Ever Fire (13 page)

“Shade? I can hardly believe my eyes, it really is you. I can feel our blood calling towards each other! You
are
truly my son’s daughter!” The woman’s eyes lit up and danced with happiness. She reached out to touch Shade on her cheek, her power flowing across her fingers almost zapping at Shade. Shade flinched back, wide-eyed.
What was that?

“Oh, excuse me! I’ll tone it down for you! It’s just, I–,” Lana paused as she smiled at Shade. Though she was shaking her head in disbelief, she continued to smile. She grasped Shade’s hands, her touch now lacking the zap that had hit Shade before. “I knew you would come one day. I foresaw it. I called you here. You heard me didn’t you? I tried to find you for so long. I sent out whispers in your dreams to bring you here. You found me, Shade. Just like I knew you would.” She hugged Shade so hard that her breath escaped her chest. The Faerie Queen’s aura felt exhilarating, and danced along her skin like tiny swirling sparks. Their magic agreed well, making Shade smile, and caused a feeling to stir within her almost like being home for the first time in ages.

Lana pulled back and held her out at arm’s length, studying her even more. She finally let her go and scanned the rest of them. She stopped at Benton and Soap, observing them just a bit longer than Camulus and Andraste. Shade wondered if her grandmother could answer Benton’s question of paternity. She gulped, sucking in a deep breath as she built up her courage to ask.

“Queen Lana?” asked Shade.

“Just call me Lana, please. I have not been Queen in so long, I feel unfit for the title.”

Shade grinned, her nervousness still swirling in her chest. “My brother here; Benton, would also like to know if Verenis is also his father. He possesses magic too, and we wondered…”

“No. He is not of my line, though he is your brother in blood.” Lana interrupted as she walked forward and reached out to Benton, pausing first for his permission. Benton glanced back at Shade, who gave him a slight nod to proceed. He looked back at the Queen and let her approach him. She touched his face with a gentle stroke, tasting the magic that filled him.

“No. He is not of the same father. Human blood flows in his veins, none Fey. Fire Magic runs wild inside him. Your mother is; perhaps, a fire witch?” She smiled at him, not really expecting an answer as she brought her hand down. “A very powerful Fire Witch at that.” She studied his face intently. A far off look shone in her eyes before turning back to Shade.

“Sorry about the precautions. I don’t really get visitors out here. Nothing personal.” Lana’s face stilled as she studied Shade’s, a flicker of something flashed across her very brown eyes. As it passed, she smiled at her once again. Slight wrinkles framed her eyes and mouth, betraying her age. Shade could feel her power, so strong, like a thick mist surrounding them. Yet her grandmother’s eyes looked almost too human, not an extraordinary Fey color she had noted in her friends. It was the same brown color that dwelled in her own eyes. The realization that her grandmother was not a full Faery surprised her more than she thought it would. It hadn’t occurred to her at all. Her list of questions grew tenfold as they continued to look at each other.

“I suppose you have a million questions for me, Shade.” Lana took a deep breath as she motioned them towards the house. “Might as well come in and make yourselves at home.” She headed up the stairs and into the farmhouse with everyone following suit in her wake.

They shuffled into the house where the living room was cozy, to say the least. Soft floral couches lined one side of the wainscotings of the wall. Worn and smooth wooden tables hugged the sides of the couches. Oil lamps sat unlit on them, for there was still bright daylight streaming through the sheer curtains lining the dusty windowpanes. Shade sat down on one of the overstuffed chairs, looking around the room. She studied the pictures that hung randomly across the wood walls. Pictures of a young boy with long black hair flowing down his back with an intense, mischievous look on his face. He looked like Lana in a way; Shade assumed he must be her father. The other pictures showed other men and woman, none looking familiar to her at all. She wondered who they were, and if she was related to them.

