Chasing Shadows (14 page)
“Luke will be training with you today instead of me,” Clamora said, her voice lifeless and cold.
“Why—”
“I have paperwork that I need to do, and phone calls to make. It is very important. I will see you tomorrow.” Clamora cut me off with a tone that held a ring of finality.
An awkward silence fell over Fiora, Sebastian, and me. We walked toward the fireproof training room. Luke sat in a chair behind the fireproof glass. He stood up as we entered the room and smiled widely at us. I felt Sebastian tense up next to me, his dislike for Luke apparent. Fiora ran to the bathroom to change into her old burnt clothes. Even though she was a fire nymph, she had to learn to control the element like I did. It made the difficult task seem less unfriendly. Sebastian looked at the fireproof outfit laid out for him and shook his head to dismiss it. Then he quickly changed his mind when he noticed the black marks around the room. The outfit looked incredibly sexy on him, and I couldn’t help but smile to myself as inappropriate thoughts ran through my mind. A deep blush flooded my cheeks as Fiora walked back in. She winked at me and then whistled at Sebastian. Figuring it was time to start my practice, I stood in my usual spot and started my exercises.
First I tried getting a small flame to light on my fingertips, which was a fairly difficult task. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I focused on not letting the flames get out of control. When I finished with that, I made a ball of fire between my palms, and that was a lot easier, considering I practiced that more than anything else. As soon as I was finished, Fiora gave me instructions for my lesson of the day. She told me to create a fireball but to keep it in one hand and slowly release it so it would float in midair. I made the fireball, held it in one hand for a moment, focusing on its energy, and then released it to float about in the air. However the little ball of fire had a completely different idea. It shot straight up and bounced around the room, almost hitting Luke in the shoulder. Fiora jumped up and took control of the flames before anything catastrophic could happen. With a soft exhale of breath, she let the fire float above her hand. A soft smile spread across her face as she made the ball dance and spin around her. Watching her control it so easily made me focus harder. Flicking my fingers softly, I got a small ball of flame going in my hand; I felt its mood as well as its undisturbed energy. Using the speed of a turtle, I let the ball float up. Red flames flicked out hungrily, wanting to bounce around the room, but I forced it to stay where it was. It listened. Unhappy, the little ball grew brighter, and I knew I had to help it release energy. Very carefully, I ordered it to spin in circles and dance, much like Fiora had done. A burst of joy spread through my body, but I kept the ball under control. Taking a deep breath, I called the flames back to my palm and pulled the energy inward, making the flames fade away.
Fiora had an idea to show me how to control fire. She would help me master particular tasks, for example throw fire at a target, light a candle with just my finger, or to stop a fire completely. One by one, I nailed them all. Sebastian looked at me with pride and joy while Luke stared at me in utter shock. I felt proud of myself, and tired by the end of the day. It was hard for me to stand on my feet without help. Using my energy to learn how to control my abilities was exhausting. My eyelids fluttered as Sebastian helped me into his car. The seat was cool and felt extremely comfortable on my back. Closing my eyes completely, I sank into the seat and quickly fell asleep.
***
My bed was cold and empty when I woke up. Drool spots covered my pillow and my cheeks. At first I was confused and thought that I was still in Sebastian’s car. I sat up and looked around with blurry eyes. It was around midnight according to my alarm clock, and the moon was shining brightly through my windows. Wiping the drool off my face, I walked to my bathroom. The mirror hanging above my sink reflected my face. There were thick, heavy blue bags under my eyes, and my face was far too pale. As I continued to stand there, staring at my reflection, I started to get dizzy. Black spots filtered into my line of sight, and I clutched the sink with a deadly grasp as my legs started to give out. Each of my knuckles ached as I hung onto the edges. With shaky hands, I turned the faucet on and splashed cold water on my face. After a few more minutes, I made my way back to my bed on unsteady legs. I collapsed the second my shins hit the metal frame. Everything went black.
