Finding Fae

It looked like I was in Arizona. Somewhere in the desert, surrounded by red sand and brush that looked like it wanted to kill you and drink your fluids, which, it probably did. But it wasn’t hot here. It was kinda cold, actually, like just before the first hard freeze in the northern parts of the US.

“You’re not going to make it,” someone said making me turn around. It was a young man that, oddly looked a lot like me, only male.

“What am I supposed to do?” I asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” he shook his head. “You’re going to die here, just like the rest of us.”

“The rest of who?” I asked, incredibly confused.

“Our family,” he said and walked away, disappearing like a mirage.

“Wait!” I called and tried to follow him, but a heavy hand on my shoulder stopped me.

“It’s better if you ignore them,” an older man said. “Trying to follow them will only make things worse.”

I looked at him and he looked like he was in his fifties, but was in good shape for his age. He had a salt and pepper beard and mustache and matching hair that was super thick. Around his eyes was wrinkled, like he spent a lot of time laughing and smiling and his hands were rough, like he used them a lot in hard labor.

“How’s your mother?” he asked and I felt my forehead crinkle.

“I... don’t know,” I answered. “Who are you?”

“How do you not know? Surely she’s right there with you. Did she not tell you about me?” he asked looking pained and sad. “I’m your grandfather.”

I was shocked. I had a grandfather? I mean, of course I did, but it never crossed my mind. I had been so busy thinking about my parents, the rest of my family didn’t even cross my mind.

“I’m sure she would have, but... Things didn’t go so well,” I said and he patted on a bench that he was suddenly sitting on.

I sat with him and told him about what had happened so I didn’t know anything about my family or what was going to happen. He was angry and sad and occasionally muttered under his breath, looking like the healthier version of an angry Santa Claus, but he took it all in before he sighed and patted my knee.

“I’m sorry, dear. You’ve had a hard time getting this far,” he shook his head.

“Who was that? Before?” I asked.

“Your uncle,” he said. “You mother’s twin. He didn’t make it through.”

“And what do I call you?” I asked.

“Grandpa would be great, but you can call me Charles, if you must,” he smiled. “Now, your uncle, while harsh, was right. Your physical body is very weak, which is what’s allowed us this time to catch up. Rules.”

“It’s my Awakening, isn’t it?” I asked, looking at my feet.

“Happy birthday, Faella,” he nodded and smiled at me.

“What?” I looked up at him again. “What did you call me?”

“Faella. Your given name,” he frowned.

“Fae Ella. First and middle name,” I shook my head with a snort. “They weren’t very clever, were they?”

“Clever enough to keep you away from your mother for eighteen years,” he said harshly. “But that’ll have to wait.”

“What’s going to happen?” I asked.

“More than you can handle,” he answered. “It’s the nature of the Trials. But, that holds another meaning for you. In here, you feel refreshed and able, but in reality, you’re weak. Try not to use too much here, because it will effect you out there.”

“Smarter, not harder. Got it,” I nodded.

“I don’t know what awaits you out there,” he said looking across the desert. “You can call me three times only if you need me, but make sure your need is real and true, because it will feel like the Trials will go on for days or weeks before you get anywhere near the end.”

“Spare the help. Check,” I said, looking out over the desert with him. “Which way do I go?”

“You’ll know when you start your journey.”

“Can I decline and just be human?” I asked.

“That’s not how it works, Fae,” he chuckled. “This is your blood, not your mind.”

“It’s going to hurt, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Indescribably so,” he nodded. “You look like a perfect mix of both of your parents.”

“Will you tell me about them?” I asked.

“I could tell you so much, but there isn’t enough time,” he smiled and helped me stand. “If you make it through, hopefully your mother will feel it.”

“She can do that?” I asked.

“Every mother feels when her child Awakens, just like every father feels when his son passes his Trials,” he nodded and kissed my forehead, making his beard tickle my face a little bit. “Good luck.”

Like my uncle, he disappeared like a mirage and I looked around, looking for a clue as to where I was supposed to go. Nothing stood out to me and I frowned. Charles said that I would know when I started. Well, I’ve started, right?

“Every journey begins with a single step” started ringing in my ears and I snorted. I hadn’t taken a step from where I had been before. Of course.

Rolling my eyes, I took a step forward and felt like I was going in the wrong direction, so I walked in a circle until I felt like it was right. Then, off I went.

People said that each Awakening was different. Two people never had the same experience. So, part of me wondered how my uncle got here. Charles had said “them” before, so there had to be more. Where were they? Who were they? My uncle hadn’t made it through his Awakening. Did that mean any others I met here didn’t make it? Charles made it, obviously. Was there some kind of selection process? Something to determine who stays to lead the next generation and who gets to rest without being called on again.

