Marie Harte - Aftershocks

Ellie raised a brow. “Mom, I’m twenty-eight. Exactly how old was I supposed to be before you told me all this?”

Mandy blushed. “I know, I know. It’s just that you seemed so happy in Seattle. You had a promising future, almost a Masters degree, Mandy. And you were so popular. So pretty and smart, and so safe.”

“I think I understand, Mom. But that still doesn’t explain why he couldn’t have shown up more than once or twice a year.” She couldn’t help the resentment still lingering deep inside.

“I made your father promise to stay away, so that you wouldn’t be tempted to join him in Foreia. I wanted you to have a normal life away from magic and danger. I wanted you to grow up strong, not like me.”

“Mom, you’re saying you made him stay away?” All the years of blaming her father for abandonment, not wanting to see him because he couldn’t care enough to even visit on her birthday, and it was her mother’s fault?

“Don’t blame Mandy, honey,” her father said quietly. “I didn’t like it, but I saw the wisdom in keeping my distance. The Djinn are Dark, you know that. As The Sarqua, my life is filled with danger.” He scowled at Jonas, who squirmed in his seat. “In fact, if anyone had conferred with me before your visit here now, I’d have denied you access.”

“We didn’t have a choice,” Jonas defended.

“No, we didn’t,” Mandy agreed. “I could sense, from looking at Cadmus, that we needed to leave our world at once. One of us would have died had we stayed.”

Ethim cleared his throat. “Be that as it may, the point is that life is fraught with danger. Though my life has more than its share, my magic gives me an edge. But Ellie, until you accept your Darkness, you’ll forever be vulnerable to attack.”

Ellie remained silent. She had too much to process. Guilt, worry, anger. She’d treated her father wrongly, allowed her mother’s worries to colour her attitude and suffered in her relationships because of it. Cadmus was the one she needed now, the one man, the one relationship she hadn’t failed.

She stood, determined to talk with him, if nothing else. He was an objective viewpoint, something she needed very much right now.

“Ellie,” Mandy said.

“Let her go.” Ethim stopped his wife from rising. “Give her some space.” He nodded to Jonas.

Ellie ignored them and left the building behind as she walked towards two guards she’d seen earlier. “I’d like to see Cadmus Storm.”

They looked at one another, then over her shoulder in question.

She glanced back to see Jonas shadowing her steps. Irritation flickered. “What are you, my guard dog?”

He ignored her. “Bring Cadmus.”

“But Jonas,” one of the guards paused.

He nodded to the other. “Take her to the pavillion. Ellie, I’ll be with you shortly, with Cadmus.”

He left to talk to the other guard, a frown growing on his face. Then he disappeared, shimmering to God-knew-where.

Ellie walked despondently behind the large Djinn leading her into the forest along a trail.

How the hell could her mother have lied to her for so many years? It wasn’t so much that she lied. Ellie well understood the pain of heart’s betrayal. Just one lashing from Cadmus and she’d wanted to hide in the dark forever. It’s what made facing the continued love she felt for him so frightening.

No, what bothered Ellie the most were the terrible thoughts and feelings she’d attributed to a father who had, by all appearances, not wanted to be with her. Who knew better than she did that appearances could be deceiving? Ethim had held fast to her mother’s pledge to make Ellie’s life a better, safer one, and so had kept his distance. Great, now I feel guilt for an absentee father on top of lust for a man I can’t have. And I’m pissed at my mother, a woman who couldn’t hurt a fly. I’m just batting a thousand today. She tripped over a tree root and fell into her guide.

He glanced back. “You okay?”

“Fine.” How had her sane life suddenly turned into this?

As if this emotional roller coaster weren’t bad enough, a burning sensation kept distracting her. Foreia kept calling to Ellie. She knew she should answer, yet she couldn’t. She didn’t plan on being here that long. In just a few days, she’d return to Seattle. If she heeded Foreia’s call, she could probably kiss normalcy good-bye. Hell, a few days with Cadmus and she’d been feeling the burn of sunlight at home. One kiss from the Dark magic here and she’d probably start burning in truth .

They reached an area suddenly lit by moonlight, and Ellie couldn’t help gasping at the amazing beauty before her. Surrounding the pavillion—a small rose-coloured wooden gazebo—lay clumps of the sweetest smelling flowers she’d ever had the pleasure of inhaling.

“ Scythia. ” The Djinn before her grunted. “Grows like wildfire out here.”

He posted himself by the edge of the small clearing and nodded at her to continue inside.

She couldn’t stop staring. Intricate craftsmanship had created the pavillion. Carvings of wild animals mingled with flowers in the mauve wood that smelled faintly of roses. The scythia made it hard to distinguish smells, and the sweetness in the air made her almost lightheaded with joy. Despite the pain of her parents’ divulged secrets, Ellie felt strangely at peace in the quiet serenity of the gazebo.

She walked through the dark entrance and blinked as light hit her eyes. Stunned, she glanced from the dancing flame hanging suspended in mid-air, wondering how she’d missed the light outside. Stepping back outside, she saw nothing but darkness. Must be magic. The thought made her wonder, and as she entered the gazebo again, she glanced around, more than curious.

Benches lined the waist-high octagonal walls of the place, which supported the structure but for two doorways. Through the windows she could see clusters of scythia far and wide, and just beyond the far exit of the pavillion, she noted a large pool reflecting the moonlight.

In the centre of the pavillion sat a high table filled with trays laden with food and drink. Apparently, Jonas was trying to make up for her shock by feeding her to death. A small smile turned her mouth. Jonas cared as much about her as her parents did. And why shouldn’t he, considering he’d been by her side from day one. Though her father had rarely visited, Jonas always had. Presents, tricks, and special lessons in magic her mother had known nothing about.

Grabbing a ceramic goblet from the table, she stared into the cup and noted what looked like water. The beverage smelled sweet, and the taste was a cross between raspberry soda and lemonade.

Sitting, she drank and pondered what her life might have been like had her father been someone normal, someone human. Then she sighed, realising had that been the case, she never would have met the insufferable Storm Lord even now inconveniencing her. She sent out a brief “ Hello,” but frowned when she couldn’t sense him anywhere.

“Where are you, Cadmus?”

Cadmus groaned when Remir threw him to the ground in the small, dismal cell. “Was it necessary to use so much force on a lightweight like myself?” He didn’t say much more, feeling around his cracked jaw.

Through swollen eyes, he saw Remir frown. “For someone who battled nearly my entire family just a few months ago, you didn’t put up much of a fight tonight. Disappointing in a Storm Lord.”

Cadmus had enough spirit left to prod the Djinn’s temper. “Not really,” he rasped. “I just thought it would be more sporting if the next time I tangled with you lekharns that I’m half-dead. That way you’d have better odds of actually winning. We both know one on one you’d never win.”