Silent Orchids (The Age of Alandria: Book One) (28 page)

But before she moved, a sober moment passed between them. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you the truth, Kaeleigh. I wanted to so many times and there are still some things that I can’t tell you until the appointed times, but know that I was always there to protect and guide you—not that you ever really needed it,” Finn said with another wink.  

Kaeleigh softened what was about to be another outburst that there were
still
things he wasn’t telling her, but instead decided to just let it play out; after all, as he said, he was always there.  “I’m sorry too, Finn. You have always been there and I will just have to trust in that... in
you
...right now.”  

Chel was lying on her stomach to get a closer and “safer” view over the edge of the cliff, gazing at the rapids below. She saw Finn holding Kaeleigh’s hand, guiding her to the bridge following Daegan, and jumped up to get on the other side of Kaeleigh, wrapping her arm in Kaeleigh’s and giving her a quick squeeze and a smile. She couldn’t help it, she was excited to see what, if anything, would happen to Kaeleigh as they crossed over the bridge. Suddenly, the thought occurred to her that the river might reveal more to them all than just Kaeleigh’s unknowns. She jerked back and paused apprehensively.  

Daegan sighed impatiently, once again at their group having to stop because of drama. Kaeleigh gave him a quick glare and the universal “one minute” hand signal. Approaching Chel, she sensed her nervousness and quietly said, “We are in this together, no matter what. It’ll be okay. I’m scared too.” Knowing that would do the trick, Kaeleigh took a step back.

Chel stood up straight and looked at her defiantly. “I am not scared! I just didn’t want you to be outshone by the wondrousness of me that is about to be revealed,” Chel grabbed Kaeleigh’s hand, squeezed it, and pulled her toward the bridge along with her.  

Daegan gave Kaeleigh a barely seen little twitch of his mouth as they came up alongside him. Apparently, he approved of how she had handled Chel and for some reason she felt warm fuzzies inside because of it. She quickly squashed the feelings down as she didn’t want him to sense them, but she also didn’t want to
want
his approval or care what he thought about her... but she was starting to.  

Looking out over the bridge and then back at everyone else, Daegan said, “It is a very narrow bridge but it is safe; however, we can only go across one at a time. I will go first to ensure safety on the other side, girls will follow, and Finn, you bring up the rear.” Finn nodded as if expecting and approving Daegan’s direction. Daegan began to head across the bridge but Kaeleigh grabbed his arm and then quickly released it when he turned toward her, obviously irritated.  

“What happens once we are on the bridge? Do we need to do anything?” she asked him, then bit her bottom lip nervously.

Daegan stared at her for a moment too long before he seemed to remember she had asked him something. “Once in the middle of the bridge, wait for a second and the mist will perform its magic. You will see...” was all he said before he was in the middle of the bridge.  

Awkward
was all Kaeleigh could think as a blush crept up her neck to her cheeks. She hoped no one else was watching. 

From the edge of the overpass, where everyone else stood waiting, they could see what was happening in the middle of the bridge. Kaeleigh’s anticipation was high as was her anxiety. The idea of everyone being able to see
her
before she was really able to see for herself who or what she was—if anything—was starting to raise a panic within her. She had always been so private about her life and her feelings. Even though these people standing with her had been her family, she was wishing she was doing this alone in a dark closet or something.  

She stayed caught up in her own mental ramblings until she saw the mist begin to swirl around Daegan; then all she could see was him, the real him. Magic indeed! He was not so unlike the appearance he had been portraying before, which must have obviously been some kind of human glamour to not stand out in the mortal realm; because he would have definitely stood out more than he already had. 

Still tall, dark, and brooding, but more so. He was even taller than he had been at what she would have estimated at close to six feet, but now perhaps a few inches more. His skin was a bit darker, no, not really darker—
richer
was a better word to describe it. Dark hair that had often fallen into his face was longer and shaggier. It was intensely darker, almost a midnight black with blue hues filtering through. The features of his face were mostly the same, just more prominent, but with the same intense and piercing gaze that he already had—a gaze that suddenly found Kaeleigh’s eyes through the mist as if he felt her scrutinizing every inch of him.