Then I wondered if something went wrong here, would there even be someone else? Did I have cousins? Did I have siblings? Oh sweet Spring, it would be crazy if I had siblings! Were they older than me? Younger? Sisters or brothers or both?

First, I had to get out of here, which meant I needed to not die. I kept walking. I had no idea what to expect. Was I just supposed to walk? I could jog a little bit, but Charles had warned me that my body was weak, despite how I felt here. So, I kept walking. It was still freezing cold and I could see my breath as I walked around the cactus and dried up shrubs. It was difficult to grasp, freezing in what looked like Arizona. Mal’s wings would be nice to have right about now.

“Malachi,” I whispered as I rubbed my arms to stay warm. “I’m coming back to you, I promise.”

Mal

I ran through the halls of the dungeons with Fae in my arms until I finally reached the wider halls of the manor. As soon as there was room, I was in the air and speeding away, tucking her into my chest as I aimed for one of the stained glass windows. Once outside, I smiled at the havoc below. Blaine was like a one man army, going from one victim to the next in a flash and Ben was using clones of himself to drag down enemies and rip into flesh. He was even using demon magic to turn his wisps into real fire before sending them into the fray to explode.

But it wasn’t just Ben and Blaine. Quinton was in there as well, with Mary next to him. Or should I think of them as Quinn and Justine, now? I also saw Zane’s big rottweiler form, which was a bit shocking, since he was supposed to be locked away until the haze passed in about a weeks time.

I flew hard and fast away from the commotion. That was the plan. Get Fae. Get out. Regroup later. I heard Ben through the wisps he attached to us all before we left the hotel for the woods.

“He’s got her!”

Blaine howled that creepy as hell howl of his, getting an answer from Zane as they started retreating slowly, watching each others back, then they were too far away to see.

“How is she?” Quinton asked.

“Not good. She’s in her Awakening now,” I replied. “I don’t think she’ll make it, she’s so weak.”

“Is she early?” Mary asked.

“It happened exactly at midnight,” I answered. “It’s on time.”

“Take her to our old manor,” Quinton said. “You know where it is?”

“I know,” I said as I adjusted my direction.

“Tell Bruno to call for Min and Lin. He’ll take care of everything,” he said and the wisp went quiet.

-----

It was one in the morning and I was exhausted. But I couldn’t even sit down right now. I was staring at the team of healers as they worked over Fae, who was laying on the bed I had placed her on.

I wasn’t allowed in the room, since they needed all the room they could get to move around while they worked. It was all I could do to stand in the doorway and not go to her.

“I don’t understand,” one of the healers said.

“What?” I asked, worried.

“She’s freezing cold to the touch but her body temperature is fairly normal,” she answered as she hovered her fingers over Fae’s face. “It’s tricking her body into thinking that it needs to burn energy that she doesn’t have.”

“Then warm her up,” I said.

“We can’t,” a different healer spoke up as he frowned. “If her body temperature is too high, it will have the same effect. There is no way to balance them without risking her life.”

“Move,” I snapped and pushed a hole through the healers until I was standing next to her.

I fell to my knees and held her newly healed hand in mine. I didn’t know what to do. I was her Bonded. I was here to help her through this ordeal. But I didn’t know what to do.

“Malachi,” I heard her, though her lips didn’t move. It was faint and sounded so far away, but it was her. “I’m coming back to you, I promise.”

I smiled and and held her knuckles against my lips, feeling how cold her skin was. Carefully, I lifted her slightly and got into the bed next to her, letting a wing fall over her body. Just a little heat. Not even enough to be considered a heating pad on a twisted ankle. I closed my eyes and fell asleep instantly.

-----

“Leave him be,” I heard Quinton say sadly. “Work around him as best you can. Right now, he’s the best chance she has at getting through this and the closer he is to her, the better she’ll respond to your work.”

“Yes, sir,” the healer said and I felt someone lift my wing a little before slipping their hands under to start working.

“What’s happened?” I asked groggily. “Is she okay?”

“Fae is fine, son,” Quinton said and I followed his gaze to a second bed. Then a third.

Healers were hovering over Mary, who was covered in blood from a wound that looked like it should have killed her. The third bed was still, a sheet pulled over the occupant.

“Who is that?” I said, sitting up, feeling the dread building in the bottom of my gut like a chunk of lead. “Quinn. Who’s on that bed?”

“I couldn’t stop him,” he said softly and looked away. “He came out of no where and... I owe him everything.”

I got up and went over, ripping the sheet back and choking on the wail that came out of me when I saw the paleness only death could bring. He wasn’t even supposed to be there and now...