Chapter 5
It had been an extremely long, uncomfortable ride back to Mari’s house, both physically and emotionally. Mari couldn’t find the words to explain herself to Ben, and Ben had been equally content to ride in complete silence other than the soft Indie music on the radio. Even their departure had been strained and awkward. Neither knew what to say to the other or how to handle it. They usually were very affectionate friends, and would hug; but after what happened, neither seemed able to bring themselves to touch the other.
Mari got out of the car and shut the door behind her with a sigh. She leaned down with an apologetic half-smile on her face and waved to Ben. He returned the wave with a strained smile of his own before reaching down to put the car in gear. Mari stood and watched as his taillights drifted away in the distance. She had never thought it possible to feel more miserable, both physically and emotionally.
She wanted nothing more than to collapse into her own bed and just sleep, but she was more than a little bit afraid to do so. The last time she slept she ended up with burns all over her legs, there was no telling what would happen if she was left to sleep uninterrupted this time. Exhausted, she mentally gathered herself and headed towards the gate at the end of the drive.
Mari felt a rush of arrogance and lust roll over her. She let out an exasperated sigh, confident she knew who the guard was for the morning. With a herculean amount of effort, she drew herself up and continued forward. She tried to keep her eyes forward, and ignore Fin completely but she saw him slide out from behind the desk with a smug expression painted across his face.
Mari quickened her pace, despite her legs and body screaming at her in protest, causing her to almost waddle as she tried to rush past the gate and out of Fin’s reach. Whether deterred by something else or the sheer ridiculousness of how she was walking, Mari was supremely grateful when she made it past the gate without any sign of Fin.
She slowed her pace, wincing as her skin pulled against itself. It seemed like ages before she reached her bedroom, a sigh of relief escaping as she closed the door behind her. She reached down and began peeling clothes off as gently as she could manage. With the clothes discarded, she walked across her room carefully to the full-length mirror and attempted to survey the damage.
Her mouth dropped open with surprise as she found a couple places where light blisters had begun to form within the handprints on her legs. The image of dark curls between her legs, and large, powerful hands gripping her there fluttered in her mind. Despite the pain, her body clenched with desire. She desperately wished she knew what was happening to her.
Moving gingerly to the bathroom, she attempted to apply a healing salve as best she could. It smelled strongly of lavender and frankincense. The salve eased some of the initial burn and began at least steadying her nerves and grounding her. Moving back to her room, she dug through her dresser in search of the loosest-fitting, softest pants she could find.
She glanced at her bed longingly. She wanted dearly to collapse into it in a heap, but her body was still sore enough to convince her that was a terrible idea. Stifling her exhaustion, she pushed herself forward and left the sanctuary of her room and made her way towards the kitchen. She couldn’t sleep, so she was simply going to have to supplement with caffeine. She needed all the caffeine she could get and as quickly as possible.
Mari was thankful that she hadn’t run into any of her family or the staff on her way down to the kitchen. It was probably best for everyone concerned if she could simply guzzle a gallon of coffee before she spoke to anyone else for the day. She walked carefully, with slow and measured steps to keep her legs from brushing against each other as much as possible. The salve was starting to work, but there was still a lingering tenderness that was a constant reminder for her.
Mari padded quietly through the kitchen and went about making coffee. The rich aroma of brewing coffee was teasing Mari as she leaned against the counter, waiting for enough of the precious liquid to accrue in the carafe for her to finally pour herself a cup. She was so intent in her anticipation of the cup of coffee that she had missed two of her brothers entering the room behind her.
“Wow…you know, I’ve heard of zombies and all; but I’ve never seen one face to face. What are we supposed to do, chop its head off? Right, Al?” Eryn was nothing if not ever joking with everyone in his life, and Mari knew without looking it would be him who had come up with the oh-so-clever comparison of her to the walking dead.
Mari sighed deeply and turned her head slightly to see her twin brothers standing in the kitchen gaping at her disheveled appearance. She had simply pulled all her messy curls up into some sort of bun, but they were escaping in every conceivable direction giving her the appearance of someone who had touched a live wire. She was still wearing Ben’s tee-shirt that was about three sizes too large for her and a pair of comfortable, yet faded, grey sweat pants.
“Ha…ha…You’re just so clever,” Mari replied deadpan and returned to watching her glorious caffeinated salvation accumulate to the point she could pour a cup. She supposed she would have to share with her brothers now that they were all assembling in the kitchen. She crossed to the refrigerator and grabbed a handful of ice and tossed it in her coffee. Cold coffee, for those diehards who simply want to consume their caffeine as quickly as possible without worrying about burns. Mari had her share of burns to deal with, and didn’t picture burning the entirety of her mouth as an option.