The sun was burning my skin. It was too hot; I kicked my blankets off and fell to the floor with a loud thud. My head smacked the bedside table on the way down, and I groaned in pain. With my hand on my head, I sat up and looked at my alarm clock. The big red letters told me it was noon. I scrambled up off the floor and ran into the bathroom. As I brushed my hair and teeth, my mom peeked into the room. She smiled softly and asked how I was feeling. Her question startled me a bit, and I remembered how I had felt the night before. A wave of dizziness attacked me, and I had to hold onto the sink to balance myself. Her big blue eyes were full of worry as they watched me, and she quickly disappeared. Minutes later, when I was back in bed, my mom popped in to give me some homemade chicken potpie soup. While I ate, she checked my temperature. Once I was done eating, she took the tray and left me to fall back into peaceful slumber.
Creaking floorboards woke me up. My heart rate accelerated when I thought about who might be lurking in the shadows of my room. Terrified, I opened one eye and looked around cautiously. A dark figure sat in my chair, watching the sun set over the horizon. Screams clogged my throat, and I choked. The figure jerked around to look at me. I jumped under the covers and prepared myself to call upon fire in order to protect myself. Hands grasped the blankets and pulled them down. In that exact moment I called fire and my entire hand was ablaze. Words poured out of the figure’s mouth, and I quickly realized it was Sebastian. Without even thinking about it, I pulled the fire’s energy back into my body so it died out. He sat on the edge of the bed when he was sure I wouldn't try to burn him again, and grabbed my hand. Smiling softly, he carefully kissed my knuckles and continued to watch the sunset. We sat there quietly, unmoving, until the sun had said its goodbyes and opened space for the night skies.
“I brought homework for you.” Sebastian pointed to my schoolbooks on the floor.
“Thanks. What about training?” I was curious if Clamora was going to push my strength and abilities until I couldn’t move at all.
“We won’t be doing any, at least not for a while. Clamora wants me to teach you some stuff about supernaturals and the u da yv la dv.” He smiled at me as he spoke.
“How come we won’t train? I mean, it’s not like I wouldn’t enjoy a break from it, because I would. It’s just surprising that Clamora wants me to learn about other stuff.” I wrinkled my forehead and chewed on my lip.
“She wants to figure out what caused you to become so ill. It wasn’t a spell or anything. We know that. It’s something else. We just don’t know what it could be yet. So Clamora is going to go see some people and try to figure it out. She said that you need to stay out of school for at least a week.” Sebastian shrugged his shoulders and sighed.
“This just means we get to spend some time together.” I smiled at the thought of being alone with him.
“Yes, it does. But, for now, my love, you must rest. I will be back tomorrow morning. That is when we will start your lessons on the supernatural.” He winked at me, then kissed my forehead and departed.
My heart fluttered around in my chest while I lay there and stared at the ceiling. As I tried to calm my heart, I thought about all that had happened in the past month, how everything in my life that I believed in or thought were myths and legends had come true and changed me. Part of me was like Sebastian, a vampire. The rest of me was fairy or witch. It was scary at first, especially when I was going through my change. But after it happened, I felt like I had finally fallen into place with my mind, body, and soul. For a lot of people, it would be terrifying, but for me it was natural. I was where and who I was meant to be. At that moment, I was content with it all. With one last deep breath, I fell back into the deep slumber of the dead.
I was sitting on one of the bar stools at the kitchen counter when Sebastian walked in. My mom had made me some breakfast before she left for work. He smiled at me, and my heart raced. As I chewed on some bacon, Sebastian sat next to me and stole a piece of sausage. With a devious wink he popped it into his mouth and closed his eyes in pure joy. Sebastian’s hand tried to reach for more of my food, and I poked my fork toward the stove. Even though he was a vampire, he still occasionally ate human food, which was confusing at times. I made a mental note to ask him about that again during our lessons. He stood , headed for the stove, and came back with a plate full of eggs, bacon, sausage, and hash browns. We laughed when he scooped up a large portion and shoveled it in his mouth. Once I was done, I washed my plate, covered the leftovers, and put them in the fridge. It took Sebastian a few more minutes to finish up, and he rinsed his plate off before we headed upstairs.