Suddenly feeling self-conscious, she felt a blush creep up her face, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of him—or, of course, the magic misting around his strong... ahem.
OMG quit looking!
He was still lean and muscular, but with a bit more bulk to his build. Warrior and then some! Slightly pointed tips that must have become an addition to his ears jutted up through strands of his black hair. As he turned to continue walking forward, he looked back at her and beckoned her with his hand to follow after him but with his eyes, he dared her to. 

Kaeleigh took a deep breath, but just before she stepped onto the bridge, she watched him walk to the other end of the bridge, noticing a dark marking on his opposite arm from the one she had bandaged. It was a marking on the inside of his forearm, simple yet tribal. From the distance she was seeing it, it was circular with markings making up the inside much like a shield. It hadn’t been there before or she was sure she would have noticed it. She wasn’t sure why, but for some reason she couldn’t take her eyes off of it.  She found herself holding onto her wrist where she had covered up the marking that had burned its way onto her own wrist not that long ago. His was the same bluish-green color.  

Absent-mindedly, she unwrapped the fabric bracelets that she had tied onto her wrists and looked down at her marking, wondering what it meant and where it came from. Kaeleigh had always wanted a tattoo, she had just hoped to have a say in design and placement. Closing her eyes, she hoped that she was about to find out. She took her first step onto the bridge, just to be yanked back by Finn.

“When did you get that marking? Did
he
do that to you?” Finn asked, pointing across the river at Daegan.  

“Hey!” she yelled, confused, and jerked her arm out of his grasp. “What? No, are you kidding? He didn’t do anything to me. It just appeared a few days before we got here... more like it burned its way onto me.”

Finn stood there staring at her wrist, even more confused. “I don’t understand, it shouldn’t look like that,” he mumbled out loud.

“What?” Kaeleigh said, her eyes wide. “Do you know what it is? Daegan seemed confused by it too... Wait! What do you mean, ‘it shouldn’t look like that’?” At his tight-lipped expression she rolled her eyes. “Ugh, another secret, huh?” Kaeleigh said, clearly frustrated. “You know what? Never mind, I’m going across now.”  

“Wait. Please, Kaeleigh. Let Chel go first, I’ll try and explain what I can,” Finn said. Kaeleigh looked to Chel, who just shrugged, not caring in which order she went, so Kaeleigh nodded for Chel to go ahead of her.  

Finn started to explain something about how markings in Alandria were given when you are born, but usually didn’t appear until after ‘the stage of becoming,’ which had something essentially to do with puberty and the coming of an age of independence. However, Kaeleigh had missed most of what Finn was saying—although important—she didn’t want to miss anything as Chel crossed over to the other side. She put her hand on his arm and wordlessly pointed to Chel in the middle of the bridge being caught up in the foggy mist swirling about her and then quickly dissipating as it revealed... Chel. The Chel she had always been, but vibrantly much more! She wore confidence on a new level; stronger and in control. 

Kaeleigh and Finn both stood gawking at their friend as she transformed into someone, aside from the physical changes, that Kaeleigh always knew was deep inside Chel. They were both smiling and Kaeleigh felt her heart bubbling with joy for her friend, her sister. Just as Chel was taking steps to head toward the other end of the bridge, her image faltered.  

“What’s happening?” Kaeleigh asked as she gripped Finn’s arm.

“It’s not done... the
revealing
.” 

Kaeleigh couldn’t tell if Finn was worried or just fascinated with the process. Maybe both. Chel’s physical appearance wasn’t actually changing, but her image was suddenly like a holographic picture where one second she was Chel and the next she was... something else entirely. Her image flipped back and forth, rapidly changing between Chel and a beautiful black wolf with white and gold mixed in.

Both Kaeleigh and Finn gasped in amazement as they watched. “She’s a shifter!” Finn whispered in awe. “I mean I knew that, but I didn’t know what she would become... Amazing.” Finn continued talking while Kaeleigh watched also in amazement. “Her parents are too. She should be able to shift into several forms once she learns how, but this wolf apparently is her primary form.” 