Eryn stood laughing at her musing over a bowl of fruit, while his twin, Alren, perused the pantry behind him. Magni was stumbling in from the back porch, dripping in sweat from his morning run with Val following close behind. Silas entered with their youngest sister in tow, bickering about the fact that she would, indeed, have to work on her training that morning regardless of how much it “sucked”.
Mari loved her siblings, but she loved them so much more when she was properly caffeinated. She sipped her black coffee with the enthusiasm of someone drinking from the fountain of youth for the first time. She felt the glorious liquid sliding down to her very empty stomach with a blissful fullness. She crossed back to the coffee pot to commandeer another cup before it all disappeared within the hungry, cranky horde that descended on the kitchen.
“Am I the only one that noticed Mari looks like she was hit by a freight train?” Eryn asked with a wide gesture around the room, “Is no one else curious who won? Mari or the electric fence?”
“Shut up, Eryn,” Magni snapped as he squeezed behind his brother to reach for a bowl, “It’s too early, and you’re not that funny. Mari…we’re not up for anything with the missing bear until tomorrow. I guess we’re meeting with Uncle Illwyn later to see what he finds out from the guy we brought in. You’ve got until right before dinner to do whatever.”
Mari nodded, slightly disappointed that she didn’t have anything work-related to focus on. She had been silently hoping that they would have some sort of a lead that they could follow and get her mind off her dreams, and the sleep she so desperately wanted but was afraid of.
Mari’s eyes inspected each of her siblings as they milled about the room. Magni was the eldest of all of them, and was by far the most taciturn. The next oldest were Alren and Eryn, the twins. They were paired off for work since they could tolerate each other and worked well together, whereas Magni couldn’t stand working with Eryn. Silas was next, the quiet healer in the family who seemed content to take care of everyone and everything. Val was the next oldest outgoing, and was who Mari could see as the most likely to replace her father, given that he knew how to talk to people. Mari was only a year younger than Val, and they were raised almost as if they had been twins since they were so close in age. Rena was the youngest of all of them, the baby of the group at thirteen years old.
“Please, Silas?” Rena whined, somehow drawing the word “please” out into a three-syllable word. She was bouncing on her toes looking up at her brother expectantly. “Can we please just skip today? Just this once?”
Silas sighed, shaking his head, as he turned away and went in search of his own cup of coffee. He had no idea how he’d drawn the short straw and been put in charge of training his errant younger sister, but he wanted a recount. He met Mari’s eyes with an exhausted smile of his own. He leaned closer to her and whispered, “You okay?” as he turned his attention on the piping hot liquid he was pouring.
“I’m fine,” Mari replied with a minute shrug, “Just tired. Haven’t been getting much sleep. What’s up with Rena? Why is she so bent out of shape about training today?” She was anything but fine, but having something to distract her from the discomfort in her pants and from sleep was perhaps the best remedy she could think of.
Silas was launching into an in-depth play-by-play of what had gone down between himself and Rena when Mari placed a small hand on his arm to stop him.
“Want me to take her for today?” She asked tilting her head in Rena’s direction, “Maybe just mixing it up will help get her back on track.” Mari couldn’t help but wonder if she was a genius or insane, either way she would decide if she should put her foot in her mouth later. In that moment, she just needed distraction of any kind.
“You are a goddess, sister. You have no idea,” Silas sighed with relief and whispered, “I didn’t have to as hard a time with you, but Rena is a totally different story.”
Mari patted him lightly on the arm and gave him as much of an encouraging smile as she could muster though it fell a bit short. She dazed out watching Rena as she chatted with Alren over their respective bowls of colorful cereal. Mari was lost in her thoughts, exhaustion, and aching pain when she felt someone poking her hair. She turned her head slowly, glaring at Eryn who was poking at her hair.
“Is there something nesting in there? Some sort of woodland creature?” Eryn broke out in an impish grin and hopped away from Mari as she tried her best to swat at him. Someday, she was sure he was going to meet someone who didn’t appreciate his humor and finally put him in his place, she just hoped she would be there to take a picture for posterity.
“Rena!” Mari snapped as she set her mug down a bit harder than she intended, “Come on, you’re working with me this morning.” She ushered Rena out of the kitchen, and out towards the courtyard that led to a building for all manner of training. Eryn’s laughter following her out into the hallway.