Her excitement fluttered in her stomach as she took all of it in. Even with it being in exile, the house looked quite comfy. As she scanned the room, she stopped to see her brother fidgeting on one the sofas while sitting next to Soap. His frown gave away his disappointment at not being related to Shade’s grandmother. She was sure his share of questions was just as long as hers.

Lana returned with glasses and a jug of lemonade. Watching her serve her friends made her think how much more like a grandmother she seemed than the Southern Realm Seelie Queen. She wondered how long she had been exiled, and why she could not escape. Lana made her way around the room, handing a glass to Shade and smiling. Sinking into a wooden chair that stood alone by the opposite side of the room, she scanned all of them and waited patiently as they drank their drinks.

“Well, I suppose we might as well get this over with. Ask away, Shade. I’ll answer anything you want to know.” She crossed her legs, placing her hands on her knee.

Shade flushed, her mind became blank under pressure. Gulping down the last sip of her drink, she breathed in deeply as one swam around in her mind.

“Lana, er, uh Grandmother? I’m not sure what to call you yet.” She paused, waiting for an answer.

“You can call me Lana. I know I’m not much of a grandmother to you yet.” She grinned and waited for another question.

“Right, ok, Lana, um, well I want to know where my father is and if he is dead like I’ve been told. Would you also know why my mother never told me about him?” She paused, not wanting to run ramped in a stream of questions.

“Well, Shade. I can’t say why your mother never told you. She’s probably suffering from some form of memory loss from a spell that I’m pretty sure your father would have done to her. Maybe to protect you both. Seeing that he is dead, I don’t blame him for doing it. He died at the hands of that wretched Queen Aveta. I have wanted to avenge him for so long, but I see that it will be quite impossible for me to do it.” Her mouth formed a tight line of tension as she thought of her son. Shade did not let the pain that seeped into Lana’s face go unnoticed. Just as quickly as it had manifested, Lana seemed to realize the slip as she breathed in and straightened in her chair.

“Um, what am I? What kind of Fey am I? My powers grow the more time I spend in Faerie, but no one can tell me what they are, what I can do with them, or how I can control them, and I really need to know.” She waited almost impatiently as she watched her grandmother smile and nod.

“Yes, of course you don’t know what you are. I’m part Changeling. I can change my appearance into anything I’d want to. I am also part human, like you. Your Grandfather was full Sidhe, the most powerful and beautiful of all Faeries. He was King of the Southern Realm before your father.” Her voice cracked for a moment, the memory flooding her eyes with pain. She gulped down as she continued. “He is also dead, poisoned with Iron by Aveta.” She sighed, rubbing her temples as she leaned forward. Shade wanted to comfort her but the unfamiliarity of her grandmother kept her from rushing over. Lana looked back up, the pain still in her eyes but more steadied.

“Sorry, I still miss him, even after so long. He was my only love.” She gave a weak smile but motioned her to continue with the questions.

“It’s ok, thanks for telling me. I was wondering if you could show me how to use my powers. I haven’t a clue how.” Shade waited, watching Lana as she nodded.

“Yes, of course. It won’t be easy, seeing that you are not a young child anymore. But if you work hard, I can show you everything you can do with your magic.” Lana stood up at that moment, passing her gaze around the room, studying the warriors.

“We’ll get started right away. No time to waste. You’re all welcome to stay here as long as you need. I have several rooms to spare. I’ll take you to them first, and then we can get started. Shall we?” She motioned to the group as everyone voiced their agreement. They shuffled quickly behind the Seelie Queen, following her up the stairs.

Chapter Thirteen

SHADE’S GRANDMOTHER WAS
a graceful, thin lady. Her waist-length silver-white hair swayed softly in the wind, and her big brown eyes glinted ever so slightly when amused. Shade thought about Lana’s wrists, so thin and bony they looked almost as frail as sugar sticks. Her skin was soft and thin with some wrinkles around the creases. Her face was smooth though; only faint lines of laughter crinkled when she smiled and became noticeable around her mouth and eyes.