They could see Chel watching her own image change back and forth, at first fearful and then awed with acceptance of her own transformation of who she really was, or at least who she could be. She walked off the bridge to where Daegan was standing, nodded at him, and smiled. Kaeleigh wished she was there to share this moment with her friend. 

Daegan looked back across the river and gave a deep nod to Kaeleigh, gesturing it was her turn on the bridge. She looked to Finn as he walked her to the edge. “Your turn,” he said expectantly with a smile. Apparently watching Chel got him excited about this part of their adventure. 

Kaeleigh walked cautiously—one foot in front of the other—toward the center of the bridge. Slight tremors of nervousness raced throughout her body, her heart pumping adrenaline of expectation. Almost to the center, Kaeleigh paused, her breath caught in her throat, her thoughts and emotions suddenly out of control.

What if nothing happens? Maybe I don’t belong here... Oh my god! What if I DO belong here?

Kaeleigh’s chest began to constrict; she felt like she was hyperventilating. Paralyzed where she stood, she stared out at the ominous center of the bridge. It taunted her, dared her to take that next step; see that she would never be anything other than an orphaned girl trying to make it on her own. She looked back at Finn, who looked intently concerned but didn’t come any closer.

“I’m sorry, Kaeleigh,” Finn said remorsefully. “I can’t go across with you, you have to go it alone.” 

Kaeleigh looked back to the bridge. She had to face this. It seemed ironic to feel so paralyzed when all she had wanted for so many years was to know who she was and where she belonged. The reality of what she wanted seemed so much heavier than the dream of wanting to know.

“Kaeleigh.” Daegan’s voice, quiet but confident, broke through her fog of doubt. “Kaeleigh, the first step is the hardest, you can do this... you
need
to do this. Walk to the center, find out who you are.”  

Kaeleigh took a deep breath, realizing that she now felt free from the doubt that was paralyzing her, and glanced across the river at Daegan, to see that he seemed to be in an intense discussion with Chel. He couldn’t have just spoken to her. How did she hear him then? Was he in her mind? She shook her head to clear it, stood tall and proud, and marched to the center of the bridge.

Before she even realized she was in the center of the bridge, the mist rose up from the river and swirled vigorously around her, starting at her feet encircling her up to her head. It tickled as it quickly kissed her skin like it was trying to get a read on her. She felt giddy and light, as if she could fly. Just as she thought it, she was lifted from the ground by nothing more than the swirling mist. Holding her arms out palms up, she tilted her head back, abandoning herself to the mist. After all, she had come this far, and she was not about to miss out on all that she could experience. Looking up, she could see sparkling rays of light... and orchids. Orchids began falling from where she couldn’t see, but they caressed her skin as they fell to the ground and encouraged her soul. The mist was moving faster and faster, becoming a tornado of fog. She could
feel
the magic. It was
alive
. Her body was tingling all over with small electric pricks. It was all-encompassing. 

The breeze began to swirl around her face and caught her off guard, leaving her feeling tight, claustrophobic, and trapped. Pierced with fear, her pulse began to race. This hadn’t happen with the others; no one told her this
could
happen. Kaeleigh closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. Breathing through her nose, she wasn’t getting enough oxygen so she opened her mouth and inhaled, taking the mist deep inside her when she did. She struggled and choked, but was instantly filled with peace when she imagined Daegan touching her hand and remembered the feeling of peace he had given her in their dreams.  

As she relaxed, she felt magic weaving within her and around her on the outside. She could literally feel it tugging at what must have been her glamour. The tugging became more insistent. There were sparks flying around her mixed in with the fog. Then a burning sensation started in the soles of her feet and slowly moved up her legs. It was the most intense pain she had ever felt. There was screaming, but she couldn’t see anything outside of the fog mummifying her. The fire that was her legs spread up through her torso and into her head. It burned so hot, she couldn’t take it anymore. Kaeleigh felt her body giving out. Irrationally, she thought perhaps it was what drowning might feel like minus the flesh being torn from her limbs. There it was again... more screaming. And then silence.

Chapter Twenty-nine