Mari took advantage of the small walk outdoors. She could at least maintain her mental shield, even with so many of her family members around. She wasn’t sure if it was the salve that she had applied, or just that they were better about not letting themselves get overly emotional around her, but the small reprieve had been refreshing. She inhaled deeply as she and Rena walked down the small path beneath the yellowing leaves of the Aspen trees that lined the path. She felt energy drawing up from the ground.
Mari led her sister into a small room off the main hallway. There was a small table in the middle of the room, with a flat, oblong dish in the middle of the table. The dish was filled with water, the surface reflecting the soft white light that filled the room. Mari sat down gently in one of the chairs, wincing as her rather abused body reminded her that her salve hadn’t been completely effective.
Mari motioned to the chair opposite her and watched as Rena sat down across from her. They were almost the same height. Somehow, Rena was growing into womanhood before her very eyes, and Mari was uncertain just how she felt about that. She had very much been in the role of mother for her younger sister throughout the years.
“Alright, Rena. Has Silas had you in here before?” Mari asked gesturing lazily at the room around them. She wasn’t sure where Rena’s training with their older brother stood, but she knew that Reflection was always something that Mari had enjoyed when their mother had worked with her on her training.
Rena shook her head slowly side to side and eyed the dish in front of them tentatively. “No, Silas keeps making me go read more books. We’ve spent weeks in the library working on family history. It’s so freaking boring! Anyway, what’s with the bowl?”
Mari chuckled lightly at her sister’s rapidly shifting train of thought. She remembered all too well the days of endless studying to learn all the intricacies of the magical community they lived in and governed. It wasn’t just that they had to learn about Fae history, but all shifters and magical creatures.
“Don’t you dare tell Si,” Mari laughed, “But I’m pretty sure I said the same thing when I was your age. Si does love his books.”
They shared a light conspiratorial chuckle over their brother and his penchant for boring them. Mari knew it was an important piece of their training, but she could relate that sitting around and reading countless books was far more interesting than what she had intended.
“Well, good. I can teach you something new,” Mari said motioning to the bowl between them, “This is the room we use for teaching Reflection. The idea is, you basically are going to meditate, then you’ll focus your energy and force it into the bowl. There’s an enchantment in place and it will be rebounded back to you. It helps you gain clarity and insight, and will give you a temporary boost with your power. It lasts longer the better you get. I’ll show you first, then we’ll do it together, ok?”
Rena nodded at Mari from across the table with wide eyes. She idolized her older sister, and getting to spend time with her working on something that meant she got to use her power was more fun than reading in the library any day.
“Alright, just watch first and I’ll talk you through what I’m doing as I can, okay?”
Mari sat up straighter in the chair so that she could lay her arms in front of her on the table, palms facing up. She closed her eyes and took slow, deep, steady breaths. She felt each breath filling her lungs, and filling her body with more and more energy. After several breaths, she brought her hands together in front of her, laying one on top of the other with her palms up and facing her.
Mari took a few more deep steadying breaths, then as she opened her eyes she envisioned herself shaping the energy she was pooling within her into a small ball. She slid her hands around so that her thumbs and index fingers were touching, creating a small triangle and her palms faced the shallow bowl on the table. With a final deep inhale, Mari exhaled and forced all the stored-up energy into the dish.
A soft yellow light flared from within the shallow water, and Mari turned her hands slowly so that she could welcome her own energy back. She watched with a slow breath as a small ball of yellow light rose from the dish and floated back to her, settling straight into her chest. The additional energy hit Mari like three pots of very strong coffee. She felt every inch of her body tingling with power, and sensed her sister’s awe easily without even trying.
“Right,” Mari said with a smile, “So that’s the idea. Start palms up, once you can feel the energy gathering, slide them one over the other, then you’ll push the energy out on an exhale, and kind of picture shaping it into something tangible. Then once it hits the bowl, open your hands and inhale while calling it back. It’s all about the breathing, ok? Slow, deep breaths. You’ll want to sit up as straight as you can.”
Rena nodded lightly as Mari was explaining the process and was itching to try it herself. She shifted lightly in her chair, preparing herself to do what she had watched her sister do moments before. Rena was so excited to be learning anything that involved actual skills. Silas was always going on about how it was too unsafe for her to learn anything, that she lacked the control. Rena could only hope that getting the hang of this would help her show Silas that she was ready to work on other skills.
Mari nodded at the table before them and placed her arms out again to mirror what Rena should be doing.
“Okay, now we’re going to close our eyes and take several slow, deep breaths. Ready?”
Rena followed suit and they both began breathing deeply, their breathing rhythm syncing up after a few seconds. Rena was focusing, she was feeling energy coursing through her but she wasn’t quite sure if she was doing everything right. She opened one eye, peeking at her sister from across the table, opening the other eye as confusion took over.