We left my bedroom door open as we settled down to start my lessons. Sebastian picked up my reading chair and set it down gently beside my bed. He waited for me to get comfortable before he started in on teaching me about the supernaturals. “In the beginning, the gods and goddesses of all civilizations watched humans take advantage of the earth and her treasures. They grew wary of the way humans forgot their ways and backgrounds, even the diligent sacrifices they made to appease the gods. After a few hundred years of this, the gods convened. Some say they met in Garden of Eden, others say Babylon. No one really knows which place, or if it was somewhere else. As they met with each other, they argued, fought, agreed, and decided on a plan. If humans were no longer appreciative of the gods and what was given to them, then the gods would create a new species to help the earth, keep populations down, and to give them the praise they deserved. Each god and goddess had the opportunity to create a species. Zeus decided which species were good ideas and which were not. You have seen or heard of a few of the supernatural creatures, but there are many more. There are werewolves, trolls, elves, goblins, spirit walkers, shape shifters, healers, banshees, pixies, mermaids, sirens, and the others that you already know. If there are more, they keep very well hidden and out of the way.
“Zeus did not want the u da yv la dv to exist at first. But Hades fought against him with everything he had. He manipulated and lied in order to get Zeus to agree. After the supernaturals were created, laws were set in place for them. None of the supernaturals could create each other or procreate to make more. This way, they would never overpopulate, and take over the world. With this in place, the gods chose certain families to carry the bloodlines, or genes, that the supernaturals would carry. Spirits are reincarnated into families with those specific bloodlines. However, Hades disobeyed Zeus’s laws and allowed the u da yv la dv to create others and procreate. Zeus forced the u da yv la dv to live in a different world inside of our own, never allowing them the light of day. But even Zeus’s magic could not keep Hades from going in and out. So Hades continued to pass through their world as well as his own, giving the u da yv la dv new magic and even bringing them humans to change.
“After Zeus and the others noticed this, the gods began to recycle pure souls faster and faster. Your soul was one of them. You were born into three bloodlines, which is completely rare; in fact, you are the only one that has been recorded. The gods were very careful not to allow something like this to happen—until you. We do not know why or how. But the deities are happy it happened.” Sebastian stopped long enough to take a breath and drink some water. “So now that you know how we were created, I am going to tell you about specific supernaturals. Unless you have any questions for me, that is.” He looked at me with a curious glance.
“If Zeus locked them away, how did they come out of their world into ours?” I asked.
“Hades found a way. I don’t know if there was a traitor in the gods’ realm who helped him, but he found a crack in the seal. And along with giving them more power, he also gave them the ability to enter and exit as they pleased, but only the strongest of them can do so. Not all of them have that capability. Any more questions before we move on?” he asked.
I shook my head and waited for him to continue with the next subject.
“I figure I will start with the beings that you are: vampire, witch, and fairy. First, I think I will choose the vampire. You haven’t been told too much about it. Now, is your chance to learn.” Sebastian winked at me with a gleam in his eyes.
I swallowed hard and nodded my head.
“Vampires were one of the first supernaturals created. Athena and Aphrodite created us. We are creatures of love and habit. We walk this earth ready to protect and guard what the gods want us to. Vampires can walk in the daylight; after all, we were created in it. Legends are mostly incorrect, which is how the gods wanted it. They wanted people to believe that we were just scary stories you told your children so they would eat their vegetables and sleep at night. But we are not. Garlic and crosses do not harm us, nor does holy water or anything that comes from a Bible. Wooden stakes can hurt us, but not kill us. We are immortal. For the most part, that is. If a u da yv la dv bites or uses any kind of dark magic toward a vampire, it can be fatal. However, there are only few that can heal us. And I think you will be one of the few.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “We do drink blood and have longer canines. But we can eat normal human food too, as long as we keep blood in our system, and as long as it meat based it will taste all right. The canines are on top and bottom, so there are only four. As you can tell, yours haven’t elongated yet. They won’t until we start training on the abilities that come with being a vampire. Your weaknesses and strengths will be a little different from mine and other vampires’, but we will figure out what they are as soon as we can.”