No one Shade had ever met was like her. She seemed to be able to soothe and calm Shade with just a word or a stroke of her hand on her face. Her hugs felt like hot chocolate on a cold January day after playing too long in the snow. Her clothes fit loose but elegantly, as if flowing around her in clouds. She was the essence of a calm spring morning under a shady tree.

Lana told Shade once that she was just the same. Her magic would embrace a calm and warmth that would extend to all whom she loved. Lana warned her that by not being a full-blooded Faerie, she would not be immortal. Like Shade, she was part Fey and part human. Her mortality weighed on her like a dreaded task waiting to be done. She did not age in human years but not too far from it. She could live maybe two lifetimes instead of one with Faerie blood inside her, yet would it be enough? Shade had just gotten to know her grandmother, and felt like there had not been enough time to get to know her more. She knew Lana wouldn’t be around too much longer, but what could she say?
I wish I had met her sooner,
but that is not how things go.

Lana told her that things didn’t happen the way they should, especially in Faerie. She would have liked to have had more time to train Shade in the arts of Changeling magic and such. There were also so many stories she would love to tell her about her life, her past, and her son Verenis. She had tales of his adventures, life in Faerie, and life abroad in the human world.

Lana taught Shade a variety of tricks and added to her stock of Fey magic every day with her witty lessons or assignments. She knew that even in this lifetime, there would not be enough time in the world to know everything that she could have learned from her grandmother.

*****

THE DAY WAS
shining, and the crisp warm rays of the sun beamed down and fed the greenery with its light. Shade noticed that around her grandmother’s house, it always seemed warm and spring-like; fall and winter never seemed to come around the corner in Faerie. This day was a tiny bit different. The leaves had turned color and filled the breezes with floating masses of them. They were clogging up the edges by the trees and dark corners of the house. She realized after the few weeks since coming there, seeing the fall come to pass in this isolated area of Faerie worried her. Something was different. Something about it scared her, and made the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. A feeling of dread clung to the trees, leaves, and the cool autumn breezes. She couldn’t say exactly what had changed, but something had.

Shade joined her grandmother, who was sitting on the worn steps of the back porch. She had her shawl tossed across her shoulders, and she was staring out into the distant trees and horizon. Lost to whatever passed behind her eyes. Their color was a brilliant, melded, shade of brown that completely passed for human eyes. Her wistful hair floated about her like a halo of silver and white, making Shade wonder what she thought about when her face sank so deeply in concentration, and seemed so lost to this world.

“Are you alright, Lana?” Shade asked. “You seem concerned about something.” Shade placed her lemonade between her feet on one of the wooden steps. White paint peeled up and flaked around them.

Lana sighed and shook her head like she was shaking off a bad dream. Her face lit up as she turned towards Shade.

“My end time is near, and I have yet to show you so much. I have one lesson left to teach you that must be done. The rest I have collected and mapped out for you in an ampoule of memory that I have made, for when I am gone.” Lana said, dangling a glistening glass ampoule, filled with blood-red fluid. “I know you will be able to follow all my instructions and use it all for good. I hope you know how proud of you I am, Shade. I never thought I’d be blessed with such a wonderful grand-daughter, especially having had a wayward son like mine!” She laughed and threw her head back blinking up at the blue and white sky.

“Here,” whispered Lana.

She handed Shade the beautiful glass vial, complete with a twist-on jeweled stopper. The red fluid shined and glinted in the sun. The liquid seemed to glitter in the light, swirling like smoke billowing from a cigarette, and felt heavy in her hand.

“What exactly is this, Grandma?” Shade asked.

“It is all memory, my child. My memories. For when I am gone. Only then do I want you to open it and drink it. It will give you all that remains of me and my powers. My life will be part of yours, and so will my essence. It is the only way I could think of to help you since I have so little time to give you all that I can. It has everything you will need to live as a Fey. I pray that it will help you in your darkest hours.”

“Why do you talk like that Grandma, you are not dying yet! Is there something going on I should know about?” Shade asked.