Mari looked like she was sleeping more than meditating, but for some reason, Rena couldn’t shake the image in her mind that a huge shadow was hovering behind her. Rena’s mouth fell open in shock as she watched the shadow take a more human form and wrap its monstrous arms around her sister.
Mari was breathing in and out, her chest rising and falling as if she had fallen asleep. As the shadow enveloped her though, she arched her back and moaned.
Rena reached forward and grabbed Mari’s arm shaking it gently. Rena watched as her sister’s eyes flew open and the shadow faded from her vision. Mari gripped Rena’s arm and her eyes faded to a bright white for a moment. Rena gulped as her eyes searched Mari’s, seeing so many things that were overwhelming and confusing to her. Rena kept seeing people she’d never met before, and she couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
Rena was attempting to pull herself back from the vision, but something had a hold of her in that moment. She gasped as pair of bright amber eyes flared in the shadows. The eyes seemed to bore straight through her, and Rena was filled with nothing but the purest fear she’d ever experienced. She felt the power taking over and the necklace on her neck began to glow hot, siphoning off power from her until finally she slumped back into her chair. Rena’s head hung down over her chest as she took ragged breaths.
Mari pushed up from her chair and was around the table in a step. She had no idea what had happened, but her sister was passing out and it looked like her pendant hadn’t stopped pulling power from her.
“Rena? Rena!” Mari called, frantic as her sister slumped towards her unconscious. Mari swore and scooped her sister up, attempting to keep her in the chair. She wasn’t sure what to do. Mari knew she couldn’t carry the girl all the way up to the house. She shifted Rena’s weight so that she could reach into the deep pocket of her sweatpants to retrieve her cell phone. Her fingers slid over the screen tapping on Val’s number.
“Val,” Mari said with relief flooding over her at the sound of her brother’s voice, “I need you down in the Reflection room. Something is wrong with Rena. Hurry.” She could barely get the words out before her brother hung up reassuring her that he was on the way. Within a few minutes, both Val and Magni entered the room with serious expressions.
Magni crossed the short distance quickly and scooped Rena up in his arms. Val was looking at Mari with a confused look which continued as they all turned to leave the room.
“Mari, what the hell happened? And what happened to your arms?” Val asked pointing to Mari’s forearms which had two large red handprints on them visible beneath the sleeves of her shirt.
Mari was so worried about Rena she hadn’t thought about the actual repercussions of the small dream she had slipped into. She reached down trying to pull her shirt sleeves a little further down to cover the marks, but to no avail.
“It’s nothing,” Mari assured him, “We just need to get Rena up to the house. I don’t know what happened. I must have fallen asleep when I was meditating, and when Rena tried to wake me up, she was locked into some sort of vision. She shouldn’t have been able to with her pendent in place, but it was like something back fired, and the pendant didn’t just bind her, it drained her.”
They rushed into the main house, Mari calling out for their father as they entered. Magni continued cradling Rena in his arms as they went through a few rooms in search of their father. Their uncle came around a corner with a concerned look. “What happened?” Illwyn asked as he reached a hand out to lay it softly on Rena’s head.
Mari watched, stunned as her Uncle read through Rena’s memories and unconscious thoughts. It was truly remarkable to witness. Mari had often wished she could have such an easily controlled power, but apparently, fate had other plans for her. He seemed so at ease with his powers. It seemed like nothing about it controlled him.
Illwyn met Mari’s eyes with a strange look. He motioned to the couch behind him, letting Magni know that he could lay Rena down on the couch. “I don’t know how this is happening,” Illwyn explained, “But something went very wrong today. Rena’s power is completely contained within her pendent, instead of it just binding her power, which shouldn’t be possible.”
“Can you fix it?” Mari asked as she crossed her arms, trying to hide the fact that her hands were trembling with the fear that she had done something wrong. She felt like she had endangered Rena in what she had chosen for a subject for her training. At least books never back fired and sucked all the essence of your power out of your body. She chastised herself for being over-ambitious when she was already tired.
“It’s something I’ll have to confer with several others about. In the meantime, she’s at least resting peacefully,” Illwyn explained as he glanced at Mari sideways, still surveying her with an intense look. He couldn’t help but wonder if he had brought all this trouble along with him, or if it was just some sort of twist of fate.
“Boys, one of you stay with her, please. I need to go make a few phone calls to figure out the best way to handle this, and I’ll explain more at dinner. I promise I will help shed a little clarity on what has happened today. With both of you,” Illwyn said with a pointed look down at Mari’s arms before meeting her eyes with a serious look.