ritual to place me in the stone. Then, I woke up, but I couldn’t do anything or say anything. I’ve been stuck inside this head watching Melissa live and trying to get her attention,’ Esther said.

“What is a soul stone?” Gideon asked, and he had that thoughtful look on his face again.

I was curious about soul stones, too.

“Soul stones are crystals imbued with powerful Fae magics used to hold us in a kind of dreamless sleep until a certain time,” Gerritt answered for Esther.

‘Right. I don’t know how Almin got me from there into here, but I’m hoping that we can find a way to get me out and into my own body,’ Esther said.

“Your body is saved somewhere?” I asked her, misunderstanding.

‘No, no. A new body will be built using my essence. It will look like I did before, I think. It’s hard to say how this will go since you’ve absorbed my essence already,’ Esther said.

“What is essence?” Gideon asked.

His questions were going somewhere, I hoped.

‘Essence is attached to the soul and holds a Fae’s power, bloodline and potential. Some Fae think it also stores memories and personality, but I think we’ve disproved that theory,’ Esther said with a sigh.

Gideon sighed and his expression was grim.

“What is it, Gideon?” I asked, because I couldn’t see his thoughts as clearly as I could read Gerritt’s or Esther’s.

“I’m merely making uneducated guesses, but I would assume that if my Melissa has “absorbed” your essence that it is now attached to her soul,” he suggested.

I wondered why he had added the “my” before my name. Was he feeling possessive of me?

‘That’s possible. I couldn’t say for sure. Complex magic was never my strong point,’ Esther said, ‘So, what we need to do is-’

“My concern is with the fact that my daughter is not a full blooded or conventionally born Fae, and you are. My daughter is not a former queen, and you are. My daughter does not know the ins and outs, so to speak, of the Fae lifestyle,” Gideon said, loudly interrupting Esther and, again, using that possessive “my”.

Gerritt and I both had our heads cocked to the side, watching Gideon speak and then listening for Esther’s response in my mind.

‘Oh, I am well aware of Melissa’s many shortcomings in the area of all things Fae,’ Esther said, chuckling.

I knew Gideon well enough to recognize when something was boiling beneath the surface of his calm demeanor, as it clearly was right now.

“I don’t see any humor in this situation, young lady,” he suddenly roared, then, “Just what do you think will happen when a call must be made? Do we save the beloved queen, or do we save the half Fae, half vampire girl?”

‘I don’t think it’s like that at all,’ Esther said, but I could feel her discomfort.

“It seems like we won’t know if anything is possible until we go back to Oceania and talk to the healers,” Gerritt said, looking at me apologetically.

“To Hell with Oceania!” Gideon growled.

“Okay, what is the deal with you? You’re freaking out. No one has threatened me,” I said, getting up and going to Gideon.

He put his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes, as if to compel me.

Instead, he said, “Melissa, as your sire, it is my responsibility to keep you safe. Even though they are telling you that you’re now one of them, remember that you are also still a vampire, still part of me.”

‘Aw, super cute dad moment. So, we’re agreed that-’ Esther tried to pick up the conversation again but was interrupted by Gerritt this time.

“Gideon’s right. I do know the Fae and I know that they’ll always choose their own over an outsider,” he said, then added, “It would explain my aunt’s interest.”

Gideon was nodding and I knew that there was a lot I had missed by blocking them out.

‘We’re off topic, people. Let’s bring it back. Okay, so we-’ Esther started.

This time, I interrupted, “What do you mean by that, Gerritt?”

Esther sighed.

Gerritt shrugged, “She’s never been one to show kindness to an outsider. Maybe she’s hoping to save Esther and use her to increase Oceania’s power.”

“If she has to destroy the outsider in the process?” Gideon pressed.

Gerritt shook his head, “I wouldn’t feel good about the odds.”

Gideon was right about something else. I didn’t know enough about the Fae. I needed to learn about being a Fae. I wanted to learn how to use whatever power’s I might have been lucky enough to acquire in this horror. I would need this knowledge to take control of my life. I would need it to take bake control of my path.

“I need to go back to Oceania.” I said.

‘Finally!’ Esther said.

Gerritt and Gideon both looked horrified at the idea.

“No, I don’t think you heard me,” Gerritt said.

At the same time, Gideon was shaking his head and saying, “No. Absolutely not. I will not allow it!”

“The only way I can figure out all of this is to start at the beginning. I’ll go to Oceania, like the queen had suggested, and study with the scholars there,” I said.

‘That sounds boring. I was thinking more of going there and trying to find someone who can get me out of here, but in a secret, hidey, don’t-let-them-know-you’re-here kind of way,’ Esther said.

“You said it yourself, Esther, sweetie. I suck at all things Fae,” I said in a snotty voice, “I think I should fix that.”

“The queen will try to sway you to her will,” Gideon said.

Gerritt nodded.

‘I won’t let you do anything stupid, twit,’ Esther said, mocking my snotty tone.

I stood up and put my hands on my hips, then said, “There’s going to be some rules for this mind thing. Esther, you are going to stop being a pain in the ass. Gerritt, you are going to stop searching my memories for ways to make me love you. Gideon, I know you’re trying to help, and I appreciate that, which is why you will come with me to Oceania, as my advisor.”

Gideon seemed to think that was acceptable. He smiled and nodded.

‘Hey, I’m stuck in here, twit. What’re you going to do if I don’t stop being a pain in the ass?’ Esther said.

I looked at Gideon and Gerritt to make sure they knew what I was doing. Then, I said, “This.” and I blocked them all out of my head.

I could feel Esther trying to come back through, but I was strong enough to keep her quiet, easily.

“Impressive,” Gideon said, smiling, even though I knew he wouldn’t like not being able to look into my thoughts.

Gerritt just looked disappointed.

That was just too bad. I was taking control of this situation. From now on, I made my decisions. I chose my path.

“Oceania, here we come!”